Feral Bonds

Chapter 29

"So, where are we going?" Gretchen asked, as they exited the lush forest of the mountains. She wanted to ask about everything she'd seen and about her pack, but knew her companion wasn't up for that at the moment.

Natania had barely spoken since they'd gotten into the car and it took a few tries before Gretchen could get her attention.

"Nat?"

The girl blinked at her and a sharp shudder ran through her before she responded, "I need a shower."

"I can do that," Gretchen agreed. "We'll stop at the nearest hotel."

"And you need to sleep." Natania leaned back in her seat and sighed, watching the trees fly by until they were steadily replaced with houses. Gretchen pulled into a ranch style building with a lit up "Motel" sign out front.

"This'll do, wait here." Gretchen climbed out of the car, nabbed her purse, thankful that the wolves had left everything where it had been, and walked off to the room labeled "Lobby", returning a few minutes later with a ratty old key. "Come on, wolf girl, let's get you cleaned up." She grabbed the emergency bags from the back and slung them over a shoulder, leading the way to their room.

It wasn't a bad room, the single double bed had simple green bedding, the carpet was intact, if a little stained. There was a small kitchenette in one corner with a full bathroom across the way. Gretchen dropped the bags on the counter of the kitchenette and Natania stalked into the shower, not even bothering to shed her clothes before curling up under the steady stream of boiling water.

She used half the room's supply of soaps, scrubbing away at her skin until it was pink and raw to the touch, then stayed under the water long after it went cold. Letting it wash the stains of tears from her face.

"Natania?" Gretchen knocked on the door and tentatively pushed it open. "Are you okay? You've been in here for almost an hour."

Natania looked at her and blinked, icy water streaming down her face. "Oh."

Gretchen grabbed a towel off the wall and shut off the water, wrapping the fabric around her shoulders. "It's freezing in here. You're going to get sick."

"I'll be fine." Natania stood up, shook water from her hair, and peeled off her wet clothes.

Gretchen wrapped a fresh towel around her shoulders once she was undressed and cupped her chin, careful to avoid the bruises. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm all right." If she hadn't still been weak from two blood draws and the drugs, the bruises would have healed by then. Natania leaned forward so their foreheads touched, asking for her touch.

Gretchen kissed her softly, wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks and tucked her hair into another towel before exiting the room.

Natania stared at the door for another five minutes before drying herself off and throwing on an oversized shirt. When she finally left the bathroom, Gretchen was already under the covers and the only light in the room was coming from a shaded lamp on a bedside table. Natania crawled underneath the duvet and poked her head out the other side, keeping the blanket over her head like a shroud.

"I love you," Natania said quietly, after a long moment of silence.

Gretchen rubbed her eyes and sighed. "I know."

Natania nodded to herself, like she'd gotten the answer to a question she'd had for a while. "Okay."

"Go to sleep, wolf girl," Gretchen said, flicking off the lamp and curling protectively around Natania.

Natania tensed and wiggled from her grasp. Gretchen released her without resistance. Natania could feel the human's eyes on her as she stared off into space. She crawled back under the covers and shifted to her wolf form, then poked her snout out the end of the blanket and forced her way under one of Gretchen's arms.