The Stinky Life I've Accepted

Chapter 8: As Far As I Can Go

Ryker

As soon as night has come, I shift back into my much smaller form, exhaling deeply as I smell no more shifters around. 

The slight change in weather since the last time I have been outside tells me that fall is starting to peek through. 

Thank goodness for that. That means mating season is drawn to a close, and I'll be left alone. It also means that no more animals will follow my scent around, trying to catch up to me. Less animals (rodents), more food for me. 

And less interactions with humans. 

I shudder at my last interaction with humans. It ended up putting me in a shifter pack's hands, and the only thing I hate worse than humans are shifters in general. A whole pack of them...the thought makes me shudder. 

I have to get as far away from here as much as possible. 

I yawn, trying to fight off the sleep. Yes, technically, I am nocturnal at heart, but it has been a few busy days. 

I find a good strong tree, and start to dig underneath it, creating a small temporary den. Just a few hours. Just a few to rest and sleep, and I'll be on my way. 

I curl up and allow sleep to come. It won't do any good if I am too tired to carry on. 

Kylis

I hold my son close to me as he shudders, sweat plastered to his face. Tears streaks down his cheeks as he mumbles incomprehensible things, his eyes glazed over. 

"Shh, Max." I mutter, stroking his hair as I rock us back and forth on his bed, kissing his forehead. 

My mate walks in with a cool rag and some raw meat, a grim look on his face. "Hey buddy." He murmurs as he kneels before us, looking Max in the eye. 

My son doesn't answer, his body shuddering and his chest heaving. 

I exchange a glance with my mate, and he sighs, handing me the rag. I place it on Max's forehead, dabbing away at the hot skin. 

Someone knocks on the door and Liv appears with the rest of the Max's inner circle. "How's he doing?" Abberon asks, pale and tired from searching for the red fox. 

I shake my head as my mate holds the meat at Max's lips. "Come on buddy, you gotta eat." He mutters, but my son doesn't respond. 

"He's gotten worse since yesterday." I growl, clutching my boy closer to me. 

We sit in silence for a bit before Max succumbs to a fitful sleep. I gently place him back under the covers and on his pillow, careful to not wake him. 

We all leave the room with the door slightly hanging open so we can listen to him sleeping--or screaming from his nightmares of his lost mate. 

Payne walks up, grim and even more exhausted-looking than Abberon. 

"No sign of the fox. Like Kli said earlier, it's as if it disappeared into thin air." The Head Warrior gruffly hisses as we settle downstairs in the family room, the couches and chairs swallowing us up. 

"What are we to do? Our Alpha lost his mate, the pack lost its Luna. We all lost the first omega we've seen in over a decade." Liv mutters dryly, her head falling into her hands. 

I hand my daughter a cup of water and she gulps from it greedily. 

"I am afraid there's nothing we can do. It'll be a long journey, but Maxon will get over it with the help of his family and inner circle. The heartache may never leave, but he'll learn to live for him and his lost mate. It's not a fate any of us would like to live, but there's nothing else that can be done." My mate, Ramsay, mutters. 

What a cruel world this is. 

Ryker

After I woke up, I immediately headed farther away from the pack territory. I have to get away. 

I will go as far as I can go to avoid re-capture. What those shifters wanted with me is beyond my comprehension, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good. 

And that weird connection I had with the Alpha spooked me even more. 

No thank you. 

I skim through the streets, staying far away from any human eye by skipping in the backyards, under the porches, and even hopping over the fences. 

I don't need any more problems. 

I really don't. 

I sigh. It's going to be a long road. But when has it ever been short or easy for me? 

As far as I can go...that's all that I have left to do. As far as I can go.