The Ruby Wolf

Chapter6

“Ready to go?”

“That was like 3 minutes!”

“Told you I’m fast.”

“No sh*t!”

“Let's go.” I walk towards our back door.

“I’m gonna shift behind that tree there, look at me, and I’ll kill you.” I state.

“Gotcha.” He says with a surprised face.

I run towards the woods and jump behind a large tree. I look around and make sure no one can see me. I take off my dress and put it into the bag I had brought with me. I stretch out my arms and legs while enjoying the wind caressing my body.

“Hurry up! I want to run!”

F*cking men, so damn impatient.

‘Nikita ready for a run?’

‘Born ready!’

‘Then let’s do this!’

I can feel my bones start breaking and repositioning themselves. It surprisingly feels good like a huge weight is taken off my shoulders. I know for new wolves and some omegas it hurts since they are either not strong enough or used to the feeling, but for me I embrace the discomfort. Within a few seconds, my vision sharpens and my hearing heightens. I glance at my paws and see the familiar ruby red fur and a rush of excitement floods me. I jump out from behind the trees and run to the pack house.

“Damn, you took long enough!”

I glared at him and a low growl left my lips.

“Calm down girly, we are going for a run, remember?”

Instantly at the mention of a run, the excitement returns and I start jumping from side to side.

“Alright, alright!” he laughed. “I’ll go shift.”

I watch him walk away, and sit down on the grass. I look up at the sky and let out a wolfish grin. Being outside as a wolf is one of the best things in the world. You see everything clearly, and can hear the movements of the smallest creatures in the surrounding area.

“Bark”

I look in front of me and see a medium gray wolf I don’t recognize. Obviously, it has to be Tony, since no rouge dares step on my land. He points his snout towards the woods and I instantly know he wants to run. I look at the woods and take off in a sprint. I hear him growl and chase after me.

‘Guess he wants to race Nikki!’

‘Then let’s give him a race!’

Nikita and I grin and abruptly stop. Tony, obviously surprised, stands beside us and looks at us in confusion. I lower my chest to the ground, getting ready to run, hoping he catches on. It takes him a second, but he then copies me. I scratch the ground once, twice, and a third time. Then we both take off. I start off slowly, allowing him to gain the lead. Stupid wolf doesn’t know what’s going to hit him.

Once he is a good distance away, we push off the ground and start speeding up. Within a minute, we’re side by side. I look at him and bark cheerfully. He’s shocked to see us and tries to speed up.

‘Ready Nikita?’

She laughs, sounding like a maniac.

'Let's kick his ass!’

I give more control to Nikita, and soon I feel like we are flying. The trees are passing by in blurs of green and soon a large pond appears and we stop. It takes Tony about 5 minutes to catch up. He’s panting while Nikita and I feel like we are just getting started. I shift and decide to talk with him. I want to learn more about him and his pack. Mainly his Alpha and king Theodore.

I rush behind a tree and shift back. I reach into the bush beside me and grab the baggy shirt and shorts. We have clothes sprawled out everywhere around our pack in case you need to shift. After I get dressed, I make my way to the pond and dip my feet in. It doesn’t take him long to change back.

“Tony, right?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“Well Tony, I won.” I say with a smile.

“Yeah about that, how are you not out of breath?”

“Told ya, I’m fast.”

He shakes his head and laughs. We sit and chat for a while about nothing in particular when I finally feel like I have the guts to finally ask what's really been on my mind.

“So what’s it like?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your pack, what’s it like?”

“It's like any other pack, you know?”

“Really? I thought it’d be different since your alpha is the king and all.”

“Well, I mean we do have to be mindful of how we act outside our territory, but in the pack we are just like you. People.”

“Never really thought of it that way.”

We sit in silence for a bit while I splash my feet in the water. I just wish I knew how to bring up the king without sounding so obvious. I want to know what he’s like, why he’s here. I have so many questions.

“You know, I think Theo would like it here.”

“Really? Why’s that?”

“He loves being outside, and he absolutely loves to swim.”

“Seriously!? I mean I’m not surprised about him liking the outdoors. What wolf doesn’t?”

Tony laughs. “You know Theo wants to be just like every other wolf, free to do as he pleases with no serious responsibilities. He hasn’t got the chance to be normal since he became king so young.”

“Wow… I forgot how young he is.”

“A lot of people do, he has to act more maturely, and he is responsible for not only his pack but for the kingdom as a whole.”

“I get that and there's no way I could relate in that magnitude, but I do feel the same way. You know? Always told to behave a specific way, reminded that everyone is watching and there's never really a time for a break. Don't get me wrong, I don’t mind, I know that I have responsibilities and an image to uphold being the alpha's daughter, but that’s why I love to run. I feel free from all expectations and the best part is that I get to be myself with no one watching.”

“You really are something, aren’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I say defensively.

“It's just, I thought you would be different since you’re an alpha's daughter. You know, spoiled, girly, the typical 'me, me, me' personality.”

“That’s more like my sister. I prefer to keep to myself and train. Yes, I like the arts, but that’s a hobby, not my lifestyle.”

He just looks at me without saying anything. Guess he doesn’t know how to respond. I don’t blame him, but I hate silence when I’m with someone. I find it awkward.

“So why are you guys visiting?”

“I think it’s about time to head back.”

“You didn’t..”

“Race you back!”

I growl and shift, taking off after him. How dare he! Why won’t he answer my question? And what’s up with running? I had already warned him that my wolf doesn’t like other people, and he chose to run! I’m a warrior and an alpha. You don’t run from an alpha! I feel Nikita getting angry with each step we take.

'We can’t hurt him, Nikita!’

‘He disrespected us!’

‘I know, but he’s the king’s comrade!’

‘At least let me tackle him!’

‘Nikita!’

She ignores me and runs full speed, catching up with his gray wolf. He sees me coming and tries to push faster. But I’m better. Soon, I feel nothing under my paws and in the blink of an eye I’m on top of him. My teeth showing as a growl leaves my lips.

“Nikita, what the hell are you doing?”

I look up and see Nick standing a few feet away. I quickly get off Tony and lower myself to the ground, my tail between my legs and ears back.

'Look what you did, Nikita!’

'I didn’t think we were so close to the house!’

‘I told you not to!’

'But!’

“Nikita!”

I whimper and try to hide behind a tree.

“You’re lucky that I came out and not dad or the king!”

I move further away. Nick is right, and I know it, but Nikita, she hates getting in trouble, especially from Nick.

“I’m so sorry Tony, I don’t know why she went after you.”

“It's fine I shouldn’t have ran from her.”

“It's not fine! Nikita, get over here and apologize!”

I whimper again.

“Shift!”

I could feel the power radiate from his voice forcing me to shift. Luckily, I’m behind the same tree I stashed my bag in. I quickly get changed and emerge from the tree.

“I’m sorry for tackling you.” I say.

“Nikki, I didn’t ask you to apologize, I asked Nikita to."

I sigh. “You know she hates apologizing.”

“I don’t care. She was rude and needs to apologize.”

‘Nikita, you need to apologize'

‘Why should I Hmm? He disrespected us! We shouldn’t have to say sh*t!’

'Nikita!’

'Fine'

I feel her push forward and take slight control. I watch her look around until she spots Tony.

“I’m sorry.” She said flatly. “But you deserved it and worse!”

I quickly take control again. “I’m sorry about her, she is just like that sometimes.”

“It's fine.”

“Good.” I say, relieved.

“Anyway, dad just finished the meeting and the King wants to talk to all of us.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

Luckily, the walk back to the house was short and Tony didn’t say anything about Nikita acting out. We made it inside and towards our living room where everyone was sitting.

“Did you enjoy your run Nikki?”

“Yes father, it was quite refreshing.”

“Good to hear.”

I looked around the room for a place to sit. The only spot available was beside the king. Just my f*cking luck. His scent is strong, and I just don’t know how to act around him. Even Nikita is getting antsy. I walk towards him as his eyes seem to follow my every move until I’m standing next to him.

“Do you mind if I sit here?” I ask.

“Of course not, this is your house after all,” Theo said.

“Of course, silly me.”

I take a seat beside him. And tune into the ongoing conversation. So far it’s about what everyone does for a living, how they manage to help out the pack, you know, the basics. I just sit and listen.