Henry

B, Trevor and Vile showed up at the bonfire and sat down beside us. B held Trevor's hand, but Rune seemed somewhat ok with it. She was wearing a baseball cap and seemed to be avoiding attention as she was cowering behind Trevor most of the time. Not avoiding us, but people in general. 

The warriors participating in the fights often got much attention off the pitch, but I supposed that her being a girl and so young, maybe it was a bit too much. I had heard both one and two words about her from other young male werewolves that suggested Rune weren't the only one who had noticed her leather suit. Rune was always instantly annoyed. He was now too, of course, because she was squeezed in between Vile and Trevor. Too close for comfort. 

She looked good. Remarkably healed, considering the last time I saw her. After the fight, she hadn't looked good at all. Or good, but bruised like hell. 

"So, Vile. Do you have a girlfriend?" Annie glanced at Skylar and completely forgot how she didn't think Vile was good enough for us just a couple of hours ago. Since the Vikings had made quite an impact at the tournament and gained a reputation, she seemed to view them differently now. Even if they were a lowly pack, according to her. They had won their group, though, and were challenging to gain even higher ranks. It was impressive, and I guessed Annie had picked up on it.

The three amigos looked up at the question. Vile looked uncomfortable, B looked worried, and Trevor looked nervous. I didn't know the nature of their relationship, but judging from their tension, I could tell they didn't either.

"I am not.. that is.." Vile started but trailed off, undecisive. He sighed. "No, I don't."

He hung his head, clearly not wanting to look at Trevor. Trevor, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and B miserable. I, and most of all Rune, noticed how she gently rubbed Vile's back while placing a hand on Trevor's shoulder and squeezing it. I realised she and I were the only ones here who understood the situation. It was clear that Vile and Trevor were not an item yet, and even though B had said that Vile was interested in Trevor, I didn't know how Trevor felt about that.

"Well, there is plenty of time to find the right one yet," I joked, trying to smile reassuringly at Trevor, who gave me a quizzing look. Was it too much? I felt like I was walking in a minefield with everything these days.

"Well, maybe you can join us in watching the fight tomorrow, Vile?" Annie continued, utterly oblivious to the tense situation. "And then afterwards, we can go eat or something?" she said casually as if she just hadn't rudely excluded one person from this invitation.

"Well, th..." Vile started but was stopped by B, who whispered something in his ear. He gave her a confused look, but it seemed she persisted. He looked up at Annie. "Thanks. That sounds cool."

Annie and Skylar started to chat about something else while B sat between Vile and Trevor, looking miserable. Trevor was right; Annie was a bit of an asshole. This person, though, B, I didn't know how to console without drawing attention.

Rune had now started to become agitated again. He didn't calm down when Trevor put his arm around B and whispered something in her ear. Instead, he began to pace around when B put her lips very close to Trevor's ears and whispered something to him, but the anger calmed down as she got up, nodded to all of us, offered a slight twitch of her lips to me, and left.

I didn't think Annie or Skylar even noticed. Tate, who had a crush on B, noticed but said nothing. Vile and Trevor looked uncomfortable, and I just wanted to escape this miserable situation. Rune was agitated again, his signals clear as a day. No one was to touch or hurt his.. his something. We had several possible mates at our age, and only when we were of age could we detect the fated one properly. Until then, there were more possibilities, and it was obvious that Rune thought B was more than possible.

I didn't rejoice in that knowledge. Rejoicing really wasn't my thing, and I still considered myself as very much breezing. 17, just having fun. That was me. So, instead, I endured Rune's emotions and felt a desperate need to run or take that cold plunge again.

"I need to run," I whispered to Annie, making her feel included. She smiled and nodded, and I took off.

Beonnie

It wasn't that I needed to be Annie's friend. I absolutely didn't. I was afraid she would steal back Trevor and take Vile, too. And then I wouldn't have any friends again. Not my age, at least. I did want Vile to spend time with Trevor, though, as he had the hardest crush on the Silver Moon Pack member. Vile was not afraid of many things, but no matter how many times I had told him to just come clean with Trevor, he didn't dare. He didn't want to share with Trevor how he felt about him, afraid that Trevor would be disgusted, leave and never come back.

The summer had been like the most prolonged foreplay ever, with them hanging out every day, clearly enjoying each other's company and sneaking glances at each other when they thought no one saw. I did, though. Anyone spending more than five minutes with them could see it. Ironwood Pack even had an unofficial betting list on the first kiss. Jack had probably already prepared a wedding day or mating ritual speech, and Toke had called dibs on being best man.

Therefore, I wanted Vile to be accepted by Trevor's pack members, so I made myself scarce, knowing that Trevor's friends would not accept me as part of the package.

I walked back to our camp, but I didn't find the one I was looking for in his usual lounge chair by the fire. Therefore, I snuck into Jack's lap and let his warm embrace soothe me.

"You alright there, kiddo?"

No.

"Where is Vidar?"

"Bah. You are breaking my heart, girl. I will not tell him you asked; it will make him insufferable," Jack's eyes glimmered in the fire. "He is at the beer garden with some of his female fans."

I huffed. Annoyed at Vidar for not being here and then annoyed for being selfish. It wasn't Vidar's job to take care of me. He did that with honour on the pitch already. And I could fend for myself. Sort of, at least.

"Ok," I muttered and got up, restless.

I went into my tent and tried to sleep for a couple of hours, listening to whether I could hear anyone come back to camp. Nothing. I got up and peered outside. The fire was out, and the guys were off to their respective lodging. I tip-toed over to Vidar's tent and listened, but nothing happened. Vile was not back yet, either. We weren't fighting tomorrow, but it was late in the evening, bordering on early morning, and I wondered where they were. I could hear faint music from the beer garden, and flames were still shooting from the bonfire by the lake, vaguely visible from here.

I was still restless, so I figured that a shift and some running and hunting would do me some good. So I took off my bracelet and carefully folded my clothes before I stepped outside and went to the back. There, I promptly shifted and started to run into the forest.

I ran, hunted, and enjoyed the night in the forest. However, as the night progressed, I finally started to feel tired and ran toward the cave. As I tip-toed around the edge of the cave opening, I heard soft snores from inside and stopped. What if there was a mama bear inside? Carefully, I peered around the corner, only to see a clumsy black wolf asleep on the cave floor.

Happiness.

It was apparent that he was not a light sleeper, so I took my time examining him. His fur was pitch black, with a ragged back, making him look a bit punk-like. Big paws and a big broad snout. This was a strong wolf, oozing assertiveness and high rank. Apart from the assertiveness, his scent was also excellent: dew mixed with beach and rainy forest. A really good scent. Really, really good. Soothing. Calming.

I felt tiredness wash over me, and I slumped on the floor, contemplating how close I dared to lie. His whole existence was inviting, from the scent to the calming, soft snores lulling me to sleep.

I decided to take the middle road, lying down close enough that my one paw touched one of his but far enough for it to seemingly be an accident that my one paw touched one of his. Then I fell asleep.

Henry

I woke up to a great morning after a good night's sleep. I felt strong and powerful and hadn't even opened my eyes yet. Still closed, I stretched my body and realised my one paw nudged onto something soft and warm. I opened my eyes only to find the blonde wolf sleeping beside me, one paw on top of mine.

Rune was in the best of moods, and we stayed put like that for a long time, just watching her snore softly. She dreamt about running, her four paws moving in sync with the steps in her dream, unfortunately making me lose body contact with her. As the dream changed, she calmed down again, and I nudged my paw under hers again. She smelled great. A hint of vanilla but also bergamot, dew, lemongrass, and soft cotton.

Rune was like a puppy in my head, musing at her every movement. Gone were thoughts of Annie, even of B, and only present was this creature in front of me. He grew impatient, wanted more, needed more. I got up and carefully readjusted myself, so I laid behind her instead, her back along my side, in close contact. I put my head on my front left paw, carefully almost nuzzling into her neck.

An hour later, I felt completely recharged, fully loaded, ready to take on the world, and stronger than ever. I also thought it was time to move; after all, she arrived after I fell asleep, and thus, if she found me anywhere else than where I had been before, she would know I purposedly had moved there. So I tip-toed around her and sat staring at the lake until she woke up.

"Oh, Hi."

I turned around.

"Hi."

She didn't continue the conversation, so I turned around again to see if she had fallen back asleep. She unfroze, got up, and sat down next to me.

"Sorry, my pack members were wondering where I was. Heh, threatening to come to get me, actually."

"Well, just tell them you are with me then," I pumped myself up before I realised the inevitable question.

"I could. But I don't know who you are."

Right. And I was so happy not to be the son of the alpha bla bla bla.

"Well, I don't know who you are either."

"My name is B.. rown. Brown. That's my name, yes."

Nah. That was not her name, was it? Whoever calls a blonde wolf "Brown"? But it worked for me.

"Ok, Brown. My name is.." Think. Think. Think. Think of something for crying out loud. But I didn't want to lie to her.

She giggled.

"It's fine. How about I call you Grey? It's as off as Brown."

There was a dual message in that sentence, but whatever.

I bowed.

"Let's go hunt, Brown."