I squirmed. He pressed down harder, and the message was clear:stay.
He held me for another few seconds, then lifted his paw and stepped back.
I rolled to my feet, shook myself, and immediately crouched into a play bow.
The sound he made wasn’t quite a growl. It was more like exasperation given voice through a wolf’s vocal cords.
He came at me low and fast, and I barely managed to dodge before his shoulder would have bowled me over again. I spun and ran, not away from him but in a wide arc around the meadow, and he gave chase.
We ran.
We were two wolves in a clearing with the sun climbing over the ridge and the morning stretching ahead of us. My legs burned and my lungs worked hard in the thin mountain air, but the joy of it was uncomplicated and pure, my body doing what it was built to do without my mind getting in the way.
Silas caught me at the far edge of the meadow. He hit me from the side again, gentler this time, and we went down together in a controlled tumble that ended with him pinning me on my back, his jaws closing carefully around my throat.
His teeth rested against the fur and skin of my neck with just enough pressure to communicate complete control, and I went utterly still beneath him.
My wolf understood. This was the language, the hierarchy, the way it worked when you tested an alpha and he reminded you who was in charge.
He held me there for a long moment, his breath warm against my throat, his weight solid and grounding. Then he released me and stepped back, and I rolled to my feet and shook myself off.
We stood in the clearing, both breathing hard, and looked at each other.
Then Silas turned and started trotting back toward the cabin.
I followed.
We shifted back to human form in the clearing outside the cabin. The change moved through both of us simultaneously, fur receding and limbs restructuring, and then we were standing naked in the morning sun with the grass cool beneath our feet.
Silas looked at me with an expression that was equal parts exasperated and something warmer.
“You shifted. Did you do it on purpose this time?”
“I think so? But I’m not sure.”
“You couldn’t be patient and wait for me?”
“No, I couldn’t. And you’re welcome, by the way. For keeping you company while you did your hunting thing.”
“I didn’t need company.”
“Everyone needs company.” I stepped closer, looking up at him with innocent eyes. “Especially when they’re out in the woods alone, tracking residual monster essence or whatever it is you were doing.”
He stared at me for a moment, then shook his head and turned toward the cabin.
I followed him up the porch steps and through the door. The fire had gone out completely now, the hearth full of gray ash, and the morning light filled the main room with a warm glow.
Silas crossed to the hearth and knelt to rebuild the fire. I watched him from the doorway, my pulse settling back into something resembling normal. He stood and turned to face me, the kindling catching behind him, small flames beginning to lick upward.
“Come here.”
I crossed the room. When I was close enough, he reached out and pulled me against him, then kissed me hard.
“If you needed attention, all you had to do was ask.”
“You weren’t here,” I said.
He led me to the couch and sat me down gently.
