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.