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Gavin peeked into the girls’ room. Giselle could smell him coming up the stairs and had even caught sight of his large frame in the door way before he pushed it open all the way. “Night, girls. Don’t stay up too late.” He waited as Taylor and Di both came to give him a hug good night before turning away and closing the door.
“Give it about two minutes, and you should be good to go.” Taylor flopped back down on her bed and resumed dog-earing pages in her magazine with cute outfits, trying a little too hard, in Giselle’s opinion, to hide her feelings about being left behind.
“Thanks again, Tay.” Giselle gave her a nod and understanding smile. “Promise I’ll take you next time.”
“So, you’re planning on making sneaking out a habit, are you?” Di’s accusation bothered Giselle more than she wanted to let on at the moment.
She couldn’t read that girl. Was she trying to be a good sister? Was she trying to ensure Giselle got caught doing bad things? Was this the downside of having family?
But there was no time to worry about that – they had other things to do. Giselle opened the window and slid out onto the pergola, padded to the edge, and hopped down. “Be on the lookout for us, so you can come let us back in later,” she whispered up to Taylor.
Di followed quickly behind, and as soon as they were at the back gate, they stripped down and shifted.
Just beyond the edge of the alleyway, the neighborhood exited out into open undeveloped desert as far as the eye could see.
Nothing felt quite as good as running top speed through that open desert. Giselle could see why Martina had set down roots in this neighborhood. The freedom of wind rushing through your fur and plenty of open space to enjoy was the best feeling in the world. No stress. No worries. Just the wide open space to put distance between you and all the cares in the world. Every time she shifted and allowed the wolf to the surface, she felt that blessed freedom and wished she could live it permanently. Life as the wolf was uncomplicated and carefree. Her wolf, a lone wolf by birth, only needed food, shelter, and freedom. The trappings of social norms and packs seemed too much to bother dealing with. If she truly had the choice, she’d stay with the family but not tie herself down to a pack. But of course, that was not a feasible choice, though it would save her all this trouble. Just the freedom and open desert. Yes, that would be enough for her. Was that a jackrabbit? She picked up the scent and quickly darted off in another direction, completely abandoning her mission as her wolf took over. Hopping again through brush grass and dodging cactus, she gave chase after the little furball, determined this time to catch it.
She’d run for a good twenty minutes before Di’s nipping at her legs pulled her back to reality. Miles from home, they’d hit an area Giselle had never been in before. All thoughts about catching her prey evaporated as the sudden realization that she could have gotten herself lost sank in. The mountains made a natural border for their territory, preventing them from going too much further, or so Giselle had initially thought. But she wasn’t sure now how far she’d gone from the housing development. She could hardly tell which neighborhood’s lights she was seeing in the distance, and hoped if she couldn’t, that Di would still be able to get them back home after this little adventure.
Di looked to her, but Giselle couldn’t tell if it was in anger for her detour or if she was waiting for directions of some kind. That was one downside to wolf form: no verbal communication. She could convey general messages like run and stop and retreat, but the finer points of conversation were lost in barks and yips.
She tossed her head and listened for a moment, catching the sound of water, and trotted off in that direction. Di followed close behind.
A small stream ran into the mouth of a very tiny cave, one she’d just be able to fit through in her wolf form. Intuition told her not to investigate, but curiosity got the better of her, and she snuck inside for a quick peek.
Dark. Way too dark without the moon and stars to help her see. And cramped, too. Something large and rock-like took up almost all the space inside; but with no light, she couldn’t quite tell what it was. Venturing farther into the cave seemed ill-advised, even assuming there was space farther back. Other than a place to hide out from the elements, it really didn’t seem too exciting. But Giselle made note of that in case the need ever arose. A little disappointed but no worse for giving it a go, she left the cave and found Di on alert just outside. Di was looking around strangely, sniffing the air, ears twitching this way and that. Something was up.
Di’s ears pinned back and fur began to rise on her back. Giselle went on alert as well. She looked around, smelling the air for any strangeness, but came up short. Whatever it was, she wasn’t picking up on it. Too many other smells to sift through: rabbits, coyotes, wet earth, dust, and a few other foul things she’d rather not think of.
Di took the lead now, slowly padding back the way they had run. It was then that she caught it: just a faint wisp on the air, but enough for Giselle to pick the scent. Musky, dark, and definitely masculine. More than just the wet dirt smell, there was someone else. Another wolf nearby. A werewolf, like them.
Following Di’s lead, Giselle retreated slowly at first, but a snap of jaws behind them had her jumping into a gait. Running as fast as her paws could carry her, then, she almost overtook Di in the lead, but the speedy wolf was not going to fall behind. Giselle couldn’t help herself. She cast the briefest of glances back behind her, not able to see much beyond the dirt her paws were kicking up, but she did catch the glint of icy eyes. One more quick glance back for a better view earned her the sight of sharp fangs nipping at her tail.
That was close, too close. The sting of hair being ripped away as the wolf tore out a chunk of her tail was enough to spur her on faster. She bit back the yelp but used the pain to push her paws faster than before. She followed Di’s lead again, wondering where they were headed. The desert all began to look the same as they zigged and zagged, rounding short and tall cactus plants and bounding over rocks. She kept running. Though they were quick, the wolf giving chase was having no trouble keeping up. Even when they scrambled over a rough patch of mountain rock and slid down into a small valley, they found their pursuer close behind.
Fearing they’d soon run out of steam and be overtaken by the wolf, Giselle entertained the idea of turning and making a stand. Two wolves were better than one, right? When she’d drummed up the courage and put on the breaks to turn around, she found the other wolf had suddenly disappeared.
The girls looked around, not wanting to move for fear of being pounced on from above. They waited in silence, listening to all the desert sounds. Nothing. Even the breeze had no hint of the other wolf. How and why he had disappeared was a mystery, but one they would have to figure out another time. A quick look up in the sky told them they had spent enough time. The moon was high and clear, being nearly full. They’d only meant to be out for an hour at best, but the chase and subsequent waiting had taken them well beyond that. They needed to get back, fast. Taylor was good with distraction, but only for so long. The downside to wolf parents was they were practically able to smell a lie.
With a flick of her tail, Di signaled to head out, and they both bolted back toward the house as fast as their paws could take them.