Werewolf Within

He studies me. “Keeping you in? This isn’t captivity, sugar.” He gets up and opens the door. He drags in my suitcase before he shuts it. How did he know where it was? I hauled it with me and left it in a bush before I went to that house. He chuckles. “I can smell you, sweetheart.”

I roll my eyes. “I suggest nose plugs, then.”

He laughs. “It is nothing bad. You will get used to it.”

“Maybe because being constantly attacked seems to be my status quo now.”

“What a coincidence because saving your ass has recently become mine.”

“Listen, thanks and all, but I never asked for your help other than learning about my father.”

Frank presses the back of his hand to his forehead as if he’s a damsel in distress. Is he fucking mocking me? “Oh, Frank…thank you…Thank you…please don’t leave me. Those were your words before you passed out. Don’t you remember?”

I laugh. “As if! I studied about this shit, but never thought it was real or at least is still real. Myths and legends are based on truths, and I never thought that they might be fully true.” 

“Just because you don’t remember, doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen,” he replies. He both embarasses me and pisses me off at the same time. He gazes at me curiously. I cross my arms and return his gaze. This isn’t the first time he has looked at me like this, and it isn’t the first time it has caused a swirl of emotions within me. 

“What bugs you the most, sugar? Let it out. Tell me,” he urges. He put his hand on my forearm as if to comfort me. His touch feels warm on my bare skin. It is firm but not harmful. His thumb traces circles on my skin, making my heart skip a beat.

I look him in the eyes as if they might hold the answers that I seek. He does have beautiful eyes. The midnight blue reflects the stars, but I also see something else in his gaze…a sparkling flame. Frank offers me a small smile and a nod. In this moment, there’s so much that I want to tell him. I shake my head, trying to break the spell and push back any emotion. “I have so many questions. I don’t know where I should start.”

His hand moves to hold mine. “Grace, take it easy. There is no rush.” I take a deep breath. The scent of hickory, rain-kissed leaves, and lush soil fills my nostrils. Usually, I find the smell of nature calming, but right now it is doing the opposite. “It’s frustrating, isn’t it? The way you are feeling right now. You still feel like yourself, but now you have all of this power and energy that you don’t know what to do with. You feel all of these emotions pulling you, and it feels as if they are tearing you apart. Am I right?”

I cock my head. “How do you know?”

“Sugar, I am older than I look. What you experienced was a wolf awakening. It happened to me, your father, and any other wolf. Most of us experienced it during our adolescence, but maybe yours was delayed because you were raised a human. Since your father was from here, he has to be where you get your wolf from. Now that we know that you have one and she is waking up, I can help you.”

“Fine, then help me understand this wolf thing. How long do I need to be kept from everyone else?”

“As long as needed. Listen to your alpha, learn how to use your powers, how to control them, and then you will be good to go, as sweet and docile as a puppy,” he says with a grin as the fiery sparkle in his eyes dances to the strange rhythm of my heart.

“Did my father disappear because his wolf awakened? Is he locked up somewhere?”

Frank gasps, “What? NO! How the hell did you come up with that idea?”

I roll my eyes. “Jeez, I don’t know. Maybe because you locked me up and you guys are over-protective, aggressive psychos.” I clench my fists as my face reddens. He is pissing me off.