Page 6 of Wilde Beta

Mel feared he would get back into leadership of the pack, and more than anything in the world, she did not want to be a pack alpha’s bitch. Most people did not use that term, especially if the female was a white wolf, but that was what they were, whether they wanted to be called it or not.

“What are you thinking about?” Janie asked.

Mel wondered where she came from as she answered, "Nothing important." Then she asked, "Why are you here?”

“Don't you remember? We are working on hiding," Janie asked. “I thought we would have lunch and then get to it."

“I will escort you both," Adam immediately said.

Janie nodded, and they headed toward the house with him. Then, Mel realized she was hungry and was sure Adam was too. Janie walked so quickly that she must be hungry as well.

Most of the pack ate in turns in a large dining room, but she, Janie, and Adam went to the kitchen, where they could talk because the dining room was so loud. They fixed their plates and then sat down to eat, paying more attention to their food than each other.

“What is this hiding that you do?” Adam asked.

“Sometimes, a white wolf is attacked by a large group. They intend to take her, and force mate her. It happened to me, and I could hide because I knew how. A wolf has a much better ability to scent than a human does. We had to mess with that, so they couldn't be sure which way we went. They also have certain places they look, and others they don't. That needs to be used as well," Janie explained.

Adam laughed, "You two could never hide from me. I would find you every time.”

“You want to bet on that?” Janie asked.

“Would you want to bet since I have no money?” He wondered.

“How about I bet a hundred, and you bet a favor whenever I need one? It won't be a difficult favor," Janie explained.

“I can do that, but how will this work?” Adam wondered.

“I will work with Mel for an hour. At that point, I'll come and get you, and you will give us ten minutes to hide. You will have ten minutes to find us. If you cannot find us in ten minutes, you will lose," Janie explained.

“That sounds easy enough. I'll go work in my woodworking tent. You come find me when you're ready," Adam agreed.

Janie and Mel took off toward the woods. “First, the easiest way to lose a wolf who is hunting you is the water. If you went through the water for a decent distance and then got out, you should be able to take off without them finding you. Another way is to take an item with your scent, put it in the water, and let it go down the river. Another way to cover your scent is by using perfume or rubbing leaves on yourself. It will disrupt your scent, and they will have difficulty finding you. Hiding behind a bush rarely works because wolves check bushes. Something that may work well is going up. For some reason, they never look up unless they hear a noise. Do you understand so far?” Janie asked.

“I do, but it is freezing, and I do not want to get wet," Mel replied.

“This is a great time to try an experiment," Janie said excitedly. "I will go through the water, and you try some leaves that smell strongly. We'll see if Adam can find either of us. Of course, the one who is found will pay him the hundred. Fair?”

“Fair, since I don't want to get wet. Any other way to hide my scent?” Mel asked.

“Yes, mud will also make your scent harder to catch," Janie explained. “When you pick the leaves to rub on yourself, the stronger smelling ones will work better. You can also use pine or cedar because they have a potent aroma."

“How did you learn all this?” Mel asked.

“Damon and Tyne taught me when I was staying with Ariel," Janie admitted. “Do you think you're ready to hide? Let's go get Adam," Janie suggested.

“I'm ready to see how this works," Mel admitted.

Janie led the way to where Adam was working.

"You two ready to hide?” Adam asked.

“We are. Wait ten minutes, and you can come after us," Janie explained.

“Are you sure you do not need longer? I am an alpha with an excellent sense of smell," Adam mentioned.

“I believe we'll be fine, but this will be a good test for Mel. We are leaving now," Janie said.

They left the tent and started toward the woods. Mel watched as Janie ran to the river and began to walk down it. Then she went farther into the woods until she found a pine tree. Rubbing it all over herself, soon all she could smell was pine. After throwing the pine branch into the water, Mel turned and ran as fast as she could. Looking at the different trees, she found one that was good to climb and went up carefully. It was a big tree, so she went very high.

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