Book One: The Chosen Mate (Complete)

Chapter 10: The Ocean

Jesse dropped me off at my room, explaining he had a study group for math before dinner, but I could meet him in the cafeteria at 5:00pm if I wanted. Of course I wanted.

I gave him a kiss before he went off to study.

That left me with an hour to kill. A run would be nice. I needed some exercise after sitting all day in class.

I stripped, shifted, and left the pack house. It was a nice afternoon. The nights were still quite long for April, and it was already dusk at 4pm, but the whales should be returning soon and sometimes they could be spotted from the shore of the cove 10 miles away. That seemed like the perfect distance for a good, brisk run.

I stretched my legs and took off running. The wind felt exhilarating and the fresh snow the night before was now dry and crunched under my feet. It had a sound that brought back familiar feelings nostalgia.

It wasn't long before I could smell the salt on the air, and I knew I was getting close. I broke the tree line, and before me stood a magnificent cove teaming with aquatic life. The waves crashed against rocks, roaring and spitting water far onto the shore line. Pack boats were coming in to the wharf for the night, loaded with fish, and crustaceans. My wolf eyes spotted some Native Tribes that could be seen along the far shore gathering clams from the sand, and placing them in intricately woven baskets.

I had always wanted to visit the village and try to purchase one. They were absolutely beautiful. The tribe preferred trading Salmon the best. The summer was coming, and I was pretty good at fishing with my snout. Maybe this summer I would go get one of those baskets.

I was here to look for whales so I ran to the far left point of the forest that butted up to the rocks to get out towards the deep water to get the best view from above. Below me, was a steep cliff, that descended sharply, ending in slate rocks, and large boulders that were placed to keep the shore line stable despite all the storms. From my vantage point I could see miles into the ocean, and I looked for any disturbances.

It was then I saw one: a single gray whale surfaced and sprayed mist up into the air. Even in the dimming light, my wolf sight captured the magnificent creature as it breached the surface of the water. To me, it seemed happy to be home after a long journey.

I watched it until my senses said it must be getting close to dinner time, and I better head back. It should take me about ten minutes to get back to the Pack House. I started back in a full sprint. It felt amazing, like I was flying. I just loved to run.