Book One: A Wolf Among Beasts

Chapter Four

Eli rings out her hair in front of the fire she set up, Bruce sits close by mentally kicking himself. A woman he is attracted to, a woman he actually likes kissed him and he pushed her away. It's been a while since he's had a moment, an incident, but the risk of setting it off, of bringing out the monster, the Mr. Hyde to his Dr. Jekyll. He could hurt her. He could really hurt her and then what? More regret? Pain? Heartbreak? He glances to her as she shakes out her hair and sighs. She closes her eyes and tilts her head up to the sky, angling her face to the moonlight before she lays back on the blanket behind her. The night is clear and warm enough they can sleep in the open mouth of the cave. He fidgets a moment before standing and moving towards her. He lays beside her, both of them looking up at the sky.

"Eli" he starts. "Can we....talk?" she shrugs a little.

"If you want to" she answers.

"About before" he tells her. "It's not you...it's me"

"Heard that before" she offers, amusement lacing her tone, alone with hurt, she's trying not to let it show, the rejection.

"No, I really mean it" he argues. She turns her head to him. "I'm not...." Bruce struggles. "I'm different" he tries, she raises an eyebrow at him.

"So you're what?" she asks. "A mutant?" Bruce pauses to think about it, whilst no, he is not classed as a mutant, but he has a mutation, not in the mutant sense.

"No" Bruce answers. "I don't have the X-gene" he offers. "But...there was this...thing" he cringes a little. "And it changed me" she looks back to the sky.

"I'm a mutant" she admits, Bruce looks to her. "So there" she sits up. "We all have something we're running away from" she tells him. "Even if that something is inside of us" she shakes her head.

"I.." Bruce start a little. "It's not that simple, Eli"

"Then make it simple" she tells him. "I get that my personality is..."

"No, no, no" he is quick to tell her. "It's really nothing you are or you do....I promise" he sits up and sighs. "Okay" he whispers a little. "I have a....personality disorder" he admits. "And the other side of me is dangerous. I don't want to hurt you. I'm dangerous. I'm really not a good...match for anyone...."

"I'm living in Rio trying to outrun my past, my own....guilt and the things I have seen, been a part of...." she admits. "My clothes are falling apart, I drink and smoke all day, I have emotional issues, I have foul mouth, I have no money, no job, no education, and my shack is falling apart.....do I really sound like I'd make a good match either?" she asks him seriously. "Look I like you, Bruce, I like you because I feel like..." she pauses and sighs. "There is something about you that I feel connected with" she admits. "And I don't hate being around you....and I hate being around everyone. You actually make me smile, something I haven't done in years...in so many years...." she closes her eyes. "If I read things wrong?" she asks opening her eyes again. "Then that's fine, but I..."

"You didn't" he assures her. "But I can't risk..." she searches his eyes, something green flickering through them, she takes a breath and nods to herself before standing.

"Okay" she whispers taking a few steps towards the fire, she cocks her head. "I'll show you mine" she starts turning to him. "If you show me yours" she offers.

"No" he argues.

"Come on, how bad can it be?" she asks. "I'll show you my mutation, if you show me what it is you're hiding" he shakes his head. "I promise it's good" she tells him.

"I can't..." he whispers. "I just can't..." she shrugs a little.

"How about I show you mine?" she asks. "And you tell me yours?" he lifts his eyes a little to her, he nods. That he can do. "Okay" she states and then begins to undress. When she gets to her underwear, and starts to remove that too, he gets where it's going.

"You have to be naked?" he asks her looking away.

"Well....I don't have much in the way of clothes to begin with, probably best not to ruin the ones I have" she chuckles a little seeing how awkward and thoughtful he's trying to be. "You can look" she tells him. "I really don't mind" he fights that good guy battle inside of himself, the one that tells him to be the gentleman and to keep looking away. "You cannot see my mutation if you do not look at me" she tells him softer. He sighs and turns to her. She's stood completely naked but the dark hides most of her form, which he is actually disappointed about. "Just don't freak out" she begs of him.

"Why would I freak out?" he asks, she takes a deep breath and then lurches forward, there's this sound, like cracking and ripping before it stops and stood in front of him 10 feet in length, is a russet brown wolf with glowing yellow eyes that start to dim into dark eyes. Bruce stares at the wolf who sits. He stands slowly watching the wolf's reaction to him. He holds out his hand towards the wolf, it shakes more then he's happy with, his watch starts to beep away and he takes a deep breath trying to calm himself. The wolf's head is bigger then his, he's pretty sure it could fit his head in it's jaw. Her. He corrects himself. She's still Eli just with more fur. The other guy starts shifting in the back of his mind, more of an peaking interest then anything else. Kin. He knew there was something about her he was drawn to, a sense of kin. And this is why. There is something inside her too. Her eyes watch him, curious, alert, aware. He wonders if she's in there, or if it's like him, that it's another version of herself. He moves his fingers slightly reaching for her face, brushing against the whiskers, she leans her nose into his hand. She's beautiful. He brushes his fingers over her fur and then pulls his hand back.

"Can you?" he asks slowly. "Can you change back?" the wolf nods a little. It takes no time for her to shift back, she collapses slightly into his arms and he helps her remain upright.

"I'm good" she pats his chest a little and stands stumbling over to her clothes, it takes a few seconds to get used to her human legs and her shift in gravity again. She grabs her clothes as Bruce sits back down on the ground, his mind working over what he's just seen. He's hardly had any time at all to get used to occupying his own mind with a monster, a beast, he wonders how long she's had to work to get control like that. Maybe hope is not lost for him. For some resemblance of control.

"When did..." he starts and chews on his lip as she dresses. "Is there a set age? For the mutation to...." she shakes her head pulling her hair out from the back of her shirt.

"Not really" she answers. "Every mutant is different.....It tends to be trauma that activates the mutation....stress, anger, pain, fear....I urm....the night that I...presented, my biological father killed my step-father" she admits looking to Bruce. "Then my twin brother killed our biological father....and I killed our mother" Bruce stares at her a little. "I've...been running ever since" she rubs her head a little. "Mutants aren't happy people" she tells him. "We don't have happy childhoods....." she turns looking away from him. "I'll be back, I just need..." she looks away getting upset, Bruce nods.

"I'll be here" he assures her, she nods a little and then takes off into the trees, Bruce closes his eyes.