Chase (Chasing Tails Rewritten)

TwentyThree - His

Julie dry heaves and then races towards the window. Her pack, fully shifted into their wolves, take off into the trees, heading towards Ollie's territory. Her heart drops. Dread runs through her veins. A feeling of helplessness runs over her. Her mind is running, hundreds of thoughts and dozens of faces flashing before her eyes but her body is absolutely still. Her breath comes out shallowed and uneven. She tells herself to run but she doesn't know where. She tells herself to do something but she doesn't know what.

Zach's voice and Andy's laughter overwhelm her. She takes a step away from the window. Sheila's soft smile greets her. She takes another step. Kennedy's gushing about her mate. Nina is telling her the latest gossip. She turns away from the window. Lea's wicked grin and contagious confidence surprises her. Another step. Dresden's eyes flash in front her mind. A crippling sensation breaks her knees. She falls.

She can feel his heat still surrounding her from holding her. She can hear his voice taunting her. Her skin tingles at the memory of his touch. She holds her breath. He leans towards her, his black diamond eyes holding her captive. He's with her, right now and he seems so real.

She sees Jack lying on the couch, wounded and bleeding. He's panting, struggling to stay alive only he's different. It's not Jack she's seeing. It's Dresden.

Julie reaches for the door, her hand shaking in front of her. She can't stay here, locked away in this room, not knowing what was happening or to who it was happening. She can't stay here surrounded by her own thoughts. She needs to be thoughtless, to be free.

She needs to be a wolf.

Julie ignores Jack's calls from the couch. He's the only one left. Everyone has gone already. They're out there, fighting and growling and snapping at each other. They're not too close but Julie can hear them like she's standing right next to them. The cool weather doesn't bother her. Despite the goose bumps and the shivers, she feels hot, a burning need to run. She listens to her body, letting her instincts take control. She can't remember the last time she's done this: run without thinking but here she is, running without thinking and praying to whoever will listen that she might make it in time.

The fleeting feeling of freedom rises in her like a wall of nostalgia comes whenever she smells something that reminds her of home. It's like she's gone back in time. She's running on all fours, her paws pounding against the earth. The cool wind hits her face and she doesn't feel it at all. She remembers this feeling. She remembers breathing in the woodsy air. She remembers taking note of all the scents around her. She remembers how the dirt feels between her toes, her claws stabbing into the ground. She remembers the voice in her head, the spirit within her and the completeness her wolf brings her.

A piercing howl rings through the air. The atmosphere turns gloomy and then dark all at once. She's snapped back to reality, the free feeling disappearing altogether. Her lungs are screaming for air. Her side is aching painfully. Her muscles feel stretched out, tense and uncomfortable. They burn, begging her to stop. She can hear her own heart beating in her ears. The cold ground makes her feel aches. She can feel the dirt wrap around them like a blanket of shaved ice. She inhales the cold wind sharply and it burns trails down her throat and into her lungs.

Wolves are attacking wolves. Their snarls and growls and yelps and cries echoing through the trees. They're barring their teeth. They're tackling each other down. They're snapping at each other, biting every limb and every piece of muscle they can sink their teeth into. They run into trees and tumbling over rocks.

All Julie can see are red eyes.

A wolf growls at her. He stands over her, forcing her to shrink to his will. His mouth is opened, a low snarl vibrating through the air and passing through her. Saliva drips from his teeth. Blood settles around his muzzle. His golden eyes stare her down, watching her and following her like he might a prey.