Killian walked out of the pack house, barefoot, and as he walked to the forest, his other clothes fell to the snowy ground.
He shifted as he reached the tree line and started running.
The snow was cold underneath his paws, and the wind was freezing.
In times like these, he was glad to be a wolf as the weather didn’t have any effect on him besides giving him his winter or summer pelt.
He ran to the east side of the territory and slowed down as he moved into the more overgrown part of the forest, where he had another friend who was waiting for him.
A branch broke to his right, and he looked at the large wild wolf, who hopped toward him like a happy puppy.
She had been the only one who was able to calm him down completely; he was always on edge, and in return, he calmed her down.
They both felt even closer to Mera when they were together, and that soothed their entire beings.
Wild wolves aren’t able to communicate with werewolves as they aren’t like them, and they can’t really talk, so Killian never found out what her name was.
Calling her the wild wolf had started to feel impersonal, so he gave her the first name that popped into his head.
As soon as he’d said it for the first time, Thyra howled and licked his hands and face excitedly.
He took it as a sign that she accepted and liked the name.
Thyra walked up to him and rubbed her head underneath his, allowing both of their scents to mingle.
It soothed him even more as Thyra had the exact same scent as Mera.
Killian licked the top of her head before they both lay down.
Thyra laid her head on her paws, and Killian rested his head on her neck in a protective stance, enjoying the feeling of being closer to the one they missed the most.
Odin had asked him to protect her, and that was exactly what he was doing.
Even though she couldn’t communicate with him, when he talked to her, it was like she was able to understand him.
When he’d told her about what Odin had said, she finally showed herself to him, allowing him to protect her.
It was the first time he’d seen her completely, and even though Odin had mentioned her reddish-brown pelt, he was stunned to see that her pelt looked like it was on fire when she walked in the sun.
She was absolutely stunning.
Thyra hadn’t left the overgrown part of the territory since he’d brought her here, and he was glad that she trusted him with her life.
Even though no words were spoken, their bond had grown stronger over the past three months.
She knew he would protect her, and Killian knew she would have his back as well.
It was something he never thought would be possible: a wild wolf and a werewolf forming a bond like that of a family, but he was thankful that it had.
He had been trying to access the part of Mera’s and Thyra’s souls inside of him, but he’d had no luck.
The only time it worked was when he’d heard her voice in his head, but he didn’t know how he had done it.
It frustrated him as he hadn’t been able to hear her ever since then, and he hated that he felt like such a failure.
A growl came from underneath him.
It was as if Thyra was able to hear what he was thinking and was scolding him by telling him that he wasn’t a failure and he needed to keep on trying.
There was no doubt that he would keep on trying, but it would be encouraging if he could get a sign that what he was doing was actually helping to get closer to her soul.
Only there was no way he could get a sign, as the only thing he could do was meditate and open his mind, body, and soul to her soul.
He sighed as he closed his eyes and tried again.
Killian retreated inside himself and searched for a spark that would lead him to the part of her soul.
He felt himself getting heavier and more centered to everything inside of him as he went into a meditative state.
They stayed like that for a couple of hours until he started to become frustrated with himself that it still didn’t work.
He growled lowly as he pulled himself out of his meditation, opened his eyes, and sat up.
Thyra noticed his stance and sat up as well.
She whined and dropped her ears as she looked at him with pity.
He growled a little in order to let her know she didn’t need to pity him.
She came a little closer and yipped before she closed her eyes and dropped her head a little.
Thyra had been doing this for the last two months now, but he never understood what she was doing, and in the end, she would always just walk away in frustration.
Killian looked at her in confusion; he still didn’t understand what she meant.
It was at these times he truly wished they were able to communicate with each other.
Thyra opened one of her eyes and looked at him. She saw his confused stare and huffed as she raised her head and rolled her eyes at him for not understanding what she meant.
She yipped at him again as she scooted a little closer and did the same thing again.
Killian truly felt at a loss as he didn’t understand the wild wolf in front of him.
Thyra huffed as she looked up again and growled at him.
Killian growled back. He may have been the one who didn’t understand what she was doing or trying to do, but he was still an alpha.
No matter if it was a wild wolf or a werewolf, no one was going to growl at him and disrespect him.
Thyra dropped her ears again and lay down on her belly in submission as she whined a little as an apology.
Killian huffed as he didn’t want her submission.
He wanted to know what she was trying to show him.
He licked the top of her head again, and Thyra sat up.
Thyra sat on her hind legs as she laid her paws on top of Killian’s head and pushed it down a little.
He dropped his head in confusion, and Thyra walked toward him and placed her forehead against his.
The spark he had been looking for—for three months—suddenly came to life, and the sparks he’d missed so much ignited throughout his head where he touched Thyra.
He backed away in shock as he looked at Thyra.
If she had been a werewolf, he could see her shifting and smiling at him, telling him he should have figured out that Mera and Thyra were connected and that she could help him if he allowed her in.
Killian really didn’t want to leave as he wanted to see what more he could do with Thyra helping him, but he knew he had to go.
As if Thyra was reading his thoughts again, she walked up to him and licked his cheek before she gently bit his hind legs, telling him to go.
He turned around and licked her cheek as well before he turned and started running back to the pack.
