«ℓєт уσυя ρℓαиѕ вє ∂αяк αи∂ ιмρєиєтяαвℓє αѕ иιgнт, αи∂ ωнєи уσυ мσνє, fαℓℓ ℓιкє α тнυи∂єявσℓт»
–ѕυи тzυ

"My blood runs cold!" I whipped my hair around like a rockstar. Anna was bubbling with smiles and laughs. I leaped off of her counter and pointed the microphone (a cooking spatula in all actuality) at her. "My memory has just been sold! My angel is a centerfold!"

"Having fun?" Bran asked with a grin as he entered the house.

I dramatically spun in front of him and bopped his nose with the spatula. "Angel is a centerfold. Nah Nah N—Nah Na Na..." I drifted off as I skipped to the bathroom to slip on pants over my pajama shorts. I still had to wear a sweatshirt but with Anna, I felt comfortable letting more of my skin show. She hadn't asked about the scars running up my legs but I saw her eyes pause on them for a moment occasionally.

I skipped back into the kitchen and slid on the counter. Anna handed me a bowl of carrots and sat down on a stool with her celery. She had said I needed to try healthy foods. I found her accusation that I only ate junk to be ridiculous then I looked at the industrial size bag of chips I had impulsively bought.

I tipped my imaginary hat to Bran and bit into a carrot. "So, eh, what's up, Doc?"

He looked at me slightly confused. "I am not a doctor, Athena. My son, Samuel, is."

I groaned and placed my carrots aside to munch on chips. "It's a Bugs Bunny reference, Bran." My faith in the Marrok had dwindled in a matter of seconds. Anyone who didn't understand a reference like that was someone I didn't want to know.

Bran simply raised an eyebrow at me and handed me a small drawstring bag. I opened it and saw two sweatshirts that smelled of the Marrok.

"I thought you might need new ones," he explained.

I didn't know how to respond at all. He went out of his way to bring me sweatshirts. If Bran knew how much this meant to me he'd be worried. Anna touched my shoulder causing me to jump. I hopped off the counter and nodded respectfully to Bran. There may be a day where I would feel entirely safe with hugging the Marrok without hesitation but for now, the thought of touching an Alpha that dominant in such a way made me want to retch.

"I am eternally grateful, Marrok."

He gave me an accepting smile. "You're welcome, Athena." His eyes changed slightly as if he saw that this gesture meant more to me than he originally thought. It wasone of the greatest presents he had given me.

The house phone rang and Anna went to get it. Bran and I listened in on her conversation.

"Hey, Anna, think you could drop by and help me with one of the new wolves. Wanna see if I can't get 'em to calm down 'fore I call the Marrok."

Anna glanced back at Bran and he motioned for her to go ahead and not mention his presence. She smiled, "sure thing! I'll be right there." They exchanged goodbyes and hung up.

"I have to return to my house. Adam is supposed to be calling," Bran said. "He is Mercy the coyote skinwalker's mate."

I snapped my fingers. "Ah, right. Columbia Basin Alpha."

Bran smiled. "Yes, very good. Would you like me to drive you both?"

Anna shook her head. "No thanks. We'll take my car."

"I love this town," I whispered as we walked down the street and passed a few stores. Small, pure white flakes of snow graced us in a quick flurry. Humans and Werewolves littered the streets in small groups. Children ran around and played in the fresh snow without care for the ice that slicked the ground.

"Yeah," Anna agreed as she inhaled the scent of the area. Her face turned to a quick grimace as the wind shifted. She bent over and coughed violently. The putrid scent of rotting trash and corpses filled my nose. I looked around to see that we were the only wolves to have picked up the scent-most likely, because I was old and Anna was trained by Charles to use her nose.

The smell left a tangy reminder in our noses. My eyes started watering. I helped Anna upright and patted her back.

"What is that?" She asked with a cough.

I looked towards the direction the wind had blown. "I don't know. It smelled like a wolf though. Did you feel someone pass in the pack bonds?" She shook her head. "Then it must be some stupid wolf-wolf that wandered in here and got killed by a human-wolf."

Anna looked unsure and tried smelling in the same direction again but the wind had changed. "Maybe. . .maybe we should check after we help."

"Yes, of course." I didn't believe my words any more than she did but I wanted her in the house if something was coming.

We walked into the home and were greeted by a young woman who led Anna up some stairs. I opted to stay downstairs. A part of me didn't trust that the smell was what I thought. The corpse smelled a few weeks old and had an unpleasant pang of a landfill.

I watched through the window of the front door for something, anything. The unknown was intriguing but also hazardous. I had learned it best to observe for as long as you can and until making a move was necessary, not optimal but necessary.

A patch of gray darted across the street and suddenly the wolves could smell it too. They began hacking and trying to move into a building. I pried open the door and traveled outside. A thin fog fanned out to settle over the town and caused the adults to give each other panicky looks. I pushed past the people on the street and my way to the tree line where the scent was strongest. The smell had seemed to surround us and stick to our skin. It felt disgusting like I needed to be power washed to get the feeling off.

A set of bright red eyes stared at me briefly from behind a tree. The wolf growled but it didn't affect me. I knew of its dominance but he couldn't seem to project it on me to cause my obedience. It was almost as if he actually had no dominance at all.

"Hello," I said quietly and the wolf flinched. His behavior didn't look aggressive or fearful. He didn't seem to have an emotion. "I'm Athena," I continued.

The wolf's ear peeked and his growling rose. I kept my feet planted firmly in the ground and dug them into the snow and dirt. The wolf lunged forward as I expected and we grappled to knock the other over. He kept pushing me back but I was able to stay upright with my feet firmly planted in the ground. I wrapped my arms tightly around his stomach that was in my face and threw him aside into a tree. His body went limp and I carefully checked his pulse. The force I used must have snapped his neck because his pulse matched his dead stench.

My wolf was helping me keep control and stay focused on the problem at hand. We knew how to react in these situations; it was instinct. The scent from him completely dissipated but I smelt it get stronger at different points around the street. Other wolves were watching me while also zeroing in on the scents. Someone was trying to screw with us and we all knew it.

The kids were being ushered inside a home when ten more wolves emerged. The humans ran to stores while the werewolves dealt with the sick animals. A singular wolf broke through and went straight for the children. I ran as quickly as my legs could take me. The wolf didn't realize I was coming until I rammed into her side and sent us toppling over each other. I felt one of my bones snap in my leg and grunted. The pain blossomed and stabbed at my nerves but I couldn't focus on that because the wolf I had thrashing on me was trying to get out of my chokehold. I turned my face away from her disgusting smelling coat and tightened my hold. After a minute she was passed out and I pushed her off me. I stood up and looked around to see others not having as much luck as I was with eliminating the wolves. The wolf at my feet twitched and I slammed the heel of my converse into her neck hard enough for a crumbling crack to fill my ears.

"Athena!" I whipped around to Anna's voice and saw her trying to fight off a crazed wolf. It seemed more focused on trying to nip her than actually win.

I picked up the wolf I had just killed. "Duck, Anna!" She dropped and I threw the corpse across the street and into the other wolf. I ran to her and shoved her back into the house. She started protesting immediately.

"Anna," I growled trying to keep my wolf from pushing further for control, "keep the woman and the wolf inside safe. Stay here. I gave my word to Charles, do not cause me to go back on my honor."

She gulped and nodded. I slammed the door shut and ran back to the fray. There were five wolves left to take out and only two more wolves from my pack left to fight them. I pulled out my phone and tried calling Bran.

"Come on, come on, come on," I urged quietly. I figured out how to call him and waited on the line. I dropped the phone as it rang when I heard a wolf coming straight for my back. My leg screamed in agony as I bent down so the wolf flew over me. I reached for its hind leg and pulled him hard against the ground. Before he could move, I snapped his neck. The phone was shattered from the landing on it.

Only me and another wolf remained capable of fighting the four remaining wolves. We made sure to keep them between us and circled their group slowly.

"Go," I shouted to the wolf who was hunting with me. He looked confused by the comment. "Go and get Bran! I can hold them off!" He hesitated but ran off. One of the wolves went after him but I ran around and punched it in the muzzle to draw its attention.

"Yeah, you smelly bitches! Look at me! Let's have some fun!" I sprinted away from the town and into the deep snowy woods. They would have the advantage in the fresh snow banks but I had years of experience fighting and surviving in such conditions. My wolf was going wild with the game of survival she loved all too well.

Scents similar to theirs amplified the further we went into the trees. It would have been more difficult to track us but hopefully, Bran and others could find me. I smiled brightly as the chase went on. The cool wind whipped through my long, brown hair. The wolves behind me slowly began to fall behind so I slowed down. The longer I could keep them interested in eating me, the better for the town.

A small break in the trees gave way to a sheer mountainside. My smile grew as I forced my legs to pump faster. I calculated the exact steps milliseconds before I took them. The soles of my feet touched the side of the mountain and I pushed myself into a backflip off the wall. I made a small scream from the feeling of my jagged broken bone pressing through muscle. I landed on the back of a wolf and immediately twisted their neck with little effort. I flipped the corpse so my back was on the ground and flung it into two other wolves.

The free wolf came straight for my open stomach as expected. I waited for the right moment to grab her muzzle and pull her jaw apart. She didn't seem affected by the pain that would come with it which made me pause for a stupid second. A second that was enough to give the other two wolves an opportunity to grab onto my sweatshirt and toss me into the solid rock wall. I screamed against better instinct at the feeling of my skull splitting from the force. A sharp persistent sting in my side alerted me to a punctured lung. I had a short amount of time before my adrenaline was gone and I would feel all of the pain but that was okay. Adrenaline worked against you to make you more tired so your body could rest.

My wolf took a little more control at my suggestion. She didn't care for pain or silly little human things I focused on. A primal bloodlust called to her and she refused to deny it an answer. She tore into the middle of the group taking out the wolf she perceived to be weakest. The next tried latching onto my limbs but she hit her hard enough the crumple their spine. The last one was smarter. He waited and circled me. My wolf was tired and starting to feel the pain with me. The wolf lunged for my left leg as soon as he saw me begin to favor my right assuming that my left leg was the injured one. I used the false thoughts I fed him to my advantage and spun quickly to give my kick more force. My heel felt his skin beneath his coat break from my kick. As soon as he was on the ground I was over him and broke his neck.

As the last crazed wolf fell so did I. I groaned in hurt as I rolled onto my back. I began the slow excruciating process of changing to wolf that was only lengthened by my injuries.

Hey. . .sorry about not posting.
I've had some family issues combined with school testing and work.
My schedule has been less than friendly, but I'm back!
Sorry, again.