Wolfpack

The North

Noah's home was small,  but it was well lived in. There were two worn  couches in the living room  and an exorbitant television hanging on the  wall. Emme shook her head  at this as she passed it. The kitchen was  small and not frequently used.  There was a box on the table with the  name of the diner she had seen as  they drove here. A small bathroom  adjoined Noah's bedroom.

Emme had never seen a bed as large and as beautiful as the one that stood proudly in the center of the bedroom.

"My  step-father taught  me how to make it," he said softly as he looked at  it. "He was gifted in those sort of things." The frame was  carved from  the pine of the northern woods. The sweet smell of it  permeated the  room and made Emme feel like she was in the forest.

"Does your head pain you still?" Noah asked, his face wrinkling in concern. Emme nodded.

"It's bearable," she promised. "My wolf wants to meet yours. She's angry that she can't get back in."

Noah  sat on the bed,  facing her. He concealed his grief from her well, but  she could still  taste the coppery emotion on her tongue.

"It is my own fault, vitago. I will not allow you to bear the shame for it."

He  reached out to circle his fingers around her small wrist and draw her  to him. Her body screamed in pleasure at the contact. Tentatively, she  reached her hands up to his head, and slowly, tunneled her fingers into  his dark silky tresses the way she had seen her mother do her father  when he was particularly upset. Noah sighed and leaned into her.

"You  fear me, vitago," he breathed gently. His voice didn't hold any emotion  that Emme could discern. He was guarding himself very closely.

"I don't know you," Emme corrected. "Just give me some time."

Noah tensed suddenly and straightened. Emme dropped her hands from his hair, searching his face with wide eyes.

"Do not be alarmed, vitago," Noah said, kissing the back of her knuckles as he stood. "Someone approaches the door."

Just  as he said it, there was a loud, heavy knock on the door. Emme watched  as a cold steel fell over her moonmate, hardening his gaze and  straightening his posture. Noah wasn't simply an unranked male, he was  an outcast, constantly on the defense even within his own pack. Her  heart ached for him. She remembered what it was like to feel the way he  did. She followed him and peered out from behind him as he pulled the  door open.

"Brother!"

A man of Noah's height stood in the  doorway, dark eyes glittering with joy. His hair was cut close to his  head and his skin was a deep tan, a testament to his time spent  outdoors. He wore a heavy grey coat, and thick gloves, but the coldness  of the north did not seem to suit him. He had a jovial attitude about  him, as if the world did not bother him and he had found some unshakable  source of happiness. Noah greeted the man as Julien, and clasped him  firmly on the forearm in welcome. A bit of Noah's coolness gave way to a  wary camadrie.

Is he your friend, Noah? Emme asked quietly, still hidden behind her mate's bulk.

"You have been gone for some time," Julien commented, veiling the  question in his words. Noah stepped back to allow his friend to enter.

He is, vitago. If anything happens to me, you may trust him.

Emme's wolf raged wildly against her conscious, revolting against the idea of something ever happening to her mate.

I won't let anything happen to you,  she replied firmly. She was serious. She would not be the frail mate  who stayed in the camp to look after the alpha's pups. His mental caress  was gentle, but it trembled. Her heart raced as she reached out for his  wrist. She faltered.