CHAPTER 9

The Blue Hills Reservation was seven thousand acres of land just outside of Boston proper. Even with that amount of room, the run didn't take place until midnight. No sane human was out hiking at that hour, which was good, because coming across a pack of wolves in the middle of the night was probably alarming.

I'd caught a ride with Martha and stepped out of her SUV onto the path and studied the forest before me, my wolf pacing below the surface. It was almost summer, so the night was warm, with a muggy sort of humidity that clung to my skin.

My mind was still turning, focused on the information Rob had shared. A lead, and I couldn't stop wondering where it would go. I had wanted to leave right away, but missing the run would have been suspicious and there was that whole thing where I didn't want to lose my freedom.

I shed my clothes as quickly as possible, not bothering to fold them, but leaving them behind a set of bushes where they wouldn't be noticed from the trails.

Then I shifted.

Movies and television had a variety of ways they imagined werewolves changing, often involving dramatic screaming and bones crunching, all of which looked very painful. In reality it was more like a long, luxurious stretch. Falling back into the shape you were meant to be. Then you entered a kind of dream like state. In human shape I was in control and my wolf was the passenger in our mind. Now it was reversed.

In a matter of seconds my paws hit the trail and I was running top speed beneath the trees. My wolf sighed, filling her lungs with the scent of earth and grass, leaves and small rodents, the stink of the city muted.

Across the forest a howl rose, joined quickly by another, and a third. The rest of the pack.

Though there were several packs in Boston, and even more in the surrounding areas, Blue Hills was our territory, and, in general, on the full moon, everyone played nice.

A rumble built in my wolf's throat, a low, happy bark as we sped toward the others, powerful muscles bunching and stretching.

A yip sounded behind us and we turned to see Martha's wolf, a beautiful dusty gray, at our heels. She barked again, her golden eyes flashing in the moonlight, challenging us to a race.

My wolf didn't respond, just poured on speed, pushing her body to it's limits. Until the satisfying burn of our muscles and the ground flying beneath our feet was all we could sense.

We outran Martha almost instantly, she was older, and we were still young, still in our prime. And we were fast. Faster than any of the others. Something my wolf was very proud of.

I let myself get carried away in her joy as we ran farther and farther. And then the rest of the pack was with us, running and dodging obstacles. A muscular tawny male dashed in from the side, met our footsteps in sync for a moment and then took a secondary trail around a large tree. Anthony.

My wolf bared her teeth in a grin, enjoying the attention.

But even Anthony couldn't keep up with us, and soon we were paces ahead of everyone, leading the way along the winding trail toward the river.
The game trail here was narrow and steep and we were forced to slow down at last, the fading adrenaline from the run keeping our sides heaving as we panted, padding along until a scent forced us to stop.

My wolf pulled up a lip, exposing a canine in distaste.

Leanne.

She'd obviously come early, to be here already. Probably unwilling to run with the pack if she couldn't be the shining star. We stood for a short time, while my wolf debated the merits of running farther along the river.

*We need to be with the pack*, I reminded her.

She sighed.

*We have to be seen tonight, so we don't raise suspicion.*

*I know.* She told me, pushing through the last of the bushes to the rocky beach that lead to the river.

Leanne's wolf was there, a skinny gray female with hints of brown in her undercoat. She growled a little when she realized it was us.

My wolf growled back, hackles raised.

Yeah, we didn't like each other much in human form either.

But my wolf was bigger, by a lot, and as much noise as Leanne's wolf was making, her tail was tucked. We ignored her, and went to the river wading in until the water touched our belly, lapping up the cool liquid. I'd try to dissuade my wolf, since the river was probably full of nasty parasites and pollution, but she'd never listened to me before so I didn't bother.

Behind us the rest of the pack emerged on the shoreline, the wolves yipping and wrestling with one another.

Anthony's wolf joined us in the river, followed by a few of the others, and Leanne, who sidled up to him bumping her hips against him. A clear invitation.

Jealousy wrapped a fist around my chest. Leanne was Anthony's ex, and her actions had my insecurities rising up once more. I'd been certain he had been flirting with me, but what if I was wrong? What if I was just getting carried away with things in my head.

My wolf wasn't so concerned, ignoring Leanne's behaviour as if it didn't affect her at all.

*She's trying to get a rise out of us*, my wolf told me.

*It's working.*

My wolf nipped at an itch on her side.* It shouldn't.*

*Don't you like him?*

She thought about that. *His wolf is healthy and fit, he is high enough in the pack, maybe one day he'll be alpha. He would make a fine mate.*

Leanne whined and tried to take his muzzle in hers, Anthony backed away, putting his shoulder to her while he drank.

*So why doesn't that bother you?* I wanted to know.

*It just doesn't. If he is worthy of us then he will seek us, I will not play games for his affection.*

I didn't want to play games either, but my thoughts were a different matter.

Suddenly my wolf stilled, her ears perked, her body stiff, staring into the woods on the opposite side of the river. Leanne was still whining, a few of the others were having a wrestling match on the beach.

*What is it?*

*Trouble.*

There was no other warning before a string of gunshots rang out, they were silenced, and very distant, almost a mile, but I could still hear them clearly. A wolf yiked in pain behind me, and the air filled with the scent of blood.

A sniper.

We were under attack.