It wasn’t long before we heard more noise, and I knew immediately what it was. A rabbit. My wolf’s favorite food and, if I was being honest, my favorite thing to make soup with. After a good long while on the fire, the meat was lean and tender.
While I was thinking on soup, Dean bolted forward and in seconds came back with the grey rabbit in his mouth, the limp thing dripping with blood.
His eyes danced with pride.
That’s a good one. We’ll cook it up later, unless you want to eat it now.
The thought was to myself, but all of the sudden, Dean, the wolf Dean, dropped the rabbit and stood in front of me, mouth gaping.
I whirled around, thinking he saw something behind me, but the only thing there was the trail to the canyons and some trees with mushrooms growing on their trunks. Nothing to gape about.
What the hell?The thought came, but I didn’t recognize the voice. It wasn’t me and it wasn’t my wolf. I took a few steps back, not understanding why another voice was in my head.
Who is that? How are you talking to me?
This time Dean jumped back as though the air had burned him. His eyes widened while he slowly lay down on his belly.
Jillian, is that you? How is this happening? I don’t…
Gods above, this wasn’t happening. I stumbled backward, hitting my ass on a tree trunk and tumbled before finally getting my legs under me again.
There were only certain wolves who could talk to each other in animal form.
Alphas could speak to their pack members that way and, well, mates could, too. If they were lucky.
Dean was certainly not my alpha, but I refused to give the second notion another thought. Maybe there were other cases—I was anything but an expert on the variations of shifters in other groups. Still, it was freeing to be able to speak to him. I tried it again.
Dean, it’s me. I’m not sure what’s happening, but yeah, it’s Jillian.
He scooted closer until his muzzle was nearly touching mine. Even with the littlest bit of rabbit’s blood on it, I didn’t care.
I could communicate with someone, and honestly, the only person I really had ever wished to talk to. We spent the rest of the night right there, the moon our only source of light, talking to each other about anything and everything and the spaces between. I answered all of his questions and he answered all of mine.
I might just stay a wolf forever.