What it Means to Have You

Woof

Each step I took away from Nagol felt terrible. Like I was leaving a piece of myself behind. He had managed to tame my stupid temper and evidently took my heart at the same time. Of course. I stepped into a filthy puddle, then turned into an alley a few blocks from the forest to rest. I didn't feel safe, mainly because I could still sense the others around, obviously looking for me, but they would expect me to dart for the forest. Hell, I wanted to be there. Maybe jump into that frozen lake I'd come across when I'd first met Nagol.

Where are you!

The shout inside my mind made me flinch and quickly dart beneath a dumpster, my claws scrambling on the slick wet ground as they forced me into the small dark space. It reeked to high heavens, but as paws stopped near the dumpster only seconds later, I was extremely glad that I probably smelled like sewage right then. The weight I'd lost while on my own was also a benefit because there was no way I'd have been able to shimmy my way into the space if I had any real muscle to my body. At least my wolf's fur made me seem somewhat healthy. Hopefully enough so that they didn't bother looking in small places.

I was thankfully right that Tanner and Cole didn't bother to check beneath the dumpster. Unfortunately, when I saw large black paws stop a few feet away after the wolves left, I felt my chest constrict and must have sent out some kind of signal because a sudden rumble met my ears from Nagol's jaguar. Less than a minute later, his huge teeth were in view, lips pulled back in obvious warning. We both knew he could easily move the dumpster and tear me apart... but he was giving me a chance to leave. It hurt, but at the same time, it told me that he did care for me to some, likely now-miniscule, degree.

When he got up, I had to force myself to stay put until he was completely gone. I then crawled out of my disgusting hiding place, too upset to even bother shaking off the nasty, rank water and miscellaneous that now soaked my coat or clung onto it, using the water like glue.

You can do this, Kine. It's just garbage. I smirked at that. I'm just garbage. Fitting.

Laughing at myself on the inside, I began making my way out of the alley when a shadow fell over my form, making me jump back sloppily and bare my teeth. At first, I thought it was Nagol, having just waited at the entrance to the alley so that he could pounce on me once I was out. When I realized that it wasn't him a second later, I immediately went on to thinking that it was Tanner or Cole. But again, it was neither. Instead, a young kid that couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen was staring at me, startled but still very openly curious. I suppose it made sense since you didn't normally see a wolf in the middle of a city.

"Oh cool," he said, smiling as he slowly squatted down and I took a step back. Kids were definitely not my specialty, and neither was kindness. I warned him again with a growl, but he just reached into his back pocket and pulled out a snack stick of beef. It was twisted in a wrapper, telling me that he'd already eaten some of it. I wasn't that hungry, but when he presented the remainder of the thing to me, I forced myself not to bite, even though it was the first thing I wanted to do. If I bit him, he'd scream. If he screamed, other people would come. If that happened, I'd likely be going to the animal control shelter or shot on sight.

Stupid kid.

Making myself step forward, I hesitantly took the piece of meat between my teeth and forced it down my throat after a few chews. I only ate it in the hopes that he'd just go away, but of course it just made him think that I suddenly loved him because he grinned wide and stepped forward with his hand out for me to sniff. Seriously? Dogs don't even do that for the reason you're thinking. I did it, though, because the idiot already had his fingers way too close to being shoved up my nose if I didn't play along. The scent that I got from him was mixed, like most humans. Of course the beef stick he'd just fed me was a prevalent smell, but beneath it was a decent smell of pine trees and maybe sandalwood.

Without even realizing it, I was taking small, gentle licks at his fingers. I didn't like humans, and especially not children, but I bit back my normal personality as I felt his fingers sift through my disgusting fur. If a wolf came near me smelling and looking like I probably did, I'd have likely kept my distance or attacked them. To think that some human boy would bother with me was odd.

"Are you lost, boy? You look like you haven't had a good meal in awhile and—" He whispered the last part with a quiet chuckle. "—a bath."

I rolled my eyes and sat down, sticking my tongue out to pant like a normal dog might. It got annoying fast, so I just tucked my tongue back in and huffed.

"Weird dog. It almost looks like you're annoyed."

Good guess.

His nails began to scratch between my shoulder blades, the place where I could hardly ever reach, even when in my human form. It felt good, so I let him do it for a minute before grumbling my distaste for his touch in general.

"Okay, okay. I got it. Only pets when you want the pets."

Did he just puppy talk to me?

When he gave me a pat on the head, I knew my thought was correct.

"Stay here for a second, okay, boy? I'll be right back!"

Before I could even bother to saunter off, he was gone, then back again. It was quite humorous, in all honesty, when he held out a new big stick of beef in the middle of a noose made from a cheap looking leash he must have bought at one of the convenience or grocery stores around the corner. There weren't many options to weigh, though I hated the one that was the obvious choice.

My ears flattened to the side of my head as sadness warred with uncertainty. I knew exactly what I had to do to ensure that I survived, but I didn't know what living with actual humans would be like. I wasn't exactly pet material. However, the idea of being caught by either werewolf on my tail or Nagol seemed far less healthy than some kibble and a few baths. At least for the time being.

That's how I found myself finding the willpower to step forward and duck my head. The looped leash slipped behind my ears and then he tugged it gently until it was tight enough to keep me from being able to back out of it. Judging from the look on the kid's face, he wasn't expecting it to be that easy, but I really didn't want to bother wasting energy on a fight I had to lose in order to be safest.

"You uh... don't want the food?" he tried, nudging the smelly stick closer to my nose. I made a face at it, getting him to smile and put the nasty thing away. My hospitality only went so far.

"Got ya. Well, I'm not sure how Mom and Dad will react to me bringing home a random dog that looks like a wolf, instead of picking up groceries, but we'll soon find out, hm?"

As he led me to his old car and I hopped in, the only thing I could think about the entire time, including that of the ride to his house, was that I hoped the reaction didn't involve guns or animal control being called.