A Forest Away (dnf)

Twenty-Three

They ran and ran. I clung tightly to Clay's neck fur. It was truly amazing. It was like a sense of freedom when we would jump over obstacles like logs. There were moments when I would close my eyes and I could feel the cool breeze in my hair.

But Clay unexpectedly came to a complete halt as he barked at his father to get his attention. The brown wolf came to a stop and turned around to face us. Clay continued to bark as his father responded with a few more barks before beginning to run again.

But we didn't move. Clay then made a U-turn and proceeded to run away from where his father went.

Where are we going?

We kept sprinting, but then we came upon a familiar river. Clay effortlessly jumps over it as he begins to slow down his pace. We strolled around the trees as Clay sniffed the forest's surface.

What is he looking for?

His nose then passes across a large white rock. I noticed more rocks ahead that seemed like it was creating some sort of route.

I know where we are!

And, sure enough, we arrived in front of my spot a few moments later. Clay crouches down after we walk in. I hopped off of him and then stared at him.

His eyes weren't all that different from his human ones, but they were more of a vibrant green. He then walked over to a bush and hid inside. I raise a brow as I kept a watchful gaze on him.

Clay then poked his head out a few moments later, but he was no longer a wolf.

"Clay!", I exclaimed as I began to approach him. "Wait George! Stay right there", he said cautiously as he held a hand out.

"Clay it's alright this doesn't change anything. I still care for you the same", I tell him as I began to walk towards him again. "N-no you don't get it I-"

"Clay it's fine!"

"I'm naked George!"

I stop. I feel the blush begin to fade in. "O-oh", I say. "Every time I change back I'm c-completely naked"

"Anyway I just wanted to give you the answers to the questions you're probably asking yourself right now", he added. "So this whole time you were Dream?", I asked.

He nods. "That would explain why you were there at the school when Aiden decided to beat me up that day"

"Yes but by doing that I unfortunately gave the hunters or your dad I mean a lead"

"I didn't even know he was a hunter", I admit. "You didn't?"

"No I always thought he worked something office related due to all the 'meetings' he had", I say as I air quoted meetings.

"So were you beaten by a werewolf or is that a myth?", I asked. "Well it is true that you can turn if you are beaten by one but I'm a little different I was actually born this way. Both of my parents are werewolves, their parents were werewolves and so on"

"Are there more of you?"

"From the stories that my dad would tell me there was at some point multiple of us. A pack of us if you will but I was too young to really remember anything"

"Were you guys always hunted?"

"I believe so, the hunters always thought that we were demons sent from hell or we had some dark magic in us and stuff like that. To them we were just beasts, uncontrollable monsters that thirsted for blood. But that was never the case. We never killed people despite all the rumors. The things we would only really kill is the wildlife. But then again we were always taught not to kill the healthy animals. We would only kill the ones who were either too sick or too old to continue on with life", the blond explained.