I watched her as she slipped the clothes on. They were a bit big, and the thin material offered almost no protection from the cold, but it would have to do for now. Her pale skin against the dark material looked beautiful, and it was difficult just keeping myself from staring at her. She radiated beauty. Her eyes bore into the very center of my soul. She let her wet hair lie over her face, and I grabbed a comb for her. We had plenty, since, as a werewolf, I had to brush my fur.
As she combed her hair, she started to speak. “As I promised, I’ll tell you about the scars. You may have seen my brother while you were stalking-”
“I was not stalking you”
“Fine, following me. I went to the forest to talk to him. You see, he’s sick, and has almost no energy. He’s only a couple years older than me, maybe eight. I have lived with him my entire life. My parents died when I was small, and I never really got to know them…” Her voice trailed off.
With tears in her eyes, she spoke about life with her brother, and the abuse she suffered. A couple times during her speech, she lost herself, and had to take a couple of deep breaths. I waited patiently each time for her to continue. She mentioned attacks with shards of glass, ropes, and other things. I tried not to picture it, and listened intently. When she was done I helped her to the spare room, where I had set up a bed for her.
She turned to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for everything.” She whispered. “Goodnight.”
I left the room and started toward my own. Dragging my paws on the ground, I tried to push the gruesome images Red had painted in my mind. I flopped onto my bed, curling up my body. I closed my eyes, and tried to sleep. Oddly enough, sleep came easily. Soon I was a dreamless sleep, out cold.
“Wait…no!” A voice cried, waking me from my sleep.
I jumped out of my bed and walked quickly to Red’s room. The cries echoed around the halls, hitting my ears hard. I walked through the doorway and focused on Red. She was throwing her arms and legs around, and crying. I approached her bed and gently shook her. One of her eyes opened and studied my face. Soon she was up, her arms wrapped around my neck. My nose twitched. The smell of sweat and fear surrounded her.
“Artemis…” She whispered. “Can I sleep with you?”
I looked into her terror filled eyes and after a moment of hesitation, decided it was okay. I led her to my room. She approached the bed, and slipped off her dress. She climbed under the covers, and I fought with the idea of whether I should join her. She sat up.
“Come on, Artie.” She called. “You need to sleep too.”
I walked cautiously toward the bed, not wanting her to feel uncomfortable. I slipped under the covers and she wrapped her arms around my waist. The breasts that I had caught a glimpse of only hours before were now pressed against my back. My fur stood on end, and I knew that this was a bad situation…but what could I do? She pressed her face into my fur.
“You’re like a giant teddy bear…” She mumbled. “So soft…warm….”
She was falling asleep. Maybe when she was asleep I could leave. I let out a yawn and felt my eyelids droop. I was tired also. Sleep overtook me, along with Red, and I stopped worrying about what was going on. Goodnight Red…
