Wolfdale

TWENTY-ONE (Ruby P.O.V)

Run, run, run... faster..." My wolf's paws seem to fly not touching the forest ground, dodging trees, branches, rocks and bushes. A squirrel runs away scared when she spots us, we run so fast that she hasn't had time to smell the predator till we were too close. "Turn here, jump over the stream, run, run..." We'll be with our mate in a few minutes and nothing will keep us from getting to her. Rosie howls happily while we speed up through the forest around Wolfdale.

It's been a week since we celebrated Iselen's birthday when we ate, drank, danced and I also introduced her to lots of citizens, as many as I could. She won't be able to remember all those names, most likely, and she can't feel the bond that binds me to the whole pack but she has a good instinct and seems able to read the mood of my werewolves easily, she always knows what to say and they adore her in response. Above all the young kids are crazy for her, she organized a musical chairs game with the help of the band and we danced with them before it was time for the cubs to go to bed while their parents laughed their asses off and took pictures nonstop. I felt more and more in love with her that night, although that hardly seems possible. I had plans for a private celebration later at home, just for the two of us, but unfortunately she felt on the mattress exhausted the moment we arrived to our bedroom and slept soundly like one of the puppies. I brought breakfast to bed the next day and we had our celebration with a jar of chocolate cream, she ordered me to put the ruined sheets in the washing machine then while she started opening her presents.

Today is Saturday again after a week loaded with work, Iselen went just twice to Grey's studio but the rest of the time she was with me in the office next door writing thank-you notes to everyone who gave her a present and learning how things work in the city hall while I had several meetings with farmers that are planting the seeds of summer veggies. When we got into bed last night we were exhausted but, when I woke up this morning and I realized that the day was sunny and warm, I didn't hesitate and we got a picnic basket ready quickly, I helped my mate to get on my bike with the new helmet I bought for her and we came to the forest. I wanted to show her my special hideout near the small pond, most of the werewolves prefer the bigger lake where the kids from the high school practise rowing and canoeing because there's more room for chairs, tables and beach towels but I like the privacy this clearing provides. After eating two sandwiches and a bag of chips, my mate decided it was time for a nap and I turned into Rose because she wanted to run and stretch her legs for a while. But it's time to go back, I miss my girl...

Getting closer to the pond I realize that someone is with her. Rose identifies the scent immediately and I'm not concerned anymore, I introduced them the day of the birthday party but maybe Iselen can't remember it since she greeted too many wolves that day. We sprint the last yards and run into the clearing like a golden coloured lightning till we stop at our mate's feet skidding, gasping for air and completely happy. Iselen's beautiful and longs legs always amaze me when I can see them from my wolf's point of view... above all when she's wearing denim shorts.

"Hello babe..." she starts scratching behind Rosie's ears with her fingertips and we get closer to her body looking for more caresses shamelessly.

"It's really awesome to see you like this... the toughest Alpha of the whole word acting like a lovesick puppy." Silva Verania smiles amused but I don't care: first of all because my mate is touching me and secondly because I know that if anyone understands how important this is for me, that's her.

Silva is a very special citizen of Wolfdale, besides being the biology teacher in the high school, this pretty middle-aged blonde wearing a green dress is also the closest thing we have to a 'priestess.' Werewolves don't profess any 'official' religion and everyone is free to pray to the God he wants but we all have the utmost respect for Mother Nature that our ancestors called the Goddess of the Moon. Silva is in charge of keeping the balance thanks to her vast knowledge in ecology and natural sciences: if we need to chop down the trees of an area of the forest, she finds another place in the valley where we can plant new ones; if one year we grow eggplants, the next spring she suggests choosing zucchini and this shifting cultivation allows the soil to regenerate nutrients... Actually, the formula is very easy: what you extract from earth must be returned in a different way and that's how we keep the balance. In addition to this, she's in charge of some ceremonies and we need her to keep some traditions, like the prayer to say thank you to the Goddess after harvesting in summer, but above all Silva is some kind of spiritual advisor for my pack. If you have a problem, she's always ready to listen to you: she's seen me crying in frustration because I was unable to find my mate many times.