Sober.

Chapter 3

The day Liliana was taken from me, I saw no reason to stay any longer. I had hoped that she could become a member of the pack, have a stable life and maybe even become alpha if Lennox would allow it. Those were obviously just far fetched dreams of mine, but at the very least they kept me going.

So, in the middle of the night when Lennox was in deep sleep. I slipped out the bed and ran. I wore nothing, planning on shifting when I got outside.  I didn't know where I was going and honestly didn't want to.

Winter was upon us and the snow was still falling, a quiet accompaniment to the pounding in my chest. I took a deep breath and felt the weight of what I'd done settle comfortably on my shoulders. The moment my paws hit the earth an alarm sounded. Lights flashed all over the territory and I could hear shouts, barks, and howls all headed in my direction. The sound that had me scrambling to escape was the unnaturally loud growl that pierced through the rest.

Lennox wasn't far behind.

My wolf felt weak but a boundless sense of urgency drove us both forward. Braden never let us run, worried that we would try to escape. I could hear his voice through the pack link, yelling at me to stop being silly, to turn around before it was too late to ask for forgiveness.

I ran as fast as I could, my lungs practically bursting. twigs and thorns scratched at the flesh beneath my fur, but the twinge of pain was a distant thought. I didn't even listen for my pursuers, running until my legs gave out from under me. I stopped only momentarily but apparently that was enough time for someone to catch up to me.

A howl sounded from directly behind me and I turned to see one of the pack warriors enter from behind a tree. He was massive in size, though nothing compared to Lennox. He growled and advanced towards me quickly, but stopped and stared at me, his eyes a deep cerulean blue. I stood stock still, eyes wide and waiting for an attack. Puffs of air came from his nose as he observed me before stepping back and whining,  nudging me in the opposite direction of the pack. The sound of paws wasn't far behind and I didn't look back, I ran quickly through the forest, running just over the barrier and stopping.

I couldn't hear Lennox anymore, in fact I couldn't hear anything but the silence of the woods in the night.

Then I got up and ran.

I ran until I couldn't feel my body, couldn't think, couldn't breathe. I laid out in the the middle of nowhere, my wolf too weak to keep shape. I shifted back and laid out in the snow, catching my breath. My eyes began to droop but just as they did, a low growl came from the bushes. I sat up on high alert. My senses weren't as keen as a full blooded werewolf's, making it difficult to pinpoint the origin of the sound. Suddenly, a lone wolf scurried out of the bushes. It's fur was matted and an acrid stench suddenly filled the air. It growled, displaying razor sharp teeth with foam dripping from it's jaws. I sifted through the snow discreetly, looking for something, anything to defend myself with. I found only a thick branch.

I kept completely still, regarding the wolf warily. It was a regular wolf, but was probably sick and  still plenty dangerous. It circled around me once, twice, then leapt for me.  I held out the branch and aimed directly at it's chest. It was too focused on me to see the branch and fell directly onto it, but not before slashing its claws across my chest, leaving a giant gash. It fell over me, it's body limp. I pushed it off of me and got up. I wasn't safe here, I had to keep going.

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I walked in the snow for hours, coming upon nothing but dead trees and an endless white sky. My wound wasn't faring too well, drops of blood fell from the gash and into the snow like a little trail of rubies. the full extent of my travels was beginning to ware on my body. My limbs were sore and my breathing was hoarse.

Hours passed until I decided I could stop running. I was tired and there was no possibility of Lennox catching up to me at this point anyways. I would rest my eyes for a bit and wake up hopefully refreshed.