Call Wolf

Chapter Nine

ElementS

It was raining. Hard. The clearing was empty, the cabins' windows glowing yellow as every inhabitant had gone inside to take cover. Left were fabric and weapons and stray flowers putting up a tough fight against the rough downpour. Somewhere far off thunder crackled but it wasn't near enough to cause any more disturbance than a vague vibrato.
Maria watched it all with her legs folded underneath her and her hair glued to her head. She sat on top the hill, just before Charles' den, and shuddered under the elements. Goosebumps rose like splattered paint on the skin exposed from underneath the coat. She could have worn something warmer, like the clothes she'd been offered inside, and spent her evening in the bed Charles had been nice enough to give her. But she didn't think it wise. A mental count down had begun: it was soon time for another episode. When it came she didn't want to ruin more than she already had.
"It's raining."
Charles took place behind her, cocked his head when watching her sorry frame. He was warm, the glow of the lanterns from inside the den almost glued to him, but the aggressive droplets had already begun making him one with the dark scenery.
"It is," Maria hummed, eyeing a bug scurrying past her hand.
"Why are you out here?"
"It's almost time."
Charles opened his mouth but then closed it again. He watched the view himself.
"You look cold."
"I am cold," Maria answered in the same bland tone but couldn't hide from him how scared she was of the pain that she knew would come. "It's by choice, though. I'm savoring it while I can."
A cloud of mist rose from Maria in a split second. As it dissipated, her hair was dry and her face flushed. The rain soon drenched her again, though, making her shrink.
"See?"
"You seem to have pretty good control of it," Charles commented.
Maria nodded, adding, "It's just the episodes... They're impossible to hold back."
Maria let out a scream as two hands grabbed her and hauled her up to her feet. She was spun to finally look at Charles. He had an indecipherable expression.
"What are you doing?"
"I want to try something. Close your eyes."
"Charles, it's almost time--"
"Trust me."
For some reason she did.
"Now, imagine your powers as an orb."
"It's a chest," she interjected.
"A chest... Alright. I want you to close this chest, and trap everything within it. Everything. When you feel the episode coming on, I want you to push down the chest. I want you to push, and push, and not stop until it's in your feet. Press it through bone and skin and muscle - do what you have to do."
"I don't know if it's going to work."
"Try it."
Maria let her eyes flutter open and was for some reason surprised to see Charles still holding her. She gave him a look she wasn't certain was wise.
"Alright," she murmured. "Once it comes, I will. Where have you learnt this?"
"Each full moon is a hard time for my kind. Many lose control if not taught how to suppress their urges."
"Your kind..." Maria trailed, looking down in a poor attempt to hide her envy. "You have all these people to support you. I have no one."
Surprisingly warm fingers found her chin. The warmth was different from the melted metal running through her veins, different from the fire's heated ache. She looked up and briefly wondered why she'd never noticed how beautiful his eyes were. Especially when as transfixed to her as they were currently.
She got closer, lowered her gaze to rest on something even more alluring: his lips.
Charles' left hand hooked the back of her neck, tolerating the excited sparks hopping off her hair and nipping at his fingers. He lowered his head. Perhaps it was the heat of her skin in the cold air, perhaps it was her loneliness, begging to be held, but in that second he wanted her. God, he wanted her so much it hurt.
A few more centimeters, and he would have her. Just a few.
Maria pushed him away.

Charles stumbled back, more than a little surprised, and didn't even have time to dodge the coat flying at his face a moment later. He frowned, pulled the leather off his head, and saw Maria a few meters away, hunched over.
"It's happening," she gritted out.
Charles threw the coat aside and closed the distance, grabbing her arm as to make her stand up straight. Her skin was hot, but not yet searing.
"No!" she hissed. "Step away, you'll get killed."
"The chest, Maria. Close it and push it down. Now."
"Please, please don't touch me."
Charles made sure he caught her gaze and then assured, "I trust you. Now push it down, before it goes too far."
She hesitated, seemed to deliberate whether to just try and get him off, but then closed her eyes. Her erratic breathing didn't slow but it was obvious she was trying to control it. Within her, she pictured the chest. As Charles had told her, Maria put it all in there. The powers, the emotions, and, just to be safe, the feeling of Charles' hands holding her upright.
She began forcing it down. It was painful but not comparable to catching fire so she continued. It got stuck, tried to open up sometimes, but she somehow managed to force it down to her feet.
"Charles?" Maria whispered, not daring to open her eyes in the possibility she would see a charred skeleton.
The hand on her arm squeezed. Once. It was the confirmation she needed to dare to open her eyes.
"You did it."
Maria could cry. She let go of his arm, noted how the most damage she'd left behind was the trace of her nails, and wiggled her fingers. No pain.
"I can't believe it."
Maria was in awe. She began moving her legs but the action was too sudden and left her a wobbly mess hanging around Charles' neck. Not that it mattered.
"Look," Charles said, pointing somewhere behind her.
She looked over her shoulder, the act making her dizzy, and saw what he'd been reffering to. In the spot where she'd just stood were two burning footprints quickly being doused by the rain.
"Maybe I need a little more practise."
Charles threw the coat over her shoulders.
"I'm taking you inside."
"Wait."
Maria narrowed her eyes. Something had caught her attention, something moving in the treeline ahead of them.
"Do you see that?" she asked. "I think they're... people."
Charles moved in front of her, looked to where she'd pointed, and let out a disdained grunt. He sniffed the air.
"Humans and... gunpowder. We have to get inside."

A/n
Cliffhanger and romantic scene in one chapter? Christmas came early.

Can I ask a question? There will be some sex in this story and I wonder what's best, leaving "the act" itself unspoken or writing it out. What do you want? Please let me know what you prefer when reading a story.

xoxo