The Golden One

Just a Stone Cold Bitch

After undressing behind a tree and stashing my clothes ready for my return, I make my way over to the gathering of Alpha wolves. Not surprisingly, I stand taller than all of them. The closest to my size is Alpha Damien, and even then he's nothing impressive to me. Nothing I or Michael couldn't handle.

Oh Michael.

The thought of him brings a tear to my eye, but I shake my head in the hopes of shaking away the thoughts of him. Now that we've confirmed there is something between Christopher and I, it would be foolish to ignore it. Everyone deserves a mate, that's why the Moon Goddess pairs every wolf. There's a reason Christopher and I are bonded.

I snap my mind back to the here and now. This hunt is for Alphas only and it's really just a show of your abilities as a wolf. Each Alpha wants to brag that they are the best hunter, the fastest or the strongest. I don't need to brag, I already know I'm the fastest, strongest and most agile. I just want to run free and blow off some steam. It's been too long since I ran as my wolf, she was itching to be free. That's probably the cause of her bitchy comment in the shower earlier.

Damn right it was, keeping me locked up for weeks. And I'm the bitch?

I roll my eyes. Always so cheeky. But she has control now, it's up to her to show these macho men what she can do.

Carl howls to signal the start of the hunt, and everyone takes off in the same direction. I follow, not pushing myself to keep pace but easily keeping up anyway. I suppose it's better to warm up since it's been a while, it would be embarrassing to strain something on our first shift together.

Once warmed, my pace increases. I easily pass by the other Alphas until I am behind Alpha Damien. There's no denying he is fast, but I'm faster. A little more effort sees me gaining easily on his tail. I run and run, feeling the cool evening air flow through my fur. I am long past everyone now but I don't care, I feel free.

I come to a clearing and slow my pace, coming to a stop in the opening. I sit and stare up at the moon, my breath visible in the cold night air. Other wolves might be tired out by that run, but not me. It's a walk in the park for me.

I can hear the rest of the Alphas off to my right, they must have found something to kill and I'm happy to leave them to it. I'm not interested in killing for sport, I don't need to prove my place in the food chain.

I sigh, thinking back to the past 24 hours. What a fucking rollercoaster.

I let my mind ponder over what I should do next. I suppose I should spend time with Christopher. It is the reason Michael left so easily, he clearly wanted me to have space to explore the bond and I assume he also didn't want to watch it happen in front of him.

I'm not sure how long I've been sitting here but it feels like a while. As my mind continues to process today's events, the snap of a branch behind me brings me back to the moment. I jump up and spin to where the sound came from. A low growl falls from my mouth and my teeth are exposed. I dare someone to jump me now with all this hurt inside me.

A putrid smell fills my nose and I almost gag as a dishevelled wolf steps from the tree line. Their eyes are dark, their fur is patchy and falling off where they stand and that smell, it's disgusting. It smells worse than death. Although they have stepped from the tree line they appear to come in peace. Their head is bowed and they whine with every step they take. They appear to want my help.

I hear a howl from my right and my head turns to listen to Carl signal the end of the hunt. When I turn back, the dishevelled wolf is gone although the smell still lingers. It looked sick, but wolves don't really get unwell. With the smell still stuck in my nose, I turn and make my way back to the pack house.