Found And Lost Read online

  Alli and Christine had been working as prostitutes for some guy named Snake when I met them. They were trying to keep Denise and Makala away from him. They said he was a real bad guy.

  Thanks to my parent's planning, I had money enough to buy us food and some comforts like new sleeping bags and warm clothes. I never used much money or told anyone I had more. My parents had stashed away money in several places, in case of an emergency. I knew it would have to last me until I was old enough to start earning money on my own; thus, I only took small amounts at a time.

  Things were going great with my new family until Snake found our makeshift home. When Christine refused to go with him, he grabbed her. Twisting her arm behind her back, he started dragging her to his car while she struggled. When I ran at him, kicking and punching, he knocked me across the room. Even though I hadn’t shifted yet, I was still stronger and less breakable than other kids my age, so it didn’t really hurt that much.

  As Snake started towards me, Alli lunged at him. He knocked her out with one punch to the head. Meanwhile, I tackled his legs and brought him to the floor. Letting lose all my pent-up rage, I sat on his chest, punching him in the face. My other “sisters” jumped in and helped. We managed to knock him out; only we couldn’t wake Alli up. I found Snake’s cell phone and called 911.

  The police and ambulance showed up ten minutes later. They arrested Snake and took us all to the hospital. Though the rest had various minor injuries, Alli was in bad shape. DCF was coming to take charge of the rest of us.

  Knowing I had to get away, my “sisters” created a diversion by starting a fake fight while I ran. I found out later that Alli had died from bleeding in her brain. It was one loss too many. I’d learned my lesson. I stayed away from people after that. Except for buying supplies as needed, I stuck to the forests.

  Over the next three years, I moved throughout most of the southwest. Often I found caves or old, abandoned, trappers cabins in the wilderness. I would live in those for months at a time before worrying about Jackson finding me and moving on.

  When I did buy supplies, I went to large towns or cities where it was easier to blend in. In smaller townspeople tended to notice a young girl wandering the streets alone. My time with my sisters had prepared me for my feminine cycle. Not knowing when it would strike, I stocked up on supplies, just in case, so when I started to feel changes in my body and a bloated, heavy feeling in my abdomen, I was ready.

  Perhaps because I wandered alone with only animals for company, I was a late bloomer. I didn’t hit sexual maturity until I was sixteen. Even then, I was spotty and irregular. The facts of life were something Mom and I had only lightly touched on.

  Sure, I’d read books on biology and all kinds of science. Let’s face it; reading was the only form of regular entertainment I had; therefore, I read everything I could get my hands on and did my own sort of homeschooling. Yet neither the talk nor the books had wholly prepared me for the first time I bled.

  Between the cramps and heavy bleeding, I thought I was dying. If it hadn’t been for my time with the girls, I wouldn’t have known what was happening to me. After that first time, I made sure I always had supplies.

  Around the same time, my period started, I started having the wolf dream. At first, it only happened once a month during the full moon. As time went by, they became more and more frequent. Besides my usual nightmares, which had gotten worse over the years, I’d dream I was a wolf running free in the forest.

  For the past few weeks, the dream was nightly and very vivid. I could almost feel the wind on my face and smell the scent of every creature around me as I ran. I knew my wolf was awakening. It got to the point where time blurred together. I could barely tell reality from the dream.

  Honestly, I much preferred the freedom of the wolf dreams to the nightmares of my parent’s deaths. Even the hunting, killing, and devouring my prey part felt real.

  As the dreams became more vivid, I knew my time was getting short. Soon my first change would come. The first change was hard; often, young werewolves didn’t survive it. Remembering my promise to Chase, I was now heading towards Pagosa Spring, Colorado. Despite my fear of my grandfather, Jackson, I went because I’d given my word and because of my greatest fear, which was dying alone.

  Snuggling down into my sleeping bag, I decided it was time to put those memories behind me once again. I took out a picture of my parents. Running my finger over the worn edges, I memorized their faces for the billionth time as I drifted off to sleep. It had to be close to noon when I woke up. The sun was already high in the sky.

  Laying on my back, I watched the billowy clouds float by for a little while. I remembered my father and I lying on our backs on the grass, trying to find shapes in them when I was little. “Look, Mia, a dragon. Shall I slay it for you?”

  “Oh no, Daddy, it’s a nice dragon. It wants to take us for a ride. Besides, I’m a big girl; I can slay my own dragons.” A lone tear slid down my cheek, which I quickly wiped away. How wrong I had been. I couldn’t slay my own dragons. Not yet, anyway. For now, all I could do was run away from them.

  I had decided after my stop in Pagosa Springs; I would head to Wyoming. There were lots of wide-open spaces and not too many people. I knew my father was from the Sioux tribe up there. Maybe I’d covertly try to discover if he had any family left there. I dug out my trusty old map. If I headed east for a while. I could travel through Federal Forest land most of the time. It would be easy to avoid people that way.

  After I ate a couple of granola bars, drank some water, freshened up, and brushed my teeth in a nearby mountain stream, I headed out. Keeping up a steady pace, I walked the rest of the day and into the wee hours of the night. I stopped only long enough to eat some jerky and dried fruit each day for my meals.

  Supper, I made over a small campfire by heating some water and adding dehydrated survival food to it. The flavor was tolerable at best; nonetheless, after the miles of hiking each day, it tasted like a gourmet meal to me.

  I still remembered what my dad had taught me about navigation. I kept the sun in front of me in the morning, then behind me in the afternoon. Five days later, I was close to my destination.

  It was late morning when I stopped at a secluded part of a river I’d been following. There were lots of trees, and the rocks made a natural pool where the current wasn’t too strong. Washing up in streams and rivers doesn’t make that grungy, sweaty feeling go away. Before mingling with people, I needed a real bath. Despite the crisp morning air and icy water, I stripped down to my undies and jumped in.

  After thoroughly washing, I put on a change of clothes before carefully applying some makeup. Since I was pretty much out of supplies, I needed to head to town. Looking older to avoid prying eyes helped.

  I’d learned the hard way people had a hard time ignoring the presence of a strange young girl wandering around by herself in small towns. I was pretty well built for a girl my age. Curvy in all the right places with plenty of lean muscle except without makeup, I looked young for my age.

  After putting on my last clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I re-braided my hair before donning my baseball cap. Gazing at my reflection in the lake, I figured I could pass for at least nineteen or so. Life would be so much easier when I turned eighteen. Then no one would be looking for me or turning me over to my grandfather. Maybe I could finally put down some roots and get a job.

  Satisfied I wouldn’t raise any alarms, I headed to town. Though I had lost Chase’s number long ago, I was sure I could find him in a phonebook or town records. Mom had said he had a large horse ranch in the area, so I doubted he’d moved away from the area. I would have to be very careful though I didn’t want my grandfather to learn I was in the area.

  Irresistible Scent

  CJ

  Iwas on a run when I picked up a very appealing scent. It drew me like a magnet. I found myself creeping up on a girl as she was disrobing for a swim. Her back was to me as she stepped out of her jeans.

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sp; All I could see was the seductive curve of her tiny waist flowing into perfectly shaped hips and a well-rounded bottom peeking out behind a fall of waist-length, copper-colored hair that cascaded down her back in waves of curls. The sun made her hair sparkle like shiny new pennies. She tossed her head to get her hair behind her as she turned towards me. After folding her clothes, she put them on a rock.

  Needing a closer look, I crept forward. When a twig snapped, the girl's head snapped up. Scanning the forest, she stared in my direction. I tore my eyes from her very ample breasts to take a quiet step deeper into the shadows. Looking into her face, I found myself staring at the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. She had an oval face with full, cherry lips and high cheekbones that were a slightly paler color cherry.

  What held me like a deer in the headlights were her eyes. Thick, long lashes framed, large, slightly almond-shaped, deep, forest green eyes with golden flecks. Her eyes reminded me of a forest glade with the sunlight peeking through the trees. Despite being too far away for the human eye to see, she was looking right at me. Fortunately, I was good at blending in with my surroundings.

  Seeing nothing alarming, the girl turned and dove into the river. I knew I shouldn’t be watching; however, I was mesmerized by her. Sitting down on my haunches, I watched her bathe. A thousand questions ran through my mind. Among them, I couldn’t help wondering what a girl like that was doing out here in the middle of the forest alone.

  Somehow I knew I had to meet her. When she got out and dressed, she brushed and braided her hair before carefully applying makeup with a small mirror. It was beyond my comprehension why anyone as naturally beautiful as she would wear makeup at all.

  Tugging on her huge pack, she headed off into the forest. I followed from a distance until I realized she was heading into town. That was my chance. I could get there before her then find a way to meet her, somehow accidentally. Racing back to where I had left my clothes, I shifted back into human form and got dressed.

  Oh, I’m sorry, I think I forgot to mention I’m a natural born werewolf. Don’t worry, I’m not the big, bad wolf, and I had no intention of eating this little beauty I’d stumbled upon. Fall in love with her, maybe, but never eat her.

  I was standing on the sidewalk of our small town as she arrived. Casually leaning against a rail, I watched her walk down the sidewalk, like everybody else in town. Given it was early spring, we had a good couple of months before the tourist season was in full swing.

  In a town whose year-round population was just under a thousand, a stranger this time a year was a novelty. Baseball cap pulled down, the girl walked down the sidewalk, keeping her head down, looking up only once to view the buildings around her.

  When she walked into the general store, I decided it was time to do some shopping. Entering the store casually, I grabbed a shopping cart as I walked by her without making eye contact. Not wanting to seem too obvious, I headed around the isle opposite the one she took, pretending to shop

  I was looking over the small assortment of potato chips when, as luck would have it, the girl bumped into me with her cart, knocking the bag I was examining to the floor. In a startled but sweet and sexy as hell voice, she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I guess I should be looking where I’m going?”

  “No big deal,” I told her while bending down to retrieve the chips. She bent down at the same time, and we bumped heads.

  “Goodness, I’m such a klutz. Are you alright?” She asked, rubbing her head. Laughing, I went to take her elbow to help her up. She flinched and pulled away from my touch.

  I suspected a story behind the smell of fear she suddenly gave off when I’d touched her elbow. Not a good one, either. “I’m fine; how about you,” I asked.

  “Fine, thank you.” She replied as she pushed a long strand of hair that had escaped her braid behind her ear. I was just about spellbound looking into her big, green eyes.

  While trying to think of a way to get her to spend some time with me, I extended my hand and gave her my best smile. “I’m CJ. What brings you to our little one-horse town this time of year?”

  Looking away, she reluctantly shook my hand. A jolt of energy shot through me. My wolf, who had perked up the moment we scented her in the forest, was taking a keen interest in her. She must have felt it too because her eyes met mine with a startled expression before she pulled her hand back quickly.

  She rubbed her hand against her jeans. “Sorry again. Must be static electricity. I’m Mia. I’m, ah, backpacking around the country. Actually, maybe you could help me. Is there an inexpensive campground nearby? I’ve been hiking for a while, and a hot shower would be heaven right about now.” Mia explained.

  My chance had presented itself. “Well, you have a few choices. It depends on what you are looking for. Maybe I could buy you a milkshake at the dairy bar across the street and tell you about them.”

  When she gave me a tentative smile, I felt my heart leap into my throat. I had thought she was beautiful before; now, she was breathtaking. I saw a mixture of fear, caution, and excitement warring in her beautiful eyes before she made up her mind. “Why not, I haven’t had a milkshake since I was a kid. You’re on.”

  I pushed our carts to the front of the store and told Joe, the clerk, we’d be back for them later. Yeah, being a small town, I knew everyone.

  As we walked across to the dairy, I could smell her unease. It was clear she was suddenly not as confident of her decision as she had been. I stepped ahead of her to open the door. We took a booth, and Jill, the counter girl, called over. “Hey CJ, what do you and your friend want?” Mia asked for a chocolate shake while I ordered a strawberry one.

  “Um, CJ, do they have food here? I’m kind of hungry.” Mia asked shyly. Since we’d sat down, her sense of unease had increased tenfold. She stared intently at her hands, which were folded in her lap.

  “They have hot dogs, hamburgers, and fries. My treat, what would you like.”

  “No!” She exclaimed, “Absolutely not. I wasn’t fishing for a free meal. It’s just I haven’t had real food since I was in Carlsbad over a year ago. You can survive on dehydrated meals, but a juicy, rare cheeseburger would be as heavenly as that shower.” Mia explained.

  “You’ve been hiking a year? Alone?” I asked.

  Mia nodded. “Actually longer.” I stared at her, dumbfounded. Mia glanced up at me, asking, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Before I answered, I called out, “Two rare Cheeseburgers and fries, please, Jill.” Then I asked, “You’re pulling my leg, right?” I’d wandered the woods alone often; however, I was a werewolf, she was a slip of a girl, maybe five foot, two or three, tops. I’d be surprised if she weighed much over a hundred pounds even with her generous curves. Her pack alone had to weigh fifty pounds. With the bears, wolves, and mountain lions, it was dangerous to travel the backcountry. Especially alone.

  Mia simply said, “No.”

  I looked at her with a new appreciation. “Wow, I have to say I’m impressed. You must have grown up in the woods. Did you do a lot of camping with your family?”

  Mia gazed out the window as she answered, “Yeah, until my parents were killed by a pack of wolves almost five years ago. I’ve been on my own ever since.”

  I nearly choked. “Did you say wolves? I mean, wolves don’t usually attack humans. It’s like unheard of these days.”

  Mia looked up, staring me in the eyes defiantly. Her voice was angry as she told me, “I was there. The wolves ripped out my parent’s throats out and left. For some reason, they spared me.” Then she looked away again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to come out that harsh. I’ve haven’t been around people in a while. I guess my social skills need some work. The thing is it haunts me. I don’t even know why I told you. I don’t usually talk about it.”

  I started to put my hands over hers until she pulled them away, putting them back in her lap. I could smell her fear again. I decided to change the subject. “Sorry, your social skills are fine. It was a
thoughtless comment. What kind of amenities are you looking for in a campground? Clubhouse, pool, cabin? We have it all. Are you planning on staying in the area long?”

  “I’m not looking for anything fancy. All I need is a tent space, a bathroom, and a hot shower. The rivers around here are icy. I’m not sure how long I’m staying. It depends. I have a friend around here. I was planning on visiting if I can find him.” Mia answered with a sad smile.

  Jill arrived with our food, and Mia dug into it like she was starving. While we ate, I’d told her about Navajo State Park, which sounded like it would suit her needs. After she finished the last of her milkshake, with a slurp, she looked up at me, giving me a big smile. “This is the best meal I’ve had in ages.” God, she had a beautiful smile and the most adorable dimples. My eyes were drawn to her very full, kissable lips. I had to force myself to look away.

  After I paid for our meal, which Mia fought me on, there was nothing else for me to hold her here with. By then, she was more relaxed and was actually making eye contact most of the time. I sat there looking into her eyes and breathing in her delicious scent. She reminded me of a wild deer, always on the verge of bolting.

  I was trying desperately to think of something to keep her from leaving when she spoke up, “Well, CJ, this was awesome. Thank you so much. I guess I’d better pick up my supplies and head out to that campground before it gets too late.”

  Then it hit me. “Wait, my folks have a small apartment over our barn. They’ve been looking for someone to hire to help feed the small animals; you know chickens, pigs, and the like. They provide the loft apartment and meals in exchange for the help. Any chance you might be interested?”

  At first, Mia’s eyes lit up with excitement; then it quickly changed to panic. “I, um, I don’t think that would work out very well. I need to keep moving. This is a way too close, I mean, I want to see more of the country before I settle down.”