Clarke woke with a start, sitting bolt upright.
"It's okay." A soft, familiar voice said. "You're safe."
Immediately Clarke felt the tension leave her muscles. It only took a moment for Clarke's eyes to adjust to the pitch black room she had fallen asleep in. The cabin was a small structure, but cozy. Thick heavy drapes hung over the windows, blocking out almost one hundred percent of the sunlight. She was still on the floor on top of a pile of lush silken furs, and one had been pulled over her as a blanket, with the fire place was long since going cold.
She turned her head, looking back over her shoulder to see Lexa standing in the small kitchen, brewing what looked to be some kind of tea.
Lexa poured herself a small cup, and padded gently back over. Clarke's mouth went dry as her eyes took in all of Lexa, wearing apparently nothing but Clarke's button down denim shirt.
She sat down close to Clarke, one foot nestled beneath her, with her other knee raised up close to her chest.
"You didn't pour one for me?" Clarke teased.
A small smiled curled Lexa's lips. "This isn't for you, Clarke." Then she held the cup out towards her. "Smell."
Clarke began leaning forward, but almost instantly her nostrils were filled with a putrid and bitter aroma. "Ugh, God. What is that?" She said, jerking away. "It burns." Her nose scrunched up, and she brought her hand up in a vain attempt to try and prevent herself from smelling anymore.
Lexa's smile broadened, but her cheeks colored a little as well. "It's a contraceptive." She said.
Clarke was suddenly silent, her eyes large, the color draining from her face. "Oh." Was all she could think to say at first. "I guess that answers one of my questions." She said finally.
Lexa's green eyes shone with a glint of amusement from over the edge of her mug, as she took a sip. Lowering it she finally said, "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" She was relaxed now. The previous night had taken the edge off her heat, and she let herself feel comfortable being around Clarke like this.
Clarke opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out at first. "I-I don't even know where to start." She said. She shook her head. Beneath the fur blanket, she tried moving her hand as subtly as possible to her crotch. Her clit was still tender from the night before, but everything seemed to have returned to... normal.
As if she was reading Clarke's mind, Lexa said, "The reaction you had last night was completely normal, Clarke."
"The hell it was." Clarke replied, with more than a little disbelief.
"Let me rephrase, it was normal for a typical female alpha's response to an omega in heat." Explained Lexa.
"So... every female alpha can, what... grow a dick whenever they're around an omega in heat? Just like that?"
"Yes, that's right." Lexa said. "It's necessary for an alpha and an omega to bond."
"What do you mean, bond?" Clarke asked. One of Lexa's hands unconsciously left her mug briefly, her fingers absently brushing the crescent-shaped bruises on her own throat.
"A bond occurs when an alpha decides to take an omega for their mate. The process involves mutual bites, similar to these," she said, indicating her bruises. "Except when bonding, the teeth break the skin, the scar that remains as a result, is a sign indicating to others that they've been claimed, and lasts for as long as the pair is mated." She explained. "Of course the process also involves several rounds of intense love-making, finally resulting in the omega being knotted to the alpha." Her eyebrows twitched slightly, as she spoke the last part in a hushed, but teasing tone.
"Really?" Clarke swallowed audibly. Her cheeks flushed, her chest visibly rising and falling heavily.
"Yes." Lexa said softly. "The bonding process begins with the bite, but it's during that time, while knotted, that the bond fully matures."
"So... if we had bonded last night...?" Clarke started.
"We would have been mated for life." Lexa said, her tone turned almost somber for some reason. "And as the dominant mate, you would have taken over my role as pack alpha as well."
Clarke's eyes grew large again, shaking her head in disbelief. It was as if every new thing she learned surprised her just a little bit more.
"Lexa, I would never try to take your pack from you." Clarke said.
The corner of Lexa's mouth twitched in a now familiar expression. "I know that, Clarke, but neither of us would really have a choice." She said. "Once an alpha and an omega are mated, their roles become more... ingrained. The alpha becomes more jealous and possessive, the omega becomes more obedient and submissive." She explained with a shrug. "Honestly, if we were mated there would be no way I'd be able to run the pack. Even If you didn't want to lead, and I tried to hold my position, I would instinctively begin consulting you on decisions and asking your opinion on pack matters." She shrugged, becoming quiet for a moment. "It would only be a matter of time before my pack realized this, then they'd stop following me anyways."
A heavy silence followed when Lexa stayed quiet, her gaze becoming somewhat distant. Clarke leaned over, putting her hand tenderly on Lexa's knee.
"Hey." She said softly. "We didn't bond last night, remember? It's still your pack." Clarke smiled. "To be honest, I'm not sure I'd want that responsibility anyways."
Lexa forced a smile, blinking her misty eyes several times. "Don't fool yourself, Clarke." She said. "You would make a great leader."
Clarke let out a gentle laugh. "Yeah right, I don't think your pack likes me very much." Clarke said. "I only met them briefly, but Indra practically laughed at me, and Gustus didn't even speak to me."
Lexa raised her eyebrows. "You met Gustus and Indra?" Lexa asked.
"Yeah," Clarke nodded. "Indra was actually the one that told me you were out here."
An slightly cross look passed over Lexa's face. "Did she? It seems I'm going to have to have a word with Indra."
"Why?" Asked Clarke.
"She knows that this is where I come during my heats." Lexa explained. "Partially so I don't drive everyone in the house crazy, but also, and mo importantly, to be alone."
Realization struck Clarke, Indra had been setting her up for something. "Oh my god," Clarke said. "Indra told me you were expecting me."
"What?" Lexa asked. This time she was the one surprised.
"Then when you came to the door naked, I thought... oh my god." Clarke repeated. She was blushing furiously, and Lexa wasn't faring much better. They couldn't look at each other without breaking into large nervous smiles. "Indra totally knew that was gonna happen, didn't she?"
Lexa nodded, "I believe she did."
Clarke couldn't hold back anymore, and once she started Lexa couldn't contain herself either. The awkward tension was too much, and they both had to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation.
After a few minutes of nervous laughter, once it was all out of their systems, they had managed to reclaim some of their composure. They sat closer now, Lexa had her arm around Clarke's waist, their bare thighs touching. They came to a pause after both of them had caught their breath. Their eyes met and they realized they were only inches away from each other. They leaned in simultaneously, their lips met and they kissed tenderly, but passionately. It went on for only a moment before their tongues slipped out to meet each other, and danced within the shared space of their open mouths.
After several long moments, they separated to breathe, both smiling and looking into each other's eyes again.
"I think maybe we owe Indra a 'thank you' instead." Clarke said. Lexa's mouth split into a full grin, and they began kissing again.
A harsh buzzing noise sounded from somewhere interrupting them. "It's your phone, Clarke." Lexa said as she pulled away. "It went off several times during the night, as well."
Clarke glanced over to where her shorts were still lying on the floor. She could see the faint glowing of her phone coming from inside the back pocket, but she brought her gaze back to Lexa.
"It's okay." Lexa said, with a small smile. "You should at least see who it is."
By the time Clarke stood, went over to dig her phone from her shorts, and made her way back to the fur bedding, it had stopped ringing. Clarke checked her missed calls though, as she sat back down next to Lexa. She had four, all from her mom. There were also about a dozen text messages, all from her mom as well.
"Shit." Clarke muttered. "I, uh... I guess I should..."
Lexa nodded. "She's worried about you, Clarke. You should go."
"Are you sure?" Clarke asked. "I don't have to, I can stay." She said. She didn't know much about heats and all, but she thought the idea of Lexa being cooped up in this cabin alone through her heat, sounded horrible.
Lexa shook her head, giving Clarke a soft smile. "It's your mom, Clarke. Go talk to her." Clarke was quiet, looking down at her hands. "Hey." Lexa said, reaching out and placing her hands on top of Clarke's. "It's okay, I'll still be here." She said. "That is," she added quickly. "If you'd like to come back."
Clarke's head snapped up, her gaze immediately finding Lexa's. "Of course I'll come back." She said. They kissed another long and passionate kiss, with lips and tongue and teeth.
Lexa finally pulled away with a gasp. "Go. Get dressed before I change my mind." Clarke's smile stretched from ear to ear, she liked that plan, leaning forward in an attempt to recapture Lexa's lips. Lexa pulled away further though, drawing a disappointed and demanding growl from Clarke's chest.
Lexa smacked Clarke playfully on her thigh. "None of that." Lexa said. "That won't work on me. We're not bonded yet."
In an instant a deafening silence fell over them, both blushing heavily at Lexa's casual use of the word 'yet.' Neither of them were entirely sure whether it had been an accidental slip of the tongue or not; Clarke just stood and began getting dressed. Despite the embarrassment turning in her gut, Lexa still couldn't manage to tear her eyes away, watching as each article of clothing was pulled snugly into place over Clarke's amazing body.
The sound of Clarke clearing her throat, brought Lexa out of her daze. She'd been staring right at Clarke, but hadn't realized Clarke had stopped getting dressed and was staring right back at her.
"Yes?" Lexa said finally. Clarke stood there, hands resting firmly on her cocked hips. For a beat she just stood there and stared in silence.
"My shirt?" She said finally.
"Oh" replied Lexa. "Right."
Lexa stood quickly, but then a smile teased her lips. She locked eyes with Clarke and began advancing slowly, letting the sway of her hips draw attention to her seemingly endless legs. She undid the shirt ever so slowly, separating one agonizing snap at a time. Finally she stood before Clarke, completely bare, as Clarke tried to remain composed, standing there in just her shorts and her bra.
Clarke's eyes took in every inch of Lexa's sensuous beauty, as she stood there holding out Clarke's shirt in offering. "It's all yours." Lexa said softly, her voice accentuating every possible meaning over the word 'all.' Clarke's breaths were coming heavy, the flush from her cheeks spread down her neck, and reached the swell of her breasts.
She accepted her shirt without a word, shrugging into it and buttoning up, but only partly.
"Can I ask you something?" Lexa said.
Clarke looked at her incredulously. After everything that had just happened between them, she was still going to ask permission to ask something.
"Of course you can." Clarke said. "Anything."
"Your mom knows you're a werewolf, doesn't she?" Lexa asked.
Clarke was caught off guard, with all the recent flirtatious behavior, she hadn't been expecting Lexa to turn so serious so suddenly. "She does." Clarke said, wondering why Lexa would ask that. Then she considered what it might mean for Lexa and her pack. "She won't say anything, though." Clarke said. "She knows better than that. You can trust her."
Lexa stepped close to Clarke. She chewed her bottom lip and nodded, mostly to herself. "I trust you, Clarke. The fact that you trust her is enough for me." Lexa said. "Not everyone in my pack would agree though, so be careful. Don't let anyone else know that she knows."
Clarke nodded her understanding. "Thank you." She said.
Lexa smiled. She leaned in and gave Clarke one more kiss. It was gentle, but Clarke could feel the hunger building again behind it. "You should go now." Lexa said. Clarke nodded. She could tell that Lexa's heat was beginning to take effect again, and she knew now that the effects of omega pheromones weren't something to take lightly.
"I'll call later." Clarke said. Lexa nodded and Clarke turned and left, letting out a deep breath and inhaling the sweat, fresh air outside. As she walked through the woods, and distanced herself from the cabin, she realized just how potent the smell of sex and pheromones inside had been. She also noticed the subtle, but incessant ache, both in her chest, and lower, that begged Clarke to return to the cabin as soon as possible.
The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and the air comfortably cool. Octavia walked around the square taking her first opportunity to explore the little town properly, after spending the last few days in in her apartment unpacking, and then almost one whole day in bed hung over. She still hadn't talked to her brother about what had happened at the housewarming party, but the truth was she didn't remember most of it. She'd talked to Raven about it, and Raven had told her that she'd completely lost it, but since Raven didn't know exactly what had happened either, it hadn't helped Octavia much at all.
Octavia was feeling pretty lazy, and she looked forward to enjoying it. She had just graduated from high school at the beginning of summer, and with the move and everything, was hoping to take a gap year, before she applied for any kind of college or university. The only problem with that is that she would need to find a job to help her brother out a little, at least with food and her own clothes and things.
She'd found an old signboard on the square, near the gazebo. It was plastered with fliers from the local business, lost pets, used cars for sale, yoga and meditation classes, and people looking for casual labor and laborers. She didn't see anything that looked like a promising opportunity for steady employment. After that, she'd been motivated enough to go in and out of every one of the little shops on the square and ask if they were hiring, but she still had no luck.
She'd just decided to take a break, sitting down on the steps of the gazebo, when she heard the, -tha-thunk-tha-thunk-tha-thunk- of a skateboard rolling over the concrete joints in the sidewalk.
She looked up to see a slender looking kid, almost scrawny, about her age and with short dark hair. He was rolling in her direction, with a few other kids walking with him. Her first thought was, 'why the hell does he have a pair of snowboarding goggles on top of his head in the middle of summer?'
He slowed as he reached the gazebo, dragging one scuffed-up gray shoes on the sidewalk, until he hopped off, and popped the board up into his hand with the other.
"Hey there." He said. "You got a light?"
Octavia shook her head. "Don't smoke." He nodded, but looked disappointed.
"You skate?" He asked. She shook her head again.
"Hmm," He nodded. "Well, you're boring. I'm Jasper." He said.
"You just called me boring, why would I want to know your name?" She said standing up, and preparing to leave.
"Because you could hang out with us, and then you'd be less boring." Jasper said.
"Only by a little." One of Jasper's friends deadpanned, shaking his head.
"Shut up, Monty." Jasper said, slapping Monty's arm with the back of his hand. "So, how about it?"
Octavia had never really been into the whole skater scene. Hell, through high school she hadn't really fit into any scene. She never really had her own clique, because everyone she hung out with, her brother, Raven and Clarke, were always older than her. This was a new town though, and these were the first people she'd met really, and they were nice enough to ask her to join them.
Finally Octavia shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?" She said with a sigh, following as the whole group started walking again. "So where are we headed?"
"Back to school." Jasper said, seeming way more excited than he should about that. He took a few quick steps, dropped his board and took off down the sidewalk, with a quicker, -tha-thunktha-thunktha-thunktha-thunk-
"He takes some getting used to." Monty admitted. "But he's a good guy really." Monty introduced the others in the group as Maya, Nathan, and Harper, and Octavia introduced herself as well.
She found out that they had all gone to TonDC High School together, except for Maya, Maya had been home schooled up until senior year. They had all just graduated too though, so they were the same year Octavia. Octavia went on to tell them that she had graduated from Arkadia High, and how she had moved to TonDC with her brother.
They left the square, heading diagonally across from Gina's pizza place. The high school was about five minutes down the road, and when they got there they went around to the side of the building. They reached a loading dock for receiving shipments, it was a concrete ledge about four feet off the ground, with a ramp up with a gently sloping rail, and a set of stairs, with a steeper rail.
There was a guy and two girls there, who must have had the same idea as Jasper and his crew, and they all had skateboards too.
"Murphy." Jasper said, not looking too impressed at all at running into the older kid.
"Heya, Jasper old buddy." He said. He hopped down from the loading dock. "Hi there, I'm Murphy." He said, immediately turning his attention to Octavia, when he saw her.
Both of the other girls walked up to stand next him, the one with darker hair draping an arm over Murphy's shoulders. They seemed to look at her as if she gave off some kind of 'new girl' scent, and she was reminded of why she didn't miss high school at all.
"I'm Octavia." She introduced herself, mimicking Jasper's unimpressed tone of voice.
Murphy nodded. If he noticed the edge in her attitude, he didn't let it show at all. "This is Emori," he said indicating the girl that was hanging on him, "and this is Echo." He said. Emori just continued to look at Octavia with a completely unreadable expression, but at least Echo gave her a silent wave.
The awkward introductions were finally interrupted when Monty nudged Jasper with his elbow.
"What?" Jasper said, which Monty answered with a pointed glance. "Oh yeah" He said. "Hey, uh, Murphy? You don't have a lighter we could borrow, do you?"
Murphy smirked, digging into his pocket and tossed a Zippo to Jasper. "I want that back, ya hear me?"
"Yeah, yeah. I hear ya." Jasper replied. Jasper and Monty hurried over to a corner of the loading dock, sitting on the concrete near the brick walls. Octavia took a seat on the steps, and Harper came over to join her.
"Don't smoke pot either?" Harper asked.
Octavia shook her head, with a half smile. "No. I have enough problems when I let myself have beer." She said. "I don't need the extra challenge in my life."
Harper smiled, and nodded.
"What about you?" Octavia asked, wondering why Harper wasn't with her friends, huddled in the corner with their grinder and rolling papers.
Harper shrugged. "Sometimes, but not often. I don't like day-smoking."
Octavia watched as Nathan and Maya had gone a little ways away. Nathan had taken off his backpack, and opened it up on the ground. Octavia noticed that it was full of spray paint cans, and she watched curiously as they added to part of a mural that was already there.
Noticing where Octavia was looking, Harper pitched in, "Yeah, they started that beginning of senior year." She said. "They actually did drafts of it first and got the principal to sign off on it. When they graduated, the principal offered to have some other students come and take over, but Nathan and Maya refused, saying that they wanted to see it through."
Octavia nodded. "My friend, Clarke would really like that. She's an artist." Octavia said absently. "So are they like... together?" Giving an indicating nod in Nathan and Maya's direction. Octavia didn't know why she asked really. It just kind of seemed like they were working really well together at the moment.
Harper laughed. "Oh, no." She said shaking her head. "Nathan is actually with Monty, and Maya is with Jasper."
"Oh," Octavia nodded, "didn't see that coming." As an heavy silence fell after that, she began to realize that she was really bad at small talk when it came to anyone who wasn't Bellamy, Raven or Clarke.
It was almost lunchtime before Clarke made it back to her house. Her phone had continued to ring, and she had continued to ignore it. Her hope was that she could face the brunt of her mom's wrath all at one time and get it over with. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Mom?" She called out. She heard her mom hurrying around from in the kitchen.
"Where the hell have you been?" She asked. She seemed more worried than angry, and Clarke was hoping they could skip the angry and go straight to being relieved that she was safe. She wasn't that lucky though.
When Abby realized her daughter was uninjured, she moved in to give Clarke a hug. That was when she saw the purple and yellow discoloration of a nasty bruise on her daughter's neck.
Clarke was all ready and willing to be wrapped up in her mom's embrace, when her mom suddenly froze. Her eyes narrowing harshly.
"Is that a hicky?" She asked, through gritted teeth. Clarke didn't know how to answer. It was obviously a hicky. There wasn't much she could really say. "You stayed out all night, and had me worried sick, because you were with some guy?" Abby asked, her face growing pink as she grew more angry.
"Technically, it was a girl..." Clarke started.
"I don't care who it was." Abby snapped. "You know that's not the point. I didn't raise you to behave this way."
"You didn't raise me to behave what way?" Clarke asked, her own anger rising. "Like a werewolf?" Normally Clarke was good at keeping a lid on her emotions. Whenever her mom had been angry with her before, Clarke would always just bite the bullet and take the lecture and whatever punishment her mom saw fit, but today that wasn't happening for some reason.
Abby had been shocked by her daughter's reaction as well, and she really didn't know how to respond, but Clarke continued before she could anyway.
"You know what mom? You're absolutely right." Clarke said. "You didn't raise me to behave like a werewolf, because you don't have the first clue what it's like. There is no possible way you can imagine what I'm going through. There are so many questions I have, so many things I need to know about myself, and even though you want to help me with it, you can't, because you don't have any fucking idea."
Abby's face was red, her eyes were large. She was both shocked and furious at her daughter's use of language and that her daughter would use that tone.
"Listen to me young..." Abby said, trying to regain some traction.
"No!" Clarke shot back with a growl. "Did you know, I met... I..." Clarke was inches away from revealing not only Lexa as a werewolf, but also the others as well, her entire pack. She bit her tongue just in time. Her chest was heaving. She realized her hands had curled into fists at her sides. Apparently Abby had noticed too, as the color had drained from her face. Clarke took several more deep breaths, trying to calm herself before continuing.
"I met another werewolf." She said finally, as calmly as possible. "I can't tell you her name. I can't promise you'll meet her, at least not until she feels she's ready. She understands me though, better than I understand myself. She has the answers I need, and whether you like it or not, I will see her again." Clarke had to stop herself form inserting the word 'often,' at the end of that. After all, there was no need to rub her mom's nose it.
Abby finally just collapsed, slumping back onto the couch. Clarke's breathing had almost returned to normal, as she stood there, the whole conversation ran through her head over and over again. There was no way she could take any of it back now, and to be honest, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to. She had been harsher than she had wanted with her mom, but they were still things that her mom had needed to hear.
Abby sat there silently, a surreal calmness settling over h, in contrast with her clenched jaw, and the tears streaming slowly, but steadily down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, mom." Was all Clarke could think to say, before disappearing upstairs.
As soon as she reached the safety of her room, she pulled out her phone. Her first impulse was to text Lexa, but didn't know whether she should or not.
Several times, Clarke started typing something, just to delete it entirely. They'd already spent the night together, she shouldn't be nervous about sending a simple text. She realized she didn't really know Lexa though. She felt like she did, in a way, but when she really thought about it, she realized that they'd only met four days ago.
'What the hell am I doing?' Clarke thought. 'I just got in the worst fight ever with my mom, all over someone I've known for four days?'
Clarke collapsed onto the edge of her bed. She let out a deep breath, and then collapsed flat onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, her golden hair splayed out around her head. She laid like that for a long time, it seemed. Thoughts whizzing through her head, her emotions in turmoil. She may have only known Lexa for four days, but what she had told her mom had been absolutely true. 'She understands me though, better than I understand myself. She has the answers I need...' The words echoed in Clarke's head. It didn't matter what she felt for Lexa sexually or romantically, she told herself, she needed Lexa so that she could find out who she was now. Realizing this, it dawned on her, that the rest was true as well. She would see Lexa again, whether her mom liked it or not. 'Often,' a little voice whispered in the back of her head, because whether she chose to acknowledge it or not, she couldn't ignore the connection she already shared with Lexa either.
Octavia was still at the school, hanging out with the skater crew. She'd moved over to the grass, sitting near where Nathan and Maya were working on their mural. Jasper and Murphy had gotten into some kind of trick competition. Emori and Echo, sitting on their skateboards up on the loading dock watching. Murphy was way better, but Octavia figured it probably wasn't a fair contest considering Jasper was pretty stoned. He was still functioning and everything, but it was obvious he wasn't a hundred percent, even Octavia could see that.
After Murphy won, he picked up his skateboard and waved a casual goodbye to everyone, Emori stood and joined him, as they were about to head off. "You comin'?" He asked Echo.
"Nah," she said. "I got someone comin' to pick me up." She replied. Murphy nodded and then they left. Echo came over, deciding to hang out with Jasper and Monty's crew until her ride showed up.
The casual conversation flowed pretty easily, Octavia mostly just listening. It seemed that everyone had a story of Jasper almost blowing himself up in chemistry class, and even Echo who had been two years ahead of them, had heard of some of the stories already.
Nathan was a prankster, who one time wrapped the principal's entire car in cling-film, and Monty was some kind of genius with computers, who was well known for hacking teacher's emails and getting copies of tests before the tests were given. It seemed like everyone in the group was a delinquent of some kind, that is except Maya, who even by Octavia's standards seemed kind of boring, but Octavia kept her opinions to herself. Maya was pretty into her art though, 'maybe her and Clarke should hang out sometime.' Octavia thought.
Echo ended up being nicer than Octavia had first given her credit for, and they ended up talking for a good while. Octavia happened to mention that she was looking for a job, and Echo said that she had a friend who was looking for some hired help.
"What kind of job is it?" Octavia asked.
Just then a black Chevy Impala pulled around the corner, honking its horn once. Echo looked up, not replying as the car rolled to smooth stop and a woman with dark skin and darker eyes got out of the driver's side.
"Echo." She said. Echo nodded. Just then, to Octavia's surprise, Lincoln got out of the front passenger's side.
"Octavia?" He said. To say she was surprised to see him would be putting it mildly, but luckily she wasn't the only one expressing surprise.
"You two know each other?" Echo asked.
"She's my partner's sister, we met at the housewarming." He said. "And she's Clarke's friend."
Octavia thought it was a little odd that he would bring up Clarke. As far as she knew Echo and Clarke had never met before, and he'd only met Clarke that one time. By now Indra, Lincoln, and Echo were all standing together by Indra's car, and echo seemed to remember their conversation that had been interrupted.
"Oh, this is the friend I was telling you about." Echo said to Octavia. "Indra, this is Octavia, she's looking for a job."
Indra's gaze barely flicked to Octavia, her expression remaining oppressively unimpressed. Octavia clenched her jaw, tilting her chin up refusing to let herself feel intimidated.
"We need to go." Indra told Echo. Echo opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it again. She nodded and moved to towards the car, glancing over her shoulder to give Octavia an apologetic look as she climbed into the back seat. Lincoln moved back to the car too, pausing as he opened the passenger side door.
"We'll talk later." He said to Octavia. Octavia nodded. Indra was the last to turn towards the car, but paused, and looked over her shoulder.
"Octavia, is it?" Indra said, her voice toneless, giving nothing away.
"Uh, yeah, that's right." Octavia said.
"If you want a job, get in the car."
"Indra." Lincoln said in a hushed tone. He gave a slight shake of his head in obvious disagreement, but Indra ignored him.
Octavia looked briefly around her new group of friends, and they were looking at her like it was the worst possible idea ever. Setting her jaw again, she stood, wiping the grass from her butt and hurrying to the rear passenger door behind Lincoln. Lincoln completely avoided her gaze as he climbed into the car with a sour expression on his face. Echo though, gave her a small smile when Octavia slid into the backseat next to her.
They pulled away from the school in complete silence. They dove back into town, passed the square and headed north.
"Where are we going?" Octavia asked. Indra's eyes caught hers in the rear view mirror.
"North." She said.
"Okay..." Octavia replied. "What kind of job is this?" There was no answer. She looked to Echo, who just kind of raised her hands up in a shrug, tilting her head from side to side, as if she didn't know how to explain it.
"Animal control." Lincoln said finally. "There have been reports of wolf sightings." He explained. "We need to investigate, see if there's any evidence to support the claims, and determine the most prudent solution, if the reports are true."
"Do you have any tracking experience?" Indra asked. 'Tracking experience?' Octavia thought. Did she look like Davey-friggin-Crockett?
"Uh, no." She said. Indra hummed a wordless reply that said she had expected as much. "I can learn though." Said Octavia, sounding more defensive than she'd meant to. For the first time, Octavia thought she saw the hint of a smile on Indra's face. Whether it was completely benevolent or not though, Octavia couldn't be sure.
They drove for what must have been more than forty minutes, turning from the small rural road, that only had one lane in each direction, onto an even smaller road. They rode on in silence for about another twenty minutes, before Indra finally pulled off onto the gravel shoulder.
Octavia followed everyone else's lead as they opened their doors and climbed out of the car. Looking around, she noticed that they were on the edge of a field. The grass in most ares was nearly head-high, but it cut clearly through the thick forest that lined both sides of it, and continued on both sides of the road. That was when she looked overhead and caught sight of the power lines that ran across the street in the same direction as the field.
"We go on foot from here." Indra said.
'Oh good.' Octavia thought.
Indra led the way pushing into the grass at what appeared to be an arbitrary point at the edge of the field. At least it seemed arbitrary at first, then Octavia realized that they were following something that could possible resemble the slightest hint of a trail.
"Your friend is, uh... a little intense." Octavia said in a hushed tone over her shoulder. Echo, who had brought up the rear of their line, replied with a big grin.
"A little?"
They continued on a ways, the not-really-a-trail, trail they were following reaching the edge of the woods. Indra, Lincoln and Echo spread out across some invisible line, like a formation that they seemed to have a lot of practice with. Octavia stayed close to Echo for now.
"So why do you come all the way out here?" Octavia asked. "I mean, are they even paying you?"
"Ppht, yeah right." Echo rolled her eyes. "Indra's like my foster mom though." She said, the admiration could be heard in her voice. "Yeah, she can be a pain sometimes, but she's taught me a lot." They continued on and kept looking, even though Octavia had no idea what she was looking for.
"Here," Echo said, stepping over to her left a bit, and squatting on her heels. "See this?" She said, pointing to two indentations in the ground. Octavia nodded. "Deer tracks. By the depth, and the sharpness of the edges, I'd say no more than four hours old. "She looked a little ways up ahead, and pointed out another one. "And judging by how close they are, it wasn't moving very fast either." Echo looked up, and found a young tree, with thin green branches bare of leaves. "Grazing as it went. See?"
Octavia had to admit she was pretty impressed.
"Indra taught me that. Stick with her, and try to stay on her good side, and she can teach you a lot more." Octavia nodded. "We should get going," said Echo. "Don't wanna fall behind."
Octavia hadn't thought it was so hot in the morning, when she was sitting around watching people skate. After half a day though of traipsing through the woods though, her shirt clung to her body and she felt the sweat trailing down the back of her neck. Instead of complaining though, Octavia instead picked up her step, so that she could pull up alongside Indra while they walked. "Why did you let me come with you?" She asked.
"You said you needed a job." Indra replied, not taking her eyes off the forest ahead of her. "And I needed someone to work with me."
"What about Lincoln?" Octavia asked.
"Lincoln is a cop. He can't trek all the way out here with me everyday. He has a job to do." Explained Indra.
"What about echo?" Octavia asked.
"I'm sorry. I'm confused." Said Indra. "I thought you wanted this job."
"I do." Octavia replied, though she wasn't sure why she did.
"Good," Indra said, her gaze still focused straight ahead. "Because I can just as easily send you back to the car to wait there. So tell me, do you want to turn around and start walking, or do you want to learn something?" Indra asked.
"By all means," Octavia said, "enlighten me." Replied Octavia. Again she thought she could make out the ghost of a smile cross Indra's lips, but it was gone before she could be sure. Indra then raised her left hand signaling something to Lincoln, and he and Echo split off, heading further to the left.
Clarke was still up in her room. It was late now, after sunset, and she had kept herself locked away, successfully avoiding her mother for the rest of the day. Not that her mother was of the mind to seek her out either at the moment. She'd showered and had changed into her PJs by two in the afternoon. Clarke still hadn't texted Lexa, but she did remember that she had told Lexa she'd call. She figure Lexa deserved that much at least.
Clarke picked up the phone and tapped Lexa's contact info. Lexa answered on the second ring.
"Unf... hello." Lexa said.
"Uh, are you alright?" Clarke asked.
"Yes, Clarke. Perfect." Lexa's voice was low and silky, and she sounded half asleep. 'Oh.' Clarke thought as she had a pretty good idea what Lexa had been doing.
"Do you need me to come over?" Clarke teased. Silence. Well, mostly silence. Clarke could still hear Lexa's breathing on the other end of the line, and could picture the rosy flush of heat spreading down Lexa's throat and over the swell of her chest.
"How'd things go with your mom?" Lexa asked, after swallowing the hard lump in her throat. That definitely sounded like a 'yes,' to Clarke, but she put it aside to answer the question.
"Um, could've gone better." She said, unable to conceal the emotion in her voice.
"I'm sorry, Clarke. I can tell how important her opinion is to you." Said Lexa.
"It's okay." Clarke said. "We'll work it out. We're just seeing things differently right now. You know, 'cause I'm a werewolf, and she's not."
They talked for several more minutes, and after enough prompting from Lexa, Clarke told her a detailed account of what she'd told her mother. She tried to explain to Lexa how she felt, the things she'd said about Lexa, without sounding like a love-sick puppy, but it was harder than she thought. Luckily though Lexa didn't once question or tease, and once that subject was exhausted, she easily switched to talking about something else.
Lexa had remembered at one point when they had first met, wondering what Clarke's plans had been before the attack that turned her, and Clarke spent a good long while going on about her education, and how everything she had done throughout high school, except perhaps her art courses, had been done to get her into medical school.
"I didn't know you were an artist." Lexa said, surprised. Clarke blushed silently.
"I try." She replied finally.
"I guess you were right. We really don't know each other, huh?" Lexa said.
"Yeah," Clarke nodded, "but we're working on that now, right?" She said, a smile splitting and curling her lips.
"I'd love to see your work sometime." Lexa said softly.
"You will." Replied Clarke in promise. They were both silent for several moments, just listening to the calming sound of the other's breathing. When Clarke decided to broach a more intimate subject.
"So, uh... how's your heat?" She said, wincing when she heard the words out loud. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Is that even something I should ask?"
Lexa's reply was simply a laugh. A delightful, bubbly laugh, that twisted Clarke's insides all up in funny knots.
"Considering you are at the top of a very short list of people who I would prefer to have help me with my heat, then yes, I guess its appropriate." Lexa replied.
"Wait... there's a list?" Clarke asked, feigning shock and offense.
Lexa laughed again. "Aw, come on now Clarke, don't get jealous on me."
"Who else is on this list?" She asked, "just out of curiosity?"
"Well, if it's just out of curiosity..." Lexa began. "Then I can tell you that there is this blonde, that I just met, about four days ago. Um... there's this werewolf girl, but she has no idea what she's doing, because she's only been a werewolf for like a month... oh, and there's this artist, but I don't know much about her, because she hasn't even let me see any of her work yet."
Clarke felt herself blush furiously at Lexa's reply, her chest feeling tight, and a familiar warmth blooming between her legs. The next words out of Lexa's mouth were barely a whisper, and if Clarke wasn't a werewolf, she wasn't even sure if she would've been able to hear them.
"Do you want to come over?" Lexa's smoky voice rang in Clarke's ears despite the softness with which she spoke, and her throat was so tight she couldn't even speak right away.
"Hell yes." She choked out finally. They hurriedly said their goodbyes, and Clarke hung up her phone. She practically leapt from her bed, stopping halfway to her bedroom door, when she caught a look of herself in the mirror. She was wearing just sweats and a tank top and her hair was a mess.
"Gah." She said out loud, running to her closet. She quickly changed out of her sweats, putting on panties and a casual black skirt. She left her white spaghetti-string tank-top on, and quickly brushed out her hair, then put on the same boots she'd worn to the Blake's housewarming party, and headed downstairs.
Her mom sat at the counter, a full glass, and a half empty bottle of red wine in front of her.
"You headed out?" She asked, not turning her head to look at her daughter. She sounded tired, more than anything, Clarke noted.
"Yeah," Clarke replied softly. "I'll probably be spending the night again."
Abby turned her gaze to her daughter then, giving her a once over. Seeing how she was dressed, she lifted her eyebrows derisively and turned her attention back to her wine glass.
"Have fun." She said in a toneless voice, lifting the glass to her lips, and taking a big swallow. Clarke chewed her bottom lip for a moment, but left without a word. She wished she could think of something that would begin repairing the rift that was between them, but she couldn't come up with anything.
'There's no use thinking about that now.' She told herself, and as she slipped through the trees once more, her thoughts returned to Lexa and the realization that she'd soon be back in Lexa's arms, sent a thrill through her body that she couldn't begin to describe.
Just like the day before, Clarke was struck by a wave of Lexa's pheromones, before she even reached the cabin. The affects seemed even more intense than the day before, if that was at all possible. Or maybe it was just that Clarke's anticipation had her wound tighter, because she knew what to expect this time. Again, Lexa came to answer the door right as Clarke approached. She wasn't naked this time, instead she wore a white long-sleeve, button-down shirt, and nothing else. Clarke was almost one hundred percent sure that that was for her benefit. She obviously saw the way Clarke had practically drooled over her, when she had seen Lexa wearing her button-down shirt early that morning. 'God was it really just this morning?' Clark thought.
Lexa's eyes locked on Clarke's both had blown out pupils, that took in every inch of the other. Clarke licked her perpetually dry lips, already feeling the bulge in her panties, begin to grow against her skirt. She tried not to blush as it twitched when she consciously acknowledged it.
They stepped into each other's embrace, lips trailing languidly over lips, noses brushing together intimately.
"Oh god." Lexa breathed. She felt the curl of Clarke's lips as she smiled against her own. Suddenly, Clarke's hands were on the back of her thighs, just below her ass, then she lifted with almost no effort. Lexa gasped, reflexively wrapping her legs around Clarke's waist, a helpless giggle escaping, as her arms clung tightly around Clarke's neck, and she buried her face in Clarke's shoulder.
Clarke carried her quickly over to the couch, where she set Lexa down gently, laying herself down, mostly on top of her. She kissed Lexa deeply, passionately, for a long time. Her hands ran all over Lexa's body, feeling curves and arches, that she ached to grow more familiar with. Lexa, tilted her head back with a gasp, breaking the kiss as one of Clarke's hands trailed lightly over a firm nipple, threatening to poke through the shirt she wore. Clarke took the opportunity to turn her attention away from Lexa's mouth, trailing wet kisses along her prominent jawline up to her ear, she nibbled the soft, sensitive lobe briefly before continuing back down Lexa's neck. She trailed her teeth tenderly over the bruise on Lexa's throat and continued down towards the collar of her shirt. The whole time Clarke had been focusing her mouth on Lexa's soft, smooth skin, her hands had been trying to work the buttons open of Lexa's shirt. By the time her mouth had caught up though, she'd only managed to open two of them and she was growing impatient. He fingers fumbled hastily with the stubborn plastic things, and she heard Lexa let out a soft giggle.
"Having problems?" She 's eyes flicked up to meet Lexa's, they were dark and heavy with arousal, and it was obvious she was in no mood to be teased. Grabbing both edges of the shirt and holding them tightly in her fists, Clarke gave a hard tug, those vain little plastic things bouncing off the walls and floor, clattering in protest. The sensation dragged a moan from Lexa's lips, her back arching slightly, offering even more of her now exposed breasts to Clarke, which had been the entire goal from the start.
She licked and sucked and nibbled down over, around the sides, and even along the bottoms of Lexa's breasts, but avoided direct contact with her hard, dark nipples for as long as possible. Lexa was letting out a series and moans and gasps now, her chest rising and falling beneath Clarke's mouth, in a silent, but eager plead for more. Finally Clarke obliged her, taking one between her lips, while she gripped the other between her first and middle fingers, her whole hand fondling the breast.
"Oh yes, Clarke." Lexa sighed. Clarke moved her hand squeezing a little harder, getting another similar, but more intense sigh from Lexa. She moved her hand yet again, this time squeezing the hard little nub between her thumb and forefinger. The sound that escaped Lexa's lips most closely resembling a high-pitched little yelp.
"Good?" Clarke murmured, "or too much?"
"More." Lexa breathed, "God, I want more." Clarke's lips curled into a devilish smile, as her lips released and her teeth gently took their place. She squeezed it gently between her teeth, while her tongue gave it a fierce lashing. A loud, 'Ooooooh,' escaped Lexa's lips, and moments later was repeated, when Clarke moved her mouth to the other nipple. She switched back and forth a few times, before finally continuing her southward journey. Her mouth paid plenty attention to Lexa's ribs and abs and adorable little bellybutton, while her hands started by sliding up and down Lexa's sides, then up and down Lexa's arms, and as Clarke's teeth grazed Lexa's hip bone, their hands instinctively found each other's and their fingers interlocked tightly together.
Lexa's hips were already moving with a sensual rhythm, rolling and lifting off the sofa, trying to make contact with anything that would satisfy that primal animal craving she felt deep in her gut. Well, below her gut. Between her legs. Now Clarke's mouth was sooo close. She let out a desperate whine of need every time Clarke's lips would get close, or every time her hot, wet tongue trailed its way up her thigh. Every time though, Clarke pulled away with that same grin. She was going to drive Lexa insane at this rate. She knew her pussy lips must be red and puffy. She knew her juices must be leaking out of her by know. She was certain she could feel them, pooling on the slick leather of the sofa beneath her ass. Her eyes were screwed tight shut, silently begging for Clarke to hurry the fuck up. When suddenly she felt the wet heat hit her, it was quick and then gone, but by the time she opened her eyes and brought her head back down to meet Clarke's gaze it happened again, sending a jolt of pleasure through her that caused her to toss her head right back to where it was.
"Shit..." She moaned, in a deep husky voice, dripping with so much lust she could barely recognize it as her own. Several more times, Clarke's tongue quickly lit over Lexa's slit, not even pushing between her lips. not at first anyway. Lexa realized that every time, the pressure from Clarke's tongue was a little more incessant. Soon, she had her tongue gently plying it's way between Lexa's soft folds, her rich aroma and flavor threatening to overwhelm Clarke's senses.
Her tongue was plunging deeply into Lexa now, as deeply as she could, reveling in that flavor and taking in as much as she could. Lexa's hips now were bucking so, that Clarke had to finally break her hands free of Lexa's white knuckle grip. She held Lexa down with one hand on her abdomen, and her tongue was taking a brief break, so she could suck a finger seductively into her mouth. Lexa groaned in anticipation of what was coming next, her hips reflexively attempting to thrust up toward Clarke's hand, as her one finger pressed gently against the ring of muscle at her opening. The invading digit slid in easily thanks to the copious amount of liquid already dripping from Lexa's quivering lips. Clarke quickly inserted a second finger, and quickly began to piston her wrist. Her mouth settled over Lexa's swollen clit, her lips sucking it gently, her tongue slipping over it not as gently. Clarke curled her fingers feeling Lexa getting closer and closer. Lexa's hands tangled in Clarke's thick blonde locks, her thighs squeezed tightly over Clarke's ears. Clarke could barely breath, but she didn't care. As she finally felt all the muscles in Lexa's body tense beneath her hand, She pulled her fingers out of Lexa's slick tunnel, and replaced them with her mouth. Lexa came hard on Clarke's tongue, her hot liquid pleasure spilling out around Clarke's mouth, but Clarke continued licking and swallowing as much as she could, until every shock and spasm stilled, and Lexa laid there breathing heavily.
Finally Clarke lifted her head, her chin glistening with Lexa's come. Lexa reached down, cupping Clarke's face, and adamantly pulled her back on top of her to kiss and lick her clean of her own juices.
By now Clarke's hardness was aching with need. She was dripping pre-come with every pulse that sent a twitch through her cock, and the soft material of her skirt, clung to the damp swollen head of her shaft. Now that she was back on top of Lexa, she couldn't help but eagerly reach down, and try to align herself with Lexa's opening.
"Wait." Lexa gasped. "...In bed ...take me to bed, Clarke." Clarke froze, looking down at her, feeling her cock throb with an amount of desire she didn't even know was possible until she heard those words slip past Lexa's lips. Lexa returned her gaze, her big green eyes shining brightly in the darkness.
Clarke easily lifted Lexa up into her arms again, this time distracted by the hot wetness dripping from between Lexa's thighs, over the smooth surface of her hard dick. The rest of the night was mostly a blur. A hot sweaty blur, as their world closed in around them, leaving just Clarke and Lexa, Lexa and Clarke. Their bodies. Their passion. Their pleasure. Everything was reduced to the feeling of Lexa's lips, sucking lovingly on Clarke's nipple. Everything was reduced to the feeling of Clarke's thickness, filling Lexa over and over again. They came so painfully close to claiming each other again, as Clarke's knot swelled and her teeth tried squeezing together on Lexa's throat. Lexa gasped, but as her orgasm ripped through her, she jerked her head away. The rippling pleasure, convulsing violently over Clarke's cock quickly sent her over the edge as well, and the two collapsed into a slick sweaty heap, both waiting for their breath to come at a normal rate before speaking.
Clarke's eyes trailed up to Lexa's face, shocked to see tears streaming silently down Lexa's cheeks.
"I'm sorry, Clarke." She said. Her voice soft and fragile, breaking as she spoke. Clarke was speechless. Her heart swelled with the hurt and sorrow in Lexa's voice, all she could think about was trying to make Lexa better.
"It's okay." She said, trying to be equally tender. She knew it wasn't okay. Something was definitely not okay, but she wouldn't pressure Lexa to tell her anything that she wasn't ready to share yet. She slid off of Lexa's body, wrapping her arm tightly around her. Lexa rolled onto her side, and nestled her back snuggly up against Clarke's soft body.
The next morning Clarke was awake first. She inhaled deeply, nestling her nose into Lexa's thick brown hair. Lexa squirmed and began to stir, but Clarke just held her closer.
"Shhh." She said. "Its okay."
Lexa squirmed some more, finally managing to turning over in Clarke's tight embrace.
"About last night." Lexa said softly.
Clarke shook her head. "You don't need to explain."
"I want to." Said Lexa, her jade eyes brimming wetly. Clarke nodded for her continue, but waited patiently as Lexa gathered her thoughts. "I was mated, once before." Lexa started slowly. She took a deep breath, in through the nose, and let it out through her mouth. "Her name was Costia." Her eyes lifted again to meet Clarke's as she visibly swallowed the lump in her throat. Clarke wanted to wait for Lexa to explain, but she felt as if Lexa was prompting her to ask the question.
"I thought wolves mated for life?" Clarke said. Lexa nodded.
"For life." She repeated. "After death, the scar eventually fades." Clarke felt her heart drop. She reached up tenderly and brushed away the tears with the tender pad of her thumb. Lexa tilted her head into Clarke's hand. There was so much Lexa wished she could explain. So much that she was scared to explain. Costia had been the alpha. When she died, the laws stated that another alpha should have stepped up to replace her, but Lexa refused, taking the role of leadership upon herself. The only reason that her pack had respected her leadership this long, was because she hadn't submitted to another alpha since Costia's death. Now, she had submitted. She had submitted to Clarke, but not been claimed, and she knew that it could cost her all the respect that she still clung to as the self-appointed Alpha of her pack.
She also knew though that if Clarke and her were mated, every alpha up and down the east coast would come to challenge her. She'd only been turned a month ago, the others would smell blood in the water. There was no way she'd be able to protect Clarke. Lexa closed her eyes, the tears coming steadily now, as she nestled her head into Clarke's shoulder and Clarke muttered sweat nothings into Lexa's dark mane.
They dozed off and on like that for about half the morning, finally waking when Clarke apologetically unfurled herself from around Lexa, and said she had to pee. Lexa smiled and let her up, and when she got back, Lexa was finishing buttoning up the white shirt she'd worn the night before.
"Mmnnn." Clarke hummed appreciatively, receiving a backwards glance over the shoulder from Lexa. Lexa tried to look annoyed, but that held for like one millisecond before her bottom lip was taken between her teeth and the corner of her mouth twitched up into a grin.
Clarke approached and began to say something, but Lexa's face suddenly blanched, her eyes grew wide, and she rushed past Clarke to the dresser. She pulled out a pair of jeans, and struggled to get them on as quickly as possible.
"Lexa?" Clarke asked. "Lexa what's wrong?"
"Stay here, Clarke." She said, with enough force to actually startle Clarke. It was a tone that Clarke had never heard her use before, not even when Clarke had tried to fight her the first day they had met. Lexa was already out the door and running towards the house.
Clarke was still naked, and she dressed as quickly as she could, but whatever was out there, there was no way she was going to let Lexa face it alone. When Clarke finally caught up with Lexa, at the stone patio of the main house, she was standing facing an older woman, the two squared off about ten feet apart. The was tall and slender, but carried a power about her. Her piercing gray eyes felt like they were burning into her soul when they fell upon Clarke. The backwards glance that Lexa gave Clarke over her shoulder was very different this time.
"And who's this?" The woman asked, sniffing the air. She let out a harsh laugh. "My, my... some things never change, eh... Commander?" The title of respect dripped with sarcasm from the woman's tongue like acid, and Clarke felt her jaw clench defensively when the woman insulted Lexa.
"What do you want, Nia?" Lexa asked. Her voice like ice.
"You always did aim so high." The woman continued, ignoring Lexa's question. "But on your own, look at you. What have you been reduced to? Where is the rest of your pack, anyway? I was able to just walk right in." The woman let out a sigh. "You know, Costia..."
"That's enough." Clarke said, stepping forward before Lexa could stop her. Before Clarke even realized what she was doing. "I'm the alpha here now" Clarke said. It wasn't true, but it wasn't exactly a lie either. She had every intention of becoming Lexa's alpha... eventually... when Lexa was ready. "It's time for you to go. Get out of my territory."
Nia gave her a smirk that chilled Clarke to the bone. It was obvious that her and Lexa weren't mated, it was obvious that neither had been claimed by the other, but Clarke held firm, her gaze not once leaving Nia's. Nia's amused expression flicked from Clarke to Lexa and then back to Clarke before she simply gave Clarke an oddly polite, shallow bow and did as she was told. She turned and she left, with that same disconcerting smirk still on her face. Once she was out of sight, Clarke turned back to Lexa, not expecting the hard glare that greeted her.
"You should not have done that!" Lexa said harshly. Her eyes angrily boring into Clarke's.
"I wasn't gonna just stand by and watch..." Clarke said, defending her actions.
"What were you thinking?" Lexa said, turning. "You're a target now." Lexa began pacing. "You should go."
"What?" Clarke replied. Not understanding at all.
"You can't be here when Nia comes back, because she will come back, and I won't let another person I love die for me." Lexa said, unsuccessfully swallowing down the sob caught in throat.
"Lexa, no one is going to die..." Clarke started.
"She killed Costia!" Lexa growled, pointing a finger in the direction Nia had walked off in. Clarke felt the blood drain from her face. She'd never seen the amount of hurt and anger in anyone's eyes that she saw in Lexa's at that moment. "You have no idea what you've just done." She said, her voice suddenly shaky as she shook her head.
"Lexa, please..."
"Just go." Lexa said coldly, turning her back on Clarke. "Go!" The harsh tone of Lexa's voice physically stung Clarke, and for several moments she couldn't breathe. What was happening? She opened her mouth, but by the time she did, Lexa had already reached the house, entered, and slammed the back door behind her. Clarke felt as if she was under a crushing amount of weight. Drowning. Her mind not responding to anything, her body felt completely numb. She staggered away from the house, reaching the tree-line before she even realized she'd turned and left, but then she was running. She ran faster and harder than she had ever ran before. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks, blurring her vision. How she made it through the woods without killing herself, she didn't know. She didn't even make it to the line of Lexa's territory before suddenly stopping in her tracks. Her mind was racing, finally catching up with her. Was it possible? Yes, it was. She had just made the worst decision of her life.
Immediately she turned on her heels and ran even faster, if that was possible, back to Lexa's house. She didn't stop until she reached the back door, nearly colliding with it at the same time as her fist began banging on it furiously.
"Lexa!" She called out. "Lexa, open up!" No answer. She quickly ran around to the front. Twisting the knob she found the front door unlocked. "Lexa?" She called out again, as she entered the foyer. She frantically went from room to room, first exploring the first floor, and then heading upstairs to the second. There was no sign of Lexa though. 'Where could she have gone? I only left for...' Immediately a dark cloud came over her expression. "Azgeda." She said in a low, rumbling growl. "Nia."
"Lexa?" Clarke heard the voice coming from down stairs. In an instant, she was on her feet and down the hall. She vaulted the hallway railing, landing in a crouch in the foyer in front of a woman that was easily as lean and hard as Lexa. She was slightly taller, with even stronger features. A nose, jawline and cheekbones, that could have been carved of marble.
"Who the hell are you?" Asked Clarke, her hands itching to wrap around someone's throat.
"My name is Anya."