Re: Stairs to the roof. The shadows. [Belated Swearing warning?]
The Wolf snarled and snapped, but it was all for show, and he pushed himself upright a moment later. "You're no Alpha, he told the little not-thing, because this thing had no claws and no teeth. No one would respect it, not in the woods, and the Wolf thought it was very funny that the not-thing thought otherwise. "Expensive handkerchiefs won't keep you alive around animals," he said. Brains could, but he wasn't sure the not-thing had those either, and the Wolf knew brains could be overrated, useless things against brute strength.
The Wolf sat up, and then he pushed to standing. He was much taller than a man, muscled calves thick and animal beneath the dirty jeans. "Brains don't win fights," he added, because he was a wolf and, therefore, an expert. The hunger in his belly swirled, even though standing made him lightheaded. It was enough to keep a human down, the drip, drip of blood that began again at his throat, but it wouldn't keep an animal down. It wouldn't keep him down - not tonight.