Page 9 of Starting a New Life

Acidic fear filled the crisp clean air, a reward for our efforts.

I wanted to shout at the intruders to fucking stop, but I couldn’t in this form. So I snarled again as I sprinted past the trees, slowly but steadily closing in on them.

They didn’t know the woods like I did. It was my territory. My hunting ground.

And hunt we did.

The pants doubled; white fur was crossing in from the right, fast as an arrow, followed by Angelo’s golden fur. Our eyes locked, his yellow ones asking for permission.

I bared my fangs in a deadly grin.

We had it all planned out.

We’d trained for this exact scenario for a month. Everyone knew what they had to do.

Paul, Rhett, and I kept running, closing in on the two wolves in front of us, while Angelo stopped.

The intruders had almost reached the barrier. They were on the brink of getting away once again, but we had one ace left up our sleeve.

An earth-shaking roar filled the air, shattering the silence.

The grey wolf in front of me stumbled, and the acidic stench of fear deepened, mixed with a hint of… urgh.

Piss.

Coward, my wolf snarled.

The barrier’s energy started filling the air like static, intensifying the closer we got to it.

Just a few steps… My teeth closed around the grey wolf’s tail, tugging hard. Fur and blood filled my mouth. The wolf yowled and threw himself forward—right through the barrier.

Chase! Hunt! my wolf screamed inside my head as I forced my paws to stop right in the middle of the barrier, the magic surrounding me. You almost have them!

And I wanted to. I wanted to keep going. I was faster than they were. I could get them, shred them to pieces. Show them what intruding into our territory got them.

Go! my wolf snarled, pushing with all he had against my will.

No! I stood there, panting, watching them disappear into the thick underbrush that covered the forest floor. Behind me, I felt the others approaching, their panting loud in the otherwise quiet forest.

I allowed myself to watch the now-empty forest ahead of me for a few seconds longer before turning around.

Chase, my wolf demanded again, his will clashing with mine.

He was strong. The strongest. And fucking stubborn.

But I was stronger, and I refused to let him have the upper hand. We need to protect our pack.

And we couldn’t very well do that if I left the territory to chase two annoying but in the grand scheme of things harmless wolves. It’d leave our territory vulnerable.

What if that was their plan? I refused to fall for it.

Those two were no match for us. They were fucking cowards. Intruding and retreating, permeating the air with their fear, and their…

I turned around and sniffed until I found the spot where the grey wolf had peed himself and lifted my leg. I refused to let them leave their mark on my territory. Even if it was proof of their cowardice.

Next to me, I heard a huff. Turning my head to my best friend, I met his warm eyes, saw the bemused glint in them.

I nodded in the direction of the packhouse and led my crew out of the forest.