Imprinted Hearts

Chapter 6: The Wolf and the Mountain Lion

The blonde wolf made its way through the trees, looking out for anyone that might see him. The moon was high in the sky and waning quickly. There was only a sliver left. But it was still enough to make Lucien turn into a wolf once the moon rose over the horizon. He hated this curse. The only time he didn't turn into a wolf at night was during the new moon, and those days he usually spent with Louie, wrapped up in the vampire's arms. When he was like this, he missed human contact. Missed people. When he was freshly human, he was so raw from being a wolf for most of the night that it was like sandpaper against his soul to cuddle up to someone or be near people physically.

But people didn't like to cuddle wolves. They tended to stay clear of them. Or call those damned possum cops to attempt to relocate him. Okay, perhaps it was a little mean-spirited to call Game and Fishing Wardens 'possum cops', but after being captured twice and finding himself naked in a cage the next morning, he really didn't have any sympathy for them anymore. Especially not with the charges they tried to settle him with.

Tonight, Lucien was following the pull of the call despite the warnings both Leo and Louie had given him. He just wanted to see Hope and see where she was staying. Some hotel? An apartment? Maybe a house with a friend or relative?

Yet he found himself wandering in the woods near the Alabama river, and wondering just why Hope was in this area at this time of night. He heard something from further up and went to investigate. The sound of clanging pans and music reached his ears as he ducked into the underbrush and inched closer. There was some kind of foreign music playing - some kind of Asian sounding rock music (Japanese? Perhaps?) - and there was the smell of smoke.

Hope came around the edge of the van, badly singing along to the foreign music and carrying a pan in her hand. The smell of meat reached Lucien's nose and his mouth watered. He'd forgotten to eat before the shift came. Now he was in for it. A hungry wolf made for an impatient, ignominious wolf that would cause trouble for himself when he woke up as a human. But there was another scent too... that of the server from the restaurant he'd found her in earlier... Had they hung out recently?

Hope was humming to herself as the song faded out, and she put the pan on the miniature grill she'd lit that had a decent flame started. The smell of charcoal, veggies, and meat marinated together, and Lucien inched forward to check it out. His stomach growled loudly and audibly, and he let out a small whine. He just wanted some of that food. Or all of it. He had an enormous appetite. As he circled around the van, he noticed the back doors were wide open. Inside caught his attention more so than the food for a second because of how off guard he'd been.

There were plants hanging from the walls with lights strewn between them, hanging from the ceiling. A small bookshelf with a strap over the books sitting on the shelf to keep them from moving when the van was in motion. There were appliances in neatly stacked places or strapped to the walls on the built in shelving. There was a small, portable desk with a computer on it, and a mattress in the center of all of it to act as a seat. It was thick, plush, and rather inviting looking mattress. There was a small generator on the ground behind the van that was currently powering everything, and a fold-down couch on the end of the bed that you could sit on and dangle your feet out of the back comfortably.

Lucien stared in horror and curiosity. She was living out of her van?! She didn't have a home to go to? He remembered all the pictures on her social media about where she was traveling to places. Had she stayed like that in those places, too? She was pregnant and sleeping out of a van! She was homeless! How could that blond man who'd kissed her on the forehead let her live like this? This was cruel! This was-

"OH GOD!" Hope yelped, coming around the back of the van and seeing Lucien in his full white wolf glory. "That is a wolf," she stated the obvious before backtracking as fast as she could without actually running to the front of the van, where she jumped inside and slammed the door shut. She closed the middle door of the van and pulled out a cellphone.