His Wolf

Chapter 14

In the light of day, the wolves did not appear as frightening as when shrouded in darkness.

A simple command from his precious Ida stopped the grisly animals in their tracks. To Anton it was obvious that he didn't cause them concern anymore. The four wolves in total were sat on the floor of his bedroom, staring at Ida in worship.

Was there a major puzzle piece he'd initially missed?

On another thought, his head currently throbbed too much to be concerned about anything other than Ida. The bastards kneeling before his woman in fur were after all not there to harm her. No, not her.

For the first time since she'd walked into his life he felt unworthy. Her sole attention was on the whines and growls of the four very large wolves crowded around their bed. It wasn't until one wolf muzzled her splayed hand near the edge that he truly understood jealousy. Never before had Anton been jealous, but in the face of competition what else could he assume other than the wolves wanting their own back.

What if the wolf currently receiving affection from his mate, was there to take her back to his cave and keep her, bite her, mark her as his.

The red haze that swept through his throbbing skull must have let to the aggressive growl he directed at the wolves. He hadn't even known such a sound was possible to be made, but in the current situation he was rather relieved it worked as Ida finally noticed his sorry state.

"I am sorry, beloved. Come sit next to me, there is lots to explain." His heart beat frantically. Beloved. If that hadn't soothed his jealous thoughts enough, then the outstretched hand offered a more solid tonic to his emotional aggression.

The big wolves which had attacked them, no him precisely, made reluctant way for him to pass to the bed. The room was crowded small with so many occupants. Tenderly, Anton took the soft hand into his big roughened one. His woman took his breath away with a single contact of skin. His concussion was temporarily forgotten with the spike of temperature in his blood.

The tender look in her eyes when she examined his face for any marrs was unnecessary but appreciated nonetheless.

A none too pleased growl brought him out of his momentary stupor. Ida too seemed to notice their furry company again. With a heavy sigh Ida offered him the space beside her under the blanket. Her lips lifted at the corners in an almost smile at his preening at the position she offered.

"Anton" It was the first time she had ever said his name. The word that identified him had never sounded so appealing than when said with her voice. Her next words too alleviated some of his stress. "I'd like you to meet my father" she pointed at the large wolf sat right beside the headboard, the one that had muzzled her hand before. "And my three brothers"

All earlier tension washed out of him once he realised none of them wanted her in that way. A sigh must've escaped as, for the first time, her tinkling laugh chimed through the ghostly illuminated room, weak as it was.

The large wolves too, appeared stunned. Had they never heard her laugh before? Then again she had been a four legged wolf running around the Alaskan tundras and mountains not three days ago.
His question probed his brain to ask aloud.

"What happened on the full moon Ida? Not that I'm not glad, but I don't think I fully understand."

Her glacial eyes held his own for a long silent moment. Then they moved over to her father. A humane nod from the large wolf placed a small smile on her delicate lips. Her eyes once more fixed on his. "I am a wolf."

Anton wasn't sure if that meant to explain everything. His sceptical look must have spoken out for him as Ida lifted her hand and moved in behind her right ear, just like she used to hide her eyes behind her paws before her change. She must have realised her unconscious motion too when she slowly let it sink back down onto the blanket.

"I guess that doesn't explain much. I am wolf, my family is wolf, but also partly human. My Great-Grandfather was human. Completely so. He was an adventurer I've been told who fell in love with my Great-Grandmother. She was fully wolf. Mother used to say; Their appearance didn't keep them apart since their souls bond was stronger than their interspecies relationship could restrict. Fate, destiny, luck. Whatever it was, made them happy no matter the odds." Ida's eyes stayed down, her long nimble fingers playing with a thread that had loosened in the fabric of the covers.

Anton's hand covered her fidgeting one, drawing her eyes up to his. The corners of his lips twitched upwards and his head dipped at her in silent encouragement. Her tentative smile was so different to the sassy she-wolf he had come to love.

"They had two cubs the next spring. Two wolves that were fully wolf only on the outside. Inside they were half human. My Grandma mated a full blooded wolf. They again had two cubs. Her brother went to roam and we've never heard of him. We don't even remember his name. Anyway, my father..." Her other hand, not contained within his own, reached over and touched his cheek "My father is a quarter human, the rest is wolf. My brothers and me however, we can all transform and touch our human sides in physical form. I can't fully explain how, but we can only change on a full moon. I am sorry to have worried you with my recovery, the change takes most of our energy."

Anton had been silent throughout her story. One question came to his mind.
"How come your Great-Granparents...bred?"

"Beloved, they didn't breed. They mated. A wolf keeps one partner throughout life. A mate is a term used for animals that don't just breed but mated, formed an actual emotional connection, fell in love. In wolf society it is not as rare as in other species. Humans of course mate as well, in that species though it is not always recognised. Your instincts are a lot more primal than any other human I've encountered before..."

"What other humans have you encountered before?" His jealousy reared its ugly head again.

Ida giggled and leaned over. Her soft lips brushed his scratchy cheek in a tender kiss. "None that could ever compare to you, beloved." There was a mocking note in her voice, but he heard the truth nonetheless.

"That's good." He was surprised Ida heard the growled words through his gritted teeth. Her light laugh soothed over his sore pride, but his ego was still a bit raw.

"What I mean is that we have a soul connection. Your soul recognized its other part when we met that night. The bonding of a soul is also what enabled my Great-Grandparents to successfully reproduce. The emotional connection surpasses the genetic restrictions. We are able to have offspring even though I'm part wolf."

Ant detected a note of longing in her voice. She wanted to have kids. With him. His male pride was completely restored. He felt foolish as his chest puffed out and a goofy grin spread over his lips.

He couldn't resist. "How many? When do you wanna start?"

His Ida blushed, actually blushed. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He couldn't resist and reached out. His knuckles softly brushed against the pink skin, it was warm and soft, the epitome of vitality. It was such a huge contrast to the limp and seemingly lifeless body of his mate a mere hour ago.

The low growl of her father made him snap his hand back. Although he wasn't scared of the large male anymore, he still respected the large, pointy and blitzing fangs. Yeah, he might be slightly scared.

"It's okay Father. You'll have to get used to it sometime soon anyway. Our mating is inevitable." Although her words were meant to reassure, the death glare gave Ant enough of a warning. Heat crept into his cheeks at Ida's straightforwardness. It was a little uncomfortable to have her talking about intimacy with her father, no discretion involved. But it was one of his favourite traits in her. She was straight to the point. No fluffing around.

Ant decided, that was his cue to fight through the remaining effects of the concussion and prepare her a meal. She still hadn't eaten since waking up, but she couldn't hide the angry growls of her stomach any longer.

He kissed her cheek and smiled when all male wolves growled disapprovingly. Their complaining ceased when he got up and left the room. When he looked back Ida watched him in her wolfish way, but turned back to her spouse and siblings. He figured she'd need a bit of time alone with her family to smooth things out. The wolves had been surprisingly patient all along.

The smile never left his face as he closed the still open front door and stoked the fire to warm the space. He then moved to the stove and began sizzling large steaks of caribou for his mate and their additional guests.