Page 26 of Wanted By the Wolves
Not a peep.
My wolf isn’t deterred. He brings her little objects from the courtyard and lays them at her feet. A pretty leaf. A shiny pebble. Each time, he bows and waits for an acknowledgment that doesn’t come before licking her snout and darting off again.
None of his gifts work.
He gets bolder, darting into the forest and returning with a hare.
She sits, vacant-eyed, still except for the tremble that runs up her spine every time the wind blows through the courtyard.
Damn.Wolf or man, I’m so bad at this.I force the shift, but my wolf doesn’t protest. Instead, he growls in my mind, a clear warning to fix this. I stuff myself back into clothes and scoop up the tiny omega wolf.
“I was trying to play, but that's not what you need, right?” I run my hands through her soft black fur, my purr rattling to life from my chest. “To tell you the truth, I’m not in the mood to play either.”
What was my wolf thinking? I sigh in exasperation, stomping the dirt off my boots at the door before bringing her into the living room. I set her down and build a fire, worried by the wayher small form trembles even inside the warm cabin. The goal was to coax her out, but all I seem to have done is make her sit in the cold-ass yard all afternoon.
I strip off my coat and boots, leaving them by the front door, before racing to Gage’s bathroom and stealing his hairbrush. What the alpha doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Besides, it’s a small payback for that mug.
Folding myself down onto the rug, I join her by the fire. I brush the fur along her back in long swipes until she’s soft and poofy. She’s stopped shaking, at least.
With both hands, I grab hold of her wolf’s face and look into her silver eyes. “Pretty wolf, help me help your human, okay? You’re my wolf’s mate, which means she’s mine, right? I need her just as much. My brother too. So, give her back her skin.”
The wolf stares at me.
She can’t understand me. Or if she can, she’s ignoring me. “Well fuck.”
I run my hands idly through her fur and watch the flames dance in the fire. Eventually, I can’t stand the silence, so I do what I do best—bullshit. I pretend I’m not carrying on a one-sided conversation.
“What’s my favorite place I’ve traveled?” I ask myself, then I answer myself like a total jackass. “Hmm. That’s a tough one. But once in the far Western Territory, Dex and I stayed in a treehouse that was cool as fuck. The elders put the pups in the trees during…”
I keep telling her stupid stories about Dex and me traveling, about the land and some of the places we’ve visited, asking myself questions that I pretend she prompts. I don’t mention the ferals or the dying villages, only the good times with silly pups and teasing elders. I exaggerate my commentary, playing up my brother’s scowling and my antics, making us both lookridiculous in the hopes that I can pull a laugh from the woman buried under the fur.
The little wolf purrs, and the room's scents finally mellow. I don’t know how long we sit there, but the light from the living room windows fades into a dusty twilight.
“What have you seen, little omega? I bet you have stories.”
Tired of hearing myself bullshit, I drag myself off the floor and head to the bookshelves that line the living room's back wall. My leg is hurting again, and I could use some backup. I’m exhausted, and I haven’t done shit but make it worse.
These bookshelves are mostly full of old-ass wolf histories, gardening books, and manuals. Still, I remember seeing some fiction titles in Gage’s bedroom. I head that way, out of ideas and about ready to throw in the towel. I can huddle with her under the blankets. We can mope together.
To my surprise, the little black wolf follows me. She nudges my leg, nipping at my jeans impatiently.
“You like books? You want me to read to you?” I ask, my heart racing at the way she finally looks alive.
She yips when I brush past a classic shifter tale about the first wolves and their battles with raiding forest trolls.
I get comfortable in her nest, and my little wolf follows. She circles a spot several times before she finds the right one, then she snuggles down, looking at me expectantly.
After the prologue, she looks just as interested, with the smallest spark back in her eye.
“You want me to keep going?”
She snaps her jaws in what I think is an enthusiastic“duh.”
I chuckle at the reminder of her sass. There she is. Let’s see if I can push my luck.
“Then you eat, I’ll read. That’s the deal.”
The little wolf huffs but gets up, trotting toward the kitchen.
