Chapter Three

Faye

I stir awake as I hear movement outside the hut. I crack my eyes open to see the sun barely coming in through the open door and Rollie moving around in his shorts, gathering his stuff I hadn’t seen the night before. I notice him glance in the hut to check on me and startle when he sees I’m awake. I smile at him, sit up and stretch before exiting the hut. “Did I scare you, Rollie? I apologize if I did,” I say with a faint laugh. He huffs and turns to me, “You just startled me. I was making sure you were okay and trying to judge when I should wake you for us to get moving. Some people just ain’t morning people, ya know.” I nod, “I appreciate you taking that into consideration, but this is typically the time I would wake to do chores so you’re fine. Are we about to leave?” He nods and double-checks his bag before turning to face me. With a slow exhale, he begins to speak, “This is going to be a long journey. It will probably take all day. Are you positive you want to come along?” I nod my head furiously, “Yes, yes I want to come. I have always wanted to see Colorado and I would like to put as much distance as I can between me and the West Coast. Plus I would like company while traveling!” He nods and turns around. I see him grab the waistband of his shorts before he speaks, “Well then, let’s shift and head out.” We both strip, put our clothes in our backpacks before putting them on and shift into our wolves. It’s kind of funny to see my small silver wolf next to his big brown wolf.

I follow behind Rollie as he begins to move down a path further into the woods, away from the little town that we were camping out next to. It isn’t long before he breaks into a run and I take off after him. He’s fast, but my small form allows me to keep up with his pace. I notice the trees around us are very scarce and I realize that we may not get to the thicker part of the forest again until we enter Colorado. I hope we don’t run into any kind of trouble along the way. I see Rollie slightly turn his head to look behind him, looking for me I’m sure, but I can see the surprise in his eyes as he realizes I am right next to him running, not behind him. I hear him let out a small bark-like laugh and begin to run a little faster, which I match his pace for as well.

Time skip 10 hours, almost to Colorado

We make another small stop, but this time we shift because we need to eat and all we have is granola bars or things we need thumbs to open. It takes us about 5 minutes to get settled and we start to eat before Rollie speaks up, “Okay, so, about another 2 hours if we run in wolf form. Or there is a clear trail from here leading to the pack, but it will take about 3 hours on foot if we keep pace and don’t make stops. Is there one you prefer to do?” I think it over as I chew my food. I swallow before answering, “Can we walk if it isn’t too much trouble? I’d like to take in the scenery without it zooming by because I’m running. I’d also like to know a bit more about my travel companion.” He nodded and finished his food before looking in his backpack and getting out boots, “Probably better to make sure you have something to completely cover your feet just in case.”

I nod and look in my backpack, taking out the boots I had packed, figuring I’d need them at some point on the journey. After slipping them on my feet, we are ready to continue the journey. It has been a long day, but it is nice to be able to look around and observe everything around me finally! The only other stops we made were for water and bites to eat such as berries we found. Just stuff that didn’t require us to shift back and forth to make the journey faster. We walk in silence for a good 30 minutes before I try to start a conversation, “So Rollie, tell me about yourself. Why are you alone? What are you going to Colorado for again?” Rollie glances at me from the side of his eye and keeps walking, “I’m a rogue because my pack was mostly destroyed in a battle for territory. The few that were left went to the pack that conquered out of fear. I chose to live as a rogue and travel rather than bow at the feet of a tyrant. As for Colorado, I have business with the Greenery Pack. I became friends with one of the alpha’s sons a few years back so I come to check on him every now and again. Sometimes I go to places for certain information for his parents, which is helpful too.” I nod my head slowly, “Well it’s good you have a friend in their pack to visit! It must be nice to have people actually like you.” Rollie glanced at me but stayed silent. The rest of the trip was made in relative silence except for a little conversation here and there.

It starts to get dark out when we get about 20 minutes away from the Greenery Pack, or so Rollie has informed me that that is how far we are. Rollie halts in his tracks when we hear a whimper coming from some bushes nearby. I inhale and that’s when I smell a heavenly scent. I turn to Rollie, who is watching the bushes, “Do these people like to party? I love a good Old Fashion, but the smell is so strong, especially the oranges they put in it.” I hear Rollie curse angrily under his breath before moving towards the bushes slowly, “Kautious, please come out.” I look at him confused as to what he’s doing, but I just stay put and observe. He kneels near the bush before speaking again, “Kautious, why are you out here? In the bushes no less, 20 minutes from home.” I hear another whimper before I hear a small, frightened voice, “Heat. Rollie, heat, kicked out because didn’t want an alpha’s help, only want mate. Said my scent was too strong. Had to leave till it’s gone.” Again I hear Rollie cussing angrily under his breath as he reaches into the bush, “Come on Kautious, let’s get you settled. I’ll make you a safe space and keep guard until it’s over. I have another omega with me who can help you if you’d like.”

The bushes start to shake as Rollie stands, pulling something from the bush. When he steps aside I am absolutely stunned. Not only was the smell amazing, but this male was gorgeous. He has pale skin that is covered in freckles, strawberry blonde hair that is shaved on the sides, but longer up top. He’s a bit on the shorter side, maybe 5 foot 6 with beautiful green eyes. When he locks eyes with me, I hear him let out a loud whimper, “Mate.” And all I can do is stand there in stunned silence.