Skinwalkers

Chapter Eighteen

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Chapter Eighteen

The entire woods seemed to be holding its breath as Fey followed Glenn away from the nest. Together they crested a hilltop that overlooked the rest of the forest, about a quarter mile away. If there was an opportune time for him to kill her for trespassing on his land without upsetting the younger packmates, this was it. Fey tensed up as he came to a stop and turned to face her.

"So, now are you going to tell me what's really going on?" he asked.

Fey wasn't sure whether to be relieved, or more tense than ever. "I need your help, Glenn. It's Clueless. She...She's not normal."

"Clueless?" Glenn asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The skinwalker I brought with me," she clarified, her cheeks burning with secondhand embarrassment. "When I found her, she was being kept by a human as a pet. I Awakened her and got her away from her owner, but she...well...Clueless is a pretty accurate name, it turns out."

"How old is she?" Glenn asked.

"Three, I think."

"So, in dog years that would make her about twenty one. The same as you, I believe." Glenn looked toward the nest, even though it was too far away to see. "After spending that much of her life as an animal, it's only natural that she would have trouble adjusting to true sentience."

"I know," Fey sighed. "That's why I was hesitant to Awaken her at all. The whole trip here, I've been trying to teach her how to be a skinwalker, but she just keeps reverting to acting like a dog."

"She just needs time." Glenn turned to her and smiled. "Remember when Norrin first joined the pack?"

"Don't remind me!" Fey said, but she couldn't help but laugh. Norrin was wildborn, conceived by a bear-walker father and a normal bear mother. When Glenn had Awakened him, it had taken him time to come to terms with the changes as well.

"But Clueless is in another league," she went on, the smile fading from her face. "She might get better with time, but I don't know if she'll ever be...you know, normal."

"Normalcy is overrated," Glenn said, sitting down with his back against a tree. "But you knew that already, being you and all."

Fey laughed again as she sat down across from him. Glenn had always known how to lighten the mood in even the most serious of situations. It was part of what made him such a great alpha.

"I know you'll take good care of her," she said, looking out over the forest. "If anyone can help Clueless, it's you."

Glenn frowned. "Fey, you can't leave her here."

Fey jerked her head back toward him in shock. "W- What?"

"I'm happy you came to visit, Fey. The whole pack has missed you."

"Not Ember," Fey muttered.

"But that doesn't mean you can just dump your packmates on us."

Fey opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came to mind. She had Awakened Clueless, after all. That made Clueless her responsibility, whether she liked it or not. Those were the rules and, she realized, she had been incredibly naive to think she could just show up unannounced on Glenn's doorstep and hand her off like an orphan to a nun.

But she didn't want to be an alpha. That was why she had gone Tame in the first place!

"Now, don't give me that look," Glenn chastised her, and Fey realized she had been glaring at her old alpha. "I can't take her off your hands, but I can give you advice on how best to take care of her."