#not sure where the werewolves came in. or hulk.

[blankerthought]

woke up today after a dream that involved lycanthrophism with the words "by contrast, Normal Space Hulk's spread was more like Baby Matchmaking Services. granted, it was Unexpected Baby Matchmaking Services, and the baby came with a knife, but much happier overall."

[writingsofwerewolves]

Okay, lucky number #13... 

This stars Vikram, stuck in his werewolf form. And some good ol’ werewolf sex. And y’all know I’m not super comfortable writing sex scenes so please be kind.

Ultimately I really like this one because there’s some cute interaction with Vikram. 🥺

You may notice a lot of similarities between this and something I posted to AO3 recently. They were written around the same time, while I was playing with this idea of Vikram being stuck in his werewolf form. But there are key differences.

This is 17k words so... yeah, it’s pretty long for this type of thing lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy:

 After being pulled through the vacuum of time and space, I felt sick. I vomited and passed out. When I came to, I realized I was in a dark forest. Then I realized I was wearing what I’d worn to go to sleep, which wasn’t much. I didn’t feel steady yet, so I didn’t get off the ground for a long while. I just breathed deeply and tried to get my bearings.

It wasn’t until I heard something moving in the trees that I sat up. I looked around frantically but saw nothing. It did spur me into action, though. I got to my feet, using a tree to help balance myself, and started walking in the opposite direction from the sound.

Within moments, however, a large form appeared in my path. At first I thought it was a bear, so I froze, holding my breath. As it moved closer, I realized it wasn’t a bear. It looked more like a werewolf from movies, hulking and massive and terrifying.

I whimpered and stumbled backwards a few steps.

The creature sat on his haunches and his tongue lulled out, like a very calm dog. It looked nonthreatening, but I wasn’t going to take the chance. I started backing away slowly, keeping my eyes on the creature.

He gave a small whine and laid down, exposing his belly and looking at me with pleading eyes.

I wasn’t sure what it wanted, but I knew I wasn’t going to risk it. If he didn’t want to eat me, he would let me go on my way. If he did want to eat me, I wasn’t going to make it easy on him.

As I moved away, the werewolf rose and started walking towards me. I didn’t want to turn my back to him so I kept moving backwards. The wolf suddenly stopped, seemed to heave a heavy sigh, and turned to walk away.

I waited several minutes, listening and watching for him to return. He didn’t, so I starting walking in the opposite direction he’d gone.

After walking for a while, I heard something to my right. I turned and saw the werewolf appear again. He looked at me for several long moments before disappearing into the trees. Again, I starting walking the opposite direction from where I saw him. I had no idea where I was going, I just wanted to be where ever he wasn’t.

For a while, all seemed well. I didn’t hear anything moving in the forest and I didn’t see the werewolf.

Then suddenly it all went wrong.

I didn’t see the werewolf. I just heard sudden rapid paw steps and suddenly I was knocked to the ground with the massive werewolf above me. I screamed and fought, but the werewolf held me down with a massive hand-like paw. He growled, but it didn’t seem directed at me. His eyes were focused ahead.

I followed his line of sight and at first didn’t see anything. After a few moments, though, I saw creatures emerge from the darkness. They looked similar to the werewolf above me, but thinner, less furry, and less proportionate. I realized my werewolf held little resemblance to a movie monster werewolf compared to them.

The werewolf above me growled and snapped his teeth warningly at the newcomers. They snarled back and fanned out so they surrounded us on all sides.

One leapt forward and was quickly knocked back by my werewolf, sent skidding across the ground with a large red gash across its side. It yelped and backed away. The others started closing in slowly, heads low and ears back.

My werewolf stood up, on his hind legs, puffing out his chest, and let out a deep rumbling howl that vibrated the ground I laid on. The other werewolves paused, hesitating, but then they resumed their approach. My werewolf fell back down to all fours, his front limbs straddling me. He ducked his head down and licked my cheek briefly before focusing his attention on the others again.

They attacked at once, one going for my werewolf’s throat while others attacked from each side and behind. The fight flurried around me, but no one was watching me so I crawled away across the dirt. When I was far enough, I got to my feet and prepared to run, but the injured werewolf that first attacked moved into my path. It sprung at me, but was knocked out of the air before it reached me.

My werewolf stood in front of me, growling at my attacker. The smaller wolf whimpered and skittered away, out of sight. I heard more paw steps and turned to see the rest of the pack fleeing as well. With the exception of one dead wolf that laid bleeding on the ground, its head nearly separated from its body.

My werewolf focused his attention on me again. I saw blood dripping from his muzzle.

I took a step backwards and he jumped towards me. I turned to run, but he knocked me forward. As I fell, a massive paw caught me around my middle and eased me to the ground so I didn’t fall hard. Then that massive paw pressed down on my back, keeping me pinned on my stomach.

“Please, don’t!” I screamed struggling to lift myself off the ground, but the paw was too heavy. It wasn’t crushing me but it wasn’t letting me go anywhere.

Suddenly I felt teeth around the back of my neck. I instantly stilled and fell silent. That was it… I was going to die.

The werewolf released my neck and licked my cheek. Automatically, I started struggling again only for the teeth to return to the back of my neck, followed by a low warning growl. I whimpered and stilled.

I heard movement and saw one of the smaller werewolves return. My werewolf released me and growled at it. It looked between me and my werewolf and then fled again.

My werewolf licked my cheek again. I didn’t know what the werewolf wanted from me, but I didn’t want to stick around and find out. I tried to push myself off the ground, only to be met with more force on my back as the paw pressed down on me firmly. The werewolf put his teeth around the back of my neck again.

I didn’t let that stop me that time. I struggled and tried to reach behind me to hit him or pull on his fur or anything I could do.

The werewolf growled and the teeth tightened on my skin. I felt them dig in a little, though I didn’t think it broke skin. It definitely was going to leave an indent, though. But also, it didn’t seem like it was the werewolf’s intent to hurt me. If he wanted me dead, I’d be dead.

Still, I stopped struggling. Continuing to do so would be useless and even if he didn’t want to hurt me, I could injure myself by fighting him.

“Okay,” I breathed, “I… I won’t move.”

I forced my body to relax as much as I could, showing I was submitting.

The werewolf released my neck and licked my cheek. I heard a rumble deep in his chest that I took for approval.

He didn’t move off me for quite a while. Before he did, he gave my cheek one last lick and then backed away a few feet.

I didn’t dare move, unsure of what I was supposed to do.

He moved forward and nudged my arm with his nose. Tentatively, I started to get up, watching his reaction carefully. He didn’t stop me so I assumed that was what I was meant to do.

That was pretty much confirmed when he gave an approving nod as I stood.

The werewolf ducked his head under my hand and moved so my hand was positioned on his shoulder before he started walking. I walked with him, keeping my hand on him.

We walked together through the trees. I was scared because I had no idea what the werewolf wanted with me and I wasn’t sure where the smaller werewolves were. Would they come back? Would my werewolf be able to protect me? Why was he protecting me?

Eventually we came to a small cabin. To my surprise, the werewolf led me right to its door, which was ajar. He nodded towards it and looked at me expectantly.

“You want me to go inside?” I questioned.

He nodded.

Somehow I wasn’t really surprised he understood me. I’d already assumed he could.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the cabin. It was pitch black inside, darker than the moonlit night. I heard and felt the werewolf enter behind me and was able to see him shut the door, but then nothing else.

I held my hands out in front of me, making sure I didn’t run into anything. Suddenly the wolf was beneath my hands, my fingers sinking into his thick fur. He started to move and I followed, keeping my hands on him.

When he moved out of my reach, I desperately felt around for something and my hands met a cushion. The werewolf came around behind me and nudged my back with his nose. I moved closer to the cushion and found it was a bed, with a blanket and pillow. The werewolf nudged me again and I took the hint. I climbed into the bed.

I had no shirt on, so almost automatically, I covered myself with the blanket. I felt the werewolf hop up into the bed with me. He put his paw on my side and gently urged me to lay on the pillow. I did and he kept one arm laying over me as he curled around my back, his head laying near mine.

I was still scared, but as I took slow, deep breaths, my heart slowed. The tightness in my chest eased. My muscles relaxed. Something on the pillow smelled amazing and calmly. Warm and inviting. Somehow it made the wolf behind me not feel as threatening. The werewolf’s warmth seeped into me and I closed my eyes. Exhaustion won out and I fell asleep.

~

It took a few moments when I woke to remember where I was. The cabin looked very different from how I’d imagined it in the dark as light filtered in from the windows. The werewolf was in the exact same position he’d been when I fell asleep. Behind me with a paw draped over me.

As I started to really wake up, the werewolf pulled his paw off me. For several long minutes, we didn’t move. I was afraid I wasn’t allowed to. Then he gently nudged my back with his nose. I took that as permission to move, so I turned onto my back to look up at him.

“Hi,” I squeaked, holding the blankets to my chest.

He licked my arm calmly and then looked at me.

“Is… this your house?” I asked.

He nodded.

“So you’re… a person? I mean, you… have a human form?”

He nodded.

I held the blankets tighter to my chest.

He suddenly rose and hopped down from the bed. He moved to the dresser and pulled it open with his mouth. He grabbed something inside with his teeth and then carried it over to me. I sat up and he dropped it onto my lap before turning and sitting with his back to me.

He’d given me a very large shirt. I pulled it over my head. It hung down nearly to my knees.

“Thanks,” I said.

He faced me again and gave a slow nod.

“So… you don’t plan to eat me?”

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side.

“I guess that’s not a simple yes or no question,” I realized, “Uh… Do you plan to eat me?”

He shook his head.

“Those other creatures… They wanted to eat me?”

He seemed to frown and think for a moment before nodding.

“You’re not like them,” I acknowledged.

He gave a slow nod, though I hadn’t asked a question.

“Can they shift into a human form too?”

He shook his head.

“So… you can, but… why haven’t you?”

He looked down at the ground and heaved a sigh.

“You can’t?”

He nodded.

“You have a human form but you’re… stuck?”

He nodded.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

He moved towards me and licked my hand.

“Okay, knowing that you’re human makes the whole licking thing a bit weird,” I pointed out.

He sat back on his haunches and gave a deep chuckle.

“So… you’re a werewolf?”

He nodded.

“Is it… like a full moon or something?”

He shook his head.

“So you’re stuck for a different reason?”

He nodded.

“Will you change back eventually?”

He made a ‘so so’ motion with his head before nodding.

“You don’t know when?”

He nodded.

“Why… why did you save me from the other creatures?” I asked, a little breathless.

He gave a small whine and licked my hand.

“Not a simple answer, I guess… Uh, but… you need to know, I don’t have anywhere to go,” I told him, “I’m not… from here.”

He looked at me and then pointedly at the cabin.

“I can stay here?”

He nodded.

“I’m… not used to living without electricity. Or running water…”

He licked my hand.

“You’ll help me?”

He nodded.

“Okay… I don’t really have much choice.”

The werewolf showed me around the cabin. There were some food items that weren’t very perishable still there, but some things such as bread had started molding. It turned out he hadn’t actually lived there in a bit. At least, not as a human.

After the tour and I cleaned out the bad food, he had me grab a basket and follow him into the trees.

“What about the creatures?” I asked.

He rubbed his head against my arm reassuringly and then we headed out. He took me to a berry bush and pulled a few berries from it to eat before looking at me expectantly. I plucked a berry and tentatively ate it.

My eyes widened as I tasted it. It was amazing! I ate a few more before I realized I probably was supposed to be collecting them and started putting them in the basket. After we took the berries back to the house, he had me get a bucket and led me to a spring. I collected the water and we brought that back as well.

He showed me around the surrounding land. There was a beautiful lake nearby.

It was starting to get chilly when we got back to the house. I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and the werewolf moved to the fireplace, looking down at it with a frown.

“I don’t know how to start a fire,” I admitted.

He sighed heavily and nodded before moving to my side. He pressed his body to mine, sharing his warmth.

~

We slept together much as we had the first night, mostly out of necessity. I was very cold, but the werewolf’s body kept me warm. I pressed myself to him and he wrapped around me like a heavy blanket. I didn’t get much sleep, though. My mind raced with everything. But mostly I was filled with anxiety about misunderstandings with the wolf. All he should do was say yes, no, and shrug.

When I woke, I sat straight up in the bed. The werewolf looked at me with concern in his eyes.

“Do you have anything to write with?” I asked.

He nodded and hopped out of bed. He moved to a desk and opened a drawer with his mouth before sitting beside it and looking at me. I went over to the desk and investigated. There were writing utensils and paper. With the amount of books he had on a shelf, I assumed he could read English.

I sat at the desk with blank papers spread out in front of me.

“I hope this isn’t a stupid idea,” I muttered as I started to write out the alphabet in large letters, well spaced out.

When I finished, I made sure all the papers were arranged correctly and got up, gesturing at it.

“Uh… what do you think?” I asked tentatively.

He started to indicate letters with his nose.

“Good idea,” he said.

I let out a breath of relief, “Really?”

He nodded, seeming to smile.

“There’s just one issue…” I began, “I suck at spelling. Anything you say longer than a few letters, I’ll have to write it down to know what you’re spelling.”

He nodded slowly then poked a blank piece of paper with his nose. I picked it and the writing tool up.

He spelled out, “Prewritten words.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed, “You’re so right. Do… we have enough paper for a lot?”

He glanced in the drawer and nodded.

I laid the alphabet papers on the ground in front of the werewolf and sat at the desk with the pen ready, “Then let’s get started…”

It took a few hours, but eventually we had quite the vocabulary written. The werewolf also had the good idea of hanging the papers on the wall so it would be easier to for me to see and for him to point at. He also made most of the choices of the arrangement of the words.

“Sorry my handwriting’s so bad,” I told him.

He pointed at the words, “It is fine.”

My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten yet. It didn’t help that some of the words were food related.

“We need to start a fire,” he said.

“I don’t know how,” I told him.

“I can teach you. I have a fire starter. It will be easy.”

With his help, I found the fire starter and we were able to get a fire going in the fireplace.

“I will hunt,” he said, “You need meat.”

“I’m not a wolf,” I argued, “I’m fine with just the berries.”

He shook his head. “You need meat,” he repeated.

“Protein,” I guessed, since that wasn’t a word on the wall.

He nodded.

“You… don’t have to hunt for me.”

He walked up to me and nosed my arm gently, his eyes sympathetic.

“Thank you,” I told him.

He inclined his head and then went to the wall.

“Stay inside until I return. Keep the door closed. Call if the creatures come.”

“Alright,” I agreed and he left. I closed the door behind him.

I snacked on berries while I waited.

It wasn’t too long before the werewolf returned, a large fish in its jaws.

I opened the door to let him in and he set the fish in front of the fire before moving to the wall to instruct me on how to prepare it.

We kept it simple, just roasting it on a spit over the fire. When it was done, I took a tentative bite. Either I was so hungry anything tasted good or it actually tasted good… but I ate all of it very quickly.

The werewolf seemed satisfied, happy that I was eating protein.

“Thanks,” I told him, “Uh… did you get something to eat?”

He nodded.

“Good.”

He moved over to the wall. “My name is…”

He waited for me to pick up a paper so I could write the letters.

“Vikram.”

“Vikram?” I said aloud. “Is that how it’s pronounced?”

He nodded.

“Okay, uh… I’m Ash,” I introduced. “Nice to meet you, I think?”

He chuckled and said, “Nice to meet you” and he spelled out “Ash.” Then he said, “You should add your name.”

“Sure,” I agreed and wrote out my name to pin to the wall.

“I will take care of you, Ash,” he said.

Suddenly, I felt tears in my eyes. Without really thinking about it, I wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug. He put a paw on my back, holding me to him and hugging me in return.

“Thank you,” I whispered against his fur, “Vikram.”

I heard a contented rumble in his chest.

~

It was a lot easier to do things with clear communication between us. He walked me through how to clean and dry the clothes and linens. How to cook beyond just roasting things. And he showed me his book collection. One evening, he asked me to read to him.

Despite the fire, nights were chilly. With our open communication, Vikram asked how I felt about him sleeping in bed with me.

“It’s nice,” I said, my voice a little high pitched, “I mean, if you don’t mind it, I don’t mind… You’re really warm so… It’s nice.”

“I do not mind,” he stated.

So we spent the nights together, cuddled up against each other.

We didn’t see any of the other creatures, but Vikram insisted I shouldn’t leave the house without him there.

He had to teach me how to skin mammals and pluck fowl, but the meals were actually very nice. He taught me how to flavor the meat with herbs and berries.

The days passed fairly simply. Vikram would leave in the morning to hunt while I got the fire going. He’d come back and I’d cook whatever he brought. Some days, we went out foraging for herbs. On days we didn’t do anything else, I would read aloud. We spent a few days washing all the cloth in the house, as it had gotten dusty and stale from disuse.

There was quite the collection of clothes in the house, but a majority of them were unusable to me. The shirts were good, but the pants were far too big for me. I did find some shorts that I assumed were actually underwear that I was able to get to fit. When we washed everything, I decided I wanted to wash everything, even if I couldn’t use it because there was a chance Vikram would shift back and he would need clean clothes.

We were hanging the last load of laundry to dry when Vikram raised his hackles and growled into the forest. The sound sent a chill through me. I dropped the sheet I’d been about to pin up and started backing away towards the house. Vikram gave me a nod of approval before focusing his attention on the tree line again.

I didn’t move quickly, afraid that would trigger whatever it was to attack. I was on the doorstep when the creature came into view. It was a thin, scrawny werewolf like what attacked me before. A few more steps and I was in the cabin, closing the door. I quickly moved to peek out the window.

Vikram stood on his hind legs. I’d seen him do that up close and personal before. I assumed it was meant to threaten the enemy, show the attacker that he was bigger than it was. With just one small werewolf, I didn’t think Vikram was in much danger. He was about four times its mass.

The scrawny werewolf stalked around the edge of the yard and moved out of my view. Vikram watched it go and didn’t fall back down to all fours for quite a while. Then he started to move towards the cabin. I opened the door for him, shutting it after he entered.

“Was there just one?” I asked, a little breathless.

He nodded and moved to the word wall.

“Stay inside today,” he told me.

“No problem,” I agreed, though I eyed the abandoned sheets outside mournfully. I hoped we could retrieve them later.

Vikram didn’t settle down all day, which made it hard for me to settle. He sat near the door, watching out the window and with his ears pricked forward, listening for any threats. As the sun started to set, he stood, a low rumble growing in his chest.

“They’re here?” I whispered.

He nodded without taking his eyes away from the window.

I sat on the bed, my knees pulled up to my chest, trying to stay as still and quiet as I could.

The sun’s light had fully vanished when Vikram finally relaxed, only illuminated by the fading embers of the fire. I heard him let out a breath of relief before he moved to my side.

I reached my hand towards him, wanting the comfort of his touch. He pressed his cheek into my palm and closed his eyes, a content rumble in his chest.

“Thank you,” I told him, still quiet for fear of alerting the creatures.

He moved closer and rubbed his head against my chest. I sighed happily and laid down. It felt good to touch so casually. It felt safe.

Vikram jumped onto the bed and took his normal place beside me, his paw draped over my belly. I buried my head in his furry chest, breathing in his comfortable scent. I’d found I slept a lot better when I was wrapped in his warmth and scent.

He licked the top of my head as I drifted off to sleep.

~

“This is beautiful,” I said, dipping my feet into the cool lake as I sat by the shore. “I can see why you’d choose to live here.”

Vikram was in the water, swimming lazily near me. It was an unusually warm day so we decided to cool off at the lake. He swam up to me and gripped the hem of my long shirt, giving it a small tug before letting go.

“I don’t really feel like drowning,” I told him apologetically.

He whined and gave me a significant look.

“How deep is that water?” I asked, “I’m probably not a very strong swimmer.”

He licked my knee and whined again.

I sighed, “Fine. You promise you won’t let me drown?”

He nodded, panting happily.

I stood and started walking into the water. Vikram stayed by my side and I kept my hand on his back. As we got into the deeper water, I held on to him tightly. He stopped just as the water came up to my chest. My feet were still touching the ground.

“Oh,” I sighed. The cool water felt good on my sweaty skin.

Still balancing myself with Vikram, I let my legs float up and floated on my back.

“That’s nice,” I said, closing my eyes.

I could have fallen asleep there. My hand on Vikram’s ruff made me feel safe and the gentle rocking of the water was so calming.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Vikram looking down at me, affection in his eyes. I flushed and I moved to stand in the water again, embarrassed.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

He licked my cheek.

“I think I’m done,” I told him, “But that was nice.”

He nodded and helped me return to the shore. I sat at the water’s edge to dry, but Vikram moved away to shake the water out of his fur. When he returned to my side, his fur was sticking up in all directions and I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight.

“You look so cute,” I commented.

He moved towards me and nuzzled my shoulder playfully. I laid back on the grass and he stretched out beside me, his head facing me.

“You don’t have to be done just because I am,” I told him.

He licked my forehead. As he pulled back, I put my hand on his cheek and looked into his beautiful dark black eyes. My heart was filled with affection for the werewolf. I leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his nose.

Vikram’s eyes were wide with surprise at my action.

I felt my cheeks warm and sat up, “I’m… gonna go inside.”

I didn’t look back at him as I retreated to the house.

I changed out of my wet clothes, hanging them to dry on the clothes lines. Vikram returned a few minutes after I’d settled with a book. He moved towards me and licked my forehead again.

There was something about that action that made me feel so warm inside. So safe. I closed the book, setting it aside and wrapped my arms around Vikram’s neck. I felt him rumble more than I heard it. Such a familiar sound after spending a week together.

~

I woke one morning to find Vikram wasn’t in bed with me. That never happened, so I was worried. Looking around, I saw him sitting at the door, ears alert as he watched out the window. I didn’t dare make a sound.

Suddenly I heard howling from outside. Vikram stood, his tail straight up. I wasn’t able to contain my whimper of fear.

Vikram’s ear twitched towards me at the sound, but he didn’t move otherwise.

I heard footsteps outside, followed by a low growl from Vikram. Though I didn’t have a good view of the window, I swore I saw movement. I barely dared to breathe.

It felt like over an hour before the sounds faded into the distance and Vikram finally relaxed. He surprised me by moving towards the kitchen and grabbing the berry basket in his mouth before carrying it over to the bed. He set it down beside the bed before hopping up next to me, his paw strewn across my belly as if we were about to go to sleep, though he was mostly sat up.

“Uh…” I began.

Vikram ducked his head down and licked my forehead. It wasn’t a singular lick like usual, though. It was sustained.

“Hey,” I murmured, reaching my hand up and sinking it into the fur of his neck, “What’s up?”

He licked my forehead more urgently and I grimaced. The moisture and the roughness of is tongue starting to grate on me.

Noticing my expression, he stopped.

“Okay, can I—” I started to sit up, but his paw pressed down on my chest and a small growl grew in his throat. I gave a small gasp. He hadn’t growled at me since the first day we met. At least not seriously. Just a few play growls. But he wasn’t playing.

I laid back on the pillow, suddenly breathing hard as I felt my body respond. It hadn’t happened that first day because I was genuinely scared, but Vikram’s growl and domination of me turned me on. I knew it was going to happen at some point… I was a monster fucker. Werewolves were hot. Vikram was very hot.

Vikram gestured at the berries he’d left beside the bed.

I nodded and reached for a handful, eating them slowly. They wouldn’t be a very filling breakfast, but they would keep my stomach from growling.

Vikram remained above me, his paw on my chest, for quite a while before he relaxed and jumped down.

“Sorry,” he indicated on the word wall, “They were too close.”

“It’s okay,” I said shakily, “Thanks for keeping me safe.”

He gave a slow nod and then said, “I will hunt now. I will not go far.”

I opened the door for him and shut it behind him, letting out a breath of relief as he left. I wondered if he could tell I’d been turned on.

While Vikram was gone, I started the fire. Once it was done, I found I was antsy. I still felt aroused and I wondered if I had time to take care of that. I hadn’t masturbated since arriving there, so I couldn’t imagine it taking long. But also… would he know?

Deciding I was too far gone to care, I laid back on the bed with my hand between my legs. I tried to imagine sexy situations, but my mind wandered back to the day I’d met Vikram. At the time, it wasn’t sexy. I was scared for my life. But the memory of it made me ache with need. I didn’t want to think of him as I pleasured myself. I didn’t want to make things more awkward. But remembering the weight of his paw on my back and his teeth pressing into the skin of my neck drove me over the edge and I came hard and fast, moaning audibly.

It took a few moments for me to come back to myself and then I hurried to my feet and rushed to the window to check for Vikram. He looked like he was just arriving to the yard, a fish in his mouth. I opened the door, still breathing hard.

If he noticed anything, he showed no indicators. He helped walk me through preparing the fish, as usual, and sat beside me as I ate. I was definitely different, though. I didn’t talk nearly as much as I usually did.

That night, however, I noticed some hesitancy before Vikram jumped into the bed with me. He still did and I thought maybe I imagined it. But we still fell asleep curled up with each other.

~

“That was so cute,” I gushed as I closed the book, “You have some good taste in books.”

He rumbled and rubbed his shoulder against mine. I put my hand on his back, stroking his fur. Vikram turned his head to face me and I put my other hand on his cheek.

“You’re so… wonderful,” I breathed. I felt so torn because I just wanted to lean forward and kiss him, but I had no idea how that would work and I had no idea if he would even want that. Probably not, I figured. I sighed sadly and dropped my hand.

He licked my forehead before pulling back and looking at me intensely. When he leaned forward again, it wasn’t my forehead he licked. It was my slightly parted lips. It was a light touch, his tongue just teasing my lips.

My eyes widened in surprise, but almost automatically, I opened my mouth and leaned towards him. Emboldened by my response, he licked my lips again, but instead of grazing over them, his tongue slipped inside my mouth. Just for a moment before he pulled back, a question in his eyes.

“Yes,” I breathed. “Please.”

To my surprise, he reached a paw up to wrap around the back of my head, holding me steady for when he kissed me again. He tilted his head to the side as his tongue moved past my lips. His teeth were on either side of my mouth. I’d never thought I’d enjoy kissing with tongue, but tasting him and feeling him inside me had me getting extremely wet extremely fast.

When he pulled back, he licked my forehead.

I panted, looking at him desperately.

I whined in disappointment when he released my head and moved away. He sat in front of the word wall and waited patiently. When I caught my breath, I stood and shakily walked to join him so I could see.

“May I go down on you?” he asked, his eyes nervous as he waited for my response.

“You… you mean… Oh… Y-yes.”

He seemed to smile and then said, “Lay on the bed.”

Shaking with excitement and nervousness, I moved onto the bed, laying on my back. Vikram joined me, kissing me deeply again before licking his way down my body. He used his paws to push the long shirt up past my stomach and licked me there. His tongue briefly passed over the shorts I wore before he looked at me questioningly.

I nodded and hooked my fingers on the waistband, pulling them down. With his teeth, he pulled them off my legs. Automatically, I closed my legs together. Vikram ducked his head and let out a breath of warm air on me. It was enough to have me squirming.

My legs opened slightly and he instantly descended on me. His tongue lapped gently at my folds, eliciting small gasps and moans. My legs opened wider, wanting to feel more. Hand-like paws gripped my hips, claws digging into my skin with just enough pressure to feel amazing.

Seeming encouraged by my enthusiastic response, Vikram’s tongue became bolder. He licked my clit with fervor before delving into my entrance. I gasped and stiffened, fearful of being hurt but excited at being invaded. The tongue entered me shallowly at first, alternating between penetration and stimulating my clit. My legs opened even wider to him and my pelvis moved almost automatically upwards.

The tongue penetrated me deeply, lapping at my walls and stimulating nerves I didn’t know I had. I gasped and writhed, gripping the sheets.

When he pulled out to press his tongue hard against my clit, I came, wrapping my legs around his head and letting out a prolonged moan.

As my orgasm faded, I unhooked my legs from around his head, feeling my face warm with embarrassment. Vikram moved up to join my side and licked my forehead.

“That… that was…” I couldn’t find the words.

He licked my forehead again and put his paw over me, pulling me close to his chest. I pressed my face against him, breathing in his comforting scent. Exhausted from my orgasm, I drifted to sleep.

~

I didn’t remember what’d happened the previous night until I realized I wasn’t wearing underwear. Vikram licked my forehead before hopping down from the bed. I followed him to the word wall where he simply said, “Hunt,” and then moved to the door.

As usual, I opened the door to let him out.

It was hard to focus on my task of making the fire as I fretted about how Vikram thought about the last night. He’d pleasured me! He’d kissed me! What did that mean to him? Should I have offered to reciprocate? Could he enjoy sex in his werewolf form?

All those questions buzzed in my head as I made the fire. Vikram returned shortly with a bird in his mouth. I wordlessly plucked it and then cooked it.

As it cooked, Vikram moved to the word wall.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes full of concern.

“Fine,” I squeaked out, “Uh… you?”

“Yes,” he answered, “I enjoyed it. Did you?”

I swallowed hard and then let out a breath of relief, “Yeah, I did. You’re not mad at me?”

Instead of using the words, he moved towards me and licked my forehead.

“Good,” the tension in my muscles eased.

“Again sometime?” he asked.

“If… if you want,” I agreed shyly, “That was… very nice.”

“I want to if you do,” he said.

“I do,” I confirmed, “I really do. But, uh… Oh, fuck,” I covered my face with my hands.

Vikram licked my forehead encouragingly.

“Is there anything I could do… for you?” I asked.

He seemed to frown and tilt his head to the side before he said, “Not yet.”

“You’re sure? I can… do something… probably.”

“I want you to enjoy it,” he said, putting emphasis on ‘you.’

“But if there’s something—”

“Later,” he said, the expression in his eyes determined.

“Okay,” I agreed, “Later. Just so you know, though… I’ve never… I haven’t… with anyone. Ever.”

“We can move slowly,” he said.

“That’s not why I’m telling you,” I shook my head, “I just wanted you to know. I don’t have experience so if I do something wrong…”

“You will not do anything wrong,” he said and then he licked my forehead with some force.

“You can tell me if I do,” I said.

He gave a low growl then reached a paw up to grasp the back of my head. At first, it seemed like he was going to kiss my mouth, but he changed direction at the last second and ran his tongue over my throat. When he pulled back, I felt light headed. It took me a second to get my bearings.

“Sorry,” he said, “Bird breath.” He seemed to grin.

“Should… we add kiss to the wall?” I asked, breathless.

He nodded.

I got out the paper and wrote out kiss before pinning it to the wall.

The bird finished cooking and I ate it as Vikram sat beside me, as usual.

~

Vikram kissed me deeply as his body pinned me to the bed. I wrapped my legs around his middle and gripped the fur of his neck as I squirmed beneath him. Over the last week, we’d made a habit of him pleasuring me before going to sleep. Though he stubbornly refused to let me do anything for him.

With my legs wrapped around his body, I didn’t plan on letting him get away with that as easily.

The weight of him over me and his tongue in my mouth was driving me wild. I knew I could cum easily just from that. I put my hand on his chest and pushed gently, just enough for him to know to stop.

He pulled back and looked at me with concern.

“Let me do something for you,” I panted, “Please.”

He groaned and shook his head, starting to pull away from my body. I tightened my legs around him.

“Can we at least talk about it?” I asked.

He sighed and nodded, looking towards the word wall.

“Yes or no questions,” I promised and he nodded, “Can you… in this form?”

He nodded.

“Do you… Do you want to?” I asked.

He hesitated and then ducked his head to lick my forehead before nodding.

“I know I’m inexperienced, but… I want you to enjoy this too,” I told him nervously, “You… could teach me. I mean, I… I assume you’ve…?”

He nodded.

“If you don’t want to do things with me, I understand,” I told him, struggling to keep my thoughts straight with him between my legs, “But don’t hold back because you’re worried about me.”

Vikram tilted his head to the side and seemed to frown. He nodded and started to pull away. I gripped him with my legs, not wanting him to leave.

He gave a low rumble and put a paw on my hip.

I sighed in defeat and released him. Once free, he moved his body further over mine. Because of his size, in order to kiss comfortably, my pelvis was level with his belly and I couldn’t see below that. As he moved up, I was able to see his crotch and what hung heavily between his legs.

“Oh,” I breathed.

He licked my forehead reassuringly.

“Do you… want to…?” I started to pull my underwear down, but a paw stopped me.

He shook his head.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, “I can… use my hands or… or… my mouth?”

He shook his head again and then hooked a paw under my leg, bringing it up to his waist. Following his lead, I wrapped both legs around him loosely. Due to his new position, our parts were nearly touching. Vikram moved his hips experimentally, rubbing his length against the front of my underwear, and then he looked at me questioningly.

Realizing what the plan was, I smiled and nodded. I tightened my legs around him.

He moved slowly at first, but when I began to squirm impatiently, he gripped my hips and thrust against me with force. His length pressed against my clit.

It didn’t take me long to finish. I held on to him for dear life as he continued to grind on me through my orgasm. His movements became more frantic until he gave one final thrust and I felt liquid coat my stomach. His length rested heavily on my belly, twitching against my skin. Above me, Vikram panted.

When I unhooked my stiff legs from his waist, Vikram pulled back and I could see the mess we’d made. Massive amounts of werewolf cum covered my stomach and was flowing down onto the mattress.

“Oh,” I squeaked.

Vikram gave me a significant look.

“Is… that why you didn’t want to?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Yeah, makes sense…” I agreed. I looked between his legs and noticed his cock looked different from when I first saw it. It was still twitching and leaking cum and at the base, it was engorged. A knot, I realized as my cheeks heated up.

Vikram laid beside me and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me to him as he did when we slept. Except I was covered in cum and it was very uncomfortable.

“Uh…”

He gave a low growl and pressed me into his chest. I sighed and relaxed. I was still experiencing the aftershocks of orgasm and didn’t really want to move either. The mess could wait until morning.

~

Waking up in drying cum wasn’t pleasant.

“Sorry,” Vikram said as I wiped myself down.

“Warning would’ve been nice,” I told him, “But other than that… I can’t say I mind. Except I think we need to wash the sheets.”

He nodded.

“After breakfast,” I told him.

Vikram left to hunt as usual while I started the fire. I skinned and cooked the meat he brought. When I finished eating, I stripped the bed and we brought the sheets down to the lake to wash.

“Is… this gonna happen every time?” I asked as I scrubbed the sheets clean.

He nodded but had the good sense to look sheepish.

I gave a small snort of laughter and said without thinking, “So the TikToks were right.”

Vikram tilted his head to the side and my eyes widened in horror.

I didn’t say anything else. I zipped my lips tight as I washed the sheets.

He moved over to me and nudged my shoulder, giving me a questioning look.

“What?” I asked, feigning confusion.

He raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, I don’t know what you want,” I shrugged.

I heard a growl in Vikram’s throat and his eyes were focused on me.

“Sorry I can’t read your mind,” I mumbled.

Vikram lowered his body, making a show of getting ready to pounce.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I warned.

He growled again.

“Look, you can tell me when we get back to the—”

With a playful snarl, he pounced towards me, causing me to yelp and fall backwards into the shallow water. The pounce stopped short of getting me, though, and he stood in front of me, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Haha,” I said sarcastically, “Very funny.”

As I started to get up, he moved over me, lowering his head down to meet my eyes. I tried to ignore him and get up anyways, but he put a paw on my leg under the water.

“Fine,” I snapped, “But it’s embarrassing and you’re gonna be mad at me.”

His gaze softened and he licked my forehead before stepping back to give me room to stand.

“I saw these… videos… about… werewolves,” I said haltingly.

He gave a slow nod to show he understood.

“Specifically… werewolf boyfriends,” my heart thudded in my chest.

He nodded again and I swore I saw a smirk.

“The caption would be like ‘when my werewolf boyfriend pulls out’ and it’d be a video of copious amounts of liquid flowing out of something like a pipe, okay?” I crossed my arms.

His shoulders shook with laughter.

“I hate you,” I muttered, grabbing the dropped sheet and wringing it out.

He gave a low rumble and bumped his head against my side.

“It’s embarrassing, okay?” I said, irritated, “Now you know that before we met, I’d… thought about having a werewolf boyfriend.”

Vikram’s eyes became sympathetic and he licked my cheek.

“You’re not upset?” I asked.

He shook his head.

“Well, then… We’ll need to figure out something to do about this,” I stated, “Because I don’t really want to be washing sheets every morning.”

He chuckled and nodded.

~

Vikram sat in front of the word wall, a very serious expression on his face that had a ‘we need to talk’ vibe to it. I groaned and moved to join him.

“There are things you need to know,” he said.

“Okay,” I pulled up the chair, feeling like this was going to be a long one.

He nosed the pen and paper I kept on the desk for new words. I retrieved it and readied to write. He spelled out “sex” while I blushed furiously. When I was done writing, I wordlessly pinned the new paper to the wall.

“Do you want to have sex?” he asked.

Squirming in the chair uncomfortably, I nodded.

“I do too,” he indicated and then moved to lick my forehead affectionately before returning to the wall, “But not yet.”

“Why not?”

He let out a slow breath as he examined the word wall, searching for the right words to say.

“Do we need to add something else?” I asked.

He shook his head and then said “We need to work our way up to sex.”

I frowned, a little confused.

He continued, “We need to go slowly so I do not hurt you.”

“Oh…” understanding dawned on me, “Because I’m… inexperienced?”

“And because I am large,” he said.

“Well someone’s confident in themselves,” I muttered.

He laughed and then moved to lick my cheek.

“If we move too quickly, I could hurt you accidently. I do not want that.”

“I don’t really want that either,” I said nervously, “But uh… Is there a way for it to not hurt?”

He nodded slowly.

“It’s just that… Everyone always says the first time hurts no matter what.”

“It does not have to if we are careful,” he said.

“Okay,” I agreed, “So… slowly?”

“Slowly,” he confirmed.

“What does ‘slowly’ involve, though? I mean, I… uh… Well…” my face burned.

“Tell me, please,” he encouraged.

“I had some… toys I used,” I said, “Over time, they got easier to use but… we don’t have anything here.”

Instead of speaking, he moved towards me and licked my lips. Automatically, I opened to him and he kissed me deeply, his tongue nearly going to the back of my throat. When he pulled away, I swayed in my chair a little.

“Oh… yeah, I guess that works,” I panted, “So you’re… working on it already?”

He nodded.

“And… you do want sex?”

“I do. If it is what you want.”

“Oh, I do… I absolutely do.”

“There is more to discuss,” he said. “When we have sex, we have to be careful.”

I frowned and leaned forward curiously.

I watched as he started to say something, but as soon as he pointed at the word ‘knot’ my brain went fuzzy. My eyes widened and my heart raced. When I didn’t respond, Vikram nuzzled my arm gently.

“Sorry,” I squeaked, “I missed what you said.”

“I have a knot,” he said, “And if I am not careful during sex, we could be tied together for hours.”

“Mmm-hmm,” I nodded, my throat tight.

He seemed to grin and said, “You have read about were wolf sex. You know about knots.”

I whined and covered my face with my hands. I heard him chuckle as he rubbed his head against my arm. After a few minutes, I took a deep breath and uncovered my face.

“Yes, I know about knots. But, uh… we don’t have to be…” I winced, “tied?”

“Not if I am careful,” he indicated, “It only happens at the end.”

“Okay,” I nodded, “But… you… don’t want to be?” the idea of being stuck with him inside me for a few hours didn’t sound awful.

“I cannot protect you from danger if we are stuck,” he said.

“True,” I agreed, my shoulders falling.

“Pulling out when tied is possible,” he said, “But it would hurt.”

I whimpered.

He gave a small rumble and moved towards me. He put one paw around me and pulled me into his chest, hugging me comfortingly.

“So for… uh… safety reasons. No knotting?” I asked into his fur. I felt him nod.

I sighed, a little disappointed but also excited that I would soon have real sex with a werewolf.

~

Thoughts consumed me as I started the fire. With our sex lives evolving, I was starting to think more about our roles and our relationship. And gender.

When Vikram returned with a fish for me to cook, he seemed to notice something was bothering me but said nothing as I started preparing the food. After giving me the fish, he rinsed his mouth in one of the water buckets. That was a habit he developed after we started kissing and I appreciated not having a fishy tongue shoved down my throat.

When I finished eating, Vikram moved to the wall.

“What is wrong?” he asked, sympathy and concern in his eyes.

“Nothings wrong, per say,” I mumbled, crossing my arms.

He nudged my shoulder gently, giving a small whine.

“I was just… thinking about what we’re doing. Like… you go out and hunt. Bring home the bacon. I cook and clean. Classic heteronormativity.” I didn’t know if he would even know what that word meant.

“If it makes you feel better, I would cook and clean if I had hands,” he said with a small chuckle, “I am sorry that falls to you, Ash.”

“Thanks. Ignore me, I’m just…”

“If it also helps,” he continued, “I am not straight.”

I frowned at him, “You’re not?”

“I like all,” he said.

We didn’t have genders on the wall. Or ‘man’ or ‘woman.’

“All? Like you’re pansexual?” I asked, a little teasing, again not sure if he knew that word.

“I am,” he said.

“Oh,” my eyes widened, “really?”

He nodded.

“Me too,” I told him, “I mean, I… I use the label bisexual now just for simplicity.”

“I do not mind what I am called. I just like all.”

I nodded, “Okay. All being men and women?”

“And more,” he said.

“Nonbinary genders?” I whispered nervously.

He nodded.

“I’m… nonbinary,” I said.

He gave a happy rumble and rubbed his head against my folded arms. I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck in an embrace.

“Okay,” I said into his fur, “I’m feeling better now. I just… I was feeling too heterosexual and cisgender, with everything going on.”

~

I was taking down the dried laundry with Vikram by my side. His eyes were upwards, looking at the sky. Though it wasn’t night yet, the moon shown above us. It looked very full. Vikram’s eyes looked worried. When I was done collecting the laundry, we returned to the cabin and I put away everything. When I finished, Vikram moved to the word wall.

“This can’t be good,” I mumbled.

“The full moon is soon,” he said.

“You said the full moon didn’t effect you,” I frowned.

He shook his head, “The full moon did not cause me to be stuck in this form. It does effect me.”

“Oh! Okay…”

“Normally the full moon forces me into this form,” he explained, “I change when the sun sets and change back when the sun rises.”

“Huh,” I sat down, pondering that. We hadn’t really talked much about the fact that he was stuck in that werewolf form. I didn’t like to think about it.

“There is a chance that when the sun rises, I will change,” he told me and then watched me carefully for my reaction.

“Into your human form?”

He nodded.

“That’s… great, right?” I asked.

“It is alright if you do not like it,” he said.

“This isn’t about me,” I shook my head, “It can’t be fun being stuck one way. I know I’m not a fan of being stuck like this,” I said jokingly, “I… I imagine you want to be able to change, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Normally I can shift at will outside of the full moon,” he said.

“Okay, so… the morning after the full moon, you’ll be human?”

“Maybe. It may not change me.”

“Oh…” I tried to grapple with my feelings on the subject. On one hand, I liked what we had. On the other, I didn’t want to be selfish.

“I will still be Vikram,” he said. Though I hadn’t seen much use for putting his name on the wall, I had written it so I pinned it anyways.

I smiled at him and put my hand on his shoulder, “I know.”

“There is something else,” he continued.

“Oh boy…”

“During the full moon, I will act differently. I will not be in control.”

“You… What?” my heart thudded fearfully.

“I will not hurt you,” he stated firmly, his eyes intense, “But I will act differently. The full moon makes me have less control.”

“I don’t understand… Being in this form, you have control but the full moon… changes that?”

He nodded.

“Okay…”

“I will not be able to use these words,” he said, “I should understand some of what you say, but I will not be able to respond as I normally do.”

“But you’re… not dangerous?”

“Not to you.”

“That’s ominous.”

He chuckled, “I could never hurt you. My actions during the full moon may scare you, though.”

“Scare me?”

“I may…” he paused, looking at the wall. He shook his head and started over, “I will have less control.”

“You keep saying that… Are we missing some words that would help?”

He gave a shrug.

“Maybe just too hard to explain with a predetermined set of words?”

He nodded.

“Less control…” I frowned, “I mean, if you’re not gonna try to eat me, then I really don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

Vikram took a deep, slow breath before saying, “I may be pushy.”

“Pushy… Like making me do things?”

He started to shake his head, then stopped and said, “Maybe.”

“Then I… I don’t get what you’re trying to say. I’m sorry.”

He looked between the wall and me a few times. Then he gripped the sleeve of my shirt, pulling me gently from the chair I was in, in the direction of the couch in front of the fireplace. Once I was near the couch, he bumped his head against my chest, pushing me towards the couch. My legs hit the couch and I sat.

Vikram continued to shove his head against my chest, roughly directing me to lay longways on the couch. When I did, he put his paw on my chest and started licking my face.

“Whoa!” I put my hands on the side of his neck to stop him.

He pulled back and looked at me significantly.

“Pushy… got it,” I agreed.

He nodded.

“So like… you’re gonna pin me down and lick me to death?”

He chuckled and nodded.

“Could be worse, I guess.”

He hoped down from the couch and returned to the wall. I shakily followed, turned on by what happened.

“I may be more protective than usual,” he said, “Which may cause me to be pushy in other ways.”

“Like… when we met and you pinned me down and bit my neck?” I asked, a little excited.

He nodded.

“There is something I need you to understand,” he began. I sat and nodded, watching him carefully. “I will have less control. If you want sex, I will not say no.”

My breath left me in a whoosh.

“I need you to say no,” he told me, looking at me firmly, “We can do other things. I can go down on you. But you need to say no to sex.”

“But… How would that even work? I mean, if you don’t have control…”

“For anything related to sex, I will always stop when told no,” he said. “For other things like keeping you safe, I may be stubborn but even in that state, I know what no means. I may be pushy but if you tell me to stop, I will stop.”

“You’re… you’re sure?” I asked, suddenly worried.

He nodded.

“If you are scared of me, I can spend the full moon outside,” he said.

The thought of that made me sad, but I also felt scared I would be raped by a werewolf with no self control.

“That… may be best,” I whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head and said, “I want you to feel safe. When the time comes, I will go outside.”

“Okay,” I agreed sadly.

“Because I am already in this form,” he continued, “The change may effect me sooner than sun set. I believe the full moon is tomorrow night. I may change any time between now and then.”

“Oh,” my eyes widened fearfully.

He rubbed his head against me comfortingly.

“And then…” I began, suddenly remembering the start of the conversation, “You’ll be human?”

“Maybe,” he said, “I do not know.”

~

We went to bed as usual, though we didn’t do anything sexual. I was too scared about the following day. When I woke, Vikram was gone and the door was slightly ajar. My heart thudded fearfully as I hurried to the door to look outside.

“Vikram?” I called, trying to control the rising panic I felt.

Seconds later, he appeared with a fish in his mouth. My body sagged with relief as he came into the cabin.

“Sorry,” he said after dropping the fish in front of the fireplace, “I feel the full moon coming. I wanted to hunt before it affected me.”

“Right,” I said sadly, “Thank you.”

“I will stay outside now,” he said, “You do not need to let me in. Even if I ask, you do not need to open the door again until sunrise.”

“Okay,” I nodded my understanding, “But you may be human then?”

He nodded.

Feeling tears in my eyes, I hugged him tightly, breathing in his scent. If he was human in the morning, things would be different. I hated change and I wanted him to stay a werewolf forever. I was so comfortable with him and he was so beautiful.

Vikram hugged me back tightly with a paw on my back. Then he pulled away. I reluctantly let him go, wiping my eyes. He gave a slow nod and then moved out the door. I took one last good long look at him before shutting the door. It would probably be the last time I saw him the same way. Sure, he could shift into that form anytime in theory, but I would see him differently.

I cooked the fish and tried to figure out how I would spend the day. It was still early morning and normally Vikram and I would do chores together like laundry or foraging. If it was a lazy day, we’d read. If it was a horny day, we’d do sexual things. My days were completely intertwined with him and I had no idea what to do without him.

Glancing out the window, I didn’t see him anywhere. That increased my already high anxiety, but I assured myself that he was nearby. He never went far. I hoped the moon wouldn’t change that. I promised myself to not look out the window again until morning and I settled down to read.

I didn’t want to read the book Vikram and I were currently working on, so I picked one we’d already read. It was fairly short and I knew I could finish it in a day but figured it would take all day and then I would go to sleep. It turned out I read things a lot faster when I wasn’t reading aloud to a werewolf. The book was finished within a few hours.

Then I broke my promise to myself.

He was there when I looked out. Sitting with his back to the cabin, his ears pricked forward as he looked into the forest. He didn’t seem tense, so I didn’t think he sensed danger. It was a relief to see him. It was much easier to relax in the cabin knowing with certainty that he was out there, protecting me.

I read another book to pass the time. It was getting dark when I finished it and I looked out the window again.

He was there, but he was pacing, his head low. He didn’t look nervous but… sad. And there was something in how he walked that was different. Looking up in the sky, I saw the full moon. He was under its influence.

It was a bit early to sleep, but I figured the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner I would wake up, and the sooner he would be back. I hoped he would be back as my lovable werewolf and not a human I didn’t recognize, but either way, the anxiety would be over. There may be new anxieties, but at least the full moon would be done.

I climbed into bed and realized… I was cold.

“Fuck,” I muttered and got out of bed again.

Normally at night, I didn’t worry about the fire. Vikram’s body kept me nice and toasty. Sometimes too warm! But with him gone, the cabin was chilly. I realized he didn’t just warm my bed, but the entire structure with his heightened werewolf body heat.

With the fire started, I climbed into bed again and curled up to sleep.

I hadn’t slept without Vikram since arriving. It felt wrong. The bed felt empty. And even with the fire going, I was cold. I was lonely. But I tried to sleep regardless. I tossed and turned for probably several hours.

Eventually, I had to give up and realize I couldn’t sleep. Not without him.

I climbed out of bed and moved to the window. The cabin was lit by the roaring fire, but I couldn’t see out the window at all.

“Vikram?” I whispered.

I didn’t see any movement or hear anything.

I was scared, but I needed him so I moved to the door and cracked it open.

“Vikram?” I called softly.

A nose appeared in the door, causing me to yelp and jump away. The nose pushed the door open the rest of the way and illuminated by the fire stood Vikram in the doorway, his mouth open as he panted happily.

I didn’t move, scared of what he may do.

He moved towards me and licked my face. It wasn’t the gentle lick of a cheek or my forehead, nor the passionate kiss. It was like a dog liking my face. His tongue lapping at my entire face.

“Whoa,” I said, putting my hands on his chest and pushing him away.

He stopped instantly and took a step back. His ears folded against his head and his eyes looked worried.

“No, it’s okay,” I told him soothingly, “I’m not upset.”

His ears perked up at my tone and he moved towards me, his head lowered slightly.

I tentatively reached a hand out and he pressed the top of his head into it. I smiled and pet him.

“You’re so different,” I breathed.

After living with Vikram for several weeks, the contrast was stark. The creature in front of me was not a human in wolf’s skin. It was something else. Maybe not a wolf, but not a human either.

I moved around him to close the door. Then I faced him again.

“Would you like to… sleep with me?” I asked.

He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look like he understood I’d asked a question.

“Okay then…” I headed towards the bed, hoping he would understand actions if not words.

I climbed into bed and patted the mattress.

“Come on,” I urged, “Up.”

He understood that and hopped into the bed. I laid back on the pillows and he took his normal position with his paw over my stomach. I smiled. Even though he was different, he was still Vikram. The action made me feel a lot more comfortable with him.

I turned on my side to face him and cuddled against his chest like I normally would.

At first, things seemed normal, but then he started licking me. His tongue lathed my exposed ear, cheek, and the side of my neck.

“Hey,” I protested, “Stop.”

He didn’t stop.

I started to sit up, but his paw pinned me to the bed. He continued to lick me, though unlike the first time, he did avoid my mouth, nose, and eyes. In fact, he seemed mainly interested in my neck.

“Oh,” I breathed, ceasing to struggle and starting to enjoy it.

I tilted my head to the side to give him better access. He took full advantage and excitedly licked my neck. The licking and the fact that he had me pinned was exciting my body.

He had said we could do other sexual things. Just not sex…

He’d also said he wouldn’t do anything sexual if I told him to stop and yet he was there licking me when I had told him to stop.

Then again, to a werewolf, maybe that wasn’t sexual. That was just the pushy and protective parts.

To my body, though, it was very sexual.

I squirmed beneath him. We were close to the point of no return, when I wouldn’t be able to settle without an orgasm. But I worried… If I let him pleasure me, would we be able to stop?

Deciding the best course of action would be to stay as clothed as possible, I reached down to touch myself. I wouldn’t ask him to pleasure me. Instead I would take care of that while he licked my neck. He was getting me turned on enough, I didn’t think it would take much. And surely he couldn’t be angry at me in the morning for it. It wasn’t my fault!

Through my underwear, I rubbed myself.

Vikram suddenly stopped licking my neck. He looked at me with a tilted head for a few moments and then rose. He pawed at the blankets covering me, bunching them down at my thighs and then ducked his head, licking my underwear and my hand still there.

I whined and opened my legs to him, getting wetter by the second at the thought of him pleasuring me.

He licked the outside of my underwear. I debated taking them off, but I couldn’t. If they came off, there was nothing stopping us from having sex and I didn’t want to do that. The idea turned me on, sure, but practically I knew having sex with him in such a state would be potentially painful. He’d promised to be careful, but he wasn’t capable of that level of care during the full moon.

I wanted my first time to be with him. Truly him. I knew the wolf in front of me was him, but not the same. Not really.

Thankfully, the werewolf seemed content with licking me through my underwear. I relaxed and enjoyed it. It was different than normal. I wondered if perhaps typically he had a honed skill of preforming oral. It wasn’t as simple as just licking, but an art form. During the full moon, however, it was more simplistic and straight forward. Still felt good, but definitely not as skilled.

I came easily, regardless, wrapping my legs around his head as I normally did. He continued to lick me through my orgasm, eliciting a groan of discomfort.

“Stop,” I whined, and he ceased instantly.

As my body relaxed, I let out a long breath.

“Thank you,” I told him, reaching to put my hand on his cheek, “Now come back to bed.”

I patted the mattress beside me and he took his normal position. We cuddled up together and I easily fell asleep with my face pressed into his furry chest.

~

As I drifted into consciousness, realization hit me and startled me awake. Vikram would be human! I gasped and started to sit up, only to find a large furry arm was draped over my chest. I looked over and saw Vikram’s familiar wolfish face beside me, his eyes closed and his breathing even. Still asleep.

I smiled and settled down. I never woke up before him, so I never got to see him sleep. He looked so peaceful. I cuddled up closer to him and closed my eyes, content to stay there until he woke.

It wasn’t very long before he stirred, blinking his eyes open.

“Good morning,” I told him brightly.

He gave a massive yawn, displaying his many large and sharp teeth, before licking my forehead. Then he laid his head back down on the pillow.

“Tired?” I asked.

He gave a small nod.

“We can stay in bed as long as you want,” I told him, turning on my side in the bed to face him.

Without moving much, he licked my forehead again. I gave a small giggle and moved to press myself to his chest, tucking my head under his chin. He held me to him tightly.

We stayed like that for a while, but when he finally started to move, it felt too soon. I wanted to stay in that sleepy moment with him forever. But alas, my stomach was about to start growling and I’d eaten most of the berries the previous day out of restlessness and boredom.

Vikram hopped down from the bed and I followed as he moved to indicate the word ‘hunt’ and headed to the door. I let him out and then started working on the fire.

I tried not to be too happy. I really did. But I was thrilled that he was still a wolf. I realized, I absolutely didn’t want him to change. It was so selfish of me, but I wanted things to stay exactly the same.

Vikram returned with a fish very quickly and I got to work preparing it. Once it was finished and I was ready to eat, Vikram moved to the word wall. I brought my plate with me as I sat at the desk beside it.

“I did not change back,” he said.

I tried to make my face look sympathetic as I nodded.

“I am sorry if I frightened you.”

“You didn’t,” I told him, “I was fine. Sorry I let you in… I got cold and—”

“I planned to stay outside for your comfort, Ash,” he stated, “It was always your choice to make. I did enjoy spending the night with you.”

“Do you… remember?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

“You did nothing wrong. I apologize for being pushy. I overstepped.”

“No, it was fine. I just… uh…”

“I accidently turned you on,” he said, looking a little sheepish.

I nodded, my cheeks heating up.

“I am sorry for that,” he said.

“It turned out fine,” I argued, “I mean, as long as you’re not upset about… how that turned out.”

“I am not upset. I told you that was fine.”

“Okay,” I let out a breath of relief, “Still, I was worried.”

He moved towards me and licked my forehead. The action made me feel better, but I still had anxiety.

“So, uh… since you didn’t change back…”

“I do not know when or if I may change. Perhaps the next full moon.”

“But… you will change back eventually?”

“Yes. At some point, I will change. It may be a very long time.”

“Okay,” I nodded slowly.

“It is alright to be happy that I did not change,” he said and then looked at me with kind eyes.

“I’m not!” I denied.

He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.

“Maybe… a little,” I admitted.

Vikram licked my forehead again.

“It’s just… I’ve gotten so comfortable with you. I’m scared that when you change… that… things will change.”

“I understand,” he said, “It is alright to feel that way, Ash. If I change, it is alright if it takes time for you to be comfortable with me again. I understand.”

“You’re too patient with me,” I mumbled.

He started to say something, but only did the word ‘I’ before giving up and moving towards me. He pulled me into a tight hug and I wrapped my arms around him. It felt so comfortable. So right. It felt so good that the words slipped out before I could stop them.

“I love you,” I whispered into his fur.

He held me tighter, a deep rumble sounding in his throat. Part of me worried that I shouldn’t’ve said that, but he seemed to be reacting positively.

When Vikram released me, he nosed the pen and papers. I wiped my eyes before grabbing them and spelling out the word he wanted.

Love.

I tried to keep my composure as I wrote it and then pinned it on the wall.

“I love you too.”

~

“Can I do anything for you tonight?” I asked him, running my fingers lazily through his fur.

He shook his head.

“I don’t mind if we have to clean the sheets tomorrow.”

He rumbled and licked my forehead.

I sighed, “Fine. Well, we don’t have to do anything at all tonight.”

Vikram raised an eyebrow at me.

“We don’t have to do it every night,” I mumbled, embarrassed as I realized we had done it pretty much every night.

He seemed to smirk at me as he lowered his head, dragging his tongue slowly across my neck.

“Oh,” I squeaked, feeling my body react.

Vikram’s low chuckle vibrated the bed.

“So you’re hornier than me?” I asked.

He shrugged before lowering his mouth to my neck again. Automatically, I tilted my chin back to give him better access. It wasn’t his tongue I felt, though. It was his teeth gently nipping me.

I whined, instantly turned on.

He lapped at my neck lightly before opening his maw and putting his teeth carefully around my throat.

I tried not to move, but my hips wanted to squirm. He’d never done that before. Not in bed. Not since the day we met.

Vikram pulled back and looked at me with a question in his eyes.

“I… I like that,” I said shakily.

He nodded and put his hand-like paw on my chest, pressing down gently to make sure I knew I was pinned. He licked my forehead before moving to my neck again. I exposed my throat as much as the pillow allowed. He encased my neck in his teeth, though he applied no pressure with them.

Whimpering, I squirmed under him.

He growled warningly, his teeth tightening on my skin just enough. I could feel that I was soaked. I didn’t think I’d ever been so aroused.

He released me from his teeth and removed his paw so he could lick his way down my body. When I moved, he growled and nipped at my skin. I tried to stay as still as possible. When he reached my underwear, he pulled them down with his surprisingly nimble fingers.

“Wait,” I panted. He stopped and looked at me with concerned eyes. “Please just fuck me.”

Vikram seemed torn. He looked between my face and my exposed privates several times before nodding determinedly. He ducked his head between my legs and ran his tongue over me lightly before delving deep and probing inside me.

I groaned and fought off my orgasm as best I could. I wanted him inside me when I came. But I couldn’t control it. I came powerfully around his tongue. As my orgasm faded, I was surprised when his tongue stayed inside me, still moving and stretching me. I was sensitive, but it didn’t hurt so I relaxed and let him work.

When he pulled out, he gripped my hips and moved me carefully so my legs hung over the edge of the bed. I realized why when Vikram stretched out over me, positioning himself between my legs.

“You… don’t want to do it from behind?” I asked nervously.

He seemed to smile and shook his head. He ducked down and kissed me deeply, his fangs poking my cheeks as his jaw surrounded my face. Then he nipped my neck before straightening up.

He was already fully erect and I shuddered a little in fear. I really wasn’t sure I could take him. The fear increased my arousal somewhat, but I still was afraid.

“Will… will it hurt?” I asked, though I knew we already discussed that.

He shook his head and licked my forehead.

“Okay,” I tried to relax as I laid back.

He rubbed his length up and down my wetness, coating himself in my arousal. I groaned and arched my head back as I felt his warm hard cock against my clit. Then I felt him press against my entrance. I whimpered and tensed.

He gave a small whine and licked my neck before nipping gently. It was subtle, but it was enough to get my arousal back up. It would’ve been more effective if he was more aggressive, but I suspected he didn’t want to make me feel like I had to do it. Even playfully, he didn’t want to threaten me.

I took a deep breath and forced my body to relax. I nodded to him and he pressed into me. I gasped as I felt him slip inside suddenly. He was only an inch in, but he froze, watching my face carefully. It felt strange, but didn’t hurt.

“I’m fine,” I panted, “Don’t… don’t stop.”

With a slow, careful effort, he eased his way in. I felt myself stretch around him. Not painful, but not a wholly pleasant sensation either. Still, I kept my body as pliable as possible, breathing slowly and steadily.

Soon, he was seated deep within me. I felt him pressing against me in ways his tongue never could. Then he pulled back. As he thrust into me with gentle force, I felt the sparks of pleasure.

“Oh,” I let out.

He started slowly, his movements controlled and careful. As my body gave into him, he started to let go. He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t as gentle either. Above me, I could see him watching my face intently, ready to stop if I showed signs of discomfort.

But I was quite comfortable, meeting his thrusts as best I could. I could feel the build within me and knew it wouldn’t be long before I came again.

Vikram adjusted his position, holding my hips so I could no longer move, and he started fucking me properly. His movements came fast, pressing me into the bed.

I whined and moaned as my orgasm hit me. I felt it in every inch of my body. I felt myself clench around Vikram as he continued to thrust into me until suddenly he pressed deeper, almost painfully deep, and warmth spilled from him, filling me.

My orgasm lasted longer than I thought possible as I felt him twitch with me, still cumming deep inside.

We didn’t move for a long time. His weight was heavy on me, but he kept himself from crushing me. Then as he pulled back, I winced and whimpered.

He held my hips carefully and gave a discontented rumble. He sounded upset or annoyed. Suddenly my body filled with fear. Had I done something wrong?

Quickly, he licked my forehead reassuringly. When he straightened up, he looked pointedly at where our bodies intersected and gave a gentle tug. I felt that he was stuck within me and my face flushed.

“Oh,” I squeaked.

He nodded.

“We’re… knotted?”

He nodded again, giving me an apologetic look.

“It’s… it’s okay,” I told him, “Uh… how long? An hour?”

He frowned.

“Two hours?”

A shrug.

“Longer than two hours?”

He nodded.

“Fuck…”

He moved within me, thrusting as much as our connection allowed for. I gasped and arched my back, my arousal building again.

“M-more?” I questioned, “You can… come again?”

He nodded.

“I’m game,” I said, “I have at least one more orgasm left in me, under the right conditions.”

To my surprise and horror, he picked me up and moved us so he laid back on the bed and I straddled him, my hands resting on his chest to balance myself.

“No, no, no,” I said quickly, “I can’t be on top.”

He rumbled and moved his hips, making me hiss as he moved inside me.

“I can’t,” I argued, “Please!”

He moved his hips again. Almost automatically, I moved with him.

“Oh,” I said. It felt surprisingly good in the new position.

He stopped moving, but I ground against him, rocking on his cock. I closed my eyes and leaned forward, putting my weight on my hands atop his chest as I moved. The action came so naturally, I didn’t have to think about it. I couldn’t. I used his body for my pleasure.

Suddenly, he grasped my hips and held me as he twitched beneath and inside me, filling me with more warm wetness. I didn’t stop moving, though, even as his paws tried to keep me still. I moved faster and faster until I reached my own climax. I grasped handfuls of his fur as my body convulsed.

I almost collapsed forward as my orgasm faded, but Vikram caught me and held me upright.

“Did I… make you come?” I asked breathlessly.

He chuckled and nodded.

That made me feel very empowered. I moved my hips. “Can I do it again?”

He growled, wincing a little and shook his head.

“Sorry,” I said, my cheeks getting hot.

With great care, he moved us so we were lying on our sides, still connected. I somehow still wanted more. I wanted to make him come inside me over and over again, but he didn’t seem up for it, despite the fact that he was still hard.

He held me, wrapping me in his warmth, as we drifted to sleep.

~

It was never pleasant to wake up covered in werewolf cum, but as I came to consciousness, I felt blissful. A little sore, but blissful. Vikram held me tightly to his chest. I realized we were no longer knotted, thankfully. We must have parted sometime in the night.

Vikram licked my forehead before releasing me and hopping down from the bed. I groaned in disappointment, wanting to stay there forever, but I rose and moved to join him at the word wall. My legs felt still and sore.

“Talk now or after you eat?” he asked.

I looked over at the soaked bed, “Maybe while the sheets are drying. I don’t want to get the laundry started too late if you’re thinking this will be a long conversation.”

He nodded and moved to the door.

As usual, I prepared the fire and he returned with meat. We didn’t talk as I ate and I ate quickly so I could get laundry started. We stripped the bed and took the sheets down to the lake. I washed them as Vikram kept me company, but we didn’t talk. I was running through everything I thought we would say later.

With the sheets washed, I pinned them up on the clothes lines and we returned to the house. Vikram said in front of the word wall.

“I enjoyed it,” he told me. “Did you?”

I nodded nervously.

“You did nothing wrong,” he said.

I gave a small scoff, “You know me too well.”

He chuckled and licked my forehead.

“Really, though? Because I thought maybe I… hurt you?” I fretted.

He shook his head, “No, you did not hurt me. It is a difficult feeling to explain like this, but it did not hurt. Did I hurt you?”

“No,” I said quickly, “Not at all. I mean, it felt strange, but… Not painful.”

“Good. If I ever cause pain, please tell me.”

“I will,” I agreed. “Uh… so… I guess you realized certain things get me… excited?”

He nodded, seeming to smile a little.

“Okay…” I didn’t want to elaborate.

“I am sorry for the knot,” he said, looking genuinely regretful.

“Don’t be,” I said, “That was… actually… uh… I liked it.”

His eyes widened a little in surprise. “It should not happen again. I will be more careful.”

My shoulders fell, “But I liked it.”

“Yes, but being tied means I cannot protect you,” he reminded me.

“But nothing happened,” I pointed out, “Last night was fine.”

He frowned deeply, “Last night was fine, but there are many nights that the creatures pass the house.”

“You… haven’t told me about them.”

“No, I did not want to worry you. They have not attempted to enter the house, but they are becoming more bold. And…” he stopped suddenly and sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sex is drawing them here,” he said.

“Oh,” my cheeks flushed. “Should we… stop?”

“I can protect you. Even if they attempt to attack, I will keep you safe. I cannot do that if we are knotted.”

“Right… So we can keep having sex as long as that doesn’t happen again?”

He nodded.

“Do you want to have sex again?”

“Yes, I do,” he stated.

“Okay,” I smiled, “I do too.”

~

“Are we eventually gonna run out of these berries?” I asked before popping a few in my mouth inside of the basket.

Vikram chuckled and shrugged.

“They’re so good,” I enthused.

He continued to laugh lightly at me as we moved to our next foraging spot, but then he froze, going silent. Vikram lifted his nose to the air and sniffed, his ears swiveling around. I kept quiet and still, recognizing the signs of potential danger.

After a few moments, he gripped the sleeve of my shirt and tugged me along side him, only releasing me when I was moving swiftly at his side towards the cabin. I didn’t speak.

We just entered the clearing, the cabin in view, when howls filled the air. Vikram snarled at me, looking pointedly at the house. Taking the hint, I ran, dropping the basket of berries, sending them flying. Growls erupted behind me. I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder.

Vikram was fighting with a single werewolf, easily pinning it to the ground.

But looking back was a mistake because I tripped over my own feet, sending me sprawling to the ground. A second werewolf appeared as I struggled to my feet, head low as he approached. I froze, knowing that I’d never make it to the door if I bolted.

I stared down the werewolf. Meeting its eyes may have been a bad idea, but I couldn’t look away. Those bright yellow eyes focused on me.

Then Vikram tackled the werewolf from the side. My trance was broken and I ran the last few paces to the door, opening it quickly and slamming it behind me. I moved to the window to watch and gasped in horror as at least five more werewolves appeared in the clearing while Vikram wrestled with the one.

Most of them descended on Vikram, joining the fight, but two scanned the area, sniffing the ground and looking around. One looked up and met my eyes through the window. It lowered it’s head and pricked its ears.

“Oh,” I breathed and moved away from the window.

Though I didn’t want to be unable to see the fight, I needed to not draw their attention so I moved to the bed and sat their, holding my knees to my chest. I heard everything. Growls, snarls, whines of pain. I tried to identify if the pained sounds were Vikram but I couldn’t with all the other noises.

Tears streamed down my face.

The sounds moved farther and farther away. I knew that was best, but it just made my anxiety worse. While I could hear the fight, I knew Vikram was alive. As the sounds faded into the distance, I worried. What if he didn’t come back?

I laid on the bed, hugging a pillow tightly, pressing my face into it to breathe in Vikram’s scent. His smell filled the cabin completely, comforting me. But the pillow we slept on held it strongly. Eventually my tears ceased and I was able to calm, but I still worried.

A sound outside startled me. I rushed to the window and saw Vikram entering the clearing. The other werewolves were nowhere in sight. I opened the door for him. He limped inside, his head low.

“Oh, no,” I breathed, putting my hand gingerly on his shoulder. I gasped when I felt wetness. I pulled my hand away to see it covered in blood.

Vikram’s fur was black, so the red did not show up well against his coat. As I examined him closer, I realized he was nearly covered in blood and blood dripped down to the floor.

“Come lay down in front of the fire,” I urged gently.

He winced at every step, but he moved to the space between the fireplace and the couch, collapsing there. I knelt by his head.

“Is… is there anything I can do?”

He shook his head weakly.

“Will… will you heal?” I asked.

He nodded. He lifted his head slightly and rubbed it against my hand before laying down again. His eyes closed.

Fresh tears soaked my face. I moved beside him, carefully lifting his massive head so rest in my lap while I leaned back against the couch. I stroked his face, careful to not touch any wounds, and murmured words of comfort. I told him I loved him. I told him I’d be here for him.

It was weak, but I heard his familiar content rumble and let out a breath of relief. I wasn’t confident he would be okay, but at least it seemed that he was comfortable. I wished I could do more, but I had no idea how to treat his wounds. And if his healing was fast like fictional werewolves, I would do more harm than good if I tried to help.

~

I didn’t fall asleep, but I was in a sort of emotionless trance. I’d had to force myself to stop worrying because every time Vikram took longer than usual between breaths, I’d panic. So I stopped feeling. It wasn’t easy, but I had to.

When Vikram stirred, all my emotions rushed back and tears fell instantly.

It didn’t help that he was moving strangely. It was like his body was vibrating.

Was that what happened when a werewolf died? Was he dying in my arms?

His expression didn’t seem distressed. He still looked peacefully asleep. But he was vibrating! And the speed of it was increasing!

Then a different movement started. At first, I thought he was moving his paws but then I realized their shape was changing. Before my eyes, his hand-like paws were becoming hands. At that realization, I focused on his face. His muzzle was shortening and gradually fur vanished and a human face appeared.

Within moments, a large naked human man was laying with his head in my lap.

His chest rose and fell with each breath and I relaxed, relieved. He was alive! He just shifted! He was fine!

Then I registered that his body was marred with deep bites and slashes, though it was difficult to see beneath the massive amounts of blood. With my shirt, I gingerly wiped away blood from one of the wounds. I realized it didn’t look fresh. It looked like it had at least a day of healing. It was still deep and horrifying, but I was fairly certain he was healing quickly.

So I stayed there with his head on my lap, stroking his long black hair and murmuring my words of love and comfort.

His hair was longer than shoulder length and he had a thick black beard as well. All of his hair was crusted with blood. His body, which I had a very good view of, was extremely large. That explained why his clothes were so big.

A few moments later, I checked the wound I’d cleaned off again and saw that it had healed further.

“Okay,” I let out a breath, “He’s gonna be alright.”

With that knowledge, I decided I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit there. I grabbed a cushion from the couch and carefully moved Vikram’s head to rest on it instead of my lap. Once free, I got up and gathered supplies.

Rags, a bucket of water, a large cup of water, and a clean blanket.

Then I got to work. I gently cleaned his body of the blood, using the bucket of water and rags. I didn’t have access to his whole body, and I avoided certain areas, but I cleaned him as best I could. Once most of the blood was off, I covered him with the blanket.

I moved him again to rest his head in my lap so I could stroke his face and hair. I wiped what blood I could from his face, but removing it from his hair would be a more difficult task.

I leaned back and rested, feeling good about what I accomplished. I hoped he would be more comfortable.

~

Vikram stirred, startling me. A small groan came from him. The sound was so foreign! So human!

“It’s alright,” I murmured, “I’m here. You’re safe.”

He turned his head in my lap to look up at me. I smiled down at him.

“Morning,” I greeted him, though it was pitch black outside.

He gave a weak smile and started to rise.

“Whoa, take it slow,” I urged, putting my hand on his shoulder, “It’s okay.”

He relaxed back in my lap again and frowned, looking puzzled.

“Don’t move too quickly,” I told him, “I think you’re still healing.”

His eyes narrowed and he raised one hand to hold it in front of his face, examining it. His mouth started to move, as if he was trying to speak.

“It’s alright,” I stroked his hair, “Take your time.”

He closed his eyes and cleared his throat. Then he looked up at me.

“Ash,” he croaked out.

My heart soared. I knew it was Vikram, of course, but hearing my name… It was him! He hadn’t gone anywhere.

“Vikram,” I returned, fighting back my tears of happiness.

He smiled at me and reached up to cup my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch.

“I love you,” I told him.

He took my hand in his other and pressed it to his lips.

“How do you feel?” I asked worriedly, “Are you… are you gonna be okay?”

He nodded and then moved to rise again. I didn’t stop him. He stretched, moving his arms and neck to loosen the muscles. Then he faced me and put his hands on my cheeks before pressing a kiss to my forehead.

I let out a sigh of contentment. Vikram, my wolf, my love… It was him.

He pulled back and cleared his throat again.

“T-talking… will be… difficult,” he stated.

“It’s okay,” I assured him, “Don’t rush it.”

He smiled gratefully at me and then leaned back against the couch, seeming tired.

“Want to use the bed?” I asked, “If you need to rest?”

He nodded and started to get to his feet. The blanket I’d covered him with fell to the ground. I flushed and averted my eyes. He had difficulty walking at first, but moved slowly and was able to make it to the bed. He laid atop it and looked at me expectantly, holding out his hand.

I joined him, climbing in beside him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me to his chest, as he often did before. But instead of fur, my face was pressed against flesh and chest hair. I found I didn’t mind so much, though. He still smelled the same. He was still my Vikram.

~

Light streamed into the cabin when I woke, my back pressed against a human chest. It was an odd feeling, but not an uncomfortable one. Behind me, I felt him kiss my shoulder.

“Morning,” I greeted, turning to face him.

“Good morning, my love,” he ducked his head down to kiss my forehead.

“I like the sound of that,” I smiled widely, “I could get used to this whole talking thing.”

He chuckled, a surprisingly familiar sound.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

I frowned, “You’re not going to hunt?”

“That was my intention.”

“You should rest,” I argued.

“I am healed,” he assured me, caressing my cheek with a finger, “You took very good care of me in my injured state.”

My cheeks grow hot, “I didn’t know what to do…”

He shook his head, “You did everything perfectly. Your touch and comfort helped me to heal quickly.”

“Really? I… I helped?”

“You did,” he said and kissed my forehead, “I am going to hunt. We can speak more when I return.”

He started to get out of bed, but I grabbed his hand, “What about the wolves?”

“They will not return for a while,” Vikram said, “I killed many of them. It will take time for them to be confident enough to make another attempt.”

“Okay,” I nodded, then I brought his hand to my lips and placed a kiss there. “Be safe.”

He smiled at me and said, “I will.”

As he moved to the door, I realized with surprise that he was wearing clothes. Sometime while I slept, he must have dressed.

As if it were a normal day, I started the fire while he was gone.

I was surprised when Vikram returned with two fish in hand. He never brought more than a single prey item. Then I realized he needed to eat too.

“Eating raw meat isn’t so appealing in human form?” I questioned.

“My stomach certainly does not find it as easy to digest,” he agreed with a laugh.

I held out my hands to take the fish to cook, but he shook his head.

“It is my turn to cook for you, Ash,” he said.

“You don’t have to,” I argued, “You’re probably still getting used to having fingers. I don’t mind.”

“Yes, I am reacquainting myself with my human body,” he confirmed, “Which is why cooking will be good practice for me. Please, Ash? I would like to do this.”

I sighed and nodded, “Sure, but what am I supposed to do?”

“Relax and let me take care of you,” he said with a level of gentleness that made my heart feel funny.

“Oh-okay,” I agreed.

I sat in the desk’s chair, near the word wall, as I watched Vikram work. I pondered taking the words down, with Vikram’s new ability to speak. But that thought filled me with sadness. I hoped I would be able to see him in his wolf form again, and if I did, the words would be useful.

“Can… can you shift at will now?” I asked nervously.

“I will be able to soon,” he confirmed, “It may be a few days before I can shift again. Being stuck in that form for so long… It will take time for me to recover. After I have recovered, however, I will be able to shift between forms.”

“Are you… planning to?”

He looked at me over his shoulder with a smile, “I will if it makes you happy. And to protect you. I fight more effectively in that form.”

I let out a breath of relief.

“It is alright if you are disappointed,” he stated, his eyes focused on the cooking fish.

“I’m not,” I said quickly, “I promise, I’m not.”

He frowned but didn’t look at me.

“Seriously,” I said, “Yeah, I thought I would be. But… I was so scared you were gonna die last night.”

Tears filled my eyes at the memory.

“When you started to change, I thought… I thought I was losing you. But you’re here. You look different, but you’re here. I’m not disappointed. I’m overjoyed that you’re alive.”

Vikram rose and moved to me. I met him halfway and wrapped my arms around his middle.

“I do miss your fur,” I mumbled into his shirt.

He chuckled, holding me to him tightly.

“The fish are ready,” he told me gently.

He released me and I pulled back, wiping my eyes. We settled on the couch, eating beside each other.

“You’re… talking really well,” I commented.

“It is still a little bit of a struggle,” he stated, “It does not come naturally yet.”

“Ah,” I nodded, realizing he did speak very slowly and measuredly. “But uh… you actually speak this formally? Like no contractions or anything?”

He smiled, “Yes, I do.”

“I thought that’s just how it worked out with the words we wrote, but… That’s just how you talk.”

“Are you disappointed?”

“No, just surprised. Well, not really surprised… It’s just interesting. Sorry, I think I’m nervous so I’m babbling.”

“That is alright,” he assured me, “I admit, I am nervous as well.”

“You are?”

“I worried you would not like me when I changed. That I would… frighten you or you simply would… find me unappealing.”

“I might be a little frightened, but I have an anxiety disorder so everything scares me. And uh…” I looked up at his face, meeting his deep, black eyes, appraising his long hair. My eyes traveled down to his thick arms. “Not unappealing,” I squeaked.

He smiled but said nothing as he took a bite.

I cleared my throat and resumed eating.

“Why are those wolves after me? I mean, I assume they’re after me based on things you said. Am I the only substantial meat in this forest?”

He didn’t answer right away, taking his time to chew and swallow.

“They do not want you for food,” he stated, speaking slowly and carefully.

“But you said…”

“It was too difficult to explain their true intentions and I felt it was not imperative you know. I apologize for not being fully truthful with you. I do hope you understand why I withheld.”

“What’s the truth?”

“Those creatures are not human and never were, but… they use humans to reproduce. They find humans they can impregnate.”

“Oh,” I squeaked, “They want to… impregnate me?”

“Yes.”

I set down my plate and stood, pacing and hugging myself. My mind raced.

“You said you couldn’t…”

“I cannot,” he said firmly, “I am not the same species as them, Ash.”

“So we didn’t… you didn’t… There’s no chance I’m…?”

He stood and put his hands on my shoulders, “There is no chance that you are pregnant. I am not capable of reproduction. In my case, becoming a werewolf rendered me completely sterile.”

“Sorry,” I said, “Just… realizing there’s a pack of… somethings out there that want to get me pregnant and you… we’ve… I know you aren’t like them. I just have anxiety.”

“I understand,” he murmured before kissing my forehead, “Do not feel badly for having fears, Ash. Ultimately, we have not known each other very long. I would understand if you did not fully trust me.”

“I do trust you,” I said, “My brain’s just broken.”

“Mmm,” he rumbled as he placed a kiss atop my head, “It looks alright to me.”

“Maybe you need glasses,” I muttered.

“Or perhaps some closer inspection,” he suggested, ducking down to nibble my ear.

“Oh,” I squeaked, “Maybe.”

I tilted my head to the side as he kissed my neck. I was breathing heavily by the time he pulled away.

“That was… inappropriate of me,” he said, frowning deeply.

“What?” I asked, breathless.

“Given the previous topic…”

“Dude, it’s fine,” I said, “Please, don’t stop.” I tilted my head to the side again.

“We should stop if we want to get anything done today,” he said, smiling at me, “If you still want to explore our physical relationship, we can do so after the laundry is done. Perhaps you did not notice, the bed has a large amount of blood in it.”

I sighed, “Yeah. We should get to work. But… I mean, what’s the point of washing the sheets now if…?”

“I can assure you, there will be much less to clean up in this form,” he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

[let-love-run-red]

Could I get a werewolf fanfic with Garcello where he like- Finds the reader hurt in the woods because of family issues (haha not self projecting wdym--) And takes them in and Annie and Garcello don't know what to do and then the reader wakes up to find herself in a tricky situation with 2 werepeople if that makes any sense? Pls and ty djjddnjdnf

Of course you can anon! Garcello would be such a fluffy werewolf I love him. I'm sorry this took so long for me to get to!

PS: This is the type of werewolf I imagine Garcello and Annie to be

***

You ran through the woods. You couldn't see well through the rain, and it was dark in these woods despite the bright full moon, so you just hoped you wouldn't trip over anything. You were hurt, not physically at least, just emotionally. Your family had always had their, difficult, moments. But usually it was all things you could handle.

Not today.

Not this time.

You tripped over something, probably a root, and went sprawling into the mud and leaves. You sat for a moment with tears streaming down your cheeks as you sat up. Your clothes were now covered in mud, just great.

You took a deep breath and looked up, trying your best to see through the rain. Everything just seemed like blurry shapes in the dark. You sniffled and stood up, trying to keep yourself warm in your soaking wet clothes. You turned to look around at the small clearing you were in, startled to see two pairs of glowing eyes looking at you from the bushes.

You stepped back, worried about what it might be. They were up too high to be a fox or raccoon, and the bears in these woods were usually solitary, but you didn't know of anything else large enough to have those eyes. You watched as two figures stepped out of the bushes, two hulking figures with fur and sharp claws.

The larger of the two, the one in the front, had glowing yellow eyes. The fur covering it's body was a mix of dusty brown and teal green. It walked on it's rear legs, but hunched over and supported it's weight on it's knuckles as well, almost the way a gorilla would walk. It had a short bushy brown tail, and tall pointed ears. It would look almost friendly, if it weren't for the long pointed fangs poking out from it's snout.

The second one, the one behind, was smaller. It had fur as black as the shadows with glowing red eyes. It's ears were shorter, and it's fur was longer than the first creature's, but the fangs and claws were just as sharp. Just as dangerous.

You took another step back as the larger of the two took a halting hop-step towards you, only to feel your shoe catch in the mud on the ground. You fell backwards with a cry, doing your best to catch yourself before you fell to the ground and your head connected with the earth with a thud. Your vision faded, the last thing clear being the glowing yellow eyes of the creature.

***

When you came to you were in an unfamiliar house, in an unfamiliar bed, wearing unfamiliar clothes. You sat up quickly, regretting it as your head pounded. You lifted a hand to your head and grimaced. You slowly opened your eyes and looked around the room to see sunlight peeking through the curtains over the windows. You threw the blanket off your legs, looking down at them. You were wearing a pair of basketball shorts that were a little too big for you. Your knees were bruised and scraped from your fall.

You stood up out of the bed, slowly making your way to the door and peeking your head out of it. The door opened up to a short hallway, with a door on either side. The hall opened into what you assumed was the living room, you could just see the side of a couch. You stepped out of the door, trying your best to walk silently on the hardwood floor.

"Well what were we supposed to do Annie? Just leave here there?" You heard a male voice snap. You paused. It was coming from the end of the hall, just around the corner. The kitchen must be there then.

"Anything other than take her home Garcello! What are we supposed to do now?" A female voice, probably Annie, asked. You heard a huff.

"What now Garcello?" She pressed. You took another step down the hall.

"I don't know. But I wasn't going to let her freeze to death in the forest." The man, Garcello, responded. So he had brought you here? He was the one to rescue you?

"You're the one who gets to explain that to her." Annie said. Her voice sounded close, and you were about to turn to run back into the room when she came around the corner and almost ran into you. She had brown eyes that had a slight red tinge to them, and jet black hair. She wore an oversized sweater and a pair of gray sweatpants. She paused, looking to you in surprise.

"O-oh, hi. You're awake." She said. She turned to look back into the kitchen and cleared her throat before turning back to meet your eyes.

"How, how long have you been up?" She asked you, furrowing her brows and crossing her arms. You heard heavy footsteps and another person appeared from around the corner.

He was tall, easily 6'5", and broad too. His shoulders looked like they wouldn't fit through a doorway. The white T-shirt he wore clung to him tightly, showing off his dad bod. He had the same teal green hair with dusty brown roots that the creature from the night before had. Were these, it couldn't be...

"Hi, you're awake." He said, copying the words Annie had used. You swallowed and nodded slowly, looking between the two.

"What do you remember?" He asked, standing next to Annie in the hallway. You wanted to run back into the room and lock yourself away, but he seemed safe and welcoming. And this place was definitely better than the one you came from.

"Um, I saw two, things, in the woods, and the, I fell, and I think I blacked out." You explained as you looked between the two of them.

"Do you remember what they looked like?" Annie pressed you. You nodded, how could you forget.

"They looked like, I don't know. It sounds crazy." You said, shaking your head with a chuckle. The two exchanged a glance and Garcello cleared his throat.

"Werewolves?" He asked. You paused before nodding. He crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks before blowing out a breath.

"Um, yeah. That, that was us." He said, looking to Annie. You hesitated.

"We uh, we found you and we-" Annie cut him off with a harsh clearing of her throat. Garcello rolled his eyes. "I didn't want to leave you there alone." He explained, lifting a hand to scratch at his stubble. He offered a shy smile, showing his eerily sharp canine teeth.

"We can take you back there and you're welcome to head home. We just wanted to make sure you were ok." He finished, shifting his weight from foot to foot. You felt your heart drop at the thought of returning home. You couldn't go back, not after what had happened, You shook your head violently ad Garcello tilted his head.

"No, no I don't want to go back." You said firmly. Annie excused herself, walking into the door on the left side of the hallway. Garcello watched her for a moment before turning to you.

"Did something happen?" He asked. His voice was soft and calming, it made you feel safe, even though you didn't know these people. You felt safer here than you ever had with your family.

"I just, my family. They're not good people." You said softly, scratching your arm and looking down at the shirt you wore. It was a band shirt, Mystery Skulls. It was soft and worn thin and the design on the front was faded, it was well loved.

"I'm sorry," Garcello paused. "you're welcome to stay." He offered after a moment. You looked up at him curiously and saw his cheeks dusted a light shade of pink. The tips of his ears that poked through his hair were the same blush color and he scratched at his stubble again.

"If you don't have anywhere else to go." He rushed to add. You met his eyes, that same soft shade of honey gold you saw in the wolf's eyes last night. He wasn't human, that was for sure, but sometimes humans were worse than monsters.

Humans had driven you into the woods last night, and werewolves gave you a safe place to stay when you were alone and hurt. You nodded slowly and Garcello smiled softly.

"If it's not a bother, yeah. I'd like to stay."

[toadwarts]

Special Delivery

Companion piece to Safe At Last.

After two humans escaped from an abusive home and found a new home working alongside Duke, they have begun settling into their new lives as merchants and their polyamorous romance with The Duke. Our primary character (aka the Reader) is struggling with the way he is perceived by the villagers, but is pleasantly surprised when The Duke returns with a special gift... Just the thing to help him feel better.

Fluffy hurt/comfort poly oneshot written in first person but made so that you can insert yourself if wanted. This story centers on a transmasculine protagonist!

Read on A03 or Fanfiction.net!

I sat in the back of the Duke’s caravan, lonely and bored. Both the Duke and my primary partner had been out for hours, making deliveries around the village and to the factory. I had stayed behind to look after the caravan and make sales to anyone who might approach--not to mention I wasn’t terribly keen on meeting any of the four lords yet. It had been months since we began staying with the massive enigma of a man, and only a few days less of that time since we had become a delightful little polycule. 

Life in the village hadn’t been easy--there were a lot of mysterious dangers, and you had to be cunning with both your words and weapons. Even still, it was as if The Duke commanded respect of all who lived within the confines of this little world, and so the three of us were safe/ When asked, The Duke would simply flash an award winning smile and say, “I suppose it’s one of the perks of having world class customer service!”

Still, The Duke being so...enigmatic could be exhausting, and perhaps a little bit annoying at times. But he was a good friend and even better lover, and always made sure that we were cared for. If he wanted to keep his secrets, I suppose it was his business. One day, after building up plenty of trust...perhaps we would be privy to them. After all, we had our own secrets too.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” 

I startled at the sudden noise, hopping up to my feet. No one had approached the caravan all day, but I needed to make sure my customer service was perfect, else The Duke would be most displeased!

“Hello,” I said, my voice chipper. “How can I help you out today?” The customers seemed to be a couple--a thin man and woman, dressed all in black with their hats pulled low on the crowns of their heads. Their hands were intertwined, both of them shivering in the cold. 

“We were looking for meat. Sausage, if you have it. And a few nails so we can fix our fence.” The man said, fidgeting with his jacket. 

“Of course! Anything to help out a loyal customer. Just let me go and grab them from the back.” I said cheerfully, forcing a big smile. I wasn’t prone to very much facial expression myself, but trying to mimic The Duke definitely helped. It was almost like putting on a costume.

I traversed back into the caravan, rooting around for what was needed. I kept my ears perked to listen to the customers as I unraveled a rope of thick sausages, placing them gently into a pristine paper bag. 

“I wonder where that girl came from. The boy too.” The woman said. “The Duke has seemed to take quite a shining to the two of ‘em, and it looks like The Lords don’t mind them too much either. Surprised Dimitrescu hasn’t taken that maiden for herself.” 

I felt ice shoot through my bloodstream. The girl. The boy too. A sour feeling entered my mouth. My partner didn’t go by any gender, and me… Well, it seems that my binder didn’t work well enough today. Really, I suppose it was my voice that gave me away. I had always felt disconnected from its lilting, high pitch. I hunched my shoulders and huffed, finishing packaging their order. It couldn’t be helped. A lot of people couldn’t understand.

I approached the front of the caravan, wanting this transaction to be over as soon as possible. “Here you go.” I said, doing my best to open up the back of my throat and make my voice sound deeper. Foolish and a waste of time, I’m sure. “Everything is packed up now. I hope that you find it all to be of the highest quality. If you have any qualms, please come back to see us.” 

“Thank you ma’am.” The woman said as her husband dug around in his pockets for the appropriate amount of lei. “Such a sweet young girl. Where did you come from, dear?” 

My stomach twisted, and I did my best to keep the discomfort out of my voice. “Um… Further away. I left home, and stumbled across the village while looking for somewhere to camp.” I didn’t see the point in correcting them and starting up a whole new conversation that they likely wouldn’t or couldn’t want to understand. 

“How unfortunate. We’ve been having a lot of problems lately, miss.” The man said, counting up his lei. 

Tch. Did they have to keep gendering literally everything they say?! Geez.

“Like werewolves?” I couldn’t help but smirk a little. “Well, it’s definitely a step up from where I came.” 

“I suppose so. Especially with special treatment from the merchant.” The man sniffed, flinching when his wife elbowed him. 

“I’m sorry about that. He didn’t get enough sleep last night,” The woman apologized, handing me the lei. 

I nodded, smile tight and strained. “No problem! I do hope you get to feeling better.” I handed them their items and swallowed hard. “Have a wonderful rest of your day and good luck fixing your fence!!” 

They waved me off, and I slunk back into the caravan. I knew the village definitely had a few gossips, but I hadn’t imagined it would be so annoying. I had already heard some adolescents talking about how funny it was to see a woman with such short hair and a flat chest, chattering about my partner and I… I’d argue that the most dangerous thing in this village wasn’t the werewolves, but perhaps the strain on the villagers that had them biting at each other’s ankles… Or mine, at least. Maybe they’d eventually warm up to me like they did The Duke though. Even my partner was having an easier time settling in to it all. 

I guess I just felt out of place. The only time I did feel right was when I was curled into The Duke’s soft side, my hand entwined with my primary partner’s across his ample belly, their soft breaths lulling me into a comfortable slumber. 

My ears perked as the door to the back of the caravan opened. My primary partner stood there with a broad grin, eyes shining. “Hey there, dear!” They said happily. “We have a surprise for you. Well, Duke does, I’m just happy and along for the ride!” 

I cocked my head. A gift was certainly something to perk up the mood--and The Duke was certainly top tier at finding the perfect gifts… Who knows what he may have brought?

Speaking of The Duke, he leaned on his cane as he squeezed into the wagon. “Hello, my dear boy!” He said happily. His words sent flutters of delight through my stomach, making me smile. “I’ve got a bit of a gift for you. Something you’ve mentioned a few times. I hope you might like it!” 

I stepped forward, eyes glinting curiously. The Duke turned a bit, shutting the door to the wagon behind him. When he turned, a small black box was in his hands, seemingly procured from thin air. Without skipping a beat I came closer, feeling my cheeks pinken with shyness. “What is it?” 

“Well, you’ll have to open it to find out, won’t you?” The Duke smiled broadly, holding the box out. 

I took the box from his hands as he sat down, my partner bouncing with giddiness. I carefully unfolded the top, seeing that whatever was inside was wrapped in deep red satin, the color of blood. Fitting, for the village. Gingerly, I pulled the satin back, curiosity thrumming through my fingers. 

I gasped. 

A little vial, full of clear liquid, and a set of alcohol swabs, syringes, and band-aids. 

It couldn’t be. 

“Is… Is this…?” The words were so small in my throat, barely breaking out of my mouth. 

“It is.” The Duke nodded, clasping his hands together and smiling softly. “Testosterone.” 

Tears sprung to my eyes, a laugh emerging unbidden from me. Ever since I had come out, I had wanted to transition--but I had never had the opportunity in my old abusive home, and I imagined somewhere out here would never hold the chance either. I had dreamed of the changes for so long--a deeper voice, bottom growth, body hair, facial hair… Hell, even building more muscle easier so I could achieve the musclechub look I had always been enamored by! 

“How did you do it?” I choked out, pressing the back of my hand against my watery eyes. My primary partner was at my side, arm around my shoulders. They planted a kiss on my head, holding me tight. 

“Why, I can procure any goods I need!” The Duke laughed heartily. “It is only a matter of time before an item is in my hands. And now it’s yours, free of charge.” 

I sniffled. “Duke… I don’t know what to say. This is amazing. This is my greatest dream. Thank you. Thank you so much!” I handed the box to my primary partner and ran to him, throwing my arms out. He leaned forward, hulking arms wrapping into me and pulling me into him. “Thank you!” 

“Of course, my dear! Anything for you.” He planted a gentle kiss on my forehead as he pulled me up to his chest. “And I know from our conversations about hormone replacement therapy before that you had concerns about vaginal atrophy and hair loss. Remedies for those are on the way as well!” 

“You are amazing.” I said breathlessly. After all the abuse my primary partner and I had endured over the years, I never could have imagined that we would have ended up in a place so terrifying and yet...so safe. So like home. A place where dreams could come true. 

“Well thank you, my dear. The customer is always right!” He said cheekily. 

My primary partner approached, holding the box as if it were the most prized thing in the entire world. “My good sir,” They said with a flourish. “I believe it is time for your first injection of boy juice!” 

“Boy juice.” I repeated. “Wow.” Then took a deep breath. “Yeah. Let’s do it.” 

“Let me administer the first shot for you, to show you how it’s done.” The Duke said, lowering me into the seat next to him. 

I nodded, suddenly feeling my palms get sweaty. “Yes. That sounds nice. I’m a little scared of the needle.” I laughed nervously. “Hey hon...you think you could hold my hand?” 

My primary partner nodded, fingers intertwining with mine. “I’ll be right here.” 

The Duke took the box, balancing it on top of his belly. Carefully, he loaded up the syringe with the testosterone, making sure to get the air bubbles up and load the approximate dose. “Now now, my boy, the friend I got this from let me know that this is a subcutaneous injection, and we’ll be starting off with a lower dose to start, and then you can choose if you want to go lower or higher from there. If we can get a bit of your blood later, I’ll have another friend of mine run tests on it to make sure it’s safe.”

“Wow, you really can do anything and everything…” I smiled, shaking my head in disbelief. “You’re incredible, Duke.” I lowered my pants, revealing the skin on my thigh.

“Perhaps so, but you must know that you are just as wonderful. It is a pleasure to get to share my life with such a wonderful man.” The Duke said pleasantly, swabbing some skin on my thigh. “Truth be told, I had grown a bit lonely myself. Having you two as companions and then something more… Well, I have to say it’s the happiest I’ve been in a long time.” He sighed. “Ah, to love and be loved. One of life’s greatest joys, right next to lei.” 

My primary partner grinned. “Always with the lei.” 

“I’m a man who knows what he wants in life!” The Duke tapped the syringe with one finger. “Now, are you ready?” 

I looked to my primary partner, feeling as if some holy light was glowing behind my eyes. Starting now, I would be transitioning. I would be something new, something self made. I would be myself. They squeezed my hand, nodding encouragingly. “You got this.” 

I took a deep breath. “Alright, Duke. I’m ready.” 

[fieldsofmoonshine]

Remember Me

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x Fem!Reader

Warning: funeral, cancer, death

Notes: this is kinda sad boi hour, elijah spends the day remembering you after you’ve died kinda thing

Word Count: 2064

Elijah leaned against the doorway, watching as you were listening to music loudly in your earphones while putting on makeup. Your mouth as slightly opened as you focused on applying your mascara, flinching every time you brought the tip closer to your eye.

The bright yellow sundress you had picked out for the day still hung on the wardrobe door as Elijah woke up, the suit he was wearing had for a second left red indentations on his skin which healed as he stood up. His eyes stopped at the dress, a sudden wave of feelings weighing down over his chest, knowing that you’d never get to wear it again.

Elijah walked over to the dress his hand bunching the fabric tightly in his hand while he smelled it, closing his eyes as he could recognize your perfume still present in the fabric.

You were sitting in a bench, leaning your head back to look at the sky, the sky was painted in a strong red burn mixed with the white and pink clouds it looked like a painting. Elijah was sitting beside you, one hand thrown around your neck like a pillow while he looked at you, smiling at your amazement at the sky.

“Don’t you two look disgustingly happy,” Klaus strolled into the courtyard with a grin as he watched you two. “Never seen a sky before Y/N?”

“Fuck off,” you answered, not even looking at him.

“I think you’re adorable,” Elijah stated and leaned down to place a kiss against your now blushing cheek.

“Fuck off,” you repeated, this time a mumble as you looked at Elijah.

“I’d prefer not,” he answered. “You could come with me.”

“As I said, disgusting,” Klaus muttered as he watched you blush deeper but answered with a yes, following him up to his room. “At least lock the door this time!”

“Elijah?” Freya knocked on his door, she sounded hesitant, saddened as she waited for a few seconds before opening the door. “Are you coming?”

“This is what she wanted,” Elijah told Freya absently while keeping his eyes on your dress. “The party, the people, down to every little pebble... I want to honor her wish— but all I truly want is to stay right here and bury myself in her dresses and shirts and every stupid little thing she left here.”

“We miss her too, and honestly I’m pretty sure none of us wants to celebrate her death,” Freya stepped inside and placed a arm around Elijah’s shoulder, which he didn’t even react to. “But she told us— very clearly— that we can cry and be miserable at any time but not today, she wanted us to remember her as she was—“

“Happy, fearless, smoking a cigarette while looking at the man she loved after a good round in the hay,” Elijah continued and chuckled slightly. “I don’t want to forget it, that feeling of being loved by her... it’s something extraordinary about it, like you’re drowning and she just pulls you up and you never want to be without her again, yet here I am.”

“Come on, if we leave now I won’t tell Nik you’re wearing the same suit as yesterday,” Freya teased him, noticing the small tug of his lips as he nodded wrapping an arm around Freya’s waist. “He’s been drinking, I never thought they were that close.”

“Niklaus has a funny way of showing he cares, with her I guess it was by endlessly mocking her,” Elijah looked down the hall with a frown. “You know, he fought harder about treatment with her than I did, he said something about making sure she’d be Izzie Stevens. How she’d managed to get him to watch Grey’s Anatomy I never understood.”

Freya chuckled lightly and stroked his arm as Elijah let go of her. “One day, Elijah, than we’ll mourn.”

Elijah sat beside you, looking at the wall above the doctors head, scanning some of the documents. You had been in for a regular check up and mentioned some recurring headaches after a fall down the stairs, (which was actually you ending up in the crossfire of some vampires arguing), and after some testing and scans you had been told to call someone, if you needed it. And you called Elijah, thinking it’d be something like a concussion and you’d need a ride, but no instead you two had been taken to meet an oncologist.

“How long do I have?” Elijah was torn from his focus on the wall. “It’s bad right? You have that look in your eye, like she’s only started her life and now she’ll die, so how long? Five years?” The doctor was about to answer but you cut her off again. “It’s shorter, right? Three? Two? Do I even have one?”

“With treatment, statistics give you a year, some live five but—“

“I am dying, anyways?” You filled in, getting a nod in response. “What’s the treatment?”

“We start with surgery, then chemotherapy and you’ll have to take medication,” you looked over at Elijah who had placed his hand on yours squeezing tightly, you imagined he wasn’t really listening anymore either. Vampires, werewolves, witches, hybrids, ex’s. Somehow you two had been through it all together yet neither of you had thought of this, a glioblastoma. A brain tumor.

“And this will give me, a year?” You asked.

“Some get more some less.”

“My grandmother died from cancer, when I was 15,” you leaned back slightly. “The last thing I told her was that she looked sick, and she answered that she was and that she’d wished she had rejected the treatment because she would die anyways. All she wanted was a little more time— I’ve had time and if I get a year where I can’t really live, I’d rather go sooner.”

“Perhaps you two should take some time to discuss—“

“No,” you answered, squeezing Elijah’s hand to get his attention back to where it belonged. “I’ve decided. Do I need to sign something?”

“Yes, a few papers...”

Klaus had saved seats for Elijah and Freya at the front, looking as miserable as Elijah felt even though Klaus had clearly attempted to clean up for the moment. People were chattering amongst themselves while waiting for the priest.

“I can’t believe she chose a service after all,” Klaus muttered and looked at Elijah who shrugged.

“It’s for appearances, she said something about wanting to be the talk of the town and all her friends and family who hadn’t spoken to her since she moved away from Mystic Falls,” Elijah told him and nodded towards the cluster of Mystic Falls residents sitting on the other side of the church. “She wanted to for once outshine Elena Gilbert and her main character aura.”

Klaus chuckled slightly and looked towards your coffin and shook his head. “I loved her, even though I never told her or you— she was the girl who always saw me as family and the only one I will ever approve for you.”

“She loved you too, that she did tell me,” Elijah informed him and a fond smile spread over his lips. “Sometimes she’d say that had you only been a brunette I’d have a run for my money.”

“I knew she had a thing for brunettes!” Klaus smiled as he looked over at his brother. “Brunettes, suits, and impeccable taste in wine...”

“The ideal man,” Elijah sighed. “I—“

The sound of people talking stopped as a priest walked up to the middle of the church and looked out over the people.

“Today, we have gathered here not to mourn, but to celebrate and honor the life of Y/N Y/L/N...”

You ran down the stairs while holding your hand over your mouth, Klaus and Freya both looked at you as you passed them before making it to the bathroom. The sound of you hulking over the toilet followed only seconds later.

“Y/N?” Freya came after you and gathered your hair in her hands, rubbing your back soothingly. “Should we call Elijah?”

“No, no,” you dismissed her and felt the tears gather in your eyes. “I sent him on Hope duty, he needed some distraction.”

“Do you need painkillers? It’s your cramps right?” Klaus asked from outside, already holding the pills in his hand.

“No, it’s not,” you answered and looked away from the toilet while flushing, the tears were starting to run down your face as you grabbed paper to wipe around your mouth. “I’m sick...” they both nodded, thinking you were getting the flu or a stomach virus. “Cancer, I’ve got cancer,” Klaus stared at you while Freya stopped moving, her hand slowly falling from your back. “Brain cancer actually, which is kinda ironic seeing as we always say I don’t have one.”

“How long?” Klaus asked as he lowered his hand to his side.

“Have I known or how long?” You asked but got no answer as he only looked at you. “Elijah and I were at the hospital two weeks ago, and three to twelve months. Maybe more maybe less...”

“And the treatment, how have you been hiding it?” Klaus asked as you stood up from the bathroom floor and sat down on the toilet with a hesitant frown. “You’re not? You’re not getting treatment?”

“No, it’d would give me a few months in best case but I’ve seen what happens when on chemo, I won’t live a few extra months only to be around,” you told him and felt your heart drop as Klaus only walked away, throwing the painkillers on the ground as he did so.

Damon Salvatore might be the most annoying person on this earth, Elijah thought as he sat in a corner of the room decorated for a party and some were enjoying it to the fullest, like Damon Salvatore. Why Elijah hadn’t killed him? No idea, he should’ve, Elijah thought, back when he had the chance and reason to. Elijah diverted his eyes to the scene where a band was playing as Caroline climbed onto the stage, holding a white letter in her hand.

“Hello, I know most of you don’t know me but my name’s Caroline, I grew up with Y/N and well she was an amazing person,” Caroline smiled nervously as she looked around. “We hadn’t talked in a while when she got sick but when she did she asked me to do something for her, so I am, she asked me to play a recording tonight, so yeah, here it is.”

A click came from the speakers as Caroline connected her phone to them before your voice started streaming from it.

“Hello? I think this is working, it should be. I just wanted to let you all know that I love you, even Klaus, and I want to take one last chance to remind myself,” you cleared your throat, and when you spoke again it was clear you were crying. “remind myself, and everyone else, that being loved in a way that I’ve been by all of you— and mostly Elijah, is something I will never be able to express how thankful I am... so yeah, that’s all, I love you.”

“Dance with me,” you grabbed Elijah’s hand and pulled him of the couch with a smile. Elijah didn’t want to, you knew he didn’t want to but you wanted to, you needed to. Somewhere in the back of your head you knew you wouldn’t get to dance with him next week at the anniversary party you had planned. “I love you.”

“Stop,” Elijah whispered against your ear. “You don’t get to say that yet.”

“I just want you to know that,” you answered, he and you both knew it was more than that. “And you need to know—“

“I don’t need to know anything,” Elijah cut you off. “Not yet, it’s been three months. Not a year.”

“I love you, and when I’m gone, you get to move on,” you stated and swallowed the tears from your voice. “Because you I love you, and you me. You get to move on.”

Elijah didn’t answer, he only stopped dancing and wrapped his arms around you in a tight hug. You felt the first tear drop from his eyes on your head and with a gentle smile you looked up at him, kissing his cheek.

“I love you.”

[robinrunsfiction]

Hello!! Could you write a vampire gerard x reader one day..? And it's kind of fluffy with Gerard being overprotective or jealous? If so thank you and have a good day!!

Vampire-tine’s Day 2021 - Day 2

Pairing: Vampire Gerard Way x Female Reader Rating: General Requested By: Anon Word Count: ~2,000 Author’s Note: When I started this request, I kinda missed the “fluffy” part and the beginning part was angsty AF. But! Luckily I have @mariawritesfanfic in my life (for like a billion reasons) who gave me an idea, direction, and helped me basically get this story where it is today! Hope you all enjoy! Also sorry it’s late, I didn’t intend to put this one up tonight, but I failed to get the one I meant to post today done sooo

It was another bitterly cold night, but Gerard couldn't feel it, and it didn't matter anyway. What mattered was him was making sure (YN) got home safely. He watched from the shadows and the rooftops as she approached her building, but in the distance Gerard heard something that caught his attention. In a flash, the monster was in front of her fangs gleaming and Gerard launched into action as well.

“Don’t touch her,” Gerard snarled as jumped in front of (YN).

“I won’t hesitate to go through you to get to her,” the vampire snapped back. “I want a fresh meal, and this one smells delicious.”

Gerard heard a small whimper behind him before he threw himself at the offending creature. It wasn’t long before the monster, weak from hunger, gave up, running off to tend to his wounds.

“(YN),” Gerard murmured as he turned to find her still frozen in fear, hands clasped over her mouth, eyes wide.

“Ge-Gerard?” She stammered. “Gerard, what was that? What are you?!”

“I can explain, but let’s get inside before he comes back. Can I come inside with you?”

(YN) nodded as she reached in her bag with shaking hands to pull out her keys.

“Gerard, can you please explain what just happened?” (YN) asked when she shut the door behind them.

Gerard sighed. “There’s been a rise in vampire attacks, and I know you work late so I’ve been watching to make sure you get home safe.”

(YN)’s face softened at his words, before she was shaking her head in confusion again. “Vampire attacks?! And how have I never noticed you behind me? Are you telling me you’re a,” she trailed off.

“Vampire? Yea, I probably should have mentioned it before,” Gerard replied, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "To be fair, I'd only just gotten turned when we met."

“Well this answers a lot of questions I’ve had,” (YN) murmured to herself as she made her way to the couch, lost in thought.

“What?”

“Huh? Nothing!” She replied quickly, blushing as she looked up at him. “But how do you keep yourself from wanting to bite me?”

Gerard swallowed hard. He wanted to close the distance between them and take her in his arms and show her how he felt, but he couldn’t. All he could do was be mostly honest. “Because I’d be devastated if anything happened to you. More than anything I want to keep you safe.”

(YN) ducked her head awkwardly, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks. “I can’t ask you to follow me around forever like my own personal bodyguard.”

“There is another way, but I’d understand if you wanna say no. Please don’t feel like you have to do this,” he said starting to pace nervously.

“Wha-what is it?” She asked, her voice sounding a bit strained.

“It’s called a protection mark. It’d help me sense when you’re in a dangerous situation, and I could be there in a flash to help protect you.”

(YN) nodded thoughtfully, taking in his words. “But you wouldn’t know everything I’d be thinking or feeling or doing, right?”

“Right,” he nodded. “Just when you need protecting.”

“I… I guess that would be a good idea,” she replied.

“If you aren’t sure, you don’t have to,” he reassured her.

“No! I, I mean, I think it’d be the best idea. I’d really not like to be bitten by a vampire.”

Gerard winced. “Umm… that’s part of the process.”

“Oh,” she breathed, her hand going to her neck protectively.

“It won’t be deep, just a small wound, I promise.”

“And you won’t turn into a bloodthirsty monster?”

“No, I’d never do anything to hurt you,” he said softly, sitting down next to her.

(YN) nodded. “Ok, I trust you, Gerard.”

Gerard took a steadying breath and leaned in, feeling overwhelmed with nerves. He knew how to do this, Ray had explained it all before, but being this close to (YN) in this context was something else all together. He tried to ignore the vampire instincts screaming in his brain about how good her blood smelled, how amazing it would taste, that’s not what he was doing.

He bared his fangs, and sank into the soft skin of (YN)’s neck. She let out a whine that turned into a whimper and he wanted to stop, but he had to make the wound deep enough. As he drew back, the taste of her blood hit his tongue and he had to stop himself from drinking more. 

“The worst is done,” he said encouragingly to her. She opened her eyes and he smiled, hoping to reassure her.

“You can, umm, the bit that’s bled, you can have it,” she said, stumbling over her words, cheeks heating up at the offer.

Gerard’s heart would have been beating a mile a minute if he was still a human. He leaned back in and carefully licked away the small rivulets of blood. It was better than anything he could have imagined. The best meals he had as a human were nothing compared to her.

Once the bleeding stopped, he brought his fingertip to his fang, piercing the skin. It took a moment for a bead of blood to pool up before he held it over the wound, allowing it to drip in. He drew another droplet and let it fall into the other hole.

“My blood is now mixed in yours,” he explained softly, looking up at her again. “Not enough to turn you into a vampire, but just enough for me to know when you’re in danger.”

“Now what?” She asked just as softly.

“You don't need me hanging around you anymore, so I can go,” he said, getting up.

“No,” she said quickly, reaching out and grabbing his hand. "I mean, you can stay and hang out if you want. I'd love to hear about being a vampire, if you wouldn't mind telling me about it."

Gerard smiled and sat back down next to her. "Yea, I don't really get to talk about it much. What do you wanna know?"

Gerard stayed until just before dawn, having spent all night talking with (YN). They'd been friends for a while, but no longer having to hide his true identity made him feel even closer to her. It also did nothing to help the crush he had on (YN), as well as his instinct to protect her at all costs. 

When he returned to his basement apartment, he typed out a quick message to Ray, letting him know what happened that night and climbed into bed. But sleep wasn't coming anytime soon, as all he could think about was (YN).

A few nights later, Gerard was walking into a party at someone's house. He wasn't the type to go out without good reason, but a text from (YN) inviting him was more than good enough.

"Gerard!" She called when she saw him, waving him over.

"Hey," he smiled as he reached her. She threw her arms around him, giving him a tight hug, before pulling back sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess I missed you," she laughed nervously.

He smiled back. "That's ok, I missed you too. You've been ok?"

"Yea. So far so good I think," she shrugged and that's when Gerard realized he was holding her hand. He wasn't even sure when it happened, but he liked the way they fit together. "I haven't had to work as late so I'm not walking alone in the dark, but I'm still glad to know you're there if I need you."

They settled into a comfortable, easy conversation, as if they were the only two people in the entire party.

"Hey Gee. Gee… Gerard Way!" Ray shouted, finally getting Gerard's attention.

"What?" Gerard asked a little annoyed, and (YN) giggled.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Ray asked.

"Yea, sure," he said, giving (YN) 's hand a reassuring squeeze before following Ray out to the back deck.

Outside, Ray's breath came out in clouds, filling the bitter night air. Gerard noted that the moon was nearly full and that meant the werewolves would be out in a night or two and he should warn (YN), just to be safe.

“How’s it going with (YN)?” Ray asked, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

“Everything seems fine so far,” Gerard replied hesitantly.

“But?”

“You know that I’ve had feelings for her for a long time, but ever since giving her that protection mark,” Gerard trailed off.

“Oh Gerard,” Ray sighed.

“What?!”

“You didn’t know tha-”

“Wait, shit, I think (YN)’s in trouble,” Gerard cut his friend off.

“At a party?” Ray asked skeptically, watching his friend run back inside.

Gerard pushed through the crowd, as if being led by an invisible thread to (YN). When he found her, she was backed into a corner, a tall, hulking man was looming over her, and she was clearly very uncomfortable and nervous. 

“Gee!” She exclaimed when she spotted him.

“(YN), are you ok? Is this guy bothering you?” Gerard asked.

“She’s fine,” the man snarled. “She doesn’t need any help from some greasy dork like you.”

“She’s not, and you need to leave her alone,” Gerard said trying to keep his voice calm.

“Make me,” the other man laughed darkly.

Gerard stepped forward and shoved him with all of the strength he could muster, launching the jerk across the room. His friends, noticing the commotion, started to make their way to where Gerard was standing protectively in front of (YN) once again.

“Hey Gee, let’s get outta here!” Ray called from by the door. Gerard grabbed (YN)’s hand and led her quickly out of the house. Once they were away from the party and certain they weren’t being followed, the three of friends settled into a comfortable pace 

“Are you ok?” Gerard asked, squeezing (YN)’s hand.

“Yea, thanks,” she smiled. “How’d you know I needed help back there? Was it the protection mark?”

“I think so?” Gerard replied, turning to look at Ray, who sighed again, stopping under a streetlight.

“I tried to explain this to you Gee, but I think you were a bit distracted,” Ray explained in an amused tone, shooting a glance toward (YN). “While the protection mark alerts the protector to when the bearer of the mark is in danger, it will also increase the bond between the protector and the bearer. Ya know, enhance anything that is already there.”

Gerard glanced over at (YN), she was already looking at him, and they both looked away nervously.

“Anyway, this is my place, I’ll see you two later,” Ray said, with a wave and heading up to the building they were in front of, leaving (YN) and Gerard alone.

“I’m sorry (YN), I wasn’t paying attention when Ray explained it all to me. I didn’t mean to make you, I mean, all I wanted,” he groaned, hanging his head in defeat.

“Gerard,” she said, reaching out and tilting his head up so she could look in his eyes. "You can tell me."

"I just like you so much, I asked Ray for advice and I got distracted imagining being your hero when he was explaining everything," he laughed, but his voice was tinged with sadness. He had a feeling (YN) was about to ask him to leave her alone forever.

But she was smiling softly up at him, her hand still resting gently on his cheek. That's when she leaned in, pressing her lips to his sweetly. The moment took him aback for a moment, but when he realized what was happening, he kissed her back with every bit of emotion he had been holding for her in his cold, unbeating heart. When she pulled back she was blushing lightly.

"Gee, remember what Ray said? It enhances feelings that are already there. I already liked you too. And now I know you like me back."

Gerard grinned. "Do you wanna come over to my place, it's not far."

"I'd love to," she smiled. "Hey, look, it’s almost the full moon. I don't have to worry about werewolves running around, do I?" She laughed.

Gerard just wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her tight against him as they headed down the street. "Oh (YN), I think I have a lot to tell you."

[imagine-loki]

Blushing in His Colours, Chapter 19

TITLE: Blushing in His Colours CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 19 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki being a Daddy Dom, his adores and loves his little, worships the ground she walks on. She has vaginismus, but he couldn’t be more supportive with her. RATING: M

Mia thought she was going to die, she was too scared to move as she sat curled up on the floor, shaking in fear. She wished she was braver, able to try and get out. But she didn’t know where to begin, what to do.

The Hydra soldiers were constantly on patrol on front of her. There were Hydra modified soldiers too, lurking around the warehouse. Not to mention the ten massive hybrid werewolves prowling around outside, they were bigger than the Hulk!

She wasn’t sure how long she had been there for. But suddenly there was noise from outside. The sound of shouting from some soldiers and snarling from the werewolves could be heard.

Then she heard them yelping, like they were being attacked.

The soldiers inside all paused, listening to what was going on too. They turned to the doors, ready with their guns to attack. The modified soldiers got into position, ready to pounce.

Screaming and crying was heard from the soldiers outside. A lot of gunfire and then utter silence…

Mia’s heart was pounding against her chest, eyes wide as she looked around the doors. Was this someone coming to save her? Or was it something worse than Hydra?

Suddenly all of the doors burst open and there was a bright green light shining in. The soldiers started blindly shooting, and Mia screamed in a panic when she saw Loki coming through the nearest door. But the bullets were just going right through him as he continued walking in.

She looked around in surprise as she saw Loki coming in every door.

Illusions.

She felt instantly relieved, hopeful that he would be able to save her. But she also felt scared for him too, there were so many soldiers and super soldiers. He was completely outnumbered. Not to mention the werewolves, and there were more coming as she heard a soldier near her call for back up.

But Loki wasn’t fazed at all.

Suddenly the real Loki just appeared on front of her. He threw her cape at her, then ran back into the action.

She wrapped it around herself, but made sure she could still see what was happening. She remembered Loki telling her before how it was bulletproof. But she was worried for him, what if he needed it?

Mia panicked when the soldiers did start firing towards him. But her eyes widened as Loki had a luminescent green sphere form around him, shielding him from the bullets.

Then he started levitating off the ground, giving him an advantage to see everything that was going on.

But what happened next, made Mia go into shock.

He raised his arms up and brought them down quickly, causing the ground to ripple, knocking the soldiers out. Then he opened up some rifts in the dimension, and with a flick of his wrist sent the soldiers flying through them into another realm before quickly closing it up again.

Five hybrid werewolves came racing into the warehouse, but Loki was ready for them.

He blasted the first two with his energy blasts. Killing them instantly. The next two he simply took hold of by using telekinesis and sent them sprawling out of the warehouse and far off into the distance, along with some more soldiers who came bursting in.

The last werewolf was running straight for him and as he leaped into the air to pounce for Loki, who was still hovering ten feet above the ground, Loki stopped the werewolf easily in mid-air. The werewolf looked utterly confused, but Loki then literally crushed him with his mind. He made him curl in on himself and broke all of his bones before tossing him down to the ground in a heap.

A few remaining soldiers started running away, but Loki didn’t allow them to escape. Before they got out of the building, he conjured up a gigantic snake on front of them that devoured them whole.

When Loki came back down to the ground, he looked up and saw a drone hovering above the building, through the glass roof. His nose scrunching up, he took it down with a simple thought of his mind.

But he knew the damage was done now. It had been recording everything live, straight to Facebook. His true power was now out there for the world to see.

Loki didn’t care though. He turned around to look at the only thing in the Universe that he did care about.

Mia.

As Loki approached her, his heart sank to see her cowering. She looked utterly terrified and small, so vulnerable, wrapped up in his cape.

He had his helmet disappear, to try and look less threatening as he crouched down on front of her.

‘Mia… Sweetling, it’s me.’ He said softly, reaching out towards her.

Loki saw the fear in her eyes slowly disappear, recognition appearing instead. She then let out a big breath and lunged towards him, straight into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her closely to him, kissing the top of her head repeatedly.

‘Oh my little sweetling. I was so worried, I thought I’d lost you.’ His voice was shaky.

She just cried into his neck, so relieved that he had saved her. He rubbed her back soothingly and stood up straight with her in his arms.

‘Did they hurt you?’ He asked, cupping the back of her head and leaning back slightly to look at her face.

She shook her head. He smoothed her hair back from her face and wiped her tears off her cheeks with his thumb. Then he kissed her forehead softly.

‘I… I’m sorry… I didn’t… know… what to do.’ She cried, still unable to stop herself from shaking.

‘Do not apologise, sweetheart. It’s my job to keep you safe, and I failed you. I allowed you to be kidnapped. I can’t apologise enough.’ Loki felt his heart breaking.

She shook her head and clung to him tightly. ‘No… you didn’t. Wasn’t your fault. But you… you saved me.’ She said through tears.

‘Of course I did. I wouldn’t leave you, Mia. Ever.’ He said determinedly.

‘You… you’re so powerful… I had no idea.’ She said quietly, still in shock at what she had witnessed.

Loki smiled a little. ‘Nobody did, my sweetling. But there was no way I was taking any risks with your safety, I was not going to hold back.’ He assured her.

Keeping a tight hold of her, he carried her out of the warehouse that was half down anyway from the fight. Mia kept her face buried into his neck, to avoid seeing the carnage. Loki had barely taken a step outside when the rest of the team appeared.

‘You’re a bit late to the fight.’ Loki hissed at them.

‘What the…’ Steve trailed off as he looked around at all the dead bodies.

A quinjet landed behind the team, Fury came storming down the ramp and held up a tablet. It was showing the video of Loki’s fight. ‘You’ve got a lot of explaining to do, Loki.’ He glared at the God.

The team looked between one another, completely bewildered.

Loki breathed in deeply, not happy with the situation. But at least Mia was safe again. That was the main thing.

[generatedplot]

Spawn of the Nemeton

Chapter One: The Aura (pt. 1)

Pairings: eventual stiles x y/n

Warnings: slow burn, eventual smut, timeline is whack because of characters I wanted to be included so ignore that, 18+

Summary: With the Nemeton reactivated, what kinds of creatures will come crawling into Beacon Hills? Will the pack be ready? Let’s find out.

It’s the first day of school Junior year and, as expected, there’s a lot of new students. Scott and Stiles assume because of the Nemeton, but their naïve hope is that it’s just the natural influx of incoming freshman. There always seem to be more freshman than seniors which makes you wonder what happens to the students in between. Lydia‘s first class is biology which she took as an elective to boost her already perfect GPA, but also to help Malia. She’s organizing her notebooks in her locker chronologically when she feels a presence walk behind her. She pauses her filing and turns toward the reason, slowly scanning the faces of students only to be interrupted mid thought. “Lydia! Please tell me you brought a pencil because I totally blanked this morning.” Malia ran up, eyes filled with panic and books haphazardly cradled in her arms. Lydia smirked and rolled her eyes as she plopped a pen out of her locker. She closed her locker and turned to on her heels, “Come on, you spaz.” to which Malia rolled her eyes and laughed. Scott and Stiles shuffled towards them at their usual haste. “Hey guys, don’t forget to be on the lookout for any supernatural behavior.” Stiles whispered the reminder while looking over his shoulder, obviously paranoid. Malia wore her usual, confused look, “What does that even mean?” Lydia turned toward her, “It means if someone hulks out and tries to kill the teacher, make sure to write their name down.” Stiles squinted at her, “Ha ha, you know what I mean. Be on the lookout for fangs or eyes or anything a newbie werewolf might be having trouble controlling.” He used his index fingers to indicate fangs coming out of his face and hissed, making Malia laugh. Scott chimed in, “Technically, it could be anything. With the Nemeton reactivated, we shouldn’t just be looking for werewolves. We should be looking for anything odd or out of place. Lydia shrugged him off as she continued to class with Malia close behind, “Yeah yeah, we’ll let you know if we see Bruce Banner.” Scott smiled, but Stiles just rolled his eyes playfully. “Who?” Malia whispered quietly to Lydia who in response just shook her head, “Never mind.”

When they reached bio, Allison was already in her seat with books and pencils laid out, ready to be utilized. “Hey!” She wore her usual, perfect, dimpled smile that cheered up everyone around her. The girls responded ‘heys’ in unison. Malia leaned toward Allison to whisper, “Scott said don’t forget to be on the lookout for supernaturals.” Allison looked confused. “Yeah like they’re gonna hulk out in the middle of class on the first day of school.” Lydia eyes widened, “Right? That’s what I said!” They laughed it off as the teacher came in and began introducing herself while going over the syllabus. As the teacher was speaking, Lydia had that feeling of a presence just like the one she felt in the hallway. She looked around the room at all the faces. Some were familiar and others were new. She turned to Malia sitting behind her, but it seemed like she was looking for someone too. “Do you feel that?” Lydia whispered. “Ms. Martin?” Lydia snapped her head around to look at the teacher, “Yes! Sorry.” As she went back to highlighting the syllabus, only half paying attention. Malia quickly passed Lydia a note that read, “ Something is off,” making Lydia realize it wasn’t just a banshee thing. Malia and Lydia were both feeling a presence, but with so many people in the room, they couldn’t tell where it was coming from. They would need to get closer.

After class they rushed into the hallway quickly. “What the hell was that?” Malia asked in a hushed tone. “I have no idea, I just felt something like.. different? I don’t know how to describe it.” Allison chimed in, “Guys, I didn’t feel anything?” They both looked up at her, thinking. Malia leaned into Lydia and whispered, “It felt like desire.” This made Lydias eyes wide as she turned her head to look at Malia. She was shocked to hear her admit that, but she had to agree. Whatever it was, they were drawn to it, but Allison felt nothing. They quickly found Scott in the hallway and told him about their encounter in the classroom. Scott was stunned into shock trying to think of a creature capable of what the girls had described when Isaac ran up to them. “Something is wrong.” They all looked up at him awaiting him to continue. “What do you mean?” Scott asked, trying to make sure no one was listening. “I don’t know I was walking in the hall and I just felt.. I don’t know something. I tried to follow it, but I lost it outside a trigonometry class.” Scott’s head perked up, “Which one?” Isaac looked over his shoulder towards the door he remembered, “Uhh.. 207 I think, why?” They all looked expectedly at Scott. “That’s my next class.” They awaited his next words because they knew they needed a plan. “I’ll see if I feel something, but we don’t know anything yet. It could be nothing.” He tried to reassure them, but when three people he trusted dearly all agreed something was off, he knew it had to be true. He just hoped it was something containable or maybe even good. He didn’t know, but he hoped.

When he walked in the room, he felt it. It was almost overwhelming. He tried to stay alert of his surroundings as he scanned the faces in the class. He noticed a few other people doing the same, looking for it – the source of this feeling. All of a sudden he was sitting. He didn’t remember walking to the desk, much less getting his book out and opening it. He had absentmindedly done all this which made him freak out a little. He was still casing the room when he felt it again, but much stronger. It was close. No, it was next to him. He had sat down next to the thing drawing him. It was.. a girl? He didn’t understand what was going on. She had long curly y/c/h, big y/c/e, and a sweet, innocent face. He was stunned at the feeling he was getting just from looking at her. It was like looking at the sun, but without the pain. Sure, she was beautiful, but that wasn’t it. That wasn’t the reason he couldn’t stop staring at her. “Mr. McCall?” It was the teacher. He knew that, but he still couldn’t stop looking at her. He couldn’t. Now everyone was looking at him.. including her. This helped him snap into reality once again. “What?” He looked up at the teacher, still confused and beginning to blush a little. “I think you mean ma’am?” The teacher crossed her arms, probably feeling disrespected at this point. “Yes! ..Ma’am.. I’m sorry.” He repositioned himself to face forward and put his forearms flat on his desk trying to focus on the book.. hell, on anything besides her as the teacher continued. He stared at his syllabus as the teacher went on, but he still felt the same. He still felt drawn to look at her, to talk to her, to touch her – WOAH. Wait. Stop. He’s with Allison. He loves Allison, what is he doing? No.. what is she doing? He wanted to get up and leave. The thoughts were penetrating his brain, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. If he did, he’d be too far from her. Too far from this feeling which was almost.. euphoric. He wanted to be near her. He needed to be near her. What was happening? His own thoughts were uncontrollable and had scared him enough, “Excuse me.” He stated aloud, at no one in particular, as he forced himself up. He grabbed his book and papers off the desk and hurried out of the class with all eyes on him. The teacher, somewhat stunned, continued the lesson. He ran out into the hallway and shoved his hands into his locker door. Not enough to break it, but enough to shake the lock which made a loud clunk on the hard metal door. He unlocked his locker, shoved his book in there and then shoved his head into it. He didn’t know what was going on, but being out of the room made it better. He still felt it, but not as much. His thoughts were spinning and he wondered if the girls had felt the feeling this strongly. And then it was back. The feeling was drowning him again and he could hear her footsteps. He knew it was her because the closer the steps got, the more intense the feeling became. He jerked his head out of his locker to face her. At his quick motion, she jumped back, scared and cautious at the stranger. “Sorry.” He said almost instinctively. He was staring again, but to be fair where else was he supposed to look. She spoke softly, “are you alright?” Oh, god.. even her voice was alluring. He felt the vibrations of her voice through his body, the feeling intensifying even more, if that was even possible. “Yes, yeah I just think I was in the wrong class.” He nodded trying to reassure his shaky words. She tilted her head to the side and looked him up and down like she was observing him. Like she knew he was lying. She stepped closer and he straightened up and held his breath afraid to be that close to her again. She was kind, but assured when she asked, “what are you?” His eyes widened and a knot formed in his stomach. “Uhh, what?” He tried his best to look confused, but it was definitely coming off more scared. She moved closer so she could speak lower, “I’m guessing.. a werewolf?” She tilted her head but gave a small smile. A voice came from him, “yes.”

CH 1: THE AURA PT. 2 UP

[e-king-court]

It’s that time of year again...

...and by that I mean it's my birthday.

 I don't generally celebrate my birthday. It became A Thing after my parents divorce, and since then, it is definitely a cursed day (last year I got a whole pandemic, so...)

This year, however, I decided I wanted to write me a story. Some months back, while scrolling through Facebook (I know, I know) I came across a post of a post that was a plot bunny. It was a tweet from user @JohannesEvans that read:

Hot goth in the woods that keeps answering the door and sighing and going "no, I'm not the witch, he lives over there" and points across the street to a dazzling pretty boy wearing a gold waistcoat who's waving excitedly at them

I immediately wanted to write it. So I did.

 Now, to no one's surprise, I didn't start this story until roughly a week ago, so... well, it's almost done. So, for now, just to say I've properly celebrated my birthday, please allow me to share with you the first half or so of this silly story. It's rough, really rough, and doesn't have a title. I'm not thrilled with it, but... guilty pleasures, etc. Enjoy!

Quiet. That’s what the little alternative community in the woods had offered. Peace, acceptance, solitude. Quiet.

So Locke bit back a curse when someone knocked on his door for the hundredth time that day. Poppy seeds scattered across his work bench when he jumped because of course he hadn’t used a measuring spoon. Why would he use a measuring spoon for the smallest ingredient? Obviously, pouring straight from the bottle is the best way to measure poppy seeds.

The knocking persisted. Locke sighed and set the bottle down with a thud and rattle of chains. He stomped his way up front and tugged the door open, startling the pair of young women standing on his doorstep. Their eyes widened and the three of them stared at each other for longer than Locke thought was polite.

“Can I help you?” He didn’t growl. This was good communication skills.

The two seemed to shake themselves. “Are you Mr. Devereux?”

Locke sighed. “Which Mr. Devereux?”

They blinked and exchanged a confused glance. “We, um… we’re looking for a spell.”

“Then you want the witch.” He pointed a long arm over their heads toward the obnoxious display across the street. “That Mr. Devereux.” As one, they turned and Locke followed their gaze.

Sebastian was lounging in a pool chair, a cheap thing with neon yellow piping and no pool in sight. He was surrounded by colorful plants, flowers, and enough suncatchers to make any light fairy jealous. Locke was dismayed to see that he was sunning. Long legs, waxed and bronzed, stretched up to the hem of a pair of nautical striped boyshorts. A too small gold waistcoat revealed a pierced belly button and parted with sequined lapels and a collection of charms and pendants against his chest and the hollow of his throat. Golden blond hair was classically cut, cropped close to the sides and left almost strategically messy on top. Locke was not surprised to see the flash of glitter, either put there intentionally, or polluted from the obnoxious, glittery, sun-shaped sunglasses taking over most of his heart-shaped face.

His smile was almost blinding as he waved. “Hey, gorgeous!”

Locke frowned as his face went hot and wished for the hundredth time since moving in that he was the kind of goth that wore full face makeup. “That’s the witch.”

The women gawked at Sebastian, turned and gawked at Locke glowering in the doorway, and then looked at each other.

“Umm… sorry,” the apparent speaker of the duo said, and they turned and fled across the street, whispering to each other as they went. Sebastian stood and stretched, that waistcoat riding higher and those boyshorts hugging… well, everything. Locke sighed and shut the door with a snap.

Newlight Falls was advertised as a quiet town with a village-like atmosphere, tucked away in the old growth forest and home to those who didn’t fit in elsewhere. It was home to all sorts of paranormals, which included an uncommon amount of witches, plenty of fairies, and the obligatory pack of werewolves. Being that it was only an hour away from three major cities, it had become a bit of a tourist attraction, replete with warm-weather festivals that the fairies almost exclusively coordinated. Locke wasn’t a fan, but they were good for the town and good for business.

Even with all that, Locke fell in love with the place almost as soon as he saw it. He’d found the listing on Will’o, trying to find something close to the doctors he needed, but not directly in the city. Not only was his dark little cabin perfectly suited to him, but being back in the woods meant plenty of shade and long trails that he could disappear into if the festivities got to be too much.

It was also supposed to be haunted, which, perfect, but so far he hadn’t experienced much more than a few things being moved and a book or two knocked to the floor. No great shakes, really.

With the image of Sebastian’s sparkling navel piercing embedded in his mind, Locke sulked back to his work room to clean up the poppy seeds and see if the tea could be saved.

“Locke!” Benji’s happy voice boomed, big arms open and face nearly split by his smile.

Locke returned his smile but stayed sequestered on the front stoop out of the sunlight. Benji came to him without question, wrapping him up in the kind of bear hug only large goblins could give. He grunted and gave Benji’s back a pat as the air was squeezed out of him. “Hey, Benj.”

“Good to see you, you look good. This place looks great,” he said, stepping back to appraise the front of the house. To most, it needed some work, but Locke was partial to the busted exterior shutters and chipping grey paint.

“Thanks, the web is real, orb weaver, real beauty,” he said, motioning to the port window overhead.

Benji’s smile went tight and strained. “Love it,” he grunted like it hurt. He cautiously turned his attention away from the spider. “Thanks for letting me come.”

“Of course! Make my favorite sibling miss Fairy Fest after listening to him whine about it for ten years? Fat chance. C’mon, I’ll show you your room,” he said, motioning Benji in.

Benji grabbed his suitcase and thundered up the steps. “This place has a guest bedroom?”

“Eh….” Locke whined and didn’t answer further. It did, but the guest bedroom was where he’d put his workroom and it would have been too small for his hulking brother anyway. Instead, Locke had cleaned up his own bedroom and got a cot for his workroom. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable, but he could deal with it for the week that Benji was visiting. It wasn’t often they got to spend time together one on one.

They wandered in. Locke waved over the small living room, through the doorway to the small kitchen and dining nook, the water closet under the stairs, and then brought him up to the attic that made his bedroom and the full bathroom for his use during his stay. Benji caught on quick, but didn’t say anything, no doubt having considered how small the house was.

“We’ll have to share the shower, but otherwise, this room is yours for the week. I, uh… can’t say I’d be real thrilled if you picked someone up at the Fest, but, I’ll be the best wingman I can be,” Locke said, drawing the curtains back from the port window to let some light into the room.

Benji chuckled. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Thanks, man, this place is great. Mostly,” he said, eyeing the spider visible through the window.

Locke smirked. “Ghost isn’t too rowdy, either.”

“Ahha, of course you’d have a ghost,” Benji said with a self-deprecating laugh. Locke’s grin went cocky and he thumped his way back down the stairs.

“I gotta make a product run when dusk rolls around if you want to see the town proper tonight. There’s not a lot except some kitschy shops, but you might like one of the little restaurants for dinner,” he said, wandering into the kitchen.

Benji hummed and sniffed the air, eyes landing unerringly on the box that took up most of the little dining table. It was full of Locke’s teas, creative little blends in labeled linen baggies waiting to be delivered to the shops in town he was contracted with. “Sure, I’d love to see the place.”

“Cool, you can carry the box,” Locke said, wandering back to his workshop. Benji’s laugh made the windows rattle.

A few hours later, with the sun set enough that it didn’t irritate Locke’s eyes and skin overly much, he was leading an easily distracted Benji through town. The whole town was decked out for Fairy Fest, covered in lights and flowers and full to bursting with fairies. They flitted about in showers of sparkling color, some already celebrating by tossing petals or handful of pixie dust over the myriad of tourists also steadily filling the streets. Locke would have felt out of place in all his black and chains, but there were plenty of darker fae around, too. If anyone stood out, it was his rather large foster brother, his impressive figure causing people to practically dive out of the way, even as poor Benji apologized.

“Stop apologizing, Benj, you’re only walking,” Locke said with a smirk.

Benji was all tight frowns. “I feel bad, though.”

“Don’t, you’re fine. This is us, though,” he said, veering for a shop door. Benji followed, uttering a few more unnecessary apologies as they went.

The dark little mystic shop was one of Locke’s favorites. It was an evening shop and sold pretty much the same stuff that the rest of the kitschy shops sold, but it was themed dark. Spangled black and purple curtains and tapestries kept most of the natural light out, the shelves all made of cast iron and mahogany. The goods skewed toward occultish, but nothing available to the general public could cause any trouble. Even the obsidian athames were blunter than a letter opener. There were more exotic wares in the back, but the owner, Ms. Gloushire, was highly selective when it came to those sales. Even Locke, who was a resident, didn’t have her convinced, but he was getting there. Not that there was anything fancy he needed for his teas.

Benji, of course, veered right for the collection of polished stones and crystals. Locke grinned and teasingly hissed for him not to touch all of them. Benji glared at him but didn’t put down the peacock ore he’d already snatched from the display.

“Ms. Gloushire?” he called when he saw the front end empty.

“Is that you, Locke!?” a muffled shout echoed from the back.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, sliding his sunglasses onto the top of his head.

A moment later Ms. Gloushire was whacking her beaded curtain out of the way and she smiled warmly at Locke before her eyes settled on Benji. “Oh, you have a friend today.”

“Yep. My brother, Benji,” he said. “I have the tea for you for the Fest. The Starry Night, Full Moon, and Crossroads.” He set his box down on her counter beside the register and pulled back the flaps.

Her face lit up and she rubbed her hands together. “Ooh, excellent. Everything work out all right with your last check?”

“Yes, ma’am, not problems at all,” he said, smiling softly.

“Good. All this newfangled equipment. I know it’s more convenient for the Norms, but electronics and magic don’t always mix well. But if everything’s fine, then it’s fine,” she said, casting her new POS system a distrustful glare as she dug into the box of teas. Locke just chuckled and waited patiently for her to finish her counting and inventorying. Satisfied, she marked it all down and set the box aside.

“All right, dear, everything looks to be in order. If I need anything else, I’ll call you,” she said.

“Yep, you know where to find me. I gotta stop at Coriander’s. You have a good night,” he said, flicking down his sunglasses.

“You too, Locke. Pleasure to meet you, Benji,” she said with a suspiciously sharp smile. Benji tittered nervously, thanked her, and they were off.

The stop at Coriander’s was brief and uneventful. Locke handed over the second box of teas, things packaged in lighter bags with more spritely names, while Benji was one again glued to the shiniest objects the shop had to offer. Even with Coriander chatting at top speed about a new topic every few seconds, they were done relatively quickly. He said his farewells to the bubbly sprite, flicked his sunglasses down, and turned toward the door, only to be blinded anyway.

Sebastian was in the doorway, pushing his outrageous sunglasses onto the top of his head as he meandered into the shop. As soon as he saw Locke he smiled and Locke frowned at the butterflies in his stomach.

“Hey beautiful,” Sebastian said, smooth and a little high. His eyes instantly flicked to Benji and his expression went briefly blank, before he smiled again and got a little swagger. “Well, well, who is this delightful new face?”

Locke glanced over his shoulder and wasn’t surprised to see Benji’s face dark with blush. His greenish skin and purplish blood made him look a little brown, but it was definitely a blush. Locke didn’t blame him.

“Sebastian,” he said. “My brother, Benji. Here for the Fest.” He cleared his throat before his voice broke and ignored the look Benji gave him.

Another expression briefly flickered across Sebastian’s face, this time more surprised than blank, and quickly settled into a coy grin. “Brother? Well, welcome to Newlight Falls, Mr. Benji. I’m Sebastian Devereux, Locke’s neighbor,” he said, sauntering forward and offering his hand. He was a head shorter than Locke, which had Benji nearly towering, but as usual Sebastian’s confidence was unwavering. Locke figured it would have to be with a neon pink sequin sarong over those...shorts.

“Good to meet you, Mr. Devereux,” Benji said. “Which neighbor would you be?”

“The one across the street, handsome. Incase you ever need to borrow a cup of sugar,” he said with a wink. Benji grinned stupidly and Locke nervously fussed with his lip ring. “If you’ll excuse me, gentlemen, I have some tea to stock up on.” He winked at Locke, who barely resisted watching as Sebastian sauntered past. He huffed, tugging his hood closer to his face, and hurried out of the shop, leaving Benji to scurry after him. Maybe the hood and sunglasses disguised his blush enough? He certainly hoped so.

--

“So how are the infusions going?”

Locke looked up from pushing around his caprese. “Hmm? Oh, they’re fine. They’re infusions.” He cut a bite of cheese and tomato. “I had one last week and I think I’m scheduled for the week after next. Mostly vitamin D right now.”

Benji nodded, obliterating a half-pound cheeseburger and fries. “I remember summers are harder.”

Locke shrugged. “Yeah, but being here has been really great. The woods are so dense that I don’t always get a rash, so I can be outside more during the day.”

Benji’s face lit up. “Oh! That’s really cool! Mom and dad will be happy to hear it. See? I told them this was a good move for you.”

Locke huffed. “What, me telling them how great it is wasn’t enough?”

Benji waved him off. “You know how they are, they always worry about you.”

It wasn’t unwarranted. Locke had been a sick kid with all kinds of health issues and sensitivities, not the least of which was chronic anemia. At the time, being in and out of foster homes like he was, it had been difficult to narrow down his symptoms. Until Dan and Lori snagged him, the pale, scrawny, constantly exhausted thing that he was, and gave him a solid foster home to grow up in. Within the first year they’d discovered he had vampire heritage, which explained the majority of his weird symptoms. It wasn’t enough that he had to have transfusions, but it still meant he was anemic and allergic to too much direct sunlight. After that, with the support of his new foster family, Locke improved enough that he was able to finish school, and even got a degree.

Now, with a healthy lifestyle, he could live pretty normally, even if he still needed to be monitored monthly. Newlight, on top of being paranormally inclusive, also happened to be an hour away from the office that handled his case, which was still better than the two and a half hours he’d been traveling while still living near Dan and Lori. They might not have adopted him, but they still considered themselves his parents, and made quite the fuss when he moved so far away from them.

“Well, I really am doing great. You can tell them that I'm happy and healthy and even the ghost doesn’t bother me too much,” he said.

Benji snorted. “Lori would flip her lid if she knew you had a ghost.”

Locke grinned and didn’t think Lori would honestly be too surprised.

Other than the caprese salad, the choice of restaurant had been deliberate. It sat across from a stretch of woods with a marked path, and that path just so happened to let out a few yards from Locke’s house. The dark fae of Newlight loved to fill it with all sorts of mischief, some of which was quite pretty depending on the mood. With it being tourist season, and the endless woodland trails a huge attraction, Newlight had strict ordinances for what was and wasn’t allowed on the public paths. Benji was hesitant to take the woods home, but Locke assured him it was quite safe so long as they stayed on the path.

True to form, the woods were full of eerie giggles and mysterious lights, shrubs shaking and twigs snapping in the shadows along the lit path. The usual lamps that ran along the ground had been replaced with overhead string lights, zigzagging back and forth  like a trail of will-o-the-wisps. Since the sun had finally set, Locke was able to shuck his hoodie and take off his sunglasses. Extreme temperatures had never really bothered him, but the summers could be pretty oppressive. It was nice to feel cool night air on his skin.

Half way home, a fairy appeared, a curvy woman in a diaphanous lavender dress and long, curling black hair. She hovered her way across the path, watching them with a wicked grin and shining black eyes.

“Evening, Iris,” Locke said casually. Benji made some choking noises behind him and Locke suppressed a grin, imagining his brother was blushing so hard he was almost purple.

“Hello, Locke. Who’s your friend?” she asked, moving a little closer.

“This is my brother, Ben.”

Her grin got even more mischievous. “Nice to meet you, Ben,” and she was off again, disappearing into the trees on the opposite side of the path. A symphony of chittering laughs hit them and Locke snorted.

“Wow,” Benji huffed as they kept moving, eyes nearly glued to the spot.

“She works in Mrs. Gloushire’s sometimes,” Locke said with a shrug.

“Oh yeah?” Benji mumbled absently, still searching through the darkness. Locke wanted to tease him, but it was his turn to blush when another fairy appeared.

“Hello, Galena,” he nearly deadpanned, glad it was so dark.

Galena was tall and willowy, built lean like a swimmer and burnished like bronze. He was dressed in what Locke could only call a poison green loincloth with a braided rope of poison ivy draped across him like a sash and pinning back half of his long, curling brown hair.

“Hello, Locke.” He did a little spin, purple wings beating wildly. “What do you think of my Absinthe costume?”

Locke blinked. “Isn’t that the same costume from last year?”

Galena scoffed. “You’re no fun!” he snarked, but blew Locke a kiss anyway and darted off again. Locke sighed and picked up the pace.

“Are the woods always like this here?” Benji nearly whispered to a chorus of laughter.

Locke shrugged. “No, they’re just excited for the Fest. It’s pretty quiet outside of tourist season.” Benji just hummed softly and got a little closer when something shrieked nearby.

[sector-i-closed]

Marking

Requested by @atiny-piratequeen  and part 2 of Self Control

Werewolf!Yeosang and companion!reader

Warning: Smut, knotting and the third time I've ever done a werewolf au aaaand 2,676 words

Yeosang was extremely quiet on this particular morning, watching the ground with each step that he took as you walked alongside him. It was obvious to you that he was anxious about something lingering on his mind and you weren't sure as to why he seemed so unsettled.

An entire month had nearly passed since the night that you had helped your master with his 'problem' and neither one of you could forget that night. Yeosang had been constantly craving your warmth and your touch ever since the time that you had spoiled him with the blowjob that you gave him while he was in heat and to make matters worse he was on pins and needles today because he knew the full moon was going to be at it's peak tonight and he still had not explained to you about what he had to go through when the moon tamped down his willpower.

He felt awkward about bringing the situation up with you and it was times like these when he wished that he could just ignore the moon cycle and not go through with the pain and desire to mate you.

Yeosang didn't wish to hurt you and he wanted to tell you about the mating process and the pain that went with it for the submissive party. But looking at your carefree face made the words stick in his throat, his anxiety rendering him unable to utter a word to you.

"Master, are you feeling okay?" Your gentle, concerned voice interrupted the uncomfortable thoughts that whirled through his mind.

'Tell her! It's our chance!' Yeosang's wolf piped up in his mind.

'I will when the right time comes' The male snapped at his wolf out of annoyance.

'I'll believe that when I see it’ The wolf scoffed.

'Don't make me suffer because of your pride' The wolf continued in a warning tone, going silent before Yeosang could retort.

"Master?" You asked again, noticing your master spacing out.

"Huh?" His eyes widened as a wave of embarrassment enveloped him. "Uh y-yeah, I'm fine!" He smiled at you shyly while his cheeks turned a vibrant shade of pink.

"I'm glad." You smiled sincerely, voluntarily taking his hand and holding it tenderly. Yeosang's heart fluttered at the physical contact and the tingles that resulted from the mate bond made his discomforting thoughts melt away.

'You're letting your chance slip away' The wolf broke into his mind, causing him to groan at the constant badgering by the beast.

'Now isn't the time!' Yeosang snapped, allowing you to lead him to the park bench where both of you sat down, enjoying the serenity and each others company.

The moment was too sweet and your innocent smile dissipated any courage that he had previously to broach the subject of how werewolves mate.

You kissed him lovingly on the cheek and he made up his mind right then to handle tonight the best that he could, there would be a better time in the future to bring up the full moon and his heat.

He wasn't looking forward to hurting you when it came to his knot but he still hungered to solidify the bond between you and him.

~~~~

"Fuck this!" He groaned loudly, debating as to weather he should go into the darkness outdoors, even though his instincts were directing him to you, his companion who was sleeping in the room right next to his.

The pain of his arousal was causing his judgment to blur and his wolf was laughing at him for allowing himself to get in this predicament.

'If you had talked things over with Y/N earlier we would probably both be inside of her right now, knotting her tight cunt'

'What makes you so fucking sure she would have went along with it?' Yeosang growled, palming his throbbing length through his pants.

'She's perfect. She would do anything to please us' The wolf cooed in a singsong tone.

'I don't wish to take advantage of that, even if what you're saying is true' Yeosang began pacing the floor, attempting to burn off energy to wear himself down in hopes of becoming disinterested in mating you.

'Why are you fighting our instincts?' The werewolf asked with a mocking tone.

'Shut up!' Yeosang barked out, losing his patience with everything as irritability settled within him.

'How would you feel if someone else got to Y/N, knotting and marking her as theirs when she rightly belongs to us?' The wolf sneered, freezing Yeosang in his tracks.

Darkness overshadowed his face at the thought of you being taken away from him and it was something that he had not considered before now and he felt quite disturbed at the possibility of losing you to another werewolf.

'Go to her now. We need to make her completely ours' Yeosang tried to push his wolf's voice out of his mind but the constant urging from the beast inside of him blurred his reasoning, possessiveness taking hold of him as he swiftly made his way to your room, unable to hold himself back from shifting.

You stared up at the ceiling tiredly, unable to fall asleep and you kept wondering why your mate and master Yeosang was acting strangely earlier in the day, discouraging any hope that things could progress In your relationship with the male.

The way he felt in your mouth was something pleasant to you that you couldn't and didn't want to forget and you wondered what his length would feel like inside of you.

You moaned softly at the imagining of what it might feel like for his length to slide inside of your wet heat and touch the spots inside of yourself that desired stimulation when your master would do something as simple as touching you innocently, his fingers tenderly threading through your hair in endearment while you were burning hot deep inside your veins for him.

A loud scratching noise at your bedroom door spooked you and for a moment you waited to see if the sound would resume again, which it did at a more insistent sound. It sounded as if long nails were clawing at the wood of the door and you wondered if it was your master, if so, you were puzzled as to why he didn't just open the door and come on in.

You jumped out of your bed and went to the door, promptly opening it because you were certain it was Yeosang.

The sight before you nearly made you swoon as a wave of shock jolted throughout your body, the hulking figure of a furry canine standing upright and towering directly over you accelerated your heart rate and your fight or flight instincts kicked in, encouraging you to step backwards to place distance between you and the beast.

It didn't click in your mind that it may have been your master, possibly having shifted into his wolf form. You had never seen his wolf and you were too afraid to even think that it could have been Yeosang.

"Master!!!" You screamed out as the creature took a step closer to you, it's snout quivering as it smelled the air and presumably your scent.

To your surprise it's fur seemed to melt away before your own eyes and taking the place of the beast was your master, who stood before you without a single article of clothing upon him.

Your heart pounded heavily in your chest as you shamelessly assessed his form, taking notice in how long and stiff his cock was as it jutted away from his body.

Just moments ago you were afraid and at the present moment you wanted to get down on your knees and take his hard length into your mouth. Your master appeared torn as to what to do, his pupils dilated with lust while looking awkward, standing without his clothing.

"What's going on master?" You asked hoarsely, lowering down to your knees while reaching out for his length.

"W-we need to mate you..." Yeosang growled, his chest heaving from suppressing the urge to rip away your clothing and fuck you against the wall.

"What do you mean?" You looked up at him with sweet inquisitive eyes that nearly tore away all of his restraint.

"We need to m-make you ours and g-give you our knot." Yeosang raised you to your feet and stared into your eyes darkly. You swallowed hard, excitement welling up inside of you at the thought of having intercourse with him.

"Why are you waiting, master?" You questioned anxiously, your eyes scanning the bare skin that was exposed to you.

"I don't want to hurt my companion." Yeosang edged closer to you at the guidance of his wolf, closing the gap between his body and yours. Something squeezed inside of your chest and your sex did as well, making you want what your master was needing.

"Please do it..." You whispered, your voice hushed and barely audible to the human ear but Yeosang heard you clearly.

'Do it' His wolf growled, giving your master the motivation to finally press his lips against your mouth, giving in to the lust within him to experience a heated kiss with you.

You grasped his shoulders tightly as he gave in to his instincts, kissing you fervently while his tongue pressed at your lips, desiring to taste you as his feelings swam in the pleasant tingles of the mate bond.

Slowly his hands slipped below the fabric of your shirt, enjoying the pleasing feel of your soft, warm skin against the palms of his hands.

You gasped out loud and moaned into your master's mouth as he possessively devoured you shamelessly, savoring your sweetness with each dip of of his tongue into your warmth.

Which reminded him of the time when your mouth was on his needy member.

"I've been w-wanting you to do things to me..." You breathed against his soft lips. "Please..." You whimpered, feeling the tip of his erect cock pressed up against your stomach.

'Take her now' Yeosang's wolf barked out, causing your master to frown.

'All the fuck you ever think about is yourself!' Yeosang retorted angrily.

'You never think of yourself enough' The wolf replied in irritation.

'Don't make our companion wait. Step up and make her feel like you want her' His wolf stated in annoyance, prompting something to snap inside of Yeosang with those words.

You were surprised to find yourself roughly pushed down onto the bed, your naked master's body hovering over your own clothed body.

His pupils were completely blown, blackness overtaking his irises and sending chills of anticipation throughout your body as he stared into your eyes.

"I'm going to make you all mine." Yeosang growled with a deceptive smile overtaking his features, unwittingly increasing your heart rate as you watched him shift from the sweet master that you knew to something darker that you weren't accustomed to but it still excited you all the same.

"You're so cute and fragile lying helplessly beneath me." Yeosang narrowed his eyes at the fabric that was between your skin and his, and he wanted to do something about it.

He quickly unsheathed his claws and ripped away the barrier that your shirt provided, leaving your torso exposed and your shorts were the next article of clothing to be ripped away. You panted heavily as the air kissed your skin, raising your awareness of how exposed that you were and the understanding that this was the first time that Yeosang had ever seen you naked.

"Please master, I need you now." You begged desperately, wanting him to fill you with his cock, the incessant ache inside of you demanded to feel him and you wanted to finally share an intimate moment with him.

He seemed to be fighting himself again, showing in his eyes that he was afraid that he would hurt you even though his instincts were encouraging him to ram into you heartlessly with all of his power.

"Please..." You whined, gazing down at the hesitant male who was caressing your curves and pleasuring you with his sensual touch.

The last 'please' from your lips dismantled his willpower completely, his instincts guiding him to slide his length inside of your wet, tight hole. You bit your lip hard from the sharp pinch of the intrusion, your thighs shaking violently as he filled you, his skin rubbing against your tight walls and eventually he bottomed out deep inside of you.

The feeling of your heat enveloping his dick encouraged Yeosang to move and eventually you gave him the go ahead. His first movements knocked the air from your lungs as you gripped the bedsheets, completely unprepared for the momentum of the harsh, desperate thrusts that was undoubtedly the beast's idea of satisfying you.

Your toes were already curling, becoming even more aroused at the depth of his length penetrating your heat. "M-master..." You arched your back instinctively and met his thrusts readily, the loud slapping of your skin against his pelvis was a sound that was surreal to you and a series of broken moans were a warning that you were already close to your climax and your wasn't near his release yet.

"I need you to hold on, baby." Yeosang stared with an alluring gaze into your face while purposely avoiding striking your sweet spot with the head of his cock.

"But I'm... I'm so close..." You complained breathlessly, feeling his cock press down into your lower wall and incite another pleasurable feeling that temporarily caused you to forget the almost euphoric feeling from earlier.

"So g-good ah feels so good m-master!!!" You yelped, feeling his entire length twitching inside of you while you praised him.

"Oh!" You almost screamed out when his tip suddenly pushed up against your sweet spot, repeatedly doing so until you were unable to hold back your release.

"Come with me, Y/N." Yeosang breathed raggedly while tipping over the edge into ecstasy, coming inside of you while you tried to do the same, though you couldn't seem to let go because you were still struggling to retain control of yourself.

A sensation of fullness distracted you from releasing and it seemed as if your mates length was swelling inside of you. Yeosang watched you through a haze as you threw your head back and moaned in enjoyment of the stretch, feeling the fullness of something pressing up against your g spot and you loved the unusual feeling.

You trembled beneath your master as he realized that you had not orgasmed yet and it seemed as if you were silently begging for him to do something. His hand slithered down to your clit, where he flicked his fingers against your sensitive, engorged flesh.

'We need to mark her when she cums' His wolf broke into his thoughts, disturbing the bliss that he experienced.

'I know!' Yeosang huffed, watching the range of pleasured expressions on your face as your orgasm finally swept through you.

He groaned as you spasmed on his knot, making a rush of neediness flood to his pelvis, readying him for yet another round of mating.

Yeosang quickly unsheathed his fangs, biting your sensitive neck carefully and finishing the final step of making you his. You screamed out at the cacophony of the overwhelming pleasure and shattering pain, but you remained strong, allowing the werewolf to mark you as his.

"Master..." You whimpered, feeling warmth eminating from where Yeosang had bit you.

"You should see it." The male marveled at the distinctive marking that was left behind on your neck, a profile view of a human cupping a wolf's snout with both hands.

His fingers slowly traced the marking in amazement and you were too fucked out to register anything that he was doing. Yeosang was in no hurry for you to regain your awareness since he was going to be inside of you for quite awhile now.

[lifebeginsbyleaving]

Accidental Amnesia Amnesty

Hello, this is for sterek bingo 2020. I have so many other ideas planned and a few other prompts written so I’m excited to finally be posting them!!! I used the tags mistaken identity and full shift werewolves.(I also used fake relationship, but forgot to say.) So this fic changes some of canon, but everything before the cop car scene and everything after the end of the third episode is canon. I tried to make it fit as well as I could, but this is my first time sticking to canon so closely so I might've missed something. Thanks for reading!!!

All he had to do was not run into Melissa. Easy as pie.

"Stiles?"

Shit.

He spun around with a grin as his jacket flapped in his hand. "Hey Mels bells!"

She squinted in confusion at him. "What are you doing here?"

Stiles scratched his arm and scrambled for an answer. "Well as you know, Scott and I are very close. Arguably the closest. Best friends and all. I was just wondering if you've seen him around?"

She looked at him disbelievingly. "You came here, to my work, to ask where Scott is?"

Stiles took a moment to consider. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, absolutely."

"And you didn't think to, I don't know, call first? Or check the house where Scott would most likely be? And last I knew, usually always is right about now?"

"You know, I should've. I guess it just slipped my mind." Stiles tried to look not guilty as he discreetly hid his bloodied hands and jacket behind himself.

She looked at him for a moment. "Right. Okay, you are going to stay right here and I'm going to call your dad."

Stiles startled. "Oh that's not-"

"Save it mister. I don't know what you're up to, but I have patients to deal with so I can't figure it out. Sit down."

Fuck. Stiles went and sat down to await his doom.

His dad was going to be so pissed. Lately Stiles had been butting into cases a lot. Every time he mentioned something he figured out he saw how much stress he was causing his father by him not staying out of it, but there was this buzzing. This feeling that never left him, not even in sleep, that something was coming. Something big and changing. Something that would hurt the ones he loved if he didn't figure it out. With his very recently widened world view to involve the supernatural, it added even more weight to the feeling. It was this indescribable itch at the back of his mind that only seemed scratched when he was figuring out his father's cases before he could get hurt. But he couldn't explain any of that to his father, so he just played it off as the nosey kid.

His father tried multiple times to keep him away from it, and it worked once his father had been reported. Some jackass told his superiors that Stiles was poking around some old files and now he had a lady from the FBI questioning his every move.

Stiles knew he should just let it go, let it all blow over, but there was something about this. This case. This week. This feeling.

This feeling wasn't just him fearing for his life. This feeling wasn't him wondering if he'd make it through his high school years. This feeling wasn't him worrying about his dad getting shot stopping some punk knocking over a liquor store. This feeling he had didn't even go away once Scott was bit, it wasn't that simple. This feeling wasn't just about his best friend suddenly becoming a creature of the night. This feeling wasn't just one simple thing. This feeling was everything.

This feeling told him that everything before now was what was leading up to something, and everything after would never be the same again. This was Scott and werewolves and there was something about Derek. Something he couldn't figure out. This feeling told him that it was important, it was all important. This feeling told him no matter what, he had to figure it out.

Stiles didn't like not knowing, not being able to trust what he saw.

Looking down at his hands and the blood caked on them he wasn't sure he could trust what he just saw. He didn't know if he could trust the memory because everything just happened so fast.

One moment he was in trouble with his father because he found yet another crime scene, the other half of the body, and the next his father's boss was questioning both of them. Soon enough he slipped away and into the unobserved police car to speak with Derek Hale, well more like accuse. Then he was being pulled back out by his father and getting yelled at while the sheriff looked nervously over at the woman raising an eyebrow and looking more and more sure. His father told Scott to stay so he could talk to him, most likely express disappointment.

He heard chatter as he walked back to his car about how they had a more nailed down date of death, it had been a day earlier than they thought.

Soon enough, he was starting Roscoe and watching the patrol car taking Derek away, along with all the answers. The buzzing, the feeling, was back. The next second he was shifting into gear and following behind the car.

The next hour happened in the blink of an eye.

He was thinking about how the girl/wolf was buried then, there was a big, snarling blur and the patrol car was shoved off the passing bridge.

Stiles swerved to the shoulder before the bridge.

By the time he was looking down to the bottom of the stream, Derek was dragged from the car.

By- by something Stiles couldn't believe. Scott being a werewolf was one thing. That- that hulking scarred beast with hollow red eyes was another.

Stiles stood frozen in the flash of movements as the monster bashed Derek's head against a rock and raked his claws down him as he fought. His hands trembled as the monster's claws dug into the back of Derek's neck and Derek's arms went slack, he stopped grappling with the beast's terrible paws.

It's giant jaws cracked open and it spoke, horrifying Stiles further.

"Forget or you will die like her. You will die like your sister."

Stiles' mind raced to the bat in his Jeep.

He scrambled to get it and in doing so he brushed the string of flowers he had taken from around the body.

A truly stupid idea flashed in his mind as he remembered an article about wolfsbane.

He saw the flower wrapped rock sail and for once his aim was good enough.

It landed with a similar thud as the stone in Stiles' belly as the beast looked down at it then directly into his eyes.

It tilted it's head and sniffed the air, and still he knew this fear, this pants pissing fear, wasn't the feeling he was dreading.

In the blink of an eye he couldn't see the glowing red anymore, but he could still see the stare even as he clamped his eyelids shut.

When he opened them again he saw red, trembling red. The overhead system called out for a doctor of some sort, but all he heard was the sickening crack of skull against rock.

Over- Crack! And over- Crack! And over- Crack! And over- Crack! And over- Cra-

Stiles bolted up and ran.

He threw open the bathroom door and began scrubbing at the blood coloring the swirling cold water. No matter how hard he cleaned his hands it seemed more blood kept pouring onto them.

Two men walked in while talking.

"-Hale is in stable condition."

Stiles was brought out of his thoughts and cycle of seeing himself fail at holding the blood inside Derek's body.

"I don't know how he made it. That kid is a miracle. Some of the injuries weren't as bad as originally thought. Gave the EMTs a real scare with all the blood, I heard. And he's not even in the ER any more, he's in 309. You should see th-"

Stiles was out the door in an instant.

He knew exactly where the room was.

As he went by Melissa, thankfully distracted by an urgent patient, he hid until he could dart around the corner.

He tried to as calmly as possible, run to the room.

Once outside he barged right in. His father wouldn't be here yet, but there wasn't any time to waste. He would be soon.

Looking at the pale man in front of him, everything stood at a stand still. He stared at him and thought for what felt like hours.

What if he woke up? What was he supposed to say? 'Hey, you know I hope you don't hold it against me that I accused you of murder.'

Oh God. Stiles had a fear inducing idea.

If the murdered woman was a werewolf, what if she was murdered by that beast? And Derek was a werewolf too, did that mean- the murdered lady was Derek's sister, and the one the beast was talking about? Stiles accused him of murdering his sister?!

Holy shit.

He so didn't kill his sister. He wasn't the alpha. He wasn't the threat. Or maybe he was. If he was a werewolf he could still be a threat.

Stiles studied him.

Right then he didn't look like a threat. He didn't look scary. Hell, he didn't even look like a werewolf. He looked- broken. And scared, and hurt. And my god Stiles had never seen someone look so sad in the peacefulness of sleep.

It made him wonder if he laid his hand over his if it would comfort him, if he was the type of sad that meant he was just lonely. He looked at Derek and remembered the papers and stories.

His own face twisted in sorrow.

He looked at his prone healing form and knew.

Derek was the type of sad that knew loss. He knew it better than he knew himself to the point that who he was might as well have been added to the body count of people lost to him.

Stiles ached for the man he, up until moments ago, thought and accused of murdering his own sister.

He came closer and stood next to his bed.

The feeling felt wrapped up with Derek some how. Like he was vital to figuring it all out.

He lifted a hand to offer comfort.

The monitors beeped faster and Stiles looked over at them.

When he went to check Derek's face his eyes were open, and glowing electric blue.

"Jesus!" Stiles ripped his hand back.

He looked confused, and alert. "Where am I?"

"Warn a guy!"

"Where am I?"

Stiles huffed. "Where do you think genius? The hospital."

"Why am I here?" He still looked confused, but more calm.

Stiles frowned. "You don't remember the accident? Or the-"

"I was in an accident? Were you there?" Derek's eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "You were there right? You held my head and cried and cursed the ambulance for taking so long."

He paused.

"Who are you?"

Stiles was taken aback. He squinted. "Derek?"

Derek looked at him with a contemplative look, then looked at the tubes going into him with concern. "Who's Derek?"

Stiles didn't have time to process his shock as the door swung open and his father marched in.

"Stiles?!" His father looked furious. "Mieczysław Genim Stilinski!"

Derek's eyes went wide.

Stiles quickly grabbed his hands to cover his claws.

His father took a brief pause at the hand holding, but quickly schooled his face.

Stiles winced. "Hi Dad?" He felt Derek's claws retract.

His dad turned to the woman with him.

"Save it Sheriff. I see the complaints about your gross disregard for procedure by involving your son aren't unfounded. Pray, do tell me there is a reasonable explanation why your own son is in the room with a murder suspect? After the body, the second half that is, I only needed one more reason for your review. It seems now I have one."

Stiles' wide eyes quickly became hard with determination.

Derek looked at him and immediately knew what ever came out of his mouth was going not going to end well, despite knowing him for less than three minutes.

"I have a perfectly reasonable explanation."

His father covered his face with his hand and his shoulders raised to tense against the incoming response.

"Derek is my boyfriend."

Stiles' face was filled with conviction, but the the other three surrounding him went wide with shock.

The sheriff's hand fell from his face as he gaped at his son, but soon enough he turned to Derek. Gone from his gaze was the confusion, now all that was there was a murderous edge as he stared right into Derek's soul.

Derek swallowed and turned to Stiles. "We are?"

The confusion was back ten fold.

"Stiles if this is one of your tricks or schem-"

"Derek doesn't remember anything." Stiles blurted.

All eyes turned to Derek.

That wasn't true. He remembered waking to pain and someone holding him in their lap. Repeating over and over, 'You're going to be okay. We're okay.' He remembered shiny brown eyes and moles. He remembered the hammering of a heart that some how calmed his own as he faded in and out of consciousness. He remembered holding a hand as his body felt like it had been drained of too much to recover from. He remembered thinking he had to hold on, or maybe he was told that.

He remembered having an anchor to reach for.

He remembered all of that but he kept quiet.

The sheriff once again turned to him. "Is that right?"

Derek tried to clear his dry throat. "Which part, sir?"

He fixed him with a hard glare. "Both."

Derek looked to Stiles and considered. He didn't remember anything, so he didn't know if what he said was true. Stiles turned away from his father to look into his eyes and he gave him a very meaningful look as squeezed his hand. Like, 'Hey, agree with everything I say please!'

He looked at him and he couldn't muster up love. When he had looked at the sheriff he felt fear and respect, but looking at Stiles there was no love or even adoration. There was something there though, it felt like he trusted him. He didn't know if it was his face or his eyes, or maybe even that the only memories he had included him.

He turned back to answer honestly. "I don't remember anything before I woke up, and I don't know if we are together. I didn't even know my own name before he told it to me."

The woman spoke up. "I'm sorry wait a second, weren't you the one that found the body. Then you reported Mr. Hale? You reported your own boyfriend?"

Stiles looked at her and narrowed his eyes. "Wouldn't you report your boyfriend if you thought he murdered a lady? I was raised by a cop, not a monster."

His dad came farther into the room and showed obvious unease and pointed looks towards where their hands were still intertwined. "So why are you here now? If Derek really did murder that lady-" He gave Stiles a firm, but consoling look. "I will find out. And he will go to prison."

Stiles felt Derek tense, so Stiles tightened his grip. "He didn't. He didn't kill her."

The FBI agent gave him a cutting look.

His father pushed out a breath as he shook his head. "Kid, you're killin me here. You just told me he did. We literally just came from the crime scene you found and told us he did it."

Stiles set his shoulders. "And now I'm untelling you. Some new information came to light."

Stiles saw the glint of light that every once and awhile reflected off of his father's badge and into his eyes. "New information? Who's your source?"

"I am."

His father gave him a dubious look. "We can hardly take the word of a teenager over evidence. You, yourself found the other half of the body on his property! Stiles you're not dumb, look at the evidence. You might think you care for him and want to protect him, but we can't disregard evidence on the word of a significant other." It looked like every time he had to refer to their relationship, it pained him. "Much less an easily manipulated teenager with an older boyfriend." He gave a pointed, murderous look to Derek. "Which will be dealt with."

Derek turned to Stiles and now that he was more focused he could see the obvious youth that the curiosity in his eyes had hid before.

Stiles stood considering for a moment, then he let go of Derek's hand to face his father. "I know he didn't do it because on the way out I heard Ella say the time of death was a day earlier than you thought."

His father once again looked disappointed. "Stiles what does tha-"

"And he was with me that day."

The FBI agent looked skeptical. "The entire day?"

Stiles addressed her. "I went to school that Thursday, but he saw me right away after. And the medical examiner, Ella, said she didn't die till later at night anyway."

His father once again looked harsh and his face darkened. "How late did he stay?"

Stiles closed his eyes and hoped he wasn't pulling Derek out of the frying pan and into the fire. He looked into his father's eyes. "I knew you'd get off at four, so he left at three. So there was no way he could've killed her."

Derek looked shocked at the new information.

Stiles nervously went to scratch at his head with his still shaking hands and in doing so, brought his flannel away from his body.

The homicidal look his father had melted instantly into one of worry. "Is that blood?!"

Stiles looked down to his t-shirt where a spot of drying blood was causing his shirt to stick to his body. Stiles quickly pulled his hand back down so his flannel would cover it once again.

His father rapidly approached him and ripped his flannel away to inspect the large stain.

Stiles pushed his hands away. "Dad I'm fine."

He quickly grabbed Stiles' hands and looked at the blood still wedged under his nails and he pulled the almost dripping jacket from him.

He looked up with wide frightened teary eyes. "Where? Where does it hurt son?" His voice was commanding despite how it shook.

"I'm fine."

He shook his head and grabbed Stiles' arm.

He looked at the FBI agent as he walked past. "Watch the suspect." He thought to himself, 'So I can murder him later.'

Stiles was protesting being drug behind, but his father simply yelled out a very loud, distraught, "Melissa!"

Stiles saw her look to them right before he was shoved into a different room.

"Sit."

"I'm f-"

His eyes were wild. "If you say you're fine one more God damn time, I'm gonna lose it Stiles! Why the hell are you covered in blood with shaking hands then?"

Melissa came in with a concerned look. "What is it John?"

John just pointed where Stiles was standing near the bed before speaking, "Fix him." He backed away to give her space.

"I'm alright, you don't have to worry."

She turned to Stiles with a puzzling look, but as she scanned him she caught sight of the blood and her eyes went wide just like his father's had. "Oh my god!"

"It's okay."

She ripped his shirt up and away and in her panic she smoothed her bare hand through the blood. She searched for a moment longer and then turned to John. "There's nothing wrong with him."

"I told you I wa-"

His father started to pace and gesture as he talked, "No. No, you fix him! You find what's wrong. He's lying, or hiding it. I don't care if you have to strip him naked like you used to for bath time with Scott! You find what's wrong with my boy! I don't know what's wrong. He hid it from me, I didn't know he was hurting!" He looked at her with a mixture of desperation and concern. "He's covered in blood and he needs to be okay. You need to take my boy and make him okay! My boy is hurt Melissa." His voice broke as he said the last sentence.

Stiles grabbed Melissa's arm and looked into her eyes. "Go back to work, I have to talk with him. I promise you I'm fine."

She nodded, already knowing he was, and left.

"Dad."

His father came near as the door closed and once again his shirt was pulled up.

Stiles placed a hand on top of his. "It's not my blood."

His father looked at him bewildered.

Stiles sighed. "I followed the police car. I was there when the accident happened." He hesitated for a moment. "I didn't see the driver or the truck's plate number, I just saw a big black blur hit the car off the bridge from the side." He took some solace in the fact that at least that part was true. "They drove away as soon as they realized they hit something."

His dad still had a crease of worry in his forehead.

Stiles thought quickly on his feet as he pieced together his story. "I heard Ella on the way out and figured out that it wasn't Derek. So I followed the car to get everything straightened out at the station. But then the accident happened. I went down to check on him and there was just so much. It's not my blood, it's- it's his. I tried- I got there as soon as I could." Stiles thought about the blood pouring and  how the only reason Derek was even in that car was because of him and his eyes began to tear up. "There was so much blood dad. It was everywhere. I- I tried- I thought he would die-" His tears started to spill. "God I was so worried he would die in my arms- that he would die and it would be my fault."

His dad shook his head, but he just continued, "I turned him in for something he didn't do. I put him in that car. I-I - I would've been the reason he died." Stiles' words began to blur together as he spoke faster. "I would've been the one that killed him. His blood would've be- God the blood. There was so much blood. It was everywhere. The blood." Stiles' ears started to ring as he looked down at his hands and felt the sticky warmth he had washed off. "The blood dad. The blood dad. The blood. The blood." Stiles couldn't breathe.

His father pulled him into his arms. "Calm down son. Breathe. In and out. He's fine. You hear me? Derek is fine. You're fine too, you're here. With me. It wasn't your fault. You're gonna be okay. Just breathe for me boy."

"I- I can't. T-T-the blood. The b-b-blood dad."

His father pulled back out of the tight hug and gripped his hands. "Look Stiles. Look at your hands. There's no more blood here."

Stiles tried to focus on his hands and his father kissed his knuckles with teary eyes. "There's no blood Stiles. He's okay."

Stiles focused on his father's hands entwined with his and he tried to calm his breaths.

A few moments passed as he struggled with his lungs.

He nodded to his father and they both exhaled loudly.

Stiles crumpled in exhaustion and his father guided him to the floor as he pulled him back into himself. The sheriff rested his back against the nightstand and Stiles settled in between his legs.

The sheriff hooked Stiles' head underneath his chin. "We're going to have to talk about you and Derek, but right now I just want to know you're safe and out of trouble."

His voice was a soft mumble, "You can't protect me forever. I know it's your job, but sometimes I'm going to do things you don't like. That you think are too risky, but it's just me living my life."

The sheriff closed his eyes and felt a bone deep sorrow. "God, your mom would know what to do, because all I want to do is go into that room and shoot him. FBI be damned, he- he touched my boy."

Stiles internally freaked out and shook his head. He couldn't get Derek off a murder charge by setting him up for sexual assault of a minor charge when he hadn't done either. "No. He never- we never- Derek would never do that. We kept in touch long distance and when he came here that night was the only night I was able to see him. We just played video games and talked. I've never even kissed him."

The sheriff let out a relieved breath. "That still doesn't change the fact that he is twenty-three and you are sixteen." He could tell Stiles was about to say something. He thought about how upset Stiles got when he mentioned Derek being hurt. "But, I can tell how much you care about him. I am in no way condoning this. I am not okay with you being together, at all. I want this relationship to stop immediately. But I do see your care, so I won't kill him."

He tried for a joke, but they both knew if he ever found out that anything had happened he wouldn't hesitate.

"Okay."

"Okay."

They sat in silence for a moment longer.

Stiles worried at his lip and curled his fingers into his uniform. "Hey Dad?"

"Yeah?"

He decided not to look up at him. "Do you care? I mean I know you've said- but like sometimes it's different when it happens you know?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked with fondness.

"Do you care that he's..."

The sheriff pulled him tighter to his chest. "No. Don't you ever think that. If Derek was a nice boy your age and not a murder suspect I'd be inviting him to Sunday dinner. I don't care what your sexuality is- hell me and Melissa have a bet going of when you and Scott will get married. I don't care if you date boys instead."

Stiles relaxed slightly. "And if I want to date girls too?"

"I love you Stiles. Who you love won't change that." His father kissed the top of his head.

"I love you too pops."

They both basked in the comfort of the other for a few more moments.

"Alright we should get up. You have a lacrosse game later and I'll have plenty of paperwork I'm sure. Plus we have to take your statement, I don't know if it will clear his name though. His amnesia complicates things. Besides my back is getting sore."

"Will you need help getting up old man?"

His father pinched his side. "Oh it's like that is it?"

"Sorry I couldn't hear you over the creaking of your bones."

Stiles jumped up and away as his father swatted at him. The sheriff held out a hand and Stiles helped him up with a smile.

Stiles went for the door.

"There's still something you're keeping from me."

His heart sank.

"I don't know if it has to do with Derek or his sister or what, but Stiles you don't have to lie to me. No matter how grown you get it will always be my job, and my highest priority to protect you. I could never lose you."

Stiles nodded his head. "Yeah I know that Dad. I could never lose you either."

Stiles turned the knob and they walked out.

With all the questions his father and the FBI agent had for him Stiles was only able to catch back up with Scott right before the game.

He had decided not to tell Scott anything so he could focus on the game more. He decided it was a problem for another time. Now he needed to make sure Scott didn't shift or kill anybody.

The game went smoothly, well as smoothly as it could've. Stiles was just glad everybody was alive and Mr. Argent hadn't shot Scott.

Everything was great till his father got a call. Ella determined that the cause of death for Derek's sister was an animal attack. Stiles was relieved he was let go, but he knew he had to let Scott know. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Stiles didn't have enough information, and he definitely didn't want to get Scott involved in something he didn't know enough about.

He only told Scott that Derek was let go and he tried to push it from his mind.

He felt bad not taking to Derek after he had lost all of his memories and Stiles had claimed to be in a relationship, but his father was serious. If he so much as heard Stiles and Derek were in the same room as each other he would arrest him.

It was as forgotten as it could be, until Scott had a dream about killing Allison.

Scott wondered about maybe having Derek teach him and with his current state Stiles had to shut it down.

It only worked until Scott saw the man from the bus. Stiles tried to convince him to keep on like normal, to not do anything drastic till they could find out more. He convinced him to not cancel his, now group date, with Allison and to act normal.

But Stiles knew his best friend. If there was a chance Scott would hurt Allison and that Derek could help him not, he would take it.

That's why Stiles was disobeying direct orders from his father and parking Roscoe on the abandoned Hale property. He exhaled heavily. Best to get this over with.

The Jeep door creaked and slammed behind himself.

Derek quickly came out of the front door with a small smile already on his face.

"Scott is going to be here after he gets off work and he can't find out that you don't know shit."

Derek's eyebrows fell, but his lips quirked into a small amused smile. "Are you always this blunt and blatantly disrespectful of social decorum?"

He didn't even stop to be offended or consider. "Yes. We need to make a plan. He can under no circumstances know."

Derek easily jumped on board. "What does that mean? What can't he know?"

"He can't know that you don't know stuff. We went over this, keep up. We don't have all night." Stiles fidgeted.

Derek nodded. "Okay." He opened his door more. "Then you better come in and explain some things. Like who Scott is."

Stiles looked distrustful and unease set his shoulders.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just you well, you you is way more grumpy usually."

Derek frowned. "I'm grumpy to my boyfriend?"

Stiles' eyes widened for a second. He had forgotten about that for a moment. "You're grumpy to pretty much everybody, dude." They walked inside the house and he shut the door behind them.

Derek took a second to think as Stiles checked out the house.

Stiles spoke suddenly, "Oh! Yeah, don't forget to do that with Scott. Be grumpy, slightly mean, and entirely intimidating. Like you eat infants for breakfast."

"I act like I eat infants for breakfast?" He looked displeased.

Stiles didn't think before answering consolingly, "But in a hot way."

Derek opened his mouth and then shut it. He avoided eye contact and Stiles swore his cheeks turned light pink.

Stiles realized what he had said and cursed internally for when Derek remembered everything. That reminded him. He should ask how he's been, but first he had to figure everything with Scott out.

He told him everything that had happened so far. The game, Derek trying to help Scott, them accusing him of murdering his sister, assuring him he didn't kill his sister, the hunters, about Allison and her father, why Scott couldn't know about them dating, and especially about Scott's dream. Everything he thought Scott might talk about he covered.

Stiles took a few deep breaths after his info dump. "Any questions?"

Derek looked uncertain. "What happened with the accident?"

Stiles had left that part out, he didn't know if he could talk about it. Derek smelled the fear, and anxiety.

"We don't have to talk about it if you can't."

Stiles took a deep breath. "Nah dude, it's fine. I was following the patrol car when it hit you. This big- well I still don't really know what it was, but it was terrifying. It dragged you out of the car and- and it hit your head." Stiles' face looked confused. "Then it dug it's claws into the back of your neck. It-it looked up at me and-"

As Derek watched Stiles talk he got a distant look in his eyes. Derek reached out a hand and held onto his shoulder.

Stiles' eyes immediately snapped to his and there was a flash of fear before it melted to appreciation. Stiles took in a few breaths and continued more steadily, "It looked up at me after I threw a rock wrapped in wolfsbane at it. It said, 'Forget or you'll die like your sister.' I think it took your memories somehow. Whatever that beast was took them for a reason. You must've known something that it didn't want you too. I think whatever it took will be important. And it will be important to keeping Scott safe, so I'll help you try to remember. I think it had something to do with your sister. I think that thing hurt her and doesn't want you to figure out why. But even that doesn't make complete sense, why not kill you?"

Stiles was looking at the other side of the room with searching eyes that Derek could almost look through to see the cogs moving. He pulled his bottom lip into his mouth in consideration and pulled Derek's focus with it.

He released his shiny red lip and Derek looked back to his eyes dazed. "And this thing with Scott. His dream. The person that attacked the bus driver wasn't Scott, no matter what happened to him I know he would never. Well, I hope. I don't think it was you, but I guess I don't know that for sure. However, this beast, the thing from the accident could've done it. It's the most likely suspect, but I still don't see the motive. Or why Scott is involved. Maybe this thing knew he was a werewolf and wanted something. There's just too many blanks right now. We need more evidence. We need to figure out what, or even more terrifying, who the beast is. We need to find out what it wants with your memories and wanted from your sister and what it wants with Scott. All the while keeping the police, namely my dad, oblivious. Also Scott and you both have to stay away from hunters and not provoke them in anyway until we can figure out more. And Allison. We can't let Scott hurt her. I know my best friend, he would never kill her, but he did attack me, so may-"

Derek looked alarmed. "He attacked you?!"

"Yeah. It was soon after he was bitten though. He's gotten a bit better. I don't think he would attack Allison, but I won't bet her life on it. You need to help him."

Derek furrowed his brows. "How? I don't remember anything, much less have any of the answers to things."

Stiles started to pace. "Okay. You have better control than Scott. Even now. How are you doing it? Scott said it's getting more difficult the closer it gets to the full moon so how are you doing it?"

Derek looked down at his fingers. He had noticed that he had been feeling the urge to shift more. "I don't know how to control it really. It just happens. When I feel my claws about to come out I just stop."

Stiles made a frustrated noise. "Yes, but how do you stop?"

Derek thought about it. In the time since the accident whenever he's felt pain or been stressed trying to remember he's felt the urge to lose control, but he didn't. Derek focused trying to figure out what it was. He didn't know it just happened. He would calm down. He looked up to Stiles and opened his mouth to tell him that, but he stopped.

Stiles.

He closed his mouth again. Whenever he was stressed about the accident he thought about Stiles holding him. Whenever he didn't know what to do he wondered about Stiles and what he was doing. Stiles was his anchor.

He didn't know where that word came from, but it was the only one that seemed right. Maybe he was remembering it.

Stiles let out a breath. "Nevermind, I'll try and figure it out. Let's focus on something else. How are you? Have you remembered anything else?"

Stiles was still pacing.

He had tried to remember. To remember about his sister, or who might have hurt her. He tried to remember anything about his life, but when he looked himself up he stared at the picture from the article about the fire and felt nothing personal looking at the happy large family. He felt sorry for them, he felt sad at the injustice of so many dying, but they didn't seem like his family. He couldn't remember any of their names or anything about them. He tried to remember about other things too. Like where he was before he came here. If he had a job that was wondering where he was. He had a phone, but he couldn't remember his password. Thankfully his computer was unlocked, but all he discovered from that was his porn taste and that he watched a sad amount of Netflix.

The more he found out about his past he wondered if he wanted to remember. If he wanted to remember all of that pain, the misery, the loss. Even his own boyfriend said he was grumpy. Maybe this was a chance to start over, to be better. The old Derek didn't seem like he was doing any good for anyone. Maybe he could. He could protect Stiles, he could help Scott.

"Not really. But would that even be so bad?" He tried to joke lightly, but Stiles whirled on him.

If Derek didn't remember he wouldn't be able to teach Scott and that couldn't happen. Not to mention if Derek didn't remember what the beast took it could kill all three of them and the hunters would have even more of a shot at it. Besides, it was Derek's life. He couldn't forget that. "Yes, Derek! Yes it would be! You are the only person that knows anything about this shit! There are multiple people and things out there trying to kill my best friend and I! Scott needs to learn control or he could hurt Allison and that would destroy him! We need you. We need you to remember."

Derek still didn't look convinced and Stiles already felt guilty for what he was about to do. "I need you." Stiles came closer and grabbed his hand. "I need you to come back to me so you can keep me safe. To keep Scott safe." Stiles stressed about using his emotions like this and about when Derek remembered.

Derek's face softened. "You're right. I'll try my best. You don't have to worry." Derek pulled him into his arms. "I'll keep you safe." Derek picked up on the panic from the man. "What's wrong?"

Stiles allowed himself one more moment to freak out before pulling himself together. "Nothing." He relaxed and practically slumped against Derek as strong arms held him. Stiles gripped the man back just as fiercely. He didn't know the last time anyone had hugged him, but Stiles wanted to at least give him this one.

When they finally pulled back Stiles got back on track. "I've been looking up memory information and I found some things we could try. If you're up for it."

"Yeah we can try it." Derek led them to a soot covered green couch, that despite it's ratty appearance, was quite comfortable.

They both sat and faced each other while they went through multiple exercises, but all he got was vague notions or feelings and that he liked vanilla ice cream.

"I don't think this is working." Derek was frustrated. He put a hand to his aching head.

Stiles caught the movement. "Are you still healing?"

"Yeah. Most of the bruising and broken bones from the crash healed, but there are still some slashes and the back of my neck still hurts."

Stiles frowned in concentration. "I'll look into that too. Do you want to try another exercise? We have time for one more before Scott gets off work and I have to leave."

Derek nodded.

Stiles pulled his lip into his mouth again and Derek was so distracted by the spit coated red he almost didn't realize it was moving.

"Oh! I've got one. I think this one might work, but you really have to concentrate."

Derek nodded distractedly.

"We can try and remember your family." Stiles looked around the room and amended. "From before, before everything happened. Focus on the house. On remembering what it looked like before. What it sounded like. It was probably pretty loud with so many people in one house. Maybe the floor boards creaked." Stiles took in his blank expression. "Close your eyes and remember it."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "You really think that will work?"

Stiles looked exasperated.

"I'll look stupid just having my eyes closed."

Stiles rolled his before closing them. "There? Will that work?"

Derek closed his eyes. "Fine."

Stiles continued, "Picture a spring day, like now. The old leaves would've been dull crisp brown on the ground as new ones grew. You could hear the wind blowing through the trees."

Stiles was good at this. Derek could feel the wind on his face almost.

"People moving around in the house. Your mother maybe making something, your favorite cookies. You could feel the cool wooden floor underneath your feet. The house feels pleasantly warm. The sun peeking through the trees and streaming into the windows." Derek gripped the edge of the dirt covered velvety couch and tried to remember while listening to the sound of his voice. Stiles' heartbeat was another soothing sound as he tried to lead him through the scene. "You could smell the cookies baking along with the smell of your house, your home." Derek inhaled trying to get a whiff of it, but all he got was smoke and the enticing scent of Stiles. "Picture your family gathered around the table and eating all of your favorite foods. Tasting them all." Stiles swallowed and licked his lips before continuing. Derek wondered what he tasted like. "Everyone around the table. You're happy and surrounded by your family. Do you see it Derek?"

He didn't. He didn't see any of what Stiles described. He opened his eyes and looked at Stiles' face and closed eyes.

What was going on around him faded out and he got flashes of the woods. He was walking when he saw two people. Stiles. 'This is private property,' he heard his voice say. But that was all, he was already back in front of Stiles. "Yeah I see it."

Stiles' eyes snapped open immediately with glee in them. "Really?! You do? You remembered something?"

Derek nodded at him with a smile. "Thanks."

"Awesome!"

This was the first thing he had fully remembered and he wanted more. "Stiles, how did we meet?"

He was thrown for a second. "What? Why do you want to know that?"

"I just figured, might as well start with some memories that someone else knows."

This was a bad idea. Stiles didn't actually have any memories with him and lying could fuck up him remembering.

"The doc even said to listen to stories to help me remember, and I don't have anyone else that knows me."

Stiles' gut twisted in guilt. "I'm sorry."

Derek just shrugged. "Not your fault. I just want to hear something about myself, something about you. How did we meet?"

Stiles floundered for a moment. He didn't know what to do, but he supposed he better lie. He decided to try to stay close to the truth. "Your sister and you came home to visit. You found me on your property and basically told me to get lost. But I'm persistent and I don't really know, I guess we just kept bumping into each other. And when it was time for you to leave you gave me your phone number. We haven't been dating long. You didn't want to date someone so young, but I wore you down." Stiles winked at him and tried to seem confident.

"Oh." Derek sounded surprised.

"What?"

"Nothing. I just thought it would've been the other way around."

Stiles laughed. "You thought you would've been the one to chase me?"

Derek looked confused. "Yes?"

Stiles stopped laughing. "Wait, really? Why?"

Derek lifted an eyebrow. "I must've told you, you are exactly my type." He looked through his porn, sue him, and put two and two together and figured it was because he pictured Stiles. But then he found some with women and realized that was just what he liked.

Stiles' mouth dropped open. He was, sex on legs leather jacket wearing wet dream of a bad boy, Derek Hale's type?!

"Why do you look so surprised? We must've talked about it. The disheveled hair. The wide brown eyes. The moles. And fuck God, those lips." Derek stared down at his lips and Stiles licked them nervously. "You are beautiful."

Stiles swallowed and Derek lifted a hand to cup his cheek. He brushed a thumb along blushing cheeks. "I don't know how I didn't move back here immediately to be here. With you."

Stiles' heart was hammering. "Beacon Hills is quite boring. You'd get the man of your dreams, but at what cost? We don't even have a hot topic."

Derek laughed deeply and it made Stiles take a deep breath. "See, you're so funny. You're perfect. God, I could stare into your eyes for days."

Stiles tried to joke again. "What? I thought you said my lips were great. If you're so soon to forget all about them I won't believe you."

Derek smiled. He brushed his thumb along his bottom lip and Stiles held his breath. "Oh believe me, I could never forget these."

"Ironic considering you forgot ev-" Derek leaned in and Stiles cut his own words off before Derek even touched his lips.

Fuck. Derek was kissing him. He was kissing Derek. Derek couldn't remember anything and he was kissing him because he thought they were boyfriends. Stiles was kissing an amnesiac that he convinced was dating him. God, this was all so much like Overboard. Stiles tried to focus. Derek was kissing him, yup that was a thing that was still happening. He looked at Derek's face scrunched in concentration. He nipped at Stiles' lip and he realized he wanted him to kiss him back. God he didn't know what to do! It would hurt him if he didn't. But he didn't want to kiss him because he lied. Derek was insistent and as soon as his tongue swiped Stiles' bottom lip he made up his mind.

Stiles relaxed and closed his eyes. He cautiously started to kiss him back. Derek took that as encouragement. He pushed Stiles back to lean against a pillow and put his head on the armrest. The new angle was weird. Stiles lifted an arm to tangle his fingers in the hair on the back of Derek's head to adjust the angle. Stiles used his other hand to grip one of the arms Derek was using to brace himself over Stiles. Derek was kissing messy and clumsily. Stiles had the sudden thought that this was sort of Derek's first kiss. He was far from an expert himself, but this was Derek's first. Well, not really, but kind of. Stiles wanted to make it good for him. Stiles licked his bottom lip and Derek was eager for the change. Derek was one hell of a fast learner, or maybe he had enough muscle memory. Gripping onto his bicep Stiles thought, 'Yeah he sure has enough muscles for all sorts of memories.'

Stiles pulled back and gulped in greedy breaths of air. Derek was on his neck instantly. He licked and lightly nipped till he moved to his collarbones. Stiles felt a dull pain. "Are you leaving marks?"

He pulled his mouth back barely long enough to say, "No one will see."

Derek's hand crept up his shirt and Stiles gasped. Oh shit, this had to stop right now. "Derek."

He heard a hum before more kisses were left on his neck.

"Derek we have to stop."

Derek looked up at him confused. "What? Why?"

Stiles tried to get himself under control and breathing. "Because Scott will be here soon. He can't know about any of this, he has too much going on already. I also promised my dad I wouldn't see you. Hell, if he knew I was here he'd shoot both of us. And you're not you right now."

Derek's frown turned into a soft smile. He put and arm between Stiles and the couch and he pulled Stiles into a tight hug as he buried his head into his neck. "I'm so lucky I have you."

Stiles swallowed. "Why?"

Derek pulled back and stared at him with a look Scott sometimes got when talking about Allison. "Because, you're such a great friend. And you're a good son. You're even so loyal that you don't want anything to happen with me because I'm not the man you are dating. God you're amazing. You're the best thing in my life I can tell." Derek paused for a moment before looking appreciative and grateful. "The only good thing."

Stiles didn't know what to say back to that so he was glad when Derek pressed one final chaste kiss to his lips. "If not for everything else I don't know if I'd want to remember. Before you came, I was thinking of making a new life where I could forget all the pain. But I'll remember for you. Just for you Stiles."

Stiles smiled slightly. "I should go. He'll be off soon and it's not that far of a drive."

Derek nodded at him with happy eyes.

He walked him outside to his Jeep and even opened his door. "When can I see you again?"

He asked it so hopefully that the guilt twisted at Stiles' stomach once again. "I don't know. We'll see."

Derek reached through the open window to brush his wrist against Stiles' neck. "Don't let it be long. Please."

Stiles nodded with a tight smile. "Make sure Scott doesn't find out. Act mean remember." Stiles added something at the last second. "Oh and wear the jacket."

Derek raised an eyebrow.

"It's intimidating. And-" Stiles abruptly stopped.

Derek smirked. "And?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "And stupidly hot. But I don't think it will have that effect on Scott. Just wear the jacket."

While speaking with Scott Derek tried to do everything Stiles asked. When Scott wanted to know what happened Derek gave him Stiles' tip for remembering and hoped it would work. He didn't want to be so gruff towards his boyfriend's best friend, but Stiles said he had to act normal. And his normal was apparently being an asshole. He wanted to help Scott, but he also wanted to protect him and Stiles both, so if Stiles said this was best for them he would do it. Seeing Scott's defensive posture concerned him. Hopefully he could make that right. Scott needed to like him.

As soon as Stiles left he tried to figure out how to keep them safe. They needed to stick together. He'd read in one of the books in the house that pack was strongest when it was together and omegas were weak. He needed Scott to be in his pack to protect Stiles and himself.

But first he had to send Scott back to the bus. Scott couldn't hurt anyone or Stiles would be hurt. He needed to teach Scott how to control the shift, because Stiles said it was the best thing to do. He hoped Scott would remember something at the bus.

Stiles got home and let out a breath. He sped all the way back home feeling like the person that almost caught them at the bus was still behind him. He closed his bedroom door with a sigh.

Now Scott thought Derek killed the bus driver. Hell, maybe he did. How much did he really know about Derek? Not much. Maybe the amnesia was just some big ploy to get out of custody. But then why would he kiss Stiles? Why would he lie about that? It didn't feel like Derek would do something like that. Stiles still thought it was this beast thing. But if it was that, Stiles needed to explain that to Scott soon. He was keeping him from the worry and stress so he didn't shift before, but now he might not have a choice. Scott would be safer knowing what is after him. But for tonight Scott could go out on a date and enjoy being a teenager. Stiles would stay up and research everything to keep them safe.

Derek's jaw was set as he brushed the glass off his seat to drive his car over to the gas station vacuum cleaner. He almost lost it when the hunter mentioned his family. He didn't feel the love or know them, but that was a low blow. Derek wanted to punch him just on principle, but then he thought of Stiles and what he said about hunters. He had to think about Stiles' lips on his as the man smirked after smashing his window.

He had looked through some more books after Scott had left and found a notebook. It seemed like his sister, the one that came back, wrote it. I was research on hunters. It said something about trying to figure out what hunters started the fire. Derek wondered if the hunters were the ones that had killed his family, or if they had known. If they were the type to bring innocents into it. If they were the type to kill defenseless humans.

Derek put away the vacuum and sped to the hospital. The bus driver might have seen who it was that attacked him. Or at least have more information about what it was, but he just left with more questions.

Like why the bus driver knew his name.

Stiles stared at the picture on his computer screen in shock and fear. The beast was an alpha.

It was Scott's alpha.

Fuck. He had to talk about this with someone. Scott wasn't picking up, probably still on his date. It would be suspicious if Stiles just showed up and dragged him away.

Every time he would blink he'd see those red eyes. Every shadowy corner seemed to reach out with claws. He'd hear a noise outside and feel like it was coming for him. He needed to calm down, he needed to feel safe.

He crept out of the house careful not to wake his sleeping father.

As he was driving it felt like something was chasing after him through the woods beside him. By the time he pulled up in front of the Hale house he could barely breathe. The feeling of someone behind him just kept getting worse. He saw the Camaro with a busted in window and wondered if something happened to Derek. Just as he was opening the Jeep's door Derek came out still dressed despite the late hour even wearing his jacket.

"What? What is is?!"

Stiles got out of the Jeep and ran. He crashed into Derek's chest and tightly grabbed Derek's jacket.

"What is it? Is someone there? Are you hurt?" Derek's arms circled him and crushed him to his chest. Stiles shook his head against his chest and tried not to cry.

This was all so much. Fuck, his best friend was a werewolf now. The person that bit him wants to use him for power and to kill people. There are hunters after him. Scott made first line, but he didn't. Stiles made out with a guy for the first time. He didn't even like guys. Scott could kill Allison on accident. The alpha could show up and kill any of them at any moment.

Stiles could die. Scott could die. Allison could die. Derek could die. His dad could die. Every one he loves cou-

"Hey listen to me, you aren't breathing. You need to breathe. You need to calm down. I don't see anyone. You're safe. Breathe with me."

Stiles listened to Derek's heartbeat and tried to calm his own. "He was- it felt like- like he was there."

"He's not. I promise you he's not. But I am. I am here with you. And I'll protect you."

They stood there holding each other as Stiles slowed his breathing.

"Let's get you inside. It's a cold night."

Stiles smiled up at him. "Derek your house doesn't have heat. It barely has flooring."

Derek smiled. "Look at you, one moment you think you're dying, the next you're ribbing me. You bounce back fast."

"It's a gift. The panic response of a cat in a bathtub, but the elasticity of a rubber ball."

Derek laughed and guided him to the couch once again.

Derek sat down and leaned against the arm rest. He tried to pull Stiles to sit next to him, but he sat with distance between them.

Derek frowned. "Come here."

Stiles scratched the back of his head. "What happened last time, I don't want t-"

"That's okay. We don't have to do any of that now. Or even ever. I just want to touch you."

Stiles' mouth opened.

"Not like that. I just want to hold you. I can sense you are upset. I don't know there's just something that makes me need to make sure you're okay. To have you close."

Stiles nodded. He scooched closer and Derek moved his legs out of the way.

Stiles was hesitant. "Can I- can we, cuddle? I know it sounds stupid, but-"

"Stiles?"

"Yeah?" He tensed for being kicked out.

"Get your ass over here and cuddle me."

Stiles smiled and nestled in between his legs. He rested his head on Derek's shoulder and laid sideways. Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles.

"You're good at this." Stiles sunk into the comfort of his warmth.

"What? Cuddling? Did you think I wouldn't be?"

"No. Well, yes. With the grr I wear leather and the general don't touch me attitude, also I thought the muscles wouldn't be the best pillow. But surprisingly, you're great at this."

"You're great at this too. You're warm and smell amazing."

For some reason that made Stiles blush. "Thanks big guy."

"Do you want to talk about it or to think about something else?"

Stiles did want to think about something else, but he had to talk about this. "The beast. It's a werewolf. That can do the full shift, which is very rare. That's the whole reason we don't know who it is. Werewolves that can do the full shift are more powerful, but can lose control and not shift back easier. I think it's an alpha. The alpha i-"

"Alpha?"

Stiles lifted his head up to look at Derek. "Yeah, why?"

"She, my sister, in her notebook wrote something about finding the alpha. It was very vague and I didn't understand until now, but that's what she came her for. To find the alpha. It's what got her killed."

Stiles smelled stressed again. "And now it wants Scott. No matter what he thinks, you didn't bite him. You're a beta, if what I read is right you couldn't have. The alpha did. And now it wants Scott in its pack." Stiles looked worriedly at Derek's eyes for a second, before thinking about Scott's safety instead.

Derek laced their fingers together after Stiles started to chew on his bottom lip in worry. "We'll deal with it. We'll make our own pack." Derek kissed his knuckles.

"Scott thinks you're a murderer. And that you bit him."

Derek smiled. "Something tells me you can be persuasive when you want to be. Besides, his best friend is the most important person in my life, he's got to come around some time."

Stiles squirmed and looked away. "Don't say stuff like that."

Derek smiled. "Why not? Does it make you uncomfortable? It doesn't for me. I know next to nothing, except how you make me feel. I woke up scared in the hospital with nothing but you. I had the memory of you holding me, taking care of me. I don't see any reason in not loving you with everything in me when there is so many things I'm unsure of, because you are definitely not one of those things."

Stiles looked at him with tears in his eyes. "No one except my family and Scott has ever spoken to me like that."

"Like what? Certain?"

"Like they could spend their whole life loving me and it would never be enough. Like I matter to them."

"It wouldn't." There was so much adoration in his eyes Stiles had to close his before a tear slipped out.

"Don't say that." The guilt and disgust at having lied to him tore at his insides.

Derek brushed the tear from his cheek. "Why? I told you I am not afraid."

"Because you don't mean it." Derek went to open his mouth, but Stiles continued, "You don't know enough to mean it. You hardly know anything about me. You don't know what our real relationship is like. You don't even know what you like to eat for breakfast. I'm taking advantage of you and I feel awful for it."

Derek shrugged. "I'm legally taking advantage of you."

Stiles scoffed. "Just because we're both doing it doesn't make it right."

Derek considered that. "That's true. This is what makes it right." Derek kissed him gently and Stiles was weak against it.

Stiles pulled back. "I should go. My dad could wake up."

"Or we could kiss some more and then you could go home."

That was a terrible idea. "That's a wonderful idea. Thank you for sharing. And like I always say sharing is caring. We should all be more caring. The world re-" Derek cut him off with a press of lips.

"Oh I'm sorry were you saying something?"

Stiles gripped his shirt and pulled him upwards toward himself. He kissed him in a way that made Derek feel like his brain melted while running his hands through his hair.

Stiles pulled back and admired the view. Derek's best look was definitely dazed and disheveled. "We'll have to figure out the Scott thing later. And the alpha thing. And the hunter thing, I'm assuming that's who smashed you window? How rude." Stiles kissed him again.

"And probably have to keep my dad out of it at some point."

Derek vigorously nodded. "Oh definitely, but not right now." Derek kissed him again.

Stiles got lost in it and soon enough he had a hand up Derek's shirt. He ran his hand up and down his muscles before remembering to be careful for the slashes. The ones he couldn't find. Had Derek healed? Stiles moved his other hand down from Derek's hair to brush along the back of his neck. Derek brushed his thumb along Stiles' hip right as Stiles felt the claw marks heal under his fingertips.

Derek pulled back and Stiles knew instantly from looking into his wide unsure eyes.

Derek remembered everything.

He pushed Stiles back harshly and stood up. "Wh-what. We're not- no. We're not." He furrowed his eyebrows at Stiles. "You lied."

"Derek please, just let me explain!" Stiles scrambled to get up and in the motion his shirt moved to show a mark. A mark Derek had left.

Derek's eyes went wide. "I- I kissed you." Flashes of a convincing woman and feelings of uncertainty but gratitude filled him.

Stiles was hurt by his tone. "Please, sound more horrified if you could."

"You need to leave."

Stiles took a step to get closer, but Derek took one back. He could tell he wasn't going to leave without a reason.

"Stiles this isn't some childish game. You tricked me, you lied."

Stiles looked down. "I know and I'm so fucking sorry for that, but I had to. I had to protect my dad. Then I had to make sure you protected Scott, but then I let it go too far. I'm sorry."

This was all wrong. Stiles wasn't the one who did something wrong. Derek was. "You need to leave and I don't ever want to see you again, unless it has to do with Scott." Derek set a look of certainty and anger he didn't feel into his eyes.

Stiles shook his head and reached for his hand. "I can fix this. Scott needs you, I need y-"

Derek couldn't hold back. "You need to leave! You needed to never come here. You needed to have never met me."

"You're not the bad guy here Derek."

Derek needed to push him away to keep him safe. Because if he was with Derek he would get hurt. Everyone Derek cares about gets hurt. "You're right. You are. You're the pathetic little bastard that tricked me into caring about you because it's the only way anyone ever would. I take back what I said, I take it all back. You aren't a good son. You got your father in trouble because you can't keep your nosey ass out of things too big for you. You are the one that got Scott bit. You took him out to those woods. If the alpha kills him, it'll be on your hands."

Derek was grateful he could hold out until he heard the Jeep rattle away before emptying his stomach outside. There had been screaming and tears, but mostly it was the choking sent of Stiles' hurt that Derek would remember. But after he slammed the Jeep door, gone was everything except the emptiness. He just felt hollow and disgusted at himself. Right before he hurled he thought about how now he was just like her.

Stiles drove home through tears. He was just coming up the stairs as his dad came out of his room.

Shit. Now he had to deal with this.

"What are you doing? I put out a curfew, damn it Stiles! Where were you?"

Stiles thought fast and hoped it was too dark and late for his dad to notice his puffy eyes. "Scott had his first date with Allison. He didn't want to wait to tell me tomorrow."

His dad's face softened. "Kid, one of these days you'll be the death of me. Did it go well?"

"Yeah, they're thinkin a spring wedding and six kids will be enough."

"He's that gone on her?" His dad chuckled.

"Worse." Stiles noticed his father's uniform. "Wait, why are you dressed?"

His dad opened his mouth, but Stiles cut him off. "You know I'll just find out."

His father sighed. "The bus driver. He's dead."

"Someone got into the hospital?"

"No. He succumbed to his wounds."

Stiles nodded. "So you have to go in."

His father kissed his forehead on the way out. "Sleep well kid."

He heard his father's patrol car leave and he waited a few moments before rushing to Scott's.

---

They never talked about Derek losing his memory. Derek went back to his asshole self and Stiles tried not to be hurt by it. All the while Derek felt guilty for being like Kate and Stiles was hurt from Derek's harsh words that he tried to remember weren't true. But for some god damn reason they never stopped trusting each other. He helped him with the bullet without talking about it. He held him up in the pool. Derek protected him from Issac. They even helped each other when they figured out it was his uncle, and that it was the reason he had tried to take Derek's memory. So Peter wouldn't have to kill his nephew. Derek was there for the nogitsune. Stiles saved him from Mexico. There were so many things they made it through together, and yet they could never get over it.

Sometimes he would look at Derek and feel like they were just a moment away from taking about it, but then it would pass and they would forget all over again.

Almost like amnesia.

A.N. So thanks for reading!!! It means a lot and I appreciate it. I don't know if I'm too happy with the end right now, but it is completed. I might do a part two idk yet. Have a great day/night!!!

Carter😊

[whiterby]

so I go hunting for witches // silas && whit

@canisly​

Whit impatiently paced back and forth outside his apartment, drawing the attention of some onlookers.  He was trying to play it cool, but he’d been sitting on this information for far too long.  There weren’t many people in which he’d trust enough to share what had had discovered, but there was at least one person who he knew would have no objections to his plans.  He pulled out his phone again and pulled up the messaging app.

me [4:46AM]: so i need to kill some ppl.  i thought’d you’d like to join me [4:47AM]: i’m being serious. me [4:47AM]: can u meet me outside my apartment at 2?

The messages had all been read, but he’d never received a response.  It was now 2:34PM and he was ready to give up when the familiar, hulking form of his massive friend came into view.  Whit breathed a sigh of relief and shoved his phone back in his pocket.

“Took you long enough.”  He had a short fuse today.  “Come back here.”  Whit gestured for him to follow him into a small side alleyway.  He stood behind a dumpster that took up a majority of the walking space to make sure that people wouldn’t be able to see them before launching into his tale.

“I told you about the people that attacked Goldie, yes?  They’ve been attacked werewolves everywhere.  On and off success on whether they actually manage to kill them or not.  I found out where they’ve been hiding.  Their main hub, I guess, is down in Las Vegas.  There’s tons and tons of witches that live in that area, so it makes sense that they’d congregate there.  M.O.N.S.T.E.R. has been zero help in this regard because they’re afraid to pull the trigger on something and be wrong.  I know I’m not wrong, and I’m not afraid to pull any triggers right now.”

Whit straightened him up to full height before meeting eyes with Silas, giving him a steely look.  “Will you help me take out these sons of bitches before they hurt anyone else?”

[deathbyvalentine]

Regency Werewolves, Chapter One

The first matter was, of course, finding a property with a plot of land large enough to meet their not insignificant needs. Simple acres of meadow and field would not do, nor would the carefully manicured gardens that so many of their station opted for. No, there needed to be an air of wilderness about the place, a whisper of nature overtaking, civilisation needing cultivation rather than the other way around. 

Therefore Basil Hall was perfect. It had once belonged to a great aunt and when she had died, the bank had held it until the complex matter of inheritance had been settled. In truth, many of them had forgotten about the old place until their solicitor called, his voice every inch the brisk professional. Everything else had happened rather quickly - the signing of deeds, the appraisal and a letter or two to the parish church, informing them of their new congregation members. And so, just as spring was creeping over the fields, the Williamsons moved in.

If a gossip column had published an official profile of them, it might have went like this; 

Lord Gordon Williamson - the patriarch of the family. Man with many affairs and many interests, though previous to the move, they had mainly been rooted in Scotland. He is known for a somewhat stern manner. However,the centering of his family was admirable and one many more husbands could stand to learn from. He liked cigars, port and hunting, all good strong masculine pursuits.

Lady Elise Williamson - the wife of Lord Gordon. While she could not be described as a great beauty, there was something attractive about her nevertheless, be it in a smile or in her conversation. She was a keen naturist and often took long trips to the Lakes or even into the Yorkshire Moors. As such, she was stout and of fine disposition, never taking to a sick bed a day in her life.

The Widow Selene Daviton - the sister of Lady Elise. Once married, once widowed, she relied on the company of her darling sister to keep her in society. They were inseparable and Selene ended up bringing up the children as much as her sister and indeed, her sister’s nursemaid. 

Master Kingsley Williamson - the eldest son of Lady Elise and Lord Gordon. A scholar at heart, much to the pride of his parents. He showed little interest in the follies and pursuits of other boys his age, generally preferring to learn of his father’s business matters and responsibilities. He took the burden of heirship gracefully and without complaint.

Miss Alice Williamson - the eldest daughter of his Lord and Ladyship. While her brother was retiring, Miss Alice tended towards the wild. There was no new scientific endeavour she didn’t want to witness, no novel she didn’t insist on reading. Her chief joy in life however was riding. She would come home drenched in sweat and whatever weather was currently occurring outside, smile wide and body aching.

Miss Sybil, the youngest daughter of the family took great strides to distance herself from such unladylike behaviour. As Kingsley learnt from their father, she learnt from their mother. She knew the order of every utensil at a dinner table, how to make a wonderful bouquet and how to shoot a rifle perfectly without getting a smidge of ash on one’s dress. 

Now, of course other cousins, aunts, uncles, godfathers, godmothers, long lost grandparents, very recently lost grandparents, devoted nannies, nephews and nieces appeared often (to speak nothing of the servants) but it is this five that kept a permanent residence at Basil Hall and so it is this five with which we will occupy ourselves.

On the day the pack arrived at Basil Hall the servants had already done an exceptional job. Paintings and statues had been uncovered, the dust sheets put away until the next season, beauty restored. The main bedrooms had been aired out and furnished with aplomb, fires set in each to chase away the spring chill. The bags had been sent on ahead and unpacked so every wardrobe hung heavy with fabric and all the small trinkets that provided comfort were laid out, ready to be used once more. There was still much to do - the guest rooms were still coated in a fine layer of dust and many of the bathtubs needed a good scrub with some iron wool, but it was more than enough to be starting with.

The only discontentment came from the groundskeepers. They had been instructed not to trim, chop or uproot a single plant until the family had arrived and given their appraisal. They had been given specific permission to pull ivy from the windows and algae from the boating lake, but no more. They were not pleased at the rather scruffy look this left the manor in, but what could they do? Perhaps back in Scotland, they liked their gardens resembling jungles. There was no accounting for taste, that was for sure.

*

The society surrounding --shire wasted no time in speculating about the Williamson family and what exactly their fortunes were. It seemed there was no haberdashery that wasn’t alight with whispers, no coffee house where there was a low grumble of voices. This was, of course, spurred on furiously by the fact that for the first month of their occupancy, they were entirely invisible. They left no calling cards, visited no homes and did not attend a single social event. If it wasn’t for the fact the manor had a chapel on its grounds, it might have been assumed they did not go to church. Their servants were extraordinarily tight lipped and seemed to be very occupied by errands which were always done in a rush. All in all, it was deeply unsatisfying.

But to everything a time. A few days into the new month and a rumour spread like fire through --shire. A rumour was soon confirmed as fact by a scullery maid talking to a stable lad who had paused to exchange words as she had ducked into the bakery.  The Williamsons had finally made themselves comfortable, had finally moved in completely and so it followed that they would be attending their first function the following week. All but Sybil would be attending, who was deemed rather too young to attend such an event. The event in question was the Lady Robins’s ball. She tried to pass off her excitement at the accepted invitation with a cool demeanour but a certain glitter in her eyes betrayed her. There would not be no missing invitees, no pointed denials. Everyone would be there. 

*

In the manor, the family had no idea of the effect they had caused. They had been occupied by rather more pleasurable occupations than gossip. Alice had spent a great deal of time in the gardens, inspecting wild flowers, daydreaming with the clouds and following butterflies. There was something of the bohemian about her as she wandered through long grass, and what’s more, she knew it and it pleased her. Kingsley had principally been occupied with the library and irritating one of the butlers by being completely unable to settle on a organising system for the books. Only Sybil was restless, eager to meet the new neighbours and size them up - after all, if they were to remain here for a little while, would a new pack member be amongst these new faces? Alice had to marry some time and Sybil fully intended to vet and nose about in the affairs of every eligible man who so much as blinked in her direction. Accordingly, pestering her parents about when they were to take the bold new steps into society was her chief pleasure.

Her lady mother had held firm - there would be no parties, dinners or tea until after the first full moon. After all, they had to see if the grounds were indeed suitable. If they weren’t, well, they wouldn’t be staying. Plus, she added, it was better to meet the neighbours on a full stomach. Just in case. Nobody wanted a repeat of the Bristol incident, especially not the residents of Bristol. Sybil took to not only pestering her parents, but looking meaningfully at calendars and the date of the newspaper that was delivered every morning. Her mother ignored her. Just as meaningfully.

The day came with an air of expectation, even more so than usual. It was no longer just the day they changed, it was the day that once done with, would open all the doors of polite society to them of which they had been deprived for some time. The servants were sent home to visit their mothers or into the village to spend some of their generous wages. The gate to the long, winding drive was locked tight. The moon rose as gloriously as the sun, silver rays reflecting off the lake until it looked like a path one could walk up to meet her. Everything, even the most familiar things became unreal and strange in this light. Like one had stepped through into a book. In the cultivated gardens, the moon flowers bloomed, their pollen giving the air a perfume no apothecary had ever been able to replicate. 

The family gathered on the steps. The girls wore nothing but their shifts, bare feet squirming against the cool stone of the stairs. The son wore his undergarments too, the parents opting for housecoats that could easily be shrugged off the shoulders. All was quiet. Birds called to one another, occasionally there would be the rippling noise as one moved upon the water. Only Selene spoke, the sharp edge of her accent softening here, as if the moon was a lover who could only be whispered to. Perhaps Selene, like her namesake, had a little more to say to the night sky. The moon crested, clearing the dark silhouette of the trees. For a moment it hung there, nothing moving, nothing breathing.

Then the first howl ripped through the night. 

Selene had started shifting first, as usual. It was not a beautiful process. It was not fluid or gentle. It was claws and fur and the sound of bones breaking, reforming. Claws scraped across stone, fabric ripped and where there once was a woman, there was a monstrous wolf. It didn’t just sit, it hulked, dominating every gaze that caught it. Bright, intelligent yellow eyes sat above a mouth that seemed to be all teeth. It was not long before more wolf-language joined the first, the girls following Selene’s example, then the boy. The lady and lord of the house were looking at each other fondly, playing their usual game of who could hold out the longest. As always, Mrs Williamson won. When she did allow herself to change, it was with a sigh of relief as well as a cry of pain.

Before the moon had moved another inch in the sky, a wolf pack sat beneath it. Their colours were primarily shades of grey with splashes of white, except for Sibyl and Selene who were white with splashes of grey, just to be contrary. The smallest, if the brain could comprehend one of these beasts being the smallest, was Kingsley. There was something of the scout about him, his fur the darkest so he may dash in and out of the night almost entirely unseen. Alice was the strongest, her youth and wildness barely being able to be contained within the human flourished here, blooming along with the moon flowers. She had often lamented the fact she had to be a human at all and Mrs Williamson woke up frequently in the night, plagued by nightmares where her daughter finally abandoned the trappings of society and ran into a forest, never to return. She would have to check on her sleeping child to make sure that the dream hadn’t come true. 

It was Alice that first broke, nipping at Kingsley’s tail so he turned around with a snarl. She immediately sprinted off, challenging him to a race. He would win, as he always did, but the point was the running, not the winning. The feeling of joy too big to name, the joy of having four paws and being a part of nature rather than just an observer of it. The joy of muscles burning and breath catching and the hundreds of scents that made up a tapestry of the grounds. So many things to see, bite, taste, fight. 

Sibyl did not partake in the race, her snout pointed up slightly in the air as if implying that all of this was below her. But even she was not immune to the intoxicating magic that transformed them all. All the poetry she wrote at her desk, painfully slowly, trying to capture the beauty of the natural world like her much admired famous poets, she did not realise it but it was here, now, where the inspiration came from. Where the love of beauty and art came from, like a spring flowing into a river. She investigated flowers, lakes, gardens with inhuman eyes and found the experience almost revelatory. When you were a wolf, everything was more.

Selene wasted no time in hunting. She had been starving all month and here was her opportunity to satisfy the hunger that went beyond a mere need for food. She needed to taste the copper tang of blood, to shake off the shackles that constrained her for thirty days a month. No lacing, no dresses, no polite tinkling laughter in a ball room. Her mind would clear and her instincts would rush in to fill the gap, like the sea refilling tidal pools. The poor hare did not stand a chance, but it died well.

As for the Lord and Lady? Here their bodies did not ache or creak. They had no schedule, no work to be done. They could focus on feeling the ties that bound their family to one another, the subtle lines that shimmered like spiders gossamer in the mind's eye. There were no manners, no script on how to act. Usually a distance was constructed between them all. There was no such distance now. So they nipped and howled and nuzzled, keeping their pack together and keeping their pride deep in their canine hearts. Tomorrow, they would have to be people again. But here, they were just a family.

[chasseurdeloup-retired]

Bring on the Night || Alcher, Kaden, & Oscar

TIMING: Current, Full Moon LOCATION: The woods PARTIES: @zahneundklauen , @forfuchssake, and @chasseurdeloup SUMMARY: A good ol’ family reunion on the full moon. 

There was no way Kaden was missing this full moon. Two in a row was shameful enough. It should probably have felt familiar, he’d done this for years. Two off shouldn’t have made a big difference. Still, he felt a little out of sorts, almost like he was wearing an old shirt that didn’t quite fit the way he remembered, while he wandered the woods, moon high and bright, weapons polished off and strapped to him. The crossbow and rifles were on his back, pistols at his side, plenty of knives, too. Now all he needed was something to fight. And maybe a little less doubt brewing in him. The forest was entirely too quiet for his liking. There were no signs of werewolves or any monsters for that matter. The tight hold he had on his pistol seemed almost silly. There was nothing there, nothing to fight or keep people safe from. Not out there, not right then. Maybe it was fine if he sat out. It’s not like he was making much of a difference one way or another. He could turn back. Call it a night. Try again next time. Who’d know? His mind flashed to the reports he got about the massacre at a barbecue over the Fourth of July last full moon. No doubt it had been a werewolf. Had his absence cost those people their lives? He couldn’t know. But he wondered all the same. His grip tightened around his gun and he listened closer, past the sounds of crickets and the few owls nearby. There was rustling. He wasn’t alone out there in the woods. No, this was right where he needed to be. He wasn’t going to get distracted or doubt. This was the hunt. It was what he was made for. He wasn’t going to let his inaction cause more deaths. This was his decision. Kaden made sure his gun was loaded and ready, silver bullets, and kept to his path, forging ahead through the trees towards the sound.

The release of the full moon was often a relief on Alcher. Human life was daunting. It tired her in a way she could not fully explain. She’d never quite found the words for it, even after all these years. Maintaining a visage that never felt like home put a strain on her that only this could release. This moment, paws tearing across the ground. Leaves kicking up behind her. Shadows dancing across fur, eyes sharp. Jowls covered in blood, drooling for more. Her slender body slipped between trees and through brush with an almost eerie silence. An advantage to her species that her father had taught her to use well. One she’d honed living with the wolves high in the mountains of Poland. Of course, there was always noise to be heard for those with sharper ears. The tell-tale crunching of leaves, or rustling of bushes. Alcher’s nose was focused on the hunt in front of her. It’d been so long since she’d had a good meal. Her haunches grew stiff, taught, as she slunk through the shadows in pursuit, quieter now. They were clueless to the danger behind them. Sitting alone next to their tent. Gold eyes honed in on them. Just a moment more. When she leapt, there was little sound, that instinct, that bloodlust, driving her forward. Claws connected and jaws came to snap down when a glint caught her eye. The wolf reeled, fire sputtering and cracking in a pit next to her. The smell flooding her memory, warning her: danger. The man screamed. Someone was approaching from behind them. Alcher’s head whipped in their direction, pale moonlight pouring down on the scene as a distantly familiar smell wafted up the hill and up to her. Hunter, the wolf said, teeth bared. Ready to fight.

At the scream, Kaden took off running. It didn’t matter what it was, there was certainly danger and in all likelihood, it was a monster. He pushed past the trees, trying to keep any semblance of stealth that he could, though there wasn’t much left, and felt the chill creep down his spine before he saw what had happened. A wolf. There was no doubt in his mind. Pistol still ready, knives within reach, he peaked past the trees to see a clearing with a vampire. And a werewolf, snarling and savage. Kaden raised his gun, ready to fire when he noticed something else. Something missing. A leg. The wolf only had three legs. Memories flashed through his mind but he could only see red as he looked ahead of him. Kaden screamed as he let loose every fucking bullet in his gun, aimed at the beast who had killed his parents. He didn’t know what had hit in his rage, but it didn’t matter, he was already reaching for his knife with his free hand. He would take down this monster by any means necessary, it was the only thought on his mind as he charged head on at the monster. He’d kill this wolf. Even if it was the last thing he did. It wouldn’t be like last time.

Bullets rained down. Alcher’s instincts kicked into full drive and she darted into the trees, weaving in and out. They connected with the body she’d left behind, with the trees, the dirt. Her shoulder. She yelped, but kept running, sliding around a bush and turning her fangs on the hunter that had interrupted her meal. He was lost in something primal as well, a rage that she knew and understood. In this state, her mind would not make the connection, but the familiar smell blasted through her senses. Something took over her as well, a rage even unknown to the full moon. She barreled directly into the hunter, bullets be damned, and landed hard on top of him, claws digging in. Fierce golden eyes stared directly down into the hunters. You, they said. Recognition present even in this state of disarray. Jaws opened wide to bite down, yearning for blood, for flesh, to finish what had been started so many years ago.

Screams and the sounds of gunfire were music to his ears. Oscar sprinted through the trees, more than ready for a good fight. The time between full moons always seemed to drag on and on this particular moon, he was on unfamiliar terrain. Nothing like a change of scenery to really add some more excitement to the hunt. The probability of running into Kaden was also high this month since he’d made his way to White Crest. He hadn’t had time for a proper greeting, but he knew they’d find each other over the course of the full moon. He weaved through the trees, following the sound of wolf yelps and bullets. His own gun was ready and loaded with silver bullets. As he neared the campsite, he could make out a familiar form. Kaden. Just the hunter he was looking for. What better reunion than killing a werewolf? His pace picked up and the adrenaline was pumping through his veins. The wolf attacking Kaden only pushed him to move faster as he recklessly fired bullets out ahead. At the very least, it would distract the wolf and buy Kaden some precious time. As he neared, what was off about the wolf became more apparent. Three legs. He knew this wolf and it only inspired him to open fire again.

The wolf was fast, faster than most. He’d almost forgotten. Almost. He braced against the beast with his arm as the claws dug deep. Kaden roared out at it as he pushed it away, scrambling for his knife. He kicked his legs out at it and tried to dig the blade into the wound in its shoulder, open it wider, make the pain deeper. As his knife went for the wolf, the wolf's teeth went for him and he felt a chunk ripped out from his arm. He screamed in pain, but still heard the thunder of bullets going off around them. He used the momentary distraction to roll away, cradling his arm in his hand. Fuck that hurt. Kaden looked down to find his knife and saw the other hunter headed his way. “Oscar?” He hadn’t seen his uncle for years now. Was he really here in White Crest without so much as a warning? “What the fuck are you--” Kaden heard the growl of the wolf nearby. Right. No time for a reunion, not now. Time to fight. He pushed past the pain pulsing in his arm and pulled out his other pistol, loaded and ready.

More bullets, more distractions. Alcher felt the fury building in her chest, even as more silver scraped her skin, ruffled her fur. But the taste of a hunter’s blood made her salivate. She swallowed it whole and licked her teeth, turning to go for more. But there was another scent in the air, another hunter. Fists and feet were pounded against her and she reeled back, snarling. She bared her teeth to the two again. Even with all her experience, she understood she was outmatched in this situation. Going up against two hunters wasn’t worth it. But the beast inside of her clawed for something else. For more blood, for more fight. She had no control anymore. Her body moved on its own as the wolf inside and out of her lunged against the two-- only to be interrupted by a loud bleating. A noise the wolf recognized from decades spent living in supernatural forest. In the next moment, the large, hulking creature stormed its way through the bushes, baring down on the three. Alcher’s ear went back, her body pulling into a low, tense stance. A low growl in her throat, blood still dripping from her maw. Waiting to see what move any of the other three would make.

The bullets grazing the wolf had been enough to give Kaden a chance to roll over. Oscar could tell his reflexes were still mostly intact. “Not now, Junge,” he barked as he focused on the werewolf growling in front of them. The monster was bloodthirsty and needed to die once and for all. The advantage was theirs and he intended to take it. With his silver blade in hand, he opened his arms, welcoming the wolf to make her attack. Get her in close range and he’d be able to sink his blade right in. The wolf sprung toward them just as he wanted her to. He was buzzing and the thrill left him ready to spring into action. He raised his knife, ready to engage the wolf before him when he heard it. The sound was animalistic, but definitely not a wolf. His head whipped up though he kept his knife at the ready. A bies-- fuck. The blade was quickly traded for his gun. Bies hated loud noises and it’d still work on the wolf if she decided to try anything funny. He opened fire on the bies, hoping the loud noise would at least get it to stand down. Their playing field would be better if they could get the damn wolf out of the way first.

Kaden was set to fight, ready to square off against the singular wolf he wanted dead most in the world when he heard a bellowing behind him. His head slowly turned towards the sound. Shit. That was a bies. Kaden had no clue which was a bigger threat at the moment. Just because the bies was bigger didn’t mean it was more dangerous, right? He didn’t want to let this wolf get away. Not again. He couldn’t. He kept his gun aimed towards it when the antlers came barreling towards him. Shit. He rolled out of the way, pain searing his arm as he felt dirt and branches dig into the open wound. He hated wasting silver bullets on a fucking bies, but he was left with little choice and started firing at the monster. “Watch out for the eye!” he called out, even though he was pretty fucking sure that Oscar knew what he was doing. It was instinct to warn other hunters, so many of them were so fucking clueless half the time.

An opportunity presented itself. Alcher’s eyes looked between the two hunters, now engaged with the large beast, and her mind, overrun by the moon, had a decision to make. She could run right now. Make a break for it, and get out of this scuffle not much worse for wear, aside from the bullet wounds that would heal. Just more battle scars to add to the pile. Or, she could stay. And she could take this opening to go in for the kill. But it was dangerous, now, even more so. The beast was enraged, angry. They must’ve stumbled into its territory, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she understood that she had been lucky to encounter this beast alone. But would she get a chance like this again? She had to try. The people who destroyed her family might’ve been gone, but they’d left successors. They didn’t deserve this life. And it was with that last primal thought that Alcher bolted forward, ducking under the large swipe of a hooved claw, skidding around, and ramming directly into the felled hunter again. His eyes looked just like his mother’s when she’d ripped out her throat. She wanted to enjoy this. But in the next moment, a paw swiped across the area and Alcher was knocked from his body, claws tearing at more flesh before she was tossed directly into a tree. Sticking in a spot once the branches beneath her stopped snapping. She groaned with effort to escape, tearing at the wood. She was a sitting duck here. The monster turned back to the hunters. Pesky hunters. Her body finally hit the ground with a thud.

Oscar scoffed as Kaden told him to watch out for the eye. Who helped teach him about all these monsters in the first place? Any beast hunter worth their salt had at least read about bies though this was his first face to face encounter. First day in town and he already had a new entry for his personal hunting journals. “You think I don’t know what a bies is,” he called out with a joking edge in his voice, the thrill already winning him over. He kept the booming of his gun going to either wound or scare off the bies. Kaden could handle the three-legged bitch, that much he could trust. The wolf had a lot of fight, but the bies did not discriminate who it would go after. Kaden was getting fairly beat up, but the wolf was off him now. Nothing a little patch up wouldn’t fix. Kid always had been a tough little shit. Booming echoed throughout the forest as he released another clip on the bies, letting out a cathartic yell as he did so. This was the most excitement he’d had in a while. “You got the wolf under control?”

“Yeah, yeah, shut it,” Kaden shouted back. Still a wave of embarrassment washed over him. Of course Oscar knew what the fuck a bies was. He fumbled a little when reloading his gun. Shit, why did he feel like the inexperienced kid again? Oscar definitely had the beast taken care of. For now. But the thing bellowed and charged at them both again. Kaden threw himself out of the way, landing hard on his injured arm. He winced and shut his eyes tight, clenching his jaw hard and trying not to scream out in pain. Pain didn’t matter in a hunt. Not until they were done. For now it was adrenaline to channel, nothing more. Kaden pushed himself up and glanced around for the wolf. It was fallen by a tree. This was his fight to lose now. He ran over, no way was he letting this monster out of his sight. Fate brought them all there that night, he was sure of it. Who was he to deny fate its death? Kaden took his knife in his other hand and ran straight for the fallen wolf. He’d chase it if he had to, if he could. Kaden was about to pounce, drive the blade deep into its fucking heart, but he heard a crunch behind him. He turned and saw Oscar reeling from a hit by the bies. Fuck. Kaden turned and fired his gun at the looming beast, hoping to give the other hunter time. Fuck. He surely let fate slip through his fingers behind him.

Delirious, Alcher blinked against the spinning world. Rubbed her head along the ground, trying to control the wave of dizziness. Shaking her body out, feeling it crack and crunch and burn with silver. The wolf’s eyes came to just in time to watch the hunter charging for her. It braced, but wasn’t needed. The familiar hunter stopped in his tracks and turned his back. This time, the wolf did not hesitate to make its decision. It turned, and ran. The beast that had interrupted them, the other hunter had interrupted them. The night was ruined, her meal was gone, and her bones ached. Anger surged through her enough to get her up and through the woods, disappearing into a bush, down the hill, and off away from the fight. She could still hear the gunshots, the shouting, the angry cries of the beast-- and she did not stop until the noises did. And then, exhausted, she collapsed.

As Oscar caught the wolf running away from the corner of his eye, he grumbled. With the wolf already on the run, there was no way he was about to let a ficken bies get away from them. He loaded another clip into his gun, letting out a cathartic shout as he opened fire on the bies again. This time, Kaden joined him and after a long series of roaring gunfire, the beast fell to the ground. At least part of their hunt had been successful though he noted his nephew was off his game letting the Krieg wolf get away. That was something they could discuss later, for now, he scanned the area. Based on the sound alone, the wolf was long gone. He shook his head and turned to Kaden. He was definitely bloodied and worse for wear. With a sigh, he gestured, “Come on, Junge, you look like shit. Let’s get you patched up and you can fill me in on the happenings in town.”

[strwxberrymilk]

“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”

Pairing: Werewolf John Marston x Reader

Word count: 3,362

Happy Valentine’s day! Here’s my fic for the always lovely @littlestarofthewest from the @rdrsecretcupid2020 event!! You said you liked tropes and mythical creatures, so I hope you like confessions of love and werewolves!! 

~

Summer winds danced through the trees, their sunlit branches trembling, gently moved by the warm breeze. Crickets began chirping along with songbirds as the sun sank over the heartlands, calling sweetly to the coming dusk. Creamy wisps of clouds delicately kissed the horizon, beckoning forth a warm glow over the lands, coating cliffs, and wildflowers in its radiance. The Dakota River was turned into liquid gold and the meadows seemed less like grass and more like twenty-four-carat threads waltzing in place. The campsite basked in the golden hour, hushed if only for a moment, by the setting sun. She sat there on an old fallen log, journaling and taking in the half-light of day. The breeze swirled through her hair and onto sun-kissed skin as she tucked wild strands behind her ear. Her pencil scraped purposefully at the paper, marking down her fleeting thoughts as the day came to an end.

Tonight would be the first full moon since she had been bitten those weeks ago. The freezing dampness of Colter was testing in itself, but with the hapless attack from an O’driscoll scout, the journey was frightful. She had been on guard duty when the beast came from the trees, roaring madly, sending spittle flying through the cold air, and clamping its razor-filled maw around her throat. Luckily, the men came just in time, hurdled into action from the sound of the beast- shooting the creature dead and getting the girl inside. There was no mistaking her fate then. In fact, most of the people who ran with the Van Der Linde gang were all too familiar with the curse that would soon befall the young woman, having to deal with it themselves as well. She healed quickly from the wounds, biding her time until the moon would finally rise, uncovered and full. And it seemed that a night full of firsts would arise with the setting sun.

He watched her sitting on that log, basking in her radiance, starry-eyed and captivated by the way that the light caressed her skin and how the dust in the air danced a halo around her. How he longed to be the sunlight on her skin, craving to be sweetly buried in those locks, holding her to him, with full dominion over her body and affections. She was to be his, and his alone- it was what he ached for, what he needed in order to feel whole again. Since the day they met, John Marston had an eye for the lady. Much to Dutch and Hosea’s chagrin, John had immediately imprinted upon her the second their gazes met. This bond that had suddenly drawn the two together held a more significant meaning than john had known at first, only recognizing that she was his destiny after a talk with Hosea. The girl was clueless, however. Merely thinking that the young man just enjoyed her company some. Maybe he thought of her as a sister that needed his protection or a damsel in need of saving- because in her mind, surely this tall, dark, and villainously handsome man couldn’t feel the same way about her. So, she pushed down these hot and blooming fantasies of romance every time she spent a moment with John.

The girl shut her journal with an inward sigh, slouching, resting her elbows on her knees. Her eyes fluttered shut with a long exhale, worried about the night to come. John was leaned against a nearby tree, watching, spell-bound by her entirety, and just how gorgeous she looked. He pushed off of the rough bark when he saw the clear anxiety in her posture, spurs clinking as he headed towards her. “Evening miss (___),” he called, stopping to stand next to the log. The girl snapped her head up to look at him, her eyes weary and thoughtful. “Oh, hello John,” She quickly looked back at the landscape, feeling her cheeks heat up under his gaze. “What’re you up to?” The question hardly squeaked out from her lips as she nervously played with her pencil, refusing to meet his eyes. John huffed, bringing his hands to rest on his gun belt, turning to watch as the sun made its final descent behind the distant mountains. “Well I noticed you looked worried, so I came to see how you were,” He glanced at her in his periphery, “-Since I know it’s gonna be your first night is all.” He added quickly, mumbling slightly, shaking his head. The girl sighed, swallowing her feelings once more and turned to face him completely in her seat, “Hah, well you’re right. I am really worried John. I-I mean I’ve never gone through anything like this before, especially not alone.” Nervously laughing she continued, “I really am frightened.” John moved to sit beside her, resting with one elbow on his thigh. She could now see his face fully, handsomely drenched in the afterglow of twilight, black wisps falling into his eyes. His lips were pulled into a tight line and his brows furrowed, “(___), I’m gonna be honest with you. It’s not easy. In reality, it will be painful, and damn difficult. It was, even for me.” He placed a heavy hand onto her smaller ones, squeezing slightly in re-assurance, “But you’re a strong, fine woman. You’ll manage just fine I’m sure.” John grinned a toothy smile and chuckled as the young woman laughed as well. “Thank you, John, I- uh- That means a lot to me.” She glanced down before finding herself lost in those coal brown eyes, staring longingly at his scars, tracing down his face and to his lips. A soft sort of tension ebbed between them and through the beginning night, making their silence quite awkward. Noticing this, John cleared his throat and spoke up, “Say, why don’t we go grab some dinner and get you settled?” He stood up and held out a hand to the girl. Smiling sweetly, she took his hand and walked with him back to the center of camp.

They sat together at a table and ate their stew, chatting about things other than their lycanthropy. After dinner, John and the girl rested around the campfire with the rest of the gang, all more quiet than usual out of respect for the girl’s first moon, and by Dutch’s orders. It was easy for them to empathize with her since all first turns are involuntary and happen no matter what, on the first full moon after one is bitten. After a wolf’s first moon, they are free to choose when to turn or not, voluntarily shifting at will, not tied to their beastly form when those bright nights come. After a while, the girl grew more exhausted, feeling hot under the rays of the rising moon, and asked john to bid her goodnight. He walked her back to her own tent, re-assuring her that everything will be alright and that she should try to sleep and get some rest while she can. With a kiss to her delicate hand, He wished her a peaceful first moon. The girl heaved and entered her tent. As the flaps closed behind her, the girl began to undress. She was sweating already, and her clothing clung to her, nearly drenched. Being left in just her drawers and chemise the girl lied down onto her bedroll, panting, exhausted and growing more agitated as time went on.

She slept for a short while as the camp around her calmed to a hush and only embers sizzled where the roaring fire once sat. The moon rose higher into the night sky, stars twinkling sporadically in the deep black depths. Crickets stopped their singing and no rabbit even dared to exit its burrow; the earth knew that it was time. With a gasp, she woke, suddenly and painfully- her skin burned with heat and her chest ached. Pure instinct ran through her veins, as she lifted herself from the ground, stumbling out of the tent and into camp. Nobody was out now, all stowed away, sleeping soundly in their bedrolls. She wheezed as her feet carried her out into the forest. Her heart began to race, every time she waltzed into a patch of moonlight, promptly carrying her faster downhill. Her skin felt like it was on fire, searing deep into her bones, making her cry out in pain. Her yells were the only sound that echoed in the trees, becoming more erratic and desperate as she stumbled towards a clearing in her moon-drunk stupor. All she could hear was the blood rushing through her ears as she cleared the tree line. Stepping into the moonlight sent waves of chills down her skin, cooling the heat that ached her. The pure ecstasy that direct moonlight poured into her was indescribable. She whimpered as pain overtook her short-lived pleasure, breath hitching as she hunched over. Her entire body was trembling severely, and tears welled in her eyes. Bones began to shift and crack horridly as she writhed in pain, screaming out into the night air. Her once soft and manicured hands grew into large wolf-like paws with long unmanaged claws hanging atop. Her spine elongated and ruptured, stretching and pulling. Her chest moved in the opposite direction, ripping through her underclothes, leaving her bare. The girl’s legs grew longer and bent wildly, breaking and contorting into those akin to a canine. Her bare feet morphed into large paws, making her stumble, catching herself on the ground with her arms. The girl’s once petite frame was now hulking and covered in thick fur. The worst pain was in her face and jaw, cracking and relocating, making her shriek in pain. The moon was at its peak now, casting its midnight rays below into the valley and onto the girl. Her screams turned to beastly roars as the shifting came to its end. Whimpering and writhing in the dewy grass she looked up to the moon. This final action, a gesture of submission and connection sent a rush of primal strength into her. She rose now, standing tall and greeted the moon with a hauntingly beautiful howl. She sang away the pain, tilting her head back and flattening her ears. This is how she was supposed to feel. To be liberated by the moon’s benevolent grasp.

John bolted awake in his tent. He heard her song so clearly, even in his sleep, calling to him. This siren song beckoned him fourth, setting his heart on fire. He threw himself out of his tent, heart thumping wildly in his chest. He knew that the bond that nature had secured between them would call to him eventually, but just how quickly and wholly instinct took over was jarring to him. He scented the air, nostrils flaring, and pupils blown, searching for the girl- his girl. His lanky form bounded through the forest floor, stomping over thickets through the underbrush. Most times he was confident in his will to keep from turning when exposed to the moon’s rays, but when his ears pricked at the again enchanting howl that sang from the she-wolf, her scent drifting back up the hill, he felt his continence slip from his grasp. Stumbling forward he growled as his own beastly form began to manifest, shifting from man to wolf. His once slim torso now broad and coated in inky black fur, heaved deeply as he tried to regain some sort of restraint. With his senses, now heightened, he could feel the girl close by. His massive paws padded quietly as he stalked through the underbrush, head swiveling and ears twitching, looking for an indicator of her location. nose to the wind, his stride came to a stop as the tree line thinned into a clearing. The moment his eyes found her, gaining her bearings in the meadow, he felt more human as a wolf than he ever had before. She stood gazing upwards, her fur sparkling in the moon’s rays, tail waving slightly under her long, muscular legs. A fire sparked in his loins, churning butterflies in his gut- feet carrying him out into the open air to meet her.

She hadn’t noticed him approach, focus fixated on the night sky. His steps broke the silence, causing her to snap her attention to him. The girl wasn’t used to her new senses, nose scrunching as she took in his scent, it was unfamiliar yet known, something she remembered but now dripping in musk. Fear swam down her spine, hackles raised, and ears pinned snarling a warning to the dark-furred male. She backed up slightly, tucking her tail, crouching defensively. The male was shocked, not knowing why she didn’t recognize him. He let out a small sound between a whimper and a bark, ears lying flat submissively, stepping forward. Shadows uncovered the wolf as he slinked forward into the moonlight, head hanging low and eyes locked onto hers. The deep scars that cut into his fur were now visible in the misty silver rays and his eyes, stark red against midnight brows, pierced like a beacon through the air and into her. Her ears flicked forward in question, head bobbing backward. This night could not get any weirder, she thought, she had expected her first moon to be strange, yes, but she knew that face; It couldn’t be anyone but john. She let him approach, stepping closer herself, calling out a quiet whimper in question to the male, ‘john?’ The larger canine broke from his submissive stance, bouncing slightly and happy to be recognized by the she-wolf. His tail began to wag rapidly, and he grinned, ‘I’m here (___), it’s me.’ Along with her demeanor, the tension broke and she sprang forward, closing the gap between them and tackled John to the ground. She laughed in relief, ‘Man am I glad to see you! I don’t know what I would’ve done if some other folks had found me so quick!’ She pressed the bridge of her muzzle to his chin and breathed in a deep whiff of his scent, which became clear to her in recognition of the man whom she pined over. John grunted, out of wind from the sudden hug, and chuckled, ‘well you did look like you were ‘bout to kill me right there. If I ain’t know you, I would’ve tucked tail and ran, you sure showed like a seasoned wolf already.’ The girl rolled off of him, reaching her feet and cocked her head to one side. ‘What’d you mean ‘if I ain’t know you?’ How did you know it was me, not like anyone’s seen me turned before?’ Her brows were furrowed, and she gazed around as if to look for anyone else there with them. ‘well,’ John said, standing up, ‘I could smell you, but really it was that beautiful call of yours. I knew that nobody else could sing so sweetly to me-‘ He stopped suddenly. The words falling out of his mouth far too quickly. John wasn’t quite how to tell her how strongly he felt, but damn he knew it needed to be more romantic than word vomit. John huffed, ‘Anyways, let’s get you back home. Or at least closer to camp. folks around here ain’t used to seeing things like us.’ He gestured back to the tree line and placed a paw at the small of her back. She sent him a smile, her eyes, soft, gleaming gold in the moon’s light. They started into the forest, side by side. ‘And while we walk, I could explain some more things that you’ll start to experience? Having had your first moon and all.’ He questioned, looking down at the girl. Humming, she answered, ‘That sounds wonderful, thank you, John.’

Through the night, the two young werewolves padded through trees and over thickets, conversing quietly. He described his first moon to the girl, and how he learned all he knew from Dutch. How scents work, how to track prey as a wolf, how ranking works. The moon was sinking low now, barely kissing the tops of distant trees. The wind settled into a slow breeze as the caterwauling crickets hushed to a whisper, and twinkling stars began to fade. It was when they got onto the topic of packs and ranking that imprinting came up.  The two stopped just outside of camp. John’s throat was dry as he described the ‘at first sight’ bond that takes place between destined mates. He stated that, ‘It feels like when you’re apart from them, that you’re suffocating.’ The girl was quiet for a long moment before asking, ‘And that you would give the world just to hold them? for even one second?’ She refused to look at him, worried that if she did, he’d know exactly what her question was. John took in a deep breath before exhaling, ‘I never knew how I should tell you this. But I think right now is as good as tomorrow and as any day. (___) from the second I met you all that time ago, I knew that you were meant to belong to me.’ He took the girl’s smaller paws into his and gave them a gentle squeeze, eyes lingering on her face, taking in her ethereal beauty. Even as a wolf, he thought she was the image of perfection itself. The girl was shocked, mouth hanging open. Her head shook as she looked up to meet his eyes. ‘are you toying with me, John Marston?’ Her eyes welled up with tears. In her mind, there was no way that this man, who treated her with such chivalry, who was so handsome, fiercely loyal, and genuine could feel the same way about her that she does of him. John’s eyes looked worried as he pulled her into his chest, claws raking through her soft fur. ‘I always questioned it or dismissed it, but tonight- when I heard you howl- it just solidified it to me.’ He breathed deeply, looking down and stroking her cheek, ‘We are meant to be with one another, (___). We’re supposed the be mates.’ The girl lifted her head from his broad, inky chest and grasped onto the hand that remained on her furred cheek. he stammered mouth opening and closing before finally admitting, ‘I love you.’ She choked out a sigh of relief before returning his confession, ‘I love you too.’ He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers, holding each other tightly in the dying moonlight. His next words were those of ancient origin, that was said between every pair of courting wolves, symbolic and true in meaning. ‘I vow to protect you, love you, provide for you in any way that I can.’ He whispered to her, earnestly. The girl smiled before answering, ‘I vow to serve you, comfort you, and provide for you in any way that I can.’

The pair pulled away from one another as the beginning signs of day spread along the land. ‘we should get you inside before you turn back. You’re gonna be exhausted- just like I was after my first moon.’ John called, taking her hand in his own. In the east, the sun peeked from behind the horizon and songbirds sang to the coming light. The sky was yellow and blue, beckoning day to come once more. The new couple, giddy and spry, traipsed paw in paw into the awakening camp. The only other souls awake at that early hour were Dutch and Arthur, who sat just outside Dutch’s tent, drinking their coffee and talking quietly. They snapped their heads in the direction of the two wolves that came into view. Dutch smiled touched and knowing while Arthur grinned and nodded before taking another sip of his hot coffee. The girl yawned as she carefully entered her tent, John following close behind. She lied down atop the furs and blankets on the floor, tail wrapping around her bent legs, and beckoned John to do the same. ‘Stay with me?’ she asked, humming quietly. He curled up beside her, holding the girl close to his chest, laying his head down just above hers. ‘Always (___), always.’

~

I apologize that i couldn’t get this posted sooner! This weekend was chaotic and i couldn’t get to my laptop. I really hope you enjoyed it, I’m a fairly inexperienced writer and this was my first insert fic. I know it doesn’t live up to your god-like writing skills but I gave it a shot anyways! 

Have an amazing week sugarplum!! <3

[k-renne]

YOUR PROTECTOR 

Your mother always told you to stay away from wolves, wolves like the Logan family who always seemed to be up to no good. It was only natural as a local farmer, you had to protect your livestock. Farmers just weren’t in the company of befriending werewolves.

Previous Chapter of Crack up: Sheepskin 

A/N: I’m naming all the parts after fleet foxes songs, because well...I can

Warnings: ABO dynamics, brief mentions of sm*t

You were really growing to appreciate the sunrise, the quiet moment after finishing some of your early chores to sip some coffee. Clyde would be here soon too, he always came earlier than he needed too. You made extra coffee for him and bacon, crispy like you remember him telling you. He’d come walking from his car, the sound of his boots unmistakeable and tip his baseball cap to you. 

“Mornin’ farmgirl.” He always said. Sometimes it made you feel like you were working for him, with the way that those dark eyes looked at you. But, he didn’t know everything when it came to farming. 

You laughed as a sprinkler sprayed Clyde in the face, making him fall on his back. “I thought you said you could fix it?” You mocked him. 

“I did, and it is fixed,” He said stubbornly. Yet the sprinkler sputtered as if to mock him. 

“I don’t think so,” You pulled out some tools from your pocket, fixing the sprinkler easily and standing back before you got sprayed with water. “There.” 

Clyde gave you a funny look, “So, you knew how to fix it the whole time huh?” 

“Of course, but you were so quick to offer to help I just couldn’t say no.” You smirked at him. Clyde groaned and lay back against the dirt. You heard him grumble farmgirl under his breath. But he couldn’t stay mad long with the sound of your laughter.

You were about to get back to work when you felt a breeze, something in the air changed. Clyde sniffed the air reflexively, letting out a growl at the foreign hostile scent.

“Sweetheart, get inside the house,” Clyde said suddenly, arm reaching out in front of you protectively. By the sounds of it he was serious, but you couldn’t see any threat. 

“Clyde what’s going on-” A wolf whistle cut through the air before he could reply to you. A low growl coming from Clyde as he moved to stand protectively in front of you, his arm holding you in place behind his back. 

“Oh look what we have here, a one armed werewolf and a pretty little farmgirl.” A naked man emerged from the woods, two more behind him. 

“You know you’re not supposed to be here,” Clyde growled. 

“Why not? Don’t worry, we won’t hurt your little mate we just wanna take a few sheep, maybe a cow.” Somehow, those words felt like a lie. You knew they’d hurt you too if they had the chance. 

“You’ve already crossed the line, ya don’t belong in this territory and I don’t know who ya are waltzin’ about like that but we do not do that here.” Clyde frowned. To enter another’s territory with such obvious hostility was only asking for trouble. 

The other wolves laughed, you thought they seemed more like hyenas. They lacked the sense of integrity that you knew Clyde and his family had. “What do you think you can do pussy? With only one arm? You ain’t shit. You’ll be lucky if ya get out of here with your other arm.” The leader taunted him. 

You felt Clyde’s growl, the muscles of his back tense as he pressed you against him. “Get in the house sweetheart.” The tone of his voice left no room for compromise, you did what Clyde asked. 

Clyde stared down the three wolves in front of him as you ran back to your house, panting as you slammed the door behind you. Encroaching on another’s territory with such disrespect like this was a good way to get beat up, and Clyde had every intention of doing just that. He could take ‘em, but Jimmy would probably be here in about a few minutes. Then it’d be cake. 

You may not know it, but as far as Clyde was concerned this farm was Logan territory. 

You peeked over the window from your bedroom on the second floor, phone in hand and ready to call for help at any moment. You knew for now you needed to let Clyde settle this one on his own, and worse if anyone got wind that he was on the family farm - it would be over for you and you’d never get to see him again. You believed that he could handle himself, you had to. 

You watched in awe as Clyde transformed, face feeling hot as his clothes were ripped right off his body. He stood taller now, a hulking werewolf with fur as the same color as his raven hair. Throwing his head back he howled loudly, before attacking the three werewolves in front of him. Even with their pride not one of them matched Clyde’s size, that of a true alpha. 

You saw blood but you didn’t know from who, claws met Clyde’s fur and you winced as you heard him yelp in pain. But he never let his guard down and quickly pinned the weaker of the trio, his throat in Clyde’s mouth in a display of dominance. He let him go and it ran off. 

Soon it was an even match as another werewolf stepped in next to Clyde, just as big. You wondered if it was Jimmy, with the lighter sandy looking fur. Snarls and growls filled the air, you had to look away with the brutal display of strength from the two brothers. And by the time you looked back, Clyde was naked as the day he was born. 

You came out running with the medical supplies as fast as you could, “Clyde!” 

“Guess that must be the mate,” Jimmy smirked, earning an elbow from Clyde. 

“Shut up!” He glared at his brother. 

“Oh my god you’re okay-it all happened so fast and you were so big. But you’re bleeding now! Does it hurt, we should get you to a hospital!” You rambled on, panicked as you pressed some gauze to the wound. Your hands were shaking. 

Clyde gently covered your hand with his, “Hey, look at me.” 

You did, his honeyed eyes gazed down at you. “S’gonna be alright now, okay? You’re safe sweetheart.” He spoke so softly. 

You took a deep breath, his words bringing calm to your panic. “Okay Clyde,” You nodded. 

Meanwhile Jimmy was chuckling, “Guess ya got everything under control here Clyde, and might I say what a nice farm ya got here.” He gave you a wolfish grin. 

“Don’t get any ideas,” You narrowed your eyes at him. 

“Are ya kiddin’ Clyde would kill me before that happens.” 

You felt Clyde curl his arm around your waist protectively, oh god-it was beginning to set in that he was naked. You stared down at your muddied boots. “Yeah I will so ya better listen to what she says.” He growled. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll leave, and I guess you’re gonna be stayin’.” Jimmy examined the two of you knowingly. No way Clyde would leave you unprotected after that little stint. 

You were just trying your damnedest to look at the ground, of course Jimmy was naked too. You did not need to see that. Clyde continued to hold you close, he could hear your heart racing. 

“Damn right I’m stayin’, can’t leave farmgirl all alone here after that. They could come back.” There was a certain edge to his tone.

“Well, I’ll see to that they don’t. But for now you stay, I know you won’t be able to leave anyways Clyde.” 

“Wasn’t plannin’ to.” Clyde gritted his teeth. Just thinkin’ of other werewolves coming into his territory right where you lived made his blood boil, he couldn’t let it happen again. 

Jimmy grinned at the two of you as he retreated to the woods, with a baby on the way he had his own loved ones to protect. He had a feeling you and Clyde would be more than alright together on your own. You however, were still a bit worried. 

“Umm, are you sure you’re gonna be alright Clyde? That looks like it hurts.” 

“It takes a lot more than a scratch to hurt me sweetheart, I’ll be just fine.” Clyde reassured you. “What’s more important is that you’re safe.” He said seriously. 

“And my animals,” You added.

He wanted to kiss you, “Yes, and your animals.” He smiled down at you. 

Clyde was so focused on protecting you that he had forgotten his shame in being completely exposed to you, and as you walked back to the farmhouse you couldn’t help it as your eyes wandered south between his legs. You looked up so fast that you almost gave yourself whiplash, he was big-even completely flaccid his cock was long and thick, nestled under dark curls that lead up to a smattering of hairs on his stomach. 

You shouldn’t be looking at him like this, his chest now exposed was every bit as broad and muscled as you thought it looked covered. You wondered how he’d react if you touched him, traced your fingertips over each freckle and mole. Even now Clyde was still holding you close, a stern look on his face as he was deep in thought. 

When you got to the farmhouse you left Clyde’s side, making him growl. “Farmgirl ya know I gotta keep an eye on you.” 

The way that he talked to you, his tone was so much more demanding than you’d ever heard from your sweet Clyde. The aggression of his fight hadn’t left him, he was only proving the territorial nature of werewolves to be true. But when he talked like that to you, you did not feel threatened. His rich voice made you shiver, it made you want to submit. 

You looked back at him in silent challenge, Clyde clenching his jaw as he was holding himself back. It would be so easy for him to just pounce, claim you now and make sure ever wolf in the damn county could smell his scent on you. A dark voice inside his thoughts commanded him to do that, just take her-make that sweet pussy yours. He turned his gaze away from you. 

“I’ll get you something to wear,” You said softly. 

You brought down a bunch of old clothes from your dad, you didn’t really think they would fit Clyde but anything had to be better than him lounging in your house stark naked. It was too intimate, it made you feel like he was a lover, especially with how comfortable he seemed in his own skin. You wondered if he would be like this if he wasn’t in a fiercely territorial mood, you imagined Clyde’s shy gaze avoiding your eyes as he barely covered his cock with his hand, a blush blooming on his cheeks and chest. No, that just might be worse. 

“Here,” You handed a pile of clothes to Clyde, looking away from him. You couldn’t see that he was smiling softly back at you, sweet farmgirl, he held back his sigh. 

You heard a grunt of frustration and the rustling of fabric, peaking for a moment only to see Clyde struggling with a pair of jeans which barely fit over his thighs. He paused and looked back at you, the way your lips were just slightly parted. Now he was blushing. You squeezed your eyes shut and turned around, curse your curiosity. The image of Clyde and those pair of jeans burned into your mind, unable to get them over his ass and thighs and struggling to keep his cock in place. 

The only thing that ended up fitting Clyde was a pair of black cotton boxer briefs and a white t-shirt. But even they were snug on him, the black fabric doing nothing to conceal his bulge and the white shirt just barely covering the soft part of his tummy. 

You felt like you were on fire just looking at him, and Clyde wasn’t doing so well either. He could smell it, the sweet tang of your arousal choking out all of his senses so that his mind could only focus on one thing. He needed air, “M’gonna go and check on the animals.” 

All you could do was nod dumbly, that should be your job but right now your mind felt hazy looking at Clyde like that. You had to be blind not to find the man attractive, but you always knew you could never act on those feelings. You needed a cup of coffee, maybe some alcohol too. 

Clyde felt ridiculous in these clothes as he tugged at his underwear that clung to his dick, which wasn’t getting any looser as he felt himself grow half hard. These clothes were too small for him but the way that you looked at him, he could tell. You liked it. His mind was just trying to process it all, that just maybe the attraction was more mutual than he believed. Just the thought of that made him feel such an intense need to have you it made him growl. He’d been doing that a lot more lately, normally he didn’t feel so...feral. But you were doing things to him he didn’t fully understand.

He never thought that he’d be like Jimmy, the way that he would act around Bobby Jo especially now that she was pregnant made him seem like a whole different person. His brother was head over heels for that woman, sometimes irrationally - even when she didn’t always have Jimmy’s best interest at heart. With a baby on the way everything seemed so perfect, but Clyde new better and it made him worry. Where he lacked confidence in himself, Jimmy sometimes had too much of it. 

He didn’t want it to be that way with you, even with the way that he loved you now he could only claim you if you truly felt the same depth of affection that he held for you. And Clyde wasn’t too keen on just messing around either, it’d just make loving you hurt all that much more. He didn’t like to admit how right Mellie was about him, because he could never take back his feelings he had for you. 

But he had to wonder if it really was just a recent thing. Even back in school Clyde had eyes for you, even when he wasn’t supposed to he’d find silly ways to run into you. He wished that he could’ve been yours, write you letters while he was overseas and be one of the lucky guys who had a wife to come home to. And maybe he could’ve had all those things, if he hadn’t been cursed. 

“Clyde,” You call his name from the porch. “I made us some brunch,” You yelled out to him. 

He took a deep breath, picking up his prosthetic from the field. Gosh the way you called out to him made his heart ache, it was times like these were the farm didn’t feel like a job. It felt like you were really taking care of him, and he was just trying to repay everything you’ve done for him. 

He was so caught up in it all that he didn’t even think to worry about his arm, you really consumed him so much that he forgot a big piece of him was missing. Because when you looked at him, he felt whole. He wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything. 

“Damn farmgirl, I wasn’t even gone that long and ya made all this? Looks like a real feast,” Clyde shook his head. 

You just grinned at him, “Well, it was the least that I could do. Besides big boy I know you can eat it all.” You teased him, smirking. He huffed at you as he pulled up a chair. 

“Is that a challenge?” Clyde said playfully. 

“Maybe.” You grinned at him, 

He sighed as he dug into some eggs and bacon, if you kept feeding him like this you must have no idea the message you were sending. Cooking was a way that you took care of your mate, making sure they were healthy and fed to better support a future family. Clyde’s gaze softened as he wondered if you’d ever want a family with him, he could imagine little ones running around the farm while he chased them in his werewolf form. He felt his face get hot again. 

“Ya made the bacon crispy, just how I like it,” He murmured. He loved you so much, there wasn’t a thing you could do to make him not love you. 

“You mean burnt.” 

Clyde was smiling at you again, that soft little smile that you loved to see. “No not burnt, just right.” You were teasing him again, and he only loved you more. It was killing him not to kiss you, he wanted to so badly. 

“Seeing you like that, earlier...it’s no wonder you have such an appetite. You were huge Clyde,” You said, your eyes wide with excitement. You didn’t really understand why your parents hated the Logans so much, not when they were such magnificent beasts. 

You just knew the exact words to set him off, Clyde was tugging on those stupid tight boxer brieds again. With flattery like that you could get anywhere, trouble was you probably didn’t realize what it meant to him. Mmph Clyde, your cock is so big, he imagined you saying. Ugh. 

“Yup, that’s cause I’m an alpha,” He answered, like you had an idea what that word meant. 

“What’s that mean? Does it mean you’re big?” You tilted your head. 

Clyde’s cheeks went pink, these terms held a lotta weight in his world-but he didn’t intend to explain just what weight they held. “Uh yeah, s’kinda like genetics. Alpha’s are strong fighters and protectors, Beta’s are the in between, and Omegas...well it doesn’t really matter. They’re all strong in their own way.” He really wanted to get off this conversation topic.

“Oh so Jimmy must be an Alpha too then,” You connected the dots. 

He felt his heart pounding, his cock straining in his underwear. Alpha’s...they were strong, but nothing without their mate, or without betas an omega’s. There’d always be an emptiness without someone to hold and love, and fuck. Fuck so hard and fill with so much cum, all kept in with his swollen knot. Clyde shuddered at the thought of it. 

“Clyde?” Your voice interrupted his thoughts. When he opened his eyes you swore they seemed darker, somehow. 

“Yeah he’s an alpha too, those other ones were Beta’s. Mellie is an alpha too.” He explained softly. 

“I guess that makes sense, I wonder what I’d be,” You looked off in the distance. 

Omega, mine. It’s what you’d be to him. 

Clyde stayed silent, silent because if he answered that question he’d reveal far more than he’d like to about his true nature. Werewolves unlike humans, were completely unashamed of their desire to reproduce. But for him it was more than that, he didn’t want to scare you off with talks about his rut. That was a conversation too messy to be had. 

A phone call interrupted your brunch, you were perfectly content to ignore it until you saw the caller ID. “I have to take this,” You sighed, leaving the table. 

“Hey mom.” 

“Hi sweetie, I’m just calling because I heard that there were a couple of wolves in town and I’m making sure you’re alright. It has me worried, I bet it’s the Logans up to no good.” 

Your blood ran cold, how did she know? Your parents were supposed to be on vacation, they were on their lakehouse in another county-but somehow they found out. If only she knew, it was those same Logan’s that protected you. “Everything is just fine mom,” You wished she’d ask you about what you were doing on the farm, anything but this. 

“Well, you’re father is driving up and he’s bringing a gun. With those special silver bullets too.” Your mother said entirely too nonchalantly. 

What? Your father was coming...with a gun. Clyde was in your house. Silver bullets. The very illegal kind that caused the most painful sort of death. Your father was coming to the farm, and you had a werewolf in your house. 

“Honey?” Your mother asked, you had gone silent. 

“Sorry, just thinking of all the chores I need to do. Well I better get going.” You rushed out. 

“Okay but just make sure to stay away-” You hung up. 

No, no, no! This could not be happening, you ran downstairs to warn Clyde. If anything happened to him you’d never forgive yourself.

He had a forlorn expression on his face, “I know sweetheart.” He felt crushed that he had to leave you in this state. Of course he wouldn’t be too far, he was too stubborn to truly leave you alone right now after your farm was just attacked. Clyde came up to you and placed a hand on your shoulder, you looked down at the floor. 

“I’m so sorry,” You swallowed back tears. It broke his heart to see you like this. All he wanted to do was hold you tight and never let you go, tell you that everything would be alright. Suddenly you wrapped your arms around Clyde in a tight hug, you were shaking.

“Y-you have to leave,” You told him, but you didn’t want to let go. 

For a moment Clyde’s arm hugged you back, held you close against the warmth of his chest and you felt safe. But then he let you go and took a step back, not without a pained expression on his face. He reached out with his hand to gently cup your cheek in his, not really thinking about his actions as he leaned in for a brief, soft kiss. I love you, he wanted to say. Those words remained unspoken. 

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