an Everlasting Pursuit

thirteen

Eve was back at what felt like the crack of dawn. I had barely opened my eyes and lifted my face from the pillow before my door swung open and smacked into the side of the wall. I groaned, rubbing my eyes as a flurry of colour came into my room. A sudden shocked scream met my ears and I blinked away the sleep to see her spin around and face the wall.

"What?" I grumbled.

"You are naked. I was just giving you privacy." She all but shrieked.

I groaned, rolling onto my back. "You have seen me naked before Eve. I thought it was normal being a shifter."

She peaked her head to look at me, a slight blush in place. "I just know it is not normal for humans, and besides those times you were highly drugged."

If I was more awake, I would laugh, but instead I dragged myself from my bed to hobble into my bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth, reliving myself peacefully. Last night I had a lovely soak in the bath before falling asleep watching television and I slept like an old man. I would say baby, but have you ever had to care for a baby? They don't sleep all night, it's awful. Old men however... Any time, any place.

I chuckled to myself, walking back into the room to see Eve had already chosen some clothes for me. I pulled on the simple underwear and knee length dress with a raised eyebrow. Today's dress was black with yellow lemons? No, flowers. Some weird, yellow flower and green leaves.

I hummed, looking back up from the bizarre dress to see Eve armed with a hairbrush. Groaning, I sat myself on the edge of the bed like a well-rehearsed ritual. The first time she had demanded to brush my hair I had refused, and in return, she pushed me face first onto the bed, sat on my ass and did it anyway. She-wolves were strong.

"So, today I thought I could take you to meet some of the pack." Eve began brushing my hair. "Or we can go to the meadow."

"Human pack?"

"If you want." She chimed, her voice light and airy. "Will that make your transition easier?"

"Transition?" I frowned. "Into what, a wolf?"

"Into the pack." She giggled.

"Oh, yeah, I guess. But if I see one black eye, I'm out." I teased. "Just stick to shaded areas or I will burn like a lobster."

She giggled, wrapping my hair into some kind of bun. She loved my hair colour, claimed it was rare to see such a vibrant colour and the length only meant she could play with it more. She didn't realise that being such a pasty red head, was hard work and that I envied her daker skin and hair.

"Speaking of injuries, your bruises are nearly gone." She murmured, her hand rubbing along the underside of my jaw.

I shivered at the intimate touch but nodded my head. "I noticed that too."

We fell silent as she finished my hair, her hands gentle as she did what she wished. Once finished, I was told to stand so I gave her a sarcastic twirl. She rolled her eyes but held her hand out for me to loop my arm through hers.

"How far are we going today?"

"Just the back communal garden. A lot of us are out there today for breakfast, Alpha arranged a grill for breakfast."

"Oh, he did now?"

She giggled but led me down the stairs once I was ready. I got a lot better with walking now, so only brought the one crutch to support me. I had been here two weeks, so it was about time I had a little more stability. The stitches had even started to disappear, some of the smaller ones gone completely. Angry red lines were left in their place, although my leg was still bruised and sore to touch.