5:23 am

I pulled a current of wind around me as I ran out of the pack house, shifting as I took to the forest surrounding it. Vix shooting into the tangled underbrush. I laughed to myself as we ran and imagined the look of frustration, pain, and shock on that wanna-be Alpha Wolf Mates face.

It was funny, but it’s going to make it hard for us to have Kits or Pups later on. Vix said in my head as she leapt over a downed log.

Who said we’ll even accept this wanna-be macho Alpha as our Mate? It’s not like he came to us with roses and love. I scoffed back.

Well, we did just steal from him and kick him in the family jewels. I could practically see her rolling her eyes.

We need the ring. We didn’t come here to meet our mate, fall in love, and start a family. Also, he’s so cocky. We would never work, and you know it. No one controls us, and if what they say is true, that’s all those types want to do. I moved the current of air to cover our scent as I heard the howls and pounding paws in the background. We needed to find somewhere to hide out quickly.

In front of us was a cliff, and there was a massive fir tree not far away from the edge. Vix and I concluded that the only option was for me to transform back into my human form and scale the tree. Pulling on my clothes I had grabbed up off the floor upon my swift exit from the pack house, I considered the tree in front of me. It didn't take me long to mount the tree while keeping the wind wrapped around me, and once I got to the top, I found a nice branch to rest on as I watched the wolf pack run after a ghost.

I had been staying in their pack house for five days, and throughout that time I had been sleeping in an empty room on the second floor. It took about half that amount of time to find the ring that I had come looking for. After that, the remaining time was spent moving things around and observing how they reacted to the changes. Acquiring knowledge about them and seeing how they behaved throughout the day.

Three wolves emerged from the woods just a few yards behind the tree where I was sitting. One of them sniffed around in the air with its nose raised high in an attempt to find me. Since the evolution of my wind magic had only grown over the course of the past few weeks, there was no chance that they would ever be able to detect my scent. I decided to tease them by releasing a trace of my odor while also sending a gentle breeze their way. I caused it to fall down the cliff just as they got closer to following it. Although I couldn't say for certain, based on the way the air smelled like water, I would guess that there is a lake or river at the base of the cliff. While they were looking over, I called upon the water that I could smell and was now sensing, and I caused a section of it to splash, making it appear as though someone was attempting to swim against the tide. The three wolves scattered and ran off to the edge of the cliff, where they followed a path that was only visible to them.

This is going to be like taking candy from a baby. We’ll nap here and when the search party calms down, we’ll move out. I told Vix, as I attempted to get more comfortable on the tree branch. Closing my eyes, I thought of home and how happy I would be to be back. This forest on the outside of Portland just wasn’t for me.

10: 46 am

I was startled awake on the tree branch that I had been snoozing on for the past few hours. I didn't know it had gotten late. As I tried to fully wake up from my short snooze, I was unable to hear anything. There was no one else in the area.

I was startled when I felt something jab into my leg, and when I looked down, I saw that there was a dart poking out of it. Strange, I have no idea why I couldn't hear that.

"Hello, little Mate. Were you under the impression that I wouldn't be able to find you?" A calm voice emanated from a branch that was relatively close to mine, sending a thrill of excitement through my body. I looked up into the eyes of the owner of that voice, which were the lightest of blues, and noticed a sneer on his full lips at the same time.

"You son of a..." As soon as I started to reply, everything went completely black, and I felt myself slipping off of my branch.