Chapter 2: Why Do I Talk?
1197 Words
I do not know how long we stared each other down until he finally spoke.
“Dude," the dark-haired shifter said, “the hell are you doing here?"
I got the impression that he was being impatient with me for some reason. I tried to respond, but all I could come up with was, “um…"
Apparently, faced with this new shifter, I had forgotten how to use my words.
“You with the other shifters, or what?" He asked.
“Huh?"
“Dude, you're joking. You here alone or what?"
“No, I have friends." I said. I cursed myself for just giving that away. He was the enemy. And where the hell had my wits gone in all this?
“Oh, really?"
“Yeah. They're around."
“... but you're here alone."
“... I guess."
“You guess?"
In response, I just shrugged. I knew I was in danger. But nothing exciting ever happened to me. And he was really handsome. If he tried to kill me, then I'd handle that when the time came. But for now, there wasn't any harm in getting to know him.
Besides, I was tiny and insignificant. Even he saw that. What could he possibly gain from attacking me?
The enemy wolf sighed, but looked my way once again. “What's your name?"
“I'm not sure I should tell you that." Finally, a smart response.
The wolf scoffed. “You're aware I could kill you, right?"
It was the ease with which he said it which had me go back to my un-smart ways. “AJ. My name is AJ." So much for keeping information from him.
He grinned. I noticed I liked his smile. “AJ. It's nice to meet you. You already call for your pack?"
“I, uh. I can't." I mumbled sheepishly, although his enhanced senses no doubt heard it clearly.
He raised an eyebrow. “You can't?"
Well, he didn't have to be so condescending about it.
“Not unless I shift."
“Then shift."
“H-huh?"
“Shift. Call your pack. What are you waiting for?"
Something was dodgy. An enemy wolf, stalking me at my scouting party's camp, having a conversation instead of attacking me outright. Plus, he wanted me to call my pack for help?
It was a trap.
The urge to shift and run hit me. My body wanted to sprint and call for help, to get the hell out of dodge and pray that this enemy shifter didn't get to me first.
Only, there was a bigger part of me which wanted to stay.
It was his eyes, I think, which did it. His acid-washed jeans helped, because they somehow fit his legs just right. I could tell that much, even from across the clearing. But I didn't want to risk never seeing this… stranger again, even if it was likely he was dangerous to be around.
I reasoned that if he tried to kill me, then I could address that when the time came. But until then, I might as well try my chances. After all, nobody in my pack had taken an interest in me. Maybe this one would be different.
Then again, I couldn't believe what I was thinking. This was an enemy shifter I was staring down. Not an eligible bachelor. No matter how tightly his t-shirt clung against him.
“I like your jacket!" I blurted out. I don't even know why. The only reason I was even aware I had said it at all was because the other shifter responded to it.
“... you? You like…my jacket?"
At this point I was in too deep, so I just replied a lame “yeah" in response.
That took the opposing shifter by surprise. Apparently, he wasn't used to prospective enemies complimenting his wardrobe.
“Thanks." He said. It was probably just in my head, but I imagined he wanted to return the compliment.
But who am I kidding? There wasn't all that much complimentary about me. From my raggedy pants, all the way to my—
“I like your…shirt?" The other shifter replied. He ended it on a questioning lilt, though. It was good to know that he, too, did not know what was going on in this interaction.
It was even better to know that he liked my shirt.
“Thanks!" I said, wholeheartedly. It looked like things were actually going quite well! “I got it at—"
“Yeah, I don't actually care."
Oh.
I was more than a little crestfallen. I thought for sure he was interested. Maybe if I tried to say something, anything, “But—"
“Where is your pack?" He asked again, with a little more irritation lacing his tone.
And it just wasn't fair. Why was he only interested in my pack, when he was the most attractive shifter I'd ever seen? His hair was short and dark, and a little jagged. It made me curious what his wolf form looked like, because it looked like he used more product than anyone I knew from my pack. I wondered if that altered how his fur looked in wolf form or not.
And I did not have any interest in where my pack was.
“I don't know." I said, truthfully. “And I don't care."
“... what?"
“I don't care."
It took the shifter a long time to piece that one together, “... but they're your pack?"
“... and you're trying to use me as bait? I fail to see your point."
Got 'em. I had taken a stab in the dark, though not for the reasons I probably should have. It wasn't subterfuge. I wasn't trying to get information from him. I just wanted to talk with him. I thought maybe if I poked away at what he was doing here, then maybe I'd get a little more time with him.
I just didn't think that it would work.
“...I'm not with anyone." He said. But he had folded his arms defensively, and shifted from one foot to the other.
I had him dead to rights.
“You are!" I said.
“Am not!"
“Yes, you are! Where are they? How many—"
Then an unfamiliar voice came booming from behind me.
“Okay. This has gone on long enough. Call your pack, little man."
I turned around, and saw the single biggest, most buff, and inexplicably shirtless shifter I'd ever seen. And that was probably only partly an exaggeration. The dude was big.
The fact that he called me 'little man' was a tremendous credit to me. To me, he looked so large that I might have been better described as the child to his child, or some such nonsense.
I realized that playtime was over. Whether I wanted it to be or not.
The shifter spoke again.
“Where. Is. Your. Pack?"
I stammered. Then I flubbed. I searched for words, and opened my mouth to say them, but then lost them.
I could see the exact moment he lost his patience with me.
And then he hit me.
- Writer
