My Silver Mate

Medallion

[Dylan]

I blinked rapidly as I tried to stay awake. It was late and yet there were still shifters milling around. I sighed softly as I tried to see just how many were still around. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Four of them were sitting around a small fire, talking and laughing while another two were headed away from the group. I was tired and it had nothing to do with how late it was. I was tired of running. I was tired of hiding. I sighed once again as I considered my options. The Moonlight Pack was my last hope and even as I watched the group, I could see the moon pool to their left. The water shone under the moonlight and the flicker of the fire added a magical look to the already magical pool. In the middle of the pool stood a stone statue that I knew held the medallion. I wanted it. I needed it and I would have it. I had run out of options, and this was it. I couldn’t mess this up. Slowly, one by one, the group headed off to their respective homes, and finally silence fell upon the pack. I waited another hour before I slowly crept forward. I kept to the shadows as best as I could as I inched toward the moon pool. I listened carefully to every sound while I constantly checked my surroundings. If I got caught, I knew it would be judgment day. The closer I got to the pool, the more of its essence I could feel. This was risky and I already knew that, but I wasn’t about to leave without that medallion. I stared at the water for a moment, and it seemed to almost captivated me.

“Beautiful,” I whispered as I managed to snap myself out of the trance. I spotted the stones that led to the statue, and I hurriedly stepped up onto the first stone. I glanced around to make sure I was still relatively alone before I hopped onto the next stone. One. Two. Three. Four. The statue was right in front of me and now I could see the medallion. The pure white stone shone brightly under the moonlight, and I smiled. It was truly magnificent, and I knew I would literally only have seconds before everyone in the pack would be alerted. I once again looked around before I took a deep breath. The stone was encased in a pure golden frame that looked intricate and rather ancient. I frowned as I realized it wouldn’t be that easy to simply remove the stone. The golden frame seemed to be holding the stone in place and the frame looked as though it was somehow a part of the statue. I growled low in frustration. This wasn’t going to be easy. I looked around for some sort of plan to suddenly come at me, but I had no idea how to get the stone without making a noise. It was impossible. Surely the stone was able to be removed. I decided to check the statue and that is when I found the small hole. I stuck my finger in it and pressed against something. A soft click had me looking up and I saw that the medallion had been freed. I excitedly grabbed the medallion before I hurried over to the stone pathway. Once I was back on solid ground, I couldn’t help but admire the stone that still shone so brightly.

“HEY!” someone yelled, but I wasn’t about to look around to find out who it was. I took off back the way I had come but even then, I could hear the loud thumping of their footsteps. I could hear them yelling orders at each other and within seconds the whole pack was alive with activity. I didn’t have far to go, but I wasn’t entirely sure I would make it. Even once I was out of their territory, I could hear them catching up to me and I growled as I considered my options. I could find a place to hide, or I could continue running. I was exhausted already, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I would be able to run. I glanced over my shoulder and while I couldn’t see them, I could hear them. It sounded almost as though the whole pack was after me and that chilled me to the bone.

“s**t,” I muttered as I heard them gaining on me. I was slowing down, and the thought crossed my mind that I should shift. I would be faster in my wolf form.

“Mate…mate….mate!” my wolf suddenly started to chant, and I frowned. Now wasn’t the time for him to be getting worked up. There was no one else around so I wasn’t sure what he was going on about. “Mate! MATE!”

“Not now,” I growled out as I once again looked over my shoulder.

“MATE!” he yelled out, but I didn’t pay any attention as I made the decision to shift. I jumped over a nearby bush and in mid-transition I hit something. No, not something, someone. We tumbled to the ground, and I groaned as I finished shifting into my wolf. “MATE!” I didn’t have any time to react as I started to run. However, my wolf wanted to go back. He wanted to find our mate. Since he wasn’t interested in running away, I agreed that we could find a hiding spot. Once the pack had passed us by, then we could go back for our mate. As we hid behind a large tree, I finally let myself breathe in the smell of our mate. However, I soon realized that it was coming from a lot closer. “Hurt,” my wolf muttered, and I groaned. Had we hurt her? Had they hurt her? As we waited, we both soon realized that we couldn’t hear the pack anymore. Where were they? Why had they stopped chasing me? We had to go back. What if they had captured my mate?