Cry Wolf

Chapter 3

I watched as the two boys sparred, nodding in approval as one ducked and swiped his opponents feet out from underneath him, pinning him down and effectively killing him.

"That's all for today. Nice work today Fynn." I said, and Fynn helped his opponent up, both of them shaking hands. Everyone cheered and clapped Fynn on the back as he and his mates left. I only applauded someone specifically if I was planning to refer them to Alpha. Before I could turn and leave to go and try to reconcile with Red, Daniel stopped me.

"Hey Tyler!" Daniel yelled as he jogged up to me. His grey eyes were alight with excitement, which was surprising considering my mate had snapped his neck clean in half two days ago. "So, I've been meaning to ask. I heard the news. Is she really your mate?" A small smile graced my lips, but I quickly wiped it away at the mention of her name.

"Yeah."

"What's she like?" Daniel asked, and I shrugged.

"She's a handful. Rambo, James, Grub -" I began counting all of them off with my fingers. "Ron, and Firo - he got hit twice - are all still in the infirmary." Daniel went to say something, when something over my shoulder caught his attention. He grinned and pointed.

"Is that her?" My eyebrows creased in confusion, and turning, my shoulders sagged and I groaned. A certain small red headed girl had just climbed out of a second story window, and was quickly scaling the wall. She landed easily on the ground, and after quickly looking around her, disappeared into the forest.

"Yes."

I jiggled the hairpin in the padlock that kept the window shut, and did a small dance of joy when it clicked open. I discarded the lock and replaced the hairpin, lifting the window easily. A gentle breeze blew into the room, unsettling all of the smaller things, and sending my hair billowing backwards.

I lifted one leg over the window sill, and then the other, so that I was hanging outside the room. Looking to my side, I saw another window sill on my level, and swung towards it. Keeping the momentum going, I swung down to a lower level window, before letting go and landing quietly on the ground. After checking the coast was clear, I began to run, and the trees swallowed me as I left my prison behind.

Suddenly I heard a growl, and cursed under my breath. Not again. I hadn't shifted in days for fear that they - he - would find out who I was, but right now my entire body was literally burning with the need to shift, and my wolf was dangerously close to taking over. Remembering what happened last time, I inhaled deeply to calm myself. Being in my wolf form, it would be harder to get my wolf to do as I wanted her too, but it wasn't impossible.

Here goes nothing.

I dodged in between the trees, before I saw two close enough together, and headed towards the closest one. I jumped, pushing off the first tree with my foot, using the second tree to propel myself higher into the air. As soon as I pushed off the second tree, I let my wolf forward and felt myself shifting. My boots fell discarded on the forest floor and I felt my necklace bouncing on my neck as I landed on all fours.

I was slowing down as my wolf did not want to leave her mate, but I pushed her on. Hearing the pursuing feet behind me, I tried to go faster, and let out a little yip of victory as they soon faded. I could see the boundary line up ahead, and gathered my hindquarters for a final leap.

As I sailed through the air, a heavy force rammed into me and sent us both tumbling to the ground. The wolf landed on top of me and I felt something in my chest give. I howled as two of my ribs snapped, and the midnight black wolf scrambled off me. I shifted back to my human form, coughing as I curled into a little ball.