Never Enough

Deep in the secluded woods, a pale-skinned woman with large brown eyes was running aimlessly. Rose petal lips opened wide as her desperate cries shattered the dark. A large figure stayed hidden in the shadows, following her silently as she moved farther into the trees. He could sense danger right in front of her. She was carelessly moving over broken branches and rough stones as if she couldn’t feel them under her bare feet. Wait, why was she barefooted?

Her full, curvy body was covered in a thin blue dress that fell to just above her knees. It was torn slightly, one spaghetti strap slipping down her slim shoulder as she tripped over herself suddenly. He held himself back, knowing that if he moved to catch her he would only frighten her. He clenched his hands into fists, his senses sharpening as she pushed herself to her feet once more. She seemed so familiar, yet so strange.

Tears slipped from her beautiful chocolate gaze, hands scraped up and pressed against the closest tree trunk. He could smell her fear and damn it all if the others couldn’t smell her too. If she didn’t get out of the woods soon she would have more than a few broken branches to worry about.

She had been crying, running aimlessly, but from what? Or who? He couldn’t smell anyone nearby besides his pack. Was she drunk maybe? Confused and running around on drugs perhaps?

He shook the sense back into his own thoughts. What did it matter to him what this woman was doing? He had caught her scent not twenty minutes before and already he was trying to get involved in the situation? He had to be insane because no man in his right mind would get involved with the mess of a woman stumbling through the dark in front of him. Still, he felt the desire to calm her quivering heart.

“Help! Please…”

Her hands were flailing in front of her because though he could see through the thick darkness around them, her human eyes could not. Again, he wanted to help her, and again he stopped himself.

"Genevieve!"

He stiffened, his senses darting to a new scent on the outskirts of the trees. How had he not smelled the man before this? How could he have missed the scent of blood and desperation? How truly focused was he on this strange woman? She had distracted him from sniffing out any other humans in the area, which meant he was either losing his touch or she was more than a mere human.

The woman frantically stumbled forward. Her scent rushed through the air like a tornado of terror begging to be caught on the nose of every changeling within a hundred miles.

“Shit.”

His whisper was almost silent, the woman's aroma like drugs to his system. If they didn’t get out of the woods in the next two minutes they would definitely be attacked by the others. He gritted his teeth, knowing good and well that it would take her at least fifteen to twenty minutes to find her way back the way she came. On top of that, it was clear it wouldn't be safe to go back to whoever was looking for her.

“You come back here you whore!”

The deep voice had a growl building in the man's chest. Whoever the stranger was, he wanted to hunt this woman, that much was evident. Gods, why did he have to feel sympathy for the humans? Usually, he could ignore his urge to help them, but his gut was practically dragging him toward the woman. Her skin looked as if the moon cast its glow from within, making a shiver run down his spine as he thought of what she might feel like under his fingertips.

Taking a deep breath, he moved out of the shadows and faced her. Pretending to be as human as he could look at six feet, nine inches. He was a giant, his shoulders wide and his biceps bulging. Still, he had to try to look as innocent and harmless as possible.

The woman’s eyes bulged, her feet slamming to a halt. She was shaking, her hands trembling at her sides. Controlling his animalistic urges to ravage her, he reluctantly moved his gaze from her large breasts to her face as he spoke in a soothing tone. Good lord, he had been in the woods for far too long. His hot stare didn’t miss the bruising around her delicate neck, though he ignored the urge to ask her about such a wound.

“Miss, are you alright?”

She frowned as he looked her over. Her knees were scraped up, fragile arms scratched from random tree branches hitting her as she rushed past them earlier, and that heart-shaped face looked pale against the moonlight that slipped through the trees above them. Her hair, its golden brown locks curled slightly, fell around her face like a ragged curtain. She looked scared and tired.

He put his hands up in the air to show her he was unarmed as if that made him look less dangerous. Still, her shoulders relaxed slightly. Why did that make him feel like moving closer to her? Touching her? Was he truly insane? Surely he didn’t think that making a move on a complete stranger in the middle of the dark woods was something that would earn him brownie points.

“Who…who are you?”

He pointed a finger toward the trees behind her.

“I live deeper in the woods, in a cabin not too far from here. I was outside when I heard your hollering. I figured I ought to check it out in case you were in need of any assistance.”

He could smell his pack closing in on them, but they wouldn’t dare attack the human as long as he stayed close. He could mark her as his with his scent, not that he really wanted to, but it would get them safely out of the woods. Still, to claim her like that would put a target on her back, thanks to his reputation with neighboring clans. He took a step closer, their time running out.

“Miss, who is after you?”

She unfroze suddenly, her gaze moving past him to where she had entered the woods from. Why wasn't he following her? He should be here by now, right? He could sniff her out, and hunt her down like a beast. A monster.

“He...is my...”

He caught the scent of blood but didn't see where the wound could be. A frown slipped over her face as she looked up at him, her pupils dilating slightly before her bottom lip trembled and her fingers grew limp. He felt worry nibble at the edge of his thoughts as she stumbled forward a step.

“I can’t…”

He was in front of her in the blink of an eye, picking her up in his arms as she suddenly lost consciousness. His ears perked up as he realized something wasn’t right with the woman. Her heartbeat was too slow, skin paling. She was hurt, but where? Other than a few scrapes and bruises she looked alright, but clearly, he was missing something.

“Please...”

“Shhh, it’s gonna be ok. I gotcha.”

He held onto her tightly, his feet barely touching the ground as he made his way out of the trees. The closest town would be thirty to forty miles away, but he knew she had to come from somewhere closer by. Whoever had been hunting her was gone now, but he would make sure to keep his guard up.

He stilled his movements right outside the tree line, catching her scent trail before moving once more. He could follow her sweet smell all the way back to wherever she had been, though a feeling in his gut warned him not to. He ignored it, for the second time in his life a human had him questioning himself and his instincts.