Going Wilde

The Pack

I stood at the edge of the woods, the trees looming high over me. My body was tense, poised to do something I'd never normally do. I turned to Seth, who was eyeing me with curious eyes. He wanted to know if I was ready.

I wanted to know, too.

"What'll it be like?" I asked him with a quiver in my voice. I wasn't exactly sure if I was ready, but I asked him to try and sort out the feelings churning in my head. And my stomach.

"Fast," he smirked, "Really fast."

I knew fast; I used to race dirt bikes. The fear I was feeling didn't stop working its way through my body, though. I nodded to him, and he nodded once in response.

I watched him in silence, staring as he took a deep breath. All of a sudden, a vigorous shiver convulsed through his spine, and I saw steam rising off of his body as he shifted from man to beast.

Limbs grew longer, face became narrower, his eyes grew bigger, and fur took the place of his bronze skin. I heard a loud RIP! signifying the loss of his clothes. In an instant, I was staring into the large, intelligent eyes of a sandy-brown wolf.

In my mind, I knew I should've been terrified. But Seth's eyes, too human for the creature in front of me, were mesmerizing. I was surprisingly calm. I was no longer shaking. I was no longer trying to keep my stomach from leaving my body. I was no longer afraid.

His eyes beckoned to me, urging me closer. He couldn't speak, but I knew what he wanted. I took a slow step forward, my common sense telling me not to make any sudden movements. After realizing that he wouldn't hurt me, I wondered in that moment why I was so wary. I managed to speed up my movements, and I climbed on top of the warm and furry beast.

Muscles tensed beneath me, every part of his body moving as he sped into the dense forest.

The speed was intense. Too intense for words.

It was like an adrenaline rush and a freefall piled into a speeding rollercoaster headed off the edge of a cliff.

Scary, fun and wild.

I clutched at his fur and kept my head down. The wind was screaming at my face, threatening to rip my clothes off. As Seth moved faster, the woods around us became a blur of green. I was too disoriented to notice any turns he made, or any ground below us. The feeling of my stomach flipping over was the point where I just closed my eyes.

After what seemed like seconds, we were coming to a stop. I opened my eyes to see an unfamiliar house, porch occupied by a group of guys. Most of them I recognized from the bonfire.

One of them was Jacob.

As Seth completely stopped underneath me, I jumped off. My legs wobbled a little, but I quickly stood firm.

Jake turned and plastered on his toothy grin as he came over, along with the rest of the group.

Why aren't they wearing shirts? It's distracting...

Jake started, "Alex, hey-"

He was cut off by Quil, "This is the guy who can't shift? Alex?" He had a round, babyish face, but the smoldering glare of a model. Weird combination.

Paul, who I noticed was almost as big as Jake said, "Yeah. And he's the one Seth won't shut up about." He looked sort of angry, but I didn't pay it any mind.
Quil looked at him and said, "You can't blame him, Paul, he kind of im—"

"Quil, shut it!" Jacob hissed. He turned back to me and said, "You've met Paul and Quil."

"I have," I said with a chuckle. I waved at Embry, who nodded at me. I had no idea they were part of a pack of wolves. "So you guys can turn into giant dogs?"