It took a full day and another night for Miranda to wake up and when she finally opened her eyes, she wished she hadn't. Not a single part of her was free of pain and her whole body seemed to pulse with agony. The only movement she could manage was to turn her head and the lighter patch in the distance broke up the blackness that surrounded her.

A few long blinks later, she had managed to work out she was inside something; a tunnel perhaps? She could smell smoke, earth and dirt along with what reminded her of her Dads house; wet dog. If she had died, it was not what she expecting. Heaven was meant to be peaceful, brightly lit and surely the pearly gates to get in were based on some kind of fact rather than fiction. Panic hit then, what if she wasn't permitted into Heaven? Was this a waiting room for hell - was she in limbo? Religion had never been something to appeal to Miranda, and she had never regretted that more than she did in that moment.

The plane had crashed. She could remember falling, looking out the windows... then nothing. Trying to move, she cried out in agony as every muscle in her body protested the movement. Giving up on that idea, she did manage to move her arm and hesitantly touched her face and hair, soon feeling the bandage on her forehead. That wasn't what she was expecting. As much as she hurt, she decided if anything was broken she'd be able to feel it or at least be in more pain. Touching the bandage again, someone had to have put it there and hope at finding her assistant okay gave her some kind of comfort.

Gasping in agony it was as if each nerve was out to test how much she could take and rolling onto her side, it wasn't much. Tears ran down her cheeks as nausuea made her stomach churn. The world felt like it was titling and rolling onto her stomach, dirt and sand stuck to the wet corners of her mouth and tear streaked cheeks. The jacket that she wore was loose and awkward, resticting her movements and with a grunt of effort she managed to lift up her torso. Wiping her mouth on her shoulder, sharp pain raced from the length of her neck and down her arm making her stop. Hard, fast breaths had her trying to get a grip on the pain, but it didn't really help. Hunger had her feeling hollow and from holding herself up, her arms began to shake from the effort. Lying down once, she cringed as she returned to laying on her back again and slowly let sleep reclaim her.

It wasn't long before Braydon returned and walking back in, the first thing he noticed was the fact the woman had moved. Shifting back into his human skin, he curiously sat beside her and seeing the dirt on her face wiped it away gently. At his touch Miranda began to rejoin the world, blinking a few times and as the pair made eye contact, neither looked away. Miranda wasn't sure if she was dreaming at the sight of the bearded man. She could hardly distinguish his face amongst the darkness, and opening her mouth to speak his finger was placed against it to silence her.

There was no doubt now that someone was definetly with her and it wasn't Rory like she had hoped. Had he been on the plane? Trying to speak, it was as if she had laryngitis and each word came out between deep breaths. "Where. Am. I?"

Braydon didn't respond straight away. The only thing he spoke to was the voice in his head and now he had an actual person was talking to him for the first time in years - he was speechless. His silence only made Miranda panic and it showed as she tried to move. Seeing her cry out in pain, he pushed her shoulders down to stay still, and she didn't have it in her to fight.

"Please, where am i?"

This time he answered, uncertain and as afraid as she felt. "In my home."

Home? It was a dark, cave? Miranda didn't understand. "Where?"

"Here." He answered, not helping her at all.

"The plane? I was in a plane. It went down in a storm." The more she talked, the more her throat gave out so her voice was croaky and tired. Coughing, she leant away from him and as he passed her the water bottle, she took it without question. The second the liquid hit her tongue she started to gulp it down, desperate for more as her stomach bloated with the sudden rush. Ignoring the acidic burn that appeared at the base of her throat, she refused to throw up in front of this stranger who only watched her. "Thank you."

Although she couldn't see it, he smiled. "More?"

"Yes. Please."

Without a word he took the bottle and disappeared into the nothingness in front of her. A few facts started to kick in the more she woke up. The first being, the plane had crashed, the second she was definitely in a cave and three - she was only in her underwear and a men's jacket. Her next thoughts consisted of realizing she had no idea how long she would have to wait until he came back, and it made sense for her to get the hell away from him. Something wasn't right and some primitive sense of survival took over. Feeling around her for something to use as support to stand, Miranda started crawling along the dirt, and finding the side of the cave it had many perfect holes to grip onto. Trying not to scream to draw any attention to herself, managed to get herself into a standing position.

Her body didn't like it. Twenty massages and a packet of pain killers might make her feel semi-human again, but that wasn't an option right now. Fear induced adrenaline kicked in and after a few shaky steps and tripping a couple of times, Miranda managed to make it to the opening. Wilderness surrounded her and without any light to help her navigate her way, she started to run. Her steps were uncoordinated and with the terrain uneven, she fell more than once. Each time it was harder to get up and getting into the thick cover of the trees, she bounded from trunk to trunk, trying to keep going. Despite the situation and how desperate she was, the low hanging branches seemed to close in around her and this time when she fell, she couldn't get back up.

Ξ Ξ Ξ

It took Braydon seconds to know she had gone. Dropping the water bottle, the let his wolf take over his mind and sniffing the air he didn't need to look inside to know his suspicions were right. Following her scent, anger began to brew within his chest as he tried to work out why she would go. He had helped her, saved her and she ran? The wolf kept silent, barely there as a sign he didn't care what the woman did. If anything it felt thankful to be rid of the human and all the feelings that had been activated in their mind. They ran alone. It was how it had always been, and always would be.

Braydon wasn't convinced and focusing on her scent he knew she was close. He could feel it and pausing to listen to his surroundings, the raspy intake of air acted as bright as a flare to his senses. Finally seeing her, the faint light that had started to ruin the darkness left her pale figure looking ghostly amongst the leaves and dirt. Dawn was starting to approach and as he shifted to two legs once more, his anger started to disappear. She was as fragile as a newborn deer, innocent and the urge to protect her seemed outweigh all else. Braydon lifted her with ease, and instinctively Miranda leaned into the warmth his body provided as the morning chill had her body trembling. It was the only comfort she currently had and as the navy sky was hinted with a pastel palate of blue and purple, Miranda opened her eyes.

"Don't kill me, please just let me go." She whispered as tears ran down her cheeks, leaving stripes of creamy skin to stand out amongst the dirt that covered her. Her appearance didn't matter as all Braydon noticed was how thick her fear tainted the air around them. He didn't undertand why she feared him and staring into her eyes which reflected the sky above them, it was all so he saw too.

"I'll keep you safe." He told her instead, sounding so confident and sure of himself Miranda found it hard not to believe him.

Rather than put her back in the cave, he sat her on a soft patch of grass outside the opening. The bottle of water sat untouched and spying it, Miranda reached for it eagerly only learning her lesson last time, took smaller sips, soon becoming so bold as to ask for what her body demanded nearly as much as pain killers. "Is there food?"

Food for the wolf was whatever he hunted when he needed to, but clearly this human couldn't chase down a rabbit or join the pack in a hunt. Braydon only stared at her as she consumed more of the water and as Miranda caught him staring at her, she instinctively pulled the jacket tighter around her body. Food was a tiny yet rather important detail Braydon had over looked.

What will you feed your, pet?

"I don't know." Braydon answered.

"What do you eat?" She asked, thinking that answer was for her question.

"What I hunt." He answered simply.

She isn't like our kind. She won't accept what you are and run again.

"I won't let her."

"Let me what?" Miranda asked fearfully, daring to look around for a stick or rock or something to use to defend herself with should should he try anything. Who was this guy? His beard hid most of his face, falling down to his chest and his dark brown hair reached his shoulders, looking as earthy as the mud.

"Run again."

Having two conversations was only getting Braydon confused. Her mouth opened and closed, while her eyes grew wide with fear. The wolf was only amused.

Tell her you talk to yourself, that will make her stay.

"Shut up!"

Miranda whimpered, shuffling back slightly as Braydon clenched his fists. The wolf within him was only mocking him, making him angrier on purpose. With a growl he started pacing and Miranda's head was pounding as hard as heart. What on earth had she fallen into?

"I won't hurt you." He promised, finally stopping he crouched down in front of her. Braydon didn't notice how Miranda trembled, or the way she closed her eyes and took a deep breath - turning her head away from him as he reached out to touch her. He was unable to stop himself from threading his fingers through her honey colored hair, despite how ruined it had become without a hairbrush or the products she usually used, he found as soft as silk.

"Let me go, please! Is there a house nearby?" She started to sob, cringing as his hand left her hair to touch her face. Finding the courage to look at him, his eyes startled her. His pupils were fully dilated, making them look almost black with a dark blue circle. They were filled with the curiosity of a child, as if he was only seeing another person, or a woman - for the first time and in some ways he was. Looking away Miranda couldn't stop the blush that followed as she realized he was completely naked.

Yes, just let her go.

"No." He told both of his companions, standing he looked around. Miranda shielded her eyes as Braydon tried to think of what to do next to feed her. She mentioned blackberries, maybe she like those? "Come on."

Not willing to leave her alone again, he started to walk towards the river expecting her to follow.

"I can't." Miranda mumbled, not attempting to stand and refused to look at him now.

Braydon turned quickly and the fact he was suddenly back in front of her had her flinching back towards the wall of the cave. He didn't understand why she was scared of him, he had told her he wouldn't hurt her. "Why?"

"I'm tired and..." Ignoring her protests, he scooped her back up into his embrace. Despite how lean he was, Miranda could tell what weight he did have on him was purely muscle. He moved her around as if she was a feather. In any other circumstances, it was something she could have enjoyed and giggled to her girlfriends about. The fact he was a good head higher than her only made her feel even weaker, helpless even and his nakedness was distracting due to how embarressed she felt. A new kind of survival instincts kicked in. If she played his game, he might let her go or at least she might be able to escape back to civilisation.

The rocking motions of his steps plus the security being held actually offered, sent Miranda back to sleep and the steady hum of his voice didn't stop the whole length of their journey. As she dozed in and out of her dream world, she couldn't understand his words and the ones she did made no sense. The naked man had more issues than she knew any amount of therapy could fix, the way he argued with himself worried her. What if it was the voice in his head that decided it was time to kill her or worse?

Faking being asleep, she stayed limp in his arms as he gently placed her down. The care he used whenever he touched her was as if she was as fragile as a flower and she tried to keep her eyes closed as he left her.

"Berries, I'll gather the berries." Braydon told himself, moving to the bushes a little downstream. He kept an ear out for any sounds of movement as he went to find something to feed her.

Satisfied he was gone, Miranda slowly sat up and looked around. The river flowed at an unhurried pace, the surface nearly as still as glass. The morning had sent an array of colors across the sky soon to be replaced by the more dominant blue of the day as the horizon the orange ball began to rise. The forest was slowly starting to come back to life after the night. A few deer apearred to drink from the other side of the river, completely unaware of the human in their presence. The grass around the bank was still green and fresh, while the closer it went to the tree line it started to turn brittle and brown with the coming summer. Movement above sent a shadow dancing over her and looking up Miranda's mouth dropped open at the sight of the giant eagle soaring as lazily as the river flowed.

It was beautiful. There was no city traffic, the air was clean of pollution, car horns and sirens. Music wasn't being blasted from her neighbor's apartment as they did their early morning aerobic DVD. Looking back around the postcard perfect image of nature helped to sooth her soul, and daringly, she pushed her toes into the damp dirt by the water - loving the feel of the mud between her toes. She had always loved camping as a child, every summer during the school break her Father would take her to his secret spot. Although as she got older, she realized it wasn't so secret and memories made her ache inside for different reasons.

Lost in her thoughts, the sudden appearance of Braydon made her squeal and scrambling to get away he only grabbed her arm to pull her back. "Here."

Spying the branch of berries, Miranda looked at them hungrily before common sense kicked in. She had seen enough episodes of man versus wild to know you dont just eat berries. "Are they toxic?"

"Toxic?"

"Dangerous."

"Dangerous?" He repeated again. 'They're berries?' He thought, confused with what she was asking.

Miranda put her hands around her neck, making gagging sounds. "Deadly? Will they kill me if I eat them?"

"No," Without hesitation Braydon took a couple off and ate them, "You like berries. You ask for them!"

"I did?" His accusing tone stopped her from arguing and she quickly ate one too, not caring about the risks. Maybe he was using the berries to drug her before he'd kill her or what ever sick and twisted things people in the middle of the forest did.

"You said, where is my blackberry? I can't find it!" He repeated, if she didn't know better - the higher pitch of his voice was being used to mock her. Maybe it was the berry poisoning her system or hysteria sinking in from the whole ordeal, but Miranda burst out laughing.

Braydon found himself taking a step back, unsure of what was going on or what was funny as she kept on laughing.

"That. Wasn't... Oh!" Pain from her ribs finally got Miranda to settle down, "Blackberry is my phone, well my organizer. Actually it's my life. You know, mobile phone?"

"No." He answered flatly, trying to remember something like that in his old life.

"I'm Miranda, but everyone calls me Andy" She held out her hand, blushing again as her eyes wandered over his very exposed, manly section. "What is your name?"

Andy. Remembering the man from the plane crash call out her name had a sensation he wasn't familiar with eating away inside of him, completely influenced by the conscious of his wolf.

Regret.

Guilt.

"Braydon." Both those things were heavy in tone as he answere, taking her tiny hand. He held hers for much too long than would be typically expected, savoring the sensation of the contact. It was different to him carrying her, for one, this was contact she wanted. Or at least he thought it was until she coughed and pulled her hand away.

"Braydon, how long have you lived out here?" Miranda asked softly, seeing his eyes change from being so curious to a more guarded seriousness. Since she hadn't died yet, Miranda was brave enough to have a few more of the berries. He didn't seem much older than her twenty-four years and for him to say he didn't know what a mobile phone was only added to the strangeness of it all.

"A while."

His answers were short and left no room to carry on conversation so she quickly gave up. At least with the distraction of what ever that conversation was and the few pieces of fruit she had busied herself with, some of the pain started to ease up. It wasn't a lot, but enough to let her sit there without crying out any time she moved.

"Braydon, how did you find me? I was in a plane and-"

"It crashed." He snapped in such a way it was more like a growl, and Miranda gasped as her eyes scanned the forest line behind them, wondering if they were about to be set upon by feral dogs or wolves. Nothing came and Braydon didn't even seem to notice it.

"I know, I remember the plane going down. Is the wreck nearby, I appreciate your... help?" She hesitated, not wanting to make him angry. "But there will be a rescue team, people will be looking for me and-"

The more she spoke, the harder it was to keep talking and the coughing fit that followed had Miranda hugging her chest between gasping breaths. Braydon didn't know what to do and dropping to her side he tried to rub her back. Even in the state she was in Miranda cowered away from his touch and as she finally stopped the horrible hoarse sounds of her cough, he decided to act like it never happened.

"They came already. Two nights ago."

Feeling lightheaded, Miranda reached over and splashed the crisp river water over her face, not really listening. Catching a glimpse of her reflection she did it again, removing the dirt and god knows what else from her face. Then his words sunk in.

"Did you say they came already?"

"Yes."

Water dripped from her cupped hands and Miranda didn't move from where she was crouched over the water. How long had she been passed out for? Why didn't they look for her? Had he done something to the rescuers?

"Then why, am I, still here?" She spoke slowly, deliberately dragged out each word. Had she used that tone on Rory, he would have already run out of the office and be half way across the city by now. Braydon simply stood there.

"Its better for you here."

"How do you make sense out of that? I should be in a hospital, or, or at home!" She decided to keep her thoughts of being in Jason's bed to herself. "Do they, did you let them think I was dead?"

If Braydon didn't understand what regret felt like, he did in that moment as she stiffly stood up and turned to glare at him in such a way coming across a hungry bear would be more appealing. She may be tiny and fragile in appearance, but now he saw what creature hid beneath her skin and it was fierce.

"Braydon, did anyone survive?" There was a more broken edge to her tone now, her grief at what could have been lost coming through.

"Yes. They came yesterday. Rory didn't die." He stammered, taking a step back as she moved towards him.

"Where are they? Take me to them now!" She ended up yelling, covering her mouth as she coughed again.

"Gone. What was left got taken away by other planes, um I can't think of that name." He was lying. He hadn't gone back as of yet to see what remained. The humans had come as a force to be reckoned with, cleaning up the wreck yet some of it had still been there at nightfall. Despite his sudden fear of the woman, he still didn't want to let her go or risk her running off trying to find it. He had one advantage at the moment - she was weak. If she ran he could stop her and it would take Mirana much too long to get there without his help.

"When did the plane crash?" Miranda demanded, not accepting the fact she was now stranded in the wild with the crazy man.

"Two nights during the big storm."

"How did you find me?"

Braydon didn't know how to tell her the other humans hadn't looked for her, but then again he knew that wasn't the truth. The one called Rory had tried, but the old man wouldn't let him.

"They left you. I found you when I decided to go home. You're safe with me. I'll protect you." He said it with fierce determination and the possessiveness that came with it was just one more thing he didn't understand since finding Miranda. His wolf, his friend and confidant - his protector was silent, the dominant presence lacking in his mind as he tried to think it all over. This only made him nervous so as Miranda started her next verbal attack, he wasn't going to hear it.

"The only thing I need protecting from is you! Let me go home, this isn't right!" Miranda yelled, clenching her hands into fists she wondered which direction she would need to go in to find the wreck. Nothing was ever cleaned up that quickly, unless Jason was paying to make sure it did. Would he care if she was gone? Was he grieving for her or was his feelings for her just part of her fantasy that Rory only encouraged?

"No. Come, we leave." Braydon made sure to channel the missing strength of his beast, making his command final. He saw Miranda flinch at the tone, the human not understanding it like another shifter would. That became even clearer with what she did next.

"HELP!" She put all her energy into screaming out the word that proceeded to echo over the valley, bouncing around the mountaintop and into the wilderness. "HELP!"

"Help! Someone?" The bravest deer that stayed around once their conversation started ran, the eagle was long gone and an eerie silence was all that answered her. Panting she screamed again, struggling to stay standing as another wave of fatigue came over her before she weakly mumbled, falling to her knees. "Anyone?"

"Fine! Stay, I don't care!" Like a spoilt child Braydon turned on his heel, and as he disappeared into the forest Miranda started shaking, her tears taking over as she fell to her side and began to cry. She was lost, no one would be looking for her and now she was completely alone. Wasn't that what she wanted - to get away from him? She had hoped it would be thanks to him dropping her off by a road or fence that could take her back towards some kind of civilization. Clearly it wasn't going to be that easy.

Eventually she got up, hugging the jacket around her body despite the warmth of the sun as it made its climb higher into the sky. Deciding to follow the river, she tried to remember why that was a good idea as lecturers from her Father came to mind. The beauty of the place was tarnished compliments to the reason of why and how she got here and rather than daydream, she stared at the rocks below her, careful not to step on any of the sharp rocks or twigs sticking up in her path.

Her legs were aching and her back hurt in such a way she leaned forward slightly to try and manage the discomfort she was in. Stopping meters downstream, the undeniable rumble of a dog growling has her freezing and looking up the white and grey wolf stared back at her. If there was one, would there be others? Wolves were pack animals and trying to remember why following the water was a good idea left her.

If she ran, would it chase? The answer was most likely yes, but if she jumped into the water, would it go after her then? She dared a look to her right, wondering if she could make it in before it could pounce and looking back at it, the creature took a step towards the river, almost as if it knew what she was thinking. To test that theory, she took a slow and cautious step towards the bank and sure enough the wolf started to circle around, ruining that idea.

Wolves can't climb trees, so looking to her left, Miranda tried to guess how quickly she could move compared to the animal. It was hopeless and she accepted the idea this animal enjoyed playing with its food. Taking a step towards the bush, the wolf didn't move. She took another, and again - nothing. Liking her chances, she turned and ran. Getting into the forest she looked for a tree to climb. She could scream for Braydon, but would he hear her? Would he come?

The wolf did give chase. Braydon wasn't going to let her get lost in the forest or simply walk away after he had just got here. If anything, this was the most fun he had in years. It was better than playing his Playstation had ever been and since he was in wolf form, he found a way to get the animal on his side for keeping her. It enjoyed the chase, the challenge and by the time the afternoon came around, he had Miranda back where he wanted her to stay.

The way the wolf had been herding Miranda back to the cave she had woken up in scared her. It seemed to know what it was doing and the second she took refuge in the only place she knew, it disappeared. Not willing to risk another run in, she curled up in the back by the leaves she had first woken up in and with a crack in the roof, some light filtered down to reveal something silver poking up from behind a rock.

Picking up the hunting knife, her hands instantly began to shake. Why would Braydon have a nice like this? Was he a murderer, would he use it to cut her up? Every horror movie she had ever seen had her dropping it, and she quickly fumbled to pick it back up as a shadow came over the entry.

"The wolf is gone. You'll be safe here." Braydon mumbled towards her, not coming in before he disappeared leaving her alone. Curling up in the corner with her new ally, Miranda didn't answer.

Waiting a few minutes, curiosity got the better of her and continuously checking towards the entrance she kept her knife out in front of her incase he decided to attack. Miranda saw the bag and something else near where the knife had been, despite the exhaustion from her run with the wolf, a morbid fascination over came her as she saw the first aid kit.

A sports bag was behind that, an old rusty tin that looked like a child's lunch box. Bottles of body wash, an old toothbrush that barely had any bristles on it and a shard of broken mirror littered the floor and opening the bag, a damp, sweaty smell greeted her as she pulled out an old basketball jersey, a baseball cap and scraps of what would have one been more clothing. The book at the bottom had her attention and just as she touched it, she could feel someone looking at her.

Leaving it be, she slowly turned around to find Braydon was back and pressing herself against the cave wall, the knife was thrust out in front of her defensively.

"I need that knife."

"No!"

"Did you want to eat?"

Was that rhetorical? Fears of him being a cannibal came to mind next and as he stepped closer she gasped in terror. "Please don't eat me!"

"What?" Braydon stopped, scratching his beard. What on earth was she on about now? "I caught a couple of rabbits. To eat. Not humans."

"Rabbits?" She asked in a whisper, still not positive it wasn't a trick so she'd end up on the menu.

Without saying a word, he came over and rather than try to stab him, she dropped the knife again. He picked it up, looked at her, the corner where his things were and then back to Miranda before shaking his head and walking out.

Relief had her chuckling softly to herself as she held her stomach and dropping back down in the corner, she decided to sleep it of. This wasn't actually happening. There was no plane crash, she wasn't with some insane homeless man and there wasn't actually a wolf who had chased her back here. She'd go to sleep, wake up and tell Rory to book her into therapy for tomorrows lunch break. This is what stress did, all work no play was simply giving her nightmares. Maybe she had eaten cheese before bed? It was hard to remember anything but the plane, though sometimes dreams do seem awfully real.

"Ok Andy, close your eyes and when you wake up you'll be back at home!" She whispered, getting comfortable amongst the leaves as the earthy smell helped reassure her this was her bodies way of telling her she needed to take a holiday.