The Twelfth Moon || ✔️

47. Running Free

I saw the leaves in the trees above me, as high as they reached. The birds that were nesting and chirping in them, the squirrels hopping from one branch to another.

I heard the birds, more clearly than I had ever heard a bird at this distance. Their chirping song danced around my ears, filling me with ecstasy.

I stepped a paw forward, and with just that one step, I knew this was one of the best feelings I would ever experience. My very first step as a wolf - my first step where Spitta was entirely out of me. I was nothing like the girl I was then. I was stronger now, in more ways than one.

My other paws followed soon after, and I broke out into a run. As I shook my head in excitement, I felt my ears flapping against the top of my skull. It was an odd feeling, but one I knew I'd grow accustomed to very quickly.

A large wolf of dark grey appeared next to me. Lotta. She truly was going as far as Aven let her.

Our eyes crossed each other's before we picked up the pace and both went wild in the forest, running into freedom, something only a minority of beings could ever experience. There was no one else I'd rather share my first run with.

I could smell - and hear - Jerr's wolf following us, and soon enough, the big, light brown creature had caught up to us.

Aven followed soon after, his silver eyes even more piercing through my new vision.

Lotta was running beside me, two wolves in different shades of grey enjoying their freedom together. The two male wolves stayed close behind us.

Until Aven growled at Lotta that she had followed us far enough, and it would be too big a risk if she followed us any further. Lotta immediately obeyed, but I couldn't look back for the last goodbye. Not when I was running. I was finally running!

I saw the black shimmers of fur following me, making sure I stayed on the right track until I could pick off the scent on my own. It was odd, the feeling of having an Alpha look out for me. To care for me, dared I even say. Perhaps the fact I now could transform, had somehow changed his opinion about me? Maybe, just maybe, he finally stopped seeing me as that weakling from Fire Moon, but finally began seeing me as a full-fledged member of his pack.

I didn't mind he was following me.

I didn't mind the occasional blur of brown fur I saw appearing next to me.

All I cared about was the wind ruffling through my fur, the leaves crunching underneath the speed of my crashing paws.

The deers I smelled earlier were nearing, and as soon as I passed them, they broke out into a panicked run. I initially wasn't interested in hunting them down, but the feeling of power and intimidation filled me with a crazed feeling, something warm and cold, something exciting, enticing my wolf to go after them.

Aven's wolf blocked my way, a growl ordering me to stay on the right track. There was no time to lose by going after some innocent animals.

Even in my wolven form, I recognized him as my Alpha, and his growl was enough to calm down my hunting instincts.

I kept running and running, I'd never stop if I could. I indulged in all the sounds and smells around me, all the different textures I could feel beneath my legs. This was the most liberating feeling I'd ever felt, and I never wanted it to stop.

And then I smelled something familiar, something that made me slow down and ultimately stop in my tracks. It smelled of something I'd grown accustomed to in my time in Rahas. I focused my smell on that familiar scent, pointing my wet nose in the air, and getting a whiff of its location. I smelled the soap that was used in the Manor to wash our clothes, along with some food - bread, and apples mainly. It smelled like home.