Quite the Catch
(Thursday Morning, August 1st)
When Lonnie knocks on the trailer door, Alpha opens it and eyes down at the tin tray. "It's chicken stuffing. No onions. No garlic. Extra broth."
He smiles, "What makes you think we have a problem with garlic?"
She frowns, "I just assumed if he's related to Ben—"
"I'm messing with you," he laughs.
"Oh," Lonnie nervously smiles.
He takes the tray, "This is thoughtful of you." before he opens the foil wrap on top. "With real chicken and everything." He nods inside, "Come on in."
He sets the tray on the table, and she steps inside, "So, where is he?"
"He's bedbound the next two weeks," he informs. "You're going to have to let Luke train you for now."
"I only have like two more weeks," Lonnie stresses. "Sabumnim wants me to take my blackbelt test in front of every other class as some sort of inspiration."
He scoops half of the stuffing into a mixing bowl, "Well, a wolf hopping around like the rabbit he injured isn't going to be much help."
She watches him microwave the stuffing, "You're telling me there's nothing I can do?"
He faces her, "There is something, but it has to be your decision."
"Sounds like the sex and consent talk we got at school," Lonnie informs. He takes the bowl out, stirs it, and heats it again. "Wait. This isn't going to be a sex energy lesson, is it?"
He turns to her, "No, but it's something just as personal."
She frowns, "A donation?"
"Blood heals," he explains. "Someone as healthy and energetic as you would have even better blood, but it's your body and ultimately your decision."
She takes a moment, "Thanks."
He pours a large glass of milk, "If you do offer, I will be the one saying thanks." before he takes the bowl from the microwave and hands the items to her. "He's in his room. This will mean more coming from you."
He shows her to his room and knocks on the door, "Ace. You've got company." before slowly opening it.
Ace cracks a smile from the bed, "Sorry. I missed our training session."
"Funny," Lonnie grins with tension, before she walks up to him. "Here." He takes it and sniffs the bowl. "I know you like hunting your own food, but having an injury doesn't mean you don't have to eat."
He laughs, "I'm not Ben, Lonnie." before he glances over the bowl. "I can eat scrambled bread with chicken all on my own."
She takes a moment, "You know it's stuffing, right?" His grin widens, and she matches it. "What kind of pain meds are you taking?"
He takes a brownie from the plate on bedside table and shows it to her, "Want one?"
Her expression slips, "What's in it?"
"Weed and willow bark."
"Willow bark?" Lonnie questions, before she holds up a hand. "Wait. Where did you get weed?" She eyes the chocolate, "And how did you turn it into a brownie?"
"It's a plant," he shrugs. "It can be found."
"Which means you can grow a tolerance to it," she counters.
He sets it back on the plate, "I don't use weed." before he takes a bite of the stuffing. "Hmm. This is so amazing." He shovels two scoops into his mouth, "Is there more?"
"Plenty," his father reassures, before he turns away from the room. "I'll let you two talk in private."
After the door shuts, Ace comments, "He asked you, didn't he?"
Lonnie contemplates, "Does blood really help you heal better?"
"Human blood," he informs. "Animal blood is more maintenance and nutrient support."
"But humans are animals," she reminds him.
"Yes," he confirms.
Lonnie watches him continue to eat, "Okay. So, explain how."
"How, what?"
"How human blood is better than any other animal," she stresses.
He takes a deep breath, "No offense, but your energy is like really intense right now. And not in a good way."
She frowns, "Do you want me to leave?"
Ace takes another breath, "Okay. So, humans are large animals with a similar diet to us. In the food chain, we work better as secondary carnivores—a carnivore who eats animals that incorporate meat into their diet. The amino acids and fats and minerals carried through the blood stream is closer to what we need than if we eat a rabbit or deer."
"I don't eat a lot of meat," Lonnie confesses.
Ace shrugs, "Most humans don't."
"So," Lonnie thinks, "my blood would help, if I offered."
Ace sets the bowl aside, "Lonnie. You need your strength for the black-belt test. And if you think giving me blood is going to allow me to train you more, you're wrong." He meets her dark brown eyes, "It's going to take time to just walk right again." before tears invade his eyes. "I won't be able to transform for a month, and who knows if I'll be able to leap onto prey the same way."
"Ace," Lonnie softly interrupts.
"I could lose half the height," he worries.
"Ace," she says again. "I want to help."
"Why?" he whispers. "I told you I can't help you."
She sits on the edge of the bed, "No." before meeting his shimmering silver and clay irises. "But I know how much you like being a wolf, and I don't want you to have to be stuck acting like a human for a full month." She smiles, "I mean, how can someone be crowned alpha if you can't even be a part of the pack?"
"There is a hunting tradition," he mentions. "I would hate to miss it." She offers her wrist, Ace slowly takes it, and he looks up at her, "Are you sure?"
She sadly laughs, "I'm very sure." and when he leans in, she closes her eyes. His teeth slip into her skin, and she opens her eyes. There was no pain, but she feels the heat of the blood flowing from her. The liquid slows, she settles, and he lets go of her. "Thank you."
"Thank you for stopping," she evenly expresses.
He notices her lower her hand, "Keep your wrist up. There's a kit in the bathroom."
She tilts her wrist back up and observes the four red dots, "It didn't really hurt."
"It's not supposed to." She faces him, and he explains, "If there's one thing we do, it's take care of our teeth. If our teeth get dull, the prey we intend to kill suffer and scare away the other animals. And you're more likely to keep a donor if it doesn't hurt as much."
"Is that common?" Lonnie inquires. "Having a donor?"
"It's encouraged," he nods, before he lets out a pained noise. "I need another brownie."
After he reaches for one, Lonnie notices the accumulated puddle on her wrist, "I'm going to get some gauze or something."
When the sun fades from the room, Ace's eyes open, he sees the sunset, and he rubs his eyes before crawling out of bed. He opens the door, moves into the bathroom across the hall, and after he's finished, he steps out again. "Ace." He tiredly looks up at his dad. "Are you walking?"
"What?" his eyes narrow at his father's amazement. "Of course, I'm walking. I'm…" He looks down at his feet, and his expression slips. He lifts his foot and moves it up and down, before he grins at him, "My foot doesn't hurt."
"How many brownies have you had?"
Ace shakes his head, "I just woke up."
He takes a moment, "Well, get back in bed. You're not better yet."
"Dad," he laughs in disbelief.
"I said rest your ankle," he says louder. "I don't want you breaking a bone or snapping a tendon just because you think you can get better in one day." Ace stares at him, and he settles, "Go. I'll bring you breakfast." Ace shakes his head, reenters his room, and after the door shuts, Alpha turns into the kitchen. He leans on the table and grins, "That girl is quite the catch."
"Hey." Lonnie walks into Ace's room, "How are you today?"
He nods to the bed, "Sit down." and her smile falls. She eyes from the bed to him, before she steps over to sit on it. "Let me see your wrist."
She cautiously comments, "You know, you were a lot more polite this morning."
"You're not wearing a bandage," he points out.
"Yeah," Lonnie disbelieves, "but that doesn't mean you get to eat me again." She eyes up, "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours, yet."
Ace takes a deep breath, "I'm sorry." before she faces him. "But I wasn't going to eat you, Lonnie. I just want to see how you are."
She quiets, "Oh." before she hides her face in her hair and turns her wrist.
He takes it and examines the thick skin pealing over the puncture marks, "I would have thought you'd at least have scabs."
"They were pretty small," Lonnie informs. "After a few hours they just pealed off, I was left with a few red streaks, and now the second layer is there."
He widens his eyes at her, "You heal really fast."
She eyes off, "I wouldn't say that. It's just with how sharp and thin your teeth are, there wasn't really anything to heal." She looks back down and scrapes the dirt from underneath her nails. "When I get shots, I don't even need a band aid."
"Neither do I," Ace interjects, "but even I wouldn't have healed that fast."
She shakes her head, "Okay. And?"
"And I'm better too." He smiles, "Lonnie. Your blood healed me. Like, really healed me."
"You said blood heals you," she recalls.
"Not that fast." He half laughs, "I mean, if you'd been anyone else, I'd still be in bed for a week."
"You're better," she evenly states.
"Yes," he confirms. "I mean, my dad wants me to stay off my feet for a couple days, just in case, but Lonnie—" He grins, "I'm not in any pain. Whatever is in your blood, it's… I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's like a miracle."
- Posted: 03/12/2020
- Darthamster12 Since Lonnie can actually hurt Mal with her heat, it is higher than Ben's. She does get hotter when she's upset, so learning to control her powers would help; however, I feel like she would still have a higher base body temperature than typical. As far as the officer goes, he's actually their to-go-to guy. I think he's actually fairly sympathetic to the community. The problem lies that Ace's community is hunting illegally (because they would exceed the allotted quota and the "weapon" they use to hunt the animals isn't listed or registered). The hunters setting traps are technically following the law (warning signs aside), so the officer is in a situation where his badge won't be of much help. Thank you for reminding me that Ben is a king. You gave me a very good and interesting idea. Normally I would say Ace isn't going to go to Ben, because he wants to keep his family relations secret; however, desperate times call for desperate measures.
- I seriously thought I already posted this chapter. Sorry I didn't do it sooner.
