Page 45 of Mating Season

19

Aspen

In hindsight, this was probably not the smartest thing I’d ever done. My papa was partially right. I’d turned into a “city wolf” by lazing around these past few weeks and felt a bit out of shape. My beast wasn’t fairing much better.

It’s your fault for not letting me out in almost a month.

But I was a runner at heart and used to rougher terrain than this. Outrunning a pack was something I did for most of my life. I think I took the idea of leading the run too literally though.

It was hard trying to keep everyone in line from the front so I kept racing to the back and ensuring the females stayed together until we made it to the inlet.

My wolf growled again as we doubled back for some of the slower females. Sand flew from her paws as she spun around. Herding. Not leading. That’s what we were doing. But the creek was just ahead and I had a plan.

My wolf looked over her shoulder to make sure we had left no one behind in the woods and to check nothing would attack in the open area of the beach. Cindy, Meghan, Lilith, and Edith weren’t with us so that left fifteen females on the run with me. I didn’t scent them, but they had to be somewhere. Nodoubt licking their wounds after Ranger told them off.

The camera drones continued to follow us as the first of the females made it to the creek. I raced ahead, showing them what I planned as I leapt into the shallow water. It was ankle-deep and cold as ice. My wolf’s extremities had a lower blood temperature, keeping us warm despite the chill on her paws.

We trudged along a few feet, slowly, waiting for the rest of the females to catch on.

Smart girls.My wolf nodded her approval as the last of them followed us into the creek.

And then she started running again.

It wasn’t my first heat. In wolf shifter culture, I was basically an old maid. Yet the thrill of this season was new. It wasn’t the environment or slowing down to check on the other females or acting as a Luna. It was the fear and excitement pulsing through our veins.

A primitive part of our being realized we’d be caught this season. It reflected in the moon’s brightness, the wind ruffling the leaves and my wolf’s fur, the smell of rich earth surrounding us, and the icy clear water kicked up by our paws. There was a sweeter taste to the fresh air filling our lungs. The vivid sharpness of life. An ancient calling every female wolf indulged in. The freedom of the run. The thrill of the chase. The excitement of being caught.

I felt it all.

For the first time in my adult life, mating season wasn’t something to escape. It was something to run toward.

But I wouldn’t make it easy.

Another powerful howl sounded behind me. Ranger’s wolf had been crying out since we left him in the woods. The strength of his wolf’s voice seemed to shake the surrounding trees, sending the clouds gathering in the night sky to scatter and leaving the moon to shine bright on our path.

My wolf’s heart beat faster as she nipped at the heels of the younger females, driving them around the bend of the creek. The echo of his howl still filled the night air. A promise haunting the forest.

He was giving us more time than Alpha Derek ever did. That made my heart race faster and my anger burn hotter.

Cocky, confident male who thought we needed help.

We’ll show him.My beast was loving this, the freedom from my human skin and adrenaline from the chase. I’d never seen her more in her element than tonight.

I was born for this.

Her paws continued to splash through the stream as we made it around the bend, staying just behind Kimberly’s and Ismelda’s wolves.

Finally, we were out of sight from the woods. My wolf howled to let the females know. It was now that we could disperse. The water would wash the scents of our tracks to give the guys more of achallenge. My wolf didn’t plan to leave this creek until the last possible minute.

I could tell the females who were eager to get the season started. Their wolves were barely wet as they climbed the banks, leaving the run and heading off on their own paths with the solitary scent of their trails left behind.

It was the ones heading deeper into the water I paid attention to. It sucked not having a direct way to communicate with them other than the growls and movements of our wolves. We weren’t pack. We hadn’t learned each other’s mannerisms.

I should have paid more attention to the show.

But the females who kept trudging along through the water as our little makeshift pack dwindled were either hoping to hold out for a more dominant male or scared to leave the safety of the creek. I stuck close to them, scenting for whiffs of fear. I guess that was one skill I’d gotten from Nuva Pack. I was good at picking up on subtle clues from a crowd.

Fallon stayed in front. She was lost in her own chase and mind. I saw it in the others too as Keshia’s sleek black wolf slid under a thicket of brambles on the bank, making a hard trail to follow. They weren’t paying attention to the other females because nature was driving them forward. I felt the draw, but I was able to ignore it for the time being to make sure everyone else was okay.