They were all huge.
Rachel padded over to meet them, Jenn alongside her.
He and Jason had met with the other two betas earlier. Even though the council were close by, they’d rather nip any altercations in the bud before getting them involved. That meant keeping an eye on all twelve shifters. There were members of each unit who were probably more likely to cause trouble or react to something, but that didn’t mean the others could be discounted. Daryl knew from experience never to assume anything.
After the initial greeting, the alphas turned and fanned out into the trees again. With a low, drawn-out howl, they set off into the forest.
With the moon calling to him, Daryl paced about on the spot, eager to chase after them, to feel the wind on his face and earth beneath his paws.
Rachel let out a howl of her own, as did Jenn, and they were off.
Daryl and Jason brought up the rear of the two units, all sixteen of them following the council members into the trees.
The sky was clear, the moon shining brightly and illuminating the forest around them.
As they weaved their way through the trees, the pack began to spread out, the two units overlapping slightly. From what he could see, Nathan and Luke where on the far right-hand side and Rob and Kevin were on the left. As long as they stayed like that, the run should go smoothly enough.
They had hours ahead of them though. Not for one second did Daryl think it would be that easy.
As they loped along after the others, he was acutely aware of Jason running beside him. Soft, even breaths, almost in time with his, and the rhythmic sound of his paws hitting the ground.
The urge to chase hovered under the surface, and more than once, Daryl was sorely tempted to turn and nip at his flank or his back legs to see if he could coax Jason into a game.
But they had a job to do.
It didn’t stop him veering slightly into Jason’s path every now and again and giving him a gentle nudge with his shoulder. Judging from the huff Jason gave each time, he liked it.
As they raced through the trees, Daryl gradually lost sight of Rachel, Jenn, and some of the others. Jason had drifted further away too, and Daryl squashed the need to call to him or follow.
Jason’s job tonight was to keep an eye on Nathan, first and foremost, and Luke if he was nearby.
Daryl was tasked with watching Rob and Kevin.
If Jason headed in the opposite direction to him, then that was a good thing for a number of reasons. Some he didn’t care to examine too closely.
Although he couldn’t see the alphas or the rest of his pack, he could smell them. Their scents clung to the trees and bushes surrounding them, and Daryl felt a strange sense of calm, considering they were so far from home.
He closed his eyes for only a moment, enjoying the feeling, but when he opened them again, his hackles rose.
Something had changed.
Jason was nowhere to be seen now, so it wasn’t that.
His senses prickled as he struggled to work out what had set him on edge. Rob and Kevin were up ahead, and Daryl focused on them. After a couple of seconds, he realised what had prickled his senses.
They’d sped up.
Not a lot, and ordinarily Daryl wouldn’t have thought anything of it, but their increase in pace was so subtle he hadn’t realised they were pulling away from him until now. The distance between them wasn’t huge. Yet. But it was definitely increasing.
Maybe it wasn’t intentional? Just the excitement of the full moon spurring them on.
Daryl increased his speed to match their pace.
They stayed the same for a minute or two, and then Rob and Kev sped up again, weaving in and out of the trees in a blur of beige and brown. None of them were going full speed, but they weren’t far off. When Daryl matched his pace to theirs again, he caught them looking at one another a split second before they darted off to the left in a sudden burst of speed.
Shit.
He raced after them, cursing in his head. He’d expected them to do something like this, but they were faster than he’d given them credit for.
