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Chapter 8
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2024-10-29 19:42:56After a quick shower to remove the grime on her flesh, Eliza decided that a long hot Epsom Salts bath was in order.
She hadn’t completely emersed her body into the steaming water before she felt the relief it offered both physically and mentally. She’d taken headache medicine immediately upon entering the bathroom. Her shower had been just long enough to give it an opportunity to take effect. Now, with her body being enveloped by the comfort of heated healing liquid, she felt a sense of peace and tranquility for the first time since she’d woken up naked the morning before.
Closing her eyes, she sank deep into the water while she allowed her mind to go blank. With any luck, not trying so hard to remember just might be the way to get the answers to what happened to make her wake up naked in the field two mornings in a row surface.
As relaxation overtook her, she felt light enough to float. Her legs relaxed enough to actually rai
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It was a miracle!Amazed and bewildered, Eliza inspected the leg that she’d wounded during the night. There was absolutely no sign of an injury. Cautiously putting her weight on it, she discovered no indication of a bruise beneath her kneecap. She had no idea that a hot Epsom salts bath could work such wonders, but there was no mistaking the fact that she was completely healed. There wasn’t even a scar from the jagged gash on her leg.She’d have spent a bit more time pondering such a miraculous recovery had she not been preoccupied with the idea of acting as a guide on the state lands for Oliver as he searched for his missing brother. She’d accepted his invitation without thinking about the fact that she’d been wounded. That came after the call ended. Her relief was acute when she discovered that she had no injuries whatsoever to concern herself with.Once again, she felt inclined to give a
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Eliza sucked in air as her car pulled into the parking lot of the gas station she’d agreed to meet Oliver at. She couldn’t help equating his long, muscled figure as he leaned against the side of his late model, immaculate looking black GMC pickup truck in his faded denim jeans and form fitting black tee shirt to a male model she’d admired in one of her father’s farm magazines a few months back. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember the name of the magazine or the exact looks of the model. She just remembered that he was sexy and pleasing to the eye. She was certain that if they came to Oliver and asked him to pose, those lean muscles straining against the fabric of his shirt would make a mighty find picture. Better than the model in the magazine.What she was oblivious to was the fact that Oliver was having a similar reaction to seeing her in her well-worn, form fitting khaki hiking pants and navy tee shirt that
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Oliver’s mind struggled with what information he should and shouldn’t divulge while his eyes were mesmerized by the gentle sway of Eliza’s shapely hips as she led the way up the trail. He’d told her that he was searching for his brother, but he’d offered no reason as to why. Interestingly, she hadn’t asked.At first, he thought that the reason why she didn’t ask was because she had no interest in him. After spending time with her and feeling the electricity between them, he knew that wasn’t true. She was just one of those polite people who didn’t pry.If they found his brother near nightfall, it could prove dangerous for her. It was only right to inform her of this fact. The problem was that he had no idea how to tell this beautiful woman who had an immediate hold on him from the moment he set eyes on her that he couldn’t quite explain but knew he couldn’t give up that
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True to her word, Eliza left Oliver making camp just before sunset. He gave her a bit of resistance over the fact that she’d have to go back down the trail on her own, but she insisted that it was something that she’d done so often that she could do it with her eyes closed. She also made it a point to impress upon him that the trail was monitored by rangers and quite safe. This was done more for the fact that his behavior at the mention of her leaving led her to suspect that he feared being alone than to assure him of her safety.Since going back to her jeep meant that she was going downhill, she covered ground quickly. She used this short time to mull over her disappointment that the handsome, hunky man she’d just met was a bit of a wimp when it came to the great outdoors. Since she was a true nature lover, this was a major disappointment.She reached her jeep just as the sun began to sneak over the top
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A smile of satisfaction and relief spread over Eliza’s oval shaped face when she opened her almond shaped, rich chocolate eyes and realized that she was snuggled in her own bed and still wearing the pajamas she’d donned the night before. Pulling her hair from the bun that she’d fashioned for sleep, she grabbed a hairbrush and smoothed the tangles from her long, wavy dark brown locks before pulling it onto a ponytail and securing it with an elastic hair tie. After a quick visit to the bathroom for her morning preparations, she rushed back to her room and quickly dressed in clothes suitable for a day of mountainside hiking.The sound of her parents rousting themselves from slumber could be heard over her head as she popped a bagel in the toaster and grabbed a cup of freshly brewed coffee that had just finished dripping into the pot. She heaved a sigh of gratitude for her parent’s consideration in setting the timer on the coffee maker so that she&rs
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It was late morning before they reached the top of the trail. Disappointed in not finding his brother along the way, Oliver sat on a large boulder and openly pouted.“I thought for sure he’d be on this trail,” he complained.“Why?” Eliza asked.Surprised by her question and even more surprised over the fact that he’d pouted in front of her, he said, “I didn’t mean to complain to you. I’m just very disappointed. Every so often, my brother takes off like this. I’m usually able to track him down. This time, it was different. All of the clues I scraped up were useless.”It suddenly struck her that she’d been so enamored with the fact that she was in the company of a man who made her feel something that she’d never felt before that she neglected to find out anything about this brother he was searching for.“How old is he?”
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Eliza cautiously inched away from the two brothers, hoping while she did so that they’d stay consumed with each other and not notice when she ran like the wind to get away from them. She was still confused by the topic of their conversation, but she clearly understood the words ‘killing people’ and ‘us or them’. That was all she needed to hear for panic to flood her body and the need to flee as quickly as possible to become overwhelming.Because her thinking was clouded with emotions, she ran in the wrong direction. Instead of heading back toward the trail, she rushed deeper into the wilds of the mountainside. The thick array of random foliage that grew between close growing trees made the going arduous, but the adrenaline in her veins helped her plough through with relative ease. So much so that she hardly noticed it.When she stopped to catch her breath, she could hear the faint, animated voices of Oli
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Arthur chewed on the mouthpiece of his pipe while slowly rocking in his favorite rocking chair on the front wrap-around porch as he watched Eliza’s jeep ease up the long drive and park not far away. He studied her movements as she slipped out from the driver’s side and planted her feet on the hard packed, grassy ground. It was clear that she was exhausted.The shadows cast by the setting sun, along with the fact that he was located near the corner of the house, made it so that he wasn’t immediately seen by his daughter as she slowly climbed the steps to the porch. Because of this she jerked with surprise when he spoke.“Long day?” he asked. Then, seeing her reaction, he added, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”“I didn’t see you,” she noted with a warm smile as she traversed the last step and leaned her back against the post that helped support the roof at the top of the steps so th
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“Wake up, brother!” Richard bellowed as he sauntered into Oliver’s camp during the hour where the moon had retired but the sun had yet to wake up. “I have a surprise for you.”Oliver groaned as he rolled onto his back. With his arm over his eyes, he sniffed the air for the scent of coffee, but there was none.“No coffee?” he grumbled as he pushed his body into a sitting position.“This is better than coffee,” Richard eagerly said. “I’ve brought someone with me. Get up lazy bones.”Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Oliver pulled on his pants and boots before crawling out of the small camping tent. Still not fully awake and the sun not yet risen enough for good visibility, he didn’t react to the woman standing next to Richard.Accustomed to waking up with coffee ready and waiting, his need for the brew was surprisingly overwhelming. Walking to t
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Humiliation was only one of the myriad of emotions that plagued Eliza as she watched tiny tears trickle down her mother’s cheeks while she leaned down to kiss her forehead. Shock, disbelief, fear, and anger were also in the mix.Arthur was clearly uncomfortable as he barked, “You’ll be safe here, daughter. It’s best this way.”“We can’t have you roaming about,” her mother gently explained as she exited the cage. “There are hunters searching for your kind on the mountain and we’re much too close to it. This is for your own good.”Eliza said nothing as her tear filled, chocolate colored eyes watched her father chain and padlock the door to the antique, iron barred cage that had been handed down from generation to generation. He’d kept it hidden in the part of the barn that she’d never been allowed to enter. Now, she understood why.They’d taken her cl
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Viviane pursed her lips while she scraped a heaping pile of scrambled eggs next to the sausage on the plate that she’d set in front of her husband.“I don’t know,” Arthur reluctantly said as he leaned back in his chair to avoid having his body hinder his wife’s serving progress, “I hate to accuse the girl.”“I could tell by her breathing that she was awake,” Viviane said. “Her shoulder was showing from beneath the covers. It was bare. It’s time we say something.”“I think she’s the one taking our livestock and not the fox,” he mused.“It would explain why your traps aren’t working,” she replied.Pounding his fist on the table so hard that his plate jumped and bits of scrambled eggs danced about on it, Arthur spat, “I hate this!”“I was hoping it would skip us,” Viviane said.&ldquo
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Eliza didn’t need to open her eyes to know where she was. She shivered from the cool pre-dawn dew that settled thick on her bare flesh as she slowly sat up. Although not as horrendous as the month before, sledgehammers steadily banged against the interior of her skull as her surroundings slowly came into focus. Her mouth was so parched that it felt like it was lined with sandpaper. She struggled to produce sufficient saliva to moisten it enough for her tongue to move freely.“Not again,” she moaned as she slowly got to her feet.There were bits of dried blood on her chest. She could feel it on her neck as well. She quickly inspected her body for injuries. To her relief, she found none. The blood wasn’t hers. Or, was it? Remembering how well the Epsom salts bath had healed her the month before, she wondered if she showed no signs of hurt because she’d bathed in an Epsom salts bath just before going to bed
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“I don’t know why you insist on being here,” Richard grumbled as Oliver walked up the narrow path to where he stood. “They’ll be gathering soon and I doubt you’ll be welcome. You should have stayed in town. What happened with that girl. Eliza, right?”“I couldn’t connect,” Oliver replied with irritation, “and I told you that I’m not quitting on you.”Richard gave a sarcastic chuckle as he asked, “What makes you think that allowing me to run with my own kind once a month without your interference is quitting on me?”“My interference, as you put it, has kept you alive on more than one occasion,” Oliver snipped between clenched teeth. “Or, have you forgotten all of the times I’ve prevented hunters from finding you?”Richard’s expression was thoughtful while he slowly shook his head and said, “I actu
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One Month LaterOliver sat back in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck and cautiously sipped at the piping hot coffee he’d just gotten from a drive-thru a block away. He’d tried calling Eliza on multiple occasions but it just kept going into voicemail. He left a few messages but got no response. Then, one day the number was no longer in service.He’d been devastated to discover that she’d run away after Richard showed up. Although, he couldn’t blame her. She had no idea that they were talking about werewolves. From the tone of the conversation, she probably thought that his brother was a murderer.He emitted an ironic huff. What did it matter? One was as bad as the other, wasn’t it? Telling her that his brother was a werewolf would make him sound crazy enough to frighten her off as would saying that Richard was a murderer.Running
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