Chapter 8

|Grey|

I woke up just as the first sunray hit the earth. The night's sleep was tiring because it wasn't my usual bed.

The weather was quite dry by the time I woke up. Tiny sweat beads were gathered on my naked upper half, which made me cringe at the sight early in the morning.

I detached myself from the bed and stretched out my limbs with a hoarse groan.

Looking at my sweaty self, I decided to shower, so I got off the bed with my feet touching the icy cold tiles. Shuddering at the feeling, I looked out of the window to catch a glimpse of the dark woods.

It was dimly light outside, and the woods looked so perfectly dark; it was as if some kind of a spell worked on the woods, making them look much creepier. Looking at my sweaty self and then again at the dark woods, I decided it would be better to go for a stroll before taking a wash.

I took out a simple hoody and slid myself into it as I looked down from the window. They've given me a first-floor room, making the height from there to the ground lesser.

I jumped to the ground and dusted myself as I walked into the woods in one swift move.

The woods started from the side of the packhouse, which allowed anyone to go in freely. I watched as the image of the packhouse behind me shrunk as I made myself deep in.

My bare legs squelched in with every step because of the mud on the ground. I didn't find it disgusting I found it rather.. natural to have the dirt wrapping around my skin. Though the weather seemed dry, it was so refreshing among the trees.

I saw the morning sunlight creeping through the leaves as I went further, making it brighter than when I first saw the woods. I removed my sweater and looked for a place to tuck them in. I put it down in a dry spot when I found a large tree.

After I stripped down naked, I started shifting to my wolf form.

My slightly tan skin turned into a dark colour. Soon it was impossible to see my skin. My long fingers disappeared as large claws started forming. Beasty nails replaced human nails. My ears shrunk, and two pointy ears poked from the top, also covered with fur. Every bone in my body broke and bent to form the structure of a wolf's skeleton, which was far different from a human's skeleton structure.

Soon after, I was standing on four legs instead of two.

'Finally.' Blue, my wolf, groaned.

I internally rolled my eyes at his words. It had been a long since I shifted the last time, especially to have a free stroll in the woods. I silently watched as Blue made his way down the path with slow but long strides.

We watched as the creepiness in the woods grew with the giant trees hovering over us. Though the sun was up and was lighting the whole area, the trees perfectly blocked the light allowing only a few light spots to appear on the ground. Every direction we turned looked precisely the same; any human being would get lost there. But with our werewolf senses, it wasn't a problem for us.

As the wind blew through the trees, the leaves moved, making sounds like music in my ears. I found the woods rather fascinating and.. wet than the woods in my territory. The cold wind hit our skin, making Blue shake his body and letting the wind blow through our fur. It felt amazing.

'Go for a run.' I told Blue in my mind.

'Was thinking the same.' he replied with his paws digging into the wet ground.

Soon after, he made a giant leap into the air. The first stride made our paws dig into the ground with a significant impact; after aggressively working out with our stamina Blue started running at swift and slow paces while enjoying the surroundings.

One time he would run after a faraway flying bird, at one time, just running for his life. Blue always went out of control whenever he gained freedom. But I knew just how to put him under control.

We were immensely enjoying the surroundings when Blue came to a sudden halt.

'What is it?' I asked as I tried to listen and feel. I felt Blue's ears perking and moving to concentrate.

'Some breathing and footsteps.' he simply replied.

We walked cautiously to the right and headed towards the unknown threat. I, too, felt some presence around us with my instincts, but we couldn't catch any scent.

Blue came to a stop looking earnestly at a large tree. We were still like a statue waiting for the upcoming threat. And it was coming closer... and closer.

Emerging from behind the large tree was...

..a small pup.

We watched as the small one hop and ran after something. Blue squinted his eyes, with our vision getting better. Once we looked closely, we saw the small one trying to catch a butterfly.

'Just a pup.' Blue mumbled inside.

But we kept on watching.

Our eyes ran around the little pup's body while examining the body features. It had a small body with winter-white fur. But around the neck and back, purple fur was highlighted within the white coat. It had its two ears raised straight and its tail wagging as it yapped after the butterfly.

'Strange.' I muttered.

'What is?' Blue asked.

'That thing doesn't have a scent.' I pointed out.

Blue was silent for a while as he kept a few steps toward the pup. Blue and I shared the same thought. That pup wasn't anyone from the Blue Crystal Pack as we tried to scent it. What was more alarming was how it DIDN'T have a scent!

'It's not a rouge either.' Blue growled, saying.

One thing we thought about together was;

'Might be a witch.'

Witches could take a wolf's form, but they couldn't have a scent or a pack. They could trick us from their physique, but no one could pass my conscience.

Blue dug his paws into the wet earth with a silent growl.

Then with a mighty leap, he leapt in the air, landing right in front of the pup who was chasing after a butterfly. The butterfly fled away as the little pup slowly whimpered, trying to escape from us.

Blue growled, warning us not to move as the small one stared at us with wide eyes. We could see confusion running in its mind at top speed as we waited for it to shift back to the human form.

'Not a witch.' Blue mumbled in my mind.

'How are you sure?' I asked.

'Sparkle said.'

I hummed, thinking the wolf's name was Sparkle. So it was a She.

Blue kept long strides towards the pup as it started shivering while looking at us like we were some threat. Then it ran.

Blue growled aloud as he ran after the small pup; she couldn't run for more than ten meters away from us. We were quicker than her.

Blue pushed her body to the ground; she fell with a small yelp. Blue kept one of his paws on the pup's neck, one pressing on her body.

'Ask her to shift.' I growled and ordered Blue in my mind.

I was kind of mad at the fact that she thought she could run away from me. It wasn't like a mere small wolf could beat me.

'I want you to shift.' I heard Blue order the small wolf beneath us.

'I can't.'

Our chests started heaving up and down as we heard her denying our words. I wouldn't say I liked it when someone rejected my orders, and neither did Blue.

Blue put more pressure on her neck, and her eyes squeezed shut in pain.

'Shift, ' Blue said again, but his voice was laced with more authority and warning the second time.

The pup's eyes widened in fear. She looked around for an escape before shifting uncomfortably under the pressure of our large paws.

She closed her brown eyes and started shifting back to her human self.