Protecting Her Against All Odds

Michael

My mouth left hers as the air entered her lungs. I pressed against her chest with just the right amount of force once, twice, three times, and then placed my lips against hers again; I exhaled air into her open mouth, feeling the rhythm of her heart, searching for the pulse of it, and as she finally cut off contact, as she threw up a stream of water that clogged her throat, and as she began to cough, choking.

Only then did she raise her face, and for a moment, her gaze met mine, green and brown against the ice blue of my eyes. Spring against eternal winter.

For a second, I thought she was awake and I prepared to speak, to explain to her why she should not be afraid of the naked man beside her, but the weight of the situation seemed to be too much for her, so she fell, not even able to utter words, and as I held her so that her head didn't hit the ground.

Instead of cursing, as I probably would have done under other circumstances, I held her, cradling her face against my chest as I started to run. I ran through the forest with agility, faster than any human would be able to detect, as I followed Francis and Robert's thoughts.

Francis was running up the mountain, looking for the wolf's trail, but the female attacker seemed to be lost in the snow. Robert, meanwhile, had regained his human form and was talking to emergency services. He was making up a lie about a flat tire, about being stranded in the woods, and something about hearing a wolf howl before hearing the screams of the young men camping near the nearest forest station.

I let him continue talking to the police; emergency responders were sure to be in the area shortly. I noticed that the young woman against my chest was freezing; she could be in trouble if she didn't warm up soon.

"Francis, come back!" I ordered him finally when I noticed that we had evidently lost track of the female wolf. "I want you to keep an eye on the area. Do not allow emergency services, or Robert, to be put in danger. Under no circumstances must we allow any more deaths tonight."

Francis agreed, a sense of guilt welling up in him for not getting the werewolf, but I told myself that we would deal with this later.

For now, the real importance of the matter lied in keeping all the humans safe and not allowing the forest to suffer another attack. I then arrived relatively quickly at my home.

My house was located in the middle of the forest; it was an elegant and modern mansion that was set apart from everything, for my own comfort, and whose rear access faced the river.

I climbed the stairs in a hurry, opening the glass door as I crossed the living room and left the girl lying on the sofa. I hastily put on a pair of pants, fearful that she would wake up and be startled by my obvious nudity, and then proceeded to attend to her.

At this point, I cared little about what she might or might not think of me, for, as far as I knew, my priority was that she survived, not whether or not she considered me a pervert, so I stripped her of her soaked clothes, immediately noticing the soft scent emanating from her skin. It had a sweet, slightly floral tinge. She smelled of lilacs, but also, of something else.

It was when I took off her shirt that I noticed it, and then, from my throat came to a growl. The girl was wearing a necklace with an aconite flower, the telltale blue color of which clashed with my eyes.

"How did she get it?" I think in annoyance. "Aconite is not as common as you might think; at least, not common enough for her to be wearing it around her neck..."

The wolf inside me growled, but I silenced it, and hurriedly took off the rest of the girl's clothes, taking care not to touch the silver necklace and leaving only her undergarments on as a matter of respect. I then sheathed her in one of my sleeping shirts, which was too big for her because of our obvious size differences.

She looked like a porcelain doll--too small, fragile, with a delicate skin tone and a face as if carved by an artist. I, on the other hand, was easily over six feet tall and more muscular. Just one of my hands could hide her face completely.

The door of the house opened then, and I felt the familiar smell of Andrew. Andrew was a human, but he served me as loyally as any of the wolves in the pack. He was almost as big and as burly as we were. In appearances, he served me as a bodyguard, but in reality, he was one of my most faithful helpers and best friends, second only to Francis, who was like my brother.

"For god's sake... Michael, what happened?" Andrew's dark face immediately filled with concern and he rushed over, noticing the girl on the couch.

"I'll explain everything later. For now, take care of her," I ordered as I headed for the back door of the house, the way I came in.

"What do you want me to do with her?" Andrew asked while looking at me cautiously. I knew he would kill her without hesitation if I asked him to. Such was his confidence in me.

"Lay her on my bed. Try to warm her up... Take her vitals and make sure she's still alive when I return."Andrew nodded and I quickly left the house, allowing my body to resume its wolf form and crossing the forest in a huff.

But my efforts proved to be all in vain, as the werewolf's trail had been lost through the forest, as I had been able to foresee from the search Francis had conducted. Likewise, I followed her trail far and wide across the field, discovering that indeed, the werewolf had disappeared from the scene as she followed the path near the river up the mountains.

"Her scent is completely unfamiliar to me," said Francis, concerned, his chocolate fur contrasting with the green of the forest.

He approached me, looking for me to guide him. Only as we stood together do we notice the size difference between us, for although Francis was huge, I was much larger. My black fur blended easily with the night."All I can think is that Damien has new followers."

"But this female werewolf...," he began, cautiously.

I nodded casually at his statement. "She may be from another city. She may have decided to ally herself with Damien for some reason... Either way, it seems to me that I'll have to have a few words with him."

Francis didn't like that idea. He didn't like confrontations, but he understood the need to do so.

We then return to the camp, where we made sure from a safe distance that emergency responders were attending to the injured teenagers.

"I'd better get back home," I explained. "I'll call the police and tell them I rescued the girl. The snowfall will prevent them from coming for her, but I can take care of the girl."

Francis noticed it, that hidden hint of my emotions, but he didn't ask what I was hiding from him, and I preferred it that way.

We said our goodbyes then, as I ordered him to keep guard, along with Robert, in case the werewolf returned during the course of the night. I would keep alert along with them, and if necessary, I would cross the distances to protect my territory and my pack.

For now, however, there was not much more I could do. Francis bade me farewell with a mental affirmation as he went to join Robert, and in the meantime, I left them, crossing the forest again toward the lights of my home, and trying to organize my thoughts, the electrifying sensation guiding me toward the human woman, somehow, propelling my run as I wondered...

"Who is she? Why does she make me feel this way? And, especially, why does she have an aconite flower hanging around her neck?"