The Packless Wolf

Chapter 5

Reika woke up . Conri, had subsided back to his space inside her conscious. She didn’t really remember much after she left the party. So many emotions flowing around her, she couldn’t decipher which were her emotions, Conri’s, or her mates. Now that Jasper was closer, she could feel his emotions. So, before she could lose control of Conri and cause severe damage in a fit of rage, she took off.  She always wound up here, at the waterfall. It wasn’t a huge waterfall as some would imagine. The water would make its journey from above, where the trees stood, to the tiny stream below that met up with a larger river.  Depending on the weather, the water would just be a small trickle and other days, the water would be flowing down like someone turned on the faucet. Behind the ever-changing waterfall was a small cave. Nothing big, maybe only 10 feet deep. Reika always came here whenever her emotions were a hurricane because the susurration always washed them away as she fell asleep.

But now she was awake, and slightly panic. A smell of rain hit her nostrils. At first, she thought it was just the water, but as she sniffed more, a familiar underlying scent of rot indicated Jasper had been here. Still in her wolf form, she took off towards the pack house.  The sun’s rays gave off little light as the sun had not peaked over the horizon yet. It was about a 15 minute run. If it was any other wolf the run would be 20 minutes. Hopefully, she could get home before anyone was awake.  

Even though she could smell the scent of rain, others would only smell rot.  So many scenarios flashed through her mind as she ran; she’d run into one of their visitors, another pack member. Or maybe one of the patrols. Either way, it would not be good for their rogue guest. They weren’t supposed to leave the house they were in. While the pack members knew they were there, the visitors from the other packs didn’t. It could cause a lot of conflict and break the fragile bonds they had with their allies.  If her dad found out. That would be even worse.  He couldn’t use his alpha command on them because they weren’t from the pack.  So, everything he asked of them was built on trust. Jasper broke that and she will have words with him about it.      

She didn’t even remember seeing him. She rumaged through her memories of the night before. After breaking Merrick’s hand, she ran off. She followed her footsteps through the woods as they led her to the waterfall. She paced around the cave as the roar of the waterfall calmed her into sleep. Then there, it wasn’t one of her memories but Conri’s. It was after she fell asleep. There was a feeling that he was being watched. His head lifted and he growled in warning. There was a whimper and -

That must be him, Reika thought to herself. As he stepped out from behind the tree line, she could see he was standing on his legs. Her face twisted. She thought it odd that he hadn’t shifted. Through the bond she could feel his counterpart. Then the memory was gone. Like Conri took it back and wouldn’t allow her to see anymore of whatever time was spent together.  

She didn’t have time to probe Conri further. She passed the edge of the trees as she arrived at the pack house. It seemed quiet enough. If anyone was awake, it would probably be the kitchen staff. She stopped at a little shed by the house. It was full of basketball shorts and tank tops. It was emergency clothes; in case someone shifted and didn’t have clothes for whatever reason. Reika was familiar with this shed. Many times, such as last night, when her emotions got the best of her, and she took off. Usually leaving her clothes shredded. Reika changed and went inside.         

The packhouse was quiet. In the distance she could hear pans and pots clashing. The kitchen staff was up. No doute rushing to get enough food ready to feed the pack and the other packs. After breakfast, the new mated wolves would meet with their pack leaders. They would discuss whose pack they would join.  

Reika walked through the foyer and started up the stairs. She took 2 at a time since she was in a hurry. After making it to the fourth floor, she turned towards her room. A familiar voice rang in her ears as her hand landed on her doorknob.  “Reika!”  

Reika turned to see her best friend waving at her and her “nemesis”. Hands intertwined.