Life With the Pack

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Apparently I had fallen asleep at some point during our trip, because I woke up some time in the evening in a dark place. As I opened my eyes, I looked around and tried to make out where I was, but there was no light anywhere. I sniffed the air, it seemed I was underground. Strange. Turning over, I tried to stand up but my front legs were bound together. What the heck was going on?!

Then I remembered. I had been kidnapped, and apparently the handsome wolf had buried me alive. Finally I managed to stand up. It appeared to be a small underground hole. There was a slight breeze coming from my left side, so I decided to follow it. I half dragged myself down the tunnel, half hopped down it, having difficulties with my front legs. Soon I came into a larger part of this underground cave. There was a small light ahead of me and I went awkwardly towards it.

As I got nearer, I could tell that it was an opening that went up. Hopefully it led out of this place. After a few minutes of scrambling up the incline, I finally made it to the surface and flopped onto the grass, absorbing what was left of the setting sun and taking in the scenery.

I was laying in a small clearing surrounded by beautiful maple trees. There were several more openings in the ground like the one I had just come out of, so I assumed they led to similar places and decided I would rather not explore them. As I looked around, I noticed something odd. No one else was there. Hmm, if I could only get out of this thing around my legs, I could escape while no one's around, I thought. I looked down at the thing wrapped around my legs. Since I couldn't wiggle out of it, I would have to chew it off or cut it on something. Or maybe...

I tried to shift into something bigger to break the band, but in response I got a sharp prick of pain in both of my legs. Well that was a bad idea. I sniffed at the device. Suddenly I realized that it had two little spikes on both sides to prevent me from shifting. Crap. I started to chew at the band, but after several minutes without it breaking, I gave that up.

Wait... If it pricked me when I tried to get bigger, then maybe I could get smaller. Thinking of a small animal, I settled on squirrel and shifted, then band slipping off of my legs. Yes! Freedom! I shifted back to wolf form and stood up. I needed to figure out where I was so I could get out of here. Sniffing around, I found a trail of many mingling scents of other shifters, and decided to head the opposite direction. No point in going that way. I ran through the forest, careful of other creatures, and searching for signs that I was being followed. I soon came upon a field full of small red flowers. This was not good, if I ran through the field and was spotted I would be as good as dead. However, if I shifted to something smaller it could take a day to cross the field, and flying was definitely out of the question.

I sighed in frustration as I turned around and headed back towards the clearing with the tunnels. I was coming up on it when I heard voices. Thinking fast, I rolled in a nearby patch of garlic to hide my scent and jumped into a large bush of some sort. I pressed myself closer to the ground as the voices came closer. "Yeah I heard they tested those stupid bracelets on her and she escaped. Ray is so mad that she got away, you can practically see the steam coming from his beautiful golden brown ears!" I heard a female voice say, and another responded. "Yeah, I would hate to be the girl that made him that upset. I wonder why he's so mad over a Pack female?" The two laughed at the words "Pack female". I swallowed the snort of rage that was bubbling inside me. What was wrong with Pack females?!

As the two walked out of earshot, I let out a breath I hadn't realized that I was holding. That was close. I crept out of my bush and looked around cautiously. Determining no one else was around, I turned and started to head east.

As I set off at an easy trot, I took time to really take in the beauty of this place. Lush undergrowth covered most of the ground in between the trees and the forest floor was dappled with the evening sunlight. I sighed, thinking of home, and in that split second of letting my guard down, I heard a low growling coming from my left. I stopped, a sudden spark of panic in my stomach. Then I shook it off and squared my shoulders, turning to face the ferocious snarl.

"What do you want?" I demanded, determined not to show any weakness. I could just barely make out the shape of another wolf in the bushes. It almost looked like... No it couldn't be, I was far away from their camp and he wouldn't have been able to track me smelling like garlic and the forest... Right?

As I shooed the preposterous thought out of my mind, the mysterious wolf stepped out of the foliage and I gasped. How had he found me?! This could not be happening to me...

The golden brown wolf smirked at my expression, then straightened his face again. "I am Ray, and you are my prisoner. You are coming with me," he said, snarling a little. Hearing this knocked some sense into me. I was not going back with him. But how could I get him to leave me alone... Suddenly I remembered what Alpha Night had said to me. "As my daughter, you will become the Alpha after my time in this world is over. With this comes responsibilities, but it also has a perk. You have the power to influence others, since you are next in line, you can command others like a true Alpha. Very few can withstand this power besides another Alpha. Use this gift wisely."  Maybe I could use my advantage to make Ray leave me alone. Closing my eyes, I ushered all the strength I could muster into my Alpha voice I had only used once before. I blinked my eyes open, then stared deep into his. "You will leave me alone," I growled at him, power pulsing in my words.

He was taken aback as I used my full power, but was not fazed by my power. This puzzled me. How could he resist me? Unless... Was this wolf an Alpha?

Again, Ray smirked at me and chuckled. I was contemplating whether or not to wipe that smirk off his face when he spoke again. "You are clearly a powerful young Alpha, but it is no use. Your voice has no affect on one of your own." I inwardly scowled at him, and myself. How could I not have realized this? I am so stupid!

Summoning my self esteem, I tried another technique. "Well... whatever shall I do then? How could a young Alpha like myself possibly get away from a big, strong, handsome Alpha like yourself?" I batted my eyelashes at him flirtatiously. A slight shiver ran down my spine at the deep look of longing in his eyes. Did he want me as his own? No... I couldn't let that happen, I had my Pack to look after. I heaved a heavy sigh, and curled up on the grown, resting my head on my paws in what he would see as defeat. 

However, what he did next surprised me even more. Ray slowly, almost cautiously, walked over to me and lay down beside me, resting his muzzle on my shoulder. Tingles went through me as his skin touched mine, and I relaxed under his now gentle touch. I was drifting off to sleep when a sudden voice cried out in the night. "RAY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"