The Stars Gave Me You

Psychopath Persuers

Zane was exhausted, he'd been running for hours, adrenaline pumping, with no sign of stopping any time soon. If he were exhausted, then the 7 year old pup next to him was about ready to keel over. Cleome had been falling further and further behind due to his low stamina. He was wheezing heavily, slobbering all over the place, and whining every so often. Zane picked him up by his scruff with difficulty. He had already far outgrown the maximum size of being carried comfortably, and the pace they were going was no help either. When Zane had finally gotten a good enough grip on Cleome, he raised his head high so the pup didn't drag on the floor, and raced off, faster then he was ever going before. Cleome would have heavily protested, wiggling and kicking with the "I'm old enough to run on my own," argument. However, the pup was so utterly exhausted that he laid limp in Zane's tight hold.

Zane was fast, among the fastest wolves he'd ever been around, and that was being generous. He had put a good distance between them and the wolves currently chasing their tails. He figured they would stop after he crossed their packed territory line and into rouge grounds but they hadn't halted in their footsteps. Zane silently thanked the moon goddess for making him so fast.

Skillfully dodging and weaving through the trees, Zane came upon a large rotten tree. Within a split second he had already made his decision. Shifting back into his human during mid jump he landed within the tree's giant roots, Cleome still panting wildly in his hands.

"You will stay here," he told the pup, setting him down gently and covering him with leaves and mud, "No matter what happens you will stay. Even if you hear me screaming, even if you know I'm hurt, even if they kill me, you will stay in this spot, without making a sound, concealing your sent the best you can."

There was no questioning tone in his voice, Cleome was to do exactly as he said, and he would. They had been in the same situation countless times before. Running from a rouge or a pack of wolves, Cleome hiding in some to tight to fit in place, staying as quiet as he could while Zane shook or fought off the other wolves. Cleome wished he could protect Zane instead of it being the other way around, but he was only 7. There was no way he could go up against wolves twice his size and much more powerful than he was. So he stuck to hiding, training in the free time he had, in order to eventually be able to protect Zane.

Even though they'd been in this exact situation so many times before, Zane felt a twist in his gut, and for some other worldly reason, he knew he wouldn't be coming back to Cleome this time.

With a swift kiss to the pups head, Zane gave a silent and final goodbye to the young child before darting off into the forest again, shifting into a small muddy wolf.

He ran for about 10 more minutes, just a bit slower than normal so he knew the wolves had followed behind him. The heavy footfalls of wolves, exceedingly larger than him, told him they had either not registered the pup hiding in the tree or simply chose to ignore him.

When the distinct smell of pack territory came up on Zane's radar he almost sighed in relief. If he passed that line then the wolves would halt their chase. Any wolf with the mark of a pack will feel unbearable pain when crossing another's territory without permission. Since Zane didn't belong to a pack he had no problem crossing borders. The wolves chasing him however did have a problem since they didn't have permission. They'd be scorched and burned if they passed the line while Zane would be prancing around, rubbing his victory in their faces.

When the territory line came into view Zane pushed himself further.

Maybe I'll be able to escape. Maybe I will actually get to see Cleome again.

Crossing the border into new pack territory had felt like the biggest weight off of Zane's shoulders. He was safe. They couldn't get him now. They would wait around for a while but eventually retreat back to their own pack. And Zane would return to Cleome.