Inherent Instinct (In Another Life Part Five)

Chapter Eight

Serana was out of distractions. The room she was in-- courtesy of Claude, who's returning wolves had been so few in number that their den’s many rooms remained largely vacant, as all of them preferred to stay near each other and away from strangers-- she had tidied to perfection. It was remarkably well-furnished, Elayn had given her the impression werewolves slept on pelts on the floor, not under them in a wool-stuffed bed. Her skirts, she had picked of all loose threads. Her books, the few she had rescued from the castle, she had read a hundred times.

And Elayn still wasn't awake.

If she would only wake up and shift, she could speed her recovery along, but werewolves only healed so fast without using the magic of their kind. So they waited, Serana only leaving to hunt as quickly as she could so she could come back to Elayn's side.

Claude, who had seen many an injury, kept assuring her when he stopped by that werewolves were more resilient than a human, that her sleep meant that she was reserving her energy to heal. It didn't help.

Sitting in a chair by her bed, Serana leaned over her werewolf and gripped the hand that laid by her side, clenching her eyes shut. “I swear, Elayn,” she whispered. “If you don't wake up I'll--”

“You'll what?”

The croaked question startled Serana, whose eyes flew open to see Elayn's flutter open, then stay open half-lidded. She let out a surprised laugh, and bent her head, shook it. “I hadn't really thought about it. But it worked, didn't it?”

Elayn's hand shifted in hers so it could grip back. “It did. How long?”

“Has it been?” When Elayn nodded, she leaned over to the table by the top corner of the bed where a ewer and wooden goblet sat. She poured water into the cup and handed it to her werewolf, who was pushing herself up against the pillows. When she was upright, she took the cup, and Serana said, “Three days. I was starting to get worried. “

“Starting to?” Elayn grinned, genuine, however tiredly, and took a long drink. When she resurfaced, she gasped, and said, “I thought when you resorted to threatening me, you were beside yourself. Only starting to get worried? I think I should be offended.”

Serana gave her a look that she hoped conveyed the mix of exasperation and fondness that she felt. “If you're well enough to tease me then I think you'll be just fine.”

“I should, after a few days.” She looked around. “Where are we exactly?”

When Serana told her, Elayn frowned, and her shoulders started to tense. “Oh.”

“Oh?”

“Claude isn't like a lot of werewolves, but I still don't want to be injured around a bunch of predators.”

Serana inclined her head. “If it helps, I think they're all still too shaken to try anything.”

“That… kind of helps.”

Before she could respond, there was a knock at the door, a specific tap-ta-tap-tap that she recognized. “Come in,” she said, and the door opened.

“It is good to see you awake, my friend,” the red-bearded werewolf said when he saw who was alert on the bed. “You should know how many times I had to assure your mate that it would happen.”

“She worries about me,” Elayn said, ducking her head as she looked chagrined, and aimed a smile at Serana, who returned it.

“You are welcome to stay here as long as you like,” Claude said. “Your spirit, however, may not thank you for it.”

I choose a feline shape. To be surrounded by those who choose a canine one is not a pleasant experience. Salem flowed into the room, along the wall, and into a corner, where purple eyes blinked at them.

Elayn snorted. “You don't mind my company so much.”

You are not the typical werewolf.

“I'll say.” Claude had a look on his face Serana couldn't decipher, there and then gone again before she could try. “Serana, do you mind if I speak with your mate alone for a moment?”

Serana looked to Elayn, whom she could only tell was nervous because of their bond, but she nodded. “It'll be fine. Stay outside the door?”

She could hear the conversation well from there, they all knew that, likely even Claude, but he said nothing about it. She nodded and rose. “I'll be right outside.”

——————

"So?” Elayn asked, gruffly, to mask the terror she felt at being wounded in a room with an alpha.

Claude stepped a little further into the room, but the slow, careful way he did it went a long way toward keeping her from springing off the bed. “Your mate told me about your other shape, the one with fur and two legs.”

Oh, this? She grimaced. “And what about it?”

Then he said something she didn't expect to hear. “It is lucky you were able to accomplish such a thing.” When she looked shocked, he said, “Yes. Though it is unnatural, it was a very lucky thing, because it saved our lives. You stopped a ravening monster that could have further decimated my pack.”

Thinking of the old man and his story, Elayn said, “I think the Monster did a lot to deserve its end. I'm just glad someone managed it, even if it was me.”

He frowned at her and stepped a little closer. “You would make a fine addition to the pack, Elayn. You are a strong wolf. I would be honored to hunt beside you.”

From the look on his face and the tone in his voice, she'd have thought she was being chastised. “But?”

“There is no ‘but’.” Anger crossed his face in a flash, there and gone. “Whatever alpha made a waste of your talents, I hope their pack tears them apart.”

Elayn felt an ache in her chest, and her voice came out rough as she said, “You have no idea how likely that is. I think… I think my pack was sick. I'm starting to see it now.”

Claude nodded firmly. “My offer is genuine, if you would take it. Even your mate would be welcome, although we do not usually associate with vampires.”

For a moment, she thought about it. She really did. The wolf inside her longed for belonging, for pack, and the safety and security it brought.

But… she felt that with Serana. She didn't need to join a pack to find what she already had.

“Maybe one day,” she said, half-smiling. “But not today.”

He didn't look surprised. “I will send your mate back in now. Rest and recover well.”

“You too, wolf. I saw the Monster grab you.”

Claude grinned. “I shifted once we got you here. It is you who needs the good will.”

He left, and Serana came back in. She sat in the chair by the bed and smiled when she saw Elayn's weary cheer. “A good talk?”

“Aye.” She leaned back in the bed with a sigh. “So how does Italy sound?”