My stomach growling woke me. At first, I thought it was Cherie, but the second time there was no doubt - it was my stomach.
"Of all the stupid things," I muttered sliding out of the bed.
A dark head lightly salted with white lay on my spare pillow, heavy dark lashes against his pale cheeks. Alyosha slept on peacefully. I tucked the blankets around him- the room was cold and at the moment he was furless... and only a week or so from almost freezing to death in his den. I threw on a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt and my slippers while contemplating what there was in the fridge for a late night snack. The nearest 7-11 being a good forty minute drive IF the snow allowed me to get out put a giant damper on my enthusiasm for a munchies run.
The kitchen was a bit warmer than the bedroom. Moonlight slanted through the window and across the table making the glass pitcher in the center sparkle. Cherie lapped her water and then asked to be let out. I stood shivering in the doorway; the cold silver moonlight glided across the new snow turning the shadows even deeper and darker than ever before and creating a river of light that disappeared into the trees above the barn. Moonlight shimmered off of Cherie giving her a ghostly appearance as she ran from porch to tree to barn, making certain her territory was safe.
I leaned against the door frame shivering and remembering that first night, hearing the wolf howl from deep in the trees. Images of the wolf passed before my eyes: running, fighting, panting but standing undefeated and proud, determined to protect his "pack". The night seemed strangely empty without the sound of howling, even Cherie seemed to feel it as she hurried back to me and into the house. I stood there frozen, all my senses awake; all my artist instincts alert, cataloging everything for future reference.
Winter in the city had always been more of a drag, after the first few storms the snow had become crusty and dirty. By the end of the winter, it had lost all its charm. Up here though winter seemed practically alive; I could almost hear it breathing across the valley. Like a wild animal, it raged and roared against the window of the cabin one day, only to frolic like a foal in the bright sunshine the next. At the moment it slept, weary and heavy, weighing down the young trees, bending them almost in half. Somewhere behind the cabin, I heard a soft plop and smiled. Mother Night tucking her little ones in for the long sleep.
Cherie nosed my leg. I grinned and scratched her ears; she leaned against my leg. I wondered if she thought I was frozen in the doorway. I smiled, in a way I was,but in a few more minutes my nose would have icicles so I pushed off the door and spun around into the room and darn near tripped over a puzzled looking wolf boy who had been standing less than two feet behind me.
"Jeez Alyosha!" I said. "Make some noise so people know you're there!"
Alyosha's eyes flicked side to side, "What people?" he asked.
For a moment, I thought he was making fun of me but his eyes looked genuinely puzzled. I sighed; this was going to take some getting used to: this literal young/old person living under my roof.
"Isn't it too cold for you out there?" he asked- the Scots accent a delicate counterpoint to the moonlight. He craned his neck to see around me. Dressed only in the pajama bottoms, his feet bare he stepped up to the doorway and peered out into the night.
"I was just thinking," I said slowly.
"Hmm?" he murmured softly.
"The night seems... Empty almost, as if it's waiting for someone to return."
"Heh?"
"Well," I went on, "the first night I heard the wolf howl and then heard it again the next night." I slid my arms around his waist. "Every night for the last week, I've been hearing the howl just before going to bed. Seems, well wrong, not to be hearing it now."
"Is that so?" The slender boy murmured.
"Yes, that is so," I breathed against his ear.
Alyosha's lips curled up into a mischievous smile. He took a half step forward onto the porch; I loosened my grip but he didn't leave the circle of my arms. His sturdy ribcage pressed against my arms as he took several deep breaths before filling his lungs to bursting and flung his head back. The howl burst out and rolled across the valley, long and mournful. A second followed close on the first one's heels bouncing back in a double echo. The third howl was pure lust, triumph in sound, the wolf announcing to the world that he was here and this world was his and his alone.
A flock of birds in the trees above the barn took to the air and from under the porch came the sounds of tiny feet scrabbling away. Somewhere out in the night a coyote answered the cry and Alyosha nodded in satisfaction.
Cherie pushed between the door frame and my leg to stand on the porch next to Alyosha. He glanced down at her and smiled. His hand rested on her head as he filled his lungs again. This time as smoothly as if they had rehearsed it, the wolf howl rolled out into the night accompanied by Cherie's cry. A second howl followed. I listened to the mournful cry and thinking it wasn't so much that it sounded sad as it sounded melancholy, like unrequited love.
Thousands of years of life were packed into that sound: pack mates run with and now gone, lovers loved and left, children born and grown, all of that emotion turned into a single sound. Small wonder that the wolf howl had so deeply penetrated into human consciousness, there was so much spoken in that long, lonely note.
Unconsciously, my arms tightened around Alyosha. His right hand stroked my arm lightly, his left still resting on Cherie's head, I wondered if he'd ever felt this relaxed in his life. I wanted to think I was the most accepting of his lovers, but I wasn't sure I wanted to ask such a potentially dangerous question.
"It's cold without my fur," he said finally.
I murmured a soft affirmative and let go of the slender boy. He turned and followed me back into the cabin, which by this time was quite cold from having the door open so long. My stomach growled again and Alyosha doubled over in laughter.
"So much for the mood," I grumbled.
Alyosha straightened up still snickering and wrapped his arms around my neck. Our lips met; my hands slid down his bare back feeling every bump of bone, muscle and scar. Downy soft hair tickled my fingers, teasing my senses.
I hadn't been comfortable at first with the idea of falling in love with a male but now that I had him here, I was determined never to let him go. His puzzling balance of delicacy and strength was intoxicatingly sexy to me and his fingers tangled in my hair were driving me crazy. I kissed him harder, determined to back him up to the couch and..
My stomach growled again. Alyosha slipped out of my arms into a pile of shaking, laughing arms and legs at my feet. I scowled at him and rolled my eyes up. Maybe 2,000 years was still adolescence for a Liirren, damned if I knew but at the moment he sounded like any ordinary seventeen year old boy on the planet. I prodded his side with a slipper clad foot.
"Want something to eat?"
He exploded again in a fresh round of laughter. I shrugged and headed for the kitchen pausing long enough to turn on the heater. The fridge had the remains of a pot roast I'd cooked up a couple days before and I juggled it and the mayo and mustard out onto the counter.
"Hey!" I yelled toward the living room. "Start a fire would you? There are matches on the mantle."
There was only a swallowed snicker for an answer but a few moments later I heard the sound of wood being piled in the fireplace. Alyosha's soft voice drifted back to the kitchen but not the words, Cherie woofed and Alyosha made a soft yipping sound. I walked to the doorway and leaned against it. Head to head Alyosha and Cherie examined the fireplace, Alyosha leaned forward and blew into the grate. With an audible whoosh the paper caught and both heads jerked backwards.
"Don't burn us down," I said with a grin. "D'you want a roast beef sandwich, Yosha?"
"Mmm," he said with a nod.
As I turned to go back into the kitchen, a red and blue box on the mantle caught my attention. I turned sharply looking at the fire dancing in the grate, tossing eerie shadows across the wild planes of Alyosha's face
"Maybe he just took a match out," I thought, but my gut told me Alyosha had started that fire without the aid of matches. Cold shivered up my back and I hugged myself.
"Hurry up," Alyosha called. "It's warm over here."
"Yeah, yeah," I said piling sandwiches, mugs, spoons and cocoa on a small serving tray. Juggling them and the milk to the fireplace left me feeling assured that waitressing was not ever going to be a career choice for me!
Alyosha took the milk and cups from me and poured milk into the warming pan I kept on the hearth. I pushed Cherie aside and sat down beside Alyosha setting the platter on the hearth where she couldn't reach the food. I hooked an arm around Alyosha and pulled the slender wolf boy up against my chest.
Alyosha snarled a mild protest but snuggled up against me anyway. I leaned forward and nibbled on his ear; he smelled of shampoo and musky wolf. He squirmed and pulled the warming pan away from the flame.
"I thought you wanted roast beef, not wolf for your dinner," he said, his voice low and throaty.
"Well.." I said. "How about roast beef for dinner and wolf for dessert?"
He snorted but was grinning as he scooped cocoa into the mugs and poured warm milk on top. I rubbed his arms lightly as he mixed the cocoa. He shivered and a low growl rumbled out of his diaphragm.
The fire flickered casting long ribbons of light across the floor and up the walls. Cherie's eyes glowed and so did Alyosha's as he turned and handed me a cup. I took it with a smile. He lifted his mug and held it out in a toast.
"To a successful hunt," he said with a grin. "And success in capturing the prey." I snorted and clicked my mug against his.
"To time spent together and a warm fire, hot cocoa and a willing wolf boy," I whispered.
Alyosha blushed and busied himself with drinking his cocoa. I hoped my milk supply would last until I could get down the mountain to town! I didn't relish the thought of having an ornery wolf boy deprived of his mint cocoa on my hands!
I took the cup out of his hands and leaned forward to kiss him. Alyosha sighed and snuggled down within the circle of my arms and legs. For now all I wanted was to hold him and feel his warmth, his heartbeat, and admire his determination in living and loving the way he chose.
December 7th, 2006 Happy Birthday Kevin!