Her Feral Heart

I felt the pads of my paws rubbing raw in pine straw as I jogged through the woods. Even covered in a thick coat of fur, I could feel the snow chilling my bones, reminding me and my wolf that the dead of winter was probably not the best time to get ourselves exiled. Just as I was thinking maybe I made a huge mistake and I should try to make amends and rejoin my former pack, I felt the burning ache in my ribs and around my neck push me further into the woods, away from my old home. Any pain the winter wind would cause me would never compare to the pain I’d endured over the past 18 years. … The next three days were a blur of white snow and hunger. This was the longest I’d ever let my wolf, Belle, have control. I needed her to keep me warm. I couldn’t shift back without being left naked, vulnerable to the elements. Unfortunately, I was also have trouble finding food. It seemed even the rabbits had burrowed for the season to avoid the cold. The longer I went on running, shivering, stomach growling, the more day and night seemed to blur together. Too afraid to stop for long in case I’d been followed, I only allowed myself to nap in hour long stretches. At sunrise on the 4th day, Belle howled, wanting to slow down, to breakdown. I begged her to keep pushing, when suddenly I felt her concentration break. She smelled something. The warm, buttery scent of fresh pancakes wafted into our snout. Belle’s tail wagged and she instantly veered, running towards the smell. I tried to take back control, reminding her that we were a rogue now, we couldn’t just go up to a pack and ask for food. She growled at me, ignoring my pleas and pushing forward. My head began swimming with thoughts of pancakes and my empty stomach. Belle and I continued fighting one another for control as we got closer to the smell. “Belle, please, what if they are allies with the Blue Fire pack? They could hurt us.” “We need food or we will die. We can figure it out after we eat!” Only 5 yards away from the pack entrance, I felt myself shifting into human form, finally conquering Belle. Unfortunately, my human form was slightly weaker, and also, completely naked. As I shift while Belle was mid leap, I felt my body crashing to the ground, covered in snow. I lay there, shivering and whimpering. I could hear guards voices closing in around me. I turned to my side, curling my body away from them. Just as I was giving in to the darkness encroaching my eyes, I heard a smooth, calm voice over the others, “What the hell is going on?!” The last thing I thought before passing out was that I wanted to wrap that voice around me like a warm blanket and never leave.