There was no way I would shake Harvey in this form. My legs were shorter than his. I had struggled in PE, even as a shifter. I would have to shift to get an extra speed boost. After that, I would have to shake him. If Harvey shifted, too, then I would be shit out of luck.
My hound form was small and agile. With my dark pelt, I’d blend into the dimming night and disappear easily. But where could I shift and not expose myself?
I scanned my surroundings for somewhere I could hide. The nearby underpass called my name. It would give me cover for a moment, which was all I would need. The underpass also told me that we were getting closer to Lakesedge.
Hope flared brightly before Harvey’s howl pierced the night. I looked back. When had he shifted? While I was distracted, my feet tangled beneath me. I lurched forward and caught myself. My palms grated against the sidewalk.
With an angry wolf closing in behind me, I forced myself upright and ignored the stinging in my palms and the angry throb of my knee. If I survived this, I would rat Harvey out for being a dumb bastard. I wanted to see Alvin beat his son’s ass.
I jumped into the shadows under the raised highway. The roar of cars overhead drowned out my fear for a moment. My hound leapt to the surface as I scanned the road behind me for Harvey. He hadn’t caught up yet, which didn’t make any sense.
I couldn’t have lost him that easily. Last I’d known, he’d been right behind me.
My hands shook as they hit the concrete again. My fingers curled into paws. Small claws emerged from my knuckles. Between inhale and exhale, my hound stepped out and shook herself. She scented the air, but she couldn’t sense anything past the exhaust overhead and the smell of trash drifting on the wind.
Run, I told her.
I spun and crashed into a solid form. The smell of enemy wolf set off alarms in my head. I reeled back, struggling to get my feet under me again. Harvey let out a sound that was almost a laugh. He prowled closer, but I wasn’t about to give him time to pounce on me.
I jumped over him. He tossed his head in an effort to grab me, but I used his head as a jumping point. He snarled, but I didn’t stick around to hear it.
My claws scrabbled against the ground when I landed. Above, a storm gathered. I held my breath in the hopes that it would disperse and leave me alone for once. I had no such luck. The stars refused to align and reveal any kind of arcana to me.
Thankfully, Lakesedge wasn’t far away. I took a sharp turn down a familiar road. The spells over Lakesedge rippled along my pelt when I dashed through them. Though the sense of returning home overcame me, I couldn’t let my guard down. I wasn’t safe yet.
I chanced another glance back. Harvey had vanished again. Adrenaline hit my bloodstream like a bucket of cold water. I paused and searched for him. My scan was fruitless. Wherever Harvey had gone, I couldn’t find him in the dark.
Swallowing, I turned back. My home wasn’t far away. I had another two blocks before I could scramble through the doggy door in the backyard.