Missing Days

I sat at the edge of the forest in a pile of torn clothing and howled. Long moments of silence answered my call and then, in the distance, I heard a response. I felt heat rush through my body, burning away the foggy haze that surrounded me since awakening.  A sense of belonging settled over me.

The ground melted away beneath me as I ran deeper into the forest as I followed a familiar scent on the wind. I could catch faint whiffs of them on passing branches. I flung my head back and howled. The response came much quicker this time. My stride lengthened.

Excited yips greeted me as I came into the clearing outside a den. Home, a whisper came from the back of my brain. Tiny pups slammed into my sides, all teeth and claws and fur. Mine.

More sedately a tawny wolf ambled out from the den. Mate. The pups quietened enough for her to twine her neck against mine, releasing a soft whine. I breathed deeply, letting the emotions of the wolf rush over me. Smelling her. Smelling pack.

My nose twitched and my ears flickered in the direction of the clearing. Deer. Dinner. I nudged my mate and together we turned. A low, throaty growl silenced the pups and with a last whine they vanished into the cave. My mate and I ran, our strides even and matched.

Tonight we would feast.

That night I spent curled around my mate, our pups between us.

With the break of dawn on the third morning, I could feel the shift take hold, a sudden tension in my bones. I grit my teeth together, willing it away. Just one more hour. I just wanted one more hour with my family. With each passing second the pain sharpened. I gave a last lick to my mate and staggered out of the cave.

I woke naked under a fern. My body showed the telltale signs of distress. Scratch marks I couldn’t quite remember, aches in every joint. The first time it happened, I thought it was a prank. Half a year later, I had accepted something was wrong. Now I planned my life around the missing days. Somewhere around here, I had a campsite stocked with changes of clothes. I only had to make my way to it and I could return to my life for the next twenty-seven days of freedom. In the distance I heard the lonely howl of a wolf.

Original title: Whose Woods These Are