Wolf Girl

Chapter 3: The Scent

After about fifteen more rounds, I had won them all but Caleb got close on the ninth try, we make it back to our starting spot and the sun was starting to come over the mountains "Uh, damn. I got to get home to change for school." I say grabbing my jacket looking down at my dirt covered clothes.

"Yeah, me too." Caleb grabs his shades and starts toward the car.   

"You know you did pretty well back there. I think soon enough you'll be ready to take on one of the pups." I say teasing as I step over a tree root.

"Ha ha ha, you are so funny. You know you willn't be laughing when I finally bet you." Caleb says sarcastically as he crushes a twig under his foot.

"Don't you mean if you bet me?" I correct. I laugh when Caleb glares at me. "No but seriously, you're getting better soon you'll be able to fight without the worrying about your chest wound."

"Yeah, well I still hate it." he says in a shameful voice. Caleb is always too hard on himself, which is why I'm the only one who knows about his wound.

"Oh stop it, there's nothing wrong with your wound not being healed yet, it's natural. You were shot really close."

"Well try telling that to my dad. When I got shot he was like 'not worry son, soon you'll be up and running in no time. You're just like for old man, tough as nails'", he says mimicking his father's heavy Irish accent perfectly, "If he knew I wasn't healed yet, he'd never let me live it down."

"Well screw your father, he's such an ass." I say as we walk through the final bit of forest and start up the hill.

"My mom wasn't any better about it. She grilled me longer than him." He says.     

"Asses." I mutter to myself. Caleb's parents and I never liked each other, and the way they act so cold about Caleb's injuries is one of the reasons.  "So how are the folks?" I ask acting like I really care.

"They're good, dad says that the town borders are fine, and mom's say that the new Herbers are processing well."

"Hmm, cool." Caleb's dad is head of border control and his mom teaches all the new Herbers the ropes, which is also another reason they don't like me.  I am a she wolf and just about all she wolves are either Herbers or care for the pups, but I do either. I'm a warrior so Caleb's mom hates the fact that I'm going against thousands of years of tradition of females being Herbers, even though when she first tried teaching me how to make silver antidotes, the easiest thing to make, I blew up the classroom, and Caleb's dad doesn't like the fact that I'm "playing warrior" when I should be at home cooking, cleaning and popping out little ones to keep our species going, even though I'm stronger than most of the pack, including him. They hate that I go against everything they believe in, which is reason they push Caleb so hard in his training. They want him to be the reason why I shouldn't be fighting; ironic enough I'm stronger than him too. "Abraham was worried that our forces would be stretched too thin while him and the other warriors gone on their mission."

"My dad too but they're doing fine. In fact those warriors are coming back today."

"Oh, well that's great," I say sarcastically. Axel had been on that mission, which gave me a few relaxing days without having to deal with him and his boys.

"Try not to sound too happy Kam." Caleb replies.

"No promises are being made."

"Well at least they're back so maybe they have something good to re" Caleb's cut off when a huge wolf jumps out from side of the forest and lunges at Caleb. The wolf is huge the size of a bear at least, it has light brown fur and its paws are white.

Luke.

In midair Caleb explodes into a blonde wolf with a white belly.  When the two hit the ground they separate quickly and begin to circle each other at the base on the hill. They're both roughly the same size and both are snarling, baring their sharp teeth.

Then another wolf charges at Caleb from behind, but Caleb ducks down putting his stomach to the ground and the wolf went carelessly over him and lands next to the other wolf. This new wolf is dark brown and has a white spot on his back.

Seth.

Luke and Seth now begin circling around Caleb, Seth in the front and Luke behind, and attack him.  

I sigh rolling my eyes as the guys play around. Luke and Seth together are no match for Caleb, they are always sneaking up on him trying to get him while his guard is down, but they still lose.

"You think that they would have learned." says a voice behind me. I turn to see Conner staring straight ahead watching his friends get their asses handed to them.

"Yeah, you would think that but those two never know what's good for them." I say walking over to Conner. Conner can be summed up in three words: dark, sexy, and quiet. He has rich brown skin and chocolate colored eyes, long, wavy black hair, muscular frame all wrapped up in a bad ass attitude and laid back personality. He is wearing faded, ripped gray jeans and a black t-shirt with his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. "So what are you guys doing here?" I ask smiling up at him.

"Luke and Seth wanted another crack at Caleb, and Rafe wanted to see how it turned out." he says staring at me with his beautiful eyes.

I flutter a little bit under his gaze. I don't like Conner like that, but he has this way of making any girl go a little weak at the knees without even trying. Any girl who doesn't must be dating a God. "Where is he?" I ask once I get control of myself as I look for Rafe.

"Top of the hill." he motions back toward where the car is parked.

"I'll go talk to him."

"And I'll go break those three up" at that moment Seth and Luke both charge full power at Caleb. Right before they make contact Caleb jumps fifteen feet in the air. Luke and Seth hit each other face first and then Caleb lands on top of them and then bounce off of them.  Seth and Luke are up now and are angry as hell charging at Caleb. "When will they learn" Conner says sadly shaking his head, "I'll be back." And he starts toward them.  "Come on guys, you lost five years ago." he shouts at them.

I watch Conner go down to break up the fight and then sigh and walk up to talk to Rafe. Rafe is the leader of this band of idiots and he loves it, he also loves messing with me. Whenever Caleb and I are training or together they would always "drop by" and crash it. I reach the top of the hill Rafe is watching his friends below playing around "Rafe." I say.

"Kamaila," he says not looking at me. Rafe is broadly built and has tan skin, his spiky, brown hair is streaked with deep gray, and his eyes are silvery blue.  

"What are you doing here?" I ask impatiently, I can only take so much Rafe a day.

"What? Am I not allowed to come see how my friend is doing?" he asks acting offended putting his hands to his heart, "That hurts Kamaila."

"Cut the crap Rafe, I know you didn't come down here to see Caleb."

"Well someone thinks highly of them self, you know it's not all about you princess."

"Let me guess it's all about you?"

"That's right. So why don't you get with the picture and give me that kiss you've been dying to give me." Rafe moves in close to me and stares down at me with a sexy look.

"Well, only if you say it's okay, because I really want to do this." I say and leaning up slowly. Rafe tilts his head down thinking that I will actually do it, but before I can even smell his aftershave, I punch him in the gut as hard as I can sending him gasping for air. "You know that did feel good."

"Oh, burn!" shouts Seth from behind us. I turn to see Seth and Luke have changed back to human. Seth and Luke look very similar both have sleek built bodies, tan skin, they are the same height and they act the same. The only difference is Seth's curly dark brown hair and hazel eyes as opposed to Luke's straight light brown hair and green eyes. They both are wearing ripped jeans and Luke is sporting a fresh cut on his right cheek.

I smile at them "I see that Caleb showed you two whose boss." I look over their shoulders to see Caleb walking toward us as he button a fresh pair of jeans with a smug grin on his face.

"Lucky punch." says Luke.

"And a lucky kick." says Seth rubbing his left side.

"Yeah, times a hundred," says Caleb who didn't even get hit, "You guys make it too easy."

"You just got lucky this time, but next time you're dead." says Seth.

"Yeah, sure Seth whatever you say." Caleb laughs rolling his eyes.

"You want to bet?!" Seth says in anger balling his fist right in Caleb's face, and I burst out laughing. Seth turns to look at me "What's so funny?" he ask.

"I'm sorry, but" I say between laughs "it's like watching a puppy fight a bear."  Conner snickers at my comment and Seth turns to him.

"Dude, I thought you were on my side." he says.

"First off I'm not on anyone's sides, and second maybe if you learn how to fight then you would actually have a chance against Caleb." Conner says very matter-of-factly.

"I can fight, just not all of us are as strong as Caleb," he pauses to look at me "except Kamaila." Seth says.

I roll my eyes "Shut up." I always get crap about my strength. When Seth and Luke first saw how strong I was, they started a rumor that I was on steroids. I had to hold them by their feet over a cliff until they fixed it, but they still have their doubts.

"Yeah, well I like my women tough." Rafe said as he slips his arm around my waist and pulls me in close to him.

"Do I need to hit you again?" I ask my fist already balled. Rafe pulls me in closer and grins at me.  I throw my fist at him, but this time he is smart and ducks away from it as I back away from his hold. "Smart move on your part."

"You know, playing hard to get only makes you more tempting." Rafe says.

"And being an ass only makes you more fun to hurt." I reply.

"Yooo fight!" Seth says spreading his arms out and backing up.

"Taking bets," shouts Luke, "ten bucks on Rafe."

"I got twenty on Kam." Caleb says.  

Boys, if they weren't so entertaining I'd wouldn't bother with them.

"Look, I would love to stay here and kick Rafe's ass but I have to go home and change for school, so Caleb you mind?" I ask.

"Yeah sure, I catch you later guys." Caleb says starting toward the car.

"Ugh you guys leaving already?" Luke asks "Come on we just got here, can't you can skip one day, nothing bad is going to happening."

"You're one to talk, your mom freaks out when you're a minute late for curfew." Seth says back to Luke. Luke shoots him a dirty look and Seth replies with the finger.

"Well this is just getting stupid." Conner says interrupting them. Somewhere along the line, he had made to the side of the forest and is now leaning against a tree, arms folded across his chest and looking very bored. He has a way on moving so swiftly and quiet that people forgot he is even here, "I'm out of here," he got off the tree and hops on to his black motorcycle parked right next to him. He revs it twice bringing it to life "Catch you later." he says over the roar of the engine and rides off down the dirt path leaving a dust cloud in his place.

"He's always so dramatic." Luke says.

"True, but he's got the right idea." I say as Caleb and I get in his car.

"Rafe, you guys need a ride?" Caleb asks.

"No we're good we came here my Jeep, lucky for us Conner wasn't our ride." Rafe says flatly.

"Alright, be safe brother." Caleb says.

"Be safe my brother." Rafe says then him, Seth, and Luke walk into the woods as we drive off.

"Why are you friends with him again." I ask when we hit the road.

"You know it's been so long that I don't even know why anymore," Caleb says, "I think it's because I'm friends with you."

"Yes because I'm the center of his world." It's a joke between Caleb and I, we said it was Rafe's life's mission to annoy, and stalk me and that he is only friends with Caleb so he can keep tabs on me. I roll my window down and stick my head out to feel the fresh air on my face.

"You know I wouldn't be surprised." he laughs.

I chuckle "Yah, I mean you should have seen him last week he cuts class finds me in gym and tries to-"I stop talking instantly as the wind brings a fresh scent.

It was a nature scent.

The one I smelled in my dream.

The one that the boy had.

"Stop the car." I say not waiting for Caleb to actually stop the car. I open my door and I jump out of the speeding vehicle sniffing the air frantically trying to find where the smell came from. Caleb hurries to stop the car I can hear him cursing as he swerves a little, haven been thrown off by what I had just done.

"Damn it, Kam where are you going? Kam!" I hear him shout from behind but I'm in too much of a rush to find the smell's source.

I run after the smell which leads me back into the woods. At first the scent is heading south, but then it suddenly goes west, then north, then back to south, and so on. I follow it blindly as it changes directions frantically, every time it feels like I'm closing in on it, it would shift location.  Where is this taking me, I'm on top of the scent when it suddenly drops. I stop running looking at where the wind had taken me, I'm standing in the middle of the woods, it isn't a place that has anything special that I found worth memorize about it, in fact it is just a normal place. Why did the smell take me back here? I stare blankly looking up at the trees hoping that they have the answer but I have no luck.

"Kamaila," Caleb shouts as he closes in on me, "What the hell was that about?" he asks staring at me in confusion.

"I, um, I smelled something." I say looking at him.

"Well in must have been some hell of good scent because you almost made me hit a tree." He says raising his voice.

"I'm sorry but, didn't you smell that?" I ask looking around for the smell.

"No I didn't... what did it even smell like?" he ask calming down.

"Like nature," I say sniffing the air again in hope for the scent.

"Nature?" he asks in a confused voice. "You almost crashed my car for a nature smell?" he voice rising again.  

"Like really, really pure nature like something so pure that it cleanses you."

Caleb sniffs the air a few times "Well I don't smell anything like that, are you sure smelled it?"

"Yes, positive." I say still trying to track the smell.

"Well its gone now." he turns to look at me "Kam, are you OK, you've been acting weird all morning."

I turn to look at him rubbing my temple, "I...I guess I'm just tired."

Caleb gives me at quick once over "Well alright then, let's get you home so you can get changed." he says gently putting a comforting arm around my shoulders leading me back toward the car.

"Yah, I should do that." I say dazed looking over my shoulder as we walk back to the car.

Did I imagine that whole thing? I ask myself that question the whole way back to the car, but as we leave I feel like someone or something is watching me.