Lykos ✓

Chapter Four | Choices

Rafael was freshly showered when he stormed into the guest bedroom. His dark hair still dripping wet and his white shirt unbuttoned.

The guest room had been set up to keep the girl sedated until she fully recovered. It was also more comfortable than the surgery table and left less questions when his men came in with their injuries. The last thing he needed getting out was that the girl was still alive when he hadn't even visited the Germans yet.

"You're back quickly," Micah commented, not bothering to look up from the monitor. The continuous beeping was quickly switched off as Micah knew it agitated Rafael. It's not like he needed to monitor to heart if her heart was beating but rather it was used to keep a record.

"The French know nothing about the deal between Japanese and Germans. They're just a middle man, passing along the keys." Rafael ignored his comment.

His wolf had demanded he return to their home and since he stepped inside, the urge to shift had multiplied tenfolds. He didn't understand why that even the promise of visiting the lush forest that surrounded the home did no justice. This urge was something new.

"Excellent Sherlock, now why aren't you infiltrating the Germans as we speak?" Micah didn't drop the topic. He had noticed something off about his brother. His eyes were clouded and his figure tense. If spending thousands of years with his brothers had taught him something, it was how to understand when something was bothering him.

"I had to come home." Rafael continued to pace, he didn't understand what his wolf wanted. His behaviour was something that Rafael hadn't encountered in the thousands of years. Yes, he could be impulsive, but this was something more.

"And?" Micah continued to push, and Rafael knew there was no one else who would be able to come close to what he was feeling. After all, there was only three werewolves in the world and two of them were currently standing in the guest bedroom.

"I don't know, I just had to come home," Rafael replied, irritated. He automatically switched to his mother tongue, Greek, as he cursed softly at the feeling of restlessness.

"Do you need to shift?" Micah was calm. As someone who had practiced medicine for a few centuries now, he had to know how to keep his nerve.

"Yes. Right now," Rafael replied distracted. He was using most of his concentration to keep his wolf at bay.

"Well that's never stopped you before." Micah's words stripped away Rafael's last resistance. A powerful ripple went through his whole body. The pain was similar to a pin prick after having done this thousands of times. He shifted, leaving behind shreds of clothing. Micah watched cautiously, unsure of what the beast wanted. For all he knows, he could want to rip the girl to shreds.

The dark grey wolf stood proudly and strutted around Micah to the bed. He hopped onto the end of the bed with skilled precision and curled up.

"Well then," Micah muttered. Once again, Rafael's beast had done the unpredictable. The beast hasn't been a vicious but rather docile like a puppy.

The wolf snorted at Micah's comment and shut his eyes. He didn't care for what Micah did, he was at peace that the human had finally listened.

Micah made sure all the machines monitoring the girl were silent before he switched off the light and left the wolf guarding the girl. He pacified himself with the idea of Rafael's beast wanting to protect her after the condition he found her and nothing more. It wouldn't be the first time he had shown protective instincts, and probably wouldn't be the last. These occasions were just rare.

~*~

Micah walked in the next morning, which was only a few hours later to have Rafael growl at him. He stood in a protective stance and watched Micah until he came to his senses and realised that he was no threat. Micah was unfazed, having known that Rafael will forever not be a morning person. He simply checked the records of the girl and found her in a stable condition.