Wolf Prints

The Alpha's Favorite Toy

FYI, this is the very last Draken/Little Luna chapter. I almost didn't write it at all, but there were things from this timeline that needed to be explained, and I felt this was the best way to do it. Oh, and I think some of you believed I have been misspelling "chit" in previous chapters. I wasn't trying to call her a shit, though Draken totally would. Chit is an older word meaning a girl who lacks respect. :) Also, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO VOTE AND COMMENT!!! It is because of you that I continue to write this story. Truly.

Oh, and after much debate I decided to change the rating on Wolf Prints to Mature. There will be cussing. You have been warned. :)

I do not own the picture.

Chapter 19- The Alpha's Favorite Toy

Wolves weren't supposed to be cute. I'd seen enough to know. They certainly weren't supposed to appear so tame. If you ignored the way the pup watched my every move with the such detail, you might have missed the subtle clues that branded her a predator.

She sat completely docile in front of me. Innocent. Tail flicking occasionally. This had to be one of her first shifts, but she didn't look the least bit phased, as if it was normal thing for children to turn into puppies and prowl the night alone.

Resentment tore at my gut at how easily she had dismissed me as a threat and was searching for other, more dangerous sounds that prowled the night. Her gaze was set on me, but one ear was cocked to the side. Half of her attention scouring the woods around us.

Had the night not been so deafeningly silent, I might not have taken notice of the tiny fur ball stalking behind me. She moved with the grace of a hunter, though she was so small I could have picked her up and cradled in my hands.

Not that I wanted to.

I was barely containing my resentment at the realization she had nearly successfully snuck up on me. If she took any pride in doing so, it didn't show. She sat on her hindquarters, ears perked, head cocked slightly to the side. The silver in her eyes was an eerie shade I had to force myself to meet. Swirls of ebony almost made them appear to be swirling. Moving. She was the same odd titanium shade the moon could turn when it was at its highest. When the breeze picked up and ruffled her fur it appeared luminescent. Glowing.

Luna. The kid was appropriately named.

She had been so intelligent in the way she tracked my location, I begrudgingly had to give her due respect. She must have circled around back, trotted through the nearby creek to dilute her scent, and worked her way slowly toward me from downwind, where I wouldn't be able to easily smell her coming. She prowled soundlessly, picking her way with incredible caution. Not a single leaf stirred. Not a twig snapped.

I would have heard it had she made a mistake.

Even her breathing was level. Even. Nearly nonexistent. She lifted a single paw off the ground and swiped it through the air. A greeting, if ever I saw one in wolf form.

It must have been that inkling of respect that simmered my anger to something manageable. Maybe she wouldn't be so absolutely terrible to train.

We were far enough away from her backyard that a human wouldn't have been able to hear a door open and swing shut. Neither of us moved an inch. Judging by the tiny, almost unnoticeable twitch of her ear, she was aware of someone calling out to her. She paused, as if testing to see what move I would make before ruffling her fur and picking a silent path towards home. I followed without a word exchanged, but halted at the tree line.

A woman was waiting with a blanket in one hand and a stuffed bear in the other. The pup yipped, tail wagging happily at the sight. With care I didn't know a wolf to be capable of, she gingerly pulled the toy animal from the woman's hand and held it proudly in her mouth. The woman was laughing. She leaned forward to scratch the pup's furry head and draped the blanket over wolf shoulders.