Chapter 16 16
Lena's pov
The feet sunk into the ground and inch deep as I pushed myself through the muddy damp forest. With both hands I have my night gown bunched up to my thighs while I work my knees, willing my ankles through the ground.
I felt disgusted as my bare feet threaded through while my breath quickened at the effort it took me to run. When I escaped
, it was easy for me to get around the servant quarters before diving head first into the forest. The path started out as an orchard which thick trees, long branches and colorful flowers.
I didn't have the time to appreciate them as I was running. I barely knew how long the meeting was going to take but considering the type of person Lucien was it was only a matter of time before he caught up to me.
Did I know he was? Yes
But he put me on house arrest like I was some pet he could order around. And I, Lena Thornwell was not going to sit down and wait around in obedience to a man, especially not after what I had passed through from my father.
I hear the cackle of bats as they furiously flap their wings, swinging through branches midair with such speed that leaves flutter to the ground.
Distracted by what bats could be doing flying around aimlessly in plain sight during noon, I missed a step, gasping before I flayed my hands wildly in the air. For a second I thought I steadied my composure, but a bat flew sharply past me, missing my ear by a hair's breath.
And then I lost my balance completely, falling face first down the mud. I groaned after seconds of just laying there from utter frustration and embarrassment before rolling into my back, staring up.
I could barely even sense the sunlight, the forest got darker as you walked in because the trees grew massive and taller, their long branches and wide leaves stretching competitively over the other, in such cases shielding most past of the sky.
I've been walking for what seemed like hours, who knew if it was night already. Sighing, I sink my fingers, palm down and try to hurl myself up. It takes a while but I manage to get on my feet.
Cursing, I grumpily resume shuffling My feet across, this time not bothering holding my gown up. It was a soft baby pink color, but the mud did a pretty good job turning it a dirty thick brown color which seemed too heavy for my skin.
My face burned, completely caked with mud but my eyes had been closed when I fell. Regardless there was no one I could stop the stubborn ones which tried to slip past my lashes into my eyes,my arms, my hands were caked in mud.
I felt like I could lay flat on the ground and I'd be missed.
"You know what? Fuck this." With that, I willed my wolf out, last the restraints of my mind and let her take over. The transformation was painful, unusually as I haven't shifted in quite some time, my father detested that, a reason I wasn't sure of.
I growled, howling in pain as I sunk back to the ground, this time on all fours, feeling the furs sprouting from all sides. I could hear my own bones cracking, watched my fingers elongate into claws before my wolf completely took over.
In my wolf form I risk being easily hunted down by Lucien, but I don't care.
'Find us a lake girl, let's wash off' I communicate to her and we dash off. I could sense she was happy and that she felt liberated as she dashed into the air. Mud sprayed in the air from her paws which sunk in before diving forward and back in again. Her tongue was out, spittle flying behind her as she increased her pace.
I could feel my heart racing, every nerve endings screaming for more as the electrifying spark from the running thrill consumed me.
The forest was silent, but unlike moments ago, I didn't feel wary, nor pretend that I wasn't scared of the trees closing in one me. I feel more alive than ever.
What seemed like another hour gradually comes to an end when the muddy path slowly ends, down a rocky cobble stone path before we are invited into a globe made of green vines and flowers where it leads into a lake.
The scene is beautiful, I don't realize when I've shifted back to my human form. I sit there on the cold, damp cobblestone, mouth open as my gaze saunters over the place.
There's a waterfall leading down from the same cobblestone, down the clearest blue lake I have ever seen. With barely any trees in sight, I can see the clear blue sky it reflects off of, the sun light slightly causing me to blink up at it before my eye sight adjusts to it.
In my excitement, I dash forward and plunge my naked body into the stream with a child like laughter escaping my lips. The water around turns slightly brown before it's washed off. In minutes after splashing around and enjoying the cool stream of the water caressing my skin, the water is clear blue again and I'm clean.
My hair is damp and falls around my shoulders, down to my breasts, my eyes sting slightly from having swam for a while but It doesn't occur to me how long I've spent.
I swim towards the bank, waist down in the water while I lean over the cobblestone, reimagining coming back here as a routine when I just wanted peace and quiet from everyone when I felt overwhelmed. The stream looked so clear I doubted anyone ever came here.
And the vines and flowers did a pretty good job of hiding this spot, I doubt no one would think of using their wolf to source out a lake in the middle of nowhere unless they were escaping a jerk mate who treated you no differently than the men you've known in your lives.
I take a deep breath, pushing myself back to take another swim when I hear a rustle.
Panic sets, my heart taking a leap before my brain works and I quickly submerge myself into the water, leaving out my head.
Silence. There's another rustle.
I imagine it's a small animal, I wish it was even one of those bats, but my body could sense who it was before I could make any rational thoughts.
Lucien.
"Stop staring at me like a pervert and come out so I can actually see you, you fucking creep!" I snap, almost gurgling water before straining to keep my head up. Underneath the water, I wrap my arms around my body just in case he was up to any idea.
And then he steps into view-
He's Stark naked. And I don't like his smile one bit.
"If you were coming for a swim, you'd have just asked." With that, he starts approaching me.
Glorious goddess.
As much as I despise the fact that he's here, he actually found me and he's infiltrating the one moment I feel like I actually have for myself, my eyes can't keep to just the waters. They touch every single part of his body while I back away In the water, warily eyeing him..
My eyes land between his legs and I squirm as I turn, swimming away. How the fuck did I ever take that? Why in Goddess's name was he naked??
I hear his throaty chuckle behind me but what's even more dreading is that I can feel him come up behind me but I don't hear the water splash or make a single sound..
"Stop following me!"
"What? Are you suddenly so scared of me? You certainly weren't when you disobeyed my orders "
"Orders that were nullified the moment you put me on house arrest. I'm not a slave." I gasp as I gulp a mouthful of water, trying to keep my body submerged still in the water while still trying to breathe.
It's impossible to keep up, and I almost drowned if it weren't for powerful arms that wrap themselves around my body, pulling me up to my waist from the water.
"Keep your fucking arms off me... " I growl, struggling in his grip, and surprisingly he lets go off me and I find myself almost drowning again. This time around I spin around to face him, holding onto him before hand.
He chuckles and I glare up at him, my chest heaving from rage and the fear of almost drowning. I think I've gulped half the content of the lake trying to keep my head afloat.
"What was that about keeping your hands off you again?"
"Do you want me to drown? And besides, I said you can't touch me, not the other way around." At that moment, I finally regained my stance and tried to back away, but in the horrible moment I realized I had forgotten I was waist up and Lucien's eyes weren't on mine anymore.
I watched them travel the length of me still visible above the water, silently observing the way it darkened. I held my breath, frozen as he explored my body with his heated gaze before we finally locked eyes.