'Lycan in the storms'

~Chapter one~

All of a sudden I’m not too sure that following her was a good idea. She sniffs around me tenderly and then shifts herself off of me, but she is still snarling viciously. I want to show her that I’m not going to give in easily so I give her a show of my teeth and a growl as a warning. She seems to have backed off a bit, but she is still seems to be holding her ground well. It seems to me like she is waiting for something to happen. Then an idea begins to form in my mind. I stand a bit back from her and shift into my human, covering myself when fully formed. For a moment, I see her eyes widen, her breathing slowing, a shocked and confused expression creeping across her face. And then she does something un-expected to me. She shifts as well. I can’t stop staring at her, in her human form; she has long, brunette hair flowing down her back and across her chest, covering most of her, and a very kind face. Her features are stunning, copper coloured eyes glint in the sunlight, complimented by her plump cheeks, full of life. I’m almost afraid to talk, but I manage to introduce myself, “My name is Erik” I choke; her beauty has overwhelmed me so much that I have to hide my blushing face.  Her voice breaks the silence between us, she sounds as sweet as she looks, “I’m Belle” she says, then momentarily afterwards she disappears behind a tree and comes back full clothed. I suddenly feel shy in my nakedness. Just as I was about to mention my lack of clothes, a blood curdling roar fills the air and we are soon in sight of a very fierce, very hungry looking dragon. I don’t stick around; I’m soon on my paws and am bounding through the trees, Belle following by my side. The dragon follows above us, diving in and out of the clouds in the sky, trying to keep us in sight. Fortunately the trees give us shelter from his sight, so it gives us time to hide. Belle disappeared out of my sight, so I assumed she was hiding, so I did the same and dug my way into the roots of a nearby oak.

I was fully hidden by the time the dragon was on the ground, pulling up numerous trees in its rage, looking for its meal, looking for us. I hear Belle’s distressed howl ripple through the air. My legs are moving automatically, I can’t stop myself, every command my brain gives out is ignored completely, I want to stop running, to save myself, to get away whilst the dragon is distracted, but I can’t. I arrived at the site of Belle’s howl and sniff around frantically, trying to pick up her scent, but I fail to find anything. Her soft voice calls to me from above, she is hidden up in a tree, looking down at me, “Just stay put, my crew are handling it” I look to my left and see the dragon in a clearing where trees would have been had he not knocked them down, he is trying to fight something, but I can’t see what it is until I get closer. I then discover what must be Belle’s pack, five wolves all stood snarling, taking turns to attack the dragon, biting, scratching, doing anything they can to inflict damage. “It won’t work!” I want to shout, but they look far too occupied, so I just run. Again I want to turn away, but the same, stubborn feeling urges me forward and soon I’m at the dragon’s feet, biting and scratching, creating only minor flesh wounds. I see Belle climb down from her hiding tree and make her way over, but a member of her pack blocks her off, telling her to go back to the base, and to take me with her. I think the pack member was the leader of the pack, because Belle doesn’t argue, she just nods to him and then calls me over as the leader returns to his post, chewing away a lump of dragon flesh. When we are safe in the forest and far enough away from the dragon we start talking, I go first, “Was he the leader?” I ask, “Yes. His name is Lucas” Belle replies, a tone of irritation in her voice. We fall silent for another couple of minutes before I speak again, “Where is ‘base’?”

“You’ll know when you see” she grins, brushing a twig away from her face.

“The trees are getting lower” I say, wondering if she had noticed.

“Yes, they are” she nods.

The trees shrink with every step, and soon we are crawling through shrubs, my curiosity gets the best of me and I rush ahead, tempted by what may lurk on the other side. On the other side of the shrubs I bump into a rock and trip, landing head first into a cold stream. I hear Belle laughing behind me as I resurface and I’m close to turning around and splashing the water at her, but the sight of what lies ahead has caught my attention. There is a wide cave entrance, surrounded with sharpened stones to ward off intruders and spring traps made with thorns, I tread carefully. Belle leads me into the cave and shifts into her human form behind what looks like a screen, she returns full dressed, I blush. “Clothes are over there” she points to what looks like a wardrobe, fashioned out of stone and small branches. I open one of the draws to find a clean shirt and a pair of trousers. Perfect. Luckily they fit and I’m happy to be in clothes again. Belle’s face lights up in a smile when I come out from behind the screen, dresses in the clothes she’d pointed out, “There, now doesn’t that feel better?” I nod and slouch against the wall, unsure where to be. The inside of the cave is furnished, chairs, tables and a couple of sofas made from stone and small branches, other decorations like paintings and carpets have been made up of fur scraps and clumps of moss which is soft beneath my feet. I like the feeling of the moss, it reminds me of the times I spent by the river in summer, letting the water flow over my skin, cooling myself off as I thought of new ways to hunt. That summer was good, I had located a whole herd of deer in the woods, I had never had so much to eat I had to carry bits home for later. Of course I’ve never really had a home, just a tree, or a rocky shelter, or even inside a tree trunk, where ever I could find that would keep me safe for a couple of days, and then I’d move on. The thought suddenly crosses my mind that maybe I could stay here with Belle and the rest of her pack, but somehow I’d have to ask Lucas, and he didn’t look like one to be easily persuaded. The sound of feet on stone awakens me from my thoughts and I look up to see Lucas and the rest in their human forms, bloodied up and battered, trying to catch their breath. A small trickle of blood rolls down Lucas’ forehead and he wipes it away with an irritated jerking motion, Belle soaks a piece of moss in water and begins wiping the blood off of his face. I feel uncomfortable under his gaze, the others go off to do their own thing as me and Lucas have a mini stare-down as Belle fidgets about, wiping blood away, bandaging wounds with bits of old cloth, tending to Lucas and the others like they were children. When Lucas speaks his voice is about as frightening as his appearance, very frightening, “How did you find Belle?”  He sounds angry, it makes me wonder if Belle could possibly be his mate, I reply quickly, “I found her scent and followed it”