“Whenever you’re ready.” Roman punctuated his sentence by licking my face. It was actually much cuter than it sounds, especially coming from an alpha wolf.
I sat down on my haunches, which was a weird feeling all on its own. I really could not believe that I had seriously transformed into a living, breathing wolf. Perhaps I was having some acid-trip of a dream.
“You’re not dreaming.” Landon tugged on my ear. “This is real and as soon as you start running, you’ll understand the glory of it.”
“I’m not much of a runner… I never made it on the track team, you know.”
“That doesn’t matter. You’re a wolf now and wolves were born to run.” His words seemed to inspire something deep inside of me. My muscles tensed with anticipation as I got up and leaned forward, ready to sprint into action.
The boys had their tongues out. It wasn’t quite a set of smirks but I knew they were up to something. And that’s when Landon shot off like a bullet. Roman was quick to follow, leaving me in his dust. But I wasn’t about to stand around while they had all the fun.
It was time for me to unleash the beast.
Chapter 17: Roman
I looked back and saw that Jane was gaining on Landon. Speed wasn’t his element but he was by no means slow. With a little bit of effort, he was able to outrun most.
His paws pounded into the Earth, tearing up clumps of grass with every stride he took.
“She’s going to catch up to you, Landon. Are you really going to let a newbie kick your ass?” I taunted, trying to get him to up the ante.
“I’m going as fast as I can!” he protested. “Trust me, I’m rolling on all cylinders.”
Jane had a look of pure determination in her eyes. As a wolf, her irises were a deep amber color like a pot of honey had been stored within their depths. It was a color uncommon in our clan and it would set her apart from the other members.
She was so quiet that her advance snuck up on me. One second I was watching her tailing Landon and the next she was tailing me.
Surprised, I pushed myself to run a little faster. I wasn’t anywhere near my top speed but by the looks of it, neither was Jane.
“What’s the matter? Getting scared that I might beat you in this little race of ours?” Jane had a cocky tone to her voice that buzzed with newfound confidence.
“I’m going to make you eat your words,” I countered, as I weaved through the foliage.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you two back at the den…” Landon’s words sounded through my head but I paid them little attention. The forest was getting thicker and thicker and I had to concentrate on marking my path through the trees because one mistake —
Crash!
I skidded to a halt.
“Jane?”
I caught her scent in the air and followed it to a hidden grotto. Its entrance had been masked by a carpet of moss. Jane, unfamiliar with the landscape had fallen right into nature’s trap.
“Decided to take a dip? Were things getting too hot to handle?” I teased in a playful manner, before diving in to join her.
The water was frigid — icy even. But a wolf’s pelt can withstand just about anything. I’ve lived in the arctic during the winter and, somehow, I lived to tell the tale. Although there were a couple of caribou hunters that wanted me for their wall.
“Fuck, I think I broke something…” Jane was struggling to make it to dry land. Her tail flicked from side to side in a desperate attempt to keep herself steady.
Quickly, I grabbed her by the neck and dragged her over to where it was safe. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t know… It’s hard to tell with all this adrenaline running through my body.”
“Okay, I need you to transform back for me. It’ll be easier that way.”
“Will that hurt too?”
“Not nearly as much,” I said, squeezing her paw as a sort of promise.