Harper skids to a stop at the edge of the treeline, golden eyes gleaming with unmistakable amusement when he turns his head to gloat. He looks less like he’s fleeing with his tail between his legs and more like a majestic predator playing with his food. Bastard… Maybe I deserve this for the doggie crack.
Then he’s gone, swallowed by the shadows between the trees.
Okay, he got me. But I’m not going to let him win.
The wolf may be big but he’s too smart to give himself away before he attacks. We need to be ready for him.
I position my fingers on the strings, no longer scanning the treeline for golden eyes. Soft music fills the clearing. Something slow and gentle that I composed late one night when I couldn’t sleep. The gentle lullaby feels at home here among the whispering pines and fading daylight.
As I play, I visualize energy flowing from my core, through my arms, and into the vibrating strings. I picture that energy arcing from the guitar to Melody. A shimmering purple aura blooms around her translucent form, pulsing in rhythm with my song before melting into her spectral essence.
“Whoa,” I whisper, not breaking the melody.
With the final note still hanging in the air, I pivot on my heel, the pine needles crunching beneath my boots. Melody and I position ourselves back-to-back so we can cover watching more ground.
A twig snaps behind me. I resist the urge to turn. Melody’s got that side covered.
I keep my focus forward, squinting at the deepening shadows between the trees. Would Harper try the same fake-out trick twice? Possibly, if he thinks I didn’t learn my lesson the first time… that’s fair. It took me forever to come clean after I was caught during the ‘cheese’ debacle. Wait, what’s that?
There! A flash of tawny fur between two pines about twenty feet ahead.
I tap Melody on the shoulder, and she whips around just in time to blast a bark at the charging Harper. Purple soundwaves ripple visibly through the air and find their target, stopping the wolf in his tracks.
“Oh my god. It worked!” I pump my fist. But the wolf isn’t going down like I expected. He’s still on his feet, swaying but upright. “It worked, right?”
Marlow thought my music could influence Melody’s barks. That’s why I tried a lullaby.
Harper takes an unsteady step forward, his massive paw dragging through the fallen leaves. He blinks, golden eyes struggle to focus, and his eyelids droop then snap back open with visible effort. He shakes his head violently as if trying to dislodge the supernatural drowsiness from his brain.
The wolf gives me a distinctly unimpressed look that has me biting back a laugh. His lips curl back in response, revealing gleaming white canines in what starts as an intimidating snarl but transforms mid-threat into a jaw-cracking yawn. His head drops, snout nearly brushing the mossy ground.
My lullaby did work! The stubborn Alpha is just fighting it with everything he’s got.
“Okay, rise and shine.” I play a peppy tune and power Melody up again and she uses her bark to wake him up.
Harper finds his footing, shaking off the fatigue like a dog shakes off water after a bath. It’s only when his eyes cut to me fora single second and flick away again that I know he’s back and plotting his next move. Wily wolf doesn’t waste a second.
I whistle a sharp note.
Mel responds instantly, barking and sending soundwaves slamming into Harper mid-leap, catching him suspended three feet off the ground. A massive tawny wolf frozen in perfect stillness. Even his fur seems locked in place, unaffected by the breeze.
I grin at the frozen wolf. “Melody and I worked out some signals, notes that stand for the abilities she already has and can do on her own like paralysis.” I pat a very proud Mel on the head. “This won’t last long, but I could always play something and extend the effect.”
He can’t move, but I can still see it in his eyes,don’t you dare.
I incline my head to Melody and she trots after me, both of us getting out of the way without much time to spare. Harper unfreezes and lands in the spot we were standing seconds ago. The wolf raises his noble head and glares at me with a low growl. Maybe I have a death wish because I grin and wave. He rolls his eyes and bounds off into the trees.
“Give us a challenge this time!” I call out after him.
As fun as it is to tease Harper, that’s not where the confidence comes from. My pup and I are working well together. I’m not even afraid. Sure, I know Harper won’t really bring his teeth or claws near anywhere sensitive. I’m not in any danger. Yet it’s more than that. My powers flow through the music easily. Melody and I are in tune.
We can do this.
But Harper’s next attack takes me completely by surprise.
“Ah!” The guitar tumbles from my grip as I wave my arms and flail around like a lunatic, trying to ward off the invader that came from above. “Wolves can freaking fly now?”
“I improvised.” Harper’s muscular arms encircle my shoulders from behind and hold me firmly in place. His chest presses against my back, and I can feel the rumble of his voice through my spine. “Looks like I can still climb trees. How many geriatrics do you know who can do that?”
