Mad Ember

2: Favors

Reagan and I walk down the dimly lit hallway that leads out to the kitchen and then to the front door. The packhouse sometimes feels like a maze if I really think about its size. It doesn't help that the hospital is attached

We walk out the double doors and on to the porch. Our usually packed grounds are quite bare today. The smell of rain lingers in the air and the sun is hidden by clouds. There's a storm coming. I make a mental note to inform Alpha Matthews to have the watch cabins lining our territory stocked with flashlights and firewood. There is no need for our patrols to get hypothermia.

Reagan and I step into the forest, each going behind a tree to shift. I embrace my wolf form feeling skin morph into dark grey fur. Being a beta, with strong blood, I stand about eight and a half feet tall. I see Reagan come out in her wolf form.

Anyone can see her wolf is beautiful. Her fur is mixed with many colors. Creating a mixture of deep blondes and browns. She stands at about seven feet tall. Slightly shorter being that she is a female. Still, she is large in comparison with other she-wolves. She settles herself with a good shake.

I reach into mine and Reagan's link. After the human's extinction, mind linking between wolves became the only instant communication possible if you weren't standing right next to the person you're trying to talk to. It's like a telephone line system in your mind. The type of links will differ for each wolf. But universally, every wolf will have a pack link, familial links, links with friends, and usually a link with your mate. With it, we can speak in our minds to each other, and it sounds as though they are standing right next to you.

"Ready? It's about a two-hour run." I link Reagan. She nods her head, making a sharp turn for the tree line, not bothering to waste any time conversing. I run up to match her pace loving the way my paws feel against the mossy forest floor. I love the way the dirt and small twigs are flung into the air by the speed at which I run.

Running well over fifty miles an hour, our surroundings whiz past. But still, I see, hear, and smell every single detail. From the lingering dew drops on the ferns to the black-capped chickadees in the trees that they call home as they sing out to the forest. I always thought it sounded like they were saying 'hey sweetie.'

I hear the chipmunks high-pitched chirping, even the sound of a squirrel's quick feet running up a tree. The woodsy smell is purely divine, and I think I would fall apart without it. Overcast is the weather, and it's creating a light fog through the trees. Which only gets me more excited. Everything is just... better in wolf form. Then the real fun starts.

We start a race, and the trees whiz past us. I don't even have time to take in the beauty of the forest anymore. I bark playfully, and Reagan does the same in return. I steal second glances at the beautiful purple flowers and vibrant green ferns resting peacefully on the forest floor.

Our pace slows as we come to a creek. We have a fair distance ahead of us, and we won't be any use to North Shore if we get to their pack and pass out from exhaustion.

'We need to rest Rea, we're slowing down, and you need all the energy you can get to do what has to be done,' I say in the link. Her wolf nods and takes a drink from the creek. I do as well trotting over. My ears twitch as I feel eyes on us. I don't like the feeling. It's putting me off, but whatever it is, seems to like the shadows better than the light.

I let out a low warning growl as I plop myself down with a huff. I don't lift my head up, but all my senses are on high alert. There is something off, something I can't find an answer to. Whatever it is, it's making my stomach do flips. The faintest smell lingers in the air, the scent of summer, and daisies mixed with rain, but it's barely there. I let out a huff. The thought makes me uneasy. I know I'm going to feel like this until I figure out what it is.