Riding the Entire Pack (BBW Werewolf Shifter Steamy Menage Romance) by Willow Wilde Page A

berries.
     
    My amazement only increased as I continued across the woods. A short while later, I encountered a majestic stag, wandering lazily along between the trees. Instinct took over, and I carefully followed it — always happy to keep my distance as to not disturb the beast. After several hundred strides, it led me towards the sound of trickling water, and I stepped from the trees to encounter a small creek, babbling down the rocks and cutting a path through the woods.
     
    Parched, I dropped to my knees and swept cupped handfuls of the running water to my face, thirstily slurping the sustaining gift. After sustaining myself with the water, I turned and noticed the stag once more. It had paused to watch me, having already taken its fill of the life-giving water. The absurdity of the sight almost sent me falling over with laughter, and after we quietly regarded each other with mutual surprise, it calmly turned and vanished into the brush.
     
    Eager to stay near the water, I followed along the edge. Colliding with another trail of water, the growing river descended further still into the woods. I felt compelled to strip my clothes and dip beneath the edge of the rippling channel, but the water was so clear and free from impurities that I didn’t dare taint it with my dirty, dusty skin. Instead, I continued to follow it down, hoping to find a reasonable place to set up shelter within a sizable distance. After all, I was afraid of drawing attention from whatever predators lurked these woods, and staying close to the water had its downsides.
     
    As the sun began to set in the sky, I encountered a renewed surge of beauty in the forest. Surrounded by incredible plants I had never seen, I marveled at them as they gradually unfurled their petals together, bathing the trees in a warm, bluish glow. Their growing luminescence matched the waning light of the sun above, striking a perfect equilibrium of light. With the sun quickly descending out of sight, the light bounced harder off of the thick, protective trees in an incredible display. Being around them as I wandered the heart of the forest surpassed anything I had ever seen.
     
    But their natural luminescence wasn’t the only beauty to behold. The vegetation and underbrush had given way to soft, spongey grass that bounced under my every step. The trees themselves were wrapped in thick vines that sprouted beautiful flowers of all colors, adding a soft, sweet aroma that soothed my senses.
     
    Somehow, I knew that I should be exhausted. I’d barely eaten anything since first starting the trail, and I’d survived both a sudden landslide and wandering the forest for hours. Fearful of misidentifying poisonous berries, I had only eaten few small handfuls after watching other mammals chomp on the vines. While I had periodically stopped to scoop water to my face, I knew I’d have to eat something soon, or find a place to rest…but I wasn’t tired, nor was I incredibly hungry.
     
    This entire day is just crazy , I thought to myself.
     
    But I had no idea how seriously crazy it was going to become…
     
    *              *              *              *
     
    As I stopped wandering the forest and appreciated this vast change in the flora, I wondered about the rest of the hiking group. I hadn’t seen any of them descend over the side with me. I wondered if they would come looking for me?
     
    It made more sense for them to call the authorities and try to have a search and rescue party dig me from the debris. Of course, they wouldn’t find a body. Maybe they would search the woods, but I wondered how far in they would go. It didn’t make sense for someone who had just cascaded down the side of a mountain in a landslide to not only have survived, but to have clawed her way out of the dirt and wander across the woods for hours.
     
    I had been so enchanted by these woods that I hadn’t stopped to wonder if I should try to remain close to the