«Hongjoong, someone is keeping us from reaching the wall,» Seonghwa said in the link.
«Do not risk getting captured.»
«I'll bring Ellinor further out on the plains,» he said and took off. Ellinor followed him without protesting. Even though they didn't share a link, she read him well. She was an excellent hunter, and that came in handy even in this situation. Soon they were too far away from the city to hear the pack-link.
They ran as wolves until their bodies decided they needed a break. Their paws were sore from running on the frozen snow of the plains. Seonghwa saw her lay down panting while he drank from the hole in the river ice. He nudged her when he was done, she had actually dozed off for a moment. She drank while he kept watch. Both of them felt someone following them still. Why would someone be interested in two wolves alone? They posed no danger to anyone. They knew they had to get going quickly. The two wolves looked at each other, then they ran. At one resting point Ellinor nudged him, pushing her snout to his neck gently. He let her take lead, she seemed to have a plan and probably knew the area. He had no problem letting her decide where to go.
They were beyond tired when darkness had taken over. They had to find somewhere to sleep, but the bare cliff landscape around them wasn't very inviting. Ellinor led them up a river. When they got to a large waterfall, there was open water. Seonghwa looked at her surprised as she shifted to her human form. She sat in the ground, trying to hide a little.
«Behind that waterfall there is a cave,» she said. «If we swim over, we'll be safe. The water is dangerously cold, but once we're in we can shift back to our wolves and stay warm together. What do you think?»
Seonghwa shifted and she looked away from his naked body. «Lets do it.»
They had no clothes with them. Usually one would tie the clothes to your foot or around your waist in some sort of pack. Today that would only have been a burden. They were as naked as the day they were born. Werewolves were used to this, but that didn't mean they were comfortable with it.
Ellinor went as close to the waterfall as possible before jumping into the cold water. It threatened to paralyze her, but her wolf kept her going. She heard Seonghwa following her, and they swam as quickly as possible towards the waterfall. It was hard, but they got behind the wall of water, and crawled shivering over icy stones into the cave. They quickly shifted back, shook the water off of themselves. After drinking from the easily accessible fresh water, they went to the back of the cave, as far away from the waterfall as possible. Ellinor led them to some twigs and branches that she obisouly had slept on before. They slept like her, and only her. She laid down, and Seonghwa laid down next to her, on the outside of her. He wanted to make sure she got the most heat, and that he was protecting her from any outside dangers. His alpha instincts were coming forward, more and more. He had never felt this huge need to look after the omega next to him. As an alpha he was never cold, as long as he was in his wolf. He happily shared his heat with her. She wasn't quite as warm as him, so she snuggled close to him, hiding her snout in his fur and falling asleep.
Seonghwa felt wolves in their vicinity several times during the night, but still far enough that they were safe. The water kept them safe. Ellinor slept through it all. She was tired, and she trusted that the alpha would keep her safe. Every time she stirred, he let out his calming pheromones, and she would crawl closer to him, finding a new comfortable position. It felt nice being this close to someone, even if the situation was scary. At least they were together.
Seonghwa woke up as Ellinor rose and stretched her body. She made some soft, comfortable sounds before going to the water to drink. He got up and did the same. She went back to their bed and shifted, so he did too. They needed to plan.
«You've been here before,» he said. They sat next to each other, looking towards the water, listening with their senses.
«Yes,» she said. «I've used this cave a few times, but not for very long. I can't smell anyone else, so I think this is as safe as it gets around here.»
«Should we stay here?»
«I'm not sure,» she said. «I can feel other wolves around, and I'm not sure how easily we'll find food here. What do you think?»
«We shouldn't go back towards the city yet.»
«We could always go to the forest.»
«Your forest?»
«Mhm,» she said, looking at his face for a second. «I have a lot of hideouts there, and very rarely are there wolves close by. There's food. Clothes.»
He smiled for a second.
«But we have to try to lead them away, confuse them. We should consider going our separate ways to get there.»
«No!» he gasped.
«It would be the safest.»
«That's not the safest, Ellinor. We have no link, if we loose each other...»
«Then we have to make sure not to loose each other.»
«You know there's a way to make a link immediately.»
Her hand instantly went to her neck where one usually would get their mating mark. «No,» she said.
«You don't want to?»
«Not like this, no. You know I've sacrificed a lot to wait for the right one.»
He sighed. «Fine. If we ever loose each other, howl once and then we'll meet two clicks west of where the howl came from. It's not a very specific... but it's better than nothing.»
She nodded. «It'll take us a day to the woods. She should take two days.»
«I agree. You take the lead.»
Again, she nodded. They got up and went towards the waterfall again.
They had slept into the night. The moon kept them company, but darkness never was a problem for wolves. Whoever was hunting them had lost them, it would seem. Still they weren't too far away, it felt like the whole area was being patrolled, hunting the fugitives. Ellinor and Seonghwa set a high speed and ran straight through dangerous areas towards the swamps. Ellinor knew the area well,, but Seonghwa still was very alert as they entered the area. If you stepped on the wrong patch of grass you could end up in the murky pools. He chose to just follow Ellinor blindly, trusting her every step. They stopped often to check that no one was following them. When they scared up some birds, Ellinor caught one of them. They shared it, even though it felt like a mouthful. A fox helped them fill up a little more later on. They threw the carcass in one of the dark pools, hoping no one would smell it and find the path they had taken. So far so good, but Seonghwa couldn't relax, not even for a second. Not being able to speak was impractical too.
They kept going all night and day, making a huge detour on their way to the woods. They were tired when night came, but Seonghwa was just happy that she had a plan for sleeping this night too. In a vertical cliff, huge, there was a ledge, several meters up. Again, they had to shift to their human form to climb up, but when they were up there, they shifted back and snuggled up together again. The ledge was bigger than it seemed, but Seonghwa didn't exactly sleep very well. Still, they got some rest. Seonghwa obviously slept on the outside of her, making sure she was safe. Her calm breath in his fur was relaxing. Her smell had started to equal good things for Seonghwa.
On their last day towards the woods they didn't feel, see or hear any wolves. Some older tracks only.
«This isn't a trap, right?» she asked when they shifted to have a talk in the middle of the day.
«I can't feel anything suggesting something like that,» he hesitated. «But I guess we can't be certain.»
«We'll take a few extra detours,» she decided. «But we're getting closer. Tonight we'll be able to sleep warm and safe, after having eaten a hot meal.»
«Sounds incredible,» he sighed and closed his eyes for a second.
«We should eat something before the last leg.»
«Wait a sec, I smelled something just back here,» he said. He shifted and left her for only 10 minutes or so. He came back with two hares. They were a little skinny, but they still filled their empty bellies. They were ready for the last leg of this trip.
YOU ARE READING
Alpha & Omega // Ateez // P.SH
WerewolfEllinor feels drawn to the city. After 10 years alone in the forest, why would she seek the dangers in town? And especially now, so close to her Time? Ellinor is saved by Yunho, and meets the pack. Who hides among the pack members? Will they still...
