Walking back to the kitchen reminded us of what we were in the middle of when the doorbell had rang: breakfast. None of us were hungry any longer, so as a group we cleaned up. I cleared the plates and brought them to the counter while Dexter scrubbed them at the sink and Jaycee filled the massive dishwasher. I guess appliances needed to be double the size when so many people lived in one house — even if that house was a mansion.

Sydney wiped the table while Cole dried and put away the dishes that weren't dishwasher safe. Kota swept the floors. Eva followed him with a mop, but left afterwards, as she wasn't able to shift yet. All of this was completed in about five or so minutes, thanks to the amount of people we had. When we were satisfied, we headed outside, walking down the stairs and through the gardens until we reached the woods.

We were stopped by a pack member, whose name I couldn't remember, while under the trellis. "Everything okay, Alpha?" He asked, flicking his brown eyes between Kota and me. "We heard some yelling inside earlier."

With a quick glance to me, Kota gave him a curt nod and didn't disclose any information. "Everything is fine, Grant. But will you tell the Lookouts to keep an extra careful eye on the borders today? Just a caution." Grant agreed and we were on our way. None of us looked to make sure he was contacting the Lookouts.

Kota squeezed my hand as we entered the tree line, as if he could sense my anxiety. "It'll be fine. Just focus on your wolf and it will do the rest. We're going to go strip behind the trees, and we'll come back here in wolf form, okay?"

I nodded and we dispersed. I ducked behind a clump of wide oaks. Taking off my clothes in the middle of the forest was probably the most terrifying for me. Every time the bitter wind shifted or the shuffling of the others hit my ears, I would peek over my shoulder and hesitate before continuing. When I was ready, my heart pounded in anticipation of what was going to happen. Focus on your wolf, I replayed Kota's voice in my mind, it will do the rest. Closing my eyes and doing as told, blocking out all the sounds and happenings around me, I felt it.

The first snap surprised me, making me jump backwards as my arm bent strangely. The rest came so fast I barely even noticed they were happening until I opened my eyes and everything was different. Relief spread across me like a fire. It didn't hurt that time!

My eye level was lower to the ground, but everything was heightened. I could notice the tiniest details in the design of the tree trunk's bark. It was fascinating, really. Turning my head, I observed how I looked. As much of myself I could see, anyway.

My fur was bright, giving off the same sparkle as freshly fallen snow in the dead of winter. My paws were large and round with four distinct toes separating and joining as I plodded around the tree. My tail was fluffed out, making it appear bigger than it probably was and it hung straight down between my hind legs. It was a strange muscle to get used to: lifting my tail higher and swinging it side to side in a slight wag.

"Arf!" A playful bark snapped my attention to the right, where another wolf stood. His fur was as dark as a night with no stars, a stark contrast to mine. If it wasn't for the automatic pull I felt towards this wolf that gave him away, it would be the piercing green eyes that showed between layers of fur on either side of his snout. Kota.

His tail wagged happily and I plodded over to him. Lifting my snout, I sniffed under his chin — I was quite a bit smaller — and grumbled back.

Another bark sounded and I whipped around, pressing my flank into Kota's shoulder. He made a strange sound, almost like he was laughing. Is hot him a glare before pointing my ears in the direction of that bark.

This was was brown, like the tree trunks that surrounded us. A slight auburn hue settled on the surface of her coat and her eyes were surrounded by a fan of grey. The wolf crouched, sticking its rear-end in the air and letting its tail dangle over its back. It barked again, bouncing sideways and crouching in the same position. Staring into its eyes, I figured out the wolf belonged to Jaycee, and her body language told me she wanted to play.

Kota nudged me with his shoulder and I clumsily stepped over my own paws as I shuffled towards Jaycee. She bounced forward before darting back, landing again in the crouched position. I leaned back, lowering my chest to the ground and lifting my tail up in an effort to copy her movements. She barked again before throwing herself at me. Startled, I scrambled backwards until she backed off. She bounced away, her eyes asking me to join her.

Tentatively, I crouched again, wagging my tail before pouncing forward a few hops. When I reached her, she swatted a paw at me, gauging my reaction. I didn't flinch away, so she threw both her front legs in the air, looking incredibly silly as she arched her back and pushed her chest forward. I hopped backwards and then darted forward and swiped at her chest, keeping my blow blunt. She placed her paws on my back before bouncing away, repeating the action several times until I joined in, snapping and swiping playfully.

As I reached to grab ahold of her neck fluff, I was bowled over by surprise. Rolling over in the dirt and leaves, I scrabbled away and shook out my fur, looking for who hit me. A blonde wolf stared back at me, her reddish tail high and her eyes bright with playfulness. Sydney.

I growled and flew back at her, pushing her over and rolling over until she pinned me against the forest floor. My teeth came close to her neck and she pranced off of me with another bark. Barely glancing back to make sure I was on my paws, she took off into the forestry. Not even hesitating, I followed her, rushing around the trees and avoiding stumps, always making sure her streaking tail was visible in front of me.

Movement on my left directed my attention to Jaycee, who was keeping pace with me, matching my stride while I got more confident with the use of four legs and furry paws. Kota caught up too, I could feel his breath hot on my hind paws, but he never made the move to pass me or stride next to me. I assumed he was making sure I was okay by watching from behind.

Two more mottled brown blurs tumbled past us, nipping at each other and zigzagging through the woods. They were only a few strides ahead, but obviously racing us, and each other, to catch Sydney in the chase. They were moving so fast, I couldn't decipher who was who, especially with their pelts so similar in color.

Jaycee's teeth snapped in my ear before she sped up after the others, her tail slapping my muzzle on the way. I bit at it but was not able to catch it. So, I pushed my legs to work harder, urging myself to catch up to her. Kota barked from behind me and it wasn't until it was too late that I understood the warning.

My legs got clumsy in their haste and I tripped over a stick — or maybe I just tripped over my own paws again. Either was just as likely. Hitting my chin on the cold, hard ground, I felt my teeth click together and I whimpered with surprise. There wasn't even a moment of hesitation before Kota's teeth grabbed my scruff and hauled me back up. His tongue flicked out to my chin, as if trying to make me feel better. Shaking my fur out, I licked my lips and barked my gratitude before launching myself into another run. The others hadn't even noticed we'd fallen behind.

We ran for some time, Sydney still in the front and the rest of us chasing her. I had no idea where we were going, but I knew we didn't stray too far from our territory. In fact we seemed to be going in circles because I swear I saw the training ground's obstacle course several times in passing. Maybe we were zig zagging back and forth while in the general area. Finally, Sydney slowed down and we all caught up, barreling into her in a heap of fur and gnashing teeth.

Stressed out, I wiggled my way out of the pile and sat back on my haunches, panting to catch my breath. After a few long moments, Kota sat down next to me and we watched as Sydney and one of the others rolled away in a tangle of legs and tails. They snapped at each other's faces as they moved along the dirt. They didn't break away until they crashed into a tree and it forced them to fall apart.

Both of them shook out their pelts and walked over to us, finally letting me see who she had been playing with. The wolf was a powdery, light brown. His muzzle and ears were darker and his underbelly and one paw was white. His kind, soul reflecting eyes told me this was Cole. Which made sense, because he was Sydney's mate.

Dexter and Sydney had been bouncing and swatting at each other once Sydney and Cole had rolled away. Once in a while they would tug on each other's neck, but their play wasn't as rough as the Gammas'. They, too, decided to come take a break and sit down with us.

I studied Dexter, noticing his look was very similar to Cole's but on a generally darker color pallet. His legs and paws were also dark, matching his face and ears, and his eyes were like shadows, embedding deep in his face so they were hard to spot.

Drawing my tongue over my paw and bringing it to my face, I tried to get the leftover residue of shredded leaves off my whiskers. Beside me, Kota had his snout to the sky, enjoying the odd-for-November afternoon sun shining down on us. He sniffed the air before suddenly springing to his paws, hackles raised and ears attentive. Taking signals from the Alpha, the other wolves bounced up too, no longer concerned over rest.

I was slower, but I also rose up, standing against Kota's bristling fur and following his gaze into the trees over Jaycee's head. It didn't take long to spot what he was staring so hard at, for there was hardly any shelter given from the bare and brittle tree skeletons.

The camouflage they were wearing helped, but it could only do so much. As the figure stepped closer, I lifted my lips in a low snarl. Goddess, I can't catch a break today!