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her head to drown out the howls of Erik and his new
mate. Her smile didn't fade until she fell back to sleep.
***
"I'm a wolf!" Galen howled the next morning upon
awakening.
Galen and the Forest Lord - 70
Erik rose and stretched, willing himself out of animal
form and resuming his more human shape. He turned
admiring eyes to Galen, now sporting a thick growth of
honey-colored fur. Hmmm... The villager made a rather
lovely wolf. Perhaps the lad was a half-breed himself,
for only those of the blood could take wolf form. Unless,
of course, they mated with their destined partner,
ridiculous in this case. The prophecy said so.
"Did you not know that the forest people possess two
forms?" Erik asked, disregarding the previous evening's,
"What wolf cub? I didn't see any wolf cub," argument.
"Surely everyone knows that. If they don't, then they
should." His mind briefly revisited one of the tastier
thieves he'd met in his youth. Then again, too much
knowledge could be a bad thing, he supposed.
"Kitta never said that the forest people possess two
forms! She just said that the forest lord be handsome... "
Galen bit off his words with a sharp click of pointed
teeth. Erik hid a smirk. Faking a recovery, Galen
continued his rant. "And... and... wolves be evil!"
Erik gave Galen his best put-upon look, the one that
worked on everyone but Aunt Eydis and Old Jarl.
"Yeah, yeah. And all villagers carry pitchforks and
torches. Everywhere. All the time. They even sleep with
the twice-damned things!"
"But... but... the villagers said... "
Erik bent down, nose to muzzle with Galen. His
anger lessened. In a very short time, the mortal's entire
belief system had vanished, replaced by facts known to
very few of his race, regardless of what Erik said. "The
villagers also think that you don't deserve to live
because you crave a man's touch."
Galen blinked wide, golden eyes. What a glorious
creature he made. The fur standing on end on his back
slowly lowered, his head following suit.
Galen and the Forest Lord - 71
Pressing the advantage of his guest's confusion, Erik
rationalized, "If they lied about that, couldn't it stand to
reason that they lied about the forest dwellers' two
forms? You've heard of such creatures, have you not?"
"Those be stories, told to amuse wee ones."
Ah, this poor misguided soul. "No, they're not merely
stories, for in this fortress dwell many such beings. And
guests frequent my home who can transform into
fantastic creatures that've likely been maligned by
humans. What other lies did your elders feed you?"
Galen's growl softened to a lovely, low pitch that
called to Erik's inner wolf, inviting play and so much
more. Down boy! Erik scolded.
His inner wolf pouted. You never let me have any fun.
"They told me that bad wolves eat people, and that
good wolves serve the forest lord. They never said that
you be wolves yourselves! But what of me? I'm not a
wolf!" The low growl escalated to a whine. Oh-oh, better
act fast. Whines weren't good things. They could either
settle into a snit or elevate into full-blown panic.
"I beg to differ, but, furry body? Check. Four legs?
Check. Sharp teeth? Check. You, my dear man, are quite
obviously a wolf. Unfortunate side effect, apparently.
One I didn't anticipate, either." Galen pulled back his
lips, showing gleaming white teeth. Both Erik and his
inner wolf poised to flee.
Angry mates are dangerous, Wolf Erik said.
Not my mate, Erik shot back. He took a long, hard
look at Galen, hunkered down and inching forward,
teeth barred. We run on my signal, Erik told his wolf.
Inspiration struck before Galen did. "I know!" Erik
cried, "Let's go show the seer! He's the wisest man we
have."
Galen brightened. "And he can help me?"
Galen and the Forest Lord - 72
"Help you? You don't need help. You're perfect. I just
want to show you off! I'll be the envy of the pack!"
Praise always worked on Isibel. Maybe it would work
on this villager-turned-pack-member.
Erik dressed quickly and marched downstairs, head
held high, trying to ignore the danger at his back.
Wolves can smell fear, Erik's own wolf reminded him, to
which he replied with all the sarcasm he could muster,
Really? I didn't know that. I mean, I've only been one
since birth!
Continuing his inward battle, Erik measured his steps
carefully while trying to appear nonchalant. No need
adding embarrassment to injury. Galen followed
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