My muscles itched to run free. As soon as I passed into the forest, I let myself shift. My legs and arms grew longer. Fangs jutted out of my mouth and my claws dug into the dirt. The cold air grew less uncomfortable as fur enveloped my body. My primal instinct awakened. Every smell in the air exploded; the forest came alive with scents that were dulled to me as a human.
I was all wolf now. I didn’t know where I was going, and right now, I didn’t even care. For the first time in my life, I was free.
I ran, and ran, and never looked back.
***
Hours later, the adrenaline started to wear off. The cold night air seeped into my bones. My fur was a tangled mess of twigs and leaves. Dirt had compacted in between my weary paws. Right now all I wanted to do was lay down and sleep. But I couldn’t. Not until I knew I was off Scarlet Ridge lands for good.
I slowed to a walk, keeping my head low as I traversed the woods. My surroundings were completely unfamiliar. I’d never gone this far from my pack before. Judging by scent alone, I was no longer in Scarlet Ridge territory.
A strange, eerie call filled the air. An owl sat in the canopy above, staring down at me with large, judgmental eyes. The bird was harmless, but it still unnerved me. It reminded me that I had barely seen any other animals around here. Even at night, in the tiny hours of the morning, there should besomenocturnal animals scurrying around.
I lifted my nose to scent the air. The fur on the back of my neck lifted. In the distance, I smelled rabbit. My stomach growled noisily. I could do with a meal right now - I had forgotten how hungry I was, especially since I didn’t get the chance to eat that snack before I escaped.
Keeping my nose low to the ground, I followed the trail. The scent intensified. My heart raced and my jaws began salivating. All I could think about now was sinking my teeth into some juicy meat.
There - right in front of me - was the rabbit.
But there was something strange about it - was it already dead?
No matter. It smelled amazing and it looked fresh. I’d eat carrion right now if I had to.
As I stepped towards it, something happened too fast for me to realize until it was too late.
A sharp, quicksnapfilled the air. A shock ran through my body at the sudden frightening sensation.
I stared down, my eyes wide. A metal animal trap closed tightly around my ankle.
I looked up at the rabbit carcass, a few feet away - just out of my reach now. Anger and rage bubbled up in my throat and I snarled.
Did Ireallyjust get caught in obvious animal trap? How could I be so stupid?
At the very least, there was a thick padding on the inside of the trap that held my foot in place. It wasn’t like those sharp, bloody traps I immediately thought of when I imagined an animal leg trap. Thank the Moon.
With a groan, I sat down and glared hatefully at the metal gripping my ankle. Maybe I could get it off somehow. But the metal trap was tight and taut and wouldn’t budge. I pulled back my foot repeatedly in a last desperate effort to free myself, but it was useless. I was stuck. My freedom was short lived - and stupidly ruined.
I sighed and laid down on the ground. For a moment, I toyed with the idea of shifting back to human form, but I had no idea if that would help. Then I might just be stuck out in the cold, with no fur, sitting at an uncomfortable angle with my hand in a trap. No thanks.
My eyes narrowed at the rabbit carcass a few feet away that lured me into this situation. The meat was still fresh. Its juicy scent wafted over to me and I let out an involuntary whimper. My stomach screamed for food.
Then, sitting upright suddenly, I realized something. The trap wasn’t just sitting here unattended. Since the meat was fresh, it was clearly placed bysomeone. They must be coming back around to check the trap.
I whimpered again. This situation made me feel like a tiny, helpless pup. My mind snapped to my own pup inside my belly. Would they be okay? Would we both make it out of this?
With a sigh, I did the only thing I could do right now - I laid down and tried my best to fall asleep.
***
“Well, what do we have here?”
The voice sounded muffled and distant. I was vaguely aware of something prodding me gently in the side. Instantly panic flooded through me and I instantly jolted awake. I threw myself up and tried to scramble back, heart pounding, but something stopped me.
The metal trap.
Instinctively, I bared my teeth. The sun beat down through the canopy, blinding me momentarily. I blinked my eyes, trying to see normally. When I did, a man stood in front of me. His windswept light hair crossed his forehead like a golden sea wave. His green eyes peered down at me curiously.
But he wasn’t just a man. From his scent, I instantly knew he was a shifter.
