My legs ached, and so did my arms. Part of it was from riding a wolf for five days straight, but the majority of it was from being locked in human form for so long. I ducked under another branch, wishing they would let me shift and carry me by the scruff of my neck or tie the duffle bag on the top of Liam's harness. I had ventured the suggestion a few times, but Carson refused to even consider it.

From the position of the sun, I guessed we would probably go for several more hours before setting up camp. I already knew Carson was going to have to lift me down – there was no way my legs were going to hold me today.

With a sigh, I chewed another small strip of jerky to try and distract myself from the slowly passing time. I ducked under yet another branch and saw Carson slide to a stop as his hackles went up. Liam stopped so suddenly that I actually rolled over his shoulder. He lowered himself as I fell, so I didn't drop so far, but I still landed with an inelegant and painful thud.

Rodger barreled past us, and Liam urgently nudged me with his muzzle, trying to get me to stand while anxiously glancing toward his companions. I ended up grabbing a handful of his neck fur to pull myself up, groaning as my legs protested. He kept pushing me back until I stood against a large tree.

Spitting snarls came from Carson and Rodger, and I looked up just in time to see three other wolves attack them. Liam left me and charged over to help his friends. The sight of their red eyes made me gasp. They were ferals.

Turning around, I began climbing the large tree as fast as I could. My feet occasionally slipped off branches, but I didn't stop my hasty ascent. Snarls, yelps, and growls came from below as I climbed as high as I dared. Then there was silence. A very eerie silence.

The leaves blocked my view, but I wasn't about to climb down in case the rogues were leading the ferals on a wild goose chase. I hung onto the branches and strained my ears to hear anything. Even the birds were silent or had fled.

I waited. And I waited some more. A few birds chirped in the distance, but there was still nothing but silence. Cautiously and carefully, I climbed down a few branches so I could see something besides leaves.

A gasp left my lips as I covered my mouth with my hand. The grass below was covered in blood and tufts of fur. Sprawled on the grass, ripped to pieces and disembowelled, were the bodies of the three rogues.

My body shook, unable to believe that the three rogues who had taken out an Alpha and Beta had been so easily overpowered by three ferals. I knew ferals were extremely dangerous, but knowing that and seeing dead people covered in their own blood were two very different things.

I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, suddenly glad I hadn't eaten much, or it might have made a reappearance. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the gruesome scene again.

Carson was in his human shape with various glass vials and body parts scattered around him. It took me a few seconds to spot his arm on the other side of the clearing.

The necklace with the wooden token was still around his neck.

I scanned the forest as best I could from this angle, but I didn't see the ferals. Unless I joined another pack and got the Alpha to issue a command to override Sorrin's, I needed that token to shift back. I waited, constantly looking around for any motion.

Weren't there supposed to be other rogues in no man's land? I really wished some of them would smell the blood and come check the area, although the ferals might have already scared them away. Rodger and Liam were in their wolf form, so I had no camping supplies. An empty water bottle and three strips of jerky weren't going to get me far in the middle of the forest.

I climbed the rest of the way down and placed my feet with care as I crossed the grass to avoid stepping on chunks of fur and flesh. There was no way to avoid the blood splattered everywhere. I was glad my house slippers had several layers of waxed leather on the bottom since the blood wouldn't be able to soak through them.

With shaking hands, I reached toward Carson's torn-open throat and grabbed the token. A quick yank broke the cord, and I stood back up. I stared at his empty eyes for a few seconds before turning and locating the pouch that had been on Liam's harness and taking the water bottle and remaining jerky.

I quickly looked around the clearing; bloody wolf prints went down one path, so I went in the opposite direction with the token clutched in my hand. As much as I desperately wished to break it and be back to normal, I knew I could travel farther and faster in human form.

I half ran through the forest, finally finding a deer trail to follow. As my breathing came hard and my legs burned, I was forced to slow down. I took a deep breath, hoping to pick up the scent of a pack. The borders were supposed to have a strong smell from the constant patrols. Either I wasn't close to a pack, which wouldn't surprise me, or my human nose wasn't keen enough to detect such scents.

Shaking my head, I staggered onward, wondering what I was going to do once the sun went down. A deep growl from behind made me stop in my tracks and slowly turn around as dread filled me.

Eight red-eyed wolves were scattered among the bushes behind me. I took a slow step backward, knowing I was too far away from any climbable tree. The three closest wolves advanced, hackles up and teeth bared.

The wooden token bit into my palm from how tightly I was holding it. I had one last chance. If it didn't work, I would be as dead as the rogues in the blood-splattered clearing.

Grabbing the token between both hands, I snapped it. Immediately, I felt the command lift as heat shimmered through me, leaving me as a Comforter on the forest floor.

I pushed my aura to the max, shifting it to calm and placate, and the ferals stumbled slightly as the force of it hit them. I threw my head back and cried pitifully like a lost pup, still putting as much strength as I could into my aura. This trick was one that was – supposedly – even capable of breaking up an all-out fight between two Alphas. I hoped it would be enough to stop an entire pack of ferals.

The ferals paused, then the three nearest ones edged in closer; their minds were too muddled behind the mask of madness for me to determine if I was making any progress. A dark brown female was the closest, and even though her hackles were still up, her teeth were no longer visible. The irises in her eyes were a bright red – a clear sign that no trace of her human mind was present.

I whined and wagged my tail nervously, trying to charm her with my actions and my aura. She leaned down and sniffed me, and I licked the underside of her chin, wiggling like a real puppy would. After a few sniffs, she gave me a tentative lick, then used her paw to pull me closer to her, rolling me onto my side.

She nudged me with her nose and gave me another lick. I wagged my tail and nuzzled her snout, trying to remain in contact with her so my abilities had more effect. Her ears perked forward with interest as her hackles lowered.

Suddenly, her head snapped to the side as she snarled at another feral. Her ears were pinned back and her teeth were on full display as she warned the grey male off. He bared his teeth in return, but dipped his head and circled at a distance, unwilling to challenge the female hovering over me.

I whined and wedged myself between her front legs, deciding that getting on her good side was my best chance for surviving this evening. She turned her attention back to me, nudging me some more. I returned her greeting with licks and whines while trying to look as cute as I could.

She lifted her head and bared her teeth again, but let the grey male approach this time. He leaned down to sniff me. Despite how scared I was that he could end my life in one snap of his massive jaws, I reached out from between the female's legs to sniff noses. He grumbled, but seemed to accept me and backed up to let the other ferals have a look.

The other six wolves came to check me out while the brown female remained standing over me with her teeth bared the entire time, as if warning them to behave. Once they had met me, they shook themselves out and began trotting out of the clearing.

The brown female nudged me and followed after them, going slowly. I hesitated briefly before scampering after her. So far, she was the only thing out here that was willing to protect me, and night was swiftly approaching.

I kept stumbling as I tried to keep up, slipping on fallen leaves and tripping over plants and roots. It was hard to keep up with her slow trot, and I was quickly becoming tired. It had been a long day, and I was much smaller than these massive wolves. It took me ten steps to make up for each one of theirs.

The brown wolf easily stepped over a large log and kept going. I took a run at it before jumping, and my claws scrabbled at the bark, but I still rolled backwards. I tried again and again, before letting out a whining howl.

The female returned with remarkable swiftness and sniffed me to check if I was injured. I whined and nuzzled her again. She jumped back over the log and paused, waiting. Desperately, I tried to get over the log again to no avail.

Somewhere ahead, the rest of the pack howled, calling their lagging member. Her ears twitched in the direction of the sound, although her eyes remained focused on my fruitless attempts. She came back over to me and grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.

I tucked my tail up as she turned and gracefully leapt over the log, effortlessly running to catch up with the others.

Even though I was being carried by a feral wolf, I actually fell asleep for a short time during the night. I waited for them to stop their full-tilt run, but they didn't. The early morning sunlight was already beginning to stream through the trees, illuminating the clouds of hot breath from the ferals that still weren't showing any signs of tiring.

The group slowed down and fanned out, making me lose sight of most of them. It was eerie how easily they slipped through the underbrush without a sound. The female carrying me edged forward, slowly checking the small ravine. Two ferals were already at the bottom and going up the other side.

The dark brown wolf carrying me, whom I had nicknamed Brunette, stopped halfway up the slope on a flat, grassy section and set me down. She sat down and examined the area alertly. I squeezed between her two front feet again and wagged my tail when she looked down.

With a yawn, she lay down and continued to watch the area. I snuggled up against her side and tried to stay awake. Her fur was soft and surprisingly clean. My eyes kept closing more and more as I dozed off.

I was jolted awake when she stood up and walked away. Only now did I see a black wolf bringing a dead rabbit over. She took it from him and came back, laying down beside me once more.

My stomach growled at the sight of food, not even caring that it was raw. Her ear flicked toward me, and she pushed the rabbit closer before watching the ravine again. With an eye on her in case she objected to me eating her food, I grabbed a mouthful of the fur and tried to yank it off.

After several failed attempts, she dragged the rabbit back to her and pinned it between her paws before tugging a big section of fur and skin off. Then she began chewing on a front leg, not bothering to remove the fur.

Keeping my aura as calming as possible, I snuck closer and nibbled on the furless section. It was the most tense meal I had ever endured, but I survived it, and I even had a full belly at the end. Sated, I curled up beside her again.

Within minutes, she finished the rabbit and cleaned her face. Howls sounded in the distance, and she gave a howl of her own as she stood up. After a quick stretch, she grabbed my scruff and trotted through the undergrowth again, making me wonder if ferals ever slept.

It was almost dusk when the pack finally stopped. Their legs weren't shaking, nor did their footsteps falter from exhaustion. They were clearly in better shape than any scout or border patrol.

My Comforter abilities were getting a workout; I hadn't had to keep my aura at such a high level for so long before, and I didn't dare let it drop. It didn't seem to affect them much, possibly because they were more animal than human.

I remained close to Brunette, although that task wasn't hard since she didn't let me out of her sight, even to go to the bathroom. I curled up against her stomach, ready for a good sleep. The other ferals were close by, also curling up in the long grass between the massive trees.

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