Ice -- Wolv book II

27 - Highway 6

Wind howled outside the tent, but for the first time since leaving Bloodvein, I was actually warm inside the ratty fabric shelter. Probably because there are two wolves sleeping next to me!

I sat up and peered outside; the lake looked choppy and uninviting. The sky was shrouded in low-hanging, grey clouds, behind which hid the sun, just barely rising in the early hours of the morning.

Daanis sat up and yawned, flashing all of her teeth in the process. I wrinkled my nose.

"Ugh, brush your teeth!"

She looked over at me blearily. "Woof." She nudged Mingan, who was tucked in between the two of us, and began licking the wound on his stomach.

I rubbed my eyes open. "Don't you think he's clean enough? I mean, you only spent an hour doing that yesterday."

"Shut up," she growled, and continued grooming him. I looked down at him, and did a double take--he wasn't that furry when I went to sleep!

I ran a hand down his back; sure enough, a few of the formerly hairless patches along his spine had filled out slightly over the night. My granola bar is probably to blame for that. What little I had fed him had clearly been more than he'd eaten in a long time; thankfully, it had been enough to keep him alive and jump-start his healing processes.

"Hey, Daanis...what's say we get him some more food?"

She looked up at me, and thumped her tail. "Alright, I'll see what I can find. Maybe I'll get lucky and catch a rabbit or two!" She stood up to leave, and nuzzled Mingan's ear. "I'll be right back!" she whispered, than loped out of the tent, her nose to the ground.

I watched her leave sadly, and let my head sink down into my hands. I'd missed so much; Mingan had been starved and eventually left for dead, yet somewhere in there, he'd found someone who cared about him, even if she kinda sucked at showing it.

But despite it all, his story seemed to have a happy ending. He and Daanis had been reunited, and both of them were going to be okay, even if they weren't necessarily mates.

I felt my stomach churn nervously. My story wasn't over yet--it couldn't be. I had no idea what was in store for me; I didn't know if I was ever going to see my mate again. Now that I'd found Mingan, my thoughts were returning to Minikwakunis Lake, and the people there. What was I even going to do when I got back there? As far as I knew, most of them were wolves now, and I was human. Even if I did have my paws, if they had, in fact, killed my friends and decided to do the same to me, I still wouldn't be able to put up any significant fight.

I stepped outside and relieved myself, than sat down on the shore, staring out across the water. We'd been traveling along the Leyond River for hours last night, and when the river briefly opened up into a tiny lake, I'd decided to call it quits for the day. I was almost regretting it now; the clouds in the sky were low enough to be snow clouds, and I didn't want to get snowed in.

Mingan woofed groggily from the tent, and I dove back inside. He was clawing at the sleeping bag I'd wrapped him in, trying to untie himself from the fabric.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy! That thing's expensive!" Well, I'm sure it was at one point...like, thirty years ago!

His eyes focused in on me, and he stared at me wearily. "Where...where is the other one?" he rasped.

"Daanis? She's out getting us something to eat. I'm sure she'll be back soon!"

He stared at me blankly, and began licking his teeth strangely, flicking his tongue out of his mouth and shaking his head.