Lynx Northern Shifters 3

tonight.”
    When he went silent, the preternatural wolf rose to his feet and walked closer. Jonah stiffened, thinking about the knife, though rather wearily. Stay smart , he admonished himself.
But the wolf just lay down closer to him. This was no attack dog.
Jonah wanted to say more, tell Enigma that Craig had been two years younger than him, that Craig had been too angry after their mother had disappeared, that at nineteen Craig had had little common sense. But Jonah bit down on his tongue. Craig deserved to rest in peace and not be criticized. The words would hang heavy on Jonah later if he did complain. Instead he talked about his library and the books he’d read recently, giving a précis of them while the wolf listened with great interest—or so it appeared.
A few hours passed like that, and Jonah actually found his voice beginning to falter, out of shape after being silent for too long. So they went out for a “restroom break”. Jonah still liked saying that, even to Enigma. It had been his mother’s euphemism. Craig had thought it more hilarious than it really was, but some of his humor had rubbed off on Jonah.
The wolf came back in, and Jonah made the decision to stop carrying the knife. If it was his fate to be killed by a split-personality wolf—because no way was this creature vicious, Jonah could practically smell its goodwill—then so be it. There were worse fates, and going quietly insane from loneliness and cold was one of them.
He extinguished the two lanterns, then stoked up the fire for the night before he lay on his cot. The wolf settled on the wool rug nearby, letting out a long, contented sigh.
“Good night to you too, Enigma.”
It snorted in response, as if a name was not at all necessary, and Jonah grinned. For the first night in a long time the loneliness didn’t threaten to trap him as he fell asleep. He was going to hold on to this companionship if it was at all possible.
He should have tried befriending healthy wildlife earlier, not only rescues. But his mother had always discouraged animal friendships, saying he needed to stay focused on his human. Besides, she’d argued, the smarter animals seemed to sense something strange about Jonah, his dual nature making them skittish, uneasy. But Enigma here didn’t mind lynx shifters.
Rolling his eyes at himself and his expectations, Jonah admonished himself. Enjoy what it was for what it was. It didn’t do to think too hard on the future. It never had.
    The next morning Trey watched Jonah bustle around the small hut, making breakfast. There was light from the fire again, as the first thing Jonah did was remake it, but there also was some kind of natural skylight, a window in the roof of the hut and then a small patch of cloudy sky seen through a hole in the cave. Trey was impressed, by the structure, by the library, by Jonah’s supplies.
    His supplies were heavy on the meat, but fresh kills were not Jonah’s only source of nourishment. Someone, maybe Jonah himself, had stocked this place with dried goods: flour, rice, beans and vitamins. And a large stash of vitamin C. Obviously Jonah didn’t want to get scurvy and didn’t know a lynx could make its own vitamin C, as could Trey.
    Well, it was heartening to see that someone had cared for this young man enough to educate him, even if incorrectly in some details. Perhaps the dead brother Jonah had found painful to mention. His face had creased with pain right before he’d spoken of Craig.
    Trey trotted into the back room, closet-sized, to discover clothing, most of it pretty modern. Along with high-tech winter camping gear. So did Jonah have some money, an inheritance? And how did he get hold of all this stuff when he seemed so alone?
    These were all questions Trey wanted answers to. Not only was it his job to protect shifters of all shapes and sizes, he also liked to prevent problems from arising. A lonely lynx who went a little crazy with the solitude could lead to problems.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Jonah came back to see Trey’s nose in his makeshift wardrobe, made of rough pine. “You have got to be the nosiest wolf ever. There must be some husky in you.”
    It was ridiculous to be annoyed by this accusation of being part domesticated dog. Especially when tuft-haired, green-eyed Jonah was looking at him with such an open expression.
Jonah crouched beside Trey, all the lynx’s caution of the previous night gone. “I’ve got this terrible desire to give you a pat. But