I Hate Myself but I Love You

Chapter 37

Laura's POV

Once LaFontaine's asleep and the rest of us have drank enough blood to satisfy our thirst, Carmilla practically drags us outside.

"It's nearly night and Xena here might freak out if the first time she shifts she's indoors. I happen to like that cabin and don't want anything torn to shreds." She explains.

My dad's outside, roasting what smells like beans over the fire. It's almost dark and I wave to him. He waves back, noticing the others but not saying anything. I'm grateful for that. If he really has seen my videos, he knows who they are, so at least I don't have to take time and explain that.

Carmilla leads Danny, Mattie, and I around the back of her house. We keep going for a bit until there's a small clearing. Danny's shaking and I walk up to Carmilla, lightly touching her arm to get her attention.

"Hey, Carm. Is Danny okay?"

"Don't worry your pretty head too much, cupcake. Her body is finally going to shift after over a week of being unable to. She'll be fine. Mattie, take that leash off of her."

"If she eats someone it's not my fault, Kitty Cat." Mattie drawls, letting Danny free.

Danny immediately turns on Mattie, her lips curled up in a snarl. I can tell she's about to attack, so I place myself in front of Mattie with my arms outstretched.

"Danny, no. She's on our side."

"Carmilla Karnstein." Mattie says sternly. "What have you been teaching this one?"

"Not that."

"Hey, I am defending your sister here. What's wrong with that?" I defend.

"Absolutely nothing, cutie. Do you know what you just did?" Carm asks, walking toward me.

"Besides stopping a fight between your sister and Danny?"

"Laura." My heart freezes at the sound of my name. Did I do something wrong? "You just teleported."

"You can teleport." I point out.

"Yes I can, and that is something Mattie took years teaching me how to do."

"You really know how to pick them." Mattie chuckles humorlessly.

"Guys?" Danny lets out. I refocus on her. She's shaking. "Can we talk about this later? Because I don't know what's happening."

"You're shifting, Xena. Don't try to fight it. It'll only make it hurt."

I fight a smile at her words. I've noticed how much nicer she's been to my friends. I'm pretty sure she isn't doing this for me. I think Carmilla's genuinely starting to care about them and it warms my heart. She calms Danny down, trying to get her to relax with soothing words.

After a minute or so of talking Danny into relaxing, Carmilla turns back to Mattie and me. "We can shift now."

The world shrinks and I notice that it doesn't even faze me anymore. There's a giant leopard behind me (bigger than Carmilla), which I'd bet my cookies is Mattie. Carmilla's in her panther form again and flicks her tail at Mattie.

"It's been a while since I've seen you like this, Little Monster. These eyes haven't seen you since Saigon."

A little barking sound makes my ears perk up. We all turn to see Danny.

"Of course she's a wolf." Carmilla huffs, but I can see amusement sparkling in her eyes.

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