Wolfe

10

Chapter 10

A quick flicker of an ear. Another flick when a fly buzzed near it. Soft, wet smacks echoed in the clearing. A light jostling sound being heard as large, powerful antlers brushed against a low hanging branch.

Marley's eyes were narrowed on the caribou as it grazed, she wiggled her shoulder blades as she got lower to the ground. Her claws lightly digging into the dirt beneath her as her hind legs tensed up. Her ears flattened against her skull when the caribou stopped grazing and lifted its head.

It looked around, its nose twitching as it scented the air and its body grew tense. Its eyes darted around the clearing, ears flicking about once more before it slowly lowered its head back down to the grass.

Marley waited for a solid tense minute before she pounced. She took a large leap towards the front of the caribou and sunk her fangs deeply into it's throat when it backed away from her in startlement. A weak bray left the creature and made Marley clamp down harder on the caribou's neck, it stumbling to the ground and on its side.

One of its hind legs twitched weakly as Marley let go of its throat and stared down at the prey, lowering her head in respect as it gave one last wheeze before its eyes glazed over and it stilled. Marley's ears flicked when she heard the soft of dead leaves being crunched under boots and she turned her head to see Jace heading towards her, her rifle hanging sideways on her back by its strap.

"Good job. He didn't even sense you until the last second." Jace complimented as she crouched down beside Marley, her scarred hand moving to slip the caribou's eyes closed. Markey shifted back, resting a hand against her bare hip while Jace moved to settle the young buck over her shoulders.

"But he did sense me earlier." Marley murmured, her lips pulled into a soft pout while Jace rose back up to her full height. Her human left out a soft chuckle before gently nudging the redhead's ankle with the side of her boot.

"It wasn't you that he sensed." Jace explained, Marley arching a curious brow as she turned to follow the blonde back towards their cabin.

"Who'd he sense then? You?" She questioned, Jace stopping in her walk. Marley stopped as well, her eyes following as the human lifted her covered arm and pointed towards the treeline. She looked towards it, her eyes turning bright blue as her vision sharpened only to see her twin sisters sitting up on a dense tree's thick branches.

Canis and Lupus looking at the human in surprise.

"He sensed them. I'm guessing they're related to you seeing that they've been stalking around my house since you came back." Jace answered, her hand moving back to hold onto the caribou's limp legs. Marley blinked at her sisters before turning her gaze back towards Jace.

"You...You knew my sisters were nearby this whole time?"

Jace adjusted the caribou, her head tilting back to stare up at the afternoon sky. A sad grin taking over the human's lips.

"After the shit I've been through...I'm always aware of my surroundings now."

The soft crunch of dead leaves echoed in the quiet forest as Jace resumed her walk.

"Come on. I'll prep this big guy for you guys."

< >

"She's odd." Canis grumbled as she and Lupus stood in the human's 'living room', her eyes darting around the room. Lupus was crouched in front of a black large yet thin rectangle and tapped it, her head tilting to the side.

"Whas this?" Lupus wondered, tapping at it once more when their little sister's voice made them look towards her.

"Jace calls it a TV. You can watch pictures on it and other stuff." Marley explained for Lupus, the young twin letting out a soft 'ooo' of intrigue as her eyes went back to the TV.

"A human couldn't have possibly sensed us. So how did she? You sure that she's actually a human?" Canis questioned as she walked towards Marley, her little sister loosely crossing her arms over her chest.

"Jace could be a bloodsucker for all I care." Marley countered softly, Canis's brow furrowing as she stood in front of the younger wolf.

"Marles-"

"Does she smell like anything other than human?" Marley interrupted as she stared up at her eldest sibling, Canis letting out a low growl.

"...No." the eldest wolf grumbled lowly, Marley letting out a hard breath before she stretched a hand out in order to tap the pad of her index finger against the tip of Canis's nose.

It was the same calming movement that their mother used to do for them. One of the few things that Marley remembered of her.

"Our noses can't be tricked, Canis. Jace is as human as we are wolves." 

Canis released another grumble but relented, her arms crossing against her chest and making the borrowed clothes she had on rub against her skin. She looked down at the simple clothing, a grey shirt and black pants.

Joggers, Marley said they were.

"When can I take these damn things off?"

"When you leave. Nudity makes Jace uncomfortable." Marley answered. Lupus looking at her from over her shoulder, her brow furrowed slightly.

"Why?"

Marley shrugged, her gaze going to her own borrowed clothing. She pinched the front of her baggy shirt and released a little sniff.

"Humans are prudish. They don't even lick each other."

"No? That's dumb. How do they show affection?" Lupus wondered as she moved away from the TV and stood beside Canis. Marley let go of her shirt, rocking lightly on the balls of her feet.

"Jace says it depends on the human. But she let's me lick her and she let's me nuzzle her." Marley murmured with a soft grin when the sound of the sliding door opening made the three wolves look towards it. They watched as Jace entered her cabin with the now skinned caribou and gently placed the body on the kitchen's island.

The twins' ears twitched when they took notice of the dozens of scars that marred Jace's now uncovered forearms. Marley walked towards the human, Jace looking to her before tilting her head a bit to the side when the wolf nuzzled her neck.

"This big guy will be ready in about 3 hours." Jace spoke, Marley letting out a soft hum of understanding. The blonde waited until Marley took a step back to look towards the wolf's sisters, Jace taking notice of where their line of sight went.

She looked down at her uncovered forearms, her long-sleeve's sleeves having been rolled up during the skinning process. She cleared her throat softly before quickly yanking her sleeves back down and turned around to rummage through her kitchen's drawers.

Lupus and Canis watched as Marley moved to help out her human before looking at each other.

They didn't trust the human as much as their sire did but only a warrior and defender carried that many scars. Lupus walked towards the kitchen island, her eyes roaming over the back of the human's neck to see several more scars, some of them leading down underneath Jace's long-sleeve.

"We're a patient bunch." Canis finally spoke.

They would give the human a chance. Especially now that they knew the human could protect their baby sister properly.