Pup Among the Big Dogs

I had been searching the woods for hours before I came across my father. I told him I'd take over and pretty much had to force him back to the house. He made me promise to come back alive and well and with Ian in the same condition. I promised him, but if I broke that promise and Ian was gone, I wouldn't be able to face him. I'd probably off myself in a lake or something.

But I didn't want to think about that. If Ian was dead because of me...No. He was a smart guy and there was no way he would ever be stupid enough to let himself get hurt. He better not have been a moron like that or I would hurt him myself.

I had also learned from my father why my little town looked abandoned: vampires. They had stirred things up a bit while I was gone and now everyone was in their homes, waiting until the scent was gone and for things to return to normal. Than meant Ian and I had to come home. But I was glad they hadn't been chased off or killed. Even still, I hated vampires even more.

I cleared my head as I stalked through a marsh. I had been gone from home for probably three days. I knew Ian's scent and after the second night of searching, I had come across the faint scent of him. It was weak, but I finally had a lead.

I had been following it all day and I could sense it getting stronger, little by little. How far had he gone to come get me? Now I definitely felt bad for second guessing him and his reason for loving me. Zach was a horrible person obviously, to make me believe that. But I was more mad at myself for listening.

Once again I had to clear my head. My mind wandering didn't help my tracking. My specialty obviously wasn't that.

Really I hadn't slept much since I left the forest. I was anxious to see Ian and find out if he was alright. He just had to be, but every second of uncertainty was horrible. I probably slept four hours a day.

After four more days of searching for him, the trail was finally getting easy to follow. His scent was potent and I ran as I followed the unmistakable path he had left for me to find. But it did make me wonder how often he had bathed...

Probably as often as me: never. I reeked! But that didn't stop me. I didn't have time for all that. I was on a mission and failure was not an option. I had been away from him for so long and now he could be dead and that would be horrible.

If he had died because of my stupidity...

"Ian, you better be okay," I muttered to myself. I heard a howl coming from probably around a mile from me. Was that Ian? I picked up my pace until I was in a dead sprint. "Ian?" I howled out and there was a yelp in response. It was definitely him. I was soaring through the breeze by now and I closed the last two feet cautiously.

Dear God, what had happened to him?!