Page 70 of Defiance
The night was warm,the heat of the day lingering around them like it had no intention of going anywhere. Cole breathed in deep, revelling in being outside and listening to all the sounds surrounding them. Howls echoed on the air, some faint, some nearby, and Cole wondered if any of them were Logan.
Smith led them out the main entrance to the McKillan pack house and along the gravel path towards a large expanse of grass in front of the tree line. People were already gathered there in various states of undress.
Cole swallowed down a flare of insecurity. With everything else going on in his head, he’d happily forgotten this aspect of shifting. Getting naked in front of complete strangers wasn’t something he’d ever be comfortable with.
Smith and Fletcher greeted people as they walked up, most of whom Cole recognised from training. Some of them said hello to him, others ignored him.
He’d take that over a beating any day.
Smith stopped off to one side. “We’ll leave our stuff here and hopefully pick it up after the run.” He started to undress as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
“Hopefully?” Cole asked, not liking the sound of that.
“Yeah.” Fletcher was already naked, and Cole hurriedly looked away. “After a run, things can get a little confusing and we forget where we put our stuff.”
Fucking wonderful.
Smith had shed his clothes, and Cole realised with an unpleasant jolt that they were both waiting for him. He hurriedly undressed and glanced around them; everyone else had shifted. Wolves of all colours milled about before disappearing into the trees.
Smith stepped in front of him and gripped his shoulders. Cole immediately tensed but Smith’s voice was surprisingly soft when he spoke. “Relax. Don’t worry about anyone else, they’re not paying any attention.” His grip tightened, putting all Cole’s focus on him. “Breathe.”
Cole sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.
“Now focus on the moon, on its pull. Feel it deep inside and hold onto it.”
He did as he was told, Smith’s voice almost hypnotic.
“Picture your wolf in your mind, hold it there, and let your body do the rest.”
He might not be Logan, but Cole found himself letting go as Smith’s words sank into him. His body took over, pain sharp and visceral as his wolf took shape.
The next time he opened his eyes, everything took on a new perspective. His vision was sharper, sounds from all around him intensified, bringing the night to life in a way it never was in his human form. He lifted his paws, acclimatising to his new centre of balance.
A wolf howled next to him. Fletcher or Smith, he couldn’t be sure, but the urge to answer gripped him and Cole tipped his head back, howling up to the moon for all he was worth.
Somewhere out in the forest sounded an answering howl that Cole recognised.
Logan.
Cole instinctively turned towards it, but before he could move, a dark brown wolf was in his face, teeth bared.
Instinct and scent told him it was Smith, and his message was clear.
You’re with us.
Logan’s howl sounded again, closer this time, and Cole bit back a whimper as everything in him wanted to answer, to go find him. But enough of his human side remained in charge to realise what a fucking awful idea that would be.
Satisfied that Cole wasn’t about to do a runner into the trees, Smith gave the barest of nods and then turned his back on him. He headed towards the tree line, but further along from where Logan’s howl had come from.
Cole followed, with Fletcher padding along behind him. The grass under his paws soon changed to twigs and leaves, snapping and crunching as Cole walked over them. The moon lit their path, and Cole’s senses swam with all the sensory input.
It was so much more intense in wolf form.
He’d forgotten.
Intense, yet simple.
Tonight he wanted to run and chase, and little else mattered.
