06 – Wild Destiny

“My team is tracking some wolves, Naomi. They may be connected to the disappearance of our children. We need to stay alert,” he informs me. I nod affirmatively. “In any case, it's not safe here. I'm going to take you somewhere else,” he says, taking my hand. My body vibrates with happiness, but my mind still can't keep up with the feeling and the situation.

“That won't be necessary,” Lancelot said, taking my hand and making her let go of Casper's. His warm touch awakened me, and my mind caught up with the gesture. “I don't live far away, and it would be more comfortable. It's been a long day, and she needs to rest,” he says, regaining all the authority he had before, staring at Casper. I didn't know if medium-sized wolves didn't respected hierarchies very well, as I wouldn't see a normal beta confronting a powerful alpha like he was doing.

“Okay,” Casper said, visibly annoyed. In front of others, he liked to show that he was good. There were wolves and humans around, and the image of a powerful man and an alpha needed to be preserved. I knew Casper didn't like what Lancelot was doing, but he wouldn't fight back, not using himself. “If Naomi agrees, it's fine,” he says, looking at me with a mischievous smile. My body screams again for his name and for him, but my brain once again doesn't follow. He was doing it on purpose because he knew I felt love for him; he knew I would choose him. However, that's not what happened.

“It's fine with me,” I reply. Both boys seem surprised by my answer; even I seem surprised. Snorting, Casper agrees and signals for the others to get into their cars.

“Let's take a drive around the area and continue the patrol,” Casper says. “Tomorrow, at the address on the card,” he says. Then they finally leave the street.

When everyone is gone, I sigh. The shock of the attack had already dissipated, and now all I was left with was an empty, messy house and a wolf I had just met, wearing my ex's clothes.

“Thanks for everything,” I say to Lancelot.

“There's just one problem, Naomi,” he says, indifferently. “I don't live nearby.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, visibly confused.

“It was in the heat of the moment, Naomi. I just felt the urge to stop him from touching you. I didn't want that,” he said, somewhat embarrassed.

“Lancelot, how far away do you live?” I ask, curious and, in a way, still confused.

“Far enough that we have to transform,” he replied. I felt his heart racing, perhaps out of regret for acting that way.

I sighed, frustrated. Likewise, I could have been in a car, going to a safe place, but I was there, unprotected and far from my goal. “I'm sorry, I didn't think about it before; I didn't think about you. You can call him to come back if you want,” he said, indifferently.

“I'm not going to do that, Lancelot. It was a little immature of you, but it's okay. I mean, you called me to run, right?” I asked rhetorically, smiling. He smiled back, defeated by my arguments.

“I'm not going to complain about taking off these horrible clothes,” he said, already taking off Casper's T-shirt. “This stinks,” Lancelot said, throwing the shirt away.

We went to the back of my yard, where the forest was. The memories of losing Jody were still vivid, as if it had happened that very day. I wondered if my children were okay.

“Isn't it dangerous for you to change now?” I asked, worried. “I saw your worried look about being a medium wolf,” I mentioned.

“I don't want to talk about it, Naomi. Please, let's go,” he asked me, reaching out his hand toward me. I accepted the gesture.

In a few minutes, I left my house behind. My eyes closed as I saw more and more leaves in front of me. Branches brushed against my body, reminding me of the qualities of who I was.

The medium wolf accompanied me on my side, but I had the impression that he was doing it on purpose. I thought about running faster, and so I did, picking up speed. It had been a while since I had run so much. With three children to raise and being a single mother, time was rare. Running alone was very lonely, and I didn't have time to meet other wolves. I loved the children, but they took over my whole life. At that moment, I felt bad for being happy to have time to run, even if it was because of their disappearance.