Snow White and the Seven Wolves

17. The lives of wolves

Conroy 

Seven years ago

I stand in front of my sister. My head hangs low in submission. I would not make this gesture for anyone but the alpha, yet here I stand with a heart so broken I cannot remeber how to breathe. My eyes sting with tears and all I want to do is howl until I rip this cealing apart. 

But it stays unbroken. Her body is covered by a coffin. I cannot see her. I cannot feel her. I reach out through the mind link but she is not there. My eyes cannot contain my sorrow anymore so it flows in strange rivers down my face. 

I don't want this. I want her back. I don't want to stand here because I do not know how to be this sad. It is taking a hold of my body with such strangeness that I can't do anything but cry. 

After my parents say a few words about her her mate Eric walks up to her coffin. He is shaking and looks as if he would rather kill every wolf in sight or curl up into a corner until the moon claims him. 

When he puts his hand on the lid of her coffin he falls apart. The howl that rips from his throat is enough to make me shudder. The sorrow and the anger is truly that of someone who has lost his mate. 

I join him in the sad howling with my parents and the rest of the wolves in the big gathering hall. Their unconsoleble cries ring with the mourning of their luna. 

We are all empty and exhaused after the howl. Eric falls down shaking with tears and has to be helped up by his younger brother. The big wolf is young but holds his brother like a father. I want out of here. I need to get out! 

Suddenly the smallest Blue brother stands up. He is tall and pale and red cheeked with wet eyes and dark hair. He draws a shaky breath before he speaks. 

"One of the kindest people I have ever known... is gone. We are all so very sad. Right now we all need a moment to mourn her. Thank you all for coming" he says through gritted teeth and eyes shut painfully close. 

I feel just like his clenched fists. Crushed. 

A week later I stand outside the big pack house of the Blue king's pack and look at what my sister must have looked at when she came here. It's bigger than our pack house. 

I imagine how she must have felt, what must have drawn her all the way here. Some museum she said. I smile at that. At the way she loves those old paintings and statues that had nothing to do with the lives of wolves. 

The door is thrown open and the little Blue boy comes out. He's wearing a brand new red shirt and his hair is combed down over his eyes. Suddenly my nose tingles as if I need to sneeze. He walks slowly towards the bus stop on the other side of the street. 

When he passes me I smell something indescibebly good and I don't understand what it could be. He keeps walking with a phone in his hands, texting angrily as he walks. I sniff around to se what the moon is smelling so good but the scent goes away with him. 

I can't do anything but follow. For ten minutes I stalk him until he enters a big park. Old trees stand hunched over soft hills and the sound of children playing can be heard but I can only think of the smell. 

It's sweet and savory at the same time and it's driving me crazy. Suddenly he stops and turns around to face me. I already know even though I don't want to. This little child... how can I feel this now? 

I scratch my head to get a clear thought through it but it's useless. My entire being is aware of who he is. This boy is my mate. 

The way his hair is ruffled by the wind and the sound of his thrilled breaths and the shocked stare of his brown eyes all tell me the same. He is mine. 

In that moment I am unable to stop myself. I catch him before he even moves. His small body is frozen in my hold as I push him up against the tree. I breathe him in. It smell so good I can't help but close my eyes at the pleasure of simply smelling him. 

"What-what is happening? What are you doing!" he studders angrily but I can tell he understands. 

"We're mates. I'm going to mark you" I tell him, letting the possesive part of me rule. 

"What! No! Stop!" he fights me but the need in me is unstoppable. I know that I cannot wait. I need to make him mine now. 

So I bite him. I hold him tightly and I shove my big fangs down into the soft flesh of his neck. My tongue tastes his blood and the salt on his skin. My whole being is filled with the sensation of marking him. 

It is heaven. 

When I pull my teeth out he releases a sound of fearful pleasure. The young boy in my arms stand perfectly still as I breathe the need away. He is so small... this can't be normal. We're not supposed to find our mates before they come of age. Winter is still so small. 

I don't have time to ponder this anymore before he slips out of my grip and bolts back in the direction we came from.