“Most likely, yes.” Ralof eyed me. “But as I said to you before, I want you to wait until next weekend to go running with us.”
I sighed loudly, dropping my head. My wolf ached to go running now. It felt a little childish, but my wolf didn’t seem to care about embarrassing me. Ralof seemed to understand though; he smiled at me gently and patted my shoulder. “You have waited a long time to run with your pack; I think you can wait a few days more. Your first time should be a grand experience, running with the whole pack at Midsummer’s full moon.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I smiled up at Ralof, letting out a deep breath and calming the wolf as best I could. “It’s just so hard to wait.”
Ralof patted me on the back again. “It will be worth it. Now go. Eat.”
“Okay, dad.” I teased. Ralof shook his head, laughing as we parted ways. He went to find the other two wolves who had moved to the bench swing at the side of the house while we’d been busy with my shifting practice. I opened the glass door leading into the living room of the pack house and inhaled the delicious aroma of roasted chickens and fresh-baked dinner rolls. I didn’t need to go ask Elisa if dinner was ready anymore. All I had to do was follow my nose.
2
Little Sister
I meandered through the living room, sidling past Kenneth who was heading back to the couch and the paused movie he’d been watching with Steph. He handed her a drink as he sat down close to her, and unpaused the movie which appeared to be one of those sappy young adult romance titles with vampires and werewolves. Steph smiled at me over her shoulder. “I know. It’s ironic. Werewolves watching werewolf movies.”
I shook my head. “Humorous, but not ironic. Irony is when something is deliberately contrary to what you’d expect.”
Steph tilted her head. “Huh?”
I waved off the comment and gestured to the screen. Steph smiled at me and went back to watching, leaning her head on Kenneth’s shoulder. He took the opportunity to put his arm around her like a boss. I hurried on to the kitchen where I wouldn’t get in the way of young love.
“Dakota!” Elisa snapped the instant I appeared in the doorway. “Come. Taste sauce. Tell me what you think.”
Andrei was situated to one side of the stove and Elisa to the other. Elisa was a tall, sturdy woman with golden hair in a wrapped braid, sun-kissed fair skin, and a myriad of scars. Her eyes were deep and blue, but only one of them tracked; the other was made of glass and the scar across it promised a tale.
Andrei, the pack’s second, looked no older than mid-twenties, though I knew he’d won his wicked, body-encompassing tattoos in some kind of involuntary Nazi occult experiment during World War II. His shaggy black hair and wide bottle green eyes said “college student” and maybe “stoner”, definitely not “war hero”. But I knew his casual, happy-go-lucky exterior hid the same monstrous rage-beast as I hid behind mine. Elisa looked the part of a werewolf woman; terse and sturdy and battle-scarred, a glorious warrior in human form, but Andrei, well, didn’t. Looks could be deceiving. Just as sure as Elisa, just as sure as sweet, lavender-haired Steph, Andrei was a monster, just like me.
But Andrei didn’t look all that intimidating at the moment, standing there in the kitchen, wearing a frilly-edged apron over his board shorts and tank top that showed off his tats. I got one look at him and started giggling. Andrei gave me a flat expression as Elisa waved me over. I scurried over to obey; no one was brave enough to ignore the wishes of the Alpha’s mate.
“Here.” Elisa held out a spoon coated in a thick brown sauce. I leaned in and tasted it, glancing down to avoid the two more dominant wolves’ heavy gazes as I considered the flavor.
“Not bad. It’s a little… sweet?”
Andrei groaned loudly. “Aww! Dakota! Why?” Elisa was laughing. Andrei snatched the spoon from Elisa with a glare.
“What’d I do?” I glanced between them. Elisa shook her head as she wandered toward the pantry, laughing all the way.
Andrei gave the sauce a mournful expression and sighed. “I made gravy to go with the potatoes. Elisa said it was closer to caramel than gravy.”
I tapped a finger to my lip. “Actually now that you mention it…” Andrei glared at me. I grinned cheesily. “What?”
“Seriously, you couldn’t back me on this? Not cool, little sister.” Andrei moved the pot to a back burner and tossed a lid on it.
“Well I wouldn’t want that on my potatoes, bro. Besides, I didn’t know what was going on.” I was trying not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. I giggled a little and Andrei shot me another playful glare.
Elisa came back over from the pantry with a canister of flour. “Was a fair judgment. If she had known, would have been less fair.” She dropped the canister onto the counter. “Is no worry. I will make new gravy, and your gravy can be for dessert.”
Andrei shot Elisa a scornful expression. “Well, I never!” He swiftly untied the apron and slapped it down on the counter as I laughed and Elisa shook her head as she dug out a fresh pot to start a new gravy in. Andrei stuck his nose in the air and stomped out of the kitchen.
I glanced up at Elisa with a grin. “Ralof sent me for food.”
“Shifting went well?” Elisa peered at me curiously. I nodded. “Good.” She eyed me consideringly then nodded at a covered dish nearby. “Go on, pick out some chicken.”
I grinned. “Thank you!” I grabbed a plate from the cabinet and slipped over to the dish. Inside, several roasted chickens had been dismantled into individual pieces on the bone. I grabbed a few pieces and replaced the lid carefully so it wouldn’t get cold. I bit into a leg and groaned as the juicy meat met my tongue. “This is so good.”
Elisa huffed, amused. “Is only chicken, Dakota. Very simple to make.”
I smiled at her. “Hey, you’ve stopped calling me ‘New Wolf’. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Elisa blinked and glanced up at me then huffed again and shook her head. “You have been here long enough for me to remember your name, and you are staying around for a while.”
I grinned at her. “You don’t have to excuse it, you know.”
Elisa shook her head and shooed me away. “Go on, out of the kitchen. If I let you stand here and eat, there will be none left for dinner.”
I laughed at her excuse as I slipped over to the doorway. “All right, Mama Wolf, I’m going.” I grinned at her as I backed out of the kitchen and into the living room. Andrei was just coming down the stairs. “Hey, Andrei. Wanna hang out for a bit?”
Andrei frowned apologetically. “No can do, kiddo. I’m going out with Ralof to take the other wolves running.”
“Oh.” I puffed. “Okay.”
“Hey, I’d love to hang some other time though. You sticking around for the weekend?”
I shook my head. “Probably not. I have to head home before too long and actually go to work again and stuff.”
Andrei grinned at that. “I hear ya. But hey, some time soon, right?”
I nodded. “I’ll hold ya to it.”
Andrei slapped me on the back and smiled broadly. “All right. I’ll see ya later then.” He turned and jogged across the living room and out into the back yard where Ralof and the other wolves were already shifting. I wached Andrei step out to join them, stripping out of his shirt as he crossed the lawn to where three other wolves, one of them my Alpha, waited for the pack’s second to join them. I watched Andrei shift into his wolf, and then before I had a chance to get a good look at him, they were gone, disappearing into the forest, lightning fast.
I sighed and considered as I finished my chicken. My wolf was antsy and restless. Okay, really, she was dying to go running and I knew nothing was going to salve that until we could go out with the pack.
I slipped back into the kitchen to dispose of my plate, but Elisa took it from my hands and shooed me off again. I stepped back into the living room and glanced around. I didn’t want to bother the kids in the living room, and everyone else seemed busy. I glanced
up at the windows; it was just after dark. I wandered out to the front porch and pulled out my phone. Maybe tonight was a better night to go hang out with my girlfriend than my pack.
The phone rang a few times before Amorie picked up. “Good evening, my little wolf.” Amorie’s velvety voice was soothing and enticing, as always.
“Hey Am. What’s up?” I wandered off of the porch to pace about the yard.
“The moon, and the stars, I would imagine.” There was a playful smile in her voice that I found myself sharing. “What is up for you?”
“Nothing much. I was wondering if we could get together somehow, or at least just talk for a while?” I slowly meandered around to the side of the house where a bench swing hung from the supports of the upper balcony.
“I would love to, my little wolf.”
I grinned as I flopped down into the bench, letting my weight set the swing to moving. “Awesome.”
“But unfortunately, I can not. Not tonight. I am… excessively busy right now.”
I frowned, my spirits sinking. “Aww. Really?”
“I am so very sorry, ma chérie. I wish it were not so, but I am afraid I have gotten a little backed up. When you stayed with me last, I let a few things slip that I thought would be all right, but… It has turned out that my judgment was in error.”
I frowned more. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, it will be fine, little wolf. Just there is much right now that needs my attention, and I would not wish to give my Mistress the impression that I am lax in my service to her.”
I sighed. “All right. I don’t want you to get in trouble with your Mistress.”
“It is for the best, little wolf. We would not wish her to come to believe that you are not good for me.”
“Yeah, that sounds bad.”
Amorie was dead silent for a moment, as only vampires can be. It was only for an instant, but I noticed all the same. “Yes, ma chérie. It would be. I am sorry, but I hope you will understand.”
I did my best to put a smile into my voice. “Of course. It’s no problem, Am. I’ve got some other stuff to take care of anyway.”
“Are you sure it is all right?” I could hear the apology in her voice, but also the need to know it was actually okay.
“I’m sure. Just give me a call later if you get caught up, all right?”
“Of course, ma chérie. If I have time.”
We said goodbye and I put my phone away. I leaned back on the bench, dropping my arms over the back of it and sighed. I spent a moment staring up at the wood planks overhead as I rocked slowly back and forth, telling myself that I had no right to feel so left out. My pack was all around me; I just couldn’t go out running. My girlfriend cared for me very deeply, but she was a very important person and it couldn’t be helped that she had work to do. Raelya and I had just gotten back from a trip to Canada that she’d come along on just to make sure I was safe.
It was childish to feel left out or lonely, but I was feeling it all the same. Maybe it was more that I didn’t feel up to being alone with my so freshly regained memories. Or maybe I was still uncomfortable being alone with the newness of the wolf I had reconnected with, the wolf that had been left alone for so long. I closed my eyes as I rocked in the Tennessee summer night, breathing the fresh mountain air, and listening to the forest all around me that I could hear so much clearer now with my wolf no longer locked away.
I startled when Raelya thumped down next to me. “Ack!” I scrambled upright.
Raelya giggled. “Hello to you too.”
“You startled me.” I pouted at her.
“I gathered.” Raelya grinned, then her expression sobered. “What are you doing out here all alone, Dakota?”
I shrugged. “Just relaxing I guess. Just got off the phone with Amorie.”
“Oh.” Raelya dropped her head for a few seconds, then looked back up at me and smiled. “Going out tonight?”
I shook my head. “Nah. She’s busy. I was thinking of heading back to the apartment and packing up.”
“So you have decided to move in?” Raelya brightened up at that.
I nodded. “I have. But I have to tough it out for one more week.”
Raelya tilted her head. “Oh?”
“Two weeks notice. I figure if I can stick it out in the apartment for at least half of that, my final paycheck will at least cover the cab fare for the second half of it after I’ve moved out.”
Raelya frowned and swatted me on the nose softly.
I blinked. “What?”
“You will do no such thing. You will not take a cab to work when I am perfectly capable of driving you.”
“But it’s like an hour to Knoxville, one way, with the option of driving it twice a night or hanging around for eight hours.”
Raelya glared at me. “I said I will drive you, and that is that. It is only for two weeks, so not another word. I have decided.”
I blinked. “You know, I believed you were related to Elisa as it was. You have nothing to prove.”
Raelya laughed and shook her head. “Just tell me which nights you will need a ride and let me help you, okay?”
I smiled. “Okay. But wait, two weeks? I won’t need you to drive me for the first week if I stay in Knoxville until next weekend.”
Raelya shook her head firmly. “You are not staying in that apartment alone when you could be here with your pack. I do not mind driving you. I know you have not enjoyed being alone, so there is no reason for you to wait a week. Besides, next weekend is the Fourth of July and it is a big event. The whole pack will be here, and it will be your first run. It is better to handle your move before then.”
“I was going to try to have it done by Friday anyway.”
Raelya smiled at me gently. “But I know you really want to be here now.”
I sighed. “All right, yes. I would hate being alone in my apartment all week. You win.”
“Shall we go then?”
I smiled. “Yes, I suppose we shall.”
Raelya took my hand gently in hers and squeezed it. I squeezed back. She got up from the swing and pulled me with her and we headed off to get our shoes and let Elisa know we were going. I waved goodbye to the pack house for the night and Raelya and I climbed into the sturdy old pickup that she and Elisa shared. We turned the radio on, rolled the windows down, and headed off to Knoxville.
3
Where Your Rump Rests
I watched the familiar trees roll by as Raelya drove us down the mountain roads toward Gatlinburg. After a moment of quiet, she glanced over at me, then asked, “What is wrong, Dakota?”
I shrugged. “Nothing really.” I glanced up at Raelya and she raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed. “The wolf is restless. She wants to run, to hunt.”
“Ah. And Ralof said to wait.” Raelya gave me a knowing smile.
I nodded. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t whine so much but I’m still getting used to the wolf and this is all new to me.”
“I would not call it whining anyway. You are more, how do they say? Moping.”
I pouted. “I’m not moping.”
Raelya grinned. “Now you are pouting.”
I pouted more exaggeratedly. “I’m not pouting.”
Raelya laughed, and the sound infected me. I smiled, then I laughed, then I sighed a happy sigh. “I’ll get over it. So I can’t believe I never asked you before, but I’m curious. What do you do exactly?”
Raelya tilted her head slightly. “Do? What do you mean?”
“When you’re not flying to Canada with me or helping Elisa cook, what do you do? You don’t seem to have a job or anything, so what do you do?”
“Ahh. I read, listen to music, go for walks, run in the forest, hunt rabbits.” She flashed me a toothy grin and I chuckled. “Sometimes, Elisa and I will sew or knit, and we have our little garden that we tend together.”
“That’s all?”
“I am not sure why you say that. What is wrong with it?”
I shrugged. “Just sounds like you don’t have a lot to do.”
“Were you not listening? There are many things, and of course I have not listed every little thing.”
I grinned. “Okay, then what else do you do?”
Raelya laughed. “Every little thing?”
“You going anywhere?” I gestured around the truck.
“Fine. I like watching the little movies online.”
“What like Youtube?” I tried not to sound too incredulous.
“Yes, or wherever I can find them.”
“Okay then what kinds of things do you watch?”
Raelya glanced at me with a considering smile. “About piloting and driving, the technology behind them, and the history of such things.”
“Oh, that’s right.” I knew Raelya was interested in planes and stuff. She’d told me so before when we’d traveled to Calgary and she’d wanted to visit the aeronautical museum. “I didn’t know you were so into those things. I thought it was more nostalgic for you.”
Raelya shook her head. “No, I do love the history and seeing the old planes from the wars, but it is more than that. Flying was so much fun, and I miss it.”
“Wait, you can fly?” I blinked.
Raelya smirked at me. “Yes, of course. I am old enough for my werewolf-wings to have grown in.”
I barked out an awkwardly loud laugh. “Oh, right.”
Raelya laughed. “I used to fly planes. This is so surprising?”
“Well, yeah? I guess. I mean, I don’t know anyone else who can fly a plane. It’s not a skill just everyone has.”
“But it is so surprising to you that I have it?”
I shook my head. “Neh. I guess not. It’s more that, well, I had no clue you did stuff like that.”
“I used to fly, and I loved it. I enjoy driving very much, though it is not the same. It is as close as I come these days.”
“Ahh, so the truth is revealed. That’s why you’re offering to drive me to work.” I grinned broadly.
Raelya smiled at me. “Perhaps a little.”
“Well,” I scooted over to the middle seat and leaned against her side. “Then I don’t feel as bad for letting you.” I gave her shoulder a little squeeze. Raelya laid her head against mine briefly, bumping it softly, hair-to-hair.
Hunted (Auralight Codex: Dakota Shepherd Book 2) Page 2