Into the Woods

I've got seconds to make my decision and need to keep her in these woods. If I reveal myself and they get away I'll have no way to track her down. No reward without a little risk. They come around the bend still laughing and talking. The guy is holding hands with the other girl and a good thing too; I guess he'll be keeping his arms. They're fifty feet and closing in; now or never I think as I pick my way down the hill sending rocks tumbling down and cracking branches. They don't see me yet but I can hear the raised voices. They're starting to run but we're still a mile away from where they branched off the trail.

My wolf instincts start to take over. Hunt, chase and kill but I shove them back. This is no time to get distracted by trespassers, besides it's not like I actually eat people. By the time I reach the trail they're almost around the next bend. I can't help the growl that comes out. My mate and they're taking her away. The red is stronger and I couldn't fight it now if I wanted to. I tear after them my paws digging into the needles. Don't they know that running only makes the chase better?

She's on the heels of the other two. The guy is hauling his mousy girl along yelling at them all to go faster. This terrain isn't exactly easy hiking. Boulders, bluffs, rocks and roots all there to trip them up. They come up to a plateau and I leap up behind them. She turns around to look at the sound.

"Holy shit! Go! Go!" she urges pushing on their backpacks. The guy stumbles going down the side of the boulder pulling his girlfriend with him rolling down into a crevice. My girl drops her bag to the ground and judges the distance between two boulders and with a run and a leap she makes it. I give her bag a sniff. Oh yes, she's the one we've been waiting for. Hope she packed enough for a long stay. "Come on guys!" she screams looking back at me. The panic I see in her eyes makes me back up for a second. The reek of her fear is like vinegar mixed with urine and I snort to get it out of my nose. How can she be so afraid? "Guys!" A shout makes my ears flick up again and I catch a glimpse of jackets running down the hill. I turn back to her and I catch the look of mania when she realizes she's alone with me.

Would shifting now make this all worse? I keep my ears up and crouch lower to her level waging my tail. She backs up until she's on the edge of the rock. Ears up, tail wagging those aren't signs of aggression. Guess she doesn't know very much about dogs. "Get! Get out of here!" she yells swinging her arms. "Get lost!" I can't help but grin but in my state it must look like I'm getting ready to eat her because she screams bloody murder. I need to herd her further into the woods, the others will attract attention if there are any more hikers nearby.

She jumps and hits the ground running taking off into the bush. I'm over the ledge and down on the ground before she's disappeared from my sight. The trees are tight together and she pushes through the small spaces easier but gets caught on the brambles. I'm almost next to her, the trees bending and cracking against me. I yip and she turns to look at me her eyes wide with fear. I just need to get her to look at me, really look at me and she'll see the difference in my eyes.

That's when I notice it. The drop off, about thirty feet down to the water and who knows how deep. I bark at her loudly this time pushing through the bush harder. I've got to get to her. She turns to look at me again and screams then pushes through faster. She's can't see it and she's not going to realize this ends in a cliff before it's too late. I bark at her again.Wait! Stop! Look what you're doing! She screams again this time in surprise as she bursts from the trees. She teeters at the rocky edge for a second before windmilling her arms and falling forward. My teeth clamp onto the back of her jacket jerking her arms back and up before they slip out.

She lands in the dark water, bubbles erupt from where she went under. I wait on the edge my claws digging into the earth there. Come on. Come on. Nothing. There's nothing. What's taking her so damn long? A pale face erupts from the surface and she gasps pulling in air. The girl tries to swim but cries out then goes under again. I growl and jump into the water over her.

The coldness of it shocks me, to her it must feel even colder. The water comes just over my back, over her head by more than seven feet at least. I surge forward putting my snout under the water. Nothing. I try again closer to the cliff this time sweeping back and forth until I can't hold my breath anymore. There. Just a brush of hair. I nose forward. Yes. Something warm and struggling. I push up.

"Help! Someone help!" she calls above before being sucked down again. No good. This is no good. She needs to grab onto me to get out. I nudge her again and this time she grabs on to the back of my neck. On a rock by the shore she slides off when I kneel then crumples, moving but dazed. She moves to put weight on her arm to stand and sucks in air quickly, clutching it to her chest. I can hear her teeth chattering and her lips have started to turn purple. She's saying something. I come to stand closer and prick my ears to listen.

"What are you?" she says the words coming out in stops and starts. I tilt my head to the side and circle her getting closer then lay on my stomach and creep forward until I'm leaning against her. I know wet dog smell is ranker than dead salmon but she'd rather smell that than die of hypothermia right? I wrap in a c shape around her trying to hold her as close as possible without scaring her. Just pick her up and take her home my animal instincts hound. Hell just change, flip her over and get down to it right here.

I put my head down on my paws studying her. She smells so soft and feminine. Want. Need. They pound like alternating drumbeats through my body. "You're not a normal wolf," she says. I roll my eyes and lift my eyebrows and she furrows hers. "Are you -- do you understand me?" My ears prick up and I pause before giving a slight nod. I hear her breath escape in a small gasp, she closes her mouth and looks away from my eyes pulling her sopping sweater tighter around her. I nudge closer and try to catch her eye. Ask me another question I'm begging with my eyes. Her face turns to me and I get hit with it full force. Soul crushing lust and desire, all for this fearful brown eyed girl. Tentatively she reaches out a hand and lays it over my snout. She flinches when all my muscles tense in an attempt to control myself.

Her shoulder's bent at an odd angle -- dislocated probably. No way can I put it back in place in this form. We can't stay here anymore her friends will be back with reinforcements and I can warm her up along the way.

I start to feel the familiar tingle of the change when a pain rips through my shoulder. I growl and snap turning to look at the wound. Gun shot, big rounds meant for bears. I smell the hunter, it can be only one. No, not here. Not now, not with my - her here. I leap to the side as the gun cracks again. She's screaming and cowering on the ground. I can't leave her. I can't. But I can't lead the hunter back to our place and he doesn't hurt humans. I whimper giving her a final nudge then leap into the trees. More gunshots whiz by like angry bees. Up on the plateau the bright yellow of her backpack catches my eye and I snap it up. If I'm going to find her again this is my best clue. No one will come between us next time.