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.

the ground, only when he lands, he’s in

leaps up, trying to catch my scent. His howl of frustration brings several wolves

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

the night. I’m exhausted and cramped but unwilling to move. Mason lays

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

sun starts to rise, but my adrenaline is pumping. This is

tree limb bed, hearing my joints crack and creak as I stretch them

finally standing, I look down again.

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

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

trees, I begin to hear more shuffling and growling below me. The ranked wolves are aware enough to know that this is the

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

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 make

their distance from each other, but right now, they

see Alpha Luke, Beta Elijah possibly, and several warriors from Seth’s pack that I know. There are some others, one definitely is an Alpha based on his size and others that are large enough to be ranked members

and growling in frustration at not being able to find my scent. The breeze is in

If I tried to leave the claiming territory before

Is he still asleep? Does he not realize

minutes and I begin to climb lower in the tree. I keep looking around at the ground beneath me. The wolves are all moving around near me, but there