Wolf Prints

The Alpha's Sacrifice

The morning air was uncharacteristically frigid. I pulled the excess fabric of the jacket I wore around me like a blanket. The sleeves were so long I had to fold them four or five times, and they still reached well past my fingertips. It was black, like everything in Draken's wardrobe, and I wondered if he would be angry I borrowed it without permission.

Probably.

I wasn't too worried about retaliation. Draken wasn't that scary.

Okay, I lied. He was that scary.

Surely Draken wouldn't be angry enough to kill me over such a small infraction as this. Still, I was glad it was going to be a short trip. The town was fairly big, but condensed, so everything you could possibly need was always just around the corner.

With any luck I'd have it back among his belongings before he even knew it was gone. With a bit more luck he wouldn't notice my scent all over it. We did share my apartment. Everything in it must smell a little like me. Plus, it's not like I wanted to raid his clothing. Nothing I owned was big enough to comfortably hide Drake. The dragon was being difficult. He refused to turn invisible and wouldn't stay in the apartment alone, so we improvised. He was curled up in the hood that rested against my back. If anyone noticed the lump, I hoped they would mistake it as a bulge of extra fabric.

We had walked the first couple of minutes in companionable silence before Blake suddenly began chuckling.

"What?" I asked, glancing around to find the subject of entertainment.

Unfortunately, he was looking at me. "I was just thinking." He smirked, continuing onward with an easy stride. "Ever since you admitted to being a Wolf, you've kind of let yourself slip." He waved a hand down the length of my body, as if trying to find the right words to explain his actions. "You even move different now. More graceful, I think. Before, you'd make it a point to fumble around. Trip every once in a while." He explained. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? Is that how you see all humans? Uncoordinated?"

"And this is funny?" I didn't see the humor in it. "You should leave sarcasm to me. You're not any good at it."

"No." He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in some places, and sent me a lazy grin. "I just had a thought. Luna, you're not a werewolf at all. You're a werehuman."

He was laughing now, and I couldn't help but join in. I sort of was, wasn't I? "Humans are clumsy."

"I guess." He watched me closely as we walked. "I didn't notice how much until now. We're having a nice quiet walk down the street, and every move you make is calculated. You're always scenting the air; straining to hear things around you."

I snorted. "Yeah, cause it's not like my life is currently on the line or anything."

"Even if it wasn't, you would still be acting the same way. It's like you see life as a giant game of chess and you're always planning moves in advance. You miss nothing." He shoved his hands into his pockets and took a deep breath.

"I try." I admitted. "Doesn't always work."

He reached across the empty space dividing us to tug gently on a lock of hair that had escaped the bun on top of my head. It reminded me of how his Wolf had done the same thing, and I snarled at him for getting too close without permission.

I wasn't above nipping his hand to show him his place.

He laughed, much to my surprise. He wasn't as frightened as he should have been, and I couldn't help but wonder if he didn't understand exactly what I was capable of. I was a wild creature driven mainly by instinct, with a few barely-there human emotions. I pretended well enough, looping imaginary chains around an imaginary wolf. Still, I was dangerous enough and just human enough to understand why others in my situation were executed.