The next chapter! Yay! It was raining the other day, so I stayed inside and wrote! I don't know how I feel about this chapter yet - I might go in and add some stuff, js. Brody right over there ---> except with brown eyes :) Sorry for any mistakes! Hope you like it! :D

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Edited: 12/26/14

I had survived the jump with tremendous pain, a bleeding thigh, and thorns stuck throughout my body. Honestly, it was one of the most stupid and reckless decisions of my life - it took me several minutes to find the bravery to move. And, now, I was wandering through the forest, slowly yanking the thorns out of my skin. It wasn't easy enduring the pain, though my thigh had strangely become numb, probably from blood-loss. I was surprised I hadn't fainted yet, but I believed my determination to return to my family was preventing it. I mumbled to myself as I yanked another thorn out of my arm, tossing it to the ground. My feet were aching, mostly from the jump, but I was also barefoot. I kept stepping on twigs, pebbles, and bark - I wasn't sure if my feet had began bleeding. I didn't dare look; I was focused on finding my family. The only problem was, was I didn't know where I was at in the forest. I knew I wasn't close to home because the trees were too tall and scrawny.

I can't believe this, I thought, stepping over a branch. The forest was full of sound with the rushing waters of nearby streams, cries of insects, and singing birds from the tree branches. Sunlight streamed down through the patches of leaves and a small breeze came and went, cooling me down. I enjoyed the forest; I enjoyed nature. But, at the moment, I was becoming angry since I was basically lost - as a hunter, I should've known where I was. I should've had this forest mapped out in my mind; my father would've been disappointed. I stumbled over a fallen branch and flinched in pain, balancing myself. Coming to a stop, I glanced around, running my fingers through my messy hair. I'm lost. I wasn't positive on the direction I was heading and the forest stretched for miles. It wasn't going to be long until the sun was settling down behind the hills - the forest was dangerous after dark. I would've struggled seeing my surroundings and there was a higher chance of encountering an unfriendly animal, like a coyote.

I thought about my family - my father and brother. What if I didn't see them again? What if I didn't survive? I knew my family couldn't bare losing another loved one. I missed my father's pressure to improve and my brother's hilarious comments. But, what if I was disowned when they discovered an Alpha had claimed me as his mate? My heart became heavy in my chest at the thought. My family was all I had left and without them, I didn't know where I was going to go.

I exhaled loudly, just as the sound of a speeding car passing by filled my ears. My eyebrows shot up in shock and I glanced around, frantically. There, through the scrawny trees to my left, I spotted a highway. Thank God, I thought, limping that direction. Maybe there was hope for me and I wasn't as cursed as I thought I was. I pushed around the trees and crawled up the small slope to the highway, relieved when I felt the gravel beneath my feet from the side of the road. I peered down both ends of the highway, seeing no approaching vehicles. Damn it. Just when I was about to give up, my eyes landed on a gas station across the road. It was lopsided with rusty pipes, vandalized bricks, and a littered sidewalk. Taking a deep breath, I crossed the highway, ignoring my urge to turn back around and return to Drew. Stupid mate-pull.

The smell of gas invaded my nose as I neared the door.

I pulled the door open, causing the bell above to ding! Inside, it reeked of cleaning supplies and burnt coffee. Though, the interior of the gas station wasn't nearly as bad as the outside. The place was dimly lit with the floors recently scrubbed clean and the shelves were restocked with food. My stomach growled loudly at the sight of candy and chips; I hadn't ate since I had been caught by the werewolves. I stuffed my hands into my pockets, hoping for the possibility that I was carrying money. But, I was severely disappointed when my hands came out empty.

"Miss, can I help you?" a deep voice came, startling me.

I whipped my head around, spotting a man sitting behind the counter to the left. He was in his late thirties with squared glasses and acne on his chin. In his hands was the recent newspaper, which looked damp and wrinkled. His brown eyes looked me up and down, pausing on my bleeding thigh. "Are you okay? Why are you bleeding?"

"I'm fine," I assured him, slowly approaching the counter. He rose from his chair, his eyes wide and still focused on my injuries. He folded his newspaper and I looked towards the condoms and cigarettes on the racks behind him. "Do you have a phone I can use?"

"Um, I'm sorry," he replied, "But, the phone in here recently broke."

Shit, I thought, tapping my fingers on the counter.

"Okay, how about a cell phone? You have a cell phone, right?"

"Yeah, I have one, but I'm low on minutes," he responded, resting his hands on the counter. Just my luck, I thought, shaking my head. I needed to call my family - my father and brother. I needed to tell them where I was, so they could pick me up.

I rubbed my temples. "Please, it's an emergency."

"Do you need the hospital?" he asked, his eyes looking towards my bloody fingers. I nearly forgot about Drew's blood on my hands and probably my own from yanking out thorns. "I have enough minutes to call for help, but. . ."

"I don't need the hospital," I told him, aggravated. The last thing I needed was the doctors asking questions about my injuries. "Look, I just need to call my family, okay? I need to tell them where I am."

"Well, maybe if you buy something," he negotiated, before gesturing towards the shelves behind me. "The chips are on sale for two bucks, you know." I frowned, glancing over my shoulder at the bags of chips my stomach was craving. I looked back at him, realizing he was staring at me with raised eyebrows.

"Are you serious?"

"We need to start selling," he responded, unfolding his newspaper. "Buy something and I'll let you call your family." I opened my mouth to argue, but I realized that it wasn't going to get me anywhere. In disbelief, I stared at him as he read the newspaper, silently. Dick. I stood at the counter for another few minutes, glaring at him in anger. When he didn't acknowledge me, I turned away from him and limped over to the shelves of food. What was I going to do now? My eyes flickered towards the nearest window; I didn't have many options. Since my body was growing tired, I decided that I was going to stick around and wait for a customer to come inside. I made my way down an aisle, one that consisted of candy, like Gummy Bears, Butterfingers, Skittles, and Starbursts. My stomach growled once more, loud enough that China probably heard. "Don't you be stealing anything!"

"I'm not."

"You wouldn't be able to get it passed me," he responded, his eyes still fixated on the newspaper. I rolled my eyes and turned down another aisle, licking my lips at the variety of chips. I'm so hungry. On one side, I spotted packages of Oreos and I moaned. I wasn't a thief or shoplifter - I hadn't shoplifted in my whole life, mostly because Noah had always been the one to do it for me. But, at the moment, I was seriously considering shoving the Oreos inside my bra. I cleared my throat, before shouting, "Maybe if you let me use your cell phone, I'll leave!"

"I don't care when you leave," he said, calmly. "You just better not die in here."

I gaped at him and muttered a curse word to myself. I looked down at my thigh, taking a deep breath at the blood rolling down my leg. The raggedy bandage was slowing down the bleeding, but it wasn't going to be much use soon. I turned my head at the squeaking of brakes and looked out the window, spotting a black SUV pulling in front of the gas station. Relief washed through me; I was going to be home with my family in no time. The passenger door opened and a bulky guy stepped out, frowning. He appeared in his mid-twenties with a flop of black hair, which was tousled, and green eyes that watched his surroundings, skeptically. Then, a younger guy around my age, leaped out of the backseat, grinning. His hair was chestnut-colored and his eyes were brown, dark enough that from the distance, they looked black. Thank God.

I started towards the door, but stopped when the driver's door opened. My stomach dropped - Drew. His dark brown hair was messy and his posture held power and dominance. The scowl on his face made my skin crawl - he was angry. I watched as he slammed the driver's door shut and the three of them began heading towards the door of the gas station.

Shit, I thought, staggering backwards.

I hurried to the end of the aisles and crouched down behind one of the racks. My heart was hammering in my chest and since Drew was so close, the mate-pull was forcing urges upon me. I heard the bell above the door ding!, informing me that they were inside.

"Has a girl recently come in here?" came Drew's voice, sending chills up and down my spine. "Red hair, green eyes, short. . .?"

I pinched my lips together; I wasn't short.

I heard the shuffling of a newspaper. "Yeah, she was just here. I don't know where she went, but she was dripping blood on my floors." I bit my bottom lip, squeezing my eyes shut. I really wanted to punch the man in the face; this was one of those moments where he was supposed to keep quiet. "She's not using my cell phone until she buys something, that's for sure."

"We're just going to look around," Drew responded, huskily.

Fuck, I thought, peeking around the corner. Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three. . . The three of them began walking down seperate aisles, including the two on both sides of me. Frantically, I glanced towards the bathroom door two aisles away; with my injuries, it wasn't possible for me to race there fast enough. But, what would I have done once inside? I guaranteed Drew would've easily knocked the door down. Trapped, I took a deep breath; if I was going to escape, I needed to fight my way out. With no other options left, I straightened up, stepping out in the aisle to my right. I found myself facing the guy with chestnut-colored hair whose eyes widened at the sight of me. "We've been looking for you!"

I extended my arm and snatched a package of chocolate doughnuts off the rack next to me. I chucked the package, nailing him right between the eyes. The package fell to the ground by his feet and I grinned, thankful for all those years of softball. He rubbed the area where it had smacked him. "Ow! What the hell? Was that seriously necessary?"

Instead of responding, I charged towards him as fast as possible, swinging my fists forward. I managed to strike him in the stomach, followed by nailing him in the ribs. Too easy, I thought, before elbowing him in the jaw. There was a loud crack! and with a swift movement of my foot, he tumbled backwards onto the floor. He landed on his back and quickly, his hands shot to his crooked jaw. "You broke my jaw!" I watched with a smirk as he positioned it back into place, wheezing. "Get her!"

His eyes were focused on someone behind me. Just as I was about to whirl around, a pair of warm hands grabbed my upper arms and I was crushed into someone's chest. It was the bulky guy with black hair; I knew that because I wasn't feeling any sparks, meaning it wasn't Drew. I started thrashing around and from the corner of my eye, I saw the man behind the counter jump up from his seat. "Hey! Hey! What are you doing? Stop!"

The guy on the floor leaped to his feet. "I'll grab her feet!"

"No! Brody!" the bulky guy shouted, still keeping me crushed to his chest. But, the guy, Brody, didn't listen; he grabbed my ankles with his hands. Ignoring the pain, I kicked my legs, relieved when my ankles slipped from Brody's grip. My thigh was throbbing, but that didn't stop me from releasing a small scream as I pumped my feet forward into Brody's chest. He yelped as he flew backwards into the candy rack, knocking some shelves down. Candy scattered the ground by my feet and I kicked away a Butterfinger. Brody was on the floor, moaning at the pain in his back.

"Stop! Get out of here!" the man behind the counter shouted, pointing towards the door. "Leave! Now!"

"Let me go!" I screeched, thrashing in the bulky guy's hands. "Release me! Now, Hulk!" He growled at my nickname and a smirk stretched onto my face.

"Nora!" Drew shouted, appearing in front of me at the end of the aisle. I shoved my arms forward and Hulk's hands slipped from me. Without a second thought, I swung my elbow back, striking him in the throat. His eyes bulged and he stumbled backwards, gasping for air. Gritting his teeth together, Drew started stomping towards me, his shoulders stiff. Brody was slowly rising to his feet, holding a package of Skittles. "Just stop fighting!"

"No," I told him, stubbornly. He opened his mouth to respond, but I was already swinging for his jaw. I was shocked when just inches from his face, his hand flew up and caught my wrist. Shit. I swung my other fist, nailing him in the stomach - but it didn't seem to affect him. He grabbed my other wrist, before I was able to strike again. I despised the sparks shooting through me; the mate-pull was begging for me to stop. He managed to whirl me around and hug me to his chest, keeping my arms crossed and pinned to my body.

"I'm an Alpha, sweetheart," Drew whispered, "it takes a lot more than that to take me down."

"Don't call me sweetheart," I growled, frustrated with his nickname. I tried freeing myself from his hold, but it was impossible. He nodded at his two pack members, then began dragging me towards the door to leave. "Let me go!"

Desperately, I looked at the man behind the counter. "Help! Stop him! I'm being kidnapped! Call the police!"

His eyes widened and he reached for his cell phone from his shirt pocket. But, the bulky guy who reminded me of the Hulk, rushed to the counter with narrowed eyes. "You saw nothing. Speak of this to anyone and I will hunt you down, understand?"

"What?" I blurted, shaking my head. "No! Don't listen to him! Call the police!"

The man glanced at me, before looking at Hulk. "I w-won't tell anyone."

"Good," Hulk grumbled, turning away from the counter. Brody appeared next to us, plopping some skittles into his mouth.

"Let me go!" I screamed, hating Drew's body heat against me. "I don't want you touching me! Let go! Stop touching me!" A pained expression crossed Drew's face, but he refused to release me. Instead, he dragged me out of the gas station with his two pack members following after us. Drew tossed the truck keys to Hulk who caught them with ease in the air. Brody stopped at the passenger door next to us, dumping some Skittles into his mouth.

As he looked at me, he held up his Skittles. "I would share, but you broke my jaw."

Then, Drew opened the backseat door and shoved me into the SUV.