The Claiming By Cooper

The Claiming by Cooper (Jara & Mason)

Chapter 78

Jara

When I left Mason at the cliffs, I thought he’d catch me quickly. When he didn’t, I was surprised, but also on alert. Just because I don’t see him doesn’t mean that he isn’t up to something.

It takes me awhile, but I finally find a tree that will hold my weight but few, if any, of the males left in the claiming. I climb high, knowing that Mason won’t be able to smell me when he finds me. I know he will, he won’t sleep tonight if he doesn’t find me.

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However, because the tree is smaller, in general, than the others that I’ve been sleeping in, I can only go so high before the branches become too small to hold even my weight.

I get as comfortable as I can, using several branches that are bunched together to squish myself into. Between all of them, I feel safe that my little spot here will hold.

I’ve nearly fallen asleep when I hear the rustling of the underbrush beneath me. Then I hear a limb snapping and the growling of frustration.

I lean over and see that Mason has found me. I’m really surprised that it took him this long. As I watch, he jumps up again, only to break the limb and fall back to the ground. Then he’s up and climbing the tree next to me. When he leaps over to my tree, I feel it sway with his weight.

Shit! I didn’t plan for him to get to me up here. There’s nowhere for me to go.

to the ground, only when he lands, he’s in wolf form and man is he

Then he leaps up, trying to catch my scent. His howl of frustration brings several wolves to see what the commotion

him. He continues to alternate between trying to get up the tree and scratching the tree as if he’s trying to bring it down. In between he’s attacking wolves who either

of the night. I’m exhausted and cramped but unwilling to move. Mason lays down at the bottom of the

up, trying to get to me again. He’s whining and growling, then

rise, but my adrenaline is pumping. This is

that Mason is sleeping again. I carefully unfold myself from this tree limb bed, hearing my

finally standing, I look down again. Still sleeping.

tree, careful not to slip and send debris tumbling onto Mason. If he

me, I leap to the tree next to me. This is the tree that Mason climbed last night. The limbs

ranked wolves are aware enough to know that this is the

my steps, making sure that I’m as quiet as I can possibly be. I don’t want to alert anyone that I’m up here. At this point, they’d probably pull the trees down to get to me. When I get

Elder Jason, has placed a clock at the entrance. It’s 7:30am. I have 30 minutes and the sprint of my life

settle in, taking in my surroundings and the wolves that have congregated near here. They are all keeping their distance from each other, but

know. There are some others, one definitely is an

not being able to find my scent. The breeze is in my favor and I’m downwind

more minutes, based on the clock. I send a silent thank you to Elder Jason for giving me the time so I don’t rush it. If I tried to leave the claiming territory before the end of the claim, the

look around, not seeing Mason. Is he still asleep? Does he not realize that I’ve

lower in the tree. I keep looking around at the ground beneath me. The wolves are all moving around near me, but