No, what froze me in place was the new scent the wind carried to my nose.
I wasn’t out here alone on this dark and near-moonless night, it turned out.
There was someone else.
It felt as if my normally reserved wolf was suddenly standing up inside of me, at complete primal alert as I sniffed deeper, just to make sure my admittedly citified nose wasn’t mistaken. But the scent hit me even more powerfully, telling me it was a she-wolf.
One who smelled strongly of the lake but also of those trees that produce sap. What were they called again? Maples — yes, whoever was out there had an unbelievable scent — like syrup and crisp leaves.
“MINE!!!!”
My wolf roared to life inside of me, telling me this wasn’t just any she-wolf buttheshe-wolf.
“Mate! Mate! Mate!”It growled inside my chest, even though I didn’t believe in things like fated mates.
However, this part of Western Ireland was littered with what the Wild Wolves called “the fating stones.”
I thought of all those ancient Celtic wolf walker tales about fated mates using special spells to travel through space and time to find the wolf they were meant to be with. But those were just fantastical legends.
Weren’t they?
I shook off the notion. There was most likely a scientific reason for this reaction from my wolf. Pheromones alerting me to a compatible foreign she-wolf who might make for a good match. Something like that.
“Hello!” I called out, raising the vintage lantern to peer down the road. “Is someone there?”
No answer. But the wind picked up again, confirming the unidentified she-wolf was still out there. Close enough to smell.
Maybe she was afraid. I’d seen enough rhetoric online to know many, if not most, females wouldn’t necessarily volunteer that they were out in the dark alone when some random male called out to them.
So, I braced myself for what I’d find when I followed my nose to reach her.
Naomi
Yet,what felt like eons later, I was still stumbling, one foot plodding in front of the other — way slower than when I first started out, despite the harsh wind battering me from behind.
Dammit… my lack of experience with the region, along with zero clear reference points other than a flat, open view across the water, had made the house appear closer than it was.
Even worse, a warm, druggy feeling was beginning to replace the cold shivers from before. That couldn't be good, considering I was walking through a real-world November night in sopping wet clothes.
The house in the distance was getting closer, and maybe whoever lived there could help.
But a bone-deep exhaustion began to overtake me. My steps became slower and slower, even as the freezing wind grew stronger and stronger at my back.
A delirium overtook my mind, blurring and multiplying the lights up ahead.
"Hello! Is somebody…?"
I stopped when I thought I heard a voice in the distance.
But then… nothing.
Just me cursing. I was beginning to hallucinate voices and lights. That meant even my wolf body heat wasn't enough to keep hypothermia at bay.
Tears welled in my eyes. But I was too tired to cry. What was I going to do?
Wait, what is that?
A new scent whipped my head to the side… moss, damp limestone, and a faint whiff of the secret kingdom's overall cavern smell. I sniffed with what felt like the last of my strength and squinted, trying to make my night vision work extra hard. Was there a cave nearby?
