Life is quiet and comfortable for Gael. Abel has moved in to his house, school is going great and he has his little solid friend group.
But as the population of wolves grows from one to four, Gael has to figure out how to navigate them looking to hi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Right so this is..." I glanced at the stranger and realised he never gave me his name.
"River," he chimed in and smirked.
"Right, River. He's new in town." I explained, glancing at him. "We'll probably continue to welcome new wolves in the future too. Remember to be kind and open."
"Hey man, I'm Samuel," Samuel said and waved.
River offered a nod and shifted his eyes to Meera. She meekly said her name without looking up from her fidgeting fingers. Tasha made a two-finger salute for her introduction.
Four wolves. I had gotten four wolves to come to this town purely by sending out happy smells. It sounded weird and I still didn't even know what it smelt like myself.
"Guys, can I ask you something?" I said when their small talk had died down a bit. "What does the city smell like?"
"You know when you've been away from home and then you come back and realise your own home has a smell? But it's a really comforting smell and you didn't even know it was there, but you know it immediately. Everything settles in you. It might've been a really good trip, but now you're home. You're safe." Tasha fiddled with one of her newly made braids. This time she had green hair braided into it. It looked really pretty. "That's what this town smells like."
Meera frowned a little. "That's certainly a way to put it."
"What other way would you put it?" I asked.
"Well, it smells like..." She looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer was there. "Freshly baked croissants."
"Nah, blueberry pancakes. You're smelling something sweet and I'm sure it's blueberry pancakes," Samuel interjected.
Meera frowned fully this time. "No, I'm sure it's croissants."
"Dingdongs, it smells different to different people. Whatever you find most comfort in, that's what you're smelling," River said and rolled his eyes. "That's the trick to this. Lure all the wolves here with what they find most comforting."
"It's not a trick," I said in lack of something better to say.
"No, you didn't even know you could do that. Right?" He sent me a look I didn't like much. "How long have you been a wolf?"
I cleared my throat a little. "Four years."
"Yeah, man, it takes time."
"Well, how long have you been one?" Tasha asked, straightening her back and tipping her chin up. Almost as if she was challenging him.
"Seven years."
"When were you turned?" I asked and tipped my head to the side.
"When I was eighteen. You?"
I pressed my lips together and nodded. "Yeah, me too."
"We were young. You still are. You'll learn as you grow. As the wolf grows too." He leaned forward a little, resting his elbows on his thighs. "There are some things, I can teach you. If you want."
