The Wolf and the Hunter

Learning to Trust

This is a brand new chapter, different from the "old" book.

When we had exited the trees, I gently moved, requesting Connor set me down, which he complied to after a split second of hesitancy.

"Thank you, Connor."

"You are welcome, Kenneally." He responded as we now walked beside each other. Awkward silence fell over both of us as we walked back towards the red bricked manor. My throat was still tight, trying to hold back the emotions of seeing another pack member killed in front of my eyes. Even with the hurtful things he had said, he was still a brother. Connor seemed to notice my almost sad silence because he gently grabbed my forearm, causing me to bring my attention to him.

"Are you sure you are alright?" He pushed, a sincere concern in his concern lacing his brown eyes and his smooth voice. I smiled lightly at the native and nodded lightly, placing my hand on top of his much larger ones.

"Yes, I am. Thanks to you. I need to stop this, constantly needing to be saved by you before it becomes a habit." I said in an attempt to lighten to mood and hopefully move him past asking more questions about Kenai. Connor gave a small, breathy laugh as a light smile came to his face.

"I do not mind it. I will always try to make sure you are safe." Connor replied. Those words cause a heated blush to find it's way onto my face, so I quickly looked towards the ground to avoid his rich eyes. Little did I know, a similar heat of color had made its way onto the man's face as well. Noticed he still had the light grib on my arm, as well as my own hand resting on his, Connor quickly pulled away. Stiffly, he motioned us to continue walking, the silence taking over once more. However, it wasn't awkward like it was the time. It was comfortable and peaceful. Until Connor decided to break it with the question I had been dreading.

"Why were you out there by yourself?" I halted in my tracks, not able to meet his gaze. He waited for me to respond, but my mind kept coming to a blank. What do I say? I wanted to find the wolf that was being hunted to see if I could save it. Then, I found out that it was a wolf I knew, and I totally froze.

"Well, um, uh, Myriam said there was a wolf killing Warren's livestock, and I thought I could help." I stuttered out. Not satisfied with my answer, Connor pushed further.

"So you went after the wolf yourself without a weapon?"

"Well, I mean technically, but that's not what I meant to do." I tried to defend myself.

"Then what did you mean to do?"

"I don't know!" I snapped, startling myself and Connor a bit as well. "Sorry, I don't know why I did that." I apologised as I turned away from Connor and continued to walk back towards the manor. Embarrassed by my sudden outburst, I felt my face heat up as the awkward silence came once again. Feeling like Connor deserved a better, kinder response, I took a deep breath and started quietly while stopping once again, "I really don't know what I was going to when I found the wolf." Connor had stayed where he was after I had snapped at him, but I could tell he was listening to me. "I just-" I paused to gather my thoughts, "It's just when I was growing up in the forests, these wolves, um, well, I kind of befriended them. It's a little hard to explain." I heard Connor slowly and softly walking next to me. I had to almost suppress a small laugh. For as large as the native was, he was as silent as a hare. I knew he was a predator, not to be messed with, yet he held such kindness. It seemed almost odd, but fitting of tall man.

"You wished to find the wolf so you could... save it?" Connor faded off, trying to understand. Biting my lip lightly, I nodded, still not being able to bring myself to look up to the native. It wasn't until I felt his hand gently rest on my shoulder that I dared look up. I noticed his rich chocolate staring down at me with a warmth in his dark irises. "I can respect that. Just next time, have a better plan in case your original does not go the way you planned." I laughed out loud, smiling brightly up to him, noticing that he himself had a small smile gracing his lips.

"I promise."

"Good."

With that, we continued down the way. The summer breeze was calming and fresh, I smiled fondly at the woodland smells around us. Looking at Connor, curiosity seized me, so without thinking too much, I blurted out, "Where are you from?"

Quickly, I stared stammering, trying to explain myself further when Connor seemed taken aback by my question.

"I mean, like I noticed you aren't like other people, so I was just curious. You obviously aren't from Boston, so where are you from? I mean, like, what tribe? Or village? Or people?" I blushed before starting to apologize, "I'm sorry. I don't know how to properly put it." Connor let out an airy laugh, shaking his head lightly.

"You are alright. I am from Kanatahséton, or Mohawk Valley." He replied. I nodded, trying to take in the name of his village, but it seemed the more I focused on how he said it, the more it didn't make sense.

"Oh. So, is Connor your real name? Is that what your mother calls you?" I asked. A pain seemed to flash over his tanned face as I finished my sentence, but he replied nonetheless.

"No, my mother did not call me Connor. Achilles named me that. She named me Ratonhnhaké:ton. That is how I'm known by my people."

"Did not?" I questioned, noticing the tense in which he used. The sadness was now plainly vision on his handsome face. It made me regret questioning him in the first place.

"Yes. She died when I was young." Connor told me, a hint of anger laced in his words. I nodded sadly. Slowly, I gulped down some courage before trying to open up to Connor a little bit. After all, he has already done so much for me.

"My mother passed away when I was little. I don't remember anything about her." Connor said nothing as he watched me closely, "All I know is that after she had me, she got very sick before it took her. My... my father was never the same."

"What happened to your father?" He asked, seeming to want to take advantage of as much information I would give me. I shook my head, staring ahead of me.

"He got drunk. Took out his anger and frustration out on me. Till I ran away." I bitterly said, kicking at a little rock that layed before me.

"I am sorry." Connor said, looking down at me. I smiled kindly at him, "I'm sorry too." I replied, refuring to his own pain that he shared with me.

"Well, I need to go visit with the old man. You have a good day, Kenneally." I hadn't even noticed we had reached the manor. I smiled at Connor softly letting out a "You too" before watching him walk into the large house. Chewing on my lip, I turned from the painted door and looked out towards the trees we had just come from.

Maybe I can try to learn to trust once again.

A new chapter after over 3 years of inactivity. I am so sorry everyone! As it is known, I am trying to pick this story back up again, but I am wanting to rewrite it. I started this story as a 13 year old, and rereading it made me cringe!

So I have been revising, editing, and adding new chapters and possibly deleting older chapters I had written, we shall see how it goes!