After the lunar goddess turned her back on her children, the wolves of the modern world have had to adapt. Artificial mating bonds were created and many young wolves are now arranged to mate with those selected by their elders. As is the case for Ba...
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Leaves crunch beneath my paws and the hint of cool Autumn air flows through my fur. With each powerful step I take, a glorious burn fills my muscles. It's been so long since I've gone for a run on four legs and I've missed it more than I realized.
The leaves are showing signs of change, their green color slowly tinting with yellow and orange. The air rushes by me carrying the smell of a few forest animals and the crisp earthy fragrance of a nearby stream. Each sight and scent is vibrant and alive. It's the kind of things humans wouldn't be able to notice, and in my human form, I'd only be able to experience it all on a more subtle level.
But like this, in my wolf form, free and wild, it's a whole different world.
I need to do this more often.
It's a thought I've had on more than one occasion, and as usual, it's followed by the same question.
How did we get here?
I mean, I get that it's necessary to hide in plain sight, to blend in with the humans. If they knew of our existence, they'd lose their damn minds. What I don't get is how we went from being wolves, shifters, playing the part of a human to being humans who just happen to have this more animalistic side. And hell, there's even a good portion of the pack who barely knows what it means anymore to be an animal.
We've become tame. Docile. Comfortable with our new roles while forgetting who and what we are.
At least that's what Mom used to say.
I wonder what she would say about Tripp and his friends? They don't seem as...tame as the rest of us. What would she think about this whole fucked up situation?
What would Dad think?
Shaking those thoughts from my head, I round my last lap through the woods surrounding Lucian Academy and make a quick turn for the bush where I left my clothes. Skipping class, and stripping butt naked outside of school to go for a run isn't something I normally do. But after the weird looks and hushed whispers behind my back in first period, I needed a break.
I hate to think how much worse things are going to get. No one really knows the details yet but they saw the attention Tripp gave me at the assembly. It gave them just enough juice to power the gossip mill, though I have yet to hear exactly what the gossip is. Maybe that's a good thing.
As I get close to where I left my clothes, a new scent fills my nose and brings my run to a slow prowl. Keeping my head low, I try to sniff around without being seen. But with all the scents of the forest and the wildlife in it, it's difficult to decipher what's what. All I know is the closer I get to my clothes, the more my senses fill with something spicey, pine, and a few other things I can't place my paw on.
It isn't until I poke my head around a tree that I finally spot my clothes and who's holding them, that it all clicks.
"Missing something?" Tripp asks with a teasing grin as he dangles my plaid skirt from his finger. "Gotta say, I didn't take you as the kind of student to skip classes."
