22 December 2012
We hadn't been walking long before a light came into view. The sight of it excited me. The thought of shelter brought warmth to me but, of course, there wasn't shelter. It was just a campfire. A man was sitting on a log, close to the fire, and he smiled up at us as we came into the circle of light. "Hello" He grinned, not talking to me but the wolves. The wolves bowed slightly to him. "They bow out of respect." Red's voice whispered. "He is an elder, who knows the history of wolves" I nodded, that made sense. "Come and sit, Nova." He smiled at me, so I did. "I heard about Fang" "Heard?" I asked. He nodded. "The wind whispered the news, that's how I hear things" "The elder hears all" Scruff whispered to me. "And the elder must also let his wolves sleep. Alina, come" The elder said, walking into the darkness. Without another word, Alina followed him as Seth settled by the fire. "Night, Seth" I whispered as his breathing became deeper. Scruff sat beside me. We both watched the flames, not talking. I knew he didn't want to talk about Fang, I could just tell, so I kept quiet. "I know your mate" He finally said. I didn't take my eyes off the fire. "Oh yeah? What's he like?" I replied. "He's an alright guy, wants to be like you though." He said. "He was like you once, human, but something went wrong and now he's a wolf. He hides now, waiting for you, but he's done things that he's not proud of. That's why wolves are after you, why Fang is ..." He didn't continue. I looked at Scruff now, he was staring into the fire and tears were pouring down his face.
Then it just ... Clicked.
Fang had said Scruff was the reason wolves were after me. Fang was the reason why Scruff was a wolf in the first place. 'Something went wrong' meaning Fang had gone against him. He had done things so humanlike before but I hadn't questioned them because ... well ... because why would I?
I looked back to the fire then uttered the words that scared me more than anything, "Are you my mate?"
Red Cape: Part10 • Opuss № I