He stopped a little way inside the cave but stayed away from the sunlight. He gathered them all to sit down around him. The rock wall closed behind them leaving only a small opening that could barely be seen in the shadows. William could feel the early winter air touch and gnaw at his furred body. It was cold and he wondered how Mr. Davis was not shivering. The sunlight was inviting but held no warmth and he was very glad to be in werewolf form.
Once they were all seated Mr. Davis began giving them instructions. “Now as you all know, the entire area around the volcano is nothing but open flat grass land. You will have to travel by night and be careful.” He looked around at the young pack. He shook his head. “Your main problem will be the approach back to the mountain. Each of you will have to carry a dear from the forest and you will have to travel fast.” He caught the eyes of every single member of the pack. “It is then that you will be at your most vulnerable.” He nodded to Charles and Nicolas and Katherine. “It will be up to you three to hide the path of your pack anyway you can. Katherine you would be familiar with some of the techniques to cover your tracks in the ground that sages can use.” Katherine nodded. “But that won’t block scents or the screams from your captive dear.” He looked at Charles. “It will be your job to sooth the deer and mask the trace scents of the six of you as you leave and when you come back.” Charles nodded but Mr. Davis did not let it go at that. “The City under the Mountain cannot afford a similar mistake to the one made during your test.” Charles set his jaw and nodded with a steady confident look at Mr. Davis. The older man nodded. “Nicolas.” He looked at the blonde. “You are very young and your control over your ability is almost nonexistent but the anxiety of this first time outside the city may trigger heightened awareness and clearer visions. It has happened before. The only thing I can stress to you is that you trust your ability and if something seems off to you, it probably is, don’t keep it to yourself.” Nicolas nodded slowly as if trying to swallow a thick chunk of steak.
Mr. Davis looked around at the whole pack again. “This mountain is a huge tourist attraction during the spring and summer.” He winked. “What better place to hide than right out in the open.” He looked toward the mouth of the cave. William noticed that his arms were now coated in goose bumps. “Winter is setting in which gives you the advantage of no tourists and the deer will be out foraging in final preparations for winter. Hunting should be relatively easy, and you should be out here no more than a few days, if that.” Mr. Davis stopped and looked at the pack with a cold stare and his voice took on a grave quietness. “I cannot impress upon you enough that the safety of the City under the Mountain is very literally in your hands. If you get caught or are detected in any way, it could seriously jeopardize this city and all its inhabitants.”
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Mr. Davis took one last look around the pack. He seemed as if he wanted to say more but remained silent. The large man stood and pointed toward the sun which was sinking fast behind other mountains in the distance. “This cave is on the western side of the mountain. There are many like it cut into the mountain to further mask our exit point from the city. Don’t get lost on your way back.” He lowered his head in hesitation. “Move only at night. Wait here for the sun to set and night to drop, don’t wait too long because the moon will be near full now and its light will not hide you out in the flat land around the mountain. Good luck.” Mr. Davis disappeared back into the cave and the rock wall slid closed behind him. It looked as if the cave ended in a dead end with no trace of Mr. Davis’s passing.
The six of them sat there for a time. They were protected from most of the wind in the cave but the sound of it whistled loudly as it ripped past the cave entrance. It was either going to snow or rain tonight, William could never forget the sounds of a storm wind. He had hidden from it many times in his forest. He watched the sliver of cold sunlight retreat out of the cave as the sun dipped behind the mountains. It was times like these that he wished he had a house somewhere and someone to go home to, someone to keep him warm on cold winter nights like these. It was an idea that he had given up on long ago and his fur coat kept him warm but still, the wistfulness of the thought was there.
After a time, the sun had fully sunk behind the mountains and he could tell that the only reason he could see as clearly as he could was because of his heightened werewolf sight. Aceso stood and carefully made her way to mouth of the cave. After inhaling sharply, tasting the wind she motioned for the rest of the pack to get up. William stood up and walked toward his alpha. The rest of the pack followed. William readied himself for the fastest sprint of his life. He knew that the surrounding forests would be their sanctuary out here in the wilderness, but they had to get there first.
Without a sound Aceso shot out of the mouth of the cave diving down the shallow grade of the mountain side landing on all fours and propelling herself over the barren rock of the mountain side down toward the meager cover of the grassland below. William followed his Alpha without question. As soon as he exited the cave the harsh wind ripped at his fur and sent small flurries of dust and rock at his face. He blinked and tried to ignore it. He forced himself to run faster with a speed and anxiety that spoke of his fear of being caught.