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On the other side of me is Alfa, one of the wolves I grew up with. She was in a litter born just after I was found by the pack.
She gives me a bark of encouragement, and I growl down Fever until he and all the wolves with him submit to me.
“It’s going to be okay, Alfa. Safira. Kira.” Their ears perk up as I murmur their names. One of the wolves with Fever gives a whining howl, and the uncertainty in her, Nyra’s, eyes is obvious.
Nyra has always been easily swayed,I think to myself.
Once I am sure that Fever and his group have submitted and won’t be trying to attack again, I stand and give a sharp, gruff bark.
The wolves scatter, and Safira takes over her role as de facto leader.
Then I walk back to where I threw the basket aside, and I try to save as much of the herbs as I can. The basket is only half full when I am done picking through the soil and grass, so I’ll have to go into the garden again tomorrow.
I walk back to the house, even more dismayed at the extra work I’ll have to do. I understand that Kian must be frustrated by his situation, but if he had just listened to me, none of this would have happened.
I also understand the frustrations of the pack. There have always been ripples and undercurrents of unhappiness and dissatisfaction within the pack. Not every wolf is happy that I am the leader. Especially the male wolves.
They’re even less happy that Safira is the Alpha and leader of the pack when I am not around.
Again, this unhappiness is localized mostly within the male wolves, which is not a good thing. Because while I may have some power over them as a human, they’re still wild animals.
I know how vicious the male wolves can be when they fight over females in heat. There is no telling how vicious they’ll be, especially Fever, trying to turn the rest of the pack against me.
Kian is back in bed when I return to the house. He has left a trail of blood in his wake, and five stitches have split open on the wound on his chest.
I don’t say anything at first. My hands are shaking with anger, and I bite my lip as I prepare his medication.
I add the echinacea to the tincture last because it will help to fight off infections, and then I walk over to him with it.
When I speak, I have to control myself with every word, because I am still so angry that Kian’s inability to listen has led to a literal schism in the pack.
It isn’t really his fault,I tell myself.These problems have always existed. He has just…exacerbated it slightly.
“I need you to listen to me,” I tell him sternly. He doesn’t look up at me but drinks the tincture and wrinkles his nose at the taste of it. “I need you to know that most of the wolves don’t want you here. They don’t like outsiders, first of all. And secondly, they really don’t like orcs.”
I cannot help but let out a bitter laugh after the last sentence.
Kian does look up at me then, and there is some emotion in his eyes that I cannot identify.
I sigh before I continue to speak. “It won’t be easy for you to stay here, and if you want to stay here if you want to be in a safe place where you can heal. Well, you’ll have to earn the recognition of the pack.”
Kian snorts lightly. I place my hands on my hips and wait for him to say whatever it is he clearly wants to say.
“I won’t be staying very long,” he tells me haughtily. “Once I recover, I’ll leave.”
“And how do you propose to do that?” My voice is acerbic. My hands are still on my hips. “When you don’t even remember where you come from? You barely know your own name.”
He frowns at me, and I cannot help but smile grimly. He clearly does not want to be reminded of the circumstances he is in.
But I am nothing if not truthful.
He shakes his head morosely at me, and I take the empty bowl from him. I look into the dregs of it, and I watch as one of the tea leaves takes the shape of a wolf’s head.
“I have a headache,” he murmurs and turns away from me, even though it is quite difficult to do that.
“Then try and sleep.” I don’t mention the chamomile and sage that I put in the tincture to help him sleep.
He follows my instructions, thankfully, and I watch as he falls asleep quite quickly.
