Wolfblood

Chapter 6

I look around the den, feeling quite satisfied. I'd finally gotten around to decorating the inside, and it now feels quite homey. And with the tunnels offering an escape, I don't feel near as claustrophobic or panicked as I did the first time I stepped foot into the cellar, knowing full well that I was going to be confined there the entire night.

Now the stone floor is covered in a layer of soft straw with blankets piled in a corner. Shoved out of the way, against one wall, is a small chesterfield with a lamp beside it. Against the adjacent wall is a small rock formation with a large log propped against it, providing me a place to climb as a wolf.

It won't be likely that I'll be staying in here for another full moon though, but it's a less painful option now.

I slide the big metal door in place before climbing the stairs that lead to the main house, ready to start preparing a suitable dinner.

…..

I end up calling Leah on Sunday, after Noah is invited over. I could just let the boy go on his own, he's old enough, but I have nothing better to do, so I pick up the phone.

She answers on the second ring.

"Hello?" she asks hesitantly.

"Hey, this is Ryan. We met the other night?" I smile a bit when I hear the change in her voice.

"I remember. So, when are you coming around again?"

"In about," I glance at my watch, "forty minutes. I'm dropping my brother off. You free?"

I hear a clatter on the other side of the line, like the phone was dropped, and then a lot of shuffling around. When her voice comes back over the speaker, it sounds slightly breathless.

"Yeah, of course. So, I should just swing by Emily's or…?"

"That sounds good," I laugh at her enthusiasm, and I wonder if she's ever dated a girl before. "I'll see you then."

When I hang up, I glance up to see Noah giving me an exasperated look.

"What?" I ask, amused.

He rolls his eyes. "Nothing. You ready to go?"

"Yup. You got your homework?" he wordlessly shakes his knapsack that is already on his shoulder, making me smile. "Good. I know it's super boring but make sure you finish it at some point okay? You remember my new cell number?" I ask.

He groans loudly, stomping towards the door. "Ryan, I'm not a little cub." He complains.

"Fine, fine," I sigh. "I'm just making sure you have a way to contact me."

"I do, I remember, can we go now?" He asks impatiently, but he doesn't wait for a response. He is already out the door and climbing onto his bike. I can't wait for this cub to be with me on the full moons.

I smile when I see Leah already waiting on the porch when we come riding up, and her entire face seems to brighten when she spots us.

"Hello, Beautiful," I greet, delighted when her face flushes.

Noah makes exaggerated gagging noises as he leans his bike against the porch and jogs past me towards the door.

"Homework," I remind him as he disappears inside. I roll my eyes when he doesn't acknowledge me and turn my attention back toward the girl who is actually wearing clothes this time. It's unsurprising when I find myself slightly disappointed. "So, what do you want to do?"

"I was thinking just walk around and talk for a bit. Then maybe get some lunch?" She comes down the porch steps toward me, looking oh so nervous, but she looks different than when we first met. More sure of herself. Put together. Prepared. She's at least not running away this time.

"Sounds good to me," I smile, shifting backward to allow an opening for her to pass me on the steps. It's a small opening though, and her arm brushes against me, allowing me to feel the strange warmth coming off of her.

We end up walking to the beach, and when we get there, I toe off my socks and runners to carry. I smile slightly as the sand shifts between my toes. I've never stood on sand so fine.

"This week was the first time I've ever been to the beach," I tell my companion, inhaling deeply. The ocean smell is strong, but with it comes Leah's scent as well. She smells like the forest. Like earth. I really like the way she smells. It makes my heart quicken- like when I'm in my wolf form, miles away from anything made by man, when I feel like I'm part of the wild.

I can feel it every time she looks at me.

She looks at me a lot. She's doing it now, so I'm not surprised when I turn my head and our eyes meet.

I like how open her expression is. How reactive it is. She blushes and glances away, back towards to ocean.

"This probably isn't the best beach to really appreciate a first look," she tells me, drifting close enough for an incoming wave to splash over her bare feet. "Everything is a bit dull here. Just different shades of grey and green."

"Maybe," I agree. "My favorite color is green though. And I like the way it smells here."

I watch her hands as they swing by her side, and when the arm closest to me sways backwards, I catch her fingers.

She startles, her head swinging around to face me, and gives me a nervous smile even as she tightens her grip on my hand.

"My favorite color is green too," she admits. "I think ninety-five percent of my time is spent wandering around in the woods these days."

"You don't go to school?" I ask.

"No, I graduated," she says nervously, a different type of nervous than the kind I've seen so far.

"Oh," I say surprised. She doesn't look much older than me. "Well, what has you hanging out in the woods so much? Other than the scenery?"

Her unoccupied hand comes up to rub the back of her neck, and I'm unsure what about this trail of conversation has her so uncomfortable.

"Patrol mostly. I'm kind of a protector on the reservation," she answers slowly.

"Like a ranger," I brighten, and I'm relieved that she's smiling again at me. "We had those back home. They kept poachers away and were the ones to search for lost hikers or campers."

"Yeah kind of," she says enthusiastically, but I watch her expression closely. There is something off about it.

"You don't like the job?" I guess and see from her expression that I'm right.

"It's not really that I dislike it so much that I didn't really get a choice. I'd always thought that I'd see to world one day, but here I am years later, still stuck on the same sliver of land." I watch the bitterness crawl across her expression like acid corroding something delicate. It looks like I've touched upon an old resentment, and I immediately regret it.

"Why don't you have a choice?" I ask softly. It's a horrendous crime for anyone to cause, a face like hers, to ever be marred by such bitterness.

"It's complicated," she sighs.

We walk another hundred feet in silence before I suddenly pull up short, and our still linked fingers tug the other girl around to face me.

"Come on, then," I say, dropping my runners and tugging my hand free from hers.

"What are you doing," she says wearily as I shrug out of my jacket and tug my shirt up over my head.

I grin at her as I unbutton my jeans. "I want to go swimming," I tell her.

"It's cold," she protests unconvincingly. "And boxers? Really?" Her eyes trail their way down my body as I kick my pants away.

"So?" I ask walking backwards into the waves. "I like them."

I watch as her eyes raise to the sky and she sighs. She licks her lips as she tries her hardest not to smile. Then she does smile as she shakes her head and hurriedly moves to remove her clothing.

As I see her plummeted mood skyrocket again as she moves to follow my lead, I laugh as I turn and charge fully into the surf.


A/N: More Leah next chapter, too. Is it egotistical to ship your own character?

runners- sneakers, tenis shoes

~Silver~