The Human Pup

🐺 o n e 🐺

The girl panted as she ran. The taste of blood was evident in her mouth, and although she had tried to swallow it twice already, it kept reappearing. The steps were growing only louder behind her. Chasing her. Almost catching up with her. Slowly creeping closer and closer, swallowing her pace.

Don't think about it, she told herself. They're not going to catch you.

Her feet barely touched the ground as she pushed them to move faster while simultaneously taking bigger steps

Her caramel brown hair was catching the wind too easily, repeatedly getting into her mouth, and she cursed herself for not tying it up in a ponytail before entering the thick forest she was so fond of— Focus.

She blocked everything from her mind—the smells that were so alive and fresh after last night's rain, the taste of blood, the thundering steps behind her—and only concentrated on her feet and muscles. She knew she could do this. She knew she could win this race against the huge animals that were chasing her. From the corner of her eye, she could almost notice their fur entering her view already.

Panicking, the girl sped up, blocking all the senses but sight, knowing the river was near her, and this would soon be over. But sight alone couldn't notify her of the river in front of her—she couldn't smell the water as she usually did, nor hear it flowing in her way. With her eyes wide open, she bolted through the forest and kept dodging the trees in her path.

Just as one of the wolves behind her was about to pass her, she hit a big rock on the shore—one that had been marked with an X—and fell headfirst into the river.

All her senses returned to her when she hit the water. But all the girl could do was gasp as she resurfaced, her foot throbbing in pain. "Ugh," she muttered to herself just as two boys ran from the forest, both wearing only a pair of shorts.

"You okay, baby sis?" the shorter one asked, his brows furrowed in worry even though his lips were dying to pulsate upward. The taller, though, squatted as he threw his head back and groaned in laughter. The girl swam toward her older brothers and agilely hoisted herself out of the water once she had reached the rocks.

"Nova?" the oldest of the three asked.

"I'm great," she nodded in a fit of breathy laughter, unfazed by her dripping clothes and hair. Ashton finally allowed himself to laugh a bit, and the girl's face lit up, "I won!"

Her brothers shared an amused glance before Tyler nodded toward the girl's foot. Now that she had been reminded of it, she winced and cursed under her breath, but made a point not to mention the fact that her toes were probably already blue. Her grin never faltered, "I still won."

Her smug face only seemed to irritate the tallest boy. "You had an advantage."

"You were the one who said I could have ten seconds!"

Tyler frowned and took a few big steps before pushing himself over the narrow river. "Can you do that?" he hollered once on the other side.

Nova rolled her eyes at him. "As a human, winning a werewolf in a race should be impossible!" she stated. "Especially while in your fluffy form!"

"Quit being sassy, it's annoying." The girl sent him a grin and giggled when the guy phased and leaped away, probably to complain to his mate about how irritating his little sister was. Not that Eva would listen, Nova mused. Sometimes she had the impression that Tyler's mate loved her more than him. The thought made her smug enough to stare up at her second to oldest brother with a toothy grin. "I won."

"Alright," Ashton snickered at her. "Let's get you home, Noves. Your foot looks absolutely destroyed."

"I won," she repeated, twisting water out of her long dark hair. The boy pushed off his pants in front of her, at which the girl grimaced and turned her head away. "Gross, Ash."