The sound of growling and fighting startled me after I had resigned to my fate. I was crying in the branches of the tree and hadn’t noticed the arrival of yet another, larger wolf. That was until I heard yelping come from below me. Looking down from my spot, I wondered if this new wolf would be the one to finish me off and if it would be a swift or slow death. What I didn’t understand was why the wolf was fighting the others. Wasn’t it part of the same pack?
I watched in shock and horror as the larger of the wolves fought the small group of wolves off. It seemed to take forever, but finally, it was the only one remaining. I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, this wolf looked stronger, faster and likely had the jumping ability to get me from where I was sitting. On the other hand, there was now only one wolf.
I wasn’t sure if I could outrun it, but maybe I could distract it. Or maybe I didn’t need to do either and it would go after the other wolves and forget I was even here. As it paced up to the trunk of the tree and looked up at me, I knew that idea had gone out the window. I stared down at it, and it stared back up at me. There’s something about those hazel-brown eyes that almost seem familiar, but I don’t hold the wolf’s gaze for long.
“You can come down now,” a voice tells me. At first, I’m confused. I look left and right for Jay, but I don’t see him anywhere. Yet it was his voice that I just heard. I’m sure of it! “Where are you looking? I’m right here.”
I blink. Then, slowly, my gaze lowers back onto the wolf. It is sitting down and staring back up at me with a tilt of its head. There’s no way that wolf just spoke and is even less likely to be my husband. Things like that just do not happen! Unsure if perhaps I’m hearing things, I look around again, trying to find Jay.
A small sigh escapes the wolf before it says, “Gwen. Did you really not know? I’m a werewolf. I suppose this explains a few things, though I’m surprised you didn’t know.”
I look back down at the wolf. This time, I caught it talking to me. There’s no question about it now. This wolf might not look like Jay, but it has his voice. It knows my name, and it called itself a werewolf? Aren’t they scary beast-like humanoids that only turn on a full moon and pass on their curse to others from a bite?
The brown wolf seems to wait for me to gather my senses as I come to realise just what is going on. I shake my head slowly. “There is no way that this is real,” I murmur. “No way at all. Werewolves are just fairytales, horror movies, stuff like that,” I continue, my voice quiet and confused.
“I know this is all quite bizarre, but it is the truth. Please come down, and we can go back to the hotel,” the wolf begs gently. “I can explain more there. I promise.”
I shake my head. “This is a trick. I’m imagining things and you’ll eat me,” I mumble.
“I’d like to eat you in another way but,” the wolf jokes, though I’m not sure what he means by that. I shoot him a disapproving look if only to let him know I’m not in the mood for the jesting. “Alright, alright,” he complains. “Just come down, please?”
I sigh and figure if I’m going to die, at least this demonic beast seems to be polite about it. I scramble down the tree and land on the ground, my descent made softer with the aid of Jay-wolf’s body. Surprising only myself, he doesn’t attack at all. Rather, he leans his nose into my hand and offers it a gentle nuzzle of his face. I have to admit; the fur is so soft, it’s almost like down feathers.
“I’m glad I found you in time. I worried about you,” Jay-wolf tells me in his soft voice. “As my wife and mate, I thought I had lost you before we could bond fully,” he adds, though I still don’t quite understand what he is talking about. I have a feeling I’ll find out eventually, though.
With another sigh, I look down at Jay-wolf and ask, “can you turn back into a person? I don’t think the hotel will allow me to bring in a, uh, wolf.”
Jay-wolf shifts his paws on the ground anxiously before he drops a bomb on me by telling me, “if I do. I’ll be naked. Not that I mind, this is normal stuff for me. You, however, have had to experience none of this. I’ll try my best to be patient and explain things. Darnell said it was important I went slowly with you.”
I smile faintly. To hear Darnell was looking out for me was a pleasant surprise. “He is a good man… or is he a werewolf too?” I wonder out loud.
“Everyone back home is…” Jay-wolf tells me, gently as we both head through the dark park together. “Darnell is my beta… he is the second-in-command whenever I’m away, and the one who trains everyone to fight. He is also my best friend and cousin. We’re a family unit, much like the animal counterpart.”
I nod slowly. I think I can follow along if it is not too complicated, but I’m still unsure just how far this fairytale goes. At the very least, at least if I get into trouble, I now have a huge wolf-idiot to protect me. Right? Though I’m not sure I want to know how werewolves… procreate. Or anything else, for that matter. The very thought of it all has me shivering.
“Are you cold? I should have brought some stuff, but I had to leave my clothes near the park exit so I didn’t rip them,” Jay-wolf tells me. “I don’t want to risk leaving your side to get my jacket though… so hold on a little longer.”
Shaking my head slowly, I am just glad he can’t read minds. I would simply die of embarrassment at all the weird thoughts that go through my head sometimes!
After Jay has turned back into his human-self and gotten dressed again, we both get back to our hotel room. I stay silent the rest of the way, as I am far too tired and just want to warm up again. I’m sure when I wake up after a good night’s rest, everything will turn out to just be some weird dream and I won’t remember any of it. Or that’s my plan, anyway.Jay keeps me warm with his jacket, even after we get into our hotel room. He also runs a nice hot bath for me, all the while babbling on and on about packs and roles within them. I don’t understand half of it, unfortunately. All I can do is nod my head slowly to show I am listening. Though I’m not following along at all. There’s just too much to take in. As soon as he has finished drawing my bath, he rubs at his neck sheepishly. He can probably tell I’m too tired and confused to let all this information sink in.“Sorry,” he mumbles at
The next morning, I woke up in a slight daze. It’s a little too warm and uncomfortable. It isn’t until I am pulled closer towards a warm body that I realise Jay is clinging to me from behind. I find my face burning hotter, but I can’t wiggle free without waking him up. I glance back over my shoulder and gaze at what I can see of my sleeping husband. Surprise washes over me. That he is so comfortable being this close to me while asleep is not anything I am used to experiencing. It’s almost like he cherishes me somehow. I’m not sure what to make of this closeness between us. Part of me wants to get out of his hold, but another part of me thinks it feels nice to be held this way. Even my parents have not held me in such an affectionate way. I decided to allow Jay to sleep like this a little longer. He looks so peaceful and happy in his sleep, so disturbing him now would be such a shame. I’m not sure ho
“So, how did your honeymoon go afterwards?” Darnell questioned with a big grin on his face while we walked through the resort grounds. Jay and I had returned this morning, and it almost felt like he had known something had happened before he had even been told. I couldn’t figure it out. It didn’t matter in the long run, but I was curious about how he seemed to know.I offered Darnell a smile and then asked, “before or after those crazy wolves showed up? Or should I say werewolves? Either way, crazy things!”Chuckling, Darnell nodded. “Yeah, that happens more often than I’d like. We get into fights often with other packs. I suppose we will have to keep you out of our scuffles, as they can get really bloody at times,” he murmured.I blink up at Darnell and then nod slowly. “I didn’t know being a werewolf would be dangerous. Why do they attack others?&rdq
The sound of snarling and howling fills my ears as soon as the fighting starts. I can just about see the rival pack on the outskirts of the forest and, from what I can see, they’re not a small group at all. There are easily twenty individual wolves out there, and that isn’t counting any that have come from the other directions into the resort.I bite my lower lip anxiously. I feel so powerless to help the people here, but I know going out there would only put me in danger. Unlike those that live here, I am no werewolf. I can’t transform and fight in another form and I certainly wouldn’t know how to fight in a human form either. There are no guns or anything here either, not that I would know how to use one of those, but the point is moot as I have no training to use one.All I can do is hope and pray that this rival pack backs off without too much bloodshed on either side. Holding my hands up to my chest, I watch as the fi
As I make my way over the rooftop to the other side, where there is a way down, I hear the Alpha smashing open the bedroom door at last and slamming into the chest I put in the way. He curses, but I don’t stick around to find out just what he thinks of me. I want nothing to do with this crazy man or his pack that wants to hurt others. I almost slip on a spot on the roof, but quickly gather my balance. “Goddess be damned!” The Alpha calls as he realises I’ve left through the window and onto the roof. With a glance behind me, I just about see the top of his head as he searches for my location. It doesn’t take him long to realise where I’ve gone, but I’ve no intention of allowing him to catch up with me. I quickly lower myself from the roof onto the metal fire-exit steps on the side of the building and dart down them as fast as my feet will carry me. “Damnit, woman! Get back here right now!” The Alpha demands of me. He still hasn’t learned
As I embrace the inevitable jaws of death, I can feel the Alpha’s hot breath on my neck. This is it. The end of my brief life in this world. A whimper escapes my lips, but before I can feel the release of life, someone knocked the Alpha off me with tremendous force.Looking up, my tear-stained face spots two wolves standing next to me protectively. One of them I instantly know is Jay. The other, I assume, is Darnell in his wolf form. I let out a shaky sigh of relief, though the crying doesn’t stop. I can’t believe how close my life was to ending.“You alright, Gwen?” Jay asked me, though he does not take his eyes off of the Alpha, who is slowly regaining his balance. “I know this is scary, but you have to get up. You are vulnerable here.”I nod hesitantly and get to my feet, though my knees are shaking and I can’t stop the tears from falling down my cheeks. “I’m okay… you t
Gripping the toy baseball bat in my hands, I stared down at the wolf in front of me. It lowered its head, not reading to assault me just yet. I held my breath and tightened my grip on the bat. This one didn’t seem as large or as strong as the others, but I did not doubt that those teeth would easily rip me to pieces easily enough. The growling from Darnell and the two wolves he is fighting almost dares to draw my attention. That is when I spot another charging right at me. I hesitate, taking a step back with wide eyes, though rather than come for me, the wolf bounces right into the one staring me down, knocking them off balance. They then look up at me with a wolfish grin and bounce around in excitement. “Well, isn’t this a fun day?” They say in a young, female voice. I can’t say I know who it is, but they must be from Jay’s pack if they’re saving me. They seem far too happy about all this, even as they look at the wolf on the ground. “Oh, go b
Now that everyone was more or less back in human form and dressed, I could finally feel at ease. I don’t think I will ever get used to seeing everyone being so open-minded about being naked as a werewolf is. I suppose for them they didn’t have as much choice. Now I understood why Jay did not once complain about how many clothes I got during our honeymoon. He only asked if I could wear them all, and that was it. For them, they must have gone through so many outfits in their lives.I have to admit, though, I never thought Jay could be so capable. Yet he has proven to me he has what it takes to lead his pack and take care of everyone. I only wish I could do more on my end. Being a weak human in a sea of werewolves was likely not the best situation for me or Jay. Though what could I do? It wasn’t as though I could strengthen myself or turn into something I was not.All I could do right now was help them clean