BLACKBIRD

Soma.

A flurry of snow dotted my vision as I lurked through the darkening forest. Without its scent, I’d likely have lost the hare I was hunting a long while back.

I stalked its movements further into the forest that surrounded our isolated cabin. Only moments later, I cornered it, watching it pause to nibble on a snow-covered plant as the storm began to pick up.

It would seek shelter soon, I could tell with the way its dark eyes flit around and how its nose frantically twitched, aware of the changing weather.

Time to make my move. I crouched low and advanced silently through the brush, never blinking.

It still didn’t notice me.

With just a few more feet, I’d easily have enough clearance to leap. My hind legs wound me back–

A heady scent like no other hit my nostrils, caught on the wind like a siren’s call. My entire world tipped off balance, my senses frayed and then became electrified.

I lifted my head looking eastward, both perplexed and entranced.

Holden, I called through our pack bond.

‘Lose the hare already?’ The alpha replied dryly in my head. ‘You owe me twenty bucks.’

No, I snapped back, huffing to myself. Something else… is here.

’What do you mean? Bears must be in hibernation by now, right?’

It’s not that, it’s…

Frantically, I sniffed again, almost losing the scent, and quickly pursued its trail. The hare was long gone, already forgotten.

‘Well?’

Come out here, would you?

‘No, you should come inside,’ the alpha retorted. ‘You’ve had enough time to hunt, Soma. The sun’s setting and temperatures are going to drop quick.’

But this scent– it’s… it’s like–

Like another wolf. But not. I couldn’t find the right fucking words to describe it.

Holden was silent for a moment, seeming to catch on to my impending frenzy. ‘Just how far out are you?’

Half a mile southeast of the cabin.

‘Fine, I’m coming. But you still owe me twenty dollars.'

My movements were rushed, almost a full-blown gallop– I was terrified of losing it– fuck– whatever it was. It was like… Nostalgia. Warmth. Apple pie. Sex. All combined into one.

A whimper caught my attention; my ears perked up at the sound. I’d found the scent again, and it was strong. Whatever it was, it was close.

A twig snapped, then from around a tree, a woman in a white dress staggered forward.

I froze in my damn tracks.

She was pale as a ghost, her exposed knees and feet bright red, with cheeks pink from exertion and the cold. She was skinny and looked to be in her early twenties.

The most troubling fact of all: No shoes. No coat. In the middle of a fucking blizzard?

I looked behind me. Holden wouldn’t be here for a few minutes. What did I do?

I looked forward again, startled that she was now coming my way. I could jump into the bushes and lie low– but she’d already spotted me. My fur was black, an easily spotted contrast to our white terrain when I wasn’t hiding in brush.

She screamed, tumbling backwards until she hit a large tree trunk. Her arms spread over the bark, her eyes wide with horror.

It was her. The smell was so fucking heady. It sent every single part of my senses awry, intensifying each time I took a step closer.

She was shaking, and her body slid to the snowy ground. Tears streaked her cheeks as she watched me. After a second, her eyes shut in resignation, her head nodded over and over.

“It-it's okay,” she whispered with a shake to her voice, still nodding. I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or herself. “I’d rather be f-food for you, than an offering for them.”

What?

Without Holden, I internally panicked, desperate for instruction. Did I shift back into human form and comfort her? Did I leave her alone?

Fuck, I couldn’t do that! She’d die out here.

And if she watched a wolf turn into a man, she’d probably have a damn heart attack.

I padded closer and she let out a whimper through her tightened mouth.

To reassure her, I gently rubbed the side of my muzzle against her bare arm. Her skin was like ice. Just how long had she been out here?

Her eyes opened, revealing a light shade of brown, almost gold. “Wha-what are you doing?” she asked through chattering teeth as my snout slowly worked its way up her arm, and then to her neck. The scent was strongest there– I couldn’t help myself, I had to take in a long, deep whiff of it.

“That tickles–” Her shoulder lifted, gently pressing her fingers over my head, perhaps to push me away, but wound up petting me instead. I liked her touch, but that seemed irrelevant at the moment. “Y-you’re not killing me,” she whispered. “Why... why aren’t you killing me?”

When I backed off, her stiffened body slumped a little as her arms crossed over her chest.

A bitter breeze passed between us, tied with the silence, another flurry of snow. She was going to get frostbite if she hadn’t already– especially with the sun almost completely dipping past the horizon to my left.

I whined, rising to my feet and pointing southward with my snout, stamping the ground.

“You w-want me to follow you?” The raven-haired woman looked down at her bloodied, bare feet. “I don’t know if I–”

“Soma!” Holden called. My head turned at the sound of crunching boots in the snow. Through the flurry, I saw the alpha of my pack approaching. He was well over six-feet tall, his golden hair was flying about wildly, traced with specks of snow. He wore a thick dark blue parka that he hadn’t bothered to zip up.

I whined again.

I found the scent.

“Yeah, I see that,” Holden muttered, patting my head when he was close enough and then lifted his gaze to the woman. She had slunk back against the tree again.

“What the hell are you doing out here? Where are your clothes at?” Holden demanded, stepping past me and approached her.

She didn’t respond, staring at him with a sharp, distrusting gaze even as her bottom lip trembled from the cold.

Christ. She does not like you for some reason.

‘Shut up, Soma.’

Holden rest his hands upon his hips. “Look, we can’t leave you out in the storm. Do you want me to call someone?”

Panic played in her light eyes, but she didn’t respond.

And Holden was beginning to lose his patience.

I padded forward, nuzzling against her forearm. She slowly broke from Holden’s stare and looked at me.

She’s scared. She’s gonna die if we don’t get her inside the cabin and warm her up, I said quickly.

‘Fuck,’ Holden replied, grunted aloud. 'Fine.'

“His name is Soma,” Holden said mildly, pulling off his jacket. “I’m Holden.” He held the jacket out to her.

She stared at it, then glanced at me. When my tail wagged once, she accepted the jacket and stood. Her knees wobbled as she pulled her arms through the sleeves– it completely swallowed her small frame up.

“You can warm up at our place,” Holden said, turning on his heel. “Come on.”

She tugged the parka closed, giving me another careful look. I nuzzled against her knee to reassure her, then padded to Holden’s side.

Do you smell what I do? I asked eagerly.

‘Yeah. It’s…’

“Shit!” Holden spun back on his heel.

The woman had collapsed.

Holden called for Finn, our other pack mate, as he easily hefted her into his arms.

‘Start a hot bath.’

‘What?' Finn called back. 'Run it yourself. And since when do you take ba–’

It’s not for him, I snarled.

‘Just do it, Finn. And make coffee, tea, whatever we have.’

Finn was waiting for us on the front steps of the wrap-around porch of the cabin with his arms crossed. His red hair had been recently cut, cropped close to his head and his sharp, bright blue eyes tracked us on our approach.

“What's going on? What's that sm–” Finn’s eyes focused on the woman and he shut up, getting his answer.

I shifted back into human form and shook out my black hair as I climbed the steps behind Holden, who carried her straight for the bathroom.

"I found her in the forest," I told him. "I don't know what the hell she was doing out there, but she didn't even have shoes on."

Finn opened his mouth to respond, but the alpha's voice called through the open front door.

"Soma. Put on some damn clothes and help me."

I appeared in the bathroom moments later in sweatpants and a t-shirt. Holden had pulled the woman's arms out of the parka and placed her into the steaming bath, dress and all.

She groaned softly, turning her head side to side.

The heat only intensified her scent, and in the tiny room it had nowhere to escape.

Which was probably why all three of us were all circling around the bathroom like sharks.

“Who the fuck goes out in a blizzard without shoes or a coat?” Finn asked.

“Someone desperate,” I retorted, feeling sweat on my forehead. “I wasn’t gonna let her die out there.”

“Finn, go find her a robe or something. And make sure the fire's going in the living room."

The red-head kept his arms crossed and lips pursed as he stared at her, then reluctantly nodded and left the room.

Holden's shoulders were shaking as he rose to his feet, about to follow after Finn.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, alarmed. "We can't just leave her in there. She's not even fully conscious."

Holden shook his head slowly like he was trying to snap out of a daze. “I don’t know. I think I’m gonna lose my fucking mind right now."

"What?"

"The scent, Soma. It's stronger in here. I--" he scowled, raking his hands through his hair like a drug addict trying to stop himself from taking another hit. "I want to mate her. It's like I... can't stop myself. I can't be in here."

Shit. So it wasn't just me. "Then-- what do I do?" I asked, panicked as I pointed at her. "I feel it, too."

Holden's eyes squeezed shut as he licked his lips and tried to get a hold of himself. A hand braced on the door's frame as his head slowly lifted.

Something had dawned on him, like a eureka! moment.

“...Vaporub. In the medicine cabinet.”