The Rest Of Us

Chapter 2

To say driving was simple is an understatment, all the jerking forward every time the brake pedal was pushed and driving slow because of the fast speeds some people drove.

An hour of learning from my mistakes, either from getting the horn beeped continuously or almost being run off the road for how close they got to my rear bumper.

There were times where I just wanted to say 'fuck it', ditch the truck and make my own way as a wolf.

But my instincts halted me from doing so, the human resting against my right side being the reason.

Nichole had stayed awake long enough to where I was used to driving. Hell I was surprised with myself for learning so quickly.

When my driving became a lot calmer, she had leaned against the door frame on the opposite side, eyes barely able to stay open.

It was then I reached out to pull her next to me, her hand slightly pressing on my arm as if to tell me to leave her alone and she was fine.

Nichole didn't argue, not having any fight left in her as my arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close and nuzzling my head on top of hers.

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I turned off the highway and followed a dirt road until I was stopped by a fallen tree in the path, it was then I put the truck in park and turned off the ignition before looking around.

It was quiet, more so then I was used to. I unbuckled the seat belt and laid Nichole gently down on the seat. She stirred a little, opening one eye and peeking up at me.

A sad smile formed on my face as I looked back, "We're here, I just gotta go find my friend and see if he will welcome us in."

I closed the truck door gently before walking a few steps away, my two feet turning into four paws. Being back to my original form that I was used to, I set out on a trail that my nose figured was the right way.

It was about a mile before I came upon a house. It didn't look out of the ordinary as it was a giant log cabin home.

As I continued to walk closer to the building, I was halted suddenly by a deep growl to my right.

I stood up tall, waiting patiently as the older wolf approached me.

"Pierre? Is that you?"

My tail swished back and forth, "Patrick, I haven't seen you since we were pups!"

His wolf color was a mixture between brown and black, muzzle slightly white either from aging or stress. The tips of his paws had white too.

He sat down in front of me, "How are you?"

A small whimper escaped my muzzle, "Could be better I guess. My entire pack was slaughtered, the only wolf I wasn't able to find a body of is my mother. I don't know how or why, but we were ambushed. I was knocked out and tied up and never had a chance to fight back."

Pat lowered his head, "I'm sorry for your loss, Pierre. If it makes you feel a little at ease, we haven't had any attacks here. There have been other lone wolves like yourself who've joined us because they lost their packs as well. You are more then welcome to stay as long as you want."

A content sigh left me, glad that I was accepted and not turned down. "Thank you Patrick, I appreciate that more then you'll ever know. So what have you been up to since I last saw you?"

The Tundra wolf smiled, "My pack made me their Shaman, although I am not the oldest or wisest, I do good work at helping the wounded. What about you?"