IX

"Concentrate, Penelope."

Penny felt helpless, no matter how hard she tried she couldn't do it. She looked around her, she was surrounded by five other people or Werewolves, three of them she recognized from the day they entered the occult shop with Sheldon. But they all looked at her expectantly as if she was the main entertainment and they spent a lot of money to be here. She didn't know them, not even when she tapped into her memories did she remember them. Sheldon had told her that he met them shortly after her family took her away, they quickly became a Pack. "I'm trying," her voice was strained.

She heard Sheldon speak from behind her, he was perched against a tree again. His arms were folded as he studied her frame, "No you're not. You're blocking yourself, why?" It was less of a question and more of a statement. She hung her head in shame, she felt like she was wasting everyone's time. Sheldon reassured her that everyone here was dedicated to helping her, but the more she looked at their faces the less she believed him. Especially one of the women, her hair was long –touching her elbows, and it was brown. She wore a scowl on her face as she stood near Sheldon, she wasn't sure if it was the girl in her or the Wolf, but she could smell the desire the woman had for Sheldon. She wondered if they briefly had something between them, and maybe that's why this woman didn't like her.

"I'm not blocking myself, Sheldon! I'm just…I'm scared," she finally admitted. She slumped to the ground, and immediately felt Sheldon beside her. The rest of the pack walked off without a word, even the glaring woman. Sheldon cradled her in his long strong arms, stroking her white-blonde hair. He sat there and let her cry for a few minutes, he knew she was holding back because of something but didn't know what. He wouldn't tell her, but he also was afraid but for two completely different reasons. He was afraid she was going to leave him again.

He was aware of the curse, he knew what Agatha and Agnes did. Therefore, he knew that his time with Penelope was limited. Randall, her brother, was destined to leave his family home at eighteen and because of the lack of parental discipline his life would spiral out of control. He'd give way to drugs and he'd die a terrible death, and like an ancient scroll Penelope's fate was already determined, exactly nine months later she would die. So, he had sent one of his other Pack members to watch Randall, keep him out of trouble and keep him alive. Even if that meant tying him to a chair. He wouldn't lose Penelope again.

Sheldon pulled away from her slightly and looked down into her face, her bright emerald eyes glistening with unshed tears, "Oh Penelope, you have nothing to be afraid of." He started softly, "You have so much potential, together we would be the strongest couple of our world."

"But that's what scares me, Sheldon Lee," she whined. "What if I'm not what everyone was expecting? I've lost so many years of my life, I have no idea if I can be who I used to be." Sheldon closed his eyes at her words, she had a point. It would be difficult for her to go back to who she used to be. Even if she could. She was conditioned to be human, she lived so many years of her life being normal.

He opened his eyes and Penny was almost blown away with the genuinity she saw, "I don't expect you to be anyone besides you. I will never be disappointed in who you are, as long as you are comfortable and happy that is all I can care about. I'll love you always and forever, quite literally," he smirked a little at the end. Penny snickered slightly, but then then it faded. "Do you only love me because of the curse?"

She always wondered, she knew the miserable Witch-Sisters cursed her to fall in love with a man she'd never be able to see again, and she in part wondered if Sheldon only loved her this much because of the curse. Sheldon sighed deeply, "I cannot tell a lie, Penelope."

Penny felt her heart break slowly, was he admitting that the curse was the cause of all of this?

"The curse brought me to you, in cursing you they cursed me. I was to love you eternally and be miserable when I realized we could never be. It was tragic, and it hurt me deeply," he started, he looked away from her and continued as his gaze caught anything but her eyes, "My father, Sir George Cooper, he brought our family to Newmist two hundred years ago. He founded the town quite honestly, he was the mayor," Penny remembered on Wednesday, four days ago, that she was in the town library reading up on the town's history before Jessica came in and dragged her away to the City Hall riot.

"He was strict and ruled with an iron fist. He was determined to make Newmist a place where his family and his own Pack can migrate, Werewolf friendly. But soon humans came and migrated to Newmist and within a few more years a few Witches and other beings came around, they wanted to push my father out. They didn't want wolves around which didn't make sense because my father built the town," he growled. Penny placed a hand on his arm and rubbed it, wanting him to calm down, "Anyways, they started rumors about him. He was a cannibal, a wolf, a vampire…anything really, and then planted blood in our basement and the next morning it was plastered all over the newspaper. They even went as far as murdering innocent people and blaming my father for it, he was innocent."

Penny felt the air in her throat disappear as she croaked, "Was?"

He nodded still looking away from her, "Was. That ruined him, it wasn't long after we left Newmist. But he wanted his revenge, the Witches thought they had won but it was just the beginning. My father striked out of anger and revenge, he and his Pack came back with a vengeance. Over the course of a year they had wiped out nearly the entire town. They painted him as a bad guy, they told him he was an animal…so he showed them an animal. It destroyed him. He swore the Witches off ever since."

Penny felt bad, she knew her loyalty laid with both the Wolves and the Witches, but at that moment she couldn't help but feel for the Wolves more. If Agnes and Agatha were any indication, the Witches were terrible people.

"But," he looked into her eyes, a fire lighting in his iris', "Despite the hatred my father built inside me against your kind, I couldn't get you out of my head. I was young and still needed guidance, I was still learning. But I knew despite being bound to you by force I couldn't let you go. The Witches intention was for us to fall in love and for us to never find each other again, they didn't count on me spending two hundred and eleven years searching for you."

The power of his words threw her.

"So yes, to answer your question, the curse was what brought me to you. But my genuine love for you is what kept me fighting, curse be damned."

For the first time since Friday, Halloween, Penny leaned upwards and closed the space between their bodies. She was hesitant at first, not sure how he would react. But she felt one of his arms snake around her waist, holding her tightly against him and his other snaked up her back and his hand got lost in her hair. She weaved her arms around his neck and melted into his touch, their lips moving in union. The kiss wasn't rushed or eager, but they could feel the need and love that ran through their bodies.

Someone cleared their throat.

Sheldon pulled away annoyed, "What?" He growled. He looked up at his Beta from his spot on the ground.

Leonard, was his name, "It'll start raining soon, Sheldon, I think it would be best to get going with today's lesson." Sheldon nodded and helped Penny to her feet.

Soon, the Pack gathered once more. Penny stood in the middle of them, eyes closed as she focused on Sheldon's voice behind her.

"Focus, Penelope. Empty your mind of all thoughts, nothing else matters from this moment. Just you." His words trailed off as he heard Penny let out a low growl, he smirked and nodded to his Pack. Immediately, with low growls of their own they transformed.

Penny felt her senses heighten and the slight wind blow through her fur, fur?!

She opened her eyes and looked around frantically, she transformed! She watched as the Pack walked around her, all Wolves. She made eye contact with Sheldon and he nodded at her, proud. She howled, and soon the entire Pack was howling with her. Sheldon took off running, and she followed the rest of the Wolves taking up the rear.

"So, your boyfriend gets released from the hospital and instead of being there to pick him up, you're out doing god knows what!"

Penny rolled her eyes as she heard Kurt's voice, he was shouting at her as soon as she entered her home. He had a deep gash on his side, right on his ribs and his left hand was broken but that didn't seem to stop him from shouting profanities and cursing her out. She ignored him and walked right passed the living room and into the kitchen. Human food didn't fill her anymore, it wasn't a necessity and she didn't get sick if she ate it, but she still relished the thought of ice cream.

Picking out the biggest spoon she could find, she grinned to herself. She finally transformed into her Wolf, a long white-haired beast with piercing green eyes. She was giddy, this week was a lot more eventful than she imagined. She turned on her heel and saw Kurt standing behind her, he was seething and had a beer in his hand. He gave her a one-over and scoffed.

"So, you took this time to dye your hair and go shopping?!" He gestured to her clothes and hair, "Was this why you were in the fucking woods two nights ago? Are you fucking cheating on me?!" He shouted as he stepped closer, spit flying from his mouth.

Penny stepped back timidly, she hated when Kurt was drunk but especially when he was angry. He got violent when he was angry and drunk, there was no talking to him. Penny kept a reasonable distance between them, "No. I didn't, I just knew your brother would pick you up. I—"

"Liar! You were cheating on me! Who is it? Who is it with?!" He was steaming, "Of course you're cheating, that's all you're good for isn't it Penny? Once a whore always a whore!" He broke her down word by word, he threw the beer bottle by her head and it shattered against the wall behind her.

He stalked towards her and grabbed her by her wrist, roughly squeezing, "Who the fuck is it, Penny?" He brought her towards him, she whimpered, "Stop, Kurt," she shoved him back roughly. Angrily, Kurt stepped forward again and grabbed her by her neck this time, squeezing. Penny gasped for breath as he clenched his fingers into her neck.

For the first time in her relationship with Kurt, she feared for her life. She watched him inhale between her neck and her ear, he pulled back his brown eyes ablaze, "You were with him tonight, weren't you?!" He accused. He let Penny go and used his good hand and slapped her in the face roughly, her hip hit the counter. "Kurt, stop!" She gasped out.

He stalked towards her, he felt power in making her cower. He had given Penny everything, sure he cheated on her occasionally, but she had no right!

Penny watched scared as he got closer. She closed her eyes tightly and backed up into the corner of the kitchen as much as she could. She started screaming at him telling him to stop, and Kurt just laughed at her torment. Penny's eyes flashed open, green eyes blazing, white hair wild, "I said enough!" It sounded as if she had been possessed as her voice boomed and echoed off the walls. She raised her arm and swiped to the left, as if a sudden gust of wind was in the kitchen he was thrown against the wall.

Penny was in shock. She watched as Kurt fell to the floor in a heap, unmoving. She took that moment to gather herself and immediately ran out the house. She could barely see as she ran down the dark street, she didn't know where she was going but she had to leave.

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