Charlotte had been running all night, after escaping the pack house she just kept moving, as silently as possible through the woods towards the border of their territory, she drew upon as much of her wolf as she could without shifting. She needed all the energy she could save for once she was off pack lands. “Come on lottie, it can’t be much farther now” she coached herself. It was shortly after dawn when she came to the border, moving through it felt like a small electrical buzz clinging to her skin as she passed, snapping like spider’s webs around her. The border was put up long ago by a witch. It had two purposes, when humans came near it would play on their fears and make them feel afraid so they would not trespass and discover them accidentally and the other purpose was to alert the alpha of any unauthorized coming or going on his lands. My Uncle now knew someone had crossed the border in this spot, and they would soon be closing in on me. Yet now that I was finally outside the pack territory there was only one thought that kept repeating in my head. I sank to my knees and could only whisper “I'm out. I’m actually out.” lifting my head i stared at the cloudy morning sky in silence yet inside i was howling in victory! It's over!
The snap of a twig nearby had my head whipping around, and I found myself locking eyes with one very surprised squirrel. I breathed a small breath of relief but the way my heart was pounding against my chest was reminding me that “out” did not mean out of danger. Still deep in the woods, I quickly changed out of my clothes, folded them and packed everything in the one bag of belongings I was able to bring. It was then I finally called my wolf fully forward and shifted. I was at my best in wolf form, I was powerful in ways I could never be in my human form, and I needed that power now. Problem was, the same could be said for the people undoubtedly tracking me. Picking up my bag and carrying it with my teeth I now sped towards the nearest town. I only knew there was a town ahead because of a dot on a map I had once seen in my Uncle’s study. Moving at top speed even if I happened to be seen by a human, I was moving too fast for them to know what I was or to do anything about it, so I sped on, leaping over and dodging around any obstacle in my path. I allowed my wolf to take more control, feeling her joy at the feeling of freedom. I took a back seat and allowed her senses to guide us.
It was late afternoon by the time I reached the outer edges of the town, my wolf senses picking up on the sound of cars and the scent of the people long before there was any danger of being seen. Still I found a spot I felt safe enough to shift back to my human form, better safe than sorry after all. I quickly dressed in a pair of loose fitting jeans along with an old hooded sweatshirt I'd stolen from the laundry back at the pack house. I didn’t want anything about me to stand out.
I wasted no time once I was changed. After jogging the rest of the way into town, and asking directions a couple of times I found myself staring at the entrance of the bus station. This is the only part of my plan I had not planned, I did not know where I was going to go. In the end I decided to leave it to fate. I took a deep breath and went inside. With all the confidence I could muster I approached the ticket counter “When does the next bus leave?” I asked, “Ten minutes, they are loading now if you want a ticket.” the attendant responded and without hesitation I replied “i’ll take it. all the way to it’s last stop.” the attendant looked at me questioningly, but in the end sold me my ticket.
I climbed onto the bus and sunk into one of the unoccupied seats at the back. I spent the last few minutes taking in the scents of the other passengers, relieved that they were all human. As the engine on the bus roared to life and the metal beast began its journey my body began relaxing more with every passing mile. Before I knew it I had drifted off in a dreamless sleep.
It had been weeks since seeing the girl and still my body and mind were in complete chaos. To say finding a mate was uncommon would be an understatement, Unlike the old days very very few wolves ever found their mate anymore, but there was no doubt in my mind now, those green eyes of hers that were haunting all my dreams could only belong to one person - my mate. Now that I'd found her she was all that I could think about. Not knowing where she was or if she was potentially in danger? Had my wolf screaming in my head to be let loose, we were both desperate to find her. Lashing out my fist connected with a tree with a sickening thud. I had wasted no time in returning home after concluding things with the sun shadow pack’s disgusting excuse for an alpha and put every available resource I had into searching for her. “I want her FOUND” I snarled in frustration “there MUST be a way”.
Charlotte wrapped herself tighter in her blanket, glad she’d bought thing even if it was a pain to pack around everywhere. After 16 days of travel, she found herself this morning sitting on a beach somewhere in the northwest watching the reflection in the waves as the sun came up behind her.. “Ok lottie, what's the plan now” she wondered aloud. The money I'd saved had run out days ago, luckily I'd managed to hitchhike this far and beg a few meals from strangers along the way. When I arrived in this cute coastal town yesterday evening I fell in love with it immediately. It had an old world charm about it, the buildings were old but well cared for, all painted in shades of white, with each building accented brightly in a different color, the whole town seemed to be cascading in a multitude of flowers, overflowing from balconies and windows, winding up lamp posts along the street. After wandering the town an
Elle sat patiently while I devoured the food she’d given me, smiling as she brought me a second glass of lemonade. I'd drained the first before I'd even sat down at the table. “Been a long time since someone has enjoyed something I cooked so much, most i get out of Sam these days is a grunt or two”. “Who’s Sam?” i asked between bites “Oh Sam is my Mate, we found each other nearly 40 years ago now. That's why I live out here away from my pack, my Sam is a human, and my alpha just couldn’t accept that.” “A human?” I asked, my shock strong enough to take precedence over the food “ I didn’t know that was even possible!” “Oh it is” she chuckled, “the mate bond is about who they are, not what they are” she said with the patience of someone who’s had this same conversation a whole lot over the years. “Well...that’s just garbage. Findi
Cole was pacing again. After the trail had gone cold a week ago I’d given up waiting for my people to find my mate for me. In a fit of frustration I had driven out to her last known location hoping I'd be able to pick up on something they hadn’t. I’d found nothing, not even the tiniest hint of her scent even lingered, it was like she was never here. I should have known better, my people were the best, and if they hadn’t found anything then there was nothing to be found. A gnawing feeling had taken up residence in my gut, and the longer I was away from her the worse it got. I was barely sleeping these days, day and night my wolf was howling in my head for his mate, his desperation was only feeding my anxiety. Not knowing was tearing me apart. I needed to let my wolf out, I'd been holding back afraid of what would happen if I let that side of myself free. I had never gone this long without shifting, constantly battling myself wasn’t helping anything. I’d read som
I sat quietly while Sam drove, unsure what I could say to the gruff woman that would lighten the mood in the cab of the old truck. Sam and Elle’s place was a few miles outside of the main part of town and I spent the ride looking at the houses that were nestled back into the hillsides and cliffs along the ocean’s edge. I loved the way the trees seemed grow by clinging onto the rocks and how they were shaped by the coastal storms, it was all so vastly different from lands I had grown up on. I found myself enthralled by the smallest things, a peek of the ocean as we turn a corner, the bright pinks of the flowers that seemed to grow everywhere, fishermen going about their day working on the docks, my eyes ate up the details.As we came into town, I tried to pay attention to the streets we were passing, their names and the businesses on them, so I could build a mental map of my new home. It was difficult, the uniformity of the white buildings that made the town look s
The drive out to the campground was a short one, I just followed the highway and soon enough I found the turn off I was looking for. Once I hit the dirt road, I turned off all the lights and allowed my wolf to come forward enough to enhance my senses. Driving to the back of the campground I backed into a space that was well hidden. Stripping down to my bare skin I piled all my clothes onto the back seat. I had a special hiding place for the keys for times just like this, since I couldn’t exactly carry them, and I hated just leaving her unlocked.I took one step out away from the car and finally released my hold on my wolf, allowing him to come fully forward, on the second step hair sprouted all over my body, by the third you could hear my bones breaking and reshaping, and at the fourth step I was walking on all fours, fully transformed. Some took longer to transition, but being an alpha definitely had it’s perks. Being in my wolf form was pure joy for me, and I ho
I took an exceptionally long shower, possibly the longest I have ever taken in my life. Standing there with the hot water kneading my sore muscles was therapy I didn’t know I needed. It felt so good to wash away all the dirt that had collected on my body, but as I watched the soap suds up on my skin while I scrubbed I imagined I was also scrubbing out all the bad that I’d endured living with my uncle, every insult, every bit of loneliness and unworthiness I was made to feel daily. By letting all that ugliness float free of my body and head straight down the drain, I felt truly clean, and when I finally stepped out of the shower and onto the bathroom’s fluffy yellow rug, I felt a lot more like myself than I had in an awfully long time.I dried off my body and put my hair up in a towel, then wrapped the borrowed robe around my body before stepping out into the hall. The house was silent and dark, I guessed Elle must have gone off to bed, the only visible light
It was no surprise I dreamed of her, she consumed all my waking thoughts, and not a night had gone by since meeting her where she wasn’t in my dreams as well. Something was different tonight though, where my other dreams had the quality of an echo, this seemed more.. real. I could hear her moving, listened to the soft steps as she circled me, coming closer bit by bit. I was enveloped in her scent, thick and rich like it can only be when she’s close. I didn’t need to open my eyes, all my other senses were on overdrive with her this near. I could hear her heart beat, listened with satisfaction as it spiked when she started touching me. I laid there, reveling in her shamelessness, letting her touch me however she pleased. Her light touch did nothing to stop the waves of electric tingles from racing across my skin in response to her, and I thought my pounding heart would surely give me away when she lay her palms on my chest. As she trailed her fingers lower it was a miracle I held stil