The Bond Between Us

Chapter Three: We Must Go South

Brooklyn

I woke up to the sun light streaming through the branches and brushing against my face. I dont remember falling asleep, the moon goddess through prayer must of helped ease me into sleep. I had nightmares though of my mothers final moments on a loop, but even though my body the day before was worn out, my muscles sore from the run, I was fully rejuvenated for the day ahead. I sent a silent prayer, thanking her for her protection and healing as I pushed my self off the ground. I stretched my hands up and they brushed against the roof of the cave as I yawned. I quickly did some leg and back stretches before I turned towards the inside of the cave.

Blake was still asleep and the fire had obviously burned out hours before. All that remained was a small pile of ashes on the cave floor. I walked over to the bag and rummaged through it. Inside was some homemade mystery jerky, a couple protein bars, and a bottle of water. Pulling out a protein bar for Blake and a couple pieces of jerky for myself I leaned over and lightly shook him. His eyes fluttered open as he looked up at me.

"Hey sleepy head." I whispered and he smiled lightly, but it didn't stay for long. The bond that we lost was still there, probing our hearts. I wonder if we would ever be able to get over their death. They say time heals all wounds, but this felt like we would always mourn their deaths.

He sat up and stretched his arms much like I did and let out a yawn. I grabbed the blanket off of his body and folded it the way that it originally was and handed him an open protein bar.

"Heres breakfast." he smiled and slowly nibbled on the bar. I took my time eating the jerky, which now tasted alot like Elk, and watched as Blake ate his, holding back chuckles when he'd made a face of disgust at the powdery taste of the bar.

"I know its not the best buddy, but its the best we got, here some water to help wash it down." he grasped the bottle in his small hands and took a couple of big gulps, he pulled the body away from his lips and let out a burp. I laughed and took the bottle taking a swig myself before putting it back in the bag with his empty wrapper.

"we gotta keep going south. Today is going to be a lot of traveling for us. But the farther we can get the better off we'll be." he nodded as I stood and helped him up. we were both covered in soot, my long platinum braid was a frizzy mess. But none of that mattered because we were alive with food in our bellies. I wrapped my jacket around him snuggly tighing the strings tight around his tiny body and rolling the sleeves up on his arms.. it looked like a poorly made dress on him, but atleast he was warm. I helped him outside and pointed at a bush for him to do his business while I quickly did my own. Peeing in the cold was a horrible thing, but when nature called it sure did. Plus I didnt need him having a accident on himself or my wolf. There would be no way that I could clean him up without causing hypothermia. He walked out of the bushes and I adjusted his jacket and pants the way I wanted them. pulling an extra hair tye from my wrist I put his hair up in a messy bun before pulling the hood of the jacket up around his face.

"Ok Blake, I'm going to shift again and were gonna do the exact samething we did yesterday." He nodded and I sat the bookbag down on the ground and shifted in my wolf form again. Kneeling again for him to climb on top, when he got comfortable I took the backpack in my mouth and we started running south.

I ran all day, passing through mountains and valleys. I had never been this far down the mountain, I could feel the air become thicker and warmer as we continued to move south. Filling my lungs and starting to warm me up from the inside. When we finally got towards some flatter lands I was running faster then I had in years. The joy of running in wolf form was something that no one could truly explain. Dusk was starting to settle in and I knew I had to find a place to camp for both of us to rest. I could feel Blake's grip loosening on my fur and it was starting to worry me. We didn't take long breaks, enough to eat some more of our protein and drink some water before we started moving again. I couldn't smell any wolves behind us as the wind was blowing away from us, but I couldn't get any good smells of what laid ahead.

As I continued to run I spotted a small log cabin tucked away in the woods and contemplated checking it out. Deciding that I might as well for both of our sakes I made a beeline for it. As I got close I could clearly tell it was vacant. There was a slight smell of humans, so this must have been used as a hiking cabin for when they were going to hike up the mountain.

Thanking the goddess for delivering us again I knelt and huffed for Blake to get off. when he was standing on his own two feet I shifted back into my human form, slinging the backpack over my shoulder I walked up the porch holding Blake's hand in my own. the door was locked but there was a window next to it. I smashed my hand through it and undid the bolt lock on the inside.

Rushing Blake in and following closely behind him I shut the door, locking it back. As if it would help us in the moment with the big hole in the window, it gave a little bit more of a sense of security. Inside was a small bed, a wood burning stove with a large pile of fire wood next to it, and a pile of a different selection of blanket placed in a corner. There was a large pot on top of the stove. I grabbed the pot walked outside and dug down in the snow before scooping some in the pot. Putting it back on the stove, I placed some firewood on the inside and lighting it, putting it on full blast to help warm the cabin up. My belly growled as I warmed up the snow and the idea of nice rabbit stew made my mouth water.

"Blake im gonna go and get us a rabbit for dinner, how does that sound?" He smiled wide and nodded vigorously.

"That sounds great, my tummy is rumbling." As if to emphasize his comment he rubbed his stomach in a circular motion. I chuckled and quickly kissed him on the top of his head.

"I'll be right back buddy, it shouldn't take me to long, I saw some on the way over here, keep an eye on the fire for me though, yell if something happens that you can't manage." He nodded as I rummaged through some of the cabinets and found some jarred carrots and potatoes. the snow had almost fully melted so I went ahead and dumps the contents of the jars inside to start cooking. I patted Blake on the head and helped him out of his jacket before I ran out shifting in mid run and went on the hunt.

After successfully getting a juicy rabbit in less then ten minutes, I was on my way back when I heard the scream. Dropping the rabbit I ran as fast as I could back to the cabin. All I could think about was the fire getting out of control. I wanted to slap myself for leaving him alone, but I didn't think it would be that hard for him. He used to help father with the fire pit all the time. Shifting into human form I ran up the steps and slammed open the door. What I saw was not what j expected to see and I grabbed the hilt of my moon sword.

Inside was a man gripping onto Blake's arm tightly. He was lifting him off the ground smelling his hair deeply. I growled loudly, bearing my teeth at the man in a show of intimidation as I pulled the sword from its sheath. He looked back at me, his golden eyes piercing into mine and a shock wave went through my body as I finally registered his scent.

"Mate."