Chapter 9
Surprises
I don't know how long I slept, just that when I next awoke I was alone in the bed I occupied. The thought should have been a relief, but I remained tensely alert. My wolf could feel something wrong, though she couldn't point out what. She smelled nothing strange, so I opened my eyes and cautiously looked around. The room was just as I had left it before falling asleep. Yet why was I still so tense? A slight creak of floorboards warned me of another presence entering the room. From the quick glimpse of tiled walls, I guessed the room was a bathroom. It was who exited that left me in mild shock.
What the hell was Leo doing here?
"Ah, awake I see," he said with a slightly bemused expression when he saw my open eyes. His low grin was warm, but did little to ease my anxiety. Given no reason for my nerves, I was beginning to think it was my wolf's reaction to healing. She never did like being cooped up. Leo's expression softened slightly, but he still smiled as he looked at me on the bed, curled under the blanket. "Care for some breakfast?" he asked casually. Until that moment, I had no idea how hungry I really was. I nodded numbly, not really comprehending the Second's presence. I would have thought Alex would be the one watching me. But then again, he was the Alpha and had other matters to attend to. I nearly beat my head against the wall for my own conceited ideas but then thought better of it. More injuries would not help my case at all.
Sitting up after Leo left to fetch food, I wrapped the blanket around myself, surprised by the decrease of pain. I was still a bit light-headed from the sit up, but at least my arm didn't feel like it was being gnawed on constantly. My ribs were still tender and I no doubt had a few colorful bruises, but at least I could breathe and move with only a little discomfort. I took this as a good sign and felt my wolf relax a little. No, she wasn't happy about being cooped up. But the promise of food calmed her ire and allowed me at least a small respite from keeping her need to hunt in check. Taking a deep breath, I exhale slowly, curling my leg beneath me and resting my head in my hands. I had never felt so exhausted. I didn't realize I had been shaking until a gentle hand tucked the blanket tighter around me.
"Can't have you catching any cold now," came Leo's rolling voice. Had he not spoken when he touched me, I swore I would have jumped out of my skin. As it was, I was too drained to care. A small twitch of shoulder was my only reaction as Leo stepped around the front of the bed, setting the tray of food on the bedside table. It smelled heavenly. "Not the best of fare, mind," Leo warned me when he saw my eyes fall immediately onto the first hot meal I had seen in days if not longer. He picked up a plate and a fork, using the utensil for emphasis. "But still pretty decent for someone of Alex's cooking prowess." To my surprise, the Second came to sit at my side. For a moment, I thought he was going to make me sit in his lap to spoon feed me, but he let me keep that shred of my dignity, even if he had to hold my hand steady to grip the plate.
I devoured the meal. Sausage gravy over fried ham, biscuits, and hashbrowns with a side of scrambled eggs and thick sausage links. The first protein I had tasted in over a week. Never had I had a better meal. I could tell Leo was amused by my appetite, but I ignored him in favor of the hot meal. Eventually, I did finish it though I almost wished I hadn't. I felt like falling asleep again. But though I lay down without a word, Leo still sitting on the bed, sleep would not come. My mind was too busy. Instead, I closed my eyes and forced my breathing to slow, even though Leo would know I was feigning. Honestly, I didn't care. I just wanted to rest my head against something soft and warm. I heard Leo take the tray and dishes out of the room, but didn't really notice. I was trying to comprehend my own desires and needs.
I needed rest first and foremost, but it continued to evade me. I needed food, but with a full stomach, that need had been sufficiently met for the time being. I wanted to run. My wolf wanted out, so that was her desire not my own. But since she was so much a part of me, I might as well have wanted to sprint around the room as fast as possible. I could feel her shift in my mind, restless from the forced captivity. And honestly, I wanted to get out of the room as well. The smell of snow would be a welcome change form sweat and blood. With Leo out of the room, I decided to act on the desire and I changed. It was slow and extremely painful given my weakness and yet-healed bruises, but in the end, my wolf's body felt so much safer than my own. And she did not push me back. I was thankful for that, especially when I saw the look on Leo's face as he returned.
To see a perfectly placid injured werewolf was unheard of. But really, we weren't that injured anymore. With hot food filling our mutual stomach, and the mutual desire to run on swift paws, the urge to rip things apart was nonexistent. Leo stepped out of the door quickly, yelling down the hall. We, of course, heard him call for Alex, so we weren't surprised as he walked in moments later, looking nearly as surprised as Leo.
"Bloody hell…" were Alex's exact words as he saw our russet figure lying calmly on the bed, tail waving slowly behind over the pillow. He turned to look at Leo, who only answered his surprised expression with one of his own. Apparently we were very confusing at the moment. On a whim, we rolled over, laying on our back and looking at the two males with a bemused expression, teeth showing slightly from behind fallen lips. Alex put his hand to his temple, rubbing to relieve a headache. "She's better apparently," was the Alpha's next droll comment to his Second. Leo was still in a mild case of shock, no doubt wondering how we had the energy to change. And really, we shouldn't have, but there we were.
"I'll go get more food…" Leo said dully, backing out of the room slowly, hopefully to fulfill that promise of more food. A wolf's stomach was noticeably bigger than a human's. Alex stepped further into the room as the Second left, crossing his arms over his chest as he walked closer to the bed. Rolling back over, my wolf and I made room for him in case he wanted to use the bed as a seat. Instead he just stood, looking down at us, a curious expression on his face.
"You amaze me, Sam," he said quietly, and not even wolf ears could pick up any trace of what he was thinking. Instead, we replied with a friendly wave of tail and a playful bark, neither wolf nor human halves knowing how to read the Alpha.