Silver Wolf

Chapter 4

"Each pack, each personality. And still, I am not one of them."

A few days had passed since Kriemhilde decided to let Adira and her cubs stay in the pack, and Oakley had passed away. So far, there had been nothing interesting; everything had been moderately, surprisingly, peaceful.

But there was something wrong. Negative energy crackled at the air, like something was building up, ready to burst at any second. I had been keeping close surveillance on the packs, making sure that everything was okay. So far everything was unusually quiet.

Stars were sprinkled in the sky, like icing sugar on a cake. I was walking back from the Pack of Bear Claws' territory when I heard a faint voice. I paused, ears pricked, before slowly crouching and moving towards the noise. It was talking, that I was sure of, but I couldn't tell from who - not yet, at least. As I drew closer, I could make out some words.

"You shouldn't have come." The words were low, guilty, even, and I hardly expected to see Abella speaking them. She was standing before Meiko, the leader of the Pack of Bear Claws'. My eyes widened a little, surprised to not see them at each others throats. Meiko was quite a determined male, stone-cold, devoid of emotion. He liked to stick strictly to business, and there had only been a few times when I'd seen him show real emotion. This time was one of them.

Meiko shook his head a little, eyes fixated on the ground before they slowly flickered up to meet Abella's. "Last night was not a coincidence." He murmured, voice barely audible. The night was quiet, asleep, the only sound the rustling of leaves in the cool twilight breeze.

This left me wondering. What happened last night?

Abella shook her head, and I could tell that she was worried about something. She looked nervous. Afraid, even.

She turned her head away. "Meiko." She spoke softly. "This - it just can't happen. We are from two different packs, we are alpha's of two different packs. You know it. I know it." She stepped backwards a little.

My eyes widened. These words left me wondering if perhaps something was going on between the two; maybe there was a hidden romance. It was hard to believe, because it just seemed so utterly unbelievable, and also because the two were nothing like the kind of wolves I expected to be running around having flings in the night.

They were similar, really; both very focused on their jobs as alphas, though I must admit, Abella was definitely more cold-hearted than Meiko, who was just flat-out empty. However, he knew how to do his job, and he knew how to do it well - without conflict, and without ever putting the pack in a difficult situation.

The Pack of Bear Claws' was definitely smaller than the other two, and were hardly even seen. Sometimes I had a difficult time finding them. However, what made up for lack of numbers was the burl and strength that each wolf possessed. I wasn't sure if it was genetic, but every one of them seemed to be huge, with thick muscles and vigour.

Meiko stared at the ground for a moment. It was hard to tell what he was feeling; even though he was showing more emotion than he would on any other day, he was still shut off, guarded.

"What if it was fate. What if we were supposed to happen?" His words, again, were soft. His ears were flattened, as if he expected her to reject him, but at the same time there was a sparkle of hope within his midnight eyes.

Abella shook her head, and I could see conflict within her eyes, and strangely enough I understood it. Despite her brutality, she still cared about the pack. Perhaps not each individual, but she cared about the pack as a whole. The pack was hers, and she couldn't just leave them. Not like that. But at the same time I found myself wondering if this opportunity, if this strange affection that they had for each other, would help her. Maybe she'd become softer. Kinder. Maybe she'd learn what love really was.