The Wolf's Song

On the Mirror's Other Side

Michael

Getting home took very little time, but for me, it felt like an eternity. Getting out of the car, stripping off my clothes, and crossing the forest amidst a snarl felt liberating in a way, and by the time I reached the river, the wolf form had already greeted me as I nimbly crossed the water, leaping from rock to rock until I reached the other side of the clearing and running across the open country until the forest absorbed me completely. By then, my pack was already with me, thoughts of Francis and Robert reaching my mind in the middle of the trail.

We ran through the forest together, guided by a routine we knew well, and as they allowed me to run as far as my breath allowed me to go, marking out my territory and following any telltale scent trails; Francis made a middle course of the terrain, focusing on the inner, denser part of the forest, and Robert scanned the scents near the city, sensing any possible disturbances in the environment.

Traversing the expanse of the forest took us about an hour, for although the terrain was wide, we were faster than comprehension encompassed, so we soon returned to our starting point, as we converted back to our human form, and we quietly changed into our sweatpants.

Francis was pensive about Damien’s movements, from what I could sense in his thoughts, but Robert’s feeling was slightly shallower. Even as much as he was worried about the situation, he was glad to be able to run through the forest, to experience the freedom that being in his wolf form gave him.

I turned my back on them both for a moment, thoughts lost, and in time to run my hands through my hair, combing the unruly stranded back.

“Even if Damien is taking a chance on Diana, he doesn’t seem foolish enough to cross our territory again,” Robert then began, as he sat down on a rock.

I sighed and tried to keep my cool, but even with the running, it still drove me up the wall how easily he had approached her.”We must keep a closer eye on him,” I affirmed. “I don’t trust him. He has decided to act, and I see his movements, the way he approaches Diana... He plans to hurt me through her.”

“But the murders, Michael,” Francis then began, worried. “We don’t know why he keeps killing these people.”

I nodded, letting my thoughts and his wander in the same direction. I understood what he meant without needing him to explain.

“I don’t understand what he’s planning either, but we know Damien is one of those who act from the shadows.”

“But no, this doesn’t seem to be very much in the order of his previous actions,” Robert then said, thoughtfully. “I mean, how long has it been since he’s allowed his wolves to hunt for fun or to disturb us in our territory? He has learned to respect us. One way or another, he usually keeps his distance.”

“This is different,” I said, thinking out loud.

“Maybe it’s planning to attack us,” Francis then said.

It would unleash a war to send a group of young wolves under his orders into our territory, and he knew it. Before they reached the village, I would finish him off. To finish off Damien would be the only option, in that case, to make his pack dissolve by losing the power of his Alpha and taking control myself.

I didn’t like that prospect, but even though Damien’s intentions in approaching Diana were so easy for me to understand, I didn’t understand why he kept attacking, killing in the shadows. It seemed too aggressive a plan to be his, a plan that included too many innocents when the truth was that he wanted to take revenge by killing only one innocent to make me suffer.

The thought made me click my tongue in annoyance, and immediately Francis and Robert sensed the disturbance in my emotions.

“We can’t let him keep attacking anyway. And I’m not just talking about Bamberg; we will have to expand our tracking territory if that proves necessary,” I affirmed. “In order to protect those who may be in his way. We can’t let him start a war if that’s what he plans to do and even less if he plans to do it by converting as many humans as he can along the way. We all know how badly that could end.”

Francis and Robert remained silent as I thought about the nearby city where Diana had been until just a few hours ago with her friend, drinking and enjoying a night free of responsibilities and worries. That girl, Maya, would probably still be there, oblivious to the danger. What would happen if Damien decided to go after her, if he went after others, others who were helpless and ignorant like her?

“Well, I have no problem expanding the tracking territory. I like to run,” Robert affirmed, but Francis kept his gaze serious, fixed on me.

“Do you really think Damien might be trying to start a war...?”

“I don’t know, honestly,” I sighed. “But I’m not going to let him achieve his goal, whatever it is.”

The three of us kept silent. In any case, we knew well that the deaths that haunted the past were already inexcusable, and that they were present in our conscience. Each of us, individually and collectively, had people we care about, people we wanted to protect, and who we would not let get hurt just because some madman decided he wanted to take his revenge by hurting as many as he could along the way.

“Either way,” Robert sighed as he stood up. “If it’s all right with Michael, you can go home today, Francis. You watched it yesterday, didn’t you? Anne must miss you. Go back to her, give her a hug. Get some rest.” Robert patted Francis’ back, evidently comfortable with spending the night running through the woods. He would definitely prefer to have to go back to the disco, or somewhere crowded with people.

“Robert’s right, Francis. Go home today. We’ll watch the woods and make the rounds.”

“I’m not sure, Michael. With this present situation, how do you expect me to go home and sleep?” he asked with one eyebrow arched in concern.

I smiled as I patted his back, and as I allowed my Alpha voice to emerge, subliminally, but causing an obvious effect on him.

“Francis, I’m not asking you, I’m simply ordering you to go home. Get some rest, hug your wife and say hello to us.”

Francis smiled, slightly, his brow covered with worry, but finally, he nodded. He couldn’t resist my order, but beyond being able to or not, he didn’t mind going home and kissing his wife, whom he knew, he missed.

So he took his rest as Robert and I returned to our wolf forms. We split up, always connected because of the nexus that was created between members of the same pack, and going in opposite directions, we began to run.

Thus, I gave myself time to lose myself in the night, feeling and just letting go of my thoughts as my paws penetrated deep into the damp earth and propelled me further and further, and at the same time, closer and closer to her.

How easy it would be if Diana were forced to obey. If in some things, just a few things, she had no choice but to just listen to me. It would be so much easier to keep her safe, no doubt. It is easier to keep her out of trouble.

But with Diana nothing was easy, was it? And although her temper was one of the things I liked most about her, it was sometimes hard to accept that, in fact, if she didn’t have such a temper, it would be much easier to protect her.

But a submissive Diana would not be Diana, at least not my Diana. Thinking about it made me realize that, whether I liked her or not, part of what so attracted me to her was the resolute way she always seemed to reveal herself, willing to stand her ground, no matter what I thought. No matter how much danger she put herself in by doing so.

That didn’t mean I felt any more comfortable with her determination and stubbornness, but at the very least, it made me smile as I came to understand that, like a mirror, we repelled from each other the image that reflected our similarity. Sometimes we were too similar to be healthy for both of us.