The Commander's Wolf

Prologue

A huff escape a large canine as it came from the shadows. Shaking out it's fur, it heard a voice calling out its name and smiled. "Tala! Where is my tom-boyish grandbaby! I made biscuits and gravy!" The voice was that of an elderly woman and the canine wagged its tail and rushed to the house, where it saw its grandmother waiting for it. "There's my beautiful she-wolf! Go get ready for breakfast, your grandpa has lots planned for today, and make sure to hurry up, your brothers might eat all the food before you get any!" Her grandmother encouraged as Tala huffed and went into the house and up the stairs to get prepared for the hearty breakfast her grandmother had made. When Tala went back downstairs, she was not as a wolf but a young woman dressed in a tanktop and blue jeans with boots on her feet and shoulder length dirty-blonde hair tied back in a short ponytail.

"There's my tom-boy!" A man's voice sounded as Tala slipped past her eldest brother, snagged a piece of fruit that he had tossed in the air and popped it into her mouth as he protested what she had done.

"Shouldn't be playing with your food!" Tala stuck her tongue out at her brother and he about leapt after her.

"Alright children that's enough." Their grandma spoke up as she looked between the two.

"Tala make sure to fill up we have a long day ahead of us." Her grandfather turned to her as she nodded.

"Yes, sir." She nodded as she heaped four large biscuits onto her plate and smothered them in her grandmother's famous breakfast sausage gravy. As they ate Tala listened to her grandfather's planned out day and nodded in agreement to what he wanted her and her youngest brother to do. After she swallowed her food she spoke. "The ones at the very top?" She asked knowing the answer but still asking just in case.

"Mike will climb up and throw them down to you, all you have to do is put them in the baskets so we can take 'em to town tomorrow." Her grandfather nodded as she took another bite. She nudged her youngest brother and he smiled big.

"Will do sir." He responded as he returned to his food. When everyone was done, Tala and Mike cleaned up the dishes and then everyone headed out to do as told. Tala smiled as the warm sunbeams kissed her pale skin and revealed in the feeling. "I will never understand you wolves." Mike shook his head as she looked to him.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked as he threw off his shirt to reveal his six-pack and muscular build.

"You give off the slightest of shivers when something feels good." He frowned as she raised a brow.

"At least I don't purr like a house cat like you Mountain Lions." She retorted as he gave her an unamused look.

"You are in a really good mood today, what brought this on?"

"Don't know, it just feels like a good day." She told him as he nodded. When they came to their grandfather's orchard, Tala stayed at the bottom of the first tree as Mike flung himself up the tree as if he were a monkey. Soon enough they set to work and around noon, they were over halfway done with their chore when their grandmother come to check on them.

"Oh its looking so good!" She smiled watching her two favorite grandbabies working hard.

"We try, granny." Tala said as Mike finished throwing her the ripest apples and came leaping down.

"Thats always good. Now here are your sandwiches and lemonade. Always remember: A hearty breakfast,"

"A light lunch,"

"And hard work lead to a large dinner to put you to bed!" Tala finished as they all smiled. Tala and Mike took their napkin wrapped sandwiches and cool waterbottles filled with her homemade fresh squeezed lemonade and sat under one of the more shady fruit trees to eat. Once they finished with that they set back to work, after tucking the napkins into their pockets, and they were done just before three.