She ran for at least an hour, feeling the wind in her fur and dirt beneath her feet grounded her in ways I didn’t know she needed. She was finally settling in when we heard a snap of a twig. We skidded to a stop and whirled as a dark grey wolf with striking white eyes stepped into the clearing. I stumbled back over myself in my mind, just seeing the sheer size of this wolf. I had never seen a wolf as big as mine, but he was at least double my size.
“Who are you?” His deep voice sent ripples down my skin. Nix’s fur twitched and her hackles raised and then flattened.
“Who are you?” We asked. I pushed closer to the surface and our voices combined. “Are you a student here?”
The grey wolf laughed. “I’m no student.”
“Are you a professor?” Nix settled on her haunches.
“You could say that.” The grey wolf prowled closer. “Who are you?” He repeated his question.
Nix shook and tilted her head. “Who are you?”
The grey wolf tossed his head back and chuffed out a laugh. He turned his eyes back on us and Nix, the minx, took off.
What are you doing? I called to her.
“Seeing if he is worthy of knowing my name.” She tossed back and sprinted through the trees, the male sending out a howl and taking off after us.
She called back, taunting the giant male, and I just groaned.
Nix, why are you doing this?
“Because if he wants my name, he has to prove he’s worthy of it.” She chuffed out a laugh. “Any man that wants anything from me from now on has to work for it.” Thoughts of everything from my previous life flashed through my mind. Nix was right. I gave everything to Brandon, forgave everything, and he killed me and our baby.
You’re right. I had to agree with her.
Nix huffed another laugh. “I know.” We were distracted and the grey wolf dove out of the bushes for us. Nix rolled out of the way and was back up on her feet, sprinting away. She looked back and howled before rushing down the banks of a small river. She splashed across the water and was up over the other bank.
She rushed through a lot of underbrush before diving under the roots of a tree. She huddled there, waiting.
What are you doing?
I’m waiting to see if this male is smart. If he is, he will find me. If not, he isn’t worth my time.
Why?
Because any male, any wolf that is worth it, would be able to find me.
There was a soft shift of grass and Nix hunches down. She barely breathed and her ears were swiveling left and right. She drew in a deep breath, and no scent hit our nose. She narrowed her eyes. Something was off and she couldn’t figure it out.
What is it?
He’s close.Her words were whispered in our mind. She was almost afraid he would hear our conversation in our mind.
How close?My voice dropped low, just in case.
“Little rabbit.” His deep voice sounded above us. “Come out and play.” We froze. There is no way. How could he know wewere here? “If you want, I can come and drag you out?” He chuffed out a laugh. “I think I’d enjoy that one little rabbit.”
Nix took off out of the roots. She dove right and rolled under a bush, but the grey wolf jumped on us. “How did you know?” She panted out a laugh as she looked up at the giant wolf.
He stared down at her with bright eyes. “You are good. I’m just better.” He crouched lower and sniffed around our neck. “You smell wrong.”
We stilled under him. “What do you mean?”
“I think you would know better than I do. You know why you smell wrong.” His eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”
“My name is Nix.” She tried to get up, but he let out a tiny growl. “Who are you?”
