One of Runts

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine: Embarrassed Aggression

        I snuggle into something warm beside me as I slightly shiver. The wolf beside to me moves around as well as I catch a whiff of evergreens and fresh rain air. Azrael.

         I twitch my ear as something cold hits the inside skin part. I pull my head up and open my jaw in a large yawn, exposing all of my sharp teeth. I blink my golden eyes a bit as the bright light of the sun right after dawn makes them sting.

         I sneeze as a snowflake lands on my nose. I shake out my fur and look around me. About an inch or two of snow covers the ground the needles of the pine trees around me.

        Azrael moves again, letting out a large yawn like I had seconds before him. I eye up his large sharp teeth as his jaw snaps a few inches away from my muzzle.

        He blinks as he looks around at all of the snow before turning his gaze towards me. He nuzzles against my cheek in greeting. "Morning."

       "Good morning," I respond. "I'm cold."

        His chest rumbles in a chuckle as I slowly stand up on my cold-stiff legs. I shake out my fur, making about an inch of snow fall off my back and onto Azrael.

         He snorts as some of the snow lands on his head and nose. He stands up and shakes his fur out as well. I yawn again as Azrael trots towards a tree, most likely looking for a tree to do his business on. I take his silent hint and do the same.

        We meet up again and I bow down in a stretch. I let out a satisfied whine as my muscles stretch out and warm up. I watch as Azrael does the same, stretching out his own muscles.

         I eye him as his muscles tense beneath his fur, my tail slightly wagging in interest. My ears and tail stiffen at my thoughts. I let loose a little growl as my tail lightly lashes side to side in annoyance, making Azrael tilt his head in confusion at me, his ear flicking again.

        "What's wrong?" he asks me, trotting closer to me. I shake my head to myself.

         "It's nothing," I tell him. "I just think my heat is coming very soon." I tilt my head to the side and paw at the ground, a little embarrassed.

         Azrael takes a step closer to me and takes in a deep breath. He tries to take another step closer, but I flash my fangs and let loose a low warning growl. I lean my head back a bit and let him feel my annoyance, aggression, and slight embarrassment through the wolf bond.

        He stiffens a bit as his eyes widen, suddenly realizing what he's doing. He pins his ears to his skull and takes a few steps back, crouching low. "I'm sorry!" he says, his mind voice a bit frantic. "I don't know why I did that!"

         He tilts his head to the side, slightly exposing his throat. I drop my attitude and annoyance at him and trot up to him. He slightly tenses up, not sure if I will accept or reject his apology.

         In wolf form, if someone wants to ask for forgiveness or wants to say sorry, they'd tilt their head to the side, slightly exposing their throat in instinct. If the person chooses to reject the apology, they'll lightly bite that person's exposed throat. But, if they want to accept it, they'll either nuzzle it or even give it a lick.

        I nuzzle my nose into his throat and give him a small lick as well. I see his tail wag as I step away from him.

        "I accept you're apology," I tell him. "Though, I don't want to see it happening again." My mind voice is strong and stern as I tilt my ears forward and hold my tail stiffly in the air, letting him see how serious I am by my body language.

        I see the skin of his ears lightly flush before he pins them to his skull. He paws at the ground lightly, his embarrassment clear. He locks his eyes to mine. "I won't do it again," he promises me. I nod at him and drop the body language.

         I close my eyes lightly and feel around the temporary mind-link. I search for any wolves that don't give off an air of sleep and calm that show that they're asleep.

        Through a mind-link, you can tell whether or not a wolf is asleep and how close they are to you.

        Other than me and Azrael, about twenty others are awake, the Alpha King being one of them based on the very powerful aura that I felt from one of the wolves.

        I open my eyes and see Azrael sitting and tilting his head curiously. "I was seeing how many wolves are awake," I tell him. He nods and sends and emotion of curiosity and expectation down the line. "About twenty others and the Alpha King are awake." He nods his head to me and stands up, shaking out his fur for the second time today.

        My stomach lightly rumbles in hunger and I tilt my head in the air, trying to sniff out some sort of prey. I close my eyes and slightly open my mouth to heighten the scents around me.

       The scent is faint due to the snow, but I catch the whiff of a herd of deer. I open my eyes again and see that Azrael is looking at me again. "You up for catching a deer or two for those that are awake?"

        Azrael's face lights up in a wolfish grin as he bows his head down lightly. "Lead the way, I'll tell those who are awake that we've got breakfast covered."

        I tilt my nose into the air again and bolt off towards the herd of deer.