A Wolf's Quest
Wolves of the South Book 1
Hannah Steenbock
Buehsteppe Fantasy
A Wolf's Quest - Wolves of the South Book 1
Copyright © 2021 by F. Moebius
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
Cover: germancreative
Editor: Frauke Moebius
This is a book of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by
Buehsteppe Verlag
Frauke Moebius
Westring 270
24116 Kiel
Germany
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
Preview of "A Wolf's Fear"
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About the Author
Chapter 1
Ben
My family was busted.
Mom had disappeared weeks ago. Dad was out to distract the Hunters so that my sisters and I could get away. And that meant not drawing any attention to myself.
So I kept my mind strictly on the task I had been given which was to make my way south, for several hundred miles, and look for a pack I could join there.
Doing so had led me to this gas station at sunrise, three days after leaving our home, hoping to hitch a ride. I was doing my best to look just like a normal guy, with my t-shirt, lumberjack jacket, jeans and boots. My backpack held everything that I owned now.
My mind went to our house, to the flames that would have consumed it, and I wrenched it away. That life was over.
I watched a woman fill up her car, put the cap back on with practiced movements and walk to the shop to pay for the gas at the credit card terminal on the outside wall. Something about her caught my attention, although she had chosen not to dress up. Or maybe it was just that, seeing a woman wear sensible clothing and sneakers at an age where many were dolled up to the hilt.
I desperately needed something harmless to focus on, and so I watched her move with some kind of natural grace, her head high, her mouth determined, as if she was doing something she knew she shouldn’t. I idly wondered who she was rebelling against.
When she turned away from the terminal, a man intercepted her, rudely stepping into her path.
She tried walking around him and he moved to keep blocking her. She glanced around and caught my eye in an unspoken plea for help.
When that man reached to touch her, I rose. Slipping on my backpack, I walked up to them just as she shrugged away his hand.
“Leave me alone,” she growled, her eyes narrowing.
Instead of leaving, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, trying to lead her to her own car.
I stepped up, calling on my wolf to give me a stronger presence. The sooner I could scare away this creep, the better.
“Come, honey, I have a place for such a lovely girl like you.”
She tried to duck out of his grip, but he was taking a hold of her neck, putting pressure on a pain point, and pushing his other hand into her side. Her mouth opened in shock.
“Let her go right now,” I said, keeping my voice pleasant, keeping the wolf out of my eyes, but doing my best to loom.
“Fuck off!”
I smiled. I’ve been dealing with challenges like this for most of my life. Most human men can sense that I’m not quite like them.
Most women can, too, but they usually have a different reaction.
“I said, let her go.”
He tightened his grip on her neck, and her eyes went wide with fear. He also thought he was using her as a shield against me, but he forgot that a body offers more targets than just the chest and chin. Dad had drilled us in this.
Still smiling, I kicked one of his knees hard enough to cause plenty of pain, and he screamed in a high pitched voice. Then he fell, taking her down with him.
I grabbed her, wrenching her out of his grasp, whirled away and set her down on her feet before turning back to that creep. And then I let him see my anger.
“Get out.” My growl matched his earlier one.
He tried to scrabble away, and I just grabbed the collar of his jacket and dragged him off to the side, helping him along, throwing him down into the dirt at the side of the station.
“This is all on tape, so if you think of doing anything stupid, think again.” I pointed to the camera at the roof, and he stared.
I returned to the woman who was still standing next to her car, staring at me.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded in that jerky way that told me she wasn’t. “He… he had a knife,” she whispered.
“Did he hurt you?” I could feel myself frown with anger at that idiot and softened my look with an effort.
“No.” She shuddered, looking past me, obviously watching the creep who had attacked her.
I turned to glance at him, and he was limping away around the corner of the station.
She took a deep breath and when I looked at her again, she was doing her best to focus on me. The shock was starting to wear off, for which I was grateful.
“You saved me,” she said, licking her lips nervously. That small gesture melted my heart, somehow.
I shook my head. “Any decent man would do that.”
She smiled a little. “Even so, I want to do something for you.”
Would she give me what I really needed? The only way to find out was to ask her.
“Well, I need to get south. If you’re going that direction, I’d love a lift.”
Her smile grew. “I do. Headed down into North Carolina.”
That was perfect. “Would you let me ride along?”
“Gladly.”
Moments later, we were on the road, and my heart was a little lighter. Maybe I had managed to pull a fast one on those Hunters. Now I had to hope that the rest of my family could do the same.
Chapter 2
Sylvia
It had happened so fast that I couldn’t believe it. I always check before accessing a terminal, and the only person in sight had been that handsome man who was now sitting in the passenger seat.
That creep had come out of nowhere, and I could still feel the pain from his grip on my neck. Without that intervention, I would be driving my own car to my own grave, I was sure of that. I shuddered at that thought.
I had to focus on the road, and I was grateful for that, it kept me from replaying that moment again and again. And of course, having the man who saved me sitting next to me was also a welcome distraction.
“What’s your name?” I asked, glancing at him.
Sandy hair, strong chin with a bit of a stubble coming in, skin tanned in the way an outdoor life does to a person. And gray-blue eyes with a few wrinkles at the corners.
I looked away quickly. He was too handsome for his own good, and I really didn’t want to follow that stupid movie trope of the vapid woman falling head over heels for he
r rescuer.
“I’m Ben.” No last name, and that was fine by me.
“Sylvia,” I said, following his example.
“Thank you for the ride. It means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome. It’s an easy thing to do.”
And it was, for me. In fact, it was much better to have a companion for that long drive down to North Carolina. I was looking forward to spending the summer with my Grandpa and Eric, my cousin, back in the place where I had grown up.
My parents had moved north when I had barely started junior high, and I knew there was some bad blood between my mother and Grandpa. But I had just finished my Bachelor and wanted some weeks off. And the idea of reconnecting with Grandpa appealed to me. Of course, I hadn’t told Mom.
I glanced at Ben again. He had leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. One hand was wrapped around a strap of his backpack, and that seemed strange.
Pain lingered around his mouth, his whole posture spoke of exhaustion and grief, and my heart went out to him.
He was wearing typical outdoor clothes and didn’t give off the whiff I’ve often caught from homeless people. I wondered what was driving him to go south, but of course, I wouldn’t pry.
And then I told my mind to focus on the road, to stop worrying about people I didn’t know, and most of all, to keep my heart away from that man in the passenger seat.
I drove for hours in silence, while Ben dozed next to me. I could tell when he finally relaxed into true sleep because the strap of his backpack dropped. And a part of me was happy that he trusted me enough to do so.
Eventually, I had to fill the tank again and pulled off the highway into a small town looking for a supermarket with a filling station, hoping I’d feel safer there.
Ben woke when I stopped at a traffic light, and for a moment I thought I felt wariness and fear before he took a deep breath and sighed.
“Where are we?”
I hadn’t checked for the name of that town and so I shrugged. “I think we’re about three hours away from getting there. I need more gas.”
“Ah.”
“And I thought we’d grab some food.”
He nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.”
I chose to get gas first and pulled up at that station. Ben stayed in his place as I got out and filled up the car. It was such a routine thing to do that I didn’t even think about it when I walked up to the terminal, but as soon as I had entered the number of the pump, I started to tremble. It got worse when I fed my card into it, and by the time it had accepted the transmission and I pulled my card out, my knees shook.
“I’m here. You’re safe.” Ben’s soft voice reached me and I turned around.
He was leaning against my car, looking completely relaxed. Just seeing him allowed me to take a deep breath, and I realized that I had been holding my breath.
Quickly, I walked back to the car, leaving that fear behind, and he got back in just as I opened the driver’s door.
“Thank you,” I said as I started the car. “How did you know?”
“I read body language well.” He shrugged. “Feeling better?”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure I wanted to eat anything, but I assumed that at least Ben would, so I took the car to a fast food place next.
He carried his backpack with him when we walked inside, and while the smell didn’t entirely please my stomach, I ordered food anyway. Ben placed his order, as well, and to my surprise, insisted on paying for both of us. And he took the lead after we both had our trays and chose a booth in a corner to sit in.
He sat with his back to the wall, too, which didn’t surprise me at all. He was a fighter, and since a few of my college buddies were veterans, I was familiar with this kind of behavior.
He tore into his burger and fries, while I ate slowly, picking at my salad.
Of course, he noticed that quickly. “Do you want to talk?”
I had to think about that, but he didn’t seem to expect a fast answer anyway. He simply kept eating, glancing at me, but also obviously keeping an eye on the restaurant and its surroundings.
“Yes,” I finally said, gathering my courage.”
He nodded, his gray-blue eyes on me. So much attention was scary. I bit my lip and dove right into what bothered me most.
“I took self-defense classes. But when he grabbed me, I froze. I didn’t even try to fight. How… how did that happen?”
He nodded again. “Freezing is a normal fear response in humans.”
“But… but I thought I could fight! I should have fought.” Tears pricked in my eyes and I didn’t know if they came from frustration or from the terror I remembered all too clearly.
A tiny smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and it wasn’t condescending at all. Instead, it was compassionate.
“Yes, you should have turned into Wonder Woman and beaten him up.” He winked, gently, a twinkle in his eyes.
That image was so absurd that I laughed, and his smile grew.
“No, seriously, those classes are not bad. They teach useful moves. But what they cannot teach, simply because they are classes, is how a real attack feels. And a real attack is terrifying.”
My mouth made a silent oh. “But you didn’t hesitate at all.”
He lifted one shoulder in a mild shrug. “That wasn’t my first fight. And I chose to get into it, unlike you.”
Once more, I felt that relief when he had stepped in, when he had grabbed me and lifted me to safety in one strong move. I rubbed the arms where he had touched me.
“I never properly thanked you.” Now I blushed with embarrassment. “You saved my life.”
“You would have found a way to fight him.” His eyes were warm, and his confidence warmed my heart. “But let’s talk about other things. Just know that what happened is over and you are safe now.”
I nodded. That made sense. I chose to store his words in my heart.
“Where did you grow up?” he asked gently, and I found that I could easily talk about that. I told him about the house my Grandpa had built, and how we always spent the summers there until my parents moved away. And how I had planned to reconnect with him in the next few weeks.
Only when we got back into the car did I realize that he hadn’t told me a single thing about himself.
“How did you grow up?”
He smiled. “Very much like you did, except we worked more with sheep, rather than cattle. And my mother home-schooled us, we were far from a school, and money was tight then.”
I nodded.
“It was a good time.” For the blink of an eye, he looked unbearably sad, then forced a smile again. “But now it is time for new beginnings. Are there sheep farmers in your region?”
“Not a lot.” I decided not to pry, and we talked some more about where I grew up. Somehow, it made me look forward to my visit even more.
Chapter 3
Ben
I had to admit to myself that I felt comfortable around Sylvia, which was a surprise. Seeing her fight through her fear and trauma at that terminal had been impressive. And she really just needed a little help to get through it, and it had been a pleasure to provide that.
Talking with her was easy. So easy, in fact, that I told her more about my childhood than anyone else in my entire life. I could only hope she hadn’t seen that stab of grief that surprise me, but she hadn’t pried, so maybe I had covered it fast enough.
It was indeed time for new beginnings, but not because we had chosen that.
Change had been forced on us, by those Hunters. My father had looked resigned when he told us to accept this part of wolf life. He called it moving dens. We hoped to rendezvous eventually, to start new families, and to build new lives. In a place where nobody knew us.
Sylvia wasn’t much of a talker, and I appreciated that. We spent the day in companionable silence, with the landscape flying by. She turned off the highway when the sun was far in the west and stopped at a small town.
“Do you hav
e a place to stay for the night?”
I shook my head. Going rough wasn’t hard on me, and sleeping in wolf shape had many advantages.
She looked worried. “That’s not right.”
“I’ll be fine. Really. No need to worry about me.”
A look of determination entered her eyes. “You saved my life. I will not kick you out to sleep in a gutter.”
“Oh, I won’t.” I smiled at her, trying to take away her worry.
“Look, Grandpa has a sofa. The least I can do is let you have a meal and a good night’s sleep before you… go.”
I sighed and gave in halfway. “A meal would be good. But I really am fine on my own at night, and I won’t impose on your grandfather.”
Sylvia must have noticed my own determination, because she gave me a little smile. “All right. And we’ll see about the sofa when that time rolls around.”
I had to shake my head at that, but couldn’t help smiling myself. And then I wondered if she was only that friendly because I was what I was.
Well, I’d get a meal out of it, and that was good enough.
She drove on, through the town and into the forest, with the road climbing uphill in many curves.
I had assumed her grandfather lived in some kind of town, but it seemed that his place was out in the country, among the hills. I didn’t mind at all, this was territory I would feel at home in.
Finally, she pulled into the yard of a small farm, or what might have been a farm decades ago. The barn had been converted into a workshop, while the farmhouse had been kept neat. The paint on it didn’t look old at all, but the yard was messy and didn’t have any flowers, which to me indicated that no woman was living here.
“Here we are,” she said as she parked next to a large black truck and turned off the engine, taking a deep breath.
Lights blazed as someone walked out of the front door, hurrying to meet Sylvia. I watched the wiry old man glance at me through the windshield, his eyes sharp, and I hid the wolf deep down out of habit.
“Sylvia! It’s good to see you!”
She got out and they embraced. I got out as well, backpack slung over one shoulder, feeling awkward.
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