Today was much like yesterday, and the ferals loped through the forest at a relentless pace, only pausing every few hours for a quick drink or to water a tree.

The group stopped beside another creek for a quick drink, and Brunette put me down. I got my drink and edged around a dappled grey feral before ducking inside some shrubs to relieve myself. A faint snort made me look back to see Brunette standing behind the bush, keeping an eye on me. The grey wolf gave me a cursory glance but seemed more interested in the stream.

The grey wolf lifted her head, then jumped into the creek and plunged her head into the water, surfacing with a fish thrashing in her jaws. The disturbance seemed to intrigue the others, and they also began fishing. Even Brunette went to join them. I could understand her wanting a second meal since she had mostly ignored the deer, but I failed to see where the other wolves were planning on putting this food.

I sniffed the trampled grass by my feet. There was a faint scent that I didn't think was from the ferals. Following my nose, I wandered upstream, wondering how far Brunette would let me go if she was set on eating. I slowly ambled along the edge of the creek, ensuring I wasn't close enough to tumble down the bank.

A few hairs and the scent of a wolf lingered on the thorns of a rosebush. I was probably the worst tracker in the world, but even I knew that the scent was days old. That was a disappointment, but at least I knew that there were other werewolves around. I would have to remember to check the wind frequently in case we got close to a pack border.

I hadn't gone far, but I peeked behind me to see if I'd been missed yet. Brunette was sitting at the edge of the creek and chewing on a fish with her eyes locked on me. I eased past the rosebush, wondering how far I would get before she would come after me.

From above, a black and white bird scolded me as I picked my way through the foliage. I spotted a berry bush whose berries I recognized, and I trotted over with a wagging tail, my mouth watering in anticipation of the sweet fruit. The squawking bird went ballistic as I got closer.

A glimpse of black and white from the other side made me duck down as a second bird dive-bombed me, adding its chatter to the ruckus. I scurried to the side as the first one dove down as well. Both birds doubled their efforts as I got closer to the shelter of the berry bush.

The sharp jolt of having a tuft of fur plucked off my back made me squeak, trip, and roll over – which gave me an excellent view of a large brown shadow launching over me to snap at the bird's tail feathers.

My two assailants quickly took refuge higher in the treetops as Brunette paced back and forth, waiting for them to make the mistake of coming back down. A real shadow was cast over me, this time from the black wolf, who was also eyeing up the birds.

I rolled over and stood up somewhat uneasily, tweaking part of my aura to something calming. The black wolf turned his attention to me and sniffed my fur several times before giving the sore spot a small lick. I nuzzled his snout, trying to charm the large wolf who could probably swallow me whole if he tried.

It seemed to work; he nudged me lightly before lifting his head as Brunette came over. She paused when she was in front of him, and they stared at each other for a long moment. The light thumping of my wagging tail made her look down and then sniff my fur as she checked me over.

The black wolf turned and went back the way he had come. Brunette glanced after him and then picked me up and followed. As I swung from her jaws, I saw one of the birds fly into the berry bush and hop into a large pile of sticks in the middle that I now recognized as a nest. No wonder they had been so upset when I had gone closer.

The pack resumed their journey, still with no apparent destination.

My scruff was sore by the time the ferals slowed down again. As the sun began setting, the wolves stretched lazily as they got a drink from a small pond. Brunette put me down on the weedy shore, and I walked beside her. After being dive-bombed by birds, she refused to let me out of her sight during the few times we stopped, so I didn't expect this stop to be any different, nor did I feel like checking if her paranoia had faded any.

After getting a drink, I yawned and shook my head. I was tired – and I hadn't even been the one running all day! I looked at the ferals, but once again, there was no way to tell that they had spent most of the day on the move.

Then I took a second look at them. Not one of them had red eyes. Five had brownish eyes, two had the yellow tint that some wolves and cats had, and one had a blueish color – all with vague orange tints and hazes.

I was really beginning to wish that I knew more about ferals, but the general knowledge I had overheard or had read in books tended to be vague and revolved around how to recognize a feral, avoid one, or lure them away from the pack's borders. All of the books said ferals had red eyes and attacked any living thing they could get their fangs on.

Their ferocity I had seen firsthand – and I had almost been a victim of it. I had seen them with red eyes, but now had solid proof that their eyes could change colors, although I didn't know why.

I paused as a thought crossed my mind – could my aura be affecting them? I focused on my senses, going deeper than I usually did. Their minds were still muddy with whatever madness had driven them feral, and it cloaked their emotions, but it didn't seem as thick as when I had first looked closely.

My aura was already as strong as I could make it, although I hadn't purposefully attempted to amplify its effects with focused direct contact. Touch normally enhanced my aura's effects, but there was another level that I hadn't tried yet. I had never used this skill before – there had never been a need – but it was an ability I had. That any Comforter had.

Trying to act casually, I leaned against Brunette's front leg and closed my eyes as I reached deep within myself, to the very core of my abilities. Many ferals had been driven to their mindless state by events too painful for them to cope with, so I completely focused my abilities on removing the pain of old memories with a tinge of comforting.

I exhaled slowly and let the essence of my Comforter powers flow through me. My fur fluffed up as it spread through my body, finally locating the wolf I was in contact with. I felt it connect with her. There weren't words to describe it; it wasn't fast, but neither was it slow. Its sheer force froze her in one spot for several seconds.

In that brief moment, the cloud over her mind lifted, and I caught a glimpse of unimaginable heart-wrenching pain that made my legs give out. It also broke the contact, and Brunette backed up with a loud whine, shaking her head fiercely.

The other wolves swiftly gathered around her. Some pushed against Brunette with their heads or whined and licked her face. The black wolf stood beside me, looking between her and me, as if somehow realizing that I had caused her strange behavior.

I whined and stepped towards Brunette, shifting my aura to comforting as I tried to relieve the pain I had temporarily uncovered. A black paw blocked my way as the wolf stepped in front of me. I began to go around, but he blocked that attempt as well.

I looked up to see him staring at me intently. He moved his paws, lightly pinning me between his legs as he stood above me. I stilled in worry, and we looked at each other for a long time. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but he showed no signs of letting me go.

Brunette slowly recovered and looked around, presumably for me. She came forward, but the black wolf flashed a canine tooth at her. Her ears went back as her hackles went up, but she stopped where she was, which was surprising since I hadn't seen her take another wolf's threat seriously yet. They both watched me. In fact, the entire pack was focused on me.

My heart began racing. All I could think of was that the special contact ability had blown my cover as a normal puppy. But they hadn't reacted to my aura before, and with this skill requiring contact, only Brunette should have felt it and possibly connected it to me.

The wolves continued waiting, remaining where they were. A light wind blew through the trees and made the leaves rustle, a bizarrely normal background noise while eight motionless ferals stared at me.

Time passed slowly, and they still didn't move. My nerves were strung tight, and I whined, trying to see if it might get me any leeway. Brunette stepped forward, and the black wolf bared his teeth at her again. Reluctantly, she stepped back, and he refocused on me. He reached down and licked my ear reassuringly before nudging my side, pushing me against his leg before lifting his head, still gazing at me as if waiting for something.

The lick confirmed that he wasn't directing aggression towards me, but what could he be waiting for? The thought that it might be the contact ability was becoming a more plausible answer all the time. But it didn't make sense – I had used it on Brunette, not him. He wasn't her mate, so he wouldn't have felt anything.

There was one way to find out, and I hoped it didn't seal my fate. Taking a deep breath, I once more reached deep inside for the hidden power. I felt it locate the black wolf and render him immobile. At the same time, the other wolves shifted uneasily as their eyes glazed over slightly.

The shroud over the black wolf's mind lifted, revealing a well of pain that my power tried to neutralize. I extended my senses further and was surprised to see that much of the pain had already subsided, likely from the long-term exposure to my strong aura.

His eyes closed, and his breathing became heavy. It was as if he was steeling himself to truly face his emotions, regardless of their cause or effects. I felt him stop avoiding the pain and step into it. A howl of pain tore out of his throat even as his mind relived some terrible memory. His grief poured over my senses like water from a bucket, too strong for my abilities to effectively dull.

His mind faltered, and I recovered enough from feeling his distress to throw more strength into my aura and powers. I had no idea how long we stood there as he fought through his memories and emotions while I tried to support him.

Like rain slowly soaking into cracked, dry ground, his mind gradually cleared and stabilized. He exhaled heavily and stepped back before sitting down, mentally exhausted. I was also tired; I had pushed my abilities right to their limits, although I wasn't sure exactly what had just occurred.

Brunette trotted over and nuzzled me, and I returned the gesture before turning my attention back to the black wolf. The other wolves closed in, extremely interested and curious, but not touching him.

He finally opened his eyes, and I blinked when I saw they were completely brown. The intelligence and awareness behind them was something that I had only seen in werewolves. Even the ferals around us lacked that true spark.

Laying down, he scooted forward on his belly, and I backed up, unsure of what he was doing. Brunette nudged her nose into my rump, pushing me toward the black wolf. Tripping over my feet, I tumbled between his front paws.

His tail began wagging, and his jaws parted in a playful manner, which, given his size, was still pretty intimidating. Using his nose, he rolled me onto my back and gave my leg a lick. I still wasn't sure what he was up to, so I wiggled in a playful manner and tapped his nose with my paws.

He lifted his paw and pinned me firmly as he leaned over and nipped the pad of my foot. I squealed at the unexpected pain, alarmed to see blood flowing out of the shallow injury. Brunette growled deeply but remained where she was, hackles standing completely on end, so tense that her muscles trembled.

The black wolf ignored my protests and raised his other paw, biting his pad as well. Then he lowered his bleeding pad until it touched mine.

Like a lightless flash, a group mindlink formed with the blood contact. A packlink. In my Comforter senses, the mindsparks of eight wolves appeared. One for each of the ferals, although their minds didn't seem so feral at the moment, muted and dim, but not completely insane. In fact, the black wolf's mind was just as clear and aware as my former packmate's minds had been.

I lay there in shock, completely taken aback.