So first I would like to thank the 4 people that reviewed, you are making this worthwhile ;). Secondly I would like to ask the other 100 or so people who are reading this to drop me a line, say hi or send me some love…I am starting to get a complex that people don't like me, especially when I write 5000 words of my heart and soul and then only 4 people let me know what they think ;-)…I hate writers that hold chapters hostage for reviews but am suddenly starting to see the appeal (just kidding) But seriously folks, drop me a line, give me some love and I will send a half naked Jake round with your next chapter ( that is when he figures out he can phase too- he may be a bit busy for the next few chapters) Love Tink. XX
Jake/Wolf POV of Previous Chapter:
The arrival of another wolf had surprised me; I'd assumed my enemies would want to finish me before I could finish them, but I was determined that I wasn't going to make it easy for them. I would fight fang and claw to take as many down as I could.
Pacing restlessly back and forth I snarled and growled to show them I was not afraid, tugging against my restraints in frustration as the bloodsuckers came back but this time with a human. I could smell him in the air before I even saw him but there was something different, unusual about him. He seemed almost animalistic in the way he moved and looked. Adrenaline coursed through me and I let out a series of warning barks and growls trying to persuade the human of the danger but he seemed unconcerned.
As my anguish reached fever pitch he stared at me as though he understand what I had been trying to tell him. What shocked me to my core was the fact that rather than look away from me after a few seconds as humans usually did, he continued to stare me down almost aggressively. My hackles rose and I growled instinctively.
I snarled as the air around him began to shimmer and swirl and only seconds later a large, shaggy, black wolf stood in his place. He bared his huge white fangs and growled as he approached me. Feeling threatened I felt my fur ripple and stand on end as I snarled and snapped at him, warning him off, trying to assert my authority over him. I was by far larger and more powerful yet he stalked me, coming closer and closer, his own body language domineering as he attempted to assert his command over me.
Coming to rest before me, he stared into my eyes and I felt a disconcerting prickle inside my mind, it wasn't pain just uncomfortable and I lunged at him going for his throat, snapping the chains that held me in place. Snarling he met me mid jump and we tumbled together onto the floor, fangs snapping, claws gouging, fur flying. I didn't notice the pain, too lost in our battle for dominance but I could smell the bitter metallic tang of our combined blood and knew I would play for it later.
But then as I breathed deeply there was another scent assailing me, filling my lungs and I found myself staring at a familiar yet shocked face, watching me with wide eyes. It was the face from my dream, the face I felt protective off, the face that possessed me. She stared right at me and the feeling of fight left me in an instant, knowing it could put her in danger.
I had to protect human life not endanger it. When the large wolf jumped again, I submitted to his will as I rolled onto my back, bearing the vulnerable skin of my stomach and throat. It wasn't just this fragile child, who made me question the need to fight for control, there was something else, something more that spoke to me, which reassured me this was how it was meant to be. I heard a gasp as the wolf closed his massive jaws over my throat and exerted just a little pressure. A wolf's kiss. He was accepting my surrender; my submission and once more I felt an uncomfortable prickle inside my head.
I felt it should have meant something but I couldn't tell what amongst my animal instincts, I couldn't make it make sense. As my alpha stepped away I rolled swiftly to my feet and approached him with my head down, my hindquarters raised to settle beside him. Taking my place as Beta.
After only a few seconds there was a change in the air and it seemed to crackle and fizz once more. I let out a whine unsure what was happening, as the atmosphere became charged. Before I had even finished there stood a human male. My instincts told me he was no threat, that this human was still my alpha. He made a noise I couldn't decipher but as he stared me down I knew it was a command and I knew enough not to move. When I came back to myself I glanced wearily around me but there was no one left in the room, not the girl or my enemy.
Apprehensively I watched as he walked up the same stairs those bloodsuckers and the human girl had left by. I suppressed the need to leap to my feet to defend him. But he was my alpha now and he could force me to follow his will whether I chose to or not. I chose to.
How much time passed I did not know but my alpha came again, as wolf not human and he stalked toward a door I had not noticed in my earlier aggrieved state. Stretching up on his back paws he nudged it with his powerful snout and to my surprise it opened. Frigid air filled my nostrils and I could taste the rain but there was something else. Something so familiar that I immediately felt at ease, comforted, relaxed. Sniffing, I absorbed the scent as I eagerly followed my alpha out into the night. Wolves. There were other wolves here yet they did not smell like me; there was something different about them. Different like my alpha, there scent was not as powerful and it changed even as I inhaled.
I assimilated that thought, they appeared bounding out of the forest, frolicking around me, yapping and barking in delight. There were at least six of them in various colors and sizes and though I knew I should feel defensive and threatened I didn't. There was an easy familiarity, a hierarchy about them I could not explain nor did I want to. The alpha threw back his head and howled at the moon, swiftly followed by the rest of my pack. That's what they were, my pack. Instinct overtook me and I joined them, feeling as though this was where I belonged. For the first time since I had awoken without memory without knowledge of where I had been or how I had came to be in this forest, I felt secure.
That annoying prickle was back but this time from a different source and as I tuned to look back at the house I had left, there were faces at the window watching me. Bloodsuckers and the human, that fragile tiny human standing with my enemies. Was she that oblivious to the danger or did that mean she was one too? The thought that that female was alone with those creatures filled me an uncomfortable need to turn back, to leave my new found pack.
I did not understand their expressions or body language they were too still but the human girl, looked in pain. An urge almost overwhelmed me as I looked at her, I wanted to ignore my alpha's command and run back to this human child to protect her. A strange surge of possession I did not understand claimed me and I fought to shake it off.
As my pack sprinted away into the shadows of the night, I knew I had to follow. My alpha barked and I let out a whine as he moved forward into the shadows disappearing rapidly into the black night. With a final glance backward I turned and sprinted off after my pack, leaving the human behind me. She was their problem, not mine.
The sense of freedom was exhilarating as I ran through the trees, darting this way and that. Wind rushed passed me carrying with it the scent of the creatures around me and I worked on instinct following my pack even though I could no longer see them. I heard the race of their hearts up ahead, the sound of their paws against the earth, the rasp of their breath. And then it was back, the familiar discomfiture, the intrusion in my head and suddenly I was being urged to run quicker, to move faster, they were waiting, my pack was waiting for me, they told me this, I sensed their thoughts. I could sense their joy, their exhilaration but was unsure what caused it. They operated as one mind together, what one thought they all thought. They called to me without words but as hard as I tried, I could not glean any clue to my origins or where we were going. I simply could not understand their minds except for basic instincts such as food and shelter.
When at last our pace slowed I realized we had traveled a longer distance than I had anticipated and were now out of the forest and heading for the ocean. Without even seeing it I knew it was there, I could feel its heartbeat in my body, the rhythm of its life beneath my feet and scent the tangy brine on the air.
I became aware of my hunger and immediately I felt an answering response in my mind to follow my alpha, he would see that we had food. As a group we approached another human dwelling and I felt a ripple of unease down my spine, my tail automatically curling under itself as I prepared to scavenge what little food I could, as I had done in the past.
A growl rippled from me as the door opened and a human female stood there watching us, her body swollen with young. Curiously she didn't seem threatened as she took us in, her body language was relaxed and welcoming and again I marveled that these human females appeared to have no self-preservation instincts. I sniffed deeply and caught her scent in the air, once more shocked when I caught the trace of wolf in her. It was mild and faint, as faint as the racing heartbeat inside her body, the tell tale flutter of life as she carried her young under her heart.
My attention was focused solely on the human that I didn't notice the wolves shimmering and blurring around me until I was surrounded by human males. Instinct told me I should have felt threatened by the presence of this many humans around me but I knew there was no threat. I was safe with them. They stood around me making noises, communicating I supposed and I waited for the prickle in my mind that would let me know they could hear me too.
There was nothing. I whined softly, confused and feeling less than safe, I missed the presence of the pack mind. One by one they disappeared inside and only alpha remained; he stood by the door and waited, obviously expecting me to follow. Sniffing I felt my ears flatten against my skull and the fur on my body ripple as my eyes narrowed in suspicion. Slowly I followed him, staring about me for any sign of threat, growling and snarling softly, warning any creature which thought to attack me.
I settled in a corner where I could watch all angles, to make sure there were no threats. I sniffed timidly, my mouth watering as I took in the smell of meat, bloody raw meat. The human female approached me gingerly, almost defensively and placed a bowl before me containing bloody food. As I wolfed it down I felt a soft hand on my head, stroking, soothing me with her touch. A rumbling sound of pleasure escaped my chest and I devoured the meat, tearing it into pieces. Settling sphinx like on the floor, I let my head rest on my paws and my tongue lolled out to the side. And comforted by the stroking motion of her hand, I felt tiredness sweep over me as my eyes began to droop and I relaxed knowing that at last I was safe.