Chapter 72

The emaciated juvenile wolf gasped one last time and lay still. Turning her head to the sky, Sophia let out a mournful howl. Her own weak voice rose above the howling wind and snow for only an instant before being lost in the cacophony. But at least the pup would receive that much for an epitaph.

She was hungry, so very hungry. It had been almost two months since there had been enough to fill the pack’s bellies, and she feared more would soon follow the young wolf lying in the snow before her. Sad barks and whines came from behind her, and she turned her head to see the rest of the pack looking on forlornly.

Turning her head back to the pup, she watched for a moment as snow collected on its fur. As painful as the pup’s passing was, it bought the rest of the pack time. With a resigned growl, she gave the go-ahead for the surviving members to make the pup part of the pack, even in death…

Sophia jerked awake, terror and dread clawing at her. Frantically, she lifted her head from its resting place, searching with her nose and eyes for the dead wolf pup she was certain lay nearby. Even after confirming she was curled up under a blanket in her bed and not starving on a cold, wind-swept mountain slope, the dread refused to dissipate.

Everything is okay. She nudged her nose under her pillow and inhaled sharply just to be sure. Just a nightmare. These cravings are really messing with me.

Sophia lay her head back down to discover her sheet was damp from tears and sweat. Shifting her body over, she found a dry spot, closed her eyes, and soon fell back to sleep.

Can I just go straight to having an estrus cycle? Sophia winced as a particularly intense cramp racked her lower abdomen as she tramped through the snow. Stupid period.

She had hoped to get outside before the sun had fully risen, but the telltale scent of menstrual blood and subsequent discovery of such on her bedsheet had forced a delay. Now, under the mid-morning sun, her clothes were starting to grow damp from sweat. As if the physical discomfort wasn’t enough, the canned chicken she had found in the back of the pantry had done nothing to assuage her desires for more organic fare, and the remnants of the morning’s nightmare still lurked in the back of her mind.

Bleh, I feel rough this morning. Sophia paused to partially unzip her suit and give her unusually lethargic muscles a break. And I was so excited about today. 

Caught up in her physical misery as she was, she didn’t notice Shadow’s scent until a moment before she felt something poke her butt.

‘Why are you sniffing in that direction?’ A familiar lupine voice rumbled and barked mockingly from behind her. ‘My scent is this way.’

Sophia spun to find Shadow looking up at her with his usual smug amusement, although there looked to be a touch of concern in his eyes.

“One day I’m going to surprise you,” she promised him as she dropped to her hands and knees to sniff and give him a lick-kiss.

To her surprise, he didn’t return the gesture, instead continuing to sniff her face anxiously.

‘Are you …?’ He growled something she was unfamiliar with and then tried again when she just looked puzzled. ‘Are you not good?’ He stuck his snout under her chin. ‘... strange blood …?’

“It’s my period again,” she told him sourly. “It started this morning.” Leaning her head down, she gently nudged the underside of his muzzle upwards with her nose. “I’ll be fine.”

Although he couldn’t understand her, he sensed her lack of concern and relaxed. He rumbled something Sophia understood to be a comment about the strangeness of ‘two-leg blood’, but finally returned her lick-kiss. The touch of his tongue sent excited tingles through her body, and she inhaled his scent. They quickly fell into their usual routine of greeting sniffs, nuzzles, and lick-kisses, though Sophia had to decline allowing Shadow to sniff her rear.

“Sorry, I’m a bit of a mess back there today,” She apologized, feeling a little rude.

However, Shadow seemed to take it in stride and they ended with their heads against each other.

This is how I want to spend the rest of my life. Sophia turned her nose towards the fur on his neck and breathed in. I just hope that’s a long time.

“I think I’m ready,” she murmured.

Candice sort of accepted it. She ignored the whisper of unease in her head. She doesn’t have to be happy about it.

‘Hmm?’ Shadow rumbled as he pulled back to look at her.

“Oh, sorry, just thinking out loud,” Sophia told him. “I was just wishing I could be a wolf with you already.” She grinned. “There have been more changes.” Turning her head and balancing on one hand, she moved her hair out of the way to show her ear. “What do you think?”

Shadow sniffed at her ear and then gave it a feathery lick, sending a thrill through her.

‘Is your body different?’ he asked tentatively. ‘You smell the same.’

I suppose I can’t blame him for being unfamiliar with how human anatomy is supposed to look.

“It is!” She let her hair fall back down and then blushed. “And it’s not the only change! I’d show you, but it’s kind of a mess down there right now, and there’s not much to see.”

Just a few straight white hairs instead of curly dark ones. At least I know why the skin down there has been sensitive.

‘... Happy mate is happy,” Shadow rumbled and then went still, turned his snout upwards, and sniffed the air intently.

What is it? Sophia turned her own nose up, but failed to detect anything.

After a few seconds, Shadow looked at her, his whole body telegraphing excitement.

‘Want to help me hunt?’ he asked.

Alright, Shadow said to wait here until I hear his signal. Sophia waited uncomfortably on her stomach, hidden behind some brush. If the deer catches my scent or hears me, it’ll bolt before he can get in position.

Despite her discomfort, her entire body quivered with excitement at the scent of the unsuspecting deer. Her mind seemed aware of every sound, every smell, and every movement around her, yet remained laser-focused on the task at hand. She had only felt so alive one other time she could remember.

If only Shadow had seen me catch that rabbit… Pride bubbled up at the memory. I wish I could help him bring the deer down. Maybe during the full moon…

‘Now!’

Her body started moving before she even consciously registered Shadow’s low howl echoing through the forest. She sprang up onto her hands and feet, darting under the lower branches of a tree as she scrambled forward. As soon as she was clear of the brush she had been hiding behind, she somewhat reluctantly rose onto two feet.

A flicker of movement caught her attention through the trees, and she adjusted towards it. Her muscles pumped even harder as she recognized Shadow’s scent in the direction of the deer. After a dozen yards, the brown pelt and shape of a doe resolved itself amidst the trees, running straight for her. Sophia didn’t adjust her trajectory, however, and continued to run towards the deer as though she meant to collide with it. 

The doe only noticed Sophia when less than twenty feet separated them. It twisted its body in a desperate effort to change direction, but momentum continued to carry it forward, and it stumbled. As it tried to recover, Sophia watched in fascination as Shadow seemed to materialize from nowhere and clamped his jaws around the doe’s neck. Off-balance and unable to support the large wolf’s weight, the deer’s legs collapsed under it and it fell with a panicked bleat.

He told me to stay back for this part. Sophia fought back her instinct to assist her mate and instead slowed to a stop, her tongue slipping from her mouth as she panted. Just watch.

The deer bleated pitifully as it tried to get back onto its feet, but a quick jerk from Shadow brought it back down. It thrashed about while its executioner almost casually stayed clear of its kicking hooves while retaining his death grip on its neck. After what felt like an eternity, the deer’s desperate thrashing weakened, and Shadow was able to let go long enough to reposition his jaws more fully around the deer’s neck. The doe gave a few last futile kicks as blood flow was cut off to its brain and then lay still.

We did it! Triumphant elation surged through Sophia as she half-stumbled towards her mate, still panting and covered in sweat. I’m lucky to have such a strong and skilled mate…

When she was a foot away, she sank onto her knees in the snow and waited. Cautiously, Shadow let go of the deer, ready to dart in again if the job wasn’t quite finished. When the deer didn’t move, he looked up at her.

‘A good hunt!’ He barked and growled approvingly in Wolfish. ‘Much … to bring them down if you can get at their neck. … the leg takes a long time. You have to wait for them to get tired.’

There were still sound combinations Sophia didn’t know the precise meaning of, but she understood enough to guess at whatever she didn’t know. Muscles in her lower back tried to signal her pleasure at her mate’s approval, and her lips pulled back in a literal wolfish grin even as her tongue hung over her lips as she panted.

‘Don’t run straight at the deer, …,’ Shadow added, stepping over the deer to lick her face affectionately. ‘You can get … hurt if it runs into you.’

“Okay,” Sophia acknowledged and then gave him a kiss-lick across his muzzle.

I’m starving. We can talk about what I did wrong later. The scent of deer, and especially blood, was making it hard to concentrate. I don’t know why this bothers Candice; deer are food.

‘The … place to get through the skin is…’ Shadow started to lecture from the deer’s flank and then faltered. ‘Uh…’

Sophia had hunched over where Shadow had bitten the deer and was hungrily licking at the rich-tasting blood still oozing into the deer’s fur. Pure satisfaction flowed through her from even the meager amount she was able to get on her tongue.

Sorry, love, this is all I’ve been able to think about for days. 

‘There’s a lot more when you get the skin off …,’ Shadow commented dryly before going to work opening up the deer’s midsection.

Hey, you might be able to get away eating one big meal every couple of weeks… Eager for more, she tried to bite down on the deer's neck with her small fangs, but couldn’t find the right angle. I dream of starving after barely a week.

She looked up as a bevy of wonderful aromas from a wolf’s idea of a smorgasbord reached her.

‘Here, my hungry wolfess,’ Shadow chuffed teasingly after dropping the bloody flap of skin he had detached from the doe’s stomach. ‘... leave some for me.’

Sophia was barely able to restrain herself long enough to take her gloves and the upper part of her snowsuit off.

Half an hour later, Sophia backed away from the deer, leaving a trail of bloody handprints in the snow. She licked her lips as a few dark red droplets fell into the snow from her face. Once she was sure she was out of Shadow’s way, she got to her knees and stretched happily, and yawned. The first thing she noticed was that the earlier muscle shakiness and fatigue were gone.

Wow, I can’t believe how much better I feel. There must be some nutrients my body needs I’m not getting from two-leg food anymore.

‘... finished?’ Shadow asked in surprise, looking up from the deer’s front.

Sophia regarded the mess she had made of the deer’s abdominal cavity. For as full as her stomach now felt, her part of the carcass still looked like it had hardly been touched.

It’s too bad I can’t bring home a dog- wolfy bag. Her private joke brought a grin to her face. More for Shadow, at least. 

“My stomach can’t fit twenty pounds at a time in it,” Sophia replied, teeth chattering. “And I’m getting really cold.” Her eyes widened as she looked down her front. “I probably should have taken my shirt off.”

There’s no getting this out. The top of her shirt was thoroughly soaked by cold blood and other fluids. Good thing I thought to take my suit off.

After finally remembering to stop trying to bite it off and to use her hands, she discarded the ruined shirt in a crumbled ball in the snow. A fair bit of fluid had soaked through her shirt, staining the skin red wherever her exercise bra didn’t cover.

Good thing my bra is black; that would be expensive to replace. She hurriedly cleaned off what she could of her bare upper torso with snow as she waited for Shadow to finish. I’ll leave it off for now so I don’t get the inside of my suit dirty. Good thing it’s above freezing again today.

“You know, I thought guys would kill for this sort of view,” she teased as she pulled her suit back on. “You’ve hardly even looked at me.”

Shadow finished swallowing a large chunk of muscle and then turned his head towards her. ‘... … me to groom you?’

“Well, you did buy me dinner…” Sophia grinned flirtatiously as she finished zipping up her suit. “What I could really use right now is your fur,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself as her shivering became violent.

‘I’ll eat later.’ Shadow stepped away from the deer carcass, licking his blood-soaked muzzle. ‘You need my fur.’

He quickly padded over to her and lay down in the snow, stretching out his legs. Sophia gladly accepted his invitation and cuddled into him, throwing an arm around his torso. Once she was snuggled against him, Shadow lowered his head on top of hers.

‘This is better than food …’ Shadow rumbled happily.

“Not sick of being my hero?” Sophia asked through chattering teeth. “Hold on.”

Separating herself from him enough to get her arms to her front, she partially unzipped her coat again. Lifting one of the unzipped flaps up, she pressed her bare chest and stomach back into his belly fur. Letting go of the flap, she wrapped her arm around him and pulled herself into him.

“Much better,” she murmured, pressing her face into his sternum.

They lay in silence for a while. As Sophia’s shivers subsided, the feel of his fur against her skin and his masculine scent increasingly came to the forefront of her mind.

Oh, to feel him against the rest of me. She surreptitiously rubbed her breasts against him. If it wasn’t for my period… Growing excitement down below was spoiled by the spasm of a muscle cramping.

“One day, this will be every day,” Sophia said, her voice muffled by his fur.

‘I love you, Many Scents,’ Shadow rumbled, tenderly licking her hair. ‘Your smell is better … day.’

“Even with the weird blood?” Sophia teased, tilting her head up. “Now I know you’re lying.”

‘And I’m … you’re my wolfess.’ Shadow gave her a sensual lick-kiss across her forehead. ‘My bond-mate.’

He’s so sweet.

“I wish we could get started on making our pack,” Sophia said regretfully, pressing her lower torso into him. “The full moon is soon, though. I wonder how much I’ll change this time? Think I’ll be full wolf for our first time?”

Why do I still feel guilty?It’s not up to Candice.

“I hope so, but it will be a special night no matter what.” She yawned as her eyelids grew heavy. “Oh, the food is catching up with me. How about we take a nap and then you can show me more of the territory our chil- pups will hunt on?”

Not twenty-four hours later, Sophia was eagerly hiking back into the forested hills as a light snow fell. Winter had reasserted itself overnight, and the refrozen snow crunched audibly beneath her boots, but she took little notice.

I hope today is as wonderful as yesterday; we must have covered several miles of our territory together. Her mind replayed their time together as it had repeatedly since she had returned home the evening before. Now, where is my soon to be life-mate?

Her gait slowed as the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. 

It seems awfully quiet all of a sudden. Lifting her nose, she sniffed the air anxiously. Is that… Shadow’s scent? It smells kind of weird. Her feet detoured towards a tree before she realized what she was doing. That mark is from a wolf, but smells… female?

Before she could investigate further, the sound of crunching snow came from behind her. She whirled in time to see something big and furry barrel into her. She fell backwards with a yelp, landing painfully on her back, the large mass falling on top of her and pinning her shoulders to the ground. Her head whipped back, hitting the packed snow so hard she saw stars.

Shadow, what the hell!

Any angry rebuff she might have managed died on her lips as her vision cleared and she found herself staring into the maw of a very angry she-wolf.