"Maybe you're prey but I'm definitely not." A smirk formed, a wicked little gleam dancing in her eyes.  "I am the smarter and stronger."  Her petiteness did not fit the overwhelming confidence in her voice when she spoke.  The fact that he didn't know her true nature was highly amusing and it showed in her eyes.<br/><br/>She followed after him as he started to move towards his truck.  "Definitely not.  Those people are a bit overzealous and fanatical."  She glanced at her watch then offered him her sweetest smile.  "Listen, I've got to go.  Be careful out here...it would suck if you were attacked by one of those hungry wolves."  The wink she tossed his way provided a clue that maybe she was joking.  Or maybe not.  "Maybe I'll see you around again."  She would make sure of that.  Now that she knew some of her pack was sniffing around, she wanted to make sure he didn't accidentally try to trap one of them in pursuit of one of the normal animals.<br/><br/>With a smile and a wave, she turned and headed back in the general direction of her car.  But she didn't go home.  Instead, she stripped down and tossed her clothes on the front seat.  Naked as a jaybird, she drew her focus inward.  Amaris wanted to investigate the wolf pack he had mentioned.  It would be easier to do in her other form.  Bones started to crack and shift inside her skin.  A pained groan filled the clearing she had parked in.  Transforming was not a pleasant endeavor as her whole body shifted and rearranged.  The last thing that happened was that thick glossy black fur sprouting and covering every inch of her body.  She gave a big shake before lowering her nose to the ground to track down the pack.<br/><br/>Her enhanced sense of smell made it simple enough.  They were miles away but the easy lope she adopted covered the ground in no time.  The pack wasn't at their den.  Only the pups remained inside.  She could hear them tumbling over each other and mock fighting deep inside the den.  Amaris left them alone, choosing instead to sniff around the outside of their home.  The lack of cracked bones and leftover animal parts told her that this pack was indeed starving.  She huffed and trotted away so the parents could come back and tend to their babies without worrying that she had been there.<br/><br/>The need to go for a run filled her but Amaris had to tamp down the feral instinct to run, to push herself to her physical limits, to chase down prey.  Those things would be fun in the moment but would ultimately prevent her from what she needed to do - figure out who this strange man trapping wolves truly was.  A frustrated growl rumbled in her throat as she turned back towards her car.  The transformation back to human was just as painful as the initial one had been.  No matter how many times she did it, it always made her groan and whimper in pain.  Sometimes the pain lingered in her bones making them ache for an hour or so.  With a lot on her mind, Amaris drove home.<br/><br/>The first thing she did when she got home was text the more feral members of the pack, the ones who had been sniffing around the traps.  Ferox and Praelium tended to band together and spend most of their free time in the forest.  But she knew that they would always keep their cell phones nearby.  Their Alpha demanded it so they could always stay in touch.<i>"You two better be careful not to get caught in those traps.  I don't think he'd hurt you but he definitely would know you weren't quite wolf.  do me a favor and keep an eye on him.  Let me know if he does anything strange."  </i>Something told her not to fill in her Alpha just yet.  He would be furious when he found out she'd withheld information but Amaris had the feeling there was more to the man in the forest.<br/><br/>She spent the rest of the afternoon Googling and searching the internet for everything she could find about wolf attacks in the area, hunting for clues to tell her if the attacks were truly wolf or more werewolf.  After taking notes and trying to organize her thoughts on paper, she searched for any information she could find about the man.  His name came up a few times in various research articles and even once where he was quoted in a newspaper article.  Something still didn't feel right in her gut so she began to poke around for information about his family.  He had mentioned his mother and the white wolf, Sophie.  She focused her efforts on social media, wondering what she might be able to find.  After all, owning a white wolf named Sophie wasn't exactly commonplace.