Free Chosen by the Bear by Imogen Taylor

Chapter 1: Wandering Wilderness
     
    She woke a little while later, darkness surrounding her and the foul stench of her beaten car flooded the air. Damp earth clung to her body and she could feel her blood mixing with the rain as it trickled down her cheek. However, other than a few bumps, scratches and the utter destruction of her car, she seemed unharmed.
    Nikki knew that she could not stay in the car; she had to seek out some sort of shelter and aid at least until morning.
    It took all the courage she could muster to step out of that wreck. She could see the road off in the distance, but no one travelled along it this late at night. Other than her, it seemed. Her only hope was to wander through the woods and hope to find civilisation. With shaky legs, she stepped out of the car, feeling the ground squelch underfoot. The heel of her simple pumps sank into the ground, becoming nothing more than a muddy mess. She threw them aside and with a newfound determination, she wandered through the trees blinding heading to somewhere.
    The rain pelted the trees’ leaves, bringing a deafening chorus to her ears as she pushed onward. She only hoped that she was not walking around in a circle. There was a prickle up her spine as she went deeper and deeper into the darkened words. She could feel eyes on her but she could not see them. Spinning around and around Nikki made herself dizzy trying to seek out what lingered in the darkness. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum; she could feel it throbbing in her ears. The ghost of her breath danced before her as she squinted into the darkened woods. She could not fight the feeling that she was about to be someone’s or something’s prey.
    Nikki told herself it was just her mind playing tricks on her, that the crash and the darkened landscape were affecting her more than she knew. She pushed onwards, fingers crossed that she would find somewhere to shelter for the night. The cold and wet weather was seeping into her skin, making her shudder and tremble with every step.
    It was only when she heard the howl of a wolf that she panicked. Nikki was frozen to the spot, her eyes darting around like a rabbit knowing it’s going to become a wolf’s dinner.
    Through blurry eyes, she looked around at wilderness spread before her. She pressed her back became against the nearest tree as she saw golden eyes coming out of the dark, stalking close to her. One after another the pairs of eyes appeared, surrounding her, waiting for her to falter so they could take her down and feast. The wolves crouched low to the ground and bared their teeth. Nikki could see no way to escape the vicious attack that was coming her way.
    Attempting to fake being dead, to play possum, she curled herself up in a ball at the base of the tree. She hoped they would find something more entertaining and delicious to eat. With her hands over her head and her eyes squeezed tightly closed she just waited for it all to be over, for better or for worse.
    Silence hung in the air for the longest of moments before pain-filled whimpers fractured it. Every sound that echoed throughout the woods had Nikki trembling wondering what could be driving the wolves away and whether whatever it was would be content with the wolves or come after her next. She could smell the blood from the fight, the damp earth clutching and clinging to everyone and everything.
    It was only when the silence came once again that she dared to peek out between her fingers. Immediately she wished she had not. Just a small distance away stood a giant brown grizzly bear with wolf blood on his claws. She could not tear her gaze away from him; fear held her in place. The only sound was her heart beating a samba in her chest. Her mind begged for her to run and run far.
    She couldn’t move even as he came closer, stalking toward her just as the wolves had, that same hungry look in its eyes. Her throat dried as she forced herself to swallow a scream, not that it would have