in the land of gods and monsters
I was an angel
living in the garden of evil
Brady found her with a pile of bodies whilst on patrol, dawn had just begun to peek on the horizon. It had been this way for two months, every morning at the beginning of each month they would find the same pile of mauled bodies. As if they'd been attacked by the pack.
For the most part, Sam had always gotten someone on the reservation to report it to the cops, lest it be suspicious that it was always the same group kept reporting them. It wasn't just the bodies that alarmed the pack, it was the scent. That sickly sweet scent that was reminiscent of the taste of candy being so potent that it would elicit nausea, and it became painful for anyone with a heightened sense of smell.
It was the scent of vampires, and this time, dismembered crystallised pieces of the monster had been found not far from pile of bodies.
She was naked, dried blood coating her body that Brady's sense of smell had figured was not her own. Unharmed, save for a healed scar on her back and shoulder, she was curled in a foetal position. Her long black hair obscured her face from Brady's vision. He could heart her heart beat and her lungs contract with every breath. Whatever had happened had left her as the only survivor, with no injuries.
He did the only thing he thought he could do; howl to signal help from his brothers, and phased back into human form. Pulling his shirt and shorts off of the string he had tied to his calf, he begun pulling the shorts on. Leaving the shirt for her, he kneeled beside her, tentatively touching her shoulder to check that she wouldn't move. He felt how cold her body was, icy to the touch, and ignored the heat in his cheeks as he turned her over to lie on her back. Blood had congealed around her chin and corner of her lips, and the alarm grew in Brady as he briefly wondered whether all this had been her.
It evaporated soon enough as he focused on her scent, though it didn't elicit any instinct of aggression from Brady, and if anything her smell was akin to his own, but seemed to be fading. He made a snap decision then, using his shirt to cover her as he pulled her up at the shoulders easily, wrapping the button up flannel around her and slipping her arms through the sleeves as delicately as possible. His towering height and physique allowed for his shirt to swallow her, and thankfully covered her up to the thigh as he placed an arm beneath her knees and lifted her.
He took off at a light jog, the destination of Sam and Emily's home in his mind.
Alina woke slowly, her eyes unwilling to open as her body ached from deep within. It was the ache of someone who had gone on a long distance run the night before, a long workout that had stressed every muscle used. Her body felt heavy, and she could feel the desire to keep her eyes closed. She shifted beneath the warm blankets, burying her head deeper into the soft pillow beneath her head.
It smelled freshly washed, a hint of lavender and floral fabric softener that made her nuzzle her cheeks into it. It was the warmest, and most comfortable, she had been in months. Her body stilled, momentarily frozen as her eyes finally flew open as the startling realisation of her being in a bed that was not her own set in. When her dark eyes opened the first thing she noticed was the blandness of her duvet and pillow; they were a soft beige, matching the wall she was facing.
Sitting up, her fingers felt at the clothing she wore. A loosely fitted long-sleeved red shirt, and matching pyjama bottoms. Both evidently not hers, and both just as fresh as the bedding she was sat in. The daylight streamed in through the window to the left of the bed, which was pushed up against the wall.
There was a small wooden wardrobe located at the end of the room, and to her right was a door. It was empty of anything else, as if it had never been used until she occupied it. Alina didn't remember how she had gotten there, nor anything she had done the night before. A huge gaping hole occupied her recent memories, and the panic set in as she theorised whether she had been kidnapped.
Testing the theory, she pulled the covers off of her, and climbed off the single bed. She hoped - loosely - that whomever would have been kind enough to give her freshly cleaned clothes and bedsheets wouldn't have actually kidnapped her. Then again, in her short life, she had been in more life threatening situations.
Her bare feet crossed the cold floorboards, and as she reached for the doorknob a soft knock startled her.
Alina jumped, taking a step back before she drew in a breath and opened it.
'Oh good, you're awake!' The soft voice and petite woman who stood before her hadn't been what Alina was expecting, nor the large scar that occupied the right side of her face.
It begun by the side of her eye and travelled down to the right side of her lips, deforming them slightly. Yet the kindness in her eyes, and the attentive smile she offered Alina dissolved any discomfort the sixteen-year old may have felt.
'I'm Emily.' They stood at the same height, but where Emily was light brown in skin tone, Alina was an olive. 'We found you out in the woods passed out, one of my boys brought you here to get you cleaned up. We've been waiting for you to wake up!'
The woods? Alina thought and her brows creased in confusion. 'Why was I in the woods?'
Her voice came out hoarse, and her throat felt sore. Like she had been screaming for hours.
'We were hoping you could tell us that, love.' Though Emily maintained her smile, it now seem sympathetic.
She reached out tentatively to Alina, and the younger girl visibly tensed as Emily placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The action was warm, and Alina realised how much this women exuded a maternal protectiveness. She didn't need to know her well to understand that she was safe with her.
'You must be starving.' She said, and her hand travelled down to grip Alina's cold hand. 'Come on, I just made dinner.'
Alina let herself be pulled out of the room, Emily's thin frame guiding her down a darkly lit hallway until they came to an open plan living room and kitchen. A small island separated the dining table from the kitchen counters, and Alina's stomach dropped into the depths of her pelvis at the sight that greeted her around the table. She was met by a collection of oversized boys - or men - that sat around the dining table. All either shirtless or in a t-shirt that was too tight for their torso's. It were as if they had stepped right out of a teen romance.
Four were situated at the table, while the biggest stood behind the island in the kitchen. Arms folded over his chest, he held a hard look on his face, but it didn't come across as aggressive towards Alina.
She had the distinct feeling that they had all been talking about her before she had entered the room, as ten pairs of eyes all focused on her.
'Anyone who's meant to be on patrol get out.' The man in the kitchen said, his tone firm. 'Now.'
Three stood from the table, leaving only one behind as they filed out through a sliding door and down the porch steps. The order hadn't even been question, his word had been absolute and Alina was left to wonder what kind of job they had that required patrolling.
A boy, who looked to be around Alina's age, was left at the table. When her eyes connected with his he grinned widely, and the tension eased in her shoulders immediately.
'What up?' His voice betrayed the age she thought he was, it was deeper than she expected. 'I'm Brady, I'm the one that found you out in the woods two days ago.'
He'd raised a hand in a lazy wave, and as Emily guided her to sit at the table, she found herself awkwardly raising her own hand.
'I'm Alina... and thanks.'
Emily introduced the man in the kitchen as Sam - her Husband - and returned to place a bowl in front of her, adding a fork into the pasta before squeezing her shoulder.
'So, what were you doing out in the woods?'
'Brady!' Emily chastised from the kitchen, Sam beside her observing Alina's reaction. 'She's just woken up, let her eat and adjust.'
'It's okay,' Alina interjected, and her grip around the fork tightened. 'I don't know. I don't remember what I was doing there, I don't remember anything. The last thing I can remember was being at a shelter in Glendale, it was Thanksgiving.'
'Wait, you're from Seattle?' Brady leaned in, elbows resting on the table as his hair fell into his eyes.
'Yeah, why? Where are we now?' She assumed that she had been found around Everett, at a stretch Mount Rainer National Park.
'You're in La Push.' It was Sam who spoke, and he pulled himself up from where he had been leaning over the Island. 'We found you just off of Shuwa, not far from the 101. You didn't seem to have any injuries, so we didn't check you into the hospital. A doctor we know is coming around to take a look at you tomorrow, though.'
He was lying, Alina could tell, but she couldn't figure out why strangers would take in a girl they'd found in the woods and offer her food and clothes. It didn't make sense to her, and from Alina's experience no good deed came without a price. People weren't as nice as she was led to believe as a kid, she had learned that the hard way.
'Is there anyone that we should call?' Emily's tone was gentle, and she eased into the seat beside Alina and placed a hand on her wrist. 'Parents or siblings?'
Alina shook her head. 'I don't have anyone.'
A tense and uncomfortable silence settled between the four of them as her words sank in. The inevitable pitying looks that she expected came from Emily first, and Alina fought the urge to roll her eyes at it. It was the same look she got wherever she went, since her parents had died and she was dropped from foster home to foster home.
'Wait,' Brady interjected, his tone light enough to dissolve the intensity in the room. 'Didn't you say you last remember Thanksgiving? Dude, that was four days ago!'
So, here we are. Another fic that I have been thinking about for a while. I really wanted to explore Lycanthropy that wasn't tied to shape shifters. I really think they'd exist in this world and I have a bit of a plan about Alina and where her story will go. I hope this is something that interests you all!