Time Change (bxb)

Twenty

I sniffed the air lightly, smelling another fantastic scent. Tiny? I didn't see him when I ran by, so was the tinier mates scent coming from Marcus? Marcus leaned forward to run his hand through my fur, petting me somewhat like a dog. Only my mates would be allowed this close. To touch another wolf's fur was considered an honor to some, and that honor was one I would only present to my mates.

A small gasp filled the air, making my attention snapped towards the direction of the gasp, only to be shocked by seeing Tiny sitting against another tree, right across from Marcus. How did I not notice him when I ran by?

Tiny jumped slightly when he noticed both Marcus and I's eyes on him, watching him. I panicked when I realized what exactly was happening. It wasn't every day that a human saw a full-sized wolf being pet by another person like I was a dog. I am not a dog, nor do I even remotely look like one.

But the last thing I wanted to do was frighten him. Most people see wolves as vicious, human-attacking beasts. I do not want my mate to fear me forever and see me as a monster when I was anything but a monster. The thought of my mate fearing me was fresh on my mind, just seeing him made me happy, but I wanted that feeling of happiness to be on-both-sides.

I might be mistaken, but I could sense his heart beginning to beat faster.

I lowered my wolf body to the ground, attempting to make myself seem like less of a threat. I took a few cautious steps towards Tiny, expecting him to move backwards in fright, scream, anything?! He didn't move, though, giving me a calm look.

Taking this calmness as an okay to come closer, I moved towards him, wanting to get to my other mate. My lack of knowledge of him made me even more curious to learn more. I didn't show it, but the moment I noticed his wounded ankle, my heart sunk. My mate was hurt; why is his ankle hurt?!

When I reached Tiny, I couldn't help but rub my head against his knee, attempting to get my scent to spread onto him for the first time. Tiny smelled nothing like me; I don't like it. If I couldn't claim them, scenting them would be okay, for now. At least neither one of them seemed to mind me doing it.

I looked into Tiny's eyes, only to see how much his eyes held pain and sadness. He was hiding it well, behind walls.

I peeked back down towards his ankle, hoping he was getting the hint that I was about to lick his wound. He didn't stop me as I leaned down and gently ran my tongue over the bruising flesh of his delicate little ankle.

I glanced back towards Marcus, sending him an accusing glare. I don't know how exactly the two of them ended up in the woods, but considering Tiny was logically known as the runaway mate, I can safely say Marcus likely had something to do with them being in the woods. How long have they even been sitting here? Why hasn't Marcus taken him to a human doctor or healed him?

Marcus flung his hands into the air and a look of guilt and annoyance on his face.

"I tried to heal him; he's just stubborn!" Marcus groaned, pushing himself off the tree. Before Marcus could even come closer to Tiny, he flinched back, clearly apposed to Marcus coming any closer. The flinch halted Marcus, who could only sigh in obvious disappointment.

"Hey, you may not trust me, but after this whole ordeal, do you really think I'd hurt you?" Marcus asked Tiny. Although Tiny looked unsure, he shook his head, moving his ankle out of his cocoon slightly to give Marcus more access.

After a second of hesitation on Marcus's side, he moved into a position to touch. The moment Marcus's hand got even remotely close to his ankle, Tiny's anxiety spiked. I rubbed my head against his hand, hoping that he understands that I was offering my head to be pet if nothing else to comfort him.

I watched them both closely, making sure to pay attention for any unease or discomfort. Based on what Marcus had said, magic was a real source of anxiety for him.

Wait . . . does Tiny know that Marcus was planning on healing him magically?

I didn't get long to ponder the question because the moment I even thought of it, Marcus's magic made its physical appearance, and when it did, things only seemed to go horribly wrong. The once pale green magic flashed brightly, shooting all over the place, everywhere but Tiny's wound.

Marcus yanked his hand away from Tiny's ankle, which made all the flashing magic disappear. Tiny wretched his ankle towards himself, attempting to get away from Marcus's magical touch. I was shocked, but so was Marcus. The magic that Marcus had used on Jordan had been calm and easy to control. What was the difference between then and now?

"If that is healing magic, then I'd prefer to heal by myself," Tiny said unhappily, looking at his ankle again. I glanced down as well, seeing the wound looked worse than a few seconds prior, the bruising darker and more intense.

I let out a quiet whimper, hurting myself to see my mate in pain. I could tell that Marcus felt horrible about it as well, having taken a step back in confusion and shock. I wanted to scoop both of them into my arms and make everything okay.

I rubbed my head against Tiny's knee again, hoping it brought him some comfort in whatever uncomfortable pain he was feeling. He seemed to appreciate the gesture, running his fingers through my fur yet again.

"Tiny . . . I'm so sorry!" Marcus blurted out quickly, trying to figure out what happened in his head. Marcus needed to know that this wasn't his fault, that he tried his best, and that was all that should be expected of him.

Tiny turned to look at Marcus like he had grown two heads, an angry look forming on his face.

"You've been referring to me as TINY?!"