The Lonely Wolf

5

Veronica

Fifteen minutes later and Maggie hasn’t come out of the woods yet. Everyone was going on, not even concerned. We would never leave a player like that on my old team. Plus, she just saved my life and I hadn’t had the chance to thank her.

“Coach, is that everyone? I haven’t seen Maggie come out yet,” I asked.

“There are usually some stragglers that take a while to come off this trail. You can go ahead and get changed. She should be out by the time you’re done,” he said.

“Nope. A team is only as strong as its weakest member. No player gets left behind. She saved my life. I’ll track and bring her back.”

I took off back into the woods before he could reply. I do not really know where I’m going but looking for her scent.

Ugh, there are too many scents.

What to do? What to do…

Sound. Vampires are experts at tracking by sound. That’s why it was rumored that we were part bat. It’s more like they are the masters of stillness. By listening to the sound of the woods. The birds, the bugs, the wind. You can hear and feel any shifting in your atmosphere and the faintest sound becomes more pronounced.

“Help! Is anyone there?” I heard faintly in the distance.

I begin running towards the voice. “Maggie, I’m on my way!”

My voice echoed through the trees. I hear the stick breaking under my feet. The birds' movements shift as they feel my presence nearby. I finally caught her scent.

“Where are you? I feel like I’m right on top of your scent,” I say, circling around the area where her scent is the strongest.

“You’re right under me, actually.” I look up and see her in a tree.

“What are you doing up there? And naked.” I ask.

“My uniform is over there ripped up. They were upset I helped you.” I looked over to where her muddy and torn-up uniform lay.

“And you are up in a tree, why?” I asked, helping her down.

“People started coming, and I was naked,” she said, so matter of fact.

“But couldn’t you just use your magic and Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo a new outfit?” I asked, causing her to laugh.

“Like Cinderella? I’m not a fairy godmother. My magic is elemental. I need to pull from something.”

“Oh. Here.” I started taking off my clothes and handing them to her.

“Then you’ll be naked.”

“I’ll shift. You can ride back on Sasha.”

“Sasha? She sounds fierce.”

“Oh, she sure is. Look at her.” I slowly shifted, allowing Sasha’s beautiful golden white tresses to come out.

“Oh my goodness, you are a beautiful wolf. Your fur is white, but you have gold shimmers in the undercoat,” Maggie says as she rubs her hands on Sasha’s coat.

Sasha, loving the attention and interaction of another being, bows down to allow Maggie to climb on her. She started off slowly, then as soon as she felt Maggie's grip tighten enough, she zipped through the woods on the path we ran from cross-country and back to school.

It was only the pack that left outside and as soon as we ran up they all stopped what they were doing and began staring at us.

“Maggie, what is going on?” Rodrick walks over and helps her off of Sasha’s back. “We were going to send a search team looking for you.”

I shifted back. “ You wouldn’t have had to if you had better control of your pack. They attacked her and left her naked in the woods,” I say, noticing everyone staring at me and some with their phones out and in hand.

“And now you are naked here. Here take my shirt.” Rodrick stands in front of me to cover me from the onlookers, then hands me his shirt to put on. I took it and I began to walk to the locker room. I could feel the rage seeping off of him. I don't know why he would be mad at me. He's the team captain. He should have been the one noticing there was a teammate missing. He should have looked for her.

“Wait. Your wolf…”

“Yeah, I know I’m not supposed to shift on school grounds. And you can have your shirt back as soon as I get changed.”

“No. That’s not what I was going to say. Your wolf looks a lot like mine,” he says, looking at me like I was going to shift again for him.

“Well, that’s a coincidence,” I say, throwing my hands up. I’m sure there are many wolves that look alike. No big deal, right?

Rodrick

“Please tell me you are trying to hit that. If not, I’m shooting my shot.”

“Man. She’s out of your league.”

“What do you mean? She’s a rogue?”

I hear the guys talking from behind me.

“That’s enough. You guys know my dad doesn’t like it when others are mistreated. Someone owes Maggie an apology. And stop talking about Veronica like that!” I accidentally growled, causing them to all bow their heads.

I don’t know why I feel so protective of her. Not like she’s my mate. There’s no attraction like that. I guess it’s because she reminds me of my sister.

“Are you alright man? There is no way her wolf looks that much like yours. Do you think she’s some other type of shape-shifter? I almost thought it was you coming out of the woods”, Bass asks.

“No, I think that’s her wolf. It’s just puzzling because she’s a rogue with a higher-ranked wolf. I need to find out what she is here for and what kind of relationship she is with me. "Becca’s wolf doesn’t even look that much like mine,” I say, thinking out loud.

“Forget the wolf. Did you see her body when she shifted back? I just want a taste,” Jose, another member of my pack, says.

“You are going to stay away from her. And spread the word. No more pranks. She’s not the typical rogue and I don’t know how dangerous she is.”