True Nature

4

The patter of hundreds of paws hitting dirt resonated through the silence of the woods, otherwise broken only by howls of joy and exhilaration from the pack. My wolf panted in excitement as we raced deeper and deeper into the dense forest, thrilled at stretching our muscles for the first time in ages. My eyesight had sharpened and now, even in the fading light, I could make out all the intricate details of the forest, the silhouettes of small woodland creatures visible as they leapt out of our way and scurried into the bushes to hide. Heart feeling as though it was beating to the rhythm of my paws, I sprinted around trees and over shrubs, high on adrenaline and exhilarated at the feeling of pure freedom. I ran for what seemed like minutes but must have been hours as eventually my legs began to falter, and exhaustion forced me to gradually slow down. Having run in no particular direction, I was now standing in an even denser, unfamiliar part of the forest, but my wolf was relaxed as we headed towards the comforting sound of a nearby stream in need of a drink.  

I looked around in interest as I arrived at an obscure little creek I had never seen before. The forest of our pack was huge, covering miles and miles so, unsurprisingly, I had yet to explore the vast majority of it. I dipped my head into the stream taking long gulps of cool water, delighting in the earthy taste of it, before padding back up the bank and finding a nice shaded spot on top of a large-enough looking rock to rest on. Curling up on the smooth surface and closing my eyes, I huffed in contentment. It had been a while since I had given my wolf freedom to run and I had missed this feeling of utter satisfaction and happiness.

I dozed off until a sudden noise awoke me. Whipping my head up sharply, ears pricked, I glanced around noting the still quiet forest, before quickly calming back down again, reassured. Shaking my head, I picked myself up, taking the time to leisurely stretch out my body, before climbing down from the rock. Unsure how long I had dozed off for and worried about getting back, I was about to make my way back into the sea of dense trees, when my ears twitched as they picked up on another muffled sound. Lifting my nose into the air, I instantly tensed at the unfamiliar scent in the wind. I swung my head around trying to tell where the scent was coming from, eyes scanning the thick undergrowth as the uneasy feeling in my gut began to grow. 

Without warning a massive onyx wolf stepped out of the thicket only a few paces in front of me. One of the biggest and most powerful looking wolves I had ever seen, he towered over my own wolf, instantly making me feel as vulnerable and as insignificant as a pup. My hackles went up immediately as my wolf recognised the threat in front of me and I released a snarl as my fight or flight instinct kicked in. My wolf was wary of his intentions, struggling to read his body-language. Shifters know better than to creep up on unfamiliar wolves without announcing themselves so I couldn't figure out why he was intruding on my space only to stand there and observe me so intently. He definitely did not belong to my pack and the vibes he was giving off were far too alpha for my liking.

He padded towards me slowly but confidently showing no apprehension but rather curiosity in the face of my aggressive stance. Realising quickly that he was not going to back off and that I wouldn't fare well if he chose to pick a fight, I spun around and made for the trees only to be thwarted after a few short paces. The black wolf leapt in front of me blocking my way, a superior, smug glint in his eyes. Changing direction, I vaulted to the side once more but again he blocked my escape route, his eyes almost laughing at me this time as I narrowed my own. I met his greenish, amber gaze for a long moment, forgetting to look away like I should have. Instead I stared as a sense of familiarity hit me even as I saw his own widening in astonishment.

Snapping out of it, I realised what I was doing - the challenge I was setting - and quickly looked away hoping he wouldn't make too big a deal out of what had just happened. My wolf was not usually aggressive or violent at all, but for some reason I was feeling overly annoyed he was playing with me and at my own helplessness. I blame what I did next on pure frustration that I couldn't get away and blind stupidity. Without giving myself a chance to think about it too deeply, I rushed him, stubbornly thinking he would move out of my way on instinct. No such luck, he stayed put, his eyes widening in shock at my audacity as I attempted to take him by surprise and leap past him. For a second I thought it had worked as I managed to successfully manoeuvre around him, the way forward clear. 

Suddenly I found myself tackled to the ground, his bodyweight pushing me down on my belly as I twisted my head around to snap up at him. We wrestled for a few seconds until he almost effortlessly pined me to the ground, his teeth gently but firmly clasping my neck. He snarled at me in warning and I instantly went slack in submission, body heaving as I panted in exhaustion. He removed his teeth slowly and as I continued baring my neck and waiting for him to get off, he slowly started sniffing my fur and poking me in the face with his cold nose. Shifting slightly, uncomfortable with the complete breach of my personal space, I whined in capitulation and tried to gently nudge him off me without angering or challenging him again. He snorted giving me an unreadable look before backing off, leaving me far too little space. Shaking out my fur, I glanced at him haughtily, still vexed at his unprovoked, dominant behaviour. He sneezed out what sounded like a canine laugh and gave me a playful nudge, brushing up against my fur when I tried to move away. Giving him the cold shoulder, I suddenly realised with some surprise that my wolf was actually enjoying the strange wolf's company and attention. It had been a while since she socialised, and she was aggravatingly happy to have caught the attention of an alpha.

All at once, a muffled bark came from behind us in the direction of the bushes and his whole demeanour changed in an instant. Gone was the playful wolf, and in its place stood an aggressive, angry monster that clearly didn't like our little playdate being interrupted. It was then that I realised shakily, looking at the fury etched on his face and hearing the threat in his low growl, that I was naive to think he had been aggressive with me at all. My own wolf took a weary step back as I turned to see who our intruder was, whining in fear when I recognised the grey-furred newcomer as Josh. I made to get between them, but the big black wolf nudged me back, keeping me behind him, and continued to growl lowly in warning at Josh who was glancing between us, unsure. I tried to convey through eye contact that I was in no trouble and to leave quickly. Josh watched me worriedly as he warily backed off, having no choice but to retreat before the alpha, before scampering back into the cover of the trees.

The big, black wolf, seemingly appeased, turned back around to face me, giving me a funny look this time as if he didn't quite understand something. I glared at him with as much disapproval as I dared to for scaring off my friend, before moving towards the tree line in the direction of what I hoped was the pack house. He let me, following on my tail the whole way back. 

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I picked up my clothes, left scattered in a pile on the grass, and trotted off to find shelter in the trees to shift and change in privacy. Letting the shift flow over me, I quickly buttoned up my shirt and jeans before heading back towards the pack house. I still wasn't sure how long I had been away, but judging by the setting sun, I realised I must have been asleep for over 2, maybe even 3 hours. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, tired, but smiling slightly at the thought of the new friend I had made. We had split at the edge of the forest as he went, I presumed, to look for the rest of his pack. I realised with a start that I didn't even know which pack he belonged to and wondered if I would see him again before he left.

Eager to get back home as I had work again early the next morning, I took a brief glance inside the rooms of the pack house to see if Tessa and Josh were waiting for me somewhere. There were groups of pack members still lingering around inside some of the rooms that I carefully avoided as I absentmindedly made my way out into the corridor again, running headfirst into a warm wall. Glancing up, my eyes latched on to a pair of familiar green ones and I almost choked on my own saliva. Tobias was standing there, unapologetically watching me closely.

"S-sorry" I stammered, cheeks flushing, and trying to slide past him. In a flash, his hand had hit the wall in front of my face cutting off my exit and boxing me in. I looked up at him eyes wide, startled. "What are you doing?" My voice wavered.

He frowned, leaning down, his two eyes flicking rapidly between my own. "I have a better question". He murmured huskily. "What exactly are you?"