Apex Predator

~FOUR~

The world around me seemed more vibrant but dull at the same time. All the other colors faded and I was left staring at the blue of the river and the yellow flowers that were still left after the beginning of fall. Despite the darkness, my vision was flawless. It was going to take a bit for my brain to adjust to my partial colorblindness, but my superior eyesight made up for it. I almost forgot how hot I felt like this as well, the extra lair of fur definitely was the culprit for that.

I slowly walked up to the river and dipped my head down, lapping up a couple mouthfuls. The water dripped down my throat and my eyes suddenly caught the sigh of a rabbit, also enjoying a cool drink.

My ears flattened and I crouched, my tail lightly waving back and forth. The rabbit perked his head up and stayed very still as the brush of my tail against the leaves alerted him. Mentally I cursed myself and held my breath for a second before hurtling myself at the smaller animal. It audibly let out a shriek and took off into Devine territory, instantly stopping me in my tracks. Well, that's unfortunate. I'm not like the Devines. Willing to hunt in places that don't belong to them.

A deep sigh fell from my mouth, and as I turned to walk back deeper into our own territory, a branch snapped behind me and I paused turning back around. Another smell hit my nose and the ruff at the base of my tail fluffed up, recognizing it as a Devines member. What is anyone else doing awake? I wasn't expecting a fight right now. Literally just got here, and was trying to hunt. I really was hoping to relax tonight and bask under the moon, but I guess it's time to get my ass beat.

I was caught off guard when the smell of blood became very apparent. Another wolf was walking out of the shadows of their forest. She had dark red fur and golden eyes, the rabbit I was hunting earlier was wedged between her teeth, limp. Was she just showing off? That was kind of foul. A snarl rumbled in my throat and I barred my teeth, stepping forward to show how unafraid I was. Truth was, that was a lie. I've never fought before and Devines were known the be the toughest of us all. This was not going to be an easy fight.

The wolf didn't look at all threatened as she set the rabbit down and tilted her head at me, looking curious. Her none aggressive behavior was throwing me off, and my ears perked a bit before I stepped a little closer, my teeth still showing.

Her smell felt oddly familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it. She seemed to know exactly who I was, based on the waving of her tail. She seemed almost excited, and just then, her scent hit me.

I perked up in enthusiasm, stepping closer to the river, my tag wagging feverishly. Trella.

The red fur should've been my first hint, and my eyes widened when she instantly shifted back to her human self, in all her glory. She didn't even seem a bit phased by the switch, and I knew that changing had become extremely easy for her. "So, I see you actually listened to me." she crossed her arms, her flowy hair cascading down her shoulders, covering any bit of cleavage showing.

Turning back human was still a tad painful, but not as bad and a small part of me was a little bummed to turn back, but there was no other way to communicate. Our mind link could only work between clans, which sucked, but it made sense. That would be a whole lot of werewolf communication going around. My bones cracked and creaked once more as they morphed back into my regular human form, and my butt plopped down on the soft forest floor, out of breath. "I guess I did."

I hadn't even been a wolf for 30 minutes and I was already shifting back, that takes a lot of our energy, "How's it been?" she grabbed her stack of clothes and quickly started slipping them over her body.

Only then did I realize I was also naked, and I sheepishly grabbed onto my own clothes, copying her. "Eh," honestly, I was happy to be out here, but I wasn't happy with how it had to happen.

"Still no to training, huh?" She raised an eyebrow and sat on a rock in her territory, the rock just big enough to allow her toes to dangle in the river.

I scoffed and also sat again, my hands pulling at the grass absentmindedly, "Yep. I don't understand him at all. He's so worried about me being in danger, but me not knowing a damn thing is so much worse."

He lips pursed as she threw a pebble into the water, humming softly, "Have you asked Silas?"

"Asked Silas what?" I questioned.

"To train you."

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my chin on my knees, "He's too important in the clan to get enough free time to train me without Dad seeing."

Her eyes looked up at the sky and she sighed exaggeratedly, "I'm going to get in so much trouble for this, but I'll train you."

My head perked up, and a smile widened on my face, "Really?"

She waved a hand at me and stood up on the rock, looking down at me as she shrugged her shoulder, "Eh, why not?"

My stomach dropped at the thought of Atlas finding out and I scratched the back of my neck nervously, "What about your brother?"

Her green eyes focused on me for a second before chewing on the inside of her lip, "What about him?"

Uh, does she not realize it's illegal to interact with other clans outside of the Hunt? "Won't he be mad?"

She let out a laugh and shook her head, "Of course he'll be mad, but he's a lot more lenient with me than anyone else. Plus, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't try and help you a little?"

To see Atlas as lenient came difficult, considering he was treating me like roadkill for a little bit of attitude. I guess he had a soft spot for Estrella, which explained why she was outside this late without worry of getting in trouble. "Thank you." I murmured. My anxiety twisted my insides again when I thought of how dad would react if he found out a Devine was training me. Not only did he tell me no, what I was doing was severally against the rules and honestly, I don't know if he'd forgive me. I could see him having enough and banishing me.

"No problem, just make sure to be sneaky about it. We can meet here every other night an hour passed midnight." She instructed, stepping off the rock and landing in the river, scaring all the minnows.

I nodded and stood up, brushing the grass stains off of my sweats, with no avail, "Okay, that works for me."

She gave me a thumbs up and a wide toothy grin, "Awesome! I've got to go for now, but I'll see you the day after tomorrow." then she turned around on her heels, shifting back into her wolf form and disappearing into the woods.

I couldn't wait until I was trained enough to shift instantly like that. Not having to deal with the pain of my bones twisting for five minutes. I could've also switched to my wolf form, but I was scared of being too tired to switch back, and then I'd be stuck like that until I got my energy back. That would instantly get me caught, and then training would fly out the window and be gone with the wind.

As I turned around to head back to camp, a voice startled me, "What's happening the day after tomorrow?"

My hand slapped over my heart and I spun around gasping as my eyes met the frosty gaze of the Devine Alpha. He was shirtless, leaning against a tree, his eyes watching me observingly. I'll never understand how I didn't smell him or notice he was standing there, but the words wouldn't form and I just ended up stuttering and fumbling to say something. He stepped out of the shadows, and my eyes raked down his torso, almost drooling. Every inch of his skin was perfect, besides the claw scars down his chest and a large scarred bite on his hip. Only half of the bite was shown, as the rest disappeared under his jeans. His eyes seemed darker as he growled, "I'll ask again, since it doesn't seem like you heard me the first time. What's happening the day after tomorrow?"