Stronger As One

Break Away

The cool water saturated our fur and cleaned away the grime from the past events. The atmosphere soothed away the worries and helped wash away the drive. I quickly dove under the water and swiped my paws around to stay under. Small fish swam about, darting between the different aquatic plants and picking at the ground below. I tried my best to stay under longer but the pain and ache in my lungs had other plans. My muzzle was the first to breach the surface and take in the air. I doggy paddled around looking for Jason. The black fur of his wolf wasn't to be found and I felt myself getting worried. I barked out and kept searching around when a loud howl pierced my ears. I spun around and looked up just as Jason came bounding over the waterfall. My eyes grew as I saw him coming straight toward me. I yelped out and began paddling away but I was a hair late. I felt the weight of him press against my body and I became completely submerged. I scrambled to reach the surface where I met the lopsided grin of Jason. I glared at him before nipping at his ear and swimming toward the shore. Once I felt the ground beneath my feet I sat down in the water and glanced over to Jason. He was offering his best puppy dog eyes followed with drooped ears and a soft whine.

How dramatic..

I think we were also being dramatic.. My wolf slipped in.

I rolled my eyes. He's right.

Jason sat down next to me before slowly shifting to his human form.

"Lie down." He asked. I nodded my head before sliding my front paws down. Jason made quick work and began running his hands through my fur.

"I want to see your pure fur again. Its been tainted for too long with the dirt and blood from our enemy." He spoke softly. I let my eyes drift shut as he continued to work his hands across my fur. The contact had us rejoicing and we felt the weight of life's problems slip away. It was the first time I wasn't experiencing a war within myself between the wolf and human and I didn't know how to feel about it. Often when one experiences an assault of that kind.. it can truly change you. Every aspect of that person could mess with you.. little things could bring back the event and make things extremely difficult. Is the wolf within me swaying what little humanity I have left? How can someone begin to enjoy being around the one who rapes you? Every case is different I suppose.. People overcome things in different ways.. and maybe our bond is whats driving my change.

"Your fur should be good now. Can you shift? I want to actually speak to you."

I sighed softly before allowing the shift to take over. My skin was pricked with goosebumps as it touched the cool water. I opened my eyes and looked over to Jason before drawing up my knees and resting my head. I let my eyes wander across the water and up the rushing water.

"Where are we?" I asked.

Jason leaned back on his hands and followed my gaze around. "Well.. we're currently sitting in a forest before a waterfall."

"That's not what I meant.. I mean what state are we in? Why isn't there any snow?"

There was a silence that hung in the air for a moment and I felt my calm mood disappear.

"Did you not see the signs as we were driving?"

"No. I was on auto pilot. I simply listened to the instructions given and followed through. 

"Well, where we are isn't important."

"Yes it is. Why is there no snow?"

"We had to go a bit further south. So the chance of there being any snow is very slim."

My mood darkened at the thought. I pushed off the ground and walked off deeper into the water.

"Dustin? Whats wrong?"

I ignored him and dove under the water. The different plants danced with the current and many dull colored fish swam about, paying no mind to me. A shadow cast over and I swam back up, meeting with Jason's eyes again.

"Please trust me. Once my father project is finished you'll feel a lot better.. I promise." Jason reached a hand out and placed it gently on my cheek. I leaned into the touch and let my eyes drift shut.

"Okay."

"Thank you."

Jason's hand went rigid before slowly dropping to the water. I opened my eyes and looked at him quizzically. His eyes were hard as they scanned around.

"What's goi-" my words were cut short as my wolfs voice boomed in my head.

Get behind the waterfall now! My wolf growled.

I froze at his words.

Fine I'll do it myself!

I felt my body get taken over completely. My wolf grabbed Jason's arms before dragging him over toward the waterfall. My wolf pushed passed it and pushed Jason further into a cave behind the water. My wolf jumped forward and pressed a hand against his mouth.

"Shhh..." my wolf whispered before looking back toward the entrance of the cave.

I felt my wolf slip back into the depths of my mind, allowing me to gain control again.

Wait. We aren't alone.

A howl rang through the air. Both Jason and I went rigid.

Stay quiet. My wolf commanded. I didn't dare question his words. 

It sounded like there were four wolves beyond the waterfall. Had we crossed into their territory? 

One of the wolves snapped their jaws before we heard the sound of splashing water. I looked to Jason, his eyes were narrowed. 

Trust me. 

His eyes bore into mine, he was calculating those words. Thankfully he offered a curt nod before we both went back to looking toward the cave entrance. The sound of them in the water took my breath away and I quickly huddled closer to Jason. I held my breath as we waited for their next move. 

I felt a calm wash over me as I released a soft breath. 

The sounds of splashing dissipated and we could hear the wolves running off. 

Neither of us said a word as we got back into the water and swam past the waterfall. How didn't we know this was another wolfs area? This doesn't make any sense..

"We need to get back to the pack house. I was not aware of another pack nearby." Jason paused as we climbed out of the water, "I really hope the Alpha knows." 

We made quick work shifting to our wolves and running back. Neither of us were thrilled to let the Alpha know of our encounter.