Page 2 of Sawyer
A dog like a golden retriever or a German shepherd would bring some life back into the house.
With the conversation over, I made my way back to the porch.
Garth, it seemed, hadn’t bothered waiting for me and had probably gone to our assigned area of the forest.
Irritated but not wanting to show it, I went after him.
I found Garth waiting in a clearing, leaning against an old pine tree, arms crossed against his chest.
"Took you long enough," he said.
I had a feeling he was about to hurl a more hurtful insult but changed it at the last second.
"Since the area we're assigned to cover is pretty large, why don't we split up? Heck, let's make it a friendly competition. See who finishes patrolling first. What do you say, ‘pack second’?” Garth drawled.
"We're here to do our jobs, not race each other," I said, still unable to fully comprehend why Cooper decided to make Garth a pack enforcer.
Sure, I understood we lacked manpower right now, but couldn't Cooper have selected someone else?
“Scared you're going to lose?" Garth asked with a sneer, glancing at my leg as he did so.
"I'll take you on any time," I shot back.
"You take the north side of the forest, I'll take the south side," Garth said.
He was baiting me, and I'd fallen into his ridiculous trap like an adolescent wolf pup who couldn't control his emotions.
Garth started stripping, and within moments, had shifted and sprinted off before I could even finish taking off my clothes.
This wasn't going to end well, I thought, but I wasn't backing off. I shifted, the familiar pain in my left leg sharper than usual.
Running through the forest, I struggled to keep pace, the uneven terrain making every step a battle.
My breath came in ragged gasps, and I could feel the strain in my paws, but I pushed on, determined not to let Garth get the best of me.
By the time I reached the northern edge of our patrol area, the old oak we called the Sentinel, I was exhausted. I collapsed near the tree, panting heavily.
Moments later, Garth sauntered up, already back in human form, looking infuriatingly smug.
"I can't believe Cooper made you his second. He probably only did that because you're his best friend. You didn't earn that spot," Garth said, his words rubbing salt in the wound.
I wanted to punch him in the face, but honestly, I was too exhausted from the run to even lift my arms.
The last thing the pack needed was its top wolves fighting among themselves at a time like this.
I liked to think I was being magnanimous by letting Garth off the hook, but the truth was, all those months of physical therapy had thrown me off my game.
I needed to get back in shape, to prove to everyone in the pack I was worthy of being Cooper's second.
Garth's smirk widened as he saw my frustration.
"Better luck next time," he said, turning away.
I watched him go, determination rekindling in my chest. This wasn’t over.
Not by a long shot.
"Let's put some ice over that swollen leg," said Devon, our pack healer.