My Other Half

First person POV I couldn't feel my legs anymore.  How long have I been running for? 2 or 3 days?  I can't and won't stop until I'm sure I'm out of immediate danger... which means that I'll be running for a couple more hours.  The falling snow erases my paw prints and the wind makes sure to partially masks my scent.  I could see the bright whitish moon looking down on me and illuminating the large horizon ahead.  I'm so tired.  I just want to lie down and close my burning eyes.  Yet, I know that if I do, they'll catch up to me and I'll never be able to open my eyes anymore.  So I just continue running― forcing my aching legs to continue their sprint. Arriving an hour later at a beautiful black lake, I allowed myself to take a break to drink water and soothe my dry throat.  I haven't had the time to chase in the past days so my stomach is howling and I'm running low on energy.  I dipped my neck so I could finally drink some fresh water when I hear a branch snapping. My head immediately turned to the provenance of the alien sound and my eyes landed upon four wolves.   'How did I not sense them? Am I so exhausted that my senses have turned dull? Or are they just really well trained warriors?' I reflected to myself. I kept my eyes on them, wary and careful of their next move.  One of the wolves, a caramel-furred one, slowly approached me.  He kept a good distance from me and moved to my left, while two other wolves started moving on my right. 'They're surrounding me', I realised.  "State your name and your reason for intruding on claimed land," a low-guttural voice commanded.  "I'm.. passing through." I answered, my nervous voice betraying the calm facade I was trying to impose on myself. "Name." repeated the same voice, in a much more threatening manner than the first time. "Listen, I-I'm really sorry for intruding on your land... I didn't mean to.  I can leave right now if you want and―"  "Cut the s**t right now.  You know well enough that any unwelcomed intruder on a claimed land has no rights whatsoever.  We could slit your throat right here and now and it would be well inside of the Laws." the voice stated in a deadly tone. How dared he? None have ever spoken to me in this way, and yeah, sure― he maybe had a very valid point, but his tone irritated my temper.  I was usually extremely patient and well-composed but after days of physical exhaustion and malnutrition, I had reached my limits; both physically and emotionally. "De Tarylius." I snarled to the wolf who seemed like he wanted to kill me. All of the wolves snapped up from their threatening posture and they all looked at each other confused.  Their eyes became glassy for a long minute or two. "You're... from the De Tarylius family?" a soft, feminine voice hesitantly asked. I nodded.  She cleared her throat and asked in a small voice, as if it pained her to do so: "Could― uh, could we see proof of such claim?" Annoyed but understanding of why they needed to confirm it, I shifted.  Their eyes all landed on my forehead, where the Goddess's mark resided.  It was a small glowing crescent moon that every member of the De Tarylius family bore.  The four wolves looked at each other, each returning to their glassy state. "Our Alpha asks to meet you." the caramel-furred wolf announced.  I nodded my head in agreement, deciding to not to push my luck further because, technically, they were right; I was an unwelcomed intruder on their land and they could do whatever they wanted with me, even if I was from the De Tarylius family.  The four wolves started escorting me to who knows where and I mentally smacked myself for feeling slightly reassured that I was not alone anymore.  If anything happened, I had help.. Or so I think. I'm really not sure, actually.  I shifted back into my wolf and willed my fatigue legs to keep up with the four warriors.  After a 30-minute-long run, they started to slow down the pace as we arrived at an immense lake.  The scenery was breathtaking. There were natural flowers everywhere near the shores and small cascades resided on the far right of the water body.  On the left, there was this quartz bridge that made way to the opposite side of the lake.  As we crossed the bridge, my eyes were able to discern the huge mansion to which we were now heading towards.  Its white columns gave a very Greek-palace architecture feel and I compared the mansion to the one in The Great Gatsby, which, to my surprise, the latter was much smaller than the one standing in front of me.  "Can I ask you guys something?" I blurted out, now feeling extremely nervous to meet the owner of such grand obvious wealth. The only one who paid me attention was the female that had previously asked me about my identity.  Her eyes glanced at me, waiting for the question. "What pack are you?" I inquired. The three others glared at me, as if I had asked the dumbest question on Earth. "The Blood and Bones pack" the female answered, her voice low as if it were a secret.