24. Kaya

Kaya

I don't know why it was so weird that I ate raw meat. I mean, we were wolves, were we not? Anyway, the guys finished the meal, and we said our goodnights, and Helen and I headed up to the packhouse. She mind-linked me.

"Are we really going hunting tomorrow?" "I plan to. You don't have to come if you don't want to. But I am curious: what kind of game do you have here?" "Moose, Elk, mountain lions, regular wolf, rabbits, bobcats, really everything." Wow, that is awesome. Yeah, so hunting here is going to be a blast. But knowing that there are moose, I probably only needed to get one for the whole pack, considering there are only a couple hundred of us. There would be leftovers. I mind-linked Helen. "Helen, I don't need any help tomorrow." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I'm just wondering if you can transport the meat back."

"Um, you could take the side by side." "I don't know what that is." "Oh, um, it is like a small off-roading vehicle. It has a small bed in the back for hauling things." "That would work. I guess. If you can drive for me?" "Yeah, I could do that." "But seriously, just the two of us is more than enough. We will just need some cloth. Something to wrap the meat in."

"I can arrange that. Does it need to be anything specific?" "Nothing, just something thin, should work. Like they think blankets on the bed should work." "You mean the sheets." "I guess." "Anything else, Luna?" "No, that is it. Oh, we are leaving early, so just be ready to go before the sun is up. "Any specific time?" "I don't know, maybe 4 a.m., I think." "Um, okay."

I didn't take too long to put the plates away, and we went our separate ways on the stairs. Her going to the third floor and me going to the fourth. When I got into the room, something was off. I couldn't place it at first, but our scent differed from when I left in the morning. I sat down on the bed and realized it was much harder than the bed from the night before. Had Helen gotten it replaced. I mind-linked her.

"Did you have someone replace the mattress?" "You said you didn't like the last one, so while we were out, I mind-linked someone to replace it with our firmest mattress. Apparently, a few in storage had not been unpackaged." "Oh well, thank you."

I was happy about the bed being firmer, but I didn't like that it had undone everything I had done so far to build my den. Over the next day or so, my nesting would kick in as Cade and I spent more time together, and I would become lethal to whoever entered this space. I would make it my haven.

I pulled out a bunch of his clothes and threw them on the bed to have his scent around me. I then tossed some of my furs on the bed. I took off my clothes and replaced them with one of his shirts. So that I had his scent engulfing me. I pulled the clothes scattered on the bed into me to snuggle with them. And drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

I woke up to my internal clocking, letting me know it was time to hunt. I threw on my new jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. I grabbed my kit with my knives to carve up the game. I went downstairs and knocked on the door that had the smell of Helen behind it. After a few minutes, she finally emerged. She looked cozy. Her auburn hair was up in a messy bun atop her head. "You ready." I connect with her. "Coffee and I will be fine."

We make a pit stop in the kitchen for her to grab her coffee and a muffin, and then she leads me out to the back of the packhouse. Before we exited, I noticed a huge pile of thin cloths. I take it these were for the meat. So, seeing Helen had her hands full with coffee and a muffin, I grabbed the sheets. "Luna, I can." "No worries." I mind link as I smiled.

We walk down the dirt road till we come to a vast building. Helen entered through a side door. I followed her. As she flicked on the light, The building lit up. It was filled with all different types of vehicles. This was the first time I had seen something like it. There were so many different types. I followed her until she came to a small vehicle with no top or sides. She hopped in and turned the keys that were already in the ignition.

I placed the cloth into the back and then got in on the other side as she pulled out of the spot. As we reached one of the sides of the building, the wall seemed to open to us.

She pulled out, and we were out. She mind-linked me. "So, where do you want to go." "Um, deep into the woods." "Okay, just let me know when you want me to stop or where you want me to turn. " I nodded, poking my nose in the air to get a good whiff of what was around us. I could smell lots of animals. Undoubtedly, this forest was filled to the brim with animals to hunt. But I wanted to bag a moose. It would be around 600 lbs of meat, and I knew that was more than enough to feed a pack of a couple hundred.

A moose would be a treat back home; the meat was sweet. It was also challenging to find. Occasionally, we would find them, but mostly, caribou was the main big game we hunted. That and bear. As I sniffed the air, I smelt it. It must have been half a mile away. I mind-linked Helen. "Stop, please."

The vehicle slowed, and I got out as I felt the motor stop running. I began to strip down. Once I was stark naked, I saw Helen just getting out of the side-by-side. "Do you know how to hunt a moose?" "No, I just thought you may need help." "Normally, I would say yes, but you don't know how to. So it would be quite dangerous, so best to just stay put." "Fine, then I will just watch." I nodded, and she stripped down. I shifted, and she followed. Her wolf's coat was brown. She was larger than my wolf, for sure. I mind-linked her.

"Just stay directly behind me; we need to stay downwind." She did as I instructed. Once I saw the animal, I mind-linked her to stay put. She did as she was told, and I began to circle the beast. I began to look for weaknesses. It was a male, so I would need to watch those antlers or be at risk of being gored.

My best bet would be to go at it from the side or back. If I went from the side, it could turn and hit me with the antlers; if I came about from behind, I risk getting hoofed. This is why we hunted in groups for big game like this.

The risk was significant either way. I made my mind up from the back it would be. I got behind the beast a ways back. Then I charged as fast as I could. Pushing off with my hind legs, I leaped onto the back. I dug my nails into the beast.

It was full of muscle, and I doubt it would be a kill bite. How the hell was I going to get off the thing. I had not thought this through. I knew better than to go in and attack a male moose by myself. But no, I wanted to impress my new pack. Stupid is what I was. I was stuck. So, I used my back legs to dig in as I retracted my claws in the front, moving them up further now. I then dug in and moved my back legs up. Each movement was slow as I would often lose my balance as the moose thrashed around.

Finally, I made it, so I was scrunched up on its neck. I dug in once again with my back claws. When it came time to move my front paws up, I reached around and dug in on the front of the neck. Dragging my paws back so it was cutting into the throat. The beast began to waver and shuffle like it was disoriented. I made the move again and again. Then I felt the beast starting to fall, and I let go of everything and tried to get off.

I got off before the thing completely fell on the forest floor. It was still breathing, so I quickly approached the downed beast and moved fast, biting into the bottom of its neck and finally killing the animal. I staggered back. I was completely drained. But I knew there was more to do. Helen stepped out of the tree line. Her wolf was looking at me. "Go get the vehicle; it has my pack and everything to clean the animal."

She took off, and I shifted back to my human form. I looked at the dead moose. It was huge. How had I done that? I was shocked I had not died. I would never do that again. The risk was too significant, and I felt dumb for even attempting it.

It didn't take long for Helen to return. I put on my clothes. I knew I was covered in blood. I was about to become far dirtier. Helen's mind linked me as I took out my knife. "Kaya, that was unbelievable. I thought you were going to die." "I could have. It was stupid to attempt to do this myself."

"But you did it." "Well, I won't be doing it again, so everyone better like this meat." She just stared at me as I cut into the animal. I took out the heart and began to eat it. I looked at her, and she looked horrified. "What?" "That is really gross." "I didn't have breakfast and killed it, so I get the heart."

I fished, cutting up the animal and breaking it down for transport. Helen helped me load it all up. The sun was already up in the sky when we headed back. As we approached the packhouse, I noticed people looking at me horrified.