WOLF

A Story by Adraine

I slowly moved through the trees, quietly, stepping between the fallen branches and a fresh layer of leaves. She had come this way I know she had but...where? I inhaled the cool autumn air and tried to sift through the scents that filled my nose. Under the overlapping smells of soil, decaying leaves, moss growth and the other natural aromas of the woods, I caught the musky sent of deer. I inhaled again and focused on the sent. Yes, that was deer and not just one, a buck and at least two doe. But none of them were the doe i had followed in here. A small breeze rustled the leaves and cared to me the very sent i was looking for. My head shot up and I scanned the trees once again. Ah...there she was standing oh so still, and she had seen me. I slowly crouched down waiting for my pray to move. Another cool breeze came and tickled my fur. Then I caught the sticky sweet sent of fear coming in waves from the dear. So strong was that smell, that I could almost taste it on the back of my tong. So intoxicating was that sent that I felt a growl trickle from my lips. Her fear spiked as she sprinted away. I pounced narrowly missing her. She was fast, leaping over fallen trees and boulders. She was fast, but I was faster, skillfully weaving myself through the woods until I was beside her. She turned and I pounced sinking my teeth deep into the side of her neck and dragging her down. She tried to struggle to her feet, but I shook my head until I heard a snap and she stilled.

After I fed, I cleaned the blood off my honey colored fur and scanned the sky. Day was coming. I started to make my way towards the entrance of the woods. As I did I heard a crunching of leaves. I whorled around and found myself staring into the gray eyes of a large black wolf. I am not a small wolf. In fact I'm a good four inches taller and about 15lbs heaver than the average wolf. As far as I know most shifters are, but not this wolf. He was almost twice my size and at least 20lbs heaver. If his shear size wasn't enough to intimidate, the power emanating from him was enough to raise my hackles and bring a deep growl from out of my throat. The wolf took a step towards me. Now in a situation like this I have one of two basic instincts to choose from. Fight or Flight. I could either pit myself against this enormous wolf and hope I wound him enough to get away or....... I may have something of a temper, but 'm not stupid. I backed up and sprinted away as fast as i could. As i ran i heard the heavy padding of the black wolf close behind. S**T, S**T, S**T i thought. I ran through the trees, past boulders, even past the remains of the doe, hoping the smell of a fresh kill would distract him. It didn't, I just couldn't loose him. As he caught up to me he snapped at my face. F**K! Ok, fine if flight doesn't work....I doubled back. As he turned to follow I bit into the wolfs leg. He yelped, fell and rolled in to a near by tree. I didn't' stop running not even to get my clothes. I was out of there.

As much as I wanted to stay in wolf form, I think a naked woman would be easer to explain than a wolf trying to paw its way into a car. So as i reached the furthest edge of the woods I ducked behind a moss covered tree and shifted back to human form, smooth, painless, like taking off your warmest most favorite fur coat. Every time I shift back I always mourn the loss of the freedom and pure joy I feel as a wolf. In human form my senses are diminished. The colors aren't as bright; the sounds aren't as sharp and everything's colder. But that last could just be because i was naked. The breeze that before had been cool now felt fridged. I, while shivering, tried to stealthy avoid the early morning traffic and reach my car. In my car I reached under the visor and found my keys with a black VW bug key chain, a miniature of the one I was sitting in. I turned the ignition and flipped the heater on full blast. After the car warmed enough to make my goose flesh disappear, I blindly routed around the back seat until I found the small black duffel bag containing my karate gi. The stiff, all white, cotton uniform might not be the most fashionable piece of clothing, but it was warm and would spare me from having to explain to my nosey landlord why I was tip-toeing through the apartment complex in my birthday suit.

TO BE CONTUINED .............