Monster

Gratitude

"You know, I was surprised when I first saw you. I had never met or heard of a silver-eyed wolves outside of my pack, let alone a she-wolf. What a surprise! Are your parents from here?"

The Omega's words kept spinning in my mind with the annoying impression that I had forgotten something important. Turning and tossing, I could not close my eyes. The events of the last two days had drained me. Dawn was coming and I had to supervise the training of the wolves the whole morning. I had to sleep.

"You know it's not by being upset that you're going to be able to sleep.

- I know, I know, but I can't get it out of my head that something important is buried there, in my memory. I know so little about my parents.

- You know, you better give up for tonight. The harder you search, the more it's going to slip away. It'll come back to you when the time comes.

- And you don't know anything ?

- I don't even know what you're looking for, so how can I help you?

- True enough...

- Try not to think about it right now. I'm with you, everything will be fine.

- Together?

- Always!"

Soothed by the words of my she-wolf, I end up falling asleep. The first beams of sunlight pulled me out of bed. The night had been short, but at least I had been able to sleep for an hour or two. Washing up quickly, I went to the training area. It was the day I took care of the young survivors of the initiation rite, training them to fight as wolves. I was never in charge of the training in human form. I was myself highly trained in combat in all forms of course, but I only fought with a handful of skilled warriors and the main instructor, always out of sight. During the session, only the fists spoke. We weren't there to chat or be friends. The first to arrive was Chelsea. I nodded approvingly to the young she-wolf. She had one paw still healing, but at least she came as a spectator. People often underestimate the power of observation in learning. Little by little the youngsters arrived and training began. As it was in full swing, I caught a glimpse of unwanted spectators. I saw the Gamma waving enthusiastically at me, a gesture that I decided to ignore. I was not going to associate with the wolves of another pack. The morning went smoothly and as everyone went back to their tasks, I saw the Yukon pack still on the edge of the field. Annoyed, I decided to approach them to see what they wanted from me. Facing them, I sat down and bowed my head intrigued. Clyde was the first to speak, cheerfully.

"Hi! So you're babysitting in addition to being a valet?"

The training had drained the last of my patience. Add to that the lack of sleep, and I was in no mood for jokes. So I curled up my chops and snapped my jaw, but I didn't want to be too hostile in the presence of the Alpha. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the look of displeasure on Duncan's face and Isaac spoke up as he slapped the back of his Gamma head.

" Excuse him, Fury, he doesn't know when to shut up once and for all. We wanted to drop by to thank you for yesterday before we started our research and seeing you teaching we decided to stay and watch for a while. It was... very interesting, you are a born leader. These young wolves truly respect you."

I nodded gratefully to him after his compliment, noting however that he did not really say what he was thanking me for. Nevertheless, his tone was meaningful. He was not talking about the fact that I had guided them to their accommodation.

"Probably for not having teared his cute little Omega to shreads."

My she-wolf's comment made me smile and scream at the same time. I had the bad idea to notice that he didn't have an unpleasant look and now I was going to hear about it for months. As I turned my attention back to them, the Alpha spoke again.

"We need to go to your pack archives to find a map of the area. Could you show us the way?"

My lupine silence didn't seem to bother him too much. Diving my gaze into his so that he could grasp my assent, I got up and began to head towards the house of the pack where, apart from the apartments of the Alpha and the Luna and my own quarters, the archives were located. As the archivist was greeting them, Ivana passed by and nodded gracefully to them from afar. Then, she realized that I was with them, Clyde laughing as usual, looking for trouble. Her irises turned red and then normalized so quickly that I was probably the only one who noticed.

"Fury, follow me!"

Her sharp voice alerted the three wolves I was with, and the archivist, frightened, dropped the documents he was holding in his hands. Isaac and Clyde, surprised, looked in the direction of the Luna. As for Duncan, he was staring at me so intensely that I wondered if he wasn't trying to communicate mentally with me. Of course, it was impossible between wolves not belonging to the same pack outside of the Alphas, mates and blood-related wolves. Unexpectedly, I saw that his fists were so tight that his knuckles had turned white. Strange, why was he getting into such an upset state? Suddenly my mental barriers were shattered, it was Ivana who was using her power to force her way through.

" Do I have to repeat myself, you b***h?

- No, excuse me, Luna."

Without paying any more attention to the four wolves who stood silently behind me, I walked towards her stiffly. It was the only identifiable sign of discomfort for outsiders. But I knew that whatever she was blaming me for, I was going to have a hard time. We were soon, far too soon, arriving at her apartments. The moment the door was closed, she kicked me violently in the ribs. Taken by surprise, I let out a yelp of pain before getting a grip on myself. Short of breath, I tried to assess the damage, while keeping an eye on the fury facing me. Her eyes had turned blood-red again. She had completely lost control of her wolf.