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.

I watch him, he falls to the ground, only when he lands, he’s in wolf form

howl of frustration brings several wolves to see what the commotion is about. When he begins killing them without any warning, I know

to get up the tree and scratching the tree as if he’s trying to bring it down. In between he’s

and cramped but unwilling to move. Mason lays down at the

trying to get to me again. He’s whining and growling, then he scratches at the tree before jumping up

by the time the sun starts to rise, but my adrenaline is pumping. This is it, I’m at the end.

Mason is sleeping again. I carefully unfold myself from this tree limb bed, hearing my joints crack and creak as I stretch them after not moving for

again. Still

the tree, careful not to slip and send debris tumbling onto Mason. If he wakes up now, there’s no chance I’ll make

as I can in the tree, the limbs having been broken off my Mason’s attempt to climb to me, I leap to the tree next to me. This is the tree that Mason climbed last night. The limbs on this tree are much larger and sturdier. I stay at this height where it feels safe, but also low enough

I begin to hear more shuffling and growling below me. The ranked wolves are aware enough to

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

has placed a clock at the entrance. It’s 7:30am. I have 30 minutes and

my surroundings and the wolves that have congregated near here. They are all keeping their distance from each other, but right now, they are so busy trying to catch my scent that they aren’t

that I know. There are some others, one definitely is an Alpha based on his size and

at not being able to find my

just need it to stay this way for 15 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 males would be within their rights to chase me down until someone caught and claimed me. This way, I will have Elder Jason, Seth, and the guards to make

more minutes. I look around, not seeing Mason. Is he still asleep? Does

in the tree. I keep looking around at the ground beneath me.