There's something in the woods

chapter 1

Where do I even start? How about… at the beginning. We moved to where I live now about five years ago; at first, we just lived in a motorhome (which sucked), then we moved into a really small house that barely fit my family, then, just earlier this year, we moved into our big house that we built over the course of the last year or so. So now myself, my sister, my brother, and my parents. We live in a great big six-bedroom house, it’s much better. But that’s not why you’re here, I know. Ever since we moved to my current home, I have always imagined that something lives in the woods behind my house. Oh, did I not mention? I live in Colorado, specifically in the middle of nowhere. Off the grid... surrounded by trees and mountains. I have some neighbors, an old couple, and an old man who lives a couple of miles deeper into the woods. There’s also a mostly abandoned cabin and a summer home. But it’s pretty secluded and rural. Anyway, I like to pretend that something strange lives in the woods. Fast forward to a few months ago when my old man neighbor came down from his house and told us to watch out for huge wolves running around the woods.
My dad scoffed a bit and said, “Sure Bruce, thanks for the heads up.”
He also told my sister and she got a bit scared, but of course, she’s seven so what do we expect? I was there for my dad’s and Bruce’s conversation. Not that I’d ever mention it to my parents or siblings, but this really intrigued me. Like big wolves? How in the heck does anyone and albeit, even an old (probably senile) man come up with that? I don’t know. For a few nights after I stayed up way too late sitting on my roof just listening. Bruce was right! There were literally wolves howling at night at about 2 am and they stopped around 4 am. I was so surprised. After about two or so weeks of listening to these wolves howl every night, I asked my mom and dad if they had been hearing wolves howling at night.
“Yea why? It’s not like we live in town or something.” my mom replied a bit annoyed. I responded after realizing, well duh, of course, we’d be hearing wild animals,
“Yea, you're right. I don’t know why I even asked”.
After sitting in silence for a little while I got up and went back to my bedroom. I called my best friend, Adele, and told her what was going on. I think in my retelling I forgot to mention that every time I heard these wolves something pulled me towards where the howling was coming from. I really wanted to go towards it. I felt such a strange feeling in my gut. Was it butterflies? I don’t know but it was really weird. Alright anyway, after I told Adele about this she said:
“Well, maybe your psychic abilities are telling you something.” After a few seconds, we both burst out laughing. Yea, sure, I’ve seen ghosts and had weird dreams that come true in some way or another but... come on. Anyway, after talking for a bit longer we hung up and I went to the window, looked outside, and noticed it was the full moon. It was very pretty. It was late September, right after wildfire season; so the lack of smoke made for clear skies. The moon was the brightest it had been for months since probably May or June. After a few minutes of just staring, I decided to go onto the roof. Knowing full well I had school tomorrow and had really messed up my sleep schedule already, I did it anyway. I waited on the roof for a while and then it began. The loud, long howl one after another, for hours, it was so beautiful and hypnotizing. Before I knew it the sun was coming up. Holy shit! It must have been like four hours of the somber howling. They had stopped and that’s why I even noticed how much time had passed. I checked my phone. It was 7:30 am. Oh dear lord, that was my new personal best. I didn’t even know I could do that. I sat on my roof for seven hours listening to that slightly haunting but so, so beautiful song. I climbed through my window. I expected myself to be super tired but strangely, I wasn’t. I had an abundance of energy. I hopped around my room getting ready for school doing my hair, makeup, and picking an outfit. I usually put in the effort to look good for school but for some reason, today I decided to go the extra mile.

Point Of View Change~ This girl and her family moved into our territory like four or five years ago. I don’t really know. Everyone was rightly so pissed off. I couldn’t explain it but I was oddly excited. Being the future alpha everyone treated me like a superior, not a friend. Not even my future beta treated me like a friend. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful or anything but, I was kinda lonely despite everyone always being around me. So, when someone new my age came along I got really excited. Annoyingly, I was forbidden to get within a mile of her house. Until about six months ago. My dad told me that after watching the human family closely, they were determined to be not a threat. After what, five fucking years?! Now I’m allowed to explore this new and unusual human life... After saying a few short words back to him, I tried my best to calmly walk out of the house. I broke into a sprint and shifted into my wolf form. I ran right up to the woods that bordered her house. I let out a long howl. I was so excited I really couldn’t help it. Even after growing up a bit, my beta and other “friends” weren’t really that close. Sure, we ran together and trained together, but I don’t know. I didn’t connect with them like I was hoping would happen. So now, after too long, I got to watch this little human girl and see what it’s like. Everyone made themselves known about two weeks ago. So now we howl every night, and I love it. I’ve even caught her listening to us from the roof. God, something about her. I love it so much. One night, she had a friend over and everyone was fast asleep, but she and her friend were not. I threw on some sweats and walked from my house to hers and hung out underneath her window. Now I know what you’re thinking. That’s creepy as hell, why the fuck do you think that’s ok? To be honest, I don’t have an answer cause yea, I know I probably shouldn’t have done it. But anyway, she knew I was there. I am not being dramatic.
The girl was mid-conversation when she told her friend, “Hold on Adele, I think someones here.” She walked over to her window and looked down right at me.
“Lily, you good?” I heard her friend call to her, “Uh yeah, I think I’m just seeing things…”
So her name was Lily? How pretty... She definitely saw me. She glanced away for a moment but when she looked back I was gone. I knew better than to linger, so I moved silently back towards my own house.
Point Of View Change~      Meanwhile, I was in school all I could think about was last night/early this morning. The howls were so pretty. It was around noon when I started feeling tired, dozing off in the lunchroom. I thought back to that boy I imagined I saw outside my window last weekend. He was so unhumanly handsome. With golden eyes that sparkled in the light that cascaded down from my window. He had lightly tan skin and black hair. I swear I saw him but when I went to take a second look he was gone. Adele was so confused when I told her what I saw. We both concluded that I was going crazy.   
“Lily, what the hell is up with you? You look so tired.” Adele questioned, trying to not burst into laughter.  Her laughter woke me up and I looked at her; half annoyed because I got woken up and half relieved because I was at school. Not a place to be napping.
“Yea, I’m fine, just had a late-night is all ” I responded nonchalantly.
“A late-night doing what?” Adele asked.
“I stayed up until 7:30 am listening to those wolves.”
Adele looked at me and replied “Lily, 7:30 am? Listening to wolves…? I’m a little concerned.”
I replied in a calm tone, “Yea... I didn’t realize what time it was until they stopped howling.   
”Then the bell rang and she stepped up and whispered, “That’s weird as fuck, girl.”   
I laughed a bit and we walked to our next class. Fast forward to the end of the day, I plopped down on my bed completely exhausted. I passed out instantly. I woke up around 8:00 pm, missed dinner and it was about time to get ready for bed. I told myself tonight I was actually going to bed. I still opened my windows because for some reason I felt some kind of anxiety about not being able to hear the howls clearly. So, I drifted off to sleep even after taking a long nap. I woke up to one lone howl. A long one. I checked my phone, it was about 1 am. I walked up to my window and looked out to the small aspen trees near my bedroom window, I also noticed two glowing golden eyes. They matched the boy’s eyes. I gasped audibly, all I could do was keep my eyes on him, desperate to make sure he didn't run away. He walked up closer to my window. Despite my better judgment, I slipped through my window onto the roof. About the time I situated myself on the roof, he was close enough to see me sitting outside the window of my second-story bedroom.
“Hi.” His voice was so mesmerizing and damn, I hadn’t noticed it last time but he was in shape. Like chiseled abs.
Fighting back a blush, not very well though, I responded shyly, “Uh hi”.
I didn’t know what to do. A hot guy, probably not my age or single, was at my window. Oh my god, there was a boy at my window. Holy fuck. That’s actually really creepy.
“I hope I didn’t scare you or anything.” He had a smirk on his face.
I mustered up some newfound confidence, “To be honest you did and... still are. Why are you at my window at 1 am?”   
He looked amused, answering promptly, “Well sorry, would you have rather I went and knocked on your front door? And to answer your other question, I’m at your window at 1 am because I’m bored and remembered that you existed.” About a billion questions ran through my head.
“Wait a sec. You already know me? How?”   
Before I could ask more questions, he answered: “Yes, I already know you but... it’s a long story.”
I was not satisfied.
“That’s not good enough. But I can tell you aren’t going to tell me.” He shook his head
“But to make it up to you, I’ll let you ask me other questions.”
I should have been smarter but I was in all honesty... smitten.” Okay well, I guess what’s your name, how old are you?”
He answered, “My name is Henry and I’m 16.”
Henry, huh? It was different for sure. Not that it mattered but I liked it. I accidentally let a yawn escape. Henry looked at me with a strange look. I think it was concern?  It looked so strange for someone who I really didn’t know to have that much concern.
“Well you sound tired and I should probably head back to the pack, sleep well Lily bear.”
A blush crept up my face as I watched Henry saunter back into the woods. I crawled through my window and got cozy in bed. That’s when it hit me. Lily bear? He knew my name? Um, how? Just as I felt the sick feeling of panic creep into my stomach, then, I felt fuzzy in my head if that makes sense? Someone went into my head and wrapped it in a blanket. Then I heard his voice.
“Hey, Lily bear don’t panic like that... you’re making me worried.”
I let out a gasp. How was he talking to me? Shouldn’t this make me even more worried?
There is was again that feeling, his smooth and husky voice was in my head again,
“Oh Lily bear, I told you don’t be scared, I won’t do anything to you, I promise on my life.”
I layed in my bed and thought what the hell is going on?! At this point, I was downright scared, but the more I thought of his voice the calmer I felt. It was like a numbing drug. I knew that something wasn’t right and yet I was under some sort of spell. Then the worry came back, but so did his voice. But this time something was different... it had a hint of annoyance and... power.
“Lily. Please calm down. If I need to come back and hold you as you fall asleep... I will. Take that as you will. But I am not kidding.”
His words were a drug, I swear it was like something washed over me. That last time he popped in my head there was an underlying power because as soon as he said calm down; I did. All my nerves fell away and I slept the best I had since before I heard the wolves. The next day was so boring I felt like I was gonna die. I pulled up to school and saw Adele waiting for me, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her about last night or keep it to myself. At this point, I wasn’t sure if what happened actually happened, and if it did then what the hell? Like some hot guy crept up from below my window and we had a conversation. Or that didn’t happen and I’m going fucking crazy.
“Hey, you actually look like you slept. I was beginning to get worried, especially after yesterday.” Adele said, casually. I thought for a second and decided I’d tell her later. “Oh, yea... I slept really well last night. I for sure needed it.”
Point Of View Change~  I walked home giddy with excitement, I got to finally talk to Lily! I couldn’t believe she was so exciting up close. I can’t believe she even talked to me. God, I was acting like such a pup, I thought to myself. Finally, I got home and found my mom waiting for me on our big, plush, black leather couch. There was a fire going in the stone hearth and she was sipping some chamomile tea.
“Well, looks like you're finally home, care to divulge to me what you were doing?” she asked with a hint of annoyance but mostly amusement. I swear she knew everything about me, I sighed trying not to let my excitement show,
“Oh, I went on a walk just to do some thinking.” Mom smirked. She knew damn well that wasn’t the full truth but I wasn’t going to tell her unless she made me. I’m pretty sure she’d be mad at me for ignoring my duties and going off on my own. She yawned and answered,
“I know I should question you more but I’m tired so go to bed, please.” I was relieved she didn’t ask more because I didn’t know why Lily made me so excited; she was just something that was out of my reach from the first time I heard of her. And now I had full freedom to do whatever near or with her.
“Okay, will do, Mom. Good night, sleep well.” I answered promptly and went up the stairs to my room. I was hoping that no one would stop me as I wanted to test out something. The whole time I was talking with my mom, up the stairs and to my room, I could feel someone’s anxiety, almost as if it was my own. It surely wasn’t mine since I had nothing to be anxious about. I wondered if I could mind link Lily. I knew that the feeling of panic was her’s and it did make sense since I suddenly appeared at her window. I had heard of some werewolves, alphas mostly who were able to mind link anyone, it didn’t matter what species they were. I sat on the edge of my bed and thought about her. What she looked like, how she sounded and tuned into her panic, trying to see if I could get to her. Then, I was in. It was so easy, I was mildly surprised. Not knowing what to do, I just told her to calm down. That at first wasn’t quite working, so by the end of our little mind link encounter, against my better judgment, I got a little frustrated at her worry since I knew nothing could harm her and especially not me. I used my alpha tone to really calm her down, and it worked, not like I was surprised. I mean, I was the upcoming alpha and already stronger than my dad was at my age. Finally, after I could tell she fell asleep, so did I. I woke up the next morning feeling bored. I couldn’t go see Lily because I had history and some other things that the elders wouldn’t tell us about beforehand. Plus, I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that Lily went to school during the day too. Humans are so strange going to a building to learn unimportant knowledge all day. My dad was already down in the gray-themed kitchen, sipping coffee when I got there.
“Heard from your mother that you went out last night. Mind telling me where you went?'' His tone was one that told me not to mess with him, but I didn’t want to tell him about Lily because I wasn’t sure how he’d feel.
“Well I just went out and stopped at the river for a bit, I didn’t really do much of anything important.” I eyed him carefully trying to see if I could read him, like usual I couldn’t. He said, clearly not satisfied,
“I see. Sounds like fun. You overslept, so get out of here and get down to the elder’s cabin.” Confused, I asked him,
“ Elder’s cabin? I thought that was in the afternoon. Wasn’t I supposed to do something like history first?” He responded,
“Well that was your plan for the day but the Elders wanted to see you as soon as possible” I was a little worried, the Elders were weird, to say the least; they were super old-fashioned and had problems with everything my dad and I did.
“That’s weird. But I mean, ok…” I walked out of the double doors and headed towards the Elder’s cabin. I wondered where Noah was, he usually waited for me but not today, I guess. Finally, after what felt like a longer walk than usual to the cabin, I went to knock but one of the old geezers opened it before I could.
“Greetings young Alpha Beaufort, we’ve been expecting you. Or rather, head elder Cadwell has.” Head elder Cadwell? That was worrying. She's an old hardass with crazy abilities. As far as I’ve heard, I don’t really know.
“Oh really?” I asked, doing my best to hide my nervousness.
“I can tell you're nervous but don’t worry, she’s really quite nice. She has very exciting news.” I was now curious what could be so important they change up their schedule for me.
“Oh okay… what should I do?” This old man was really quite cheery.
“Just have a seat, and Cadwell should be down in a moment.” The guy scurried off and I plopped down on the old couch. After about 2 minutes, I watched this frail, skinny, grey, old woman walk towards the opposite loveseats. She sat down gingerly and cleared her throat. At this point, I was so nervous that her already slow movements were even slower and sluggish.
“Ahem, greetings future Alpha Beaufort, I’m sure you’re curious as to why I have asked for your time.” I nodded my head. I wasn't sure what to say so I didn’t say anything. “Well, last night I had a strange feeling, then that turned into a vision. A vision of your future.” I almost scoffed. Visions? Was she senile? I mean, I doubt it, she is the most respected elder. She cleared her scratchy throat once again and continued
“I saw that you found your mate.” My jaw, with no question, dropped to the floor. My mate? No one finds those anymore, they’re practically just a myth, a legend. I sat there, shocked, I only knew about mates from my history lessons, but that was just it. History lessons, not the present, daily life of a werewolf. The definitely crazy, old lady laughed and continued,
“I can see the shock on your face, but surely you must know who I am talking about. She is certainly even more strange considering what she is. Yes, yes, makes it even rarer.” It hit me. Lily. All of a sudden I realized it, it made sense, I was able to mind link her so easily and I instantly felt a connection. Elder Cadwell interrupted my excited thoughts, “Ah. You’ve realized who it was. Strange, it’s a mate and a human... most definitely unusual.” I responded eagerly,
“What does this mean? I didn’t really pay attention back when they told us about mates.” She chuckled,
“You see, this means that you have a soulmate, someone destined to be yours forever and vice versa. It really means happiness for the end of time to put all... mushy-like. However, there is a second layer to it all since she’s human. I can only think of one instance where a Lycan had a human mate and that was many years ago. Since then, our kind has shrunk in numbers so that also changes things.” Cadwell continued to ramble into silence and I tuned it out since all I could think about was Lily. What was I supposed to do now? Introduce her to my parents? I think not, they hated her and her family ever since they moved in. I really barely knew her too, I believed Cadwell but I didn’t really know what to do with new information. Was I supposed to just sweep her off her swing and bring her to live with me? The alpha in me was telling me that she must mean something to the pack otherwise there wouldn’t be a reason for her to be chosen. I was completely consumed by thoughts of her and I’s future. Eventually, Cadwell dismissed me, so I went down the trail towards the town square. I wasn't really too sure what to do now. Noah, (my beta), wasn’t really close enough to know about this. I feel like he’d just laugh at it. He’s always been jealous of my position in the pack, in fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to challenge me once I became alpha. Not that he would even come close to winning, and I learned from Cadwell’s rambling that having a mate only makes you stronger. In all honesty, having a mate is way better than I thought it would be, when I was little and learned about mates all I could think was what a burden, having to care about someone 24/7. But now it’s a whole lot different.
Point Of View Change~ School went on with a drawl, I’ve been ignoring all my homework and I think everyone’s starting to notice… my math teacher kept me after class and asked if I was doing ok. I mean, I was doing great in every aspect of life except homework and school. Not that I could say that, so, I lied and said I’ve just been busy. During the day, my mind kept wandering back to Henry and what he did last night. I really should tell Adele it’s not like she would do anything, I thought about it for a bit and figured I’d tell her after school on the way home. Finally, I thought to myself as I chucked my backpack into the back seats of my little green 1996 S10, I sat and waited for Adele trying to think of the best, most detailed, and fastest way to tell her 1. I talked to the guy I swear I did see that one sleepover 2. He talked to me in my head? Fuck, that was going to sound so damn crazy. Adele threw the door open and stuffed her back next to mine,
“Hey! You’ll never believe what happened to me!” She exclaimed practically bursting at the seam with excitement,
“What’s up?!” I asked, relieved I didn’t have to start off the car ride with my weird-ass night. “Okay so, I was just walking to yearbook when I ran into that kid named Trace, and when I say ran into I mean... full-on slammed into him because I was running behind. My shit went everywhere. I lost at least one pencil and who knows what else, anyway I just looked at him and was shocked. He was really nice and helped me grab my stuff and yea. But oh my god. Mortifying. I literally wanted to pass away.” I burst out laughing, I couldn’t imagine doing that. Especially with someone cute, like Henry, I thought to myself I could feel my cheeks warming up at even the thought of him.
“Oh my god noooo, that sounds so embarrassing! At least he was nice about it?” We sat there and laughed for a bit longer while waiting for the traffic to clear out a little. I started to pull out of the parking lot when I sighed. Where to start... I asked myself.
“Yea so you’ll never guess what happened last night…” I said
“Ooooohh, what happened?” Adele asked eagerly.
“Remember that boy I swear I saw a couple of sleepovers ago? Yea well, he walked up to my window and we had a whole conversation.” I sat and waited for her response, I’m pretty sure she was trying to figure out if I was joking or not.
“Are you kidding?” Adele asked, she looked so confused.
“No, I’m not, I swear his name is Henry.” I proceeded to tell her about everything, when I got done she just sat there, probably didn’t know what to say. I mean yeah, it was crazy but sheesh this silence was not helping.
“So, you aren't kidding?” Adele asked slowly like she was still thinking about what I just told her. Which, fair enough, I even told her about how I heard his voice in my head.
“Nope. I’m completely serious. I don’t know how or why or anything but it definitely happened.” After about a minute she blasted me with questions.
“Ok ok, was he cute? Was he nice? Tell me, what did he look like? And also Henry? Kinda a lame name but… ok.” I just looked at her, laughed, and said,
“Yea, he was more than cute, when I tell you smoking hot, believe me. I mean god damn, did I tell you he had abs. Chiseled hotness. Oh, he was really nice and he looked just like what I told you when I told him the first time. Also, don’t hate on his name it could be way worse like… Nate or something ugly like that.” I pulled up to her house and dropped her off. I couldn’t wait to get home, do my homework, and then just wait for Henry to show up. My dad wouldn't be home for about 2 hours and my mom was out with my brother, they were doing a baby playdate, I think. My sister had a playdate too so for about 2 hours I had the whole house to myself. Maybe today he would knock on my door. I giggled to myself, oh lord, he was just a boy I needed to calm down! I couldn't though, something about him was so different. I thought about him some more and then remembered my homework, I think I’ll just wait until later. I unlocked the door, tossed my bag onto the couch, and went to the fridge looking for an afterschool snack. After finding nothing I was about to head upstairs when I felt someone- no not someone, it was Henry! Point Of View Change~ Before you ask, no, I was not waiting for Lily, I just happened to be in the area patrolling when I heard a vehicle pull up to her house. That’s when I started walking to her house, by the time I got there she was inside already. I looked around and noticed that she was home alone, I thought back to last night and decided this time I would just knock on her door. Heh, I couldn’t wait to see her beautiful face, it’s even cuter when she blushes. I  knocked and the door swung open. Almost like she was waiting for me, then I realized that I didn’t think past the knocking part. I could tell she didn’t think past opening the door. We sat there just looking at each other, finally, I decided to say something
“You know it’s rude to stare.” I smirked, as I could already see her cheeks turning pink, I could see she bit back a smile and responded,
“Oh my bad, it’s not like you were staring at me or anything”. You wouldn’t believe how much I just wanted to touch her, hold her anything more than just talk. I smiled remembering that she’s mine,
“If you’re not going to do anything but stare I guess I’ll just head back home”. She glared at me,
“Well what would you like me to do, your highness?” I answered,
“Oh I don’t know, let me in or something? You could also come out.” I saw her think for a bit before she pushed past me, just barely brushing against me. Then I felt it, the heat, the fireworks, wherever she touched me, it briefly left a trail of sparks. I couldn’t say for sure but I think she felt them too because she stopped for the smallest second, but she kept walking.
“Close the door”, she told me that like she was the boss of me or something, I did it anyway. I asked her curious,
“Where are we going?” she answered,
“I’m going to the swings, I don't know where you’re going.” I smiled. She was feisty. I wasn’t used to that, all the females back at the pack treated me like they should. A superior. Lily didn’t know that though, it was so cute. I added that to the list of things that I loved about her. Wow, I barely knew her and I already used the L-word. I answered her by sitting on the swing next to her, I asked her teasingly,
“Swinging huh? A bit childish isn’t it?” She looked me dead in the eyes,
“I didn’t say you had to swing too. If you have a problem with it, leave.” She smiled as she could barely keep her laughter in. Actually, she couldn't, she started laughing. I couldn’t figure out why though, she just told me to leave. Lily looked at me,
“Oh hey, I was just teasing you. If you have a better idea of something to do then tell me.” she smiled sweetly. I watched her look at me with such care and concern, I wanted to feel those sparks again. I didn't know how to do it without seeming like a creep. Then I had an idea, I’ll just offer to push her on the swing. I glanced at Lily, she was digging the tip of her bright orange Converse into the dirt below her. She pulled out her phone and checked it, I watched her smile, I wondered what made her so happy. She answered my question,
“Hey guess what?” I looked at her,
“What?” She held eye contact and said,
“My family won’t be home until 8 pm” I thought about what that meant, why would she tell me that? Doesn’t she want to be with her family? Oh! Wait, that means we get to be together longer!
“So does that mean I get to stay longer?” I asked. She nodded her head,
“Mhm!” I finally just decided to go for it,
“Hey, could I push you?” I asked, Lily thought about it for what felt like ever, I was getting antsy, those sparks were addicting.
“Yea sure, on one condition though.” I swear my eyes lit up because she giggled and look right into them,
“What’s the catch?” I asked, willing to do basically anything at this point.
“You have to let me take a picture of you.” she said it so nonchalantly, I thought about what would happen,
“Why do you need a picture of me?” I asked, about to cave and say yes.
“I have a friend, she was actually there the first night I saw you, and she doesn’t believe anything I’ve told her.” I thought back to that first night,
“Yea sure I guess that’s fine.” She smiled, pulled out her phone, and said
“Cheese!”. She snapped a picture of the both of us, I heard her murmur “perfect” under her breath as she looked at it a bit more, then she put her phone down on the ground next to her. Finally, I stepped out of my swing and went behind her, and gave her one big push. My hands heated up with the sparks. It was amazing, and to make it better she squealed and giggled as she went up higher. Somehow these sparks were even better. I kept pushing her making sure she didn’t slow down. All I could do was listen to her giggle and be happy. After about 30 minutes of pure bliss, she started to say something but every time I touched her, her breath hitched. I wasn’t sure before but now I’m practically positive, she felt the sparks too.
“Hey,” she finally got out, “Stop for a sec.” I laughed a bit seeing her so flustered, but she was doing the same thing to me. So, I stopped pushing her and I watched her jump from the highest point and land it perfectly. I was a little impressed but I tried not to show it.
“Why’d you make me stop? Was I doing something wrong?” I smirked at her teasingly, I knew why she stopped. She couldn’t handle the sparks.
“I just got bored of that, let's do something else.” She said it so casually like she didn’t feel anything.
“Like what?” I asked her. She sighed and look annoyed,
“I actually have some homework I need to get done.” I sighed. Homework? Who does homework in high school? Isn’t that just a little kid thing? I responded a bit sad,
“Oh, you still do homework in high school?”
“Yea I do, don't you? Isn't that something that every school does?” I then remembered that she doesn’t do school like I do. Then I wondered. What is life like for her? “I guess not because I haven't done homework in... years,” I responded. She walked towards the house and didn't say anything so I just followed her to the bottom step and waited. She stopped at the top of the stairs and looked down at me
“Aren’t you coming inside?” I answered excitedly,
“Yea calm down, I was just thinking about something.” That was a lie, I was totally waiting like a dog for an invitation into her house. I wondered where we would go.
“Hey, Lily bear, what kind of homework do you have?” I asked as we walked into what looked like the kitchen/living room. She blushed at my question,
“Oh, uh, I don’t know, probably my room… it’s a mess though. Wait here while I clean it a bit.” she motioned over to her couch and I went and sat down waiting for her to clean her probably not messy room. Then I saw her dog, he was a pretty big dog. I mean for a dog of course, in my wolf form I would completely dwarf him. Anyway, he came up to me and sat on the couch in the weirdest way. He had his back legs on the couch but his front legs on the floor. It was weird as fuck, I started petting him and after five minutes Lily came back down. She looked flushed,
“Okay, my room is better than it was… so come on, the sooner I get my work done the more fun stuff we can do.”
“Sounds good.” I said as I got up from the couch.
“Hey, what breed is your dog?” I expected him to follow us up the stairs but he just stared at us.
“Oh, he’s a Great Pyrenees and Anatolian Shepherd mix, his name is Finley also.”
“Oh cool.” We got to her room and the first thing I noticed was the copious amount of stuffed animals and blankets. I smiled. This was the cutest bedroom I had ever seen. “Yea, so you can just sit on the bed while I do this.” she said while pulling a chair from her vanity to her desk. She started her work and I got a better look around. The orange walls were definitely a different choice but it was surprisingly nice. Then I looked over and saw her disastrous closet. Disastrous was an understatement, it was a wreck. There were clothes all over the floor and... a cello? I think it was. I settled on watching her work, she was leaning back in her chair and writing things down, when all the sudden, I watched her fall back in her chair. She tried to catch herself, but failed miserably. I got up from her bed and scooped her up from the floor, and brought her back to the bed, I didn’t put her on the bed though, I situated her on my lap and looked over her to make sure she was ok. Meanwhile, she had the biggest blush I had seen yet she was so goddamn cute. She looked up at me and said in the smallest voice
“I-I’m okay… I do that kinda often.” I cupped her bright red cheeks with my hands.
“Stop then, because I don’t want you seriously hurting yourself.” Lily didn’t even try to fight back; she just nodded her head and looked at me.
Point Of View Change~ There I was on Henry’s lap, with his hands cupping my face. How the fuck did we get here? I was in a state of shock. I wasn't sure what to do at this point. Every time he touched me sparks flew across my body, it first happened when I just barely brushed past him to get to the swingset, then every time he pushed me they shot up from where his hands were. They were hot quick sparks. It was a different feeling, but a good kind of different. Finally, I was able to tell him to stop but I missed that feeling. Now that he was holding me the sparks and heat were everywhere. It wasn’t just his body heat either. It was something else.
“Hey, um, I’m fine so you can stop holding me now.” I said as I tried to squirm out of his grip when I heard him chuckle and whisper in my ear,
“What, do you not like it or something?” His voice was deeper than it usually was and the way he said it gave me goosebumps. While this was happening he moved his hands from my face and wrapped them around my body in a tight grip. And now every time I tried to make a getaway, he held onto me tighter. It was clear he wasn’t going to let go unless he wanted to. At this realization I got a little scared, there was no way I could overpower him, I could feel my heart speeding up with the excitement of what was going on and I was scared.
“Hey Lily bear, whatcha’ scared of? Remember last night I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. I swore and still do swear on my life.” He said it with such care and confidence, I tried my hardest to calm down and it was working, I don’t know why I trusted him so much. After a little bit I relaxed into him, he was so warm I didn't know if I was just cold or what but it was strange. He also smelled so good, like that smell right after it rains mixed with trees. Eventually, he rested his chin on my head. Time must have flown by because before I knew it the sun was setting, and Henry said
“Hey, I think your family is back.” I was confused. How did he know?
“Oh and how do you-” I was cut off when I heard my family come through the front door. He lifted me up and off of him and onto my bed, I then realized the only way he could leave my house was by him jumping off the roof from my window.
“Wait- how are you going to leave without getting caught?” He looked back at me,
“Don’t worry Lily, I’ll just hop down from the roof.” He smiled and before I could tell him what a dumb idea it was; he jumped off, landed perfectly, and walked off into the aspen trees, completely unnoticed by anyone but me. I went downstairs and said hi to everyone, they brought me some leftovers. I ate those and went back to my room, and turned on a movie. I thought back to today’s events, holy hell. Then, I remembered the photo he let me take of him! I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and pulled up the picture, there he was, just like I remembered him. Even his smile was perfect... the way his canines were just a bit longer and sharper than the rest of his teeth. He was so handsome. Then I also remembered that I now had proof of him to show to Adele. It was about 9 pm so I got ready for bed, as I was falling asleep I got that same feeling in my head and then I heard his voice, “Sorry I couldn’t hold you until you fell asleep but I will soon.” I blushed. He didn’t mean it, right? But after today I wouldn’t be surprised. I fell asleep before that fuzzy feeling left my head.
The next morning I woke up well-rested, and excited to show Adele my new evidence that Henry was indeed a real person. There was a chill in the air today, and the leaves on the trees were definitely red and yellow, some scattered across the ground. It was so pretty, I also thought autumn was kind of a bitter-sweet season because it’s the end of summer, and all the flora and fauna are getting ready for the cold white days of winter. I headed out to my truck and hopped in. I couldn't wait to show Adele my proof.
“Adele! I have proof that Henry is real, and more stuff happened last night too!” I practically yelled at her as she got in my truck,
“Lily, it is 7:45 in the morning. I need you to calm the hell down.” Then before I could respond Adele yelled back at me, “Just kidding what happened? Come on spill!”. I told her about the swings, what happened in my room, and the sparks. “Woah, that sounds crazy… but you didn’t show me the so-called proof. Before I even get excited about this I gotta see him.”
“Okay let me pull into the parking lot and then I’ll show you.” After parking, I pulled out my phone and found the picture, smiled at it and passed my phone over to Adele. “Oh my fucking god. Lily. He’s real? Are you messing with me? This has to be fake.” I grinned and shook my head
“Nope, he’s real and so is that picture. I swear.” Adele sat there and just looked at my phone.
“Wow. How is he not at our school? It’s the only school for the entire district.”
“You know I don’t know, maybe he’s homeschooled. I know he’s done some form of it because he mentioned how he did homework back when he was younger but not now…” Adele handed my phone back to me,
“That’s crazy, you gotta keep me updated.” I started to get out of the truck,
“Don’t worry I will.” We both headed to our first class of the day, it was another boring day of school. I was already in my truck after school when Adele hopped in and immediately said,
“So I was thinking about what you said about Henry… how the fuck did he jump from the roof and land it unscathed? And how did he know your parents were home before you did?” To be honest I was thinking about this too, as far as I knew humans if they jumped from a 13ft jump give or take, would not just walk it off; not to mention he knew my family was home before I did. I answered,
“I was thinking about that too, and I haven’t been able to give a sound reason except for luck maybe?” I was definitely going to ask him about that tonight.
“That’s all you got? Luck?” Adele asked me like she was expecting me to say more,
“Yea, I don’t have an answer, I also haven’t figured out how his voice can just pop into my head.” she replied,
“Hm, yea. I forgot about that part. I don’t know how I could, that's also weird as hell.” Adele started to laugh a little bit,
“You know, he kind of reminds me of a werewolf or something. The way he could hear them get home before you did. Or at least I’m assuming that's how he knew they were home… oh and the other weird shit he did.” she started saying that as a joke but I think we both thought about it like it was a possibility.
“I wanna say you meant that as a joke but…” I trailed off and we both sat in silence, then I remembered that tomorrow is Friday, on Fridays we go on a drive and blast music just to start off our weekends. 
“Hey, are we doing the Friday thing tomorrow?” Adele answered,
“Oh hell yea! I think we should go on a new route though.” I tried to think of a route that we haven’t done yet,
“Do you have one in mind or? Cause I’m pretty sure we’ve driven every back road in the state.” she thought for a second and said
“Nope, I don’t know of any...” I parked in front of her house and she got out as she said
“I’ll see you tomorrow! Bye!” I said bye back and as I drove off I thought about what she said. It was definitely weird the way Henry knew certain things, I also had to figure out a new route for tomorrow. Our Friday drive wasn’t a huge deal or anything but we did it basically every week. Sooner than later, I got home. Everyone except my dad was already home and hanging out in the kitchen (I don’t know why but everyone in my family usually hangs out in the kitchen) my mom interrupted my thoughts,
“How was school?” I dropped my stuff on the couch and took a seat in the kitchen,
“I mean it was school, pretty boring, not much happened.” my mom always seemed annoyed by my responses to her very basic and boring after-school questions. My sister was munching on some Cheez-Its and didn’t pay any mind to me. I decided that there wasn’t any reason for me to hang out downstairs any longer, so I grabbed my stuff and went up to my room. Finally, I was home and in my room, I walked over to my bed, sat down, and turned on my T.V to Netflix. While I was browsing for something interesting, I felt like Henry was nearby, and I don’t know how I knew that but I was right. I walked over to my window and there he was smiling up at me. I was surprised because I wasn’t even alone and he could get caught so easily. I whisper-yelled down to him,
“What are you doing? Don’t you know how easy you could get caught?” he laughed a bit and whisper-yelled back,
“Wow Lily bear, didn’t know you cared about me so much.” I felt myself blush again. This blushing thing was getting so annoying
“I- I do not care about you! I just don’t want to get in trouble!” I couldn’t stop smiling, I watched as he smiled too. He clearly knew that I was just teasing. He stopped laughing and went dead serious.
“Hey you know what you should do? Let me in.” I looked at him and responded a bit sassily,
“Okay, and how would I do that?”
“I don’t know, maybe go downstairs and open the back door” I looked at him, he was definitely not kidding, “Are you dumb? Everyone is down there they would see me, letting you in.” He smirked.
“What if I made it so you had just enough time to open up the door, let me in, and we both made it back to your room.” I looked at him, waiting for him to laugh but he didn't. He just sat there waiting for me to say something.
“You aren’t kidding, are you?”
“Completely serious. All you have to say let’s do it and it’ll happen.” I thought about it, it really wouldn't be that hard to hide a boy in my bedroom, but how in the hell was I supposed to get him there first? Henry still hadn't told me how exactly he was going to do this either. I must've just sat there and stared at him for a while because he cleared his throat eventually.
“Are you just going to stare at me? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I kind of maybe love it but I need to know what we’re gonna do.” There was a hell of a lot to unpack in that sentence, I doubt I would have any time to really think about it.
“Uh aha, okay…let’s do it?” I replied to him. I was still thinking about what he said, trying to commit it word for word to memory. He smiled clearly, very happy that he won
“Okay so, conveniently, your parent’s friends just got here and they all went out to the garage. Which makes it so all that you have to do is go and open up the door.”
“Oh... wow. That is convenient, I’ll head down right now.” I thought about how he knew that a family friend was even here, that was something else to add to my mental list of weird things Henry did. I opened up the door and got even more excited to see him. I feel like everytime I see him is even more handsome than the last time. I wanted to leap into his arms so badly but right there out in the open wasn't a smart idea. I waved him in, scared to say a word and I raced up the stairs, then out of nowhere he scooped me up bridal style and carried me up the rest of the stairs and then plopped me down on my bed. Those damn sparks, I thought to myself. They are so addicting, the longer I seem to go without them the more intense and good they are. I giggled as he jumped on top of me, he was super playful tonight.
“Hi.” he whispered in my ear, lips ever so slightly brushing past it. I let out a little gasp,
“Hi back.” I said barely above a whisper. He pushed himself up so I could see his face, he had the biggest grin.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you are the cutest thing ever?” I giggled profusely, curled my hands into fists, and covered my blush. Henry watched me do that, he let out what I think was a growl, it took me by surprise but before I could do anything he said something else “Hmmmm, I don’t think anyone has told you that before.” I shook my head no, I was smiling so much. I felt like my cheeks were going to be sore tomorrow. I was still under him when I realized I had never done anything like this before. I squirmed a little trying to get out from underneath him, he went down and kissed me right on the cheek. The sparks were the most fierce they have ever been, right where he kissed me. Then they spread across every inch of my body and completely consumed me. He sounded out of breath but said, “I don’t think you’re going anywhere unless I let you.” there was an underlying tone when he said that. Something that told me I really wasn’t going or doing anything unless he approved.
Point Of View Change~ There I was, on top of Lily. She barely fought this entire time, watching her smile everytime I said anything to her gave me so much pride. Oh not to mention the fucking sparks. I knew that she felt them too. I had to tell her soon about what’s going on. She must have had some questions since I just jumped out of her window.  Knock, knock, knock.
“Lily?” A voice from the other side of the door called out. I moved out of the way. She looked at me and then back at the door.
“Uh yeah? What?” she called back.
“I was just checking on you. Did you eat dinner?” I wondered who was behind the door, it was a male voice, probably her dad. I sat there and waited on her bed, to be honest, I was a bit annoyed; I was just about to kiss my mate, on the lips and of course, someone just had to interrupt. Lily went downstairs for a bit and when she came she looked really sad. I was about to beat someone up for how sad she looked. “Are you okay?” I asked. “Oh what? Yeah I’m fine, my dad just had to get suspicious about what I was doing...It was probably too quiet for his liking. Anyway, I think you should head out.”
I got up from her bed and grabbed her from behind,
“Oh well damn, I was just beginning to have fun, Lily bear.” I hummed into her ear. Then I spun her around, pecked her on her lips quickly, and jumped out of the window. Once I was safely out of their view I shifted into my wolf form. I didn't realize how long I was with Lily but it had been awhile. As I was running I could feel my beta Noah trying to mind link me, I really did not feel like talking to that prick. At the same time, I knew that if I didn’t let him in he’d tell my dad and that tattletale would get me in deep shit. Just because my dad said I could go around Lily didn’t mean I should. I also don’t think the elders told anyone but me about my mate. I let Noah in,
“Where you at? Everyone’s wondering.” I sighed. It’s none of his business.
“I was just out, do you really need to know?”
“I mean no, but like, aren't you supposed to do alpha shit?”. I was getting real pissed at him, part of me felt bad because he was right. I needed to start making important pack-altering choices but all I wanted to do is tell Lily, and bring her back with me so no other guys could even look at her.
“Don’t worry about it Noah.” I snapped at him. I was thinking about how I need to go back to the elders and learn more about mates, because all I knew was that she belonged to me and I belonged to her, and that we made eachother better. If I was going to tell Lily about what I really am and about mates I was gonna have to need more information. I trotted up to my house. It must have been really late because not even my dad was waiting for me. I shifted again and looked for the basket by the door the kept spare clothes. I hated wearing clothes. I found a pair of pants and threw them on. As quietly as possible, I snuck between the two, large double oak doors and into my room. I made a mental list of everything I needed to do tomorrow, talk to the elders mostly and then if everything went to plan I’d get to see Lily again at some point. I drifted off the sleep, I don’t usually dream but tonight I dreamt of Lily and what our life would be like. I woke up in the middle of it. I had the strangest instinct, it had to do something with her, making it known that she was mine. I realized this and I couldn’t fall back to sleep. I had to do this as soon as possible. I layed there in my bed until I saw the smallest glimpse of morning sun. I checked my clock. 6:30am. My dad should be up by now, I walked down the stairs and I was right he was there sipping coffee and reading a book.
“Hey dad, can I go meet with the elders today?” he looked at me and said,
“I don’t know, I think there’s something we need to discuss. In fact, right now would be a great time since your mother isn't up yet.” I was nervous, I was definitely in trouble for something,
“Okay then, what’s going on?”
“Firstly, I don’t like how much time you're spending away from the pack. You know your alpha training should have begun a month ago. So, from now on, you will stay in the pack and learn the true lay of the land.” I broke into a sweat. Stay here? All day? I’d never get to visit Lily now. I needed to tell my dad that I found a mate but first I had to get the elders on my side and Lily too.
“Dad, are you serious? I mean can’t it wait just a bit longer? I know I need to start training but-” He cut me off,
“Yes, I am serious. After this weekend you will no longer be allowed outside of the pack territory unless escorted with Noah or his father. Do not question me. This is final.” I knew there was no arguing with him so I gave up,
“Yes sir.” I walked out of the house before he could say anything else. My heart was breaking as I walked, I didn’t realize how much of an effect Lily had on me. I decided I would just hike up to the elders cabin and see if anyone was around, when I got there there was zero sign of life so I knocked on the door. It swung open and head elder Caldwell greated me,
“Ah good morning, future alpha Beaufort, what can I do for you on this fine morning?”
“I need to know more about mates, before I can’t see her again.” Cadwell raised her eyebrow,
“Can’t see her again? Is there something I’m missing?” I sighed. I wasn't ready to say it out loud,
“My father is fed up with me not starting my training so he forbade me from leaving the territory, without my beta or his beta.” Cadwell looked at me and she clearly wasn’t happy,
“I know he’s alpha but I feel that if he knew that you had found your mate he may change his mind. Now don’t tell anyone this because I think your father would be very annoyed, but he once dreamed of finding his mate. He was truly a lover boy hoping to find his one and only.” I let out a small laugh. I could never imagine my father wanting love. Everyone knows he only picked my mother based on ideal breeding and genetics, they didn’t love each other and never will.
“I’m sorry but I can’t believe that. He has no compassion and we all know it.” she chuckled a bit,
“Well, it doesn’t really matter what you think because I speak the truth. Anyway, let me indulge you about mates.  Besides you, each belonging to the other, there are just a few more things that come along with having a mate. I think you have already felt these, but the sparks. They are truly amazing, I hear.” I thought back to that delicious feeling, and she was right. It was amazing, and I already missed not having her next to me all the time. Cadwell continued, “And then there’s the process of marking her, again I  think you may have already wanted to do this. It's the process of lightly biting and scarring her to show that she is taken.” After hearing that I got so excited, that was exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted everyone to see that she was mine. I heard Cadwell clear her throat, after what she already said I was really excited to hear the rest, “The final aspect is really just being a couple and living out the rest of your lives together.” I asked her,
“How do I get to do that? She is human and has a life.” she smiled a little,
“I’m not an instruction manual, but I would think you'd have her come and live with you. Now, get out of here and try to convince your father and the girl. I’ll tell you one last thing, the closer you are to her the happier you will be.” I bid my goodbye and thought about my next plan of action. I thought about telling my father first, but then I decided Lily gets first priority. Plus, if I tell her everything my dad will want her close to the pack so our secret existence stays secret. I thought back to what he said, I had until monday to tell Lily everything. I would go sometime this weekend. This definitely wouldn't be an easy task, I first had to tell her that
1. I was a werewolf.
2. Ask her to come back with me.
If I didn’t accomplish either of those then I wouldn’t get to be her mate. My dad hasn't mentioned it yet but I can assume that after I finish most of my training to become alpha, I would have to be paired with a “mate” even though true soulmates are rare, for convenience, we still call our significant other a mate. But I wanted Lily, I knew that if I didn’t do this soon or the right way I would never get to be with her again.
Point of View Change - It was a boring Friday night. I hadn't seen Henry for a while for some reason. I really longed to see him and that strange pull I felt that one night with the howling was coming back. Something important was going to happen but I just couldn't figure out what. The early evening pulled around and after hanging out with my family all day I decided I’d go watch a horror movie, usually I just half-watch them, I'll usually be on my phone too. But not tonight. I was going to give my full attention to whatever I decided on watching... but now I had to figure out what I was going to watch. I skipped around streaming services and eventually found a zombie movie. I’m not sure why but zombies really scare me, it doesn’t matter even if I’m not giving the movie my full attention, they still scare the living hell out of me.  I got all cozy and cuddled up with my stuffed animals and blankets and began the horror flick. I was about 40 minutes in and my heart was racing and I was scared out of my mind. I told myself I should just turn it off and watch a comfort movie or something but, me being stubborn, I kept on watching. Point of View Change- I was finally done with the day when I felt a crazy wave of fear and panic. I immediately thought of Lily. Something had to be wrong for her to be in such a state of fear, I calmly walked down to the living room and told my parents I was going out and left. As soon as I was out of their line of sight I shifted into my wolf form and sprinted as fast as I could to Lily’s house. On my short way there, I then thought about how this would be the perfect time to tell her everything. I was a little nervous also knowing this could be the last time if I see whether I tell her or not. People say you do crazy things when you're in love and they're right, at this point I was willing to do whatever just to spend the rest of my life with Lily. I came upon her house and saw no one was in the kitchen and her bedroom room light was on.  I slowly walked up to her window and I mind linked her, “Hey Lily bear. Are you okay?” I asked with impatience. She couldn't answer soon enough, “Oh! Henry! Uh yea, I’m ok, I’m just watching a scary movie…” She trailed off, she definitely didn't sound ok. Even in her mind her voice was shaking, “Yea… I don't believe that. You sound terrified. Go downstairs and open the door. I’m coming in.” I used my alpha tone, there was no way I was going to waste coming up there. I wanted to be with her whether or not she was scared and such I really missed her. Shit! I then remembered I was in my wolf form. And I, not to mention, I wouldn't have any clothes on when I shifted back. I quickly mind linked her “Lily, this is a really weird request.” she answered, “Um ok… what’s up?” I relaxed a little. “Can you bring me a pair of pants…” I could feel her giggle before she even said anything. She asked with seriousness, “Two things, I don’t think I have any pants that would fit you. and I’m not going to find some and why the hell do you need pants?” I smiled and remembered it would take me less than 10 minutes to grab some clothes, “I actually have quite a bit to tell you. I’m going to grab some pants and I’ll tell you everything.” she sighed and said ok. I went home and grabbed some pants and ran back.
Point of View Change- Henry came just in time, it was crazy. There was a climax in the movie and then my mind went all fuzzy and there was his voice. It was so sweet how much he was worried and to be honest, I was relieved. I was completely terrified. Then he asked for some pants and oh my lord if he would have seen my face at that moment, I was blushing so hard my face hurt. I mentally smacked myself and got my shit together. After a quick conversation he left to grab pants. I didn’t want to get cozy again so I just sat on my bed and waited for him to come back and thought about what he said, what did he mean by a lot to tell me? I was a little worried that he would tell me he had a girlfriend or something silly. Even though I barely knew him, I kind of- no. I definitely fell for him. I really liked him. I got pulled out of my thoughts when he popped into my mind and told me to go open the door. I walked down the stairs and opened the door, I smiled brightly at him and he did the same. God, he was so handsome. He didn't even have a shirt on, then I remembered the sparks and I got really excited. I wanted to leap on to him but I didn't and I ushered him up to my room.
“Uh it’s really really messy, sorry.” he chuckled a little and wrapped his arm around my waist, I squealed a bit when the sparks came back,
“It’s fine, I don’t care, you know? It’s really cute when you squeal like that.” I spun around and slapped his bare chest playfully
“Stop making me blush!” I looked up at him with a smile.
“Hmmm, I don’t think I will.” I giggled some more. It was crazy how much he made me smile. His face got all serious. “I hate to bring down the mood but I have a lot I need to tell you and this might be one of the last chances for me to tell you.” I got worried and looked at him before I could answer. He started talking again, “Don’t worry it doesn’t have to be bad…” He trailed off and looked at me with puppy eyes, I grabbed his manly hand and pulled him over to my bed and sat down, he did the same.
“You're worrying me.” I said, my voice coming out shaky and unsure.
“I’m sorry Lily bear, I'm not trying to. It's just a serious topic and I need you to be prepared.” I sighed,
“Okay.” I looked at him with sincerity and he cleared his throat.
“Ugh, where do I start?” He let out a brief sigh and looked me deeply in the eyes. “I’m a werewolf.” I looked at him and chewed over what he said. There was no way he was a werewolf but at the same time he looked so serious I didn’t even know what to say.
“Are you joking?” I just kept looking at him with a dumbfounded look on my face.
“No I'm not and there's a lot more to tell you but you need to believe me about that first. What can I do to convince you?”
“Uh I don’t know, show me?” he looked at me like he was deep in thought and after what felt like an eternity he replied,
“Really?” I smiled sheepishly at him. Is that all he said?
“Yea, there’s no way I’ll believe you otherwise.” He got up and looked at me
“I can’t show you in here.'' I looked at him with an alarmed face. He chuckled, “Don’t look so worried, come on, let’s go outside.” I got up and led the way down to the door. It was mid-October and you could tell there was such a chill in the air, I cursed myself I should have brought a coat. Henry looked at me and smirked a little,
“I’m not going anywhere, go grab a coat. I can tell you’re cold.” I didn't waste any time, quickly and quietly grabbing a coat from my room and then racing back outside.
“Ok, show me.” I demanded, probably a bit more serious than necessary.
“Alright, you have to promise not to freak out, okay?” I swallowed and nodded.
“I won’t but I’m still cold so hurry up”. I chuckled a bit, trying to lighten the mood. Then right before my eyes Henry stepped back, cracked his neck, and then, there was a wolf right in front of me. No, actually it wasn't a wolf, it was a ginormous being. It padded over to me, I wasn't very tall, but he still towered over me, his snout hovering about 4 inches over my head. He was inky black and I guarantee in the moonlight it shined. I just stood there in shock, my mouth was hanging slack, I couldn't believe it. Henry lowered his head and nudged my cheek with his snout, I felt like I was in a trance or dreaming. Every movement felt fake. I lifted my hand and put it between his ears, it was so soft and fluffy and warm too. I was still in shock and didnt even notice the fuzzy feeling that crept in as I heard his voice in my head.
“Surprise.”
He said it so calmly.
“I don’t even know what to say…” he pushed my hand into his head as he said “Well, first off, I’m surprised you didn't freak out.” I looked in his golden eyes.
“Yeah me too, I know this is a dumb question, but what are you?”
“Well Lily bear, what do you think I am?” I touched his fluffy ears and played with them a bit.
“A werewolf?”
“Mhm.” Henry hummed that last bit and it made my skin heat up.
“What do we do now?” After I asked him I shivered, the chill of October was finding its way through my coat. His huge paws walked closer to me and I felt his heat.
“Maybe we should go back inside and I’ll tell you whatever you want”. I sighed, a bit disappointed, but I wanted answers so I nodded and started to walk to the house when his voice came back in,
“Hey, toss me those pants.” I blushed before covering my eyes and tossing his pants towards where I saw him last. I heard him chuckle out loud, “That’s really cute y’know? The way your cheeks heat up whenever anything remotely scandalous happens. I love it” I gasped he said love, infact that whole sentence was an overwhelming amount of everything.