"Can't we slow down?" Aimee panted. "What's the rush?"

Her mate wasn't in much better shape as they tried to keep up with their new packmates. They had left their old group to join ours, partially hoping to get accepted into a pack since they hadn't had any luck so far.

"Sorry," Conrad replied. "We're used to going at this pace."

"How do you not collapse on the ground before noon? I thought I was in good shape, but this just set a new standard on things."

"Look at it this way," Josh piped up. "You'll be in excellent shape at the end of it."

"Why don't I just wait here until you guys find out where Julie's pack went?"

"Nope," I replied, now riding in style in a basket Vera was carrying. "I need someone along who can bake bread without burning it."

"I didn't burn it that badly," Amber muttered.

Even dipping it into the soup hadn't been enough to soften the burnt crust or make it edible. I shared the memory image of the black flakes bobbing around in soup bowl.

"Alright. I'll try to keep up, but we have to slow down."

Our pace had already slowed to a trot, allowing our two new friends to catch their breath.

"Look out!" Conrad shouted across the packlink as he slammed into a red-eyed feral that tried to bite Jordan.

Jordan quickly retreated to his mate's side, although Aimee was still backing up as she stared at the snarling creature.

"Julie, can you calm this thing down?"

My aura was already as strong as I could make it, and against her better judgement, Vera had even carried me closer. She had left the basket at the edge of the clearing since she was worried I might fall out if she had to jump back.

"I can't even tell if my aura is affecting him."

"Give me a hand," Conrad said as his jaws clamped onto the back of the feral's neck. "Let's pin him so Julie can safely touch his tail."

"This feral is really feral," Josh stated as he, Daryl, Michael, and two others all converged on the thrashing wolf.

Michael grunted as he was kicked in the flank before they managed to topple the creature onto its side. Conrad maintained his vise-like grip on the feral's neck while Daryl lay on top of its shoulders.

After a few minutes, the brindle wolf was basically immobilized by six wolves. Amber was sitting on his hind legs and pinned his tail with her front paws. Vera waited a few moments to ensure the feral wasn't going to get loose before she carried me forward.

She set me down, but didn't move her head away, ready to grab me again. I quickly put my paws on the feral's tail and reached deep within me. My fur fluffed up with the power I was channelling; I felt it reach and spread out – then retract and draw back.

The human mind within was completely gone.

My breath hitched – in all of our worst case scenarios, we had never imagined that the person could have been driven so far into madness that the human mind ceased to be. Like a rabid bear, only the most aggressive animal instincts remained.

"He- he's gone." My voice shook.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Conrad asked.

"My aura isn't working because there is nothing human left. His human mind is gone."

"What? Are you sure? How is he still alive then?"

"I don't know, but this explains why I can't sense his mind at all. It isn't because he's really feral – it's because he's just an animal at this point, and I can't detect animals."

They were silent as I mindlinked what I was sensing. My packmates were bright sparks of emotion around me – and even in my old memories of them as ferals, I had at least been able to sense the fog in their mind. As far as my abilities were concerned, there were only twelve werewolves present – not thirteen.

"Can you try again? Just to be sure?" Conrad asked quietly.

I edged forward and put my paws on the feral's back legs. Closing my eyes, I reached for the essence of my Comforter abilities again, felt them rise, then fall when they found no werewolf in contact with me.

My tail drooped sadly as I mindlinked what I had felt.

"Vera, can you take her to a safer distance?"

She gently picked me up by the scruff of my neck and trotted away, relief shining through her mind now that she could take me away from the dangerous feral. Jenna picked up my basket and darted ahead of us.

"This is one of the worst parts about being an Enforcer," Conrad commented in resignation. "If we let this thing go, it will attack any pack or travellers it smells."

A loud snap from behind made me twitch. Even though my senses still showed me twelve wolves, I knew there was one less now than there had been before.

Vera kept trotting into the trees and prevented me from seeing whatever had happened. The other wolves followed us as they radiated sadness. I strengthened my aura but had no words to offer.

"I wonder how many ferals are past the point of no return," Amber murmured.

"Well," Daryl said, still subdued by what had taken place, "that was the first one we've encountered, and Julie was able to reach all of us."

Conrad said, "I think the ones who attacked us as ferals might have been like that. They were pure aggression."

Aimee and Jordan listened silently. We had told them that most of our group had been feral for a while, but I wasn't sure if they believed us until now. They were shaken by what had just happened, but I wasn't picking up anything that indicated they might decide to take their leave.

Switching groups wasn't that uncommon among rogues. Most of them only joined a group for the convenience of the mindlink.

I was pretty sure the lure of potentially joining a pack would keep them with us while the slowly growing ties of friendship helped things along.

"How far away do you think we are?" I asked Aimee, trying to distract the group's downtrodden mood.

She didn't even have to ask what I meant since Woodhurst Pack had been our destination for several days. "We might get there later today or early tomorrow."

"It also depends if the bridges are still where we think they are," her mate chimed in, "or if we encounter any unexpected delays."

Josh lifted his head into the gentle breeze. "There's another feral ahead. Possibly two or three. They must have run through some thick trees for their scent to be so faint."

Right on cue, here was our next delay. Even as it frustrated me, I also fervently hoped that we could help these ferals. If we could help them, it would boost our pack's spirits into celebration instead of mourning a stranger we had never met before.