Of Witches And Wolves

Chapter 2. The Gardening Wolf

  Salem jumped comfortably up onto the granite counters. He perched himself on his new cat seat and watched me read a book on witches. the houses large library held books about plenty of subjects, witches, shifters, vampires, and fae. Most of the paranormal beings live in forests, the vampires being the only ones to live in underground caverns that create large cities. Back in the human city, I couldn't learn about paranormals of any kind, the governments thinking behind that law was humans would become unpure from that information. I use to be considered pure. I didn't have friends in the city, my grandmother made sure of that. 

Salem mewed at me to get me to look up. Not even a moment later, there was a knock at my front door. I glanced over to the half-opened window to see the silhouette of the young man from yesterday. I feel my rosy lips curve up in a sweet grin. The book rests on the coffee table as I open the door, Salem at my feet. 

"Hello again."

"Hey," he grins and scratches the back of his head, lightly pushing his fingers into his wavy dark brown hair. "have anything planned for today?"

"Actually, I planned on gardening. Would you like to join me?"

"Sure! What are we gardening? I mean, planting?" he steps through the open door. Damn, he really is tall. I almost have to look straight up to look him in the eye. He didn't seem so tall when I was wearing my platforms. 

"I have to get the garden ready for plants first. That means I have to dig out the weeds and grass, mix the dirt around, and add more fertilizer. Tomorrow I'll be planting mint sage and wolfsbane."

"It's too cold to plant Monkshood. I can help you make an indoor garden for the mint."

"Wait, Monkshood?"

"Wolfsbane. wolf-shifters tend to call in monkshood. Something about the name bothers us," he winks and chuckles for a few minutes. Our giggles fill the room while he helps me look for gardening tools.

I throw another weed over the garden wall. There is a pile as tall as me on the other side. The wolf-shifter digs out the area behind me so we can put down the better soil. His cheek is smudged with dirt, then again, so is mine. He is muscular, but not so ripped that he looks as if he is on steroids. His wavy brown hair is a mess and his brown eyes flash playful glints in my direction every once in a while. Instead of dusty brown and green clothes from yesterday, he wears a blue tee-shirt and black basketball shorts. His bare feet are covered in mud dirt and the occasional small cut. as if he could feel my stare, he looked up with a toothy grin. I looked away to hind my blushing face. Salem, lazily lounging on the wall, smirks down at me. I glare back at him and toss another weed his way.  

"Do you want a snack?" I ask.

"Sure, what do you have?"

"Honestly, I don't have much. Only a loaf of bread, eggs, and butter. I couldn't take anything else when I was kicked out."

"Where are you from anyway?"

"I used to live in the human city near here. I was kicked out because apparently, I'm a witch. I never knew."

"Well, I think they are missing out. You're great! I've never met anyone like you. Well, no one in my pack is like you."

"What is your pack like? are they nice?"

He seemed to think for a moment. "They are all pretty nice. All the pups are adorable and a bit rambunctious but that's normal. The females are all beautiful and sweet. Many of them have long curly blonde hair, the rest have brown hair like mine. Sometimes, we will get a ginger or two. The males are wild and sometimes gentlemen, but not normally. They are pretty cool, I guess. My sister calls them all hunks, well, except my brothers and myself."