goldenwolf .deviantart art/Shaggy-Beast-214022636

I know everyone has their own image of werewolves, but here's how I always pictured them.

xxx

The stream before her gurgled before her, and silver fish scales flashed in the sunlight. Caillech thrust her small hands into the freezing water wiggling her fingers and watching in delight as the fish twirled and flashed away. The summer sun beat down onto her back and sweat glistened on her skin, her dress was suffocating. She looked around at the woods surrounding her. Caillech's father always warned her to stay out of these woods, keeping her up at night with tales of vampires and werewolves. But the sun was high above her, she would be safe from the tales. She glanced over her shoulder as ravens burst from the tree above her, making her jump. She could see her house from the stream, she was a fast runner, if anything happened, she could make it.

Caillech looked back at the stream, the fish were back and circling her fingers, bumping into them with their noses. They were so gentle, it made her smile. Her father wasn't as gentle as these fish. She knew by disobeying him, she was going to have a bruise on her face tomorrow. But she had finished her chores, and it was so hot outside.

"I wish I could be a fish, like you," she said wiggling her fingers again and watching them dart away for a moment.

"Why would you want to be a fish?" a boys voice sounded from in front of her and she gasped in surprise, falling back onto the bank of the stream. A young boy was leaning on a tree infront of her, maybe 14, a few years older than herself. She stood up and brushed sand from her dress. She looked at him again. He was shirtless, wearing only dirt covered trousers, and barefoot. His arms were folded across his chest and a crooked smile danced on his lips, green eyes blazing.

"Why do you want to be a fish?" he repeated. Caillech looked down at her toes.

"Because I could be free." she mumbled. She looked up at the boy again. His dark hair was shaggy and his ears poked out from the tangled mass. He was an elf.

"Fish don't seem free to me." he said and jumped across the stream. Caillech took a step back from the boy, balling her hand into a fist. She may not have a dagger, like he did around his waist, but she could hit like a horse. "Wolves are free."

"Wolves are monsters." Caillech looked up into the bright green eyes of the boy. His lips curled up and he laughed. Anger flared up in Caillech's belly, and she glared at him.

"What makes you say that?"

"They killed my mother." Caillech snarled at him. The humor left the boys eyes instantaniously, and he looked almost horrified.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"I have to go," Caillech turned and climbed up the back of the stream, forcing her feet into a run. Looking over her shoulder, the boy watched her run back to the saftey of her home.

Morvan sat on the edge of his bed within Jorrvasker, his eyes fixed on the dark haired beauty resting under the fur covers. He ran his fingertips along her high cheek bone gently. Her features had barely changed from all those years ago. Her heart shaped jaw, small button nose, and curved lips. Her large eyes, always so expressive, had been closed for almost three days. Morvan's heart twisted and his wolf side paced aggitatedly around the room. Pushing her long dark hair back from her face, he tucked it behind her ear, then ran his fingers down the single braid.

"Caillech, please open your eyes." he whispered almost inaudibly. She looked so peaceful asleep. Her perfect brows were relaxed, not furrowed and tense like they normally were. Caillech laid motionless. Morvan sighed and rubbed his thumb over her lower lip.

"You don't know how much it hurts; you not remembering me." Morvan's chest constricted and his throat tightened. "We spent almost every day together that summer. But I can't blame you. You were so young. And he hit you so hard." Morvan's voice cracked, his hand beginning to tremble. Running his fingers down Caillech's cool arm, he lifted her fingers to his lips and breathed in her sweet scent. It hadn't changed at all. She still smelled of honey and burnt sugar, a warm and comforting scent. Morvan closed his eyes and pressed Caillech's cold fingers to his forhead.

"I thought you had died that day." he whispered. "You were covered in blood when he took you away. I should never have told you my secret." He opened his eyes and running his fingers through her dark hair, pushed it back to reveal a small white scar on her temple. Evidence of her father's love. Morvan attempted to swallow away the lump that had formed in his throat. He had no idea when he had come to Skyrim, he would find the girl from his childhood that had bewitched him so completely. And even worse, his father's potential mate.

Morvan had never known Hircine as a father figure. His mother, was the omega of a pack in High Rock. She was offered to Hircine as a bribe for greater power when their were in their wolf forms. Hircine took the offer, and nine months later, Morvan was born. Hircine had never been in Morvan's life, not as a parent. He had offered training and advice in his dreams when he was young. After he was strong enough, Hircine used him to essentially do his dirty work around Tamriel. He had not been contacted by his father in over 5 years. Morvan had come to Skyrim when he had heard rumors of a White stag being seen around Falkreath. He knew it was the aspect of Hircine, and planned to kill it to vye for his father's favor once more. If he had not been caught in that ambush, maybe he would have.

"You should get some sleep." Morvan jumped at the sound of Hircine's voice. Glancing towards the door, his father was leaning against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. "Maybe take a bath too, you reak of death." Morvan stood slowly. Hircine and he were almost the exact height, and built the same way. Long and slender, but muscular and strong. Quick and agile, but sturdy not wiry. They looked as if they could be brothers, Hircine never aged and still looked as if he was in his late twenty's, just like Morvan.

"How long will she be asleep?"

Hircine shrugged and moved closer to the bed, unlaceing his ebony bracers and sliding them off. They clincked against the stone floor as he dropped them. "She's never used magic like that before. It takes a toll on your body." he said looking down at Caillech. There was a fondness in his eyes Morvan had never seen before, even when he was young, Hircine never looked at him that way. A pang of jealousy coursed through him breifly.

"Hircine, may I ask?"

"You really do smell of death, Morvan." he said turning to look at him, his blue eyes cold and deflecting. Morvan instinctivly squared his shoulders. Hircine smiled at him, but the warmth didn't reach his eyes.

"Why Caillech?"

Hircine scoffed and looked back down at the unconcious Nord woman beneath him, his jaw was tight and brow furrowed, his lips pressing into a hard line. There was something swimming in the blue depths of his eyes but Morvan couldn't place it.

"I know she's strong father, but you're a Daedric Prince. Human sanity has it's limits. Are you going to push her over the edge and then leave her to fend for herself and die? Like you did my mother?" The breath was knocked from Morvan's body as his back was slammed into stone wall behind him. Hircine had launched himself at his son and pinned him to the wall, a hand twisting the front of Morvan's cuirass.

"Who are you to question what I do with what belongs to me?" Hircine whispered venomously, his blue eyes beginning to glow slightly. His animal side was close to the surface. Morvan growled at his father and shoved him away, his blood slowly beinning to boil.

"She doesn't belong to you, she's a human being."

"I beg to differ, her soul is pledged to me. She dies, she comes to my Hunting Grounds to hunt beside me for eternity. Just as all Werewolves do." Hircine stepped forward, his eyes blazing and glaring at Morvan. "That sounds like she is mine, to do with as I see fit."

"She's going to lose her humanity if you don't stop. I watched mother slip away from everything she valued and became a beast. Do you really want Caillech to lose what makes her so beautiful?" Morvan's voice almost sounded desperate. If Hircine didn't loosen his grip on Caillech, she was going to lose her humanity. It was already happening. He knew that when he followed her from the Bannered Mare to the cave, she had no memory of what had happened. No doubt Hircine had lured her to his Hunting Grounds and her wolf had taken over her body completely.

"Avelynn was a bribe. I never cared about her. But your old pack pledged her to me for greater strength, I couldn't say no." he smirked at Morvan over his shoulder as he turned to stand at Caillech's bedside once more. Morvan's hands clentched into fists and his limbs trembled.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Leave Morvan."

It wasn't a request. Though Morvan was his son, he wasn't nearly as strong as Hircine. The Daedric Prince could easily kill him within seconds. But his wolf stood his ground, tail lifted and ears flat. For over a decade Caillech had haunted Morvan, coming to him in his dreams, young, bright eyed, and alive. He wasn't going to let his father destroy what was left of her.

"Answer me!" he shouted at his father.

"Get out!" Hircine roared back, his voice dropping an octave and rumbling with the roar of a wolf layering his words. Morvan's wolf side cowered at the blast of Alpha magic that radiated from Hircine. He dipped his head and stormed from the bedroom, slamming the green doors behind him. The sound echoed through the halls of Jorrvasker as he practically ran to escape the walls. He needed to run. He needed to hunt. He needed to kill.

"Morvan!" Caillech screamed, running through the woods, her barefeet crunching over the newly fallen golden leaves. She leaped across the stream she had met the young werewolf at, stumbling as she landed on the other side. She called his name again, her voice high pitched and desperate. The orange glow of the setting sun flickered through the trees as she ran.

"Lex!" A lump formed in her throat as she heard his voice, she pushed her legs faster, her muscles beginning to burn. She saw him through the trees, sprinting towards her, his face ashen and eyes wide. Tears began to stream down her face as they came together, embracing tightly.

"Are you okay Lex?" he pulled back from her, pushing her hair from her face and looking her over. Caillech nodded looking up into his worried green eyes.

"It's my father." she said, choaking back her sobs.

"What did he do to you?" Morvan demanded, taking her face in both of his hands. Caillech shook her head vigorously, gripping his wrists tightly.

"Nothing, it's what he's going to to. He found out about your pack, he's rallying a hunting party right now. They are coming to kill your entire family." She sobbed, tears streaming down her face, her chest was tight and her whole body shook from the force of her crying. Morvan's face paled, he stared into her eyes.

"How long?"

"He locked me into the house, I had to break a window to get out, he may already be there, they have horses."

"Shit!" Morvan hissed, grabbing Caillech's hand and turning. They sprinted through the trees together. Caillech's vision was blurred by her tears, her fingers gripping Morvan's tightly as he lead her deeper into the mountains. Leaping fallen trees and winding through large rocks and bolders, climbing higher and higher. Distant howls and screams rose into the air, Morvan cursed loudly and let go of her hand sprinting as fast as he could towards a clearing. He skidded to a stop before he entered, grabbing Caillech and pushing her down behind a large rock.

"Stay here, don't look." he ordered, and dissapeared from her sight.

"No, Morvan!" Caillech screamed, her body shook violently, and she gasped to catch her breath. The sounds of horses hooves against the earth, screams and howls of wolves were deafening. Caillech could hear her father's voice shouting orders and insults at his men and the wolves.

"Kill them all!"

Caillech couldn't stop herself, she had to know if Morvan was safe. She looked over the top of the rock, and her breath left her body. Wolves were everywhere. They circled and howled, snapping their teeth down on the legs of screaming horses. There were at least 8 wolves shifted, and three more woman snatching their childern from the ground and making a break for the woods. There were at least a dozen soldiers, and many more townsfolk. They held torches and swords. Blood was every where. Archers encircled the small campsite. The women and childern hit the ground, riddled with arrows, blood seeping from the wounds.

Her father was on horseback, slicing his sword down onto the head of a large black wolf. It yelped and hit the ground, blood pooling around it's large and powerful body. Several more men leaped forward and plunged their swords into it's side, it writhed and howled in pain before stilling. It was over in only a few minutes. Werewolves lay strewn about the camp, and the surviving wolves were fleeing into the woods. A smaller black wolf among them.

"Burn them!" her father ordered. Using their torches, his men lit fire to the bodies of the werewolves and the fur tents around the small clearing. Caillech stood up and screamed for Morvan, tears streaming down her face, her body shaking uncontrolably. The sound of a twig snapping behind her made her start and colapse to the ground. A wolf was stalking towards her on all fours, it'sblack fur splatered with dark blood, barely visable against it. The fur along it's sholders and down its spine, were tipped in silver. It's green eyes staring at her, with almost a longing.

"Morvan..." Caillech breathed and scrambled towards the wolf, relief flooding her body. Throwing her arms around his neck burrying sobbing into the soft fur of his neck. Morvan whinned and sat back onto his hind legs, wrapping his almost human arms around Caillech, his long ebony claws gently caressing her body. She pulled back and looked at his wolfen face, running his hands gently over his whiskers and muzzle. His green eyes gazed at her, filled with such pain and dispair. Tears flowed freely from Caillech's eyes as they looked at each other, she had never seen something so beautiful before. His fur was so soft under her fingers, and his muscles rippled wth pure power and poise.

"I was so scared," she breathed and his ears flattened slightly, pushing his nose into her chest. Caillech embraced her wolf, her body trembling. What had she done?

"Caillech?" Her breath left her body and she turned to see her father dismounting his horse and walking towards her.

"No, papa, please!" she begged him desperately as he dragged her from Morvan's body. His sword pointed at Morvan's face, his gray eyes blazing with fury.

"There's one here men!" he shouted. Pain shot up Caillech's arm as her father yanked her back to his horse violently. Morvan roared and his hackles rose, his long moonstone white teeth glinting from the glow of the growing fire in his old campsite. Morvan stood on his hind legs, and even in his young form, he towered over Caillech's father.

"Papa no!" she shreiked as soldiers ran to where they were, shouting and drawing arrows. She lashed against his grip, biting and scratching at his hand. "Papa let go of me!" she screamed. She bit down on his hand, hard. He yelled and released her, the metallic taste of blood filling Caillech's mouth. She stumbled and fell to the ground. She looked back to see Morvan being surrounded by the soldiers, his eyes blazing with fury and snarling menacingly. She screamed as she was yanked to her feet by her elbow. She spun to face her father, ready to fight him again. All she saw was his gray eyes blazing with rage, and his fist coming towards her head. Darkness consumed her, and the sounds of shouts and howls, faded into the void.