His Healing Touch Ch. 01

The tears ran down her cheeks, the wind bitterly slapping at her as she raced through the woods. She urged her horse on, asking for more run. Her mare, ever willing to go faster took it up a notch, galloping like the racehorse she once was. Callie held on, trying to forget, trying to not cry even harder at the horror of her ordeal. She had to get away, had to put as much distance as possible between herself and the man she had called father.

Suddenly shaken back to reality, Callie realized they were headed for the woods. She slowed Melody down as they entered the woods and let the mare pick her way through the dense foliage. Huddling down into her coat, she had to admit this wasn't one of her best plans, but she had no other choice.

----

Ever since she was a little girl Callie had always tried to stay away from her father. He frequently would fly into rages and would beat up on her, the frequent bruises testament to her fathers seeming hatred of her. As she had gotten older, her father would beat her until she was immobile and would start touching her in places she knew he shouldn't.

It had finally ended last night. It was her 23 birthday and that night her father set out to beat her once again. As he threw the punches he started to fondle her. Callie knew she had to get away, for she knew if she didn't he was going to rape her. She clawed at her father, which angered him, resulting in her breasts being bruised by his cruel hands. She screamed as her father held her down and bit one of her breasts; though the pain gave her the strength to push him off her and scramble away. She had run to her room and gathered her wallet. As she turned to flee her room her father strode in. She screamed as he came after her again and begged him to stop.

"Please, don't do this, it's incest!" She screamed at him.

He just laughed evilly, "No, it won't be incest."

Callie stared at him stupidly. "I'm not your father," he stated. "Your mother met me when she was eight months pregnant."

She threw a punch, and was satisfied when she felt his jaw give beneath her fist. This was sick, she had been lied to for twenty-three years, had lived with an abusive "father" for her whole life, and just now found out that he wasn't her father. While he recovered from the blow she ran out to the den, grabbed her coat and boots, and rushed outside to the barn. She entered the barn and her grey mare Melody put her head over the stall door. Callie wasted no time gathering tack and soon had Melody tacked up and ready to go. She led the mare out of the barn and mounted when she saw her "father" running towards her. She wheeled Melody around and urged her into a gallop; her destination was the last thing on her mind.

----

Once again Callie was snapped back to reality. She looked up to the sky as she felt the wind pick up, slicing at her. She saw dark clouds, and sure enough minute's later snow began to fall. Callie shivered and pushed on, hoping to find shelter soon. She didn't know this area, she had just moved back in a few weeks ago to tend to her ailing mother. Her parents had moved to Montana only two months ago, while she had been back in New Jersey, showing horses up and down the coast along with her friend Leanna Naliwek. She had gotten the call three weeks ago, her mother had cancer and it was so advanced that the prognosis was grim. Callie had decided to ship her mare to Montana, and boarded a plane here to care for her mother. She had only been here two weeks when her mother lost the battle with Lung Cancer. Now she was out in unknown territory in the middle of a snowstorm that was rapidly worsening.

Her body ached from the beatings she was once again receiving, and her breasts were raw from the rough treatment her "father" had subjected her to. Callie was a throwback to Victorian times; she was still a virgin, and wasn't privy to what went on between a man and a woman, yes she knew the basics but the whole act was foreign to her, and frankly unappealing also. Thanks to her fathers actions she was even more averse to the act.

Soon she found her feet and other parts of her body starting to chill. She pressed on, but soon became drowsy; the nights spent awake, waiting for her fathers attacks were catching up with her. She caught herself dozing off once, but soon she fell into a cold induced slumber and her body limply slipped out of the saddle and into the deepening snow.

----

Lucifer Malcrine, known as "Luc" to his friends, stomped his feet as he walked into the barn, knocking the snow off his boots.

"A hellstorm's brewing out there," he stated to his brother Blake.

"About time," Blake replied, not turning his back as he finished feeding the horses.

Luc walked to the feed room to make up breakfast for the horses when he heard rustling and distressed mooing coming from the field where his Santa Gertrudis cattle were kept.

"I'm going to go see what's bothering the cattle," Luc told Blake, and once again headed back into the storm. As he walked out to the cattle's field, he saw them huddled in the corner of the shed where they slept. He also saw a horse that was galloping around the field, chasing any wayward cattle that came its way.

The mare was gorgeous; she had a darkish grey coat with a shocking black mane. She had a graceful delicate build; a thoroughbred, he surmised, and was very fit he noted as he watched muscles shift as she raced around the field. The mare then spotted him and skidded to a stop, her tail raised in the air, she snorted heavily at him. The mare had English tack on, rare in Montana where Western tack was preferred. He slowly approached the mare, his hands stretched forward to not frighten the horse. He swiftly grabbed the reins; the mare shied, but relented, allowing him to lead her back to the barn.

"What was the problem," Blake asked without turning from blanketing one of the horses.

"Why don't you take a look yourself," Luc stated dryly.

Blake turned around and had to look twice.

"Whaa-"

"I found her in the cattle pasture chasing some of the calves." Luc explained.

"Haven't ever seen or heard of a mare like this," Blake said. "She'd be hard to miss here in little old Jansville."

Both men studied the mare. Luc had Blake fetch a halter for the mare and took off her bridle. Putting on the halter, he attached her to the cross-ties and took off her tack. He then fetched an anti-sweat sheet and a cooler, putting them on the mare, he took her off the cross-ties and led her to an empty stall. He fetched some hay for the mare and motioned for Blake to follow him to the house.

"Well, we'd better go look for the mare's owner, they'll freeze otherwise." He told his brother.

The brothers entered the house and luckily the whole family was gathered in the kitchen. Luc and Blake explained the ordeal to there parent's and siblings. Luc and Blake were paired up, his parents Anna and Daniel, and then his other brothers Gabriel and Caleb with Sage, the only sister they all had. The three groups mounted their respective horses and split up following the faint tracks left by the mare. After twenty minutes of searching with no luck, Luc and Blake decided to go looking in another part of the woods, hoping to find the owner of the mare alive.