The Wolf's Marine

Recon

The Next Day

Things just keep getting weirder. Last night my dreams were of that wolf and that wolf alone. No war, no bombs going off. Just the wolf.

It was nice not being haunted by the horrors of war, but why was my dream of the wolf and nothing more?

"Storm!" Grandpa yells. "I'm sorry, I spaced out. What did you say?" That damned wolf keeps consuming my thoughts and now my dreams.

"I need you to run the shop while I'm gone. I'm going out to visit your Grandma's grave. I'll be back around two." "Tell her I miss her." "I will." With that the old man ambles out of the shop.

"It's just you and me now Cowboy." I say while bending down to scratch him behind the ears. He wags his tail and tries to lick my hand.

I give the shop a quick once over, making sure no one is in here before going to the store room. I grab a box labeled crankbaits and bring it back out to the counter.

I open it and start going through its contents, deciding which ones would be perfect to restock with. As I look through the crankbaits the door opens and Cowboy barks a hello.

I look up from my box and see a thin woman with blonde hair walking into the shop. I watch her curiously as she walks around looking at different things in the shop.

My training can't help but kick in as I watch her. Before I know it I'm analyzing her for threats, but she appears to not be one.

But there is something different about this woman. Something about her that reminds me of the men who came in to tell Grandpa I can't fish at the lake anymore.

It's not polite to stare though, so I go back to going through the box of crankbaits. Once I finish picking which ones will go out, I look up and see the woman walking my way.

"You're Storm right?" I've never met this woman before, how does she know my name? Then again, news travels fast in a small town.

"Yes." I watch her suspiciously as she grabs one of the crankbaits from the box and looks it over. Once she's done looking it over she hands it to me. "I want to buy this one."

I ring it up and tell her the price. "You're a marine?" She must've saw my dog tags, otherwise how would she know that? News may travel fast but only my family and Mark know I'm a marine. "Yes."

She hands me the money and leaves without another word. Weird.

"Cowboy, everything has just been so weird in the last day! First the wolf, now that woman. This is just all so weird!"

Narrator Speaking

Delaney left the shop with a satisfied feeling. She'd met her brother's mate and had some information that could be useful to him. Though she had no idea what she would do with the crankbait she bought.

Wilder, I met your mate. Delaney mindlinks her younger brother. What's she like? Wilder asks in a dreamy tone.

I'm not sure. I just went into the bait shop and saw her. All I know is what you already know. Delaney's recon mission didn't bring up much new information. Probably because she didn't say much to Storm just eyed her up from across the shop.

Thanks for trying. I should've known this would be harder than I thought.

Wait, I did learn that she's a marine. Silence. Delaney waited for her brother to reply, but she heard nothing back.

I stalked her last night. Wilder finally speaks, totally avoiding the fact that Storm's a marine. Wilder, that is not how you're going to win your mate over.