Page 55 of His to Claim
"Stay behind me."
Torr backs up while I approach the noise. I stop a few feet away and stare at it. I have no idea what it is. The animal seems angry. I slowly step forward and reach out with my senses. I sense aggression and rage. I peer through the trees and see a creature with golden eyes standing over some prey. The predator growls and snarls at me.
"Whoa… wait…" I shout.
The creature turns its attention to me. I notice it has fangs and claws. It roars and jumps towards me.
I swing my arm out and hit it square in the face.
It falls backward and lands on its back. Its body is covered in thick black fur, which makes it hard to see. As I stand there in shock, the beast gets up and charges me again.
"Torr, help me out," I shout.
I run toward the beast, and we meet halfway. We collide and fall to the ground. I grab onto the animal's neck and use it to pull myself up. The beast bites down on my arm, trying to bite my head off. I scream in pain as blood drips down my chest.
"Let go!" I shout.
As soon as I do, the beast releases me, and I fall sideways. I roll out of range of the beast's reach and jump to my feet.
The creature stands over me, ready to attack again. I take a step back and watch it carefully. It snarls and swings its clawed paw at me. I duck under the blow and take a step forward.
I dodge another swing and punch the animal hard in the nose. I hear bones break as I land a solid kick to the beast's stomach.
The creature grunts and falls to the ground. My leg hurts like hell, but I ignore it. I push off the ground with my good foot and jump on top of the beast. I take out a knife I've kept close to me since we arrived on the planet. I stab the animal in the throat, killing it instantly.
I glance at the bloody knife and then look back at the dead animal. I sigh in relief and wipe my hands off the animal's fur.
When I turn around, I see Torr staring at me with concern. "You're hurt."
"I'm fine. Just a little scratch."
He inspects the wound. "You need to clean this with water." He points at a stream nearby.
"Okay," I reply.
"What was that thing?" he asks.
"I don't know. We should get going."
We walk away from the clearing and head deeper into the forest.
* * *
After a coupleof hours of walking, we finally reach the portals. The suns are already high in the sky, and we're exhausted.
"Are you sure you can make it back?" Torr asks.
"Yes. I'll be fine."
We both hop through the portal and return to Bellaria.
* * *
I openmy eyes and sit up. I blink a few times to adjust to the bright sunlight. It takes a second before I realize where I am.
"Welcome home, my mate," I say to Torr. I'm glad I am finally home, back to my people. My heart aches when I think about leaving Emma with Anil'ha but she has made her choice. She chose to stay with him. I understand why, even though it breaks my heart.
"I love you, Emma," I whisper to myself.
