Dangerous Obsession

A Whole New World

 Let his wolf in? In where? Xavier acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world but Dale had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do! He didn't have long to ponder though, another shot of pain ripped through his head. If felt like it was being ripped in half. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed harder on his temples.

"HOW? How do I let it in!?" He asked desperately.

"Relax, and open your mind to him" Xavier instructed softly.

 Dale took a deep breath and did his best to relax his mind. It wasn't the easiest task when pain was bringing tears to his eyes, but he made his best effort. In his mind's eye he visualized a wall around himself. Slowly he removed the wall until he was standing exposed, welcoming his wolf. He sat there, eyes closed, for several minutes. He was waiting for something, anything to happen, but nothing did. He blinked his eyes open, feeling very much the same as before minus the headache. He looked over at Xavier.

"What now?" he queried. "I don't think it worked."

Xavier raised an eyebrow at him, "How is your head now?" he asked. 

What did that have to do with it? 

"My head is fine."

"Then it worked" said Xavier confidently

Dale couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He fell back against the headboard of his sick bed.

"Well that was anticlimactic" he mumbled.

Xavier let out a loud laugh earning him a glare from Dale. He didn't find anything about this situation amusing in the slightest.

"What were you expecting?" Xavier asked.

"I...I... don't know" Dale faltered, "I guess I was expecting him to introduce himself, or something. I thought I'd at least feel differently."

"It doesn't work that way Dale. Your wolf isn't a separate creature from you, he's another part of you. Most of the time he will be like a sixth sense. You will feel what he feels, you will know when he is happy or sad or angry. He will rarely ever need to speak to you."

"He does speak sometimes though?"

Xavier nodded, "But only when he is very agitated or excited. Like when you meet your mate for the first time, for example."

"Mate?" 

"Every wolf has one 'Fated Mate'. They are the one person that completes you, they bring out the best of you, the make you stronger, and weaker... they are the other half of your soul." Xavier explained. Dale never would have expected something so romantic to come out of Xavier's mouth. He definitely didn't give off lover-boy vibes. Xavier had put into words exactly how Dale felt about Michelle. She was his mate.

"Michelle" he said softly. For some reason he felt uneasy, almost guilty about thinking of her in those terms. He met Xavier's eyes and the sadness he saw there made his heart stop.

"Michelle is my mate, Xavier." He said with much more confidence than he felt, trying to ignore the pit in the middle of his stomach.

Xavier nodded. "I hope so, Dale."

A tense silence settled between them. They sat there, lost in their own thoughts for a while.

Xavier stood from his chair and cleared his throat.

"Well, mate or not, if we don't get you out of here soon she'll start to worry." He said. 

Dale snapped to attention. Of course she would be worried! She'd be worried sick! And the boys too. Why had he not thought of this before? He jumped out of the bed. That's when he realized for the first time that he was in his underwear. He began to scan to room frantically for his clothes.

"How long have I been here?" He asked. "And where's my clothes?"

"Your clothes are soaked with your blood, and you've been here for nearing 14 hours now"

Dale froze. Of course his clothes were soaked with blood! His neck had just been torn open by a gigantic wolf. But it had to have been longer than fourteen hours ago. He put his hand to his neck. It was completely healed. All that remained was the fresh pink scar.

"That's impossible" he whispered.

"It's impossible for humans, Dale. You are werewolf now and we heal many times faster than our human counterparts." Xavier explained.

Dale couldn't help but smile. Super healing power was definitely the coolest he'd discovered about being a werewolf so far. He wasn't sure if that outweighed all the potential trouble though. He had a feeling it wasn't. Xavier's voice broke into his thoughts.

"I'll go get you a fresh change of clothes" he said as he headed to the wooden door.

 After the door had shut behind Xavier, Dale sunk back down on the edge of the bed he'd abandoned. He felt too stunned to even think straight. He was pretty sure by now that this was no strange nightmare. This was real. He just couldn't get his mind wrapped around everything he'd seen, felt, and heard recently. He'd never expected his encounter with the wolves to lead to all this. Never in his wildest dreams.

Xavier soon returned with a neatly folded shirt and jeans and an ancient book. Dale took the clothing and started shoving his feet into the jeans. He didn't like the thought of going home to face Michelle in clothes that didn't belong to him, but it had to be better than clothes soaked with blood. When he was dressed , Xavier extended the book he still held to Dale.

"I thought you might find this interesting" he said.

Dale looked at the book and traced the embossed letters with his fingers. "The Anatomy and Physiology of the Werewolf."

"I wouldn't normally recommending starting with this one, but I thought you would enjoy it considering your profession."

Dale looked at him skeptically, "How do you know where I work?" he asked.

A slow smile creeped up Xavier's face, "Do you think that you are the only one capable of tracking, Dr. Wilson?"

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They were hiking through the forest, heading back to the visitor center where Dale had parked his truck the night before. Dale looked around at the trees and other vegetation. He couldn't really glean much considering it was still winter. but he was definitely deeper in the forest than he had ever been before. He couldn't understand how that quaint little stone house that he had just left came to be so far into the National Forest. How had he never noticed it before? No one had ever mentioned it to him either. It wasn't like it was abandoned. Someone definitely lived there, it was well maintained and cozy. Dale didn't think that it was Xavier's home, it just didn't feel like a place a man like Xavier would live. Finally he asked,

"What was that place?" 

"That is Elaina's Realm" Xavier answered simply. 

"Who is Elaina?"

"Elaina Walker is a member of my, our, pack."

"Where is she?" Dale asked. He was pretty sure they had been alone in the small cottage. After that Tobias guy had disappeared that is.

"She is away on some...other... business" was Xavier's vague reply.

Dale shrugged. He wasn't really that interested in the Elaina woman anyway. He was more puzzled by her mysterious house.

"I just don't understand how I didn't know about this place before. I've been all over these woods, especially recently and I've never seen this place."

"That's the human in you talking Dale. Humans always assume that only the things they can see with their  eyes are real.  There is much more to this forest than meets the eye. Elaina's realm is only the beginning "

Dale nodded, trying to understand. If only Xavier wouldn't be so cryptic.

"Are you saying that I couldn't see Elaina's cottage as a human?" he asked, hoping for some clarity.

Xavier nodded in confirmation. "A long time ago, Elaina and her friend Erica put an enchantment around the cottage and a hundred or so acres. It's invisible to humans. It's been a safe haven for our pack, a place we don't have to worry about meddling researchers." He added with a side-eye to Dale.

His snide remark wasn't lost on Dale who laughed in response. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Point Taken"

"Good" 

They walked on in comfortable silence. It wasn't very cold out, and Dale was almost breaking a sweat. It must be unseasonably warm for January. He didn't want to keep badgering Xavier, but he had so many questions. He figured he might as well put the walk to good use and get as many answers as he could.

"Do all of the pack member's live on Elaina's Realm?" he asked over the sound of the leaves crunching under their feet.

"No, Elaina lives there alone. Although the pack visits quite regularly."

"Where do you all live then?"

Xavier looked over at Dale and smiled, " We are members of your community, Dale" was his shocking answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Doctors. lawyers, grocers, and so on. We're just normal folks most of the time. You've probably even met a werewolf unaware." he offered as if that explained everything. This answer was a little unsettling obviously, but at the same time Dale felt a sense of relief. It meant that it was possible that he could go on with his life as normal for the most part. That was comforting to him in the midst of all the uncertainty he was feeling.

"Why doesn't Elaina do that then? Why does she need to hide?" he wondered aloud.

"Elaina is an exceptional werewolf. Her blood is pure, not a drop of human blood in it. As a result, she ages very slowly. She realized early on that humans would become suspicious about this, and she didn't want to relocate every fifty years... so she hid." 

"So how old is she?" Dale wanted to know. He could not believe his ears when Xavier casually said,

"217"

Things were getting stranger and stranger. He wasn't sure how much more crazy information he could handle. He frowned to himself and decided to let the rest of his questions wait for another time. He didn't want to push himself into a mental breakdown.

 It was an enjoyable day to be walking and they covered the remaining distance quickly. Before Dale knew it, the visitor center of the Park came into view. Xavier stopped and turned to face Dale, placing both of his large hands on the younger man's shoulders.

"It was nice to finally officially meet you Dale" He said sincerely. Dale knew he was referring to that night by the river. He smiled faintly at the memory. Why had the last four months flown by in a blur, but the last 16 hours felt like several years?

"The pleasure was all mine"

The irony of exchanging pleasantries with the man that had almost ripped his head off of his body less than 24 hours ago was not lost on Dale. Just another weird turn of events he could add to the growing list.

"I'd like you to meet the rest of the pack soon, and officially make you a member, if you'd be okay with that."

At those words, Dale felt his wolf for the first time. He was excited, he wanted to join Xavier's Pack. It must be an important thing for a wolf. Dale smiled widely and accepted the offer with a warm handshake. 

"Good. I'll call you and let you know when" Xavier said before turning around and heading back into the forest.

"Wait!" Dale shouted after him, "You don't have my number!"

He could make out Xavier's laughter before he heard him shout back.

"I have it. I'll be in touch."

Dale frowned. How could he possibly have his phone number? He was puzzled but he didn't have long to think about it. Michelle would be far scarier than a forest full of wolves if he didn't call her soon. So with one last look towards the trees that had swallowed Xavier, he headed towards his truck. His new life started now.