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And all at once, we took off into the woods.
“Elk. I smell elk.” I said.
“Can I eat elk? I don’t know if I’ve ever had elk.” Raven said. “What is that smell? It smells like shit and berries.”
“Actual shit and berries. The elk must be close,” Hudson chuckled.
“The wind feels amazing,” Raven said. “It’s like swimming, but in midair. My lungs don’t hurt. Is that normal? I’m panting pretty hard. Jesus Christ, I can see everything! How far away is that elk?”
No one spoke a word as we all ran upon the heels of our new alpha. Raven tore through the woods, darting around trees and taking in everything at once. Her thoughts swirled around in her head, dozens at a time as she took in every sight, sound, and smell around her. It was dazzling how effortlessly she pushed herself forward. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d say she had been shifting ever since she was a child.
However, a brief movement behind a patch of shrubs skidded me to a grinding halt.
“Levi?” Dean asked.
“What is it?” Hudson questioned.
“Everyone, stop running!” Brody said.
But it was Raven’s voice that prompted me to speak. “What do you see, Levi?”
I sniffed the air deeply. “There are bears around.”
“You’re fucking joking,” Dean replied.
“Where? Where the fuck is that mangy, good for nothing—” Hudson started.
Raven’s question pierced the bombardment of thoughts. “A bear shifter?”
I heard her confusion and answered her as I bent my snout down to the ground. “Bear shifters are constantly preying on wolf shifters. We’ve been enemies for as long as the sun has risen into the sky.”
“They aren’t usually this close to us,” Dean replied.
“Are you sure it’s a bear shifter?” Brody asked.
Yet, my alpha’s voice was the only one that prompted me to speak. “Where?”
I pointed with my snout. “Behind those overgrown shrubs about half a mile ahead of me.”
Everyone gathered around me as we all locked eyes with the bush. I held my breath, waiting for that dumbass, lumbering bear to strike. It’s disgusting stench of blood-soaked fur made me snarl. If the bear clans were wandering this far into the mountains, then something was very, very wrong.
And I wasn’t the only one that knew that.
“Why would they be this far out?” Dean asked as he walked in front of Raven.
I shook my head. “Nothing good, I’m sure.”
Brody took a step forward. “They could be scoping out for weaknesses. Especially if the news of a new alpha has filtered around the area.”
Raven stepped in front of all of us, though. She wasn’t having the shield that we wanted to blanket around her. Which only made me prouder. “News travels that quickly, huh?”
Hudson snarled. “I want that bear’s blood on my teeth.”
Raven shook her head back and forth. “We chase it off for now. If it poses no danger to us, we don’t pose a danger to it. Come on.”
All at once, we leapt into the charge. As we sprinted toward the bush, the lumbering steps of that bear took off into the distance. We formed a semi-circle around Raven, bringing up the rear as her powerful legs tossed her forward as quickly as she could run.
“Circle around it. Push it away from the pack,” she commanded.
