The Last of Yellowstone's Pack

Chapter One

The night was brisk and silent as if the world were holding her breath. The moon shone down upon the mountains and valleys, it's light like a soft blanket that coated the land. In all the stillness and peace, not a sound was heard for miles around. No birds called, no animals burrowed; not even the wind made a whisper. It was almost deafening.

Almost. 

For her heart was pounding so loudly that she could not focus on the calm of her surroundings. Hands clinging to the fallen branch, knuckles white as she tightened her grip, her blue eyes scanned the open area in front of her. Behind her lay the safety of the forest, tall pine trees towering over the only home she had ever known. But she could not stay, for it was not safe anymore. Not after tonight. 

The valley ahead of her was open, exposed, unexplored. She had never set foot beyond her packs territory before- she had never dared. She could still taste blood on her tongue. She took a shaky breath before looking over her shoulder one last time. Her tears had dried though her eyes still stung. She had to be strong now. There was no going back. 

Taking that first step felt like a knife to her heart. Everything she knew was gone now.

There was no going back. 

The second step wasn’t easier. Her eyes watered once more, a hiccup rising to her throat as she fought off her sobs.

There was no going back. 

On the third step, she heard howls in the distance. s**t! She thought she had lost them! There was no more time to put this off. Breaking into a sprint, her eyes stinging and vision blurry from her tears, she brought on her shift. 

It didn’t happen like in movies or books. It wasn’t physical; it was magic. There was no pain involved, no snapping or cracking of bones. Her body just faded from human to wolf, and in a blink of an eye, the branch was clenched in her jaw as she ran as quickly as her four paws could take her. She wore a red bandana around her neck, the one she had worn since her sixteenth birthday. Her pelt was as white as the cold snow, though she barely noticed how the frost seeped to the bone. She only heard the howls of those who wanted to hunt her. 

The valley had no shelter, nothing to hide her. The snow was fresh, there were no tracks- except for the ones she was now leaving behind. How would she lose them now?

Leaping over the top of the hill, she spotted a frozen river below. That’s it! Her legs moved quicker than her thoughts, bringing her to the river’s edge in mere moments. She would not leave tracks here, she thought. She sniffed the air, her heightened senses working overtime to survive. Which way would they think she ran? There was another forest downstream, she knew. That would be a good place to hide until they relented. However, upstream, was a human town. She had never been there; hell, she didn’t even know how to act fully human. She never thought she would have to. Would they realize that, and think her too frightened to go hide with humans?

She hoped so. It was her only chance to live. 

Dropping her branch, she lifted her paw and bit into it, drawing blood. An involuntary growl escaped her throat at the pain. She wiped the blood onto the branch before shifting back into her human form. Naked, cold, she used her bandana to wrap the wound. Once she was satisfied that it would not drip any more blood, she faced south and threw the branch as far as she could. Hopefully, that would gain her hunter’s attention, and if she was lucky, they would continue south to follow her trail. 

Shifting back into a wolf, she began her journey upstream. She didn’t get very far, having only weaved between a few hills and bushes, before she heard them again. Their howls made her hackles raise. She came to a sudden stop, spotting a bush and diving behind it. Her whole body was shaking, though, from fear or the cold, she wasn’t sure. Maybe both. 

She knew what their howls meant. They found the bloodied branch. They started barking and growling. Would they fall for her trick? She mentally kicked herself, knowing that it wasn’t a very well thought out one. What if they were smarter than her? 

Her paw throbbed. She prayed that it wouldn’t bleed through the bandana. 

Silence filled the air again. A frosty breeze swept through the underbrush, taking her scent upstream with it. Thankfully mother nature was on her side, at least for now. She shivered. 

After some time, she began creeping away from her hiding spot. She sniffed the air. She could still smell them, but the scent was fainter now. They must have gone downstream. Thank the gods! Not wanting to wait around another moment, she turned and hurried once more towards the human town. 

Her mother once told her that it was a day travel to arrive in the town of Gardiner. If she was lucky tonight, she would arrive at dawn. Peering up at the full moon, she realized that she still had a while to go. There would be no rest tonight. 

And no rest she received. 

Several hours passed. The valley turned into mountains and canyons, but she never left the river’s frozen path, not willing to risk leaving any tracks. She kept track of the time by watching the moon’s movement towards the horizon. Her father taught her that. And even as her body now fought against her, wanting nothing but to lay down and sleep, she pushed on. Her paw no longer hurt, though she could thank the cold for that. She could no longer feel the tips of her ears or her nose. Gods, hopefully, she wasn’t suffering from frostbite. 

Tired and weak, she climbed one last hill, the sun’s rising rays a welcoming feeling as they hit her face. She couldn’t help but smile. She made it. Below, she could see the town that she had only heard of in stories. A heard of bighorn sheep grazed on what little grass they could find in the valley, a few of them glancing up at her. They must have scented her. She didn’t care, she wasn’t hunting anyhow. 

She could see the big arch her mother spoke of. It read “Yellowstone.” That was her pack’s name. She frowned. She was the only one left now. 

Cautiously heading down the hill she approached the arch. This area had also seen snow recently, icicles hanging from the buildings’ rooftops. It reminded her of home. 

The sun, only having just risen, left a golden glow on the sleepy little town. She sniffed the air as she got closer. Good, no humans seemed to be stirring just yet. She padded closer to what looked like a gift shop, shifting into her human form. Her white hair fell in tangles over her shoulders, her fair skin seemingly paler than normal due to the cold. 

She pressed against the doors to the building. They didn’t move. She frowned, gripping her injured palm in her hand. She needed to get some clothes and medicine. 

She walked to the front window and looked inside. There were whole racks of clothes! Sweaters, t-shirts, pajama bottoms, and even shoes. They all said “Yellowstone” on them. Gods, her mother would be so disappointed in what she was about to do. Sorry, mum. 

She picked up a rock and threw it through the window. No alarms sounded, thankfully. Just the sound of shattered glass echoing between silent buildings. Nevertheless, she needed to hurry just in case someone heard. 

Climbing through the broken window, crawling past the displays, she went to the first rack she saw. Picking a sweater with a matching pair of sweatpants she didn’t hesitate to pull them onto her cold body. They felt so warm and soft against her frosty skin. She almost purred at the sudden comfort. 

Looking around, she saw pairs of boots in the corner. They looked like fishing boots like her dad had. She wondered if he bought them from this shop. She grabbed the closest pair and slid her feet into them. They were a little big. Oh well. 

On a shelf, she saw a bunch of little felt toys. Foxes, bison, bighorn sheep. Wolves. Her eyes scanned over the wolves a moment. She reached out and grabbed the white one. It had little green eyes. The faintest hint of a smile ghosted her lips. It looked like her mother. 

Hearing a vehicle pull up outside, she quickly pocketed the wolf and ran behind the counter, hiding beneath the cash register. Her breathing suddenly quickened- she clasped her hand over her mouth to try and silence herself. Oh no, she was caught! What would the humans do to her? 

She heard the door open, the jingle of keys, footsteps for a few paces before stopping. She strained her ears to see if she could hear anything else, anything at all. She couldn’t even hear anyone breathe. 

‘Please go away,’ she thought. ‘Let me escape.’

Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm from above, yanking her to her feet with a yelp. She managed to rip away, stumbling forwards before spinning around to see a very tall man standing on the other side of the counter. The store was still dark, so she couldn’t quite make out any features, but he had an air of authority about him. He reminded her of her Alpha. 

She whimpered and bowed her head a little, still holding her injured palm. It was starting to throb again. 

The man clicked his tongue, “You don’t look like a typical thief to me,” he mused before reaching his hand out to her, “Are you okay, miss?”

Peering up at him, her eyes involuntarily beginning to fill with tears once again, she shook her head. Her voice sounded hoarse and weak, “No… no, I’m not.” She didn’t know what she would tell him, but she needed help. 

He reached over and flicked on the store lights, his eyes being the first thing she saw. They were the darkest of brown, practically black. Though, they were the kindest eyes she had ever seen. He had a look of concern written on his features, small dimples formed by his frown. A dusting of dark freckles covered his nose and cheeks. His skin was a light brown, or at least, what she could see of it. He was wearing what looked like a police vest over a black jacket, a knit hat covering his messy dark brown hair. Upon further inspection, he looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. 

He kept his hand outstretched, lowering his voice, “It’s okay. I can get you some help, just come with me please.”

She hesitated. Her palm throbbed, her ears were still numb, and her stomach growled. She reached out and took his hand, “What... what’s your name?” She managed to ask as their skin touched. He almost flinched at the sudden cold of her fingertips, before smiling gently at her, “Alexius. You can call me Alex. And you, miss?”

She found herself smiling back, even with a stray tear slipping down her cheek, “Ashnah. You can call me Ash.”