A.N.D. - Wolf Woods

The party lasted for hours. Cripes, this was the best night of his whole life! Well, no, the night he met Virginia was the best night of his whole life. No, the night Virginia said “yes.” No, wait, the day they played hide-and-seek in the woods-that was definitely the best ever. Hmmm... those woods were right outside. She was kinda big, but they could play a little anyway. Gently. Maybe later. In the meantime, all the people! All the presents!! Wow!!! There were even other wolves! The big lead Wolfs of Wendell’s Wolfpack intimidated him, and he was just as happy that they were only coolly polite to him. But that Sebastian guy seemed really nice, and it was good to see another half-wolf in a respectable, responsible position.

But slowly, inevitably, it all wound down. Littlebit snuck out first; she’d been trying to escape almost from the moment she had arrived, and he’d spent a lot of time dragging her out from behind trellises and pillars. Then Virginia fell asleep on her papa’s shoulder, all tuckered out from the very long day. Tony took her off to bed, and only came back long enough to say his farewells to the dignitaries he knew.

Wolf was too wildly excited to even think about sleeping, even as the big, impersonal party dwindled into a small royal audience, and finally a smaller, more intimate conversational circle. And finally, Wolf realized he was alone with Wendell as dawn light started to tint the windows. Wendy looked like he’d aged six years instead of six months, and Wolf was abruptly reminded that this was business travel, not a vacation.

“What do you need me for?”

“I have wolf problems.”

“Are you... are you going to take away the pardon?” It was hidden in his luggage next to the statuette of his mother, the two most important things in his life next to Virginia and the cub.

Wendell shook his head and Wolf sagged in relief. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I need you here while I do it. You wouldn’t believe what people say! I’ve been accused of killing you, of exiling you, of making you up to justify my wolf army. A lot of the wolves won’t trust me because I’m human. I’m hoping that they’ll listen to you.”

“Why? I’m just a half-wolf.”

“You’re the pardon-winner. A legendary hero.”

“What do you want me to do?”

Wendell smothered a yawn. “I don’t know yet. We’ll talk about it more tomorrow.”

“You mean today.”

“No, tomorrow. Today, I’m going to sleep and you’ve got a lot of thank-you notes to write! Lord Rupert can help you with the protocol, although I don’t think anyone has ever written down how a hero should address royalty.” Wendell blinked. “Do you know, I just realized that yours is the first story where the hero and heroine don’t end up with a kingdom. How odd.”

How unfair, you mean. I noticed those papers you made Virginia sign before the party! Still, there was nothing Wolf could do. He might be the pardon-winner, but Wendell was the pardon-giver, and could just as easily be the pardon-rescinder.

He and Virginia were in the hands of Destiny again. Wolf trudged off to bed hoping that fate would be kind to them once more.

Virginia waddled laughing through the woods. Their thank-yous were written, their visits had been made, and she and her husband found themselves at last alone together. Wolf, ever enthusiastic, had promptly begged for a game of hide-and-seek in “their” woods outside Wendell’s palace. At six months along she could barely walk (there were three more months of this? Argh!) much less run, and she certainly wasn’t much in the mood for Wolf’s usual finale to the game. But it did feel good to be out in the fresh air, and it tickled her budding sense of humor to have a chase in slow motion.

Wolf had promised to give her a fair count, not that he ever had; however, he probably would give her a longer lead than usual just to have the thrill of being able to run after her. Leaves rustled behind her, and Virginia stopped to look over her shoulder. She saw nothing in back, but as she turned someone exploded out of the bushes to her left, grabbing her with hard arms and throwing her roughly into a tree. In her condition? “Wolf!” she snapped angrily.

“Yes?” He came out where she could see him clearly in the rising moonlight. His eyes were yellow. So was his hair-yellow and a mass of tight curls. He had a beard, whereas her Wolf still had the goatee that he’d worn at the Renaissance Festival.

“Pretty lady,” he said appreciatively, sniffing at her. Virginia could feel the disorienting buzz of Persuasion tickling at the edges of her perception.

“Is the pretty lady all alone?” This one had red hair and was clean-shaven. But his eyes were also blazing. The pressure of Persuasion got worse, and Virginia had to shake her head to clear it.

“A pregnant lady!” This one was much younger, also a blonde. He was the only one not trying to bend her mind. For a giddy second Virginia thought they’d take pity on her, until he drooled. “A baby on the way. Such tender meat.”

“WOLF! WOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLF!” Her shriek echoed off the trees around them.

“Yes we are, pretty lady.” The curly haired one leaned in close, menacing. “Scream all you like, only wolves will hear you.”

“You’re going to get in a lot of trouble if you don’t let me go,” Virginia gasped around the Persuasion.

“Haven’t you heard?” the redhead asked silkily. “We’ve been pardoned. We can do anything we want.”