TWENTYNINE

**FLICK**
These days hunting seemed to be my only escape.
Just the birds, the trees, and me.
-and of course the pup I carried inside my stomach.

It had been moving more and more the past few days, growing bigger.. stronger. Everyday came closer to the moment he would be in my arms.

I smiled at the thought, maybe once my son came into the world things would be different. Maybe then Theos would love me. Maybe then he would realise that everything I had done was all for him.

And one day, he may even be able to forgive me. It seemed like years since sleep had came easy to me. Ever since Mare's death nightmares plagued me. It was a cruel and vile thing that I did. But it had to be done. She had stolen everything from me. She always had.

Growing up we were friends. Best friends.
But I could never quite escape from beneath her shadow.

I had loved Theos since were were children, but he only ever had eyes for her and she knew it. She knew my despair the day after my first shift when I realised he wasn't my mate as I had always believed he would be. She had had her first shift a week prior.

I grieved the love that was never mine to have.
And she held my hand and comforted me all the while she knew he was hers.
She never told me.
For six weeks she hid it from me that they were mates.

She hid it from me, and they would meet behind my back. Sneaking around like thieves in the night.

Until one night I caught them, bare and entangled in each others lustful embrace. I felt my heart shatter into a thousand painful pieces.

She tried to make excuses, she tried to soften the blow. But she couldn't undo the damage that was already done. It was then I knew that she had to go.

I cradled my swollen stomach, though still slight in size it brought me comfort.

It was over now.
I had won.

-And I wouldn't let her sister ruin the life I had fought to hard to have, even if I had to take her out too.

I dropped to crouch beneath the thick brush at the sound of a twig snapping. Despite my stomach I could still hunt. I couldn't run as fast as I once could, but I could still run fast enough, I just had to be careful when shifting.

I sat in my human form beneath the thick foliage, trying to focus my hearing to the source of the sound. Something large, lumbering through the forest on four legs. It was far too uncoordinated to be a deer.

I slowly sat up to peek over the brush, it was huge, with thick brown fur matted to its black with a mix of blood and dirt.

It was then that I directly locked eyes with the bear.

There was a brief moment between us, both staring at each other with wide, shocked eyes. But then it's eyes turned black, like two soulless pits that bore holes of hatred into my skull. It's lips curled back in a snarl to reveal rows of gnarled bloodstained teeth, each one longer than my entire hand.

I scrambled back across the undergrowth in my hands, becoming clumsy and uncoordinated in my haste. It took one step forward, rearing onto its hind legs with paws that flailed thick claws and a roar that made my heart tremor.

I was on my feet in an instant, feet pounding into the soft covered soil, it's thundering footsteps following close behind me.

I didn't dare look back as I searched frantically around the woods for some sort of escape.

My only advantage was that I could dart around much faster than the lumbering beast, who's weight became a disadvantage to it. Though we both knew I could never outrun it in a race.

I zigzagged through the trees, managing to gain a little ground but it still wasn't enough, within a few strides it was gaining on me again.

I tore a stone from the earth as I ran, darting behind a thick trucked tree and throwing the rock off to my right.

I held my breath as I heard the bear dart off to follow the sound, but I wasn't out of the woods let. Literally.

I threw my arms around the trunk of the tree and began to climb, ignoring the way the harsh and brittle bark bit into my delicate palms, of course the bear could climb up and rip me down if it saw me, but I was hoping it would be distracted long enough by the rock to at least buy me half a minute of time.

I was forty feet in the air before I dared to stop climbing, stealing a moments glance at the ground below me as I sat perched on a sturdy branch. Nothing.

I placed my forehead against the trunk of the tree and let out a released sigh.

An uneasy feeling was building inside me. Something was wrong.
Something wasn't right at all.

I let out a scream as a searing pain bolted through my stomach, I had to clutch to the limbs of the tree to keep from falling to the ground below.

I hissed through gritted teeth as the burning let up a little, though I still felt as though my insides were on fire. What the hell?

Then it hit me. I had felt this pain before.

Theos and Artemis. Every time they were close, every time they touched.

God knows what they were doing now but I couldn't help the boiling red anger that filled my chest. How dare they.

A roar sounded somewhere below, far too close for comfort.

I managed to stop the cry of pain half way from my lips as another jolt of white hot pain surged through me. But I had still made a sound.

I could hear it's footsteps below me now.
I grit my teeth and screwed my eyes shut, feeling tears crawl down my cheeks and began rocking myself slightly to try to make the absolute agony go away.

Not now.

Not now.

Not now.

I opened my eyes just long enough to see a dark form crawling through the wood below me but then the world began to spin so I quickly shut them again, hugging the tree.

I felt as though I were about to throw up. Don't throw up on the bear. Please don't throw up on the bear.

Maybe if I stank of vomit then it wouldn't want to eat me.

Think properly Flick!
I shook my head to clear my historical thoughts, I needed to calm down.

If the bear hadn't heard my howls of pain then it could probably hear my heart that sounded as though it was thundering out of my chest.

I wasn't quick enough to stop the audible hiss that broke free as another wave hit, piercing and blinding as ever.

Now I wasn't sure what I feared more, the bear below or falling forty plus feet from the tree if I passed out.

Thundering paws broke the undergrowth as it came galloping towards the base of my tree.

I held my breath begging for the pain to go away. All it would have to do is look up, if it couldn't already smell me.

And then it came, my saving grace.

Right as I was struck once more with a strike of agony the bowls of several wolves drowned out my cries.

The bear stumbled to a halt. At least six wolves were on their way, a hardy battle for the bear, I prayed it decided it wasn't worth it and ran off.

The goddess was on my side today, the patrols had scouted the bear, and would be here to lead it off Kingdom land any minute now.

I let out the breath I had been holding, dragging a palm down my sweaty and tear streaked face, resting the other on my stomach.

We would make it another day.