William decided that they were in fact back in the city but inside the forest section that he had seen from his room. The air here was very much like his valley though. He could smell the cedars and the pine trees. He thought that he could hear something off through the underbrush. It might have been other wolves or it might have been nothing at all. The ground they walked on was a dense carpet of grass and pine needles. How is this possible inside an underground cave? Probable the same way that solid rock moves to the side to open passages.
He followed Ares through the lush growth of the forest. If he hadn’t looked up at the ceiling, he would have sworn that they had exited the mountain entirely and were now outside. He heard a creek off in the distance. As far as William could tell this was a forest. He even had to swat at a mosquito. This place was truly amazing. He looked to his right and caught sight of two wolves chasing each other through the rocks. He couldn’t keep his head still. He looked over to a rock formation than upwards to the dense pine needles of the evergreen trees that surrounded him back down to the pine needle strewn floor that he was walking on then back up to the underbrush that hugged the various trees that grew out of the ground.
He wanted nothing more than to stay here and run with the wolves that made this place their home. The thought of running with wolves made him think back to his valley and his pack. His head dropped, and he heaved a deep sigh… his former pack. The thought made him depressed. The pack that he had run with in his valley wasn’t his anymore. He wondered if they were ok. Had those agents left them alone? Were their hunts going well? Were they finding enough food? He had left them without warning. They were probably a little scared wondering where their alpha had gone. Would the old grey be able to take care of them? A splash of water hit his paw and he blinked. Am I crying? He wiped away the tear from his paw and rubbed his eyes and face to dry them.
Ares hadn’t turned around since they entered the forest, so he was pretty sure that he hadn’t noticed. His pack would be fine. They had taken care of themselves long before he had shown up and they would take care of themselves now.
Ares was walking at a quick pace and soon the two of them had broken through the trees into a clearing. William looked out. The black square blocks of the buildings of the city were a sharp contrast to the deep rich greens that he had just passed through. The black of the streets and the patches of shiny polished black obsidian walls on the interiors of the various rooms that he could see. The blunt change was a little jarring, but he didn’t have time to dwell on the differences of atmosphere. Ares was walking away from the green grass of the forest onto the hard, cold stone of the werewolf city. William didn’t have any other choice but to follow him.
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The stone on his hind paws was cold and those first few steps jarred him and hurt his foot pads a little. Going from the springy support of grass and pine needles to hard uncompromising stone was something that he also had to get used to. Ares didn’t slow down, if anything the eight-foot-tall monster increased his speed. Ares turned to the right and followed a line of stone block buildings. The buildings were separated so as they walked William was able to catch glimpses of the street on the far side of the buildings. Ares kept his head pointed rigidly forward; he didn’t stop to look around at all. William had never been to this part of the city. He followed Ares doggedly as he turned down one of the narrow alleys in between two buildings.
Ares’ shoulders brushed up against the walls of the two framing building that they walked down. William could easily brush up against either of the buildings but for the most part he had some separation between himself and the buildings, Ares had none.
Soon they were through the narrow alleyway and back on another street. Ares turned right once again, moving farther away from the indoor forest and William’s room. William could see the tower jut out over the other smaller buildings of the wolf city. He couldn’t see a direct path to it, but the tower commanded the skyline of the city.
William couldn’t help but remember what he had gone through to pass the Elder’s test. He couldn’t help but notice that his anger rose at the thought of people dying for nothing more than a test? He found that his hands had closed themselves into fists. He was seething and from that a new kind of fire erupted in his heart and mind. It was like a pure rush of adrenaline was just released and had flooded into his system. Right then he felt like he could take on anything and survive. He didn’t know where all this power was coming from, but he liked it. He felt himself growl low in his throat. He hated the Elders for playing God over people and wolves. The fire was raging in his mind and he stopped.
He unclenched his hands and tried to calm down. The anger was emanating from his own mind and the beast had been awakened. He felt its growl echo through his mind, and he was filled with the thrill of the hunt. He saw images of blood and carnage that no man should see. He saw images of death that raced through his head, killing Ansuya and seeing her brain splattered on the wall. He could see Huan Li’s neck broken in half and a small trickle of blood issue from his nose. His eyes were glassy and empty, his clothes stained red from his own blood.