The human was beautiful. Tall, muscular, and his aroma. Amazing. He had never smelled anything quite like this human. Not that he had encountered many of them but enough to know this man’s scent was special. Even within the pack he was raised in, he had never smelled this wonderful of a fragrance. It was true he hadn’t cared for many of the personal scents he had known within the realm of his pack mates. But he hadn’t known just how much until he had gotten a whiff of the human. At first, he had thought the human would simply make a fantastic meal but thankfully he had allowed the being to live that first night. Because since then it seemed he couldn’t get enough of the wonderful heady fragrance.
As time passed the wolf found that it wasn’t only the scent of the man that attracted him. He was compelled to provide for the human as well. Almost as if this were his one true mate.
Ahhh, the one true mate. Something his mother had tried in vain to find for him, telling him he had the strength and ability to take over the pack if only he mated. But none of the females she had pushed in his direction ever interested him. Thankfully becoming frustrated, she gave up and went to work on one of his other male litter mates. The problem was she didn’t understand. None of them did. It was a fact he came to know well as he grew. He was completely different from the rest. Almost, it seemed, an altered species.
Oh, he understood their language, had learned it early since there really wasn’t all that much to absorb, just yips and growls. He remembered shocking the pack with how fast he had mastered it. He even tried to share with them other languages as well, like that of the eagle, or the squirrels or even the frogs in the swamps at night. He had learned them all and even though he could not speak them, no matter how hard he tried, he still wanted to discuss this knowledge with the head Alpha or his Alpha mate. But they did not understand him and before long he was forced from the pack, disowned by his own kind, for being different.
It was fine. He would have left soon on his own anyway. There was nothing within the pack for him although it was large and defended a great territory. He could have easily taken over as the Alpha, knew it should have been his destiny, but the members seemed senseless and shallow, only seeking food, shelter and position and little else.
Ghost wanted more.
He chuffed at that. Ghost. It was what his human called him. Yes, that’s right, his human. He had become possessive of the man, wishing hard he could change into one. Because he wanted hands like the human had in order to touch the warm skin only his tongue had enjoyed. Who knew that tasting the human would create such urges and needs within him? Hot thoughts he wanted desperately to explore but he imagined he would have to hold the human in place in order to do any of it. Ghost’s paws, though sensitive, could not hold the man down the way he knew those hands would. He was jealous of those hands.
He had figured out the human was called Hawk and as the man became less fearful of Ghost, he began to talk, and Ghost eventually learned the simple human language, too. Again, something he was unable to mimic with his own mouth. But it seemed the man was capable of comprehending him without him having to do so. Not attempting Ghost’s language either, remarkably, Hawk acted appropriately on things that Ghost indicated with his body and eyes. Clever human. Far smarter than his own pack. That was good.
It was surprising to finally hear the reason Hawk was out here all by himself. Hawk was also different from his pack, and because of it, like Ghost, became a loner as well. The one thing Ghost had learned from the humans he had encountered; they were never alone. They tended to live in communities and inside caves they made with odd materials. Like trees. But he supposed each species had its own ways. From the webs of spiders to the underground tunnels of the gophers. He could not judge that these homes of humans were any stranger.
Plus, now that he was inside of one, it seemed warm and comfortable. The fire was a bit alarming at first but after realizing it was contained and would stay within its confines of stone he realized its heat was suitable for the man’s well-being. After all, humans were not adorned with fur but with thin skin. Oh yes! Luscious skin that tasted like the sweet dew of early morning. Soft and supple and beautiful but hardly capable of withstanding any kind of weather, especially the winds of winter.
No, this species needed protecting. Especially this man since he was alone. And not only because of his lack of a decent hide but what being would so carelessly create such tantalizing smells with its food, inviting every manner of hungry beast right into its tiny territory? Ghost was thankful he had been guarding the perimeter of Hawk’s cave home at the time and spotted the beast. Ghost was fully aware of the fragrances wafting through the forest so knew exactly where the big animal was headed. It didn’t matter that between the two of them they had frightened it off, Hawk even wounding it. The problem was, it was not the beast’s fault it had wandered in on protected ground in the first place. At the least it would never come back. Ghost made certain the beast understood who it was that shielded this man. Even such a primitive creature was able to understand, in no uncertain terms, its life was forfeit should it return.
It was adorable how worried Hawk had been about him after the beast had trotted off. Even though Ghost’s wounds did not need the man’s clumsy care, he still allowed it. It seemed Hawk needed to attend to him. Ghost even permitted the man to drag him into his cave and attach odd skin type stripes to his injuries. He wasn’t sure what they were exactly but figured they had some kind of healing power. He even allowed Hawk to hand feed him.
But being this close to the man was frustrating. It was the reason he had avoided being right next to him. It brought up strange thoughts and ideas and desires the wolf had never dealt with before.
Like wanting to have hands.
But these new feelings seemed to trigger something else, too. Something that even had Ghost concerned. He had always had strange feelings and odd muscles spasms during the full moon. He remembered how those feelings began as a cub and intensified as he grew. He had shared his distress with his mother who had no idea what it was he was referring to. She had never had that experience. Growing pains, she had guessed. But it was more than that. Because he had been fully grown for some time now and he still had them.
And soon, the moon would once again reach full status. It was the reason he had been so uncomfortable. But this time it was different. Something had changed inside of him ever since he met this human. He had actually felt something shift inside when he let Hawk touch him. Something fundamental and primitive and it called to him. In the past when the full moon was on the rise, he would simply run for hours which would alleviate some of the crazy physical anomalies that seemed to come on him the days just prior to its pass. But he was concerned that this time, this coming moon, something else was happening.
Something big.
But he wasn’t going to let it bother him. He couldn’t. He had a man to protect and feed. Soon he would need to rise and go find a meal for the two of them. Maybe later he would lead the man to a large herd of deer he knew of, so he could allow for Hawk to feel accomplished when he took one down. It was a fair trek from this spot. But he was sure the man was up for it. The only problem, it seemed the man needed to gut the thing and cut it up for future use. By saving the parts, Hawk didn’t need to hunt as often. It was good to plan ahead like that. It had been a concept totally foreign to him prior to meeting this man. Carrying a full deer as far as he would have to carry it, even butchered and cut up, would be more difficult. However, Ghost had witnessed his clever human coming up with solutions on the fly.
And Hawk’s ability for planning ahead was good since things were changing in these woods. Game had been scarce before, but now, nearly non-existent. It was odd enough that he was aware his former pack was considering moving on to better hunting grounds, following the game. It honestly was for the best if they did. He had easily stayed out of their way but, given time, he was certain his human would end up stumbling onto one or more. Not that Ghost wouldn’t be able to handle it. He just wasn’t keen on killing any of his own kind, and he knew he would have to if that happened.
Even so, all of that could wait. He was here with Hawk where it was warm and dry, and he could relax knowing the man was safe. Sure, it was difficult being surrounded by that aroma. He wanted to do things to this man whenever he smelled it. However, he would be content with simply tasting that wonderful hot, smooth skin, even though he wanted to sink his teeth into it. Especially that tight spot right there between Hawk’s neck and shoulder. Or maybe that fleshy spot between Hawk’s legs at the top and inside of his thigh. Oh yes, that spot for sure. He wouldn’t draw blood although to taste that too would be heaven. No, he just wanted to bite down, mark the skin, mark his territory, his human. Make the man his in every way.
But for that, he would need hands.