Dear Readers,
Sorry for the delay, don't mean to aggravate you but I've been ill.
Quite a bit of exposition in this one to move the story along. Just a little sex, next chapter will have more.
KemMyst
***
Lyssa had spent the last hour going over what had happened as Emmett fell back into a doze. There was no other explanation -- she had put her teeth on Emmett's throat. She could have killed him. She was acting out her nightmares and was a danger, particularly to her own mate. And she wasn't getting any better. If anything, she was getting worse.
There was only one thing she could do.
She slips out of the bed quietly and pads to the door, taking one last look at Em as she did so. The tears threatened to start and she knew she'd never be able to leave him if she started crying. So, she swallows, opens the door, shuts it, shifts, and bolts. Her initial sprint is almost blind, just getting away. She hears Emmett's sends but doesn't answer. He was awake and would probably be coming for her shortly. She doesn't have enough of a head start and the snow wasn't falling heavily enough to cover her track.
Down the ridge to the stream. Damn, the snow is deeper here. She muscles through and crosses the stream, running along its edge toward the trail they'd spotted. A glance to the left and she sees Emmett bounding down after her.
He was bigger, faster. She wouldn't be able to outrun him for long.
He had to catch her. He had to.
No use to call to her, just catch up and get her back to the cabin. It was past time to talk, to find out what this was.
He loses sight of her as she runs upstream and around the nose of the ridge.
Thankfully, she was a dark colored wolf and he would be able to track her easily by sight in the snow. Thankfully, she wasn't very far ahead.
Around the corner, she's climbing up another ridge, headed for the trail they'd spotted. There were orange paint marks on some of the trees; it looked to be a horse trail.
She gains the trail and heads upward, climbing sideways up the ridge.
He didn't know where the trail led or how long she'd follow it. He could go directly up, straight up the ridge and try to catch her.
Making his decision, he does, leaving the trail and climbing straight up. The snow makes it more difficult, but he pushes forward.
She glances behind again.
The waning full moon is bright in the sky although the clouds, which were dropping large snowflakes, keep most of the light from the landscape.
Emmett's grey fur make him more difficult to see under such conditions, but she should still be able to track him by movement. Where was he?
She had thought it would be easier on the trail, but the snow actually seems a bit deeper here.
As she gains the top of the ridge she pauses briefly. She shouldn't stay on the trail. He could follow it, and her, more easily. Where should she go? She wasn't really sure where she was, or what was around.
OK, so...oof!
She's knocked over. Her reaction is immediate, and automatic. [NO]
She looks at what had hit her. Emmett. Oh, god, no.
She sniffs at him, licks his muzzle. Over the thundering of her heart, she hears the strong steady beat of his. She watches his ribcage rise and fall with his breathing. Thank goodness she'd only knocked him out.
OK. OK. He was alright. Now she could get away.
Lyssa nuzzles him and whines then licks his forehead before turning away and moving down the ridge.
He wakes and thrashes upright from where he'd been lying in the snow. What the hell?
He'd caught up with her, bowled her over...
She wasn't nearby. She'd knocked him out. Damn.
Now, where was she?
He looks around and doesn't see her. But there was her track. Thank Selene he hadn't been out longer.
He starts after his mate. Again.
He follows her track down the hill. Where the hell was she going?
He hurries, as fast as he was able. A gust of wind and he sees her, the darkness of her coat making her stand out. So, he pushes on, closing on her again.
She's breathing heavily and having more trouble getting through the snow. He was going to catch her. Now, how would he keep her from knocking him out again?
A wall. He had to block her out.
She hears his paws hitting the ground behind her, his breathing. He was close.
Lyssa wheels, turns to face him, and growls.
Emmett hesitates, then advances on her again. [Come back to the cabin with me, dear heart.]
Dear heart. The term he used to show her how much he loved her. Even now, he was telling her. And asking her to come back.
But she wasn't sure she could be trusted, so she gathers herself. [No!]
He goes down again and she whines, hating that she'd done it.
Darting forward, she snuffles and licks his muzzle before turning away again to leave. It was harder this time. If he'd only let her go.
She hears him start to struggle upright. Damn.
Turning back, she finds the chocolate brown eyes of the grey wolf as he gets to his feet to face her.
One fat snowflake falls on the end of his nose. She swallows at the wondrous sight of her mate licking it off his muzzle. Her heart hurt looking at him.
[Come back to the cabin.]
[No.] He twitches but doesn't go down.
Crap.
He takes a step forward. [Stop.]
His muzzles twitches, but that's all. [Em. STOP]
A slight stumble.
Shit. He had figured out how to block her. She could hit him harder but she could really hurt him. And wasn't that the point of her leaving? So she wouldn't hurt him?
Emmett set up a wall. It was uncomfortable, unusual. Werewolves were automatically very open to their mates. But, since they could block out other wolves' sendings, they had to have some ability to block their own family, he just needed to reinforce that.
He heard her, sort of, but it was garbled and the power was dampened.
She tries a couple more times and realizes she couldn't stop him. He raises his lips in a wolf grin. He knows that she knows now that she couldn't get away from him.
[Back to the cabin, mate.] He'd find out what she thought she had been doing when they got there.
