That bitch. Just had to keep running, didn't she? Luckily, our pack was on her trail. Well, lucky for us. Not for her.
Sydney was in the lead, chasing the rotten, stinking vampire, the white skin and black hair of if contrasting with the forest. We called her Skunk.
I'm Hazel, by the way. The Beta to Sydney's Alpha. The peanut butter to her marshmallow fluff. And behind me were the other members, Ellie, Rebecca, and Candice.
I put my focus back on Skunk, the stupid murderer. She probably hadn't expected werewolves in our hometown. She had already made on kill. She wouldn't make another. Not on my watch.
Anyway, we chased the leech where the trees thinned, the river's edge, but we knew that even the water, as deep and wide as it was, wouldn't faze her. I sped up a little, to catch up to Sydney, but by the time I got there, Skunk had swiftly, beautifully vaulted herself across.
Taking one look around, Sydney thought of a plan. That was just one of the quirks that came with the Sydney Package.
That tree. Rebecca. She thought, using the weird mind-talk that us werewolves shared to direct Rebecca to the nearest, strong looking pine. Rebecca ran over to it and pushed it down with her wolf strength, though to tell the truth, the human Rebecca couldn't even have pulled a weed. The tree groaned and cracked as it fell over, just barely reaching the other side. We all crossed as quickly as we could, picked up Skunk's nauseating, sickly sweet smell, and started after her.
This time we chased her into a clearing of trees. I think that we were somewhere in Washington by now, near Seattle. Damn, that Skunk sure did give us a run for our money.
Circle, came the command, from the Alpha, of course, and Ellie and I, the fastest in the pack, rushed ahead.
Hellz yeah, we got her now! I shouted in my head, barking with Sydney's woof of approvement. But before Sydney could issue a plan, Candice acted on her own, sudden impulse. Bitch!
I heard that, Candice growled, aiming straight for Skunk's throat.
No Candice! St-, Sydney started but was cut off by a sharp, loud CRUNCH! as Skunk turned at the last millisecond and crushed Candice's shoulder with a swat of her hand. Oh, snap.
With a shriek of pain, Candice fell to the ground and curled into a ball. Skunk, satisfied with her blow, shot Sydney a quick, sly smile before disappearing back into the copse of trees. Funny, it seemed like Skunk was doing this for amusement. I was going to kill her.
NO! Ellie screeched, and started after the troublesome bloodsucker.
Stop, everyone! Sydney ordered. Ellie fell back and sat on her haunches, let her tongue out, and whimpered. Ellie, she's too far ahead and your pack sister is wounded. We need to stick together. If Skunk had turned around and found you alone, you would be dead.
It's her own dumb fault, I thought, looking at Candice, openly blaming her for our loss.
I want to rest anyway. We've been running for six days straight, Rebecca added, I'm pooped.
Um, still in pain here! Candice panted, trying to not show how hurt she was that we had forgotten her for a second.
Shut up! Everyone, phase back! Sydney said.
There was a flash of heat as I pulled my wolf-self back in, as I watched my muddy brown fur fall away and felt my arms shift back into place. Everything felt all tingly, like it always did phasing back to human form. Soon everyone was standing around, buck naked. Trying not to look at the others, I pulled the cord around my arm and let my dingy clothes fall to the ground. They were all I had to remind me of home. I shuddered as I pulled them on.
I stole a glance at Candice's shoulder as Rebecca went to invest, the nerd. The blood had already stopped, but it was up to Rebecca for the real deal, since she was the smartest, gentlest, and most sane and most patient in our group.
"What's up, doc?" Ellie asked, trying to sound like Bugs Bunny, though if you ask me, she sounded more like a duck with a nose bleed. Her sing-song voice rang out, filled with giggles and a touch of worry. Just a touch, though. Not enough to keep Candice from glaring at her. Ellie was never serious enough to keep Candice from glaring.
"Well," Rebecca sighed, as if she had done this a hundred times before, which she had, "It's definitely broken."
"Ya think?" sarcasm dripped from Candice's tone a she pulled her hurt shoulder away from the minor.
Rebecca ignored the snide comment. "Even in wolf-healing time, it'll take a few days before she can phase again."
A look of stress and frustration, something only I could detect, passed over Sydney's face before she said, "We'll just rest here for a while. Hazel, do you know where we are?"
"La Push, Washington, I think." I replied.
La push, I thought, there's probably a town next to it called El Shove. I grinned as we set out to make camp for the night.