HUNTED

Aila ran deep into the forest, her lungs and legs were burning, but she pushed herself on as she darted past the trees. The blissful feeling of running her paws into the earth and taking in all of nature's details kept the pain at bay. She was still feeling a little weak from the wolfsbane; even so, it was nothing she couldn't handle. 

Her ears twitched, and she turned her head in the direction of the sound of paws thundering across the ground. Her body stiffened, alert the moment her eyes landed on a sleek black panther. 

"Aila, wait for us! You shifted so quickly. We weren't expecting it!" Finn mind-linked her. His earlier concerns were clearly forgotten about as excitement filled his voice.

Aila settled her eyes on the approaching brown, grey wolf she presumed was Finn. It was odd as she appeared to be slightly bigger than him even though in their human forms, he towered over her. The panther to his side made a loud ferocious roar that only those majestic animals could make. The sound gained her attention immediately. Ajax's eyes reflected back from the sun before he sprinted past her. Malia immediately took over and chased after him playfully. 

As they ran deeper into the woods, Aila could not help but admire how Ajax ran in his panther form. He was able to shift direction rapidly, his hips bouncing from one side to the other, showing off his agility. She almost ran into a tree or two to keep up with him.  Yet, once the woods came to a clearing, she sprinted past him, the power behind her legs pushing her as fast as she could go. 

The three of them ran, played and hunted in the surrounding forest for most of the day. Aila and Finn let their wolves take charge, letting them play together and get to know each other, while Ajax continued hunting deer nearby. After a few more hours, Malia melded back into her mind, letting Aila have control once again. She trotted side-by-side with Finn towards a lake that mirrored the mountains behind it. 

They plopped themselves down in front of the lake, enjoying the view. Not long after, Ajax appeared, stalking slowly forwards; his mouth was covered in fresh blood that he soon got rid of by drinking from the lake. He settled next to them, taking comfort in the silence. 

Aila could see how much they enjoyed the open outdoors; the breath of fresh air was almost like a rush to junkies. She couldn't blame them. Ajax had been abducted for five years, and for Finn, it was eight from what she remembered him telling her in their imprisoned days together. Aila leaned her head on her paws and glanced up at Finn, who was sniffing the air, his eyes squinting. 

Her mind went back to the beginning of her abduction. It felt like years had gone by and at the same time as though it was only yesterday. She knew it had been a few days since their escape but the different scenery and her literally being a wolf right now blew her mind.

"Finn, did you know I was royalty when we first met?" She mind-linked him. Her question took him by surprise as his head snapped back to look at her.

"What makes you say that?" He answered with a question, his voice sounding thoughtful. 

"Well, you kneeled on the floor.." She trailed off, remembering the moment vividly, from the crazed man holding her by her neck to submitting to her on the floor. 

"I honestly don't know. I have never met a royal before. I only knew of them, but I just felt a sense of power coming off of you when we met. I knew immediately you were someone I could follow and would protect." Finn placed his own head on his paws so the pair could look at each other on the ground. Aila didn't know what to say to that. Instead, she made a joke, "So, it's just you, me, and Ajax left in the prisoners club now."

"Yep, and you are the Luna," Finn's chuckle floated across the mind-link.

"Hmm, that's a lot of pressure. Finn.." She caught his attention again after his eyes began scouting their surroundings, "Do you not plan on returning to your family?"

His wolf's ears went flat as a small whimper left its mouth, "They died. The hunters... they massacred my pack, killing my family. I was the only survivor. They decided to take me instead of throwing me into the fire of burning bodies they left. And well, you know the rest. Eight long years later, and here we are." His voice grew thick with sorrow as he stared off into the distance. 

Aila inhaled sharply, shocked at what Finn must have been through, "I'm so sorry. They really do destroy lives."

Their conversation ended there, each plagued by their own thoughts. Neither of them felt awkward by the silence, though they were happy in each other's company in a moment of remembering the ones they lost. 

"Aila," Kane's voice echoed through the mind-link, "It's near curfew. Alpha Damon would not be happy if you are still out in the forest past dark." 

"What the hell? A curfew?" Malia scoffed at his words. She had been quiet after falling asleep in the back of her mind.

"I suppose we should go back. All this running with wolfsbane in my system has made me tired." Aila sighed, standing back up on all fours. Malia was ready to grumble back but agreed with Aila's comment. They had done a lot considering she was bedbound for two days; they needed to recover. 

"Apparently, there's a curfew," Aila mind-linked Finn after he watched her stand. He stood up immediately, his ears pointed up as his eyes fixated on something unseen in the distance. 

He was not up because she was preparing to leave, but something had caught his attention. Aila spun around after she heard a twig snap in the distance of the trees. Her fur stood on end as her ears perked up; all three of them were now standing alert. Ajax stalked around, making small chirping noises. He was restless, his eyes set on the distance.

"If only he could talk to us, tell us what is wrong. I bet the silence has been killing him," Aila said, her eyes watching the black panther and the trees ahead.

Finn snorted, "He will chew my ear off when we shift again. But just take his body language as a way he can communicate with us. He can sense something out there as much as we can."

Aila tensed the moment her eyes fell on a golden-brown wolf along with others appearing throughout the trees, but the golden-brown wolf strolled towards them, seemingly in charge. Ajax crouched forwards, ready to pounce at the newcomers, but Finn jumped in front of him, stopping him from attacking. 

"Aila," The golden-brown wolf stepped forwards while the sound of Kane's voice echoed through the mind-link, "we will escort you back." 

"Escort? We can find our own way back. Thank you," Aila said in a diplomatic voice.

"Alpha's orders." Kane snapped, his impatience showing as his wolf began to bristle. 

Aila took an instinctive step forwards as Malia began to emerge from the back of her mind, taking over. Neither of them liked taking orders, and now Aila knew why. They were never meant to take orders; it was in their blood to be a leader. 

"Aila-" Kane warned. Her eyes began to glow, her defiance brimming at the surface, yet, instead of charging at him, she took back control and turned around, jogging the opposite way. A sign that although she did not attack him, she would not be obeying his or the Alpha's orders. 

Ten wolves instantly appeared from the surrounding trees. They weren't growling, but a group of that magnitude was meant to intimidate anyone that crossed paths with them. Aila snarled at them, warning them to back off, her eyes still glimmering. A few of them yielded, positioning themselves on the ground in submission, whereas others stepped at a slow pace towards her, their ears flattened as they struggled to fight against the warning behind her lips. 

Suddenly, a howl erupted in the distance, making Aila stop and look in the direction of the sound. Another cry pierced through the silence, causing the ground to seemingly shake from the depth of the wolf's voice. The wolves around her howled in response. 

Another howl whipped across the land and pierced through her heart that began pounding immensely, her breathing becoming ragged as adrenaline burst through her; she felt excited. Almost immediately after another howl, an animalistic urge took over her; a long howl erupted through her chest as her head went back, her voice resounding through the trees. 

More wolves emerged from the trees, bouncing around her excitedly. Once her head came back down to look at the wolves surrounding her, she immediately felt a zap, and a wave of voices echoed through her mind. All of them were excited or arguing amongst themselves, she realised she was in a type of 'pack-mind-link'. A few words stood out to her, though.

"The white wolf has returned"

"...the Cross Princess"

"She's not my Luna.."

Her howl was a sign, a sign that the lost princess of the Cross family had returned and would take her rightful place. However, although the pack were both excited and seemed to be angry at her appearance, her mind was elsewhere. The howling wolf that caused her to instinctively howl in return had stopped.

The howling wolf that she could not see felt like a piece of her, the small jigsaw piece that was missing. His voice called to her as though he whispered enticing words just next to her ear. While the pack continued to talk among themselves or stare openly at her, she ran straight for the covering trees of the forest. Her mind on one thing, to find that wolf.

Aila could not explain why she felt this absolute need to meet him. But she was excited and nervous by the thought of finding him.

"He's our mate," Malia exclaimed, thrilled at the thought of meeting the mystery wolf.

"What does that mean?" Aila asked, her big paws pounding against the ground. 

"I think it means he's the one? Like our soul mate," Malia tried to explain, but she was also not fully aware of the facts. Like Aila, she was also sheltered away from the other werewolves and their upbringing. 

"Aila, wait up," Finn's voice echoed through her mind. She was so excited, she did not realise Ajax and Finn were running behind her, but by quite a distance. It seemed, even with wolfsbane in her system, she was still able to outrun them. 

Aila continued to sprint forwards as though her life depended on it; there was something within her that felt pulled towards the wolf. She sniffed the air after catching a distinctive scent, the smell of fresh rain on dirt with sandalwood mixed together and possibly a cologne she recognised. Malia became more animalistic; she was panting at the thought of meeting their mate. 

The scent became stronger as she climbed up a hill and onto a rocky terrain that overlooked the land, including the mansion and its vast estate. Malia whined, the other wolf was not there, but his scent was undeniably strong; they may have just missed him. Aila began to trot forwards, but Kane's wolf jumped in front of her. 

"It's dark. You need to go back where it is safe." He growled through the mind-link. Aila halted her stride; she wanted to continue her search, but something in Kane's voice made her relent and turn back around. He followed her down the hill. Two other wolves flanked her sides while Ajax and Finn jogged behind her. 

Once the mansion came into view from beyond the trees, the wolves by her sides darted off and shifted into men, running naked ahead into the house. Among them, Kane revealed his tanned skin that complemented his dirty blonde hair, almost giving him a 'surfers' look.  Aila came to an abrupt stop, still hidden by a few trees. 

She realised her clothes were destroyed when she shifted earlier, and she could not run around naked. Unlike the others who appeared to be used to open nudity, she, for obvious reasons, was not.

"Aila, come on. We won't look." Finn mind-linked as he came into view. Aila watched as Ajax sprinted ahead and shifted into his human form; she immediately turned around and heard him laughing at her. 

"You need to get me some clothes. I am not shifting in front of you guys." Aila was adamant about her nudity staying as a private event. In contrast to the other werewolves and shifters, she was not brought up like them. She would happily wait for clothes and shift in her own time. Finn ran off and shifted into the open patio doors, leaving Aila to sit behind the trees. Her eyes searching the surroundings while she waited.

Finn returned fully clothed and ran back out with her black hoody and some shorts, clothes that could easily be put on. Once he ran off, she shifted. This time, it was quicker and a lot easier. Within seconds she stood there barefoot, naked in the cold night air. 

Aila grabbed the clothes and inspected the shorts, a pair of female shorts in her size. She wondered if they were hers because Alpha Damon already brought her some pyjamas that were unfortunately shredded to pieces now. 

Pulling on the shorts, she suddenly stopped. An earthy, woodsy scent drifted across the air from behind her. A powerful presence emerged, its energy causing the hairs on the back of her nape to stand up while the heavenly scent wrapped around her like a cocoon. She almost melted from the pang of desire building in her core. Aila did not need to look behind her to know that Alpha Damon was standing there.