Eight
As we drove, or I guess I should say, as Knight drove and I bawled my eyes out in the passenger seat hiding my sniffles with the radio, it began to downpour. The rain beat down on the windshield as the wipers went as fast as they could go. I was hiding my face in my sweatshirt so that he wouldn't glance over and see the tears staining my cheeks.
"Renee, the rains coming down too hard to keep driving without getting into an accident." He said turning down the radio and glancing at my huddled figure. "There's a little motel a couple miles ahead of us. It's getting late so if you wanted we could stay there until the morning."
I glanced out the window. I hadn't even noticed that it had gotten darker, only that it was raining hard, and that I was still crying, even after several hours of driving. I couldn't hold back. I hadn't cried this hard since my mother disappeared. Or maybe it was when. . . when . . . well when something. Effectively wiping my cheeks as I sat up, I turned to him. His eyes showed no hint that he might think I had been crying.
"So, you want to stay in a hotel?" I asked. Was that really such a good idea to be in a room with him? He was extremely handsome, perfectly toned abs, They had to be a glorious site, they felt utterly amazing through the thin material of his shirt. And it's not like anything other than a one night stand, I wouldn't allow it to go any further than that. But he.... no. Stop. I couldn't be having thoughts like that. What was I thinking? I could feel a blush coming into my cheeks.
"On-only if we have separate rooms. There is now way, whatsoever, that I would ever want to share a room with you. Especially with how you acted last night. And your whole werewolf crazy fiasco thing earlier."
"Hey, the werewolf 'crazy fiasco thing' as you called it, isn't that at all. It's my life. It's who I am. And the way I acted the other night was because of my wolf. I barely had any control over him when I first saw you. I also couldn't control him when he marked you." He waved his hand to mine.
I huffed, blowing the hair that had fallen into my eyes out of the way. "Either way Wolf Boy, I refuse to sleep in the same room as you, where you might do something to me. And.... wait. Marked me?! What the hell do you mean 'mark' me? I'm not cattle that you can brand because you feel like it, nor am I anyone's property. Let alone yours."
"Fine, I'll try to get us separate rooms, if not you can lock yourself in the bathroom. Is that a fair deal?" He was avoiding the mark question and accusations.
"Fine. But soon, And I mean within the next hour, I want answers," We had pulled up to the tiny motel. From what I could see through the downpour there were only a couple of rooms, and most of them had their lights on. Great.
"I'll be right back," He opened the car door. "And by the way, the name is Knight, not Wolf Boy." He smirked and winked before closing the door and walking into the tiny building.
I sighed and closed my eyes. What had my father gotten me into? I was in a strange place, in an unknown town, with a mysteriously hot boy who seemed to only have eyes for me. Or at least that's what I was secretly wishing. But even though my body was craving this man, my mind knew perfectly well how dangerous any kind of relationship with him could be. It was also very flattering to know that such an irresistible human being, if that's what he really was, could find me in any way shape or form attractive.
I screamed as a tap came from the window by my head. My heart racing as at first I couldn't distinguish the features of the person outside. But, as they opened the door I let out my breathe. It was only Knight. He was holding two room keys, and not a very impressed expression.
"I'm sorry, Renee. They only have one open room. They told me that it only has one bed, a Kingsize. I'll take the floor, and you can have the bed. Don't worry, I won't try anything. I give you my word as an Alpha." He had two bags in his hand. One looked eerily similar to my overnight bag, the one I had not brought with me from the house. The other was a brown leather satchel, it looked almost black with all the rain.
"Well, fat lot of good that'll do me. I'm still not so sure you aren't just a lunatic, and the whole werewolf thing is just some made up fantasy of yours. But, if we really don't have a choice, I guess it'll be okay." I stepped out of the car, wincing as the cold rain pelted my skin. I shivered as the rain rolled down my exposed skin. How could I have forgotten that I was still in shorts and a sports bra? I hugged myself, trying to lessen the amount of exposed skin.
"C'mon, let's run." Knight said grabbing my hand.
I was almost pulled off of my feet as he half dragged me to the door of our room. Partly panting and soaked to the bone, I waited for him, not patiently, to open the door. Because of his rain slicked hands, he fumbled with the key in the lock. The rain was still relentlessly pounding on our backs. Finally, he managed to open the door, allowing a gust of warm air to hit us as we rushed into the tiny room.
True to his word, there was only one bed in the room. The downside was, it was not king sized. It was more a double. The room was quite cramped. A small table stood near the foot of the bed, a miniature flat screen T.V. Sat atop it. There was barely a gap of three feet around each side of the bed, and a door led into a tiny bathroom. There was a small walk in shower, just enough room to fit two people, a toilet, and sink with a couple towels.
I shivered involuntarily as Knight placed the soaking bags on the floor, and it wasn't just from the cold. Knight's shirt clung to his body, giving me a perfect view of his toned torso. My cheeks burned as I looked away. I was just glad his shirt was still on, otherwise. . . I couldn't let myself go there. I crossed my arms over my chest, this time a shiver racked my body that was caused by the chills that had sunk even farther. I felt heat behind me as a pair of strong, warm, comforting arms wrapped around my own.
"I'm afraid that the rain soaked everything in both bags," He whispered into my ear. "And, with the rain still coming down as hard as it is, it would be pointless to try and get dryer ones from the trunk. But, I did find one dry shirt of mine. You should go hop in the shower, get warmed up, and you can borrow my shirt until tomorrow when your clothes will be dry." I could feel his breath against my hear, making me heat up on the inside. I stepped away from him, I couldn't let these feelings of lust consume me. I didn't know him all that well to be getting so comfortable with him.
"Th-thanks." I had turned to face him. "But what are you going to wear?" If I was going to be wearing his only dry article of clothing, then that would leave him either in his sopping wet clothes or. . . nude.
"Don't worry about me, love." He placed his hands on my shoulders. "You just worry about yourself, I can take care of myself." He pushed me into the bathroom, and threw the shirt at me. "Just take your shower like a good girl, I'll be out here."
I nodded my head and closed the door. I stripped as fast as I could and turned the water on as hot as it could go. The steam immediately filled the small room. Stepping into the shower I couldn't suppress the moan of pleasure I felt as the water ran down my back. I stood there for a good fifteen minutes shivering uncontrollably for the first several minutes, but slowly my muscles began to relax as heat returned.
Reluctantly I shut the water off, and stood in the after shower mist. Grabbing one of the large white fluffy towels I slowly dried myself off. Enjoying the feeling of the downy softness of the towel against my warmed skin. I picked up the shirt lying by the sink. Knight wasn't that much larger than me, sure he was muscular and taller, but he was lean and thin. I slid the black v-neck over my head. It hit my upper thigh, a little too short for comfort. Before I opened the door I grabbed my black boy shorts. There was no way I was going to wear just a shirt when I was in the same room as Knight.
As I opened the door I noticed that the room was empty. My heart began to race. Where was Knight? The bed was vacant and the clothes that had been in our bags was hanging around the room. I noticed that the clothes he had been wearing were also hanging up. So he was naked, somewhere outside?
But that's when I saw it. It was a giant head. A dog's head. . . no it was the head of a wolf. As I had been looking around the room it's head had appeared on the bed. I opened my mouth to scream as it hopped onto the bed, but it lowered its ears and lay flat on the bed. That was when I noticed its eyes. They were not the natural brown that you see a dog have. They were a deep green with flecks of gold.
They were Knights eyes. But, that couldn't be right. This was a huge wolf. If it stood on its hind legs it would stand at least a foot and a half taller than me, and that's saying something since I stand, at full height, five foot six. I tried to choke back the scream that was creeping back up my throat. This was not possible. And yet, here was the proof. Knight had said what he was, and I had chosen to laugh it off.
The wolf, or Knight, slowly crept closer to me across the bed. He nudged my hand with his nose. As if asking me to touch his coat. His fur was the purest of black, the same as Knight's hair. It was damp, just as Knight's would be, but I guess this was Knight.
I held my breath as I ran my hand over his head. My fingers playing softly with his left ear. He leaned his head into my palm, as if enjoying it. If he had been a cat he probably would have been purring. I smiled at the thought. As I did Knight gave me a wolffish smile as if he enjoyed my amusement.
"Is that really you, Knight?" I asked, still trying to wrap my brain around the concept. He stared into my eyes as if he were trying to say something. But as soon as I looked into his eyes I knew, no one, and no thing, could ever have Knight's unique eye coloring. "I-I can't believe it! This. . . Well this just doesn't happen in the real world. I mean werewolves? In Maine?" I sat on the edge of the bed. Knight curled up around me, his body curling around my back and his head resting on my thigh. He was still looking up at my face.
I sighed placing my hands in his fur again feeling the incredible softness. I placed my head down on his. His woodsy scent was stronger than before, and only a hint of the citrus could be caught in the midst. It was still incredible. "Thank you," I mumbled into his head, knowing full well he could hear me. "For the shirt I mean." I stood up though, before any weird thoughts could pop into my head.
"You still have to sleep on the floor though, Wolf Boy." I pointed to the floor as I spoke. If it were possible for a wolf to huff in frustration then Knight would have had it down to a T. He rolled his eyes as he lazily got down off of the bed, his eyes roaming up and down my body. "If you want me to treat you like a dog I will." He growled at that, but I only shrugged.
I climbed back into the bed and pulled the covers over me. There was a wolf in the same room as me. Not just a wolf though, but a werewolf nonetheless. As I curled up into a ball I listened to the rain pounding on the tin roof, almost putting me to sleep. My thoughts wouldn't stop running though.
If Knight was right about the werewolf thing, then what he said about the mate thing. . . could that be true as well? Could my soul mate really be a fairy tale creature? Something of the supernatural?
There was a loud rumble of thunder that made me cower under the covers, stopping my thoughts completely. Another rumble echoed across the sky making the entire building shake. A small squeak escaped my lips as I tried to hide myself from the sound. Thunder terrified me, though I know logically it can't hurt me and lightning can, it still scared the living hell out of me.
I felt the bed sink lower as Wolf Knight hopped onto the bed. I was too scared to say anything to him. He must of sensed my fear, animals have a weird sixth or seventh sense for that kind of thing. But as the thunder rolled overhead, Knight wrapped his body around me and he put his head on my own, shielding me from my terror, and giving me a cacoon of warmth and safety. I hugged him to myself, seeking the natural heat he provided and ignoring the noise around me, as I buried my head into his neck I felt a rumble vibrate his entire body. I smiled as I lay with him. Because, while the thunder storm raged its war in the heavens, for the first time since my mother disappeared, I fell asleep feeling utterly whole and content with everything around me.