Within the Sapphire Forest

Chapter 5

The next few days were mostly uneventful. I kept a careful eye on Wolfie’s leg, which was starting to heal a little faster. I also kept a close eye on my own wounds, which also, thankfully, were healing fairly quickly. I went to work, came home, cared for everyone, then Wolfie and I fell asleep in my room after the long day. Sometimes I read to him, or sat on the ground and watched something on my phone. I wouldn’t let him up on the furniture until I could wash the mud and dirt out of his fur.

Finally, after a little over a week in my home, I had good news to give the werewolf.

I had the day off, so I took my time in checking on his wounds. His neck was perfectly healed, his other wounds only lost memories and not tiny scars, and most of his muscles were strong and powerful from carrying his weight on them.

I ran my hand just above his leg, focusing on the bones underneath his skin. I saw the barest hint of a fracture, but his bone seemed to be in the clear, and his muscles even seemed in good condition. I was confident that removing his splint and letting him walk around on it was the next best thing for him.

“Now, remember,” I said as I slowly unwrapped the splint, “you need to be careful on this until it’s completely healed. You can walk on it to help rebuild the muscles in it, but don’t go jumping around like a lunatic, okay.”

Wolfie nodded at my warning, his face serious and waiting.

I slowly removed the splint and watched as Wolfie hesitantly placed his weight on it. He winced slightly, but he didn’t whine or cry out, which gave me hope. He continued to take tentative steps around the room, wincing every now and again, but making great progress. I clapped when he made a full circle around me, unable to contain my joy.

“That’s wonderful. You’re doing fantastic,” I cheered.

He barked happily, wagging his oversized tail. 

My phone rang, halting our celebration in its tracks. I sprung to my feet and groaned when I saw it was my grandmother.

I pressed the green button and answered with a curt, “What do you want?”

“Well, hello to you too, Evianna. I’m doing great, how are you?” Grandmother asked, disdain dripping from her voice.

“Just answer the question. I know you want something from me, so why not just spit it out.”

“I was wondering if I could come over for dinner and discuss a few things with you. It’s all rather boring and you know how much I hated these blasted devices, so I’d much rather visit you tomorrow night.”

Son of b***h, I cussed to myself, frustration growing inside me.

“Can’t you just tell me what you want to talk about now and I’ll let you know what I think?” I asked her, hoping for any other way to handle her and the situation.

“No, I’m afraid not. This is far too important to be said over the phone.”

I took a moment to really think about it. I had a bad feeling about her coming over, but if it was really important, then I couldn’t think of a reason to not let her visit.

“Fine, you can come over for dinner tomorrow, but you will follow my rules, just like everyone else here. You will respect my creatures, no matter what you think of them. I’m not going to let you harass or look down on any of them, okay?” 

“Yes, yes. I know your rules and I will do my best to adhere to them. What time is dinner?”

“Seven-thirty. I usually feed the masses at seven and that should give them plenty of time to eat and get to bed.”

“Perfect, we’ll be there!”

She hung up before I could say anything.

“We?” Who the f**k is “we?” I wondered, my heart drumming in my chest.

Wolfie nudged my leg and I realized I’d been staring at the wall for a few minutes.

“Sorry, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to survive dinner tomorrow with my grandmother,” I admitted, dropping to the floor in front of him. “Look, you’re in almost perfect health. I’m not worried about you phasing and so long as you are careful with your leg, or arm, or whatever you have. So, if you want to go, then I encourage you to go, before she gets here and causes a fight over you.”

I felt my heart drop at the thought of this proud wolf leaving, and I had to bite back tears.

I fully expected him to take the opportunity and take off into the forest, but he didn’t. He stayed by me, and even leaned into me, like he was trying to comfort me. I don’t know what came over, but I hugged him tight. He didn’t fight me, and I was thankful for that.

I pulled away after I noticed a funky smell coming from him. His fur was still stained from blood, and some of it was matted and gross. There were areas where the blood mixed with mud and dirt creating a red-brown mass of nastiness.

“If you’re planning on staying then we need to clean you up. Do you want to phase and go shower? I’m sure I could get a hold of some clothes for you,” I offered him shyly, suddenly thinking about a naked man traipsing through my house.

He shook his at me, which confused me, but I let it go.

“Then I’m going to have to give you a bath. You stink and you’re covered in blood.”

I watched as understanding and embarrassment flashed in his eyes at the mention of a bath, but he didn’t change his mind about phasing and he didn’t back down from the bath. I started to worry about him not phasing. He was meant to live as both wolf and man, not one or the other.

I led him to the bathroom, where I ran some warm water in the tub. I grabbed some dish soap and a cup from the kitchen and hurried back to the bathroom to find Wolfie already in the tub. He had his head under the running water, as if trying to wash his own hair.

I giggled at the sight, causing him to look up at me.

“Sorry. Um… I got a cup and some soap to help wash your fur,” I said, holding up the items. 

He stepped out from under the faucet, and I turned the water off. I dumped the soap all over his fur and started scrubbing. I tried to focus on just cleaning his fur, but every now and again, he would sigh, or move into my touch and my heart would flutter, causing me to think again how this was a man in wolf form, who seemed to enjoy my touch.

I paid careful attention to the matted areas of fur, lathering it carefully to break up the blood and dirt. Once the mats were taken care of, I moved onto trying to clean the general stains out of his fur. It turned out to be a lot easier than cleaning the matted fur. I didn’t know if it was because he was a werewolf, or if I just had some really good dish soap, but finally, he was spotless again. 

I drained dirty brown water from the tub and grabbed a towel to dry him. He held perfectly still as I rubbed the towel over his neck and back and down his legs, cautious of his injured leg. When most of the fur was as dry as I could get it, I let Wolfie back out to the living room. He shook himself, drying better than the towel could, but spraying droplets of water everywhere. I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything about it.

With Wolfie all clean, I felt I could finally wash the sheets laid around the house for him to sleep on. I gathered them all up and threw them in the washer with a healthy helping of bleach. I picked up and cleaned up the rest of my house, trying to make my house presentable for my overbearing grandmother.

“Okay,” I said out loud, mostly for myself, but earning Wolfies attention as well, “the house is clean, which will please Grandma, but I’m not sure what to cook. I’ll have to go to the store to get food, but I’m not even sure what food to make.” 

I felt panic settle over me as I realized I didn’t have any clue what we were eating, talking about, who she was bringing over, or how they would react to a werewolf in my house.

I pressed the panic down as Wolfie watched with a worried look.

“First thing first,” I reasoned, trying to calm down, “I just need to decide what to make for dinner.” 

I settled on making chicken two-timing pasta. Odd name, but absolutely delicious. I just didn’t have any of the ingredients at home.

“I have to go to the store,” I announced as I ran to change into more appropriate clothes, shorts and a tank top instead of my soaking pajamas.

Wolfie nodded as I raced out the door to settle on the ground just outside. I pictured myself sitting in Melissa’s living room, and once I was stable on carpeted floors, I opened my eyes to see Melissa watching curiously.

“Hey, bae, watcha doing?” she asked.

“I have to go shopping. My grandma is coming over for dinner tomorrow and I don’t have anything to feed her.”

Melissa rolled her gray eyes and helped me to my feet.

“I’ll go with you, good chance to get out of the house for a bit,” she decided, putting on a jacket and her shoes.

The temperature was dropping again, as dark clouds rolled in. I hadn’t even bothered to check the weather in my rush out the door, and I deeply regretted it.

“How was your trip in Europe?” I asked as we walked.

“It was great. I saw all the sights in a day, and juiced up on all the amazing electricity they have there. Europe has so much modern technology alongside so many amazing older buildings, I felt like I was riding on a wave of lightning,” she shared, her eyes lighting up at the memories.

“You didn’t see any of the sights, did you?” I asked, knowing how she was.

“No, I was too busy enjoying all of the technology.”

I rolled my eyes and said, “You should just go back to New York next time. You loved the sights when you were there last time, and you fed off so much energy, you practically farting lightning.”

She laughed and shoved me away from her, as if to distance herself from the truth.

“And how is your ornery patient? I haven’t heard much about him since he attacked you.”

“He’s much better. He follows the rules, doesn’t cause any more problems and he’s healing much more quickly now.”

“You never mentioned what he was,” she realized.

I hesitated, afraid of what she would think. I wasn’t ashamed of helping a werewolf, I was actually very proud that he trusted me to care for him. I was only afraid of losing my friend. 

“Well, he’s actually a… a werewolf,” I told her, dropping my gaze to the sidewalk to avoid seeing her reaction.

She was silent for a moment, scaring me, but I didn’t look up.

“He behaves himself?” she asked, pulling my gaze back to her face. 

She looked sceptical, but anger, fear, or any other emotion I thought I would find were absent from her features.

“Yes. I did what you said last time, and he’s been the perfect patient ever since,” I answered.

She nodded and replied, “Good, that’s really all I need to know. If he ever hurts you, though, call me. I’ll fry his ass in less than a second.”

I smiled and nodded my head, deciding not to tell her about the bite.

“Did you want to join us for dinner?” I asked suddenly, thinking having her there would make it easier on me.

“Yeah, actually, that would be fun. I’d love to ruffle Rose’s feathers a bit,” she laughed.

We arrived at the store and collected the ingredients. I instructed Melissa to be there early, that way she could meet Wolfie and help me make dinner. She agreed, then offered up the idea of wine with dinner. I bought three bottles.

Melissa helped me carry my groceries back to her house, where I used the living room to teleport myself back home. I went inside and immediately started putting away groceries.

“So, good news for me, I guess,” I began as I put the chicken and cheese in the fridge, “my friend Melissa has agreed to join us tomorrow for dinner.”

Wolfie nodded and followed me through the house as I checked on the sheets in the washer. I three in another cup of bleach and laundry detergent and started the washer again.

“She knows you’re here, and mostly seems pretty cool with you being here, she’s just very protective of me and wants to make sure I’m safe.”

Wolfie seemed okay with that, at least he didn’t growl or anything.

I triple checked that my house was spotless, and even checked outside to make sure nothing looked out of place.

With nothing else to do until the next day, I ended up laying on the floor, bored and anxious. I decided to play some music through my speakers to help me relax. As strange as it sounded, dancing to upbeat music made me calmer.

The first song to play was “We R Who We R” by Kesha. I started jumping to the beat, not really dancing, but definitely getting my blood pumping. Wolfie seemed keen to join in and soon he was trying to hop to the beat, but he had a hard time with it. I giggled and held out my hands for his paws. He stretched out his front paws, standing on his back legs, and let me twist and sway him to the beat. 

It was a blast. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d danced, let alone with someone else. It was freeing, and easily took the stress right out of me.

Then, I remembered what I seemed to forget every time I got too comfortable: this was not just an animal. This was, in fact, a conscious man.

Embarrassed at myself and my actions, I carefully set him down and retreated a few steps to dance, although I was much more self conscious and bounced less. Wolfie seemed confused, and tried to walk over to me, but I kept a safe distance, worried that I’d forget my place again. I was a witch, a lower class citizen to werewolves, and when he was better, and ready to leave, I didn’t want him to break my heart on the way out.

After a few songs, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It” by Panic! At The Disco, “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, and some others, I decided sunlight was the newest necessity.

“I’m going for a walk,” I announced as I put on my shoes and jacket.

Wolfie jumped up and hurried, in his adorable limping way, to the door.

“I’m not going to make good company,” I warned him.

He just stood there, waiting for the door.

“Okay, suit yourself.”

I opened the door and we walked out into the rain.

It wasn’t too cold, and at the very least, it wasn’t coming in sideways as was typical, so the walk seemed pretty nice. I then deeply regretted not insisting Wolfie stay inside, because with every step, he seemed to collect more and more mud in his fur.

We walked a little over a mile into the woods, before I brought us to a halt.

“This is the edge of my territory,” I told Wolfie. “The line is about a mile in any direction from the house. It gives most creatures plenty of space to roam without putting any of them in danger.”

He listened intently to me, as he had done multiple times before, and I questioned why I couldn’t let myself get closer to him. If he did leave, then I’d just have to be happy with how we lived while we were together, and not regret a missed opportunity.

I shook my head at myself. 

Don’t be so stupid. It’s better to live safely rather than living to get my heart ripped out, I told myself, and I turned back toward the house.

“If you decided you want to go for a run, or need to get out of the house for anything, I thought you should at least know where my land ends. I can’t guarantee your safety outside of it, but I have a lot of protective charms and talismans in place to keep negative energies out. That includes daemons, volatile creatures, or bad tempered individuals. I’m going to have to collect my grandmother tomorrow, since one of my charms is specifically directed at keeping her out.”

I smirked as I spoke, feeling my casual pettiness take over, and when I looked down to see Wolfie’s reaction, he held a spark of humor in his eyes.

“She’s honestly not terrible, if you have full intention of joining the coven. I don’t. I’ve never liked her coven’s dynamic. They’re really awful to people not in the coven, or to people like Melissa and her dad. Melissa’s mom joined the coven wholeheartedly when they moved, but because she wasn’t born into the coven, her husband and daughter received a  lot of negativity. It’s sad, but hereditary witchcraft is far more important to them than maintaining a healthy coven structure.”

Wolfie nodded along to show he was listening, I hoped.

“Grandma also happens to be an elder member in the coven, which takes several decades to achieve. She earned the honor when she was about one hundred, and she’s one hundred forty three now, so she’s going on forty years as an elder now.” It took a lot of thinking to figure that out, since it all happened before I was born.

“She had my mom with the most powerful male of the coven when she was only thirty-eight, fairly young for a witch. Her marriage was arranged by her elders because of how powerful she was. They wanted more powerful witches in the coven and decided that arranged marriages was the best option.”

We arrived back at the cabin and I took a seat on the porch.

“The elders did the same thing with my mother and my father. Mom didn’t have a lot of skills, but she developed the ones she had, healing primarily, until she was a master, better than anyone. A visiting sorcery, who in his own right was pretty powerful, took a liking to my mom. I don’t think he originally planned to get married, but the elders wouldn’t let him near her unless they were wed.

“We’ll have to be careful tomorrow. I’d hate to accidentally cause a war by pissing off my grandma.”

Wolfie nodded, all serious. 

I sighed and pushed myself up to prepare dinner for everyone. 

Tomorrow is going to be a b***h, I thought.