Where these thoughts used to grate on me, now all I feel is warmth for the beautiful human. Hearing about her past pain made it all clear to me now. She's been running to avoid the kind of rejection she received from her husband.
I want to smash his head in, even though I'm so glad she isn't married to him anymore. Still, the pain he put her through. She must've felt so inadequate and alone when he threw her out.
A growl comes from my throat and the tourists walking by skitter past.
I want to show Sunny she doesn't have to be afraid of rejection. She can settle down again. Not to raise a family, obviously, but to live in a real house. With flowerbeds.
And me.
Wait, no. That's crazy. I'm a wolf.
She's a human.
Relationships with humans are forbidden.
Look at Garrett, my wolf whispers. My alpha's son Garrett took a human mate. The excuse was that she's psychic. Has special abilities.
But my Sunny's special, too. She may not be full-on psychic, but she's certainly highly intuitive. She saw my wolf in her mind's eye. On some level, she knows what I am, she just doesn't have a context for it in this reality.
I find myself outside the chocolate shop where Sunny went the other day after we quarrelled, and I push through the door. A cheerful bell tied around the doorknob rings and Sunny's friend from yoga looks up with a smile.
"Oh, hi," she chirps. "You're Sunny's friend."
Is it weird that I'm pissed she didn't say I'm Sunny's man?
Definitely.
"Yes. I'm Titus."
"Adele." She sticks her hand out across the counter and I shake it. The place smells like sugar and chocolate and… the faint scent of coyote.
Please tell me she's not dating one of those low-life coyotes. Adele seemed way better than that. And that's saying something, since she's human.
"What can I get you?"
I do a quick sweep of the glass cases. "What, ah… what does Sunny like from here?"
A wide grin splits Adele's face. "Are you buying her a gift? I have just the thing!" She picks up a little box and uses the tongs to fill it with four perfect little truffles. They're like tiny art masterpieces. Too pretty to eat, really. "She will love this." She pops a lid on the box and wraps it up with a pretty ribbon.
I pull out my wallet. "How much?"
"Ten dollars, please."
Christ, ten bucks for four truffles. I guess they taste as good as they look. But I don't care. I would've paid fifty bucks for something that makes Sunny feel special. I hand over a ten dollar bill and accept the little box. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
I take the gift and walk out with a spring in my step. I made plans to see Sunny again tomorrow.
Tonight, I'll go out by her RV in wolf form and sniff around, but she doesn't need to know that. I'm hoping I get more information-anything of value-before I call my alpha with a report.
Sunny
THE LONG MOURNFUL howl of a wolf wakes me in the night.
The moon is full.
I hear coyotes all the time, but I've never heard a wolf before. I'm not sure how I even know it's a wolf, but I do. Living in an RV, it often sounds like animals are close-just outside the thin walls. I usually love it, but tonight a shiver runs up my spine.
Even though it's warm out, I pull the covers up to my chin.
I hear a stick crack beneath my window. The sound of panting.
Oh goddess, the wolf is right outside. A real wolf, not a spirit animal.
I sit up and pull the curtain aside to peer out. The moonlight clearly illuminates a giant black wolf with glowing amber eyes. He's sniffing the ground around my RV.
My heart skips a beat.
Another wolf howls, farther away. The black wolf lifts its head and cocks its ears to listen. It stands still, waiting. Listening.
I hold my breath.
Another howl, this time closer.
The wolf bares its teeth and growls.
A silver wolf leaps from the thicket nearby and suddenly the two wolves are tangled in a snarling tumble.
I scream.
Nearby, the sound of growl-barks join the fray, like other wolves are closing in.
Another black wolf leaps from the woods and joins the tussle. Then two more.
I scream again; this time I get up and run outside. I don't know what I think I'm going to do-scare them off, maybe. Stop the fight.
One of the black wolves turns its white fangs on me with a snarl.
The silver wolf leaps from the fight with a snarl, landing between me and the black wolf, his back to me. His hackles stand up, his fangs flash in the moonlight. The sound coming from his throat is terrifying.
And yet it appears he's protecting me. Which makes no sense.
The four other wolves form a semi-circle facing us, growling, but then the biggest one sits, dropping its aggressive behavior.
It's clearly the alpha, because the other three immediately imitate the largest wolf, sitting.
The silver wolf continues growling and showing teeth.
It backs up, getting closer to me so I have to back up, too. The other wolves watch.
I don't know wolf behavior enough to understand what's happening, but I'm definitely scared.
The silver wolf backs up more, until its hind legs hit mine. Then it turns slightly and body checks me. Like it's trying to shoo me into the RV.
And that's when an unexpected name bursts from my lips.
"Titus!"
I stare at the wolf. I don't know what made me say it, but the energy is the same. This growling, fanged canine has the same gruff, protective quality Titus had when he dropped me off today.
But that makes no sense.