Crystal's POV:
I froze in place, terrified that Rufus had finally woken up. A few seconds passed. I slowly turned around, only to find him still unconscious. Rufus had simply been talking in his sleep.
I breathed a sigh of relief, though I did not dare to stay in the cave for a moment longer. I yanked my hand free from Rufus' grip, and then sprinted away as fast as I could.
I didn't even chance a backward glance. Rufus had a keen sense of his surroundings. I needed to put some distance between us, or he would immediately track me down using my scent.
I belatedly looked down at my naked body and felt my face grew hot.
If I had known this would happen, I would have left at least my undershirt on. As it was, I was mortified by my state of undress.
As if to make matters worse, I heard the sound of voices and footsteps coming from the woods. I quickly turned into my wolf form and hid in the thickets to see who it was. They were soldiers, a lot of them, presumably here to search for Rufus.
It seemed that the werewolves had won last night's battle. Now that Rufus' men were here to rescue him, I could be at ease. However, the cave was still a ways to go, and there were several forks along the path. I need to guide them to where Rufus was.
I jumped around and stepped on the leaves, deliberately making noise to attract the soldiers ' attention.
"What was that?" One of the soldiers looked around, and I hurriedly ducked among the bushes.
"Must have been a squirrel," his comrade replied. "Come on, we must hurry and find the king."
They divided themselves into three teams, each one going in a different direction. There was no track leading to the cave, and the vicinity was pretty remote even inside the forest, so none of the soldiers thought to head that way.
I leaped forward from behind the trees and stood in front of the officer in the gray and blue uniform. I beckoned at him with my short arms and made several raccoon sounds.
The man crouched down and asked, "What are you trying to tell me?"
I continued to titter as I pointed toward the direction of the cave. I threw myself to the ground and acted like I was injured.
I had to repeat the skit a couple of times, luckily the officer understood at last. "Are you saying that there is an injured person over there?"
Yes! That was exactly what I meant!
I clambered back up and bolted back into the forest. This time, the soldiers were quick to follow me. When we were only a few meters from the cave, I slipped to the back of the group and sneaked away when no one was looking.
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