Wolf's Call (Wolves Next Door #2) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,198

was close, so I pushed even faster. The world around me turned into little more than a blur.

Then a blonde form fell in beside me. He ran like it was easy, making me want to go faster. I couldn't let that male reach the moon before I did. I had to push, to force my muscles to move faster, work harder, and leave him behind. Yet no matter how fast I ran, the blonde wolf kept pace. Glancing over to check him again, I missed the branch lying across the path, and I couldn't make all of my legs work at once.

I felt the sharp pain of impact, and then my legs were knocked out from under me. My body rolled, flopping over itself and the insanity of this new world spun past, but I couldn't stop. My body barely came to a halt before I was struggling to get up, trying to use my hands instead of my legs, but they didn't want to work like that.

Then the blonde wolf began to growl. His lips were pulled back, the hair on his neck stood up, and his head was low as he came toward me. A moment of panic slammed into my chest and I moved, terrified that he'd rip me apart. That was what my legs needed. When I didn't think, they worked just fine, allowing me to run again, but the wolf merely followed.

Yet that pause had been enough for the others to catch up. My pup reappeared at my side. The red wolf moved beside the blonde one, reaching over to nip at the smaller animal's shoulder. No, not animal. That was my other mate. Looking the other way, I saw a large white wolf chasing Gabby.

Shit, my pup had a name! She was Gabby, and that white wolf was Ian. The red one was Lane. The blonde was Seth. That meant the pair of brown ones behind me were Trent and Pax. These were my mates! I knew them, and they wouldn't eat me. They were my pack, and we were going to get this moon together.

I barely thought it before the first pale sliver peeked through the trees just over the hard wall that declared my boundary. A rush of pride coursed through me, and I cried out in delight, but the sound was alien - yet somehow perfect. I howled at the top of my lungs, and my pack joined in. All the pieces slowly but surely began to make sense. I was a wolf! I'd been sick, then I'd turned, and now I was a wolf. This was what I'd wanted all along.

A bark of laughter fell from my muzzle, but I didn't want to stop. Every breath burned, and I could feel a pain in my side, but I ignored it. I'd found the moon and the alpha had allowed me to claim it. Now I wanted to see how fast I could really go. Turning to the right, I stretched as much as I could, putting on a burst of speed.

From the side, gold, grey, and tawny wolves raced toward me. My hair went up and I showed my teeth, but the gold one just chittered at me in excitement. Ashley. The grey was Kim. A scent on the wind made me realize that the last had to be Bridget. I didn't even know why, but I was sure of it. Her coat was tan, with a dark layer under it, yet her face was a dark brown, making it look like she was wearing a mask.

Behind them came more, but I could recognize them. That was Heather, and the juvenile beside her was Olivia. Over there was Roman, aiming for Gabby. That one at the back, the solid white carrying his hind leg had to be Henry. So many faces, and I finally knew them all. The smells of them hit me hard, almost blurring my eyes, but it was a good scent. It made me think of home. No, of pack, and that was the best feeling I could imagine.

The laughter burst out of me as a chittering sound that turned into a long howl. Once again, the rest joined in, making it clear I was the one in control. I had this. I was a fucking wolf, and I was damned good at it.

Just to prove it to myself, I went down the creek bank again, splashing through the half-melted slush at the bottom before racing up