SNEAK PEEK - CHAPTER TWO

It would be so much easier to just go back to the mansion. In fact it would probably be a very good idea! But if you go back that way, you are certain it will just make it easier for the Golden Lady and her retinue to find you. Whatever plans they might have for you can not be good.   
 
You turn towards the East and when you squint, you can see a trail marked, not by any worn path so much as by the various snapped branches forming a passageway. It makes you suspicious, but then this is likely the first place anyone will come looking for you.   
 
You try to make as little noise as possible, but it's made all the more difficult when your clothing starts to snag. The rip of cloth is so much louder than it should be. You feel like a bull in a china shop just trying to get through here. The mists close the way behind you, swirling about your feel and reminding you how wet your socks are.   
 
If that isn't enough, the patrichor scent of rain has begun to pick up again. The silvery moonlight above begins to grow dull, and your already limited ability to see gets worse. Clouds are moving in. It's going to start raining again soon.   
 
As if on cue the skies open up and you groan as the branches above you clatter. You hike up your clothing and try to get your jacket up over your head before your vision is blurred by water. The chill is worse now, and you can smell damp earth as you plod along.   
 
"Fuck...this!" You stammer out, coughing. You could have stayed home and watched streaming television! You could have ordered take-out! Instead you've been harassed by fairies, soaked through to the bone, and gotten lost in the woods! Admittedly the sex was amazing, but was it really worth all this?
 
//CRAAAAACK//
 
You turn quickly towards the sudden noise, hardly daring to breath. For a moment you can't see anything. Just a wall of pine and spruce made thick with old growth. You squint, trying to make out anything at all. At the very least you'd like to know what's coming.
 
The clouds part for an instant. Your world is showered with moonlight.   
 
There are creatures in the forest, and their long muzzles are filled with sharp teeth.
 
If you can see them, then it is certain they can see you! You can taste fear in the back of your throat. Even after all you've seen, the instinct to run is much too persuasive! You take off, forgetting the path entirely and rushing into the woods!   
 
That is when you hear the howling chorus begin anew.   
 
However much of a racket you're making is nothing compared to the sound of heavy bodies moving through the trees at top speed! You don't dare look behind you. Besides, you don't need to! Within seconds you can see their massive, snarling figures run up on either side of you.

"Shit! SHIT!" You shriek, jumping over a fallen log and pounding past the trees. In your peripheral vision there are flashes of tawny eyes and wet fur sticking to their frames. They bark at one another, communicating like the true pack hunters they are. You are sure they could have taken you down immediately. Instead they seem to be playing with you for the sheer joy of it.   
 
You can hear the deep, growling huff of something right behind you. You jerk your head back and catch sigh of one beast, smaller than the others, but faster by far! One powerful arm reached out to swat at you, missing by inches! You duck and fall to one side, rolling down across the dead leaves and brush.   
 
"Hey! Hold up! They fell back!"  
 
You kick up and reach around for something to defend yourself with. You can see a big creature with blue grey fur prowling about, hackles raised as it watches you. It's eyes are somewhere between beast and man. It watches you grab hold of a fallen branch and you swear you can hear it laugh.