Aceso took a hard right turn down another side street and William had to jump up onto the building to prevent himself from crashing into it. His tail acted like a rudder keeping him upright as he tapered off the sudden turn. He ran a few steps along the glossy black surface of the building before leveling out on the street floor again. The forest trees were visible over the buildings, and he knew that they would reach the outer meadow in a few moments. His tail whipped behind him keeping him balanced.
He shot out through the last of the buildings of the city and saw the massive green expanse of one of the underground forests that peppered the City under the Mountain. The size of it was always impressive. Aceso did not stop to admire the view. Her tail was still raised above her body as she ran into the heart of the trees. William dodged out of line and ran to catch up with his alpha as he passed the dark sandy blonde werewolf that he had been following, his body was covered in flecks of dark fur as well. From a distance it made the werewolf seem a lot darker in color than he actually was.
Passing the loping werewolf he sped along the open grass of the meadow, racing for the trees. He was able to grip the grass here with his claws and he threw himself forward with every step. He knew that aside from the wolf born he probably had more experience being a werewolf in the wild than the rest of his pack mates and he was able to catch up with the cream and black werewolves. As he passed those two, he broke through the outlying tree line and he was in the forest.
He had to slow down. The trees and underbrush were treacherous for anyone but especially for him when he was traveling at speeds of over thirty-five miles an hour. Estimated guess but for some reason that just sounded right to him. He looked around as the other members of his pack broke through the initial line of trees. Not waiting for the sandy blonde, he peeled out to the right away from where Aceso and the others were headed. He knew that their den was not going to be easy to find. The other packs of the city had probably claimed most of the good easy spots already and it was up to them to find a good place that was protected and hidden.
He thought about his burrow back in his forest. It wasn’t exactly hidden but it had kept him safe for almost two years. It had been warm and familiar. With these thoughts in mind, he tore through the forest looking for a new home, in this patch of wilderness among civilization.
He ran over fallen logs and through clusters of dense trees. The boulders that were common in this forest were clumped together but none of them offered an opening for any kind of den. He knew what he was looking for. He had a feeling Aceso was looking for the same thing. The thought of their shared den under that fallen tree so long ago seemed like the perfect place. The only problem was that was perfect for the two of them, but for six it would have been impossible.
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He ran over rocks, and he found a sizeable pond. The water was clean and didn’t smell of stagnation. He was intrigued by this, but he couldn’t stop to think about it. He ran past it and stopped as his nose caught a scent. He buried himself in the tall grass around the pond, his nose lifted to the air. He knew that smell. He closed his eyes and could see the scents in his mind. The buck was prancing through the underbrush, making only the softest of noises. His long antlers were still as he tasted the air around the pond. William couldn’t detect anything in the scent that would suggest that the buck knew he was there. He couldn’t wait for the buck to get any closer. William knew that he was more than exposed here in the grass. Any moment the deer would see him and bolt. He lost himself for a moment in the smell of flesh and the memory of what this felt like.
He sprang from his place on the ground. The buck squealed and stumbled over itself as it tried to find purchase in the dirt and run back the way it had come. William had speed and surprise on his side. The buck recovered and torn back into the forest, but it wasn’t quickly enough. Before the buck had taken two steps William had jumped through the air and gripped onto the buck’s back and neck. From there it was academic. When it was done he howled a call to his pack. My pack. He was suddenly saddened by the remembrance of those he had left behind in his forest. The old grey and all the other wolves that had run with him had looked to him for protection. The old guilt flooded back into him with a vengeance. He felt the pit of his stomach disappear and all he could do was sit there.
He waited, stewing in his guilt and that lead to irritation of his pack not responding to his call. My pack in my forest never kept me waiting like this. He knew that it was a childish and petulant thought, but better anger directed outside than to turn inside and concentrate on his guilt. He knew where that path led to. He was about to start eating when he heard an answering howl. It wasn’t a howl he had heard before. It was darker in timbre than any wolf howl he had heard before. It was interesting to him but not important. It was probably the tall slender man he had briefly met. William answered the call with a howl of his own.
He was soon joined next to the pond by the all-black werewolf. Upon seeing William, he smiled and stood up on his hind legs. William stood also. The black werewolf was a few inches taller than he was. There was no challenge in his eyes. “We didn’t really get a chance to introduce ourselves, my name’s William.”