Finds me.
The largest shape. Alone. Facing the dark. She's looking at me. Her pulse catches. Skips.
Don't move.
The wolf wants to. Every muscle pulling forward.
She sets the bird down. Nugget ruffles, clucks, waddles around and stops. A wolf near the fire pit lifts its head.
Nugget clucks at it. The wolf puts its head back down.
She crosses the open ground. Barefoot on cold dirt, arms wrapped around herself, picking her way between sleeping wolves.
Not afraid. Not careful enough—she nearly steps on a tail, catches herself, keeps coming. A pup lifts its head. She pauses. Lets it sniff her hand, then licks her fingers. She wipes them on her shirt and keeps walking.
Stop. Turn back to the treeline. She doesn't need—
Five paces.
She stops. Two feet away. Looking at me.
I'm sitting. She's standing. We're almost level.
"Hi."
My chest vibrates. Deeper than a growl.
Her eyes go wider. But she doesn't step back.
"You're really big." Her hands tighten around her elbows. "I mean—I knew that. Objectively. But this is—you're very large. This is a lot of wolf."
Her voice. I have no words. Just the pull.
She reaches out.
Everything goes still.
Her hand. Hovering. Inches from my jaw. She's watching my eye. Reading it. Looking for permission I can't give with words.
Her fingers touch my jaw. Below the missing eye.
Small fingertips against the coarse fur. Her scent warms. Sharpens underneath.
Pack members don't touch me. Kestria tries when shecan. Not often.
Her fingers run over the ridge of missing fur where the skin healed wrong. Gentle. Exploring. I hold still.
"You're not so scary. Even with the one eye. You're just—big. And grumpy. That's not the same thing."
A growl rolls through my chest. Low.
She laughs. Short, bright, startled out of herself.
"Oh no. My mistake. You're very scary. The most scary." Her hand hasn't moved. Hasn't flinched. "Terrifying, actually. I'm shaking. Can you tell? I'm definitely shaking."
Her blood didn't change. Not even during the growl.
She scratches behind my ear.
