Beta Bully (F/F) - Chapter 51 (Early Access) (Patreon)

Walkies II

A shadow came over her, blocking the warmth she had been happily bathing in.

Darcy cracked an eye open to appraise the great furry beast standing over her. Luna’s shaggy fur couldn’t cover her dopey expression and Darcy huffed a laugh at it. Whatever she wanted from her, she wasn’t picking up her clues. This shouldn’t be surprising to her, Darcy had explained more than once that she had no natural ability to read wolf body language. She tucked all four of her feet in and rolled out from under Luna like a sausage, back into the sun.

She was so oversized compared to her, she really did feel like a puppy. Maybe a little playful. Especially when Luna followed, side stepping to place herself over her again like a parasol. Darcy rolled away. Luna followed. Darcy jumped up and ran through her back legs. Luna swiped at her with her tail. She ducked and rolled and darted away from her every time she approached until she was panting. Luna, predictably, appeared unbothered by the heat and continued to chase her at a delay. Toying with her at half-speed.

Darcy skipped back to the shade to cool down, and a furry form was at her back in an instant. She tried to groan at Luna, to let her know she was overheated, but it came out as a rumbling sound - almost a growl. Darcy started at the sound. It had come out of her. She had never growled before. Or barked. Or howled. Luna scooted back a little behind her and Darcy scurried back to her, burying her face in Luna’s furry stomach. Even though she knew the growl had come from her, it had startled the nerves back into her.

She didn’t know how to do this. It didn’t come naturally to her. She was going to get herself hurt if she couldn’t even keep from making threatening noises. Luna made no noise in response, but she nuzzled the top of her head gently and Darcy whined. She really hoped she knew she didn’t mean to growl at her. She was good at this stuff. As a beta, she had to be.

Darcy swivelled her butt to sit back against her, mirroring her body language like a pair of nesting dolls. The heat wasn’t too intense anymore, and Luna’s body warmth was comforting rather than overbearing. After what couldn't have been more than a few minutes, she could feel Luna growing restless behind her. Darcy glanced at her over her shoulder, tilting her head like Luna had done. Asking her what she wanted.

A damp nose nudged the base of her skull, urging her forward.

Now who needed walkies?

Darcy begrudgingly straightened her hind legs and picked her way through the dry undergrowth daintily, avoiding sharp sticks and thorny tendrils. Luna had no such qualms, bounding over her and straight through a bush that parted for her like the red sea. It created a path for Darcy to follow, though. She let Luna forge out their trail while she carefully manoeuvred through the destruction she left in her wake.

Clearly, she had a lot of energy to release. Darcy couldn’t relate, she was exhausted already. She took a last look at the pretty patch of grass amongst all the dry, brown earth and sighed to herself.

A blonde ball of fur bounded back towards her, her ears were up and her movements were tighter than before. Darcy could see these things, but what they meant was a mystery.

Luna trotted a loose loop around her before moving in close to her side. Her back paws aligned with Darcy’s while her front paws were planted much further forward. Darcy gave her a questioning look, knowing she wouldn’t understand any answer she gave. Luna started forward again, slower. Darcy matched her pace, attempting to stay in line with her.

A cacophony of thrashing branches and barks preceded a small group of wolves bursting out from between the bushes ahead. They were all smaller than Luna, and coated in much darker fur. A hulking mass followed them, though. A latte-coloured monster brushed past them to take the front spot. And a familiar scent came with it.

Beta Oli.

She sniffed in her direction and Darcy skittered back a step. Oli tipped her nose to Luna at an angle and the beta moved a little closer. Darcy wished she wouldn’t, it meant she was obliged to follow.

The wolves behind Oli were fixated on her. A patrol squad, she had to assume. So many sets of black eyes bore into her that she almost squeezed her own shut to pretend they weren’t there. Instead, she kept her eyes flicking between Luna and Oli, but they were having their own quiet conversation in huffs and ear tilts.

The more they stared, and she could feel them still staring, the more she wished she were a burrowing mammal. With tiny steps, she retreated deeper into Luna’s side. She and Oli continued to exchange noises and head jerks.

As the wolves either side of the larger beta grew restless, their eyes finally darted away from Darcy and into the trees. But they always returned to her. Darcy dropped to the ground where she was. Sat beside Luna was the safest place to be, anyway.

Luna lifted the paw by Darcy’s head and stepped it over her, covering her entire body like a pop-up gazebo. Then she lowered herself down until her fur was just close enough to mesh with hers. A chicken resting over an egg.

Beta Oli almost looked as though she were smiling. Without bared teeth, of course. If anyone flashed a single canine at Darcy she was going to cry. There was something in the tension of Luna’s body pressed to her back that told her her soul-mate wasn’t smiling. Almost as though her fur was bristling with annoyance against her.

The conversation between the wolves came to an abrupt end, with Oli leading her troop away in a burst of scattered leaves and mud. They took off into the forest at top speed, in the direction of the boundary line.

Luna rose slowly, then paced back and forth in front of Darcy a few times, then shook her fur as though throwing off all of her frustration. Why she had suddenly become so agitated was still a mystery. Perhaps one of the guards had offended her with the wrong ear movement. Darcy didn’t know how these things worked. She expected to be mauled for leading with the wrong paw.

With her fears dulled now that Oli and her team had taken off, it left room for her hunger to make itself known. Her tummy growled louder than she had on the grass patch. Luna’s dark gold eyes were on her in an instant, she sniffed at her sides and Darcy huffed through her nose at her. She was just hungry, not hurt.

Satisfied via her sniffing, Luna nudged her back the way they came. Then she took off again, racing ahead and leaving Darcy to trot behind her with her nose in the air, trying to ignore the prickling pain in her delicate paws. She was just too small, and everything else was too big! Luna would never understand.

They shifted back once they had located the backpack, Darcy once again hiding behind a tree, and dressed quickly. On their walk back home, they were mostly silent, except for picking up lunch at the bakery.

There were a lot of questions in the back of Darcy’s mind, but she didn’t have the energy to put them into words just yet. Nor did she want to start a conversation that would open up the wolf form debate again. Today was enough.

As soon as their front door was shut, Luna broke the comfortable silence.

“Did you enjoy it?” She laid out their collection of foods across the coffee table while she waited for Darcy’s answer.

“The scenery was nice,” Darcy said carefully.

“What about the run itself?”

“I’m sure the exercise did me good.”

“But did you like it?” Her hands had stopped arranging sandwiches, and her eyes were burning into her.

“I don’t know if that’s the word I would use.” Stressful. Unnerving. Uncomfortable.

Luna sighed.

“It’s not your fault, Luna,” she reassured her quietly. “I’ve never had that connection that you have with your wolf form. I’ve always known I was odd for not having the built-in instincts.” Odd didn’t even begin to describe how she had felt growing up and into her wolf form. “It makes my wolf form almost… exhausting. Because I have to think so much to make up for the lack in natural cues.”

“Well, thank you for giving it a shot.” Luna smiled sadly. “I had a really good time.”

And now Darcy’s heart hurt.

“Movie?” Luna asked. Pandering to her, and trying to save the rest of the day, she could tell.

“Sure,” she agreed softly. “You pick, I just want to cuddle on the sofa with background noise.”

Her smile became ten percent more believable. “Perfect.”