by Jenny Frame
Baskets of flowers and plants hung from every shopfront. On each roof were solar panels.
“It’s like the perfect little ecological village,” Zaria said.
Kenrick smiled brightly. “I’m glad you think so. That’s what the Wulvers live by, being as in tune with nature as possible.” Kenrick led them into the marketplace, and she got salutes and waves from the other wolves as they strolled. “We recycle everything, use material from the forest, get as much energy as we can from our solar panels, but the sun isn’t always so good in bonnie Scotland, so we have a water turbine at the other end of the loch, next to the bottling plant.”
Kenrick led then to the front of one of the bigger shops. “This is our food store.”
Zaria peeked in the store and saw bright, colourful produce and smelled good meat. “That smell is making my mouth water.”
Kenrick laughed. “We’ll eat soon. The shops down the left side all back onto the shops the humans use on the shore front. That’s how we get our deliveries in.”
Zaria turned around in a circle, trying to take all this in. “It’s amazing the humans don’t know there’s another world back here.”
“You’ve arrived on a good day. It’s not raining just now, but look up,” Kenrick said.
There was a large mechanical system high up above the stores. “What is that?”
“Retractable roof. If it starts to rain, we can cover the marketplace to make things a bit more pleasant, and if it’s really hot in the summer we can close it and put the solar panels to good use.”
“Wow.”
“Let’s walk down to the far end.”
Everyone they passed smiled at Zaria. There were no strange looks or bad vibes, as Zaria had worried. She followed Kenrick to the end. They walked down a ramp off the wooded marketplace. Up ahead was a stone bridge, and to the right was what looked like a small wooden amphitheatre.
“What’s that, Ricky?”
“It’s our wee theatre. We show movies and the young people put on shows. It’s really popular with the cubs.”
Zaria shook her head and laughed softly. “Ricky, I can honestly say I never expected anything as wonderful or beautiful as this. I’m blown away.”
Kenrick winked. “We haven’t even gotten started yet.”
After they crossed the stone bridge, Zaria followed onto a well-maintained stone path. They were now in the real Wulver Forest, Zaria guessed, surrounded by huge, ancient looking, towering trees. The scent was wonderful, exciting, and new, and made her wolf anxious to run.
“This is where you all live?” Zaria asked.
“Aye, we each have a large piece of land. There’s plenty of space for us all, but we have to go a bit deeper into the forest to get to my den,” Kenrick said.
“What kind of trees are these? The scent is amazing.”
Kenrick stopped by one thick-trunked old tree. She put her hand on the bark and took a moment, silently connecting to everything about her. These wolves were true forest dwellers, Zaria realized, much more than the Wolfgangs or other North American wolf packs she knew of.
“This is a Scots pine, one of the main trees in our forest. There’s also Douglas fir, oak, ash, beech, chestnut, and so much more.”
“Beautiful. How far is your den?” Zaria asked.
“It’s a pretty walk with lots to see, maybe fifteen minutes, or five if we shifted. Which would you prefer?”
Zaria knew immediately. She took Kenrick’s hand and smiled. “The long scenic route, I think.”
“Aye, that sounds best,” Kenrick said. She felt Zaria loosening up and relaxing with every minute they spent in her home, and Kenrick was getting more excited by her response to Wulver Forest. She tried to temper her joy. It didn’t mean Zaria would stay, but she was going to give it her best shot. If the long scenic route was what it took to win Zaria’s heart, then she would do it.
As they walked along, Kenrick told Zaria about the different trees, plants, and animals. Luckily it wasn’t raining, so Zaria could see the landscape at its best.
Soon they were a few yards from Kenrick’s den. “We just take the path to the left up here.”
Zaria walked down the path between the trees and gasped when it opened out onto a clearing. In front of her was a huge wood-framed house, held high up in the trees by ancient looking, thick, solid tree trunks that passed through the balcony around the house up into the leafy canopy above.
“This is your den? This is how you all live?” Zaria gasped.
Kenrick was full of smiles at her reaction. “Aye, we live in the trees. It’s the Wulver way.”
“This is why you were so good at climbing trees back in Wolfgang County.”
“Yeah, we enjoy climbing. You like it, then?”
It was obviously really important to Kenrick that she liked her den, and she did. “I love it.”
A walkway started at the foot of the trees and spiralled around until it reached the house at the top. She followed Kenrick up the stairs, and as they got higher, she realized there was another walkway that led through the tops of the trees away from Kenrick’s den.
“Is that how you get from den to den?”
“Aye.” Kenrick smiled. “Although I prefer to climb.”
Zaria raised an eyebrow. “Are you a werewolf or are you a weremonkey?”
Kenrick laughed. “We Wulvers are just good climbers. Let me take you up.”
When they got to the top, Zaria realized why the Wulvers liked living so high up off the ground—the beautiful view of the loch and Wulver mountain.
“It’s breathtaking, Ricky.”
Kenrick gently pulled her hand and said, “There’s more. Come with me.”
She opened the doors and led Zaria into a large open-plan living space. In the middle was a kitchen area with all the usual appliances, and off to the side there were doors to what she imagined might be other bedrooms or bathrooms.
Up at the other end of the living area was a large bed, pressed against a far wall of glass. “Is that your bed?”
“Aye, I like to sleep looking over the forest. Come and see.”
When she got closer, Zaria realized this side of the den overlooked a medium sized river, and the wall of glass windows was actually two sliding doors that could be opened so you could walk out onto the balcony or lie in bed and watch the stars and listen to the sounds of the river.
To the side, doors opened up to the balcony, and on the right-hand side there was an outdoor shower with a wooden grid underneath that let the water flow back down to nourish the earth.
Zaria was lost for words. She could have never imagined wolves living like this, in happy family communities, and in such a stunning landscape.
“What do you think, Zari? It’s important to me that you like it,” Kenrick said.
Zaria tried to find the words. “I think…I couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful den or pack lands. It’s no wonder you don’t want to leave here.”
Kenrick couldn’t have looked happier at her response. “That means a lot.” The she suddenly looked at the clock on the wall and said, “It’s almost light-up time.” Kenrick took her hand and guided her onto the balcony.
“Wait, what’s light-up time?”
“You’ll see. Watch.” Kenrick stood close behind her.
The evening darkness was falling, and she could sense a change in the atmosphere of the forest. Then it happened. The evening gloom was lifted by the pretty glow of countless fairy lights. She hadn’t noticed in her walk up the spiral staircase that the lights were entwined around it, but now they were lit up. The wooded walkways that Kenrick said joined all the tree houses together were also lit up in the darkness and could be seen, linking tree to tree, far off in the distance.
“It’s magical,” Zaria said.
Kenrick rested her head in the crook of Zaria’s neck. “It gets dark early here, so it’s practical as well as pretty. I’ve missed this. It’s good to be home.”
Zaria took Kenrick’s
hands and wrapped them around her middle. She could see now how much a part of Kenrick these lands were. She was connected to the very essence of this forest and had become even more alive and vibrant since they got here.
Zaria could see how easily she could fall in love with this place, as she was with Kenrick.
“I can’t wait see the rest, Ricky. The scenery is just…beyond words.”
Kenrick whispered in Zaria’s ear, making her shiver. “Thank you for coming and giving me a chance, lassie.”
“Anytime, Highlander.” Zaria smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
Kenrick was so full of excitement and energy having Zaria here. She was everything she always wanted, and a bedroom might separate them just now, but Zaria was here, in her country, in her pack lands, and in her den. Now she just had to prove her love to her and show Zaria that she could be a Wulver and leave her Lupa past behind.
Kenrick woke up at four thirty and couldn’t get back to sleep. Her instinct was to go on a long run, but she had planned that for Zaria’s first morning, then breakfast at her parent’s den.
She lay in bed listening to the dawn chorus of the birds and the forest wakening. She felt an absence—something was missing. She should have Zaria in her arms.
Zaria was getting more used to her touch and their kisses, and hugs and hand-holding were getting more frequent, but they’d shared nothing like that night in Wolfgang County when they both lost control.
Ultimately, though, it had been too soon and Zaria had become scared. When Kenrick touched Zaria she wanted to be as gentle as she needed and never echo anything that Ovid had done to her. To do that, she would dampen every dominant instinct she had.
Wolf mating was complex and Zaria didn’t have good role models, something good for her to base her feelings and expectations on. Maybe Kenrick could speak to her ma about it. The absence she felt now, here in her bed, was not about sex. All she wished was that she had Zaria in her arms listening to the forest awakening and starting a new day.
She couldn’t lie here any longer, so she got up and pulled on the pair of jeans she’d discarded last night and walked over to the kitchen to make a hot cup of lemon water. It was her favourite morning drink, with the added sweetness of a drop of honey.
Once she made her drink, she listened for any movement from Zaria’s room, but there wasn’t a sound. She would just have to be patient and wait for their day to start.
* * *
Zaria’s eyes fluttered open and she was hit with a warm feeling in her chest when she remembered where she was. In her sleepy state, she reached to her side and was disappointed to find the space empty.
“Ricky,” she said out loud.
Her wolf, her body, her subconscious expected and wanted Kenrick to be beside her in sleep. That was new and unusual for her. Never had she wanted to be physically close to another wolf. Her natural wolf bonding instinct had been destroyed by her upbringing and by Ovid’s cruelty.
Not having to look over her shoulder, even though habit still made her at the airport—that was another new sensation. But now, thanks to the Wolfgangs and Kenrick, she was safe for the first time in her life, and that was a lot to take in and believe. Leroux and Ovid were dead and the rest of the Lupa wolves were chased away.
Last night, Kenrick got them some food from one of the village restaurants while she unpacked, and then they called Dante and Eden back in the States and set her up with an email account so that she could contact Marco.
After that, she just needed to sleep and now she felt so rested—in fact, more relaxed and rested than she had ever felt. Never in a million years would she have believed she’d end up here in Scotland with the Wulver pack, when she ran from the diner and the Lupas.
Zaria sat up, yawned, and ran her hand over the crisp white sheets on Kenrick’s spare bed. She could get used to living in such comfort. She stretched then walked over to look out of her bedroom window. The view wasn’t as good as Kenrick’s, but still wonderful.
After a visit to the bathroom, she threw on a work shirt of Kenrick’s that she’d given her and walked out of the bedroom in search of her. She found Kenrick’s bed empty and no trace of her in the den or out on the balcony.
“Ricky? Are you here?” Maybe she went on a run?
“I’m over here,” she heard Ricky shout.
Zaria looked around, then followed the sound of Ricky’s voice out onto the balcony beside her bed. She wasn’t anywhere on the balcony.
“Ricky?”
“I’m just here,” Ricky said.
Zaria walked to the edge of the balcony and saw Kenrick sitting precariously on one of the branches of the tree that supported the balcony. Her first thought was Kenrick’s safety. They might be werewolves, but they could still get hurt. It was very high off the ground.
Then, when Kenrick smiled at her and said in her sexy lilting voice, “Morning, lassie,” safety went out of the window.
Kenrick was only wearing a pair of jeans which were unbuttoned, had bare feet and a bare chest, and her mane of dreadlocked hair hung loose around her shoulders. Kenrick looked so undone that it undid Zaria. She felt her chest heat up and lost the words she meant to reply. Wolves were used to nakedness. It was a natural consequence of shifting to and from their wolf form, but it was a long time since she had been part of a wolf pack, and she had always felt nakedness was a vulnerability that could be taken advantage of. Ovid had always leered at her as she shifted, and in the human world it was the same. It would take some getting used to, being in a pack that didn’t objectify her.
She couldn’t take her eyes off Kenrick. She was so sexy, such a magnificent example of a dominant wolf. She was strong and powerful looking, but her eyes shone with such gentleness that it disarmed Zaria.
That was the killer combination that sneaked in through her barriers. As she’d grown older, Zaria knew the need to mate would tempt her, so she built up her defences and vowed to never fall for a dominant wolf, but she had not expected one like Kenrick.
Kenrick leapt up onto the branch and walked along it without a hint of a wobble. “Zari? Are you okay?”
“Would you come onto the balcony, please?”
“Aye.” Kenrick vaulted onto the balcony beside her. “Is something wrong?”
Zaria couldn’t take her eyes from Kenrick’s muscled stomach and her gaze fell to the open buttons of her jeans. Kenrick clearly wasn’t wearing any underwear. Heat immediately flushed all across her body, her teeth broke through her gums, and the heat had turned into a deep ache and want in her sex.
Every cell in her body was telling her to scratch Kenrick across the chest and mark her as her own, challenge her. It was so hard to fight her nature. She closed her eyes, knowing they would have probably changed to yellow. After a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes and looked up at Kenrick. “You shouldn’t sit out there. It could be dangerous.”
Zaria didn’t know if Kenrick bought her explanation, but she just laughed and said, “I’m a weremonkey, remember? I sit there every morning. It’s peaceful.”
“It just makes me nervous,” Zaria said, desperately trying not to respond to the sexual tension between them.
“Did you sleep well?” Kenrick asked.
Zaria let out a breath and the tension started to dissipate. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a more peaceful sleep. Thank you.” She could see how happy that reply made Kenrick. It seemed that Kenrick just wanted to make her happy, and that was a nice sensation.
“That’s great.” Kenrick leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
That sentence blew Zaria away. She’d been brought up to believe submissives were there to keep dominants happy, to take care of them in any way they needed. She had learned in Wolfgang County that wasn’t the case, but she found it hard to believe. Now Kenrick was starting to make her believe.
“I’ll make you a hot drink. Do you want tea? Lemon water with honey?” Kenrick asked.
“Lemon water with honey would be nice. What are we going to do today?”
Kenrick squeezed fresh lemon into a cup and poured on hot water. “I thought we’d go running this morning and I’d show you a couple of interesting places, then Ma and Da have invited us for breakfast. After that I’ll show you around some more—I’ve got lots to show you—and you could take some pictures to email to Marco.”
Zaria smiled. “That would be nice.”
She wasn’t lying but meeting Kenrick’s mother and pater made her really nervous. Why would they want a Lupa stray in their pack?
* * *
Kenrick didn’t want to make Zaria feel uncomfortable in her nakedness, so she told her she would meet her at the bottom of the stairs to shift. It took a conscious effort to remind herself that Zaria felt self-conscious and protective of her body. It hurt Kenrick deep inside that such twisted wolves had made a young wolf like Zaria take something as innocent as shifting from skin and make it sordid.
This morning Zaria seemed focused on Kenrick’s body. She could feel Zaria’s wolf call to her, her scent show her readiness to mate, but she forced herself not to gaze at how sexy Zaria looked dressed in her shirt. She never ever wanted to look at her like Ovid did.
She heard Zaria coming, but she kept her eyes facing front.
“I’m ready, Ricky,” Zaria said.
Again Kenrick didn’t turn around. “Okay.”
She felt Zaria’s bare arm brush hers and she shivered.
“Is everything all right?” Zaria asked.
Kenrick’s body was thrumming with excitement. She was about to go on a run with the woman she loved. Normally two wolves involved in mating would run, play, tease, test each other’s boundaries, but she couldn’t do that with Zaria. Zaria was different.
Kenrick turned around and didn’t dare look down at her nakedness. “Aye, you ready to go?”