Wild and Free

(Auden’s POV)

“...she’s a freak and you, your friends, and your sister would be better off staying far away from her…”

Yep. I’d heard the entire thing. Overintensive hearing was a blessing and a curse.

Those balloon heads talked about my parents like they were some gossip conspiracy they saw on the news. They talked about Cassie and Holden like they were objects and not people. And they talked about me as if having good grades and not an enormous amount of friends made me some kind of basket case.

Second day at school and Mason and Amelia were already hanging out. It was astounding how people with such inflated egos could find each other so easily. They deserved each other.

I told Kenzie, Holden, and Cassie that I had to use the restroom or get something from my locker before class and then I left, quickly assuring them that I’d see them later. While in reality I went into the bathroom and punched a wall.

I’d always known that Amelia Colet’s kind of people thought I was strange because I was the classified ‘smart girl’ but I never knew that people had so many horrible theories about what was really the story with my parents. I didn’t even know they cared!

Ditching me? Divorce? Abuse? That was what they came up with? Sometimes I think my mind underestimated one of a human girl like Amelia. No, Cassie and Holden were humans. Amelia and her little minions weren’t good enough to be considered of the same species. They were more like hornets. Pesky, annoying, and a pain in the ass, but it hurt like a bitch when they stung you.

I studied my reflection in the bathroom mirror after going a round or two with the tile wall. My hair hung carelessly over my shoulders and my skin was slightly pink from the stress. I shook my head at myself. I didn’t even know what hurt most about the situation, but I knew that I wasn’t going to let that nasty blonde bug get under my fur.

Quickly washing off the little bit of blood from my hands, I splashed some water on my face and headed off to my next class. Boy was Celeste going to need a long run after we got home.

So I dragged myself through my last two classes of the day and headed down the thinning hallway to the front of the school to leave.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Cassie called, jogging up from behind me with Kenzie trailing a step behind her.

I relied on my long time lying skills and plastered on a smile, hoping my best friend wouldn’t see through it.

“Hi,” I said dryly.

She knit her brows. A best friend always knows.

“Are you okay? You seemed upset when you left lunch,” Kenzie asked.

“It’s nothing,” I brushed a piece of hair out of my face, “I’m just glad the day is over and I want to go home and go for a run.”

“So we’ll reschedule on the project session?” she asked.

I nodded and took a slow step backwards, “Yeah I’m sorry.”

“Maybe we can meet at the diner after school tomorrow before our shifts,” Cassie suggested.

“Shifts?” Kenzie asked, confusedly.

“We both work at the diner in town,” Cassie explained.

“Um, yeah that works,” I agreed, stepping back again.

“Hey Auden are you sure you’re okay?” Kenzie asked again, her expression etched with worry.

I started backing away, “I’ll be fine. But will you do me a favor and tell your brother something for me?” I asked, avoiding her question. She looked confused but nodded.

“Tell him that the next time him and his amazing new friends want to trash talk me, they should do it in a place that I wouldn’t be able to hear them.”

With that I turned on my heel and jogged out the front doors of the school, leaving my friends lost, and probably dumbfounded behind me.

~*~

I didn’t have money for a car, so I mostly walked to places. But not this time. I literally sprinted full speed straight into the woods once I was clear of anyone who might’ve seen me.

Sailing over longs and fallen trees, slipping around brush, and once splashing a foot in the creek, I more flew than ran through the forest.

When I got to my favorite spot, I jumped into the rain, midrun, and shifted.

I could feel my bones cracking and rearranging to form my new body. The blanketing sensation ran over my body while my thick, soft coat grew from my skin. When my hands and feet made contact it the ground again, they weren’t hands or feet, they were paws with razor sharp claws.

Shifting took me only a split second if you were on the outside watching but from my side it felt like forever, growing into something completely different than before.

Some in my old pack used to think that shifting was really painful but after a while, you hardly felt it.

To keep hidden, I tried not to transform as much. The more you did, the more you wanted to, and the more your scent developed. Kenzie’s pack probably trained hard and shifted a lot because she, her brother, and his friends all had very strong scents. My necklace also helped but whenever I shifted I had to take it off.

I didn’t know how long I’d run for but I decided to stop for a moment at the river.

My panting reflection looked back at me from the surface of the clear water.

You didn’t see a lot of wolves with a pitch black coat like mine and almost less often did you see ones with blue eyes. I didn’t used to be the most inconspicuous hunter or anything really because of it but I learned how to use it to my advantage and how to blend in.

“Tell me again how you managed to sneak past your sister?” a voice said, startling me.

My head snapped in the direction of the noise that came from around the bend in the river.

“She didn’t think to watch my window,” a different but still familiar voice said.

I quickly dashed behind a wide trunked tree before either of the voices came into view.

“Can you really blame her though?” Riley’s voice asked and I heard a foot splash in the water. “You insulted one of her only friends here so far. The girl probably hates Kenzie now just because she’s your sister.”

Another splash and their footsteps got closer.

“How did she even hear us? Our tables weren’t very close and there were tons of other conversations going on,” Mason inquired confusedly.

Who are they talking about? Celeste asked.

I peaked around the tree the tiniest bit, just enough for me to see the two of them standing my the river bank, skipping rocks, both in human form.

Riley shrugged, “Oh I don’t know, maybe she saw the looks that she was getting from the every single person at that table. What do you think gave it away?” he asked sarcastically.

I smirked, already liking this Riley kid even though we’d never spoken. Then I remembered who he was friends with.

“You asked me how I could’ve believed anything that Amelia was saying but I haven’t heard anything that tells me why I shouldn’t,”

“Because you haven’t talked to her! You acted like a jerk when she apologized on Saturday and made a stupid comment to her in the library yesterday. Have you even tried to figure out any answers to you dumb questions?” Riley asked, skipping a rock a couple times on the surface of the river water.

“I got one of our hackers to look her up,” he said.

I nearly choked on my breath. They were obviously talking about me but hackers? The idiot was really that curious about me? But what I should’ve been worried about was what they might’ve found.

“And?”

“Nothing,”

Oh thank god.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. There’s no trace of her existence before two years ago when she arrived. It’s like she just popped up here out of nowhere,” Mason spat, angrily throwing a stone at the water rather than along it. “She doesn’t have any social media records or anything besides some of the two of her close friends. The only things I could find were a bunch of big state awards for art and school achievements.”

Riley, scratched the back of his neck, “Amelia did say she was uber smart.”

Ugh Amelia is a prissy, spoiled brat that wouldn’t know the difference between a hammer and a hail curler. Her father is the mayor, naturally because the evil ones always have the most influential parents. She loved gossip as much as any conceited bitch would and that’s what gave her power at a school even as small as WCHS. She didn’t have anything on me except untrue rumors but somehow she used that to her advantage. Boy, did I really want to gouge her eyes out with her six inch designer stilettos.

“Yeah but these were like collegiate awards, ones that would get her into amazing arts and ivy league colleges.”

“What’s so bad about that?”

Mason sighed, “Well if she was that good at things like that, why would she choose White Chapel to just appear from thin air? Wouldn’t she go to some sort of gifted school in a big city?”

“Not if there’s something keeping her here.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well Amelia and all those people at lunch had so many different theories on her parents but maybe what’s actually true is keeping her here,” Riley suggested. Well he was obviously smarter than who he surrounded himself with.

“Even if that is true,” Mason replied, “any attempt I make to try to validate that would be considered stalking.”

“Why don’t you just simply try to not be an asshole around her and just talk to her? You never know, maybe she’ll tell you on her own time,” Riley countered.

Yeah, not a chance.

Mason scoffed, “You sound like my sister.”

“Well she’s right,” said Riley, “You should consider listening to one of us if you really want to know anything about her. And if you decide that this is a stupid thing to dwell on, which it is, then at least apologize for being a dick and let your sister be friends with who she wants.”

I adjusted my paw backwards a step, because I’d been standing and watching so rigidly, but just as I did so, knowing my wonderful luck, I stepped on a branch that snapped loudy under my pressure.

Both boy’s heads whipped in my direction before I could do anything to stop them.

For a second I forgot I wasn’t in my human form and thought that they recognized me.

“Who’s there?” Mason asked authoritatively, as if I were one from his pack.

When I didn’t answer, he traded a look with Riley.

“Whoever you are, that is called eavesdropping and I demand you reveal yourself immediately.” He called, taking a step closer to me.

I bared my teeth and growled, forcing him back where he was.

Riley, who stood behind his friend walked to Mason’s side, “You will obey your future Alpha. Or face the consequences.”

No way. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!! God I was stupid to not have known. An Alpha. It had to be an Alpha. Yep I think that proved my point that I HAD THE WORST LUCK IN THE UNIVERSE.

Nevertheless, I did not back down, instead choosing the alternative route of bolting in the opposite direction.

Behind me I heard a grunt and knew that they’d both followed. Mason was fuming and he and Riley sprinted after me.

While they were both probably much taller and stronger, with longer strides, I was faster and more swift which made it easier for me to get my nimble wolf body around trees and brush.

In an attempt to lose them, I dove behind a large rock and hid myself in it’s shadow.

“Where’d she go?” Mason’s angry human voice asked from above and behind the rock.

“I don’t know the scent is so faint but I know she went this way,” Riley replied, probably looking around and trying to pick up which direction I went.

All was silent for a while and for a second I thought that they’d given up and left but boy was I wrong. I nearly jumped out of my fur when a large grey and white wolf flew over the rocks and landed on it’s four paws right in front of me, growling.

I matched his intimidating look and planted my feet, ready for a battle if one were to break out. I was prepared to fight to keep my secret if I had to.

Back down, Mason’s voice boomed in my head.

I just hissed in response, narrowing my eyes.

Another wolf, presumably Riley, jumped over me and stood next to Mason, his mixed brown coat blending with the woodsy surroundings.

You can’t win this, Riley warned, in a voice that would’ve told any other person that they should be scared. Not me.

I snapped at both of them before Mason nodded and Riley lunged toward me. He latched his sharp teeth on my back leg, making me wince inwardly but the pain was tolerable.

There wasn’t any way I was able to move so I did the only thing I could think of. I swung head around and did the same to him, biting down hard on his ankle.

He wasn’t expecting it so his grip loosened on me as he lost focus giving me just the right amount of time. Using the my back legs I kicked him off of me and into the rocks, balancing for a second on my front haunches before returning to all fours. Riley whined from the hit and failed to get back to his feet. A trickle of blood ran along the side of his face when he shifted back to human, probably from the impact.

Mason looked from his friend to me and growled ferociously before launching himself at me.

He took on a different tactic than Riley, attempting to use his bigger frame and weight against me. He pinned me to the ground and knocked the air from me lungs, also holding down my front legs so I couldn’t hit him. I tried using my backs to push him off but he was too heavy and the only effect it made was drawing blood from him stomach to which he winced but did not move.

I wiggled and twisted my body under his grip, scratching my wrists and forearms but nevertheless, managing to escape. While he was daze I leaped on top of him, flipping him on his back.

Our eyes met for a second with matching gazes of anger and hatred for the other, though he didn’t know my reason.

Without hesitation, I swiped my claws across his face, cutting down deep, in the special way I’d learned how that was more painful and harder to heal.

He cried out in pain and I took my moment and shot away from the two of them.

For the first time in weeks, I closed my eyes and jumped. It was the fastest way to get away from them without being followed. When I opened them again, I was standing right at the edge of the waterfall in the woods. I shifted and collapsed on the dirt. I hadn’t jumped in forever so it felt as if my stomach was doing backflips.

When I got finally got control, I stopped and took a breath before grabbing my necklace from my pocket and walking, or more limping the rest of the way home because of my leg.

I smiled to myself because of my small victory with an Alpha but cursed at my foolishness. If only I’d kept running on running when they’d seen me. But now they had my scent, and I was sure that they’d stop at nothing to find me.

~~AUTHOR’S NOTE~~

Comment, don’t hate, and read on!

~your Cheshire Cat loving friend