The morning started out much the same. The pack wandered with little reason other than to patrol their territory; a region I knew as well as I had once known my own home.

Home; even now thinking about it hurt. I missed summers by the pool, hot showers, the smell of my Mums perfume drifting from their bedroom and the leather of the furniture in my father’s office.

There was no point in dwelling on the past.

We had fed well yesterday and wouldn’t need to do so again for a few days and as they all carried on their way, I walked as a human through the forest. My body that had once been well looked after and slightly plump was now thin with muscle. The wolf diet wasn’t as nurturing to my human like it was to the creature I let roam free and the miles I travelled alongside them had left me fit and able to endure as much as the animals.

I had no clothing, the items from years ago lost. Out here in the wilderness I didn’t need them anyway. If anyone should ever come by, they would only see me covered in fur. Not that I’d even seen a person, human or shifter since that night - and I didn't want to.

My hair that had once been spoiled with salon treatments hung dry and feral around my waist. The ends were in ruins from where I had tried to hack at it with an old blade I found left at a campsite.

Thankfully spring was bringing warmer weather and I could wander as a human longer than in the winter, when the cold would snap at my skin and turn my toes red. The pack stopped by a river, a few deciding to chase the fish that teased them just under the surface while others wrestled in the grass or like me, lay in the sun. The tan I once had used to make Leanna jealous, and now even this early in the season it had already come back to me.

If she was here, I knew she'd still be jealous.

Thinking about her hurt more than thinking of home.

I wanted to hear her flea jokes and not for the first time, I wondered what would her wolf have been like? Having raced with the yearling pups earlier for no other reason than we could, would I have been faster than her? Would she have been lucky enough to find her mate young? Would he have loved her like they were supposed to?

I sat up as the familiar brown wolf came over to my side and I gently rubbed behind her ears, treating her like I did the others. To me they were each like a pet, while I lived amongst them, i was not one of them. It wouldn’t be long before the Alpha was due to have her pups and I knew where we were going the second they started to head north.

She returned to the same rocky outcrop every year to give birth them and I lazily opened my eyes to watch her for a moment. Her mate was never far from her side; despite her being the more dominant one he didn’t seem to mind. He would lick at her muzzle and always lay at her side, a companionship my own wolf envied.

I could feel her even now refusing to acknowledge the sight.

We talked about own mate every now and then, the darkness of his hair and eyes. How nice it had been to be held, his scent. The conversation that night was as burnt into our mind, absorbing as much detail from it as we could. My wolf blamed the gypsy, I blamed him. She thought he was a coward for not being able to kill us, and tried to convince me it was all human emotions that got in the way. It was his wolf that warned her of what was going to happen, and he alone that influenced his pack to leave rather than kill me completely.

The new information didn’t help ease my mind. He killed my family and ruined my life.  While the years allow wounds heal, it didn’t let you forget them.

Revenge played on our minds.

Despite the help from her mate, my wolf still saw them as weak and mates are not chosen on those kinds of traits. The wolves in front of us had proved to their pack they were fit to lead, they knew when to travel to lower lands in pursuit of food for the winter and when it would be safe to head to higher ground in the summer. In some ways they reminded me of my parents, firm but fair. If discipline was needed, they’d step up and they made we all pulled our own weight while making sure the young ones were able to grow into adulthood and the elderly were not left behind.

The Alpha pair laid together, watching two of the yearlings wrestle nearby. He put his head on her back as she rolled onto her side and together they sighed content with their life.

As long as we were out here, we’d never have that peace or satisfaction. My family was dead, my mate – gone. Going back to civilisation was never going to bring them back or miraculously cure his fears of me killing him. My father had been right in saying I’d be a strong and proud shifter. I had the perfect wolf for it; it was as the human who lacked those things.

Thinking like that angered her; I don’t know how she thought I had potential for much more than this. A human trapped in a wolfs body. Even free in my human form I knew she was in control and sometimes I think she didn’t like it. It went against the natural order of human dominance and yet I couldn’t be bothered fighting her. She was waiting for the day I would, and I knew then I’d win.

I just didn’t see the point.

The pack set of after an hour or so and we followed. My feet were hardened from the brutal terrain and giving in I shifted back to one of them.

With her keener senses, it took seconds for me to smell it.

 It was sweet, heavenly and saliva began to drip from my mouth without a second thought. Ignoring the pack, they kept going without me and the breeze that came down the path lured me on.

Stop.

I was in control now and my wolf wasn’t impressed with my timing as we carried along the well-worn path that was barely wide enough for us. The sounds of the pack became silent behind us, being a part of them for so long; she wasn’t comfortable leaving the safety it provided.

Stop. Now!

Stopping – it wasn’t because she told me to, but so I could sniff the air again. I’d never been more attracted to anything in my life. It was like sugar and something in the back of mind starting to reappear, a part of me that used to be happy and care free, sitting on our kitchen bench with Leanna while Mum hummed ‘You are my sunshine’ and made us hot chocolates.

Chocolate; I could smell chocolate.

Then I heard the footsteps. Unlike mine they were heavy and in a set of two, crunching over the fallen leaves and small bushes that covered me.

Well done.

So not only was my wolf clever, strong and a survivor; she was sarcastic.

I froze, wondering if I should make a run for it back to the pack or stay hiding. If I ran, would they see me or follow me and if follow - would that put them in danger?

I dropped to the dirt, crawling under the bushes and the scent of chocolate was stronger now and so were a variety of other things.

Sweat, leather, water, plastic, fire.

How did I miss all of these other, stronger smells?

You’ll get us killed.

Then I saw them, three men, boys more like it. Their tent was set up in one corner of the clearing and two of them sat by the fire. It was the one walking around near where I hid that caught my attention though; he had the chocolate.

A whole god dam block of it.

“Do you guys feel that?” He asked, his dark brown hair was cut short and flattened against his head. He must’ve taken off a hat to get it looking like that. He wasn’t thin, not like I was at least and from under his sleeves his arms were shaped in the way that hard work helped create. Apart from their manly smell, there was another scent around them. It was a part of everything and I couldn’t place it until the fair bellowing of a cow was heard somewhere past them

Cattle; they were farmers.

I had never known them to come this high, or maybe we’d just never stopped so close to the boundary of human lands for us to notice. It had been some time since I had seen another human, and I couldn’t bring myself to move away.

“Feel what?” The youngest of the three piped up, looking around they had to be brothers. They all had dark eyes and the longer I stayed still, the more my wolf was screaming at me to leave.

“I dunno, I’m getting some strong messages!” That got them all on edge, the other two standing to look around as if they knew I was there. The youngest one seemed to sniff the air and they all grouped together, narrowing their eyes on the bushes where I hid. Humans wouldn’t be able to sense me, their eyesight was limited and their sense of smell was weak.

These weren’t just innocent farmers.  

Shifters!

My wolf hissed at me, finally letting me in on the secret since I took so long to work it out. I groaned silently, of all the people to run into they were not simply humans – but shifters.

“Me too Jay. It’s like there is one of us nearby. What’s going on? No one comes up here!”

Run!

I tried to scoot backwards and with a final look at the block of brown heaven in his hand, I took off down the path and the only problem was within a minute I wasn’t alone.

They weren’t as fast as I was, they didn’t know the land as well either and breaking out of the bush land I kept my head low and sprinted across the plain. The sight of some of the pack on the hill in front of me, made my heart soar, and instantly they all got tense seeing the trio in pursuit of me. Their howls and calls soon erupted like a battle cry and the others began to turn back, curious as to what was going on.

Because they were used to me, the shifters didn’t bother them like they would have normally. The yearling and I guess you could call him Beta started to trot forward with their tails and hackles up. I bumped heads with the pup and saw the other three coming over, their whines of uncertainty making me anxious. I didn’t want them to get hurt.

We gathered as a unit, pacing around as the trio hesitated to come closer. They looked at each other constantly, trying to work out what to do. They’d be able to tell the difference between actual wolves and me, but this would be something new to them completely.

It was when the Alpha arrived I knew things had to end quickly. She was pregnant and the remaining members of our family stuck close by the pair. These three were intruders to our territory and we all stood staring at them, waiting for a sign of them to fight or take flight. Their wolves were not like mine; nervous is the company of the wild animals and slowly walking backwards the air around us changed. They were retreating, but as the dominant pack – we had to make sure they knew it. I leapt forward with them, just like they had done with me we charged and now the table had been turned. They weren’t going to hurt them; they were making a show of it. Snapping at their heels, running alongside them growling – the trio were defeated and didn’t deny it.

Only as I followed behind the one who still had the lingering hint of chocolate about him, he stopped and before one of the others did go to attack, he shifted. The duo with him paused, another staring match starting as we all eyed each other up. Picking a target, the human would be the weakest.

“Shift, why hide behind your wolf clothing!” He demanded and both my wolf and I snorted, amused at his attempt at taking control.

Don’t do it.

I had no intention of listening to his orders, dropping my head slightly as behind us, the Alpha’s howled and the rest of the pack joined in. It only excited those around me more, and they all bounced against each other playfully, the adrenaline only growing as they carried on.

And then one of the shifters lunged for my pack mate.

I had knocked him down before he could take hold of the wolf, the yearling yelping in fright at the sudden attack. It was a weak move, and as a stronger wolf – I defended him. We had fought another pack some time ago; it hadn’t been much of a fight, as animals knew their laws. The yelp only stirred them all up more and two others ran to my side, nipping at the shifter on the ground as the wolf refused to accept his place.

These humans would play dirty with little respect for how it should be done.

 I let him up, my hackles up my skin was tingling with the anticipation of a fight. Spit dripped of my fangs as my lips curled back, daring him to try something again. He didn’t back down, jumping up I met him mid-air and we started to box, our chests slamming against each other as we fought to get a grip on each other. A nip on the cheek, a tug around the neck, but my paw hit his eye and with that second of distraction, I got the grip I had wanted on his neck.

 Using my full weight, my wolf loved the chance to fight and knocked him to the ground, not letting him up.  Fighting to the death wasn’t common practice, as soon as dominance is established – it ends.

 This idiot thought he stood a chance and wouldn’t give up. He fought like a human, not a wolf. 

“Let him up! He will stop!”

I forgot one had shifted back to human, the pack circling him and the other who was smart enough to lay in submission. With a final shake of his scruff I stepped back and this time, he didn’t chase after me.

The bark like sounds called the pack back to me and we ran off together back to our alpha, like a bunch of happy dogs who had just become best friends at a dog park. We all congratulated each other on our success, the pack won and we all crowded around the Alpha, a new song breaking out amongst us.

“Wait! Who are you?”

I didn’t even stop to look back as we all took off through our territory, the intruders had been defeated and we had other things to worry about now.

-

Two days later, my wolf followed the yearling girl to the river. The heard of deer scattered the second they saw us and we watched interested as they fled. We had no need to hunt, a chase would be fun, but feeling lazy we wet our paws and lingered on the banks.

Shifters.

We looked around, the wolf with us completely unaware of the danger and sure enough, the three shifter wolves charged out from the tree line, circling us.

She wasn’t a weak wolf, definitely her mother’s daughter, but the young wolf kept close to my side. While the shifters would recognise her stance of dominance, they wouldn’t care for the animal and my wolf kicked into protective mode, snapping at the one to get to close to her.

We were willing to stoop to their level, death may be the warning they needed to back off and leave us alone. The pack was nearby, and deciding to give them what they wanted, closing my eyes I shifted.

My pack mate got nervous then, slinking around my legs like a cat.

“Let me send her back.”

The largest of the trio nodded, their snarling stopping as I ran my hands down her back and pushed her in the direction of the pack, urging her to go I felt my wolf’s influence spreading over her and surprisingly she did what we wanted and ran back to the others.

While my hair covered my chest, the rest of me was dirty and remembering nakedness in front of other people I blushed slightly and tried to cover other areas.

“Do I need to shift and settle this physically or will you speak to me?”

Talking was unusual. In human form I would talk out loud to my wolf. Even though she was in my mind, I needed conversation from time to time. Now I could get actual responses, I didn’t want them.

Sure enough the trio all shifted, the younger pair trying to retain some modesty covered themselves too while the eldest, the one who had the chocolate didn’t bother.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“Who are you?” I retorted.

“I asked you first.”

“I have a pack of wolves meters away that will not hesitate in making a mess of your pretty human bodies.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. I could provoke them into attacking, I just didn’t particularly want to.

“I’m Jay, that’s my brother Connor and my cousin Adam. Now you.”

Lie.

“Daisy.”

Following my wolf’s guidance, I couldn’t help getting nervous. Instantly memories of that night started to flash back to me; being held against my will, the feeling of each punch and as my heart started to race I got dizzy. The feeling of my arm being held had my screaming and I leapt away, shifting as I did so.

“Daisy calm down. Are you ok?” All three were frozen in place as I snarled at them; the youngest, Connor looked like he might cry.

“She has rabies. Shoot her before she infects the forest!” Adam declared, glaring at me.

My wolf didn’t like that, tensing to lunge towards him.

“She doesn’t have rabies. Daisy, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re just, curious. No one comes out here.”

We moved away from them, putting a good amount of distance between us and reluctantly I shifted back.

“If no one comes out here, why are you three here?”

“We’re farmers from south of here, some of our cattle broke through the fencing and we’re just rounding them up before the wolves get them.” He explained, taking a slow step towards me.

“Then go away, back to your cows.”

“Why are you here first? You’re alone aren’t you?” He spoke to me like a child; soft and patronizing I had enough social interaction to last me however long.

Lie.

“No. They’re just hiding.”

‘With the wolves? We’ve watched you all for a day, there are no other shifters around here.”

“What year is it?” I blurted out, not really thinking it over.

“What year do you think it is?”

Adam snickered and nudged Connor amused. They thought I was crazy.

Maybe I am?

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Two thousand and eleven.”

Five years; for five years I’d been living with the wolves. I felt dizzy again, sinking down onto my knees that familiar numbness took over stopping my tears and the ache in my heart.

Not now, don’t appear weak!

I nodded, looking back to the shifters who had come closer in the time it took me to space out. At least now I knew.

“Are you alone out here? Where is your pack?” Jay asked again, slowly walking towards me.

“My pack are back there, leave us alone or next time you will see what wolves are really capable of.” The venom in my tone even made me shudder and Connor and Adam swallowed nervously. Even Jay was put off and my confidence grew.

They were not dominant wolves.

“We could tell our pack, have shifters running all over these mountains looking for you.” He threatened.

Idiot.

He may have been taller, but I knew I was stronger and my wolf was angry, giving me her strength. It didn’t matter we were naked; it didn’t matter for the time being I was out numbered – he didn’t threaten us. My hand clamped around his neck as I jumped up, knocking him to the dirt with a thud, his breath was knocked out of him upon impact and straddling his chest, my hands tightened.

“Do not threaten me shifter.”

The other two were in shock, before snapping out of it and they came running over to try and grab me. His hands clawed at my arms and with a grunt he managed to roll slightly and to balance myself I had to let go. Jay’s throat was red; the imprint of my hands making a pattern over his skin and the other two grabbed an arm each to drag me off him.

No, I was not being held captive again.

I went dead weight and they came in closer to try and lift me back up. My foot kicked straight to where I knew it would hurt most between the legs and Adam fell to the ground, groaning. Connor dropped my arm in fear, while Jay was still gasping for air beside him.

“Final warning; forget you ever saw me!” I demanded, shifting and running back to my pack.

I was welcomed back in as if I had been gone for months, not minutes and we took off to higher ground. I hoped I had scared them enough to back off, to follow me now would only be signing their death certificates and even if other shifters came to find them, they would die too.

For every time I had considered returning to the human society, I mentally slapped myself. I couldn’t go back; I couldn’t live amongst them anymore. My mate had sealed my destiny that night when his pack left me to die. I wasn’t one of them now, I was wolf and this was where I, where we – belonged.

-

The next few nights went by much the same. We made it the whelping den and being back in the most familiar region of our territory had the pack in good spirit. The change was easy to see and with plentiful in these parts so we never went hungry.

It was on the tenth night that the pups were born and with the new arrivals, we were all on high alert. It would be a few more days until we were permitted to meet them, their tiny cries were strong and with no problems there were four pups this year compared with the two of last.

It was a full moon and leaving the pack I shifted, enjoying the fresh grass against my skin and wandered through the world that was nearly as bright as day. It all made me  smile. Pups could do that to a person, no matter how damaged they were.

Lost in my own world even my wolf felt content, relaxed even and maybe it was because of this fact, we realised too late and couldn’t do anything to defend ourself as a lasso tightened over my shoulders and I was pulled to the ground.

I couldn’t shift, the rope would hurt her too and every time I tried to stand, I was pulled back down.

Shifters!

Pointing out the obvious, their scents were becoming too familiar to me now and the growl that erupted was completely wolf. She was so close to the surface all I needed to do was get free and she would have free reign to rid us of the pest this trio had become.

“Let me go!”

They didn’t answer and seeing them circling me cautiously had my rage reaching an unknown level.

“Let me go now and I won’t hurt you.”

Adam had the courage to laugh at that.

He dies first.

At least my wolf and I were finally agreeing on something. The more I struggled the more the rope tightened and rubbed against my skin.

“Settle down, we just want to talk.” Jay spoke with calmness that the situation didn’t really have room for.

“Fine, talk.” I stopped struggling and moved to sit crossed leg, refusing to look at them as they regrouped rather than circle me.

“Who are you Daisy, you’re running around here like a wild animal. Shifters don’t do that.”

“Maybe they should and they’d have more manners than keeping people tied up with rope like a criminal!”

“You’ll just run or attack us, we’re not stupid.”

“Yeah you are, do you forget my last warning? What makes you think, this rope will stop me?” I made eye contact with him then and sure enough his gaze diverted quickly.

Weak.

“Stop making this into a fight. How old are you? You’re like what, twenty? Eighteen maybe?”

“I’m well, what month is it?”

“March.”

“I’m twenty.”

They all looked at each other for a second, and sighing I tried to bend my arm enough to start pushing at the rope.

“You asked me what year and now what month it is. How long have you been out here?”

“Five years.”

“What?” They all spoke in unison and I only rolled my eyes.

“Did you lose control at your first shift?” Connor spoke up and I was surprised he even managed it. My gaze turned to him and I could see him squirming.

“You could say that.”

I shuddered at the thought, not willing to go down memory lane again.

“Where is your pack?” Adam asked, for as brave as he tried to act, his voice was trembling.

“Dead.”

I felt the rope tighten as they all stepped back and I realised they thought I did it. I guess in some ways I did, he was my mate after all.

“Now let me go or you’ll be able to say hello to them for me.”

Again I growled and I saw them think it over.

I heard the panting first, a faint whine and knew my pack was looking for me.

“Well you can’t say I didn’t warn you!”

I got their attention back and opening my mouth I called to my wolves. Jay dropped the rope, giving me a chance to start losing it from around me as the first wolf appeared, followed by the others as they ran towards us. They quickly stripped off their clothing, shifting into their wolves as if that would help them and the second I got free, my own was taking over, going for Adam like we had discussed.

The shifters didn’t stand a chance, the wolves remembered them from last time and as I was out for blood, so were they. The trio grouped together, unwilling to separate and as each wolf advanced on them, they’d chase it back. I stalked around them as they had just done to me, almost pitying Connor who was already laying in the dirt, whining – his fear only excited the pack.

If anyone saw us now, it would be the strangest thing to witness.

Wolves don’t act this way.

I lunged forward, set on taking down Adam when the gun shot rang out, spooking us all and looking over in the direction it came from, I realised I wasn’t the only one with a cavalry and theirs had guns.

--

Jay >>