Chapter 3: Trainer Fox
I stayed where I was, even though the huge russet wolf had left. Even though the brindled and black wolves had left. Blake whined softly, worried. I turned my head to regard him solemnly. He whined again, a question this time. I waffled quietly in response, shifted to let him survey my pelt, to reassure him I was all right. Blake sighed and sat beside me. I eyed him disapprovingly. He should be back in the hemlock-root cave, where he was relatively safe.
"Here. Change." I looked up sharply. The man – he looked like a Native American – held out my pack. I snorted. I was just fine in my four-footed form, thank you. I could fight much better like this, protect my silver wolf much better like this. He smelled like the russet wolf. "Come on; I'm not going to hurt you – or your silver friend," he assured me.
That's all well and good, but what about the others? Asked the wolf. I glared around suspiciously. Were they nearby?
"The others are gone," the man told me. Blake, beside me, shivered. Wolf he might be, but his fur was thinner than mine – the fur of a southern wolf-breed rather than a mountain wolf. That decided me. I shook myself, then paced forward to take my pack from the man. I glared at him, then flicked an ear at Blake, then growled softly. Mine, I was telling him. His lips quirked upward. "Don't worry. Just change so we can talk." I growled one more time, then trotted behind one of the huge hemlocks to change and dress.
Charles stared after the white she-wolf for a moment, until he heard her begin her Change. Then he focused on the silver wolf, who remained where she had left him.
"So tell me, how did you come to be all furry and four-legged?" Charles asked the wolf. He didn't expect a reply, but the little silver submissive gave him and icy, disdainful look and snapped his jaws once before stretching out on the forest floor.
"The black wolf Changed the rest of us." He jerked his head up; he hadn't heard or scented the white wolf's return. The human woman who stepped around the hemlock was of average height, with light, wavy brown hair and crystal-cold blue eyes. "And once he realized I wasn't going to be a part of his pack, he wanted to kill me rather than let me go off on my own."
"And the fact that you took the sub with you didn't help a bit," Charles added. "Who are you?" She hesitated, glancing at the silver wolf.
"My name is Alyssa Fox," she told him finally. "Who are you, redwolf?" She'd recognized him outside of his wolf shape. Interesting.
"My name is Charles Cornick. I'm the Marrok's second," he answered. That had little to no effect on her. "You don't know how this whole werewolf thing works, do you?" he realized. She shook her head.
"I know the Marrok is a mystery wolf who bosses around publicized wolves like that Adam guy out West. I know Blackie's bad and Blake needs protection, and I know the Change hurts like hell," she said. "And I know that Blake is all the pack I have. And that's about it." Charles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. This was going to be even more complicated than he'd thought.
I usually love making things hard for people, especially people who don't take proper care of those they're supposed to stand up for. But this time, when the redwolf-in-human-shape, Charles, sighed and grimaced like I'd just made his life five hundred percent harder, I didn't feel my usual smug satisfaction. After all, he hadn't attacked me; I'd attacked him. Or rather, my wolf had.
"Look. A giant black werewolf attacked me. I've been spending my time on four feet with a built-in fur coat. I usually try to stay away from supernatural canines," I said apologetically. The normal canines, I loved; they were my life. But wolves that doubled as humans? That might be fun to read about, but only in science fiction books where they were comfortingly bound by the ink and paper. Granted, I'd known there were werewolves; they'd come out quite a while ago, but I never expected to meet one. Or be one.
"Alyssa Fox," redwolf muttered suddenly, staring at me hard. "The dog trainer?" I also hadn't expected one to know my name.
"Um. Yes?" I glanced at Blake. He helpfully twisted around to snag a burr out of his fur with his long white fangs. "I train dogs. Why?"
"You're the one who trained that dog a while back that attacked a werewolf trying to Change its owner," he said. Oh, boy. Maybe I should have expected a werewolf to know my name.
"Yeah, that would be me," I admitted. "And a pity about the whole dog-boy-lost-control-and-killed-my-dog thing. Thunder was a sweet dog – except, apparently, when it came to giant wolfies tearing up his owner." I sighed. Thunder had been one of my favorites. "And really, I hope whoever's in charge of disciplining bad dogs in your pack gave that guy a whipping." It had been all over the news: Crazed Werewolf Attacks Woman. Dog Attacks Werewolf On Rampage. Woman Dies In Werewolf Attack. That kind of thing. That was why I'd gone hiking in the mountains; to get away from people who were either looking for dogs that would attack werewolves or looking for someone to blame because the dog hadn't attacked fast enough, and the woman had died.
"Thunder?" That bit of information caught redwolf's attention. "was that the dog's name?"
"Big, friendly golden retriever/German shepherd mix who went off on a werewolf last month?" I confirmed. "That's him. Best dog I ever trained." Then one of my earlier comments caught up with him.
"Wait a minute. 'Whoever's in charge of disciplining bad dogs in my pack'?" he spluttered. "You make us sound like puppies who peed on the floor!" Blake huffed a laugh and shook out his pelt, looking up at me with an expression I'd seen on many a canine's face.
"Don't tell me you peed on my floor," I groaned theatrically at him. He barked, happy that I'd understood his joke despite the fur and pointy teeth. Redwolf looked back and forth between us and shook his head.
"Look. I came out here to take care of a rogue wolf. You two need a pack with an Alpha that'll teach you the ropes of being wolves. I'm going to go handle the two who Changed you, then come back to pick you up. Stay here," redwolf ordered. I snorted.
"Like hell," I snapped. "I want a piece of Blackie. I'm coming with you. Blake can stay here or tag along, either way. But don't think you can march in here, announce we need someone to boss us around, and then order us to stay like we're too impatient to wait for the release command before we lunge for the food bowl!" Oh, great. I was in full Trainer Fox Mode now. I was speaking to a giant werewolf like he was one of my training assistants – one of the annoying new ones that thought he or she could train dogs better than me.
He looked at me. His eyes weren't Native-American dark anymore. They were wolf-yellow. I stared back.
He is not our boss, my wolf growled.
Oh, gee, thanks for finally showing up to back me up, I thought back. The wolf responded by growling – not at me, but at the redwolf.
Charles growled back.
This upstart pup is not going to get away with talking to me like that, Brother Wolf snarled. But she kept staring at him, her eyes not longer ice-crystal-blue. They shone as amber as he knew his own were. And he found himself…lowering his head. Without conscious thought, he tilted said lowered head so his throat was exposed. She nodded sharply, and the amber faded back to blue.
This is definitely going to be more interesting than I thought, Charles admitted. He just hoped "interesting" was the right word, and not something like "deadly".
Well, that's chapter 3. it took me forever to upload (sorry!) but i finally got it done.
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! And please keep reviewing! But, fair warning, any flames will be used the next time I want s'mores.