I know what she means.
“Do you crave a run, Ty?” Ivy asks. “If so, you should go. Run with someone who might be able to keep up with you. He runs pretty fast,” she says with pride, talking about me.
I find this funny, because she hasn’t really seen me run as a wolf, just when I chased her the night we met, and it was just a short distance.
“I’d keep up with him no problems,” Riley says with a big smile. “Could probably run faster than you,” he adds, a sparkle in his eye.
“I’d like to see you try,” I return.
“Put your money where your mouth is, cuz.” He kicks his shoes off and throws his shirt off.
My eyes move to Ivy.
Riley has big muscles and she likes muscles. Her eyes move over him for just a brief instant and then they’re on me with a smile in them.
It’s like she knows I’d wanna do this and is encouraging me. She isn’t staring at his muscles.
But do I want this? More importantly, do I leave her with them?
What if something happens? Will she try to leave?
I look to Catrina.
“It’ll be fine. We’ll take great care of her. Just go. Thirty minutes. Probably do you guys a world of good. Give us a chance for more girl talk.” Catrina winks at me.
I don’t know if I should. But my heart is racing with excitement.
“Go ahead,” Catrina adds.
“No pressure, Ty,” Riley says, the humor no longer on his face.
“Oh, you’re backin’ out?” I tease. “Guess you don’t like to lose.”
He bites his lip and shakes his head, then he’s shifting, jeans dropping at his feet.
“No shifting in the house!” Catrina exclaims and heads to the door, opening it. “Bloody alphas. Go!” She gestures out the door and Riley, now his large brown wolf looks back at me and winks and then he’s off.
Running.
Shit.
“Be good,” I warn Ivy. “Stay here. Listen to Cat. I love you.” I kiss her.
She startles.
I peel my shirt off and then I’m shifting, and I’m gone to catch up with Riley.
***
I run down the long road that goes right and leads to nothing but forest, the road Ivy drove down the other day. It’s a good straight run lined both sides by trees before hitting a fence that was there before Cornelius bought this property. Beyond the fence is deeper woods. In no time, I’m running alongside Riley.
My paws pound the pavement, which is cool today. It’s breezy and the wind in my thick coat of fur feels good. We’re keeping pace and then I’m outrunning him. And then he’s outrunning me, by just a shoulder for a minute and getting cocky about it not realizing I’m allowing it. I overtake him again by two lengths. We go on that way for the few miles of straightaway until we’re coming up toward the fence line and we both jump over the four feet high fence without catching on it, and head deeper into the bush.
The smell of loam, the cold and crisp air in my nose as I move? It feels incredible. I’ve missed this. I’ve missed it a lot.
And I don’t just feel the wind, the smells, the earth, I hear his paws hit, I hear his breathing, and even hear that his heart beats at the same pace as mine.
It’s strange to feel this level of physical compatibility with another male.
I have a fleeting thought that I hope Ivy’s safe. I hope she won’t run. I hope no one will harm her.
He barks at me and picks up pace, so I pick up mine and then we’re fast coming down an embankment that I know ends with a shallow creek that will eventually wind and deepen, becoming the river that leads to Arcana Falls many miles away. I’ve never swam that far, as it’s always been ‘the forbidden village’, and while Uncle lived, I ignored the draw to go there alone because of his rules. Before long, we’re both galloping through the stream, water splashing high.
The energy I feel invigorates me. This feels incredible. And I feel drawn to go there, to finally see those falls.
Cornelius kept up when I was a kid but once I matured he never could, and I longed to run, really run at full speed with someone. I craved it with a fierceness that invaded my dreams.
Those dreams run through my mind now, for the first time in years. I dreamt of running with others like me. I dreamt of playing as pups, then running as older wolves. I painted based on those dreams, so many of them. Cornelius put the paintings away in the rafters of the garage. Except the one over my mantle in the bedroom. I put that one up when I took over that room. Of pups playing together. He never said a word about it but now that I think on it, he reacted to it and tried to hide how it made him feel.