Rejection

Chapter 33 - Home

---Kyle's POV---

The trip back home was spent in comfortable silence and easygoing banter between Drake and Ellie as I listened in, occasionally adding onto the conversation.

Ellie had shown her growing trust in us by bonding to the point where the three of us could share a mind link. A mind link that was settled soon after we had left Curtis' pack territory.

The poor pup had started shaking, terrified out of her mind because, up to that point, even though the pack hadn't treated her like it... her wolf still had that connection to her birth pack.

And now it was gone.

But it was a void easily filled, as her pup had instantly reached out, overwhelming us with a barrage of her emotions. It had instinctively searched desperately to fill the sudden emptiness and Drake had been more than willing to accept the little pup in his pack.

As it was, she was busy roaming near our paws, jumping back and forth. Finally letting the natural curiosity of a young pup take over as she darted all over, leaping up to playfully snap at our wagging tails.

I snickered as I noticed Ellie stalk behind us from the corner of my eyes, and Drake's tail swishing suspiciously low, oh so temptingly within her reach.

Her pupils expanded as she huffed seconds before leaping up, a mouthful of fur firmly within her jaws.

Drake gave a playful yelp as she tugged on his tail before he pulled it out of her muzzle. She wasn't deterred at all, yipping and dancing between our paws, jumping up to snap at one of the overhanging branches of a bush.

And then proceeded to burry herself in the snow that fell down from it.

Both Drake and I barked out a laugh as I reached forward, muzzle pushing through the snow until I pulled Ellie out of the mound by her scruff and placed her back down.

The pup wasn't the least bit worried, shaking the snow off of her fur before panting happily. She only paused and whimpered before hiding between my paws as the wind turned, blowing from behind us.

And carrying the scent of Max to our noses.

"He's still following us?" I sneered, growling lowly as my fur bristled. Drake growled as well, ears perked up to catch any sound before nudging me in the side, urging to keep moving.

"And has been since we left Curtis' pack. I'm guessing the only reason he hasn't approached is because of my presence." He murmured through the link, looking over his shoulder occasionally.

But neither of us could see him, as he was more than likely staying out of sight. The snow crunched under our paws as we took turns leading the way, making sure that Ellie could easily follow in the trail we made.

Even though we were at the tail-end of winter, the weather didn't seem to mind or pay attention and had decided to blanket the world with a thick layer of snow.

At least we could carry the pup on our backs or in our muzzle if she grew too tired. Especially now that we were being followed, we weren't inclined to take breaks.

"Heavens know what Max is capable of." I thought bitterly, unable to lower my hackles completely. After all, I had never anticipated how Max would act, how he would betray me and lash out, ultimately rejecting me.

Drake snorted in agreement before lowering his head to gently grab a hold of Ellie. The pup squirmed only for a moment before relaxing when the hold around her remained gentle, teeth tucked behind lips to avoid harming her.

"Indeed. Though it is rare, I don't want to risk getting in a territorial fight with Max's wolf." He hushed over our personal link, leaving Ellie out of the loop with a pointed motion of his muzzle.