Heart of the Wolf

Chapter 4 - The Truth

Cana rode around with him as he monitored park visitors. He left her in his truck a few times but made sure to stay in sight of her. Is this what he did every day, she wondered? Was his main duty keeping park visitors in line and make sure they didn't tamper with the park's animals and sights?

When he returned to her again after dealing with another batch of rowdy park guests, he turned to her and scratched her head, just like she liked. The movement soothed and comforted him as much as it did her. It was still strange to him that he cared for someone so much in such a short amount of time. He knew that all he could do was accept it though. He felt like he didn't have a choice, but he didn't mind it as much as he should.

" I'm sorry, but if you want to come out with me, we need to get you a collar and leash." She snorted distaste, but she knew it was that way for humans.

The few times she had watched the human hikers, they had always had their dogs on a leash and a collar. It was park rules, and she was passing as his partner. If they wanted to keep up appearances, she knew it made sense, but she would not be restrained. His car would have to do for now.

" Tending to tourists is only what I will do for today. Tomorrow I will go back to my usual duties in studying the area around the Black Plateau." That's what the rangers had called her pack's lands.

The Black Plateau Pack. It had been her pack, her family. The plateau had been their home until that other pack had taken it, but Cana knew another would likely take it one day. It's hunting grounds and resources were the best in the park and when it came to a fight for survival, packs would trade numbers for security.

" The captain will want me to study the plateau's new residents and I'm hoping since a friend of mine knows the area better than me." He said, and her ears perked up at him at the idea of visiting her old home.

" That she will help me find them." Would she? Cana immediately thought, realizing her was referring to her.

If the alpha pair caught her scent, they would know it was her instantly and would likely recognize her. On the other hand, though, if she was with a human, they would avoid her. She reasoned. Wolves avoided humans, those of the park even more so because of being hunted in the past before this area became a park.

He turned back towards the front, oblivious to her inner thoughts as he started the car. So, she laid her head down next to him on the seat as the world faded and her inner thoughts took over. She wondered what had happened to the rest of her pack members. Did they join other packs? This time of year, it was hard for a wolf to survive on their own. The snow and cold would sap their energy faster and make tracking prey stronger. A lone wolf's only hope this time of year was finding rodents beneath the snowline.

She stayed with Owen all day and he immediately noticed the change in her mood. He continued to do his job, but she saw him watching her more often. She was almost in a daze, lost in thought and he didn't like it.

Since he had brought up the Black Plateau, she had been different. She seemed almost depressed. She must miss being in a pack, he decided. He didn't want her to go though and immediately dismissed the thought of letting her go. He wanted her here with him. It was selfish he knew, but he hadn't smiled this much in years and there was something special about her that affected him in so many good ways.

The feelings her gave her weren't from her being a wolf shifter. He meant her personality. Being a wolf was only a plus to what was already there, underneath. He would go there to the plateau first tomorrow, he decided. Maybe if she ran in her homeland again and in her homelands, she would feel better. No animals liked being cooped up in one place and not able to run.