My Beautiful Mind

20.

We're all scattered in different areas of the forest by the time we come to. As my eyesight returns to me, I notice I'm nestled in a shrub, its branches and leaves cocooning me in an embrace. A few feet away, Jamie's brushing off dirt and dead leaves as he makes his way over to me. "A little stuck there?" he asks teasingly, offering a hand out to me. I take it and he easily pulls me out of the shrub, "No, I was just making myself comfortable," I tease back, my spirit returning now in the presence of my best friend. Together, we wander around the dense, lush forest seem to be in permanent early springtime to find the other six. Up ahead, Cordelia and Wraethe sit leaned against a large rock blinking as their pupils adjust to the soft glow of the sun seeping through the treetops. Across from them, Will's slowly rising from his place sprawled on his back while Adela, we find, is perched on top of a tree. Adela meets our confused gazes with her own. "Believe me, I have no idea how the fuck I got up here either," she says, jumping down from the branch gracefully.

The six of us only just banded together when Emy and Mila emerge from a dense collection of shrubs and young saplings completely unfazed. Behind them, Edwin and group of shifters push through the greenery, eyeing us for any potential threats. Edwin joins Emy's side and wraps a burly arm around her waist. Similar to when I first saw him, he's dressed in fraying pants and a loose long sleeved tunic. Like the other shifters, Edwin is barefoot, preferring to feel the thrumming liveliness of the Earth beneath his soles. The shifters, no doubt wolves, circle us slowly, waiting for Edwin to give them further orders. Sizing up Edwin's men with wary, cautious eyes, Jamie shifts his body closer to mine, partially concealing me from a six foot five, bearded man with scars slashing across both his cheeks.

"Welcome to the Forest," Edwin says in a deep gravely voice that echoes through the trees. He gestures a broad hand towards the shifters before us. One by one, each of them shifts into their wolves, a spectrum of colors from gray, brown, tan, and white. The wolves come forward and sniff at us curiously committing our scents to memory, one nearly pushing his snout into my stomach, much to Jamie's undisguised dislike. "We will take you to our encampment to spend the night," Edwin says before shifting into his midnight-colored wolf. I frown confused as to why it's suddenly later in the day until I realize the obvious time difference between here and New York.

Edwin in wolf form trots over to Emy and lovingly nuzzles his snout against her cheek. Emy giggles and shifts into her deep russet one and nudges Mila to get on her back. Adela and Will hop onto the tan wolf while Wraethe chooses the gray one. The brown wolf catches my gaze and trots over to me. When he bends down so I can climb on, Cordelia sidles up to my side to join me before Jamie can. I shoot Jamie a regretful look over Cordelia's shoulder. Like the good sport he always is, he gives me a carefree smile and makes a point to pretend to trudge dejectedly to the remaining white one. Cordelia narrows her eyes at my failed attempt to smother my laughter, "What is so amusing? It is so strange seeing you laugh. You should do it more often."

As soon as all of us non-shifters are settled on the wolves' backs, Edwin jerks his massive head forward and the wolves take off into the forest with deafening howls, expertly weaving through trees and shrubs like second nature. I clutch my brown wolf's fur in my hands as his momentum nearly throws me off. Cordelia wraps her arms just as strongly around me, trying her hardest to stay on. "Bloody hell. Nothing like a horse," Cordelia shouts over the roaring of the wind and the thunderous thudding of paws striking the ground. After a few moments of getting into my thick skull that I'm actually riding a six foot wolf sprinting through a forest at forty miles an hour, the corners of my lips stretch upwards. "Cordelia, we're on a wolf, can you believe that?" I ask, turning my grinning face around to look at her. The Hunter's cerulean eyes sparkle in delight and she tips her head back to let out an excited whoop. Our wolf's body shakes in laughter as he listens to our excited yells.