Gwen
The trip up the stairs wasn’t easy, and I was glad she wasn’t terribly heavy. It would have been easier to lift her and carry her, but I had gotten her into the harness in part because of the stairs. If I carried her now, she’d just be mad about the harness.
…but it wasn’t like she could take it off.
As I led her to the back door and the path I had shoveled, all I could think about was clipping the leash on her. How cute she’d be at the end of my leash.
Tori was precious in this form but I managed to keep my hands off of her.
"We can wander around for a bit, but when I say it's time to go inside, we go inside. Oh, also we're not going near the barn." I gestured to the workshop. Chances are there were trace amounts of silver all around the entrance, it was best not to take the chance.
Her tail wagged at the sight of the snow. Maybe she hadn’t been lying about that part after all.
I slid the door open and stepped out after her.
The fluffy beast limped quickly toward the snowbank… and took a great big bite out of it before she flopped down on her side, rolling onto her back. Her tail was wagging in full force now.
I kept myself to a small laugh, trying to spare her pride as much as possible. “You really do like the snow. Don't think we've gotten a snowfall this deep in a while. Not in one storm anyway." I wanted to sit next to her, just plop down in the snow with her and bury my hands in her fur. It was a horrible idea, she’d bite me to spare her pride and then I’d have to haul her back in, maybe force the muzzle I had tossed into the backpack with the leash on her. Wasn’t worth the risk. "I always loved coming up here during the winters as a kid. Always looked beautiful. So quiet compared to the city."
As I moved closer to her, Tori got back to her feet and began limping off, hobbling on three legs and sniffing at the ground. Balancing keeping her close and giving her space was delicate. I kept a close eye out for any signs that she might try to run.
To me, this place was still “the farm”, even though it hadn’t been used to raise crops or animals in my lifetime. Granddad always called it “the farm” and it just stuck with me. My place was just on the edge of the woods, a long fence keeping the trees away, separating a big empty patch of land where the sheep used to graze.
In the warmer months it was full of wildflowers, yarrows and angelicas. I tried to keep the bitter dogbane out of there, but it came back most years. Stubborn stuff, though it was pretty. River’s pack tended to settle down about a mile and a half from here, far enough from the town that they didn’t bother anyone but close enough that I could drop by easily.
Most folks probably wouldn’t find my little patch of nowhere much to look at - only things still standing were the farmhouse I loved so much, my barn-turned-workshop, a bit of fencing here and there, and an old windmill that used to pump water long, long ago. Though it challenged the claim of standing with the way it leaned.
It might not have been much to others, but for me, I couldn’t think of any place I wanted to be more. I loved my work, set my own hours, had space and quiet, a decent enough connection to the internet, my memories of Granddad and all he had left me, and my friends in the wolfpack. I couldn’t say I’d spent more than half my life here yet, but I planned to spend the rest of it on this perfect little patch of nowhere.
Maybe help be a good influence on the next generation of wolves.
I didn’t have a heart to try and bring a kid into this world, and couldn’t stand the loud little things besides. It was pretty much impossible to meet a werewolf prior to their teenage years, in human terms. They were raised wherever they were born until their were-parent came to find them when it was time.
I wondered if Tori even really understood that part. That one of her parents had been a wolf and that since she hadn’t been taken at puberty, that parent… they were probably dead. Chances were the whole pack had seen rough times.
A pack went to find their offspring.
Tori had gotten farther away from me than I preferred, she had wandered the same as my mind, aimlessly and meandering. As we walked, I realized what she was up to. She was trying to see how far out I was going to let her go, and how far she could get from me before I reacted. Tori was testing me, to see what I would do and when.
Overall, it was a nice walk. Other than literally pushing her boundaries, she just chomped on snow and looked around at what little there was to see. Having already spent a great deal of time out in the cold today, it was already starting to get to me. I hadn’t bundled up as heavily as I would have if I were hunting.
"Time to go back in." I gestured towards the house with my thumb. "I don't want you overdoing it with your leg still injured. Let's go lay down. You can either nap or we can put in another movie."
She turned back right away, no whining, no protests - such as she could. We simply walked back together. I was glad that the leash hadn’t been needed, that she was respecting the limits I put in place for her own good.
A tiny part of me had been disappointed though. I wanted to see what it would look like. I wanted to know how it would feel.
Just as I was about to tap in the code on the security door’s keypad, Tori let out a whine. She was staring at me from the entrance to the living room, giving me a look. It wasn’t hard to guess what she wanted, or rather what she didn’t want.
“Fine,” I sighed, giving in. She had been good on the walk, it was worth this small risk to reward her and show her I wasn’t unreasonable. "I have some work to do and, if you'll stay put, you can stay upstairs awhile. We'll be going back down later though."
I could swear she had a twinkle of satisfaction in her eyes as I followed her into the living room. I gestured to the bay window with its well-padded platform. It would be a comfortable place for her to lay and just look outside. I'd also be able to watch her there while I got some work done. Thankfully, she didn’t fight me as I helped her up onto it.
Even so, she yelped a bit as she settled in. We’d probably overdone it walking. I needed to be more careful with her.
I was quick as I could be without running when I grabbed my laptop from the office, settling down into the recliner and opening it up. I hadn’t made it very far in this part earlier. Generally speaking, I was happy to take any excuse to put off business email, but waiting too long to answer a question had cost me more than a few jobs.
But now I had someone to complain to. "When I sit down to return a bunch of emails I really start understanding the werewolf idea of just traveling instead of doing this stuff." While I was never intending to leave, I certainly understood the allure in moments like this. I had gotten yet another message offering social media exposure in exchange for a drastically reduced price. Even if I would consider that, they didn't even have a thousand followers. "Never having to deal with email again is tempting."
* * *
Tori
Walking around outside had been nice, but I hadn’t seen any sign of Alpha on the horizon in the direction of the cabin. No trio of wolves crossing the hills. It would be hard to see Alpha’s sleek white body with the snow on the ground, but Fang’s shaggy near-red and Spike’s dirty brown would show up easily.
I was left wondering again if they had even gone looking for me yet. It had been damn near two full days now. They were going to look for me, weren’t they?
Bitter thoughts invaded as I stared out that front window, still looking for them. This whole situation had happened because Alpha wanted me to go to the store that night, when I said I didn't want to.
All of my problems were caused by other people pushing me.
The walk had raised a difficult question for me though. The half-moon hung in the sky - if it had been a Blood Moon last night, it would still be full and smiling down at me tonight. So why had… that started? If it wasn’t the moon, what was it?
...if the wolf was who wanted her touch, would I end up in heat again in this shape?
I think I might die of embarrassment in that situation.
Gwen was rattling on. It left me wondering if she usually talked to herself like a weirdo. "Never having to deal with email again is tempting."
I'd never had a "real job", I'd never worked anywhere for more than a few months. I had no idea what running a business would be like, and I was glad for that. I didn't need a house. I didn't need electricity or comforts. My home could be anywhere I wanted.
Gwen seemed to get along with me better when I couldn't talk back. She never really cared what I had to say anyway, she had her mind made up and being wrong about everything wasn't going to slow her down.
I decided to try something... Alpha hated it when I did this, but maybe it would help. I started vocalizing - using my vocal cords the way I would as a human, forming rough words.
"Yeaaah.. "
Gwen’s eyebrow shot up, as if asking the world if she had heard what she thought she heard.
"Huh. That's kind of neat. Never seen that done before. But I guess it makes sense. Like... you know how to talk. The wolf form just isn't suited to it." She sat back and gave a short laugh. "Something funny about the first time you try talking being a response to me complaining about emails. But I suppose a lot of people would rather go live in the woods than deal with them. Got any other words in you?"
I honestly had no idea what words I could form and what I couldn't. Alpha made it very clear that I wasn't supposed to try to communicate this way, that it wasn't the way wolves communicated.
"Oww." I wasn't sure if she'd realize it was a word or just a noise, but it was an easy one to make. "Oww-eeeyyyyd."
Vowels were the easiest, consonants were hard, I didn't really have lips.
"Well. You can say owie which is kind of useful. I suppose consonants are probably hard." How she managed to get owie from outside was beyond me. She didn’t usually strike me as stupid. Closing her laptop, she walked toward me with a question on her lips when she paused, her head turning to look out the back door. "Hey. I'm not going to let you run." She pointed. And there was a deer, just outside, right where we had been walking. "But do you want a fresh kill to eat?"
Fuck yes I did. I felt my tail thump against the wall. With conscious effort, I stopped it. Wolves didn’t wag, not for this reason anyway. It was a greeting of submission, not a sign of excitement. I wasn’t a dog.
"Yeeeaah." I gave a single, sharp bark... though I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the kill in my current state.
And of course the crazy woman in the hills had a bow in her front closet. It was one of those plastic-looking ones with the wheel-things at either end of it. She strapped a thing of arrows to her thigh, moving quickly.
"So. Here's what we're going to do." I didn’t bother to complain as Gwen hoisted me unceremoniously from my perch to the floor, giving me time to arrange my feet and keep the weight off my right hind. "I'm going to hit it and then you can try to go and get it. Alright? No need to run. I will be close behind, got it?"
Another single bark. This would give me the perfect excuse. Regardless of whether we got the kill or not, I'd be able to howl - and there was no way she could tell the difference between a howl born of emotion and a howl to call the pack.
This was me giving up. I had silver wounds. I had no idea how long it was going to take to heal, and she wasn't going to give me an opportunity to kill her.
I needed my pack. I needed Alpha to pull me out of yet another stupid situation.
We crept out into the snow - she was incredibly loud to my ears, though she tried to be stealthy... I followed her, staying behind. When she loosed, it was a good shot. She knew what she was doing, and she caught the prey in the neck. A solid shot. I hopped after it on three feet, trying to not go too fast. I didn't want to surprise Gwen at how fast I could move on three if I had to.
The deer was confused. It was hurt. It should have known better, it should have smelled me all over this place and stayed far away. Bad choice for it, good luck for me. The two of us chased, Gwen got off another shot. The deer stumbled and it was all I needed. I closed the distance, managing a short lunge and latching on to its throat, ripping and tearing until it dropped.
I let out a sharp, harsh snarl to Gwen just to let her know that I wanted the heart.
“Chill,” she laughed, holding her hands up with the bow held in her right. “Have as much as you want. If you want some bones to chew on I can get them later."
I went straight for the heart. I never got the heart. I always wanted the heart. So I went for it. I cracked through the ribs, I tore the animal open, and I got it. The part that was always denied to me.
It was delicious. The blood was warm, the heart was still beating for that first bite. The heartsblood was more than I had ever imagined. I tasted the essence of the deer, the whole of its life and joy and fear, so much fear.
And when it was gone, I threw my head back and howled. I wasn't completely sure if I was pointing the right direction, but the howl I put out there was a pack call. I called to Alpha. I called that I was hurt, and that my pack should come.
Then I buried my face in the kill again, gorging. Before I could get enough to really sustain me, I felt a burst of energy surge through me. I had felt this once before... and I rode it, this wave of primal quintessence. I leaned into it, and moments later, my human face was buried in the deer's guts.