Page 52 of Way of the Wolf

The moonlight also shone through the windshield and onto my face. Its power made my skin tingle. The wolf magic bubbled within me, as if it had been waiting for ages for an opportunity to escape. Out here in the woods, with the moon beaming down on me, the wolf didn’t hesitate to make itself known. It wanted out. It wanted to hunt.

Afraid of losing my clothing, I hopped out of the van and hurried to remove my shoes, socks, sweatpants, hoodie, and T-shirt. I felt the cool autumn night air on my skin, the grit of the dirt road under my feet, and the caress of a breeze that raised gooseflesh. But the chill faded as my body flushed with heat—withmagic—from the moon and from within. As I tugged off my undergarments, the scents of the forest grew much more vibrant, and I could pick out individual odors and knew what made them and what animals and people had passed this way. I smelled the wolf in the area—Duncan—and knew he hadn’t gone far.

When I looked into the trees, my eyes much sharper now, I picked him out of the shadows. He sat on his haunches, watching the road, his pointed ears rotating now and then at noises in the forest.

My skin pricked and a delicious stretching sensation filled me as I changed, body morphing, fur sprouting, and magic rippling through me. The world shifted, and I dropped to all fours. For the first time in twenty-six years, I was a wolf.

And, for the first time in twenty-six years, I caught the scents of wild animals, of ducks in a nearby pond, of squirrels bedded down in the branches of a pine, and of… ah, deer. Several of them. That was prey suitable for a wolf, and I salivated at the thought of taking one down, of consuming it.

When I’d been human, I hadn’t been hungry, but the wolf wasalways hungry. It longed to feast, to feed the body and the magic, enough to last until the next full moon, the next hunt.

Letting my nose lead me, I loped off in the direction of the deer. With my senses heightened, I wasn’t surprised when another wolf joined me, running at my side. He wasn’t family, not of the pack, but his tongue lolled out, and he regarded me in a friendly manner. I knew him from the other life, didn’t I? Yes. He would be an ally on the hunt.

Side-by-side, we ran through a gully where grass had grown verdant and high over the summer. In the past, the native trees had been logged by humans, enough to allow moonlight down to bathe the ground. A stream meandered through the center of the gully. With food and drink for the deer, it was an ideal place for them.

We passed a few mushrooms that, to my lupine eyes, glowed in the dark. They were magical. As a wolf, it was not only my eyes and ears that were keener, but I could detect otherworldly elements that were invisible to humans.

A memory flashed in my mind. An ivory case with a wolf engraved on the lid. Like the mushrooms, it also had magic, powerful magic.

A case made by a two-legs was a strange thing for a predator on the hunt to think about, and confusion trickled through me, but I vowed to remember the moment later. A certainty spread, pushing aside the confusion, that I would find the case enlightening to examine when I was in my wolf form.

I glimpsed a deer, and more important thoughts surged to the forefront of my mind.

Like the squirrels, the herd was bedded down for the night. We approached from downwind, trying to mask our scents. In the end, the deer would notice us, and we would have to run, as we enjoyed doing, but we had to get close first. These animals had long legs and were as fast as we, sometimes faster.

The other wolf left me to approach their resting place from the far side of the gully. Yes, we would flank them, making it harder for them to escape. I slowed from a lope to a stalk, padding silently through the grass, using bushes and old logs to hide my approach.

One deer stood near the stream, watching for threats as the rest of its herd slept. It was a buck of three or four years, and it would be a challenge to catch him off-guard and bring him down. If winter had been deep, and I’d been hungrier, I would have targeted the old deer, those easier to catch, but my blood sang under the silvery moonlight, and I wanted a challenge.

The buck’s head rose high, nostrils in the air. Had he caught our scent?

He waved his short tail and blew forcibly through his nostrils, awhoosh, whoosh. Yes, he sensed danger. Others in the herd stirred, rising from their grassy beds. Soon, they would bolt.

A faint rustle from the far side of the gully reached my ears. The other wolf. He’d given up stealth to sprint at the deer. The buck snorted and stomped to warn the others, then turned to run.

I also abandoned stealth and charged after them. No, after the buck. My chosen prey.

Powerful muscles flexing, I ran, covering ground fast, heading straight for that buck. The other wolf angled in, also running fast. He was as strong as I and headed toward a slower doe that had seen many years, but he noticed my target and, tongue lolling out again, he altered his course. Together, we sprinted after the buck.

It ran fast, springing over mossy logs and boulders, but we closed on it. We parted enough to flank it, me on the left and the other wolf on the right. He sprang first, going for one of its forelimbs to bring it down. The buck lurched sideways, trying to escape the crush of lupine jaws. It veered right into me. I leaped for its throat, tearing deep, landing the blow that would end its life. It crumpled, giving itself so two wolves could feast, as the call of the moon commanded them to do.

The exhilaration of the hunt flowed through me, invigorating, and the world all about was sharp and real as we dined. The moon shone upon our backs, our thick fur gleaming in the light. All seemed right and natural. When we were sated, we padded away, leaving the rest for the scavengers in the forest, those birds and animals who lacked the power of wolves.

Across the stream, we settled among ferns to rest and digest. Eventually, I dozed and dreamed, not in color as I did as a human but in the silver of moonlight. I ran through the forest and came to a clearing, and that case lay in the middle, glowing faintly in invitation.

18

Before dawn,with the sky starting to lighten, I woke in my normal human body, naked and lying on trampled fern fronds. There was a hand on my boob.

I blinked, eyeing that as I processed the warmth of an arm wrapped around me and an equally naked male body pressed against my back. I turned my head to look at Duncan. His eyes were closed, his breathing even with sleep.

Given how chilly the predawn air was, I wouldn’t have minded snuggling for warmth, but the hand was a little presumptuous. Making a face, I grasped it to move it off my chest. His arm tightened around me, and he snuggled closer, lips brushing my bare shoulder. A tingle of warmth swept through me, promising that, even though I’d not been with a man since before my husband left, my body remembered how to respond to an appealing touch.

But Duncan was still a mystery, and I didn’t want to find his touch appealing.

“We’re not a couple, dude.” I sat up and shoved his arm off.

His eyes opened, and he looked blearily up at me.

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