Wolf Tamer by Avery Song
Sacred Moon Shelter For Endangered Wolves
"This place is HUGE, Dolly!"
My eyes couldn't stop looking at every angle they could grasp as I squeezed Dolly's hand.
We walked down the gravel path while Dolly continued to take me on this grand tour of the Sacred Moon Shelter for Endangered Wolves.
Yesterday had been spectacular. We'd enjoyed a big feast to celebrate having Reika and me join Dolly's family.
From what I'd gathered thus far, Dolly and Sam were married but couldn't have kids. I didn't really understand why, but Dolly said it was a tricky process to have kids, so she decided that she wanted to help save endangered wolves from becoming completely extinct.
It was something they had invested in for years, but on this particular property, they liked to keep six specific wolves. They had a few other places on the mountains where the packs of wolves were bigger, but like the word "sacred" this place was special, so they kept the number very small.
The town we lived in was called Moonshine Haven. It was in some remote area in British Columbia. I wasn't really good with places on the map because they were boring to me. At first, it was exciting when my family would have to move to a new place, but then it got to the point where that was all we were doing.
Settling and moving to a new place to try to settle for as long as we could.
I remembered that part of our life: finding somewhere new, only to move every couple of days. If we lasted a week to a month, it was a blessing, but that normally only happened at Christmas time because everyone was busy, and no one was trying to find us.
I don't remember why they were looking for us though.
Remaining here for a week, even with the school stuff, was exciting to me. It helped me not miss my family as much. Ian did say it would get better with time, and deep down, I really hoped it would because I really missed Mommy, Daddy, and my brother.
Today, Dolly was going to show me around what she liked to call the “sanctuary”. Originally, Rogan used to run this place, which was a little surprising to me. He didn't seem like a person who cared about anyone else but himself, but she explained it was complicated.
Part of that was due to the complexity of the wolves. They were all rare breeds and extremely hard to tame. He wasn't very good at the "taming," which left the wolves pretty restless. In the end, she'd been called from Vancouver with Sam to come and assess the situation as a whole.
It didn't take long for the wolves to adapt to them, and they made this place their home while Rogan became a third person in charge. In the beginning, there were many wolves that were here, but they were shuffled to other sanctuaries. However, there have always been five that remained, and a sixth was added two years ago.
Reika quietly told me she thought the last wolf was Ian, and I couldn't help but agree. We didn't tell Dolly because it was our little secret, but I was really glad he got to stay.
Ian was napping since we'd both stayed up all night talking and playing. I even got to play with Wolfie for a bit. He'd stayed with me until early in the morning when we'd fallen asleep, and when I woke up, he was still awake, guarding me while I slept.
Ian and Wolfie made me feel really safe, and it was easier to sleep now that I didn't have to worry about hunters trying to get me.
By the time we'd finished breakfast, which was a nice plate of pancakes with chocolate syrup and strawberries, Ian was asleep at the table. Sam had to carry him back to his bed, so Dolly said she'd take me on a tour while he rested.
It gave me a chance to really be close to Dolly and learn more about her and this place she invested so much of her life into. I liked when people devoted their time to things. Daddy always said that when someone puts a lot of intention into one thing, it means they're very passionate about it and want it to grow into something bigger or better.
He explained it showed commitment, just like how we worked hard to tend to the animals of the forest.
We walked down a path that led to a large, caged area. The metal was gold and black, and I immediately saw a black wolf with blue eyes.
I couldn't help but stop at the sight - forcing Dolly to stop as well. She didn't seem in the slightest bit worried as the wolf stared at me for a long moment before strolling right to the gate.
Dolly tugged my hand to force me to approach until we were facing the fence wall.
"Woof!"
I flinched at the sound, and couldn't help but hide behind Dolly as she giggled.
"Easy, Hayden! Our princess here hasn't met y'all yet. Don't go frightening her now."
Hayden backed away a bit before sitting on all fours. His tail wagged from side to side in eagerness, but his eyes were totally on me as Dolly tugged me over to the door. She had to enter some type of code on a pin pad before she placed her hand on a scanning area that made a "beep" sound to confirm it was her.
Peeking out from my little hiding place behind Dolly, I couldn't help but stare at Hayden as I took in his blue eyes. They were so different from mine. They weren't even like Carter's. They were a unique blue, but I couldn't really tell what the exact shade could be. Maybe mine and Carter's were similar in nature.
"Good."
"Are you a good wolf?" I asked Hayden and worked on moving to the fence. He sat down and lowered his head, his eyes never leaving mine. I smiled as I took him in close, and before I knew it, I slipped my hand through the space of the fence to try to reach Hayden's head. He moved slowly, just enough to rub his nose against the palm of my hand - triggering a giggle that escaped my lips.
"Your nose is wet!"
"Woof!" He sat down again, waiting for us to enter as Dolly finished whatever protocols needed to be done to gain access. She unlocked the gate before turning to me.
"Harper. You stay right there. I'm going to call the other wolves and have a little chat. They're very intelligent, which means they can understand everything you say to them. So make sure you speak to them properly and not take advantage. If you say good things, they'll know, just like if you say bad things. You hear me?"
"Yes, Dolly! I'll be nice! See?" I turned to look at Hayden. "Hayden's a good boy! Reika says so."
Dolly was staring at me, and I guessed she wasn't sure what I meant about Reika saying Hayden was a good boy, but she let it pass. "Right. One moment then."
Returning my attention to Hayden, I reached out again and he poked my hand with his nose, making me giggle once more. Dolly was smiling, watching us before she took out a whistle.
When she blew through it, the sound made me still as the weird noise pierced through the air. The sound had an odd effect to it, making it hard for me and Reika to just stand where we were. I could feel Reika's shock, while we tried to remain in place.
I managed to do it but noticed Hayden take a few steps forward before he looked back at me. He seemed indecisive as he looked back and forth, but eventually he walked back to the fence, but turned his body so his back was facing me and his attention was on Dolly as he sat down.
In seconds, four wolves came out of nowhere, catching my attention as they came into view. One of them immediately reminded me of Hayden, only he had pure white fur that reminded me of Reika, but the same blue striking eyes as Hayden.
The moment those identical eyes met mine, he ran over until he was right next to Hayden and watching me with interest. I looked at the two of them in great fascination, realizing they looked almost identical if it wasn't for their different fur colors.
They reminded me of twins, like I'd learned about in books. I'd never met a set of twins before, but I thought it was cool to have a brother or sister with the same traits as you.
Unlike Hayden, I didn't hesitate to put my hand through the fence near the other wolf's head, and he poked his nose into the palm of my hand like Hayden had. I laughed and even got to brush his white fur while Hayden reached out to lick my hand.
I kept giggling at the ticklish sensation while I enjoyed taking them in up close.
"Hayden! Heston! Come here and stop pestering Harper!" Dolly called out.
The two of them panted happily at me, their tongues out, before they nudged my hand with their heads and ran towards where Dolly and the remaining three wolves stood.
All three of them were staring my way, almost like I was their dinner, which made me a little uncomfortable, but Reika didn't care as she was staring right back at them.
Obviously, they couldn't see her, but regardless, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the wolves’ unique coats of fur and wonderful eyes. Even from this distance, I could capture each unique shade, which was beginning to make me realize why they were endangered.
Why hunters wanted them.
They were each beautiful in their own way, and I decided to start with the first wolf on the far left.
He had dark grey fur with a few white areas. His eyes captivated me immediately because they were sapphire. I knew about that color because Mommy always wore a necklace with a little gem in that exact shade.
The second wolf on the far right had orange fur with a few gold sections that appeared extra radiant with the sunlight. It made his fur shimmer, just like his golden eyes.
The middle wolf had to be the leader because he was twice the size of all of them. He had pure white fur with a few golden tinsel strands highlighting his coat. Along his legs, those tinsel strands shifted to a teal color, making him more unique.
What sucked me right in was his mismatched eyes: one was gold and the other turquoise. It made him look extremely powerful. He kinda reminded me of Muffin, only the power pulsing from this being was enough to make me frightened.
He was beautiful, there was no denying that, but Reika and I struggled to figure out what to label him. He was the leader, so what label went with that?
He noticed the way we were staring at him, his eyes narrowing before a growl escaped his lips.
"Scary."
Very scary. Not cute at all.
"Carter," Dolly groaned. "No scaring Harper! You see her growling at you? No! Stop being a jerk."
Carter? Wait...didn't Ian say his friends got to name each of the wolves? Carter must have named this one after him. Hmm...that would make sense. They have the same eyes. That must be nice for Carter to find a wolf that matches him nicely.
There was something to this wolf, though. Something deep within my mind begged for me to remember this specific wolf, but I couldn't grasp it. I couldn't understand why when I'd never met these wolves before, let alone one as magnificent as Carter.
Hayden and Heston barked, catching my attention. I realized they were back at the fence and waiting for my hands. I immediately forgot what I was thinking about and reached out to press my hands to the fence.
They licked my palms and rubbed their nose against my flesh again. With a giggle, I leaned in to whisper, "You two are nice. Go back to Dolly."
They both stretched at the same time before their bodies shook out their coats of fur and they ran back to be with the others. They ended up in a line formation - Hayden and Heston separating to go to their designated spots at each end of the line.
Dolly put her hands on her hips and stared down at each of them before she bobbed her head. "Now this is Harper Blake!" She paused to point over to me. "She is going to be living here from now on. Not only is she going to help me around here, but she's also going to help take care of you guys when I can't."
"Woof!" Carter barked and began to growl. Maybe he was opposed to the idea, but the others didn't seem to mind. Hayden and Heston were already sitting down and looking elsewhere. The dark grey wolf was focused on its front paws, and the orange-golden wolf was fully intrigued by a passing butterfly that landed on its snout.
Dolly sighed and looked specifically at Carter.
"No arguing with me, Carter! No one else is opposed to this, so you have to suck it up. As of next week, she'll legally be my daughter."
That caught their attention - all of them - and they looked at Dolly with seriousness.
They're really smart wolves.
"Smart smart."
"That means she'll be here every day helping me out and learning the ropes. It also means she's going to want to know about each of you. That means you don't get to be jerks! Treat her nicely or you'll get an earful from me. Do you understand? You know I won't repeat myself, you hear?"
The row of wolves was silent as one by one they began to bow their heads in agreement - except for Carter, who was staring in my direction.
"WOOF!"
The sound didn't come from in front of us but behind me. I looked behind me to see Wolfie running towards me, panting happily as ever. Sam wasn't too far behind, taking his time to walk towards us.
"WOLFIE!" I cheered with my hands up. I took a few steps in his direction, but it only took five seconds for him to reach me as he pushed off the ground and tackled me.
I laughed hysterically as he began to lick my face in greeting. I gave him a hug. I couldn't help but be excited because I'd missed him. I knew he was Ian, but it was nice to see Wolfie during the daytime.
I could now admire his brown fur coat with mixes of dark brown and white.
He moved off me so I could rise and brush off my baggy jeans and loose black t-shirt. I didn't have many "day" clothes, so Dolly said she'd get me a proper wardrobe of clothes to fit my smaller frame - hopefully after my adoption went through.
Wolfie was staring at me with his brilliant silver eyes, and I reached out to stroke his head.
"Afternoon, Wolfie! Did you come to play?"
"Woof!" He moved to rub his head against my body, making me giggle as I realized he was a bit bigger than the others - except for Carter.
When Sam reached us, I lifted my hands up to offer him a hug. "Morning, Sam!"
He couldn't hide the way my greeting touched him as he leaned down to give me a big hug and lift me up. "I swear it's afternoon, child," he replied.
I giggled. "Yes! But I never got to say morning to you because my mouth was full of good food. So, I have to say good morning AND good afternoon!"
His smile was priceless as he put me back down.
"You're a peculiar one, Harper," he complimented.
"Does that mean I'm cool?" I wondered.
"Very cool," he whispered and gave me a wink.
"Yes!" I cheered and jumped up and down while Wolfie ran around me.
"Wolfie! Come and get your pep talk with the others," Dolly called out. Wolfie paused in his prancing to stop and look at me. "Woof?"
"Want me to come?" I asked. He began to pant happily before reaching out to tug at my jeans.
"Okay, okay," I said and giggled.
"Guess it would be good to introduce you. Once they get a scent of you, they'll be less resistant. Stay close to me, Harper," Sam instructed.
"Okay, Sam!" I replied and reached for his hand. He seemed surprised by my gesture as I held his hand tightly, but he smiled and lightly squeezed my hand in return before we made our way to the others.
Sam was really tall. He was totally taller than Dolly, who reached his shoulder. His eyes were interesting in an odd way. They were red, but some days they were gold. His hair was black but had little silver strands.
Wolfie ran ahead and joined the line of wolves, squeezing in between Carter and the sapphire-eyed wolf, but he still kept his eyes on me.
Dolly greeted Sam with a loving smile as we moved to stand a few steps away from the rest.
"Now, Harper. I'm going to introduce each wolf to you. It's gonna be difficult to remember at first, but you'll get the hang of it."
Dolly pointed to the far left. "That's Hayden. He's brothers with Heston, who has the white fur on the other end over there." She moved her hand over to Heston, who sat up eagerly like his brother.
Hayden and Heston barked together, making me smile and catching Reika’s interest.
"Twins."
"They're twins!" I proudly stated as if I already knew it as fact.
Dolly looked over to me, giving me a broad smile. "Yes, they are. Good eye."
Good job, Reika!
"Me good!"
"They're usually together. Also, their furs switch colors when the seasons change. As of now, it's fall so Hayden will have a black fur coat while Heston will have a white one. When winter hits, they will switch, so Hayden will have white fur and Heston will have black fur. Keep that in mind."
"That's really cool," I replied as I made sure to keep it in my memory. I knew Reika would help me out if necessary.
Dolly moved her finger down to the next wolf - the dark grey wolf with sapphire eyes.
"This is Damien. He's a smart and protective wolf. He doesn't normally like fighting and keeps to himself. If you read to him, he'll be super happy and attentive."
"Woof!" Damien stretched out to sit down, looking unbothered as he stared at me for five long seconds before resting his head on his paws.
"Hi, Damien," I squeaked and gave a slight wave. I wasn't sure what to really do with these introductions. It felt different than when I greeted Wolfie.
"Damien takes his time showing interest in people. He's friendly, just when he feels like it," Sam explained with a chuckle.
Dolly nodded and moved her finger down to Wolfie.
"This is Ia-I mean, Wolfie. You two already met. He's curious and loves to break the rules all the time, which includes coming back into the house every night when he's not supposed to or going to the forest."
Wolfie whimpered as he blinked his silver eyes.
"Don't be sad, Wolfie." I giggled. "We can have more sleepovers!"
"Woof!" he replied.
I obviously knew he was Ian, but I pretended not to catch Dolly's slip up.
"As long as he doesn't bring mud into the house," Dolly noted, making Sam smile while I giggled.
Dolly skipped Carter, who was still having a staring contest while looking super angry, to the wolf with orange and golden fur with brilliant gold eyes.
"This is Levi. He's the second in command of the group. He doesn't look it and sometimes people mistake Damien as the second in command, but that's his role. When Carter is an ass and is on time out, Levi will take control. He's very intelligent and likes chasing butterflies or anything in nature, really."
Levi pawed at his face like he was super shy before peeking out to respond, "Woof."
"Hello, Levi." I gave him a wave.
Dolly returned her attention to Carter as she put her hands on her hips once more.
"Are you going to stop with that attitude? If not, I'm not introducing you. We don't introduce rude wolves!"
Sam snickered at Dolly's scolding, while Carter whimpered and sat back on his rear paws.
"That's better," Dolly acknowledged and gazed back at me. "This is Carter. He's the Alpha of the pack. He has anger management issues."
"WOOF!" Carter replied and growled.
Dolly didn't seem like she gave a care in the world as she ignored him.
"Anyway. He's very protective and basically an asshole to everyone, so don't feel like he hates only you. He just dislikes everything that moves," she concluded with an added shrug. "He does have some good days, but those are rare. Therefore, he'd just an asshole."
"Dolly, I don't think we're supposed to be saying asshole in front of Harper," Sam noted as I giggled.
"Carter's an asshole."
Sam groaned while Dolly blinked as if now realizing what she’d said.
"Shh. Don't say that word around the people in suits until your sixteen, you hear?
"Yes, Dolly," I replied with a big smile on my face.
Reika was having a blast right now, especially at the idea of Carter being upset. He was clearly holding back a growl, which was far too amusing.
"Anyhow, I'm going to show Harper around. Y'all be nice to her when I'm not around or else you'll be in big trouble. Not individually, but as a whole. Understood?!"
The five of them howled while Carter stood there quietly with an annoyed expression.
"Carter," Dolly said in warning as she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Woof." Carter's reply was low and lacked as much energy as the others’, but I guess it was better than no reply at all.
"Good enough," Dolly concluded with a shake of her head.
"Meow!"
We all turned our attention to the sound, noticing Muffin charging into the area. All six wolves watched her as she ran straight for Carter, leaped upward, and slapped his nose, which clearly left an obvious scratch.
"Uh oh..."
We watched in horror as Muffin darted straight to me until she was hiding behind my leg while Carter growled menacingly and took off straight towards us.
"Carter! Leave the kitten alone!" Dolly ordered, forcing Carter to skid to a stop inches from where I was. I stood my ground, even with how intimidating he looked while Muffin moved between my feet to hiss as she prepared to go for another ground of snout scratching.
With a pout of my lips, I looked down to the culprit before crouching down to scoop Muffin up before she could dart forward.
"Muffin! Stop being mean."
"Meow!" Muffin hissed, trying desperately to get out of my hold while Carter's growl grew louder and louder and his sharp white teeth began to show.
Reika and I stared at him with an emotionless expression. I felt almost bored looking at his obvious act of aggression, and the more he growled, the more irritating it was.
With two steps, I roughly patted his nose, which silenced his growls as he looked at me in shock, just like Dolly and Sam, who gasped at my sudden move. Wolfie was already approaching us, as if he were worried Carter would hurt me, but my eyes were locked on the Alpha while my words were loud and clear with Reika's support.
"Stop being a meanie!" I demanded and lifted Muffin with my other hand to show her size. "Muffin is so tiny compared to you. Don't be a bully!"
Moving Muffin closer, I lightly tapped her nose. "And Muffin! You, too. Stop being mean. You don't go and scratch wolves that are triple your size! Carter is like five times bigger than you and he didn't even do anything to you! Mommy always says not to fight battles you can't win! Don't be an asshole!"
"Meow..." Muffin sulked at my scolding and I smirked and hugged her to my cheek. "Be a good Muffin!" She purred in return as she snuggled against my cheek. Lowering her back to the ground, I looked back at Carter, who was quietly staring at me.
Compared to before, I slowly reached out to lightly tap his nose.
"Sorry for hitting you, but don't be mean to Muffin," I apologized, yet stressed my upcoming point. "She's alone in this world. She doesn't have any family or friends. Only us. We have to be nice to her so she's not lonely, okay?"
Carter looked down at Muffin as she sat down quietly and looked up at Carter with her big, mismatched eyes.
"Meow." She actually looked like she was sorry, and Carter let out a huff through his nose before looking back at me.
"Woof!"
With a poke of his nose at my hand, he lowered and nudged Muffin's little head with his nose before turning away. He took a few steps, pausing next to Wolfie as he gave him an intrigued look. Then he looked away and walked back to the others. Wolfie took the chance to move to where I stood before wrapping his body around my legs and sitting so he could lick Muffin's head.
"Well, you don't see that every day," Dolly admitted with a wide grin.
"Excellent work, Harper," Sam complimented.
"Hmmm. Is he mad that I hit him? I didn't mean to...it kinda just happened."
Dolly laughed and shook her head. "Carter only gets out of his anger fits by getting smacked a little bit. Wolves do it all the time when they don't get along. I think he was simply thrown off that you did it."
"Isn't that...uh...animal...um..."
"Animal abuse?" Sam finished. "No. Some wolves are just a little more aggressive. It's in their nature, but Alphas specifically need a visible display of aggression to confirm you have power and aren't someone they can easily bowl over. Carter is one of those. His specific breed with the added notion that he's an Alpha focuses on being powerful and strong. As leaders, it's hard for them to take orders from others, unless he respects them, which sometimes means roughing him up a bit with an aggressive attitude."
"Think of it like competition. The others are easy to deal with, so you won't need to be aggressive to put your point across, but with Carter, he needs it to think straight. Not all the time, but in situations with new people, he's like that," Dolly explained.
"That...sounds...complicated," I concluded.
"When you get older, you can read all about their different races. For now, why don't we finish the tour so we can get the wolves some lunch and make something for ourselves as well?"
"Yes! I'm hungry!" I replied with Reika's agreement.
"Meow!" Muffin moved away to walk over to the other wolves. Compared to Carter, she interacted with the others with a gentler approach. They clearly acknowledged her size as they would lower to the floor and inspect her up close before nudging her with their noses in greeting.
Once she was done, she ran back to my feet where Wolfie was clearly sleeping. She snuggled against his nose and began to purr happily.
"Guess the wolves will get along with Muffin just fine," Dolly stated with a smile. "Shall we get back to work?"
"Okay!" I replied with a wide smile, feeling more at home now that I knew even more about this wonderful place. It felt like I had a duty now, and I really loved these wolves.
It was my job to protect them, like Dolly and Sam, and I'd do exactly that with everything I had.
The hunters can't have them. They're my wolves to protect. My new family...my new home.