The Phantom Wolf

Chapter 12 (A Sickly Sweet Scent)

*3rd Person POV*

Three weeks have passed, since Pearls adventure in Seattle. She has worked hard, on improving the use of her ghost ability. Being able to turn invisible with clothes on was just the beginning. Now, she can expand her invisibility to cover items and animals that are in close proximity to her. Not wanting another encounter with a bear that is hungry enough to try and steal her food. Pearl has focused hard on not only making herself disappear from all of the 5 senses, but also being able to cover her deceased prey in the same shield. Allowing her to feast undisturbed and without distraction, due to the peace of mind her ability provides.

Pearl decided not to return to Seattle, after the encounter with those police officers, she thought it best to remain in the forest. The look in their eyes told her that they were suspicious of her. And last thing Pearl needs, is to be stuck in a room with a bunch of humans, being interrogated, with no way out. Although she had done okay conversing with those officers, Pearl knew that her control around humans, still needed a lot of work and she wasn't willing to risk it.

Back with Pearl, who was currently sitting under the sun, having just finished devouring a deer she had just killed. Pearl was deciding on her next steps.

*Pearls POV*

'What to do. I can't stay around here forever. Even though this place is beautiful. I want to explore. Maybe find myself a purpose. I've got all the time in the world now after all. I don't think I can find something meaningful here.' I thought hard about what I should do about my future. 'Although I don't need to leave straight away. It would probably be best, to move on soon. I've practically depleted the deer population around here single handedly. And, I'm sure that it won't be long before humans start encroaching on my territory, with it being so close to Seattle and all. With the weather getting nicer, it's not to hard to foresee humans coming up here to go camping. And I definitely don't want to be around for that. Not just because I spend a large amount of time as a giant wolf, which would be freaky enough for humans if they spotted me. But because I can relax around here because I know I'm alone. As soon as humans start getting close, I'm gonna be tense and on edge. Not only to try and remain hidden, but to more importantly, try to remain in control at all times. I don't need that kind of stress.'

'I wonder where I should head? It will have to be far away from here, to avoid the possibility of being recognised. I don't know if mum, Seth or Leah bothered to report me missing, but at this point, other people on the reservation have probably noticed... It's too much of a risk to be seen around this area.' I got up from my spot on the ground and started trotting towards my cave.

Hunting as a wolf is so much more efficient and I don't need to worry about dirtying or ripping my clothes if I'm not wearing them. And, at least as a wolf I'm not obviously wandering around naked. Not that anyone's seen me do it, except for the countless amounts of deer that is. But the fact that I have the knowledge that I spent over a month walking around naked in a forest, is more than enough to permanently damage my pride and ego. As such, I do not want to have to do that again, so it has become my personal goal to keep my new clothes as pristine as possible, so that they are always useable. No matter the circumstance.

Crossing a small stream on the way back home, my nose started burning. Some sort of smell. A scent, perhaps? Turning my large head towards its direction, I picked up hints of vanilla and many other sweet things, but with each sniff. It left a lasting affect on my nose, like I'd been pricked on the inside multiple times.

'This is new', I thought curiously. 'Should I follow it? That probably wouldn't be my smartest decision. But, then again, I could use my ghost ability to remain hidden. I'd be completely undetectable, especially without my clothes. If it's dangerous, I could just leave. And there's no fur off my back. Hmm... yeah. That sounds like a plan.' Activating my ability, I started tracking the strange scent. I followed it out of my territory. Considering I'd never really had to track anything before, I believe I'm doing a pretty good job. Even if it is a taking a while.

'Glad I practiced my ability. How far does this scent go? It's been at least 30 minutes since I left my territory.' After my thought process concluded, I had to stop. The smell, had changed. There was more. A lot more. The scent was much stronger to. I ended up sneezing a couple of times, before regaining my composure. 'Huh, there's more of them. What an earth am I following? Am I tracking a group of chili peppers that were dipped in vanilla ice cream, or something? Oh well, too far now. I gotta know what this is.' Smiling internally, I picked up the pace. With the smell getting stronger, I could go quite a bit faster. It was easier to outline where the smell was leading to, with it being so potent and all.

I was running for maybe another 5 minutes, before I heard it. Stopping to listen, I could make out yells and screams. The kinda things you would hear when listening to an out of control fight. I decided to approach much slower now. Double checking that I was completely undetectable, before moving forwards. As I approached, the sounds of fighting grew louder. And I heard growling and barking in the mix? 'This is certainly intriguing', I decided. Once I reached a clearing in the trees, I had an open view of what  I was hearing.

"What the heck?!" I barked out in surprise.