Chapter 2: Something in the Woods

It had been eight months since Anaya's encounter with the creature that called himself Death and she still could not keep her mind off of him. She'd think of him at least once every day and then dream of him at night, envisioning herself in his passionate hold or gazing into his luminous grey eyes. A feral desire would sometimes come over her and make her want to go out into the woods searching for him, hoping that he would pounce on her and claim her once more. It felt like a part of him was inside of her, she sensed it in her blood.

Sometimes at night she would walk to the edge of the village and look out into the forest, looking for him. But he would never appear to her. She told no one of what had happened that night, not even her sister, Gallia, whom she always confided in. None of her family asked her why she would sometimes wander into the woods at night or smile whenever she would touch her neck. Thankfully they were far too busy with her sister's up and coming marriage ceremony to notice small changes like that. Besides, Anaya did not want to worry them with her tales of strange creatures in the forest.

Also Death, which was what she had come to call him, was not the only thing pressing on Anaya's mind; her sister was getting married to Owen, their tribe leader's nephew and her family was hosting the ceremony. It was a great honor for her family and for her sister to be married into such prestige. Yet, pleased as she was to hear of the good match, Anaya was concerned whether or not her sister harbored any real affection for Owen. She knew that Gallia found him amiable and they were friends, but she had yet to see further proof that their relationship was anything more than just that. She didn't want to see her sister unhappy just because she felt that the marriage was a good match. Anaya had asked Gallia about it once in private and she had insisted that she loved him but for some reason Anaya couldn't bring herself to believe her. Perhaps it was because Anaya felt that their relationship lacked the passion that she thought was necessary for true love.

Yet as time and their engagement carried on, Anaya began seeing the connection that Gallia and Owen had. It was subtle and polite but their affections ran deep. And even though it lacked the raw passion Anaya thought should be there, the longer she watched them together the happier she was for her sister because she saw that she was indeed truly happy. Then one day Anaya found that she had no more worries left in her mind about the marriage.

...

Finally the day of the much talked about wedding had arrived. Even though Anaya awoke with visions of Death in her mind they were quickly replaced by thoughts of what she had to do to help prepare for the ceremony. Rising from her fur covered sleeping mat, Anaya stretched her tired body out. She felt starved and thin as a thread as a result.

She exited her thatched house with a fur wrapped tightly around her slender shoulders and went to the large woodpile in the back to gather some kindling for the morning fire. It was still very early out and the sun had not yet risen. There was a cold, wet chill on the air and the ground was still damp from the evening rain. Anaya took in a long breath, smelling the fresh morning as she began to collect an armful of tree branches and kindling from the large pile.

Her family's house was built on the edge of the village facing the woods. She and her father were tasked with guarding the village from that front of the woods; watching for intruders. Her father was a much respected warrior and a very skilled hunter so he accepted the task with great pride but at times their somewhat isolated situation was lonely. Yet with her sister's marriage her family might be given a home located more centrally in the village. Anaya wasn't so sure what she thought of the idea just yet, she liked her privacy and her routine, but she supposed she could warm to it if she had to.

Also her father would have to go out into the woods to serve on watch with a couple of the other men for days at a time. Anaya would always insist that she go with him but he would refuse her, telling her that she had to stay put in order to guard their home and family. Still she'd secretly follow him into the woods and keep watch over him for the night, making sure he was safe, before returning home. Her father had taught her everything he knew about hunting and fighting and Anaya was a very skilled student who took every lesson to heart and to memory. She used all of her skills to evade detection when following her father on watch.

Suddenly the snap of a twig in the distance cut through the peaceful silence of the morning and Anaya quickly turned around to see what it was. Her heart rate quickened and her thoughts immediately turned to Death. Taking a few steps closer to the tree line, Anaya stared into the forest for a long while waiting for her eyes to fully adjust to the darkness but once they did she saw nothing. Then another snapping sound filled the air, this time it was much closer, perhaps only twenty yards away from where she stood.

Not taking her eyes off of the forest, Anaya slowly set her bundle of kindling down in the dirt and began walking into the woods. She held her breath as she stepped pass the edge of the clearing and went in among the trees. Anaya knew she was not alone; she could feel it inside of her and sense it in the air around her. Something was out there watching her. And every step she took drew her closer to whatever it was.

"Anaya?" A voice called from behind her. It was meek and tired, but it still caused Anaya's heart to jump in her throat and jump around in surprise. She found Gallia's rosy-cheeked face peeking out at her through the small window hole at the back of the house.

"Gallia, by the gods, you scared me," Anaya said quickly, somewhat agitated as she walked back over to the bundle of wood. Gathering it up from the ground she glanced back into the forest but still saw nothing. Perhaps, contrary to her belief, she was mistaken in thinking something was out there.

"Sorry sister, I couldn't sleep. I'm too excited about today," Gallia explained apologetically, folding her arms on the windowsill. "What were you doing in the woods?"

"Nothing," Anaya said, dismissing her sister's question as she quickly headed to the front of the house. "I thought I heard a noise is all." She called behind her.

Anaya took one more look into the woods to make sure that she could really see nothing before going inside. It was completely silent now and there was no detectable movement among the trees. Turning to the front door for the house, Anaya entered with her bundle of wood. She knelt down by the small fire pit in their main living space and began arranging the sticks and kindling in it properly.

Gallia padded out of her and Anaya's bedroom and over to her sister. She looked over Anaya's shoulder and watched her as she lit the fire. Red embers slowly grew into small yellow flames as Anaya gently blew on the little mound of kindling.

"You know, I've noticed you've been looking out into the woods quite a lot lately," Gallia began conversationally. She rounded the fire pit and sat across from her sister then. "What is it you do?"

"I Think." Anaya answered with a shrug, wanting to quell any further questioning on the subject. Her eyes glanced up to Gallia's then to gage her reaction and she knew immediately by the expression on her face that her answer would not do.

"Yes," Gallia pushed, "but what do you think about, is it a man?" She asked somewhat hopefully.

"It's most certainly not a man," Anaya scoffed, poking at the fire with a long stick. Her sister deflated somewhat then and Anaya had to laugh at her reaction. If only Gallia really knew what she was doing in the woods, she thought to herself with a private smile.

Gallia was always curious about other people's secrets and would continue to needle them until they told her what it was that they were trying to hide. Of course her tactics never worked on Anaya and besides she usually always told her everything anyways.

She was quite a silly girl sometimes but that came with a territory. Gallia was always more gentle than Anaya and more eager to please others as well. She was always too amicable and unguarded and Anaya felt it was her duty to protect her from anyone who would try and take advantage of 's sense of duty towards her sister came from the fact that she was the first born of three, her sister, Gallia being the second eldest and her brother, Caio the youngest. She needed to watch out for her family; they were too precious to her.

"Alright," Gallia sighed, "then if it isn't a man then what is it?"

"Hunting," Anaya replied with a smile.

"Fine, keep your secrets," Gallia said with an airy wave, lying down on the floor. "If you won't tell me then I most likely do not want to know."

Anaya smiled again, "most likely."

...

When the rest of Anaya's family rose, Anaya left the tending of the fire to her brother Caio and stepped outside for a moment. The sun had risen over the tops of the trees, it's bright rays veiled in the cool mists of the morning.

Turning to the woods Anaya sucked in a deep breath, drawing new clean air into her lungs, and ran into the forest. She leaped over the large roots of the trees and quickly pushed past the smaller branches and weeds that were in her way. She was spritely in her movements and purposeful in her speed. Anaya was certain that she had felt someone's presence in the woods that morning and quickly pursed her intuition.

She scanned the entire forest as she ran, even the trees, but found them empty. There were no detectable signs of another human's presence, yet she still carried on in the woods with dogged determination. This was after all her home and if there was a trespasser, she should know about it.

Anaya finally came to a halt when she reached the bank of the river which protected their village's southern border. The water was running dangerously fast and Anaya remembered all of the tales of caution her father had once told her and her sister about people drowning in the harsh currents. The river's pull was so strong supposedly the force of it would drag a man under the surface and swallow him. Without a bridge to cross the river, the intruder would not have been able to cross it. Perhaps with a boat but that would have taken at least half a dozen strong warriors to row it in order to fight the current.

Turning away from the shore, Anaya began to walk back to her home, her heart pounding from exertion. There was no one out there and if there was, they did not want to be found. Once she arrived back at the house she had to help her mother attend to the cooking for the banquette. No one had asked her where she had gone and Anaya thought that perhaps it was for the best. As far as she knew, the only predator out there in the woods was one that had made a pact with her and only her.

AN: Hey guys, thank you so much to all of you who reviewed. There would be no Chapter 2 without you all. Because of all your wonderful support and comments I've decided to continue this story. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm grateful for every review that comes my way, they really help me and I take all of them into consideration when writing.

Sneak Peek at Chapter 3:

Godric could smell the wild flowers that were woven into her hair. They were mixing with her beautiful scent and the smell was positively intoxicating to him. He could still taste the sweetness of her blood even after eight months of hunting and feeding on others. For some reason Godric still wanted so much more of her.

Her white skin was gleaming in the moonlight as her graceful body moved through the crowed of dancers. All he wanted to do was pull her to him and taste her lips, her breasts, and her blood again.