My Wolf

Chapter 31

I grunt loudly as I land on my butt once again. One more fall like this and I'll brake my tail bone for sure. Ian smiles at me as he sticks his hand out to help me up. We both know I'm off my game today and I've already been thrown ten times in the last three hours - not really an easy thing to do.

As soon as I'm on my feet I wipe the dirt off my shorts and rub my sore backside.

"You okay?" He asks as he returns to his fighting stance - yes, for now we're working on fighting as humans because the twins warned they may start with that.

"I'm fine." I say, prepping myself for his first move - I never initiate and he knows that.

"No, you're distracted." He says as he starts to circle me. "And we all know how disastrous that can be in a actual fight. So, what's on your mind?"

"It's nothing." I say, watching his every move like a hungry vulture scoping its prey.

He lunges forward and I deflect his arm as he goes for a punch, kneeing him in the back of his upper thigh to numb the nerves there.

"Hey! I tend to like that area." He says with mock hurt as he starts to circle me again.

"Of course you do." I tease with a smirk as I await for any sign or twitch of his next move.

At the last possible second I notice his leg stiffen before he lunges to my right, swiping his claws at my side. I quickly grab onto his wrist and spin myself closer to him, elbowing him in the gut. Grunting he takes a few steps away from me, holding his aching gutt. Just as he starts to dart my direction again Derreck claps once, calling for our attention.

Straightening up we all turn to face him, giving our full focus. "Okay everyone! Now time to shift! Xander you'll be locked up during the fight - it's your first full shift and it'll be the worst you'll have. Also, you won't have experience fighting as a wolf and being there will just get you hurt."

Xander huffs under his breath and folds his arms over his chest before joining Rhys, plopping down on the ground with an audible thud. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when they beat you 'cause you're one man down."

"Don't be over dramatic - it's not only for your safety but everyone else as well. You won't have the same control over your wild side as we do and your wolf could take over." Derrecks says with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, someone needs to make sure Rhys has a link to the pack that he can chat with."

"And how will I, exactly? I mean, you did say he would be turning. Wouldn't a conversation be...um, how do I put it, difficult!" Rhys says, sarcasm dripping off every word in a never ending stream.

I bite my lips together to keep from smirk - or, worst yet, laughing. I can tell the others are having a hard time as well. And by others I mean Jase, Xander, and Ian - the only ones who aren't glaring at each other. Seriously, Derreck could shift right now, he's so mad.

"Okay people, lets do this!" I say, clapping my hands together and quickly changing the subject.

The guys start to strip down when Rhys starts making horrified choking noises, making us stop and watch him like he's mentally insane.

"Seriously! I don't want to see any of your junk and I'm positive you all don't want to see what's under each other's clothes. So, can you all just go change behind bushes like Beks did on Jase's first moon?!" Rhys says, smacking his hand over his eyes and and making flailing gestures with the other one.

"Yeah, that would probably be best." I agree as I make my way to my own piece of foliage. "Besides, none of you have a great body like me and it would be a shame to have to keep that from y'all if you're all gonna do it out here."

"We are completely fine letting you join." Ian says with a smirk.

Derreck slaps him upside the head and turns toward the trees on the opposite side from me. "One, that's my sister and none of you will see her naked unless you're married to her and her mate. Two, stop being a horny bastard."

I chuckle at his retreating form and walk a little ways into the Forest, finding myself a small circle of bushes to shift between.

"You're no fun, Derreck." Ian says, not sounding too torn up about it.

I shake my head as I strip down and fold my clothes, leaving it in a small pile to carry back to Rhys and Xander once I'm in wolf form. I crouch down low to the ground and stretch my neck side to side as my body starts to tingle. Every nerve in my body just feels so alive right now as my bones starts to shift and brake, morphing into my wolf form.

I let my body take its time as I watch each bone break and twist into weird, impossible angles. Slolwy, bright white fur sprouts from every pore and grows into a long silky coat. My tail progressively elongates from the base of my spine as my hips shift to accommodate quadruped standards and swishes behind me. Finally my jaw locks into place and I can feel my eyes burn a little as they turn to their eerily silver hue.

Shaking out my fur I pick up my clothes in my teeth and jog over to the others as they sit in a small circle. I give them a smile as I go deposit my clothes into Rhys' lap - after the last time he knows not to go looking through it. He narrows his eyes at me and I just turn away, jogging toward the others.

Okay, so we all know what the next full moon means for us.....I quickly tune out from the speech Derreck gives every time we come to train this way. He refuses to say any of this in human form because we all know how much pain it will put onto Rhys and Xander if they heard it.

The sound of crunching leaves in the distance tickles my ears and I try desperately to keep them from twitching. I don't want the others to know I'm not paying any attention - besides, it's probably a deer or something. The crunching noise starts again and I realize that something big is coming our way. I sniff at the air discreetly and catch a faint human scent...it may just be Rhys. Unfortunately, he crunching gets louder and closer.

Derreck? I send through the mind link.

Seriously, Beks? You can't wait until I'm done explaining our strategy? He answers and I can tell he's not in the mood for games.

Too bad for him, I don't think this is a game.

Well, fine, but if you're willing to risk an attack then by all means don't listen to me. I huff out angrily, turning my face so I don't have to see him.

He sighs. What exactly is it this time? Is there anything you want to tell us? Any strategies?

I roll my eyes at his tone - as I'd he's humoring me! I hear something, like movement, and suddenly a nose pokes into my neck.

Come on, Beks! We need you to focus and stay with us on this. Now what's wrong? He asks, sitting down right next to me while keeping the contact.

I swivel my head to look at him, taking in the dark black color of his fur - such a contrast to my own. Well, if you paid enough attention to your surroundings you'd probably realize something's coming right at us.

His eyes grow wide and he lift his snout into the air, sniffing for any scent he can find, before staring at me with fear in his eyes. One word goes through the pack link. Hunters.

Xander quickly hope up from his position next to Rhys and pulls him out of the clearing toward Rhys' jeep. I watch as they speed away with all our clothes...great.

Scatter and meet up back at Jasynn's house. Now! Derreck yells through the link.

We all quickly take off in our own paths. I notice someone behind me and turn my head to see Ian hot on my tail.

No Ian, watch out for Jase! He'll need you more than I will. I say, and he nods before disappearing.

The sound of a twig breaking brings my attention back in front of me. I freeze when the person becomes illuminated by the moonlight, most likely scraping up a weird trail in my wake.

How? This isn't possible! Why would she be one of them? Unless...

I don't have time to figure it out because she slowly lifts her hand into the air between us, pulling the trigger to the gun. As the bullet flies through the air I notice a strange glow coming from its epicenter.

End then my world goes dark. Again.