Princess of the Wolves

1.

I noisily followed the crimson-haired girl and thrashed through the cold, wet snow. The wind whipped up all around me, spraying my coat with snow that immediately melted, leaving me soaked. We had ran for miles and miles before finally stopping after my muscles ached so much and my heart thumped dangerously in my chest that I couldn't go on.

Luckily and maybe unluckily, we arrived at a human town, and we were both able to shift into our easier mortal forms. We quietly walked through the secluded street that was only inhabited by a drunk man staggering down the street whistling some jaunty tune. The only places that were still open that we'd be interested in was a 24/7 store and a hotel. We had decided to not spend the night in woods for fear that some of the guards may have followed our tracks. The crimson-haired girl entered first and I warily followed behind. I had never been in a human store before, and I was surprised to find that they were fairly similar to our own. The clerk was slumped over the counter and tapping his fingers that had nails in severe need of cutting. He had long and straight gray hair that hung to his midback. On top of his head was a black ski cap that was pulled over his ears, because it was quite cold in there. The man had a scruffy and froggy voice that croaked out, "Sorry girls, the heater broke yesterday."

Crimson Hair responded, "That's no problem sir," and dove into one of the isles in the fluorescent-lighted shop. I followed her to an isle that contained beauty products. She stopped and crouched at the hair dye section. She pulled out a box of a generic chesnut brown and put it close to my face.

"Whoa, there," I told her making her retreat her hand.

"I was gonna pick red, but that's my thing sorry," she shook her head of red ringlet curls. "We can't risk you being discovered anyhow. You being with us could end triumphantly or very badly. We're hoping for the first opinion."

"I'm not letting you touch my hair," I told her, shaking my head no.

"C'mon! I do a good job I swear!" She put up three fingers, "Scout's honor."

"I don't know what that means," I told her. She stuck her lip out, trying to look like a puppy dog. "Fine, gosh. Stop making that face."

"Yay!"

"On one condition," I told her, "I never let anyone touch my hair unless I know their name." Total lie, but I did need to know Crimson Hair's name.

A smile crept onto her face, "Bailey."

We then checked into the budget motel down the block, which ironically Crimson Hair...Bailey had already had a reservation that was paid in full. "Offical government buisness, " she told me with a devious smile.

I was overly exhausted, but Bailey pulled me into the bathroom and dyed my hair in the sink. I sat and shivered on the cold tomorrow seat as we waited for the dye to set. Finally after a small eternity, I was dyed and dried not before hitting my head in the facet a few times. When I looked in the mirror, I gasped audibly.  It was so not me. I hardly regonized myself aside from my acne... then I realized something horrible.

"Uh, Bailey?" I interrupted her thoughts which I could see going a million miles an hour in her brain.

"Yes, sunshine? Are you allergic to dye or something?"

"No," I shook my head, " I don't have any clothes or makeup...or anything and the 24 hour Mart doesn't seem like it will cut it." Then, Bailey started to laugh for a good three minutes before I shouted over her. "This is not funny!'

"It is, but don't worry. We can deal with this," she told me, then she added, "At your service, Princess."

"Don't call me that."

We didn't talk much after that, because in minutes of crawling into bed, I fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake up until the alarm clock went off at seven. "C'mon Sleeping Beauty," Bailey said, clapping in my ear, "We have a long day of travel ahead of us." It was strange because I was used to being the morning person, but Bailey took morning person to a whole new level. She was whistling, drawling the curtains to let in a heinous amount of sunlight. I didn't have to change my clothes or to do my makeup because I had neither.

I proceeded to hiss at her and retreat under the covers before actually getting up. I blinked at her uneasily, before she put her hands on her hips. "What now?"

"I'm just really hungry is all."

"Fine, Grumpy! We'll stop at the free breakfast place before leaving. Let's go; at this pace we'll get to the pack tomorrow. I want to be back today, because I will fight you if I miss game night," she joked.

The food was a gross mix of old cereal and stale bagels, but I was so hungry that I didn't care. Bailey was pretty hungry too it seemed, because she matched me item for item. We walked out of the town, which was waking up to face another day, and bolted for the woods when it was in our sights. After shifting, we continued on our trek, which Bailey was right, did take all day. It might have been easier to go closer to the towns, but we couldn't risk being hunted down by any curious mortals. I was terrified of discovery as it was, so I didn't need any added pressure. It would be a little suspicious to have a huge wolf on the edge of your village.

The sun was starting to set into the horizon, and I was ready to drop when I almost tumbled into Bailey for the second time in two days. She was stopped in front of a brick cabin, secuded in the middle of the woods. There was smoke puffing out of the fireplace, and most of the lights were on. She shifted back seemlessly and whispered in a happy voice, "Welcome home."