Could he die if he jumped off that cliff?

As the cold morning wind blew through his brown hair, which fell to his shoulders, that thought suddenly struck him.

No, it wasn't high enough for him.

The scent of lavender emanated from his body with intensity, like a field of flowers growing in the middle of that vast snow-covered surface.

But if he tried it in his mortal form...

“Hendrik! Are you listening to anything I'm saying?”

Deep in his own sea of thoughts, the Alpha rolled his eyes with a fake indifference.

“Are you listening to anything I'm saying?” He asked reluctantly, receiving a weary grunt that made him chuckle under his breat.

He smiled, marking the characteristic pair of dimples on his cheeks flushed from the cold.

If he were given a deer for every time he annoyed his best friend, he would never need to hunt again in his life.

“Hendrik, come on,” it was his companion's turn to give him a dirty look, those brown eyes trying to convey all his discontent. “This is a serious thing, brother.”

Hendrik snorted. 

Do you think I don't know that? My life is at risk too, he thought

“Keith, we've done this about eighty-five times already. Can't we just go in there and do our job as usual?”

Keith Vareth was an Alpha over six feet tall, with brown hair that he usually kept long enough to start curling at the ends, but not so long that it covered his ears, and thick brown eyelashes and eyebrows. Thanks to his continuous training, his body was strong enough to slightly surpass Hendrik in size.

And, more than anything else, Keith was known by the members of his pack as Hendrik's inseparable partner in disaster.

Keith was, in fact, his most dear friend, a brother whom his wolf had recognised since they were both just a couple of innocent cubs.

For Hendrik, Keith was a safe place he could always turn to, even when his brother decided to give him his silly, mocking smiles when he said something too stupid.

Just like at that moment.

“Eighty-five?” Keith teased, his eyes narrowing as he was unable to contain his smile. “Is your life so boring that you keep track of this? Shit, I have to get you out of the house more often, cub.”

This time, it was Hendrik who growled.

“Idiot, that's not the point.”

Keith ignored the annoyance in his tone and continued joking a little more, easing the tension in the air and revelling in the displeased looks he received. That was, without a doubt, one of the pillars of their solid relationship: always finding the right moment to tease each other

“Maybe it's time to find you a partner, perhaps a couple of friends to start with. Your situation is starting to worry me.”

If they weren't in the middle of an important mission, Hendrik would have already jumped on that idiot, starting one of their usual best-friend fights that wouldn't end until one of them accidentally bit the other.

Instead of responding, he chose to move closer to the edge of the cliff, the light layer of snow slipping between his bare feet as he admired the majestic view in front of the

He couldn't complain, the landscape was beautiful. Simply spectacular. The entire forest was filled with green, leafy pines covered in a soft white blanket, the few sunrays barely caressing the treetops, illuminating them with a unique glow, the wind gently blowing against every inch of his naked body.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh morning air mixed with its own scents. They were in the presence of one of the most wonderful places created by Mother Nature.

A place so spectacular and so fucked up. So pure and so corrupted. 

Fucking humans and their ability to destroy everything they touch.

In the distance, he saw the trail of grey smoke disappearing among the tall oak trees. There they were, so close to him and yet so far away, making him feel helpless and furious. 

If he inhaled deeply enough, if he paid close attention, he could smell it. The fear, the anguish, the despair, the pain.

His wolf growled, forcing him to bare his fangs as pheromones filled with unease took over his characteristic lavender scent.

Kill them, his instincts screamed. They're there, kill them.

“I can't stay here, Keith,” he said hoarsely, the rational side of his mind quickly being overshadowed by his animal instincts. His fingers trembled, desperate to free the claws beneath. “They're there, let's go get them...”

His friend nodded quickly as his pupils began to dilate and his familiar scent, with traces of vanilla, increased in powerful bursts. He felt as much adrenaline as Hendrik. That rush of energy that invaded them before facing danger, that made them feel invincible, untouchable.

That made them believe they could become immortal.

You're ready. Turn, come on, turn, come on, come on.

“Remember,” his mission partner repeated once more. “Free as many as you can and don't do anything...”

“Don't do anything that puts the pack at risk, yes, yes, I know,” Hendrik finished, not quite recognising his own voice. His animal state yearning to be released. “Can we get going already?

His brother's response was everything he expecte

Keith cracked the bones in his back in one movement and, with a growl rising from deep within his chest, left his mortal form behind and began to take on his pure state.

The pale skin on Keith's body was quickly replaced by a lustrous brown mane as each of his extremities cracked and broke apart before forming again. Fangs appeared on his lips as his fingers gave way to sharp claws, his face distorted, his bones cracked, and finally, Keith ended up falling on his front legs, completely transformed into a huge beast.

The massive wolf, over two metres tall, looked at Hendrik, snorting sharply through his nose, the sound lost in the freezing temperature. He understood that look immediately and moved far enough away to transform as well, going through the same process in each of his bones until his pure wolf paws sank into the snow marked by his footprints.

He shook his white mane in an attempt to shake off the discomfort. He loved transforming; his wolf used to take complete control of him, giving a sense of freedom that he loved so much. In his pure state, he felt strong, invincible.

But, holy shit, it was hard to endure the pain of his skeleton shattering and reforming to three times its size in less than ten seconds

Keith gently tapped his side and pointed to the place where the trail of smoke was coming from. Hendrik nodded, immediately understanding what that look meant. He put his head close to the other wolf's in a gesture of support and snorte

I'm here, I'll watch your back, brother. Always.

Keith set off and Hendrik followed close behind. Sniffing and searching with his keen eyesight for any warning signs.

It could be a trap; they could be walking into an ambush. He could die.

It wouldn't be that bad. He and his wolf agreed. It wouldn't be that bad if he died.