Scouth

I don’t know how I heard the pack coming, but by the time they reached the clearing, my ass was up a tree. Grinding my teeth to keep them from rattling, I watched the wolves gather in a circle.

The sick looking one was the leader. He moved to the middle of the circle with all the strut and stagger of a king. I couldn’t make out what he was saying, but his wicked brothers were hanging on to every word. That’s when the branch snapped.

I managed to hit the ground on both feet and run a quarter-mile before I realized they weren’t after me. Which made no sense. Knife in hand, I crept back along my tracks in the snow. They were there in the clearing, waiting for me.

The puny one dropped a crown at my feet, crafted from bleached bone. I stared at him for a lifetime before I stooped down and placed it on my head.

The pack began to sing.

And I joined in.