Virile Doyen

Chap. 1

Present

  Lying in the middle of the woods, only a half mile out from the rest of the wolves she's made her pack, preferring that night to be alone, Ruby was asleep. The only noises were an owl far off, some ruffling of dead leaves swirling in the breeze that lightly jostled her white hair; if awake, she could even hear some shuffling of a wolf adjusting in their slumber from her pack far off. Alarmingly and all at once, she wakes up to the quiet noise of a footstep crunching on fallen leaves with three other steps immediately following the first adjacent to her side. A set of four, Rylee analyzes. She opens her eyes, lifts her head off the ground, and turns to face the right in one swift motion. More animal than human, she follows her instinct and growls. Her chest trembles with the vibrations of the low threat. Her eyes scan the foilage, nearly 100 feet away, which is a barrier between her vision and the four-legged creature hiding in it.
  Starting with the end of its long snout protruding through the thick, wild bush; the intruder began to reveal itself. She first notices its species, being a wolf: a grey wolf. Then, how careless this wolf was at its sloppy approach of a tense, wild animal such as herself. If she wasn't part human, she wouldn't hesitate to tear him apart. Her snout lifted as she sniffed the air uneasily, not connecting the dots, but sensing something was unusual with this creature. Abruptly, she quit growling to openly stare at the animal's strange behavior.
  Curiously, Ruby watches the male walk closer to her with ease. His height taller than the average may have made him seem intimidating to another animal but not Ruby. With his chest puffed out and his head held high, he oozed brashness. She rises slowly, unsure how to respond, but too curious to want to flee. He stood arm's width in front of her before he stopped and pulled a wolfish smirk.
  Ruby hurriedly took a step back to create some distance, backtracking in astoundment at the personification plastered on the wolf's face, which she hadn't witnessed in six years. True to her eyes, the wolf was smiling brazedly down at her. It dawned on her that this wasn't just a wolf but a werewolf.
  How can there be another of my kind this far out? Ruby ponders. She keeps her eyes on the wolf-man as she backs away with the swift gracefullness that you only achieve from years of experience in the body of a wolf. He seems less assured as his smirk drops and his face scrunches in confusion as he watches her back further from him. Ruby decides quickly and with the precision of a natural-born leader that she must get answers before he leaves the area that her and her pack are residing in currently. Although, in the back of her mind, she was feening for human interaction. This being the most interesting experience she has had since her banishment, she was excited and maybe a little naive to inquire about this stranger. Trying to merely survive with no end-goal in sight for so long can, ironically, create such a strong desire for some sort of connection that you are more inclined to throw caution to the wind.
  The young, lonely girl of a wolf decisively holds her position. She looks around, thinking of how she was remote from her pack, then at the onlooker ahead of her, thinking he looks harmless enough, albeit her judgment may be skewed in her desperation for change. Although precarious, Ruby proceeds to transform into her only other form: human.
  The process was slow to start. This is because the time lapse between her last transformation to the one now has been so long. She checked the wolf in front of her, who was looking puzzled further, not understanding what was going to happen. Her concentration broke once an exruciating pain began its jump over the hurdle that was her body. Her once steadfast resolve was diminishing as pain crippled her body to the ground. It seemed like it became dead quiet in the forest. As if the surrounding animals shushed, anticipating the next moment for Ruby. Then, an ear-splitting, mangled howl broke the silence.
It caused terror to run down the spines of those who heard. Including the nearby stranger watching in morbid fascination. Too horrified to look away, he stood stockstill to witness the most dramatic switch he had seen anyone experience in the 29 years of his life. The howl faded into a wane as her breath ended only to deeply fill her lungs quickly once again with another tortured howl. On her exhale was a blood-curdling, woman's scream. If you listen close enough, you can hear the series of snaps underneath her cry and the thundering of paws running in union away from the indeterminate danger Ruby has made them believe is happening.
  The snapping of her bones wasn't just a series of sounds but a cause of extreme pain. Her limbs had begun to expand as the fur shed off her body an inch a second. Before Ruby took another breath, the pain was waning and nearly gone entirely. She was naked and lying on the cold ground as a full-grown woman for the first time in her life. Unclear how the biology of wolf and humans is shared, Ruby's complexion is tan of that of a construction worker, and her body is muscular with sinewy limbs, stronger than an average werewolf; as well as her long, pin-straight hair running down her back is the rare color of her fur: stark white.
  She was quivering like a lone leaf, barely hanging onto a branch in a hard breeze. Ruby eased her eyes open as she started to rub her arms for warmth. Becoming alert, she sat up and then saw a nude man hovering over her form. Her initial reaction was to growl at the sudden closeness, so she did. Her upper lip unfurled as she showed her teeth.
She curtly stopped her growling in perplexity. The man had begun laughing wholeheartedly, causing Ruby to pause and stare. His head is thrown back with his strong neck exposed when she noticed his adam's apple bobbing in rhythm to his infectious laughter. He calmed down enough to catch a glance at Ruby. Her openly watching him, almost as if in awe, caught him off guard as his chuckles faded to meet her befuddled fascination.
  With Ruby wanting to understand what was so funny, she did something she hadn't done in a long time that her wolf never allowed her to do: speak verbally. "Wha-," Ruby paused to clear her ill-used voice. "What is so funny?" Concernedly, she was feeling inferior while sitting on the ground, naked and vulnerable as a woman.

He seemed taken aback before answering, "You. You are trying to be ferocious." He chuckled slightly at the memory of her girlish, seemingly childish, growl. "It was just so..." He waved his large hands a moment, searching for a word. "Cute," He had an adoring smile on his face as he recalled her animalistic effort. Then he asked, "What's your name?"
Ruby was a heartbeat late, recalling the neglected name. "Ruby... after my grandma." Just clarifying the title and mentioning her grandma, she felt more human.
  "I'm Dean," the man answered fluently. Ruby nodded, following the conversation as she prepared to stand on her two feet. Her legs seemed awkward and gangly, with her being so used to living on four shorter legs. She hefted herself up on her feet with bent knees and then left her arms stretched out on each side to balance herself. It was like someone masterfully rode a bicycle every day that made a dramatic change to ride a unicyle. Slowly, her legs straightened, and she was standing.
  From the corner of her eye, she was perpetually keen on this man's presence. She began to unsteadily  take a step and noticed Dean hesitate to offer assistance, as if he was afraid she may not like it. Concentrating on not falling, she took a few more wavering steps in his direction. The man, with his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion, stepped to the side. She had noticed her senses have dulled but was given colorful eyesight once again. Feeling more confident with each step, her stride lengthened and relaxed as she walked further from Dean. Then, when she felt far enough away from him, she hung her head back and stretched her arms above her leisurely while arching her back. Exhaling a long, relieved sigh as she did so. Already feeling more relaxed, she lazily checked her surroundings, turning back towards the naked man. When her eyes landed on Dean, she became rigid and more alert when she noticed his lustful gaze on her body.
Guarded, "Why are you in my pack's territory?" Ruby edged around him until she was between him and the direction her pack had fleed in.
Raising his eyebrows, clarification struck his face, "Uh, your pack? You live amongst wild wolves? That explains a lot. Plus, that's kind of hot." Then widened his stance in a here I am way and proceeded to answer her question while pointedly staring at her breasts, causing her to cross her arms, uncomfortable. "Hm, well, you see, being a rogue can be lonely, and I'm deprived." He then motioned at Ruby, "I have been wandering for days, chasing after the most appetizing aroma—" Pausing, he inhaled a long draw, "my senses have ever experienced." By the last word, his voice had become huskier, and his pupils had dilated.
An average person would not have noticed something so slight, but Ruby has conditioned herself to be as observant as possible since her life was always teetering on life or death living in the wilderness. She sensed her wolf was reeling at another werewolf and was ready to attack if need be but knew the stranger did not want to kill Ruby. No, not kill me. He wants something much more detrimental to my being. Ruby thought as she watched one of nature's phenomenons grow before her eyes between his hips. Her eyes darted to his face and saw the challenge in his answering look. She gulped and took a step back. In accordance, he took another step forward. What am I supposed to do?

Currently 7/24/24, I've just revised this for the 100th time. Comment if you want the next chapter.