~Tanner~

Miles passed beneath my paws before I finally slowed to a tired jog, then brisk walk. I was panting heavily, and I had no idea where I had been going, but I couldn't think of anything besides the look of betrayal I'd seen in Cole's eyes when I attacked him.

I didn't mean to. It was his fault.

Growling, I finally dropped to my belly in a snowdrift and nuzzled my nose into the cold substrate.

Why didn't he just submit? So many times I'd given him the chance, but each time he either ignored or punished me.

Forcing my mind to relax for a few minutes, I shut my eyes and simply listened to the quiet forest surrounding me. I knew most creatures immediately hid or became silent when something unfamiliar or dangerous appeared in their territory, but as I lay still in the snow, I knew I was sending a message that I wasn't interested in hunting or really bothering any of them. After a short while, the sounds of the forest I was so familiar with began to return, one chirp, rustle and squeak at a time.

Mmmm, home.

While I had to admit that living in Cole's house was comfortable for the first few weeks, I knew I couldn't remain there any longer. He was used to staying in one place, in one small home, but I just wasn't like that. Being stuck in that place was likely the reason my dominance had begun to push to the forefront of my personality, because I really didn't think I was that bad before. It was just that when I met Cole and realized what he was...it felt wrong.

He is not meant to be an alpha, my mind supplied with a sense of determination. It seemed like it was trying to convince me, but I already knew that. Grunting in sudden frustration, I dug my head into the snow and shook it, sending the cold, white, mushy water every which way. My ears perked up at the sound of a squirrel climbing down a tree a few feet away, curiosity shining in its little black eyes. It clicked its teeth together, and I tilted my head, then smacked one of my paws down in the snow. It froze for a moment after I moved but then hopped down when I stayed where I was. My eyes roved over its small body without much worry. It was a squirrel, after all. I was its predator, not the other way around. I'd eaten plenty of them when I was a pup, too. It didn't seem to care, though, since it scampered atop the thick blanket of snow before coming to a stop in front of my nose. I made it twitch with a quiet huff and then the fluffy thing jumped and darted up the nearest tree.

Scardy squirrel.

I thought it had run from me, but when the wind shifted and I took a deep breath, a sharp, jagged shiver forced its way down my spine. Without a second thought, I was running, my paws slamming their way through the thick snow drifts one after the other after the other.

That scent.

My thoughts ran rampant, but I didn't let them slow me down. I knew what happened when a wolf was weak...that's why I had been forced to run all those years ago...and why I had to run now. The paws that pounded the ground behind me didn't sound anything like a normal wolf's, considering the sounds I'd made when playing with Cole and his pack in their backyard before I began to get aggressive.

No.

I knew my mind didn't want to understand what was going on, but there was no denying it, especially when I bunched my muscles to prepare to jump over a large recently fallen tree right as a loud roar shook the forest to its roots.

Monster.

The sudden intensity and volume of the sound made me trip and topple over the log to fall into the snow built up on the other side. Not a moment after I fell, a giant blond wolf shot over the log, turning in mid-air to land in the deep snow with little effort. I fumbled to my paws, but my eyes were completely focused on the bright gold ones locked on me.

Go away. I mentally shouted toward him, unsure if he would even listen to the thought. Surprisingly, the wolf's huge head drew back slightly, its ears perking up with interest. It still looked like it was going to tear me apart, if its bared teeth had anything to do with its next actions, but at least it seemed to hear what I had thought to it.

Alpha will be quite surprised to know that you can speak, on top of the fact that you are still alive...for now.

That voice had my body shivering, whether I wanted it to or not. I remembered it...

Kine.

The huge wolf smirked and licked his jowls eagerly, taking a step forward with one massive paw.

It has been quite a long time, little Tanner.

We couldn't be anywhere near my old pack's territory so Kine must have been on a track, but...

What are you tracking all the way out here?

The question slipped out of my mind before I could really comprehend what his answer obviously was. Realization hit me even as he answered my question with an excited you. Normally, and logically, I would have begun to run like hell again... if it hadn't been for the sound of encroaching voices. Both of us had been too focused on each other to realize but as I looked to my left I could already see three people hiking through the snow.

What human in their right mind went out hiking in the winter?

I thought of hiking because none of them seemed to have weapons, and considering they were all wearing normal clothing, they couldn't have been hunters. Well, at least not serious ones. Kine darted back over the log, disappearing before I was even able to turn my head completely to watch him leave.

I need to get my tail out of here too. I thought to myself as I struggled to get out of the snow. Since I had been stuck for a few minutes after running all this way, my legs were beginning to go numb and become useless.

"Holy... Dude. Look."

Hearing a shocked shout much too close for comfort, I whipped my head back around to where I'd seen the humans approaching and felt my stomach drop. The three humans, one with black hair and two with blond, were staring at me from only a few yards away. Panic spurred me to move, but I couldn't get out of the deep snow. The two blonds seemed completely content to run away, but the blond-haired young man didn't even flinch. In fact, he turned to the two others, who I assumed were his friends, and told them to head back to camp. The two looked at him like he was insane...because he honestly sounded like it, considering he wanted to stay there alone with me.

"Listen, I know it's just stuck and you both are about to crap yourselves. You're not going to be helpful so just go back. It's obviously not interested in attacking us because come on, look at it. It's just sitting there stuck in the snow. It's also panting, so it probably was running or struggling to get free for a while," the guy said, gesturing toward me. For once I knew some of what he was saying, but some of the larger words were still lost to me.

"Are you sure, man? It's a freaking wolf," the other blond said.

Yes, he's sure, I thought to myself, though I had no idea what he was supposed to be sure about.

"Yeah, Warren, I'm good. You guys can just head back. I'll get it out real quick, then meet you guys back at camp."

The two others guys looked back at me, then to their friend before fidgeting but giving up the argument.

"Alright, Ry, we'll see you soon. Please be careful," the black-haired guy said before turning and heading back the way they'd come, the other blond following after him a moment later. When they disappeared from my sight, I relaxed a little more, glad that there was only one human left. I also couldn't sense Kine, so that was two positives.

Now to be careful of the one human left.

Lifting my eyes to his, I silently noted they were a soft, curious blue color.

Pretty...

"Hey there, you."

Hearing the young man's voice had my body tensing, but I was just too tired to bother trying to lunge at him to keep him from getting any closer. He seemed to catch on quickly that I wasn't going to attack because he was soon kneeling down a few feet away, smiling down at me.

"Can I help you get out without you wanting to eat me? I have a soft spot for animals, but I'd rather not become your next meal."

Mmm, meal. I want a meal.

Whimpering, I tilted my head back and forth, wondering where the meal was. I figured out fairly quickly he didn't have a meal because he just laughed when I did my normal 'feed me' gesture.

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

Yes, I chimed right after he'd said the word, even though I knew humans couldn't understand werewolves. My attention focused in on him when he began to inch his way closer. I didn't mind him being so close since he had no weapons visible and he was definitely a human judging from his scent, but when he tried to reach out and pet my head, I drew the line with a deep growl. He jerked his hand back with a hesitant smile, rubbing his palms together like a child who had just gotten caught stealing peanut budder from the counter... though I wasn't the only one who stole it. I saw the other young werewolves doing it too. Unfortunately, Cole always just blamed me... because I was always the one with the jar stuck on my nose.

As I continued mumbling to myself about things that didn't matter anymore, I lazily watched the human continue working. He wasn't wearing any gloves, and his hands were slowly turning red from the cold snow, but he still continued to work, not paying them any mind. It took him a little while before I could finally begin climbing out of the frigid snowdrift. A lot of the snow beneath my body had melted from its heat, too, giving my frozen paws some purchase on the ground to help push myself free. By the time I was completely out of the deep snow, the human had backed away to stand near a large fern tree. I knew thanking people for helping was supposed to be the right thing to do, but I also knew that I shouldn't change in front of humans, leaving me in a sticky situation. Deciding that I didn't want to stay around to try to figure out something so trivial, I quickly tromped over to him and licked one of his pale hands, then gave a quiet grumble and took off.