Page 28 of Magic Claimed
And I wanted to run!
With an excited yip, I bounded through the trees and bolted through the woods as fast as my four legs could carry me. This was different to my first Change, where my legs wanted to move in different directions. My wolf body was now an extension of my mind. I’d never felt stronger. Freer.
Ripples of magic burst behind me, and then the sound of three sets of heavy galloping footfalls pounded after me. My skin tingled with awareness and excitement that didn’t come from me. It was from my wolf.
She gave a yip of exhilaration, put on the speed and dashed around shrubs and trees, as if I had winged feet. Her excitement was my trepidation. She might want them to catch her eventually, but I definitely didn’t because she didn’t understand.
My mates were coming for me but they could never catch us.
Chapter Fifteen
Thunder pounded behind me and a massive jet, black wolf bounded over me. I skidded on the damp leaves, changing my trajectory. I dashed between two slim trunks, rattling leaves when I jumped through. Earth dug beneath my claws as I raced on.
At my side, a grey wolf with cute white socks ran with me. Eike kept pace with me, his mouth open in a giant doggy grin. His tongue lolled from the corner of his mouth, his footfalls in sync with mine.
My wolf sent Eike a doggy grin, her heart pumping with joy because her mate ran beside her. Stupid, simple wolf. But then Eike put his nose to the ground and let out a yip. He followed a scent and my wolf followed him. I tried to stop her, but she got a whiff of the same scent and my senses went haywire with the need to follow that particular path. That path was the only thing I could concentrate on. The enticing scent on the ground, and the scent of smoke and whiskey wove through me as we ran side by side.
The jet black wolf flew over us, landing on the path, leading the way. My wolf’s heart expanded in joy as another of her mates joined us, and then the three of them bounded over the leaf-strewn land, jumped over rocks and through a meandering creek. Her heart, my heart, pumped with elation, but there was something missing. Someone not there.
And then he was. A dark brown wolf ran behind us, his burning blue eyes trained on me. Jarom. I barked with joy that he had joined us, and then we were running faster, faster, faster. The three of us leapt and bounded through the forest, following random scents, jumping over each other, nipping at heels and tails and a joy and light feeling I couldn’t name filled my chest. I’d never felt this way before.
Eike jumped in front of me and blocked my path. I lost my footing and rolled across the ground, the world tumbling around me. He came up to me, nudged me with his nose and whined when I panted, sprawled on the ground, catching my breath. He circled me, his paws making soft impressions in the mud. Alerick and Jarom bounded across to me. I stayed still, waiting for Eike to walk past my head, then leapt up and nipped his tail. He jumped in the air, four paws leaving the ground. His surprised yip echoed through the valley. My wolf made a hoarse chuffing sound that I realized was me. Laughing!
My laugh ended with a surprised snort. I didn’t laugh. I never laughed. And especially not with the wolves. This would not do.
I tore through the forest, running from them and from the laughter Eike had torn from me. We came upon a fallen tree, so wet and covered in moss that I almost missed it in the darkness. If I didn’t jump, I was going to run head long into it.
Golden energy rippled through me and infused my limbs. I pushed off the ground as hard as I could and easily soared over the log. My mates didn’t follow me though, and I landed in a leafy dale that was infused with the same golden energy that had helped me jump over the log.
It pulsed beneath the ground. I sniffed it, filling my nose with the scent of ozone and power. I breathed it in until my body flowed with its energy.
A bark drew my attention before my mates trotted towards me and I swore I could see confusion on their lupine faces. The enticing energy flowed over me and I couldn’t help but look around in wonder. The leaves and trees about me glowed in the beautiful light and a shimmering, golden line appeared on the earth, leading through the alluring forest.
I followed the line, drawn to the scent and the power that imbued into me as I trotted along it and then ran. I couldn’t stop myself. My mates surrounded me and I ran faster than them. On and on I ran, filled with the tingly vitality. My heart was light and I laughed inside as pure freedom flowed through my veins. I was strong. I was powerful. I was invincible.
A flash of dark brown caught my attention before Jarom soared over me, blocking my path with an echoing bark. I didn’t let it stop me. I flew over him with a powerful leap, soaring above his form with ease. I crashed through the undergrowth. Low hanging branches whipped past me, leaves scattering to the ground. Yips and barks echoed from behind me, but I paid their urgent calls no attention. Footfalls thundered behind me, but I was too fast for them to catch me. I reveled in the power, knowing I was faster than the Alpha wolves.
I broke through a line of trees. Before me was a massive gash of pure darkness. Too late, I heard the rumble of a waterfall crashing into a river in the gorge far below. I was going too fast to stop in time. I called on the potent energy soaring through me. Golden light exploding within. My paws dug into the edge of the cliff, stones coming loose beneath the force of my jump. I drove myself upwards, using the power that thrummed through me and.
I.
Soared.
Cool air whipped through my fur. I became one with the wind as it seemed to bind to me, taking me higher, higher, higher. Far below me the river churned over boulders, forced through the gorge with the weight of thousands of gallons of water as fast as a shotgun.
Bushes lined the far side of the gorge, leaves glistening with tiny droplets of water and infused with the beautiful golden glow. The light glimmered on the ground at their roots, shifting and swirling as it mixed with the energy of the Earth. I don’t understand how I knew that, only that it was obvious to me looking at it with my wolf eyes.
My legs arched and I landed gracefully on the other side of the gorge, safely on the soft soil. I looked behind me to see the three massive wolves staring at me from the other side of the wide gorge, their paws digging into the loose stones at the edge. They hadn’t leapt. They hadn’t followed me.
A rush of energy and a pop of ozone burst across me and Alerick stood in place of his black wolf, his glorious, chiseled naked body glistening with sweat. He stood at the edge of the cliff, flanked by his seconds and stared at me, his silver eyes unreadable.
I knew why they hadn’t taken that jump after me.
There was no way they’d have made it across, even with the power of an Alpha’s strength behind the jump. Eike threw back his head and howled.
His mournful howl echoed through the forest as I disappeared into the underbrush, ignoring the urge of my wolf to stay for her mates. My mind was becoming stronger and I could overcome the baser urges of my wolf. The run had thankfully tired her out. I trotted back to the castle, my body replete after the exhilaration of the forest and the charged jump over the gorge.
I only knew that I was stronger than the Alpha.
