The sound of pieces of wood being dropped woke me, and I pulled the blanket off my head to blink groggily at the world around me.

"Good morning, girlie," the lanky man greeted me, although the sky was still dark. "I'll have breakfast warmed up in a moment."

"My name's Julie," I murmured as I sat up.

"I'll try to remember, although I wasn't too far off. Since we're being all chummy, I'm Carson, the blonde over there is Rodger, and that's Liam."

I nodded, which seemed to be my new habit. This time, I managed to go into the bushes and come back without getting lost. Carson was already holding a branch with meat on it towards me. I took it with quiet thanks and went back to sit on the blankets.

"We'll be ready to go shortly," Carson told me. "You get to make the decision on how you want to travel. You can either ride on Liam's back, be carried in the duffel bag, or you can opt for the sleeping spray. We once had a Comforter that got motion sickness, and he preferred to sleep the entire trip."

I fiddled with the edge of the blanket. "Can I shift back and be carried in the duffel bag? I'll be lighter that way." I really wanted to be on four feet again, but the wooden disc was still around his neck.

"Sorry. Believe it or not, it's much easier to transport a Comforter in human form just because of how noticeable your aura is. It becomes really complicated if we cross a band of not-so-friendly rogues who are hoping for some quick money. That's why Liam always carries our guest – it leaves Rodger and me free if a fight breaks out. Even normally friendly rogues get testy if they sense a Comforter in no man's land. There's just something about a packless Comforter that sets people off."

"I can try riding." Being shoved into a duffel bag didn't appeal to me in the least.

"He'll have a harness, so the worst part will be how stiff your legs will get by nighttime."

From conversations among my past pack mates, I knew that doing a lot of riding often resulted in sore muscles, and considering my arms and legs already had a dull ache from being human for so long, that didn't bode well.

The three began packing things up, so I folded the blankets I had been sitting on. If the pawprints around the campsite were any indication, the men had slept in wolf form. I sat on a log and watched them somehow cram all the supplies into two massive backpacks, which Rodger and Liam put on before shifting.

The clothing and backpacks disappeared along with their human shape, leaving them standing on four paws. Their wolf forms were large, even for adult males. Both of them were taller than I was, although I was a bit on the short side.

Carson picked up a series of leather straps and began buckling them onto the tawny wolf.

"There we go," Carson said, tapping a small pouch on the harness. "There's a water bottle in there and some jerky if you get hungry. Come on over."

I slowly walked over, and without warning, Carson picked me up by my waist, making me squeak in surprise, before he deposited me on Liam's back. Instinctively, I grabbed onto the handles sticking out of the padding.

Carson shifted into a soot black wolf and trotted into the trees. I held on tight as Liam followed him, with Rodger bringing up the rear.

It took me almost an hour to figure out how to ride with the least amount of discomfort. As I got the hang of riding on Liam's back, the group also picked up speed until they were running at a steady lope.

Liam huffed a quiet warning, and I quickly ducked to avoid yet another branch. It didn't always seem like it, but Liam was picking the most open routes. Thankfully, if my mind was wandering, he gave a small huff of warning. My face had a few small scratches from a few occasions when I hadn't ducked beneath a low branch fast enough.

Other than the sound of their paws in the leaf litter, singing birds, and the occasional frog in the distance, it was quiet. The three rogues likely had a small group mindlink and could talk to each other, but I couldn't hear them. I didn't feel like seeing if I could mindlink them yet, although I was pretty certain the spray had worn off yesterday.

I checked every corner of my mind, but my packlink was truly gone. Hoping against all hope, I tried mindlinking each person one by one, although it didn't work. With no packlink to boost my range, I could only mindlink those in the immediate vicinity.

Tears flowed over my cheeks again, although I kept my sobs at bay, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I checked the pouch for the water bottle, and also found a bunch of tissues. I wiped my cheeks and blew my nose with one.

Liam huffed quietly, and I ducked my head to avoid another branch. He paid no heed to my tears or sniffling as he kept running.

I had lost track of time long ago, although the sky was starting to get dark. The two water bottles were empty, and all the tissues were soggy. How Liam was still going was a mystery to me. Even carrying me, he had alternated between a lope and a trot all day, with only a handful of brief stops for bathroom breaks.

They trotted into a small clearing with an old firepit and sniffed around. Carson came over and shifted, stretching his arms.

"We'll stop here for the night. Do you need help getting down?"

"I'm not sure..." As much as I wanted to say no, it was a long way down and my legs ached from riding all day.

"Try it. If you fall, I'll catch you."

I pulled my leg over Liam's back and tried to slide down to the ground. My legs hit the ground and decided they had been tormented enough today. Luckily, Carson caught my arms and lowered me to the ground, letting me rest in the thick grass.

"Uh, thanks."

"Just wait until you see how sore your legs will be in three days," he said as he unharnessed Liam.

I winced, already not looking forward to it.

Liam and Rodger left the clearing, and Carson asked, "Mind helping me collect some sticks to get the fire started?"

"Okay..." I still wasn't too sure about my travelling companions, but I knew I'd want the fire before the sun finished setting. Keeping within view of the clearing, I collected dead branches and sticks from the ground.

When I took an armful back, Carson already had four times that amount piled there. He was using a flint and some fluffy stuff to start the fire.

"Liam and Rodger will be back shortly," he murmured, still mostly focused on the cascade of sparks. "They'll make sure the area is clear and bring back something to eat. Once they come back, they'll shift so we can set up the camp."

I set my armful of wood beside him and went to get more. It didn't take Liam long to return, although we had most of the camp set up before Rodger came back with a rabbit in his jaws.

Rodger dropped the rabbit and cleaned his muzzle on the grass before shifting and taking his backpack off. "Not much game around. This was all I found."

Carson replied, "If you want to get the meat going, I'll go hunting."

"Sounds good to me. One skinny rabbit isn't going to feed all of us."

I continued collecting branches, even more uneasy around these two than I was around Carson. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't spoken with either of them yet. They spoke to each other, but apparently had no desire to include me in their discussion.

By the time the meat started to sizzle, Carson returned with a huge fish in his mouth. He tossed it at Rodger, who caught the wet thing with a grimace. Carson trotted to the edge of the forest before shaking his fur vigorously, liberally watering any nearby vegetation.

He shifted and came back, sitting down on a log with a triumphant smile. He glanced over at me. "Did you have fun while I was gone?"

I blinked at him, unable to fathom what was fun about this trip.

"Yeah," he continued, "Liam and Rodger aren't much for conversation. They're strong, though, and pull far more than their own weight. I'm the talker of the group, so you're stuck chatting with me. Do you like fish?"

"Yes," I murmured.

"Excellent, because I like fishing and this area seems like it's overhunted-" He stopped speaking as a large branch snapped in the distance.

Rodger instantly shifted and darted soundlessly into the undergrowth, leaving the fish partially cut open on a rock. I glanced uneasily at Carson, but he held up a hand, indicating he wanted me to wait. Snarls suddenly echoed through the trees in the distance, one much deeper than the other.

Carson relaxed. "Just a bear." He turned to look at Liam. "I thought you two checked the area? We haven't even been here long."

"Must have been in a tree or slipped between the cracks."

Carson frowned, but if he continued speaking, it was through their grouplink. I had a feeling it was going to be a long night.