The Hunt is On

Midnight Runs

The soft sand flew out from beneath my small paws as I flew down the beach. The salty wind was in my fur and I closed my eyes for a split second, enjoying this feel of freedom.

Of course, I didn't feel free in this situation of being forced to try and find a mate, but it was as close as I could get as of right now.

Gage was in front of me, his brown and black wolf much faster then mine, and Ember was besides me, half a step behind.
The three of us sprinted down the cool sand, not knowing where we were going at all. Ember and I were enjoying this immensely as we hadn't gotten a chance to run in almost a week. The beach seemed to go on forever, but we didn't want to test the boundaries, so we slowed down after a while.

My chest was heaving and I was panting when we finally came to a full stop. Seeing the moon in the sky, I could tell it was almost midnight.

"When do you think we should head back? We've been running for a long time."

Ember asked through our mind link.
Gage's wolf managed a shrug.

"Sometime around one. We still want to get sleep. If we don't, people will be wondering what we did all night."

I agreed with him. The three of us wanted to stay out of trouble here. No matter how biased that trouble was. So we rested for a while more, walking around aimlessly in the sand and in the shallow parts of the water.

It wasn't until we heard Ember give out a small bark before we noticed that we weren't alone.
Gage and I turned quickly to where she was, and saw two more wolves running towards us, sand flying from beneath their paws. I shifted, not knowing if they were just out for a run like us, or if something had happened.

One was grey with white on it's back, and the other was brown with tan spots. We watched as they kept running closer and finally stopped when they were right in front of us.

"Hey Gage! Solstice! Ember!"

I smiled as well as I could in my wolf form. It was was Aileen, and I guessed the grey and white one was Caia.

"How did you know it was us?"

I asked, curious.

"Who else would be out here at midnight?"

Okay, that was a valid answer. I shrugged and laid down on the cool sand, rubbing my back on it, feet in the air. It felt good, the sand was cold on my warm back.
Ember came up to my side, covered in water from her neck down. She stood right next to me, then shook her fur out, sending droplets of water everywhere. Including on me.

I scrambled up, trying to stay dry. But she shook her fur again, causing me to become drenched. I knew Gage was laughing hysterically, he always was. Growling, I took off after Ember, making her laugh.
As we were running by Aileen and Caia, Caia jumped onto Ember's back, tackling her into the sand.
I laughed as the two of them wrestled with each other, trying to get the higher ground. When Ember came out on top, Aileen then tackled her again, sending her down.

I joined in, defending Ember against the two others. Caia surprised me in how well she knew how to fight, even though we were just playing.
Gage watched us for about five minutes until I got pinned by Aileen and was too tired to try and get up. I laid there panting, and she rolled off, panting as well.

"We should really get back."

I heard Caia say. Aileen and Gage agreed with her, it was getting late. So we picked ourselves up and trotted the half mile or so back to the hotels.

Us girls said goodnight to Gage, and the we shifted and changed into the clothes we had hidden.
We walked into the hotel, quietly trying to not wake anyone. Aileen and Caia got off on the first floor, where the Phalanx females were staying, and Ember and I got off at the third floor.