Part of the Pack (Book 1 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 25 Hiding and Learning

Chapter 25 Hiding and learning

"THis is the plan" Abilene ran a hand through her very messy hair as she sat down. It must have been stressful for her. "We just go somewhere in the city and wait until someone comes to get us." She looked around with worried eyes. "I haven't actually had to do this before, i've had practice but it's still new to me." I nodded. I guessed that this sort of thing did not happen as often as it made out to be.

"How will they know?" I asked as I paced slightly. The children we e still quiet. I would be too if I were them. They looked scared and worried. They were practically in a stranger's home waiting to hear if their family was alright. I didn't really know what to say or do to distract them. I didn't even have my laptop to entertain them. It was in my bag back at the tent.

"I'll shift in a few minutes.Then i'll be able to keep tabs on them." She smiled at me weakly. "You're taking this all extremely well." Her observation was something that I hadn't noticed, it was something which was the truth but I didn't really want to admit it. It was as though I wasn't allowed to be alright with it. I felt like I was supposed to freak out at every single thing.

"I know, I don't know why. Perhaps it's just adrenaline?" Even though it was definitely not adrenaline. I was calmer now, my thoughts were no longer muddled together with the thought of escaping and running. I was in a safe and secure place. Melina was sucking her thumb and I gently pulled it from her mouth with a smile and a shake of my head.

I sat on the very small settee with Melina. Lowell and Oran joined us whilst the twins stayed on the bed. Abilene had turned into her wolf form and was pacing in the little space she had. She was enormous compared to the very tiny room. "This brings back memories." I tried to lighten the mood, I guessed that Abilene's thoughts were not pleasant ones. She gave some sort of a wolfy laugh and continued to pace until she lay down next to me. "We should do this again."

She looked at me strangely, I had captured the boy's attention too. The little girl in my arms was fast asleep. "Get chased for our lives?" Little Oran said with worry in his voice. I gave a light chuckle, as did the twins. Lowell and Oran looked genuinely confused. "No thank you." He said politely.

"I mean that we should...get together here sometime or just...chill." What we were doing right now was not chilling, it was anything but chilling. "Sorry, I'm not the best with words." I was slightly embarrassed that I couldn't explain what I mean. I was never good at explaining what I mean or what I think.

"I know what you mean." Channon's voice caught everyone's attention. "It's nice to be together in silence, in peace." The little dude was wise beyond his years it seemed. It was surprising coming from one of the children who seemed to cause so much trouble. I nodded and a few smiles were shared. "When we're not in a life-threatening situation of course."

The heavy feeling was back in the room at those words. We were all quiet, we could hear rain pitter pattering against the window. There was noises coming from elsewhere in the building, it was never really quiet here. They didn't help our nerves and anxieties. It was nice to know that there was other people there, as long as those people had good intentions.

It was about an hour of silence, I pulled a board game out for the children to play. They seemed to welcome the distraction, they had to sit on the floor so Abilene's pacing was slightly interrupted. It was about an hour later when Abilene had resorted to laying down. I was reminded of the situation hat we were in when I first stumbled across her in the woods. I wasn't sure if I was more or less scared right now.

She caught my attention by suddenly jolting up, I looked at her curiously but she was distracted. She was looking into thin air. I assumed that she could hear someone or that someone was talking to her. Her tail started to wag. I took that as a good sign. Wolves and dogs wagged their tails when they were happy or excited.

"Is it them?" I tried to be as broad as possible, I was getting a little paranoid now. I was scared that anyone would be against us, anyone could be the attacker who walked through the halls. She understood what I meant and nodded. I gave a small smile and a relieved sigh. "Is everyone alright?"

Her nod did little to reassure me this time. I wanted to know what happened, I wanted to know why we had to run, I wanted to know if anyone was injured. I doubted that I would be able to get that answer whilst she was in her wolf form. We wouldn't be able to have a discussion and she wouldn't be able to ask the pack the questions which were running through my mind.

"Mom and dad will be here soon?" Channon asked sleepily. The boys were looking absolutely battered. Oran had the most amount of energy. Yet he didn't really express it much. They were silent and patient. From what Abilene said, they hadn't had to do this before. I'm sure that going to a human's university building wasn't something which they had prepared for.

I didn't know if I was supposed to answer that so I looked to Abilene. She was still in wolf form but she struggled to come over and licked the child's face. A slight giggle came from Channon and he went back to playing. I guessed that was some way of giving him the answer, like a wolf code or something. It was peculiar to watch.

I knew that Abilene probably won't be shifting anytime soon. I looked away whilst she shifted, honestly having no interest to see the process. Her clothes were neatly piled in the corner of the room. All we had to do was wait. The pack were coming here. It took a little while for the words to make sense. "Can you let me know when they're close?" I asked quietly. "I've got to let them in." I hoped I didn't get into trouble for having so many people there. That was the least of my issues.

So, we waited anxiously for the word that they would be near. Abilene nudged me and nodded towards the door. I tried to put Melina on the settee but she wouldn't have it, I had to go downstairs with her hugging me like a koala. Let me tell you, I was never so happy to see a group of people at my door with cuts and bruises.

"Hi." I breathed as I looked over them. Some had cuts, some had blood on their clothes, most of them were muddy. "Come on in quickly." I ushered them into the building with my free hand. "It's good to see you." I said quietly, I knew that most of them probably heard me. This was going to be a cramped few hours.