We Run

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I've done my part. Bowed down, taken a knee, turned my neck...it's all I can take. I leave them to their celebration.

Tight fingers curl around my bicep, pulling me back.

"Run with your pack, Luna....run with us." Sophie's wolf eyes glow back at mine.

The rest of the females' eyes turn to me, reflecting the moon's light. They shed their skin, replacing it with fur. I can feel my wolf, her desire to run. It's been too long without others, without a pack to run with.

Taking a running jump, shedding the skin, letting the wolf surge forward. Sophie stumbles slightly from seeing my form. It's not an easy sight to look at. Part of me wants to show teeth, but my wolf refuses. I can see her falter slightly, trying to swallow down the bile rising from her stomach. It's so much worse than she thought.

I must be a sight to her, ragged and beaten, unloved for so long, only tuffs of fur clinging to my back, scars shaping my body...gruesome...fearsome.

"I'm sorry." Her head hangs in shame.

I nudge her with my head, whining out. My wolf wants to run, not stand here motionless in the shadow of her pity.

The symphony of howls rising and falling, serenading the moon, pulls to us in an instinctual way. The piercing sound of many throats crying out their love for one another has us throwing our head back, bellowing into the night air. My wolf begins to run with the pack. She starts to run with the wolves, stretching her legs, finding her pace.

The fiercest dwellers of the forest run with the velocity of lightning, crashing through the underbrush. The thundering paws of hundreds pound across the trails made centuries before, and will continue centuries after, in an age-old tradition.

We keep to the back, the wolf and me running as one. One of the females at the back, the lowest Omega, eyes me as we run together. She nudges us forward with her nose on our hind leg, pushing us forward. As we speed up slightly, another female Omega nudges us, propelling us even further into the the low ranking members of the pack.

Female after female nudge us forward, our pace increasing, paw pads sinking into the moss covered floor and... we run.

Nose after nose keeps nudging us through the ranks of females, going forward, climbing the ranks. We run, calling up to the moon, our beautiful music singing the songs of our ancestors.

Panting with exertion, tongue lolling to the side, heart pounding in a steady rhythm, we're continuously pushed forward, nudged closer to the front by the stronger females. Every muscle in our frame strains with the effort to push ahead... it's been too long.

We race against the wind, the Wild clings to us, asserting itself through us, we are formidable as...one.

Another nose nudges us forward. It's Sophie, the second highest in rank female. With one last nudge, I flank the Northerner's right side. His eye locks on mine and... we run. His body was made for running, strong and iron like. Gracefully, he stretches to his full length. Nose leading, ears pulled back, tail trailing, he leads us into the night. I drive my body forward, limbs complaining in fatigue. I ignore it, pushing ahead and we run deep into the night... together.

After the pack's run, my wolf yips and yelps her contentment into the air, body twisting and prancing. The females gather around, licking her fur, nuzzling against her body. Whining their eagerness, their tails curl around our body, foreheads touching foreheads, scents mixing with scents. We bond underneath the moon, as she beams her approval.

The males watch the display, not interfering, not daring to get close. Some try, only to be met with tooth and claw. This is their time to bond with their Luna and no male is welcome.

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