Way of the Wolf: Redemption

Chapter 5 - Storytelling

*EDITED*

Thank you so much for all the love this story has been getting
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Chapter 5: Storytelling

Aljana left as Bjarke marched his way over the invisible line she’d set for the pack while I washed, but not before snapping her teeth at him. It amazed me to see her challenge a male twice her build, but the actions of bared teeth seemed more playful between the pair than serious, for neither went for the other. Katrin he greeted with gentle respect, his hand on the curve of her bump as they met cheek to cheek. I thought I even heard him murmur a thank you in her ear.

Katrin patted his arm and turned to me with a mischievous smile, and I froze when she grabbed my arms and leaned in to press her cheek against mine.

I froze, unsure of what to do.

She hummed as she inhaled my scent, stroking my arm as if to settle my fur. I found myself copying her actions, nuzzling into her as I breathed in the floral sweetness of her scent.

"I'm glad I could help you,” she murmured, her voice soft and unthreatening. “If there's anything you ever need, advice, an ear, a friend, you come find me. I’m much less prickly than Aljana, and far more fun to speak to than Bjarke."

A bark of sound left me, and both Katrin and Bjarke stared at me as if I’d grown a second head. They’d never heard me laugh before, and I was so unused to doing so that it even frightened me.
I may be wary of the female’s motives, but it was hard to fake the sincerity in her expression. She cast the Beta a smug look before she left to join her mate; a slim built male who hadn’t once stopped glaring at me. I couldn’t blame him. Even I was surprised they’d let a pregnant wolf near me.

But once more, I was left alone with the Beta.

The male crowded my space before I could react, his fingers trailing up the sleeve of my dress, his other hand catching my wrist to inspect skin still pink from being scrubbed clean. Calloused fingers brushed over my pulse point, sending a rush of tingles over my skin. His eyes raked over every inch of me before finally settling on my face.

“There." Another cursory once over and he nodded to himself, reaching out to finger a lock of damp hair and ignoring my flinch. “Much better.”

I frowned as he continued to fuss around me. He tugged at the waist of my dress and grumbled in disapproval at how much room there was. It didn’t feel like he thought I looked much better. Maybe he saw what his Alpha Female did. A ghost. A female past saving.

“What do you see when you look at me?”

The question stopped the Beta in his tracks. He straightened up slowly, warm brown eyes flicking over my expression with a measure of wariness. Whether he’d heard what his Alpha Female had answered when Katrin had asked the same question or not, he considered it carefully before replying softly, “I will let you know when I see you.”

My brow puckered as my frown deepened.

Bjarke only smiled, offering no explanation. Instead he smoothed his fingers over my brow, trailing them down my cheek until his knuckles grazed the side of my jaw. Heat followed his touch, creeping down my neck, and the whole while, he kept his gaze locked on mine. The urge to tip my head into the warmth of his palm was overwhelming so I forced myself to remain frozen. And I was rewarded with that rich rumble spilling from the male’s chest, even when the sound immediately made me jump back as the realisation I hadn’t tried to slap his hand away or bite a finger hit me.