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

9. Two Down, Two To Go

The chill on my bones vanishes once my skin is covered in fur. My muscles are still solidifying as I leap forward. My wolf’s mind dislikes being left behind, so regardless of weak and flimsy muscles, keeping up with the pack is vital.

Some one hundred yards deep into the forest, I catch up to the pack. Keith’s blond wolf is flashing his long canines as Rick’s copper wolf snarls in response.

Woah. What’s the deal?

Rick holds his head and tail high, reminding Keith of his place in the pack. Alicia huffs at her mate and points her nose emphatically to our left. She inhales deeply and barks at Rick.

Following her lead, I take a deep whiff of the air. The breeze is blowing against us and I can smell it clearly. Through the earthy scent of soil, foliage, bark, and bitter pine needles, the delicious scent of deer greets my nose. This must be what Alicia is sensing.

So what’s the big deal with Keith and Rick?

The big copper wolf growls lowly in response to his mate, but lowers his head an inch. He barks at us.

Follow her.

Alicia takes off with Evan hot on her heels.

Seeing my mate bound after another female, even if she is the alpha female, draws a rumble from my throat. Rick catches my glare with one of his own. He’s holding himself back as well, apparently. When speed is what we need, Evan’s the best candidate for it, alpha or not. Sometimes it’s best to just swallow our pride and get over ourselves.

We take off after them with Tamara, Emily, and Paige trailing behind us. Marcus keeps pace with me in the middle, closely behind Keith.

The scent on the wind gets stronger as we run closer toward the source of the heavenly smell. As we approach, the others pick up the scent too, and their eyes light up in excitement and their tongues loll out of their mouths.

The forest thins out a bit as a creek opens up before us. A pair of young deer are drinking from the water, their shoulder muscles shuddering in an attempt to shake off landing mosquitoes. They cannot sense us as the wind is blowing their scent directly upon us.

My mouth begins to salivate immediately. Lowering myself on my haunches, I watch Alicia’s lead and wait for instructions.

She makes eye contact with Keith and Rick, and nods her head to the right. She then catches Brianna, Evan, and Marcus’ eyes, and nods to the left.

For a second, I fear she’s going to leave me behind, and I stifle a whimper as I sink down to the ground and turn my head up, begging. Once the others have dispersed, she looks at me and her eyes smile before giving me a nod.

Perking up, my tail wags a bit as I stealthily creep toward her.

I cannot see where the others have gone, but I can smell them all around us. Alicia has instructed the others to circle around our prey and now she is showing me how they make their move.

Crouching down low to the ground, Alicia creeps slowly forward through the brush. Our paws make not a sound as we cautiously advance towards the unsuspecting deer.

The wind ruffles my fur, causing both Alicia and I to freeze in place. The scents of our pack members is stronger on the wind, and no doubt the deer pick it up too as their heads dart up from the stream. Their ears flick forward and back as they search for any sounds to warn them of encroaching danger because they certainly got a good whiff of us.

I don’t want them to get away. I want to take them down, tear their flesh between my jaws, and take my prize back to the village.

Alicia’s tail thwarts me in the face, breaking me out of my bloodthirsty trance. Her hazel-green eyes glare at me, telling me to focus.