I could easily make that in three minutes. By my estimate, I only had another half mile to go. I bobbed and weaved through the terrain as I followed the downward slope to pack headquarters, my breath coming in even, well-conditioned spurts. My speed might not compare to my wolf’s, but it was far better than any ordinary human. The woods blurred into a smear of greens, grays, and browns. Holding my prize in a tight fist, I hopped over a fallen log and took off. I swiped my pocketknife from my back pocket and sliced the orange ribbon. I heard Hunter yell, “She’s just a distraction. I reached their precious tree with a gleeful smile, but the sound of a pinecone crunching beneath my hiking boots wiped the smile from my face.

She couldn’t outrun them forever, but I didn’t need her to. I could hear the guys crashing through bushes and swatting away tree branches as they tried to capture my nimble friend. I traversed the distance between me and the tree on light feet, careful to move quickly but quietly. I could weave through them quickly, whereas the terrain might slow Hunter and Mike down. I knew these trees better than anyone in my pack. “What if my distraction buys you a fifteen-second head start?” “Hmm.” I mapped out the path to headquarters in my head. We had to sneak up on our opponents, retrieve their team flag, and return to pack headquarters-all while in skins. “If I cause a distraction, do you think you can grab the ribbon and outrun them?” “As a wolf, one-hundred percent,” I said, “but in this form, I’m not so sure.” The competition had few rules, but one decreed competitors could not shift into their wolves. Her brown eyes gleamed as a plan came to mind.

“They’re probably hiding nearby, hoping to get the jump on us when we expose ourselves.” She peered around the shrubbery currently hiding us from sight.

There’s no way Hunter and Mike would leave their flag unattended. ” I pursed my lips and stared at the orange ribbon tied to the trunk of the Limber Pine fifty feet away.

Midnight moon by linsey hall