HEY GUYS! I'm sooooooo sorry about the long wait! I was trying to make the chapter a bit bigger because I thought it was short, but it turns out it was more than 1,500 words... -.-' I'm kind of annoyed, but I'll update anyway. :) READ ON!

Chapter: 24

I woke up the next morning feeling like a new wolf... Like I had died and then been reborn. I felt clean. I looked around and saw that Tori wasn't here. I saw that everyone else was still sleeping, so she must have got up on her own... I yawned, stretched out, then leaned my head from side to side, making my neck pop as I did so. I don't care how sickening others think it sounds, because once you feel what it's like, you can't stop. I didn't want to be clingy, but I wanted to know where she went. So I left the den to look for Tori...

Tori's P.O.V.

I left the den pretty early in the morning, before the sun had even reached the tip of the mountains this morning. I don't know why I was up... I had the day off. It must have been the Alpha in me... I walked to my den, just to have another look at it. I hadn't been in here in so long. Ever since... Then. I wasn't going to think about it... Not again. It only brought sadness. I looked around and saw all the little sketches drawn on the wall. Most of them obviously drawn by a puppy... Me. It was my den after all. I said to myself when I was little that this den would be mine. I also said that when I lived here on my own, I would make this place look a little more creative... I obviously did. Now that I looked at this sketch more closely, I remembered it was the first thing I'd ever drawn in this den. Even before it was mine. It was me, standing next to what was a human, inside of a heart... Well, what looked like a human at least. The human had a tail, wolf ears, claws... Long hair... I felt tears prick at my eyes. I shook my head and looked at another picture... I remembered this one as well. I drew this one when I first moved into this den. It was a small bird... A dove if I remember correctly. I never seen many doves around Jasper... Inside of that dove, were a few words.

"Peace, Harmony, Happiness, Family, Friends, and Love."

Love... Love was an emotion that I'd always had... An emotion that everyone has had. I remembered back... Before Cole was taken from us... To what Cole had said to me... His last words.

"I love you..."

I had a hunch. He was so kind and sweet to me. Then again, he was like that to everyone... But even though he was nice to everyone, he was... different around me. No one else... Just me. He treated me like a flower... A tiny, tiny flower that had just bloomed through the thinning snow of spring. A delicate, fragile, special flower that only bloomed once a lifetime... I can't say I minded. I enjoyed it... I could feel a bump rising and falling in my throat as the tears tried to push their way out again... I shook them away. I decided it would be best to not look at the drawings now... Everything somehow reminded me of him...

"Jeez Tori... You need to get over it." I said to myself.

I really just wish I could forget about him... I really do. I wouldn't feel anymore pain... Almost everything I'd ever done as a pup had him there...

"Why Cole...? Why does life have to be so unfair? Why did you have to have those powers? Why couldn't you just... be normal? None of this would have ever happened, and you would still be here... With me..."

Countless times I'd thought this... But now, I shouldn't. I wouldn't be being fair to the Cole I have now... After all, I have the new Cole because of the old Cole. I should be thanking him for what he's done. He said he didn't want anyone to cry when he died... He wanted them to be happy to have even met him in this big, cruel world, rather than crying because he was gone now... I failed him on the aspect big time. I looked for a blank spot on the wall... A spot that was still untouched by my artwork. I found one, and started to carve a heart into the wall. Inside of that heart, I put the two words I never got to say to my first love...

"Thank you..."

I stepped away from the drawing and smiled.

"Thank you Cole..." I said looking up, wondering if he was watching...

I sat there for a few more minute, pondering a few things in my mind. Why was Cole so much like the old Cole? It's like he WAS Cole... Just under a different skin. Oh how I wished that were the case... I quickly pushed the idea out of my mind... It was crazy talk. This whole time, I was unaware of the eyes watching me. Then, someone suddenly came up behind me, and gently started rubbing my neck.

"You know, out of all wolves, I thought you would be the first to hear me coming. Heh heh, I guess you must have a few things on your mind."

I realized it was Cole, and I smiled, letting myself go. Shivering, moaning, and giggling from the pleasure like a little girl.

"Mmmmm hehehe... Stop that... Ohhhhhh..." I said, hoping he would stop massaging my neck.

It's not that I didn't like it, it just made me feel strange...

"I don't know... It feels like you've got quite a bit of tension. You need..." He started walking his wolf-like fingers up and down my back and neck, making me gasp. "To relax..."

And relax I did. I melted like ice when he started walking his fingers up and down my neck and back... I slowly started to fall to the ground, having him gently set me down on the ground. It felt like I had every angel in the world tending to my every muscle as he worked his way up and down my body. It was like working hard all day, then laying down at the end and not moving at all... Times a million.

"O-Ohhhhhhh... C-Cole... Where d-did you l-learn... t-to do this? Mmmmmmm... Y-Your paws are m-magical..." I managed to blurt out in between moans.

Cole's P.O.V.

She asked me where I'd learned to use my 'magical paws' so well. I thought it was cute how she said my paws were magical... When I finished massaging her body, mainly her back and neck, I gave her neck a small kiss, causing her to shiver and giggle, moaning a little. I made a small mental note to remember that her neck was extra sensitive...

"There you go my Angel... How do you feel?" I asked her.

She didn't respond. She simply laid there belly down, eyes closed, smiling wide, blushing for some reason, tail thumping away at the ground.

"I'll just assume you feel amazing..." I said, chuckling and nuzzling the side of her face, making her smile a little wider.

"I do feel amazing... Thank you so much. I needed that..." Tori said looked at me with just her eyes... Her beautiful beautiful eyes...

"Anything for my Angel..." I said making her blush and giggle.

"I love your nicknames for me..."

"Good, because I have so many more." I said, winking at her smiling.

She smiled back, and stood up finally, a little off balance.

"Hey... Can I ask you a question...?" She asked me.

"Of course! What did you want to know my Love?" I replied.

"How... How do you know what makes me so happy? What makes me tick? What makes me want to be with you so badly...?"

I smiled. Not because she still didn't know it was me, but before I disappeared, I knew quite a bit about her... Just by watching.

"Tori... Everyone's heart has different instructions... They're written through their eyes, in their smiles, through their actions, and through their tears... They just have to find someone who cares enough... To read them." I said looking deep into her eyes, my body pressed up against hers, smiling.

She said nothing. She just slowly smiled, and let a tear fall. She buried her head in my chest and started to cry tears of joy...

"Let me guess... These tears say..." I started, bringing her face up to look at me.

"He really does cares... He really does loves me... He can't live without me." I finish with a smile.

She broke down crying, hugging me around my neck tight, burying her head in my chest again, dampening my fur a little, though I didn't mind. Every bit of it was true... I really couldn't live without her. I've cared all my life, and I will ALWAYS love her.

"Tori... I lo-"

She interrupted me with a deep, passionate kiss. I was shocked at first, but quickly gave in, let my eyes roll back into my head, and kiss back. She shocked me yet again when she slipped her tongue into my mouth. I can't say I minded... Her kisses tasted even better this way. A bit more exotic yes, but that's one of the many perks of life, isn't it? She broke the kiss panting hard after about two minutes. I too was panting, but... I felt something. It was the same feeling I felt the night I told Tori I loved her...

Courage...

I knew why I felt it too. I knew what my body and mind were trying to tell me...

"Tell her... Tell everyone your back. Back to stay... You'll figure out a way to tell everyone, just do it!"

"Tori... There's something I need to tell you..." I said to her.

She tilted her head a little, and backed up from me a little.

"Oh, well... Ok. What's on your mind?" She said, trying to change back to her normal mood.

I went to open my mouth to tell her something, but I couldn't think if a logical way to start this conversation... My mind was on fire with nervousness and confusion. It was working as fast as it could, trying to find the words... This was going to a difficult...

So, the chapter was... what? Good, bad, wolfy? You tell me with a review. :3 Thank you guys for being so patient, I really appreciate it...! :'D Until next time my friends...