Hunted

Chapter 15 - Play in the Snow, aka, Pack Playtime

I sat there quietly through dinner, watching the younger men tease and joke around with each other, aware that the older werewolves were also eating quietly. There was a tenseness there, in the air, and it wasn't connected with me. The door to the basement was glanced at, from time to time, even though it was shut. Clayton was eating with us, of course, but his eyes were on the basement door instead.

We ran over what would happen tonight when desert came out. It was straight forward- I would go into the forest with Antonio and Nick, as I'd met them first, and they would change and wait for me to change. If I couldn't change then they'd take me for a walk anyway, showing me things, and the rest of the pack would meet us half an hour later. I could then come back here after I'd had some time to get used to the way everyone looked when they were changed.

If I did change, then I would have to allow Jeremy and Elena to touch me as humans, to do with me what they liked, without showing aggression. From there, if I was safe, I would get to run and hunt. Jeremy admitted that we wouldn't go far, not like usual, staying within hearing distance of the house and driveway. That way, in case of visitors, there would be ears at all times waiting. That was more than enough for me though. If I panicked, if I fled, then it would be like he said. I would be guarded but left alone, as long as I didn't stray too close to the house or the property boundary.

With plans in place we headed out into the snow, rugged up, plastic bags ready to protect clothing from the snow.

Snow was interesting, I decided, and maybe not as much fun as I'd always hoped. It was difficult to walk in, my feet sinking, and more than once Antonio had to yank me back out. I had to give him credit, Nick's dad, because for a man in his seventies, he could have been a really fit fifty year old. Forty, even, and if he was still called 'one of the best fighters' then it showed just how well those genetics worked.

Nick moved ahead of us, crunching through the snow, clearly knowing where he was going. Occasionally he glanced up, touching a tree, moving closer to a bush, but he didn't seem to need to. When we reached a little clearing he stopped and glanced back, smile meeting my hesitant one.

"Here we are. What do you think? I could light a candle."

"Looks fine."

"We'll be just a few minutes past there." Antonio gestured towards where two trees stood close by each other, almost growing into each other, making them stand out a little compared to the rest of the growth. "Relax. It'll come."

They moved past me and through the tree. The thick forest in that area shielded them within seconds, but I could hear them, crunching, moving away, their voices low.

Then I took a deep breath and tried to convince myself to get naked. In the snow. It was surprising how little I wanted to do that now. I kind of wanted to just stand there in these warm snow clothes, stare at the forest in the increasing dark, admire it.

I sighed out, slowly, my breath a fog in the cold. Then I started to strip.

There was a blanket there, waterproof, and I took it out to kneel on it on my hands and knees, tucking the bag of clothing beside it, trembling. It was freezing out here. Wind, the occasional flurry of snowflakes from trees, it didn't help concentrating.

What had they said? Feel the wolf. I felt a cold wind up my bum. No wolf. Still, a tail there would be nice right now, and I tried to picture it. It felt so silly to be doing this, kneeling in the snow, stark naked, with the birds and who knew what else gawking at me from their warm bush or nest or tree. I was worried nothing would happen after all.

Minutes crept by. I could hear feet, hear a snuffle, and a low growl. They stayed out of sight, but they could hear me, and I could hear them. Both could probably tell I was struggling. Damnit. I glanced at my arms, trying to remember how it felt to change, how it felt to prickle, itch, how it felt to feel some kind of deeper instinct rise and take over the painful process.