a Witch's Wolf

Episode 2 - Noah

Episode 2 - Noah

He'd smelled her before he saw her and let her walk straight into him. He could have moved out of the way but something about her always made him freeze up a little. He knew she was a witch, not just because of Stone Hill House but from the moment she’d stepped into the school they all knew. He just didn't see her as a threat and failed trying not to think about it too much. Maybe it was the smell of her, always something soft and earthy like the woods. It was hard to feel threatened by a small little waif who smelled as much like a baby deer as she looked. The idea that she had shelves and shelves full of roots and frog legs and creepy tokens of witchcraft was probably the only reason her and her big brown eyes weren't prey for all the wolves here. It was enough to make him stay away and so far all the others had followed his lead.

When she first arrived, he smelled her. He ran across her scent in the woods, just a faint trail here and there. He followed it as it weaved around the path by the House on the Hill. They generally avoided that part of the woods, where the witches walked from house to village but it had been years since any witches had walked through the woods, he was drawn to it. The first day she showed up at school, he smelled her before he saw her and it had shocked him that she was the witch all the wolves had been talking about. Everything else about her seemed soft, her hair, her skin, her voice when she had to actually answer a question she couldn't nod or shake her head to.

Her first few days at school, he watched her every move. He let everyone think he was just gauging her threat level but really he was trying to fathom how this soft, sweet, doe-eyed girl could be the dangerous witch everyone thought she was. He tried to convince himself that's what he was still doing every time he caught her scent in the woods and followed it as far as it would take him. Sometimes he'd find her, digging around in the dirt, laughing and talking to herself. She was a completely different person there than she was at school. At school she was quiet and kept to the shadows. She didn't talk to anyone, she didn't really talk at all but in the woods she was loud, she was excited. In the woods she was free and he was mesmerized by her.

He tried not to watch her too long when he found her, the last thing he wanted was for her to find him but he couldn't always help running into her so when he smelled her in the woods, he kept his distance, even when he couldn't help himself but follow her. He wasn't interested in getting to know her at all and never wanted to see any of whatever ingredients and talismans she was gathering up in person. He just couldn't seem to help himself. Everything about her made him curious.

When he noticed that she avoided him as much as he avoided her, he tried not to let it bother him. He was a wolf after all, of course she avoided him but today she was more surprised than he was when she'd plowed into him, she looked embarrassed throughout the rest of the day when he watched her shrink back around every corner she popped out of. He laughed a little about that but then scowled again when it made him remember the smell of her hair. There was nothing deer-like about the smell of her hair and it had surprised him. It was sweet, some kind of fruit blossom that made him both hungry and enticed at the same time and that pissed him off even more. He'd wanted her to crash into him and he hadn't wanted to let her go when she did. She was supposed to be avoiding him and that was what was really bothering him about it. He'd wanted to touch her, smell her up close for a change. He wanted to think that's what she wanted too and that was the very last thing in the world he should have wanted and he wasn't sure what he should do about it.

He kicked rocks back and forth under his boot and waited for Felix to finish up at practice. He could hear the cheerleaders on the other side of the track practicing. If he looked over he'd see them kicking out their legs and tossing each other in the air. Long legs and short shorts always made him feel better but today he was in a dark mood and he didn't want to feel better. He tried to tell himself it wasn't even about the witch but the scent of her still lingered in the air around him along with the thought of that soft sound she’d made when he grabbed her up. It made him wish he'd just moved out of her way instead. A mix between a sigh and a whimper and it was the last thing a wolf should be hearing from a witch.

She was a witch and he was a wolf. They had been enemies for centuries and they'd be enemies for the rest of time. She could destroy him and everyone he loved with just a few spells and he could tear her throat out with one swipe. It was best if they just continued to avoid each other and pretend they didn't understand what kind of danger they really posed to one another. Let her mix her potions and carry on with her coven. He had his pack and if he concentrated hard enough, there were plenty of wolf girls within his reach that were happy and willing to take his mind off anything, especially a witch's soft skin and the sound of her heartbeat when it was pressed up against his chest.

"Finally" he growled as Felix and the boys came dragging out of the building.

"Hey, Coach was killing us out there." Felix shouted as he came around the truck. "He's afraid that we'll slack off over the summer so he's showing us how hard it'll be if we come back after the break out of shape." Felix laughed with the same carefree way that he always did and dropped his bags and cleats in the back of the truck. "Fire it up Riley!" He hopped in and pounded the side of the door. "Let's go!"

Noah was already putting it in drive by then and peeled out of the parking lot. They honked at the girls as they drove by. While Felix howled, Noah tried to smile, hoping no one noticed that it was more of a grimace.

"Let's head over to Ducey's." Felix said, not even noticing Noah’s dark mood. It was a little pool hall with food and old arcade games that all the wolves hung out at. "I'll text the girls, they'll meet us over there." Without a word, Noah spun the truck around in the middle of the road, smiled at the sound of his tires on the loose gravel and headed the other direction. For a second, he looked in his rear view mirror at the woods behind and knew she was out there, somewhere behind those trees, her breath, her hair, her hands. He gulped and shook his head at the thought before he turned up the radio. What was wrong with him?! He had to get over this and quickly.