Ashina stands still for a moment when she gets outside, not sure where to go but as soon as she sees an opening in the forest she runs barefoot towards it as fast as her legs could carry her - she needed to find Mori.
'This would be so much easier if I could transform' she thought to herself.
One thing about Ashina that she didn't like to talk about was the fact that she had only ever shifted once on the full moon of her thirteenth birthday like all other werewolves but ever since it had not happened even though everyone else around her turned on every full moon afterward like she should've done. In some ways, Ashina was glad she didn't have to keep going through it because it was the most painful thing she had ever felt but she never felt normal or included when everyone would go out as a pack to hunt every month, she would be left at the pack house with all the people too ill and weak to transform so that's what she became known as Weak.
Alpha Romulus would try to encourage her every single month as if telling her enough times she could do it would make it happen but it never did. Ashina had a good sense of smell and relatively good balance just like the other werewolves but couldn't turn like everyone else.
Soon enough it was accepted that she was simply different but Alpha Romulus never treated her any differently because of it, he would simply tell her that she was his special girl whenever she was feeling down about it.
Just as Ashina was coming to terms with being different and that maybe it wasn't a bad thing, Alpha Romulus died and suddenly Ashina was not welcome in the pack anymore. She was teased mercilessly about it being told she wasn't a real werewolf, she was an embarrassment, and nobody wanted her around.
Tears had been streaming down Ashina's face since she had run from the bedroom, half because of the fear of never seeing her best friend again but the image of Farkas's shocked face kept flashing through her mind - this wasn't how things were supposed to be and Ashina was terrified that she had already ruined the best thing that could happen to her.
As the adrenaline was starting to wear off, she realized that she was running barefoot on twigs, leaves, and mud which made things painful and much harder to run when she was already becoming increasingly worn out.
After some time, it felt like forever to Ashina but she couldn't be sure, she started to lose hope, she had been running around in circles and still had seen no sign of Mori, she could no longer smell his trace anywhere so had nothing to go off to find him.
Ashina slumped against the nearest tree before sliding down it to sit down, she brought her knees close to her chest and rested her cheek on her knee as she cried softly.
Everything around Isabella is eerily quiet with the only sounds being her heavy breathing... that is until she hears the stereotypical horror movie, snaps of a branch close by which brings Ashina to attention, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end.
She stands up and steps forward to see where the noise is coming from even though she couldn't fight anything off if there was something dangerous waiting for her. She isn't sure if the yellow eyes deep within the bushes are real so she goes to get closer. even though her inner wolf is screaming for her to move away for some reason she doesn't feel scared.
As she takes another step, there is rustling behind her so she quickly turns round to see Farkas walk through the trees with anxiety in his eyes which turns into relief when he sees that she is okay. Ashina spins back around in the direction of the eyes but they are gone making her think she had imagined it all.
"Ashina?" Farkas says softly not walking closer until he knew how she was feeling.
"I said don't follow me" she sighs, it wasn't an angry sigh, not anymore as she knew he hadn't realized how important Mori was to her, not to mention Ashina knew he would eventually follow her no matter what she said, he was the King after all.
"You knew I would" Farkas starts as if he's reading her mind "I brought us some things so that we can have a stake out until we find the cat... Mori" he quickly corrects himself with a nervous smile on his face.
Ashina hadn't even noticed the backpack he had with him full of things, one minute she was thinking how sweet he was, feeling her tummy warm with happiness but then she started to cry again.
"What if I never find him?" she asks through her tears.
It was at this moment that it truly made sense to Farkas how much Mori meant to Ashina which meant that he would do anything to find the cat and let it live with them even if he thought it was the oddest thing he had ever seen. Farkas knew he would do anything to ensure his mates' happiness.
Mori was to Ashina what Lucas was to Farkas. They were best friends and would feel like their were missing it if the other was gone. If Lucas went missing, Farkas wouldn't rest until he had found him and that was exactly what Ashina was going to do so as her mate, he would be there throughout it all.
Werewolves were pack animals so it was very rare to find a werewolf within a pack who didn't have any friends Farkas knew that something wasn't right with the pack that he had found Ashina in but now wasn't the time to question that.
Farkas pulled Ashina into a hug, she flinched at first but very quickly settled into it, neither Farkas nor Ashina could stop themselves from smelling the other person, it was the most addictive thing either of them had experienced.
"You will find him, I promise. Look, about a 5 minutes walk is a lake, it is my favourite place to go and sit while I think about things, why don't we go there? There is no point in running around, getting upset but never finding him, let him come to us when he is ready" Farkas explained
Ashina who was still pressed against Farkas's chest nodded. She took a deep breath and started to walk in the direction Farkas pointed but he noticed that she was uncomfortable walking as she was limping so he went behind her and lifted her bridal style into his arms making her squeal in surprise. Farkas catches a glimpse of the bottom of Ashina's feet where are covered in scratches in cuts which makes him angry, he isn't even sure who or what he is angry at but knowing that his mate is hurting angers him.
He carries Ashina with ease until they reach the lake, even in darkness it was one of the most beautiful, relaxing places he had ever seen. Farkas gently placed Ashina on her feet telling her not to move as he didn't want her to have further damage to her feet.
Ashina watched as Farkas reached into the bag and pulled out a blanket which he lay on the floor and told her to sit on.
"A blanket? Really? You really did think of everything" she teases playfully with a small smile on her face but he could still see the anxious lines on her face as she looked around hoping to see Mori.
Farkas sat down next to Ashina and pulled her close to his body to keep her warm, he kissed the top of her head never wanting this closeness to end. Of course he wanted to make her happy by finding Mori but he was glad of him disappearing just because he could experience this moment.
"This could be a long night so I thought I'd make it as comfortable as I could" he shrugged as if it was nothing.
Both Ashina and Farkas fell into a comfortable silence, all of Ashina's thoughts being about Mori as she felt like thinking about anything else would make her head explode. Farkas's thoughts were whirling around so quickly he barely had time to contemplate each one but it was mainly due to his new mate, his pack and the prospect of life never being the same again.