Within you I found home

twelve

       YOU WAKE UP WITH YOUR leg stiff and throbbing.

        The mornings were the worst for the pain. As if the shock of waking up left you with a lower tolerance. At this point the constant suffering makes you want to cry.

        Especially when you feel the familiar cramps in your lower belly, like a hand gripping your uterus and twisting.

        As if your leg wasn't enough, you were most likely coming on your period at some point today.

        And you didn't have any cloths to use.

        Alone in the cave, you sit up and bury your face in your hands.

        Gods.

        They say bad things come in threes.

        Surely, you'd hit your quota to last you an entire lifetime.

        You allow yourself a moment to feel; to be angry and flooded and sad. And then you take a deep breath, hold it, and let it out with a heavy exhale.

        Sitting here wouldn't fix your problems.

        You place your hand against the cave wall and you're about to shift yourself into a stand when a wad of fabric catches your eye, placed in a delicate pile by your sleeping spot.

        Confusion morphs into realisation. Your cheeks warm.

        Wolves had heightened senses. They must have smelt the incoming blood.

        You wonder which one of them did it before you settle on Nico. You hadn't had that talk with Mithun yet since he was only nine.

        Bundling the off-white cloths in your hand, you glance at the entrance of the cave.

        This man – this shifter – was unlike any male you'd ever met before. You wonder if they're all like this. Andreo had offered you his wolf to ride so you could rest your leg, so it wouldn't surprise you.

        They were going to ruin you for human men at this rate.

        Hiding back under your blanket, you place one of the cloths in your smalls, making sure it was fitted and comfortable before you leave the rest by your blanket and limp your way outside.

༓･*˚*･༓☾ WYIFH ☽༓･*˚*･༓

        Mithun and Nico stood by the tree line in their wolf forms.

        You smile at them, watching as Nico ducks his head, shoulders higher than his body. Mithun copies the form, and then Nico breaks out of his before rounding on Mith, nudging one of his front paws with his snout to bring it more forward.

        He was showing Mith stances? Was your best guess.

        Something warms your insides, and you think about how, maybe, you wouldn't mind sharing Mithun's attention if it meant you had views like this.

        Breathing in deeply, you savour the fresh, crisp air. Your village mostly smelt of smoke, burning coals from the blacksmiths, and wood fires heating people's homes and escaping from the chimneys.

        Out here was like breathing pure life.

        An open area just beyond the waterfall catches your eye. You remember seeing it when you first arrived but hadn't paid it much attention. Green grass clashes with blue which never seems to end.