Filed to story: Tangled in Moonlight Unshifted Novel by Lenaleia
Marcus nods and heads back out.
It isn’t long before he’s back.
“Going to help with the moose.” He pokes his head back in. “Shouldn’t take long with this many hands. They’ll need the sled.”
The tent feels emptier after he leaves. I add another piece of wood to the stove, watching the flames dance through the small plastic window. “What are we going to do with an entire moose worth of meat?” I’m no expert, but I know it’s a lot to carry around.
“Get creative with the packing.” Vanessa ladles some stew into bowls. Steam curls up from the thick broth. “We’ll have to reorganize everything, but we can make it work.”
My spoon freezes halfway to my mouth. “Won’t that exhaust everyone? They’ve already broken trail all day, and now they have to haul all that extra weight tomorrow?”
Her laugh rings through the tent. “I’m teasing, Ava. The hunting team will come by in the morning to collect most of it. We’ll just take what we need for the trip.”
Heat floods my face. “Oh.” Yeah, that makes a lot more sense.
“Did you really think we’d try to haul an entire moose around?” She hands Greg a bowl. “Even wolves have limits.”
“I didn’t know.” The stew warms me from the inside out, leaving me comfortable. “I’ve never been on a winter camping trip before. For all I knew, that’s how you usually do things.”
Greg snorts into his bowl, but doesn’t comment. Good man.
“Fair enough.” Vanessa settles onto her sleeping bag with her own portion. After a second, she snorts with laughter. “Though I’d love to see Marcus’ face if we told him that was the plan.”
The mental image of Marcus’ usual stoic expression cracking makes me laugh, too. “He’d probably just give me that look. You know the one.”
“Like you’ve suggested something completely ridiculous but he’s too polite to say so?” Her eyes sparkle with amusement. “That’s his specialty.”
“At least he’s diplomatic about it. Unlike some people I could mention.”
“You mean Grimoire?”
Hey! His indignant voice bellows in my head. I am the pinnacle of tact.
I share his response, and Vanessa nearly chokes on her stew.
“Right.” She wipes her mouth. “Because ‘that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard’ is the height of diplomacy.”
“He said that to me yesterday.”
“I’m pretty sure he says that at least five times a week.”
The coffee percolator bubbles, reminding me of its presence. Since Vanessa’s done most of the work here, I jump up to pour three cups, passing them around. The rich aroma fills the tent, mixing with woodsmoke and savory stew.
“This is nice.” I wrap my hands around the warm mug. “Different from what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“More suffering?” I shrug. “Less comfort? I don’t know. Lucas seemed worried.”
“We’re not savages.” Vanessa adds more wood to the stove, making the fire inside spark. “Besides, the entire point was to make sure you were still getting proper rest between purifications. Can’t do that if you’re freezing and miserable.”
Through my bond with Selene, I feel her satisfaction with the hunt. She’s headed back now, tired but content, with what I think might be a mole.
Vole, she corrects me. I was going after a rabbit, but it got away.
The wind picks up outside, whistling through the trees. Our tent stands firm, the extra guidelines Marcus added ensuring we won’t blow away in the night.
“How long will it take them to process it?”
“With that many wolves?” Vanessa considers. “Not long. By the time he gets there, they’ll probably be ready to load the sled.”
I try to imagine Marcus and the others butchering a moose in the dark, but the mental image won’t quite form. There’s still so much I don’t know about a self-subsistent lifestyle. I’m not unfamiliar with hunting; I just never was the one to do it.
“Stop thinking so hard. You’ll learn as you go. No one expects you to know everything right away.”
LISA
Early morning is a bitch.
I’ve never really been lazy, exactly. Having to wake up early isn’t something that usually ruins my day. But there’s a huge difference between waking up in your apartment and driving to work or school, and waking up in the middle of your strange werewolf compound, dressing yourself in a thousand layers to keep warm, and leaving before the sun even rises—to spend hours trudging through snow.
Living out here gives me a hell of a lot more respect for those social media homestead influencers I’ve watched. It used to be vague fun to watch them make bread from scratch and gather their own milk while eating something I picked up from a drive-thru on the way home.
Living this life is…
Well.
It’s definitely a different experience.
And I don’t hate it. Most days.
But this morning, I’m seriously regretting begging Kellan to bring me along
Snow crunches under my boots with each labored step. My thighs burn, but I keep pushing forward, following the path Kellan’s long legs have carved through the deep drifts. The sled he’s dragging behind him mocks me, bouncing along behind him like it’s nothing.
No way am I sitting in that thing.
My breath comes out in harsh puffs of white vapor. The cold air stings my lungs, but I maintain my steady pace. Sure, I complain about the ungodly hour and arctic temperatures, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to wimp out.
It was my idea to come here. I need to prove I can handle it.
A flash of movement catches my eye as one of the refugee she-wolves pulls up beside me. She matches my plodding pace with effortless grace, barely breaking a sweat despite the freezing temperature.
“You’re doing amazing,” she says, her voice warm and encouraging. “Most humans wouldn’t even attempt this.”
“Thanks.” I recognize her heart-shaped face and copper-colored curls from the newcomers who arrived last week. “Mira, right?”
“That’s me.” Her smile brightens her whole face. “I have to say, I’m impressed. You’re keeping a solid pace.”
My legs feel like they’re made of lead, but her words give me a boost of energy. “Trying to prove humans aren’t completely useless out here.”
Her genuine laugh makes me smile.
“No one’s useless. Humans are just different. You guys deal more with technology. I locked myself out of my smartphone once. See? Different.” Mira gives an exaggerated shrug.
“Which pack are you originally from?” I ask between breaths, genuinely curious about her background. Most refugees don’t volunteer information about their past unless asked directly. I guess Kellan and them know where they’re from, but they don’t tell me, anyway.
I have no idea how to differentiate between the packs. Maybe Ava knows how. I should ask.
“Silvermoon. I was a Westwood wolf before, though.”
My foot catches in the snow, and I pitch forward with a yelp. Strong hands catch me before my face meets the ground, and it takes a second to get my legs properly settled.
All these thick layers make it impossible to move sometimes. Like a gazelle in four casts.
“You okay?” Mira steadies me, her grip firm but gentle.
“What do you mean, you were a Westwood wolf before?”
“My mate was from Silvermoon.” A soft smile plays on her lips. “I moved there after we met. I was actually on my way to visit my parents in Westwood when everything happened.”
“Oh.” I brush snow off my pants, relief flooding through me. For a second, I thought she was some sort of defect and I was making friends with someone who might have a questionable past. “At least you get to spend time with your family now.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, her smile vanishes. My stomach drops as I realize what I’ve done.
“Oh God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—“
“It’s fine.” Mira waves off my apology, but her eyes have lost their sparkle. “I was one of the lucky ones. I wasn’t anywhere near the cities when the attacks happened. My mate bond disappeared, and I found out what happened when I ran into a group of runaways heading north.”
I nod, trying to look understanding while my brain scrambles to make sense of the travel. “Wait, you were traveling between… what, Idaho? And North Dakota?”
“Yeah.” Her smile returns, though smaller this time. “You can always fly or drive to visit family, but some of us like to shift and run the whole way on our own four feet.”