Wolfe

2

Chapter 2

Jace let out a quiet grunt as she batted at whatever was on her face, the light touch fading for a moment before it came back. It began to trail up and down the bridge of her nose until she finally woke up with a huff. Her eyes fluttered open, the morning light through her windows making her squint for a moment before they adjusted, and let her connect her gaze with steel gray eyes.

"You have a nice nose." Marley complimented before a noise of surprise left her when the human scrambled out of the bed and fell to the floor with a dull 'thud'. She leaned over the edge of the bed, her gaze curious as she looked down at the strange human to see her laid haphazardly on the floor before she shot up and looked at Marley, her eyes wide.

"H-How-How-How'd you get in my house?!" Jace exclaimed as she looked over the teenager before her gaze quickly went up to the ceiling, her face now a bright red.

"You let me in, silly. 'Member? You helped patch up my leg." Marley giggled as she settled into a sitting position, her legs going criss-cross and she wrapped her hands around one of her shins when the human finally looked back at her.

"What? I-I helped a wolf, not a human." Jace countered, keeping her gaze only on the girl's face. Her brow furrowed when the girl had lightly rolled her eyes and moved a hand to rest the tip of her index finger against her temple.

"I'm a werewolf, silly." Marley explained.

Steel gray eyes watched as the human stayed silent for nearly a minute, mocha brown eyes roaming wildly around the room before they settled back onto Marley's face.

"...Werewolves aren't real."

"I beg to differ. Cause you know, I am one." Marley hummed as she lightly tapped at her temple.

What a silly human. She was lucky she's pretty, Marley thought.

"But that's impossible! Werewolves don't-!" Jace had started only to cut herself off when the girl's eye color had suddenly changed. Their steel gray becoming a brilliant bright blue. The same blue as the wolf's.

She fell onto her behind, Marley's head tilting slightly at the human before she slipped off the bed and moved to crouch in front of the speechless woman. Her arms were between her legs as her hands rested against the floor, her body leaning forward in order to brush her nose against the human's.

"You okay, human?"

"...My name's Jace...And please put on some clothes."

< >

"Here." Jace spoke as she placed a plate of eggs and sausage links in front of Marley, the werewolf taking a deep breath of the tantalizing smell before she began to dig in. She didn't see the human's brow raise in surprise at how quickly she devoured her meal and stuck the fork's prongs in her mouth to lick them clean before looking back to Jace.

"Thank you."

"...No problem."

"Is there any more?" Marley asked, her ears twitching when Jace's eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

"What? Wolves have a big appetite! We burn alotta calories and junk." Marley pouted as she slowly scooted the plate back towards Jace. The blonde let out a sigh as she shook her head and turned back towards the stove, grabbing the egg carton and taking out the last six eggs in it.

"I, Uh, I got a few more eggs I can cook up. No sausage though." Jace told the werewolf and took the pleased rumble coming from her as understanding before she began to crack open the eggs in the pan.

Marley watched as the human's back muscles shifted around as she cooked, one of her hands moving to rest under her chin. The over-sized longsleeve she had on acted as a type of cushion as it bundled over her hands. A few strands of russet-red hair falling over the wolf's eyes.

"I never got to thank you."

"For?" Jace questioned.

"Helping me outta that trap. And patching up my leg...Why did you?" The werewolf wondered, the blonde looking towards her from over her shoulder.

"Help you?"

"Yeah. It's obvious that you're a hunter. You could've killed me instead. Have bragging rights of killing a silver wolf. But you didn't. How come?"

"...I don't trophy hunt. I only hunt caribou or deer to sell to the butcher shop. And I don't like seeing animals in pain." She finished at the same time as the eggs, turning off the stove as she turned to plate the eggs. She pushed the plate towards Marley, the werewolf cutting open one of the yolks as she ate.

"Why were you stuck in the bear trap?" Jace asked in turn, Marley letting out a soft whine as she finished up the eggs.

"I was running away and I didn't see it. My siblings would never let me live it down if they found out." She grumbled around the fork, Jace's brow furrowing as she leaned her back against the fridge. Her arms crossed against her chest as Marley laid her fork on the plate.

"What were you running away from?"

"...My pack." The werewolf grumbled.

"Why?"

"Cause...Cause they suck! I mean it's so boring and lame with them! And my sire, gosh!! He's so irritating, telling me to do this and don't do that and 'Marley, stay away from the humans, they're dangerous' and blah, blah, blah!!" Marley exclaimed, a low growl underlying her words as her hands moved to clutch at her hair. Another growl left her, Jace watching as her eyes flashed bright blue for a moment before they went back to their usual steel gray.

"He never shuts up. Never lets me do my own thing...So I...I ran away." Marley finished.

"Really?"

"What does that mean?" Marley pouted as she looked towards Jace, the human shrugging her shoulders.

"It just seems dumb to run away from your family because your dad was being annoying." Jace answered, her hands quickly raising in surrender when Marley glared at her with blue eyes.

"But he's always annoying! Never letting me do anything without one of my siblings as an escort! I'm not even allowed to hunt! I'm the only one he does that to...It's not fair..." She declared, her voice ending in a weak whine.

Jace's shoulder rolled slightly at Marley's saddened gaze. She understood the teenager to a point. She had been a teenager herself only a few years ago but she also knew that the kid needed her family despite her current dislike of her father.

"Listen. You really should head back to your family." Jace spoke, Marley's pout seeming to deepen before the wolf's face perked up at the human's next words.

"...But I could, you know, help you hunt a caribou tomorrow before you go. If you'd like."

"Really?!" Marley questioned, her voice excited as she rested her hands atop of the island's granite countertop.

"Yeah."

"Alright!! Thank you, Jace!" Marley cheered as she leapt over the kitchen island and launched herself towards the human. Jace letting out a grunt of surprise as the force behind the werewolf caused them to tumble to the floor, Marley only giggling as she nuzzled her nose against the human's.

< >

Argo let out a low growl, his large chest rumbling with it, as he sniffed at the dismantled bear trap and abandoned rifle. The twins let out simultaneous whines of worry when they had caught sight of the blood that coated the trap's teeth. Another growl left him as he caught his daughter's scent from the blood before he gave a sharp bark at the twins, the both of them giving another bark in return before they began to run in the direction of Marley's scent.