Shadows (Book 2 of the Zara's Wolf Trilogy) BWWM

4. Meetings and Greetings

The journey is dark and damp as a light sprinkle of rain falls while we half run, half trot across the land toward the Columbia River.

Rick leads, followed by Alicia, Keith, Emily, and Evan and I taking up the rear. Emily's wolf is small, a few inches shorter than I am with long thin legs. A few times she slips behind and Evan and I have to coax her forward. She just lowers her head and tries to pick up the pace, but we can see her struggling.

Maybe it's because of her age, but I'm curious as to why Rick was so determined to whip me into shape, while seemingly neglects Emily's need for endurance and strength training. Maybe it's because she's the omega, as Keith and Evan explained several weeks ago, and thus she is expected to remain the weak and inferior one?

As I nuzzle her shoulder for the fourth time, I feel a closeness with her and a need to protect her from harm, like a big sister. I just don't get why Rick doesn't push her to find her potential just because she's the omega.

She looks up at me with her big brown eyes and a feeling of gratitude falls on me.

Evan nudges her forward with his nose in such a way as to tell her to keep up.

She lowers her head and tries to speed up.

Luckily, Rick pauses at a creek to drink and take a little break. We catch up moments later, Emily and I panting while everyone else is hardly out of breath.

I can't tell how long we've been on the move, but I can tell from Rick's pacing that he wants to get going.

Alicia huffs at her mate for being impatient. What is his rush? We'll get there when we get there, and there's no use in pushing Emily and I to the point of causing physical harm.

Keith appears to be in agreement with her as and nips at her ear playfully. She shoves him back and bares her teeth in irritation.

Evan stands next to me in a rather defensive posture, paws planted firmly on the ground, his stance wide, his head high, and his shoulders squared.

Rick ignores him, his attention focused on his mate and her annoying brother.

Finally, he growls and turns his back. He instead circles around our perimeter, marking trees with his scent. When he returns, he barks, ordering us back to our feet and to continue on.

We must have been three-quarters to the border, as it seems like it takes no time at all to get there.

Sure enough, a handful of wolves are there on the other side of the river, waiting for us. There's a huge hulking white and tan colored one, no doubt Owen, two smaller mixed brown ones, although one is a few inches larger than the other, who must have been Leah and Brianna, and two more massive mixed white, brown, and gray beasts.

Crossing the river proves challenging as it's a couple hundred yards wide, but we make it. Evan ensures that I don't slip on rocks and get washed away by the current. Keith, similarly, helps Emily cross. He half pulls her by the scruff of her neck, as she's tired from the run to the border. She whimpers once she makes it to land, lowering herself to the ground and licking his muzzle in gratitude. He licks the water from her face, ignoring her little whines.

We shake the water from our coats as the wolves from the Silver Star Pack approach. Evan and I instinctively lower our heads, while Rick and Alicia maintain a tall, proud stature.

The large white and tan wolf, Owen, steps up to Rick and flashes his white canines before growling lowly.

Instinctively, I flinch and lower myself to the ground even though the growl is not directed at me and I am several feet away. Just the presence of Owen makes my muscles tense. He is just as massive as Rick. His shoulders ripple with muscle that his fur cannot even conceal. His piercing green eyes demand submission from his guests, and even though Rick is his sister's mate, I can see that there is a lack of trust within him.