Claws (Rewritten)

Four

Markus

Caleb and Chloe got back just as it was getting dark, laughing amongst themselves and looking like they'd had the time of their lives.

And, just as I'd asked, they brought food back with them.

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, rushing up to steal the pizza boxes from Caleb. "Ooh, you know me well," I commented when I opened the top one to find my favourite order.

"Don't get too comfortable," Caleb warned me as I inhaled the tantalising smell of the freshly cooked piece of heaven. I frowned briefly and looked up at him in silent question. "I'm going to my dad's, and you're coming with me."

I stared at him for a moment or two longer before nodding in agreement, and in that time, Lyn and Chloe took another box and split it between them. "You got interrogated, too, did you?" I guessed.

He nodded sullenly. "They're too good for us - found us out immediately."

"Damn, and I thought we were aspiring actors," I continued, a hint of mock disappointment lining my voice.

"I'll do better," He vowed.

"See to it that you do," I said, authority dripping from my tone, before returning to the pizza. I think I caught him saluting obediently in the corner of my eye, but food had consumed my thoughts, by then.

"Oh, please, you two are awful at keeping anything from us," Adelyn commented from the sofa.

Chloe laughed beside her. "Couldn't even manage a week without outing yourselves to me," She added.

"Correction - Caleb couldn't manage a week. Me and Lyn are just such good friends that we decided if he goes down, we all go down," I told her pointedly.

"Yeah, except by going down, you traumatised me," She shot back, smiling.

"Traumatised is such a strong word," Adelyn said thoughtfully. "We only temporarily disturbed you."

"Oh, I am always disturbed, I just hide it well."

Once we'd finished off the pizzas, Caleb and I headed out, leaving Lyn and Chloe to an all-too-familiar admin session. Just one more night of freedom, and then hell would begin...

My wolf grumbled in the back of my mind and put forth an idea.

"Shall we walk?" I blurted out, making Caleb frown at me, his eyes holding traces of mock horror.

"I thought the world ended if you exercised?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? University's changed me."

He agreed to walk, and so we changed course and cut through the woods as we headed towards his father's. The forest was alive with cricket noises and the distant snapping of twigs and leaves from woodland animals, not to mention the wind whistling through the trees. I took a deep breath and let the various scents wash over me, my eyes flickering golden. Yeah, words couldn't express how relieved I was to stay close to all this.

"I'm getting a little restless," Caleb murmured quietly after a long silence - in which time I was bickering with my wolf about whether to turn or not. His words made us become united at once and I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Caleb hesitated, then shrugged. "Being in one place for so long...it's just, I haven't done that in a while. I'm used to travelling."

I couldn't help but stare at him for a moment or two, a sick sense of sudden realisation seeping over my mind. "You're leaving?" I asked hesitantly, a trace of helplessness in my voice. Regret set in the instant I recognised it. Don't guilt-trip him.