Looking To Belong (A Runt's Story)

Chapter 40

I flicked an ear back and tried to pick up my pace. It didn't help. With a sigh, I came to a stop and turned around before sitting, facing back the way I had come. Within moments, the black wolf bounded down the trail to skidded to a stop in front of me with a grin. I wolf-grinned back at her.

Ruby was catching on very fast at this point. She would be the equal of most experienced rogues when it came to tracking and hiding her trail. People were slowly getting used to her more laidback style - and they had also started underestimating her in fighting practice, much to Ruby's amusement.

I tilted my head innocently. "Fancy meeting you out here. You seem to be in a good mood today."

She chuckled, and her falsely over-enthusiastic voice sounded in my mind, "A coincidence, I am sure. How can one not be happy on a day like today?! The sun is shining and the birds are singing!"

I replied in a dry ironic tone, "The fact that you currently have Tony, Evan, Will, and half a dozen others looking for you, while being unable to locate you due to your carefully honed skills, has nothing to do with it either, correct?"

"Nothing whatsoever." She grinned back.

I shook my head in amusement. "That is good. Otherwise, I would warn you that Will has realized that you are with me, and they are heading this way with all the speed that the Enforcers can muster..."

She blinked and darted off into the trees. "Got to go! See you later!"

I snickered and trotted the other way. I tilted my head as I regarded something at the base of a willow tree. I wondered what Will would think if I crawled down this rabbit burrow...

      I paused in the tunnel as I sensed Will approach. As he ran by, he realized that the direction of the mate bond was down. I felt his curiosity and confusion as he asked, "Where are you?"

I sent amusement and a childish sense of adventure along the link, sharing the feeling of dirt in my fur as I explored deep beneath the surface. I replied, "I am exploring this rabbit's burrow. You should see all of the tunnels down here!"

Apparently that was the wrong answer.

I practically felt his heartbeat surge and sensed the soundless snap across the mate bond. He lost control as the mate bond and Enforcer abilities ganged up on him. He swiftly located the rabbit burrow entrance and started digging for all he was worth. His mind wasn't exactly sane at this point, and I realized that he really needed some time to calm down.

I quickly went out one of the rabbit's emergency exits. Will was so obsessed and out of it that he didn't even notice. I climbed into the tree above him to watch. Tony and Evan remained at the edge of the clearing to watch Will as the rest kept going after Ruby. They wanted nothing to do with an Enforcer who wasn't in control. I didn't blame them.

I mindlinked Tony, "Why is he like this? I haven't seen him like this since before the bond was completed. I wasn't aware that he could truly lose control once the bond was completed."

I felt Tony's shrug through the link. "You being out of his reach has always pushed him over the edge. In the past, he could always see you, but this time he couldn't, and it has hit him harder. Even with the bond completed, mates can lose control; it is just much harder to reach that point. Although with you being a runt and him being an Enforcer, it is much more likely than average."

I rolled my eyes; he could have mentioned it earlier. It didn't take Will long to uncover the entire network of tunnels, which was quite impressive considering how deep some of them went. He hadn't found me underground and started to lose control even more, snarling and lashing out at trees in a mindless rage.

I had never seen him like this before, and from the emotions I was sensing, Evan and Tony were also stunned. I was really going to have to start thinking my plans through beforehand now that I knew he could still lose control over such a minor thing as me exploring in a location where he couldn't see me or easily get to me.

"Will. Will!" Nothing. I couldn't get through the mindlink. His overreaction and intense focus had raised strong mental shields. I climbed down to try and calm him down. He glanced over his shoulder as he caught my movement out of the corner of his eye. The second he saw me, his eyes widened as he spun around and lunged at me.

He used one of his massive paws to whip my feet out from under me, and I hit the ground with a grunt. He knocked me flat on the ground and crouched low over me, his belly fur brushing my clothing and skin. I heard a ripping snarl from above, and I rolled my head to the side to see Tony and Evan drop their heads and back up until their wolves were out of sight in the trees.

"We can't approach him when he is like this," Tony said in frustration. "Try to calm him down, and let us know when he returns to the realm of reason."

I rubbed my hands on Will's stomach. "Take it easy. I am fine. I was never in danger."

His never-ending growling showed that he wasn't buying it.

I mindlinked Tony, "Calm him how? He is blocking the mindlink, and my spoken words aren't getting through to him."

His enigmatic reply was of no use. "You are his mate; you will manage."

Gee, thanks... I rolled onto my stomach and started to wiggle my way out from under Will. His growls turned to snarls as he moved so that he was once more above me and lowered himself until he lightly pinned me to the ground. He wasn't letting me go anywhere. Probably worried I would roll down another rabbit burrow... I sighed at the situation I have gotten myself into.

"Will? Can you please let me up? Will?"

His snarls had receded to unceasing low growls. He did not respond to my words. My senses told me that he didn't even really hear me; he was so far out of it that he was at an instinctive level. I sighed as I crossed my arms in front of me and propped my chin on my arms to wait. A rock dug into my ribs and dirt dropped out of Will's fur, courtesy of his frantic digging earlier.

I was starting to get mildly annoyed. I had run hard earlier with Ruby, and I was tired. I simply didn't have the reserves of a normal wolf. It was irritating, especially when dealing with an Enforcer who was almost tireless.

"Earth to Will..." I muttered as I reached out to gently tug on a tuft of fur on his ankle. He was not impressed and put a bit more weight on me as continued growling at the trees where Tony and Evan had disappeared.

His weight was uncomfortable now. I tried to wiggle out, to no avail. I couldn't even budge. The rock under my ribs was starting to dig in painfully. I shifted into my wolf form, and sighed in relief now that the rock was no longer attempting to drill a hole into my ribs.

My shift distracted Will for a second, but not in a good way. The disappearance of my physical contact had him in a frenzy again, thinking that I had once more disappeared, further goading the mate bond into a larger overreaction. He stood up to look underneath him, although his murderous glare softened the second he realized that I had simply switched forms.

I felt his instincts shift; previously they had been protective and defensive. Now they shifted to evasion and escape with a strong undertone of protectiveness. In a lightning fast move, he grabbed the scruff of my neck and took off at speeds that had me frozen in terror. The smell of my fear pushed him into new speeds in his determination to put as much distance between us and where we had been, as if his imagined threat was back there.

I could sense Tony and Evan trying to keep up, but they were simply unable to reach the speeds that Will was hitting with the mate bond spurring him on. They fell back and simply tracked his scent.