Trifecta: Ice [Complete]

Ch10: Mountain of Memories

As I turned to go back inside I spotted a grey timber wolf standing between me and the house.

I could instantly tell upon approaching him that he was truly an animal rather than a human transformed.  He was smaller than our adult male werewolves when shifted, although still impressively sized for a true wolf.

Wolves also smelled different than we did, even in our wolf forms we kept something of our human scent with a hint of magic.

It was sometimes difficult at first glance for our normal humans to tell the difference between our true wolves and our adolescent werewolves or smaller females.  I remembered an amusing incident in which Moramay introduced herself to Matthias' brother's pet when she was just newly here.

Still, I felt prickles of fear running up and down my spine.  He surely belonged to someone in this false pack, if I was feeling this reaction to him.

I managed to meet his beautiful orange golden eyes.  I could look at his face.  It was an improvement over every human I had met here.

Even though he was between me and the house, I could tell by the way he was standing that he was not guarding against me or threatening me in any way.  His ears cocked in such a way that demonstrated his interest in meeting me.

Nevertheless, I set my new phone carefully down on the ground before I walked forward cautiously.  The true wolves of our packs were well behaved and loyal, but it was still wise to be cautious around unknown animals.

"What's your name, boy?  Who do you belong to?" I asked him.

Of course, he could not answer, but he wagged his tail.  I extended my hand as I approached.  He sniffed me and rubbed his nose into my hand.

"You're a very healthy looking wolf.  Your owner takes good care of you, don't they?" I asked him and I moved forward still.

He sat on his haunches and I scratched him behind his ears.  I could tell he liked it, so I kept it up.

I still felt the buzz of fear, but it almost felt like nothing compared to what I normally had to deal with here.  This wolf made me feel less alone in this pack and I did not want the moment to end.

I wondered why he did not frighten me like the other members.  Maybe it was because a pet was my peer now that I was a thrall, though I suspected this pet had far more freedom than me.

I tried not to feel sorry for myself, but it was hard now that my feelings were not being completely overrun by fear. 

Still, self pity was a delightful vacation from the anxious shivers.

If it was easier for me to take a true wolf of the pack, I wondered how the magic would respond to a regular pack human.  Perhaps I could mention this idea to Karen, I thought before the magic swept over me again for trying to manage the curse rather than cowering as a thrall.

I tried to stop thinking and focus on the wolf, but at that moment two things happened.

The wolf straightened up attentively and I felt renewed shivers running from the nape of my neck down through my spine.

I did not need to be able to look at that face to know who it was.

I froze for a moment while I listened to his footsteps and then I realized what I had been doing.  Was I allowed to pet this wolf?  I scrambled backwards and huddled into a ball.

The wolf looked startled, but fortunately he was well trained enough that he simply watched me with his knowing eyes.

"I wasn't trying to scare you," Serge told me.