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A lone howl pierced the air. Solitary. Isolated. Is it looking for companionship or warding off the enemy? Sean thought Viggo could tell him, not necessarily the right answer but by the time he was done you'd be convinced it was correct. Viggo was good at that; talking his way through tenuously-connected ideas, winding around to discover answers to questions that had yet to be asked. Sean had no doubt Viggo could provide an interpretation of the wolf's call that would prove startlingly satisfying to anyone listening. Even if 90% of it was pure, unadulterated bullshit.
For years Sean felt like that lone wolf, crying out into the darkness, keeping his distance. He imagined that played no small part in the demise of his marriages. Many days he stayed in the shadows, observing and waiting. Always searching for something so elusive he couldn't even put it into words.
He'd been standing in this clearing for more time than he could remember, the chill turning frigid, the grey light of dusk turning to moonlight. But he'd embraced the loneliness in the air, become transfixed with the wolf, with the preternatural stillness of the woods.
The wolf cried once more but just as an answering call echoed from the western hills, there's a hint of movement from behind, a low rustle of leaves and snap of twigs. He should be more concerned, he thought, more wary of what approached. But there was a rumor of calm, a murmur of softness beneath the footfalls, and moments later two strong arms wrapped around him, warm breath at his neck.
"There are wolves in the hills tonight." Sean's voice sounded foreign, even to his own ears, slightly choked beneath the weight of the sky.
"There's a wolf at your door," the words punctuated by a sharp bite on unsuspecting skin.
Sean tried to turn around, to pull free, a brief half-hearted struggle for dominance. But Viggo held him fast, his grip never loosening, and Sean finally let go, surrendered into his arms, tension giving way to shivers. The wolves howl all around them, now a chorus of voices shredding the night air. And Sean felt he could join them, let his voice soar into the trees, part warning to steer clear of what he'd already claimed, part heralding what he'd finally found.