Noah heard them as well, but he also noticed the other sound too, the raging howl. They were there, chasing after the horsemen. Two fierce werewolves. They both hid behind a rock, hoping the others were just passing by. They slowed down, Ina was watching them trying to predict their next move. 

“If they come any closer we shift.”She whispered into Noah’s ear. They were both tense. The men were one thing but the fierce werewolves were something much more scary. They were bigger than average werewolves, with thicker mane and bloodshot eyes. Their look however was nothing compared to the fact that they hunted men for food and  if you got bitten by one of them you would turn into a fierce wolf too. 

The horsemen stopped. There were five of them. They were all dressed in black and their faces were covered. Two of them got off the horse and they took out long knives. The fierce werewolves slowed down and separated. They lowered their ears and Ina could see their bare teeth they were showing to those men. Ina had goosebumps, she wouldn’t like to be in the place of those horsemen.   The fierce werewolves squatted down before they attacked them. The men struck back, their long knives moving so quickly, they were swinging it around as if they were dancing, not fighting to the death. Ina couldn’t stop herself from watching the whole spectacle. All members of the pack usually ran away when they came across the cursed ones, as they called them.  Fighting with these monsters seemed impossible. It was the first time she has seen such brave behavior. The fight was short and soon the two werewolves were lying dead on the ground. 

“Oh my god, have you seen it, Ina? They killed them. They killed them so easily.” Noah whispered into Ina’s ear who was still in a deep state of shock.

One of the men was examining the dead wolf bodies while the other moved in the direction of the rocks where Ina and Noah were hiding. Even from this distance Ina could notice his pale blue eyes. So far she has only seen brown, amber or black eyes as all desert wolves had such ones. Ina was an exception, her eyes were golden. Her mother had such eyes. As the blue eyed man  was walking slowly in their direction, he took off the face cover. The stranger had handsome face features, he looked so different from what she knew. He probably wanted to take a piss or something when he noticed a pair of golden eyes staring back at him.

“Shift!” Ina ordered and within a few seconds they were on the run. Ina was in panic, fortunately they weren’t followed. Maybe their escape caught them off the guard or they were too tired to chase them. The city people were known for arranged hunts. Some members of her pack disappeared like that. Ina slowed down when they were pretty close to the caves. Noah strolled to her side and touched her muzzle with his nose. She stopped and Noah rubbed his whole head against her body, Ina thought he was still under stress from their run and from watching that scary fight. She licked his muzzle to calm him down and they slowly went back home. They reached the caves before sunset. They both shifted back. 

“Ina, don’t look at Uri. Look at me.” Noah said quietly and ran away to his recess in the back of the cave. Ina stood still not knowing what to say.  Her emotions were in swirl, she liked Noah but not the way he apparently wanted. She liked him like a member of her family. The one she had lost. She didn’t want to lose Noah too. Ina went in, she passed a few members of the pack and hid in her part of the cave, behind a huge rock. She got dressed and headed for her water portion. The evening ritual was about to begin. On her way to the water pool she came across Uri. 

“Where have you been with that Beta?” She could sense a bit of anger in his voice.

“Running.” She replied looking him straight in the eyes.

“Would you go running with me?” He asked and Ina noticed his tense expression.

“I might.” She tilted her head and smiled. 

Uri bowed a little and laid his hand on her shoulder, his touch was firm and it felt hot on her skin.

“Then I will wait for you tomorrow morning.” He said it with his low rumbling voice. He left with a smirk on his face and Ina could still feel the place on her shoulder where he touched her. Ina felt happy, he was hitting on her. She felt adored and special. It was a great feeling. She needed to tell everything to Asira and she needed to talk to Noah too. She couldn’t afford to lose him.  

The morning came and Ina felt really excited. Going for a run was not a big deal but still it was her first date. Uri was already there at the entrance to the cave. The morning sun lit him, making his darker skin glow. Ina could see all those muscles as Uri was shirtless.

“Come here I know a nice spot I want to show you.” He held out his hand and Ina gave him hers. They went out.  

The run was great, Uri wasn’t rushing her and they reached a nice platform with a view of a canyon. The sandstone there had many different layers and it looked pretty. They didn’t do anything else but Ina felt comfortable in Uri’s company. For now, that was enough. When they returned and shifted back Uri gave her a kiss on her lips. Well not a real kiss, it was just a peck but still. It was the first time someone touched her lips. Ina walked back to the cave full of hopes only to see Noah’s angry face.