Runt [ManxMan]

Chapter Twelve

Mason had missed being in his wolf form.

It moved the way he expected it to, and he could run and do whatever he wanted without stumbling and falling and trembling and needing help. It was wonderful.

He had also missed the woods. They had been his home for thirteen years, and he hadn't realized how much he'd missed the familiar sounds of branches rustling and critters scuttling around and water running, and the scents, the crisscrossing scents of all the animals waiting to be chased. Oh how he'd missed them.

He trotted happily through the underbrush, occasionally startling some small animal or other out of its hiding place and giving a brief chase. Even better, he didn't have to feel stress over not catching them because his dinner and his very life no longer hung in the balance.

Another sound drew his attention and he skidded to a stop, turning and perking up, searching for his brother. The full moon wasn't bad lighting, but it had still been a long time since he'd been out so late. His instincts pushed him to run during the full moon, of course, Chase had explained to him that this was completely normal, but he'd had a few run ins with other wolves during these jaunts in the first years he was on his own and had learned it was better to resist the urge and spend the night curled up in a den.

Chase was easy for him to pick out, though, even among the other wolves scattered nearby, because his wolf was so much like Mason's, a good amount of tawny fur with streaks of gray on his back and a white underbelly and legs. The only real difference was that Chase was much bigger than Mason, almost too big to pass for a wild wolf.

The wolf next to him certainly wouldn't pass for a wild wolf. Seeing the beta in his wolf form made Mason a bit uneasy, as the last time he had encountered the dark wolf it had rooted him out of his den and chased him through the woods. He knew now the man had good intentions, but it was still a rather traumatic experience. Plus, something about the beta's aura made Mason uneasy, but he couldn't have said what it was.

It didn't help that the beta was big. Far too large for any human to think he was just a wild wolf, and almost twice the omega's size. But Mason knew that couldn't be the only reason because Dax was bigger even than Maverick, and while Mason certainly felt intimidated around the alpha and his instincts drove him to submit, the big man didn't make him uneasy like the beta did.

Chase trotted up to the omega and bumped his head against Mason's shoulder. Mason knew it was an admonishment, and he licked his brother's jaw to show he understood. When Mav had showed up at their door and asked them to come run with the pack, Mason had been excited by the idea, despite the knowledge that it would mean being around all the other pack wolves, because it would mean being in his wolf form for the first time since he arrived on pack territory.

Chase hadn't been entirely thrilled by the idea, but after a bit of pleading from his brother and encouragement from the beta he'd agreed for them to go, but only if Mason agreed to stay near his brother and not run off. He couldn't help it though. It was just so exciting to be outside again, and there were so many things to chase.

A howl pierced the air, and Mason froze, his head jerking toward the sound. Next to him, Chase was equally tense, which didn't help the omega's growing anxiety. He recognized it as a pack sound, but he wasn't familiar enough with it to know whether it was a good or bad sound without his brother's body language as an indication.

Mav seemed wary, but not as affected as the brothers. Mason wanted to take this as a good sign, except the beta also circled closer, his head turned toward where the howl had come from as he took a protective stance near them.

Chase nudged him back toward the complex, but Mason resisted, his attention still focused on the origin of the howl. There were so many wolves in the woods around him it was difficult to pinpoint anything suspicious, except there was something in the air, some faint scent...