She broke the rules.

Getting out alive- Bessa ps. be very very quiet

The plan the next day goes smooth. We stay up a little longer making sure we are ready for Thursday night. I give the pack one of my secrets. I make sure everyone knows to be quiet. I get max to cover the door. I head to the back and turn away from everyone and strip.

*Kainda, we need them to meet you before the run. We don't want the littles afraid. We need to carry them.*

*So be it* is all she says as we swap places for a few.

Bones pop, face contouring, and fur sprouting. If Kainda was a cat instead of a wolf she would be calico. She is big, almost the size of a shetland pony. The kids touch, pet and climb all over her. They kiss her nose and compare hands to paws. She takes it like a champ.

Eventually we have to call for sleep time. The littles try to cuddle next to her. She shakes her head at them.

Alley cat stomps her foot.

Kainda nudges her with her nose and walks back to where I changed to reverse the process.

*Thank you.* I say and give the image of my forehead on hers. We trade back.

I get dressed and scoop up a sniffing Alley cat. Snuggling her down to sleep.

The next day, Friday, we wake up early. C packs the last of things after we eat. We all hug each other.

The littles and C are going to head down the passageway while we work. The plan is for the rest of us to do the last chores needed. This should give us a full day, maybe a day and a half, before we are found out.

We tuck them into the passageway and head up stairs. Our bags are ready to go when we are done. We do our chores quickly and thoroughly. We get done at about one am. The littles will be almost out of the tunnels. We hurry to the dungeon pulling the door tight. We head out. It only takes us older kids about an hour to catch up.

C knows not to leave without us. You can see the relief on him when we get there.

I put Alley on my hip. Max takes Ben and C picks up tosh. We jog the last 50 ft of the passage.

It is Jack and Jamie that scout the woods. When they give the all clear, we catch up and get low.

They move forward.

Mac follows me a little ways off. I strip and shift. Mac put my clothing in her pack. We tiptoe back to the others. Kainda lay down so we can get the littles arranged.

The all clear is given again and we move on. Those two manage trees like others manage cooking and fighting. If I didn't know better I would say they are monkeys.

We make it to a couple of yards from the border. The security rovers are there. We time them when they are away. When we would have the best chance. We wait for a full cycle. Then we move.

A twig snaps.

"Did you hear that?" One guy says to the other.

Sense Kainda,is in the lead, turns our body to stop the others and get low. The littles lay as low on my back as possible.

We all hold our breaths and get lucky.

"Probably just the wind. I will be happy when I get back to my mate. She loves it when I wake her up."

I roll my eyes and encourage the others to go slow and head out.

Kainda decides we need to be rear guards. Jack and Jamie go back to being scouts.

They eventually find a crevice at the base of a cliff. One of them slips into it to see if there is space to hide out for a while. We are in no-man's land so we will be ok for a bit at least.

"The cave is big enough for all of us. I hear some water but I'm not sure where." Jamie says

Jack, C and Max are pulling some branches over to cover the crack. Ash and Tess take the little ones inside.

I take Mac's pack n my teeth and go get changed. As I come back I remind the boys to make it look as natural as possible.

"Yes, Alpha" is the response I get. We all freeze and look at eachother. I shrug and grab any packs the other girls missed. The boys follow me in. The boys had strung a few cans into the bushes and dried out sticks inside the entrance. This gives us an alarm system.

"Good job guys. Let's eat and rest." I tell them patting a few on the shoulder.

The girls have made up the pack bed like we had before. We get some fruit and tuck in for a while.It has been a long day.

The sun has been up long enough to burn off some of the chill. It is a little past the zenith.

*Kainda, is it too much to ask you to keep an ear out?*

*Anything for my sweets. And before you ask. I have seen a few Alpha ceremonies. I can walk you through it. Good night child.*

*Stay safe wolf.* I say with a smile, cuddling with Alley.