We start making new ones

- Kate

I never thought that I’d be friends with someone other than Killi.

Riven, Killi, and I are looking towards the sky as we lay on our backs in the clearing. It’s a short way from camp, and someone could easily find us and tell us to find something to do. It’s not like anyone here wants to see me happy.

I turn to my right, where Riven is lying underneath the sun. His eyes are closed but I know from our most recent training session, that he’s aware of every breath we take, every animal in the area, and the scent that the wind carries. The sunlight caresses the sharp bones that make up his angular, amazing bone structure and I want to reach out to him and trail my fingers along the hardened edge of his face. I might even want to run my tongue along it.

The thought of touching Riven has occurred to me more than a few times over the last week. I’ve considered leaning against him a second too long, just to see if he would stop me. I’ve never kissed anyone before. As I gaze at him, I wonder what he would do if I leaned over and pressed my lips against his cheek. Would he push me away?

He makes a heat boil in my lower belly. I want to take his hand and guide it between my legs. I want him to ease my ache.

I turn my head to the other side. Killi’s eyes are wide open and she’s staring directly into the side of my head. My eyes widen from their sleepy state, and she flashes me a knowing smile. God, I hope she doesn’t say anything embarrassing.

I sit up and pull my legs against my chest. “I’ve been thinking.”

My voice cuts through the gentle silence like an axe through wood. Riven’s eyes open and he turns his sleepy gaze towards me. “I was enjoying the break. Monica has kept me on her tail all week, she wants me in on all the pack dealings.”

Killi snorts, “Must be nice to not have Monica hate you. She hates everyone.” Killi points a lazy finger at me. “She especially hates Kate.”

Riven rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Guys, focus. I’ve been thinking about those missing girls. I think that we should do something. I think that we should try and find them.”

Killi frowns and says, “What makes you think that we can control that? Girls are going missing. It’s probably some human’s fault.”

“We can’t just leave it at that! How long before it’s you, or me, Killi? What if they come after us too?”

My question hangs in the air and Riven declares, “I want to find them too.”

I turn my hopeful glance onto him and nod. “It’s our responsibility.”

Killi sighs and says, “You know what? I’m in. If the pack leaders don’t want to save the day on this one, then the three of us will just have to.”

I grin and I look between the both of them. For once, I feel like I have friends, like someone can stand me. My teeth sink into my bottom lip as Riven gets to his feet, the muscles in his biceps flex as he presses his palms into the earth to steady himself.

For once, I might have something more.

The sun is rising overhead when Killi and I gather outside of Riven’s cabin. No one has shuffled out of their cabin yet, eager to go on this morning’s hunt to gather some food for a couple of days.

Killi stretches her arms over her head and says, “God, I hope we won’t have to get up early for this every day.”

I roll my eyes. “Small price to pay to get these girls back home. Back to their packs.”

The door to Riven’s cabin creaks as he steps outside. I expect to find sleep in the corners of his eyes, but he’s wide awake, as if he went for a run before we arrived. He blinks, as if shaking himself loose, and says, “Let’s get going! I need to be back by this afternoon, so that I can go on a hunt with Harrison.”

Harrison is checking him out. Harrison wants Riven to be more involved with the pack. Does he want him to be a leader? Would Riven still look at me the same if he ascended to pack leadership?

I pull myself out of my thoughts, and we head towards the woods. I clear my throat. “I thought we’d start in the next town over, Cosmos. Someone there has to know something.”

Riven nods. “I’ll lead the way!”

He transforms, then bounds off towards the path that will take us out of the woods. Killi transforms after him, then I follow.

We run for a couple of hours, and by the time we make it to the edge of Cosmos, it’s mid-morning.

Sweat is gathering on my temples as I transform. My legs burn from the run, but I ignore the pain as the three of us walk into town.

I don’t wait for Riven’s natural charm to lead us into our quest for answers. I don’t have the patience to wait for him to schmooze, not when there are lives on the line.

 

With Riven and Killi on my tail, I approach a tall woman in a long skirt. She’s waiting in line at a bagel stand. She turns her gentle smile onto me.

“Good morning! Here for a bagel? I’m hoping I didn’t miss the asiago bagels yet.”

Her friendliness is refreshing.

“I’m actually not here for bagels, ma’am. I’m here to ask questions. I need to know if anyone knows anything about the missing women.”

She raises a thin eyebrow and says, “Missing women?”

The gears in her mind turn for a second before she blurts, “Oh! You mean those werewolf girls that are going missing? God, that’s sad. Can’t say I know anything, darling. Friends of yours?”

Killi, Riven, and I exchange a glance. “No, but we’re very interested in finding them.”

“I wish I could help.” She gives us a polite nod as she steps forward to order her bagel.

Killi turns to us and says, “We could at least get a bagel while we’re here?”

Riven laughs and I say, “Killi are you serious right now? There are lives on the line and you want a bagel?”

Killi holds up her hands in defense and says, “Look, we ran for miles. Can’t blame a girl for being a little hungry.”

Riven chuckles and reaches into his back pocket for his wallet. “Three bagels, coming right up.”

Riven buys us three bagels, three asiago ones at Killi’s insistence, and we find a bench to eat on.

I rip off a piece of my bagel and dip it into the plastic container of cream cheese. I chew furiously as my eyes dart around the shopping center.

“Someone here has to know about these girls…”

“Excuse me.”

I raise my head and a woman with a short black bob is walking towards us. She has crow’s feet in the corners of her eyes and the skin underneath her eyes is sunken in. I could believe that she hasn’t slept in days. I lower my bagel.

“Yes?”

She smiles earnestly and says, “I heard you asking about the missing girls.”

“Do you know anything?”

She sighs and says, “I don’t know if I know anything. I just know that my girl is missing. Her name is Sophia. She’s only nineteen. She went off to hunt one night, and just never came back.”

I stand up. Her eyes are sad, and while she’s being polite, I can see it in her eyes. Desperation. I’ve felt desperate my whole life so I would know.

“We’re looking for the missing girls. We found out what happened, and we can’t let it go. We’re going to find them.”

Riven gives me an approving look, which helps me gather my courage. “Did your girl say that she was going anywhere? Anywhere special?”

She shakes her head. “No, she didn’t. She went into the woods and disappeared. I would give my whole heart to find out what happened to her.”

Killi’s low hum reminds me that she’s there. “I’m sure. We’re going to try our best to find them. We have to look out for our own.”

The woman nods at all of us and says, “I’m Annetta. I’m glad that someone is looking into this because the police aren’t trying as hard as they could be. They aren’t looking for my girl, or any of the other girls that have been disappearing from our town.”

Riven sighs and says, “Damn it. If I find the son of a bitch that’s responsible for this, I will personally wring his neck.”

Annetta smiles. “I appreciate that. I guess I should get going. They’re going to run out of bagels soon. Bless you.”

“Goodbye.”

I watch Annetta go, and I turn to Riven and Killi. “We should probably check out the wood near here.”

Killi chuckles and says, “We absolutely will, but I want to hang out for a bit. Why don’t you and Riven get going?”

“Why would you hang out?”

“I have some shopping to do, and I want to see if I can find out the best hunting routes for the werewolves here. If you guys are gone for much longer, this early in the day, everyone is going to make it Kate’s problem.”

She shoos us off. “Get moving!”

Riven and I look at each other before taking off towards the woods. Killi is right. I’m lucky that she’s joined me in this.

Riven and I bound through the woods, our feet thundering throughout the woods as we travel back towards camp. As we find ourselves just outside of the camp, I transform.

I sweep one hand underneath my hair, sticky against the back of my neck. Riven pauses, one foot in the air, before he transforms too.

He sweeps the back of his hand across his forehead and says, “What’s up?”

I swallow a lump in my throat and say, “I just wanted to thank you for doing this with me. I know that no one else really wants to look into it because it’s me.”

Riven shrugs and takes a couple of steps towards me. I can feel the heat radiating off of his body, and it sends a sharp shiver down my spine. I inhale and say, “Also, we should probably talk about what we’re going to tell them about what we learned.”

Riven nods. “We’ll tell them that we traveled to the next town, and that I found more information. They might not believe you or Killi right away.”

“You would do that?”

His smile is sincere as he says, “Of course.”

My chest is heavy, but I feel like I’ll regret it if I don’t take this chance. I lean forward and press my lips against his. I wait for the feeling of him pressing his palms against my shoulders, shoving me off of him.

It doesn’t happen. His breath washes over me as he leans into me. His lips are soft, and my lips move against his as I sweep my fingertips across the curves and dips of his biceps.

He raises his hand and presses his palm against the flat of my back. I suck in a breath, and he slips his tongue between my lips. I groan as his lips caresses mine. I’ve never done it before, but I consider hopping on him and wrapping my legs around his waist.

This is what I’ve wanted. I’ve wanted to feel his breath on my skin. I’ve wanted to taste him, the salty taste of his skin against my tongue.

I gasp as the sound of a branch snapping underneath a boot echoes through the clearing. The heady wave that had passed over us abruptly dissipates as I jump about ten feet away from him.

Monica appears in the clearing. Her eyebrows are knitted together as she jerks a finger towards the camp.

“There you are. Where the hell is Killi?”

Riven stands up straight. “She’s back in town.”

Monica’s eyes narrow. “What town?”

“Cosmos.”

“What the hell is she doing in Cosmos?”

I wait for Riven to slide his eyes over to me in a plea for help, but he stands tall and takes a few steps towards Monica.

“Looking into a lead. There’s something I want to talk about when we get back to camp.”

“Is that right?”

Riven’s voice has a hardened edge. “Yes.”

Riven

I’m rock hard as we head back to camp. The feeling of her breath on mine lingers with me. I imagine what it would be like for me to slip into her cabin once everyone has fallen asleep. Would she protest if I came to her bed and slipped myself inside of her?

I shake my head. I have to stay focused; there’s werewolves missing, and I’m going to find them.

When we arrive at camp, Monica whirls around and says, “You. Come with me.”

I hold back a groan as we meet with the rest of the pack leaders in Monica’s cabin. There’s a small fire going, and the smell of smoked rabbit wraps itself around us as we sit around the fire.

Monica clears her throat and says, “Riven has something he’d like to tell us. What’s on your mind, Riven?”

Her voice is dripping with sarcasm. I start to say something smart-assed, but the image of Annetta’s pleading expression makes it to the front of my mind. This is bigger than me, and bigger than Monica’s fucking ego.

“I want to find the missing girls. Looked into it today, and I think we should look further into it. Turns out dozens have gone missing over the last few months.”

Rico and Harrison send a questioning glance in her direction.

I clear my throat, bringing their attention back to me. They don’t need Monica’s permission to listen to me. I demonstrate my point, “Harrison, Rico, we are going missing faster than anyone can look into it. We can’t let this happen to our own.”

Monica scoffs and says, “I think- “

“AndIthink, that this is bigger than our opinions.”

I can feel Monica staring daggers into the side of my face, but she’s not going to have much luck getting me to give a shit. I picture how relieved Kate will be once we recover the missing girls, how grateful she’ll be. I wonder what she’ll want to do once we’ve proven ourselves to be a valuable asset to this pack. Together.

Harrison sits back and strokes his fingers along the mug of tea sitting beside him. He sighs and says, “You’ve got my ear. What did you find out?”

Monica yelps, “You can’t be serious! You’re going to let thisstrangercome in and- ”

Fury shoots through me as I snarl, “Yes! I’m the stranger that’s going to come in and save the day, because you don’t seem to be doing fuck all about it.”

I know that the other wolves can hear raised voices, and some of them might not be taking too kindly to how I’m speaking to leadership, but I don’t give a damn.

Rico holds his hands up and tosses a scathing look towards Monica. “Monica. He’s right, this is more important than us.” He gestures towards me and says, “Tell me what you know.”

I recount what Kate, Killi, and myself have learned from traveling to Cosmos. As I speak, the concern on Harrison and Rico’s faces deepens, their air of friendliness fading away as they begin to worry. Monica seethes as she snatches a mug and a teabag out of the cupboard and stalks over to the fireplace. She sits with her back turned to us.

Good. It’s best to let the adults talk.

“What do you suggest?”

“We need to start searching the area nearby. We need to split into teams, and cover as much ground as we can. There has to be someone that knows more about this.”

Harrison considers this for a moment, then slaps his fist in his palm. “That’s it, then. I will make the announcement to the pack. Then tomorrow, we’ll start searching.”

A smirk spreads across my lips as Monica angrily sips her tea. Looks like she doesn’t have as much absolute power as she thought. By the time I’m done with this pack, there might not be much power left for her to take. That’s how it worked at my last pack, but this will be different. I’ll make sure of it.

Rico and Harrison slip out of the cabin, and I make a beeline for the door. Monica’s voice calls out to me, “Watch your step around here, Wes. Don’t get too comfortable too soon.”

I scoff. “I don’t remember saying you could call me Wes.”

The door slams on whatever she says next.

Kate beams as we make the announcement. I stand beside all four of the pack elders as he announces that we will be actively looking for the missing wolves.

Kate stands towards the back, noticed only by me as she wraps her arms around herself. She’s pulled her shiny black hair into a ponytail that only highlights the soft skin on her long neck. I want to run my tongue along her neck, suck it underneath my lips. I want her to suck me, too.

Harrison’s voice booms throughout the camp, “Tomorrow morning, we will start our search. Everyone will be assigned to an area nearby.”

I spend the night staring at the ceiling in my cabin. I’m itching to slip into Kate’s cabin, but I don’t know if that’s what she wants. I don’t know if she wants to feel the weight of my body against hers as I slip into bed.

Morning comes and when I step out of my cabin, Kate is standing there. The sun reflects against her hair and highlights the green in her eyes. She’s wearing a thin pair of leggings that hug her curves, and a loose sweatshirt.

She wears a huge smile as she says, “Be my search partner?”

It takes everything I have to not pull her into my arms. My eyes shift towards the sleepy wolves that are leaving their cabins. Not here. Not yet.

I grin, “Of course.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I make out Killi coming over to us. Her eyes flash with mischief as she approaches us.

“Let me guess, you guys are partners?” She winks and whispers, “Be careful not to make any pups while we’re looking. We should find the wolves we’re missing before we start making new ones.”

Her laugh cuts through the air and I reach out and shove my arm against her shoulder. “Shut it, Killi.”

Killi laughs as she hustles over to a male wolf. I’ve seen him around, in the background. I think his name is Brad. I’ve seen him with Monica, and a part of me hopes that I’m the only one making an enemy out of Monica in this pack. I hope Killi can handle herself; she makes Kate really happy.

I jerk my head in the direction of the woods. “Let’s head back to Cosmos. There’s a few places we need to investigate.”

“I’m in.”

We transform and take off. It feels good to stretch my legs in my true form. It feels even better to see Kate’s smaller wolf running beside me, letting go of her anxieties as she pushes herself to keep up.

After two and a half hours of running, and a quick stop in Cosmos to get some camping supplies, we walk towards a dense patch of woods.

I sigh and say, “This is a good place to investigate. We can start looking for girls nearby.”

Kate nods and falls onto the ground. She crosses one leg over the other. “Good. I’m ready for a meal.”

We make a fire and start to prepare the bird that Kate caught on the way here. She did it so confidently, snapping it between her jaws, a type of aggression I haven’t expected from her before.

She plucks at the feathers on the bird, and I sit beside her. My hand brushes against hers as I go to pull feathers off of it and she chuckles.

“Riven, what are you doing?”

Her eyes linger on mine, and I start to reply before I realize what she’s really asking. What am I doing with her; why am I in her space to pick at a bird she’s more than capable of handling?

Instead of answering her, I lean forward and slip my hands behind her neck. I work my fingers along the back of her neck and I breathe deep.

The wind is nearly knocked out of me as her small palm slams against my chest and she throws one of her legs across me. She lifts her sweatshirt over her shoulders, exposing the rounded cups of the black bra that covers her breasts.

Her chest heaves as she leans towards me and hooks my eyes with her sultry gaze.

Her breath tickles my lips.

“Is this what you’re doing?”