I counted seven.
The rock skipped on the surface of the river seven times before it finally sank. Ara, my inner wolf gave an impressed whistle. Like any other werewolf, I could hear Ara in my mind but she could never hear my own thoughts. To communicate with her, I'd have to speak out loud. Ara was always telling me how spectacular I was— not that anybody cared to know.
After river skipping a few more rocks, I was finally bored out of my mind. I decided to turn round and go back home where I was also perpetually ignored, like I was a walking living and breathing invisible teddy bear. The part of the woods where I was had been sealed off in preparation for tonight's triennal mating ceremony. In retrospect, no one worth their salt could ever find me here or I would be toast. I had my own system of navigating the forest and I took the route now to get out lest I overstay my 'ungiven' welcome.
"Stop!" Ara ordered, causing me to draw to a halt in my tracks. "Someone's coming." I ran to hide behind one of the trees. The footsteps crackling on dried leaves was moving towards my position.
I wondered if it was another stubborn tourist. This part of the forest wasn't always sealed off to werewolves, but it was to outsiders. It was a critical rule anyone visiting the Sanctuary must follow, STAY AWAY FROM THE WOODS. Some of these visitors had thick skulls and entered anyway, always with their flashy cameras; hoping to find fact behind the rumours that forests in the Sanctuary had the most exotic wolves. No such wolf had ever been seen of course, but that did not stop the outsiders from pouring into the city in their numbers looking for a breakthrough. The tourism actually made the Sanctuary good money.
I hid until I was sure the footsteps had directed past my vantage point. My nose picked up the breezy scent of the presumed intruder. Whoever it was, was moving fast towards the river where I was just coming from. I came out to examine the tracks I could find. They were big footsteps. A man's.
"You think he's a werewolf?" I whispered, to Ara.
"If he is, you'd be in trouble if he sees you. If he's not, he could be walking into a whole lot of trouble," Ara crooned.
"You don't think he's going for a swim, do you?"
"He might have heard you rock skipping, that is— if he's wolf. He's following the sound, rather than your scent. I think we should get out of here," Ara speculated.
"On the other hand, if he's an outsider and he finds the river, he'd be gone with it for sure."
"As he should be. Where are you going?"
"To check up on him, just to be certain."
"I don't know if this is a good idea Audie. If he's wolf and he sees us, we could be in big trouble. We're not supposed to be here, remember?"
"Then he's not supposed to either," I quipped. I was counting on that. If he was a werewolf like I was, telling on me would drag him down along with me. If he was just a mere human visiting however, maybe I could stop him before he made any dastardly decision such as entering the water.
The Moon River, located deep inside the Sanctuary's woods, was deceitful to the eye. It looked welcoming and calming, flowing steadily; but the current underneath was actually fast and fierce so that only a werewolf could withstand being carried away by it.
I finally reached the river, where I hid behind some shrubberies and observed the area. I spotted the intruder, whose back was turned to me, about to take off his shirt.
"So, is he wolf?" Ara urged.
"I don't know, Ara. I can only get a back view."
"Some back view," Ara murmured in a clearly mischievous tone as the intruder's now bare back ripped with apparent muscles. "Even if he was just human, the river can't possibly carry him away. With a body like that…"
"Don't get carried away Ara, the river only accepts wolves," I chastised.
"Oh my goddess, he is getting in," Ara chortled like a sports commentator.
"I can see that Ara."
"Lower, he's going lower. I think he's plugging his nose. He looks like he knows what he's doing."
The intruder went under. I counted seconds in my head. I could not be sure anymore if he was gone or if he was still there.
"Whatever you're thinking you should do, don't do it," Ara warned. "If he's an outsider, let him die. No outsider can know about the river."
"I know," I said as I tumbled out of my hiding spot. "I just wanna check if he's gone indeed." If he was, I would not be able to call it in, considering that I was not even supposed to be here. Yet, I was a softie at heart, who would feel utterly wrecked if I just left, condemned to wondering forever if this man was just an outsider, or one of us.
I crouched by the man's clothes. I could not help but sniff them. They had a breezy musky scent that I could not quite place, a scent I did not quite hate. "Don't you think he's been under long enough?"
It was nearing two minutes already.
Suddenly, a head broke the calm surface of the water. I gasped, surprised and relieved at the same time. He was werewolf after all.
"Oh," I laughed nervously. His back was still turned to me. "I saw you coming this way and I just thought…"
"You just thought what?" His tone was grave, his head tilted. "Did you think you should save me?" His deep breathy voice took me aback for a moment. Ara was being naughty in my mind, not hiding her appreciation for a man with an Adonis body and a sexy voice to go with it. Ara was just going to outrightly ignore the wrongness of it all.
"No, of course not!" I blustered. "You are obviously a werewolf, you don't need saving."
"So why did you follow me then? Did you fear I was a tourist who would need saving, is that it?" He sounded strict and severe. "Are you even supposed to be here?"
"I'm part of the ceremonies committee," came the smooth lie before I could stop it.
"Hmmm," was all he said. I would be in big trouble if he was part of that committee; because he wouldn't know me as a colleague. The highest form of identity he would reach for me is— Audeline Palmer, the social pariah, one rank away from becoming an omega. All it took to get me there now was if he decided to report my trespass to the sheriff.
"It's just…it's just that…"
"It's just that what?"
"Why are you being so mean?" I burst into tears, feeling miserable, as if my life was over. The disturbance in the river increased, but I ignored it, paying more attention to the intensity of my sobs, and feeling extremely sorry for myself.
"Um…this just got awkward," Ara grunted. "He's hugging you."
I could feel his overwhelming warmth, his bare skin wetting my shirt. His hands patting my hair and rocking my shoulders.
"I'm sorry okay, damn it. Would you please stop crying? Please, I'm sorry? For… for being mean?" He seemed unsure.
"Okay." I would take whatever I could get. Maybe at the end of the day, he'd be too guilty to want to report me.
"Here's what we gonna do. I'm going to step away from you now, and you won't be crying. Okay?"
"Okay," I sniffed.
He let go of me, and a wave of emptiness doused me. What? I wasn't immune to the comfort of being in a man's embrace. He stood up. I looked up at him. The expression on his face showed concern.
"Are you okay?" He asked tentatively.
"Oh my goddess!" I could envision Ara's jaw dropping. I took in the image of the man standing before me. I had seen him before. In fact, I had seen him many times. TV, conferences, charities, functions, huntings, initiations, funerals…
It was like everything else had disappeared. I was standing in a hall of white and front of me was the infamous Freur Ferdinand. I need only reached out my hand and I'd be touching him.
By day, Freur Ferdinand was the mayor of the Sanctuary.
By night, he was the alpha of the pack.
I had obsessed over Freur since I was old enough to have hormones —ten? Freur had to be the werewolf version of Prince Charming. Every eligible shewolf in the pack was in love with him. Social pariah or not, I was not above falling for his charms either. I lived for the days when I could see him on TV, or watch him from a long distance any time he performed his mayor/alpha duties.
Freur Ferdinand, the man I had always considered beyond my reach was right in front of me. And before that, I was right inside his arms, soaking up his embrace, getting drenched by the water on his skin. This had to be a dream. A delusion. This could not possibly be real.
"Are you okay?"
Wait, hadn't he already asked that question before? I was frozen as he crouched down before me. Our eyes met.
"Hey," he said softly, then cupped my cheeks with both hands. Everything stopped. Even him.
"MATE!" Ara screeched.