Skye didn't notice the full moon when she sped out into the open.
Instantly, she was lost. Frightful eyes glanced around, trying to make out the silhouettes in the dark. Gasping as tears clouded her vision, she ran. God knew which direction she was heading towards.
She kept running until her legs were sore. Skidding to a halt inside a park, she sat down on a bench. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked around. The night was very peaceful, and no one was loitering on the pebble path.
At first, Skye though her only company were the crickets that chirped away somewhere in the darkness, but a soft rustling proved her wrong.
Silhouettes emerged from the shrubs. She was surrounded, and had no cover to run to. It didn't take the SHIELD agent long to pull out her gun, but it took a little longer for her to realize that she didn't need one. The ground shook and crumbled, and the silhouettes seemed to fall over.
Taking a rugged breath, Skye started to run again. A bullet knocked her off her feet – literally – as it plunged into her calf. Her vision blurred again and she fell to the ground. The last thing she saw was a fur-covered umbra leaping out from nowhere, using its body as a shield to protect her from the rain of bullets.
Then it all went black.
A sharp pain woke Skye up. Sitting up slowly, she hissed at the pain in her leg, stunned to discover that it was wrapped dexterously in white bandage.
She was in a room. A window was on her left and a gentle ray of sunlight poured onto the carpeted floor from it. In front of her was a coffee table with two armchairs on either side. On her right was a wooden door, and another that was slightly open, showcasing a bathroom. It was a motel room.
She was on the bed. Her gun was on the nightstand and she grabbed it when she heard someone walking out of the bathroom. As soon as she saw the person, her jaw dropped and her gun hand quivered.
"I placed the gun beside you," the man said, "makes you feel safer."
"What are you doing here? How am I here?" Skye managed to speak, gravel clotting her throat. Still, she held her gun steady as the man raised his hands, a damp cloth in one hand.
They stared at each other for a very long time before Skye lowered her gun. Putting it back on the nightstand, she tried to stand up only to find that her injured leg was in no condition to do so. The man quickly went to her side, helping her back onto the bed.
"I saw you at the park with the bunch of HYDRA agents," the man began explaining. "I saved you and brought you here. You've been out for nine hours."
Skye's heartbeat accelerated, but the glass of water on the nightstand didn't budge.
"I… I saw you use your powers," he continued, "they're pretty cool."
"It's not cool," Skye spoke, "It's inhuman."
The glass began to tremble and it eventually dropped to the ground, landing softly on the carpet as the water poured out. Skye shrieked and covered her ears with her hands as the ground quaked.
"Whoa!" The man leaped forward and held her in an embrace. Almost at once, the quaking stopped.
Skye slowly opened her eyes. "What are you?" she questioned.
"I'm… I'm inhuman too, just not inhuman inhuman," he stuttered. The man she knew so well morphed into something she didn't know at all, but he wasn't scary.
The canine stared at her with the warmest brown eyes. It buried its head into Skye's stomach as tenderly as possible. Skye raised a hand to pet his dark brown fur. It was thick and warm.
"Grant…" she whispered. The wolf watched her with sorrowful eyes. As he changed back to a human, Skye spotted bandages on him as well.
"You're hurt," she reached out to touch them. "Did you get hurt protecting me?"
"It's just a scratch," he insisted, pulling his shirt down. He sat down next to her.
Skye inhaled deeply. "So," she glanced at him, "you're a werewolf?"
He nodded.
"This whole time!" exclaimed Skye, "I would never have imagined. Wait, do you like squeaky toys?"
Ward laughed. "I'm a werewolf, not a were-dog."
It made Skye smile, and she knew it was genuine. She didn't want to admit it, but she missed it, being with him.
"I can teach you," he muttered, "how to control your powers and all."
Skye sighed. "You… You don't have you. I shot you like three or four times in the stomach. I don't deserve your hospitality."
Everything trembled again without a warning. Skye gasped before Ward hugged her to his chest once more.
"It's okay, beautiful," he whispered. "I'll show you the way."