Finding Course

9

'How long do we need to sit here?' I asked Zane in a bored voice. We'd been in the same spot for over an hour. He continued to pace every few minutes and his eyes would glaze over in private conversations through the pack link. I was growing more irritated with his silence. It was pretty obvious that he was having an internal argument with himself.

'Hello? Sorry to inconvenience you, but I'd like to go home now.'

'You don't get it, do you?' he snapped. I flinched at his sharp tone, but stood on all fours to face him. His large form moved closer, and I could see his pupils were still dilated. The red rim around black ink was so thin, I could barely see it. My pulse quickened at his proximity.

'I understand what you guys told me. You gave me more blood than I thought, and we have to deal with this blood bond now. That doesn't mean we need to sit here all night.'

'I don't think you realize I've been trying to go back for the last thirty minutes. But, my wolf won't let me leave you here,' he admitted in an angry voice.

'Can't we just walk back together? I know I feel a little different, like a strong pull, but I figured it was just the new pack bond. I'm sorry, I didn't understand,' I tried to rationalize. He seemed to be overreacting.

'The effects are intensified for me. It's because I'm an Alpha, and the full moon is making it worse. I don't know why it's still so strong, it's like seeing you in wolf form triggered it.' I didn't know what to say to him. What could I do?

'Well let's just go back together, keep your wolf happy, and hopefully tomorrow will be better. That's what you said, right? Tomorrow will be better?' I tried looking at the optimistic side of things, wanting to be grateful for him saving my life. It was odd seeing him in this state. He was almost vulnerable. He shifted his weight as if trying to maintain control. I looked up to the moon, its light glaring down at us, and started taking a few steps in the direction of the house.

'You're going the wrong way,' he snorted and turned back towards the west. Of course I was going the wrong way. I spun around and followed him back to his house. We walked in silence, and he wasn't moving very fast. I assumed he was in no hurry and wanted to give his wolf time to settle down before joining the others again. The walk back took a while, but I didn't mind the quiet. It was comfortable. It gave me the opportunity to study Zane, noticing how he walked with authority through the forest. His confident steps seemed to exude power simply with his existence. At the same time, I had gotten to know him enough to discover that he wasn't a cruel, hateful, or viscous Alpha. I had seen him be kind to others in the pack, kind to me, but he was still intimidating.

All that said, he still seemed to be irritated with me. It seemed we would take one step forward and two steps back. As we walked through the forest I could feel the tension radiating off him. 'Hey,' I said and he stopped. 'I'm sorry.'

'For what?'

'Causing all this trouble for you. Getting hurt. This whole blood bond.' I saw him tilt his head to the side.

'It's fine. I already told you I wasn't mad.'

'Yeah but you still look pretty crabby,' I blurted and chuckled internally.

'I look crabby?'

'Very.'

'I mean there's kinda a lot of shit going on.' His tone caught me by surprise. The serious, brooding, irritation was absent. It almost sounded like sarcastic humor. I wasn't sure how to answer at first.

'Besides a war with hunters?'

'Well, that's loaded question.'

'Why so secretive?' I teased as we continued to stroll.