I growled in frustration as I spotted the same fallen log once again. I swore we'd passed the same area a hundred times already! I was so sick of living out here in the woods. I needed to be home, with my mate.

I've lost count of the days it's been since Willow and Meadow found me. The days, the weeks, maybe even the months had sort of just blurred together.

When I finally built my strength and energy back up, Scarlet returned, sounding as weak as I'd once felt. Once I was able to shift again, we all began trekking in animal form, as it felt easier this way and we felt safer.

I'd asked them about their previous lives, wrote being taken hostage, but neither of them remembered much. Meadow remembered her grandma, but she couldn't put the name to the face; Willow was lost completely. I found that incredibly sad because she was sixteen, and extraordinarily beautiful with her thick brown waves and big doe eyes. She had to have a family — maybe even a mate — out there looking for her, mourning for her.

And like the rogues tried to change my name to Fern, their names couldn't have originally been Willow and Meadow. That would make it ten times harder to find their packs and their families.

I snorted as a leaf blew in the wind and smacked into my face. Meadow was padding beside me, her beige fur caked in mud, and her eyes sulking with every day. They were giving up, I could see it. I pushed my muzzle into her shoulder, trying to communicate that we couldn't quit, not after this long. We'd find my home, we had to!

Birds erupted from the wilting foliage and Willow let out a yowl, bunching her mighty legs and leaping for them. Her wide claws snatched four of the creatures down and she purred with satisfaction.

We huddled together and ate in silence, fluffing our fur out against the autumn breeze. I choked down my robin, not minding the taste as much as I used to. After months of eating freshly killed prey, I was finally used to the strange flavors. In addition, I'd all but completely handed over the reigns to Scarlet; I was nearly a feral fox.

Willow shook her mighty head and I gave her a soft bark, telling her we should continue. She pointed her long striped tail to the sky, and I looked up to see the sun beginning to set. I shook my head, trying to tell her we had to keep going, at least until the moon rose.

Meadow flocked her beady eyes between us, finally twitching her ear towards me, telling us she agreed with my statement. With a growl, Willow stood up and stalked off into the forest, Meadow and I close behind.

This time, we tried our absolute hardest to stay straight and not double back around. But when the sun was gone, so was the warmth and we decided to call it a night. I fluffed my tail out and curled in a ball, covering my nose with my tail. Meadow curled up right against my face, while Willow engulfed us with her powerful frame. In spite of being thin and weak, she was still a tiger and completely dwarfed us in size.

The night was peaceful, thank the Goddess. When we woke, our minds were fresh and our energy was up. Together, we rose and sprang off through the trees, yipping and yowling and purring as we chased each other.

Suddenly Willow slammed to a stop and I tumbled into her leg. Meadow skidded to a halt next to me with wide eyes, unsure what was going on. I padded up next to Willow's head and barked.

She let out a huge, deep purr and bounded forwards a few yards. She looked back at me, excitement lighting her forest green eyes. I barked again and hurried up beside her, tilting my head, asking her what it was.

She took a deep breath, smelling the plants and the air in front of us. She then indicated for me to do the same. Meadow joined and we all took deep breaths. It took a few moments before I understood. Kalama's smell was all over the plants.

Relieved and excited, I took more giant gulps. I wagged my bushy tail as I picked up a hint of Xavier. Had Xavier found Kallie? I yipped happily and plunged into the undergrowth, the girls hot in pursuit.

Adrenaline rushed through me as I vaguely remembered the woods from before I was taken, but we hadn't lived here long enough for them to be imprinted in my brain. I barked louder as the trees started thinning and I could just barely make out the white pack house up ahead.

I pushed harder, not caring at the moment if my friends were right on my heels or not. I flew across the big yard, my paws barely touching the grass. I reached the back door and yipped loudly.

A pack member who's name I couldn't quite remember spotted me and stomped over. He threw the sliding glass door open and started yelling at me. I shrunk back, not knowing what to do.

He shooed me away muttering about "stupid foxes" and "we don't have food for you."

I whimpered and took a step back, my eyes wide with hurt. Did my pack really not remember me? Was I so mangy that I was unrecognizable?

Willow and Meadow caught up to me, and the guy turned back to us with a startled look in his face. I guess if I'd just turned away a fox, only to see another one with a tiger, I'd be pretty shocked too.

I barked happily at them and the guy's eyes focused on me. He seemed to be having a hard time calming his heart down. "W-what in the —"

I barked at him again, but before he could say anything, loud footsteps came from somewhere inside. A second later, I spotted my father. If I could dry tears of happiness in this form, I would have.

"What's going on?" He grumbled at the pack member. "Ian?" He questioned when the guy didn't answer.

Ian only shook his head and pointed to us. Dad turned and looked as shocked as Ian, but I knew he recognized my fox, he'd seen Scarlet enough times to know who it was.

"April?" Dad whispered, his eyes brimming with moisture. "Is it really you?"

I barked and Ian looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "I'm so sorry!" He gasped, "I hadn't realized!" He turned and fled, making my dad chuckle.

"I smell her!" A voice suddenly exclaimed from inside the kitchen and a moment later, Xavier was standing next to my father.

I barked happily and spun in a circle. I was home!