The normally noisy woods was quiet this day. The cacophony of birds chirping, insects buzzing, squirrels and chipmunks twittering were replaced by a rhythmic
thud! thud! thud!
which originated from a direction near one of the cabins which stood about a kilometre from the main campsite.
He sniffed the air, and padded silently towards the noise. He was sure that it was that alien noise that had shushed the animals, alerting them of potential danger, of an intruder into their territory. His paws were quiet as they stepped over the soft soil, a rich humus scent filling his nostrils.
From beyond the fronds of a large fern growing near the ground, he peered outwards, his ears twitching forward to catch the
thud
sounds and identify their source.
A young woman was standing by a tree, a small sandbag hanging securely off one of its tough boughs. Her hands were wrapped in white, in a gauze he recognized protected martial artists' fists; she was barefooted. The noises which had silenced the forest came from her fists hitting the sandbag in quick strikes.
His ears pricked back and forth, his curiosity piqued. He owned this large patch of land on which a human campsite and a few cabins were built. He had allowed it because it brought in some revenue and amused him occasionally. But he had never seen this woman, and he had never seen this cabin occupied.
He pushed his snout through the fern, and the woman froze, her fists before her face, her whole posture suddenly still, her expression wary. He froze, as still as she was, and very slowly lowered himself to the ground, resting his head on his paws. He was able to do so that nothing could hear him, and he made himself comfortable to see what she would do.
Instead of moving, the woman closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed until it was even. To his eyes, it seemed as if she was listening to the woods, just as he did, just as all the animals and prey and predators did.
But she was still human, and her senses, however sharp, were limited to what her physical body had. After a few minutes of hearing nothing, she relaxed and went back to the sandbag, and the rhythmic attacks upon the bag started again.
He remained there, watching her, impressed at her strength and her speed. A chill wind started blowing upwind from him, and he caught the strong scent of her, of perspiration filled with clear adrenaline, and of the strength that called up images of sinewy muscles rippling with tension. He resisted the urge to sniff more deeply, slowly withdrew himself from the fern, and loped away.
-----
"Who's the owner of the cabin over at B8?" Seth brushed some dried leaves off his hair as he strode into the main log house which he liked to live in. The staff of this whole place was his pack.
"What's got you so interested in her?" Brandon, the wolf who worked registrations and administrations asked his alpha.
"You know it's a her?"
"Yeah, she just moved in. Bought over the cabin from Raine Burton. But she keeps mostly to herself." At Seth's surprised look, Brandon huffed. "There aren't so many new people who buy cabins here. I can remember any transaction that happens, you know?"
Seth leaned in to the computer and pushed Brandon on his chair out of the way playfully, and read up on the file on the young woman he had seen. "Jase, Lee. Twenty-eight. Hm..."
"Seth?"
"Yeah?" the alpha said without taking his eyes off the screen.
"You're interested in her?" There was worry in Brandon's voice now. He knew he had no authority to question his alpha. But he couldn't help it. "They don't usually like our kind..."
"Yeah. I know...I know."
-----
Jase grunted as she flexed her wrists. She had been training the previous day and had hit the sandbag at the wrong angle when a sudden sense told her that she was being watched. But the woods was quiet, and when she had heard nothing further, had gone back to training. It had aggravated the slight sprain she'd had on her right wrist, and she had to convince herself to rest her arms today and work on her legs.
She had totally immersed herself into the state where the only things in her world were the sandbag, and the rhythm she set, until something tingled at the bauble of her perception, and she froze again and frowned. Twice in two days definitely was not her imagination.
Her eyes scanned the area around her, and she moved backward, taking careful steps to put the cabin behind her.
A rustle at the right corner of her vision caught her attention, as grey-white moved out of the dense foliage of green and brown of the trees, and a large timber wolf padded limberly out.
Jase blinked. Now what was she to do? She had known that there were wolves roaming somewhere on this land. But from what she knew, wolves avoided human dwelling. And she was still close enough to civilization that she thought she wouldn't encounter wild animals she needed to be wary of.
Its piercing amber eyes gazed at her as it raised its head steadily. Its ears pricked forward and it took a few steps and stopped, and then it did that again, in such an unaggressive behaviour that Jase was confused to no end. By the time she decided something had to be done, the wolf had reached her.
Her breath hitched. It was beautiful, but its powerful form filled the whole of her vision, and she knew that whatever she could do to protect herself against humans, which she had trained hard for for years, those methods and training would do little against an animal of that size.
But it just bumped its forehead against her hand and then stopped, its tail wagging lazily. A long tongue flicked out to lick at her fingers and Jase risked stroking the slope of its graceful snout a few times before it turned suddenly and bounded away, vanishing amongst the trees.
She found herself trembling.
-----
"Dammit!" Seth stormed into the log house, fuming at himself.
"Now what's wrong?" Lucy, the mate of his omega, asked. She was stocking up on the food in the fridge. Sure they were wolves, and in a pack, she had to defer to Seth. On a regular basis, when leadership was called for, she deferred to him as well. But as humans, they had their own skills, and she could hold her own.
Seth took a long gulp of iced water, knowing it wasn't good for his heated metabolism, but it felt good anyway. "Damn all our heritage and damn our stupid noses!"
She raised a brow at Brandon but he just shrugged.
"This girl...woman...at B8." Seth sat himself down. "I was hunting and came across her yesterday. She's a martial artist, you know that? Had a sandbag all tied to a tree branch and all. I watched her, and the wind blew her scent to me."
Brandon groaned, but they all understood. In the animal world, the group which used their noses and was most affected by smell the most of all was probably the lupines and the canines. Nevermind that they were just weres; they were as affected and bound by it as the true wolves were.
"I can't get her scent out of my head."
"Are you going to make her one of us?" Lucy had finished storing the food and now stood facing Seth.
"I don't know. I don't even know her."
"Then maybe you should check her out, Seth," Brandon suggested. "At least find out what she's like."
"But I like her scent too much already."
-----
Seth carried a small basket filled with some meat, fruits and a bottle of wine, and strolled over to B8. On his way, he passed near some occupied campsites, and a few cabins. Strange. He had never realized how far out B8 was as compared with the other houses. But he usually left the management of the whole place to his staff, so it was no wonder he wasn't as familiar with the occupied parts of his land as he would like.
As he rounded a group of trees which hid B8 from view, he suddenly paused, sniffing the air, cocking his head to catch the faintest noises of struggle. He broke into a run, letting the basket drop, and as the cabin came into view, he saw Jase being held in a stranglehold by a young man who was obviously drunk.
"Such a pretty little girl like you shouldn't be all alone out here," the man slurred. "See what you've made me do? I've got a fucking hard on now, and now you're in trouble."
Before Seth could reach them, Jase had stamped hard on the man's foot. Somehow, she had shifted after that and managed to hook her foot behind the man's ankle, pushing her foot forward and tripping them both backward. The man took the brunt of the fall, and he groaned loudly, releasing his hold on her.
She rolled off him and scrambled a few steps away. Seeing Seth, her breathing hitched, and she moved backward until she had both him and the drunk in her view. Her arms were up in a defensive position.
Seth held his hands up placidly. "I'm Seth Ulrich," he said. "I own this piece of land and the campsites and cabins."
"Oh." Jase let her arms fall, but her posture was still wary. She glanced towards the man she had just attacked. "He tried to rape me."
"I know. I was just coming around the bend." Having identified himself, Seth stepped towards them, stepped towards her, going closer to the man so that he could also be closer to her. He rolled the man over so that he could check on the back of his head and his pulse, then glanced up at Jase. "Would you like me to handle this?"
Her hard eyes gave way to a subtle weariness. "Yes, please."
It didn't take very long. Seth had used his cell to call up Alex, his beta, and Alex had brought Brandon along. He explained the situation to them, and they rolled the man onto a makeshift gurney and returned to the reception cabin, Alex calling the cops on the way. They cast the barest hint of a glance her way.
Jase watched them go, only moving when she heard Seth sigh. Her curious glance and slight raise of her brows asked her question for her.
"I just found out you were new here," he said. "I'd brought some food as a hello and welcome, but I think the wine bottle has probably broken now."
A strange expression crossed her face, but she nodded at him. "Thank you, I guess. Where did you drop the basket? I'll go get it."
