Marking Territory and Wolf on the Fold

By Geonn Cannon

Following the events of "Wolf at the Door," the hunt continues.

In the years following the battle at Vallendar, hunter Johanna Brion and canidae Agatha Westreich have resumed their unlikely alliance to bring down the remnants of Simon Lehner's cult. Johanna is distrusted by her fellow hunters, and with Agatha as a disappointment to her pack, they can only rely on each other. When Johanna and Agatha discover a small community of humans and canidae living together in apparent harmony, they believe they may have found the answer to uniting the two species once and for all. They quickly discover that the price of peace is not cheap, and it may cost them more than they're ready to pay.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Supposed Crimes, LLC
• Release date: Dec 21, 2012
• ISBN: 9781938108105

Geonn Cannon

Geonn Cannon was born in a barn and raised to know better than that. He was born and raised in Oklahoma where he’s been enslaved by a series of cats, dogs, two birds and one unexpected turtle. He’s spent his entire life creating stories but only became serious about it when he realized it was a talent that could impress girls. Learning to write well was easier than learning to juggle, so a career was underway. His high school years were spent writing stories among a small group of friends and reading whatever books he could get his hands on.Geonn was inspired to create the fictional Squire’s Isle after a 2004 trip to San Juan Island in Washington State. His first novel set on the island, On the Air, was written almost as a side project to another story he wanted to tell. Reception to the story was so strong that the original story was put on the back burner to deal with the world created in On the Air. His second novel set in the same universe, Gemini, was also very well received and went on to win the Golden Crown Literary Society Award for Best Novel, Dramatic/General Fiction. Geonn was the first male author to receive the honor.While some of his novels haven’t focused as heavily on Squire’s Isle, the vast majority of Geonn’s works take place in the same universe and have connections back to the island and its cast of characters (the exception being the Riley Parra series). In addition to writing more novels based on the inhabitants of Squire’s Isle, Geonn hopes to one day move to the real-life equivalent to inspire further stories.Geonn is currently working on a tie-in novel to the television series Stargate SG-1, and a script for a webseries version of Riley Parra.

Book preview

Marking Territory and Wolf on the Fold

Geonn Cannon

Smashwords Edition

Supposed Crimes LLC, Falls Church, Virginia

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2012 Geonn Cannon

All Rights Reserved

Published in the United States.

ISBN: 978-1-938108-10-5

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Marking Territory

They had no allies.

Agatha anticipated being shunned by the packs they encountered no matter their affiliation. It didn't matter if they had been for or against Simon's crusade; the fact Agatha traveled with a human hunter was enough to make them turn their backs on her. They could smell Johanna's scent on her skin and she was tainted in their eyes. They could stay in human villages for a time, but sooner or later a group of hunters would arrive and Johanna would decide it was time to move on. Word had spread among her former allies; Johanna Brion was a collaborator with the wulves. It didn't matter if it was true; all a trained hunter had to do was look at Agatha to know what she was.

They kept on the move as much as possible, tracking down rumors and hints of rumors of canidae who were following Simon. They executed a wulf in Wolls, barely escaping before they were arrested for his murder. A group of hunters in Dierkow plied Johanna with drinks to gain her trust before one of them clubbed her on the back of the head. She regained consciousness just in time to find and rescue Agatha from being lynched.

During this time, Johanna and Agatha often camped under the stars or, when there was money enough, rented a room above local taverns. Their primal fucking gradually became more tentative lovemaking, tender explorations of each other's bodies. Johanna had no doubt that she was in love with Agatha, and Agatha had made her own feelings clear on several occasions. Theirs wasn't a love of commitments and vows; they both knew there would be nothing tying them together other than their growing affection for one another. Vows would have been stifling and would have killed whatever they had in its birthing stages.

The entrance to the town of Bardowiek was marked by matching redbrick towers on either side of the road. In days gone by, the towers had once held lanterns in their recessed alcoves, and a wooden gate had stretched across the road to deter unwelcome visitors. Now the gate was visible in the underbrush, knocked down and dragged out of the way by invaders. The lanterns hung dark and rusted on their hooks.

Johanna and Agatha walked into town with Johanna's horse Gunther between them. His lead hung loose in Johanna's right hand, an unnecessary precaution with the well-trained horse. She wore a heavy tunic with the hood pushed back to let the rain-heavy wind push through her dark hair. The strap of the leather bag holding her weapons crossed her chest, the bag itself knocking against her hip as she walked.

The rain was just starting to pick up, and evidence pointed toward a long string of storms rolling in from the sea. It had been Johanna's idea to find a town to stop until the sun returned, and Bardowiek was her idea. Yet she still slowed as they approached the destroyed barrier and scanned the parts of town visible through the thick trees.

Problem? Agatha asked. Her clothing was much lighter, leaving her shoulders and most of her legs exposed in the event an unexpected change was required. Her blonde hair, a mess of curls that reached the small of her back when left untamed, was bound into twin braids that framed her face.

I don't like this town. I know it was my choice, but if there was another option...

About a dozen years earlier, the people of Bardowiek had been run out of town by raiders. The few people who stayed behind to fight were slaughtered and buried in a large field outside of town. In the interim, the town had become a haven for criminals, deserting soldiers and escaped criminals. But they needed a place to stay for a while, and she only felt comfortable enough to relax in dens of iniquity like these.

That didn't mean she had to like them.

Agatha looked at the sky. We haven't much choice, unless you want to get drowned on the road. Come on.

Agatha continued forward, so Johanna moved to catch up with her. The main road was overgrown with thick weeds so they were forced to rely on the basalt stones at the road's edge to know where it ended and the forest began. They soon began to pass stone houses fallen into disrepair. Smoke rose from chimneys so weathered she feared they might topple in the next strong windstorm, and porches leaned dangerously to one side or the other. At the town square, the dirt road gave way to broken stretches of cobblestones.

Johanna handed the reins to Agatha and they split up to their own separate errands; Agatha would find a place to put Gunther up for the duration of their stay, and Johanna would find them food and shelter. Once