Just a Wolf

Dominic

She slides into the passenger seat, dressed in a business get-up, slacks and a cardigan sweater. I miss the sexy elf tights. Sproing! Yeah, she thought that coming once last night might last me for a week? Hardly! Still, though, the relief she gave me is making this so much easier. And maybe we’ll do it again tonight? I feel my dick twitching with anticipation.

“Well,” I say, trying to sound official, “Wolf Taxi at your service, Miss. Where to first?”

She giggles. “You can drop me at Arcata Plaza, the town square in the middle of Arcata. Every place I need to go is within walking distance of there.”

“Very good, Madam,” I say, sounding as snooty as possible.

I drive about half an hour southwest to Arcata from where the River Moon pack house is located, in the remote hills outside of town.

The scenery is beautiful in Humboldt, and I suppose I should be enjoying it more, but instead I am dividing my attention between Amelia and the road. We have another half hour to chat, and get to know each other a little better. We’ve spent the last three nights together, but most of it was admittedly while our mouths were occupied doing something other than talking.

She directs me where to turn in town, and I pull into a parking spot at the side of the town square. Interesting place. The buildings surrounding the square look old-fashioned, like they’ve been here for decades, and there’s a nice little park in the middle, with a lot of small booths set up selling vegetables and crafts. Looks like some kind of farmer’s market is going on. It’s a cute place, but there are also a lot of sort of shifty-looking people hanging around, sitting on the ground like they live there. Someone is banging on a little drum, some others are sort of swaying to the rhythm.

“Are those homeless people?” I ask her.

“Maybe some of them,” she says. “Some of them are just hippies that hang around here. I think maybe some are old Grateful Dead fans that used to tour around with the group, and they just ended up staying in Arcata. My parents went to college at Humboldt State here, and they say that these folks were here back then too.”

Huh. I kind of hate to drop her off here by herself. “Are you sure this is safe?” I ask her, worriedly.

“What?” she asks, surprised. She looks around at the Plaza, probably not seeing anything unexpected, but to my eyes, it’s kind of a strange scene and I can’t evaluate the threat to my mate. It makes me nervous.

She tilts her head at me. “I think…” she pauses, and closes her eyes for a moment. “I think that I can feel that. I can feel you. You’re … nervous?”

I look at her, and am not as surprised as I probably should be. We’ve talked about this, I know that we’ll feel each other more and more as this goes on. “Well, yeah, a little,” I say. “Look at those people.” I wave my hand around at what look like vagrants loitering in the town square.

She takes my hand, and I feel the wonderful tingle that contact with her brings. “It’s fine, Hon,” she assures me. Ha! First endearment! Wait - now she’s got me doing it.

She goes on, “They’re just, um, colorful characters. They’re in Arcata all the time.” Pointing around the square, at all the buildings with little shops and cafes and storefronts, she says, “Half of these shops are actually run by River Moon. I’m surrounded by pack members here. I’ll be perfectly safe.”

I look around again at the surroundings, trying to believe that I can leave her here by herself and not worry. I’m sure she thinks I’m being ridiculous. She probably comes here all the time.

“Besides,” she adds, “don’t forget, I’m a wolf.”

Yeah, she’s right. She’ll be fine. I’m just being overprotective, I know. “Okay,” I say, “when do you want me to pick you up?”

“I need maybe three or four hours? Go surf, have fun, then I’ll see you back here.”

“Okay,” I say, “just text me if you want me to come sooner.”

She leans closer, and whispers, “I love you.” Her fingers brush against mine before she grabs her big over-sized bag and gets out of the car.

My heart is full as I pull away, watching her in the rearview mirror until I turn the corner, to head south to Eureka.

Amelia

I watch him turn the corner in his pack’s SUV, then I give a little sigh. My fingers brush against my throat. I feel like everything we did last night bonded us even more closely. I really seem to be retaining the sense of my mate still being with me, just a bit. I miss him, but I don’t feel bereft without him. Not with the little trace of himself he left behind for me here.

Well, good, I have a lot to do, and I think this will help me focus. I gaze around the square. I have half a dozen vendors to talk to in the surrounding shops. The farmer’s market and craft faire is set up, probably for last minute Christmas shoppers. There are holiday decorations in the trees, and red and green and silver ribbons wrapped around the lamp posts. The hippies are drumming and enjoying the fine weather. I’ve always loved this scene. My folks used to bring us here for picnics when we were little, then we’d go for a hike in the beautiful redwood forest on campus.

I start strolling along the row of booths for the craft faire, on my way to the first vendor I plan to visit. I have my eyes open for anything about The Doctor, any little trinket I can find for Dom. That’s what I want to give him for Christmas, and this morning is my only chance to shop. A little toy spaceship? I don’t think that’s the kind on the show. A snow globe with stars inside? Maybe. A framed painting of a planet? Hmmm. This is hard to do without ever having watched the show for myself.

One of the booths has different kinds of hats for sale, and I’m about to pass by when I see something hanging up in the corner, a flash of red. Oh my god that is perfect. I ask the attendant, pointing, “Is that a fez?”

She turns and looks, and reaches up to pull it down off the hook where it is hanging. “Yes indeedy,” she says, and holds it up for me to see. It is made out of red felt, a round boxy little hat with a tassel dangling down from on top. It is exactly the thing I saw The Doctor wearing in the online picture of him with the Impossible Girl. “I’ll take it!” I say.

I’m so pleased with this, and I hope that Dominic appreciates it too. I turn to head to the florist, the first vendor I need to talk to, and I see that one of the other craft faire booths offers gift wrapping. Perfect! I get it wrapped and tuck it away in my big bag.

Time to turn to my official duties. I spend the rest of the morning going from shop to shop, greeting the owners who are members of my pack with familiarity, those who are regular humans with simple cordiality. I order floral arrangements from the florist, the theme that Darlene suggested based on what she knows of Janine’s preferences. I arrange for invitations to be printed and delivered. I speak to caterers to order a lavish buffet spread for the party after the ceremony, and champagne for the New Year’s toast. I order a fancy cake and assorted pastries and sweets from a bakery. I make arrangements for rental chairs and tables and tablecloths (properly fitting), and for umbrellas and canopies to be set up outside on the lawn where the ceremony will take place, just in case of inclement weather. Apparently Dark Woods’ tradition is for such ceremonies to always take place under the sky and trees, never inside a building.

River Moon is definitely doing our share to support the local economy for the end of the fiscal year, I think wryly, as I wield the pack credit cards that I am authorized to use on pack business.

It all takes just under three hours, and so I have a little time to wait for Dominic to show back up. I’m eager to see him again, now that I have my errands taken care of. While I’m waiting, I decide to have a hot cocoa at one of the local cafes here in the plaza. I settle in at an outdoor table with my steaming mug of delicious chocolate, inhaling the wonderful scent that reminds me of my mate. It makes me close my eyes with pleasure to smell it, before I even have the chance to take a sip.

“Um, excuse me?” I hear a female voice ask, and my eyes fly open. A young woman about my age is standing in front of my little table on the sidewalk outside the cafe. I can smell at once that she is also a wolf, but I don’t recognize her. I know all the River Moon pack members. I know she isn’t one of the wolves that came with Dark Woods either. This is our territory, we don’t often have visitors from other packs, and almost never without getting prior clearance to come on to our land.

I tilt my head, perplexed. “Yes?” I ask her, but she hesitates before speaking again. The more I look at her, the more mysterious this seems. She’s just wearing shorts and a crop top, and although it is a pleasant day outside, it’s also pretty chilly. She looks a bit bedraggled, like she’s been sleeping outside. Her long dark hair is tangled, and she looks pretty dirty. Can she be one of the homeless people here? Where’s her pack?

My heart fills with sympathy for her. Whoever she is, wherever her pack is, she looks cold and pretty rugged. She bites her lip worriedly, her eyes darting around the plaza, like she is afraid that someone is going to catch her talking to me. “Are you hungry?” I find myself asking her impulsively. “Would you like some cocoa? Or maybe something to eat?”

Her head shakes no, but her eyes fill with a longing that says definitely yes. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I can’t stand to see her cold and hungry and afraid. I stand up, picking up my bag and cup of cocoa, and she has a flash of disappointment on her face, until I say, “Let’s go inside, it’s warmer in there.”

She casts a glance back over her shoulder before she follows me in, and I lead her to a table at the back of the cafe. She sits down, perching uncomfortably on the edge of her chair. I push my cup of cocoa over to her. “Here, take this,” I tell her, “I didn’t drink any yet. I’ll get another one. Just wait here.”

She wraps her fingers around the warm mug, and I can tell from her expression how good that feels to her. “Thank you,” she murmurs, while I go up to the counter to order another one. I take my bag with me. I’m not a complete idiot.

When I get back, she is sipping the cocoa and looking slightly warmer and more relaxed. I settle in, take a sip of mine as the chocolatey scent so like my mate’s wafts over me. “My name’s Amelia,” I tell her, “I’m from River Moon.” I don’t say “pack”, there are humans in here who I don’t want overhearing that, but the words river moon won’t mean anything to them.

She sighs, and says, “I’m Corinne.”

“What’s your pack?” I ask her, lowering my voice so as not to be overheard.

Her brow furrows, and she shakes her head.

Oh. Oh! I get it now. She’s a rogue!

She obviously sees my recognition and my alarm. “Please!” she says, holding her hands up. “Please, wait! I don’t want any trouble. I just want some help.” She looks around, indicating her bedraggled appearance, and her voice sounds thick with emotion. “I never wanted any of this. I’m just trying to find a way out.”

My eyes are wide, I know, my hands still on my mug. Um, what now?