The Master of Me

Chapter 12

        “That desert was excellent.” Alue voiced suddenly on the drive home Sterling assumed was going to be silent. Her sudden change from wolf to human form took him by surprise yet again. This time he didn’t jump in surprise though, but glanced over at her for a splint second before turning his attention back to the road.

                “I’m glad you liked it.” He replied, for the first time since meeting her, he was unsure what else to say. She still wore the same tattered clothing that she had on the first time he laid eyes on her. He really wanted to get her something else, anything else really. But when he had suggested a month ago, for her to use his guest room shower and robe while he purchased her new attire she had shot down the idea rather quickly, with no room for argument. After a moment of silence, he began to speak once more.

                “Thank you for coming, Alue. I just want you to know I really appreciate that you came out with me tonight.” He told her, taking a moment to look over at her, his eyes meeting hers.

Alue held his gaze, taking the moment to gaze into his soul. She was still amazed how much emotion Sterling’s eyes held, even for that brief moment they shared before turning his attention back to the road. She could see that he really did mind being out with her. In fact he had even a gleam of pleasure behind his gaze. She couldn’t understand such complexity. Why would he enjoy her company? She did nothing for him. All they did was talk and eat. As for tonight all she did was accompany him in wolf form. She didn’t even really understand why she had wanted to accompany him in the first place, she just did.

She resisted the urge to turn back into her wolf form the entire drive home. It was dark now, almost midnight and the moon was full and bright. Casting its silver shine in the cloudless sky, she felt comfort in the soft glow it portrayed, as she watched it through the passenger side window the entire car ride home. When they got back, Sterling shut the garage door and put the Jeep in park, then proceeded to walk around to open her door. Alue stepped out carefully and Sterling made it appoint to keep his distance when shutting the vehicle door. “Welcome home.” He announced, proceeding to walk to the door that led entry to the coat room then by extension the kitchen. Alue followed him wordlessly into home, feeling more comfortable once they were indoors.

Once inside the kitchen Sterling ran his fingers through his hair, a methodical thinking motion he did, and then glanced at the clock on the wall signaling midnight. “I guess that means good night then, well technically good morning.” He spoke, chuckling softly.

Alue nodded, “Yes. Good morning. Thanks for the good night Sterling. Sleep well.” She called out to him and approached the back door and opened it to take her exit.

“You’re welcome Alue. Sleep well.” He said back as he watched her take her leave. For the first time she stayed in her human form and walked off the porch, turned and smiled at him before turning wolf and running across the grass back to her den. He shut the door once she was out of sight and locked up for the night, then retired to bed dreaming about the endless possibilities of Alue if she were more than what she was with him.

Alue retreated to her den, but didn’t stay there for very long. The moon was calling to her. She felt the need to gaze upon his silver beauty and sing to her heart’s content. Climbing out of her den she headed back to Sterling’s property where she hopped upon the porch swing and quietly, lifted her muzzle in quiet serenade for a long minute. Once she was done she rested her head down and felt better about falling asleep, basking in the moonlight on such a perfect night.

Sterling had been in the middle of a dream, when the sound of a beautiful howl arose him from his subconscious. Getting up and out of bed, he headed to the bathroom to sneak a glance at the porch. Alue had returned and was vocalizing a whimsical serenade to the moon. It was a beautiful sight to behold. The moonlight made her coat shimmer unlike anything he had yet to see. Her voice so powerful yet had a certain amount of softness to it. He watched her until she finished and laid her head down, presumably to sleep. It was nice just to see her features relax once she began to slip into the land of dreams. He returned to his own bed and couldn’t help but fall asleep with a bigger smile on his face then before.