Ansgar

I was sitting on the roof. Right on the edge. My legs dangled over the depths.

I rocked nervously back and forth. Movement. I needed...

Sunset. The sky turned purple and pink between dark clouds. Clouds that promised rain. I could almost smell the raindrops.

From here I could see all the way to my friend's prison. Wilderich was also there. Unlike Everwinus' stay there, Wilderich's failure made me cheerful. He deserved it. Idiot. Ass. Stupid! Stupid ass! Stupid. STUPASS!

Everwinus does not.

Or did he?

I had only known him for a short time.

The red, pupilless eyes... Angry eyes, but they could also look so worried and vulnerable. Full lips.

My face glowed.

Heavens! I actually wanted to kiss this vampire!

Now. Immediately.

My gaze wandered from the prison to the narrow street below me; loud voices were interrupting my thoughts. Some wolves fought under me. Three women whose names I couldn't remember (I couldn't tell them apart, either. Triplets.), and four men, one so old that his skin hung almost to the ground.

I snickered.

Our pack was not small; it was one of the bigger ones. But still small enough that I was expected to know all the names. What was the old man's name again? I couldn't remember his name. The three other men? One of them was a teacher, but I never had lessons with him.

Nothing. I had forgotten their names as well.

When was the last time I had spoken to them?

Had I spoken to them?

Possibly.

The triplets all had similar names.

I could remember so much.

The triplets often scared me away from their market stalls. They sold pretty jewelry, like the earrings I wore. The sparkling jewelry was tempting. I liked to play with the goods when the ladies set up their stalls. Until they chased me away if I didn't want to buy anything.

Nevertheless, I couldn't remember their names.

Probably another reason why my sister would take over the alpha position.

"A vampire! A group of vampires! Criminals!" the old man shouted angrily.

I leaned curiously over the roof, carefully so that I didn't lose my balance.

"Thieves and murderers!" The old man was not yet finished with his rant. "These vampires should be driven out of our pack before disaster follows them! They have weapons!"

Since my return to the pack, there has been a restless atmosphere in the air.

I rolled my eyes. The old man had forgotten my abduction. That's why the vampires were here. So... Partly, at least. Was I this unimportant?

STUPASS! There you go.

Would Everwinu's friends really come here? Looking for the stolen goods he had dumped in the river? I remembered that one of them had mentioned that some of the poisons here were not there... STUPASSES. All of them. Ha!

How angry would they be?

The arguing group continued without even looking up at me, even though I had obviously been listening. Even though they could smell me! I probably was this unimportant. Well, that wasn't news.

"Ansgar!" Mom looked up at me from one of the windows. "Come down from the roof! You might fall!"

"Me? Nope. Rather will a stupass bird poop on my head," I answered.

Mom blinked. "What kind of bird?"

Before I could answer, I heard more than just the arguments or restlessness. Angry voices, angry shouts... I could hear the word 'vampire'. Had the small quarrelsome group found friends? At the prison?

Mama also turned her gaze in the direction of the prison.

Everwinus!

I jumped off the roof, took wolf form in the fall, and ran towards the sounds.

An angry mob had gathered in front of the prison. Some stood there in their wolf form, their ears pinned and their teeth bared. Tanta Fenna stood next to the vampires who held Everwinus between them. His hands were tied.

He looked tired.

My aunt seemed equally tired. Tired and dissatisfied. It looked as if she wanted to run towards me. I took on human form again and threw myself before Everwinus. I almost knocked my aunt over.  "Leave him alone! He didn't do anything!" I shouted, even if my words probably weren't quite true. "He's a friend!"

I wrapped my arms around him while Aunt Fenna tried to pull me away from him.

"Ansgar!" she warned.

I hugged Everwinus. He and the vampires attached to him as well. They looked at me, perplexed. A woman and a man.

"Are you okay?"

"Um..."

His face felt unusually warm against my neck. "Do you have a fever?" I asked and casually pushed one of the vampires aside. The man tried to snatch Everwinus from me. I hardly noticed him; I just pushed him aside.

"Ansgar... You're naked..." Everwinus murmured.

The woman let go of him in amusement before I could push her away as well.

"Ansgar!" my dear aunt warned again and grabbed me by the shoulder. I ignored her.

"Naked? Oh." Only now did I notice that my torn clothes were hanging down from me in shreds. Oops. The clothes were useless now. "I was in a hurry, you know? Has anyone hurt you? Why were they holding you? You are not a danger!"

"Ansgar! Please let him go!" my aunt grumbled. She was still standing behind me and now shook my shoulder a little. "That was just to be on the safe side... He IS a criminal."

The angry mob shrouded itself in silence. Except for isolated whispers and a quiet growl, I heard nothing.

"Ansgar..." Everwinus sighed and tried to free himself from my arms. He did not succeed with his hands tied. "I'm fine. I'm not hurt. I've got a deal. Please let me go."

"What kind of deal?" Stunned, I let go of him and stepped back. The remains of my pants decided at that moment to slide down my legs completely. The now useless material probably hadn't covered much before anyway. But now Everwinus had a clear view of EVERYTHING. His cheeks turned all the redder.

The woman laughed, a little embarrassed; the man grumbled something to himself, and the pack stayed silent.

Nudity did not bother wolves.

But vampires, it obviously did.

"What... I'm a wolf... That's nothing special...", I murmured. Then I plucked sheepishly at some scraps of fabric from my shirt. The other two vampires looked no less red. "It's completely normal. To be naked. Well, for us..."

"Not for us." The woman grinned. "But thank you for this insightful and revealing performance. If you would now please no longer stand in our way? We meet with the Beta of your pack. Your father, right? Your mother is the Alpha? Both are waiting for us. You are welcome to continue hugging your friend afterwards. Preferably clothed." She winked at me.

I nodded, my cheeks getting hot. Had Wilderich's mother also fallen into disgrace? Had Mom said anything about that? Dad? Juta?

If not, if Ingeborg was still Beta, then I wouldn't correct the vampire.

"Step aside..." Aunt Fenna pulled on me. "Come on! Come on, let go of the vampire. Maybe he'll bite!"

"What?" Everwinus trembled. Anger. He was angry, but didn't try to free himself from my arms again. "I don't bite people arbitrarily. Let me GO, Ansgar! Put... Put on some pants! Please."

"Oh." I let go of him and stepped back a bit. My gaze fell on Everwinus’ cheeks, which were getting redder. His gaze, on the other hand, changed back and forth from my face to my big Ansgar further down. And my big Ansgar decided that he liked this attention. "Oh... Um... That's a natural reaction!"

I fled, cursing my second brain.

STUPASSBRAINN!