Chapter 221: A Simple Question

The hunting party returned as the last light bled from the sky.

The wolves had already shifted back to their human forms by the stream, crouching at the bank to splash water across their faces and rinse the sweat from their skin. A few groaned as they stretched sore muscles, and the general mood was heavy with the particular frustration of a group that had worked hard and come back empty-handed.

Yesterday had been very good. They had tracked and cornered four animals, and the thrill of the catch had lifted everyone’s spirits.

They had gone out today in the hopes they would find more animals, but they had been met with nothing.

Calis crouched at the water’s edge, cupping the cold stream in his palms and pressing it against his face. The water ran down his jaw and dripped from his chin, and the coolness did little to ease the tension that had settled into his shoulders over the past several hours.

His mind kept drifting to places it shouldn’t.

He wondered what Tera was doing right now. Whether she was at her clan, holding her cubs, laughing at something one of the beasts had said. Whether she was thinking about the wolf pack. Whether she was thinking about him.

He shoved the thought aside and splashed his face again, harder this time.

"Alpha."

Calis paused.

The sound of Girruk’s voice, especially when it had interrupted his thoughts about Tera, greatly irritated Calis.

He didn’t turn to even acknowledge the wolf.

"What?" Calis asked gruffly.

"Do you fancy the shiftless female?"

The stream seemed to go quiet.

Every wolf within earshot turned. Many of them were confused by the question, and others were baffled as to why Girruk was trying to find Calis’ trouble.

Calis’ hands stilled in the water.

He rose slowly and turned to face Girruk. His crimson eyes found the wolf with a look that made the air between them feel several degrees colder.

"What sort of question is that?" Calis asked quietly.

Girruk held his ground, though his tail gave a single, involuntary twitch. "A simple one. You can just answer it."

Calis’ lip curled.

"I will not entertain such a foolish question." His voice dropped to a register that made two of the nearby wolves take an instinctive step back. "Are you picking a fight with me, Girruk?"

The clearing went taut.

Girruk’s jaw worked. His eyes burned with something that wanted to push further and accuse him before these wolves for mating with the shiftless female. But the memory of Calis’ warning, the one about what happens when someone challenges his right to lead, was still fresh enough to hold him in place.

"No," Girruk said stiffly. "I was only asking."

Calis stared at him for three more seconds, letting the silence do the work that words didn’t need to.

"She has a name. I do not want to hear her referred to as the shiftless female," Calis hissed, turning away.

His mood was thoroughly soured now.

The wolves resumed their washing in tense quiet. A few of them exchanged glances, but nobody spoke.

The whole interaction had confused them.

Within minutes, they started making their way back to the pack.

Calis was still irritated at Girruk, but was more irritated at himself for how the question had rattled him.

As they neared the farm, Calis noticed that the elders who were usually stationed there were absent.

Calis frowned and kept walking.

Before long, he heard an excited chatter from the pack that wasn’t usually there. Calis’ pulse shifted as he knew what that meant.

He quickened his pace and immediately made his way to the clearing.

The females were gathered in their usual circle.

Even a handful of the elders were there, lingering near the females while Greymaw sat in one bitter spot. His wrinkled face was arranged in an expression of practised disinterest that fooled no one.

And in the centre of the circle was Tera.

Calis felt relieved at the fact that Tera was finally there.

She was smiling at something Aia had just said. The moonlight caught her hair where it fell across her shoulder, and when she brushed it back behind her ear, the motion exposed the line of her jaw and the curve of her neck.

His mouth dried up.

As if sensing he was there, Tera looked up.

Her eyes found him across the clearing, and the moment their gazes met, something warm passed between them that Calis felt in his chest.

Tera’s heart did a small, traitorous flip the moment she saw Calis.

He looked tired. His hair was messier than usual, and there was dirt on his arms and mud on his shins from the hunt. But the rugged edge made him look very enticing.

All he just needed was a quick wash.

She quickly looked down at the cub in her arms to compose herself.

The newborn was fast asleep, his tiny mouth slightly open, completely unbothered by the fact that he had tried to rip off Tera’s nipple an hour ago.

Looking at Tera, Calis’ face betrayed him before he could stop it. The hard set of his jaw softened, and a small, genuine smile crept across his lips.

But his eyes had already given him away. They had lingered on her face a beat too long, traced the curve of her smile, and when she brushed her hair back again, they followed her fingers the way a predator follows movement.

Behind him, the wolves who had been at the stream were filing into the clearing.

Girruk stopped mid-stride.

He watched his alpha’s face transform at the sight of the shiftless female, and a cold, satisfied smile spread across his own.

A few of the wolves near Girruk also noticed this little detail, and suddenly Girruk’s question made sense. One shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting between Calis and Tera. The others were not sure what to make of it. What they were looking at felt very strange, and they didn’t know what to make of it.

Girruk’s eyes slid to the far edge of the clearing where Greymaw sat.

His father was already looking at him with a small smile.