Chapter 8

OAKLEY

I walked behind a tree and stripped. I folded up my clothes and put them neatly on a tree branch. Then I left Haven come forward and take over. Shifting the very first time could be excruciating but I had been doing it for a few years now so it felt like nothing to me. I landed on all fours and shook out my fur. I walked out from around the tree to where everyone stood. My grams gasped at the sight of me. Alpha Simon just smiled and beta jacks eyes went wide."You look just like your mother." Grams said as she sunk to her knees in front of me. She started running her fingers through our fur and then she was hugging us. It was heartbreaking as she tried to hide her tears. Haven just sat there and tried her best to let out comforting vibes."I wish there was more we could do." She whispered to me."I know." I whispered back to her in thought.We all sat there for a few minutes as my grandmother silently cried into Havens fur. After a few moments she leaned back and wiped away her tears."We will shift and run with you now." Alpha Simon said. They all went behind trees and then stepped out as their wolves. My grams wolf was grey and white and normal sized for a non-alpha shifter. The beta was slightly bigger and was a brown color. Alpha simons wolf was black and brown and as big as haven.All the wolves sniffed at each other and got to know haven before they went for a run. I sat back and let Haven take over. I knew she needed this. She wasn't able to get out much before but I was really hoping that would change being in this pack. Haven played a little with grams wolf. Then they all started running. They ran to the edge of the border. Weaving through trees, jumping over fallen branches and bushes, running through tiny creeks. It was exhilarating. Haven and I had never felt so free and at ease before. We always had to be on alert for other pack members in the previous pack.Once we reached the edge of the border we were met by some of the warriors on patrol. Alpha Simon introduced haven and I to those who were there. They seemed to be shocked by our size but they didn't comment on it.We ran along the edge of the border the whole way around the pack, stopping only to meet the warriors on patrol. After we completed the whole border our wolves decided to hunt. They hunted some squirrels and rabbits. Haven caught scent of a deer and with the help of alpha Simon they took it down. All the wolves feasted on their prey."Gross." I said to haven."It's really good. I could say the same about some of the things you eat." Haven responded. I just snorted in response."Let's go to the river. We will show you the waterfall." Alpha Simon said through the mind link. I could see that he was also mind linking beta Jack and grams as they all nodded.We followed alpha Simon through the trees. I could see that they started to get a bit thicker and there were more bushes as well. I could smell the river and hear the waterfall before we got to it. We came out of the trees into a small clearing to see a beautiful waterfall and river. All the wolves jumped right in to get cleaned off from their hunt and run. They played some, nipping and chasing each other.After a bit of swimming they all laid out to bask in the sun. It felt amazing to be able to just relax. Haven was feeling so good. I could tell she was very happy. It made me feel bad about keeping her locked up so much before,"Don't think like that. You had to do what you had to do to keep us safe. I understand." Haven said to me."I'm sorry haven. I know you say it's okay but I feel awful about it." I replied to her."I understand. But you don't need to feel bad. And hopefully we don't have to worry so much here." She said. I agreed with her.Haven suddenly picked her head up and her ears went alert. I could feel her bristle."What's wrong?" I asked her. But then I could smell it. The rotten smell of a rogue. I wondered how a rogue had gotten onto pack lands unnoticed. The other wolves saw that haven was alert and started to look around and listen for whatever it was that caused her to be alert. There was some snapping in the trees. It seemed like whoever it was had not noticed that we were there yet.Everyone was on alert now. All standing and prepared for what was coming. A few moments later a scrawny, mangy looking wolf stumbled through the bushes. He had a gash above his left eye, blood dripping from his mouth, he was missing patches of fur here and there over his body and he smelled awful. He seemed to be disoriented. He still hadn't noticed that we were there as he stumbled over to the water and started to drink.Alpha Simon let out a growl to alert the intruder. His head snapped up and he looked at the 4 of us standing there, ready to pounce on him. When his eyes reached me they widened. He crouched down in an attack position and growled. He looked like he was about ready to pounce when suddenly a few warriors came barreling through the trees and right into the rogue. Alpha Simon or beta Jack must have alerted them.The rogue put up a bit of a fight but due to his size and weakness he didn't last very long. He fell to the ground and surrendered. He shifted into his human form, an ugly, skinny looking human. A warrior threw some shorts on him and they picked him up and started dragging him towards the pack."We will put him in the cells for questioning." Said one of the warriors. It seemed as though he was getting a response from alpha Simon or beta Jack because his eyes glazed over and he was randomly nodding."Odd. How did he get into the territory without being noticed? And why did he seem to want to attack us?" I asked haven. She just shrugged.We all headed back to the pack house and shifted back to our human forms and dressed. Once everyone had finished changing we met outside the pack house."I have some business to attend too. We will talk about this some more later. Oakley, your wolf is amazing. You do not need to hide her but I would prefer if you did not go out on runs alone." Alpha Simon said. I nodded just happy that I didn't have to hide her.Alpha Simon and beta Jack headed off somewhere around the pack house. Grams and I started walking back towards her house."Let's go shopping dear. Your grandfather has the store covered." She said with a big, excited smile. It was infectious. I smiled back, looking forward to shopping with her.