With the night fully upon us and a storm bearing down full force, most, if not all of the wolves had retired to the Lodge. It was late, a lot of the residents bedded down for the night, but there was still a few lingering night owls hanging around and they noted the new arrival with curious, even suspicious glances.

I watched Ash carefully. They seemed increasingly uncomfortable with the presence of wolves, but there was also a bit of wonder in their eyes as they took everything in. I remembered when I first set foot in this place. It wasn’t a home I saw, it was a liability. A place so massive filled with my kind was like a big piñata just waiting to be smashed open by a bunch of hunters or worse. There’s no way a place like this could work. But it did. Somehow.

Their eyes followed the tree trunk pillars that stretched all the way to the wooden beams that held the ceiling thirty feet up. The wolf carvings that decorated some of the wood caught their eye and they reached out to touch it.

“What is this place?” They asked.

“It’s called The Lodge. It’s for people like us.” Skye answered. “To keep us safe.”

“Are you all just one pack?”

“No. There are multiple packs. Some are lone wolves, though they don’t usually stay lone for long if they stay here. Some stay permanently, some leave and come back, some leave and never come back.” Skye explained. I was grateful that I didn’t have to be the welcome wagon. “It’s for whatever you need.”

I went to the front desk and opened the ledger, checking for what free rooms there were. Preferably one far away from mine. My eyes skirted through the list while Skye was telling Ash about the Den.

“The Den? Isn’t that a little on the nose?” Ash pointed out.

Out of the corner of my I saw Skye hold her hands up. “Hey, I didn’t name it. You can get food and booze there, so they can call it the Clown Camp for all I care.”

I raised an eyebrow, looking away from the book for a moment. “The Clown Camp?”

“Most of us are fools.” Skye said, causing me to snort. I caught the hint of an amused smile on Ash.

I found a room that would do and scribbled Ash’s name in the margin, grabbing the key off the wall. “Here.” I tossed the key to Ash and they flinched, only barely catching it. “That’s your room key. Skye knows where it is. There should be fresh clothes and toiletries for you in there. And the Den is just down the hallway on the left.”

“Thank you.” They said quietly.

“Don’t thank me.” I told them, stepping closer to them to stare them down again. “Once you get some food, you go to your room and stay there. Tomorrow we’ll have another talk. I want more answers.”

Ash didn’t say anything apart from a small nod.

Skye sighed at me. “There’s a reason why Jayde isn’t a part of the welcoming committee.”

“Yeah, what she said.” I agreed sarcastically. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have to explain to my girlfriend why I was out in the storm for hours without letting her know I was gonna be home late.”

“Wait until she hears what an asshole you’ve been.” Skye called after me as I walked away.

Ash followed the two wolves through the woods feeling miserable. It was hard not to feel down when their clothes were glued to their body and not even their wolf nature was working to keep them from shivering. Going with two strange wolves to an unknown location wasn't ideal either, but they didn't have many options.

"So, what should I call you?" The shorter blonde asked.

Ash noticed it was the same blonde they had bumped into at the coffee shop earlier. She didn't seem as hostile as the other one but that didn't do much to put Ash at ease.

"Ash." They said quietly.

"Hi Ash, I'm Skye." She grinned.

Ash nodded. They couldn't help but be suspicious of any friendly behavior. The other wolf, Jayde, was right to be suspicious, any wolf would be. Ash was used to this type of welcome when they met a new pack. Friendly wolves, though, the last time they had fallen for that it ended with them penniless and alone.

"You're the silent type, that's okay, I cant talk for the both of us."

Ash's lips twitched at that but they stayed silent.

"Skye." Jayde said with a clear warning tone.

"What?" Skye blinked innocently. "I'm not doing anything."

Jayde glared at her and Skye answered by cheekily putting her tongue out. The walk was silent for a while though, only their wet footsteps cutting through the incessant heavy rain. After what felt like hours to Ash but was probably only minutes a big wooden cabin appeared in front of them. The scent of wolf was so predominant there that not even the rain could mask it. Ash started to feel nervous, the place was huge and there were probably around a hundred wolves in there. Ash was alone with only a few changes of clothes, some stolen money and their fighting skills. That wasn't going to help them against a hundred wolves.

Ash hesitated when they got to the door, it wasn't like they had any other options but their wolf was still hesitant about going in.

"Come on, I'll find you a nice room," Skye said with a small smile, "and then, food."

Ash was still nervous but just the thought of a nice bed and warm food was enough to get their legs working.

Most of the time rain wasn’t an unwelcome guest, but now I was tracking a potentially dangerous lone wolf and the heavy sheets impeded most of my senses. Was this what it was like for humans? It made me wonder how any of them survived long enough to evolve. Not only was it difficult to track in this weather, but I was also starting to shiver in the cold despite my natural ability to resist it. I didn’t want to go back to the Lodge empty handed. There’s no way I would be able to sleep comfortably knowing there was someone out here that could put my pack in danger.

“They’re probably not even out here.” Skye eventually said.

I had enough of her whining, especially after she insisted on coming along. “You can go back to the Lodge if you want.”

“It’s just one wolf, Jayde.” she complained. “We’ll keep looking tomorrow, but I seriously doubt they stuck around.”

I ignored her and continued on. With a displeased grumble, Skye followed me. We went another rain-soaked quarter mile or so when I caught the faintest shadowy movement in the distance and halted Skye.

“What-”

“Shh.” I held a hand up and pointed in the direction, motioning for her to stay low and keep quiet.

The rain worked in our favor as much as it worked against us. We got closer and sure enough, it was the lone wolf. The storm helped cloak us and once we were within a couple dozen yards, I signaled for Skye to go around for a flanking position. I was nearly on top of them when the stranger’s body tensed.

“I’m just passing by, alright?” They said in an attempt to pacify us, though there was a bit of a bite to their tone.

I moved myself into their line of sight as Skye appeared to their left. “Is that so?”

“Yes.” They tilted their head in Skye’s direction, briefly noting her presence before focusing back on me.

“Where’s your pack?” I took a step towards them.

“Don’t have one anymore.”

“Why?”

There was a spark of defiance in their stare. “Not really any of your business.”

I put myself directly in front of them, letting my eyes shine so they would take me seriously. “It becomes my business when a strange wolf comes into my home and starts mouthing off.”

Skye placed a hand on my arm and urged me to take a couple steps back. “Okay, Jayde. We get it, you’re scary.” she directed her attention to the wolf, “Look, we just wanna know why you’re out here.”

The loner’s wary gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, then looked to Skye. “I was telling the truth. I’m just passing through.”

“Where are you headed?” I pressed.

“Far away from here.” They answered, which did little to settle my nerves. “But as you can see, the sky is falling, so… I guess I could use a place to crash tonight.”

My scoff sounded through the rain. “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

“Jayde.” Skye scolded. She almost sounded like Nadya. Definitely been hanging out with her too much.

“I can pay you.” the lone wolf offered.

“I don’t want money, I want answers.” I growled. “Your pack.”

They sighed, but relented. I guess the weather got to them too. “We had a falling out. It’s complicated.”

“And they’re after you?”

“Yeah, kinda.” They shrugged.

“Are they dangerous?” the last thing we needed was a hostile pack coming into this territory.

“As any pack can be.” They replied.

“I’m sure we can handle it.” Skye interjected, throwing me an exasperated look. “Are you done with the Twenty Questions?”

I had a short stare down with my sister. This stranger was still too mysterious to me, their attitude rubbing me the wrong way. As far as I knew a “falling out” was just a fancy way of saying they got kicked out for reasons unknown and Skye wanted me to agree to letting them come back with us to the Lodge. To our home where our family lived. Where Nadya was. The look on my sister’s face was telling me that I was overreacting. Maybe I was, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. Still... Skye usually had a pretty decent judge of character.

My eyes glared at the wolf. “One night.” They nodded. “You do what I say. Go where I tell you.”

“Okay.” They agreed.

“Follow us.” I commanded, heading back to where we parked the jeep.

Ash had been walking for a long time, dusk was falling and they had just smelled rain. It didn't look like there was anywhere to hide for miles and Ash had already accepted their fate, a little rain wouldn't kill them.

It turned out to be quite a lot of rain and after only a few minutes they were completely drenched and could barely see where they were going. Ash just kept walking, hoping to find somewhere to huddle up before their body temperature got to worrying degrees. It took them a while to notice the faint wolf smell, the rain working to help mask the scents. Ash felt like turning back, they were definitely not in the mood to deal with aggressive and territorial wolves but there was nowhere else to go but forward, so they kept walking, pulling their wet hoodie closer to their face to protect their eyes from the rain.

Ash only noticed the wolves when they were almost close enough to touch. They cursed themself for not paying attention to their surroundings, but it was hard to when you were as drenched and miserable as they were.