Ember Scalecrown's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The dark wolf did not stay to fight. When Ember bared her teeth and stood tall, it slunk back into the pines. But it left something behind at the fence. A small shape shivered in the grass. A pup. Gray fur, brown eyes, too young to run far. The big wolf had dragged it from the woods and dropped it here. A gift, or a threat, or bait. Ember did not know. She only knew the pup was alone and cold. She carried it to her crate by the farmhouse. The straw was warm. She curled around the little body and let it burrow against her. Its heartbeat slowed. It slept. Ember watched the door where Garrett slept behind wood and glass. She wanted to be in there, warm by his fire, not out here in a box meant for a beast. The crate said what she was to him. Livestock. A guard. Not a friend. Morning came. Garrett stepped onto the porch with his plate of meat. He stopped. He saw the pup pressed to her side. "Well," he said. He crouched down. The pup lifted its head and blinked at him. It did not run. It yawned. Garrett almost laughed. "You brought me another one." Ember held still. She watched his face. This was her chance. Not to fight. Not to guard. To show him something softer than teeth. She nudged the pup toward Garrett's boot. The little wolf stumbled forward and sniffed his fingers. Garrett let it. He set the meat down. The pup ate. Ember lay her head on Garrett's knee. He froze. No wolf had ever done that. She felt him tense, ready to pull back. She did not move. She looked up at him and waited. Slowly, his hand came down. He touched her ears. Then he scratched them, the way a man pets a dog he trusts. "You're not like the others," he said. His voice was low. "You keep surprising me." He stood. Ember thought that was the end. Then he did the thing she had wanted for three long nights. He held the door open. "Come on," he said. "Both of you. It's warmer inside." Ember rose. The pup wobbled after her. She crossed the threshold into the farmhouse. The floor was wood, not dirt. A fire burned in the hearth. Garrett spread a blanket by the flames and pointed. "There." She lay down where he showed her. The pup climbed onto her back. Garrett sat in his chair and watched them, and this time he did smile. The crate stood empty outside in the cold. Ember was inside now, by his fire, at his feet. She had crossed the door. But the pup slept against her, and its mother still watched from the pines. Ember had traded one danger for a warmer one. She was closer to Garrett than ever. And now she had something to protect that could pull her back to the woods.