Animal Lover Ch. 10

"Just a pup."

"Nothing left. Just like me. Is that why you put those roses in my room? You went overboard."

"That wasn't me."

Oh. Thomas. Another pause. "Does he not like you?"

"We've had our.. disagreements."

He looks back down at his work, apparently the matter was closed.

He finished the moccasins and slid them on her feet.

"Thank you."

He nods and goes off on another patrol.

She rummaged around the house, trying to figure out what she could put together for a meal, and how to cook it.

She looks at dried beans, dried meat, dried fruit, and then at the fireplace. How do you cook on a fireplace? What had Emmett done, last night? She hadn't paid a lot of attention.

She looked at the pots and found the one he used to make stew last night. OK, she could make some kind of soup. That would be pretty easy.

She throws more wood in the fireplace, then, turning around, realizes Emmett's been gone for a long time.

All kinds of things began to run through her mind.

The pack had caught him, killed him.

They were out in the middle of nowhere. It could be a hunter, a trap, another predator, hit by a car?

She wouldn't be able to find him, could she get out, if she needed to?

If it was the pack, they'd come for her too.

Her chest was heaving, thinking of the possibilities. The gun!

She hears someone at the door. No time to get to the gun, they were fast. She looks around and grabs a large knife, holding it before her, defensively.

Emmett walks in and shakes, spraying water around the room.

Lyssa watches, laughs a little, and sinks down to the floor.

Emmett looks up at the laugh. She's backed against the cabinets, holding a knife. She starts sliding to the floor, dropping the knife, and puts her head in her hands.

He walks over and crouches down beside her. "Lyssa, are you alright?" He moves to touch her shoulder and she pulls away.

"Where were you? I thought they'd killed you and were coming for me."

"I just ran a wider sweep of the area."

"You should have told me! You were gone so long."

"I'm sorry. I forget that I can't just call to you when we're not close. I'll say something next time."

She sniffs. "Did you see anything?"

"No. No sign of anyone. And the rain will cover any scent." He looks around at the pots and supplies. "Starting dinner?"

"I was thinking about it. But I'm not sure how to cook some of this."

"Well, then, let's work on it together." He offers his hand and she takes it. He helps her up.

He then pulls a couple of the logs out of the fireplace and they start putting together dinner.

She winces a little at some of the movements and he smells the blood.

Startled, he takes her by the shoulders. "Lyssa, you're bleeding."

"What? How do you know?"

"I can smell it." She looks at him. "We should tend to your injuries. Sit."

"Um. OK." She sits in one of the chairs as he grabs the first aid kit.

He comes back over, crouching in front of her. "Where are you hurt?"

"My legs. My.. my neck."

He pulls off the moccasins and socks then reaches for her pantlegs. "May I?"

She looks at chocolate eyes, full of concern. One breath. Two. She slides the waistband over her hips and he, carefully, peels the sweatpants off her legs.

A growl rises in his chest as he surveys the damage. Long claw tracks on her thighs. He pushes the t-shirt up a little, some marks on her belly, where the waistband on her jeans would have been.

She shrinks back from him. He suppresses the growl. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. I'm angry at Thomas, and myself. Hold still." He sniffs over the wounds, and smells rise from her sex that make him inhale deeply. The hair was beginning to grow back from where she had shaved.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure they are healing cleanly. No infection."

"Oh. Good."

He carefully, gently, cleans the scratches and applies a couple of butterfly bandages over the deeper ones. She slithers the pants back on.

"Let me see your neck."

She pulls down the t-shirt neck and he sniffs and cleans the clawmarks there.

He pulls back, puzzled. "Where did he mark you?"

Her chest heaves and she swallows. Emmett closes his eyes but his voice stays calm. "Please. Show me."

He already knew and steeled himself for the sight.

She pulled up the hem of the t-shirt and he saw the angry red marks on her breast.

He snarled and leapt away from her, shifting to wolf as he did. She quickly dropped the t-shirt as he paced and growled, glancing at her occasionally.

He watched as she took the cloth he had been using and washed the marks Thomas had left. The nipple crinkled up with the coolness as he watched and he licked his lips.

It took several minutes before he was able to calm himself sufficiently to change back.

Another ruined set of clothes. He would either have to be more careful or remain wolf, but he wouldn't be able to speak to her then.

He stands, naked, looking at her. "Again, sweetheart, I must apologize. My wolf is very upset and, this close to the full moon, is more difficult to control. But I want you to know, want you to believe, I will never hurt you." She closes her eyes and shakes her head.

He comes closer, slowly, crouching again and taking her hands. She allows it.

"How does your face feel?"

"My jaw is sore."

"Why did.. how did you get the mark?"

"I bit him."

Emmett's lips quirk in the barest inkling of a smile. He turns back to the hearth.

With a sigh, she rises and goes over, to watch him work on the meal.

As they eat, he talks about the pack. Its structure. The leadership. How a wolf can change his status. She asks questions occasionally.

"So you were born into a family that wasn't Beta?"

"Yes. My parents were Omegas, the common man, so to speak."

"What did you do to be a Beta, then?"

He speaks softly. "When my family died I was not yet weaned. Ariel's mother was nursing at the time and she took me in."

"Why her?"

"Did Joanna show you around?" Lyssa nods. "While we have a number of young around pups are not born that frequently. She was the only female milk heavy at the time. I grew up with the family."

"So. Ariel's family is Beta?"

"Yes."

"But, how did you get the job? Wouldn't her father, her brothers or sisters get it first? What about Randall's family?"

"Their parents are gone as well. Their children aren't old enough. Although Roland is in training he will likely be Alpha when the time comes."

"Randall's brother and one of Ariel's mated into other packs. Ariel's other brother is not suited to the position."

"Being in Ariel's family helped me. And I showed aptitude, skill, and drive. I was promoted to Beta 6 years ago, when Ariel's brother left."

"So, Joanna explained this to me, doesn't that make you a prime catch? Don't some of the women throw themselves at you?"

"They do, and they have." A pause. "I never found one I wanted." He quickly and gently squeezes her hand and rises to clear the table.

"I should go out on another patrol."

"You really expect them to find us, don't you?"

"Wolves can't resist the chase. They will."

"What happens when they come?"

"I'll die protecting you."

She thought about that quiet statement while he was gone.

Randall was furious, almost two days gone and there was no further trace of Emmett and Lyssa. "You're wolves, for Luna's sake! You're telling me you can do no better than humans?"

Roland and Erich wince at the tirade. Erich actually goes down on his knees at his Alpha's displeasure.

"Dad, we're working on it. Emmett is good, you know that, that's why you made him Beta. We're exploring every avenue."

"I will not have him go rogue, Roland. Find him."

Roland bows his head slightly as Randall turns to Erich. "Erich, you have no insight into Emmett's thoughts? You've spent the most time with him."

"No, Alpha, we've investigated every avenue I could come up with."

"The human's relatives?"

Ariel walks in. "It would be better if you used her name, mate." He growls at her.

"She has none, Alpha. They were killed when she was young."

"And the boyfriend is in a human jail."

Ariel looks at Erich and their eldest son. "Erich, Roland, continue the search. I wish to speak to the Alpha alone."

The two young males gratefully pick up and leave.

Randall exhales. "What is it, Ariel?"

She sits. "You and I know Emmett better than many of the others. Let's think of what we think he might do."

Randall puts his hands on his desk and slumps over his arms. "Alright, wife, where do you want to begin?"

"He'd want to get out of our range, but he wouldn't have gone to one of the other packs." He shakes his head. "He probably would want to get some distance from us." A nod. "Now, would he lose himself in a large city or out in the wilderness?"

"You know as well as I how much he would hate being unable to run."

"So, away from humans." Another nod. "Now, he has a fragile human female with him. She'd need shelter, fire, food."

"Unless he's changed her."

"No. He wouldn't force it on her. He hasn't had time yet."

"So, away from others, but with shelter."

Ariel nods. "We need to look for cabins or vacant houses in a rural area. And to get as far from us as possible he would have gone in a nearly straight line."

Randall walks up behind her, shakes his arms around her waist, and cups her breasts. "Your mind is almost as attractive as the rest of you, mate."

She leans her head back against his broad chest and wiggles her hips back against his crotch. She was rewarded with a groan and a growing hardness against her buttocks.

He spun her, grasped the neck of the cotton blouse she was wearing and ripped it in half. Spreading the remnants, he drops his head to a breast and begins licking and nipping at her nipple, while cupping and kneading the other breast.

She sighed and cradled his head to her breast, her fingers running through his light brown hair.

The hand that had her pulled close dropped to her hip, bunching up the skirt she wore. He slipped his finger into the waistband of her panties and yanked them down as her hands moved to his pants, to unleash him.

He groaned as his pants hit the floor and she grasped him. He straightened slightly, kissed her, and bit down briefly on her mating mark. She moaned.

He picked her up and she helped guide him as he slid her onto his hardened length.

Groans left both sets of lips as he bottomed out in her and she wrapped her legs around him.

He turned and pressed her up against the door. Then, he began powerfully pumping into her.

She clasped his shoulders tightly and her breasts rubbed up and down against his shirt in a delightful way. As he pounded into her they both ignored the creaking noises the door was making. Harder. Rougher. Faster.

She digs her nails into his shoulders. "AAaaahh!" The door panel cracks with his last thrust and he howls his release.

Lyssa has put another log on the fire and found some blank paper and a couple of pens. She had no one to talk to, other than Emmett, and he was hardly and unbiased party.

Maybe she could sort things out by writing it down.

She sat. And looked at the paper.

Emmett found her that way when he returned from patrol. He looks at her, curious. "Writing a letter?"

She looks to him. "No." A sigh. "Just trying to get it all straight in my head."

"Oh. OK." A pause. "Would you like me to leave?"

"No. No." She stands and looks at him. "Maybe I'll just go to bed."

"Alright. Good night, Lyssa."

"G'night." She gets into the bed and pulls off the pants. As she settles in she watches Emmett change to the familiar grey wolf and curl up in front of the door again. His eyes watch her.

After a while she huffs and rolls to her back.

About an hour later, she sits up. He sees her look toward him.

She sits there for another minute or so, then says, quietly, "Emmett? Could you come up on the bed with me?"

The click of his claws show his progress. She feels the bed shift and can see his dark form come up beside her.

He stretches out, his back to her, as she slides back down in the bed.

After a couple more minutes, "You could, um, sleep next to me."

He picks up his head to look at her, then gets off the bed and changes to human form. Picking up the blanket, he slides in, leaving the sheet between them.

Sleep comes more easily for both this night, curled up together and warm.

Light snow had fallen during the night. It wasn't enough to cover everything but enough to make everything stand out in contrast.

Like a grey wolf. Or a wolf track.

Emmett stared out at it, unsure if it were a good or a bad thing.

Certainly it would allow him warning; he could see wolves or others approaching, or find their tracks, but they could also find him more easily.

Breakfast consisted of powdered egg and cheese omelets, slathered in salsa.

As they ate Lyssa realized that she'd gotten used to seeing Emmett walk around naked.

And it bothered him not at all.

And, while he again talked to her about how the pack worked, a sudden question popped up in her mind.

She blurts out. "How did you ever see me, find me, in the first place?"

He stops dead and stares at her. Then looks down at his plate.

"What is it? What did you do?"

His eyes flick up to her. "I shouldn't have been watching." Before she can respond he goes on. "I was out for a run. And checking some boundaries while I was at it. I smelled you. I heard you."

"It was hot, and you were outside with Ronnie." Her mouth drops open.

"I saw him touch you, awaken your desire. I heard your moans, smelled your essence."

She looks uncomfortable, appalled. "You were lovely, responsive, sensuous. I stayed, and watched. And there, I wished that I could be the one making you feel that kind of pleasure, that my name could be on your lips, that I could feel you beneath me, around me. I stayed, after he was done, taking in your scent. And, oh, how I wanted you."

"So, I came, regularly, and looked for you, and him. And, that day, while I waited for you, a member of the Macey pack came by, saw what I was looking at and challenged me for you. My injuries gave me reason to get close to you."

She looks at him, and a small smile touches her lips. "And, how would you have done it otherwise?"

"I'm not sure. But one way or another, I would have found a way to make myself known to you."

"Just watching me and Ronnie one night, that was it?"

"Your scent was wonderful, like nothing I'd ever smelled before. Pure, you alone. The heat had swept away much of the smell of cosmetics or deodorant. And your fire, your body, the way you moved. I believe I fell in love with you there."

He smiles at her a moment, then stands. "I should patrol." Now in full view is his twitching cock, filling before her eyes. She's watching it, mesmerized, until he turns.

"Could I have the gun again?"

That stops him in his tracks and he closes his eyes. "Certainly."

He digs into the bottom of the duffle bag again, pulls it out, and hands it to her.

She holds the gun, looking at it, then ventures the next question. "Would it, actually, kill a werewolf?"

"Yes. I wouldn't have brought it otherwise."

"How? Silver bullets?"

He breaks a half smile. "No. That's another myth. Because we heal quickly, wounds that would kill a human will not kill us."

"OK, then, where?"

His voice goes low. "Do you think you could really do it?"

She stands now, facing him. "Yes. If they come to kill me I want to take a few with me before I go."

He looks at the fire and determination in her eyes. He points to his head. "Here," then steps towards her. She raises the gun, reflexively. He grasps it, pulling it, and her hand, upwards. He puts the muzzle of the gun against his chest. "Or here. Head, or heart."

He's pulled her closer with the maneuver and they both feel the warmth of the other, smell the other's scent, with the proximity. They stand that way for a few seconds, him looking down at her, she watching the rise and fall of his chest.

Her other hand comes up to touch his arm, but he backs away at the movement. "Patrol."

He almost rushes from the cabin, in an effort to get away from her. To prevent himself from doing anything irreparable.

It would be so easy to sweep her up in his arms and take her back to bed. To pull off that t-shirt and explore the body that now taunted him. To taste her. To drive himself into her. To have her welcome it.

Damn. He needed a cold shower. Or a good long run.

Progress.

A surveillance tape at a gas station showed Emmett with a dark colored car carrying a stolen license plate. He gassed up the car and brought some snack food back out, handing it to someone else in the vehicle.

The tape also showed direction of travel.

One of the Severn wolves had caught wind of it, and passed it on to Roland.

In the meantime, a passerby had noticed light in the farmer's field.

The farmer thanked his neighbor and went to investigate.

Some damn kids had gotten a car stuck in the mud in the back of his lane. He needed it out of there, definitely before spring planting.

Well, now was as good a time as any. Harvest was in and he was just putting things in order for the winter. He started up his tractor and took a chain to drag it out.

He put the car in neutral and slammed the doors. It took a bit to get the chain on it; it was buried pretty well in the mud.

Damn little pissants.

He took his time. If he damaged it too badly, he'd never get it out. Slowly, with some care, the car pulled free.

Lyssa blinked in surprise as Emmett took off. It was as if he were scared of her.

She dropped the hand holding the gun and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped out one step, looking around. He was gone, nowhere to be seen.

She sighed, stepped back in, and closed the door.

She grabbed the book and sat in the chair beside the fire.

But she couldn't concentrate on the book.

She thought of how good he smelled, those chocolate eyes looking at her, the start of a beard. She thought of how well she slept, how safe she felt, when he was in the bed with her. His hair, hung to his shoulders, the same grey as his coat when he was a wolf.

The big chest, with its small patch of hair between his nipples. Strong arms and legs. Tanned, but with light lines across his body, scars from fights he'd been in.

She'd tasted that cock, full and standing proudly as he left the cabin. What would it be like, to feel his weight, to have him moving inside her?

She felt the wetness grow between her thighs and threw the book down.

Why not?

One hand went under her shirt, to pinch her nipple as the other delved into the sweatpants. Ow! The right one still hurt..

Her slick fingers moved from her pussy to her clit. She'd probably be better off moving quickly, she wasn't sure when he'd be back.

She closes her eyes and moans. One hand is plucking at a nipple, while the other she was using to finger herself. She builds quickly, moaning, biting her lip.

Higher, closer, tensing up, and then... "OOooo!" Her back arches and she pants at the orgasm that rolls through her.

Coming back down, she lazily turns her head towards the door and opens her eyes.

And screams at the dark shape looming in the window.