Getting Lucky

"It surprised me that these wolves are being so obvious, especially after what happened with Nyah in Las Vegas. We are supposed to avoid humans." Travin mused, as they sat on the couch wondering what the wolf sightings were all about. Neither of them were naive enough to believe it had nothing to do with them. After all, the wolves had been standing directly across the street from the hotel they were staying at, and had even waved back at Lucky. "My guess is that they are a local pack, who somehow got wind of our arrival. Maybe they are just making sure we aren't a threat."

"How did you know they weren't from your pack?" Lucky asked, "is it because all of your pack are the same color?"

"Yes, all of the wolves from Midnight Moon pack are black. Not all packs are like that but most are. It's a way for us to identify each other I guess, I am not sure. There is variation in things like foot color, tail color, stripes…. But the dominant color of wolves from a pack will be the same."

"So, logically, it would seem that I was originally a Midnight Moon pack wolf." Lucky deduced.

"Yes, your wolf is pure black, no other colors. That is a Midnight Moon trait."

Lucky felt sad, because part of her really wanted to visit this pack and find out what happened to her parents, to learn where she came from. But she couldn't stay sad for long, considering she was free. "So these wolves are probably from a local pack. Should we go see their leader?"

Travin laughed, "you mean the Alpha. We could do that, we would have to locate the Pack House, which likely won't be easy. It won't be in town, it's likely to be hidden away somewhere. We try to keep ourselves separate from humans but we do need to do things like buy groceries, gas, that sort of thing. So we just keep things on the down low and never let them see us in wolf form. We don't look like other wolves. The last thing we need is for humans to get paranoid and suspicious. They would probably start an investigation and a lot of wild wolves could be hunted."

"Are there any humans who know about us?"

"Very few, usually very high ranking government officials. People with a lot of power. The general public would freak out if they knew. But there are a lot of werewolves in the military, voluntarily. Humans aren't bad, they just have trouble accepting that something out there is more powerful than they are. They like being the apex predator? I don't know. But we need to be careful."Travin explained.

Lucky considered what he was saying. "I think we should try to find the local pack, we need to let them know we are not a threat."

Travin facepalmed himself, rolling his eyes. "I am such an idiot. I've been on my own so long I forgot all about the fact that we can smell others of our kind. I smelled something strange while I was walking Flappy, I figured maybe someone had an exotic pet or something. But what I smelled were those wolves. And no doubt they smelled us, that's how they knew we were here. You couldn't smell them?"

"I can smell everything. It's overwhelming at times."

"Wait until you smell one of Flappy's famous farts. He can clear a room." Flappy grumbled, as if he felt betrayed by his owner. Lucky laughed, scratching the dog's head.

"Poor Flappy. You hurt his feelings." She smiled at the dog as if to apologize for Travin's comment. He gave a tail wag and lay down at her feet. "You know, I think I love this dog," she said.

"Like I said, wait until you smell one of his farts!" He looked at Flappy, "you woman stealing little mutt!" Lucky burst into laughter at the whole silly conversation. She couldn't believe that mere days ago she had been in that hell in Las Vegas. She shivered, thinking about it. Nyah woke up from a nap in her head and reminded her that they had taken care of that threat decisively.

"Is something wrong?" Travin asked, his eyes filled with concern. Lucky stared into his eyes, looking for any hint of the power hungry lust she had seen in the eyes of so many other men. She couldn't find anything but genuine love and acceptance. She almost pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. That was one of her biggest fears, she would lie awake and be afraid she was asleep and would wake up soon back in the suite. How did she manage to run right in to a fairy tale? She had been to hell, and felt like she had escaped to heaven. She hoped against hope that it would stay this way. The three of them against the world.

"No, everything is right," she said softly, smiling shyly. "I just can't believe all the things that have happened to me. I mean I never knew I was a werewolf until I turned in to one in my room." She chuckled at the memory. "It hurt like a bitch but when I looked in the mirror I am shocked I didn't drop dead from a heart attack."

"I can't even imagine. In a pack, your first shift is a huge deal. It usually happens around your 18th birthday, but there is some variation. I got my wolf when I was 16. I suspected something was up. My skin had been feeling itchy for weeks, especially if I went out in the moonlight."

"How long ago did you leave your pack?"

"It's been four years. I had just turned 20, I still can't believe what happened. I still miss them." He looked sad. "Flappy was a puppy, I waited by my house until my mom brought him out and then called him over and grabbed him and we ran. I couldn't risk talking to my parents. If they could smell that I had been in the house, they could have gotten in serious trouble."

"That sucks. But I'm glad you did run. I would be lost right now, I mean, I guess I would have probably gone back to the orphanage but now that I am older, it wouldn't make sense."

"I bet the Smiths would be so sad to hear you say that. From what you have told me they loved you like their own."

"They loved all of the kids who came through the orphanage."

"Came through," Travin said wisely. "How many of them stayed as long as you?"

"None, usually the babies got adopted quickly and even the older kids found homes. I figured people might have thought I was cursed or something, seeing as I was abandoned as a baby and then the first couple that tried to adopt me had that horrible tragedy." She looked at Travin suddenly, "are you saying they kept me there on purpose?" She remembered them telling her some day she would be adopted, too, but they had stopped telling her that when she was about 11. Most adoptions were babies, or much younger kids. Yet she hadn't been adopted. Could the Smiths have kept her there because they didn't want her to leave?

"Lucky, they probably considered you their daughter. Didn't you at one point go by "Lucky Leigh Smith?" This beautiful woman and her lack of confidence was astounding, until you thought about what the last year and a half of her life had been like. He growled, thinking about it.

"Did I say something?" She asked him, concerned at the growl.

"No, I was just thinking those bastards you disposed of didn't deserve such quick, painless deaths." He growled again. "Easy, Miles," he said to his wolf.

"I agree. When I got through everyone but the two that had kidnapped me I considered taking a bit of time. After all, no one knew about the game and no one knew who was up there. But I just wanted to get away so I cut their heads off just like this." She made an outward sweeping motion with her arms. They both laughed, and she wondered if it was a bad thing to be able to laugh about killing people. Was she bad because part of her had enjoyed it? No, she told herself. Those men were pieces of shit that would have spent their whole lives victimizing and tormenting young women and girls. They deserved to die, not to be represented by some expensive lawyer and get a plea deal or flee the country. She had hated them and hoped they were in hell like she had been.

"So what should we do?" Travin asked. "Should we sniff out the other wolves?"

"Maybe we should go to a more remote area and wait, see if they find us. I don't think they had bad intentions. Is there any risk of them knowing who you are and telling your pack?"

"There is always that risk, but it's not likely. Packs tend not to interfere with one another's affairs. But if my Alpha sent word out, you never know. My pack was located near Flagstaff. It's not really that far away. I just figure if they wanted to find me that badly they could have by now. They either think I'm long gone, or that I went feral from not being with my pack." He smiled. "Flappy helped me a lot with that. I had to take care of him, I couldn't just let myself go. And now I am starting to see it all happened for a reason."

Lucky felt the same way. Deep down she hoped they could find a way to clear Travin's name and make peace with the pack. She wanted to know who she had been born to, and why they had left. Had they been exiled like Travin? Had they been caught in Las Vegas, leaving her alone? She would always wonder these things, until she had answers.

Meeting some more werewolves seemed like a good start in unraveling the mysteries of her life, and she felt a sense of purpose, as though she was being guided down a path by forces greater than herself. Well, that was obvious wasn't it?

"How about we get ready to go out and take Flappy to a place where he can run, and see what happens?" She suggested, and Travin agreed. But before either of them could say another word, Flappy growled, and started barking at the door.

Then, there was a knock.