Thorn (Werewolf) ✔

Chapter Twelve

I look around nervously as I squat to pee behind some bushes. Thorn has been sleeping for a long time, I'm not sure how long because I have no idea what time it is anymore but I'd guess a few hours. Sleepwalking must make him really exhausted.

I hear some noises and I wiggle my pants up quickly. I walk a little further into the trees and I see the mother bear with her cubs in the distance. Even from here, she looks enormous. She's too far away to see me so I fold my arms and I rest against a tree as I watch the sweet sight of the cubs playing.

I suddenly sense that I'm not alone. Thorn appears to the tree to my left. He keeps his arms behind his back and watches them with me. I smile as a cub clings on to a tree and starts climbing it. Thorn is watching me, I can feel his eyes boring into the side of my face, studying all of my reactions.

"Why does this fascinate you?"

I shrug. "It's cute."

"It's nature. Nature isn't cute. It's brutal and unfair. One of the cubs has been attacked, probably by a lion or coyote. That's why she's here."

My smile drops. "You just had to ruin it."

"The cub is alive though," he says. "Which means I really don't want to mess with that mother. Let's go."

I scratch my head as I follow him. "So, you have superhuman hearing, sense of smell and eye sight? What are you?"

"I've just been out here a long time," he says. "You'd be amazed by what your senses can adapt and change to when you're constantly looking out for danger."

I don't buy it. Heightened senses might be natural when living alone but he can hear things that shouldn't even be possible to human ears. He was asleep when I left him and he found me easily as though he just followed my scent.

"How long?" I ask.

"Over a century."

I laugh. "Right."

I have to almost run to catch up with his long strides. His speed is annoying. He starts to walk slower when he hears my breathless panting. We arrive at a small lake a few minutes later which is surrounded by long branches that Thorn holds high enough for me to walk under. He stops suddenly and moves to the side, cocking his head towards the water.

"This is the lake that I use to bathe."

"Okay?" I say.

"You stink," he says.

I blink. "It's the clothes. I've been wearing them for two days."

"Oh." He looks over them. "I'll bring you some fresh ones. Wash those."

"I don't suppose you have anything a little smaller, do you?" I grin as I tug on the baggy pants.

He shakes his head with a small smile.

"Yeah, I didn't think so."

"I won't be long. Stay out of trouble."

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here?" I say. "What about the bears? Thorn!" He vanishes through the trees.

I fold my arms as I look around the perimeter of the lake. The only sound is from the birds whistling in the treetops. He knows that I don't know my way back to the camp from here, he's probably finding it amusing that I'll have to wait for him. He most likely wants to get rid of me.

I start removing the damp and smelly clothes, including my underwear, and I descend into the water. The water is so cold that I squeal. I dunk the clothes underneath the surface and I hold them there for a few minutes. I have no idea how to 'wash' clothes in a lake. I assume I just need to wet them.