It was October and the crisp autumn air that smelled of leaves and earth made it a perfect day for hiking and exploring. She zipped her hoodie closed when a cloud passed over the sun lowering the afternoon temperature. She always wore her hoodies three sizes too large which made them comfortable and snuggly like a blanket. She had been waiting for fall weather all summer so she could begin wearing her hoodies again.
The only thing she didn't like about wearing them was that they usually covered up her favorite tee-shirts. Today she was sporting a vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle tee she had found at the thrift store. She had layered that over a white thermal and was happy with the result. Graphic tees were her weakness.
As the wind picked up she started to second guess cutting her hair. She ran a hand over the short, pixie cut and grinned. She loved how easy it was to take care of, and it was a fun, sassy look. But damn if the back of her neck wasn't getting cold. Note to self. Buy more scarves! She was about to continue with her walk when movement out of the corner of her eye had her freezing mid-step. She turned to see a tall, blond man with green eyes staring at her with an amused look as he leaned against a... was that an assault rifle? She pulled her earbuds out of her ears.
"Um, hello."
"Hello little one. Did you know you're on private property?"
"Really? I had no idea." Meryn fudged.
He raised an eyebrow. "The ten foot fence right behind you didn't give it away?"
Meryn turned to look at the fence.
"How'd that get there?" She pretended to be shocked.
"You're funny. But not funny enough to avoid trouble." He took a step forward and she took a step back.
"I was just curious about what was back here."
More men began to pour out of the woods on all sides. Panicked she turned and ran for the fence. Large hands grabbed at her and pulled her backward.
"Put me down you asshole!" She screamed as the men looked at each other in shock.
"Quit squirming. Ow! Stop trying to kick me in the balls!" The blond man yelled as Meryn flailed uselessly.
"This is assault and battery!"
"You're the one assaulting me, you crazy female! I think you broke my nose!" Finally, he gained control and held her out in front of him, grasping her upper arms.
Meryn looked around helplessly as she dangled in his grasp. Her hopes for escape plummeted when she saw that they were now completely surrounded by no less than twelve huge men all carrying weapons.
"Okay, I saw this movie and I didn't like it. Can I just go home now?" She took in their military gear and closed her eyes. "I didn't see anything I swear."
"Who sent you?" Meryn opened her eyes to see another blond man stepping forward. At first she thought he might be related to the guy holding her, but this man had amber colored eyes, not green. He also had higher cheekbones and fuller lips. It was a gorgeous combination.
"No one."
"So you just decided to climb a random fence, just to see what was on the other side?" There was no hiding the sarcasm in that question.
She nodded frantically. "Actually, yeah. I just moved to town and today when I woke up, I had this overwhelming urge to go exploring. It pushed me here." She noticed how the men gave each other meaningful looks.
"So are you guys like paramilitary? Secret CIA training base? That would be cool." Meryn asked.
All eyes turned back to her. She flinched and closed her eyes again.
"I mean, I see nothing, I hear nothing and I most definitely won't say shit."
The man behind her snorted as the sound of men approaching had her opening her eyes again. Out of the woods two more men appeared. One looked like he glided over the fallen leaves; the other trampled through them recklessly his deep blue eyes hard. He looked like he was the type of man who wore a perpetual scowl.
The angry one looked her over. "What's your name?"
"These are not the droids you are looking for." She said. The smaller auburn haired man to her left cracked up. The hulking man glared at him.
"Quiet Keelan." He turned his gaze back to her.
"Come on, that's Star Wars." Keelan explained.
"She fights star type wars?" He asked concerned.
She looked up at him. "Seriously?"
He opened his mouth to answer and froze. He closed his eyes and dropped his head back. His muscled chest expanded as he took a deep breath. His entire body shuddered. His head snapped back and when he looked her up and down he had a stunned expression on his face.
"You cut your hair." He whispered.
She nodded, then froze. How in the hell did he know that? Meryn began to struggle to get down. Something freaky was going on and she had to get out of there.
"So, what do we do with her?" Her captor asked, shaking her small frame as if she were a rag doll. The large man's eyes turned solid black and a low rumble emanated from his throat. Growling he stepped forward and pulled her from the blond man's hands and into the curve of his body. He snapped and snarled at the other men.
"Get back, that woman is his mate! Back off, that's an order Colton!" A dark haired man yelled. Meryn felt the huge man rub his cheek on the top of her head almost as if he were trying to get his scent on her. She felt a rush of panic when the men began to move away. They looked normal. They weren't snarling and growling. She reached a hand out to the blond man.
"Please! Don't let him take me!"