Fire in the Heir

5.

Running through the woods was one of the best feelings in the world and I relished in every aspect of it.

The pungent smell of the dirt and leaves on the ground under your paws, the sounds of fleeing animals and the quiet that settled in from the tops of the trees.

Even the birds tried to hide, and the sight of all the life that existed in the forest that you could never find anywhere else.

These woods have always been part of the pack lands and haven’t been used for hunting game for decades, so the animals and flowers here were thriving.

When we were in this form and Kana was in charge, she was able to communicate with Stella and all the other wolves in our pack the same way that she always spoke with me.

Our wolves were strong, stealthy, and intelligent creatures, and when we let them out they would let loose and push themselves as hard and fast as possible in case it would be a while until they came out again.

Stella, Monika’s wolf was definitely made for her. She was the complete opposite of everything Monika was and she was always a welcome companion for Kana and me.

Stella always stayed by Kana’s right flank when we were out running in the woods or taking trips around the mountains with my parents.

“Are we going anywhere specific,” Stella asked after we had been out here for about twenty minutes or so.

We could travel farther distances in these forms than most people could in a car, and had to be careful to stay within the boundary lines when we were in certain areas of the compound.

“No,” Kana responded to her. “Taylor just needed to wind down and I wanted to see if this might help her. I don’t want to go to the mountains and have her parents worry if we are gone too long.”

About an hour later, we were headed towards the clearing where we left our clothes, back packs, and phones when I felt Kana sense another wolf in the area.

“STOP,” Kana ordered and Stella froze almost mid air. The scent was barely perceptible, but with all senses on alert, Stella was now able to pick it up as well.

“It’s a male from our pack, do you think it’s one of the patrols,” she asked softly. “No, if it was a patrol there would be two of them, they never patrol alone!”

Hackles high, I could feel the tension rolling over Kana’s fur almost as if it was carried on the soft breeze. While I could hear what all of the wolves told Opal, I could still speak to her alone while we were in this form.

“Should we be worried?” “No, not yet. If there was an intruder near your home your father’s guards would know.”

Ugh, I always forgot my father’s guards were forever patrolling our side of the compound, but this one time, I was actually grateful for them.

“If it’s not an outsider, then who from our pack could be out here?” Kana didn’t immediately respond, and it took me a minute to realize it was because Stella was trying to speak to her.

“Kana, I recognize this scent, but I am uncertain why he would be here.” That caught my attention and for a moment I wanted to be able to speak to Monika to find out who it was.

Stella was always nice to me, but she obeyed Kana like a soldier obeyed a commander and would never say anything to me unless she knew that Opal allowed it.

The silence worried me because I knew that Kana was trying to keep something from me.

I pushed or pulled at our connection to get her attention and let her know that I was aware of what she was doing, she was blocking me out.

“Don’t do this to me Kana. Not you to!” It seemed like time was passing too quickly and I was becoming more of a bystander than a participant in this little excursion.

Finally, her husky voice filled my head, “do not fret my sweet girl. I only needed to ask Stella to go closer to great the guest.”

I was about to as her why, but she continued,“I also asked her to find out why he is all the way out here on our land and to inspect the area to see if he came for a purpose or this is some mistake.”

“Why, why would you put her in danger, for us?” I couldn’t understand why Kana was ordering Stella to go ahead of us like she was a guard or a patrol.

There was no reason why their lives were less valuable than mine. If anything, she had a higher rank than me with her bloodline.

“Taylor, there is no danger here. If there were, we would have fled up the mountain until I could contact Caed or Isen or sound an alarm.”

Her words brought me comfort and I felt a calming sensation wash through me. If there was no danger then Stella and Monika will be fine, but there was still a shred of anxiety that had embedded itself inside my heart that I just couldn’t shake.

Kana didn’t give me the feeling that we would be shifting back anytime soon and I wasn’t sure if she would want to shift until we were back at my house.

She paced back and forth between the little clearing and the outskirts of the forest. The sun was beginning to set and as evening approached I noticed how the sounds of the animals began to shift and change around us.

The forest was coming to life as the animals of the night were beginning to wake from their slumbers.

These animals were not the cuddly bunnies, curious squirrels, and the shy deer that wondered aimlessly.

No, these animals were the predators of the night that patrolled the forest and the compound looking for their next meal.

It was rare that we ever went out in the forest at night and we’re never been allowed to come alone like I am now.

The night was my favorite time of day. I loved everything about nighttime, from the phases of the moon, to the chill in the air, and the glow of the stars in the sky.

I took this opportunity to soak in the forest as I never got to and see the things that were hidden from me when I was safe in doors.

Most people talk about how scary the dark is, or how creepy the forest gets, but I thought they were just judging it from the scary stories of others and not from experiencing it themselves and giving it the benefit of the doubt.

The forest seemed to call to me and Kana and I sensed that she was just as compelled by the sounds and smells around us as I was.

I was just about to ask her if we could go look around when a soft thudding sounded in the distance.

Kana immediately turned from the forest that we had suddenly been much closer to than I was aware of and sunk down low to the ground.

It all happened so fast, too fast for me to really ask what was going on. As soon as I heard Stella’s voice, the thudding began to get closer and I could tell that Stella was not alone because there were two separate sets of paws hitting the ground.

Stella was shouting in her hurry to explain something to Kana, but there was another voice that I didn’t recognize but I could feel that Kana did.

I could feel something from Kana that I had never felt before and I was not able to speak or even think about what was happening or consider what to do next as I realized what it is she felt.

It was fear.

Her fear is what I feel and I’ve felt it before and was very familiar with it, but feeling it coming from Kana was beyond terrifying.

I couldn’t focus on Stella, or the woods behind us. The only thing that I could think was that something really bad was happening or about to happen.

A rush of feeling so strong hit me and I was so lost in thought that when they ran into the clearing I stopped breathing almost completely.

Because nothing could have prepared me for who came walking towards us. It wasn’t just Stella, it was the Alpha himself and he looked pissed!