Spirit Wolf - New Beginning (Book One)

Chapter 6

REI'S POV:

In the morning I let Maat out. She deserved that. But sadly, just near our cleaning a bit down the stream we found the scent of that wolf from the city. 'He was here.' I said to Maat and she nodded to me. 'Let's follow his scent and we would see.' Maat led us carefully through the woods trying to not make any sound as we were closer to the strangers. They didn’t try to hide or anything so it was very easy to find them. She made sure we were downwind even if that meant to take a little detour but like that, we should be able to get closer to their camp. When we arrived, everyone was up. I had to stay a bit far since there were some others with him who secure the perimeter around them. 'They are warriors.' Maat said to me. 'Do you think they are here for us?' I asked her. I was afraid, seriously afraid. I guess if Maat wouldn't be in control of our body, I would be frozen. She shook her muzzle. 'If that would be the case, they would take us yesterday at night. His scent was strong in the morning which means he stood there for quite some time.' Maat explained for me which didn't make me calm. From the place where we found the scent, I am sure he arrived when I was taking a bath. How much did he see? Did he like me? Maybe he didn’t interrupt because I looked creepy for him. How long did he stand there? The thought of him watching me made me excited. Is there something wrong with me?

I just heard Maat chuckle from my own thoughts. 'How many of them are here?' I asked Maat to check the guy standing closer to the fire in the middle of their camp as I tried to change my thoughts. 'I counted six men staying on patrols and those two in the camp. Looks like eight men in total.' Maat summarized. We focused on the guy in the middle who looked like the one in charge. He was ordering the other guy around. We heard him saying something about buying a land here on the phone and arranging some meetings before the others appeared in front of him. 'You were right. There are eight of them.' I praised my wolf. The guy in the middle instructed them all to go search but for some reason he told them to avoid my area. Strange. 'See. I told you they are here not for us.' Maat said. 'Yeah. But they are definitely here to look for a place to stay.' I snapped back at her and she just made 'oh' before getting back to the guys and listening more of their conversation.

Their leader was appealing and for some reason I had to stare at him longer than I would want to admit. His sharp jaw lines covered with a one-week old beard looked sexy on him. He had shortly cut ash hair but now they were messy pointing to every possible direction. It looked cute on him but at the same time very manly. Also, his sweet strawberry smell mixed with freshly cut wood reminded me of my old home. I wanted to stay here and smell him all day long but as the others started to disappear, Maat slowly and quietly moved us more far and I couldn't see him properly anymore. I should have taken a better look. I felt Maat rolled her eyes on me. 'Are you a teenager or what?' She pretended to be annoyed by my thoughts. I facepalmed myself mentally. Like hell yeah, I was a teenager not even eighteen yet so what. 'Don't tell me you don't find him attractive?' I asked her instead any slight comments on her question before; she could anyway read my thoughts.

We were now running back to our home since the other two guys moved away most likely to that meeting their leader was talking about on the phone. 'Let's wait what they will do.' Maat suggested. 'We see they are not here to hurt us and it looked like we would have new neighbors soon.' For some reason her last information made me really excited. I returned back home and to my normal daily routine. In two weeks, I would go back to the city so I needed to collect some herbs and flowers to start preparing new sets of soaps and shampoos along with drying the herbs and berries for teas. Who would know that two weeks would pass like water in the stream? During those two weeks I went to check on them a few times. More wolves moved to this territory and they started to build their own village but so far all of them avoided me and my own area. Maat was as confused as I was. For sure they knew we were here. We are living here but no one came to us or scouted my land, just the lands around. It was really strange. Maybe I did look like a freak to him and that’s why he said to all to avoid this area. So, in the end I would stay alone.

*

Two weeks later

'These last two weeks were really long.' I complained to Maat. 'Not really. You were just all the time focusing on that sexy handsome stranger.' She teased me back and I could feel my cheeks heating. There was something she was hiding away from me and the more she teased me especially about him the more I knew I was right about that. She was the same obsessed about him as I was. Her last joke was a bit too much when she sent me a dream about that stranger. First, we were just kissing and I have to admit the dream or not I did enjoy that. But I realize it was just a dream the moment it started to be twisted and we were doing ... well ... something else. My cheeks flushed again just from the memory of that dream. 'You are spoiled twisted wolf.' I told her as my cheeks burned up.

I swear to Moon Goddess I tried my best to focus my mind on work so I could prepare my usual stuff before I would go to the city. But honestly, I have to be thankful I have plenty of stuff extra because those last two weeks I didn't prepare even half of what I normally do. Maat was right, my mind was too distracted by that stranger. But why? 'I told you.' Maat laughed at me. 'So, tell me the reason too.' I cried. 'Naaah. You are just a lone wolf and suddenly someone else appeared and on top of that he is so damn smokey hot.' She teased me again. I was slowly getting crazy about him and to my annoyance from her too. Sadly, his smell from the place where he was hiding already faded away so from time to time, I found myself closer to their new area just to be able to catch the hint of his smell or see his face. Have to say it was damn difficult.

Today evening I should again color my hair and prepare for my trip to the city. It is still summer but slowly I need to prepare my supplies for winter. My cottage has a small basement where I could store stuff like apples, onions, potatoes, and usually, I stored there also supplies of my products to be able to sell them during winter. There are some new sources only during winter which gives me the chance to create limited editions of some of my cosmetics but without my primary cosmetics and medicine, I would not survive the winter in the first place. The only thing I don't need to care about is warm clothes. Even during the coldest part of the winter with around one to two meters of snow, I would not freeze thanks to my wolfish heated blood. Luckyyy. 'Like a child.' Maat commented on my happiness.

'Technically I am still one.' I said back and she laughs more. 'Technically yeah, you are right.' She replied, still laughing. 'So, let's go dye our hair again?' I asked Maat sheepishly. She growled at me but agreed which made me gasp. 'Are you serious?' I couldn't believe that. 'What?' She asked, surprised. 'You do like I never agree with you or approve anything you do.' She played to be insulted. 'No, no. Of course, you do, just never about my hair.' I said while mentally poking her big fluffy ass. She made a hmm sound as she turned the other side and I continued to poke her just this time on her side. 'You and I know that it is for our protection. And I should be more responsible for our protection since I am the oldest one.' Her voice was muffled and I could see her pouting inside my mind.

Honestly, I was really shocked and surprised. The first time I would dye my hair without hearing her sheepish comments about it. I want to scream another lucky but hearing from her how childish I am is one time per day enough. Let's leave it for tomorrow.

I finished dying of my hair. Welcome back, my purely black hair color. I prepared all my stuff for tomorrow. 'Maybe I could wear some dress tomorrow.' I was thinking about myself as I was checking the clothes and tried to pick one. "If you wanna wear a dress take those with flower patterns. I like those really too much on you." Maat suggested. It actually was not a bad idea. They were tight around the chest and belly and free down from waist till knees. There were straps too tight around the neck and the dress was without sleeves, perfect clothes for summer so it won't be suspicious if I actually wear it tomorrow in the city. But if I think about it as a human who needs to take a pretty long way to even get into the city it would be strange to wear them. "You know you could change in Rosie's place, right?" Maat asked me. To be honest I didn't even think about that. "But wouldn't that also be weird?" I asked worriedly. "We are already weird. Come on. You are barely eighteen. Living several years alone in the woods and going two times per month to the city selling cosmetics and herbal medicine. How weird we could be?" She said with her typical serious voice rolling her eyes on me. Well, she was right. I guess there is no chance to be any weirder than this so I took out the dress. I placed them inside the bag and let's change tomorrow at Rosie's place. Suddenly I felt excited about tomorrow's trip.

It was around one in the morning and I still couldn't sleep. 'Why are you so nervous?' Maat asked me when I was sitting at the bank watching the floating moon at the surface. 'I don't know.' I replied honestly. 'I guess it has something to do with our trip to the city in the morning and our new groups of strangers all around that city.' I sighed as she spoke to me because she was actually right as usual. 'And I could bet it has a looooot to do with that stranger who you couldn't get out of your mind and who's the smell you are trying to desperately catch.' I sighed again because again she was right. 'When you say that like this it sounds, I am some kind of stalker or creep.' I replied to her. She was right and we both knew it. It has a lot to do with him. I wasn't sure if I wanted to meet him in the city or not. I wasn't sure what I should do in case I would really meet him. For the first time, I didn't understand my emotions and feelings.

'Look.' Maat started and I could say this would be a long talk. 'We are living for a long time alone. Away from everything we knew from everything you were used to. Suddenly a group of wolves came to our land and with that quiet promise of not being alone anymore. So yes, I understand why you are nervous. would they accept us? would we have to move away and hide? I know exactly what kind of questions you have inside your own private zone and could completely understand why.' Did I really hope to be part of their pack? Did I unconsciously wish to be recognized by someone? A lot of other thoughts popped up inside my head as Maat talked to me. 'That man was the first wolf you smelled after almost six years and yes his scent is like a drug even to me." She finally admitted. "Tomorrow we will go to the city as always. You would talk to Rosie, have small talks with other citizens, and no matter if he would come or not, no matter if we would meet him, you would enjoy the day full of people you like. They might be humans but you still like them.' Maat finished.

I nodded as my mood rapidly improved. 'You are right.' I agreed with her words. 'No matter what would happen tomorrow I would be alright and I would enjoy the company of Rosie as always. Thank you, Maat.' I hugged her inside my mind as I buried my face inside her amazingly soft fur. 'I am really grateful for having you and having this our private space where we could be together.' I praised her happily and lovingly. 'Yeah yeah, don't forget mental hospital awaits you the moment someone would see your face you are making right now outside of this amazing private area we share.' She sarcastically commented. At least once she could leave those stupid jokes. I slapped her as I was laughing since it was anyway funny. One time moved us in front of the mirror so I could see how my face actually looked like when we were talking together inside our private zone. I couldn't stop laughing for one week every time I came close to any mirror.