Just a fore warning there is a little bit of content that may discomfort some people. Feel free to skip it. I did not go into too many details though as to keep my readers comfortable. Enjoy...
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The next morning
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Patrick woke before Chelsea and decided to start packing up the clearing. He was putting the last of the cooking equipment into his pack when he decided he should probably wake Jake and Chelsea. He walked over to his tent and was surprised to see no Jake asleep inside. His immediate thought was to run to Chelsea's tent and make sure that she was safe. He burst into the tent and was relieved to see her still sleeping, alone. He crawled over to her and shook her gently. "Chelsea, wake up. We need to pack to leave." He waited until she opened her eyes and sat up before continuing. "Also Chelsea we need to go look for Jake. He is missing and I fear he may have been taken by your little panther friend." Chelsea blinked slowly, trying to clear away the sleepy haze.
"Patrick? Oh, what time is it? Are you sure that he isn't just on a walk or something?" Patrick shook his head in a no gesture. Chelsea then leaned into Patrick. "I am just glad the panther thing didn't attack me again, or even you. I don't think I could live without you." Chelsea suddenly chocked, realising what she had just revealed.
Patrick slowly stroked her hair. He felt the same way, and he knew she was feeling the pull of their mating bond, even if she didn't know what it was. "Don't worry you will never have to live without me. I promise." He felt foolish for saying that to her, but she had just bared her heart to him, and he had to do the same for her. Eventually Chelsea started to push Pat out of the tent so she could get dressed in privacy.
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A few short minutes later
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Patrick had left the cereal and milk out for Chelsea to have breakfast and gave it to her when she left the tent. He then started to pack a bag full of the necessities to set out on a rescue adventure. Once Chelsea finished she quickly laced up her hiking boots and left for the woods behind Pat.
After a long silence Chelsea finally spoke up. "Did you hear anything last night? I know you felt something, you already said that, but did you actually hear anything? I didn't and was curious to know if you did." Patrick looked back at her and was once again taken aback by her beauty.
"I didn't hear anything, no. I thought about the possibility of Jake just leaving on his own accord, but he was so infatuated with you I figured that made no sense." He watched Chelsea waiting to hear her response but was suddenly distracted by a rustling in the bushes.
Patrick gestured for Chelsea to stay still and quiet before slowly walking towards the noise. He walked with caution, lest it be the panther. He was almost at the bush when he heard a high pitched scream that was quickly muffled. He whipped around; forgetting the noise and saw Chelsea was missing.
Shit! Maybe Jake grabbed her. Chelsea did say she felt he was a murderer or rapist or something of the sorts.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as a giant black bear came rushing out of the bushes towards Patrick.
The bear had a look of fear on his face, but when he noticed Pat standing there he ran at him with anger in his eyes. Pat quickly dropped to the ground, shifting as he did. By the time the bear reached him, he was already a full wolf. Patrick ran at the bear, claws unsheathed and scratched at the bears face. The bear knocked Pat to the ground and stood over him growling, saliva dripping onto Pat. Patrick's wolf was not surrendering so easily and quickly nipped at the bear's neck. HE nipped again, this time catching a large amount of the bear's neck between his jaws. The wolf bit down hard, and then pulled, ripping the bear's throat out. Patrick quickly phased back into his human form. He didn't smell Chelsea on the bear, so he knew she wasn't taken by the bear. Pat went to walk back to the clearing but found his leg was injured.
The quickest way to recover was in his wolf form, and Patrick's wolf was cocky with the knowledge.
Fine I will phase back into a wolf so I can heal. Then we will head back to the Den. Then I am in control okay? We need to find Chelsea and the only way to do that is to be in human form.
Patrick then laid down to rest for a few hours before sprinting, fully recovered, back to his Den. The hours spent waiting however were a struggle for both the human and wolf Patrick. His mate was in danger and he wasn't going to stop until he found her.
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Approximately 1 kilometre away...
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Chelsea awoke with a jump.
Where the hell am I and why does my head hurt so badly?
She tried to sit up, only to discover she was tied down by her wrists and ankles.
Shit! Why am I tied down?
Chelsea attempted to scream but soon found her throat was too dry to manage anything above a whimper. She tried to remember what had happened before she got here but came up blank. The panic then kicked in.
No! Not again. I swore I would never be like this again. How did he find me? I thought I had escaped.
Chelsea then blacked out.
