Running With Wolves. Book i.

xxxvi.

Aeriela was like a puppy who hates water. She tried getting around me from the creek from her bath but I held her back and pushed her head under the water for a quick second. When her head came up she spike water in my face and I breathed out heavily, “Look I know you don't always bathe but you need this! You stink. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings but you need a bath.” I said, making her bare her teeth at me and growled. “You can't be running with us if you smell like you dived into a garbage can. Now sit.” I said, making her sit in the river with her back facing me and I srubbed her head with shampoo again and might need to do it one more time with how much dirt was in it.

Selah—a female wolf no more than a year older than me and the third cousin of Alpha Alaric—came over and sat down next to me with a packet of gum, “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” I said, taking it and took a piece out. I held it out to Aeriela and she rudely pushed my hand away. “Hey! It's minty, you'll like it.” I said, bring it to her mouth again and she smacked at my hand. I groaned and grabbed her chin, forcing her mouth open and she fought but I was stronger and forced it in her mouth. She chewed on it a few moment before her eyes widen and she kept chewing on it until she swallowed it. “No, no you don't swallow it—oh well. Here have another but you don't swallow it, you just chew it. Okay?” I asked as I gave her the pack of mint gum.

That kept her busy as she put gum in her mouth to chew on as I washed her hair. She had such long beautiful viberant red hair that went down to her waist and the more I washed it the more I wished I had her beautiful red hair.

“I never really thanked you for saving me.” Selah said, making me look at her as I srubbed Aeriela hair with shampoo. Selah had beautiful light ebony color skin like coffee with lots of cream in it. She had spiral curly hair that went past her shoulders and beautiful round brown eyes. “I saw my cousin look angry but not because he was losing family but a pack member. He wasn't coming.”

“None of them were.” I said as I grabbed a plastic cup and put water in it as I poured it over Aeriela head to rinse her hair and I added conditioner in it. Aeriel kept putting more gum in her mouth and even though it was getting hard for her to chew she continued enjoying the taste. “I was getting sick of being in there and I was gonna do anything to get out.”

“You're really brave, I wish I could be as brave as you.” she said.

I picked up a brush and started brushing at the end of Aeriela hair while the conditioner was still in her hair to make it easier to brush. I'm sure she hardly had her hair brushed and she had allot of tangles but she sat through them as I brushed higher on her head. “Well you can be.” I said.

She shook her head, “No, I can't be. I don't have the guts like you do. Girls aren't suppose to be strong.”

“See that's where you're going wrong.” I said as I looked at her and I roughly pull the brush down. Aeriela yelp and turned her head to glare at me. I looked at the brush where a good chunk of her knot I was working on was. Aeriela turned back around and I turned back to Selah, “You just gotta risk things if you feel like it's for the greater good. I never planned this is how my life was gonna turn to. Most of my life I just planned to graduate, leaving that group home Wing's Hope, and live on my own. I wanted to be a loner my whole life and here I am—Alpha of pack who all their lives in my hand and I have no idea what I'm gonna do next.”

“Just gotta take it one day at a time.” she said.

“And you need to realize how imporant you life is. You gotta fight to protect yourself, not needing others to. Every pack I seen the wolves look after their Alphas back but not their own. I want you guys not to protect me but your back. I don't want any of you risking your lives for me because your lives are just as imporant. It's why I knew you could get yourself out that underground room.” I said. “You know how to fight, right?”