Wild Magic One: By the Light of the Moon-- A Wolf Shifter M/M Romance

10- Settling In

**I really love Edon. He's one of my favorite characters I've written haha**

LHIAM

Again, I seemed to have come upon an incredible sight. The same feeling of awe, affection, and amusement ran through my entire body as I stared down at Edon as it had that first time I saw him in the garden with Lacy, calmly resting as she read to him from a book of children's fairy tales.

He was completely swarmed with children. Most were young, under the age of 10, because their parents had no use for them until they were useful in their various occupations, but there were 3— 2 boys and a girl— who were a bit older than Lacy, maybe mid-teens. Even those older children touched Edon, petting him and crawling all over him.

"Is he a real wolf or is he part dog?" the older girl asked Lacy as she rubbed her fingers gently along Edon's ears. The wolf seemed to bask in the touch and pushed his head against the girl's hand.

The shooting irritation in my gut was not jealousy. Because I refused to be jealous of a 14-year-old girl.

"We're not sure, because we sort of adopted him," Lacy explained, looking down at Edon with a sort of apologetic frown on her lips. He didn't seem to notice, because one of the children, a boy who was barely 3, had fallen in his excitement and was holding back tears as he held his little injured hand to his chest.

Edon gently shook off a few of the children, bent his head down, and nuzzled his nose into the boy's chest, chuffing softly. The boy squealed in excitement, clapping his hands, and then leapt forward, digging his fingers in the fur around Edon's face. I could see the wolf flinch, and hear one of the two teacher's gasp, but he didn't lash out at the too-tight grip of the toddler. He simply straightened, setting the boy on his feet, before turning back to Lacy and returning to her side. The boy toddled after him, grabbing at his tail, chattering nonsensically, but Edon ignored him.

"But we're pretty sure he's full wolf," Lacy finished belatedly, her entire face alight as she stared me down. I tried to close myself off, because I could feel the gaze of the other two women, and I must look a sight— staring at the fucking wolf like he was my next meal.

Because gods, I wanted him. More and more each day, I had to fight the urge to find him and fuck him so hard he couldn't walk without thinking about me for a week. And the other, strange and new urges I had only felt for him. Like marking him with my scent, making sure that anyone who came across him knew to whom he belonged, to whom he returned each night. The possessive feelings of lust I felt for him were wholly new to me, and overwhelming.

"His mannerisms show wolf," one of the teen boys said knowingly, staring down into Edon's eyes. Edon looked back for a moment before turning up to look at Lacy. "That ain't no dog."

"That isn't a dog," one of the women corrected the boy, and he rolled his eyes.

"Well, it isn't," he muttered.

"Let's go," Lacy called as the women began to gather up the children. Edon began herding the smaller children, the ones who slipped through the teachers' hands and began to run the other way. The wolf loped after the small boy he had comforted before, whose name was Tay, if the yelling teacher was to be believed, and began to herd him back to the women. He used his lips, nipping at the boy's running heels, until the giggling boy was back before the women.

It went that way all the way up to the clearing Lacy had picked for the outing. I followed with two of my guards, trailing behind the group to watch for stragglers, as the two teachers taught the children about the trees they passed, the various bird sounds, and even some tracking tips and herbology. I knew my school was right now a sort of daycare for the younger children of overworked parents, rather than the true school I wanted, but I knew with time, the idea would grow, and I would eventually have my dream of multiple classes teaching many subjects, and even possibly sending some children off to the university in the Empire's capital.  

Edon seemed to take a special interest in young Tay, or maybe the boy was just the most in need of the wolf, because after a while I noticed that the boy was actually riding on the small wolf's back, just between his shoulder blades. Edon seemed bemused, but I laughed out loud when I saw the boy, delightedly clapping his hands as he swayed on the wolf's back.

At my laugh, Edon turned back to me, huffing in indignation. But I saw the amusement in his eyes as he rolled them and then ran ahead towards the teachers.

We spent the entire day in the clearing, with the children naming the various bugs they saw, the teachers sending the older kids off to gather specific herbs or plants. It was a somewhat chaotic day, but I did manage to get Edon alone for a moment, just after lunch. The wolf had spent the entire lunchtime being begrudgingly fed by various tiny hands. The teachers, neither of whom seemed to care much for Edon, had warned the children not to feed the wolf, but none of them seemed to pay any attention to the women. Especially since Lacy was ripping off bits of her chicken and letting Edon gently nip them from her palms.

I found him by the small stream that ran around the clearing. He was lapping from it silently, and when I came upon him, his entire body tensed as his ears pricked towards me.

"I'm glad you seem to be settling in so well. I assume you've decided to stay?"

The wolf watched me, then chuffed and shrugged in that wolfy way he had. I smiled, shaking my head.

"Lacy has never had this much freedom. Usually it's a chore to figure out who has the time to take her where she wants to go, then they inevitably get bored, or she goes somewhere they don't want to go... It's just nice not to have to worry about her. Thank you."

Edon cocked his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. "No really, thank you," I assured him. "I know you'll keep her safe, so I'm not worried about her constantly like I was."

The wolf made a soft snorting sound, and then he met my eyes and I could almost hear the question he wanted to pose.

"I was hoping for... I wanted to ask you for a favor."

The wolf lifted a paw, stamping it down, as if demanding I continue.

"I have a council meeting tomorrow. It's with all of the members, all twelve. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I always like to have a little extra protection when there are that many... erm," I paused, unsure how to word snakes politely to the wolf, but he huffed in amusement, so I knew he understood what I didn't want to voice. "If I have you, I'll have that bit of extra protection, and no one will really realize it... I also have to go into town the next day, for the opening of a shelter I've been funding. I could use the extra protection then, too."

The wolf's acquiescence was almost instantaneous. He tilted his head and exposed his neck in submission. Something I had only seen him do to me and hadn't seen since those first few days he was here.

"Good," I mumbled, unsure if I liked that submission or not. I wanted his help if he wanted to give it; but I wanted him to have the choice. I wanted him to help me, to spend time with me, because he wanted to. Not because he felt he had to. "Thank you."

Edon tilted his head the other way, no doubt picking up on my hesitation, and I forced a smile.

What would it take for him to be as comfortable around me as he was with Lacy, or even how I had seen him with Tate? Would he ever be able to let himself go with me, or would he always see me as his "master?" How could I ever pursue with him what I wanted, when he treated me like a slave master?