THE WOLF WAR BEGINS
The air is crisp this morning. The world feels still, like it’s held between two panes of glass. Only the gentle birdsong indicates that there is still life in the forest.
A little achy from having slept on the ground, Jasper and I head back to camp as the sun rises, our hands intertwined. We don’t speak, everything we needed to say was said last night. Now there is only the battle ahead to think of.
The camp is still sleeping as we arrive and wander back to the lodge.
It’s so peaceful.
The pine-scented forest air drifts on a cool breeze between the cabins. The surface of the lake is a placid mirror. Even the mountains in the distance, though tall and rugged, are calm in their stillness, like they’re the tips of the fingers of a hand cradling us securely in its palm.
Contrasting with the cool morning, the air inside the lodge is warmer, denser. As we head through the great hall a shadow moves near the doors to the dining room, and I spot Tobias moving around under the second-floor balcony.
“Tobias,” Jasper says, and the pack secretary emerges. “You’re up early.”
He shuffles forward, nervously toying with one curling end of his mustache.
“I was hoping to catch the two of you as early as possible. I did visit your room, and you weren’t there. Ah, well, the door was open, you see.”
“What can we do for you at this time in the morning?” Jasper asks, calmly but authoritatively.
“I wanted to catch you as early as possible in case either of you had considered what I’d said about the, ah, the possibility of holding a marking ceremony today. Before you were pulled away.”
Jasper and I share a glance, then Jasper releases my hand and steps up to Tobias.
“Thank you,” Jasper says, holding his shoulder. “You care greatly about your pack.”
Tobias looks like he’s blushing under Jasper’s touch.
“Does that mean it’s a yes?”
“No,” Jasper says. “Max and I aren’t ready to take that step.” He glances back at me, smiling. “Maybe we will one day, but maybe we never will be.” Then turning back to Tobias, he adds, “And that will just have to be okay for you and the pack.”
Tobias lowers his head a little, so that his eyes are cast in shadow.
“I understand, sir.”
“You’re a devoted wolf and we cherish you as a member of this pack,” Jasper says, trying to soften the blow. “Now, we have a lot to discuss and to arrange before sundown and I could use a hot shower.”
Jasper moves past Tobias, and I follow, giving him a respectful nod.
I know Tobias meant well, but adding pressure to an already highly pressurized situation was sort of a jerk move. At least Jasper and I are on the same page about when and if we’ll ever have a marking ceremony. And with that knowledge I feel securein our future, at least as secure as one can be the morning before a mass invasion.
By the time we’re showered and changed, the pack and the campsite have woken up. Outside my window, soldiers are moving around, some jogging in laps around the campsite, others doing push-ups in the grass, while others are heading for the showers or to get breakfast.
Downstairs in the dining hall, breakfast has been laid out for the officers and high-ranking wolves. Jasper is already deep in talks, even though the final war council is supposed to be happening at eleven. So I sit with Aisha and Katie and we eat as much as our stomachs can handle.
“Max,” Jasper says, arriving at my shoulder just as I’m stuffing my last forkful of waffles and bacon into my mouth. “The council is starting.”
I try to swallow. “Okay, I’ll see you after?”
“No,” he says. “I want you there. We think there’s a way we can win this but ...”
He trails off, almost looking a little ashamed of himself.
“What is it?”
“But we’d need you to use your blood-wolf powers.”
