The Season Of The Wolf

Things That Happen

I push away from her and almost burn myself in the process.

"Hey, Naomi, what's wrong?" Roxi looks at me with a concerned expression.

"Uh, it's nothing..." I scurry to the bathroom. "I just need to use the restroom."

I sit in the bathroom, trying to steady my emotions for quite a while. Eventually, I hear a small knock on the door.

"Naomi. I finished dinner. Do you wanna eat?"

Have I really been in here for that long?

*knock* *knock*

"Naomi..."

I detach myself from the bathroom floor and go to the dining room.

Roxi is staring at me the whole time.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah! I just needed a minute."

"Wanna tell me about it?"

"I'm not ready to. The food looks good, though."

She smiles brightly at me and it's like the whole world lit up.

"You're adorable. Hurry up and eat, so we can watch some Netflix."

We eat like we've starved for days. Roxi has two and half plates of food. I guess we both have a wolf appetite, even though I'm only half wolf. We turn on Netflix on my Roku TV. We watch The Vampire Diaries. I've seen most of the show, but I restart it so Roxi knows what's going on.

I start out sitting on the couch, cross-legged.

After a couple of episodes, we're cuddling with my fluffy throw blanket over us. I have my head resting on her soft and plump chest. She's resting one of her hands on my ass. We're as close as we can be without breaking the law.

The door suddenly opens with a whoosh! I hear frantic talking and there's someone groaning in pain.

"What's happening?" I'm sitting half way up at this point and Roxi looks at me in confusion.

"I'm not sure, but I'd know that groan anywhere." I hop up off the couch and rush to doorway.

Derek and one of the Gammas, John, are standing there with Eli leaning on them. He's a bloody mess. I rush over to him and remove his jacket and shirt. He has ginormous claw marks all the way down his torso.

"What happened?!" I look at Derek and he's in shock.

I nod and go to my dining table. I sweep everything off of it and gesture for them to set him on the table.

"I can fix it with magic, but I'll need to know what happened." I look to Derek and he nods. "Roxi! Get me some clean wash clothes and a bowl of water. I can't do anything if I can't assess the wounds properly."

She jumps up and gets right to it. I pull my hair up, since I'd had it down during our cuddle session.When she has the cloths and the water, she sets them down and helps me clean him up. I check Eli's pulse and measure his breathing.

"Okay, his pulse is a little erratic and his breathing is low. Roxi, get me my Grimoire!" She looks at me for a second. "In the book case. The giant, leather-bound book."

Roxi grabs it for me. I lift my hand and snap my fingers to make the page turn to what I need.

"Derek!" He looks up at me with worry across his face.

"Hmm"

"Put your index and middle finger on the inside of his wrist. Count the heart beats per minute. I need to gather a few things."

He steps forward and does as I say.

I rush to the cabinets and pull out my "cauldron". I gather a few other ingredients. I set it all on the counter and mix it all together. There's a puff of smoke and I funnel it into a vial.

"Okay, John, please get the lights and light the three tall candles sitting on my mantel place them around Eli." He does so.

"Eli, it's okay, sweetie, I will fix this."

"Derek, tell me what happened as soon as I finish the spell since you can't gather any words right now."

"Spiritus invoco apou meorum cura hunc diem ita possit vivere" I repeat the phrase two more times as I pour the concoction over the claw marks and rub it into them.

Once the marks have fully faded, I check his vitals.

"He's okay. Now, explain to me why he hadn't healed before he got here and who did it."

"Eli was just making his rounds to check on the guards like he does every night, but a huge rogue came out of the woods in full wolf form and attacked him. I'm not certain why he hadn't healed in the 30 minutes it took to carefully get him here from the edge of the property. I do have a theory, though."

"What's your theory, Derek?"

"Some witch must be helping the rogues. He or she must have enchanted the rogue's claws or something."

"Wait, what did the rogue look like?"

"He had chestnut fur with a black patch over one eye. One of his eyes were blue and the other was glazed over like he was blind or something. He stood at five feet on all fours. He had six inches on Eli. His good eye was filled with rage."

"I think I know that rogue."

"Really?"

"Yeah...he wasn't always a rogue..."

"What do you mean?"

I feel a shiver go down my spine and Roxi puts a hand on the small of my back. I shake my head.

"Nevermind, he'll be fine. Increase the guards around the perimeter and let's all get some sleep tonight. I will sleep on the couch, so someone is down here with him."

Everyone disperses and I head to the couch. Soon after, Roxi joins me on the couch.

"Sweetheart, just go to bed. I'm fine."

"Not a chance, I'm staying on this couch with you."

"You're so stubborn, Roxi."

I lay on my side and she climbs in behind me. We're spooning and I guess I'm little spoon. We drift off to sleep after a couple minutes.

I wake up to a small purring noise in the back of my mind. I shoot up.

"Mnnn, what's wrong? Go back to sleep."

"I heard purring in the back of my mind. Now, it's gone."

Roxi kisses my neck and I melt into it. The purring returns.

"Holy s**t! Every time you touch me, it happens. Do something again."

She gives me a devious grin.

"Okay."

She sits up a little more and grabs my hips. In a bout 5 seconds, she's upright and I'm straddling her. I guess she used her wolf speed. I feel Roxi's lips inch closer to mine and my eyes close. She pulls me into a passionate kiss. Her hands are on my hips the entire time.

Roxi moves away slightly, placing her forehead against mine.

"I've been dieing to do that."

"You have no idea." I push the words out in between breaths.

The purring continues because her hands are still holding me and her head is against mine.

"Ugh, are you two done?" Eli croaks out.

My whole face turns red and I pull myself away from Roxi. I get up and walk towards Eli.

"Roxi." He addresses her gently.

"Yes, Alpha?"

"Please, go and help guard the perimeter. We need to speak alone."

Eli scolds me for being intimate with her when she still has two months. We discuss who the rogue is. The description helped me to recognize him last night. I'd rather not encounter him as he is the only person I am genuinely afraid of. That's only because I know what he's capable of. He was exiled from our pack for doing unspeakable things, so it makes sense as to why he would attack Eli. He wants to challenge the alpha for the pack.

____________________________

It's been 3 days since the incident. I keep replaying our conversation in my head and crying alone in my room. Roxi has been sitting outside my bedroom door every night, telling me, "it's okay" "I'm here if you need me.'

I know she wants me to be vulnerable with her and "open up", but I can't. I don't want her to ever know about what that BEAST did to be exiled. I'm crying on my bedroom floor with my back against the door. Our conversation replays again.

*****SUNDAY MORNING****

"He's back, Naomi."

"I know. Derek described him to me last night."

*growls* "If he dares to challenge me, I'll rip him limb from limb. Last night, he got lucky. That won't happen again."

"I'm not worried about him challenging you. I know you'll win. I'm worried about his stakes. He could want anything from rule over the pack to taking me with him. You also need to think about the fact that he never fights fair. I should know."

I place my hand on my abdomen where I have a few scars running diagnol from my hip to my belly button. The flashbacks play like a horror movie in my mind.

"He won't hurt you again, Nay."

"He would if he could. You know he would jump on that opportunity."

"He may have held you captive in the shack right outside of pack lands and tortured you for 3 days, but the shack has been torn down. You are older and your witch half is stronger. He has no pack and you're a Beta. You're not that scared little girl anymore. Don't let him get to you."

"I may be a Beta, but my soul is torn. I don't have my wolf. I may be getting her back, judging from the purring with Roxi, but I don't know how long it will be until I'm whole again. He could strike at any moment."

*****Wednesday Evening*****

I feel the door push against me gently. Roxi squeezes her way through the small opening she had made. She kneels before me and puts her hands on my legs.

"Naomi..." Her voice is so gentle.

I just grunt at her and violently wipe my face with my hands.

"Naomi, I'm here. Please talk to me." She presses her forehead to mine. "I'm so worried."

I lean into her and nod slowly.

"Can you eat something for me? You've barely eaten since Sunday."

"I'll talk, but I can't eat. I'll puke."

She stands me up as she stands and she walks me over to the bed, sitting me on the side facing my closet.

"Do you have any PJs that are your favorite?"

"Yeah, there's a black nightie with lace on the top and bottom. It's silk. It's so comfy."

"Okay, let me take off your shoes. I'll help you undress and redress."

I nod. I don't have the energy to fight her on this. She grabs the nightie that's hanging up. Then, she grabs a clean pair of socks out of my drawer and some clean panties.

"Do you feel up to a shower or do you just wanna change?"

"Change."

"Okay, I'm gonna unbutton your blouse."

I move my arms a little so it's easier for her.

"Bra on or off?"

"Off."

"Okay, will do."

She unhooks my bra and tosses it on the bed. I move my arms back over my chest to cover myself. She moves them to my sides.

"I know you're not comfortable with this, but I can't put your arms through the arm holes if they're crossed."

The "arm holes" are barely there because of the nightie having spaghetti straps. Maybe she just wants to have a look. It won't hurt anything.

"I know you probably think that I just wanna see your fantastic boobs, which I admire the view, but I just don't wanna hurt you."

She helps me out of my pencil skirt, my flat socks, .and my panties. She slips me into a pair that matches the nightie. Once we're both comfy, we lay on the bed for a while just talking and we finally fall asleep.