Hamish was awoken by the watery light streaming in through his bedroom window. He turned his head away from the intrusion, desperately chasing the last remnants of sleep.
He'd been having the most unusually vivid dream. The taste of Bela's lemon-tinted lips on his, the sound of her gasping his name as he grasped the soft curve of her hip, the taste of flesh, flashes of blood.
His eyes flew open. He sat up suddenly, heart racing and looked around the room.
Next to his own unclothed form, there she lay, curled around his duvet, sleeping peacefully. His breathing slowed as his eyes traced her outline, searching for signs of injury.
There was no blood, no torn flesh, no sign of distress, but… he brushed aside a lock of hair, careful not to disturb her. On the patch of skin below the back of her neck, smooth and even, as if they'd been painted on, sat two faint red crescents. A bite mark.
Hamish' stomach plummeted. It hadn't been a dream, he'd lost control and he - well, Tundra - had bitten Bela last night. As he scanned the discoloured marks that marred the previously unblemished area he began to feel more and more uneasy. He could still feel the pressure of his teeth sinking into her neck, the taste, but this bite looked like it had healed years ago. It didn't make sense.
Hamish rose from the bed, quickly and quietly and grabbed the closest outfit he could find. Bela wasn't safe with him here, something was very wrong.
He needed to get to the Den, now.
- - - - -"So, you didn't bite her?"
Hamish raked a hand through his hair as he stared at Randall. "No, I- Tundra did. It's like I couldn't keep him out, I had no control."
Lilith shook her head. "But it wasn't there when you woke up? And Bela didn't say anything?"
"What would she say," Jack said, "Morning Hamish, I had a great time last night - by the way, did you turn into a werewolf and take a great big chunk out of my neck?"
"No," Hamish said, "I told you, the bite had healed somehow and I left before she woke up."
"Ooh," said Jack "Maybe she's some sort of vampire with superhuman healing abilities".
Randall grinned, "Or a mutant, like Wolverine from X-Men." He paused when he saw the look on Hamish's face. "No, probably not a mutant. Definitely not a mutant... are you sure it happened? Maybe the mark is from something else - I fell asleep on a textbook after finals, had a line on my arm for three days."
Hamish's head throbbed as he looked across the room at Jack, Randall and Lilith. He'd been glad to find all three of them in the Den when he burst through the door half an hour ago, strewn across the living room. Judging from the state of the place, they were recovering from a beer pong session.
After they'd finished making comments about his uncharacteristically haphazard appearance and lack of tie, he'd managed to explain what had happened with Bela - the bite, blacking out after and waking up this morning with her still in one piece.
As he watched their conversation turn to the different ways they'd managed to injure themselves in their sleep, his mind drifted to the woman he'd left in his apartment. He wondered whether she'd found the note he'd left yet, a carefully crafted lie to explain his unexpected absence, propped against a glass of juice and packet of Advil on the bedside table. It took more willpower than he expected not to lean down and brush a kiss against her temple before he left, but he couldn't risk waking her.
"Enough." Hamish snapped, pulling the trio from their hungover musings. "This is serious. I've never seen anything like this, never even read about anything like it and… things have been different recently. I've been losing control. I've put Bela in danger - I've put all of you in danger."
His three friends looked up at him, all traces of humour gone.
"Ok," Randall said. He threw off the blanket and walked over to the bookshelf in the corner of the room. "Let's hit the books then."
- - - - -"Wha-!" Hamish ducked as a leather bound volume went sailing past his head.
"How could you?" Lilith was furious, her face a mask of rage, eyes flashing between silver and brown in a kaleidoscopic blur.
Randall spun on his heels as Hamish regained his composure. "What the hell Lilith?"
"Without her consent Hamish? You mated with her without her consent?"
"Woah," Jack chipped in from his perch on the stairs, "Even I know that's wrong, dude."
Randall spun back to Hamish, who looked baffled, and then held up his hands in an attempt to keep Lilith and Hamish apart.
"Haim," he said, keeping one eye on Lilith, who was now shifting from foot to foot, as if readying herself to launch at their leader. "What did you do?"
Hamish raised his hands in defence. "Nothing. I asked before we were intimate. I would never..." He trailed off when Lilith let out a small snarl.
"I'm not talking about sex Hamish, you marked her - read the damn book."
Hamish didn't move. He looked stricken, the blood draining from his face.
Randall retrieved the book from the floor and opened it to the page Lilith had marked with a scrap of paper. "Though often depicted otherwise in folklore, most werewolves will never find a mate. Those who do are rare." He began, glancing up at Hamish who had placed his head in his hands.
"Once a mate is identified the hide will compel the wearer to bond with their potential partner, before marking them as their own. This stage of the mating process is dangerous and, if the champion is not in control of the hide, often results in the death of their mate."
Hamish swayed a little on his feet.
Randall continued. "Those who survive have little recollection of this process, though it is not known why. As well as providing a euphoric effect, the saliva produced by the wolf during mating causes the mark to heal quickly. The bond created through mating is irreversible and can only be severed by the death of the hide's host, or the death of their mate. The benefits of mating include an incomparable sense of loyalty, enhanced resistance to magic and the ability to bear -".
"Stop." Hamish's voice cracked. He lowered his hands from his ashen face.
Lilith was ready to punch something, or someone. "Loyalty?" she snarled, "It's brainwashing Hamish. How could you do this to her? She's our friend - you didn't even give her a choice."
Randall scoffed as he placed the book on the table next to the sofa. "Your friend, Lil? When was the last time you two hung out on your own."
"Stop." Hamish's voice was barely more than a whisper.
"Well, apparently she's going to be our new werewolf step mom or something so -"
"As if that makes you best friends. Wait a second - does that mean Hamish is our werewolf dad?"
"More like grandad," Jack piped up.
"Urgh!" Lilith let out a wail of frustration and rounded on Randall, her eyes finally settling on silver discs. She growled again as her nails lengthened into claws.
"STOP!" For a brief second Hamish's eyes flashed and his face contorted as a change washed over him, then he took a deep breath and the anger seemed to drain out of him. His shoulders slumped as he pushed past Randall and Lilith and sat heavily on the sofa.
Randall glanced at Lilith, eyes wide.
"I didn't know any of this," Hamish said, looking up at them. "I never would have gone near her if I'd known. And now I can't... I can't take it back. She could have died because of me - because I care about her and -" He broke off, placing his head once again in his hands.
Randall sat down next to Hamish and put a steadying palm on his back. "Bela is my friend," he said, emphasising the word 'my' as he glared at Lilith. "You both are - I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt her. And she likes you, she really, really likes you, even without this mate stuff."
Lilith looked at Hamish, her eyes clouded. "I'm sorry Haim, we'll do whatever we can to help."
"No." Hamish stood suddenly, jerking away from Randall. "I need to stay away from Bela. I can't undo what I've done but if I keep my distance maybe she'll be safe. I can't lose someone I love. Not again." He strode out of the Den, slamming the door hard enough to rattle its hinges on his way out.
"Right," Jack sighed from the stairwell, "good to know we have a solid plan."