Raven (Book One of the Dark Lycans Series)

Chapter Nineteen- Going Back

I ran in wolf form for hours. I was heading southeast towards the forests of Minnesota. Blake's pack, I found out, had its own large territory between the United States, and Canada. It was near Alaska, so it was cold year round. But when you grow up there, it actually felt really warm in the summer, when it hardly snowed at all. Sometimes, it looked almost tropical during the hot months of July and August.

I ran as fast as I could along the Canadian and US border, until I was directly above Minnesota. It took me three days to get there, only stopping when I needed to rest. I rested for an hour at a time, and caught food while running. I stayed in the deep woods, avoiding all contact with humans, or their pets. I reached the Border of Minnesota and Canada, waiting in a thick clump of pine trees. I set down my bag, and shifted into my wolf form that was the size and color of a typical wolf.

My fur was white, with a touch of amber, and gray along my spine and the tip of my tail. I was still fairly large, 6ft from nose to tail tip. And I stood at about 2.5 ft at my shoulder, weighing a healthy 80 pounds. I looked almost exactly like a typical gray wolf from Minnesota. I picked up my bag, and ran through the woods.

I ran quickly, and luckily, managed to make it through the Minnesota border untouched. I could travel at about 50-60 mph in this wolf form. I would much rather run in a faster form, but I was worried about getting caught. Gray wolves were common here, so no one would look at me twice. It took me a few hours to reach my destination in northeastern part of the state.

I arrived at the farm, tired but not exhausted. It sat on a 45 acre plot of land, covered in grass and trees. I easily jumped the electric horse fence. Making my way up to the cottage, I stopped by a clear pond to drink. The small cabin was in the center of the property.

I decided to walk, I didn't want to spook any of the animals. I came into a clearing a few acres in. There were several horses grazing, and not noticing me. I stepped forward planning to go around unnoticed. My plan quickly backfired as I stepped on a twig hidden in the grass. Their heads shot up, one saw me, whinnied and reared on its hind legs.

I dropped my bag and barked savagely at them to make sure they didn't try to attack me. They became very scared and took off running towards the house. I took up my bag and loped behind them. I kept up easily, but taking care to avoid their large hooves.

The cottage came into view, dropping my bag again, and I noticed a large shepherd started running towards me. He was growling and snarling viciously, ordering me to leave his territory. I bared my teeth and snarled menacingly, my fur bristling and my hackles raised.

The once vicious dog, was now a whimpering puppy. It ran back to the house, its tail between its legs. My wolf howled happily at my display of dominance. I picked up my bag, and looked up to see a woman standing there, her arms crossed over her chest. I slowly walked up to her and dropped my bag.

I sat down and she looked at me expectantly with curious green eyes. I huffed in annoyance and shifted into my humam form for the first time in days. She looked at me in surprise.

"Raven? What the hell are you doing scaring all of my animals!" She yelled, her voice laced with humor. I laughed and shrugged.

"You've got a mean dog. But I came because I need your help. Please, Lilliana. For old times sake." I pleaded with her when she started to shake her head. She hesitated, but nodded reluctantly.

"Thank you so much! How are Max and Lisa by the way?" I asked as I took some clothes from my bag and changed.

"They're good. Actually they're here if you want to say hi. You look good by the way." She said pointing to my body.

"Thanks. And I would love to see them, they should be what? Eleven and thirteen now right?" She gestured me to follow her inside. I swung my pack over my shoulder and followed her.