Into the Shadows

Hey here's the next one!
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The werewolf was fast and within minutes was back to the forest with Selene and Michael right on his heels. By now, the sun had painstakingly, slowly started dropping from overhead, but the coolness of the trees was still welcome on Michael's heated skin.

The scent of lycan was overbearing but there were fresher smells, three different human scents that obviously didn't belong there. Two of the scents were young. Teenagers perhaps? The other was older, but that's not what worried Michael.

No, the sharp growl of the werewolf and the sniff of the air was what had the hybrid on edge. The werewolf tore through the foliage, setting a blazing path that he and Selene followed instantaneously.

Minutes later, they came to the clearing from last night and Michael almost gagged from all of the lycan blood. Carcasses, entrails, and gallons of blood covered nearly every inch of the clearing. Michael narrowed his eyes, shading them from the glint from a nearby pool of dark blood. It made a very gory scene in the daylight.

But the werewolf barely paused. He sniffed the stale, metallic air, and dodged down the narrow path that he and Michael's mate had disappeared down last night. Michael looked up to see Selene's dark gaze on him. There wasn't much emotion there, but Michael could almost read her thoughts anyway.

'We don't know what happened, we don't know what we're going to find.'

Michael only narrowed his eyes, spun away from her probing gaze, and stormed after the long gone werewolf. Easy for her to think, her mate was fine.
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Harry smelled them before he heard them, the advantage to being down- wind of the city. Harry frowned and inhaled deeply through his nose. They were familiar and then Harry remembered.

***flashback***

Remus cried out again as Harry heard another rib crack out of place. He ran what he hoped to be a soothing hand over the man's ridged spine, knowing that he could do nothing to help. That's when he heard a low growl.

Startled, Harry took his attention from the werewolf next to him to the canine in front of him. Brindled with a white face, chest, belly, and legs; the triangular head held small, beady eyes and a surprisingly large set of jowls. The legs were short but the body was thick and obviously built for power.

The clink of dog tags had Harry stiffening before letting loose a snarl of his own. While in human form the snarl had no effect on the pitbull, other than a sharp stare in Harry's direction. But a snarl in wolf form got Harry an angry lunge from the dog.

The pitbull was obviously eager for the challenge. Harry met the canine mid- lunge and a sharp nip sent the the yipping dog bolting through the foliage in the opposite direction of Harry. But Harry pursued, knowing that the owners of the pit wouldn't be far away.

The park was much closer than Harry had initially realized and luckily the dim lamplight from the street cast long shadows in his fur, probably making him appear much bigger than he actually was. A low threatening growl, and a gnash of teeth sent the two necking teenagers scrambling after their dog. A strange sort of satisfaction filled Harry as he watched the muggles run screaming down the street.

***end flashback***

Looking back, Harry could recognize the threat of going to the cops hidden somewhere in the shrieking. He supposed it was because he was in a park for children, a large, dangerous wolf would have to be “removed”. And unfortunately Harry knew the methods they used to remove wild animals in Surrey... and it wasn't relocation.

Harry bit back a cry when he shifted his weight. There was no way in hell he was going to let muggles see him naked in the middle of the woods with a mangled ankle. Harry heard a distant snap of twigs and he knew that they were on their way. A second later, a large black wolf stood on its three good legs, the injured hind leg tucked up high. It held its regal head low, listening to the noisy approach of the humans.

A normal wolf would have darted away on feet as light as a ghost, but Harry wasn't a normal wolf. He was a mad wolf, he was an injured wolf, and unfortunately he was also a wolf with the mind of a Gryffindor, so it looked like he wasn't going anyway. Merlin, Remus was going to kill him.

Sharp black ears swiveled nervously as the snapping of twigs got louder and then stopped. He couldn't see them, but he could hear whispering and he could hear rustling, and then he could hear the click of a rifle.

Bloody hell.
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Thanks to all of those who have stuck by through my lack of posts!

and thanks to Lilith: I've missed your reviews!,applesauce_N_soysauce,dragonsblood13, speedie234, etc.