My First Run

ALLIE

I’m excited about tonight; I’m going to experience my first run with other wolves, my friends. Up until now I’ve always transformed into my wolf form and ran alone or with my mother.

Danielle has arranged for my housemates and some other loner friends to join us. Even Alexander has agreed to come. I was quite surprised when he said yes. He seems too important, too busy, to bother running with a bunch of young loners, but here he is, lining up with the rest of us.

We wait until we get to the edge of the forest before we undress and shift into our wolf forms. I notice that most of the wolves are smaller than me and have brown fur. Only Danielle, Alexander, and I stand out.

Danielle’s fur is dark brown like her hair, apart from a patch of star-shaped golden fur on her chest. Alexander’s wolf is completely silver. All three of us are bigger than the other wolves.

Danielle’s wolf gives a yip of excitement and sets off running. We follow, reveling in the fun of running together. Danielle sprints ahead and I stretch my legs and pick up the pace to keep up with her.

I realize we have left most of the others behind, and only Alexander is still running with us.

As we run, my wolf picks up the scent of a rabbit. She goes crazy and veers off to the left in pursuit. She races away, and although the others try to follow, they can’t match my speed.

It’s not long before my wolf’s frantic pursuit of her prey takes us far away from the others.

The rabbit begins to slow, exhausted from the chase, and my wolf pounces on her. In one quick movement, she tears out the rabbit’s throat and begins to eat its flesh.

She’s so caught up in enjoying her meal that it takes her a few moments to notice the presence of other wolves.

I turn around when I smell a foul scent like rotting meat. Two mangy and flea-bitten wolves walk toward me. Their eyes gleam red as they snarl at me with foam dripping from their mouths.

I panic, but my wolf knows how to respond. She leaps forward, growling at these strangers, hackles raised, claws outstretched.

She launches herself at the first wolf, who is surprised by her sudden attack and slow to retaliate. She pins him to the ground and bites deep into his shoulder.

Her claws swipe a deep gash down his leg. He emits a painful howl and tries to bite back, but she avoids his mouth.

My wolf leaps back. She has inflicted some serious injuries but knows she can’t waste time finishing him off. She needs to deal with the second wolf.

When she turns to face him, he lunges forward. She dives to the side just in time, and his fangs brush against her back. He was aiming for her neck, but her swift reaction avoided serious injury.

With a quick turn, she slashes her claws into his side, leaving a deep tear. He snarls, and I can see that despite his serious wounds, he’s determined to attack again.

Before he has a chance, she lunges at him. She grabs hold, and he has no time to fight back as she rips out his throat.

We’re exhausted but she still has to deal with the other wolf, who is already starting to recover. He rises slowly to his feet, growling and snapping, but my wolf is on him.

She pushes him back onto the ground and her teeth bite down into the soft flesh around his stomach, ripping out his entrails, then moves back to watch as he bleeds out.

I catch the scent of more strange wolves moving toward us.

I groan. All I want to do is lie here and rest, but I force her to move. We need to get out of here before they arrive. If they belong to the same group as these rogues, they will kill us.

I shuffle away, but not quick enough. Three wolves appear in front of me, growling with their teeth bared.

A wolf barks behind them and they lower their heads. A huge gray wolf stalks toward me, surrounded by four more wolves, but it’s only him that I’m drawn to. Power rolls off him in waves.

He barks at me. I continue to stare at him. He looks confused, but he moves closer. I can tell how dominant he is, but all I feel is curiosity. I stand straight and look him in the eye.

He leaps toward me, stopping inches from my face. His head moves closer until his nose rubs against mine. It feels gentle, almost sensual, and I feel a spark of desire toward this formidable wolf.

It isn’t like the feelings I have for James, but there is definitely some kind of reaction there.

He moves and grabs my throat firmly between his huge teeth. I try to wriggle away from him, but he has me trapped and I’m unable to move without hurting myself.

With a growl, he pushes me down and forces me to lie on my belly, then lets go of my neck and shifts into his human form.

I look up at a large handsome man with long blond hair. He has smooth skin and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.

His arms are covered in tattoos, and he has a faint scar stretching from his left eye to his jaw. This doesn’t spoil his looks but enhances them, making him handsome in a piratical way.

“Shift, now,” he orders me.

I stay in my wolf form. My wolf does not want to obey, and neither do I.

He looks surprised that I haven’t immediately obeyed his command, but it doesn’t faze him. “If you don’t shift now, I’ll rip your throat out.”

This wolf is dangerous. I know that if I don’t shift back, he will have no hesitation in killing me, so I give in and shift.

I’m embarrassed to be naked in front of all these strange wolves. Having not grown up in a pack, I’m not used to public nudity, but I’m not going to show my discomfort.

I stand straight and look him in the eye.

“Who are you?” he asks.

I don’t respond. This is a dangerous wolf, and I don’t want to give him any information he could use against me.

“You’ve killed two of my wolves in cold blood. I at least deserve your name and an explanation.” His tone is reasonable, with no trace of anger for what I’ve done.

“They attacked me, so I defended myself,” I reply.

“They attacked you and you killed them both.” His face is full of curiosity. “What is your name?” he asks again.

I keep silent.

“Not willing to tell me? Is that because you know you’re the one I’m looking for?”

I look at him in surprise. Whoever he is looking for, it won’t be me.

“Only one way to find out, then. You’re coming back with us to our base, where I’ll be able to question you properly.”

He shifts back into his wolf form and barks a command to his wolves.

They dutifully close in around me. They’re no longer snarling or intent on killing me, but it’s clear I’m their prisoner, and they are not going to let me go.

The huge gray wolf barks again, and they move forward, herding me along with them. I have no choice but to move.

I look around me, trying to find a gap, a weak point that I can use to my advantage to help me escape, but there isn’t one.

At first glance, these wolves may look feral and mad, but they’re disciplined, and they follow their leaders’ orders with the control of well-trained soldiers.

I need to decide quickly if I should stay in my human form or if I would have more of a chance of escaping if I shift into my wolf.

I try not to panic or think of what they might do to me. Who does their leader think I am? Who is he searching for? It can’t be good. I’m not going to escape punishment for killing two of their pack.

Howls rise from behind us.

A huge black wolf pounds into the clearing, followed by ten other wolves.