Sleeping With Wolves Chapter 1

~The wolves’ howls pierce the air, giving an eerie echo to the farms and fields of farmers near Valentine, Nebraska. They seem to be begging for someone, anyone, to listen to their tales. They seem to be calling for you.~1

= 1 =2

She walked alongside the country road with no particular direction in mind. She had been around here before when the pack moved, but had not stayed long. Still, things were familiar, and she knew most of the houses and barns that dotted the countryside. Somehow, the pack had moved on in her sleep, and she had lost them completely. Valentine was now just a vacant space for livestock to graze safely.
It seemed so empty without the wolves howling every night. It seemed so cold. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something just didn’t feel right. She knew she should continue looking for the pack, but figured they had left her for a reason. The Great Creator was the only one who knew His plans. Her Destiny would be revealed, but only in time.
Somewhere in the distance, a call came. The howl was startling for a second, and she perked up, half expecting to see the great white alpha. But then she realized it was just a basset’s way of giving up for the night. She sighed.
The stars were bright, giving illumination to the fields alongside the dirt road. Cows paid her no mind as they grazed and beckoned their young ones over to their sides. Always obedient, the children came and lied next to their moms, remaining close in case of danger.
Occasionally, a horse would whinny, but very soon all was quiet, except for the always noisy cattle. She didn’t much care for the beasts, but she didn’t fully despise them either. They were good food, and she couldn’t help but admit their cuteness as infants.
A canine barked at her, and she turned to see a black lab trotting towards her. How odd that he had only let loose one bark. Labs were very well known for their continuous barking at nothing. Still, she welcomed the silence the echoed off his tongue and sat down to pet the friendly pup.
“Rover. Rover, where are you, you stupid mutt?” The voice made its way down the hill, seeming to bounce of f of every rock and fence post. Finally, a girl appeared, and the lone one stood up. “Oh there you are. Sorry if he was being a pest. He’ll go to anyone he sees and beg for belly-rubs. I hope he wasn’t bothering you.”
Rover jumped up on his new friend, begging for more attention. She simply looked at him, and he got back down and jogged to his owner as happy as can be. “No bother.”
The other girl looked quizzically at her, “Good. Well, I best be going. Just wanted to make sure Rover got in before bed. Night!” And she turned away and ran off with a happy dog tailing her, tongue out; pure bliss.
She watched them go and once again welcomed the silence. It was weird that she welcomed it, because she also hated it. She hated how the wolves no longer howled. They hadn’t howled for so long, she had almost forgotten the sound.
Oh, how she longed to howl now. Howl that lonesome howl that chilled the farmers to the core. But she couldn’t. She was a human.
She continued on her aimless journey.
The light was almost too bright as the sun rose just a little higher. It seemed to reflect on every surface in the cave, blinding the girl. She opened her eyes slowly to allow them to adjust. The shelter’s walls sparkled with tiny spots of white, and the sun seemed to lie in the small pool of water in the rear of the cave.
She groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. A new day. How much sleep had she gotten? She wasn’t sure. Right now, she was just tired and hungry. The tired would go away once her stomach was satisfied.
She got up and crawled out of the small cavity and immediately began looking for rabbit tracks. Not finding any, she decided to try the more uncivilized approach of finding food in barns of farmers who were not home at the time.
The first few homes were occupied, judging from the vehicles in the drives or the tractors running in the fields, but one of them was not. So she sneaked around to the barn to find some corn or anything else that might be stashed.
Unfortunately, she misjudged. As she started to open the barn door, a girl came out with blond hair and light green eyes wearing a white t-shirt and coveralls. She bounded straight up to her as if they were old friends or something.
“Whatcha doin’?”
She didn’t answer, unsure of what to say.
“You won’t find anything in there. Just the tractor and some hay bales. Unless that’s what your after. You don’t look the type to be after tractors or bales of hay though. Naw. You’re probably lookin’ for a place to hide, ain’t cha?”
She remained silent, figuring the girl would try to conclude everything herself. That would be better anyway. No need telling her the truth. She wasn’t sure it would matter if she was honest.
“Well, everybody ‘round here always looks in the barns first for hidin’ people. Why don’t cha just come in the house?”
Was this gal really offering her home to a possible fugitive? She decided to play it safe and be honest. “Food.”
The girl paused for a moment. “You were lookin’ for food? Well why didn’t cha just say so?” She turned and jogged up to the house. The other shrugged and walked slowly behind.
The blond opened the front door and led the other girl into the kitchen. “Name’s Caroline. You?”
“JoAnna,” she said distracted. The house was something new to her. From the road, she could tell that it was more like a mansion than the one, sometimes two or three, story houses that dotted the road for miles. It was a beautiful place, with perfect color schemes for each room that seemed to blend in with each other as if nature herself had done it. She couldn’t resist taking a peek into the next room, which she deduced to be the family room. Leather couches seemed to beckon all who entered to have a seat; sink into the pleasures of their material.
She poked her head around the other girl to see more and was pushed away lightly. “Man, you stink! You smell like rotten fish!”
JoAnna was snapped back into reality and shrugged, “What do you expect? I bathe in rivers and lakes.” She made it sound like it was the most normal thing to do.
Caroline took her hand and led her upstairs to the second floor. “Well, I’m going to have to change that.” She took her into the bathroom, and once again, JoAnna had to catch her breath. The tub was huge and had two top faucets that would rain down to make sure the whole body was bathed.
“Wow. It’s big.”
“Yeah,” she handed her a towel, “It’s pretty nice. You need a shower.” She opened the door under the sink. “Just drop your dirty clothes in this hole. There will be some clean ones that I hope you can wear in front of the door.”
“Okay.”
The light headed girl leaned against the door frame, “You got a home?”
Memories of the pack flooded JoAnna’s mind. “Depends. What do you consider a home?”
She paused a moment. “Good point. OK, how about a house? Family? Do ya live with anyone?”
“I have lived in caves and fields for as long as I can remember. Family? I don’t know where they are. I lost them. Do I live with anyone? Nope. I’m solitaire.”
“Well, you can stay here. After your shower, pick a room on the third floor. Them’s all guest rooms.”
“What about your parents? Your family?”
“I’ll take care of it. If Mom says no, we find a Plan B. Now shower.” She left and shut the door, giggling. JoAnna looked on as if in a quandary before stripping down and inspecting the shower. After a couple of minutes, she figured out how it worked and hopped in, letting the water get as hot as possible.
The first onslaught burned her skin, but within seconds, it felt like a raining hot spring. It soothed her to the core. She caught a whiff of the steam coming off of her body, and it seemed to carry with it the stench the young one mentioned. She recoiled and looked through the soaps on the shelf. She found a berry fragrance she liked and poured some on her hand, taking her time to lather it up and cleanse her hair. Then she found another and did the same to as much of her body as she could.
When she was done, she turned off the faucets and just stood there dripping. She wrung her slightly long black hair out from top to bottom as her thoughts drifted to the pack.3

~Their tails pointed in the direction opposite their prey. Alpha snorted the command for the two outside wolves to move up. It was a common formation to surround the herd. This way the whole pack was fed properly. “Only take what you need” was the common ground rule of the pack. “In case of droughts. If we need more food later and have wasted away our supplies, we have nothing left.” The pack loved the Alpha. He was kind and beautiful inside and out. He cared about nothing more than the survival of his pack. Not like the last Alpha. He cared about nothing more than himself. He was soon dethroned and ostracized from the pack. No doubt he would find another loner and start a new one. Only time would tell. The two wolves moved up a bit more, and Alpha sent the signal. Soon, the pack had made a triangle formation and had surrounded part of the herd. Five gazelles were taken down, and the others escaped without a scratch. And the pack was full, healthy, and happy.~4

She stepped out of the shower with pleasant memories and found herself a fluffy purple towel to dry off with. Her stomach growled as she remembered her original intent. Oddly enough, she still had not had a single bite to eat.
She tossed both her clothes and her towel down the square shaft and poked her head out the door. Sure enough, clothes had been laid out for her, including fresh panties and a bra. She tried on the denim jeans which were just a tad loose. The bra was almost too tight, but the shirt seemed to fit nicely. She looked at herself in the reflecting silver glass above the sink and saw the shirt had a wolf on it. How appropriate, she thought.
She made her way back down to the kitchen and began searching the cabinets and fridge for something to snack on. The other girl came in from outside. “Oh, you’re done. Let me make you something.” She pushed JoAnna out of the way and began pulling things out of the small cold room and laying them on the center counter. She then reached into a cabinet above it and got out a loaf of bread. “What do you like on your sandwiches?”
JoAnna looked at the items on the counter, “All of it.”
The blond raised her eyebrows, “Miracle Whip, mustard, ketchup, pickle relish, mild cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, bologna, and honey-smoked ham. You want all of that?”
“Yeah.” She was famished. She didn’t care what was on it. Just as long as it filled her up.
“Well, okay then.” She grabbed a couple of pieces of bread and began making the ultimate sandwich with practically everything on it, shaking her head every now and then.
She finished the sandwich and handed it to JoAnna, who took it instantly and ate the whole thing within three minutes. “It was missing something.”
Caroline looked up from her own sandwich surprised, “Missing? What could possibly be missing from that? It was like the epic sandwich!”
JoAnna perused the kitchen and pulled out a small tin can. “Tuna.”
The other girl just sighed, “The one thing I forgot to put on the counter. Go figure. Do you want some?”
She thought a moment and looked down as if to look at her stomach, “No. I can do without for now.” She put the can back.
“Good.” Caroline continued making her normal ham and cheese sandwich. “Go ahead and pick a room like I said earlier. Honestly, you look dead on your feet.”
The dark haired girl looked at the blond as if in a quandary. Shrugging it off, however, she trotted up the stairs and found a small room with a half-bath to call her own… at least for now. She admitted to herself that she was indeed tired, but she felt like that any time she ate. Probably remembering the self serve issue from the past.
The room was colored in dark hues of blue and black with a bit of rich oak thrown in. The comforter was navy and the nightstand was black. The head and foot boards were a deep oak, and the dressers were a dark burgundy color with oak trimmings. The walls were a slight gray color. The small half-bath seemed to match with its navy hand towels and wash cloths and brown marble counter top. JoAnna thought it had a sort of natural feel and soon called it her own.