Page 26 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
That worry was what took me to Elder Germander’s cabin, on the edge of the den. A sometimes-calmer voice among the worry-prone elders, I felt comfortable seeking advice from him. He wouldn’t immediately tell me I was doing everything against “tradition.”
Elder Germander was sitting out back of his home, staring out across a little fire to the edge of the den, where the trees grew thicker and close together, blocking us from those who might seek to find our home. His gnarled right hand was clasped around a piece of thick, tough jerky that he slowly worked at every now and then, chewing it idly after letting it soak in his gums first.
Shifting into my human form at the edge of the fire’s light, I inclined my head respectfully. “I seek council.”
At first, there was no response. Had he not heard me? I wasn’t aware of any hearing impediment with him, but one never knew when the senses would start failing. I opened my mouth to repeat myself, when Elder Germander turned my way.
“You come to me for guidance?” He chuckled, the sound raspy but not weak. “That is a first indeed.”
Gritting my teeth at the sarcasm, I walked into the circle around the fire. Germander might be less hysterical than some, but he could also be frustratingly blunt as well. “I am the alpha,” I told him. “I seek council from those I feel can give sound advice.”
“Indeed, indeed,” Elias Germander said, tapping his knee. “So do you seek to flatter me then, by coming to me?”
“No. I seek council. That is all. I don’t play politics.”
“Which is why you struggle to keep the pack united,” Germander pointed out in his usual manner.
“That is not what I came to you for,” I said, hoping I wasn’t wasting my time. The other elders would likely lose their collective minds if I went to any of them, but dealing with Germander was likely to prove just as frustrating in another way.
“No?”
“No,” I reiterated. “I came seeking more information on the history of our pack and the ban the elders have insisted on. The one you convinced my father to enact, regarding unnecessary interaction with humans and have so far refused to support me removing. A straight answer has never been provided to me, and it is past time.”
“Is it now?” Germander asked coyly, staring at me. His face was lined with wrinkles and age spots, but his eyes were as dark and sharp as ever. The body faded, but his mind worked just fine.
“Yes. I know it wasn’t always this way. Not until recently.”
The pack elder’s bushy gray eyebrows went up. “Recently? Since when does a young pup like you consider sixty years ago ‘recent’?”
“When it comes to the age of our pack, it is recent,” I countered, staring him down.
“Indeed.” He gnawed on his jerky some more.
“I can see no good reason why friendships should be forbidden. We are here to protect them. Are we not?”
Germander snorted, aiming to brush my comment aside. But then he paused and sniffed the air, lightly at first before taking a deep breath. His eyes refocused on me, wider now than before. “Well, if friendship was the only thing, it wouldn’t be an issue, young one. But when friendships become more, and the judgment begins to cloud, mistakes are made—mistakes that can endanger the entire pack.”
He smelled her.
“You are spending time with the witch. Be careful, Lincoln. She is not what she seems.”
“I have encountered her, nothing more.”
Germander laughed acidly. “I can smell your wolf’s interest. Do not bullshit me, pup.”
My growl tore through the fire pit. “I am alpha. You will show respect.”
Leaning back in his chair, Germander appraised me for long seconds. Then he nodded.
“I warned her off,” I said, explaining the situation to him once he acknowledged he had been out of line, elder or not. “She was in the forest, looking around. I told her not to come back. That isall.”
“You speak the truth. I believe you have done what you say. Though I will admit that I did not expect it. This is good, Lincoln. You must keep your distance from her.”
“Why?” I demanded, not appreciating the patronizing tone or attempt to control me by telling me what I “must” do. “There is no logic. She has done nothing to us. We have done nothing to her.”
“There ismuchlogic,” Germander countered sharply, sitting up straight. “Her bloodline will doom us. They will require sacrifice of us, to achieve their own goals. A sacrifice in blood! Will you force your own people to pay that price, all because you find her attractive?”
I bit down hard at the insinuation I would sell my pack out for a chance to bed the woman.
