The Bitten.

Uninvited.

Aamon was up on his feet the moment his name left my lips. He shoved me behind him with a force that nearly shoved me over. The door had barely cracked, and a man was about to step inside.

"Aamon?" A scratchy voice called. This voice was speaking a tongue I knew wasn't mine, but my brain immediately could unscramble it. I blinked.

"I am here." Aamon grumbled.

The door revealed a bare man with a wide barrel chest. The man had long, scraggly hair woven into a sort of plait. The hair was so light, clear almost, I could read a newspaper through the roots. The ends were dirty with dirt and debris. The eyes were what I'd come to expect of the wolf people, the were slightly turned at the corners with thick pupils and very little whites. This man didn't have rich brown, or amber eyes though. His were barely blue, the color of water. His neck and torso were littered with dense scars. He was a pinch shorter than Aamon, but likely as broad or broader in his chest and shoulders. I imagine he must be a brute. Levels of humanity seemed to vary with each wolf, and he might have been a bit kess humanly esthetically than Aamon. His eyes were intelligent, but less sentient. I avoided the man's gaze when he caught me observing him. He liked the attention, he rolled out his shoulders and put himself in front of me to soak it all in. He gave me the ick, and I worried I'd pull a face.

"Slate." He looked to Aamon and then back to me. "Who are you?"

"Fawn. My mate."

"Who names their pup Fawn?" The man grinned. "Might name my next rabbit, liver or leg."

"Nice to meet you." I muttered.

"I was wondering where you had went Aamon. Was told that you disappeared, now you come back and you've found a bitch. Well done. Just in time for the cold season too."

"I wasn't far."

"Had to have been! I've never caught a hint of this one before. I know all females in the area if they are from here. I'd have noticed that one, it's different." His nostrils flared and I wanted to go hide in the furs. His eyes were perhaps colder than Aamon's, and pierced right into mine. He oozed power, and was unphased by Aamon's scowled as he drew closer to me.

"Where are you from girl?" He leaned into my face, sniffing me as Ivor had.

"Rogue. Not from anywhere really. I had been staying close to human territories, it seemed safer there. Food was scarce and I traveled out this way. That's where I had met Aamon."

"Scarce? You were right by the herd of them! Could've caught a few coming through and drug them off."

"I've never dealt much with them."

"They are no problem. You could handle them with ease, even being small."

"What brings you this way?" Aamon was straight to the point.

"Several things. I had wanted to see that you were here. I had wanted to know if Luthor had anything to trade. I'd like to find tools. What I have no longer work, and I need a bigger den. And to be honest, I smelled her. I just wanted to see if you were here with her, or if some odd female had taken up in here while you were away. That has happened. If she didn't have your scent, I'd have taken her off. I wouldn't let one steal your property."

"I've no doubt you would have. It's good of you to watch my place, but Fawn is mine. She bears my mark, my scent. If any others ask about her, I'd be relieved if you'd tell them she is mine and belongs here. This is now her home too."

"Of course." He eyed me again, reaching forward to tug at my sleeve. "I would take the human garb off, girl. It gives you the slightest hint of human scent, it could cause Aamon problems." It read as a threat.