CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
let's go for a run

LANDON WOKE UP TO A KNOCK on the door that also woke up Rafael. Landon got out of bed just as Rafael sat up, looking beat. 

"Go back to sleep," Landon said. "I'll see who it is." 

Rafael nodded slightly before falling on his back like a sack of potatoes. The other boy approached the door and opened it up to see Katelyn leaning against the door frame. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, confused. 

"Well, I wanted to see if you wanted to bury zombie remains with Hope and I. You know, run around in our wolf forms for a little bit," she replied with a shrug, keeping her voice in a hushed whisper as to not wake up Raf. 

Landon grinned and nodded. "Alright. I'm down," he said. He walked back into the room and grabbed a sweatshirt. 

Rafael looked over at him. "What are you doing?" He questioned, still half asleep.

"I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back," Landon whispered in reply before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. 

The boy followed Katelyn into the lounge where Hope was waiting. They all walked to the kitchen and then out the back door. They ran into the forest and went to the Old Mill. They stripped off their clothes once they got behind their own tree and shifted.

They ran deeper into the forest, tackling and playing with each other for a long while. Everything faded away as the wind blew through their fur and through the trees. The cold air kept them from overheating and the moon shined down on their coats. 

Katelyn was a black wolf with one red and one gold eye. She was bigger than the other two but not by much. Her fur almost looked blue from how dark it was. She had white on her paws but only a little. On the end of her tail, it was white.

Landon's fur was black and a little bit of brown and his eyes was the normal bright yellow color. His underside was white along with around his snout.

Hope was a white wolf that was slightly larger than Landon's, closer to Katelyn's size but had one blue and one gold eye. 

They ran together for hours until they got to the cemetery. Katelyn looked at the two wolves before picking up one of the zombie's arms and trotting off further into the place to bury the remains. The two wolves quickly picked up on what they were going to do. 

They spent an hour digging up holes and dropping the body parts inside and then covering them back up. 

When they were finished, they were going to go straight back to the school but a sob cut through the air. A familiar sob. Hope took off towards the sound with Landon and Katelyn following close behind. 

They ran until they reached the place where Josie had been buried hours before. The half dug-up hole was now filled with the brunette siphoner's body, shaking as sobs wracked her body. Hope trotted over and nudged Josie's arm, letting out a sad whine. 

The girl froze momentarily before turning her head. Landon and Katelyn slowly approached, laying down a couple of feet away. Josie stared at the three before speaking with a raspy voice. "Hope? Katelyn?... Landon?" 

Landon's tail wagged and he let out a happy bark making the siphon chuckle. Hope whined again and laid down, resting her head on the brunette's stomach underneath her arm, and throwing her leg over her waist protectively. Landon stood up and walked over, curling his body around the both of them and resting his head on his paws. Katelyn trotted over and laid down in front of the three protectively. 

"W-What are you three doing out here?" The girl mumbled, not expecting a response. Katelyn whined in reply and huffed giving the girl a look that could only be deciphered as 'we could ask you the same question'.  Josie stuck her tongue out at the giant wolf as she softly began to run her fingers through Hope's fur. 

Katelyn watched as the three drifted off into sleep. Landon had shifted closer, allowing Josie to rest her head on his side, using him as a pillow. Katelyn stayed awake, her eyes scanning the surroundings every now and then if she wasn't watching the three. 

Katelyn briefly wondered how the brunette got out here without Lizzie waking up and coming with her or keeping Josie locked up in their room. She shook her head. Don't think about Lizzie, she scolded. The girl doesn't want to see you...

Katelyn let out a small huff and rested her head on her paws. She licked her chops before closing her eyes slowly. She hadn't been sleeping well so the tiredness was catching up with her. 

"How do you not know, Lizzie? She was with you, how could you lose her?!" Snapped a voice in the distance. Her eyes snapped open, glowing even brighter than before. It sounded familiar — MG.

"MG lay off of her," Rafael said.

"Rafael, you said that Landon went to the bathroom and never came back?" Emma's voice interrupted their bickering. 

Katelyn looked up at the sky and noticed that the sun was rising. She looked over at the three who were still sleeping peacefully and then her eyes zeroed in on the entrance to the cemetery. She didn't like the intrusion. 

A group of people appeared at the front gate. 

A beautiful blonde woman, Alaric, Emma, and Dorian were leading the charge while Rafael, Lizzie, MG, Jed, and Penelope flanked their backs, bickering about losing Landon and Josie.

Katelyn growled and, as one, they all froze. Their eyes darted towards her as she stood up. Her fur stood on end, making her appear much larger than she actually was. She growled more threateningly this time, baring her teeth. Her eyes were glowing again.

"Alaric," the blonde woman said. "That doesn't look like Hope. Who is that?" 

Dorian aimed his vervain gun at the wolf along with MG and Penelope — those two should not be allowed to have guns. 

"Dad?" Lizzie said when Alaric didn't answer. He kept staring at the wolf blankly. Another growl rippled through the air and, from the corner of Katelyn's eye, she could see Landon awake with his head lifted. He bared his fangs as well. He didn't move much because of Josie and Hope. 

"Alaric," Emma snapped. "Hope is the only one who can shift," she spoke slowly, looking between the black and white wolf. "Who are these two?"

Alaric didn't answer once again. He took a step forward and Katelyn's tail whipped dangerously. He slowly knelt down on the ground, setting the gun on the ground. He remembered what Katelyn had told him:

"If you ever come across me in my wolf form, bow to show you aren't a threat. I'll recognize you better and I won't feel threatened."

He lowered his head in a bow and Katelyn turned her gaze away from him, growling at the others as if saying 'what about them?' "It's okay," he spoke softly. "They won't hurt you." Katelyn gave him a look, no shit sherlock. I'd tear them apart.

Josie slowly started to wake up after feeling the growl go through Landon's body and vibrate hers. Hope huffed in her sleep at the disturbance. Josie smiled softly at the wolf that was cuddling her before she remembered why she woke. She turned her head and saw Landon with bared teeth, staring at something by the entrance. She looked over at Katelyn and started to get nervous since both wolves were acting aggressively. 

She looked over at what they were growling at only to see her mother, Caroline, father, sister, Jed, Rafael, Penelope, Emma, and Dorian. She let out a breath but her gaze hardened when she saw MG, Penelope, and Dorian aiming a gun at her friend. 

"Can you shift back?" Her father asked the white wolf. 

Katelyn narrowed her eyes and lowered herself closer to the ground. Josie's eyes widened. "Katelyn, no!" She said sternly and the wolf whined, laying down and looking over at her. Landon whined as well and laid his head back down.

"Josie!" The group said in a panic. 

Josie glanced at them before trying to push herself up. Landon didn't let her, wrapping his tail around her torso and resting his head on her shoulder. "Okay, I won't get up," she huffed in annoyance. The wolf barked happily before whacking Hope with his tail. 

The other white wolf recoiled, eyes snapping open and rolling away while her paws clawed at her nose. Katelyn rolled onto her back and wiggled around like she was laughing. Landon looked up at Josie and she knew that he would be smirking if he was in human form. 

The white wolf stood up and shook out her fur before huffing in annoyance and giving Landon a death glare. She trotted back over to Josie and plopped down making the girl grunt slightly. 

Katelyn stood up once again and shook out her fur. She barked at the group and sat down on her hind legs, her tail wagging slowly. 

Alaric looked between the three wolves and Josie before settling back on Katelyn. She and Hope were probably the biggest threat to them. "Josie, can you tell her to shift back please?" 

Josie looked over at the wolf who looked at her with a 'hell no' look. "One of you has to. And I don't think these puppies are gonna do it." The two wolves growled but Josie only flicked their noses. Hope yelped and put her paw on her nose, glaring at Josie. She looked back at Katelyn but the wolf just stared back. "Yeah, no," Josie said looking over at Alaric. 

Alaric sighed as Katelyn turned her attention back to the man, wagging her tail. "You really are a pain in my ass." 

"Alaric!" Caroline reprimanded, whacking him on the back. Katelyn growled at the sudden movement and the woman froze along with Alaric. 

Dorian cocked the gun and Katelyn narrowed her eyes at him. Alaric raised his hand. "Dorian, MG, Penelope. Put the guns down," he ordered. "She won't hurt us."

"She?" Penelope snapped. "Who's she?" 

"Katelyn," Alaric replied and Katelyn blinked before tilting her head in a confused fashion. Alaric looked over at the black wolf. "Is that Landon?" Josie nodded. "Hope?" The other white wolf picked her head up. "Okay. Why don't we all go back to school." 

Katelyn gave a slight nod. 

Landon and Hope stood up, allowing Josie too. Lizzie rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the brunette. Josie hugged her back as her eyes went from wolf to wolf. Hope whined and nudged the back of Josie's knee. 

"Okay, okay," Josie said with a roll of her eyes. The twins pulled away and the group began to walk back. Hope trots beside Josie while Landon and Katelyn stay behind. Katelyn shakes out her fur and sneezes. 

Landon yelped and Katelyn gave him a dry look. 

Alaric walked over to them and walked beside Katelyn. "You know you have to ask me before you go out," he said with a sigh. Katelyn whined and nudged his hand. He raised it and gently ran his fingers through her fur. "You're in danger whether you are powerful or not. People want you dead. I need to know where you are." 

Katelyn whined again as if to say sorry. Landon rubbed against her before taking off into the woods. Katelyn jutted after him with Hope right behind. 

"HEY—" Alaric's voice faded out as they ran forward. Katelyn smelled it now and apparently so did Hope as she let out a low growl. 

They ran faster and came up to a lake. It was huge and looked amazing. Katelyn, Hope, and Landon shifted back. Katelyn murmured a spell, waving her hand. Their clothes appeared on them.

"Damn," Hope said. "You need to teach me that." 

Katelyn shot her a smirk before looking out at the water. It smelled of rotten flesh. 

"What do you think it is?" Hope asked quietly, looking around to see if they could find why the smell was down there. Landon took off his shirt, shoes, and socks. "Woah, what are you doing?"

"I'm going for a swim."

AN: I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to vote and comment!