just something that i came up with and wanted to get down. they might be a little OOC, but that's just the way i write.

sam's POV.

I balanced the coffee mug carefully on my thigh, watching it for a few seconds to make sure that it wouldn't fall when I moved my hand more than three centimeters away. It wobbled, and I resided to putting it on a side table by Beck's old lazy-boy armchair in the basement.

"Hello?" Grace's sleepy voice asked. "Sam? Why are you calling this early?"

"Good morning, sunshine. I was just wanting to talk to you."

"At two in the morning?"

"Yup."

She sighed heavily. "Why will you never let me get any sleep?"

"Because wolf-men like waking up early. We don't need too much sleep."

"You don't sound like yourself. Did you already have coffee?"

"No… well I haven't drank it yet."

She let out a short laugh. "Sam, there's something wrong with you."

"I know."

"What's the real reason you called?" she asked. "I know that you weren't just conveniently awake."

"I thought that you said a few days ago that you wanted to go wolf watching. But with real wolves."

"I'll be over in thirty minutes."

"I'll be ready." I flipped my phone shut and took a sip of the coffee. It was still hot.

I had just remembered Grace's wolf watching about 20 minutes ago when I was taking a walk through the woods and say bright eyes staring at me, ones that I didn't recognize. Honestly, I was curious about them, too. I never knew much about wolves outside of the pack.

Grace's old Tahoe rumbled up the long driveway. She stepped out in only a thin jacket to shield her from the cold air. She was lucky. She didn't have to have that jolt of electricity go down her spine every time a cool breeze blew through the trees. She held up a camera and gestured for me to come outside with her.

I shook my head "no", and held up a second coffee cup for her in the front window of Beck's house.

She smiled and rushed inside. "How did you know that I needed coffee?"

"I know you." I kissed her neck and held around her waist. "So do you want to go now or wait until you finish your coffee?"

"Can't we hang out in your room for a while and go later?"

"No. They'll be gone soon.""Fine." She drained her lukewarm coffee and started towards the door. "You coming?"

We went through the back door, making light tracks through the frosty grass next to the four-toed wolf prints. The grass made a slight crunch beneath our feet, but besides that, the woods were silent and peaceful.

I reached for her hand once we were a good distance into the trees. She looked up at me and smiled. I led her further and further into the unknown.

A low howl came from our left. It rang out long and slow, letting the world know that the wolf existed.

Grace's face lit up with excitement. "Where is it?"

"Over here," I whispered, pulling her between the foliage.

We came to a small clearing that had a light stench of Cole still there from a few weeks ago. The wolf was there, its head back with that beautiful music coming from its throat. The dusty tan fur moved with the slight wind that blew that morning.

Grace raised her camera, preparing to snap a picture of the creature.

"Don't," I said softly, putting my hand over the lens. "You'll scare it."

She looked at me with her eyes pleading for a moment, but then understood. The only way to preserve moments like these was with our memories.

The wolf lowered its head and looked at us. It cocked its head to one side, ears twitching and nose working on overload. It was making sure if we could be trusted or not.

I crouched down a bit and held my hand out, offering him to come closer. He did, hesitantly, and I scratched him behind the ears. I could've sworn he was smiling.

Grace came up next to me and eagerly held out her hand. She must've been too forward, because the wolf scampered away quickly.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked quietly. "Am I not 'wolf enough' for him?"

"No." I stood up and hugged her. "You're just Grace."

"But why did he run away?"

"You were just being too aggressive."

"I held out my hand," she growled.

"And to a wolf, that would count as aggressive. You have to get into the mind of the animal."

She sighed. "Then I'm not 'animal' enough."

"You could put it that way."

We found the wolf again and followed him to his pack, of which he was the alpha male. I allowed Grace to take a couple pictures, but that's it. She didn't quite understand nature and the wolf brain like I did.

We ran with the wolves for a while, but our endurance gave out when they could just keep going and going. We followed our footprints back to familiar territory and stole back inside of Beck's house.

"We need to do that again," Grace said, flopping down on the couch. "But I need to get here earlier so we can spend more time with them."

"You won't be able to get that kind of experience again," I said, getting another coffee. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing."

"You get it all the time. Or at least you used to when you were still changing."

"I can't remember any of it, though. Just bits and pieces. But it's not the same as being human and being with the wolves like that." I sat next to her and handed her the coffee.

She rested her head on my shoulder and breathed in deeply. "Mmm… you smell like wolf."

"I am a wolf."

R&R!