Lost Battles

Eleonora walked up to the packhouse, opened the door with a loud bang and stormed to her room. She caught quite the few eyes staring at her, but she didn't care. She was angry and in rage and there was only one way she could mend her anger now.

She closed the door to her room, opened the window to the outside before she took off her clothes and changed into her wolf form. In the mirror of her room, she could see her shining red fur glistering in the sun right before she jumped through the window to the ground.

She landed safely and started running towards the forest, every step she made and every thought that crossed her mind made her run faster. If she hadn't left when she did, she was sure she would have used her pend up anger to fight somebody and that person could have gotten hurt bad.

She was angry at Ace for this fight, that he was so angry and blinded and that he spoke about her family badly. She was angry at the Crescent Moon pack members who were anything but idiots who pushed people to their limits. She was angry at Steve and the old man. At one for not stopping the fight and at the other for stopping it.

She was angry at herself that she hadn't finished Ace any sooner. She was angry that she couldn't finish the fight between them. Angry that she was so naive to give Ace her hand at the end and offered something, something more. She didn't even know what she wanted to offer at that time or why she greeted him like that, but she thought it would mend his anger towards her pack. At least that is what she had hoped.

As she came to a stop she was panting, and she could see little clouds of cold and warm air form in front of her snout as she breathed in and out again. She let out a final howl filled with anger and frustration.

Finally feeling her anger calm and her mind become clear again she trotted around the area. Thinking she could look around the place as she was already at the border of the Crescent Moon territory.

To her surprise she walked up to a small river that seemed to flow through the whole forest. The water was crystal clear, and it was flowing in a steady stream that made beautiful and relaxing sounds. On one side Eleonora could see fish jumping in the water, she stepped inside and attempted to catch one.

"Crimson Rose." A quiet voice said behind her.

Her gears turned up and she turned around, only to be startled at the person she saw. It was Ace.

He seemed to be lost in a trance because his eyes didn't leave hers. She released her tense posture and walked into his direction. He didn't do anything but telling from his face it was sure that he didn't know who she was. She could see a perfectly red mark on his left cheek that she had left there just minutes ago. Seeing it now she regretted slapping him. As she stepped out of the water she tilted her head at him, confused since he still didn't move.

As if realizing that he was starring Ace jumped out of his trance and apologized. "Sorry." He rubbed the back of his head looking embarrassed. Then he crouched down and the sudden movement startled Eleonora a bit. He reached out for her, slowly to see if she allowed it, and then he stroked the fur on her head gently. "Now I'm even seeing phantoms." He sighed with a weak smile on his lips.

It seemed he didn't realize that the wolf in front of him was a werewolf, a person like him. He thought she was a real wolf. Eleonora was surprised and didn't know how to act. But she didn't want to leave yet. It might have been the lingering anger she had felt for him moments ago, but she was curious about him. She did the best she could think of and tried to act like a real wolf. As silly as that sounds.

Ace sat down in front of her and to her own surprise she sat down beside him. He never stopped stroking her head. "You're surprisingly trusting." He chuckled.

Eleonora didn't know why but her heart started beating faster at the sound of his laugh. She had never imagined seeing his earlier hate filled face this relaxed and sweet. Seeing him this close now she had to admit that he was good looking. His hair was a little wet and he slicked it back with his free hand, revealing part of his arm that was covered by his long-sleeved shirt before.

A tattoo was exposed on his right forearm, and Eleonora was curious to see what it was, she could only see something that seemed to look like a flower, but she couldn't tell what kind of flower it was. And seeing his hands now she could see even more tattoos. A beautiful rose tattoo was on his right thumb reaching down to his wrist. She wondered why she didn't see them before. She must have been too caught up in her fight to notice.

Ace sighed and laid on his back. Eleonora looked down at him now, wondering what was wrong.

"Eleonora Denver." He said in a soft voice.

Eleonora was startled to hear her own name escaping his lips. She couldn't deny that it sounded good rolling off his lips, but she was panicking, thinking that he found out who she was. How could she explain that she let him pet her when they were obviously fighting earlier?

"Why does she have to be from the White Claw Pack. And her father is the Alpha." He scoffed the last part as if displeased with it and Eleonora didn't like the sound of that. But she wondered again why Ace seemed to hate her father so much.

She laid down too and rested her head on his thigh. A sharp sting went through her body and Ace tensed up beneath her, probably startled by her sudden contact. She was surprised herself at what she did. For the next minutes they just stayed there in silence, none of the two making a sound or attempting to leave.

Ace was the first to break the silence as he leaned on his forearms. "Your fur color reminds me of her." He said in a trance, then he shook his head as if realizing what he just said. "Goddess, I'm talking to a wolf."

Eleonora had to chuckle internally and tilted her head in amusement. 'How could a werewolf fail to recognize another werewolf?' She thought. She was sure her fur color was rare but that didn't mean she was just a wolf. She had thought it was more than obvious that she was the red colored she-wolf with her usual red curls and green eyes as a human. She snickered.

"It seems you find that funny." He smiled at her.

Their eyes locked together, and Eleonora could see his eyes perfectly clear this time. They had a mesmerizing color. They sat really close now and she could see every detail of his eyes. They were blue with a hint of green in the middle.

"I guess I am the funny one for talking to you." He finished while running his hand through his now dried and messy hair.

To her surprise she saw that the mark on his cheek had already healed. That wasn't too bad, she thought. Eleonora looked around her, seeing that the sun was already setting. It seemed she had stayed here longer than she had planned to. Embarrassing enough she slept on Ace's leg for quite a while.

Strangely enough Ace stared at her again, seemingly moving closer to her now. He seemed to be sniffing the air and a glitter of light flashed in his eyes as if having a realization.

Eleonora took it as a sign to leave, she turned on her tail and ran towards the river, jumping over a few stones and landing on the other side. She looked back once more and saw a startled and confused expression on Ace's face, followed by a satisfied smile that turned into a wide grin. Eleonora never thought to see such a beautiful smile, especially on Ace's face who had only glared daggers at her earlier that day. She wondered if she could see more of this side of him in the future.

She was still confused by his reaction but turned around and left anyway. She didn't take a turn towards the houses of the pack until she was sure Ace couldn't follow her anymore.

She looked back and sniffed the air; she didn't smell anyone in the area. She dashed forward and ran towards the pack house. As she passed a few cottages and wooden houses she stopped to see a brunette woman looking at her as she passed her house. It was the woman she saw with the black rogue and made a note to talk to her in person soon. To her surprise the woman looked at her with a look of surprise and shook. Eleonora pushed the thought away and ran further until she got to the house where her pack members were staying.