The feeling of the ground shifting out from beneath me startled me awake. I jerked upright, heavy eyes flickering about. Spindly pine trees surrounded me and one massive black wall. Basileus' musky scent and the smell of sex wrapped pleasantly around me. It was then I realized the ground hadn't moved, but Basileus was in the process of standing. I must have shifted at some point during my sleep because I felt my ears prick forward. Basileus nudged off my last lingering paw and shook out his fur.
Whining, I rolled onto my back and struck at the air. He blinked down at me. My thighs and pelvis felt achy so I gladly stretched them far enough to kick at his legs. He growled and then stretched out his own body. When I didn't budge, he pushed my legs over and nudged my side. I didn't want to get up, though. It was cold and I was comfy.
He tossed his head in the direction of Tandan's house. I rolled over, giving him my back, and curled into a ball. No warning was given before I felt a slight nip on my flanks. It surprised me more than hurt, but I still leapt onto my feet with a snarl. Basileus rolled his eyes. I circled him and barked petulantly. He watched in evident annoyance before swiping at me with his claws. Of course, he was careful not to scratch me. I turned my ass towards him and shook it. This time a deep warning growl was issued right before he grabbed my tail and dragged me into his body.
I squealed.
"Anna," he scolded.
My lips peeled back in a daring wolfish grin. I rubbed my flanks against his manhood. That earned me a hasty swat on the flanks. He gingerly released me and then started off towards Tandan's house. I sat back on my haunches, watching his massive dark frame retreat into the trees. Much to my irritation, he didn't so much as glance black at me. I was really tempted to not follow him. After all, my body was not through having its way with him.
A low burble in my stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten real food in many hours. Too many to count at this point. Maybe I could try hunting. I was a wolf, after all. I didn't know what the hell to do, but maybe that handy wolf spirit could figure it out.
Basileus was already out of sight by now. I could still smell him and I knew I would be able to track him by scent if I needed to. Rising to my paws, I sniffed at the air. What did a rabbit smell like? I never thought the little furry creature would sound appealing, but my mouth watered at the idea. My nose led me towards an earthy, ammonia-smelling hole roughly the size of a basketball. The soil had been freshly dug. Recent rain made the ground soft and easy for my claws to slice through. As soon as I had a few pawfuls of earth moved, my ears picked up on the hitched breathing of a disturbed critter.
The sun rays slid in at just the right angle, piercing the mouth of the hole. Red eyes glinted back. I yelped as the offended little beast sprang out, teeth bared. A fat gray opossum charged at me until I bolted, fearing rabies and infection and whatever the hell else one could acquire from a wild animal. I made it about twenty yards, the opossum still hot on my heels, when I heard another set of paws pummel across the ground. My eyes glanced towards the approacher. Lee's wolf swept in and snatched the opossum off its feet. The demon squalled and thrashed its freakishly sharp talons at her throat. She threw it down, stepped on its tail, and landed one lethal blow to the opossum's head. Its plump gray body slumped into the mud.
She lifted her gaze to me and howled, wagging her tail. I stared at her in amazement. This girl was fearless. Maybe she'd already contracted rabies. I'd have to ask.
Yipping, she snapped playfully at me and then pranced away. She looked back to see if I took the bait. I didn't want to, but I also realized that I would starve to death if I tried to assert my survival skills again. So I trailed her back to Tandan's place with a hopeful tummy.
My nose twitched as we reached the backyard. Several men I had never met clustered around the house. They spoke in small groups amongst themselves, and some had maps or tablets. It was like I truly understood that the Internet was back.
Lee trotted up to the backdoor, shifted to her human, and then glanced expectantly at me. I sniffed at the air but Basileus didn't smell near enough. So I followed her inside. None of the men seemed to notice us or care.
"I noticed the clothes I gave you were in tatters," she remarked with a snort.
"Yeah . . . sorry about that."
"It's fine, really. Gives me a good excuse to go shopping. But, just so neither of us blows through an entire wardrobe, there's a wolf code with shifting. You strip out of your clothes when you shift and then put them back on when you return." She shrugged and led me into the master bedroom.
The pungent grime and sex odor made my eyes water. "I will definitely keep that in mind. Sorry, I'm still learning things about this whole new—um—life thing."
A dress flew at me from the closet, which I caught with shocking ease. Lee poked her head out.
"That's totally understandable! Don't apologize. We all need to be better at teaching you the wolf way," she said with a warm smile. It was so genuine and affectionate. "Why don't you go shower up and change?"
"Into this?" I examined the dress more carefully now. It was striped and the stretchy fabric gave a tight impression. "Am I going to look like a cow? Why a dress?"
She set her brows at me. "You could never look like a cow, okay? Do you see me? Now, shoo. The dress is because you're going to look bomb as hell and we don't let our menfolk off the hook when they leave us without morning sex. Capiche?"
I laughed. Although I didn't know how she knew about that, it somehow didn't surprise me.
"You too, huh?" I asked.
"Not this time, but it's happened before. I got payback—trust me." She winked. "Now, go get ready. This is your first public outing as Basileus' mate. I've got food cooking too, so the faster you finish, the sooner you eat."
"Yes, Mom." I winked back and then made my way back to the guest bedroom, dress in tow.