Broken Souls

Chapter 7 - Close Call

*Ally's POV*

My paws thudded heavily on the ground, it had been a while since I last ran in my wolf form and even the anger that hung in the forefront of my mind and the adrenaline that pumped through my veins could not hide the clumsiness of my running. If I had been nearer to the pack house I would have surely been attacked by now and almost certainly killed for my actions, but with this little masquerade happening in the outskirts the wolves here were hardly the trained warriors we usually had kicking around. So despite my lack of practise in such form, many pack members would be more concerned with the wounded than with myself giving me the perfect opportunity to get out of here.

Luckily the boarders were soon in my sight, it was not often I had visited the perimeter of our territory but the scent of the unknown was to overpowering not to pick up on. My breathing was laboured, coming out in alarmingly small gasps, the air seeming to leave my body with ease but not necessarily returning as efficiently to my lungs. A sharp pain hit my rump and a yelp sounded from my jaws as I turned to see one of the male wolves snapping at my feet, he had clearly tried to be a hero by chasing me. Despite my weary state the anger was prominent, only fuelled more by my new wound. I lashed out with force, having more control this time as I simply went for his legs to immobilise him rather than full out kill the guy. The crunching sound of his bone beneath my jaws shocked me, but there was little room for regret at this point and so my attention focused back on the boarder as I continued to run.

My gaze had lost its red overtone and instead started to blur round the edges, I feared my earlier emotions and adrenaline would not be enough to allow me to pass the boarders with my physical body being in the state it was. A numbness seemed to slowly overcome me, both physically and emotionally, growing with each step I took.

Time seemed to slow right down, each footfall reverberating in my eardrums, my breath cutting sharply through the muffled silence. I had no idea whether there was anymore following me or even if I was heading in the right direction still, all I could concentrate on was placing one foot in front of the other and keeping myself moving.

Trees passes my line of site as a blur, my head empty save for one thought, this was my chance to get revenge on all those that had ever hurt me. The pack was already in much of a crisis by my own hand, so my sole thought fell to the rouges that had killed my mate. It was my turn to finally take control of my life and right the wrongs I had been so wrongfully delivered.

After a while my vision had all but left me and distant howls momentarily captured my attention, and it was no surprise when my weakened body collided head on with what I believe must have been a tree. I had no idea how long I had been running for, but the momentum was enough to knock my balance and send me crashing to the ground. I collapsed in heap, all senses dulled and my head throbbing, exhaustion quickly enveloping my tired body. It wasn't long before I blacked out completely....

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*Kellan's POV*

The breeze brushed comfortingly over my thick black fur as I ran at the lead, it often ended up like this with me out in front and my pack behind. Well we weren't really a pack in that sense, more a band of good friends out on the Highwood. Some would refer to us as rouges, seeing as we were a group of wolves with no official territory or hierarchy system bounded by ridiculous laws. But I preferred to think of us as those with a little more freedom, searching for that little bit more in life.

The word rouge implied we were of a violent nature, sought to destroy all that crossed our paths. But we were nothing of the sorts. Granted we held no official title, but to categorise us with the majority of nut-case lone wolves out there was beyond a little offending. True there had been cases of rouge wolf attacks, but I considered us to be of a more peaceful disposition.

We ran silently through the territory of yet another pack, one may say we were trespassing but I looked upon it more as simply passing through, and when it came the prey we encountered, it was simply a means for survival, a primal instinct. Never something of detrimental impact to any pack.

There was five of us in total, myself, Saxon and Wesley being the first ones to venture out on our own. However two more members soon joined us in this life style, Georgia (the only female in our group) and her mate Nicholas, their background a little sketchy, but never the less left unquestioned since we all had our own reasons for leaving as we did. It was only Wesley who knew the true reason for my departure.

I slowed my pace a touch, barking out an order for us to scent the near-by area and check to see where the nearest prey was. We hadn't hunted in this territory yet, so they would be unlikely to notice a missing doe or two if we were to attack at this hour in the morning before moving on again. My ears twitched at the sound of approaching footsteps and as I turned to glance in that direction I was all but bowled over by another wolf. I didn't know whether they had been running with their eyes closed or if they simply hadn't seen me, but there collision was enough to cause me to stumble back a few steps.

A growl rose in throat, my hackles raised as I readied myself for another attack. However the wolf in question seemed to merely collapse at my feet. I stood in shock for a few moments, the event completely tacking me by surprise, however as my gaze racked over the wolf I quickly identified the shabby brown heap as female. 

My mind grasped for logical answers to this wolfs whereabouts as I could tell instantly from her scent that she was not part of the pack which inhabited this territory. However as I stared down at the wolf before me my mind was overcome by so many thoughts at once, but the one that stood out above all was the word *mate*.