Way of the Wolf: Equilibrium

Chapter 16 ~ What It Takes

Chapter 16: What It Takes
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Scrubbing bowls and plates. Cleaning clothes, tables, tools and weapons. Running errand after errand. Learning to stitch and fish from wolves that offered little help and sneered at my mistakes. Eating last. Always last, and made to sit away from the pack. I slept in a den that still held the scents of its usual occupants, cut off from everyone I knew. Early mornings gave way to late nights with little time to rest or explore. That was my life for the first two weeks that flew by so quickly, I was shocked when Fenna told me the date this morning.

Two weeks and still I felt like I’d made no progress at all. The pack barely tolerated me. Apart from Wulf, who always had a smile, I was pretty much shunned by the rest. Even Ebbe had kept his distance, staying quiet if we were forced together to do chores. And Fenna, my cousin, my only family here, had distanced herself as well.

What lesson was I to find in that? In being more a shadow that skulked around than a member, or even guest, of the pack. If this was what it meant to be pack, to understand what it meant when one held no rank at all, I didn’t want to play along anymore. A few times, I’d considered going to Alpha Female Signy, but pride won out and I kept my silence, bearing their treatment of me.

Had I done something wrong? Or was I simply meant to persevere?

I was doing my best to smile and accept it but every day it got harder to reign in my wolf, to stop from snapping when orders were barked my way, or extra clothes added to my pile to wash when I’d nearly finished.

Swiping sweat damp hair away from my forehead, I sat back to ease the pain in my neck and back. The sun was glaring down, not a cloud to be seen in a sea of brilliant blue. The pups splashed about in the shallow parts of the river, chasing Gisli and another dark haired female with a toddler on her hip. I’d yet to be introduced to her but she was friends with Aljana and Fenna. I wished I could join in, or find a patch of grass to lie on and soak in the sun.

I was lucky to be half submerged in cool mountain water as I washed yet more dishes from this morning’s meal. Porridge was an irritating thing to clean from wood once it dried and my fingers were red raw.

Chucking the brush in the river in frustration, I ran my fingers through my hair again and let out a sigh. I was almost done and then I’d go wash in the heated pools that weren’t too far away. Days of grime covered my skin and my hair so knotted, I was seriously considering cutting it all off with a pair of shears.

When a female down the river from me raised an eyebrow at the break I’d decided to take, I growled and snatched the brush back up. I made quick work of the rest of the buckets and bowls before hoisting them over to a wooden board to dry. Each one had to be shaken then turned upside down. It was tedious work.

Drying my hands on my dress, I looked over my shoulder at the sound of footsteps appraoching. Alpha Jakkon looked as stern as ever, watching me stand on shaky legs.

“There’s fish that need gutting. Try not to damage the scales too much, we have use of them. Then you can clean out the main fire, the wind is picking up and we don’t need ash flying into our food,” he listed.

My hands fisted but I nodded anyway. Was he trying to push me to the brink of exhaustion? He’d made me go with a group of wolves to track a heard of reindeer beginning to come over the mountains last night. From sundown to sunup we’d followed them, only granted an hour of sleep before I’d been woken to start my chores.