Run With Me

Chapter Sixteen

Kirk braced himself for whatever was about to happen. Darren was vibrating with emotion, his face as stone cold as he could make it. The only truly apparent emotion was anger, and an alpha's anger was not something to ever mess with. He felt pride as Terri held her head high and kept hold of his hand. His wolf howled in pleasure as her fingers laced through his own and she turned to her brother.

"I can tell when I am not welcome," Terri said, causing Kayla to gasp. Kirk and John just braced themselves, "I haven't been welcome since mom and dad died. Something you have always blamed me for." Terri had never been one to sugar coat the truth or side step to protect anyone's feelings, but it was more than obvious the words she spoke now had been weighing on her for most of her life. Darren's face turned red as he exploded.

"If you hadn't wanted to go to that stupid science thing you never would have been on that road!" His roar caused the windows to rattle. "They would still be alive and you wouldn't be a broken disgrace who's wolf abandoned her!" The room was silent as the weight of those words dawned on everyone. Darren's face went from red to an ashy pale color. He opened his mouth to speak when Terri held her hand up.

"I hereby leave the Edgewood Pack, effective immediately," Terri's voice held as firm as her grip as she looked up at Kirk, "While I still have reservations about being your mate and Luna, I would like to accept the offer to join your pack. And Michael if that offer is still on the table." Kirk could only smile as he nodded, tears threatening to break through from the force of pride and joy he currently felt. John said something, but it was lost on his wolf howling, Darren's growling, and Kayla's sobbing.

"What do you mean Michael? Why would Michael want to leave his pack?" Darren's tone was filled with confusion.This family had so much bad blood within the immediate members that it was often hard to remember that they shared the same genetic material. Kirk had already had his fill of the drama, but it was far from over.

"Because Michael has been the only one to stand up for me," Terri turned her back to Darren, "and because he is the only one who doesn't blame me for what happened when I was a child," she looked over her shoulder, "you blame an eight year old girl for the death of her parents and the loss of the dearest part of her soul. What reason would anyone want to stay?" She pulled Kirk's hand, leading him to the door when the door burst open without a knock. One of the younger members of the pack Kirk had never met rushed in, his panic filling the room.

"Colin is missing!" He panted, looking at the already distraught alpha pair, "people are looking for him but the weather is taking a turn!" Terri dropped Kirk's hand and rushed out the door at a sprint, her brain processing the information a split second faster than anyone else. Kirk and John collided with Darren at the door as Kayla screamed, shifting into a wolf and leaping past them down the hallway.

Outside, Kirk followed Terri as she dashed into the dark woods, following a trail only she seemed to be aware of. He could sense that Darren and Kayla were following after Colin's scent, though as he was about to enter the trees after Terri, another member of his pack stopped him and John.

"Colin wasn't alone when he left," Aaron was one of the younger unmated engineers in Kirk's pack, a genius and generally a wallflower, "I saw him talking with a few she wolves," he ducked his head and blushed, "I had been working up the courage to approach them when I saw them all leave with Colin, I figured they were heading back to the house. A few minutes later the call went out that he was missing." Kirk started growling. Terri had always referred to the younger females of this pack as "The Petty Pack" and he could see it was for good reason.

"What direction did they go in?" Aaron pointed in the opposite direction that Terri had taken off in. On one hand, Kirk needed to go after the missing pup, he was vulnerable if he was too young to shift and the weather was indicating that the storm was going to be unforgiven to those caught outside in it. On the other hand, his unmarked mate took off with just a light coat into the dark woods in the same storm. Pacing a few steps, Kirk raked his hands through his hair, thinking rapidly while Aaron and John watched silently. Finally Kirk stopped pacing and turned to both of them.

"John, you join the search for Colin, he knows you and you're familiar with his scent," John nodded at the command before turning to leave, "go in wolf form. If the storm gets worse you'll be glad for the fur." There was no if about the storm, more of a when, with the hope that the storm would hold off until Colin, and now Terri were found. Kirk turned to Aaron. John shuddered at the thought and immediately stripped down, shifting as the last article of clothing landed in a pile in the snow. The soft brown and tan wolf yipped and moved through the tents, picking up the dwindling remains of Colin's scent before taking off into the woods.

"Those girls you were trying to approach, there was one that seemed bossier than the others," Aaron nodded, his eyes wide, "her name is Anna, and I want you to find her and follow her discreetly." Aaron was so painfully shy at times that people had a tendency to look past him. During pack training Aaron was one of the stealthier wolves, so he had the best chance to blend into the background, "But I need to you to be able to use a cell phone to record, call for him, document anything you need to, so go get an extra layer and some gloves." Aaron nodded once and took off at a sprint, grabbing John's discarded clothes as he ran past. Kirk jogged to his truck and stripped his own clothes off, shifting into his wolf for the first time in too long. Running with Terri took the edge off, but running as a wolf was what they were built for, what he was used to. The caged feeling of living in the city for so long melted away as his silver fur ruffled in the wind. He would blend into the night soon enough, his fur fading to black and the tips and his muzzle black as the shadows he now stalked.