Adan
After a while, I got dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, not wanting to shred anything expensive, just in case. I had time for a run before I met Fletcher. But then again, he could wait.
I walked out of my suite a moment later, locking the door behind me. I looked over, and two new guards stood outside Brenna's door. They straightened when I approached. "See that your Queen is protected and that no one enters. If anything happens to her, I shall have your heads."
"Aye!" they both said in unison, their eyes wide.
I headed down the hallway and the seven flights of stairs to the first floor, needing to work off some steam. The guards by the entrance stepped aside as I passed.
"Alpha," they both nodded.
I returned their nod but pushed through the door, having no desire for chitchat. Not now.
I ran toward the forest and stopped at the hollow tree where I hid my clothes. Shifters always have hiding places in the forest for their clothes. But there are also maids that hand out Pack robes to the shifters who shred their clothes before entering the castle. Public nudity is expected outside on the grounds and is a part of Pack life, but not in the castle, as a show of respect.
When I was nude and my clothes hidden, I ran toward the forest, letting the red haze with black edges overtake my vision as shimmers ran down my spine and throughout my limbs. Jumping at just the right time, I landed on four black paws and dug my claws into the lichen and rich black earth, catapulting myself into the forest. My wolf needed to run... and so did I.
Heading north, I poured on the speed and was halfway into Canada before I slowed. It had been a while since I had had a good workout. Then I caught the scent of something delicious. I sniffed the air. Caribou? It would do, but I craved a fight. Either a bear or a mountain lion would be better.
Bear meat was always a gamble, though, because they tasted like the last thing they ate. If they had been eating fruit, you were in luck, for their meat would taste sweet. But if they had just raided a garbage can, you were in trouble, and the meat would go to waste.
I headed farther into Canada and was tempted to go even farther north toward Nova Scotia but didn't want to go too far away from Brenna.
Just then, I caught the scent of a mountain lion. Just the fight I was looking for.
I stalked my prey, staying close to the ground. It was in a tree, eying a caribou that I saw before spotting the lion.
It wasn't his day.
Staying low to the ground, I waited, and he sprang from the branch toward the caribou. The lion was quick, but I was faster. Before it landed, I snatched it from the air as the caribou scurried into the forest.
The mountain lion scratched at my arms and my body, but to no avail. Yes, this was exactly the fight I'd been hoping for. I fought with it for a bit, but it wasn't a competition.
Soon, I snapped its neck so it wouldn't feel any more pain than necessary, sank my teeth into its flesh, and pulled off a chunk of steaming, warm meat. I chewed and swallowed. It was gamy but tasted delicious. My wolf loved it. I tore into it again, giving myself over to my wolf. He needed the kill as much as I did.
When I'd had my fill, I left what was left of the carcass for the secondary predators that would clean it down to the bone. No meat was ever wasted in the wild, especially not a free meal.
When I was finished, I wiped my paws and muzzle on the grass and then headed back. In a few months, this area will be covered in snow. But now, it was still summer—an excellent time to hunt and not be seen by humans.
On the way back, I elongated my muscles, pouring on the speed, stretching as I dodged trees until the forest near the castle came into view.
This was why I had chosen this part of the forest to build my castle two hundred years ago. Privacy. It was in the center of a hundred acres, and I owned it all. Or rather, the Moon Shadow Pack owned it, and I was its steward.
I had wanted to purchase a thousand acres, but the other Packs also needed land of their own. Although wolves were territorial, we didn't put up fences and never quibbled over hunting rights. After all, the wildlife didn't stay in one particular area, nor did we.
Shimmers ran over my body as the red haze with black edges overtook my vision. My body began to morph and change until I literally pulled myself back together into my human form.
Stretching and moving my neck from side to side, I felt better than I had in a very long time. After slipping back into my jeans and T-shirt, I headed back toward the castle.
"Good morning, Alpha," said Alice, one of two warriors walking toward me, smiling as they passed. "Will you be joining us for practice this morning?"
I looked up and it was still early. "Not today, ladies."
"Very well. Have a good day, Alpha," Reanna replied as she and her friend headed toward the practice field.
"Thanks. You, too." I headed toward the castle and skipped up the stairs. I loved the morning. It was quiet, peaceful. The quiet before the storm.
I just hoped that Brenna gets some rest today. Her sleep last night was fitful. She may not remember it, but she woke up several times throughout the night with a start, looking around, and then lay back down on my chest. But today, I was going to let her rest for as long as she liked. I skipped up the stairs, hurrying to prepare for my lunch meeting with Fletcher Reed, and I wasn't about to miss it.
It was probably good that we were meeting at his resort, or else I'd be too tempted to kill him right then and there for how he treated Brenna while under his care.
And even though he wasn't the one who had attacked her Pack, he had agreed to sell her. And that, I just couldn't forgive.
But on the other hand, if he hadn't agreed to sell Brenna, I may not have ever found her. I shuddered at the thought. For my life, my world, shifted when I first laid eyes on her, and I knew my life would never be the same.
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