When the two had reached the grassland, they stopped and hugged the ground. Here covered by the tall grass the wind had less bite and William was able to hear himself think again. They turned and waited for the other four members of their pack. William could make out their four forms racing down the mountain. They were moving at impossible speeds, and he breathed a sigh of relief, even if someone did manage to see them all their human eyes or camera lenses would see would be a blur on the face of the mountain.
Charles was the first one down and he dove into the tall grass besides William. Katherine was next followed by Achelois. Nicolas was last but not because he wasn’t trying. He crashed hard on the ground panting heavily, with his tongue sticking out of his snout.
Aceso let the pack rest for a few minutes after the sprint. Then, staying very low to the ground, raised her body off the ground. She started crawling on all fours toward the forest.
“Charles if you would, please,” she said over her shoulder, just loud enough to be heard over the wind.
William looked back towards Charles as he nodded. William couldn’t be sure if anything was happening or not. He knew that Charles was a tracker and therefore had the same abilities as Tasha and her pack had. He remembered how she said that her pack would lay down misleading scent trails to hide his and Aceso’s escape from her valley. William looked at his friend. The werewolf seemed untroubled, but his eyes were distant and unfocused. He knew that Charles was doing something that took a certain amount of concentration, and he didn’t want to be the one to break that concentration.
They had crawled only a half mile or so before the bloated form of the moon rose up out of the mountains opposite of where the sun had sunk. Mr. Davis was right. It would be full in a few days. The goddess that had blessed and cursed him with this gift that he now had to deal with and fight with and contend with for the rest of his life. She was indifferent to him as always but seeing her again sent an elation through his heart and soul that he was instantly drunk off. He wore a huge smile on his face and he heaved a great sigh as he relaxed as he moved with the pack. His Lunar Mother was in her place in the heavens, and everything was going to be alright. William couldn’t help but notice the angry storm clouds that were approaching from the north. They would bring rain and if this wind was anything to judge by, it was going to be cold.
Aceso began to increase their speed. They had to reach the forest before dawn. It was an impossible distance away. Aceso seemed to understand this and without warning sprinted ahead of the pack. William hurried after her. The rest of the pack followed her lead. He wasn’t sure how this breakneck speed wouldn’t give them away through the tall grass, or how hard Charles would have to work to mask their scents. But he wasn’t going to take any unnecessary chances. He pressed his body lower to the ground using all the cover he could get from the tall grass.
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The grass did little to protect him from the wind, and the added speed only gave it more of a sting. He narrowed his eyes to slits to guard against grass blades that were buffeted by Aceso in front of him and the relentless wind beside him.
The cold stars above them and the bloated moon behind gave a silvery hue to everything. The grass blades shimmered in the light of the night. Aceso’s black fur was outlined in the metallic color of moon light, giving her a regal appearance, as if she was something other than mere physical flesh and blood. She moved like a goddess.
William and the rest of the pack shot through the tall grass. The wind cut over their heads and through their fur. The six of them were racing against time and after several hours they still hadn’t reached the forests yet. The storm clouds had almost coated the sky, hiding the bright moon light a while ago. Aceso poured on more speed and William easily kept up. They were forced to slow down however, as the rest of the pack started to fall behind. William felt a nagging pressure in his chest. The fear of being caught was very real out here, so far away from the safety of their city and their mountain.
The first ice cold rain drops fell and splashed off William’s snout. He looked up and was awarded with another cold splash of rainwater for his trouble. The sheet of rain swept over them like a blanket. The grass around them was weighed down by the added weight of the cold water. It was driven into their fur by the harsh wind. William could feel every drop as it was shot through to his skin by the relentless storm wind.
The sky was dark and now they had to rely on their enhanced werewolf sight and sense of direction alone to get them to the forest. William couldn’t see very far in front of him. The night had taken on an oppressive blackness. The storm seemed to swallow all light as it was swallowing all warmth from their bodies. William could feel himself getting colder. His thick fur coat was not enough to protect him out here in the open from this storm. If he was in his human form, he knew that he would be suffering from hypothermia by now, or worse. As it was, his fur was drenched and the wind drove nails of frigid water right down to his bones. Moving only added to the risk of hypothermia. He knew they had to find shelter and soon. If they stayed out here, naked against the elements, they would all die from exposure.
The grass disappeared around them and there was solid mud under his claws. He looked around and found himself to be on the edge of the forest. Aceso drove through the tree line and shot deeper into the forest. William followed. He glanced behind him to check on the rest of the pack. Katherine looked ridiculous. Her beautiful cream fur was matted down by the water that had been dropped on her. She looked cold and miserable, but she was determined and hadn’t lost a step as she followed him through the mud. He could only tell that Charles was there by the black space that his shape left in the grass. The rest of them were following along as best they could, they all looked miserable but getting to the forest and the hope of getting out of the worst of this storm put energy back into everyone.