Aceso nodded to Katherine and the cream werewolf went back the way the way she and Aceso had come, her tail swung low, almost touching the ground. “William, we have to make this work.” Aceso looked around them and took a step closer to the enforcer. “I know the history you two have with each other. I have no idea whose idea it was to send a Scout after an Enforcer but you have to find a way to live and work with each other.” Aceso stared straight into William’s eyes. “I am relying on you to keep your head, and when necessary, give him the space necessary to move. You and I both know what kind of person he is. He has enough pride for all of us and we will teach him the dangers of that, but it is going to be a slow and often painful process. I need you with me on this, fighting him is not the answer.”
“So, I should give him whatever he wants because if I don’t, he’ll throw a temper tantrum?”
Aceso didn’t move an inch from her proximity from William. “I’m saying that when you two clash you need to be the one to take a step back, because he won’t.”
William shook his head from side-to-side. “So, we take on an attitude of appeasement?” William had to concentrate on keeping his voice low.
Aceso reached up and wrenched William’s snout down toward the ground and held it there. “It will be a slow and painful process. Nicolas will learn to adapt or he will die. It has always been the way with nature and our kind.” Aceso leaned in and forced the words from her mouth into his ear. “What I don’t need from you is threatening to rip his arms off every other minute or provoking him into fights that he knows he can’t win but his ego won’t let him back down from.”
William heaved a hard, restricted sigh through his nose. He looked up at Aceso as best he could with his head still being held at such an awkward angle. William knew that Aceso was capable of things he wasn’t aware of yet. It was those unknown abilities she possessed and the fact that she had saved his life more than once that he nodded and waited for her to let go of him. Of course, that wasn’t really true either. And as Aceso released her Enforcer he stood up and admitted to himself that the reason he would obey her was because she was his alpha, pure and simple.
Aceso stood watching him. “Now, go back and get some sleep.” William bowed to her. “William, get out of here” She nodded back the way she had come. “Don’t get careless on your way back, our greatest asset right now is that no one but us knows where out den is, I’d like to keep it that way.” William nodded and ran back into the thick surrounding forest.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
William didn’t see Nicolas on the way back. He made sure to change direction and do some back tracking and loop through the forest to ensure that no one was following him. He didn’t see Katherine on his way back either. This only increased his caution.
It took him some time but when he was certain that no one was following him he found his way back to their den. The folded entry way blended in with the surrounding black rock of the cavern. It was an almost perfect camouflage and he smiled at his and Katherine’s work. Without pausing he slipped into the crevasse and the warm, sweet-smelling darkness that was their den. His eyes didn’t need to adjust to the light being that there was very little difference between the dark of the den and the deep gloom that filled the underground cavern outside. But he didn’t want to disturb the others who were probably sleeping after their hours of vigilance.
William crept off to the right into his partitioned space and laid down belly first onto the soft cushion of fine wood chips and pine needles. He turned from side-to-side to burrow into the warmth and the sweet scent of the carpeting around him. It felt wonderful and he soon fell soundlessly asleep.
He felt a rough movement through the haze of sleep. It took him a moment to realize that it was himself that was being moved. He opened his eyes and saw cream colored fur. His eyes snapped awake and focused on Katherine.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” He barked, leaping up into a low crouch.
Katherine withdrew her hand from his side. “What?” her eyes grew wide for a moment. Her whole body seemed to deflate as she smiled and shook her head. “Nothing is wrong.” She turned her head toward the exit of their den. “It’s time to get up. Aceso has things for us to do today.” She turned back to William. “Besides whoever heard of a lethargic wolf?” she said with a grin.
William lowered his heavy body back to the warm cedar chips. It would be so nice to just go back to sleep. But he had never been one to sleep in and after living with nature for so long he was already conditioned to be up with the sun. He nodded to Katherine as the female werewolf stood up and started back toward the crevasse. William leaped up in one fluid motion to get to his feet and followed Katherine outside the warm den.
Squinting he stepped out of the dark into the early morning brightness of the underground cavern. It was amazing to him just how the caverns ceiling crystals seemed to mimic actual sunlight. He followed Katherine deeper into the forest. Her tail was swinging easily just above her knees. He reached behind himself and grabbed his own tail. Let’s see a dog do that. He rubbed his claws through the thick fur. He felt a slight pain at having his tail twisted up and around him in such an awkward way, but it wasn’t that painful of a feeling. He let his tail drop and the muscles there held it at a level that was similar to Katherine’s. He wondered about the muscles that were attached to his tail. How much control do I actually have over that thing? He had never wondered about it before but now he was very interested in finding out how that furry thing attached to his backside actually worked.