The next day came.

Olga woke up in her wolf form. It felt familiar. She felt safer on four legs than two.

The ground smelled like worms as she scampered through the woods alone with a growling stomach. Her small white ears perked up. She could sense her family nearby. Instinct told her she was not a rogue. She belonged in a pack.

Olga? I'm coming, Olga. Just wait a little longer, came the voice.

Olga's heart fluttered. The small white wolf had little idea she was being followed.

Something nuzzled her pelt. It was a notion reserved for close family only.

Who are you? Olga wondered.

Jax. What's going on?  the voice, Jax, sounded concerned.

The werewolf was huge. She backed up in submission realizing the animal's head alone was the size of her body.

As if sensing her fear, the animal took on a friendly stance, playfully in a downward dog pounce. It blinked innocently, carrying a dead squirrel between its canines as if in a peace offering.

Olga could not resist jumping for the squirrel as the older animal dropped it.

She was starving. It felt natural to dig right in with her snout, no paws needed. The quiet creature shared the meal with her. Olga tried to only eat what she needed. She was not the one who hunted it, after all.

The wolf remained silent as it watched her back off from the freshly killed meal. Its long fluffy tail swept up from the ground and scooted the unfinished meat toward her.

Its gentle movements made Olga relax. Eager, she finished the remaining meat. A little burp left her after she finished what was merely crumbs to the huge animal.

The wolf's long tail swept under her belly, tickling her undercoat. She laughed as the animal successfully swept her up from the ground. The wolf held her by the pelt as it began to scamper away from the clearing.

Soon, it dumped her off beneath the hollow of a dead tree. It was just big enough that it could crawl underneath the gap in the old bark. Trees hid scent. It was why the critters of the forest hid in the very same space as the two.

Olga heard the wolf growl with warning at the angry family of birds nested above their resting place. Apparently, the home had been claimed already. Their chirps came to a sudden stop at the wolf's command.

Outside their hiding place, Olga could see wolves. They were not friendly like her new silent friend. The werewolves snarled, speaking in incomprehensible barks and growls.

Inside the hollow of the tree, the wolf stroked her fur with its tail, it had it curled protectively around her body. With growing concern, the animal laid its head over her blocking her view.

"I smell her!" one of the wolves yelled.

"Me too!"

Olga? Where are you? You need to tell me, Jax called through their mind-link.

They were circling the tree. Olga was getting angry. What kind of pack would want to hurt rogues? Some blurry knowledge resurfaced, letting her know rogues were weaker and usually left unbothered by packs.

She wasn't so sure she wanted to be found.

There were at least ten wolves. Olga had a feeling the biggest wolf, the black one, was their leader.

Suddenly, he shifted into that of a man. She felt her face burn. He was very attractive. His hair was black and his skin smooth. Olga liked the muscles in his arms.

His eyes searched the greenery.

Olga? he tried again.

Her heart raced, it was him, he was the one calling out to her.

The naked man suddenly turned toward the tree. Her eyes widened. She recognized his face.

"Jax," she whispered.

She had the sudden urge to run out and meet him, but she couldn't move from her position. The alpha may have been her mate she felt in her heart but the others in the pack were getting angry. Clearly, they were not as interested in finding her and had become impatient, tired, and hungry from their long search.

Eventually, Jax finished addressing the pack and they ran off together back up the mountain the way they had came.

At the moment, Olga was much more wrapped up by the idea of that sexy alpha being her mate than their search party giving up for the evening.

Olga knew she couldn't be certain about anything. She understood why her new found friend wanted to keep hidden. If her mate found her with another wolf, there would be a fight. It wouldn't matter that the werewolf helped her.

That is what she assumed it to be. It was too big to be a normal wolf. She knew it was male, but it had yet to speak so she was still uncertain if it truly was of her kind.

They had travelled far and ended up high in the mountains. They would need to climb up and over the landmark to reach Frost Lock on the other side.

The two found shelter between a cluster of boulders.

At any rate, Olga still understood the wolf and had followed it since it was headed the way her pack went. She remained curled up in a tiny ball of white fluff as she tried to keep warm.

She was getting hungry. Her legs ached from following the large beast as best as she could. They had gone over large rocks, creeks and over slippery slopes.

Once the wolf saw her settle down over the flat slate, it gave her a long gaze before scampering off between the gaps in the boulders.

It was then that Olga realized how alone she was.

She did not know if her silent companion would return. She could smell her mate's rich scent. She was certain she could handle the rest of her journey alone. The hard part would be finding food, for as much as she had already traveled, Olga felt she could handle the next day without it if it came to that.

The sky darkened as she laid alone watching bats flutter overhead across the night sky.

Suddenly, she stood up on all fours hearing a strange grunt. The animal sounded grumpy...and big. She barked as a warning but it did little to scare the bear away whose home she had taken.

Her heart raced as she watched the large mass of brown fur enter the limited space of the shelter.

The bear stood up on its hind legs roaring as a means to claim the territory. Olga could not escape since it was blocking the only exit. Without waiting, it landed on its feet with another ferocious roar and charged straight at her. Olga managed to back up into a small hole in the boulder. The bear still could reach her. It swatted at her fur dragging its razor sharp claws across her skin.

She yelped sharply, whining hysterically.

A loud growl resounded somewhere beyond the walls of thick rock. The bear backed off. The wolf had returned. Olga was stunned as she watched the animal lunge at the bear. It managed to bite the bear's arm. A ferocious snarl left the wolf as the bear whacked it with its other arm.

Olga whined seeing the bear was winning. It was heavier and stronger. The wolf circled the animal snarling with foam at its jaws. The bear appeared to be getting annoyed. It could not manage to hit the wolf as the wolf dodged its attacks knowing its place beneath the predator. Instead of fighting, it was leading the bear out of the space.

Suddenly, there came a vicious growl and then an awful cry from the bear.

The wolf was pacing over to her with the dead bear fallen behind it where blood and flesh lay in a mess. The killing blow was directed at its neck where the wolf had managed to bite it.

Blood covered the wolf's jaws. Olga cried in pain as it neared her.

It lowered its head making a soft whine as it managed to drag her out of the space. Olga could feel her heart slowing. She did not have the strength to lift her head.

Her belly had been torn open. She growled with warning as the wolf began licking her wounds. Miraculously, the action began to heal her injury. Soon enough, she was able to stand on her own as the claw marks had healed over.

The large wolf returned to the bear and began digging into the fresh meat. She wondered what would have happened if the animal had not showed.

"Can you speak?" she asked out loud.

The animal did not appear to hear her. She laid back down. The wolf had finished its meal but not all of it. The dead animal was beginning to stink.

Absentminded, she watched as the wolf dragged the remains of the bear outside the shelter. It returned promptly and scampered over to her. The glow of the moon made its gaze soften. Olga did not feel so nervous but she still was intimidated. It made a soft purr in its throat as it settled over her. Olga barked in annoyance as she felt stuffed in its heavy fur. She looked up finding the animal's ruby eyes staring straight into her own as it stared down its snout.

A strange feeling bloomed in her chest. The wolf nuzzled the small of her neck settling its head beside hers for the night.

❄️

A/N: Thank you for reading!