Crying Wolf - 5. Chapter 5

Finn

Turning towards the north, he bares his fangs with glee as he sets off into the fast darkening night. The wind in his fur fills him with a sense of exhilaration, reinforcing his purpose.

‘Tonight I will show them what lurks. They will know fear.’

Black nose to the ground, he sorts the scents upon the ground. For every trail where he finds the conflicting signs of the York pack, Finn lifts his leg high to mark over the offending scents. If they dare to trespass again, his mark of challenge will be awaiting them.

Whatever reason the turned pack in Leeds had to stay hidden away, he would take the measures required to let those bastards to the north know this land was not without protection. Closer and closer, he encroached upon their lands. Marking trees in a distinct noticeable trail, he made damn sure they would see his ‘message’.

‘What is your answer, pups? I dare you to try again.’

Snowy muzzle tilting up to the treetops, he howls high and piercing. Throwing his everything into the sonorous call, Finn issues out his challenge. A moment's pause to fill his lungs, and a rumbling deep growl shaking his frame before issuing another high howl. The pale white son of the line of Fenrir dares you to meet his fangs.

No answering call came in response.

Nor had he truly expected one.

‘Cowardly scurrilous dogs.’

Finn continues his invasion of their territory, thickly laying down his mark just as he swore he would. Over the course of the night, he managed to cover quite a large expanse of land. Finally satisfied, he turns back towards the direction of Leeds.

There lay a much more complex conundrum to solve.

How could he, a Born werewolf, get anywhere near gaining entry into the living space of a settlement of Bitten? Only one possible solution came to mind, and it was in no way guaranteed.

It certainly would not be possible in his current natural state. They would attack him as a pack on sight. Finn would have to alter his form, taking on the guise of man. It was how those of his kind walked among the world of humans. It was not something he favored doing. It rubbed his fur the wrong way to walk on two feet instead of four.

‘For him… this is important. To finally find him… see him, scent him up close. Must get closer.’

He would give himself up until he re-entered Leeds pack territory, and if he didn’t think of an alternative by then… it would be his only recourse. Lost in his thoughts, he tosses each idea away just as soon as it forms. None of them hold any credence, especially with the current state of the city. They had themselves on a state of high alert, and it would be tricky even under the best of circumstances.

As it was, Finn had serious doubts about his last resort, but things were not looking bright. Finally he stops in his tracks, knowing that if he goes any further then he will be in range of being detected by any patrols around Leeds.

‘Accept that this is what you have to do.’

On a heavy exhalation, he visualizes the change overtaking him. Snow white fur gives way to a pale body that is criss-crossed with healed cuts and scars. Even in this towering human guise, his right eye is scarred, clouded and useless. Long pale platinum hair drapes down over his naked form.

Holding out his left hand, he calls forth a wolf-eared cowl of white fur… it was just another incarnation of his own true pelt, a magic handed down through the line of Fenrir. Throwing it around his shoulders, he left the hood down to lie against his back. For the most part, it would accomplish the job of making him ‘decent’ for human interaction.

Looking down at his bare feet, he knows that this is as covered as he is going to get. On unsure steps, Finn sets forth towards the city. It will take a few minutes to relearn how to walk on two feet…

Looking up at the sky, he can see the encroaching shades of morning. Soon light will brighten the world, and that will only impede his quest. Casting his senses out around him, Finn is careful to remain aware of his surroundings. Yet another drawback to this form was the vulnerabilities inherent in it, and he was painfully conscious of his lacking in sight and smell especially. Everything to his right was bathed in black oblivion, hidden from sight. The fact that the forest floor was shrouded in creeping banks of lingering fog did not help.

A new scent is carried on the breeze, slowing his steps ahead as Finn lifts his narrow aquiline nose to inhale deeply. It is not a smell one would expect to encounter in the woods of Leeds. For a moment, he almost convinces himself that he is mistaken, but that would likely be a grand folly on his part.

“Who is out there?”

The words emerge as more of a growl, since he is unused to forming human speech.

“You are the intruder here, and I will ask the questions.”

Finn quickly turns to the right, surveying his blind spot. An authoritative female voice floats from the mists like the commands of a haunting specter. No human form catches his attention, and for a moment he wonders if it really is a vengeful ghost coming to warn him away from these lands.

‘There.’

Almost imperceptible, his gaze has to backtrack to the glowing green eyes that peer out at him from the low lying fog. Fangs bared and a deep growl rumbling from her belly, she advances on his position.

“Who are you?”

Out of habit, he sizes her up and doesn’t give up so much as an inch. Squaring his shoulders, he turns to face her head on.

“I am a traveler.”

Steely grey fur that is raised in an arch along her back melts away, revealing milk and honey skin. In a matter of moments she stands equally naked before him. Far from being meant to attract, her demeanor is all intimidation. The female wears her bare figure just as well as any suit of armor, her posture screaming that she will tear Finn apart nonetheless. Pointed elf ears peek through wild steel colored strands of hair that matches her wolf coat.

“Not a good enough answer.”

Neither of us move a muscle, standing in silence as only our eyes take stock of the other.

“Are you the Leader of this pack? I am not here to make trouble, and have come from very far away.”

A grumbling lupine laugh escapes past her lips and for a moment her eyes are alight with amusement.

“Yes, I am… and you practically reek of trouble.”

In an instant, the frivolity is killed by a look of stoic promised death.

“I’m going to give you one chance to get very far away from my pack. You do not fool me. While I cannot prove anything with certainty, I can certainly make you disappear. There is nothing here for you.”

Finn takes a confident step in her direction, and before his foot has a chance to fall she is at the vee of his throat with fangs at the ready.

“That is where you are wrong.”

Echoes of a siren scent left in the charred remains of an oak are fresh in his memory. He knows that the One he seeks above all others lies within that city, and he will do whatever it takes to get to him.

“I can tell that you are a strong leader who wishes to protect those underneath you, believe me I am versed in the Pack.”

“Then why are you alone?”

Avoiding that particular question, his words forge ahead in some kind of attempt to gain favor with her.

“I meant it when I said that I do not pose a threat.”

‘Might as well say it.’

“...my mate…”

Putting it into words sends a shiver down his spine, ringing with the unsettling affirmative of truth. They are uttered so quietly and reluctantly that he almost cannot hear them himself.

‘Your what?”

Her tone is abrasive and challenging in his face.

‘Stay close to the truth with this one.’

“Instinct called me all the way from the fjords, so I am sure that there is no mistake. I left my brethren and home behind to travel here to the English woods. What will it take for me to gain entry within your gates?”

The Alpha looks at him as though a second head has sprouted from his shoulders.

“You are mad. No one would feel compelled to traverse thousands of miles on a whim. Instinct… ,” spitting at my feet she meets my eyes with contempt, “You think I am a fool to believe such drivel. Go, leave these lands and never return. I will not give you another chance.”

“It is no joke… unfortunately I am wholly serious, though many times I have wished to turn tail and return to live among my own. I will allow you time to consider it and return another day, though as an Alpha you would do well to take the York pups more seriously.”

Finn takes one step back, his eyes never breaking from her gaze.

“I will not cede to you in this, so I hope you can think of something agreeable to us both.”

Favoring a tactical retreat, he pulls the white wolf cowl up over his head.

‘Don’t do it.’

He does it anyway… determined to impress upon her that he will not run away with tail tucked low. Releasing his hold on his human guise, snowy white fur ripples across his body as Finn drops down to stand on four gigantic paws. Staring down at her, he turns and bounds away to disappear back into the forest.