Elle knew it would be like this: the cold nip of a spring morning rushing past her as she weaved through trees and clumsily dodged low hanging branches. The scent of damp earth and pine, the needles slipping beneath her feet as she sprinted.
At least she was allowed to wear shoes - legislation used to demand a traditional, barefoot chase. But after too many lost toes because of unluckily timed Chases in the dead of winter, the council reconsidered that archaic law.
Even with her worn running shoes, Elle still thanked the stars that she was born in early spring rather than the colder seasons. She had already turned 20 two weeks ago; a miserable event that landed right on the day her period had begun. She was lucky to have had a few weeks to prepare for her Chase, both emotionally and physically. She had always pitied the women who's birthday coincided perfectly with their oestrous, despite knowing that this was a silly idea. They all knew what would happen on the oestrous after they turned 20 - it was pack law.
This often had women in a frenzy approaching this particular birthday; ensuring that they were mated or promised to another before having to participate in a Chase ceremony of their own. Long term couples would suddenly sport fresh bites on their throats, pushed by the threat of the council deciding whether or not their relationship was suitable or sure to end in mating.
Everyone had heard the horror stories of the star-crossed lovers, separated forever and completely because they couldn't take a leap of faith and finalise their bond. The council had no problem splitting up lovers if it was for the sound future of the pack.
Elle had never wanted that. She'd always been a risk taker - she found the concept of a competition much more alluring than a desperate, clumsy pairing. At least in this scenario, there was a chance of her winning - she just had to outrun and outsmart every unmated man chasing her down.
The girl relished in the cold burn of her quads and calves as she propelled herself through the forest. She found her body still responsive and spritely after a decade of track racing. She'd recently slacked off with training after starting university, but it was muscle memory - her body was built for speed.
Her grin spread wide as her teeth bared to the wind whipping in her face - she was faster than them. She could beat them to the edge of the woods, even without the curtesy head start she was allowed. That would buy her another year of unmated freedom, at least.
How many times had Chris dragged her out to train in these woods, him annoyingly chipper and bright eyed as the sun peaked over the mountains? He had always pestered her to spend more time out here, connecting with the trees and the wind and the earth. She had found the rubber stability of the track much easier to run on, but she sent a wave of gratitude to her friend for his foresight. She would never have known to expect the unsteady slip of pine needles littering the forest floor, or to favour bounding strides instead of her usual long-distance shuffle.
But even Chris flew through the forest now, goddess knew how far behind. She was a sprinter, but Chris reigned champion in cross country races. At least, he had - before he moved to be closer to the city, closer to campus. That was over a year ago, but he returned home often to visit his family and participate in Chases.
As an unmated man, he was encouraged to partake in the Chase ceremonies of all pack women after he turned 20. That was almost 8 months ago now, but Elle had heard that he'd refused to partake in more than his minimum annual requirement, as he had a girlfriend in the city. She'd wanted to ask him about it, to spend time talking over videogames like they did as young teenagers, but Chris had noticeably distanced himself after moving - in many ways other than physical.
He had stopped answering her texts and didn't even bother to visit her when he came home, anymore. She remembered the moment he'd opened his email of acceptance into nursing, looked directly at her, and told her firmly, "Nothing will change."
She'd chosen to study part time online so that she could stay home to be with her sick grandmother, but she'd always mooned over the kids who would say their goodbyes and drive off into the sunset when semester started up again.
But even after begging her to stay in touch and insisting on setting up a gaming server just for the two of them to play together, he hadn't shown up to their scheduled sessions in nearly a year. It was just Elle; logging in and holding on to the hope that her best friend's username might pop up to join her.
She had spent countless sleepless nights trying to make sense of his sudden coldness towards her. But when his young cousin, Aldora, mentioned that he was seeing someone at university, Elle understood what had happened. It was hard to push down the betrayal of a childhood friend abandoning you for a relationship, but she knew it wasn't unusual.
She just never thought Chris would be the type.
A shout echoed through the endless canopy, sending a current of panic up Elle's spine. There were fainter barks in the distance, but that one was too close for comfort. She picked up her pace and her chest sucked in lungs full of air, the blood whooshing through her ears unhelpfully while she tried to pinpoint the voice.
It sounded again, somehow closer and farther away, and she recognised the sound almost instantly - Cole Ellis. Elle clumsily dodged a dead branch, distracted by the idea of Cole Ellis gaining on her.
Her abdomen was knotting up with exertion, but she leaned forward harder, tearing into the wet ground with renewed vigour. She would rather die than be caught by Cole, who she had grossly underestimated in her analysis of greatest threats in the lineup. How could she have forgotten about him?
Just because he appeared disinterested - more engrossed in his phone than the unmated woman about to set off to be hunted down - did not mean that she should forget his cruel history. At 23, he had already mated multiple women (which was generally frowned upon, but not against the rules) while refusing to be mated to any of them in return. A bite should go both ways - ethically, anyway.
But it was all too common for men to get cocky, and greedy, and decide that they could have -
should
have - more. The ancient tale of the goddess Luna and the wolf Lupus falling in love after 20 long years of pining was quickly disregarded as folklore once it had served its purpose of serving up young, fertile women to be bedded and bred.
Cole was the kind of man that loved to dominate, probably something he learned from his mother, the pack leader. Where his mother, Anastasia, was cunning and sharp, Cole was cruel and calculated. His dark eyes and harsh jawline cut through the centre of whatever they pointed at, his gaze both lazy and analytical.
Several times, his eyes had landed on the younger Elle at high school, and she had felt the chill almost physically. Whenever she passed him on her way from the track, she'd kept her head down. Admittedly, she was afraid to look up at the entire senior soccer team's mocking expressions, but whenever she peaked, it was only him watching her with a sharp laughter in his eyes.
Since then, she has felt his gaze linger uncomfortably whenever she walked past the auto shop he worked at. She'd told herself that it was ridiculous - sometimes he was hunched over an engine, laying beneath the suspended belly of a car, or not visible at all! How could he be watching her, and more importantly, why?
Footfalls thundered in her ears, and when she realised that they were not her own, her neck twisted and craned to see over the sloping hill behind her. No Cole. No anyone.
Her relief was cut agonisingly short, as a reaching branch swatted her face, the needles cutting into her cheek and eye. The sting was bearable, but her vision blurred with tears that she wiped at frantically with her sleeve, not breaking stride once.
Elle swung her leg forward to leap over a mound of gnarled roots, but her foot caught in the solid knot of wood and sent her torso arcing into the dirt. The pain in her ankle was nothing compared to the tightness of her winded chest. She gasped for air that her lungs wouldn't take, her heartbeat drowning out all other sound.
Elle groaned and rolled over, pointing her toes tentatively to test the ankle. She winced at the tugging on her tendons - probably sprained. Definitely not broken. She could still run, still make it to the edge before-
"I knew I'd get to you first," A voice panted before a darkness descended over Elle's bruised body. The warm, sweet scent of engine grease and grass made Elle dizzy before she registered the body hunched over her.
"No!" She shouted kicking at him in the hopes of destabilising him or swiping out his knees, but he just settled lower, heavier. Trapping her. So, she tried clawing.
She landed one swipe before her wrists were pinned either side of her head, and she was glaring up at Cole Ellis. His face really was beautiful - all sharp lines and hard planes. He looked like he was carved from marble.
"Get off," Elle thrashed; or at least gave it a good try. Cole patiently waited her out, his eyes mocking her.
"That's it," he cooed, "Go ahead and tire yourself out. I'll have a lot more fun with you that way."
"You're disgusting," she arched to headbutt him, but he artfully dodged her attempt.
What he did next completely stunned her - he kissed her. Like everything else about Cole, it was forceful and demanding, and her body responded eagerly at the show of dominance.
Fucking oestrus
, Elle cursed, as his tongue swept into her mouth.
