Chapter Three - Snowfall: Born to Breathe
She opened an eye stiffly, looking at her window and opening her eyes at seeing there was a fresh snowfall outside.
Finally, snow! She thought happily, imagining that if she were a wolf her tail would be wagging.
Someone grumbled something in their sleep near her, making her perk up as that someone's warm arm squeezed her waist; the owner of the arm's left leg was entwined with her own left leg protectively.
Warmth stole across her cheeks as she realized that she'd slept with someone.
She rolled in the blankets to snuggle into that person's chest, hearing them sigh and hold her gently; her eyes flew open as she recognized the scent that hung from that person's body.
Kiba.
She looked up at him slowly, her cheeks reddening as she looked at his peaceful face, his shoulders moving with each breath he gave and took.
His wild brown hair was messier than usual, she realized; she checked beneath the warmth of the blankets to see she wasn't wearing anything.
Recalling the events that played out the night before after dinner made her tremble in pleasure.
Nikki gingerly slipped her leg out from beneath his, carefully getting free of his arm's grip on her waist, before she quietly slid off the bed.
His discarded shirt was thrown on the floor; she found a pair of panties sticking out from her dresser and pulled them out before putting them on, throwing on his shirt and watching it cover at least an inch or two below the thigh, the loose collar's buttons undone as it hung low enough to show her cleavage.
She blushed slightly at the sight and couldn't help but smile proudly at finally finding him and having a chance to sleep in his arms once more.
"Well, don't you look adorable." His slightly gruff morning voice said softly behind her, making her start and turn about to see he was awake.
Kiba smiled at her from lying on his side, satisfied and sleepy at the same time; his messy bed-hair made him look sexier than usual as his blue eyes gleamed in a manner that was too wolfish for her to handle without eliciting a small shiver, the blankets covering up from the waist down and making her shiver again as she could only imagine that he wasn't wearing anything beneath the blankets.
Nikki blushed heavily and huffed, crossing her arms at her chest and making her cleavage stick out more from the low collar of his shirt.
"Isn't it a little too early for you to tease me?" She quipped, shifting her weight from one foot to the other; having him in her room –let alone in her bed—was too real and definitely too intimate for her to handle were she not already used to being with him.
He chuckled gently and allowed a lazy grin to cross his lips; if they were still wolves, she figured, he would've been wagging his tail in triumph at mating with her over the course of the snowy night.
"It's kind of hard to keep from teasing my favorite princess so early in the morning when she's wearing my shirt over nothing but her panties." He said nonchalantly, making the blush on her face deepen.
She made a face and leaped onto the bed, pinning him with a soft growl in the back of her throat. "You're still an idiot, y'know, wolf boy." She quipped pointedly, blushing slightly when he cupped one of her breasts.
Kiba smiled innocently, rubbing the mound gently, slowly. "And you're still the most beautiful wolf princess I've ever had the pleasure of loving." He remarked calmly, seeing her tremble and shiver as he teased her breast, his left hand cupping her free breast and rubbing it.
Nikki hissed softly between her teeth at his teasing fingers and moaned a little, staring at him stubbornly.
"Don't think just because we're humans that I'll roll over for you… Ah," she warned, gasping softly when he pinched one of her nipples curiously.
He looked at her and saw her cheeks burn with a dark red at his curious fingers, the wolfish look returning to mask his handsome face. "Of course not, Nik." He said, continuing to knead the decently-sized mounds as he smiled in feigned innocence at her flushed and bothered face.
She shivered and tilted her head back, arching her back and letting him tease her more. "K-Kiba," she moaned.
Kiba gently pulled her to sit on his lap, his mouth kissing a trail down her neck, eliciting soft mewls from the back of her throat as she clawed at his shoulders when he started biting tenderly.
Nikki pulled back to pant softly, shivering again when the pool in her belly became aflame with a hunger she'd only experienced twice in her life.
He eyed her slightly damp underwear and smiled to himself, his fingers tracing lines along her thighs.
She yelped when he curiously inserted a finger past the thin layer of her panties, her hips jolting as she fell back onto the bed with a moan.
Kiba felt her quiver and writhe each time he tortured her, hearing her moan his name softly and plead with him, her words coming out in short gasps as he tortured her further by inserting another finger.
Nikki bit back a scream, gasping as she released at last, panting and closing her eyes as her cheeks flushed heavily from his teasing hands.
He smiled again, triumphant, before he pulled his hand back.
She gasped again when he towered over her on his hands and knees, kissing her deeply, warmly; she reached to wrap her legs around his waist, holding onto his neck as she all but melted into the sheets.
Kiba seemed satisfied again as he kissed her forehead, lying down on her. "You're even more beautiful in the morning, Nik." He mused softly, stroking her thigh gently.
She stroked his hair, closing her eyes as she felt slightly tired, kissing his neck. "After all this time, you still know how to make me howl for you." She remarked softly.
He chuckled softly and smiled down at her, his hair brushing her face. "Just as much as you still know how to make it very hard for me to keep my hands off you." He quipped gently.
Nikki smiled rather proudly and sighed. "Tough guy."
Kiba kissed her forehead again. "Wolf girl."
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The former gray wolf sipped absently at the mug of coffee as he leafed through the TV guide for something interesting; it was too early to be awake, but his morning routine usually had him waking up at around five in the morning, so he at least gained four hours of sleep.
He just felt like taking a day off; considering he owned the business, he didn't feel like he needed to give any bullshit excuse to his employees the next day. What he did with his time was none of their damn business anyway.
His "sleeping partner" was still sleeping, allowing a few moments of solace to himself.
A quiet laugh sounded from the hall, perking his ears and he looked up from reading the TV guide.
His sister came down the hall, her face lightened, as she led the former white wolf by the hand into the living room.
He briefly let his eyes linger on the aforementioned male's white shirt that she wore, the shirt almost covering her blue sleep shorts that –in his opinion—were too short for her to wear outside of the apartment.
She looked at her brother and blushed slightly, shrugging sheepishly. "Morning; I didn't think you'd still be here, it's almost ten." She wondered, lifting a hand to rub her neck.
He caught the healing hickeys on her neck and he huffed. "I took the day off. Besides, I didn't think you were home. Thought you went out or something." He returned, looking back down at the magazine in his hand.
She shrugged. "No, we stayed in. Where's Eri; I thought you took her home?" She asked.
He nodded his head slightly to the hall. "She's sleeping." He replied, perking her ears.
Nikki smiled softly, nodding. "No wonder I kept hearing noise from your room last night," she mused aloud, watching her mate head to the kitchen to get some water.
Tsume shot her a look, his cheeks reddening. "As much as I heard just as much noise coming from your room last night too, little sister." He quipped pointedly.
Kiba could only guess she blushed as much as he did at hearing the gray wolf's remark, taking a sip of water from his glass and saying nothing.
She huffed and crossed her arms, pouting. "Whatever." She muttered, storming to the kitchen to get some orange juice.
He looked at her grab the carton of juice, handing her a glass. "You don't drink coffee." He guessed.
Nikki shook her head and took a sip from her glass. "Coffee stunts your growth; I'm already the height I'm at and I don't feel like shrinking before I'm forty." She explained.
Kiba briefly eyed his shirt that hugged her bust and he smirked playfully at her. "You'd be much cuter though if you were as short as Eri," he pointed out lightly.
She blushed and shot him a look, punching his arm affectionately. "My height never bugged ya in the past, lover boy. Besides, there are a few things about you that I could complain about." She added, sipping her juice calmly.
He chuckled. "Ow, geez, your right hook is still as harsh as ever!" He paused and looked at her squarely. "Wait, what 'few things'?" He asked slowly.
Nikki downed her juice, wiping her mouth absently. "I'm not tellin' you, are you kidding?" She huffed, walking past him.
"Now if you'll excuse me, a hot shower awaits." She said lightly over her shoulder, folding her arms behind her head as she disappeared into the hall.
Kiba scowled after her and tossed the rest of his water into the sink, placing the glass down. "Nikki, tell me!" He barked as he bounded after her down the hall.
Tsume rolled his eyes at their familiar horseplay, sipping his coffee. "Good to have things back to normal." He mused more to himself, flipping the page of the TV guide.
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She pursed her lips slightly as she decided which pair of panties to wear; it was either between the blue and pink striped ones or the gray ones with small roses designed in.
"So hard to choose…!" She mused aloud with a sigh.
His pale hand stretched out on the wall near her dresser as she felt him come at her from behind.
She looked over her shoulder at his curious brooding face, fighting to keep a straight face at how cute he looked. "Yes?" She wondered lightly.
He made face –really making it harder for her to not laugh—and he looked at her squarely. "You told me there were a few things about me that make you want to complain. I want to know." He asked patiently, his tone low.
A slight shiver rolled down her spine; she smirked at him. "Still not telling you, babe." She said, turning back to picking out a pair of panties so she could go shower.
He made a small growl-like noise in the back of his throat and leaned closer onto her back. "You do know that I have no problem forcing it out of you." He reminded softly; he knew her too well by now to know that she was just toying with him, and that made him become annoyed.
She ignored the second shiver at hearing the almost-growl rumble in his throat and smiled innocently, putting down the underwear to turn in his cage-like grip and look up at his brooding stare; a third shiver threatened to roll down her spine as she saw he was getting that wolfish look again in his darkened greenish-blue eyes. "I do, yes; but here's the thing, babe. You won't get it out of me anytime soon." She stated coolly, the innocent smile returning to her lips.
Kiba pinned her to the dresser with both arms, the wolfish look overcoming his beautiful face; he ducked his head so his warm breath tickled her nostrils. "I'll get it out of you, I can promise that. I just want to know." He growled softly, his hand on the wall moving to steal inside the shirt she wore and trace a line up her ribs.
Nikki trembled and looked at him stubbornly. "Good luck trying, wolf boy." She returned in an equally soft growl, squeaking when the hand inside the shirt groped her right breast.
He heard her moan softly as he fondled the mound, a pleased light shining in his eyes. "I won't need luck." He mused, coaxing the nipple into erectness with his thumb and index finger; if he were still a wolf his tail would be wagging right now.
She growled a little and trembled again, pulling his mouth to hers in a hot kiss as she bit his lip, daring him to fight back.
Kiba grinned and pressed her closer to the flat dresser's surface, kissing her hungrily, feeling her claw at his hair and her body quiver in his hold as he kissed harder, his gestures demanding her surrender.
Nikki moaned and grinded against him, refusing to give in now as she felt him continue to tease her, his hand in her shirt traveling south.
He rubbed her slowly, feeling her slightly jolt in his grip before she sank into the wood that pressed into her back, her stubborn will seeming to slowly wane as he let a finger slip beneath her panties.
She squeaked and then moaned again when he found the sweet spot, her body on fire again as she felt her will slipping between her fingers while he worked her into a hot and bothered form.
Kiba pulled his hand back reluctantly when she released, letting her gasp for air and pant between short gasps that escaped her air-needing lungs.
Nikki began to sink down to the floor before he pulled her up, his hands gentle as he stroked her hair and looked into her blue eyes with the familiar kindness she was so accustomed to.
He kissed her softly, resting his forehead against hers as she held onto his neck. "You're still very stubborn, even after all these years." He mused quietly.
She stared at him and her eyes softened as she curled her fingers in his hair. "Shut up." She grumbled, smiling gently at him.
Kiba smiled at her and nosed her cheek, tracing his finger along the small hickey to her throat. "Weren't you going to shower?" He wondered, looking at her.
Nikki blushed slightly and rolled her eyes, nodding. "Yeah, I'm going. I was going to do it before you snuck up on me a minute ago." She replied, shooting him a look.
He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." He apologized.
She kissed him tenderly, pulling back to grab the panties with the roses on them as she ducked his arms to walk away. "It's okay, just sit tight and I'll be right back." She replied calmly, looking back at him and smiling before she went to the hallway bathroom.
Kiba watched her leave and sighed, looking around her room to the various things that stood out to him.
A few posters of the American bands 'Breaking Benjamin', '30 Seconds to Mars', and 'Disturbed' claimed a portion of one wall that was across the room from her bed; a computer desk occupied the same wall, harboring a closed Sony laptop and cordless mouse attached to it; now that he got a better look around her room, he saw that the walls were painted a pale gray.
He sort of smiled to himself as he sat back on the bed and looked at one of the posters absently; Very typical of her, he thought.
A framed photo caught his eye as it sat ontop of the dresser; he straightened to take the photo and look at it.
A woman with straight black hair beamed through the picture, her gray eyes happy despite the small bags under her eyes and smoke lines that marred her pretty face, as she had an arm wrapped around a sixteen-year-old girl with slightly wavy long black hair and beaming blue eyes the color of the sky, slight acne afflicting the girl's brow and cheeks.
Kiba smiled again as he recognized the girl to be a sixteen-year-old Nikki.
Even as a child she still harbored that familiar stubbornness he was all too accustomed to, he realized.
Her mother, he thought, I wonder what happened to her...
"She died, two weeks after that picture was taken." A voice said, slightly startling him; he looked at the doorway to see her standing there, her arms across her chest and a patient but nostalgic look on her face.
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He looked down at the photo, then at her. "What happened?" He wondered quietly.
She moved forward into the room to plop down at his side and look at the photo in his hands.
"She got sick. She'd been sick a few months before my sixteenth birthday, so it was a miracle she lived another two weeks after I turned sixteen." She replied, her voice soft as she seemed to recall memories he couldn't share in.
He nodded. "What about your dad?" He wondered, looking at her.
She shook her head.
"He was never around when I was growing up, and he basically abandoned us after she died. His job became his new family, and he forgot he even had a daughter that still needed him at home." She sighed a little, brushing strands of wet hair from her face as she kept her eyes lowered to her bare feet. "Tsume took me in, then; I've basically been living with him in this apartment for seven years." She shrugged, looking up at him past her slightly wavy bangs' veil.
He smiled wryly at hearing the older wolf had taken her in, nodding slightly. "I'm sorry about your mother." He said quietly.
She shrugged again. "Don't be; you weren't the reason she died." She replied.
Kiba looked at her and his eyes softened as he kissed her forehead. "Your hair looks cute when it's wet." He mused gently, looking at her wing-like bangs that still framed her beautiful face, eyeing the cropped back part of her head.
Nikki blushed slightly and rolled her eyes, punching his arm. "You've charmed me enough for one morning, Kiba." She sighed.
He shrugged and caught her arm, smoothing her curled fingers out in his grip. "Can I help it if it's very hard to keep from reminding you that you're still the most beautiful wolf I've ever met?" He remarked, seeing her cheeks redden when he looked into her humble sky blue eyes.
She huffed quietly and lowered her gaze, briefly looking at the various scratches he harbored on his shoulders.
"I'm not that beautiful, if you were duped by that stupid cat you told me about, in the Garden of Eternity. And then Cheza, too…" She began, yelping softly when he sighed and pushed her back onto the bed, towering over her on his hands and knees.
Kiba's eyes were gentle despite hearing that she didn't think she was as beautiful as he knew she was.
"I didn't care about her, and Cheza… I only protected her; I didn't love her like I do to you. I want you to be proud of who you are, of how beautiful you are. Of how beautiful you are to me." He growled quietly, perking her ears as she stared up at him innocently.
Nikki blushed more and shivered, looking up at him with tears starting to sting her eyes. "B-but I'm not a wolf anymore, Kiba…! And you aren't, either. How the hell can you still want me if I'm not what I used to be?" She demanded hoarsely, scowling up at him.
He groaned in exasperation and sighed.
"Because you're still the passionate and kind girl I met ontop of that tower. I don't care if you have fangs or claws, I just care about you because you gave me something to protect and you were willing to fight at my side even if we died in the process. All those years spent away from you killed me because I couldn't wake up in the morning to see you sleeping next to me." He smiled softly, brushing the tears away from her eyes. "I still love you, like I've always loved you, you stubborn beautiful wolf." He said gently, softly.
She shivered as the tears welled again before she pulled him down to crush herself to his chest, burying her face into his neck. "Kiba," she said weakly.
He hugged her tightly, curling his fingers in her wet hair and closing his eyes.
Nikki sniffed and looked at him with slightly puffy blue eyes, seeing him chuckle softly and cup her cheek.
Kiba ran his thumb over her cheekbone, seeing her smile weakly. He kissed her hard, gentle, making her hold onto him tighter as he squeezed her hips and wanted to never let her go again.
She blushed humbly and traced her fingers along the scratches on his back, kissing him warmly, tenderly, feeling him gently pin her to the sheets.
He pulled away reluctantly to smile again at her, tucking a few strands of hair from her sight, seeing her catch his hand in hers and hold it; he nuzzled her cheek, almost imagining his tail would be wagging were he still a wolf.
Nikki gently pushed him back onto his knees, giggling when he fell back from the bed.
Kiba winced and rubbed his head gingerly. "Ow…" He muttered.
"Are you okay?" She wondered around another laugh, looking at him and daintily covering her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter at his expense.
He rolled his eyes and nodded, sighing as he flopped back onto the floor. "Peachy, babe." He replied.
Nikki slipped off the bed to help him up, hiding another giggle. "Sorry for laughing, it's just I've never seen you do that before." She chortled.
Kiba smirked at her, "Oh yeah?" He hooked his arms around her waist, making her yelp and then start laughing as he tickled her sides, squirming in his hold and laughing.
"K-Kiba, stop!" She yelped, laughing as he ignored her and continued to tickle her.
He laughed with her, hoisting her up by her waist and gently setting her back onto the floor, burying his nose into the crook of her neck. "Better?" He wondered calmly as she calmed in his arms and smiled at him.
Nikki nodded. "Yeah," her eyes softened. "Thanks, Kiba." She added.
Kiba lifted a brow, making a face and earning another laugh. "For what?" He wondered innocently.
She gently pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him. "For being there for me." She replied quietly.
He smiled again and returning the kiss, kissing her nose. "I know I wasn't always there for you last time, but I swear that I'll definitely be here for you now." He stated stubbornly, the kind light in his eyes she adored most shining.
Nikki nodded again and stroked his cheek. "I'm glad for that." She mused.
Kiba smiled, squeezing her waist and sighing. "So can I have my shirt back?" He wondered calmly, perking her ears.
She blushed humbly and smiled at him. "Sorry, babe; it was very comfortable, I'll give you that." She added sheepishly, reluctantly detangling from his arms to look through her drawers for a fresh shirt.
He nodded and sat back on the bed. "And it made you look highly attractive wearing it." He added smugly, feeling proud that she'd been wearing his shirt for as long as she did, knowing that were they still wolves he'd be wagging his tail on end at having the wolf he'd been mating with wearing something of his person.
Nikki blushed and rolled her eyes, smirking at him over her shoulder. "Quit wagging your tail back there, wolf boy." She remarked gently, pulling out a black longsleeve with yellow cats printed on the front and back and a small hood attached to the back of the shirt, closing the drawer.
Kiba chuckled quietly at her words, perking his ears and watching as she pulled his shirt off, flashing the back of her gray bra; his eyes fell on the hint of an old scar on the space between her shoulder blade and her neck.
She almost started at feeling his finger trace the scar on her right shoulderblade, calming and letting him trace his finger gingerly along the scar's shape; he frowned softly at the memory of cleaning that said wound clean after Cheza had been taken from them on the night of the full moon.
He looked at her as she lifted a hand to hold the scarred spot on her shoulderblade.
Nikki looked at him and smiled lightly, shrugging the hooded longsleeve on over her chest and belly; she turned to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
Kiba held her, kissing lovingly, firmly, knowing that she was like him, the old scars from their past excursion that still haunted her as much as they did to him sometimes.
She held onto him, resting her cheek on his chest and sighing quietly.
He held her, his fingers digging gently into the small of her back as he pressed his cheek to the side of her head.
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"Oi, Tsume, your alarm clock is retarded as all hell…" The silver wolf began as she walked into the living room, pausing short of seeing Hige, Kiba and Nikki talking and watching TV.
Kiba and Hige looked at her first; Hige smiled in feigned flirtation. "You look well-rested, E." He said lightly.
Tsume shot him a death glare as Nikki punched his arm; Eri blushed beet red at allowing her packmates to see her in nothing but the gray wolf's tank top over a pair of old maroon boxers he'd let her keep, covering her chest with her crossed arms.
"Ow, what the hell, Nikki?" Hige griped, looking at his old friend, slightly stung as he rubbed his arm gingerly.
"Pervert, leave it to you to embarrass her like that!" She scolded, scowling at him with a look in her eyes that reminded him eerily of her brother's usually-scowling amber eyes.
Tsume cleared his throat, slinging an arm around the embarrassed girl's shoulders. "Nik, get over here." He declared, perking her ears and saving the tan wolf from getting another beating, seeing her perk up and look over at him.
Nikki nodded and kissed Kiba lightly before hopping off the loveseat to go aid her friend. "C'mon, E, I think I've got a shirt you can use." She mused, ushering the younger woman down the hall to her room.
Kiba watched them leave and smirked slightly at her kind gestures she once hardly ever showed to anyone except to him.
"Hey, are you listening?" Hige waved his hand infront of the former wolf's face, stirring him from his thoughts.
He blinked, shooing his hand out of his face. "Yeah, I heard. You were saying something about Mortal Kombat, right?" He guessed, briefly sheepish as he met his friend's garnet eyes.
He rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead. "No, not that! That game is ancient, anyway. I was talking about Blue." He declared, quieting slightly at the memory of his love interest.
Kiba blinked again and his gaze sobered as he remembered that night on the mountain again. "What about her?" He asked.
"Not thinking of chasing her down again, are you…?" Tsume put in as he came to sit down with his fellow wolves, sitting down in the armchair.
Hige shrugged. "I'm not sure; and I don't know where the hell she is, otherwise I'd be looking her up right now. I guess I miss her, that's all." He muttered. "We're not a complete pack again without her." He added more to himself.
Both older males shared a look at his words; the white wolf exhaled slightly and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder, meeting his garnet gaze. "You'll find her, Hige. If I found Nikki the first time around, then there's no doubt you'll find her sooner hopefully than later." He stated, smiling for his benefit.
The pudgy wolf smiled slowly at his encouragement, nodding. "Yeah, I hope so." He sighed and relaxed into the couch. "Geez, you've turned into a sappier Romeo since we found the girls." He mused aloud.
Kiba made a face.
Tsume snickered at his words. "Porky DOES have a point, if y'think about it." He said, ignoring the glare shot in his direction from the young leader.
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She caught a black tank the girl threw over her shoulder, making a face when a pair of shorts was thrown her direction, hitting her face square-on. "Nikki…" She began.
"What?" She wondered, looking up from digging through her closet.
"I think this'll work." She said, shrugging the pile of clothes in her arms off onto her bed and holding up a pink and black longsleeve that had a white heart on the upper corner of the front part.
Nikki nodded and smiled slightly, rubbing her neck. "Sorry for trying to bury you in the clothes." She said.
Eri chuckled. "No problem, just try not to do it again." She shrugged, watching the older she-wolf turn to close her closet door as she stripped of his tank and pulled the longsleeve on over her black bra, smoothing it out and smiling to herself at seeing it fit.
She looked at her friend and tilted her head to the side as she noticed the print on her hooded shirt was cats. "Why cats?" She wondered curiously, perking her ears.
She made a face. "I liked cats when I was a kid; practically raised five of them." She muttered, crossing her arms at her chest.
Eri rolled her eyes. "Kind of makes me glad I had a dog growing up." She mused.
Nikki smiled slightly. "So are you gonna stick around longer or are you going back to your apartment?" She wondered, recalling that she didn't live with them.
She shrugged. "Dunno, depends if Tsume wants me around for the weekend." She replied.
Nikki rolled her eyes. "E, he hasn't seen you in twenty-something years; of course he wants you around." Her eyes softened. "He missed you." She stated softly.
Eri blinked and then blushed slightly, smirking. "Yeah, I know; I missed him, too. Guess it won't hurt if I stick around for another few days, right?" She wondered.
She smiled at her and nodded. "Nah, it won't; besides, we'll get Chinese or something later and hang out." She mused.
She lifted a brow before she smiled; it'd been a long time since she'd ever hung out with the former she-wolf she loved like a sister, and a night of acting stupid sounded really nice. "Yeah, that's an idea."
Both women smiled lightly.
review please. thanks! :'D