Love and Submission

Chapter Twelve

Fate, naturally, had other plans. She was out pretty much as soon as her eyes closed and she stayed sleeping until the smell of breakfast wafted down to her. Then of course she was completely awake. She began to wonder if all werewolves had this impulse control problem or if it was just her. Why did everything need to be so fast anyway? She made a mental note to ask Connor later and headed up the stairs. She decided to broach the subject of Connor at the breakfast table figuring her parents were still coming out of sleep so they’d be a little less likely to bombard her with unwanted questions. Her mother was of course relentless but she was mollified when Olivia agreed to invite him over for dinner. Her father seemed completely unfazed by the idea. Olivia had only had one real boyfriend before and she had never brought him home so she thought the disinterest was a little weird. Then again, she was eighteen. She could legally do as she pleased now so perhaps that was how he chose to view it.

School turned out to be the most trying of the day and it ended very badly. Without Connor there to help her control her new impulses and aggression she ended up doing something completely out of character. It also resulted in her week long suspension from school. It had started at lunch with Molly, who else, and an overheard snide comment about Connor’s whereabouts. Olivia had retaliated without thinking and Kitty had only laughed. The verbal sparring match between Olivia and Molly had gone on for about ten minutes until a teacher had stepped between them and suggested that if they couldn’t solve the problem they should go see the guidance counselor. They had mutually agreed they were fine and toned it down to glares and glowers. Unfortunately the next class was gym for an hour and half of which the two were then stuck in a team sport.

For whatever reason the teacher put them on opposing teams. While Olivia and Molly taunted each other with looks and hidden hand gestures, Kitty was having a hard time of it. She was never particularly good at sports as it was and she didn’t have Olivia’s new werewolf abilities so she was barely making any headway with the lacrosse stick. At least she knew which end to hold. Molly and her friends were taunting her verbally though under the breaths whenever they got close to her. No one wanted to tangle with their burly gym teacher. The woman looked as thick as a house and her face had that definite no nonsense stare down pact. Olivia actually caught the ball for a change and started to run towards the goal like she was supposed to. She could feel her blood starting to pump faster and something inside her perked up. The running felt so good and then added with an undertone of competition it was like a cocktail designed specifically for her. She smiled and then cheered out loud when she scored.

Olivia turned around to see where Kitty was just in time to watch one of Molly’s bigger friends trip her with the stick. Kitty fell onto the ground hard and winced. Another new sensation, well new in its intensity, rocked through Olivia. Anger. No rage was the better description. White hot fury coursed through her making her limbs tremble with the force of containing it. She felt like her vision was going to turn red any second that was how pissed she was. Instead she took a moment and several deep breaths to get her body under control and tracked the offensive girl the whole time. She moved up to Kitty and helped her up though the latter was still brushing off her clothes. The gym uniform may not have been high fashion but it was spring so the ground was dirty and/or muddy at all times. “Bitch.” Kitty mumbled. She nodded and then gave her a big grin which she shook her head at. Clearly she didn’t understand the message.

“Don’t worry, I got you.” Olivia turned from her and walked back down the line until she was in range of the irritating blonde. Molly watched her and then turned her eyes gleefully to Kitty, clearly thinking that she wasn’t going to retaliate and now she had a chance at her. Olivia waited impatiently for the teacher’s whistle, all of her muscles coiled and tensed to spring. She felt like a predator in that moment and she really, really liked it. Her prey was totally oblivious to the beat down headed in her direction which made Olivia smile. After what seemed like an eternity the shrill noise pierced the air and then Olivia was running, diving around people until she caught up to the blonde girl. Then she checked her, hard. The blonde fell back to the ground hard enough to flatten and smack her head off the unforgiving dirt. The whistle blew again and everyone stopped until the teacher made it to them.

“b***h!” The blonde yelled at Olivia but Olivia only smiled in response. She’d gotten what she’d wanted out of it but somehow it didn’t seem enough. She wanted to chase the annoying girl some more.

“Unnecessary roughness, Olivia.”

“Sorry teach, I didn’t mean to hit her so hard.” Olivia said with a shrug. The teacher gave her the eye which meant Olivia was not as sincere as she’d intended to look.

“You’re out for the rest of the game.” Olivia rolled her eyes and sighed but turned towards the bench anyway.

“That’s where all the freaks sit anyway.” The blonde girl taunted causing her circle of friends to giggle. Olivia whirled fast, not even registering the conscious decision to do so until her fist connected with the blonde girl’s cheek. She shrieked and went down to the ground again but Olivia was on top of her. The girl’s hands and arms were flailing about trying to block Olivia’s attempts to hit her again. They succeeded and seemed to increase the need to respond so Olivia hauled her hand back and open handed slapped her. The crack resounded around the field drawing her attention to the circle of girls around them all cheering. Olivia felt the tug on her hair before the pain registered and her head snapped back. She growled in frustration and returned the favor, then slammed her head into the ground again for good measure since she had such a convenient hold on it.

The teacher pulled them apart seconds later and was furiously yelling at them both. Olivia was too busy riding the adrenaline wave and listening to the roaring in her ears. The blonde was busy wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth and sniffling. Apparently she was not as badass as she had originally thought. After the teacher barked something at the rest of the class she pointed towards the school so Olivia started walking in that direction. She stole a glance back at Kitty who was smiling and mouthed ‘thank you’ though her eyes were wide with what Olivia thought was fear. It was completely unlike her to haul off and hit someone after all. Connor was going to be pissed. He’d told her specifically not to fight and then he leaves for a day, not even a whole twenty four hours, and she’d done exactly that. Granted she’d been goaded but still.

The anger of her mother turned out to be the more immediate problem as after an hour of lecturing from the principal she showed up and proceeded to ream Olivia in a high shrill voice. The secretary started to look uncomfortable but the principal ushered her into his office and closed the door. It was another good forty five minutes before her mother emerged subdued but still angry. Olivia of course had heard every word and it had been a real challenge not to roll her eyes and huff at the helpful suggestions from the principal. One fist fight and she was now branded a troubled teen. Blondie wisely didn’t make a comment to her the entire time they sat there. Her parents were showing up as Olivia was following her mother out. The week of suspension was going to be assigned to both of them but it still seemed harsh. It was just a fight after all and nothing was broken.

Her mother gave her the silent treatment the whole way home. Olivia didn’t even try to talk to her but she waited for her mother to go into the house first and set her stuff down. She sat at the table and turned a meaningful look to Olivia normally indicative of one of those long drawn out conversations. Olivia chose to sit down and save herself the leg cramp. “I just don’t understand.” Her mother said.

“She pushed Kitty on the ground and I lost my temper.” Olivia said with a sigh, trying not to be so obviously exasperated with her mother.

“It's not just today, though today is certainly the best example. You are a completely different person. You never used to get up so early, eat so much, or act out in school. Is it this boy? Is that what’s changing you?” Hmm, she was right on the money. Of course not the way she thought. How was Olivia supposed to explain to her mother what was going on with her? She didn’t think she was allowed to tell about the whole werewolf thing, even if she thought she could somehow convince her mother she wasn’t insane.

“I just… I don’t know how to explain it to you. I feel restless all the time and frustrated. And the school thing? I can’t deal with their petty drama and stuff anymore. I feel like I woke up one day and everything changed. The way I see the world around me and things like that. I feel cooped up here and I really want to get out.” Well that was not too bad. Her mother still looked confused and hurt. “It’s not you, Mom, really. It’s just how I feel.” Olivia shrugged again. Her mother nodded.

“Well, I have to call your father and explain what happened. But I guess you should go do your homework. I hope Kitty will be kind enough to bring you what you’ll miss.” Olivia nodded and made a mental note to ask her later. Right now, that restless feeling she was talking about was back with a vengeance and she desperately needed to get out.

“I’m going for a run. I’ll do it when I get back, I promise, I need to work it off.” She didn’t really wait for a response before closing the door behind her and sprinting down the street. She needed to cool off.

The run was just what she needed. She could feel the tension and frustration ease from her body as she made her way down the neighborhood streets. It was later than she normally did this so she kept to the streetlights instead of the sidewalks. Man, she couldn’t believe she had attacked that girl at school. That was so stupid. Sure the b***h had totally deserved it but there was a time and place for that stuff and school wasn’t it. Not to mention she now had to come up with a reason for Kitty who would no doubt be calling soon if she hadn’t already. And Connor. He was going to be really upset with her. Maybe this whole werewolf thing was a bad idea. She still had another two and half months of school left after this one. By then she’d be a full blown, golden eyed, long toothed killing machine. Somehow she figured this temper control issue was going to get worse not better with time.

A muffled sound to her left made her stop and crouch into a defensive position. Although she had to admit, the hyperactive survival instincts were a nice trade off to the rapid mood swings. She listened intently toward the tree line from where the sound had emanated after forcing herself back into a standing position. This time it sounded more like a voice. One that was in pain. She warred with herself for a minute or two realizing she was already in it pretty deep with Connor at this point and running off into the woods unguarded to help a random person was not a way to ingratiate herself. On the other hand, her nature just wouldn’t allow for her to run by and not help. She could’ve called for help, which would have been a nice compromise, if she’d remembered her cell phone. Leave it to her to be the only teenager without that thing permanently glued to her hand. The pain filled voice actually called for help which decided her.

She hopped the curb and was in the thick of the woods a moment later. She raced towards the sound, ignoring the way the trees were blurring past her. She stopped at one point, crouching into a defensive posture again making sure to keep herself as still as possible until she could hear the voice again. There was no need to go looking for trouble or announce herself to any that may be lurking. She only hoped that her unseen bodyguard was around and had seen her take off into the tree line. She waited until her anxiety was nearly screaming at her to get out of the trees and back into the light before she became the prey and then another screech ripped through the night sounding much closer and off to her right. It got cut off so she knew she really needed to hurry. With a burst of speed, she had no time to worry about where it came from, she was off again and sprinting towards the voice.

Once she was within olfactory range she stopped again and waited for more noise. When there wasn’t any she crept forward as silently as possible until she could smell fresh blood on the other side of a line of bushes. She was faced with yet another choice. The person who had been calling for help was most definitely on the other side of those bushes. Clearly they were in dire in straights if not already dead. Whatever had made the person that way was more than likely somewhere nearby. So she could poke her head through the bushes and check it out or she could do the smart sensible thing and book it back to the road and call for help. But if they weren’t dead, just wounded she could try and stop the bleeding before getting help. Yeah that was a good plan. She slowly made her way into the bush, trying her best not to rustle it too much. Once she was hidden she waited again, listening and finding with relief a heartbeat. It was fast but no doubt the person was panicked.

Very, very slowly she extricated herself from the bush, face first. The scene in the tiny little void of trees was enough to make her swallow hard and reconsider this new strand of bravado. There was a man lying on the uneven ground in an extremely uncomfortable position. There was blood pumping from his leg that was ensnared in a steel trap. It looked like a bear trap. She gaped at the thing nearly overcome by hysterical laughter before she forced herself to focus. There was more blood around his face and torn shirt. Clearly some kind of animal had gotten to him. And wasn’t that just plain ironic for you. She turned her attention to getting out of the bush before the laughter actually erupted out of her throat. Once out of the little branches she crept forward on all fours while whispering to the man trying to get his attention. Either he wasn’t listening or he was out cold.

A snap of a twig alerted her to the presence at her right and she froze. She was completely exposed and not in the best of positions. She heard a soft curse that sounded masculine and she turned her head toward the noise. Crouched on the far end of the little circle was a male of some kind almost completely hidden by shadows. She could make out about half of his well muscled, completely naked body that was down on its haunches. Most arresting of all were his eyes. So pale they were nearly white all the way to the pupil they made her feel like she was in some serious trouble. They didn’t move as they stared each other down for several tense moments and then without warning he was suddenly on his feet revealing more of that perfect physique. The torso was streaked with scars and looked like it belonged on a body builder somewhere instead of on a man naked in the forest. With that thought, the ramifications of the scene around her finally slammed into focus. She had interrupted somebody’s dinner. Somebody who looked like he had found something far more interesting.