The Moon Wolf

Chapter 8 (1st Draft)

Completely unsettled about what to make of her but satisfied that the pups and the lodge were all in good order, he headed back out to the main room with a frustrated sigh. A large part of him was still convinced the rogue could not be trusted. So, he opted for sitting on the couch where he could observe her and appointed himself the official watchdog on duty until the children woke up. He didn't know what keeping a close eye on her would reveal or accomplish, but he wasn't ready to just shrug his shoulders and give her free reign in the territory just yet.

While watching her carefully, Anex first took in her demeanour. She was strangely calm and composed for a rogue in enemy territory. Anex knew he had given her no reason to feel at ease, and yet, she did appear, rather like the old royals - above his disdain.

It was also obvious that she was not the least bit intimidated by him despite the fact that she was in an inferior position and her chances of survival were pretty slim if the pack decided to treat her like they do all rogues. Consequently, her calmness put him off his game. It was like she knew something he didn't.

Anex kept looking for her facade to crack and the real rogue to show her face. However, he hadn't seen it yet. In fact, she'd shown nothing but exemplary leadership skills under pressure. Her behaviour defied everything he knew about rogues and it was starting to really drive him to distraction.

The third thing that got to him was her scent. He could see that she'd showered and climbed into clean clothes, but no shower could rid her of the wild scent that was so prevalent among rogues. However, her scent wasn't quite the same as the rogues he was use to encountering, if he was being honest.

He took a subtle whiff. Rogues usually smelt like blood, damp earth and wet fur. But this rogue's scent was reminiscent of the woods after a cold rain and the smell of snow in the air. It was still a wild smell but it wasn't unpleasant and it wasn't typical of a rogue. At least, not of any he'd met before her and he certainly had met, killed, or mauled a lot of rogues in his lifetime. Anex knew just how they should smell. So, he was at a loss as to why she smelt wild but in such an oddly nostalgic, rather than repelling, way. This was also unsettling.

Lastly, she had some strange kind of allure he couldn't wrap his mind around. For instance, despite wanting to keep his distance from her, he found himself leaving the couch and making his way across the room to the kitchen.  Anex wasn't sure when or how it happened but he found himself leaning up against the open door to the kitchen watching her openly. Not exactly strategic or subtle on his part and very unlike him.

It was almost infuriating that he felt so inexplicably drawn to her and yet she did not respond to his presence in the lodge or at the kitchen door in any way.  Anex couldn't even sense that she was particularly intimidated or bothered by the change in his position. Why was he so drawn to her and how was it that she was so unconcerned about his interest?

Anex did notice that his presence was felt by the pup in her arms. He could sense right away that he made the little one afraid. As if to confirm this, she turned from her cereal and wrapped her thin arms around the rogue's neck. She then tucked her head securely under the woman's chin and refused to look at him. He felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't meant to scare the little thing.

He was powerless, at the moment, to ease her fear since he was still just casually observing the rogue and hadn't actually entered into the kitchen or even into direct eye contact with the rogue as yet. In response to the pup's fear he watched with increasing curiosity as the rogue put her arms around her in a comforting embrace and said in a calm and very soothing voice, "It's alright Mia. You've nothing to fear. I've got you." She then gave the little girl a comforting squeeze.

Anex was touched by the whole exchange. He had grandchildren that were a bit older than the pup and they could not have been cared for and soothed any better by his own daughter-in-laws or his wife. There was something very un-roguish about this rogue.

Finally looking directly at the woman's face, Anex was a little startled when the rogue's eyes found his and she pinned him with a look that clearly said 'Take one more step in here, frighten this child any more, and I'll rip your bloody head off.' She then looked away and tried to distract the child.

Everything changed for Anex in that one moment - in that one maternal death stare. He knew that look – it was the look of a mother she-wolf when her pup was threatened or in danger. He'd seen it a thousand times. His own wife had made that face when their boys were small and she made it now over her grand-pups. Anex had just never seen that look from a rogue. And, instead of feeling offended by it, he felt amused like he was when any mother looked at him that way.

Anex couldn't help but break out into a wide grin. It was impossible not to thoroughly approve of such a fierce protectiveness. Especially, when it came from an outsider with no ties to the pup. A wolf couldn't buy that kind of loyalty with all the gold in the mountains.

And, just like that, Anex realized that the rogue had somehow disarmed him entirely. He didn't feel the least bit hostile towards her anymore. Everything about her had changed for him in that one, brief, and pointed look. And now, in the place of suspicion and distrust, he felt a surge of respect for her, as well as, a healthy dose of amusement.

Who was this woman? Where did she come from? Why was she a rogue when she so obviously shared nothing in common with rogues? Anex could not make any sense of it - of her.

Compelled by his new found appreciation for the woman and an insatiable curiosity, his grin widened tenfold as he  swept into the room, pulled out a kitchen chair, and asked her point blank, "Who are you? And what pack did you hail from before you went rogue?"