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.

Title of the document

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.

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

like he did the other night. Then he leaps up, trying to catch my scent. His howl of frustration brings several wolves to see what the commotion is about. When he begins killing them without any warning, I know he’s back in

tree as

down, it’s the middle of the night. I’m exhausted and cramped but unwilling to move. Mason lays down at the bottom of the tree, guarding me

again. He’s whining and growling, then he

on for hours. I’m exhausted by the time the sun starts to rise, but my adrenaline is pumping. This is it,

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

standing, I look down again. Still sleeping. Good.

I begin to make my way down the tree, careful not to slip and send debris tumbling onto Mason. If he wakes up now, there’s

climbed last night. The limbs on this tree are much larger and sturdier. I stay

ranked wolves are aware enough to know that this is the last morning, their last chance to catch me and they are beginning to cluster near the

pull the trees

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

have congregated near here. They are all keeping their distance from

There are some others, one definitely is an Alpha based on his size and others that are large enough to

are probably 30-40 wolves waiting for me, all searching, all whining and growling in frustration at not being able to find my scent. The breeze

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

asleep? Does he not realize that I’ve moved

the ground beneath me. The wolves are all moving around