Lobella stood in the shadows of the trees, her grey coat making her virtually invisible there, silently watching the house for any small movement. For two days the people had come out and called her name from time to time. The man was especially anxious, pacing along the back side of the house, carrying the small one. Once, the woman had placed food outside in her dish. Later the man had added some beef to it, the delicious smell wafting through the yard, making Lobella drool. She had not taken the bait.
She wasn’t going back.
The wild had called her, beckoned to her, seducing her with the exhilarating promise of freedom. It didn’t take much for her to slip away and join it. After all, she had no further business there. Her work was done, the urge to move on too strong to resist. She had always been faithful, guarding the family territory, washing the children’s faces. She had stayed by the woman’s side day after day while the man was out hunting, jumping and rejoicing when he returned at night.
They hardly paid attention to her anymore. She had become a household fixture, not a valued guest or family member. They didn’t understand. When you are ignored, your time is over.
The man stepped out of the house, searching the trees along the edge of the woods, anxiously calling her name. Lobella’s heart skipped a beat, torn between running into his arms or turning and running deeper into the woods.
Things had changed. In the past he had taken her on his hunting trips, where she rode with her head sticking out the window, the wind running across her face. Now and then he would stop and get her a snack of “people food” – burgers, a small bone covered with fat from the grocery store. Sometimes he got out and instructed her to guard the car until he returned. She knew this was important to him, so she showed her long white teeth through the window if anyone got too close. Sometimes he would snap her leash on and bring her outside with him.
“What kind of a dog is that?” people would ask him. “It looks like a wolf!”
“She IS a wolf, “ the man would say. “She is the best friend I ever had. She understands me.” They would admire her, and sometimes pet her. She didn’t like being touched by strangers, but she would tolerate anything for him. At night they would curl up in the hotel bed, and he would rub her belly and wrestle with her. Life had been good then.
It had been a long time now since she had ridden with him. The man had become preoccupied, and now gave her only a cursory pat on the head when he came home. All day she would stay in the house, play with his children, and wait for him to return, only to find she was treated like she was a piece of furniture.
It was time to leave. She needed to get a life of her own, find a mate, perhaps have a litter of pups. It would not be easy in the wild, but her life would be her own. She was no longer a young bitch, and she needed to move forward before her time was past.
The man sat down outside now, putting his head between his hands. He drooped forward, leaning over as if he was in pain. Again she felt the yearning to have him touch her, rub her ears between his fingers, to stand on her back legs and dance with him like they used to. She could hardly remember her life before the people. A woman in a hat had picked up Lobella and her siblings by the roadside, where they had gathered and waited silently near their mother as she lay in the road. The woman loaded the pups into her car, and her man had come and taken her home.
The door slammed as the woman stepped out of the house. The man spoke to her sharply, and she turned and went back inside.
He gently called her name into the night. “Lobella…please come home…”
In the days since she had left, he had never sounded so upset. Carefully, she studied him. She had caught a rabbit for lunch earlier in the day. She knew she didn’t really need him. She was fine on her own. If she didn’t leave now, she might never have another chance to break away.
Even so, she longed for his touch, to snuggle with him, her long body lying against his side. Yes, even a wolf was entitled to a little love.
“Lobellaaaa….”
The sound of his voice in the crisp night air made her wag her tail slightly. Did he know how important he was to her, too? That she wouldn’t be here in the woods if he had shown her that she was still important to him? She was willing to share him with his pups and his mate, but she needed a little piece of him for herself.
Her howl echoed throughout the woods, bouncing off of the pines and oaks and maples, making the night creatures rustle in the bushes and flee in fear. It gave voice to her pain, her longing, and also her independence.
When she was finished, she trotted across the clearing towards him. He stood up, and they faced each other from a few feet away, her yellow eyes meeting his blue ones, holding their gaze.
In that moment, they came to an understanding.
The disrespect of indifference would no longer be tolerated. Even though she loved this man, she could, and would, return to the woods without a backward glance.
Lobella jumped up, planting her big paws on his chest, and licked his face while he unsnapped her collar and let it drop to the ground. Then he wrapped his arms around her neck… and the she-wolf and her man danced in the darkness.
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