Chapter 3: The Den
ARTHUR took shallow breaths to keep the wolf from noticing him.
Olivia brought her ear to the pup, then rifled through her satchel before pulling something out. She seemed to be tending to it.
How exactly is she friendly with a wolf? The mother wolf even came all the way to her house to bring her here… thought Arthur. There was so much about this scene he didn’t understand. He barely believed what he was seeing.
Eventually, Olivia appeared to finish her work on the pup. She lifted it up and she and the mother wolf turned to walk into the forest.
That was when Rob, the black dog, and the mother wolf stopped at the same time, their noses held high in the air, sniffing.
Damn, did the wind change directions? Arthur wondered.
The mother wolf charged in Arthur’s direction. He clambered up a tree, sharp pain shooting through his left shoulder, but there was no point favoring it now if it meant his death. Rob was coming at him too, trailing behind the wolf.
Arthur rushed up to a high limb, high enough the wolf couldn’t reach him, and stood there, looking at Olivia as if begging for an explanation.
“Arthur? Did you come to protect me?” she inquired. She didn’t sound angry, just confused.
The mother wolf was snarling at him, her fangs bared. Rob was barking like crazy, but he didn’t seem angry.
Olivia crouched down so her head was level with the wolf’s and spoke to her. “I’m sorry. He’s not a bad person. Please forgive him. He’s a member of my pack. He’s not your enemy. He will not harm your pup. Don’t worry. And, Rob, quiet.”
The wolf’s fur was still standing on end, but she stopped baring her fangs at him. Rob looked at Olivia and wagged his tail as if to ask, “I did good?”
“You can come down now, Arthur. Don’t look the wolf in the eye. And don’t come any closer to me or the pup,” Olivia cautioned.
“All right. I came ’cause I was worried, but it looks like I stepped into something I shouldn’t’ve.”
“The pup isn’t well. I’m going back to the den with them, but I can’t just leave you alone here. Follow us, but stay at a distance. Rob will protect you from other animals.”
“S-Sure thing.”
Olivia carried the pup as the mother wolf guided them deeper into the forest. After walking for a short while, they came to a huge beech tree growing on an incline. There was a gap in the tree’s roots that appeared to be the wolf’s den.
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Two more pups popped their faces out of the hole, having noticed their mother returning. They then spotted Olivia and pulled back into the hole, and out came another wolf, nearly twice the size of the mother wolf. That had to be the father.
The mother made a gentle crooning sound, and the two wolf pups came back out, scrambling over each other to be the first one, then racing around their mother in circles. They scuffled against each other, trying to be the first to push their muzzle into their mother’s belly for milk.
Olivia gently placed the third pup in front of the den. The father lifted it by the scruff and carried it inside.
No one ever got to see wolves this close when they were rearing their pups. It was more normal for the wolves to viciously attack the moment anyone strayed too close. Arthur wanted to see more, but Olivia quickly moved away from the den, likely heading back to the house.
The two of them plus Rob walked through the night forest in silence. Olivia was first to break the silence.
“Arthur, please don’t mention that den to anyone. I’d feel terrible if humans targeted them while they were raising their pups.”
“I don’t plan on telling anyone. But, could you tell me what that was all about?”
“You want to know? Why?”
“Why? A wolf came to visit you in the middle of the night, you gave medical treatment to its pup, who didn’t seem like it was doing too well, and then it led you all the way back to its den. That’s not something you see every day. Actually, no. It’s more than just that. You talked to the wolf back there, didn’t you?”
Olivia had to look up at him as they walked side by side. He saw a mixture of emotions on her face: sorrow, confusion, resignation.
“I wanted to give you a place out of the rain because you seemed to be having a hard time out there when I saw you walking in the rain,” she said. “I wanted to give you something warm to fill your belly with. I thought you probably didn’t have a place to stay for the night, so I suggested you stay in the barn. But for me to offer that same courtesy to a wolf, you think that’s wrong? It’s fine if I’m kind to humans, but I have to explain myself if I’m kind to a wolf?”
“No, I didn’t mean to say you had to explain yourself to me if you don’t want to.”
“You’re just interested then? Or curious?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah, that’s it. And I was just worried about you. Though, I caused trouble just being there.”
“I appreciate you coming to check on me because you were worried. Thank you for that. But I don’t plan on explaining myself or anything about that wolf pack. I’m sorry.”
“Uh, right. I made you angry, didn’t I?”
“I’m not angry. I’m sorry if I sounded harsh.”
After that, they walked in silence.
Once they reached the house, Olivia placed her hand on the doorknob, turned to him, and said, “Is breakfast at seven tomorrow morning all right?”
“Sorry to make you go out of your way, but yeah. Thank you. See ya at seven. G’night.”
“Good night.”
She went into the house and Arthur heard the click of the lock. Feeling better knowing she locked the door, he made his way to the goat barn. The two goats were there, bleating quietly in their sleep.
He climbed the ladder, undressed, and laid in bed.
“She talked to a wolf,” he murmured to himself. “And the wolf understood her. Did she raise the wolf or something? But it looked like it was living a normal wild wolf life now. And was the pup sick?”
There were so many things he wanted to know that he wasn’t sure he could sleep, but he slipped off before he knew it.
He had a dream that Olivia was playing tag with the wolf pups. He was watching them from up in a tree, feeling jealous.