Green - a werewolf story

38. Run, run, run

Vanessa couldn't remember ever having stripped out of her clothes as fast before as after they'd rushed out of the bed and breakfast and snuck behind a copse of trees.

"Hurry," Green whispered before he shifted back into his wolf form.

"I am," Vanessa muttered and turned into her wolf.

They picked up their clothes, phones and wallets with their teeth and set off down the road. The howls they'd heard have been faint, but both Vanessa and Green knew what they meant. Someone had found their scent from where they emerged from the lake and they'd been calling for the rest of the pack to join them.

Vanessa briefly wondered for how long she'd be able to run like this, but there wasn't much point thinking about. She'd run for as long as she had to. Stopping would mean being caught up and killed and she wasn't about to do that. Not when she'd just been reminded of all the things she had to live for.

Beside her Green was panting, his movements graceful despite the tension in his body. She took the time to watch him for a moment. Who knew if she'd get another chance to do so? He really was gorgeous, she thought.

Despite the dire situation they were currently in, she had at least been lucky when it came to her mate. Not like her aunt who had come all the way to Australia to try and pry her sister and nieces away from the vicious megalomaniac controlling their pack only to take one look as said vicious megalomaniac and be struck with the mating bond like a whip.

Vanessa glanced at Green again who turned his attention to her, his ears perking up in question. She ran a little closer to him so that she could brush up against his side and show him all the things she couldn't say.

His tail swished against hers in reply. Then the howls sounded again, closer now, and they both gave their full attention to moving as quickly as possible.

It wouldn't help if they couldn't find some kind of vehicle that would let them move at a faster speed than the other four legged creatures behind them. Unfortunately this was a rather rural part of the state and they weren't likely to find a place to buy a car or even a bike.

The waitress had told them there was a small town ten miles south and they were heading in that direction, but Vanessa had her doubts about what they'd be able to find there. The meaning of the word "town" varied depending on who was using it. While their waitress had been lovely, she didn't seem to have done much traveling.

Right about now, though, she'd take any grouping of houses where there might be a car they could steal. Anything they could get to get there before those who were hunting them caught up to them.

Then she heard the sound of cars and when she raised her head to scent the air, the smells of people, greasy food and exhausts that told her that a larger human population was living nearby. If she hadn't already been running as fast as she could, the thought of reaching their goal would have spurred her on.

It took another couple of minutes, but then they reached the outskirts of a town that was larger than she'd dared to hope for. They'd find what they were looking for here, no problem. They just needed a bit of time.

They snuck around the corner to shift back into their human forms and clothes before anyone noticed the giant dogs roaming the streets. Hopefully their followers would do the same.

"Did you see a car's dealer?" Vanessa panted as she pulled on her pants.

"No, but I'm great at hot-wiring cars."

"You are?" Vanessa asked, surprised. Grand theft auto didn't go with the goody two shoes personality she'd come to associate with Green. But then again, it wasn't Green who'd just spent the afternoon unloading his worst memories on her.