Obsidian Night Pack

2

I woke up covered in sweat and chilled to the bone. My head thundered with pain and my body felt as if I jumped off a cliff. I slowly and disoriented picked my head up from the ground. I looked around and realized I was still in the forest. It was dead silent, the screams that had been shattering my ears but a moment ago were gone. I heard no footsteps and no breathing, not even a crack of a branch. Was I alone? I carefully got up from the ground, naked and confused. I looked around some more but saw no one.

Am I the last one in the woods? I didn't even get a chance to look for my mate! I looked down to examine myself. It didn't appear that I was injured, but I was so sore. I found the old T-shirt I had taken off and slipped it back on. I guess I would just make my way back to the packhouse.

I trudged through the woods and pondered the whole "first shift" experience. It was weird and it wasn't what everyone told me it would be like. I didn't feel free and finally able to connect with a part of myself I never knew was in me. I didn't even feel like myself now. Did I do something wrong? I don't even know how I could do something wrong.

I shook my head and tried to shake off the negative feeling as well. Sure I was sore, but I had finally shifted! Maybe my mate was Dillian, I still hadn't seen him yet. I began to walk a little faster towards the packhouse.

I was almost there. I could see the lights from the kitchen and the fire blazing in the backyard. I could also hear all the young pups asking the older ones what it was like. When I got closer to the edge of the forest I saw that there were buckets of water out forcus to wash with if we wanted to, or needed to. I definitely needed to. I quickly threw the bucket over myself and grabbed a towel that was hanging on a tree. There were also simple white dresses and shirts and pants out, hanging on the trees for newly shifted wolves.

I picked up a simple white dress and threw that on alone with some underwear that was also available. The pack thought of everything, didn't they think to myself.

I then emerged from the woods and began to make my way inside the packhouse. I was famished! I was so hungry! Before I could even make my way to some food I was ambushed.

"Clover! There you are! I was so worried about you! I searched the woods in wolf form, but I didn't find you! You were out there for so long! You must have been having a blast! Chasing deer? Or rabbit maybe?" Ashlyn was holding me in her arms and staring up at me as she asked me a thousand questions.

"You couldn't find me? I stayed in one area the entire time." I looked down at her puzzled.

"You did? Man! I must really be a bad wolf if I couldn't even find you let alone a mate!"

"You didn't find your mate!?" I asked in surprise. If anything I was sure that Ashlyn would find her mate tonight.

"No! I didn't know how rude of him ya know. To not even show up here tonight! Like what is his excuse!" She yelled and began shaking me at the same time.

"Maybe he saw how ugly you are and left the feast," a small voice says from behind Ashlyn. Ashlyn's face tightens with anger as she releases her hold on me and spins around to face her younger brother Joshua.

"What did you just say to me you little shrimp? You wanna die tonight?" Joshua was the spitting image of Ashlyn only smaller and shorter hair as well as four years younger than her.

"You heard me, he saw you were ugly and left. That's what I do every time I see you!"

"Why you little!" Ashlyn's fists were bunched up in small balls as her anger grew.

"Now because you're so ugly and didn't find your mate I don't get your room now," Joshua said with a disappointed look on his face.

"Who told you, you were getting my room! What if I found my mate and we decided to live in the pack."