~*~*~
Everything was set. The wolves were beginning to gather in the forest. The sun still had a ways to go before setting, but since it was a mating, the wolves were eager to start. I fought the urge to cringe as many males eyed me, some licking their lips.
Instead, I focused on my plan. The previous night, I had attempted to connect with my wolf, showing her what we could do to avoid being caught. She seemed excited about the prospect of a chase and I felt a part of her that anticipated being caught.
“No,” I told her firmly. “The goal is to get away.”
It took a lot of sharing images with her to get her to understand, though she was not happy about it. I showed her what I had seen between my parents… my father beating my mother, ordering her around, and using her. I tried to show my wolf that unless we got away, that would happen to us. Whoever caught us would force us into servitude, rarely let us run free, and hurt us.
My wolf whined her protest, but admitted defeat and began to absorb the strategy Christopher helped me come up with. All night, I rehearsed it in my head, imagining the forest, the dirt beneath my paws, and the wolves at my tail.
My wolf then took over, rehearsing her own scenarios of the chase. Hers were much better than mine. She understood how wolves thought and knew the forest much better than my human mind ever would
By the time I fell asleep, I felt that she and I had an accord. We would run, avoid being caught, and flee, leaving the only territory we’d ever known.
“My pack,” Christopher’s deep voice rang through the clearing. With a gasp of surprise, I realized the sun was about to fall below the horizon as Christopher continued, “A full moon is a special event. It is when our wolves run free, accepting their wild nature… However, tonight is special for another reason.”
His gaze met mine. He gave me a slow, encouraging nod before he continued speaking.
“Tess Brady is twenty-one years old as of yesterday,” he announced. An excited murmur passed through the males in the group, “As you know, that means she is old enough to be claimed as a mate.”
“I’ll claim her,” a man announced, his voice amused. I recognized him as Jason Peters, a wolf I went to school with that always flirted with every single female; human or wolf.
“Jason, you know the rules,” Christopher’s lips twitched. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or amused. “Tonight, while the full moon is in the sky, any male that wishes to claim the female must chase her. Whoever catches her and bites her, completing their mating, can have her.”
A shudder of indignation ran through me. I fought the urge to shout that I belonged to no one. No male would own me!
“During this chase, I urge all wolves not participating to remain near this area. The males will likely be hostile and I don’t want any accidents. Now… the full moon will rise shortly. Tess, you are allowed a head start,” he announced, knitting his brows together as he met my gaze, “I suggest you take advantage of it.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. I ran, still in human form. I wasn’t very fast, but I quickly shed my clothes and shifted on the fly before the full moon brought my wolf to the surface.
I felt her take over, though our body didn’t break its stride. Despite the fact that she was mostly driving, I didn’t feel pushed to the back. She allowed me to coexist with her, rather than taking full control. It made me feel strangely sentimental, that my wolf would understand the importance of this day enough to let me play a part.
“Thank you,” I told her, feeling that if I was in human form, I would be crying.
Mentally shaking myself, I pressed forward, head in towards the thick trees. The wolves had just started their hunt and were fairly far behind. My wolf agreed with my plan as we burst into the thick trees, weaving through the foliage every which way.
We emerged on the other side quickly and thankfully no one was waiting for us. I did hear most of the wolves crash clumsily into the thick trees, though. The yelps of pain told me that the plan worked. Taking the time to ensure my scent was spread throughout the patch of trees threw them off, making the wolves uncertain of which way I exited the brush.
One success, I briefly congratulated myself and my wolf. My wolf let out a pleased rumble before deciding our next destination.
As I sprinted to the creek, I heard a small group of wolves behind me. By the sound of it, Christopher had been right; a good number had been taken out of the running one way or another. Even as I listened, a growl erupted and two sets of pawfalls disappeared, replaced by the sound of wolves fighting.
Once I reached the creek, I bounded over the water and ran upstream. Once I heard my pursuers land behind me, I quickly weaved back. Attempting to follow my quick movement apparently caused at least one wolf to take a dive into the water, judging by the frantic splashing.
Fighting the urge to look at the no doubt amusing sight, I returned to the other side of the creek, not wanting to backtrack my steps for fear that the stragglers would be there. As I broke away from the creek, I heard another pair of wolves get into a fight and slip into the water.
I listened hard to who was left. One was fairly close behind me and I suspected that was Jason, seeing as he was extremely fast. There was a small group behind him, probably with two or three wolves, and then another hanging behind them. So there were four or five left, just as Christopher expected.
So close… If I could just get them to turn on each other.
Even as the thought crossed my mind, a wolf howled loudly behind me. It was the same kind of howl Christopher had done, a hunting howl… but that was not Christopher and this was not training. The sound sent a chill of fear down my spine, making me break my stride.
That was apparently Jason’s goal because as soon as I slowed down, he jumped clear over me, landing on all fours in front of me, ears back, teeth bared, and a growl resounding through the air.
I yelped and hurried to change directions. Just before I did, a wolf rushed Jason, knocking him on his back with a loud whimper of pain. I didn’t take the time to look at the attacker, but I noted that his fur was light and silvery.
Once I regained my composure, I heard only three wolves behind me. Two were panting loudly, but one barely made a sound. All three were far behind, far enough that I doubted they could see me.
Making up my mind, I headed for the flowers. Picking up speed, the males fell farther behind to the point I could barely hear them. Once I arrived at the flowers, I followed Christopher’s instructions and took my time to roll in the flowers.
By the time I was done, though, I heard them close by. Though my wolf didn’t like the prospect, I made an executive decision to head to the log, which was close by. With my scent hidden, I hoped I could remain inside until they passed.
Quickly locating the log, I hurriedly squeezed inside, holding my breath as I heard pawfalls come nearer. I heard a few whines of confusion and several sneezes as they scoured the area. Right beside my ear, on the other side of the log, I heard a wolf’s light breathing, barely tired from the chase. He was probably no more than three inches away from me through the wood.
Thankfully, he and the other two moved on quickly, in search of me. Once I couldn’t hear them anymore, I wiggled free and took off towards the creek, my wolf panting heavily from exhaustion and thirst.
I felt home free as I made my way to the water, not hearing any wolves nearby. When I arrived at the creek, I bent my head down to drink, but a snarl interrupted me, echoing through the forest. My wolf assured me that it was far away and probably was the remaining three fighting.
Satisfied, I lapped up the water gratefully.
When I was done, I lifted my head and met the dark eyes of Jason. He licked his lips, stepping towards me. I fought back a whimper as he approached.
Out of the bushes, a silvery figure pounced at Jason, knocking him into the water. Jason let out a pitiful howl as he splashed madly around, trying to get back to land.
My eyes met the green eyes of J
ason’s attacker.
Christopher!
My wolf craved to submit to him, to thank him for saving us, but I saw the look in his eyes. He wasn’t saving me. He was hunting me.
Without another thought, I jumped across the creek, running into the brush. I felt Christopher at my heels more than I heard him. He kept pace with me, staying just at my haunches, as I ran full speed towards my freedom.
I heard no other wolves in the area and suspected they had all either broken off the chase or were defeated. I had no doubt that Christopher would have had no trouble stopping the males in their tracks.
Suddenly, a rush of realization and anger hit me.
That was why he helped! He wanted to know my escape plan! He wanted to ensure that I could outrun the other males, giving him a perfect chance at grabbing a female. The scum… the cheat…
I let out an angry howl, that had quite a bit of growl mixed in.
The stupid Alpha was just as bad as everyone else in the stupid pack.
My wolf whined within me, objecting at the anger I felt towards the Alpha. I felt her showing me that Christopher was kind and fair.
My wolf’s confidence in him made my anger waver, raising questions in my mind. Why would an Alpha want me? Surely he had his pick. No doubt, he could easily outrun anyone in the pack.
I shook off all those thoughts, though. I had a goal and no stupid Alpha would stop me.
As I reached the cliff, my breath caught in my lungs. It was a lot taller than I remembered.
Behind me, I heard Christopher’s angry growl. I didn’t stop. I ran straight for the cliff and jumped onto the first ledge. Christopher let out another growl; it was low and sounded like a warning. Again, I ignored him and climbed, using the footholes to get to the next ledge.
I had to escape the pack. It didn’t matter if Christopher was my mate or someone else…
Mate…
The words caught my wolf’s attention. My wolf didn’t understand many human words, but she understood what a mate was. To my surprise, she surged forward, pushing me out of the driver’s seat.
The impact of the change made my paws lose their balance on the rock. I slipped and started scrabbling for something to hold on to. The rock was slick though, and soon I was falling backwards.
Within an instant, I fell back on the ground, letting out a pained yelp.
A whine sounded beside me and I saw Christopher come nearer. My wolf whimpered at him, remaining on her back as her tail began to wag.
“NO!” I wanted to scream, “You’re fine! Get up and try again!”
My wolf ignored me as Christopher nuzzled her, whining in concern. My wolf rolled over, jumping to her feet and playfully nipping at Christopher. She barked, wagged her tail, and hopped from place to place, trying to get him to play.
“My wolf is such a pup,” I groaned internally.
Christopher just watched in amusement as she bounced around, until finally he let out a small growl and she quickly laid down, pressing herself into the ground and whining submissively.
As Christopher moved towards her, her tail began wagging excitedly again. I heard a chuckle come from Christopher as he began licking my wolf’s ear softly. She whined and tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck.
Without hesitation, Christopher sunk his teeth into her skin, causing her to yelp quietly.
When he released her, she whimpered and pressed her head against him. He rumbled lowly and moved to lie beside her, placing his head over hers protectively.
As exhaustion won out, the last thing I knew was Christopher’s soft rumble of contentment... and perhaps my own.