- Text Size +
“Aaaand, we’re in Minnesota,” Nick announced as they drove past the welcome sign. Brian opened his eyes at the loud voice and tried to stretch on the tiny backseat. Keeko gave him a snarl as he accidentally kicked her off the seat. She was unbelievably cranky today and Brian had no idea why. He experimentally stretched his right paw, which looked a lot better and felt better as well. The swelling was almost entirely gone and putting it under water for a few hours had been a good idea. He smiled at Keeko as she tried to jump up on the backseat again.

“Stop kicking me, wolf,” Keeko growled at him.

“Will you fight me if I do?” Brian replied, bemused.

“I will.”

“Very well,” Brian grinned slyly, blocking her path with his hind leg. She shot him a death glare and remained on the ground. Brian sighed, leaned down and picked her up by her neck. Then he put her next to him on the seat. “There.”

“Stop kicking me, wolf,” Keeko repeated, curling up.

“I cannot promise anything, it’s too small in here,” Brian answered.

“The two of you back there be nice, or I will turn this car around,” Nick said jokingly. He seemed in a good mood now that they finally had reached Minnesota. Brian could smell the forests and the wilderness and his heart leapt at the thought of roaming through the woods. He wondered what Nick had to say when he found out they’d need to walk halfway across the national forest before getting to their destination. It would never work taking the car through the thick woods and they could probably only get through on foot. Still, Brian wouldn’t mind walking. He was getting more and more claustrophobic in the car and the smell of the trees was so tempting.

Still, he couldn’t fall for temptation.

When they finally let him out at a rest stop, he wasted no time before letting loose of his built up energy and racing around the picnic building a few times. He wagged happily at the few people that had spread out their blanket at the other side of the building and were watching him with trepidation. Plopping down to the ground, he turned on his back, showing them they had nothing to fear from him. With a loud yelp, he stood up and started running again. His paw no longer hurt and the ground felt amazing. His speed was astonishing and he made some sharp turns, his nails scratching over the stone. This was life, this was living, this was...

Nick’s angry face.

Brian came to a scrambling halt right before Nick’s legs. Nick glared down at him; then, with one swift movement, attached the leash to the chain around Brian’s neck. “Would you stay the fuck here for once,” Nick grumbled, before sitting down in the grass. Brian immediately smelled the sandwiches and stared at Nick expectantly.

“I suppose you can wait, like a good dog,” Nick commented.

Brian narrowed his eyes; then grabbed one of the sandwiches out of the bag without a sound. Baylee laughed and threw him a piece of chicken breast. Brian marvelled at the taste. “We have a long road ahead,” Baylee commented, “We should pack provisions.”

“How far do we have to go into the woods actually?” Nick questioned, ripping a piece from his sandwich and propping it into his mouth. Brian licked his lips at the sight.

“I dunno,” Baylee muttered, “Miles, probably.”

“So you don’t know exactly where you’re going?” Nick sighed.

“She didn’t exactly give precise directions,” Baylee replied, “I think she mentioned a lake.”

“We’re going to have zero reception in those woods, Bay,” Nick mumbled.

“We could buy a map. Isn’t that how you old people used to do it?” Baylee smiled.

Nick groaned, burying his face in his arms. “When all this is over and back to normal, you both owe me big time. I’m going to make fun of you for eternity.”

Brian rolled his eyes at him and lay back down. But then he saw something moving right next to the picnic building. Oh God, was that a squirrel? Keeko had mentioned that rabbit and duck were okay, but squirrel was the absolute best of the best. They were hard to catch and extremely valuable and absolutely delicious.

Brian licked his lips as he stood up. Nick tightened his grip on the leash and leaned over to him, “Don’t even think about it,” he grumbled. The smell was too good though. With a quick pull, the leash was ripped out of Nick’s hands, and the Backstreet Boy almost fell over as the wolf charged at the unsuspecting squirrel.

The people on the other side of the building screamed as he came rushing towards them, but Brian paid them no mind, solely focusing on the small rodent as it shot from left to right, presumably in search of a tree to climb and be safe. Brian grinned triumphantly as he chased it to a closed of corner near the building and then lashed out.

“Thommy!” he heard behind him, but didn’t look up as the squirrel writhed in his grip. It squeaked as he bit and then it went completely limp. Dead. “Thommy! Drop it!”

Brian turned around, staring at Baylee as the boy pointed at the squirrel in his mouth, “Bad dog! Bad dog, Thommy! Drop it!”

A low rumble escaped the wolf’s throat as he kept a firm grip on the dead animal. Why should he drop it? He caught it. He’d chased it, and he’d caught it. It was his. Keeko had been pestering him about squirrels long enough, it was time he got to taste one. And he wasn’t sharing. The squirrels blood was running down his mouth and driving him mad and he lifted his prize high into the air before trotting to the side of the picnic area and dropped the squirrel in the grass.

“Oh my God,” he heard someone call out, “Is that your dog? He just killed an animal. There’s children here, for crying out loud. Control that thing!”

Brian’s attention was only directed at the squirrel that was now lying between his feet. Keeko was absolutely right, he thought as he ripped into the animal’s flesh, it tasted heavenly. The taste and smell were a true sensation, so captivating that he didn’t notice the guy getting closer and reaching out a hand to him.

He snarled aggressively, flattening his ears to his head and baring his teeth. The man jumped back immediately; then pointed at him, “It wanted to bite me! It’s freaking vicious!”

Brian growled warningly, picking up his squirrel and trotted over to Baylee and Nick. He immediately dropped his prey when he saw the look in his son’s eyes. The tears were streaming over the boy’s face, “Why’d you do that?” Baylee whispered, shaking his head incredulously. Brian cowered and looked up at the boy, whose disappointment was etched into his face. He whined softly, wanting to apologize for losing control, but knew that Baylee wouldn’t understand.

“Come on, we have to go before he calls the police,” Baylee mumbled, grabbing the forgotten leash and sternly walking to the car. Brian winced as he saw his reflection in one of the car’s windows. His white fur had turned completely red all the way down to his front legs. He looked at Baylee helplessly. Baylee was looking at the ground, “Just get in the car, Dad.”