72

"Erm, Resul?"

"Yes?"

Excitedly he stared into the forest, ready to transform and run while the rain had already soaked him.

"Can you please turn around?" I asked shyly, getting his full attention.

Apparently he hadn't thought about taking off his clothes beforehand and I wouldn't normally have cared either, but I didn't have that many spare clothes here and I wanted to avoid another shopping spree.

"You can go into the bushes back there. I'll run ahead and wait for you in the forest."

Immediately after his suggestion, he transformed and then playfully jumped back and forth in front of me. I marveled at his beautiful black coat color that shone through the rain making it look even more graceful. Without taking my eyes off him, I watched him disappear between the swaying trees and leave me alone.

When I could no longer hear his paws on the forest floor, I ran over to the bushes full of anticipation, took off my jogging suit and then transformed. It was a breathtaking feeling to finally be just a wolf again and to be able to forget all your worries for a short time.

Excited I ran and looked for Resul's trail and as soon as I found her I sprinted happily. As if intoxicated, I listened to the rain as it made its way down over leaves and branches and enjoyed the feeling of my paws on the cold wet forest floor.

" There you are at last! It's been long enough!'

His wolf thoughts were totally clear. Excited and after sizing me up, he yelped loudly and began counting down to our next race while I positioned myself and waited for it to start.

" On your marks, get set ...... and go!"

I immediately took the lead and just let myself drift, racing across the ground and sprinting between the big trees. No matter how many times I had already transformed, it was always an intoxicating feeling that made me completely satisfied.

We didn't take a break and ran faster and further. Of course, he overtook me without much effort, but anyway I didn't pay any attention to him or our race, but completely surrendered to the breathtaking nature that surrounded me.

Before we ran out of the forest, the salty smell of the sea hit my nostrils and I thought for a moment that I was imagining it. It was too good to be true and after swapping the forest floor for wet sand I couldn't believe my eyes.

In front of me lay the deep blue water, rushing along with high waves. I watched the hustle and bustle on the sea, completely fascinated, as the rain flooded it and the wind repeatedly changed the direction of the waves.

"It looks incredible. I've only seen the sea on TV before and I've always wanted to see it for myself.”

I told Resul in my mind, continuing to stare at the waves as my breathing slowly calmed.

" Then it was about time. By the way, you're also the first gray wolf I've ever seen.”

His tail wagged happily when I glanced over at him, but then my eyes fell to the forest, startled, when I suddenly heard the sound of a branch snapping.

Suddenly Resul changed his attitude and stared into the dark forest.

" We're not alone,"

he informed me, putting himself between me and the direction of the sound with a loud growl. I anxiously positioned myself behind him while he bared his teeth menacingly and growled softly to himself over and over again.

Before I could see anything in the dark, I caught a sickening smell that made me snort loudly to get rid of it.

I couldn't place the smell and before I could think further about what could be giving off such an acrid stench, a large brown wolf came out of the forest right in front of us, tilting its head to the side and eyeing us curiously. Resul stood up and assumed a menacing stance, ready to attack him if he had to, even if he didn't stand a chance against the other one, who started sneaking around and encircling us, which frightened me beyond belief. He didn't show any emotion on his face, just kept staring at us while Resul turned with him without even taking his eyes off him. When the brown came closer to sniff my fur with interest, Resul bit the air in warning of him and bared his teeth again.

" You run back, Alicia!" he mentally yelled at me, which made me flinch a little , but I shook my head wildly.

" I won't leave you here alone!"

I told him, stepping to his side to target the bay like he did.

Since I had no chance of escaping anyway, I knew I had to fight. Also, I would never let Resul down no matter how loud he yelled at me. Then, realizing that I was about to pounce on him, the bay broke his gaze from me and aimed at Resul, snarling loudly and menacingly at him. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was about to implode and at the same time I stood there stunned and scared to death. I thought about who he was and what his reason for being so hostile to us, Resul of all people, who couldn't harm a fly.

The tense mood abruptly eased as the bay stopped growling and lifted its head to stare into the forest beside us. Resul also eased his tension and then I too heard the loud footsteps coming towards us from the forest.

A huge black shadow stepped out from between the trees, with paws twice the size of my own and razor-sharp teeth. As I smelled his scent, I saw it in his black eyes and immediately felt safe again. My mate had found us and I've never been so relieved to see him in my life.

" Take her home now !" he commanded Resul in a deep voice, never taking his eyes off the bay.

" I won't leave you alone, Alpha." Resul yelped, but he had no way of resisting his command.

" IMMEDIATELY! " he commanded again and Resul gave me a startled look to signal me to follow him.

I glanced at the two wolves snarling at each other and followed Resul into the forest at a brisk pace, only to stop again after a few minutes.

" We can't leave him alone. What if something happens to him!?”

My stomach clenched at the thought and imploringly I looked after the black wolf, who just kept running.

" Alicia, come on!" he called to me in his head, disappearing through the trees so I couldn't see him.

I knew I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Killian, so I gathered all my courage and ran as fast as my paws could take me back to the beach. Before stepping out of the forest, I heard the fight and saw it as my paws touched the wet sand again. I was relieved that Killian was clearly the stronger of the two and wanted to get closer to them, but was suddenly thrown to the ground and yelped in shock. A snow-white wolf stood over me, snarling, warning me to get up, baring her teeth and snapping at the air in front of my face. I lay there frozen, thinking she was about to bite my neck, but she looked over at the others and then left me alone on the sand,

As I slowly caught my breath, I rolled onto my side and saw a terrifying image in my mind. My mate lay beneath the two wolves, trying to defend himself as these furies kept trying to bite his throat. My fear for him was greater than fear for me and fearlessly I got to my feet to rush to his aid. Without thinking about the repercussions, I jumped onto the bay's back and bit down on his neck, making him howl, but the bastard still wouldn't let go of my mate. Panicking with fear, I bit down hard over and over again and ripped out pieces of his skin, which gave me a disgusting taste in my mouth, but through my incessant biting, the brown finally turned away from Killian and also released the white wolf yourself from him to throw themselves at me in anger. It was only a second that I saw her leap towards me, but before she could touch me, Killian bit her throat, stopping her movement.

Wine-red blood spurted out of her wound and dripped down onto the Alpha, who wriggled out from under her body with the last of his strength. As if in shock, I let go of the bay and jumped back. I had never seen anyone die and whether it was in defense or not, it was a horrific image that burned deep into my mind.

As I watched, frozen, as the life drained from her eyes and she took her last deep breath, the brown yelped loudly and disappeared into the forest. Killian came towards me covered in blood, but I only glanced at him briefly, couldn't take my eyes off the dead body and when he was right in front of me, I ran into the forest in shock. I just wanted to get away from this smell of death.