G H O S T R U N N E R

< E I G H T >

Yes, she has a tail.

Suddenly he frowns, “Your covered in blood.”

Her tail falls and curls around her while her ears fall back.

“No, it’s okay, I just want to make sure you’re not hurt. Can you…um, can you turn back?” Sam asks hesitantly.

Arden takes control of her body again and her large wolf body begins to shiver and shake before snaps are heard in the dead quiet of the night. Sam looks a bit panicked but says nothing as the fur on her body gives way to human skin. As Arden retakes her human form she shivers at the chill in the air.

“Uh…”

Arden looks up at Sam to see him looking away from her.

What’s wrong with him?

“Sam?”

“Your naked.”

Arden looks down at herself and furrows her brows, “So?”

“Um…”

“Are you uncomfortable?” She asks a bit concerned.

Sam doesn’t answer but instead strips off his flannel button up revealing a plain white t-shirt underneath. He keeps his eyes averted as he shoves the shirt at her and even in the dim light Arden can see a pink shade to his cheeks. Gently she takes the shirt from him and puts it over top of her naked form inhaling his scent deeply. She button up the shirt and pulls her hair out of the collar before crawling over to Sam.

She puts her hands on his cheeks and happily notes that he doesn’t flinch away from her like she expected him to. Instead he turns his face towards hers and seems to take in her face as she is taking in his. She wasn’t sure she would be able to see him one last time before Steve, Ben and Luke took her back to the Alpha so she makes the most of this time.

She never thought she’d be able to touch him like this when he found out.

It’s a relief.

“How?” He whispers looking deeply into her eyes.

Arden shrugs, “I was born this way.”

“Your parents?”

“Yes, they were like me too.”

He swallows, “Is that…normal?”

“Actually no.” She admits shaking her head. “The werewolf gene is recessive. My twin sister was fraternal; we came from two different eggs so she wasn’t given the gene like I was. In the end it was the reason she didn’t survive. Children with the gene have less time in the womb, she was too undeveloped to survive.”

“Can it be cured?” He whispers.

Arden drops her hands from his face and scowls, “No and I don’t want it to be.”

Sam’s eyes widen at her tone and expression, “I didn’t mean it that way. I just—“

“You what?” She snaps.

He runs a hand through his hair, “I was just wondering.”

Arden just looks away from him feeling hurt, as is her wolf. Would he like her more if she were wolf-less? Arden would become a zombie; internally empty without the wolf she had grown up with in her head since she was a child.

“Hey, I’m sorry.” Sam whispers gripping her chin his hand, “I didn’t mean to offend you, okay? This is all just a lot to take in. I mean the girl I like just revealed she can turn into something almost the size of my truck.”