08

Chapter Seven

She walked out to the front porch with him, allowing the front door to swing closed behind them, and thus giving them the illusion of privacy, since they were outside and so not really in a private place at all.

James stood with his back to her for a moment, and she suddenly had a terrifying thought.

"You're going to sack me; aren't you?"

He swung around to look down at her in shock. "What? No... No of course not!"

Her shoulders sagged with relief as the sickly feeling in her gut, slowly dispersed.

He stepped closer to her. "You are far too good at your job to fire you over something so..."

"Trivial?"

He smiled suddenly and his eyes crinkled at the corners as they locked on to hers once more.

"I don't think that I would ever class anything about you as trivial."

He hadn't moved. She was so fixed on him that she would have seen him move, but suddenly he was so close that he crowded her, he was so close that he blocked out everything else. And all she could see was his warm brown eyes, flecked with gold, and green, and yellow, all swirling and blending together to make, such a colour!

"They aren't brown at all," she whispered softly.

"What?" he asked lazily as he moved closer still.

"Your eyes, I thought that they were brown but they aren't, they are..."

She cut off as his lips found hers in a soft warm kiss.

"I knew that there was something about you, the moment you walked into my offices," he murmured huskily. "I kept trying to tell myself that it was just the phase of the moon; that I was more... charged than normal, but I just knew that you were different."

The colours in his eyes seemed to swirl around once more making them seem yellow one moment and black the next.

His lips found hers again but this time they were hard and demanding, and Iris responded in kind as her arms wrapped themselves around his neck.

His arms were like steel bands around her waist as he pulled her against him, moulding her body into his.

She was losing herself to this man, losing all will to resist him, wanting him on such a basic level, that it would have terrified her, had she been more aware.

"Iris!" her father's call from somewhere inside the house, caused her to pull away from the man.

"I have to go," she gasped.

He loosed his hold on her a little but not entirely as his lips left hers and he looked down into her flushed face, and half closed, smouldering eyes.

She thought that he would release her, but he continued to hold her against him though, as he looked into her eyes searchingly.

"Yes, you should go now, but this is not over between the two of us, we fit together too well, you and I. We have to look into this more deeply; this has to be explored between the two of us."

"But not now, not while the moon is so potent to us, we cannot be sure of what is real, and what is just its influence on us."

He rubbed against her suddenly, letting her know what her body was doing to him. "I know what is real; I know that what I am feeling is real."

It seemed that by doing that he was working himself up again as his brown eyes speckled with yellow and gold, he pulled her closer, and would have kissed her again, and Iris could feel herself sinking, her will to resist, evaporating.

"We can't take this with us tonight," she said urgently, as she felt the emotions flooding through her. "We would not be able to control what would happen. You must not come here tonight!"

He smiled suddenly. "I would never insult your father by rejecting his hospitality." He sounded positively horrified at the idea, although his eyes sparkled with mischief, his brown eyes, she thought hazily.

He let her go suddenly and she realised that the man was back in control, that maybe the panic in her voice had brought him back.

She had to wonder then who had been in control when he had kissed her like that.

He turned away, but then turned back.

"I shall change form on my host's lands tonight, and I shall find you and your pack once the moon is at its height. Tell your father would you please, Iris; that I shall be a little later tonight, than I originally thought."

He turned and walked away without saying anything else, and it seemed to her, in her rather fragile state, it seemed like he could not even look at her anymore.

Iris stood watching as he walked to end of the driveway, and then out through the gates and out of sight.

But even though he was out of sight now, Iris continued to stand there, as though she was waiting for him to return.

"Iris!"

She gave a little sigh as she wrapped her arms around herself, and imagined for a moment that it was his arms again.

"IRIS!"

She turned and walked slowly back into the house to find her father standing just inside the hallway.

"Yes, father what is it?"

He waited until she had closed the front door before striding across to her.

"You really need to be careful around him, Iris," her father warned her sternly. "It is not the phase of the moon, when you should be flirting, especially with one of our own kind."

"Flirting!" she looked up at him in outrage. "And just what was it exactly, that you had us doing yesterday, with Bill Frawnings' pack and friends?"

He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "That was an introduction; as soon as one of them threatened to take it further I interceded and put an end to it."

He looked down at her and she saw the concern, which he was not even trying to conceal; and the spark went out of her eyes, and her shoulders sagged.

"I know daddy, that this is no time to be fooling around with any man, and he's my boss as well for crying out loud!" she looked up at her father in confusion, and he gave a gruff little sigh, as he took her into his arms, for a great big comforting bear hug.

"Maybe I should cancel this evening... warn him to stay away?" he mused to himself.

He felt his daughter shake her head. "No daddy, please don't threaten him, please let this evening go ahead as planned."

He sighed as he pushed her gently away. "Very well, daughter; we will meet up with him out in the woods, and we shall see what kind of a wolf he makes."

**

"Well I rather liked him," Laurie said as she perched on the edge of her sister's bed.

Iris had just slipped into her simple robe, when Laurie had knocked and walked into the room.

"Rather liked who?" Iris murmured as she pulled her hairbrush through her auburn tangles.

"James Atherton of course, silly."

"Oh," she eyed her sister warily but Laurie just grinned innocently. "He seemed like he would make a really nice boss; and just what a big brother might have been like..." she trailed off and her eyes went dreamy.

"Yes, a big brother - a brother of any age for that matter, might have been a solution to our problems... but I wouldn't have counted on him being kind, considerate or even thoughtful."

"No? What do you mean, you must mean

unlike

Mr James Atherton; he is kind, considerate and thoughtful... isn't he, Iris?"

"Well, he is kind of nice - as far as bosses go; but not as nice as Mr Godford was, I have to say." Iris's tone was filled with regret, and Laurie looked at her curiously.

"You never did say why you decided to quit your last job?"

"No, well, it was just time I think... I was ready for a change..."

"And you really don't want to talk about it." Laurie laughed lightly as she stood up suddenly.

"Well any way - whatever you might say about him; I thought that he was rather sweet."

Sweet? James Atherton sweet?

He was a lot of things, Iris thought to herself, but sweet was most definitely not one of them, and as far as she could tell, sweet would never be something that she would associate with him. Not even if he was a grey old man with a dozen grandchildren running him ragged - even then he would not be sweet!

*

She sat down on the sofa and tried not to think about one Mr Atherton.

But as the sun set, and her skin began to burn, Iris found that

all

she could think about was James.

She remembered how his lips had felt against hers, and how his arms had felt; and as she remembered, then the discomfort and the pain of the shifting, began to lessen; to diminish and to fade, until all she felt was a warmth and a strength, and a great sense of expectancy.

"Well, little red, that seemed to go more smoothly."

Iris glanced at her father in surprise and realised that she had shifted into her wolf form without even noticing, and before the moon was even fully in the sky.

Her father was still human as he waited for Laurie to make the change, and Iris rested her nuzzle on her sister's thigh.

"Just let it go, little sister, let the heat wash over you, remember your thrill from last night... remember the thrill of the hunt!"

Laurie smiled down at the red wolf and her brow furrowed as beads of sweat appeared.

"Let it go,"

the red wolf said softly.

Laurie sighed and her eyes closed as she shimmered and shifted into her wolf form.

The large black wolf shimmered into being, less than a heartbeat later. He shook himself vigorously and then fixed his black eyes on the females.

"Our guest will join us in the meadow to the east, but first my little red and my little white, we shall run, we shall hunt!"

*

The patio doors stood open as the three wolves headed out into the night.

The large black wolf ambled along, as the smaller red, and smaller white wolves streamed along ahead.

They were not big and they were not strong - his daughters, but they were fast!

Chapter Eight

The younger black wolf sat in the shadows of the trees as the three wolves ambled past.

His black eyed gaze was fixed onto the red wolf as she moved gracefully across the ground, she was closest to him as they went by, but he thought far enough away for her not to pick up his scent.

He thought wrong.

She slithered to a halt even as she drew parallel with him, and turned abruptly.

She crouched down with a low growl, and had he been a man he would have grinned appreciatively at her perception.

He stepped out from the shelter of the trees.

"Well met, Morning Glory."

The red wolf blinked at him, as she stood up straighter.

"That is not my name... why do you call me that?"

"You remind me of a spectacular sunrise, with a burning red horizon."

The other two wolves came back into the clearing then, and the old black wolf stepped between them.

James hunkered down and refused to make eye contact, and the older wolf - after a moment of standing over him, stepped back with a low growl.

"Greetings, our guest."

"Honours to you, pack leader and thank you for your hospitality this night."

The moon had been shielded by rainclouds, but as they scudded along, the white beams shone down on them all.

Once again the younger male was transfixed by the red wolf as her fur seemed to catch on fire.

"Magnificent!"

he growled again.

"There are deer roaming in the woods to the west, tonight my pack we hunt!"

the older wolf said pointedly.

"For sport or for the kill?"

The younger male showed no emotion or judgement just an idle curiosity and so the older male answered easily enough.

"We eat well enough as humans, the hunt is a good way of keeping our senses keen, we do not need to kill to hone our skill!"

"Aye that we don't, pack leader."

The two females glanced back at their father, and he fixed them with his black eyed stare.

"Lead on then, little red, and little white... we will see if little white can reproduce her triumph from last night."

The snowy wolf looked up at the moon and gave a howl of relish, before turning and loping off into the night.

The red wolf cast the younger male a quick look, almost in challenge before she turned and raced after her sister.

The older male sat on his hunches and gave the young male a wolfy grin.

"Let them have their lead!"

he suggested almost conspiratorially.

And so the two male wolves gave the females a head start of several minutes before taking off after them.

*

James loped along just behind the old black wolf, and was not surprised when he easily picked up the scent of the female's passing.

He opened up his senses, his smell, his sight and his hearing, hoping to gage the distance between himself and them.

He could see the evidence of their passing, the slight disturbances on the ground, he could faintly smell her scent, but he heard nothing, he saw nothing else.

It was as though they had passed by here hours ago, instead of mere moments.

They were fast these females, and they were light footed as well.

*

Laurie and Iris entered the western forest cautiously.

They had no reason to be afraid, but they were here to hunt the deer, and so stealth and caution; as well as speed, were the games to be played tonight.

They knew that the males were not too far behind, but Laurie had the bit between her teeth as she wanted to consolidate her triumph from the night before.

They moved silently through the undergrowth, shuffling along almost on their stomachs as they drew closer to the small group of does.

They were perhaps twelve feet away, when one of them suddenly looked up, and the other three all followed suit.

They peered around them anxiously, and then as though in agreement they all shot off.

The two wolves were in hot pursuit, when the young black wolf suddenly pulled in alongside Iris.

She did not even acknowledge him as her snout lowered, and she dug in deep.

She could see Laurie just ahead as she angled to the right after the fleeing deer.

Iris, kicked up her back paws, and shot off to the left in a burst of speed and power.

She raced through the trees away from Laurie and her father who were both on the trail of the deer.

She raced away from James, even though she knew that he was coming after her.

She was small and she was not that strong, but she was fast.

But then so was he.

As she raced through a small silent copse of trees, he caught her, leaping onto her and forcing her to the ground with a yelp and a howl.

"Enough!"

he growled as he sprang away from her so as not to injure her.

"You travel too far away from your pack!"

She lay down on the grown as she eyed him reproachfully.

"I am on my father's land still, what is there to fear out here?"

"Nowhere is ever that safe. You are not so strong as to be able to afford such recklessness - especially when there are other male packs so close by."

"You are not my pack leader; you cannot order me around or lecture me!"

Her fur practically bristled with indignation, and the male moved closer, and his ears went forward.

He was powerful, a natural leader of a pack when the time came for him to challenge. She wondered idly whose pack he belonged to, and if she knew of them.

There were a great many packs, all over the world; usually small and well concealed amongst the human population, but she knew of only a few packs in her part of the world.

He moved to stand over her in a dominating fashion, he had moved so suddenly to stand over her... and there was something in his scent and his stance that excited her, that alarmed her... and Iris let out a hiss, which sounded alien in her wolf like form, and she shimmered back into human form.

"You are my boss, remember," she snapped.

"And you are naked when not in your wolf form, remember."

He had also shimmered into his human form, and Iris blushed in humiliation, discomfort, and desire, as she realised that he was as naked as she.

She shivered as she felt the coldness of the night on her bare flesh; she hugged her arms tightly around herself, and she sank down onto the ground as the fatigue rushed through her.

"Shift back," James growled. "We're too far away from the house; we'll die out here if we don't shift back."

"I can't," Iris whimpered, "it is hard enough shifting once - once I shift back, that's it, until I've rested, and a new full moon calls out to me."

"We'll die out here, if the exhaustion doesn't finish us, then the cold surely will. You have to shift back!"

James shimmered again, and the large black wolf stood over her.

"Shift back!"

But Iris was already losing consciousness, as she slumped further down heavily onto the ground.

The wolf lifted his snout to the moon and howled long and hard, and as the cry echoed through the forest, he settled down next to the unconscious woman, and snuggled up close to her, resting his paws lightly on her, and arching his body over her.

He used his warmth to keep her from freezing.

And that was how the little white, and the old black wolf found them shortly after, as they came racing into the clearing after hearing his call.

"What happened here?"

the cold fury had the younger male on his guard, but he would not budge from Iris.

"She was startled and shifted back into human form; but almost as soon as she was human, the cold and the fatigue hit her hard."

"What startled her so badly that she made the shift?"

The younger wolf looked up at the older one

. "With all due respect, pack leader this is not the time for this. Your daughter needs your help, and she needs it now!"

The old wolf looked down at the woman and the wolf and then at the white wolf.

"Stay here, little white, look out for your sister, and I shall return home for transport and some covering."

He did not wait for her agreement, but turned and loped off under the trees.

Laurie gave a little whine, and then she moved to the other side of Iris, and lay down beside her, snuggling as close as she could get.

*

"Here, drink this,"

Iris eyelids fluttered as she felt the cold flask put to her lips, and the burning liquid filled her mouth.

She swallowed reflexively and the fiery liquid coated her throat and hit her belly.

She gave a hoarse groan, and her father's worried gaze noted the dull flush to her pale features.

He gave a little grunt of approval and then wrapping a blanket around her, he scooped her up off the cold hard ground.

"Laurie, get into the back."

The white wolf scrambled up into the back of the jeep, and then her father gently placed Iris in next to her.

Iris pulled the blanket tighter around her, and leaned against the white wolf for comfort and warmth.

She felt absolutely exhausted.

She peered out of the window wearily to see her father standing over James and apparently talking to him, even though he was back to human form and James was still a wolf.

After a moment though her father climbed into the front of the car, and switched on the engine.

"What about James?" she asked weakly.

"He's going back to his hosts, and so will stay in wolf form until he gets there."

"Oh." She closed her eyes tiredly and the white wolf gave a little whine, and snuggled closer to her.

The journey back to the house was uncomfortable, but thankfully short, and as her father helped her from the truck Iris was aware of the sun prickling the horizon.

"It's almost dawn," she murmured vaguely as the wolf scrambled out behind her.

Father and daughter stood watching as the white wolf trotted over to the patio, and as her paws hit the marble floor she shimmered and changed into Laurie, who shivered and grabbed the robe from where it had been left earlier.

Greg helped Iris up to her room, and as she fell onto the bed he stroked back her hair tenderly.