Born not Bitten Chapter 18

"Annie, are you sure you don't want to talk about this?" Nick asked after following her up to his room, which was quickly becoming their room. Half her stuff was already in his closet, even when she wore his shirts more often than her own.

"Talk about what Nick? That I might have witches in my family tree? It doesn't matter. What matters is getting Elena, Logan, and Rachel back," Annie responded distractedly as her hands flew over her laptop. Clay had provided her with the name of Dr. Bower's new boyfriend and she was trying to locate him via the internet.

"It's a part of who you are, of course it matters." Nick couldn't believe Annie wasn't freaking out more about this. Instead she was acting as if it wasn't even real, diving right into the only pack business Jeremy had allowed her to have a play in so far. Jeremy thought remotely searching for Aleister was safer than physically tracking him down. And Nick's father had hinted that Annie might be feeling left out, pushed aside by the pack as of late.

"I already know everything I need to know about me. My father was a wolf who loved me. Jeremy took me in and invited me into your pack. I have you. I've phased, and hunted, and dealt with the politics that come with being wolf. Because that is what I am. No matter who my mother was." Learning about her maternal family tree would do nothing to help them find the rest of their pack, and Savannah. If Annie wanted to learn about her mother, she had time to do it once they got their family back.

"But your nightmares," Nick pressed, coming to stand behind Annie and squeezing her shoulders.

"Are just nightmares. They have to be. Or I will drive myself insane avoiding them," Annie sighed, pressing the enter button harder than necessary. She didn't want to talk about her night terrors.

"Okay," Nick relented. If there's one thing he'd learned over the years, Annie would only talk when she was ready and it was best not to push her when she wasn't.

"I think I've found something," Annie murmured causing Nick to lean over her shoulder. The Timothy Ashmont Annie had found had a mother who was still living in Connecticut.

"Let's go get her," Nick responded, giving Annie's shoulders another squeeze.

"Absolutely not," Jeremy stated when Nick told them Annie and him were going to look into Timothy Asmont's mother. "It's not safe."

"Why not? It's his mother, not him we're going after. A frail old lady in a nursing home. Who do you think is going to hurt me? Malcolm is dead," Annie insisted, tired of Jeremy treating her like she was fragile.

"She has a point, Jeremy," Antonio murmured, causing Annie to shoot him an appreciative glance. At least someone believed in her capabilities of keeping herself safe against normal threats. Because the truth of the matter was there was no supernatural threat to her. Elena took care of that when she killed Malcolm.

"You stay with Nick or Paige the whole time," Jeremy finally relented. "I will not lose any more of my pack."

…

"So, is Jeremy always so anal about you leaving the house?" Paige asked once they pulled out of Stonehaven's drive.

"No. He was actually pretty cool about it before the emails, stalkers, and attacks started happening. It was the first time someone other than from our pack knew I existed," Annie responded tugging on the sleeves of her leather jacket. "Now he thinks everyone's going to try and steal me or something."

"For good reason," Nick interjected. "Every Alpha in the Alpha council would kill to have you and Elena in their pack."

"See, that's what's wrong with you werewolves. You're like uncivilized brutes when it comes to things like territory and disagreements." No witch would ever try to steal from another coven. They respected one another.

"Careful, you're in the car with two brutes," Nick growled, catching Paige's eyes in the rearview mirror.

"Actually, Annie might only be half brute," Paige smirked. "There's a good chance she's half civilized witch."

"We don't know that," Annie murmured, biting the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to be half witch. Not if it meant having nightmares as her 'power.' She'd much rather it be PTSD that would go away with time.

"No. But there are the prophetic dreams. And the fact that every other one of your pack members ran towards the fight at the barn, but you ran towards Bridgett. You chose trying to heal her over killing the enemy. That's something a witch would do," Paige countered, raising an eyebrow when Annie turned to look at her.

"I went to nursing school. Of course I'd choose to help Bridgett," Annie didn't mention how she didn't like to hurt people if she could help it. It would only give Paige more reason to believe her theory.

"A nurse, hmm," Paige mused as she looked at Annie in a whole other light. That definitely wasn't a career Paige expected a wolf to follow. They were always so quick to kill, trying to save people seemed beyond their scope.

"Please don't make more out of it than needs be," Annie pleaded.

For the rest of the ride, Paige turned her questions towards wolf politics. She was curious how people who were half animals settled anything and had it end in anything other than violence. Nick eventually turned the questions on her. They needed to better understand witches to understand what they might be up against. Paige was surprisingly tight lipped about everything, finally going silent during the ride. When they arrived at the nursing home, Annie let Nick and Paige take the lead in the questioning of Timothy's mother, only stepping in when she started showing distress. The only information they got out of the trip was that Timothy was Aleister, he was a truly sadistic and messed up man, and his mother didn't know anything about his whereabouts.

Paige didn't speak a word about what they'd found out until they were back at Stonehaven with Clay and Antonio.

"This whole day has confirmed nothing but the worse. Someone has broken the commandment and now there is a male witch," Paige muttered, pacing in the living room.

"Commandment?" Nick pressed.

"We don't have boys," Paige responded. "It's not biological, it's just the rule. It's complicated."

"Try us," Nick insisted, catching Clay's eyes. It was sounding a lot like the witches murdered their sons.

"We're not allowed to have boys," Paige reiterated.

"What do you just kill your sons?" And Paige thought they were barbaric. At least they didn't murder their children for not being the sex they wanted.

"It never gets as far as birth," Paige corrected. It still sounded like killing your son, no matter what stage they did it in.

"What does it mean if there's a male witch out there?" Clay interrupted. It didn't matter what the witches did to their babies. Right now they needed to know what the consequences of not following through with the commandment meant.

"The way that Christians believe in the apocalypse, witches believe in the prophecy of the tribulation. A male child born to a witch is destined to bring about our downfall," Paige explained. If someone had broken the commandment it wouldn't just be the death of their coven. It would be the death of all witches.

"Downfall like you…" Nick broke off, scared to say the word.

"Downfall like we die!" Paige shouted, her answer sending a thrill of fear down Nick's spine as he glanced at Annie. What did that mean for her, if she did have witches blood in her?

"So if my mother was part witch?" Annie whispered, her complexion paling as she looked to Paige for an answer.

"You could die too," Paige responded in a softer tone than she'd used with Clay and Nick. In this situation Annie was a wild card. Paige didn't know how the tribulation was brought about, just that all witches would die as a result.

Without a word Annie left the room, walking through the kitchen to the back door. She heard Antonio, Clay and Nick calling after her, but she ignored them. Using her speed to her advantage, she raced towards the trees. Once she reached their coverage, she pulled at her clothes. She needed to run, she needed to change. The pain of the transformation helped ease her mind. She was a wolf, not a witch. She was a wolf.

"I'll find her," Nick barked out when Clay made a move to follow Annie. Tearing through the house, Nick shed his clothes when he heard Annie's howl. If he had any hopes of catching up to her he'd need to change as well.

Following Annie's scent was easy. Permeated with fear, it was stronger than ever as Nick followed it through the woods. At some point Annie had circled back, and when Nick finally found her she was curled up under the base of a large tree, human.

"You ran," Nick commented once he'd changed back. He approached Annie cautiously, as if she might bolt again.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, you heard Paige," Annie sighed, turning her face towards Nick. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks wet. Whatever she had hoped to achieve through running, she hadn't found it.

"Weren't you insisting just hours ago that you aren't a witch?" Nick attempted a smile as he crouched down in front of Annie.

"Nothing about my existence makes sense Nick. No female baby from a wolf has ever been born wolf. And even though I have always been a wolf, I don't heal as fast. My wolf senses aren't up to par with you guys. I always figured it was because I was a female wolf, until Elena. Her senses and abilities sometimes even surpass every other pack member. Something's not right with me. What if I am part witch? What if Aleister succeeds? What if I die?" Annie whispered, admitting her fears.

"I'm not going to let that happen," Nick insisted, gripping Annie's shoulders tightly. Anger was coursing through him at the thought of losing Annie. "I'm not losing you. And if I have to rip out the throat of this male witch then so be it. I will track him down and…"

Annie interrupted Nick's rant with a kiss, unable to resist with how animated Nick was on her behalf. If her time was limited, she wasn't going to waste it wallowing. She'd fight while she could. But right then, she wanted to savor her time with Nick. They hadn't been completely alone in so long. Now it was just him and her and the trees.

Nick returned the kiss wholeheartedly, his pent up anger easily transferring to passion as his kiss had Annie pushed back against the tree. That time was different than any of their previous times together, more animalistic. The kisses were rushed and hungry, their lips pulling at one another's desperately. Both of them wanted to forget, to escape the present threats that plagued them.

Taken over by a haze, Annie pushed Nick away momentarily, perching herself on all fours before him. Every fiber of her being wanted Nick to take her like a wolf, to succumb to the animal instincts inside her so no doubts of what she was would creep in. Thankfully Nick followed her lead before embarrassment could leak through. Climbing over her, Nick pressed his lips against the side of Annie's head as he entered her from behind, suppressing a growl at the sensation.

Without hesitation Nick set the rhythm pounding into Annie, his hands digging into the dirt at the flood of sensations. He'd only ever imagined taking Annie like this, and the reality was a thousand times better. The sound of her hitched breathing growing into moans had him losing his mind. Adjusting his weight, Nick moved his left hand to wrap around Annie, pulling her closer to his chest as he shifted his angle inside her. The sound she made at that, between a moan and a growl, had Nick losing any control he had. Increasing the pace, Nick moved his head to Annie's shoulder, biting into it. The pleasure and the pain had Annie's core spasming against him as she screamed out her release in a long guttural sound. It had Nick squeezing her tightly to him, pulling his own release from him.

Pulling away from Annie, Nick turned her body so she was facing him, kissing her gently before moving his lips to the bite mark he'd made on her shoulder. It was deeper than he'd intended, and would definitely take time to heal. A sense of satisfaction swept through him at the thought. Annie bearing his mark would always be a good thing.

"Does it hurt?" Nick asked when Annie shuddered beneath his kiss, his satisfaction wavering at the thought of causing Annie pain.

"No," Annie murmured as Nick's breath hit the mark. The exact opposite actually. Nick's lips on the mark had a shiver of longing running through her. Pulling his face back up to hers, Annie pressed another hungry kiss to Nick's lips, another growl erupting from her when his hand brushed against the mark. This wasn't like her at all. Annie had never been promiscuous. If werewolf heat was an actual thing, she'd swear she was going through it now.

Trailing her lips down Nick's neck, Annie took in Nick's scent. Unable to control herself, she sunk her teeth into his shoulder just as he had done to her. Nick's surprised gasp quickly turned to a grunt of pleasure as he pushed her up against the nearest tree. The bark dug into Annie's back, but it only urged her on. Without warning Nick was inside her again. Apparently the bite had revved him up as much as her.

With every thrust Annie felt herself being taken higher. Breaking their kiss, Annie twisted her hands in Nick's hair as she leaned her head back against the tree. Breathing was becoming difficult as pleasure took over. When it became too much, her dam finally breaking, Annie could hear herself screaming Nick's name even as her mind became too foggy to comprehend anything else. Nick followed behind her, as she felt his release inside her just as his lips pressed against her chest, her neck, and every place he could reach.

"That, was amazing," Annie murmured once her feet were back on the ground, her chest heaving. Nick had his hands at her sides, which she was thankful for. The only thing keeping her upright at the moment was his hands and the tree behind her.

"You're amazing," Nick responded, adding on a soft kiss. If he could stay out there with Annie, lost in their own reality, he would. But their momentary escape couldn't last forever. Soon the pack would come looking for them. "We should head back."

Shifting back into their wolves, they ran until they found their clothes. Annie dressed quickly, fearing that Clay, or worse, Antonio might come looking for them. Once she pulled her shirt over her head, and realized part of Nick's mark was still visible, Annie pulled her hair form her mussed up ponytail. She knew it was impossible to hide what they'd done from the pack. Nick's scent was all over her, as was hers on Nick. Still, they didn't need to see the proof of just how heated things had gotten.

"There you two are," Jeremy commented when Annie and Nick returned to the house. Ruth and him had apparently returned home while they were out, and now everyone was gathered in the living room around Paige. Thankfully Jeremy was too busy focusing on Paige, who was trying to channel Savannah, to take notice to their slightly disheveled appearance and the fact they smelt strongly of one another. It didn't escape Clay's notice, and he sent Nick a dark look when Nick came to stand beside him.

"Seriously," he muttered.

"What, we went for a run," Nick whispered back, the glint in his eyes causing Clay to harrumph in response. Their banter stopped after that. Paige had made contact.

"This is Elena," Paige spoke. Or technically, Elena spoke through Paige. Upon hearing it was Elena Clay let out a sound between a sigh and a gasp. Elena was alive.

"How is that possible?" Jeremy asked Ruth. Elena had no powers, so Paige couldn't have channeled her directly.

"I grabbed Savannah's hand and suddenly I can see you," Elena responded. They needed to get past the hows and whys.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked, terrified of the answer.

"We're fine. I'm doing everything I can to get us out of her, but I need your help. Alesiter's very close to pulling together some type of spell that will kill the witches." Even though Annie already knew about the tribulation, fear clawed at her at Elena's statement. Before it was just speculation, but now Elena was confirming it.

"We know. We need to find you," Ruth interrupted. It was very important they get to Savannah before Aleister succeeded.

"Logan's here too. And Rachel. We're somewhere in Quebec. I think it's come type of former military base. Look for a grouping of red roofs," Elena pulled to mind everything she'd observed the last time she'd tried to escape.

"I'll start looking," Nick murmured, grabbing the laptop and moving to take a seat beside Annie on the couch.

"It's remote," Elena added. "We're surrounded by forest. I've heard a train three miles to the east and there's a field of lavender nearby. I wish that I had more."

"It is imperative that Savannah not give in to Alisteir's magic. Savannah, I know you can hear me," Ruth needed to make sure Savannah understood the importance of not giving in.

"I'm doing everything that I can to protect Savannah," Elena answered. Paige's head turned towards Clay after that. "I miss you so much," Elena sighed. "I shouldn't have left your side to go after Malcolm."

"Hey, listen to me," Clay responded. "You have to be very careful of Dr. Bower. Okay? She's.." Elena cut him off, informing him she was dead. That news had relief washing over him. At least she was safe from the doctor's sick experimenting.

"Elena, I'm going to need you to do whatever possible to send up some sort of signal to help us identify that compound. You hang tight. We'll be there by morning." Jeremy instructed.

"I'll see you then," Elena answered before the connection was broken.

"Nick what do you have?" Clay demanded desperately, turning from Paige.

"There's two possible locations, with a couple hundred miles between the two," Nick stated, showing Clay and Jeremy the map he was looking at.

"We have no choice but to split up," Jeremy relented. He didn't like splitting up the pack, as they were strongest when together. "Clay, you, Paige and Annie go in one car. The rest of us will go in the other."

"Jeremy, shouldn't Annie come with us?" Nick interjected, panic rising within him at the thought of being separated from Annie after everything they'd found out. His question had Jeremy turning his serious gaze on him.

"I need you focused on finding Elena and Savannah. You seem to have a hard time focusing with Annie around," Jeremy snapped back, his eyes boring into Nick. So he had noticed their scents on each other.

"Fine. At least send dad with them," Nick countered, not fazed by Jeremy knowing what Annie and him had done. He would feel no shame in making love with the woman he loved. It wasn't as though he had been unfaithful to Annie, or that he ever would be. Still, he was big enough to step back from his desire to be with Annie. What mattered was Annie having as much protection as possible. If he couldn't go with her, then he wanted another wolf to. Clay and his father would protect Annie. Not only did Annie mean a lot to them, they knew how much she meant to Nick.

"Antonio, go with Annie," Jeremy relented, knowing Nick was right. The more pack he had around Annie, the better.

A/N Hey everyone! I have to say I was hesitant to post this one. I feel it's a bit choppy and I wasn't sure how the intimate scene would go over. If it would be too much. Let me know what you thought!

Rach

xoxo