Ever After (currently rewriting)

Part 14

Chapter dedicated to themysterygiver10. I've been struggling with the rewrite for the sequel all night and your comments that keep popping up for this story are just what I've been needing to keep me going. Thank you!

I'm pretty sure I have a dumb expression on my face.

Aedan just told me he's a wolf. Seriously... There isn't a hint of humor on his face. In fact, he looks mildly worried.

Worried about what? Oh, I don't know. Maybe, the fact that he's just told me the impossible. It's impossible,  right?

My mind attempts to sort through the night's events. I suddenly remember all of the times I thought his mannerisms were oddly doglike. I remember people around me, making clearly non people like noises. I see the discarded pair of jeans tangling up my feet, and wounds that seem to magically heal in impossibly short time. I see the intelligent grey wolf who always seems to understand what I'm saying and shows up just when I need him. 

And finally, I relive the moment I thought I was about to be attacked by the black wolf. I clearly see the grey wolf launch from behind me, where Aedan was just moments before, and then Aedan is nowhere to be found. The impossible seems more and more probable as I think. What about the times I've seen hints of yellow swirl in his blue grey eyes? That's most assuredly not normal.

"Liz?" His voice is hesitant.

I hold up my hand for him to stop. I just need a minute. Ok, maybe more than one minute.

The room is spinning.

I put my head between my knees and concentrate on breathing. I will not freak. There has to be a perfectly logical explanation. 

After a few minutes, my mind clears a bit. I slowly sit back up and look at him. He's sitting there, a clearly concerned look on his face. "Ok. Um... you think that you're a wolf. As in, werewolf?" I ask hesitantly.

"No, not a werewolf. I'm a shifter. It's not the same thing. I can't bite someone and make them like me. We are born this way." He seems relieved that I'm talking.

"But, you're a wolf?" I ask again.

"Sort of. It's hard to explain. I'm a man, and a wolf. A wolf is inside me. We share. And if I let him, he can take over."

I hold up my hand again needing a moment to digest this. My mind is grappling with his words. I want what he is saying to be true, because that means neither one of us is crazy. I'm starting to believe him, and I say so.

He stands up suddenly and walks into the hallway. His footsteps stop just outside the room. There is a split second of silence, and then I hear the thud of a belt falling to the hardwood floor. Toenails click and my grey wolf pads his way into the room. 

He stops in the middle of the floor and sits, looking at me with pleading eyes. "Aedan?" I whisper. He huffs out a breath and walks to me. Putting his head on my knee, he whines softly.

I reach out and touch his fur hesitantly. He turns his head and puts a long lick on my arm. "Oh, wow." How's that saying go? Seeing is believing.

He turns and jogs back into the hallway. I hear clothes rustling around and blush, realising that he's naked on the other side of that wall. He walks back into the room, buckling his belt as he comes.

I'm not crazy. And neither is he. I'm so relieved that I jump up and into his arms. He's surprised and it takes just a second before his arms close around me.

"I believe you," I tell him. It's impossible, yet true. Aedan is a wolf. Or, he has a wolf... something like that.

"Thank you." He says with feeling. He's holding on to me tightly. "I don't know what I would have done if you didnt."

He hesitates for a second, getting a faraway look, and then tells me, "The guys are back."

"Guys?" Suddenly I remember the three wolves who came out of nowhere and chased the black wolf into the night.

"Do you want to see them right now? They are still wolves until they can gather up their clothes. They want to give me an update and check on you."

I'm hesitant. "Um, ok." I'm following Aedan to the door when a thought occurs to me. "Wait. How will you talk with them if they are wolves?" 

"We can hear each other's thoughts, if we want to."

Ok, weird. He opens the door and I follow him out into the driveway a little hesitantly. There, all panting heavily, are three wolves.

I've been hit with a lot tonight, so I decide to give myself a pass when it comes as a shock to me to realize that Aedan's three roomates and the three wolves sitting on my driveway are probably one and the same.

The white one is sitting in front. The other two behind and to his side. They watch me solemnly, with those far too intelligent to be animal eyes that I'm starting to come to expect from a wolfy face, as I slowly come down the stairs.

The smaller grey wolf hangs his head in what I can only interpret as shame.

"Braden wants me to tell you he's sorry that your dog got hurt." Aedan tells me. Now, all of their heads are bowed. "They all apologize." I must look confused because he elaborates. "They were standing watch, keeping an eye out for the rogue. He somehow got past them."

"Oh. Um, thanks for watching out for me. Hope's going to be ok." This feels weird. I talk to animals all of the time, but this is the first time I know that they understand every word. 

Silence falls and I think they must all be talking to each other telepathically, or however that works. I stand there, shifting my weight from foot to foot, feeling a bit out of place. Aedan looks unhappy. The news must not be good. 

After another minute, the three get up. The white wolf leads the way as they walk off. The smaller grey wolf hesitates next to me. He looks up at me and whines softly, before hurrying after the others.

Aedan tugs on my hand and pulls me back inside. "We need you inside. They didn't catch him."

Suddenly, something that he said outside hits me. "You called that wolf a rogue. That wasn't your run of the mill wolf tonight, was it?" I don't know why it's taken me this long to put it together. None of the other wolves are just your run of the mill wolves. Why would the black one be any different?

He sighs before answering me. "No, Liz. He's not an average wolf. He's a shifter, too. We've found evidence that he's been watching you for a while."

It all clicks into place. "Oh, my God. The stalker. He's a wolf." It fits the predatory aura and growling that I've experienced from him. In fact, it explains quite a few things.

I walk to the table and sit down heavily. "Why me? Why is he doing this to me?"

Aedan sits next to me. "There is a lot you don't know about us, yet. This rogue is obviously not right, but then, few rogues are. They tend to be violent and unpredictable, and that's what gets them kicked out of their pack. Once on their own, they wander, usually trying to stay off of the radar of established packs. It's unusual for one to stay in the territory of a pack for long.  He must feel the benefits out weigh the risks, to have stayed here so long. My pack isn't large, but even so, when we catch him, we will kill him." The last is said with a growl.

I look at him and catch the swirl of yellow in his eyes. That must be his wolf. "But, I still dont understand. Why me? Why would he risk staying here just to spy on me?"

"There are a few things that we would happily die for." Aedan looks at me. "Pack members and especially pups." He reaches out and runs his fingers over my jaw. "And our mates."

"Wait. You're saying he thinks I'm his, what? Mate?" I shudder a bit at the thought. I could guess what that word implies. Sick.

"He's acting that way. You said, he said you belonged to him. And his behavior escalated when you started spending time with me. But he's wrong."

"How do you know he's wrong?"

He strokes his fingers over my jaw again. "Because we only have one true mate, in all of our lifetime." He looks into my eyes with complete honesty. "And you are mine."

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