Page 133 of Untamed

I frown at them. Once again, I just don't understand. Wierd pack wolves. I shut the water off and wrap the towel around me as I limp from the room.

"Are you going outside?" Abbi-wolf asks, rushing after me, "now?" She stumbles a little, letting One-Eye right her, a soft blush on her cheeks. "Thanks," she whispers to One-Eye. "Um... Luna? Are you... are you going to wear clothes?"

"No."

The two females trail after me as I walk out of the too-large house, silent observers. I feel other eyes, cautious, wary eyes watching me. Wolves are... well,packedinto this place. I ignore the eyes as best I can, even as murmurs filter through the early dawn air to my ears.

Poor thing...

What happened?

She's limping, too...

He is too harsh with her...

A monster...

I feel the frown cross over my lips. Maybe I should have wrapped my body in the blanket, hidden all of the marks and bruises Mactiir left on my skin. I pick up my pace, walking as fast as my hurting secret place can manage. Reaching the trees is a relief, a bit of a shield from the prying eyes. Or, at least, I can pretend that they can't see me.

The forest throbs under my feet as I crunch through the leaves. One-Eye and Abbi-Wolf follow. I can tell who is who without looking. Already One-Eye has started to walk softer, to be more careful with her steps. She is a fast learner.

It smells like fall. Crisp air, cool, with the sharp scent of dying leaves. The days are becoming shorter. Before long, the nights will dominate the days. The balance of nature will shift, power humming underground, deep in the roots, until spring.

I sleep a lot in the winter months. It's harder to stay awake when nature is sleeping, too.

The thick oak tree is standing, pure and straight, a stalwart warden of the forest. When my fingertips brush the rough bark, the zap nearly sends me reeling backward. Sighing, I push through the eagerness of my forest, enveloping the tree in my arms like an old friend.

"Is she hugging the tree?" Abbi-Wolf whispers.

"She's very granola," comes the bland reply.

The Oak takes the hurt from my secret place, first. Maybe One-Eye was correct, and Mactiir didskewerme a bit too much.Skewer; impale, lance, spear.

I really loved it.

Other bruises and stings are soothed, the injuries so minor that it is nothing compared to the power of the forest. The fire has stopped. It's just a smolder, growing weaker and weaker in the north. Already new roots are growing. In the spring, the forest will bloom.

"Are you seeing this?"

"I..." One-Eye's voice trails off.

The hurt in my neck isn't leaving. Skin stretches and pulls while the forest hums under my feet. Two of these... Marks... and I can sense the hesitation, the wonder. There is power in Pup's Mark. Something that I didn't understand before.

I let go of the Oak and step back. My body is better, even if my heart hurts.

"Where is Pup?" I ask One-Eye.

A blank, wondering stare is my only answer.

"I need to see him," I touch the wound on the side of my neck carefully. Understanding lights her eyes.

"He's across town with Alphason Conner."

I nod and gesture. "Take me there?"

"Of course, they will," Purple rushes up with Coffee behind her. Both old females have eyes that twinkle at me. "Here, pumpkin," Purple coos, shaking out a pretty, blue dress. Does she carry them with her all the time?

I pout a little when she tugs it over my head as if I were just a tiny pup, incapable of dressing myself. It falls over my head to my calves, brushing the skin. It's pretty... but it's blue. Like the Lake. Ew.

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