Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 16

That guy was born a protector, Cam had said, some wolves just are. Everything about Will was protection. She saw it now in the way he looked her over--as if he was deciding whether her lack of sleep involved something he could fight or not. It almost made her smile. What had made him this way? Maybe it was his parents, maybe they'd emphasized the importance of keeping others safe. He didn't have any siblings, so he'd never had someone in the family to watch out for.

"Do you ever get a break?"

He shrugged, then got to making whatever it was he'd decided he needed at five in the morning. "Sometimes. If we're ever in a peaceful time. But I didn't sign on for the salary, so--"

She snorted quite unattractively. "Your salary seems pretty nice though."

He mixed something in a bowl on the counter, then took out a pan to put on the stove. "I can't complain."

"It worries me," she admitted, "that you go out and risk your life like that." Harley wouldn't want anyone to have to go through the type of pain she had. If she'd known far enough in advance, if her parents had any idea of what would've happened that day, they'd have run. Escaped. Yet here Will was running toward that kind of danger. And he did it all the time.

Will's hands slowed. He turned, a resigned expression on his face. "Someone has to do it. If not me, probably Cam, or Bails. I'm a good fighter, Harley, trust me."

"I do a lot of work around here so that you and the pack can have a safe home." He leaned over the countertop, his face close enough that Harley could see the dark stubble along his jaw.

"Even so--" Movement flickered in the window. Her breath caught.. "Will."

Will's backyard wasn't much more than a large patch of grass sloping downhill. Tall trees with heaping trunks and wide branches lined the property. In the back, at the bottom of the hill, sat a tan and white wolf--the tan and white wolf from before. It was so still it looked like the kind of statue put in yards to scare critters away.

Its eyes looked right through the window at them.

"It's just standing there." She said in a breathy whisper. "Why is it just standing there?"

"I don't know."

"What do we do?"

Will frowned. "For now? Nothing. He hasn't given us any threat. See his eyes? He's aware-not feral. I wouldn't doubt he can hear us."

Something about the wolf had Harley's skin itching. Strangely not in a bad way. "I don't think he wants to hurt anyone. If he's still in his right mind, why is he watching us?"

Will's frown deepened. He didn't know. Harley had no doubt he'd never experienced this before. Will was often sent out after the danger made itself known to others. Not before whatever this was.

"Hello." Harley said at a normal volume. Maybe it wanted something. Maybe it was lost. She supposed wolves could get lost like any other animal.

The wolf cocked his head, and the light caught on a scar along his neck she missed before. A long line ran from his jaw to where his shoulder started. The fur barely grew around it so it couldn't be covered up.

"Harley, let's not talk to--"

"You don't mean to hurt anyone, do you?" She asked over Will. "Are you lost?"

The wolf shook out his fur in response. "I think he wants us to go out there." Harley told Will.

"That's a terrible idea."