Page 22 of Werewolves Don't Howl
Max scratched behind my ears, exactly where it felt best. “Yeah, you’re worn out. And you tried to fight him? You look good, though. No blood in your fur, just a few fresh scars.” He leaned down and sniffed me deeply, then pulled away with a sour look on his face.
“You stink of elf.”
“But she’s part elf,” the other guy said.
“Sure, Brick, but now she smells like a night elf, not a woods elf. It’s a different stink.”
Brick leaned over to sniff me, so I turned my head to snap at him.
“Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “You’re just so…”
I growled, and he raised his hands in surrender, then kept petting me, so I relaxed and drowsed off, my head once more on my alpha’s leg.
“You sure you don’t want to shift back? This form is even more vulnerable looking than the other,” Max said.
Brick answered. “But she’ll heal better in this form, and they’ll make her shift, anyway. It’s custom.”
Max rumbled his disapproval, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. Why didn’t he defy the Alta? He was powerful in his own right, maybe the most influential alpha on the continent, because Singsong had so many werewolves. He kept a tight leash on them, too. More wolves, fewer crimes by werewolves, and all because of Max. He knew werewolf politics like my mom knew gnomish, how it was when you were born into a pack instead of turned unwillingly later in life, or on the outskirts because you were part elf. If he thought he needed to take me in, he had a reason. That made me nervous. Not nervous enough to stay awake, though.
I slept until the car slowed down, bumping over an unpaved road. When I raised my head, Max murmured. “Sorry about that, Delphi. Not much further, just around the lake, and to the cabins. We’ll park there, then take the trail to the amphitheater. You’ll enjoy the run.” He smoothed my fur and gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was my alpha, but he couldn’t protect me from this.
I wagged my tail and sat up to look out the window. We were in the mountains, the pines standing tall, strong, with drifts of snow in the shadow of the largest ones. Spring hadn’t gotten a strong grasp yet. It was beautiful though, the untouched woods with one single road winding through it, off the beaten path, free from anything that might interfere with pack law.
I whined before I could stop myself.
“It’s okay,” Brick said, trying to sound encouraging, but it didn’t reach his concerned eyes. “They’ll make you a good match or our Alpha won’t stand for it.”
Max grunted.
We curved around the small lake, the water lapping in gentle swirls from the tugging wind. I wanted to jump into that lake and swim away, but then I’d only smell like wet dog. I should have made my cookies this morning. If I was going to be mated or executed, I shouldn’t smell this bad.
Once we were around the lake, we passed through the last stretch of woods, the branches reaching over the narrow road, protective, dark, cool, and then we came out in a clearing, cabins on one side in the trees, a large meadow stretching out on the other. It was beautiful, timeless, and completely removed from civilization or modern expectations.
We parked on the edge of the woods, then Max got out and held the door open for me. I hesitated only a moment before I leapt lightly after him. Max closed the door while I looked around, breathing deep to catch the scents of wolf, human, ashes and the fresh breeze that rippled over everything.
“What is that? A puppy?” a teenager said, coming out from behind a cabin, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. He was cleaner than I expected a kid to be in the wild.
Brick came up on my other side and growled at the kid.
He backed up a few steps. “I meant no disrespect. I’ve just never seen such a small wolf.”
“She’s my pack,” Max said, not looking at the kid, but looking over his head at the trees. “Well, shall we get going? Let’s see how fast you can be.” He broke into a run for the trees and I leapt after him instinctively. Brick fell in behind me, and we ran down narrow trails, up and down hills, leaping over streams. I sank my paws into the mud as I leapt and enjoyed myself without worrying about silly human troubles. We ran until it was shadowy blue dusk, and the air grew chill.
Max slowed down, and I followed suit, happy with our run, happy to follow my alpha, backed up by Brick. I didn’t let the future bother me. Max put a hand on my neck and I stopped, straining my senses to pick up whatever he’d heard.
A torch came to life, a bright flickering fire held above a bare-chested man with a very scruffy blond beard. He had blue and red paint smeared across his forehead and under his cheeks, like one of the crazy baseball fans.
He looked at me, and for a second there was a hint of surprise in his blue eyes, reflecting the flickering golden flames, but then he turned and strode off, leading us into the rocks, onto a path separate from the one we’d been on, leading up rough-hewn stone steps. Some of the steps were high enough that I had to leap to get to the next one, but I could jump very high, so it was fun, almost as enjoyable as our run on the trail.
My tail was wagging when we came out into the amphitheater. Sheer cliffs were broken up by ledges where men and wolves perched, looking down at us. It was almost a perfect circle, with more of those jagged steps leading up to each ledge.
Max stood next to the guy with the torch, my alpha’s body language casual, relaxed, but I was close enough to smell his unease. He shouldn’t be nervous about this. I licked his hand, trying to help him relax.
He glanced down and smiled wryly as he rubbed behind my ears for a moment. I sat at attention and looked around at the crowd, looking adorable. Should I try to look fierce? This form was what it was. No sense fighting the inevitable.
“This is the female you’ve allowed to run unprotected in Singsong City for over a decade?” A man dropped down from the ledge, his long dark beard tangled with silver. He was old, and werewolves didn’t show their age for a very long time.
Max grunted. “That’s right, Alta. She’s very fast.”
