The Lost Relic of the Lycanthrope

What's That Supposed To Mean?

***Un-edited for now** Enjoy c:

When I came to I was on the forest floor, naked and very cold. I couldn't remember much from the night before, I was mainly just confused. Where was I? Where were the others? Why was I naked? I sat up and looked around to get my bearings. There was no one in sight from what I could tell, and I couldn't hear anyone with my super-cool wolf hearing, so stood up slowly, trying to ease the massive head rush I was suffering.

As I looked down at my body, I was utterly disgusted. I couldn't recognize my own skin. I was covered in dirt and I had what appeared to be blood smeared all over my hands. I decided I needed to find my way back to Bae's car and get the spare clothes I was told to bring for this very reason. It was cold, but I avoided it as I crossed my arms and tried relying on my scent of smell to retrace my steps, which was harder than I thought it'd be.

Eventually, I got out of the woods and found my way to the clearing, Bae's car was gone, but Kane's was still there. As I got closer I realized Kane was leaning against his car, my clothes on the hood of his jeep. As awkward as it was, I was cold and really felt like being clothed, so I kept walking towards him. When he noticed me he straightened up and grabbed my clothes to hand to me. He cleared his throat and looked away when I was close enough to grab my clothes.

"Um, thanks." I mumbled as I took them from his outstretched hand.
"Yep." He turned away from me and shoved his hands into his pockets.
I turned away too and began to dress myself. "So... do I even want to hear the retelling of last nights events?" I asked as I slid into my sweatpants.
"What do you mean?" I thought I heard a bit of nervous curiosity in his voice, but it was probably because I was still half naked, but at least now we were even.

"Well, last thing I remember was a burning desire for Lu's blood. Then just a lot of pain." I explained as I pushed my arms through the sleeves of the jacket I'd packed to go over my tank top. I cursed myself for forgetting to pack an extra pair of underwear. I turned back around to Kane and tapped him on the shoulder to let him know I was done.

"Oh yeah. She only did that to get you to turn faster. A tactic she picked up from her old pack, frowned upon in this one though. Sorry about that." He furrowed his eyebrows while handing me my boots. I pulled the socks out of each one and put them on before putting on the boots. When I was done Kane handed me my phone, it was almost noon.
"Don't worry about it, it worked right? Where's everyone else? Bae told me we'd ride back together." I looked around again, still seeing no cars or any other members of the pack.

He cleared his throat again and looked at the ground before he answered. "I, uh, I sent them home last night."
"And why would you do that?" I crossed my arms, slightly afraid of his answer. If they went home last night that means they didn't turn with me, which meant I wouldn't be claimed and I could go rogue.
"Well..." Kane was struggling for words, which was only making me more anxious.
"Well what? Tell me, Kane!" I yelled in frustration. I was starting to panic, which was not good if I was going rogue.

"Listen, Nicole. You need to calm down, okay?" He put his hands up again and I suddenly flashed back to when he first found me. We were almost in the exact same situation.
"You need to explain now." I said in between breaths, trying to slow down my heart rate.
"I think the best way for me to explain is for you to look at yourself." He said as he pulled up his phone, he put it on front camera and handed it to me. I took it from him and looked at myself, but I was startled by what I saw.

I did not recognize myself at all. My hair was wild, leaves hanging from tangled strands, and parts of it dyed darker with dirt and blood. There was even more dried blood around my mouth, leading down to my neck, stopping just above my collar bone. That wasn't what scared me the most. What I was really surprised by were the two glowing red eyes staring back at me.

"I don't understand, red eyes are for alphas only." I looked up at him as he took the phone from me. "Kane? What's going on?"
"I'm not sure, I've never seen anything like this before." He said with concern, I could tell he was as lost as I was.
"So, am I not claimed?" I asked, crossing my arms again.
"Well, when we all saw your eyes, I sent everyone home. Bae wanted to stay, but I didn't know if it was safe for them to be around an alpha for their first change." He answered cautiously, as not to upset me again.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I was suddenly offended. Did he think I was going to hurt his pack? I would never do that, these people took me in.

"It's just that when an alpha has their first turn, they can be a bit more aggressive than betas or omegas. Hence the blood all over you. You were hunting, and I wasn't sure if your wolf would recognize us as your own pack after we claimed you, or if you'd just attack. Your human and wolf weren't in touch yet, so I had to be careful. I didn't want anyone to get hurt." He explained carefully, like he didn't want to trigger me. He was acting different, he wasn't speaking as confidently, almost as if he was trying not to challenge me. Was he scared of me?

"But you stayed?" I asked in disbelief. "Did you change?"
"No. If your wolf saw another alpha on her first moon she might've tried to fight me for my pack since you don't have one. Like I said, more aggressive. Better safe than sorry." He shrugged.
"Wouldn't I have attacked you as a human anyways? Why didn't you go?" I was confused as to why he'd risk his life and stay.
He rolled his eyes at my concern. "Nicole, I was safe. I hid in the shack Damon lives in and stayed quiet. I used my hearing to make sure you were only hunting forest animals and not people. if there had been a problem I would've intervened."
"Okay..." I let it go. "So what did I do all night then? I don't remember anything really, except the moon."

He nodded. "That happens. You mostly just ran around and chased whatever moved. You hunted, howled, and then went to sleep. After you turned, you looked at all of us and then ran away like you had better things to do. It would've been funny if we weren't all so shocked by those red eyes." He smiled a bit, trying to lighten the mood.
"I guess." I shrugged and rubbed my arms for warmth. I hadn't realized how long we'd been standing here talking.

Kane noticed the cold was getting to me. "I think that's enough for now. I'll take you home, I think I've got some wipes in my car." He turned around and went to the passenger side, holding the door open for me. I smiled and walked over to him, stopping to look at him before I got in.
"Kane?" I asked with worry coating my voice.
"Hmm?"
"What are we gonna do? If I'm not claimed, won't I go rogue." I needed answers before I got in any car. He sighed and took one of my hands, instantly I felt calm spreading over me.

Damn him and his alpha powers. I didn't think they'd still have an affect on me but they seemed to work even more now.

"You'll be fine. You aren't showing any signs of going rogue so far." He looked away and seemed to be arguing with himself about something.
"What is it?" I asked, wanting to be clued into this fight going on in his mind.
"The only thing I can think to do is to ask the council." He grumbled as he closed his eyes and covered his face with his free hand.
"Is that a bad thing? I thought I'd have to see them anyways after my first full moon?" I was confused at his sudden bad mood.
"Yeah you would, they're just not my favorite people, is all." He sighed as he looked back to me. He let go of my hand. "Ready?" He motioned for me to get in.

I climbed into his jeep and watched him walk to the driver side, lost in thought. I used a lot of his wipes to get the blood off of my face and hands on the drive back into town. When I was done I stared into my reflection in the mirror. I watched my eyes change at will, still red. I looked until I couldn't stand it anymore. I looked out of the passenger window and tried to focus on the long, hot shower I'd be taking when I got home instead.