Survival [MxM]

Chapter VIII

The next few weeks passed without incident. Haven hadn’t exactly warmed up to me, but he was sleeping in our room again. Will and Torrence continued bugging me, but that wasn’t anything unusual. Before I knew it, it was the night of the full moon again.

 

“I’m trusting you two not to mess this up. You’ve had a good couple of weeks. Let’s keep it that way, yeah?” Rory said, looking at Haven and I as we stood in the living room. We both nodded, and he nodded back. “Good. You two will be going with Will and Torrence, since they seem to be the only two I can trust you with.”

 

Haven visibly relaxed at that, and it took everything I had not to look at him. We barely spoke, apart from stupid things like “what time is it”, or “when will Rory be back”. I was getting antsy. I wanted him to talk to me, but I knew it would take a while. Until then, I just sat back.

 

“Will and Torrence should be here any minute, and then we can get going. Remember to stay near the boundaries and for the love of God, don’t go near that lake. The last thing I need is Hathorne.”

 

We nodded again, and Rory ran a hand through his hair as he exhaled. It was quiet for a second until the sliding door opened, and Torrence peeked his head into the living room. “Hey there.” he smiled. Rory rolled his eyes and motioned for us to go outside, where Will was waiting on the porch. He smiled a little at Haven and I.

 

“Evening sir.” he said to Rory, who’d followed us out with Ami. Rory nodded back. “We’re ready when you are.”

 

The pack was waiting outside, standing before the porch and waiting for Rory to give the okay to leave. He cleared his throat, glancing around at everyone. “Stay close to the boundaries. As for the younger wolves, stay away from the lake. If anyone runs into Hathorne or his pack, do not encourage them. Ignore them, and they’ll ignore you. Got it? Let’s go.”

 

Several people let out excited howls as they took off for the trees, some removing their clothes before they shifted, others changing first. A few others took a more sedate pace, like our group. Will and Torrence didn’t seem at all interested in the full moon, which was odd. I was just happy to be out.

 

Haven was the first to change, followed by Torrence. The two of them took off, following the rest of the pack. Will gave me an encouraging smile before he shifted, his bones snapping and reforming until a dark brown wolf was standing in front of me. “Come on, shorty, let’s go.” he said, tilting his head in the direction of the trees before running off.

 

I sighed, allowing myself to change as I winced until it was over. No wonder we didn’t change more often. It hurt.

 

I ran after Will, catching up with him as we followed behind Torrence and Haven. We were all quiet, which gave me the chance to enjoy the breeze flowing past my fur. I could hear crickets and birds off in the distance, and felt the grass beneath my paws.

 

Suddenly though, Haven veered off. He went in a different direction than the rest of the pack, making Will, Torrence and I all stop. We were quiet, until Torrence tilted his head. “What is he doing?” he asked quietly. Will glanced at him and frowned, then looked at me. I shook my head, indicating that I had no idea as Will sighed.