SWNOVELS Chapter 1 - Part 2
The stolen dress I wore scratched my skin raw with every small movement. I longed to tear it off, as did the younger pups who tugged at their tunics with scrunched noses and pouting lips. It was a first for all of them, a second for me. As much as we’d all have liked to run in fur or move in bare skin, in the day time, it was safer to travel try to blend in with the humans who always covered themselves in many layers of itchy wool.
To pretend to be mortal felt like a betrayal to our kind, but even the wild wolves, whose shape was always fur, were being hunted and slaughtered in sport by the chieftains and their men. Their furs decorated stone halls now, and warmed the shoulders of greedy humans. Our cousins in blood were facing the same extinction we were in our homeland, and we could do nothing to help them.
Fortunately, most in the Highlands didn't partake in such sport as often as the lowlands, and their settlements were small and far between.
Still, it was better to be wary.
Money jangled in the pouch strapped to my waist, enough coin to get us a place on a ship. If we made it. My uncle had given it to me before he died, almost as if he’d known what was going to happen. . .
Get them North. Get them to the Alpha. You must seek protection, Eabha.
He'd whispered those words as he’d bled out on my lap, his blood sinking into the grass; earth taking back the life it had given. Guilt had threatened to take hold for it was me the blood drinker had set its sights on, and my Alpha would not allow any in his pack to be harmed. Sometimes I wondered if that was the reason Fionnlagh grew ever more irritable with me, perhaps he too blamed me for his father’s death.
I turned to the rest of the pack, studying each wolf as if it would tell me any different to what I knew. Fionnlagh had his mother's hand tight in hers as he guided her to where I stood. The pups were already running around, eager to be outside and down the mountain after being cooped up for so long. Father approached too, giving me a stiff smile with kind dark eyes as he brushed his knuckles across my cheek. "Will you help this old male climb down?"
"Of course," I replied, allowing him to slide his arm over my shoulder. My knees nearly buckled under his weight but I managed to remain upright out of pure determination.
Every one of us would make it across the sea, I promised myself.
Mother took the lead, finding the safest path down the cliffs while keeping an eye on the rambunctious pups who didn't really understand what was going on. I grunted as loose rocks shifted under my feet and nearly sent me sprawling. It was Father that saved me, grabbing onto the branch of a tree to keep us steady.
"Thank you," I breathed, taking a moment to calm my racing heart before moving again.
The sun glared down, burning away the grey clouds that remained from last night's storm. I hoped to make it to the port before sunset but we needed to leave the wilderness and find a road. There we might traders or farmers willing to take us the rest of the way. I’d learned how to act around mortals, enough that I might be able to barter for help should we need it.
Rest and sleep had at least been a saving grace for my father. After a while, his movements became easier and he managed to take more of his own weight when the land flattened out. I had to stop to catch my bearings, feeling lost in unfamiliar lands.
"You're our Alpha now," I said to my father, looking up at him. "Which way should we go?"
Fionnlagh bristled beside Aunt Oighrig but he didn't make any challenge. My younger sister Niamh clung to his leg, perhaps feeling that the pack was suddenly without direction.
"We follow the river up. The roads here always follow the rivers."
I nodded, happy with that assessment.
Hours passed walking that way. The growling of my stomach became nearly unbearable, especially with a forest that tempted me to shift and hunt. The musky scent of deer tainted the breeze and my mouth watered but now wasn’t the time.
For a while we marched with brisk determination, leaving miles between us and the cave we’d hidden in. It wasn’t until after the sun had reached her peek and began to descend the sky again that our weakest began to struggle. The pups whimpered and whined about sore feet and I knew it pained my parents to ignore them. Then Father began to limp again, and each step caused a harsh breath to whistle past clenched teeth.
“Why don’t we rest for a while and have a drink. I might be able to find some berries not far past the treeline.”
Father growled and shook his head, his eyes darting to Fionnlagh as if the younger male might see him struggle and think to challenge him for leadership.
“I can smell horses. If we’re not near a croft or town, we must be near a road. We keep moving.”
With a few grumbles, our sorry pack trudged through thick purple heather that clawed at our clothes and skin. But father had been right and I could have fallen to my knees and thanked the gods at the sight of two lines of tracks worn deep into the ground, earth churned up to scent the air.
Mother grinned and swung my brother Anndra up into her arms. "Finally."
Oighrig crouched and sunk her hands into the grass beside tracks, her smile dazed and soft. "All roads have forks and bends but eventually you get to where you were going."
More jumbled nonsense that unsettled me. But Perhaps some deity had decided to take pity on us after all for I could hear the creak of wood and the dull thud of hooves not too far away. I pushed Father aside and stepped onto the road, catching sight of the horse and cart coming our way. A tradesman by the sound of metal clanking from the pots and pans hanging from the cart.
A lone trader sat on the bench with the leather reins in hands and fabric tied around his neck to shield his neck from the glare of the sun. I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to tame dark brown hair so I looked a little less wild.
"I don't think this is a good idea, Eabha," Mother whispered pleadingly, tugging on my arm.
I shook her off, my chin jutting out. "Father will not make it much further and Oighrig is slowing down too. Everything will be okay. Trust me."
She pursed her lips, brown eyes scanning my face before flicking to our family again. Whatever she saw made her release me and step back.
"Oighrig is still our Alpha Female,” she muttered, a gleam of the wolf in her eyes as she lowered herself to take orders from me.
She was wrong anyway. Oighrig wasn’t capable of leading us anymore.
As the cart came closer, I stepped onto the road, waving for the male’s attention. He looked older than father, with greying hair and lines ingrained deep in his features. Misted blue eyes trailed over each of us as he pulled his horses to a stop. He didn’t ask what we were doing, simply bowed his head in greeting and asked, "Whar are ye's heading?"
"The nearest port," I replied, hoping my smile was sweet as I looked up at the male who seemed wary. Lies came easily as I attempted to persuade the mortal to give us help. "My father is very sick, we are hoping to return to our kin in Norway where he may feel better."
"Aye. . ." He looked us over again, his gaze lingering on the pups, and their presence softened his expression. “The weans look fair tired. . .most o' ye’ll fit in th’ back.”
Relief flooded through me, so much so that I had to stop myself from climbing up to press my cheek to his in gratitude, an action the human male wouldn’t understand nor appreciate. Their kind were not as affectionate as us, especially not with strangers. "Thank you."
He smiled and leaned down to give me a hand up. I tried not to show my nerves as I accepted, fearing he might want something from me that wouldn’t be settled with coin. . .and I wasn't sure I wouldn't do anything he asked to keep the pack safe. My smile still in place, I tried not to look at my mother as she protested in our own tongue. Father hushed her quickly and, with Fionnlagh’s help, lifted the pups into the cart.
The male's hand was calloused and warm, squeezing tight as he hoisted me onto the bench beside him. He smiled warmly, blue eyes gleaming with amusement. "Dinnae worry, lass. I willnae hurt ye. And ah huv a wife at hame that wouldna tak tae kindly if ah went tae another. Ah will see yer femly safely tae the port."
"Tapadh leibh," I thanked him, recognising his accent as belonging to the mortals residing in the Western isles. They were one of the few people who still had my kind ingrained in their stories. Did he know what we were? He certainly looked at me like he knew we were hiding something, but at least it wasn’t hostility; more curiousity.
The cart rattled as the trader clucked for his horses to walk on. Niamh giggled from behind me, reaching over the railing of the cart so she could get a closer look. Wild knots of dark hair fell into her face, and she huffed in annoyance.
With a glance at mother, she nodded a begrudging approval. I gripped my sister under her arms and lifted her over to sit on my lap, pushing her hair back behind her ears. She chatted easily with the human male about his horses, asking all manner of questions, and I hoped he wasn't finding her too much. Niamh loved animals. If we lived like the few packs that had settled to reside amongst the humans, hidden in plain sight, perhaps we would have had horses for her.
The male smiled happily enough, explaining everything she wanted. What they ate, how long they could pull the cart, how he groomed them and let them sleep with his family in the winter so they would all stay warm. I found it settling to listen to. He was a gentle soul, with pity in his eyes whenever he caught my gaze. I was certain if I’d asked more of him than simply letting us travel with him, he’d have given all he could. Perhaps humans weren’t all bad after all.
“Far fae home are ye?” he asked once Niamh had drifted off to sleep.
Shifting uneasily, I wasn’t sure how much to give away. “Land is changing hand quickly further south and my family thought it better to return to our cousins than to remain.”
The old trader hummed in agreement, his lips pressing together. “It is herd times fur as aw, lass. At least, those who huv nae money or femly tae help.”
I hadn’t thought about how the mortals struggled with the growing changes around us. Maybe we weren’t so different after all but I couldn’t say as much. I gave the trader a small smile, eager to put the conversation to rest lest I slip up or run out if lies to weave. He was happy enough with only the rattling of his wares and the quiet murmurs of my family in the cart to stave off silence.
It was almost relaxing as my body got used to the jolting sway and the thick musty smell of horse forever blowing in my face. But my nerves slowly built again when the seaport village came into view over the next hill. Behind that thatched roofs and stone walls, the vast expanse of the sea glittered like silver under the sun. Salt tainted the breeze that was chilled from the water and made goosebumps pebble my flesh.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to keep a smile in place for Niamh's sake when she stirred next to me. She gasped when she caught sight of the sea, catching the attention of Seumas. My siblings crowded me to get a better look, chittering excitedly as they would have in fur but the trader didn’t seem to find it too odd.
Jealous of their excitement when I felt only dread, I reminded myself they were probably too young to remember the last time the pack had been near a coast. Forests deep on the countryside with access to enclosed glens were safer for us.
Now I saw our passage North, I couldn’t help but wonder if we were we giving in too easily. My blood was of this land, all the way back to my great-grandsire’s father, my pack had roamed through the heather and hills here. My mother’s ancestors had been here so long, if they’d come from another land to settle here, it was lost to memory. This was my home. Our home.
I looked behind me, back towards the rugged mountains that were but a hazy blue smudge on the horizon, and felt an ache in my chest. Even knowing the spirits of my uncle and brother would be running through the endless fields and forests in the world that comes after this was where they were buried.
A hand squeezed my shoulder and I looked over at Aunt Oighrig. Eyes unusually bright and aware, she leaned in to brush her cheek to mine. "Home is pack, not a place."
I nodded at her whispered words, nuzzling back for as long as I dared without catching the attention of the mortal.
We came to a stop in the middle of the village and Father and Fionnladh immediately jumped down. Neither had taken well to being jostled about for so many hours.
“Ye’ll find a captain in th’ tavern across fae the docks, nae doubt. Dinnae let him tak ye fur a fool.” His eyes darted to the heavy bag of coins sat on my lap and I understood his meaning well enough. However, I had no idea how much such things as food and passage on a ship were meant to cost.
A small smile tugged at the old male’s lips and he held his hand out. Suddenly doubting his intentions again, I decided it worth the risk and unstrung the bag to place on his wrinkled palm. If he was surprised by the weight, he didn’t show it. He mumbled to himself, fishing out a handful of coins that he placed back in my hands. “He shouldae tak any mair than that fur yet family tae be fed during the journey as well.”
He tried to hand the bag back to me and I shook my head. “Take something for your kindness.”
“Naw, lass. I was coming this way with or without ye.”
I took the bag from him and restrung it, lost for words at his generosity. Bowing my head, I thanked him again before jumping down too. Father stepped forth before the harder could leave, a grunt of pain leaving him as he reached up to grasp the human’s arm.
“You may have saved our lives,” Father affirmed. “We are in your debt.”
A vow I never thought a human would be worthy of, especially not from my sire.
Again the human smiled, a twinkle in his eye as he leaned in close so only my father and I could hear. "May the Gods grant ye a safe voyage tae yer homeland.”
My heart skipped a beat. Gods. Not God. Proof there was still those this far North who still followed the old ways.
Turning slowly, I took in the human settlement with distaste. The barrage of smells and sounds was an assault to the senses, and curious humans watched from all around. Stalls set up boasted food, fabric and strange items of the likes I’d never seen before. One strange contraption mirror my image back at me but it didn’t compare to the reflections found in the fairy pools of the glens.
"Stay here,” I finally said, turning to my pack gathered with nervous and wary expressions. “I'll find the captain."
Nobody argued. Nobody else was brave enough or had as much practice as I did at conversing with mortals, not that I’d ever tried my hand at bargaining again.
Taking a deep breath, I went to make my way towards the port when a strong hand gripped mine and pulled me back. The scent of damp earth told me it was Father who’d suddenly pinned me to his chest. I blushed at the treatment, his nose in my hair before he pulled back to grip my shoulders.
"I'm proud of you, Eabha. We wouldn't have made so far without you.”
I wasn't sure if that was true, but either way, I just had to get everyone a little further.