Dangerous Obsession

Bitten

   Michelle Wilson sat bolt upright in bed, terrified. She clasped the blanket tightly to her chest and tried to get her bearings. She felt in the dark for Dale's warm body beside her. He wasn't there! Where was Dale? Oh yes, he was out looking for the wolves. Out in the freezing rain, in the dark, alone...

She shivered. She had been apprehensive about this trip all along, but that isn't what woke her. No, something had scared her. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to remember what had affected her so strongly. Then she remembered. She had heard it in her dream. The wolf's howl... and it had Dale!

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    He heard the voices before he could manage to get his eyes pried open. He felt like his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds. It sounded like two men were talking, no arguing, but he did not recognize either voice. They were saying some pretty bizarre stuff, stuff that Dale did not understand. Maybe he was dreaming..

"If you hadn't insisted on the ceremony in the first place, Xavier this wouldn't have happened" one voice accused angrily, "I told you it was too risky!"

"What was I supposed to do Tobias?" another voice, presumably Xavier's, shot back. "Dump him in the river like a common mutt?!"

"We could have buried him quietly here! No ceremony. No risks. NO HUMANS!" bellowed Tobias. There was silence for a few moments, but the air somehow grew thicker. Dale felt like a powerful force was washing over him, and if he were totally conscious he would have bowed his head.

Slowly Xavier spoke, power dripping from every word.

"I would never lay any member of my pack to rest without a proper burial, Tobias. Especially not my Beta and oldest friend."

Dale felt the submission of Tobias. His voice was softer, almost resigned when he spoke again.

"Yes, Alpha. What are we going to do abou-" He was cut off by Xavier quietly saying.

"He's waking up. I can feel his wolf"

"Are you sure? Do you think he might survive?" 

Xavier sighed, "Yes, he will survive"

Dale didn't know if they were talking about him, but he assumed they were. Why didn't that Xavier guy sound happier about the prospect of him surviving? He wished he could open his eyes, wished he could demand to know what was going on.

"Do we want him to survive, Alpha?" Tobias asked.

Another sigh from Xavier. "Yes. I suppose we do. I'll admit things would have been much simpler if he didn't, but I'm no murderer. I'm not like them."

So, Xavier had hurt him? What was going on here? Dale tried with all his might to fully wake up, but instead he found himself surrendering to a deep sleep again.

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   Dale could not believe his eyes! Not only did he see one wolf, the wolf from before, there were dozens. All in a circle around the silver wolf and what seemed to be the body of a dead wolf. To top it all off it looked exactly like they were having a....funeral of sorts! 

  He had been about 50 feet away when he heard the first howl. He immediately headed towards the sound. Instinctively he knew who that howl belonged to, that was his wolf. Two more howls followed leading him to the circle of wolves. During the answering howls from all the other wolves, Dale managed to slip into a cedar tree whose branches were bent all the way to the wet ground. We was so close to the beasts, he could hear them breathing. The giant old tree gave him quite a bit of protection from the rain so he carefully began to remove his camera. Every move was measured and careful. He wasn't making any mistakes this time. The wolves seemed completely oblivious to his presence, and he wanted to keep it that way. He was surprised they hadn't smelled him. Apparently that scent remover had really worked. The rain probably helped too. Everything was going so perfect Dale was almost giddy. Months of blood, sweat, and tears had led up to this moment. It was everything he had hoped for, no - more than he had let himself hope for. 

   What happened next, had him staring in disbelief. He almost pinched himself to be certain he wasn't dreaming. Four wolves, the leader and three others, were digging a hole. They were actually digging a grave for their fellow wolf. Dale was certain that this behavior had never been observed before! He was so beside himself with excitement that he got careless with his camera snapping several dozen shots in quick succession. The sound alerted the Silver wolf. Dale held his breath and willed himself not to move a muscle. The powerful wolf's eyes scanned the forest for what seemed like years with those glowing yellow eyes of his. Dale was sure the wolves would hear his heart pounding. Finally they went back to digging. Dale slowly released his breath. He managed to get several pictures of the wolves digging, taking his time to aim and focus each shot. There would be no mistaking what was in the photos this time. There would be no doubt, and the Dean would have a hell of a lot more than his one picture. Dale was feeling pretty smug. He was feeling invincible...until right before his eyes four wolves turned into four naked human men. 

 Dale didn't have time to think through a reaction. His instincts and panic took over, and they were telling him to get the hell out of Dodge. He jumped out of his crouching position, hitting his head on the limb above him. He grunted loudly from the impact then broke into a run. His feet where catching on roots, and the rocks were slick from all the rain. He was scratching and clawing trying to gain his footing. He had to get away from those.. those... monsters. He heard a terrifying growl right behind him and looked over his shoulder. The big silver wolf was leaping through the air and crashed into him, pinning him to ground. The last thing Dale saw was those menacing teeth heading straight for his neck, then a searing pain, then the merciful black sleep.

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Dale slowly opened his eyes. A soft light from a nearby window was falling on his face. He was in a small bedroom. The walls were made out of stone. It reminded him of an old fashioned cottage. Even the lace curtain at the window and the simple quilt covering him. He was surprised to find himself alone. Where was he anyway? This wasn't a hospital, he was certain of that. It didn't look like any place he had ever been before either. He was about to try to get out of the bed when the wooden door opened and a very large, imposing man entered. He had black hair with silver hair at his temples, and his eyes... Dale knew those eyes... But it couldn't be. This man was the silver wolf! This had to be a dream, no- a nightmare. 

"How are you feeling, Dale?" 

Dale had so many questions, he didn't know where to start. Who was this man? How did he know his name? Where was he? What had happened? His mouth was moving as if trying to shape words, but no sound was coming out. The man nodded in understanding, taking a seat in one of the chair under the window.

"How about I explain a few things, then you can ask whatever questions you still have" He offered

Dale nodded, still not able to speak.

"My name is Xavier Lynn. I am the Alpha of the Silver River pack. We are one of only ten remaining Werewolf packs in America. A few weeks ago my Beta, Ezra Kane, was killed in an attack on our territory. You unfortunately witnessed a burial ceremony we were having for him. I had no choice but to bite you. Most humans would have died from such an injury, but you managed to survive it." Xavier explained nonchalantly, like he would tell someone about his favorite beer or something.  Dale's head was just a swirl of confusion, but one thing seemed more important than the everything else.

"So... you tried to kill me!?" 

Xavier chuckled. "Definitely not. If I had tried to kill you....You'd be dead."

"What do you mean that you had no choice but to bite me then?"

"I couldn't risk you exposing us to the humans"

"I can still do that though, can't I? Unless you plan on keeping me a prisoner here. But you could have done that without almost killing me." Dale protested, still very confused, and more than a little scared.

"I'm not keeping you a prisoner here, Dale. As soon as we are done talking you can leave." Dale opened his mouth to say something but the Alpha held up his hand for silence. Almost as if against his will, Dale's mouth snapped shut.

"I want to make it clear to you why I had to bite you, and the ... repercussions... of you surviving it before we go any farther. You see, when a werewolf bites a human, he either dies or he turns"

"Turns? You mean he turns into a ...." Dale asked, his eyes beginning to widen with understanding.

"Yes, he turns into a werewolf himself, which is what has happened in your case." 

Dale honestly couldn't speak. He still wasn't entirely sure that this was even real, that he wasn't having some crazy dream. It was a lot to take in all at once and he had a feeling that there was much more coming.

"I'm a...a ... werewolf...." he said softly.

"I'm afraid so, Dale." Xavier confirmed a sad, haunted look in his eyes.

"Thanks for not killing me..."

"You might want to hold off on the thanks for now. Your life will never be the same, and you might find yourself wishing you were dead"

"Is it really that bad?"

"No..." Xavier sighed, "No, its not bad, but it is complicated."

"How so?"

"Well, for one, you must never reveal your true identity to a human. Not even your closest loved ones. The penalty is death, and not just yours Dale, theirs too."

"Why do they have to die? Can't they just keep it a secret, I trust my family they would never tell"

"No! They must never know. A very long time ago, after humans slaughtered many many of our kind, a law was passed forbidding revealing our existence to humans. Humans fear what they don't understand, and what they fear, they eliminate. It's their nature."

"So all of the fairy tales about werewolves are true?" Dale, asked amazed

"Based in truth, yes. We aren't really monsters, half human, half beast and all that. And we definitely don't eat people."

"Can I turn a human, If I bite one?" Dale asked. His mind going to Michelle. He didn't like the thought of hiding anything from her.

Xavier's expression softened. "You are capable of doing so, yes. It is not allowed however."

"What? Why? You did it to me!" Dale pointed out, getting frustrated. "Who says I'm not allowed?"

"Let me give you a little history. It might clear a few things up."

Dale nodded, he wanted as much information as he could get. A history lesson might not be such a bad idea.

"Two thousand years ago, or so, all of the species lived together peacefully for the most part. For some reason humans began to become more numerous than any other species. This is strange because they have no special abilities, but for whatever reason they far outnumbered all the other species combined. The more people there were, the more they began to fear the supernaturals. I don't know of any particular event that triggered this fear, but it was very real, and they began acting upon it. They slaughtered hundreds of thousands of werewolves, vampires, witches, dragons, and giants. So, a council was gathered consisting of one representative from each species and they decided to hide themselves from the Humans. The witches cast a spell that almost completely removed the memory of supernaturals from every human's mind, and the law was instated forbidding any of us from revealing ourselves. Sadly our numbers still declined slowly. Werewolves began turning humans so they would have mates. So we could re-populate. Some werewolves didn't agree with turning humans without their consent. They believed it was unethical and a violation of their rights. The council ultimately agreed. Turning humans is strictly forbidden now, unless it is deemed absolutely necessary."

"Like when you turned me?"

"That remains to be seen... there will be a hearing in front of the council."

"And if they decide it wasn't?"

"I could be executed, or banished depending on how grave they consider the offense" Xavier shrugged.

"You're not worried?" Dale asked incredulously.

Xavier studied Dale for a few moments before speaking, "I don't want to be punished. But no matter the outcome, I do not regret my decision. As Alpha, my main concern is protecting this pack, and if I would have let you go you would have exposed us all. I did what I had to do to do. I'm just thankful to the Moon Goddess that I discovered you in time"

Speaking of exposing...

"Where is my camera?!" 

A smile of satisfaction twisted on Xavier's face. "Destroyed beyond repair, I assure you."

Dale visibly deflated. All of his hard work, all down the drain. All for nothing. He put his hands on his temple, he had a raging headache. It felt almost like something was trying to bust through the walls of his mind. Scratching and clawing to be acknowledged. As if he could sense what Dale was experiencing, Xavier said softly. 

"That is your wolf, Dale. Let him in"

Holy Hell....His Wolf!