A/N: After a long hiatus, I'm back. Enjoy. I actually had to re-read my entire story to get back in touch with the characters lol.

Wolf Chase [22]

Massie couldn't help but smile at the creature beside her. It felt weird seeing him indoors, having been so accustomed to meeting him outside at the edge of the playground. In the closed room, Cinnamon seemed much larger, but no more intimidating. She kissed his nose and caressed his head. A voice at the back of her mind gently reminded her that he was no longer a random wolf she became friends with in the dark hours of the night, but Sebastian Pierce, her school crush. Seeing him like this though, it was easy to forget.

"I am feeling much better, and my foot is not ugly like the first time you saw it," she updated, lifting the covers to show. Because the lights weren't on, only the moon's light from outside gave a clouded picture of her injured foot. Massie winced. Okay, so while her foot was no longer swollen with inflammation, the colors of her foot still looked rather grotesque. "Actually, never mind..."

Cinnamon yawned dismissively, as if the appearance of the foot was of no importance to him. Massie narrowed her eyes. "You do realize I will have to go to school tomorrow and if people see my foot like this I will be knocked down at least two points!"

The wolf moved his head sideways, confused. Massie sighed, "on a physical scale of 1-10 I am obviously a ten, but now since my foot looks like this, I can be bumped down to an 8!" Massie leaned back against her pillow, pensive. "Unless I make up a cool story as to why I have it, then maybe I can give that brave cool girl vibe."

Cinnamon landed her with an are-you-serious expression. Massie shrugged and returned his look with a "Duh". She sat up on the bed and stretched, lifting her arms above her head and giving a satisfied sigh when she worked the kinks out. She really was not used to being bedridden for so long. While the idea of returning to school with an injury sounded annoying, she was looking forward to getting out this bed and moving along. Massie went to untangle the mass of hair on her head but found it tedious when she realized how knotted it truly was. She decided she would get the brush that was currently residing in the bathroom.

Massie placed her feet at the edge of the bed, wincing slightly when her heel landed on the floor a little too harshly. Compared to the first night here, the pain was significantly lower, but still painful nonetheless. It would have to remain non-weight baring for the next three days at the rate it was healing. Mandy's poultices were truly a miracle worker. Standing up a wave of dizziness hit her making her almost fall over to the ground. Thankfully, Cinnamon was watchful and she was able to grab on to him to remain steady. He barked at her in disapproval. Massie groaned. "Why are you mad at me for? All I wanted was to get my detangler brush from the bathroom," she defended. He growled and gave enough force to make her topple backwards, right back into her bed. He then trotted to the bathroom and returned quickly with her purple brush.

Massie smiled, retrieving the detangler from his mouth. "Well aren't you just a doll!" She kissed his forehead and then proceeded to comb out the nest on her head. When she finished, she gazed at Cinnamon who was laying down on the floor appearing to be at rest. He seemed so far away, usually when they meet at the park he was always right beside her. "Cinnamon," she called. He lifted his head, as if to say 'what?'.

"Come here." She patted the area beside her on the bed. His bark was short and to the point, it was clear he said 'No'. Massie pouted. "Pretty please my cinnamon bun...my sweet cinnamon toast crunch." He got up from the floor and neared her bed but made no move to join her. "I'll brush your hair and pet you," she bribed. Won over, Cinnamon went to the empty side of the bed and climbed on, being mindful of not accidentally hitting her foot. Massie giggled with glee at her victory. She loved when she got exactly what she wanted.

Keeping true to her promise she proceeded to brush out his hair with her detangler, feeling safe and happy to be so near the one who saved her, especially knowing who he truly was. "I thought I told you before to put on some conditioner after you shampoo Cinnamon." He ignored her, but if his expression was anything to go by, he was in blissful heaven. Knowing him, he probably didn't get pampered like this on a daily basis—if at all. It was satisfying to see him be so at peace because of her.

After brushing him as far as she could reach, and running her hands through him for a bit, Massie finally rested her head on the pillow behind her. Cinnamon snuggled his head on her chest and she hugged his head against her. He felt so deliciously warm. Eventually, they both fell asleep and joined dreamland together.

[o-o-o]

Massie woke to the first few rays of sunlight hitting across her face. Outside, she could hear the birds chirping and flapping around near a tree by the window. The first thing she noticed was that Cinnamon was no longer here. She sat up and rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes. She was not surprised he left before morning came, although she did daydream how nice it would be if she woke up to Sebastian in human form. The second thing she noticed was that beside her bed there were two pairs of crutches that had not been there before. Since today she would be returning to school they would be extremely helpful.

She slowly lifted herself off the bed and grabbed them, not wanting to have a repeat near-fall like she had yesterday. The red numbers of the clock showed it was 5AM, giving her ample time to get ready. She wasn't usually an early riser, but her body was clearly more than well-rested after being in bed for so long. She was actually hoping one of the guys could drop her off at her house before going to school, that way she could change into clothes that actually fit her. The previous day Kristin had offered her some of her clothes to wear for school today, but taking note of Kristin's more generous built and her tendency to wear loose clothing, she knew they would fit too big on her. Oh well, maybe when she got pregnant with Sebastian's babies she would gain more weight in the right places and be more curvy too. Yes, positive thoughts only.

Upon entering the bathroom Massie was able situate herself on the bath chair Kristin brought in yesterday; it was a convenient apparatus made of durable plastic that allowed her shower without having to stand up. She didn't know why they had such a thing, but she figured with all the hard training these wolves did it was possible they could sustain injuries leading to the need to make use of this.

After finishing her morning routine, she ended up sitting on the bed wearing another set of Kristin's clothes. Beside her was a plastic yellow bag filled with the sleepwear from the day she was attacked; Hailey was kind enough to wash them for her yesterday and she wanted to make sure she didn't leave them here. Massie made sure to towel dry her hair well enough so that it didn't drip all over the back of her shirt, now that would be annoying. Just as she was finishing she heard a light knock on her door.

"You can come in," she invited, removing the towel. She lightly ran her fingers through her tresses to make sure they were sufficiently dried. They were slightly damp, but not enough to wet her shirt.

The door opened to reveal Sebastian. Remembering yesterday she gave him a playful smile. He ignored her smile and instead chose to assess her from top to bottom, his golden eyes remaining on her injured foot for a few seconds longer. Her feet were currently covered by a pair of black socks that were folded beneath her loose jeans. The swelling had decreased even more than it had yesterday, and she estimated that by tomorrow all the swelling would be completely gone. All that would then be left is the ugly coloring until it finished healing.

"I see you made good use of the crutches I left you," he analyzed, taking note of the crutches beside her. "I didn't expect you to wake up so early, we still have two hours before school starts."

Massie shrugged. "I was tired of being in bed—and actually, I was hoping you could drop me off at home. I want enough time to change into my actually clothes," she said, pulling on the baggy plain brown T-shirt.

Sebastian lifted a brow. "What's wrong with the clothes you're wearing now."

Putting weight on her strong foot, Massie stood to her true height. Immediately she felt the jeans slide down. They would have revealed the top of her underwear if the brown shirt she was wearing weren't so long. "For starters, these don't fit me." She pivoted on her strong foot and fixed her eyes on the mirror to the right, looking at her rear view. "Ugh! Look at that! My butt looks so small, this isn't right!" She cried, offended at the view. The jeans she had at home were much more complimentary to her form and made her butt look much perkier than it really was. Man, she really had to go back to doing squats every night. This just would not do!

Sebastian rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling, exasperated. "Fine. Come get some breakfast and I'll drop you off," he conceded.

Massie clapped her hands, content with his agreement. "Perfect!" Grabbing on to her crutches and the light plastic bag, she followed him to the kitchen. Behind him, she couldn't help but admire his physique. Even though he sported a loose shirt, it was still evident he had muscles beneath them. When he walked he eluded authority and strength, his back was straight, and his steps strong and assured. What lovely man to look at. As if sensing her gaze, he turned to look at her.

"Is anything wrong?" He questioned, sounding slightly annoyed. His deep voice reverberated through the quiet hall.

"Um, uh, no. Why would there be?" she replied hastily, hoping he didn't catch her staring. Though if he did that wouldn't be the first time, as she recalled being caught by the others when he was mowing the lawn.

"You stopped."

Massie looked at her spot and ahead at Sebastian. He was right, she had stopped. Their distance was much bigger than when they first began. She sighed inwardly, it wasn't her fault he was such a fine specimen. What was a girl to do?

Noticing her loss of words, he merely began walking again. "Keep up," he stated, giving her no room for an excuse.

"Aye, aye, captain," she joked, moving to catch up. They spoke no further after that, even after they reached the kitchen where she was able to see Jayden siting at the table eating breakfast alone.

Noticing her entrance, he gave her a nod and pointed to an empty plate. "Serve yourself as much as you'd like."

The table was loaded with an assortment of freshly cut fruits, hash browns, toast, eggs, and bacon. Massie sat down on an empty chair and began to fill her plate. Noticing the rather empty table, she wondered where everyone else was. "Isn't anyone else coming to eat breakfast?" She inquired.

After gulping down some orange juice Jayden shook his head, his shaggy hair in synch with his movement. "You're half an hour early. Be thankful, otherwise its doubtful there would be any food left on the table," Jayden divulged.

As if hearing her inquiry, in came a sleepy looking Noah, still sporting pajama bottoms and completely topless. He yawned loudly and stretched, blinking multiple times when he noticed Massie before giving her a large grin. "Hey princess," he said, coming up to give her a kiss on the cheek.

Massie giggled, pleased with his term of affection. "Good morning Noah," she replied, poking at his abs. They felt so hard, it's been a long time since she's felt such something this nice. Taking advantage of her distraction, Noah grabbed her fork and downed half of her eggs and a few slices a bacon.

"Noah, sit down and serve your own food," Sebastian ordered, sounding slightly peeved.

Massie looked up at him. "You're not eating." She pointed out. Since the moment they entered the kitchen he remained standing and had not down.

"I already ate. It would be helpful if you hurried up and finished."

Sheesh, what had him in a tizzy? Deciding to ignore his comment, Massie merely returned her attention to the rest of her food. Despite Noah managing to eat much of it in a bite, she found herself not really minding. Hailey had taken great care to make sure she was well fed during her stay here, so she wasn't feeling very hungry. After downing the rest in a few quick bites, she stood to carry the plate to the sink. This proved difficult as she had to use crutches. Taking note of her struggle, Sebastian silently took her plate with utensils and placed them in the sink himself. Massie mumbled a quick thanks.

"I'll be back," he announced to the two, taking a pair of car keys from his back pocket.

Noah wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Where are you guys going, hmm?" He questioned.

Sebastian gave him a glare. "I'm dropping her off home, that's it," his voice was hard as he answered.

Noah merely chuckled. "I was just asking. If you want, I can drop her off myself," he offered casually, dumping a large portion of hash browns on his plate. Jayden smacked his hand when he moved to take more.

"I'll see you when I get back," he said with finality, it was clear by his tone that he wanted no more words to proceed from Noah's mouth.

"See ya later princess," Noah garbled, stuffing his mouth.

"Bye guys!" she said. Massie went to reach for the plastic bag with her clothes, but Sebastian beat her to it. Noah gave her a wink and Jayden mumbled a quiet farewell. She had to stop herself from giggling at Noah's antics. She could tell he purposely did things to embarrass people or put them in uncomfortable situations.

When they reached the front door Massie waited patiently for Sebastian to bring the car up. In the meantime she looped her fingers through the jeans and brought them up higher. All the hopping she did with the crutches did not make wearing these jeans any easier. She could not wait to get home and put on more flattering clothes.

When Sebastian pulled up he wasted no time in getting out of the car and opening the door for her. So far this entire morning he'd been nothing short of a gentleman to her, despite how reserved he was. It pleased her to have him minister to her like this.

After getting comfortable in the passenger seat and managing to fit the crutches, he closed the door and walked to the driver's side. As they drove away from the large estate, Massie looked curiously at the surrounding forest. Now in broad daylight, it was hard to think that she had been attacked in there.

"Aren't you going to turn on the radio?" she asked, noticing the silence.

"I don't listen to music in the car." He stated plainly, his eyes remaining on the road.

Massie scrunched her brows, she didn't know of anyone who didn't listen to music when driving. Even her boring younger sister would indulge in some slow music when driving. Coming to a quick conclusion, she turned on the radio and began exploring.

"Let's see, what kind of stuff are you into. Do you like pop music?" She said, turning to station that featured all the hottest hits. If Sebastian's immediate grimace was anything to go by, that was not his style. "Okay... not that. Maybe hard rock? You seem like a silent bad ass," she mused, flipping the station.

At this, he gave her an unamused look. "I see, alternative, maybe?" As her fingers scrolled she paused at a country music station. "Ahh, perhaps you have a hidden taste in—"

"No," he deadpanned, interrupting her.

Massie laughed at his obvious disapproval. The next station was an instrumental one that played jazz. She glanced at Sebastian, expecting him to reject this one as the others. "What about this classical one?"

For a moment, he was quiet. "This is not unpleasant." He finally admitted. Realizing this was probably as good as she was going to get, she left it on that station.

The rest of the drive there was in comfortable silence. It seemed Sebastian had no intention in initiating conversation with her, and for now she would be okay with that. Massie found herself admiring his side profile. Though they were only seniors in high school, he looked every bit a mature man. She noticed the hair on his head looked smoother than his hair as a wolf. Would he allow her to touch it, even as he allowed her to touch him when he was in wolf form?

Her fingers reached out in attempt to satisfy her curiosity, but before they could reach his mane Sebastian stopped her. His own fingers locked at her wrist to stop her from proceeding further. "Don't." He said sternly, letting her wrist go after a few tense seconds.

She bit her lip. Clearly, he was not as accepting of her touches in human form. She didn't quite understand why. She mentally berated her hand for being so impulsive.

Bad hand, don't do it again!

When they arrived at her house she realized she never gave him instructions on how to get there. As before, Sebastian opened her passenger door to facilitate her exit and carried her plastic bag. She really didn't need his help in carrying that bag, but since he was so kind in offering she would allow herself to be spoiled in this. After ringing the doorbell of her house twice the door was opened to reveal her mother.

"Sweetie! How are yo—oh hi!" She said, immediately taking notice of Sebastian's tall, imposing figure behind her.

"This is Sebastian mom," she introduced, "he's just dropping me off early so I can get changed into better clothes."

Recognition flashed before her eyes, and Massie then realized the error she committed in allowing him to walk her to her door. She recalled having her mom think that Sebastian was her boy-friend, but that wasn't exactly true.

Mrs. Wilton smiled approvingly at him. "Ah! So I finally get to meet Massie's boyfr—"

"OH WOW!" she yelled, aiming to cover her mothers voice. "Look at the time! Noah must be anxious waiting for you. Yeah mom another day Sebastian's very busy and he needs to leave now. Right?! Right! Bye Sebastian!" She rushed, getting into her house in one hop. The last thing she saw was Sebastian's very puzzled face as she quickly closed the door with a frenzied smile.

After hearing the loud click she let out a huge puff of air, relieved. Now that was close.

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A/N: Please comment and vote.

Also fun news! I decided to join the Wattys with a new story called Valentina. It's already posted on my profile so please check it out :D