The wind brought more tantalizing scents on the breeze, teasing at the edge of her senses until she finally gave in and turned her head. Golden mist hanging in the air obscured the trees around her from view, the drooping edges trailing through the water suddenly far less interesting to her. She watched, nose twitching as the mist surrounded her in the scent until all she could think about was finding her dearest one again. She struggled through the mist, kept her head and body low to the ground and followed until she saw the shape of another wolf in the trees. Joy surged up her throat, and Undertow jumped with it, her steps quickening at last to meet the figure she'd been seeking.
She ran head-first into a tree. It set her down, haunches thumping to the ground from the force of the recoil. She was left shaking her head, blinking away golden mist until there was only the forest once more. No figure, no scent hanging in the air to lead her home. A whine left her throat, fiery gaze seeking over the green leaves as she sniffed at the frozen ground around her, pawed at the snow until dirt came up under her claws and she got a fresh blast of earth in her nose. This place didn't smell right. Nothing smelled right, anymore; this wasn't where she was meant to be. Undertow growled, low in her chest, and bent her head until she could wrap her jaws around her foreleg and chew while she thought. There must be something else that would point her in the right direction.
No matter how she turned the thought over in her mind, however, no solution revealed itself. With a heavy heart, Undertow searched around one more time and then resigned herself to it. Her mate wasn't here; she had followed another dead end. Yet she'd been so sure this time...surely one day she would succeed?
This couldn't be all she'd ever have.