Unexpected Rain Creates the Best Chance

The plan that had originally been put in place to wait for about a week before making a decision on what everyone wanted to do was cut short by unexpected spring rain. The problem wasn't the rain itself, thick coats deflected much of the rain there was always some place to use as shelter until the rain passed. Werewolves were also clever enough to know how to create makeshift shelters to stay dry when other options weren't available for them.

The problem was that the based upon the smell of moisture in the wind, the rain was going to last long enough to make sure that the full moon would stay hidden behind the dark puffy rain clouds and would provide the best cover if they were going to move. Not only that, but humans and other potential predators wouldn't risk being out too much so long as it was raining. It was the perfect opportunity for them if they were going to make their move.

Summer would need to contact her family to give them a heads up and see how possible it would be for someone to come get them during this time. Having no cellphones or the likes on them meant that they would have to use a payphone, which the nearest one was at least fifteen minutes away at a small standalone country store. Summer had gone there on very rare occasions in the past when she needed to get in touch with her second cousin when she needed advice on her first and second litter of pups and how to navigate a over protective mate who didn't want to let anyone else too near them.

Brazen and her were both aware though that the store owner despite seeming to be a kindly old man kept a gun somewhere in the back of his shop specifically to deal with wolves or other threats. His store had been broken into before my stray dogs and smaller animals that were more of an annoyance than a threat, but he got the shotgun as a future deterrent.

Apryl didn't like the idea of her mother going there alone, but she couldn't argue with the fact that it was safest since she was pregnant. Plus, she was the only who still remembered the phone number she would need to call. She wasn't even sure how after so many years he mom was still able to remember it despite the fact that they hardly ever talked.

Her parents hadn't let Bold know before they decided to do this. They had determined that because now was going to be their best and possibly only real chance to move with the best level of protection that they would have to just give everyone else in the pack an ultimatum once Summer had been able to call her cousin and see what her answer was.

They decided it was best to go further in the evening when the dark clouds would make even darker with the setting sun. The rain would probably only get worse anyways as the night went on. It was raining at a steady pace, but with it only being spring and not yet very warm, there was no thunder or lightening that accompanied the rain. The most that they would probably have to worry about would be some low land flooding where the ground was usually soft until late summer when it became too warm that the moisture was dried out of most everywhere.

Apryl insisted on accompanying her parents in order to make sure that they were safe. She knew that she wouldn't be able to do much if something actually happened, but even a distraction would be better than nothing.

She somehow wasn't surprised as she got closer that her mom went off track to where a slightly larger tree was. Getting near it's roots, she began to dig with her front paws. It didn't much trouble before what looked like a small wooden box of some sort came into view, the rain made it much easier to dig than it would've otherwise. Brazen helped her get the box out, doing his best to shift it with his front paws and muzzle until it was out enough that it would be able to be open to reveal what was inside.

Somehow Apryl wasn't all that surprised to see clothes inside of it, of course her parents would think ahead in case of situation such as this. It wouldn't be like her mother could just shift to look human and walk in there as was without anything to cover herself. Even if they didn't suspect she was a werewolf, someone would still certainly think that there was something wrong with her. She gave her parents some privacy as they both shifted. Her father knew with how pregnant his mate was that he would have to help her get dressed in order to make sure that she wouldn't struggle too much and be out of breath before she finished making the walk to the little mart.

As a human, her mom looked like she was probably in her late forties or early fifties in human age. She had long dark brown hair that was a similar shade to that of her coat. For height, she was on the shorter side which didn't benefit her much with how large her stomach was. As a wolf, her stomach didn't look terribly big because of the way the weight of the pups was distributed. As a human however, there was no way that she would be able to hide the fact that she was pregnant. Her stomach stuck out rather far to the point that the clothes she had been keeping in hiding almost didn't fit her properly. This was yet another sign that they needed to move before her mom could no longer fit into human clothes and something else had to be done.

Even though her father didn't say anything, Apryl could tell that he was just as distressed as she was about his mate entering a human store there without him being there. He couldn't go though because for one there were no clothes that would fit him, and two because he knew that even as a human, he would have a hard time holding back his urge to protect and attack anyone that got too close to his vulnerable mate. He would've probably sent Apryl in with her except that his daughter had no experience interacting and communicating with humans. Doing such a thing would result in more suspicion and trouble than necessary.

Instead, once Brazen was doing helping his late, he shifted out of his werewolf form and back into his wolf form and lay with Apryl hiding the grass. His ears were constantly shifting as she lay as close as he could to the ground while waiting.

He felt the urge to start whining grow as minutes passed by and his mate hadn't yet returned. He didn't like her being away for so long under normal circumstances, but her being in a human's territory made him worry that much more. Apryl tried her best to comfort him despite the fact she was just as worried about her mother as he was.

After what felt like forever, there was a rustle and Summer finally came back into view in slightly different direction than the one that she had left in. Brazen wasted no time in going over to his mate, wagging his tail and nudging her to make sure that she was okay. She was out of breath and was resting against one of the trees as she tried to catch her breath while still in human form, one hand was resting under stomach in what seemed to be an attempt to take away some of the pressure the weight was causing him.

After resting for a few minutes, she shifted back to her wolf form after making sure that the clothes were put safely back in their hiding spot. Neither Brazen or Apryl pressured her for answers until she was ready to start talking herself.

"My cousin said that she could help us, but we wouldn't all be able to move at once. She said she could come tonight to pick us up, but there would only be enough space for the two of us, the pups, Apryl, and one other person. Everyone else she would have to come back tomorrow night to get as there's no way she could get a whole back to fit in her car."

"Did she say when she would get here?" Brazen asked, slightly more relaxed upon hearing the news.

"She said it would take a bit as she needs to get clothes, blankets, and other things ready for us. But she said she would honk the car horn twice when she got here. She wants to miss us at that old back road we pass over that hardly anyone uses anymore." Summer had gone from sitting up to laying down as she continued talking. Her pregnancy was really taking its toll on her and the hardest part hadn't yet to come.

If Summer's cousin was coming tonight that meant they would have to get back and let everyone know what was going on and then they would have to decide if they wanted to stay here or come with them to live with humans. This was the part that worried Apryl most as she got the feeling their family was going to end up breaking up more than even her parents thought was going to happen.