Chapter 30: Chapter The End?

I run off and go catch a few rabbits taking them to the grove of trees where Brett had just finished putting the tarp up. We eat and then get comfortable for the night before going straight to sleep as we are tired from the amount of running we have been doing. The next day we canvas the area and make a plan of where to go.

“If this map your mom had is still accurate we should be close to this pack’s territory and it would most likely be a death sentence to run through the area as wolves. But if we go through as humans in the city that is on their territory we should be fine most packs don’t go near humans.” Brett explains as we look over one of the maps my mom had packed of pack territories.

“The only thing about going through the city is people might question two teenagers alone with hiking backpacks. It is not like it is a school holiday where we could be on a trip.” I point out. “Plus we don’t know the layout of the city or anything.”

“Well it is either we risk going through the territory, go through the city or go around and that may take quite a while.”

“Well it may take a while but it is not like we have a specific place we are trying to get to. We are just getting away from your pack and maybe head for that place that is only known in legends.”

“I guess you have a point there. But we are still going to want to go pretty fast because we can’t be sure if these are accurate it has been a while since I last looked at a recent map of pack territories.”

“Okay so we will head around the territory and then once we are on the other side we head for the little bit of mountains that are right there,” I say pointing to a location on the map.

“That’s a good idea and if this map is somewhat accurate it looks like there was the start to a city not too far off it would be a good place to lay low for a while. We can rest here for the day and then head that way tomorrow.” with our plan for the next few days set we spend the rest of the day resting under the tarp or hunting for food.

“So tell me more about this mind link is it only with mates or can it be with other pack members?”

“Well there is a mind link that is just for mates but you can also have a mind link with pack members that have done what I did with Arthur before he left.”

“Would that just be with the alpha and the other pack members or would it be with the whole pack then.”

“It would be with the whole pack somehow the connection to all those that are officially pack members forms after the ceremony no one really is sure how it works but it does.”

“But doesn’t every new pack member do that thing you did?”

“No, because sometimes the mind link of normal packs can be used for evil I guess you could say and because of that it is not required for every member to do it for safety reasons but some positions require you to have the mind link like elders, second in command and things like that.”

“Why didn’t you suggest doing it soon after you turned me?”

“Well before I knew you were my mate I didn’t really know if you would want to be part of my pack or if you would rather have nothing to do with me. And I didn’t know if my old pack would come for me and I didn’t really know if you would want to officially become part of my pack, because then it would be likely that if they caught me they would kill you too for being in my pack. And I wouldn’t want to force you into it if you weren’t ready for it plus I didn’t really know how to bring the subject up.”

“Well, could we do it now,” I question after a moment of silence.

“We don’t need to because once we did the mating ceremony you became a part of my pack officially and are a part of me,” he says touching my mark on his neck. “So anyone who I can mind link you can as well. Which means only in an emergency would we be able to mind link Arthur,” We continue to talk about the mind link and how typical packs operate as well as continuing to talk about the different supernatural creatures that exist other than werewolves. Before we know it the night is falling.

“So there is a legend that says the shape you take reflects the person you are?”

“Yeah so sometimes even if you are bitten by a werewolf you may turn into some other were-animal, it is supposedly very rare but it can happen. But I think we should probably get something to eat and then get some sleep we have a long few days coming up.”

“Alright shall we go catch some dinner.” we head out and manage to take down a deer and though we don’t eat all of it with it being fairly cold tonight it should keep the meat good until morning so we can eat more of it before taking off in the morning. And that is what we do we finish more of the deer before tearing down the tarp and packing things away before taking off in the direction of the next spot to camp out for the night. The next several days are spent traveling around the territory of a pack before we reach and the area close to the mountains we had marked out several days ago.

“Before we get to the mountain area we should scout out the area and the town a little bit to see if this is a good area to lay low at,” Brett says after shifting in a decent sized clearing in the woods. “Though lets not set up the tarp to close to the clearing in case people from the town come around here.” Brett turns to walk into the woods from the clearing but then stops in his tracks sniffing the wind. “Do you smell that?” he turns back to face me. I sniff the air and then after a second, the smell reaches my nose.

“Yeah, it almost smells like--”

“A wolf.” Brett finishes for me.

“Yeah, but it also smells human. Could a wolf and a human have been around here recently?”

“No, it is one scent, not two.”

“What creature is it then?” I ask coming to stand next to Brett.

“I have no clue I have never heard of anything smelling like both wolf and human at the same time.”

“Should we not stay here then?”

“No it’s fine we may need to make friends with whatever the scent is coming from because I don’t want to be on the run from my old pack forever we may need allies in case they find us and want to fight.” we find a spot to set up the tarp that is out of the way over the next few days we continue to smell the strange scent but never find who it is coming from. One day after having lunch we head in the direction of the clearing in hopes of finding the source of the scent as that is where it is the strongest. As wolves, we make our way towards the clearing. when we hear voices we crouch down just outside of the clearing. Standing in the center of the clearing is a girl with red hair and a boy with light brown, maybe blonde hair. They don’t see us crouched in the brush but we have a clear view of them.

“Ava everything is fine if it is what you think it is you haven’t seen evidence of it. Plus you have been thinking this for a few days, if anything was going to happen I am sure it would have by now.”

“Cody there is something here I know I can smell whatever it is and it has only been a few days. They could be waiting to know the terrain better to have another advantage, what if they hurt you or Bella or James or anyone else. If they got hurt and I could have done something to possibly prevent it I would never forgive myself.” A gust of wind blew through carrying our scent over to the strangers, the girl, Ava, smelling our scent growled and spun in our direction she spotted us quickly and shifted into a red-coated wolf. She stood protectively in front of the boy and growled at us as if daring us to make a move.

‘She must be what the strange human-wolf smell was. And if she is a wolf, there must be others nearby.’ Brett’s voice came into my head. I looked over at him and he was already looking at me.

‘What do we do? Do we fight or what?’

‘We show that we are not a threat. Follow my lead.’

Brett Stands to his full wolf height and then slightly inclined his head, as he told me to, I follow his lead. When the growling coming from the girl stops we both look up and she seems to have a confused look on her face as does the boy.

‘Follow me slowly walk into the clearing and shift but stay behind me a little bit.’ Brett says over the mind link. Slowly he steps into the clearing with me right behind him we shift and I stand less than a foot behind Brett.

“We are not here to hurt you or anyone else,” Brett speaks calmly making eye contact with the wolf standing before us. She looks up to the boy and he nods giving her a smile and a second later she has shifted back into her human form.

“Who are you and what are you doing here if you don’t want to hurt anyone?” she says looking back and forth between myself and Brett as the blonde-haired boy comes to stand next to her. Brett speaks before I have the chance to say something.

“It’s a long story.”