I read Lykaon's letter and smiled. I was surrounded by children playing in the park while I set out a picnic for them. Their mothers were taking an hour or two for themselves and their husbands, so I wanted to look after the pups. My mood was already glorious enough seeing smiling faces greeting me and playing in the distance, but it grew into an all-time high after I read my mate's words to me.
My father put the task of getting my things packed to Rona and my mother. I told them I'd come by later to help, but they waved me off and told me to have fun. I mentally rolled my eyes, but listened to them anyways. I was having fun. The children were having fun. The day was beautiful and sunny, so everything was perfect.
Tiny feet ran up to me and I looked up to see Ertha with wide brown eyes. Her red hair was in a messy braid that was slung over her shoulder, spotted with leaves and grass. "Luna, Tryn went into the forest."
My brows shot up in surprise and worry. "Why?"
Ertha shook her head vigorously. "I don't know. I saw him go in there and tried to stop him, but by the time I reached the forest, he was too far inside."
Standing, I looked around. "Where did you see him go?" She pointed towards the left end of the park. I saw a woman walking nearby and took Ertha over. The woman looked at me with concern and I said, "Can you watch the children. I need to go check something important."
She nodded and led Ertha away as I ran into the forest. My eyes darted around for Tryn, but only found trees and earth. My wolf came to my aid. Forty-five degrees to the right. I smell his fear. I did as she said and ran.
It wasn't long before I saw the boy walking with his arms around himself and his eyes looking around. "Momma?"
Pausing to watch, I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "Why would his mother be in here?"
"She's not!" My wolf growled. "If you don't get him out of here now, he's going to be dead!"
My legs moved without hesitation and I ran over and picked him up. He furrowed his brows. "Luna, why are you here?"
"I came to take you back to the other pups. It's not safe to in the forest alone when you're a child," I explain softly.
"But I want my momma," he whimpered.
I started running back, darting around trees and clutching Tryn close to my chest. "I will help you find her, but we need to be within the pack's sight, or else we will get hurt."
Tryn wrapped his skinny arms around my neck and laid his head on my shoulder. "We need to shift. It'll be faster that way."
"I can't!"
"We must!"
My arms instinctively tightened and my feet got faster. "We'll waste time shifting. Besides, we can't carry him on our back."
"He can shift as well. We'll carry him by the scruff. Just do as I say!"
I came to a halt and set Tryn on his feet and knelt. "I need you to turn into your wolf for me. I'm going to shift as well and carry you that way. It'll be faster."
He nods and begins the process. Not caring right now about my clothes, I shift beside him, my wolf shaking out her fur. The pup before us is white with black paws and tail, his amber eyes large and terrified. I pick him up and begin to run again.
Since my wolf has better hearing than I will ever have, she picks up the sounds of growling and pounding paws on the dirt behind us. Tryn whines softly, also smelling the danger lurking near. And somehow, the memory flashes before my eyes like a punch to the gut.
Rogues.
That's what I hear as I'm wandering around aimlessly. Their growls and barks make them sound more feral than I have ever known them to be.
But under all of their loud noises, comes a whine and a yelp. It sounds like a pup, and I instantly shift, my wolf racing to the scene, wanting—needing to help whoever it was in danger. But when we get there, all I see is large wolves, all dark brown, all piled on top of one another. I lunge forward and rip out the throat of the top wolf, throwing him aside as I rip my claws through a chest of another. The third comes at me, but I turn to him and give a low growl before jumping over him. He spins and rakes his claws down my belly, drawing blood. My wolf yelps, but stands on her forepaws and kicks him away with a push of her back paws. I turn, and jump on top of him, darting my sharp teeth in and out, grabbing skin and fur, bones and muscle. The rogue blindly scratches my back, my sides, my face. But I have no room to feel the pain.
Finally, he dies, going limp and silent underneath me. I turn and find the other two staring at me in shock and surprise. Behind them, bruised and bloody is the little girl, hugging herself into a little ball, rocking back and forth. I narrow my eyes and stalk towards them, my goal to get the girl out and get home safely. But I don't get far when the smaller of the two lunges at me, knocking me to the side and against a tree. My wolf, being too weak, lets me take charge and shifts. I lay naked in the dirt, breathing heavily. The rogue came back and started to grab my hair, pulling me up to my feet. My hand finds a good size rock, about the size of a softball. I look into the eyes of my would-be killer. He gives me a dirty smile before bringing up a fist. My arm moves faster and the rock collides with his skull with a soft thud. I hit again and again, screaming out my terror and anger. He drops me immediately, but I continue to pound his skull in. His body sways, then falls on top of mine, trapping me on my back on the ground. With a final thud, I hear a crack, and thought it was the rock, but it had no crack whatsoever.
The tree line is in sight and the rogues seem to retreat, knowing there was a pack ahead. Tryn wiggles in my hold, but I do not let him go, do not stop until at my house and Jacques is running towards me with a blanket and a worried expression on his face. I set Tryn down and whimper to my brother who wraps the blanket around me. "Shift, Opaline."
I back away, not ready to be human again. He stares at me, a little shocked at my refusal. Behind him, Rona runs out and picks up Tryn, holding him close. "What's wrong with Opal, Jacques?"
"I don't know, but she won't shift for me."
"She's shaking!" Rona observes, looking more concerned. "Jacques, I think she might pass out!!"
I look at her, quite certain her words were correct. I knew my eyes must be wild and I kept darting around, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop thinking about that day…
"Rona, go get my father. He'll be able to help her," Jacques orders and Rona runs off. My brother puts a hand out to pet me, but I give a low growl in warning. "Opaline, you're okay. Breathe, girl. I need to know what happened. You need to shift and tell me what happened."
I sit, staring at him to make sure he kept away. I couldn't stand the feel of someone's hands on me right now. I couldn't stand being around people, but knew Jacques would only chase me if I ran, so I stayed. I couldn't shift because that would mean having less strength to have to defend myself with. I knew I could trust my brother, but I didn't want to be coddled right now.
"Call mate, my wolf suggests. "
"I can't! Unlike everyone else, I can't mind link. I have no way of getting him here fast enough."
"Howl. He will hear us. If not him, then his wolf. "
"What if he doesn't come? What if he's too busy? What if we're wasting our time?"
My wolf whimpers and tries to comfort me while Jacques looks over my shoulder. "She won't shift. I saw her running with Tryn in her grip, she looked terrified and ready to pass out."
My father comes in front of me and holds out a hand, palm up, for me to sniff. I do, but whimper again. "Opaline, I need you to shift. This is important and you must listen to me," my father says with a soft voice.
"We can run?" my wolf suggests.
"Where? The forest has rogues and there is another's territory on every side of us. We can't even go find Lykaon's territory because there is one between us. I'm stuck."
"Opaline?" my father says, waving a hand in front of my face, but I growl again, making him stop.
"We need mate," my wolf says softly. I have to agree. I don't feel comfortable right now, don't feel safe. I want his reassuring smile, his gray eyes watching me carefully, and his warm embrace…
The rogues are in the forest though. I can't go through that again.
We think for a moment until my wolf finally decides, "Then let me take the reins until he gets here. You don't have to shift until he's here. I'll let you shift, become relaxed in his arms."
"No! I'll be trapped in here and never be able to shift again!"
"Don't worry, I won't let you be trapped in here. It's just until mate arrives. I'll bring you near the surface often enough you won't get trapped."
I think about this and finally say, Okay. My wolf looks at my father and brother and walks away and into the house, her tail up and her nose in the air. I know they're wondering if I'm alright, but I don't reassure them in any way. I let my wolf do whatever she wants, except ruin my sketchbook…