Luna, Make a Wish

Uh...

“You can’t just create excuses to avoid the situation.” Serla sighed at me. I couldn’t tell if she was more annoyed with the thought of moving to the pack house or more annoyed with me. Either way, the feeling was pretty mutual.

I didn’t respond to her, instead I started getting myself ready for my work at the garden beds. They honestly wouldn’t need much work. This was the part of the season where really all I did was make sure they were watered… and left them alone. Considering it had just rained, I really didn’t even need to go check on them, but I had the urge to run, and I wasn’t sure where else to run to.

I quickly changed into a simple pair of jeans, a soft t-shirt, and some tennis shoes. Light to travel with, and easy to shift out of if I needed to. I slung an empty shoulder bag across my body so that if I needed to shift later I could without losing my clothes. On second thought, I went ahead and added a spare pair of clothes to the bag. Nothing fancy, just another pair of jeans, a loose-fitting shirt, and socks. You should always take extra socks.

“You and I both know that you’re not going gardening,” Serla stated.

“Mmh.” Was my only response. I just couldn’t think of anything else to say with the hundreds of questions and scenarios zipping around in my brain. Serla huffed a bit, but she understood my need to just get away, even if only for a few hours. Besides, it had been some time since I’d left the pack territories and explored beyond the woods. There was a gorgeous little waterfall just outside pack lands that I was suddenly itching to go see again.

My walking in and out of the woods never brought any alarm to others around me. It was something I did often. Hell, it was something most of us did. The freedom of the run was something that very little could compare to. This time, however, I walked. I needed the time to clear my mind and if I shifted, Serla’s thoughts would be too loud for me to think clearly.

It didn’t take long for the clearly walked path to start being covered with winding vines and underbrush. From my apartment, the edge of the territory was only roughly three miles out. The dirt walking path stopped two miles in, giving the last mile to border lands that our scouts patrolled.

Things were still pretty soggy from the previous days rains and it took more of my concentration than I would have liked for me to navigate my way through the growth without actually falling flat on my face… or my ass. Truthfully, I hadn’t been paying attention to how far we had gone, I just kept walking… and walking. Keeping my mind blank save for where my steps fell or where my hand touched was so soothing in the moment that I just kept going long after the scent of our pack was left far behind.

“You’re lost.” Serla’s voice broke in to my not concentration, concentration.

“I’m not lost, I’m heading towards the waterfall.” I practically scoffed at her. All the same, I stopped to look around at my surroundings. I was still deep in the woods. After glancing down at my watch, I realized that I should have found the clearing and the fall nearly an hour ago.

“I’m not lost…” I repeated, more for myself than for Serla. I could already feel that she hadn’t believed me the first time. Hell, I didn’t believe myself the first time. Still, it was so nice to be out in the wilds and away from the pack. Even if for a little bit. It felt like my last taste of true freedom and I was going to enjoy it as such. With a shrug of my shoulders to adjust the strap on my back I continued forward. Who knows, maybe I would find something that I hadn’t before? Some neat open space, or a rare wildflower.

I wasn’t worried about getting home before dark because Serla could run insanely fast and would clear the miles with ease and I still had quite a bit of daylight ahead of me. Though there were some darker clouds rolling in, it wasn’t supposed to rain until late in the day. As of yet, I hadn’t seen any lightning on the horizon, so all was well.

Eventually, I hit a sort of… clearing? More of a grassy space that seemed to separate the woods. It was easily a road’s width, but rather than looking driven, walked, or paced over it was simply untouched, free-growing grass. The grass was a deep shade of green, and the strands almost looked like they were made of silk. Maybe it was the wolf in me, or perhaps I was just exhausted, but I dropped to the ground and laid spread eagle on my back in the grass.

I stared up at the clouds for a time, debating on which one looked more like a piglet and which looked like a dragon. There were a few clouds that didn’t look like anything no matter how hard I tried to force them to. The breeze through the nearby treetops and the scent of looming rain had put me into a near trancelike state. I don’t remember falling asleep, but does anyone really?

I woke to the feeling of my foot being nudged. I groaned. I was comfortable. Why was Serla wa—.... My blood ran cold when I remembered where I had fallen asleep. In the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the woods where there should be no one and nothing around.

“We don’t take rogues here. Sleep it off somewhere else.” A gruff voice spoke as my shoe was nudged again, a bit harder this time.

I sat upright with urgency. “I.. Oh. I. Is this? I didn’t realize this was another pack’s… Er… this is someone’s property?” I looked up to be greeted by three masculine faces. One had a posture that was mostly relaxed; leaned back with hands in his pockets. He had jet black hair that looked like something straight out of a trendy K-pop band with a few strands drooping in front of his forehead. His eyes were hazel and his skin tone was several more shades of tan than I could ever hope to achieve.

The middle who had nudged me held an air of impatience to him. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest and his posture rigid. There was a touch of annoyance that seemed to radiate throughout his body. As though not just me, but annoyance with the world itself. His hair color was the same as the first, though he wore his hair much shorter at the sides and maybe two inches on top. He had the same hazel eyes as the first.

The third stood back a little further. His copper hair was cut to about eye level and tousled with messy waves. He looked a few years younger than the first two and also had his arms crossed, but seemed much more relaxed than the middle man. Not as much as the first man, but certainly less tense. I wasn’t close enough to catch the color of his eyes.

The middle man very slowly raised one eyebrow at me but it was the first one who spoke. “Yes, pack. Where ya from, doll? There’s only one other pack nearby and I know you’re not from there.”

“She could be.” The middle chimed in. He was eyeing me over as though I was a thief that had been caught but they couldn't find the evidence on them to actually go through with the arrest. Should I say something? Should I just let them talk? I decided to wait and see if they would say anymore.

“After the last war? They wouldn’t be stupid enough.” The last replied. I tried to remember any wars that had been held between the packs lately but my mind was drawing a blank. I know that history wasn't my most favored subject but pack wars were something that were usually drilled into us.

“Hey now, she could still be a rogue. Maybe she’s lost. Give her the benefit of the doubt, huh? My bets are on rogue. Twenty bucks.” Pretty hair responded.

There was an eye roll from the middle. “She smells like them.”

“No way. Last time you rolled down with a Silvermane was nearly a decade ago.” The first again. “ ‘sides, then we’d have to drag her to the boss, and I don’t feel like carrying. So.” All three of them turned and looked at me. “Where ya from?”

“Uh…”