“Do I even want to know?”
He tossed a few logs into the cold fireplace. “Just give it a chance.”
I sat on the couch, placing my notebooks and the papers on the coffee table. When the fire was roaring and crackling, Levi went into the kitchen.
“Remember what I said about having an open mind?” he said, peeking over the fridge door.
“You’re making me think I’m not gonna like this.”
He stepped back, a beer in one hand, and a skinned rabbit in the other.
I gasped. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I know, I know,” Levi said soothingly. “But our inner wolves are natural hunters. They enjoy wild game, and they prefer raw meat to cooked. Have you ever had raw meat before?”
“Does sushi count?”
“Probably not. Not for a wolf anyway. You’d want a prey animal. Deer, squirrel, rabbit,” he said, lifting the small body. “We can give it a shot and see what happens.”
The look on my face must have told him exactly what I thought about that. Sighing, he opened the fridge again. “Sorry, we don’t have to. I’ve just been trying to think of ways to help you, and this was one we hadn’t done.”
“No.” I waved him over. “Screw it, I’ll give it a shot.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, but hurry up before I talk myself out of it. You did at least…uh…gut it, right?” I asked as my stomach roiled.
“I did,” he said and handed the rabbit over.
When the cool flesh touched my hand, I had to force myself not to flinch away in disgust. “So…do I just bite it?” I asked, looking up at him.
Levi nodded. “Try your best to open your mind to the wolf within; call out to her, and while you do that, take a bite. Hopefully the taste will bring her out. That’s the theory anyway.”
The clammy body felt heavier than it should. I closed my eyes and did my best to open my mind, sending positive welcoming thoughts out into whatever subconscious abyss my wolf might be residing in. After a few seconds of that, I lifted the rabbit to my lips.
The scent of raw meat drifted into my nostrils, making me gag. Thankfully, I managed to control myself, open my mouth, then bit down. The uncooked flesh gave way, filling my mouth with the mineral flavor of blood and flesh. It didn’t taste as bad as I thought it would, but it was tough, and I had to yank my head to tear off a small piece. Chewing, I tried to focus on myinner wolf, wherever she might be, but even after I swallowed, nothing happened.
I opened my eyes and looked up at Levi. “Nothing.”
His shoulders sagged. “Damn. Okay. It was worth a shot.”
“Can you take this, please?” I said, handing the carcass over.
“Yeah. I’ll roast that for dinner tomorrow or something.”
“Remind me not to come over for that.”
He laughed as he put the rabbit back in the refrigerator. “How about we look at what you did today?
“That sounds like a great idea.” I grabbed the beer and took a swig to get the taste of raw rabbit out of my mouth.
Levi picked up the papers, then sat beside me. Even though he’d been outside most of the day, he was like a furnace, his body heat radiating off him, warming my chilled body.
“Don’t you want to turn on the lights?” I asked. The sun was almost down, and most of the illumination came from the fire.
“I like it like this,” he said with a shrug. “Reminds me of the old days, before we had electricity and plumbing here.”
“Speaking of,” I said, tapping the electricity bill. “I thought you might have generators or something, but you’re actually hooked up to a utility?”
