Legal notice: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights is to be considered purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – May be adult material in places, including violence and adult themes.
Timeline: A few days following the events of Domestic Situation. Alternative story to how RJ becomes the Violet Wolf Ranger to fit with this fanon. RJ's been hiding the effects of his injury at Dai Shi's hands for weeks, taking it as nothing more than a minor injury. However, he is soon going to find out how wrong he is as the full effects begin to take place, placing everyone on the team in danger, especially a certain Cheetah.
Wolf Hunt
RJ was quickly coming to find morning his favourite time of day. Ever since Lily had felt comfortable enough to take the next step in their relationship, she'd been spending more and more time with him. He loved waking up next to her each morning, finding her resting in his arms.
"Good Morning." He greeted the young woman, smiling at her.
"Morning RJ." She replied, looking up at him. "It is still morning isn't it?"
"Yes it is." He reassured her, stroking her neck with his finger, sending shivers through her. She loved the way he'd touch her so affectionately. She'd been a little hesitant at first, but now she loved the way it felt when he touched her. She still wasn't quite ready to go all the way with him just yet, but she felt completely safe in his presence. She knew he'd never take advantage of her. RJ got up from the bed, looking out a pair of boxer shorts.
"You know, you don't have to sleep in the nude every night." She said cheekily, eyeing up his amazing body as he slowly got ready.
"You don't always have to wear those pyjamas." He replied, sitting on the bed next to her, kissing her softly. He felt a warm rush coursing through him as he looked at her, taking in her amazing beauty. He felt his heart pounding faster as he looked at her with his eyes gleaming a little.
"You know some girls would take that as a come on." She replied, pulling back the covers and getting out of the bed, beginning to wander around the room gathering her clothes. He found his eyes drawn to her well-toned butt as she bent down to collect her discarded t-shirt. Lily caught him looking and chuckled. RJ realised at once that he'd been busted.
"Are you enjoying the view?" She asked him, coming over to his side.
"Always." He replied, reaching his arms around her and pulling her in close to him. As their hips came into contact, he suddenly became pointedly aware of her soft breath against his chest. He kissed her deeply, becoming lost in the moment. Suddenly, he felt the sharp pain in his chest again, causing him to release his grip on her. Lily noticed him flinching away from her and came to his side with a look of concern on her face. RJ had tried to keep it from her and the Rangers, but she knew something had happened when he was captured by Dai Shi a few weeks ago. She'd noticed him getting pains in his chest periodically, and it was becoming more frequent since his fight with Master Finn a couple of weeks ago. She'd tried to get him to go and get it checked out, but any time she mentioned it he just changed the subject.
"RJ, is that still bothering you?" She asked him, placing a hand on his chest. "It's been weeks now; maybe it's time to see a doctor."
"It's just a pulled muscle." He assured her. "I'll be fine."
RJ was as concerned about the injury as she was, but he hated feeling like a victim, and he hated going to see doctors. He always felt like it was a waste of time when he could still function, but he knew deep down that Lily was right. It had been a lot longer than he would have expected it to take to recover. It hadn't bothered him much at first. He barely even noticed the injury Dai Shi had inflicted on him most of the time, but it had been exacerbated by his trial by combat with his dad a couple of weeks previously. He resolved to put a heat pack on it later to ease the pain, but right now he just didn't want Lily to fuss over him anymore.
"Would you at least promise to get it checked out if it gets worse?" She asked him. RJ looked at her, smiling warmly. It was kind of sweet that she was so concerned about him, but he really could live without her mothering him.
"I'll be fine. I'll stick a heat pack on it after breakfast." He told her, pulling on his jeans. "I could just murder a steak sandwich."
"You want another one?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. She'd known he was partial to a bit of steak, but the last few days especially; he seemed to be living on the stuff. He'd been eating them with such regularity; it seemed as if he was on a mission to wipe out every cow in California. "Wouldn't you like something else?"
"I'm a big boy." He told her, noting her expression. "I think I can decide what to have for breakfast by myself."
"Well at least cook it this time." She laughed. "I know you like your steak rare, but that last one was so red, you could have brought it back with CPR. It was practically still walking around."
RJ rolled his eyes and kissed her again as he pulled on a jersey. He could really live without her questioning every little thing. A soft knock came at the door.
"RJ, a package arrived for you." Casey called through. "It's a FedEx from San Angeles.
"It's here." He called out excitedly, rushing out of the room, almost bowling Lily over and throwing open the door, snatching the box from his hands.
"Lily!" Casey stammered, seeing Lily standing in the bedroom in her pyjamas, he began to turn red and tried to find somewhere else to look. Lily pulled the covers off the bed and wrapped them around herself.
"RJ!" She shrieked, smacking his upper arm as she tried to cover up her dignity, giving him a death glare that would have turned the bravest of hearts. RJ though was paying no attention, instead tearing open the package with the care of a six-year-old at Christmas.
"What's going on?" Theo asked, walking up to the door and finding the scene unfolding before him. His eyes met with Lily's, now it was his turn to join Casey and Lily in their embarrassment.
"Would everyone PLEASE stop just wandering into bedrooms?" Lily shrieked, looking around desperately for somewhere to hide. She returned to the bed, turning her face from the assembled Rangers in the hope that the earth was about to swallow her whole. "We have doors on the rooms for a reason you know."
"What's going on...?" Fran wandered in, joining in the mutual embarrassment as RJ finished with the packaging.
"Why don't I just start charging admission?" Lily groaned. "I feel like a damn stripper! Would everyone PLEASE get out?"
RJ held up the small purple device, presenting it to the Rangers.
"I asked Andrew Hartford to make me another morpher." He informed them, strapping the device to his left wrist. "I'll be joining you in the field from now on."
"That's great RJ!" Lily snapped sarcastically. "Maybe I'd be a bit more excited if I wasn't standing half naked in front of half of my closest friends!"
"Oh!" He gasped, now realising his faux pas. In his excitement to retrieve the morpher, he'd been completely oblivious to Lily's situation. "Ummm...sorry Lily I..."
"GET OUT!" She called out, throwing her friend out of the room, by now her humiliation all but complete. RJ stood in the hall with the other three, shrinking a little as they chorused a sucking of teeth. Lily slammed the door loudly behind them.
"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" He surmised as the door slammed shut.
"Oh no." Casey sighed sarcastically. "I'm sure Lily just loves being paraded half naked around the apartment."
"Look on the bright side." Theo groaned. "At least she did have her pyjamas on."
"So how much begging do you think I'm going to need to do?" He asked them.
"Well I'd say that you have a lot of making up to do when she gets out of there." Fran told him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'd say chocolates, roses, champagne..."
"Which one?" RJ asked.
"All of them." Fran answered. "And that's just for starters. Do you realise how embarrassing that would have been or her? Hell we're all still the same shade as Casey's uniform, and we weren't the ones who were naked."
The three left RJ to his thoughts as they made their way into the restaurant. He knew that they were right, there was going to be hell to pay, and he doubted that Lily would let him off the hook any time soon.
"Oh well, no point going to the dog house on an empty stomach." He mused, feeling his stomach growling loudly. "Time for that sandwich."
Lily came into the restaurant with a look of thunder on her face. Clearly this was what they meant by "if looks could kill." She brushed past RJ, finding him eating his sandwich in huge, ravenous bites. She muttered something under her breath as she saw him; clearly she still wasn't happy about the whole bedroom debacle.
"I see humiliating me didn't ruin your appetite." She grumbled, coming over behind him. She looked in disgust at the sandwich in his hand. "Are you sure it's dead?"
"I'm sorry." He mumbled through a mouthful of steak and bread. "I didn't think."
"Well you should have." She replied coldly, pulling away from him. RJ put his sandwich down on the counter, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into himself.
"You know, I could try and make it up to you." He whispered into her ear, sniffing her hair. Lily was beginning to let up, until the scent of the undercooked meat on his breath snatched her attention back. She struggled out of his grip, shoving him away a little.
"No RJ, I'm serious, I'm still mad at you!" She snapped in response. "You can't just go and act like nothing happened, that was so embarrassing."
"You know you look so amazing, you have nothing to be embarrassed about." He chirped cheekily. Lily just groaned and stormed from the kitchen, her mood not having improved. RJ watched her go, his eyes taking in her amazing figure as she left. His mind drifted to...
He pulled himself back from those thoughts. He'd upset her and put her in a terrible mood, but all he could think about was how turned on he was while she was yelling at him? Why was he thinking like this? He was waiting for her; he was letting her take her time. He picked up his sandwich again, chewing it with the enthusiasm of the possessed. What was wrong with him today?
Lily stormed around the tables, tidying up the condiments as she worked off some of her frustrations. She didn't know why, but RJ had just started behaving like a complete ass since he'd woken up that morning. He'd seemed to turn from the considerate, caring man she'd come to love into some kind of Neanderthal without warning. It all seemed to start right about the time he'd had that pain in his chest. Maybe he was hurt more badly than he was letting on? Lily shook her thoughts clear and returned to her cleaning. Why was she trying to make excuses for him? It didn't matter how hurt he was, he shouldn't be acting like that. Wiping the table aggressively, she sent the cheese shaker flying by accident, smashing it on the floor.
"Bloody hell!" She roared, beginning to pick up pieces of glass. She recoiled sharply as she cut her finger on a shard of the glass.
"Damn it!" She grumbled, holding her hand up to prevent the blood flowing any faster than it was. She made her way back into the kitchen, finding RJ finishing off his sandwich.
"What happened?" He asked her, looking at the injury as he came to her side, inspecting the wound.
"I cut it on some glass." She told him. RJ inspected it thoughtfully, feeling his heart racing as he watched the bright red blood running down her hand. He placed her finger in his mouth and sucked it gently, soothing it a little.
"RJ, what are you doing?" She asked him.
At that point, their morphers bleeped, alerting them to the danger in the city as Dai Shi attacked. Lily eyed him suspiciously as he rolled up his sleeve, preparing to activate his morpher for the first time.
"Jungle Beast, Spirit UNLEASHED!" He called out as he activated the switch. Unfortunately, it did not function as intended. As the morpher's power called forth his animal spirit, RJ's injury flared up, glowing brightly as his Wolf Spirit came forth. He ripped the Morpher from his wrist, dropping it to the floor as he staggered around the room, obviously wracked in pain from the energies coursing through his body. In his struggle he accidently kicked the morpher under a nearby table, before falling to his knees.
"RJ, what's wrong?" She shrieked, realising that something had gone badly wrong. She wrapped her arms around her, holding him tightly as fear for his wellbeing crept into her heart. RJ stared at his hands as they sprouted fur and shaped into bestial claws. "RJ answer me what..."
Her words tailed off as he turned back to her, staring at her with glowing yellow eyes. His teeth had formed into fangs. The expression of fear was obvious in his face as he looked at her, though his fear was not for himself. Tears streamed down his face as he felt the feral nature of his animal spirit rising in him. His heart beat faster as he became aware of her scent, even from this distance. He heard her heart beating faster as she beheld him in terror.
"Lily, get away from me!" He growled, feeling the last vestiges of his humanity melting away. He tried to shove her away, hoping to get her away from him as he felt his self-control melting away. "Lily run!"
"RJ what can I do?" She yelled, watching the man she loved changing inside and out. She grabbed him, turning him towards her just as his transformation into his beast form was
complete. Too late, she realised the danger she was in as he slashed at her chest, sending her to the floor. The back of her head struck the hard concrete stunning her. Lily looked in horror at the injury in her chest, watching her blood flow between her fingers. Looking across the kitchen, she realised her solar morpher had flown out of her pocket with the force of the blow and was now out of reach. RJ approached her menacingly, though by now she was completely unable to move in her terror. All she could do now was watch him cross the room towards her as she tried in vain to scramble away from him.
"RJ please stop this!" She screamed as he pounced on her, tearing at her with his claws. She saw his jaws coming towards her and did the only thing she could, thrusting her forearm into his mouth, preventing the murderous fangs from finding anything more vital. He lashed out repeatedly with his claws, battering and clawing at her ferociously. A heavy blow to the side of her head all but knocked her completely senseless as she felt warm blood running down her face. She fought for all she was worth, but without her morpher, RJ's wolf form was simply too powerful for her to resist. His claws reared up once more, hovering above her ominously. Theo arrived in the kitchen in time to see the creature attacking her.
"Lily!" Theo called out as he arrived in the kitchen. He'd heard the alarm and was on his way to collect her when he found her being mauled by the monster before him. "I call to the beast inside, release the jaguar!" He yelled, casting forth his jaguar spirit, sending RJ sprawling across the floor. Getting up, the wolf realised that its opportunity for easy prey had long since passed and fled the restaurant. Theo wanted to pursue, but realised how badly Lily was hurt and knew that she needed urgent care. She'd already lost a considerable amount of blood, and seemed to be in a pretty bad way.
"What happened?" Casey yelled as he arrived in the kitchen, coming to Lily's side and wrapping a cloth around her arm.
"Lily was attacked by a monster." Theo told him. "It appeared to be some kind of werewolf."
"Not...a...monster..." She croaked as her strength began to fail her. Blood loss was sapping her strength, and she was well on the way to passing out from the pain. "It's..."
"Lily, don't try and talk." Casey instructed her. "RJ can help us get that creature. Just keep your strength up."
"No, you don't understand." She breathed, feeling light-headed as a result of the savage assault. "The creature is..." Feeling her strength leaving her, she tried to reach out, pointing towards RJ's morpher, but it was too far away, and the guys couldn't see it under the table. Lily felt the pain of her failure to tell them the most important piece of information as her injuries finally overtook her and she lost consciousness. Casey picked her up in his arms, carrying her to RJ's van and placing her in the back. "Where the hell is RJ?"
"I don't know!" Theo replied honestly. "He doesn't seem to be here."
"Damn it! We could really have used his help right about now. Stay with Camille and Fran." He told the Blue Ranger. "I'll take Lily to a hospital."
"What about Dai Shi's attack?" Theo asked him. Casey gestured to Lily.
"She needs a hospital." He told the Blue Ranger. "Camille and Fran need you here in case that thing comes back, if RJ comes back, send him after the monster."
Theo wanted to disagree, but conceded that Casey had a point. They were already one Ranger down; the last thing they could afford was to leave the others completely defenceless. Until RJ put in an appearance, they just didn't have the man power to cover everything.
With that, Casey fired up the van and drove off in the direction of the hospital. Theo could only watch helplessly as they left, feeling dejected. They had no idea what had happened to RJ, but they knew that those new Ranger Powers he was harping on about would come in real handy right about now. Whatever that creature was, however it had gotten into the restaurant, he was confident that RJ would want more than a little piece of it right about now. It had hurt Lily badly, and left her for dead. He was sure there'd be hell to pay when he caught up with it.
Late at night, the beast stumbled through the streets of Ocean Bluff, completely lost in a mist of confusion. It stopped by a shop window, staring at its reflection, taking in the form that was not its own. RJ looked down at his claws in horror, seeing them covered in the blood of the woman he loved. He'd never wilfully hurt her, but his animal spirit had completely taken control of his higher reason. He had been acting on pure instinct when he attacked her. He slammed his hands through the window, somehow hoping that destroying his reflection would make the beast no longer exist, but knowing that it would make no difference. Sinking to his knees, he reared his head and bellowed a mournful howl at the moon. He'd almost killed the woman he loved, and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was wordlessly beg for forgiveness.