She smells like the forest, but like the fresh dew that comes after the rain

Riven

She’s breathtaking.

Her long, black hair goes down to her waist. Her hair is parted in the middle, providing two curtains that frame her heart-shaped face. She has full lips, the kind you want to suck on. Freckles cover the bridge of her nose.

I don’t know what her place is in this pack, but she must be someone important. I haven’t seen a woman like her in ages.

Foy says, “Huh?” He turns his head, and his eyes fall on the woman in front of us. He rolls his eyes. “Oh, that’s Kate. She doesn’t talk much, not that many of us would ask her to.”

My eyes slide over to Foy and I say, “Why not? She’s one of the best women in your pack, right?”

My question cues several snorts and Monica, the one and only female pack leader, laughs. “Kate? God, no. She’s lucky that we even allow her to stay here.”

Why are they talking about her like she’s not even here? What the hell did she do to warrant being treated this way? I have a lot to learn about this pack, the ins and outs of the hierarchy, the unspoken rules, hell, even the hunting preferences, but what could I be missing about this Kate girl?

I take a step towards her, and I feel a bundle of curious eyes fall on my back and face. I grin and extend my hand towards her. “I’m Riven. You’re Kate?”

Her eyes flick between my extended hand and my face. Kate’s nervous eyes scan my face, as if trying to gauge whether or not I’m joking.

“I’m new to this pack. I left my old pack, on the other end of Minnesota.”

Not that anyone needs to knowwhyI left my old pack.

Kate manages a stiff nod, then takes my hand. Her small hand is soft in mine, and I catch a whiff of her fresh scent. She smells like the forest, but like the fresh dew that comes after the rain.

Her green eyes glance between my face and the ground. As if she’s come back to Earth, her eyes fall on Foy and Monica. She shakes her head and mumbles, “Nice to meet you.”

Her slender body slinks away from me, and she moves towards a row of cabins further into camp.

I poke my thumb towards Kate’s retreating form. “Does she not like newcomers?”

Monica sighs. “I don’t know what Kate likes. She’s been in this pack her whole life, but she won’t give anyone the chance to really get to know her,” she leans towards me and says, almost conspiratorially, “not that many of us want to know.”

I frown and Foy clears his throat.

“None of that matters,” he says, “Kate is a mystery. Let’s talk about you. How do you see yourself fitting into this pack?”

Oh, right. I’m trying to sell them on letting me be in their pack.

“I’m a solid hunter, leader, and I don’t let anyone give me shit. I’ve never met a wolf that I couldn’t handle.”

Foy nods and says, “That’s what I like to hear! Let me introduce you to the rest of the pack leaders.”

I follow Foy past a bonfire, soaking in the looks from desperate-looking female wolves. If only they knew that I’d be far more interested if they pretended not to look at me.

He comes to a stop in front of two tall men. He gestures at them. “This is Robin and Niles. They’ve been in the pack since birth. They’ve each replaced their fathers.”

“Wow.”

Robin and Niles lumber towards me. Both of them could be compared to small buildings. Robin easily towers over me, but my energy is stronger than his. The confident look in his eye withers as our eyes meet, and he nods at me.

“Welcome. Your name?”

“Riven.”

Niles shrugs and says, “Welcome, Riven. I hope that you’ll be an asset to our pack.”

“I plan on it.”

Monica sets her long fingers on my elbow. “We have a couple of empty cabins. Let me show them to you.”

Her fingers linger on my elbow for longer than I’d like. She turns and leads me towards a couple of cabins. One is a bit smaller, with a single window. The other one looks sturdier and has two curtained windows.

I point at the one with two windows. “I’ll take that one, if that’s alright.”

Monica smiles and says, “Have at it. Let us know if you need anything.”

I reach up and adjust the strap on my satchel, which holds the few things that I own. I hope that there’s a good shop nearby, somewhere I can buy some of my own supplies.

I step towards the door of the cabin. I press my hands against it, but it’s reluctant to move. I push harder, putting a bit of my strength against it, and it flings open. I step inside and run my eyes over the walls.

Everything is covered in a thin layer of dust. There’s a small fireplace with a pot in the corner, and there’s a few cabinets.

There’s a room towards the back. I drop my satchel and I move towards the back room.

I’ll need to get some sort of light source going. For now, the dwindling sunlight pours through one of the windows and illuminates a rickety bed. I grin as I all but flop onto it.

A bed. I haven’t seen one of these in ages. I’ve been roughing it for some time now, and I didn’t expect to find a bed this soon.

I turn to look out of the window, and the sound of raised voices makes its way through my window.

So much for a quiet first night.

I glance at the window, and Kate is backing herself against the wall of a cabin. A taller woman hovers over her.

“…I hope you’re not coming to eat some of Foy’s kill. That’s not for you. You can eat the scraps.”

Kate holds her arms out in front of her. “I just came to see Kili.”

Her voice trembles but she manages to sound confident, as if she’s just annoyed that this woman is in her face.

The woman grunts and shoves her fist into Kate’s shoulder. Kate’s cheeks burn bright red. She opens her mouth as if she’s going to rightfully tell her to fuck off, but she shakes her head.

It’s not weird for pack mates to get into friendly tussles, but this is anything but that.

I hop off of the bed and make my way out of the cabin. I make my footsteps heavy as I walk over to Kate and the wolf.

Kate groans, “Reona, would you just give it a rest for the day- “

“What’s going on here?”

I glance between Kate and who I assume to be Reona.

Reona raises a thin eyebrow and peels her eyes off of Kate. She gives me a once over and says, “Who the hell are you?”

“Riven. I’m new to the pack. Are you guys having an argument or something?”

Kate’s voice is clipped as she says, “No.”

Reona shrugs. “It’s not like Kate does much arguing. She knows better.”

I glance at Kate, then at Reona. Irritation prickles the edges of my mind. After all, I don’t know if Kate has done something in the past to warrant this. However, the quivering yet defiant girl in front of me gives me the idea that Kate has never asked for any of this. Including being born into this pack.

“’She knows better’? I’m sorry, who are you? I just met the pack leaders, Foy and everyone, but they didn’t mention you.”

Reona narrows her eyes as I question her and I add, “You must not be that important. Anyways, I wanted to talk to Kate about something, do you mind?”

Reona’s eyes widen and she points at Kate, “Youwantto talk to her?”

I nod. “I do, alone. Thanks.”

There’s a challenge in Reona’s eyes but I glower as she opens her mouth to reply. She settles on shooting a dirty look at Kate before turning on her heel and leaving.

Kate visibly relaxes and watches Reona go. “Thanks. She’s been at it all day. She’s pissed off that I took a good serving of breakfast before her.”

“Well, that’s a stupid reason to corner someone and try and eat them.”

Kate’s lips spread into a smile, and she chuckles. “I guess she does try to eat people.”

The way her face lit up for a moment sends a wave of something odd through me. She is cute, and she’s obviously vulnerable. I wonder how she would feel if she could just relax for a while.

I wonder if she’d let me get to know her.

I focus my eyes on hers. “Hey, Kate.”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be alright if I looked out for you?”