The Alpha and Omega

Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I slow down after 30 minutes of searching. My blood is boiling from the heat my body provides. I wish that it was snowing, but I hope it doesn't happen. If it did I would never pick up Dani's scent. I shook out my fur flipping sweat onto the dirt and leaves.

I put my nose back to the ground inhaling deeply. This time instead of just regular old decomposition and freshly fallen leaves I smell a familiar scent. It makes Mingan stir and he takes over. He shuffles around and starts sniffing trying to pick up a direction from where the scent was coming from or headed.

I wrack my brain trying to remember where the scent came from. I knew it was familiar. It smells slightly of Dani, but not completely. It smelt like the wolf from the woods. When I think this Mingan takes off running. I am fighting him for control, but I am too tired. Mingan is fresh, so I just let him run.

I let myself fall from any control. Mingan had full control of our bodies. Anything he wanted to do he could. But, I trusted him. He was smart and if he needed me, he would tell me.

I didn't know how long it had been, but Mingan was panting hard and had now stopped. He stood his paws wide as he almost fell to the ground. I took control from him before he hit the ground and just barely managed to catch us. I shifted back into a human and Mingan said slowly "She's close...I...can...feel...her..."

His panting continued and I sniffed. The smell hit me like a slap in the face. Whoever it was, they were obviously in distress. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I pushed the hair out of my face and then took off running at a slow jog.

I never stopped sniffing the air. I broke from the trees. There was a fence about five yards in front of me. Then it was pasture lands with animals. My eyes scanned the fields. Barns littered the pastures to keep the animal's warm during the winter nights. I sprinted at the fence and lunged forward grabbing the top rail and pushing myself over easily.

I landed on my feet my knees bent and then stayed completely still. I watched everything analyzing it as I looked it over cautiously. I smelt the air and my eyes darted around. Then I heard them. It was barking and the pounding of hooves. I felt my chest rumbling and realized that I was growling. Then I shifted. I had to hurry. Mingan could find her quicker than I could.

He sniffed around pacing around anxiously. He swiveled his ears and then he froze. Mid-step his paw in the air he stopped moving. He sniffed and then slowly turned taking in a deep breath. Before I could even ask the question he took off running. I relinquished all control to my wolf and let him run at top speed. I watched carefully trying to figure out why Mingan was so anxious.

Then I started smelling the metallic taste of blood. It was mixed in with the scent of the trail we had been following. I slowly regained control of Mingan and slowed us to a halt. He protested with loud and understandable curses. I growled and and shifted back into my human form to control myself better. I walked along following the scent trail.

Soon after I had taken back control I heard barking dogs. This made Mingan flare back up and try to take back control. I fought back pshing him down and then looking around for the source of the sound. I heard the pounding of hooves and realized quickly that these were the barks of hounds on the hunt. They were tracking dogs. And the hoof poundings were horses, horses that were following the dogs.

I panicked and looked around. There was nowhere to hide except for a nearby barn. I sprinted towards the doors my head pounding as I ran. I shifted into Mingan halfway towards the barn using his speed to get me the rest of the way. I slid to the ground shifting back to a human and then military crawled the rest of the way. I slipped inside the large doors and stood up quickly. I took in a deep breath, because I was breathing hard and all, but as soon as I did the bloody smell hit me like a slap in the face.