Adam's Pulse

Part 26

Chapter 26

Slator walked towards Amaya’s room as slowly as possible.  He knew he owed her an apology, knew that he would have to speak with her before long, but at the moment, what he really wanted to do was run.  He wanted to feel the shift take over, feel the stress leave his body, the wind flow around him; he wanted to feel the dirt under his claws as he thought of nothing but running as fast and far as he could.  Stopping in the middle of the hall, he glanced towards her door.  It wouldn’t take him long to apologize, but then again, it wouldn’t take him long if he kept his run short.  He could get back to the cabin before dark and still have enough time to apologize.

Turning away from Amaya’s door, Slator walked quietly down the hallway.  He didn’t want to bring any attention to himself, because despite feeling like he belonged with this odd group of leopards, he also felt as if he was the outcast.  The only ones he hadn’t felt like this around were Ally and Sebastian, but with them gone, he felt alone.  More alone now that Sloan thought of him differently.  She tried to get passed it; he knew that, but he could see it in her eyes.  No matter how hard he would try to show her that she was still his sister, she would have that knowledge in the back of her mine.  She would always remember that the two of them weren't related by blood.

Shaking his head, he threw the thoughts from his mind.  This was why he wanted to go for a run, because when he was out there, in his shifted form, everything cleared from his mind.  The things that seemed so important as a human no longer mattered as much while he was running through the forest.  All that mattered was how far he could run before having to turn back.

He reached the cabin door, but before he could even touch the doorknob, a hand landed on his shoulder.  Without thinking, he grabbed the hand, spinning them until the person was slammed against the door with Slator’s forearm on their throat.  A growl rumbled beneath that throat, and as Slator blinked his eyes at the person, the person smiled.

“You scared me,” Slator mumbled as he dropped his arm.

Ned pushed away from the door, and when he did, Slator saw the knife that was in his hand.  As he slipped it back up his sleeve, Ned nodded in what looked like understanding.  “How long were you with them before they started it?”

“You could have killed me, couldn’t you?”

“You’re changing the subject,” Ned pointed out before nodding.  “I could have killed you, sure, but Ally wouldn’t want that.”

A small smile curled up one corner of Slator’s mouth making Ned growl again.  “Have a crush?”

His growl disappearing, Ned motioned towards the door.  “Come on.  I’ll show you which direction to run in.”

“How did you know I wanted to run?” Slator asked as suspicion crept into his thoughts.

Ned ignored his question as he pulled the door open.  Slator watched the man leave the cabin, and knew that if he didn’t follow now, he would never get an answer to his questions.  He would never know how the man seemed to know more about Slator than he was willing to tell anyone, not even his sister.

Mumbling a curse beneath his breath, Slator stepped out of the cabin before jumping down the stairs to catch up with Ned.  “Tell me.”

Ned stopped, but didn’t say a word until Slator caught up to him.  Pointing to the left, he began to speak.  “You can run in that direction for miles without running into much civilization.  It’s the way Ally always goes when she has too much to deal with.  Everyone here will leave you alone while you’re gone.”

“You’re just going to let me go?”

A laugh escaped Ned’s mouth as he finally looked at Slator.  “I wouldn’t if I didn’t know that you’ll come right back.  No matter how far you run, you’ll always come back here.”