Part Five | Parts One, Two, Three, and Four
She stayed away for a few days, skirting even the shadows. Her wolf dream stayed with her, and whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was that dark figure, the hammer in his hand outlined against the angry sky. It doesn’t mean anything, she told herself, I have dreams like that all the time, and they never mean anything. She tried to put it out of her mind, tried to shove it away, but a voice whispered, never like that you don’t.
With a groan, she pushed herself up, grabbing her sword, and danced underneath the trees, the metal glinting with dappled sunlight. Wolves don’t get scared, she thought, slashing at an invisible enemy.
***
She stayed away for a few days, but she found her way back. She’d brought a wineskin along, and the feel of it in her hands was heavy, the wine sloshing against the sides as she walked. I’m not going to apologize, I’m not. He was my pack and he left.
***
It didn’t take long before she was drunk. She’d never been drunk before, not truly, and her head felt strange as she stretched out underneath the night sky. It feels like a fire’s burning through my veins, she mused, eyes turned upwards.
***
It didn’t take long before they were kissing, either. He’d opened his mouth, to object, she thought, but the last thing she wanted was his stupid words ruining this. Her mouth fell on his, and he tasted like wine, like summer, and her tongue pushed in, dancing with his. He grinned into the kiss, moved his hand up to cup her face, and she shoved them away. She wasn’t some fragile thing that could break; she was a wolf. She pushed his hands down to her hips and bit at his mouth, knotting her fingers in his black hair, scraping her nails across his scalp. Her eyes opened and she stared at him a moment before sliding off him, kicking the wineskin into a rock as she turned and walked away again, falling in step with the shadows dancing at the forest’s edge.
Everyone always leaves, in the end.
Maybe this time she would be the one to leave first.