Those In The Forest

Part 99: Iris

Three days later

"Ha! I did it! First try!" Reagan praised herself through the bond and trotted happily in front of the cabin; it was extremely humorous.

          She had been practicing shifting every morning and evening these last three days. She's had some rough moments, but we've been here to help her bounce back. Us, and our Elders. Lennox and Avah have been... distracted, but that will soon be over in a few more days.

           My mates and I smiled at her newfound energy.

           Every day, she's lasted longer and longer in her wolf form, getting used to her new body and learning all the new things it can and can't do. The biggest issue is that she is really big. Teaching her things when she's larger than us has been a little tricky.

           Things such as hunting. Yesterday was the first time we actually tried to teach her, and she was doing everything right; it was just that she was too big.

          However, Celia and Karina had to take the reins on that, as Rose and Hazel could only do so much.

          I clapped my hands. "You're a natural," I said aloud.

          She turned and looked at me. "I talked to Bryce yesterday," she said, lying down. It was strange to see, but it grew on me rather quickly.

          Ivy rolled her eyes. "We heard. And it was closer to this morning rather than last night."

           It was like one in the morning, and we were exhausted, but Bryce and Reagan thought it was the best time to catch up—not later in the day when the world was awake, like ordinary people. Her chatting with her friend compared with Avah Lennox ending their night with a bang. It was almost torture.

          Reagan chose to ignore our displeasure with her keeping us up. "She wants to see me, and I've been thinking. I want to be the one to bring her back here."

          "We would have to talk with Karina and Celia," Hazel said, glancing at the house. "Not really smart to bring her here. Not with our Alphas... being so focused on other things. Things could get intense."

          "I'm aware of that. I'm not trying to bring her here today. It was just something to think about." she stood up. "Now! Hurry and shift, I wanna go for a run!"

          I chuckled. "Eager," 

          "I wouldn't be myself if I wasn't. Let's go!" She said, taking off, not even giving us a second to shift and follow her.

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"You have to calm yourself. You are so anxious to catch the deer that you are too tense. You can't hunt like that." Rose advised.

          Ivy and I can hunt, and we have helped occasionally, but Rose and Hazel are better at it, so we allowed them to teach Reagan how to hunt properly.

          On our run, she practically begged us to give her more lessons. It wasn't a problem to indulge her; the issue was her size and the fact that she was too excited to accomplish this.

          It's in her nature to be so wanting of things, and we love that about her, but in things like hunting, patience is needed, and what I've learned with myself and my mates is that we have very little patience.

          Ivy and I were far enough not to spook the prey but close enough that we could see everything. Reagan lowered her large stature to the ground, her white fur meshing with the darkness of the ground.

          If it were snowing, she would blend right in. That actually might be the best time for her to hunt.

           "The deer doesn't know we're here, which is very beneficial. The second it senses us, we lose the upper hand," Hazel explained.

           "But we're faster. Why not just catch up to it?" Reagan asked stubbornly.

           If wolves could roll their eyes, I was sure Rose and Hazel would. "Well, for this moment, we do not want to do that. You need to learn to walk before you run. We are learning to pounce right now, not chase." Rose said, lowering her body like Reagan.

          Reagan's hind legs were ready to push off. She locked her eyes on the deer, nibbling at the grass.

          "We have the advantage," Hazel said softly.

          Rose looked between Reagan and the deer. It wasn't often that we got to see them hunt, but it was always lovely to see them do what they do best. See how much pride they take in this.

          "Listen to its heart beating. He's calm, he's relaxed. Hunting strategically does more than help us get the kill faster. The longer he's calm, the better the meat. If you rush things and have to chase him, the meat becomes tough, and we've all noticed how much you dislike touching meat," Rose said calmly.

          Hearing them teach her about a hobby they enjoy was stirring things up in my body.

           Ivy looked at me. "Easy, now. We don't want them distracted." she teased.

          "Please don't distract me with the hopes of sex right now," Hazel begged. 

            Settling in place, I tried to calm my riling body. Ivy moved closer to me, her warm body grounding me.

           We watched our mates focus on their prey. The second they locked in, everything around us stilled.

            The ears of the deer twitched, searching for any predators while it ate. "Watch his body language. He can't stay on guard the entire time. The moment you sense his body relax fully, lunge for him. Go for the neck and twist your head. Your teeth will latch on, and you can snap his neck. That ensures the death will be quick and won't spoil the meat." Hazel advised.

          Reagan's entire body froze, and her heart rate was decreasing. 

           "Now," Rose said when the deer lowered its guard.

          Regaan lunged at the deer. It was kind of clumsy, but she managed to get her teeth locked on its neck and kill it.

           Ivy and I rushed over, admiring her kill.

          Reagan dropped the deer from her mouth. "Hell yeah! You did it!" Ivy praised.

          Reagan looked at us and down at her kill. There was a nice sparkle in her eyes. Every day, we saw her glow more and more.

          "I did it!" Reagan exclaimed happily through the bond.

          "Good job! Now, you just have to learn how to hunt a boar. They are always on guard and terrifying beasts, but you can do it." Ivy said, rubbing into her.

          "What happened to learning to walk before I run?" she asked humorously.

          "You are exceptional, so I feel like you can skip a few courses," I said, admiring her.