Runt In The Wild

Chapter Fifteen

We broke the tree line and entered the pack village. Since I haven't been to a howling or even heard of one, I didn't know where to go. So Leo led the way to a series of cliffs and meadows.

We maneuvered through the ridges until we came to a large open space with short green blades of grass poked out of the ground. The meadow was surrounded by cliffs that made the clearing like a bowl.

I gaped at the sight of the huge towers of rock with ledges sticking on all sides of the towers right in the center of the clearing. Grass grew in between the rocks, making the scene look so natural. I heard Leo chuckle at my reaction.

I turned to look at him and narrowed my eyes. This made Leo laugh even harder. I scoffed and started to walk curiously towards the towers.

Leo's pelt brushed up against mine as he led the way up the towers. Pairs of wolves sat together on different ledges, nuzzling against each other as the moon raised into the sky.

I followed Leo up a dirt path to a large ledge that looked over the entire clearing. The rocks gleamed silver in the moonlight, and Leo's dark gray fur turned cool gray as the light reflected off of his pelt.

I sat there admiring Leo that I didn't notice that more and more wolves were entering the clearing and finding their seats. I turned to look out over the clearing as two wolves with several other wolves close to them made their way to the largest tower that stood in between all of the towers without a single wolf on it so far.

I recognized the dark gray pelt of Alpha and the silver pelt of Kira in the center of the group of wolves.

I felt my tail start to wag in excitement. Alpha sat down on the rock with Kira sitting next to him. Alpha raised his head into the sky. "Welcome to another howling under the full moon. Connect with your pack mates as you howl at the moon." Alpha's voice boomed.

One by one pairs of wolves began to howl as the full moon reached its peak. Finally, Leo raised his muzzle into the night sky and howled. I watched his graceful figure howl at the moon. He lowered his muzzle to look at me with gentle eyes. "Oh, come on, Kate. Howl at the moon with me."

I smiled sweetly as Leo started to howl again, but this time I joined in.

I felt myself slip away into another world where my soul danced with Leo's. It felt like it was just the two of us together forever. I felt my spirit grow closer to him as our two souls entwined and connected into one.

Both of us had a beautiful howl, but together our howl was magnificent. It sounded as if they belonged together, as if I belonged with him.

We soon finished, and I noticed that the moon had gone down a bit. Granted, we still had several hours 'til dawn.

Leo turned to me, and I stared into his deep blue eyes. We smiled at each other. "Kate..." Leo started, "...I love you." My breath caught in my throat at his words. Love me? He loves me? "Kate, I really do. I love you, and I was wondering if..." I was still a little shocked but I urged him on. I saw Leo gulp before he finished, "...if you will be my pre-mate."

Once again, the shock hit hard. But I quickly recovered to think about what he said. He loves me and wants to be my pre-mate. Do I love him? Do I want to be his pre-mate?

I sighed, letting my head hang as I looked at my paws. "Leo, we are just really good friends. Do I really love you?" I looked up to see hurt showing in his eyes. They swirled like waves over the sea. Leo put his head down. "The answer is...yes."