The Beast stretched, yawning as he waited for the golden wolf to finish his shift. He was excited to run with him once again, already planning to show him the creek, the favorite place of the deer, every little place in this forest. The Forest itself seemed to shiver with excitement, warmth spreading under his paws in a welcome that sent joy through his heart.

Soon the golden wolf stood by his side, sniffing and nuzzling him to greet him. Mine… The Beast thought and licked his ear. He then dropped his chest to the ground, waving his tail in the air. Without hesitation, the golden wolf mimicked his stance and then shot into the forest. The Beast followed chasing after him happily, not a single thought spared for the White Demon awaiting him in the city…

When I woke up, Dale was sleeping on the other side of the bed, his leg and one arm dangling off, his blond hair dirty. Blood still marred his cheeks from the stag we had caught together. I wasn’t surprised he was still sleeping. The Beast did not give him a second of rest, chasing and sparring with him the whole night. I felt weirdly satisfied deep inside, like no other morning since… ever in my life actually. I got up and went to grab a shower. The griminess of the forest on my skin was something I doubted I would ever get used to.

I went to put on some jeans and a shirt when I came across my uniform. It was wrinkled beyond recognition and covered in dirt from the forest. I sighed and while I boiled the water for coffee I threw it in the washing machine. I did not have to go to work today. I needed to go get my rabies shot, even though by now I was sure it would do me no good. I shook the thoughts away and concentrated on making myself a coffee and some eggs with bacon, whistling away. I knew why I was this happy. The hunt and play seemed to wipe my mind clean and I was desperately not thinking about anything other than what I was doing at the moment. I wondered how long I could keep it up…

“Well this smells good,” Dale said as he came downstairs, showered, and once again in my clothes.

“Now I know for sure you have your own stuff somewhere, so why are you still wearing my clothes?” I said as I laid the two plates on the table.

“Because your closet is closer than the motel. If you stop dragging me into your house after every shift I’ll stop stealing your clothes,” he said, digging into the eggs happily.

I gave him an apologetic look. “Coffee?” I asked then, he shook his head so I sat down and dug in as well.

“Not going to work?” he asked with his mouth full.

I shook my head. “I have a check-up at the hospital.”

“Right.” He looked at the clock on the wall. “I need to get to the motel and do some stuff, but we can meet after your appointment to talk more,” he said and smiled at me, “You still have loads to learn, pup.”

I resisted the urge to throw bacon on him and only rolled my eyes. “Don’t call me that. I am your alpha after all.” I grinned.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Don’t let it get to your head.” He left soon after breakfast. I wondered what exactly he needed to do. What kind of life did he lead outside of being a werewolf?

I grabbed my helmet and got on my bike to drive to the hospital. My doctor was glad to see me as always, he called me ‘the miracle patient'. Too bad my healing was caused by the exact opposite of a miracle, it was a curse. As those thoughts crept back into my mind, the lazy peaceful happiness disappeared, leaving me feeling down.

At least with Dale around, I wasn’t tempted to follow Lazar and kill off the whole damn city. As I left for the restaurant where I was supposed to meet Dale I wondered about his words last night. Humans killed his pack… It was hard to imagine the Demon I knew was ever sane. The pure bloodlust and hate and madness I felt every time I was near him felt beyond simple revenge for his pack that died god knew how many years ago…

Then again… I rubbed at my chest thinking of the warmth Dale’s presence always brought. I knew him only for two days and I already knew I didn’t want to lose him. Mine. I could not even put into words the carnal need to be near him and keep him safe. It was something beyond human comprehension. Would I turn into a mad creature from hell if I were to lose him? I had to admit I wasn’t sure about the answer. Lazar was still guilty though. That old man on the street had nothing to do with his pack’s death.

When I walked into the restaurant Dale was already sitting by the window waving me over. I sat down by him, a smile wiggling its way onto my face. I felt like a damn teenager seeing his crush, except there was nothing sexual in the feeling of want I had for Dale. He simply belonged to me. And wasn’t that some medieval lord bullshit? I shook my head to chase those thoughts away and looked at the menu.

“The appointment went fine?” Dale asked, grabbing a breadstick from the bowl on the table. I nodded, scanning through the meals. The ribs sounded more than divine at the moment. “You have to be careful, you know. Too many mysteriously healed wounds and the doctors will start asking questions.”

I put down the menu and frowned at him. “Can they find out about me from blood or DNA tests and whatnot?”

“Nah, it’s not science, it’s pure magic. But you do heal fast,” Dale said. Right, pure magic. I wondered where it might have come from, and what was the true origin of werewolves, but I kept my mouth shut. I knew very well I was not ready to hear about the unbelievable magical feats that lead to the creation of such beasts. I could hardly wrap my mind around what I already knew.

“Good, the doctors took a lot of my blood to run some tests,” I said. One less thing to worry about.

Dale gave me almost a pitiful look. “Man, must have been hard to go through all of this without anyone to explain it all.” Terrifying actually, but not enough to feel that his pitiful gaze was appropriate. Before I could complain though, the waitress came to take our orders.