Running Wild

Chp 7

I shifted back and pushed my hair from my face, a grin spreading across my lips.
"Only to you Sol. Only to you." He huffed and flicked his tail irritatedly.
"I will leave you Star, I'll do it." He threatened, ears flicking back and forth as he listened to the sounds surrounding us. A branch snapped, followed by hushed voices.

Solaris and I looked at each other questioningly before two people -a man and a woman- trudged through the trees, dirty and sweaty. Solaris immediately tensed and though it was nearly unnoticeable, the slight movement caught the woman's eye.
"Who are you?" We inquired simultaneously, giving each other skeptical looks. My eyes narrowed slightly as I studied her, something was off.

"We're just trying to find our missing horses," the man intersected, giving the woman a stern 'back off' look.
"There were six that ran off. We were trying to bring them around here to the wild herd when a wolf attacked."
"I haven't seen any lose, terrified horses. Sorry." I muttered, stroking Sol's neck.
"Well, uh, if you see a black Arabian colt, a palomino quarter horse filly, a young chestnut mare, a blue roan stallion, a buckskin paint mare or a buttermilk buckskin mare please call the number in the card and let us know. We want to make sure they're safe." The guy pleaded slightly, offering me what looked like a business card.

"Yeah.... sure...." I took the card and watched as they made there way back through the woods before hopping on Sol's back and having him carry me back to the farm.
"Strange people. They kind of smelled like Everett but I can't tell.... I'll have to talk to him about it."
"Star, are u missing the very important piece of information that's right in front of your face?" Solaris asked, going at a smooth walk back down the path.
"Probably. You know me."
"They said a black Arabian colt. Don't you think that's a little suspicious?"
"This is why I kept you." I joked, patting his neck and gently kicking him into a canter.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" He nickered, pinning his ears as he ran across the familiar path.
"I'm kidding Sol, I promise, but I need to talk to Rett." I urged him to run faster and in no time we were back in the yard, where Everett was holding our daughter in his arms as he watched Amaris run around.

"Rett!" I called, sliding off Solaris' back the moment the stallion stopped.
"Have a nice run?" He inquired, giving me a soft smile.
"Yes. But I ran into some people asking if I'd seen a black Arabian colt." I rushed to explain, pulling out the card in my pocket.
"You don't think-"
"I think they had Caliban. Can you see if you can get a scent from this card?"

My mate sighed heavily and shook his head at me but sniffed the business card lightly, his eyebrows furrowing.
"It smells like a werewolf," He muttered.
"That's what I thought. We have to go check this place out." I responded, pulling my phone out to call the twins to babysit.
"Jules, you can't just go galavanting around the woods. We'll have to figure out what pack this wolf is from, and then request permission to enter. Maybe for some random reason, but we'll still need an excuse."

"Why do you have to think things through?"
"Because you don't, c'mon my love. We have to plan this out."
"But that means sitting inside for who knows how long." I whined, but followed him towards the house anyway, my irritation growing.
"Don't worry Juliet, I have a plan."
I sighed heavily and went along without more argument, hoping my slightly insane mate knows what he's doing.

~~~~

Several hours later, here we are, outside an alpha's territory. Him in wolf form, me just sitting on his back, while we wait for the patrol to allow us in. Apparently asking for a meeting to search for our missing child is the exact thing an alpha would accept an entry on his land. Thankfully.
"Shift back you dork, you being in wolf form will make them think we're a threat." I hissed, flicking one of his ears.