Wolverton - Julie Steimle (fb2 epub reader .TXT) 📗

mean you have never completely hunted as an entire wolf?”

Not quite comprehending, as he always hunted as a wolf and never as a human, Rick stared.

“What I mean is, you have never entirely left behind the human world and gone completely wolf,” she said.

Thinking on that, Rick shook his head, realizing she was right. “I can’t afford to. I’m always hunted. And being a human is an advantage, especially in a pinch.”

“Ah.” She sighed, sadly shaking her head in the same way Wilk had. “You then miss out. Letting yourself go and becoming entirely wolf is the most thrilling, most fulfilling moment of life. And I treasure it every full moon.”

He watched her, overwhelmed by that impression that he was missing out on something great. There was also something fascinating in the way she spoke, how she held herself. So entirely down to earth. And to be quite frank, she smelled good… like how he imagined honey should smell when his nose wasn’t stuffed up and he was sneezing. It was so weird, but he felt at home next to her. Safe.

“So are you warning me to stay away?” he asked.

Daisy softly shook her head. “No. But I would advise you that if you intend to join us, you need to be aware of what you are getting into and if it is what you really want. I’d hate for you to make a decision you would regret.”

He chuckled, thinking of decisions he would regret. Being caught by she-wolves was one of them.

“So,” he tried to steer the subject away from the hunt, “What got you interested in that book?”

“Have you read it?” She brightened.

“No,” he chuckled. “But I think I might have seen a BBC movie of it once.”

Daisy shook her head at him. “That’s not the same.”

“I know.” He shrugged. But then he nudged her. “So you like biographies?”

Smiling, she replied, “I like animals. I want to be a veterinarian someday.”

That didn’t sound like a backwater hick. She seemed more like Kurt, someone who wanted to leave the pack, even if only for a little while.

“Oh, that’s good,” Rick said, grinning. “I have a friend that is into that. He’ll be applying to veterinary college soon. His specialty is cats. I could hook you up.”

“You’re not trying to set us up, are you?” She closed one eye, regarding him sideways. “Because I am not really interested in having a boyfriend. I want to live my life first.”

Blinking at her first, Rick then laughed. “No. No. Not at all. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… In case it helps, I have connections.”

She smiled. Leaning back, she gaze on him and asked, “What is your dream?”

It wasn’t the first time someone had asked him that question. Unfortunately his answer had to be same as always. He shrugged and sighed.

“I don’t really have much of a choice. I will be CEO of Deacon Enterprises when my father retires, or if a hunter gets to him first. Honestly, I’m hoping for the former.”

Her eyes widened on him with so much pity and sadness.

“What do you mean you don’t have a choice?” Daisy’s periwinkle eyes were welling with tears. The light was shifting under the boards of the porch. Streams of light were trickling past her face, illuminating her on one side that nearly took his breath away. “You are the heir—”

“To Deacon Enterprises.” It was always hard to explain the conditions and terms of his inheritance. Rick shook his head. “The money I have is conditional. And to be quite frank, I would be incredibly ungrateful to my father and grandfather if I just threw it all way on a silly dream.”

Dismayed as well as shocked, she almost laughed, but realized he was serious. So she said, quite softly, “But what is your silly dream, if I may ask? Because I don’t think it is fair for others to tell you what to do.”

He could not believe he was having this conversation, especially with a she-wolf of a pack. They had their lives dictated to them all the time. The pack was everything to a wolf. But as a lone wolf, he only had his wits to protect him. And his pack was more like his family legacy.

However, chuckling while shaking his head at her, Rick said, “You mean what would be my dream if I wasn’t a werewolf and I wasn’t dependent on my fortune to keep me from getting killed on the full moon each month?”

Daisy shrugged, blushing. She bit her lower lip, most likely contemplating the word silly, as everything in life was silly when compared to life and death survival.

“Well…” Rick stared into space, nodding to himself. “I’d play basketball. Professionally, if I could.”

Blinking at those words, Daisy leaned away and giggled. When she drew in a breath, she smiled even broader at his sheepish expression. “You really are serious. Basketball?”

Rick shrugged then leaned back against the earthen slope, hands behind his head. “Yeah. I love basketball. I was on our junior high team, our high school varsity team, and I want to be on the team at our university, if I can. I know colleges recruit, but if they have tryouts I want to try out.”

“But careers in sports only last a limited duration,” Daisy replied, still softly laughing at him.

“I know,” Rick said, still blushing. “I told you it was a silly dream. But if my life wasn’t my life, I certainly would have loved to play basketball as a career rather than go into Economics, which is what I will have to do when I start college in the fall. Then I have to get a Masters in Business Administration. Believe me, it wasn’t something I dreamed about as a child.”

She gazed at him silently. Then she sighed.

“At least you will be able to follow your dream, right?” Rick said, glancing over at her, hoping the dream she shared was a possibility and she wasn’t just making conversation for his benefit.

Chuckling, Daisy shook her head. “Maybe.”

Rick sat up. “What do you mean ‘Maybe’? It is just a few years of college.”

Looking him in the eye, Daisy grew melancholy. “The elders aren’t exactly supportive. She-wolves are supposed to settle down and reproduce for the benefit of the pack.”

He snorted. “That’s sexist.”

“That’s the pack,” she replied. Then she shook her head. “Honestly, I’d love to be the veterinarian of the village for hurt wolves who might be stuck as wolves—”

“Stuck?” Rick stared at her. He had never heard of such a thing.

“It’s never happened to you?” She stared at him, honestly startled.

He shook his head.

“Oh yes.” Leaning back, she nodded. “That’s right. I heard a rumor that you are alpha stock.”

“Alpha stock…” Rick muttered, grinding his teeth. “That makes me feel like cattle.”

She shrugged, looking kind of cute sitting there. “All the same. You are special wolf. The transformation isn’t so hard for you.”

“Hard as in difficult or hard as in painful?” he asked. “’Cause it still hurts in transformation.”

She lifted her eyebrows at him. Then she leaned away as if regarding a portrait. Reaching out, she brushed some of his hair off his forehead, feeling the texture of it. It sent shivers down his skin, but he didn’t exactly want her to stop. It was like getting the comfort and assurance he had always wanted. And as her soft voice said, “You seem more wolf when human. And when I saw you run in here as a wolf, you seemed more human.”

Rick shrugged, trying to be casual. “They say I am a mixed-soul, or something.”

“So that’s it.” Daisy looked impressed. “A mingled-soul.”

“That’s the word.” Rick nodded, trying to calm his now racing heart. “I’m still not quite sure what that means, though.” Rick frowned, staring at the dirt between his legs. He then noticed the bug bites. He rubbed where it itched.

Daisy peered over, looking. She laughed. “Mosquitoes?”

He shook his head, scratching. “More like ants.”

Nodding, she then dug into a pocket and pulled out a small jar. There was no writing on the jar, but it looked like one of those pungent Tiger Balm salves—and it reminded Rick of that girl he bumped into on the Eiffel tower, what’s-her-face who had let him use her stinky salve to save his hide from the Loup Garou hunting him. This salve, when Daisy opened the jar, had hardly a smell at all.

“Insect repellant,” she said.

“Oh.” Rick took it from her fingers. He sniffed it. The smell was barely identifiable. Not even citron.

“Just rub it all over,” she said, taking a scoop with her two fingers from the jar and rubbing it on her collarbone as if she were driving away vampires and not mosquitoes. Then she rubbed it on her arms.

Now he could smell it. It had a sweet smell, coming from her. Almost irresistible. His heart sped up. He tried not to blush, but his face was feeling hot.

Quickly, Rick rubbed the balm on his legs and then arms. It tingled, and actually made the sores feel a little better. Lifting his eyes to her, he smiled. “That stuff is amazing.”

“Local recipe,” Daisy declared, grinning at him and taking the jar. Then she rose to her feet, dusting off the dirt. She extended a hand to him while tucking the jar into her pocket. “Tell you what. If you stick with me, we can pretend we are together, and then the she-wolves will leave you alone.”

Staring up at her silhouetted in shadows, he nearly laughed.

“How could you possibly do that?” Rick took her hand, letting her hoist him up. Rising to his full height, he had to duck, as the space was too small for him. “They practically mobbed me—and stole my pants. I am going to have to get my wallet back, again.”

She snickered, hearing that. Her laugh really was musical. It was a good thing she was an ally. If she had been one of those rabid she-wolves, he didn’t know what he would do.

Shaking her head, Daisy said, “Trust me. The elders want you to hook up with somebody. If they think that we are together, then the girls will have to lay off. It’s the rules. Those ladies mobbing you was just foolishness, and they will regret it. Now come out with me.”

Sighing, realizing he didn’t want to have to hide under a porch for the entire afternoon, Rick nodded. “Ok.”

“Just hold my hand, and don’t let go,” Daisy said. “And I can take you someplace where we can just talk, or play video games if that is more your thing.”

Rick nodded. And to be honest, she smelled great. He didn’t exactly want to be away from her. He had no desire for a hookup, but a friend that didn’t desert him was more than welcome.

Something About Daisy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Seven

 

 

When Rick and Daisy came out, her leading him from hiding, all the girls did exactly what she had predicted they would. As long as they walked together, holding hands, the girls huffed, stared, but gave them space. The boys, however, cat-called.

“Woo-woo! Daisy! You’ve got the touch!” called out Farkas.

Kurt was shaking his head, staring at Rick with his eyes saying ‘you weakling’.

Rick cringed, but decided not to correct his assumption. He was hiding behind Daisy in