Vicky trudged ahead of me to catch up to Emory, stopping him from running past the campsite. She shouted for the boy to slow down, and that he missed the turn.

Emory halted, his dark haired head looking over his shoulder with wide, surprised eyes and blinked at Vicky a few times before laughing to himself and running back to her.

I, on the other hand, was walking slowly towards them.

My mind was still trying to wind around an eight year old boy—a Quail Wolf, at that—had murdered his parents. He wasn’t even of age yet and the Darkness had already trickled into his system.

Emory killed his family… and yet, when I look at him right now—seeing him with Vicky’s hand in his as he ran around her laughing at her claiming she was getting dizzy—I couldn’t connect how the Darkness hadn’t taken over him completely.

With him having a taste of killing, shouldn’t he be consumed by the dark? Did the fact he is a kid have something to do with it?

My gaze focused on the ground, watching my bare feet make their way up the dirt road as I thought about Vicky’s assumption that Emory and I were exceptions to the Quail Wolf theory… or legend… or whatever it is we are.

It was still hard to believe that there was more than one Quail Wolf in this century since I was told that there was only one every few. It made me wonder how many other Quail wolves were maybe out there. Or if it was just Emory and me.

“Gianna!”

I broke out of my reverie, blinking a few times as I lifted my head to Emory running towards me. He still wore his bright smile and stopped in front of me with his head tilting to the side.

“Come on, you slowpoke! If we hurry, we can still catch a warm breakfast!”

He grabbed hold of my hand and tugged me along past Vicky who gave me a small nod. I raised a brow at her before looking down at a chattering Emory. He was explaining what was possibly for breakfast and how Iota always gave him the first piece of bacon.

Emory grinned, “You can have it though since you’re our guest! It’ll be like a welcome present!”

I smiled a little, following him into the campsite and passing the tents I’d stolen from a few hours before. I glanced at the couple that had been sleeping naked—now fully dressed—but were scowling into their bags and asking one another if they’d seen such and such missing items.

Turning away with a tight grip of the bag on my shoulder, I saw the back of someone bending over. Smoke was rising in front of them from the makeshift fire.

“Iota!” Emory called, drawing the person’s attention away from what they were doing to look over their shoulder.

The woman stared before she smiled and stood up. She was quite tall for a female—what was it with all these tall people around me?

Emory loosened his grip on me and ran over to the woman. She held out her arms, laughing with him when he wrapped his arms around her hips and snuggled into her.

Iota placed a hand on his head, caressing it as she was inaudibly speaking to him. He looked up, nodding then pulled away to say loud enough for me to hear, “Iota! You’ll never guess who we found!”

His dark eyes turned to me, lifting a finger in my direction and told Iota how he and Vicky found another special person like Emory. Just like Vicky’s reaction earlier, Iota looked up at me in surprise. She didn’t, however, give me the same suspicious look as Vicky had. Instead she placed a warm smile on her face and waited for me to approach.

When I was in front of her, with a few feet in between us, Iota’s facial features looked oddly familiar but I couldn’t place from where.

Iota’s gray eyes held a spark in them as she took a look at me, her thick lips pulling back into a smile to reveal her perfectly straight and white teeth. The sunlight hitting her beyond-waist length hair gave it a silvery color though I knew she was actually blonde. Her skin was so fair, I wondered how much sunscreen—if any—did she put on to keep it from getting sunburned. With shoulders pushed back in proper posture, it only made her look taller. I did have to lift my eyes over the average eye line I was used to.

Not skipping a beat, after allowing me to take a moment to get a good look at Iota, Emory piped up, “This is Gianna, Iota! But you can call her Gigi if you want to! She says so!”

Boy, was he a hyper child…

Iota, in a much more calm demeanor, gave the boy a smile and turned to me to nod, “And I’m Iota, as Emory’s so kindly repeated a few times.”

My smile tugged at my lips when Emory gave wide eyes to the air in front of him then frowned up at the tall woman that he only said her name once.

Iota’s eyebrow arched, pursing her mouth to the side. “Mm…” was all she hummed before looking back to me. Lowering her voice, she spoke again. “So… another Quail wolf in our midst… that’s quite extraordinary.”

The tone of her voice was soothing but it also made her sound old the way she spoke. It made me wonder how old Iota really was. She didn’t look old but then again, nowadays you couldn’t tell for some people. Regardless, my wolf side slowly lowered her defenses in front of this woman, and so then I did too.

Iota tilted her head, her gray eyes scanning down my person slowly then lifted her gaze back up.

“You’ve come a ways from home, Gigi. Though your scent is Werewolf, and mixes with our surroundings, I still smell the sea on you.”

My eyebrows rose, blinking at how well her sense of smell was. She could still smell the scent of my home on me even after the days of sleeping in the forest.

The startled look must have not left my face since the blonde woman’s closed lipped smile appeared once more.

“It took years to learn to pick out smells intermixed with others, my dear. But it is certainly possible for anyone.”

Iota called me ‘my dear’ which didn’t help whether she was older or younger than I thought she was. It was odd if she was young and spoke like an old lady. Really odd.

“I—That’s—that’s pretty neat,” I stammered, unable to say anything else.

Iota chuckled behind her lips and nodded. She shrugged lightly. “Neat it is, but not as much as being what you are.”

I frowned, looking down as I responded that being a Quail Wolf wasn’t as great as some people think.

“I’m starting to doubt just how neat it is to be me.”

Iota paused from saying anything further to me, turning her attention to Emory who was looking between us both. She motioned for him to gather an extra bowl and set it next to the bowls already placed out. They were piled beside what looked to be a portable heater that was flipped on its back and being used as a stove with sizzling pieces of bacon on it.

I raised an eyebrow at their set up then looked at Iota after turning away from a compliant Emory scurrying off. She noticed my curiosity and smiled with a shrug of her shoulder.

“We make do with what we have.”

Nodding, I remained in front of the woman who turned to Vicky now beside me.

“I assume you’ve already been properly introduced to Vicky, my little sister.”

I looked at Vicky whose gray eyes glanced at me through the corners.

Still staring at her, I admitted, “Yyyyyes… I have actually. Though I was unaware of any relation between you all.”

Iota smiled, shaking her head as she looked at Vicky rolling her eyes.

“Forgive her, Gigi. My sister isn’t very welcoming of strangers. Especially when they are so close to Emory. After all… we are protecting him.” then Iota raised her brows to nod at me. “And now you.”

I widened my eyes, asking her that she would take me in so quickly.

The woman’s brow lowered, tilting her head to ask back if there would be reason not to. Biting my lip, I shrugged a shoulder that I supposed if I were untrustworthy would be a good enough reason; adding that I did try to steal from them.

Iota laughed, shaking her head, “I don’t sense a threat in you, Gigi. Had there been, you certainly wouldn’t be alive.”

My eyes widened, blinking repeatedly at this then glanced at Vicky whose grin curled up higher in a smug way. My eyes narrowed at her then relaxed when I turned back to her sister.

“My, my, my,” Iota shook her head, eyeing me up and down again. “Seems to me I will need to be bathing you before you can sit down to eat. And we’ll need to get you a fresh pair of clothes since what you are wearing will be dirty—even if worn for such a short amount of time.”

I looked down at the clothes Vicky had let me borrow then frowned at the woman who had already turned away with a motion of her hand for me to follow.

When I hesitated, Vicky nudged me a bit and she nodded in Iota’s direction. Sighing, I followed Iota, walking past Emory trying to reach for the sizzling bacon on the heater.

“Don’t even think about it, Young One!” Iota shouted without turning around as she kept walking past the tent.

There she goes again. Talking like an old lady.

Emory cried, “Awwww!” as he retracted his hand from the cooking food. Vicky smirked, crossing her arms at the boy giving her a narrowed-glare while he, too, crossed his arms and pouted at her. She remained at his side, giving me a glance and flicked her fingers at me to continue to follow Iota.

I turned away, seeing that Iota was waiting for me by the edge of the forest with a bucket in one hand and clothes and towel tucked under the other arm.

After trailing behind her some paces into the depths of the forest, the marked trails had disappeared and all that was surrounding us was green. It wasn’t until we were in pretty deep that Iota stopped and turned to face me. She mentioned this should be far enough to keep from wandering eyes of the park visitors while I washed up. She placed the bucket on the floor and I could now see that there was water in it.

Without having to look at me, Iota explained that every night before bed she or Vicky would walk to the water fountain and fill it up for the following morning. She looked up at me, her silvery platinum hair curtaining her face on each side then smiled.

It was scary how she could read others so easily. And without looking, too. I wonder if that took her some years to do too.

Kneeling, Iota placed the bundle of clothes from under her arm onto the floor and showed me the white collared blouse and pair of yellow shorts. Then she patted the towel that was next to the bucket.

“These should fit you just fine. And here’s a razor and shaving cream, along with shampoo and soap to wash yourself.”

Iota straightened, explaining to me that when she and Vicky washed up they figured out a way to only use up half the water between each of them, leaving the remaining for Emory who needed it more than they did with the rough housing he got into.

“But feel free to use up the entire bucket, Gigi Dear. Emory had his bath yesterday, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at all not having to take one again,” she mused. Iota added, “And Vicky won’t mind you using the bucket since she’s always been a huge stickler for hygiene.”

I smiled gratefully, thanking her before eagerly moving towards the bucket and picked up the bottle of shampoo. I stared at the bottle as Iota informed me she’d be back at the campsite and just to continue back the way we came.

Nodding without turning, I mumbled, “OK. Thank you.” then proceeded to kneel down and dunk my hair into the cold water.

I got used to the cold after a bit and used my fingers to make sure that my entire hair was wet. I lifted my head up, twisting my hair to the side on my shoulder, and squeezed some shampoo into my hands before massaging it throughout my hair. Hovering over the bucket as I used my hands to take water from it and rinse made it easier to not waste water, though harder to actually rinse.

So I ended up dunking my head into the bucket and scrubbed my fingers against my scalp until my hair was soap free. I twisted my hair until the water was squeezed out, dripping to the dirt.

Relieved that I was halfway clean, I stood up to look around the forest as a precaution that no one would wander through before removing my clothes. I used the sweater to sit on to keep from getting more dirt on me as I washed myself with the bar of soap. I dunked it into the water again to moisten it before rubbing it along my skin.

After rinsing the soap off, I glanced at the razor and shaving cream. I had been second guessing of using them because laziness. However, since I was going to be wearing shorts, I didn’t like the idea of having hairy legs. It took me some time to shave my legs, carefully to not nick myself. Then I shaved my under arms. Using the soapy water to rinse myself off again, I felt completely clean after the past five days. It felt so good.

I grabbed the towel by the bucket and quickly dried myself off then pulled on the clothes Iota gave me. She was right. The clothes did fit, and I smiled down at myself before looking at the dirty clothes, shampoo, soap, and bucket.

Now what was I supposed to do? Do I dump the water or bring it back?

Frowning at the thought of taking back dirty water, I thought that didn’t make any sense. I figured that I’ll just take the bucket back and volunteer to fetch more water since I used it all. So I took the bucket, dumping it out and then started piling in the used clothes and bathing products into it.

The walk back was shorter than I expected, even though I had taken my time admiring the scenery.

Iota turned when she heard me coming out of the treeline and looked me up and down, nodding in approval that I looked much better.

“I feel better,” I smiled, thanking her once again for the bath and clothes.

I raised the bucket, telling her of my proposition of retrieving a new bucket of water for them and Iota smiled that that wouldn’t be necessary.

“At least not until tonight, Gigi Dear. For now, just place the bucket over there,” she pointed to the tent. “And come eat. I’m sure you are hungry after being on your own without food.”

Once I was seated on the large boulder that Emory had patted for me to sit on, I thanked Iota as she gave me a plate of a bacon sandwich. It smelled heavenly.

I placed the plate on my lap, picking up the sandwich and scarfed the whole thing down. It was truly an unladylike moment for me. Especially with Vicky’s scrunched nosed frown in my direction, along with the giggling from Emory, and the pitied look from Iota.

I had paused from taking another bite, with the sandwich already in my mouth, then chewed ever so slowly as I stared back at them. My face felt hot from their stares and I mumbled, “Dowry,” with my mouth full. Another reason my face heated up.

Gulping down what was in my mouth, I forced myself to slow down my eating to a normal pace instead of inhaling my food. Luckily, Iota took pity enough on me to hand me two more sandwiches and I appreciated each one.

“Now then,” Iota broke the silence after we’d finished eating and rose to her feet. She clapped her hands together and gave Emory a look that it was time for his studies.

The boy’s eyes widened a fraction then closed tightly as he groaned. His head tipped back. Emory whined that he didn’t want to study and that there was no need for him to.

“I’m a Snail Wolf, Iota! I don’t need schooling for that!” he looked at me with wide eyes, “Right, Gianna?”

I gulped down the last piece of my sandwich stuffed into my mouth and glanced at the two women staring at me, waiting for my reply obviously.

“Uhhh… Actually, It’s… Quail wolf, Emory. And, uh, I think it’s important that you have to study.”

Emory’s face fell that I wasn’t siding with him.

I shrugged that it was probably more important than average Werewolves that us Quail Wolves go to school because we need to prove ourselves more. It was a good idea to be just as smart as we were different.

The eight year old pouted, his eyebrows pinching together as he crossed his arms and groaned before Iota smiled in my direction.

“Gigi has a point, Emory,” Iota nodded. “You two have to be smarter than others to keep yourselves safe. And you can’t do that if you don’t know anything other than knowing how to play hopscotch all day long, now can you?”

Emory blushed, raising his shoulders coyly and muttered, “Yes, Iota…” then scooted off the boulder he was sitting on to run into the tent then back out again with a blue backpack. He sat beside me, asking if I’d help him with his math homework that Iota always had him do first.

I replied that I’d be honored, and the boy grinned; his dark eyes switching to his wolf color and I played along, switching mine to make him squeal in delight.

So while I spent the rest of the day helping Emory study—with breaks of playing tag in the forest in between—Vicky and Iota cleaned up the campsite and would sit around and read or they would tamper with the radio to find a good station.

I had asked if they ever explored the park at all, but Vicky shook her head that with Emory it was too dangerous. That it was best to keep in an open area and not spread his scent all over the place.

“With the people after us, Shorty, it wouldn’t be the brightest idea of wandering off to unknown places! C’mon! That’s just asking for trouble in places we don’t know as well as this one.”

I frowned at her nickname for me all of a sudden.

Vicky narrowed her eyes at me though there was a hint of grin there too.

Iota raised a brow and softly warned, “Victoria…” which made her sister glance her way. “It was only a question. No need to make Gigi feel uncomfortable.”

Vicky frowned at her sister before looking back at me. She snorted, rolling her eyes and then grumbled that she was just saying.

Her sister hummed, giving Vicky a look that made the other she-wolf lower her gaze. Iota turned to me, offering a small smile and assured me that there was no harm in my asking questions. Iota clarified about them being in an open area like the State Park gave them a chance to get to know the area thoroughly.

“At least here we know how to escape through other trails if something should happen,” Iota reasoned.

“Oh…” I replied lamely, nodding slowly before looking down at my cup of hot cocoa Iota made for us.

Glancing over the fire at Vicky, she was watching me again and I stared back at her. I knew she wasn’t so easily trusting of me as Emory and Iota were. Not that I blamed her. I looked back to my mug of cocoa and watched my thumb trace the side of the rim.

This trio were kind enough to take me in and I wasn’t going to jeopardize what safety measures they established. I didn’t want to give Vicky more reason to not trust me.

Sighing in finality that I would do my part to comply with my newfound friends, I took another sip of my hot drink.