Winter Wolf

Chapter 10

Lo lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep...

Tristan's mother was nothing but kind. She was patient with her when she struggled to find things to say. Lo had never been asked to talk about herself before.

She didn't know how.

She was relieved when Alpha Ada and Edith saw how uncomfortable it was making her and started talking about other topics, but she never felt excluded. They kept her in the conversation by asking her the occasional opinion or question.

Not that she could answer it.

Lo was truly starting to feel how inadequate she was. All of Tristan's words were haunting her now. She knew he found her unworthy.... And he was right.

Especially as she sat there and watched Alpha Ada and Edith talk so easy with each other, poised and articulate. They were admirable wolves, their postures perfect.

Lo had lived her life in survival mode, manners weren't high on the priority list, even though her mother did occasionally try to teach her some mountain wolf customs. Lo knew she was uncouth.

She tried to sit up straight like them, to mimic their stances, but she just felt foolish and gave up. Lo's attention eventually waned, and she stared at the window for the last hour of their interaction, only giving a slight nod to any question she was asked.

Until Alpha Ada stood and offered for her to declare loyalty and join their pack officially.

Lo didn't mean to panic... but the anxiety hit her unexpectedly.

Lo closed her eyes and put her hands over her face in embarrassment at the memory. She felt foolish... and was deeply regretting it now. She could have had a pack bond again... but instead she showed just how pathetic she was. Alpha Ada tried to soothe her, but it was ultimately futile and she quickly left. It was Edith that got her to calm down.

Why had the very thought of joining a pack send her into panicked hysterics?

Lo glanced to the window. The moon was brightly shining. Would the Alpha not want her to go with her now?

That saddened her. She didn't want to stay here anymore.

The sudden sound of that same distant melodic whistle caught her attention then and Lo furrowed her brow as she glanced off in the direction of the North.

She lay perfectly still as she listened to it. It was still so faint, she didn't know how she was hearing it at all.

Lo slowly sat up and tucked her legs beneath her as she folded her arms up onto the window sill and rested her chin atop them as she focused on the sound.

What was that? It was clearer than when she'd heard it before. Like it was closer.

And why did it somehow sound so familiar? So... comforting? She started to feel an odd gentle nagging to go toward it.

Lo glanced up at the moon. It was high in the sky now, she knew it must be nearly morning, the sky was turning a soft grey. And she hadn't slept at all.

Lo turned her attention back to the forest, and she heard the whistle again... it was coming every ten minutes or so. And it wasn't stopping...

The sky continued to grey with morning light, and that gentle nagging was slowly becoming an uncontrollable urge to go toward the sound.

Lo didn't let herself think. She pushed out of bed and quietly dressed. She didn't know what she was doing... she just knew she had to go.

Lo carefully opened the bedroom door, the house was quiet. Lottie was asleep in the next room. Her mate had not come home, Lo assumed he was with the other enforcers preparing for the visitors that would be arriving throughout the day.