Wolf Prints

Taming the Alpha

Or rather, glaring. With fervor.

It would ruin my reputation to say that I felt even the slightest bit of fear for the tiny girl holding a skewered doll in her arms, staring at the knife protruding from it's plastic chest like it was foreign, but I felt something close to it.

Never in a million years will I ever forget the way she looked when every trace of humanity left her face. Her fingers loosened around the doll, and it fell, slowly, to the ground. The wind changed, as if sensing her anger and conforming to her will. Matching her. Swirling the strands of her hair to float around her shoulders. The normal warm chocolate in her eyes bled to onyx, before finally swirling to become the strangest shade of silver.

It was gone, whatever human façade the girl wore with such little success, and in its place was now an entirely new creature. One that wanted my blood.

That was the same look I was seeing now. Only this time it wasn't directed toward me, thankfully. But where it was pointed wasn't a whole lot better.

It was centered entirely on Blake.

And I had to stop her.

No other wolf could have shifted so fast, or with half as much grace. With a stroke of luck I made it just in time to snatch her out of the air, my hand grasping the soft fur at the scruff of her neck. Her jaws snapped just short of Blake's face. Or, should I say his wolf's face? Even if I couldn't smell the change riding in the air or see the golden shade in his eyes, I wouldn't have mistaken the boy in front of me as human.

Either way, he looked on with an almost bored expression, watching Luna snapping furiously, held immobile in my hands.

"Calm down, love." I whispered to her, knowing it was a flimsy effort at best. Though she tried to let me think otherwise, I was aware of how she only ever listened to me when it suited her. "You did this!" I growled furiously at the boy, shifting my hands to hold the tiny silver wolf in a stronger grip. She pushed against me, aiming for Blake with her fangs bared, but I held firm. No way was I letting her go now. Especially not with her shredded clothes littering the forest floor. "What did you do to her?"

He shrugged, never taking his eyes off her, the faintest of smiles on his face. He seemed almost happy, for lack of a better word. And it was pissing me off.

"Fix her!" I demanded, tugging her tighter to my chest and wrapping my arm around her neck to keep her from turning on me. Holding her back was the easy part, but if she decided to attack me things could go south really fast. I'd choke her out if I had to.

"What? She doesn't listen to you?"

"She never listens to me."

Blake sighed. "You always were one for the..." he paused, thinking over words he had no right to ever speak, "dramatics. Is that the right word?" His eyes burned with penetrating gold. "Don't forget, you're the one who sent her to me."

And was I ever regretting that right about now. "I sent her here for protection." My voice was so low with anger it was barely discernible through clenched teeth. If he kept talking I was going to save Luna the trouble and snap the boy's neck myself.

"She is safe here." He said. "I wouldn't have hurt her.

"You call this safe?" I growled again, glancing pointedly at the snapping wolf in my arms. Had it been anyone other than me who went searching after the two of them, they would both be under a death threat right now.

Blake peered at Luna through hooded eyes, taking in every inch of her. "She didn't lose control of her wolf. She can't." There was that smile again. The one that makes my hand itch for a blade. Too bad both of my hands were busy at the moment.

"I know that!" Luna stopped fighting me in favor of simply growling at Blake, her teeth in full view. Still, I was not about to let up and instead of loosening my hold, I tightened it. I knew Luna too well to go around making silly mistakes.

"You've overstepped your bounds, Draken." Blake said, ignoring the vicious wolf in favor of me. His eyes narrowed, and I couldn't help but feel that his words were completely right. I had overstepped my bounds. A long time ago.

"So have you." I growled, displaying my own set of teeth. "Taking over your human? Isn't that frowned upon?"

"But then I wouldn't have been able to talk to you again. Or Luna." Blake wasn't even fazed. But then, I didn't really expect him to be. He licked his bottom lip, as if tasting some phantom flavor. "You make it sound like we're at war. We aren't. The boy and I are one and the same." He glanced at Luna, taking her in with a fleeting look. "She doesn't know what you are. Afraid to tell her?" He cocked his head to the side, watching me with honest curiosity. "She's too good for you."

I couldn't tell the truth from a lie. Not like the girl in my arms could. But still, I knew this to be true with every fiber of my being. I didn't need someone fucking telling me that!

I held her tighter, biting back another growl.

"She's too good for you too." This was also something that I knew to be true.

Yet again, my words did not faze him. "Yes." He agreed with a nod. "She is." Suddenly he smiled. "But Blake is genuinely good. The human me."

Somehow I held myself back from slamming his head into the nearest tree. It probably had something to do with containing the wolf in my arms, but I wasn't sure. "Just fix her!" I snapped.

"She's not broken." He told me, but instead of arguing further, he leaned down and wrapped his hands carefully around Luna's furry head, immediately stopping the continuous growl we had been forced into talking over.

Rage burned through my veins, making my blood boil. I wanted to fucking snap his hands off just for touching her, but once again I had to hold myself back. This is for the best. I chanted in my head, but I had a hard time actually believing it. Not while he was actually touching her.

Blake was looking into her eyes, searching for something I couldn't even guess at, but suddenly he looked to me, his hands not moving from their spot cradling Luna's head.

I wished she'd fucking bite him already. But she wouldn't, because Blake was the one in charge here.

"Should I tell her to hate you?" He asked, his eyes suddenly glowing.

My teeth clenched. "Don't mess with her mind." I warned. "Just get her back to normal."

"Dramatics. Like I said."

I glared, but it was lost on Blake. He was already back to staring into Luna's eyes, lost in a world that held only enough room for the two of them.

"Luna." He whispered, holding her head captive, his voice deeper than normal. Rougher. "Calm yourself."

She blinked instantly, an intelligence lighting within; the feral glint completely gone. She went docile in my arms as awareness returned, but I wasn't ready to release her yet. It wasn't that I didn't trust Luna.

I didn't trust Blake.

"Love." I caught her attention, needing her to look at me so I could be sure she was okay. Silver eyes I knew so well met mine, seemingly asking a question she couldn't voice without a human throat.

"Everything is fine." I assured her, slowly lowering my arms until her paws touched dirt.

Apparently satisfied, Blake turned to leave without uttering another word, waving a hand in the air to salute farewell. I allowed this only because I wasn't in the mood for a confrontation.

Luna whined, asking for my attention, and we shared a look of complete understanding, from one monster to another.

Blake was leaving, but we hadn't seen the last of his wolf. Judging by the way Luna had her fangs bared as she watched him walk away, we agreed with one another.

This could be a very bad thing.

A/N Yes, i realize you're probably a bit confused. Questions will be answered. Not today. Probably not tomorrow. But eventually everything's going to come out to the light. Oh, and i know everyone was expecting a big fight, but that just couldn't happen yet. That, and i really like to throw curve balls. Give you the unexpected, you know? ;)