Winter Wolf

Chapter 13

She still couldn't help the distrust, she felt antsy, but it was getting easier. She knew he was no threat. She was trying hard to trust her instincts like Edith told her to instead of falling back into her fearful habits.

She tried to focus on what her wolf was telling her. And aside from her ingrained distrustfulness of males, she felt no alarm.

Lo finally looked to Edith. Rebecca was one of the females that had come by the clinic a few days earlier. She wasn't happy at all about relocating so close to her first pup being born. Her wolf was highly agitated the whole visit. Lo had steered clear of her.

Laboring females wouldn't let any males near them, they only allowed other pack females. Any others they saw as threats to their pup in their wolf crazed minds.

"Lo, can you go back to Lottie's house for a bit? Helen is there with the pups. We will meet you later." Edith said calmly.

Lo just nodded and wiped her hands off on her apron. She removed it and left it on the chair before she quickly started walking.

She took no offense to being asked to leave, she knew they'd likely bring Rebecca there to safely labor, like her mother used to with their hut. And Lo couldn't be there when they did.

She wasn't yet pack... so Rebecca would see her as an outsider and potential threat. Lo couldn't help in this. Not until she was part of them.

And Lo still wasn't sure she wanted to be...

"Go get the Alpha female." She heard Edith tell the male from behind her. She assumed she expected her labor to be bad if she was needing the Alpha to control her. Lo just sped up her walk a bit.

The forest was unusually quiet. Lo hadn't realized her usual tail of enforcers weren't behind her until just that moment. She paused and glanced back. There was no one within sight.

...did they expect she'd be at the clinic all day and went somewhere else for a while?

Lo glanced off in the direction of Lottie's house, before she looked off into the woods toward the border. A fleeting thought to run again went through her mind, but she knew that was foolish. They had border patrols set up now.

Lo looked back toward the clinic. Her thoughts turned back to the browning leaves. All the motherwort they had was worthless.

She knew it typically grew along the river, it thrived in the moist climate. And her mother made it a habit to plant extra along the river in bigger batches so she could harvest it during the months the females gave birth...

Lo knew she had gone out to do it this season too, weeks before they were invaded. And she had left the location of her herb harvests in her book. Lo couldn't remember exactly, she hadn't memorized it, but she had a vague recollection where it could be.

Lo hesitated. She knew it would help with the postpartum period... especially if the female was having difficulty adjusting. She glanced up at the sky. There was still a few hours of daylight.

After a long moment of considering, Lo finally turned and headed toward the river instead.

She walked for some time, deeper into the forest. No one was around. She assumed everyone was returning to their homes to eat dinner. The further out she got, she heard some border guards in the distance making rounds, but they didn't pay her any mind.

Finally Lo heard the rushing river and knew she was nearing the border. It was uncrossable in that area with the deep ravine. The closer she got to the edge, the more nervous she suddenly felt. Would they be angry because of last time?