Nightmane-Chapter 3
I sat there for a minute debating what I was going to do. I pulled my shirt on deciding to see where I was. So I strode through the doorway leading out the bedroom and walked down the hallway. I tan my hands through my long black hair and looked for an exit towards the wilderness. I walked into what looked like a living room with a simple TV and a blue cloth couch. On the far side of the wall was a wooden door. I twisted the handle and pulled, letting the light flood my vision. The light felt wonderful as it fell upon my face and then I took a step outside.
A wave of fresh smells hit me in the face. I closed my eyes and took them all in. They all were so new to me. I smelled some things that were too intricate to describe and yet the newer feral part of me knew what everything was. The smell of the open fresh air, the woods and trees. But there was a unique scent in the air. It smelled feral, wild even. Just like Loken except for a slight difference. I opened my eyes and looked over to where the smell originated. Sitting there on the porch in a cheap plastic chair, sat a young woman. She sat there, grinning at me, her black hair drifting in the air as she stared at me with glowing amber eyes like she was having fun at the expense of my confusion.
"Enjoy your sleep?", she said with a wolfish grin spread across her face. She gestured toward the cheap plastic chair in front of her and said, "Please do have a seat."
I hesitated for a second before walking slowly towards the chair. I felt ill at ease around this woman. It was as if she had an aura of command about her that demanded the submission of all those around her. I couldn't look her in the eyes, I just looked down at the ground and I didn't know why. It took me a second to notice that it wasn't my doing, it was the wolfs.
She must have noticed because she gave a slight giggle then said, "Its okay. I wont bite", she paused playfully before adding, "hard."
I could feel her staring at me with her glowing amber eyes. It was as if she were examining the very depths of my soul. I hesitantly looked up at her. She wore a black tank top and what looked like gray pajama bottoms. She was bare foot just like me and her glowing skin heightened the mysterious look in her eyes. I hadn't noticed that I had been staring straight into her eyes. I quickly looked away and apologized.
"Don't be," she said, "That happens when you first bond with the wolf. You take on some of it's habits."
I looked back at her, my nostrils flaring as I took in her scent. She smiled at me, revealing two slight wolfish fangs where her canines should have been. She humored my curiosity.
After a minute or so she said, "My names Kathryn, but everyone calls me Kat. Really sick irony actually."
"Mines Erik," I replied.
She let out a giggle and said, "I know who you are. Hell, Kira can't stop talking about you." Then with a sigh she added, "Kind of sad really. To see such a sweet kid like you, reborn into our ranks. But if anything you should be thankful."
"And why is that?", I asked.
"Because you have the one you love here, your mate. She was changed a year or two ago. She's adapted well to this life, she knows her way around," Looking at her watch she added, "and as a matter of fact she should be here soon. She was worried sick, you know. She's slept here every night for the past week, staying by your side every moment she could before I made her get some sleep on the couch. And even then she cried herself to sleep. She blames herself for what happened to you. She bears a guilt that is not hers to bear," She paused for a moment, sympathy lining her face then smiled and said, "but enough of the gloomy topic, eh? I got to get going to work. Thank god for the internet or id never be able to pay the bills for the business on time." And with that she got up and walked into the house.
I sat outside for a while enjoying the smells and fresh air. I observed the wood around the house. The trees were tall and thick, there branches reaching out towards the sky as if reaching out towards the suns rays. On the end of each branch was a brown leaf. The wood was dense; I could look into it and see that the forest went on for at least half a mile to maybe a mile.
I took in the scents of the area. I could smell the woods and the freedom within them. I could smell the squirrels in the trees collecting nuts as to prepare for the coming winter. I could smell the deer in the distance, grazing cautiously on the grass of a nearby meadow. Prey, to stalk by the midnight hour and hunt. Prowling behind them, waiting for the ideal moment for them to show weakness. And once they do, lunge for the throat and feel my fangs sink into the soft flesh and hold it there till the little wretch stops squirming. Ah, the thrill of the hunt. I shook such thoughts from my head. I could feel the wolf's pleasure of the imaginary hunt linger.
"How the hell am I ever going to get used to this?", I asked myself.
At that moment a familiar scent hit my nose. I flared my nostrils to drink the scent in. The unique feral scent hut my nose. The unique scent of musky wild and the strange scent that I can't seem to place. A single thought formed in my head and brought a wide wolfish grin to my face. As my heart began to beat faster, I knew it to be true. I sprang from the cheap plastic lawn chair and felt a howl on the edge of my throat. Kira was here.