15

COLE

Heat lightning cracks across the sky in the distance, illuminating the canopy of leaves in the forest for a brief moment as I throw my head back and drag in a deep inhale. All I can scent is the rain. The earth beneath my paws is soft and wet from the downpour when the storm came through here, fast and furious, and I can feel mud squidging between the pads of my toes as I stalk through the dark woods, searching.

The rain has slowed to a drizzle, my wolf’s thick coat wicking away the moisture as I creep through the foliage. I won’t be able to rely on my sense of smell, so I’m channeling my other senses, relying on my animal instincts and going with my gut to point me in the right direction. Despite my massive size in my shifted form, I’m quiet as I travel through the familiar woods on four paws. My wolf is adept at the hunt; silent but deadly.

Small animals realize too late that I’m nearby, skittering away to conceal themselves in the thick brush as I pass. They have nothing to fe