Aria and the Rogue

A low growl reverberated through the trees and I froze. The source wasn’t visible, but it was only a matter of time before whatever creature made the sound showed itself.

The cold winter air didn’t penetrate my soft down coat, but I shivered at the threat coming my way. Snow coated the ground and flakes of the crystals hit my face, melting as soon as they touched my warm skin. The only place I felt the cold was my nose.

Still, nothing appeared in the clearing and I thought maybe I’d dodged the animal, but I was hesitant to move on without making sure. It could track me back to Aunt Charlotte’s. Most animals avoided civilization, but I couldn’t chance it.

“Hoot, hoot.”

I jumped at the sound and gave the snowy owl an admonishing glance. Placing my index finger over my lips to shush the bird, I spun slowly to see if the angry creature had emerged. Nothing.

The crescendo of the menacing animal’s growl caught my ears in the muffled air and then I saw him. Gray with tufts of brown here and there, the wolf’s fur looked soft and I wanted to touch it, but that would be foolish. He was a rogue.

A rogue was a wolf, man or woman shifter who’s animal took over and the humanity in them was stifled. He or she would attack anyone, even those they loved.

If his pack found him, they would have to kill him so he wouldn’t kill anyone else. They didn’t have a way to help him. But I did.

We stared at each other, his yellow eyes not leaving me. Brown fur around his ears and on his muzzle puffed almost like a porcupine ready to strike.

Calming magic eased into my hands. I didn’t panic, even though anyone else would have, because I had powerful magic. Demon magic.

At thirteen I’d learned to hide my demon magic pretty well. Aunt Charlotte, who’d raised me since I was a baby, told me I couldn’t let anyone know about the dark power in me. Aunt Charlotte knew and her coven leader, Marilyn, was aware of my secret because she’d seen it in action.

My best friend, Juliet, knew because I’d healed her using my dark magic when she’d been injured in this very forest. She’d promised never to tell anyone, not even her parents.

I crouched low placing my hands on my thighs, palms face up as the magic traveled from me to the beast.

He snapped at me and snarled, saliva dripping from his teeth. If I were three feet closer, he could have ripped my throat out, but he hesitated.

I had no delusions that he wouldn’t attack me. My magic was not common and he was checking me out, searching to see how big of a danger I was to him. It was laughable that anyone would think tiny me would be a threat, but the creature was intelligent and could feel the power rolling off of me in waves. 

Supernatural beings could usually sense magic in others. Not every time, but most of the time we could tell if someone was human or not.

Silence brought my attention back to the wolf, who’d stopped growling, but his eyes still glowed with that eerie yellow wolves had. It was part of their magic.

Slowly lowering myself so my knees hit the ground, I eased more magic into him. Any sudden movements and he could attack.

“It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Hoot, hoot.” The pesky owl said.

Softly I chided him. “I told you to you to hush.” I pushed a lock of long blonde hair, that had blown into my face, behind my ear.

The wolf cocked his head, eyes still tracking me as the owl looked on, like he was watching an interesting TV show.

“You can trust me. I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

Gently pushing more magic into the beast, I increased the amount and the wolf sat, like a dog waiting for a treat. He wasn’t wagging his tail though.

“You’re really pretty. I like the brown highlights in your fur.” I giggled and the wolf yipped almost like he was not happy with my compliment.

“Okay, okay. You’re handsome. Is that better?”

I reached my hand out, ever so slowly, never letting my magic stop flowing between us. When a quick grunt escaped from the wolf, my hand froze in place. At least he’d stopped snapping and snarling.

“You’re safe. No one will hurt you now. Stay calm, Wolf.” If anyone else had been around, I’d have lowered a magic shield over us so they couldn’t get to us. But the forest was empty with only the owl, the wolf and me noticeable. All the other creatures in the forest kept silent through our interaction as if they knew the slightest sound could push the rogue to attack.

More waves of magic seeped to the wolf and he laid down with his head on his paws, which sent another giggle through me. My voice didn’t echo everywhere because the snow had come down harder while my attention was on the wolf. The white substance blanketing the sounds.

The wolf jumped to all fours and bones cracked, his eyes now a beautiful gray.

I watched in awe until his fur slid off of him and I turned my head. He would be totally male soon and wolves couldn’t shift their clothes.

I stood and faced away from him, no longer worried that he would attack me. If he was shifting back to his human counterpart, he was no longer a threat. The wolf was in sync with his human side again.

Snow had soaked the knees of my jeans and the cold penetrated the covering to my skin. I’d have to get home soon or Aunt Charlotte would come looking for me.

The man cleared his throat and I turned, my head tilted up, to see only his face. Respecting his dignity was important.

The gray eyes regarded me with curiosity. “How did a bit of a girl like you, calm my wolf? I could have torn out your throat before you had a chance to move.” His voice was rough, not unlike a wolf’s growl.

I smiled at him, confidence in my voice. “I know how to calm a rogue. I’ve done it before. I know what happens when shifters go rogue.”

“Thank you.” He touched my cheek with his index finger and then he was gone in a flash.

Smiling I looked at the snowy owl. “You almost blew it for me, Mister. Next time keep quiet.”

The owl blinked at me a few times and flew off in the opposite direction of the wolf with one last, “Hoot”. Guess the show was over.

Ready to head home, I paused when I saw movement on the ridge thirty yards away. My breath caught in my throat. A black wolf stood on the ridge, watching me. He never came near me and I was tempted to go to him. A pull I’d never felt before tugged at me.

A shiver went through me that had nothing to do with the cold. I turned on my heel and headed home. When I glanced back, the wolf was gone.