Greykin Mountain

| 8 | Who Are You?

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Jackson couldn't settle.

          He tossed and turned in the snow, his wolfish body not satisfied by any position he lay in to try and sleep. He rolled onto his back, laid on his side, and even tried resting on his front with his head on his paws. But nothing was comfortable.

          With an irritated huff, he rested the side of his head on his paws, but that was when his sights locked with a pair of honey-brown eyes across the vast opening the pack had stopped to rest in.

          Damon stared right at him. The Alpha didn't blink, nor did he look away. He just...stared. His family slept around him, and even when Aysel stirred and nuzzled his neck, he didn't break eye contact.

          Jackson frowned uncomfortably and turned his head to face the other way. Despite all the questions he had, all he wanted to do right now was sleep. He closed his eyes, trying his best to drift off. His body relaxed a little more with each passing moment, and finally, he thought he might have found the perfect position.

          But then he heard something. Breathing? No...sniffing. He could feel the warmth of someone's presence—his fur bristled as whoever it was moved around him, sniffing frantically. And then he felt a nose against his side.

          He lifted his head. Damon took a few steps back, staring at him as Jackson gazed in return. His white fur floated around in the breeze, and a perplexed expression clung to his face.

          Jackson frowned. How the hell had he gotten over here so silently?

          Unable to ask him what he was doing, Jackson kept his eyes on him. And just as the silence was making this instance a whole lot more awkward, Damon moved closer...and started sniffing him again.

          All Jackson could manage was an unsure whimper, leaning back a little.

          Damon stopped sniffing and stared at him. "Who are you?" His voice projected into Jackson's mind.

          Jackson frowned and thought, "What the hell do you mean?"

          But Damon seemed to hear him. The white wolf's ears pricked up, and his perplexed expression thickened. "You can hear me?"

          "Yeah...."

          "But you're a rogue."

          Was he supposed to know what that meant? Was he not supposed to be able to understand Damon while they were in their wolf forms because he wasn't a member of his pack?

          Damon didn't give him a chance to answer. "Where did you come from—really?" he asked, moving closer.

          Jackson nervously climbed to his paws as the look in Damon's eyes became rather hostile. "I told you—"

          "You were lying—you had to be!" he snarled, moving even closer as Jackson backed off.

          "N-no," he insisted, shaking his head. "I came from Dawnward!"

          "Then why..." he paused and stopped walking, glaring at him. "Why is this happening?"

          Just as confused as Damon now looked, Jackson frowned. "What?"

          "This isn't...this isn't right," he uttered, shaking his head.

          Jackson stared at him, watching his face journey from confused to distressed.