18 The Storm

Lou was furious. And humiliated for that matter. Tears were pouring freely from her eyes and she was shaking like an aspen in an earthquake. To make matters worse, she couldn't get a handle on her emotions long enough to get it to stop.

She thought she was past this. How many years had it been now? How much stronger had she grown? What was it all for if all she was going to do was turn right back into that naïve little girl who was too terrified to fight back?

"Wow, it's really coming down…" one of the she-wolves, Emily if Lou remembered correctly, grumbled weakly as she helped extract the others from the net. "That storm came out of nowhere!"

Lou realized that she was completely soaked. Had she accidentally brought the rain? She knew she wasn't responsible for the lighting, that had definitely been a spell cast by someone else, but the rain that followed wasn't from the same source. She knew enough about magic to know that.

The storm gained in momentum impossibly fast. Within moments she felt completely waterlogged. So much the better. At least the others wouldn't realize she was crying.

"How are the hostages?" She questioned, even as she moved to check on them herself.

It was a group of three that had been running messages to the existing pack members who already resided in the territory. From the looks of it, they had been beaten pretty badly, but at least they were still breathing.

"We're… fine…" one gasped to Lou's surprise. She thought they had all been unconscious. "S-sorry alpha…"

"Just take it easy," Lou replied.

She wasn't sure what else to say. Scolding seemed wrong, especially since she didn't have the full story. That said, she had a feeling they would only take it worse if she were to try and console them. She could relate. At a time like that, pity was the last thing anyone would want.

"I don't know if we can carry them all the way back to camp Alpha," Emily admitted as she and the others came to stand by her.

"We need to get them out of this Rain," Lou sighed. "We'll have to take our chances with the pack house."

"Is that really a good idea?" Emily wondered out loud as Lou heaved one of the unconscious she-wolves onto her back.

"You got a better one?" She snarled. Emily fell silent and shook her head. "Thought not. No get your ass in gear. We need to warm these ladies up pronto."

Each second felt like an eternity as Everyone trudged their way as quickly as they could into the building. By the time they finally limped across the threshold, most of her companions were too exhausted to stand.

"See if you can find some dry wood or blankets or something," Lou ordered. "I'll be right back."

No one argued as she walked back out the door into the rain. She needed to find Alaric. She had noticed him on top of a building, illuminated in the flash of freak lightning that had taken out most of the rogues. She wasn't sure if he was still there, but from that vantage he must've noticed whoever the spell caster was. At least, that was the excuse she told herself.

Taking a deep breath, she tried sniffing him out. The dense rain dampened her senses somewhat, but she managed to catch a faint whiff. He must've been close. Eager to find and check on him, she started walking quickly in the direction it was coming from.

"Alaric?" She called. She hated how desperate she sounded, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't explain why, but having him nearby just made her feel more at ease. She hoped this didn't mean she was becoming co-dependent.

"Over here," She heard him grunt. A few moments later, she watched him trudge into view.

She wasn't sure what to make of his appearance. He didn't have a single scratch or bruise on him, but he still looked terrible, like he had run a marathon, or some one had sucked all the energy right out of him. She was too relieved to see him to question it too much though.

"You ok?" He asked as he reached her.

"I'm not the one who looks like the ghost of Christmas past," Lou retorted. She didn't really want to answer that question.

The truth was, she was definitely not ok, but she didn't want him to know that. Between everything else that had happened, she had already made enough of a fool of herself that day. What must he think of her? Especially after that tantrum she pretty much threw that had caused the storm to come.

"No, I would compare you more to the corpse bride," Alaric replied with a smile.

"You're a Tim Burton fan?" Lou questioned with some surprise.

"Eh, my friend is, I would consider myself more of a Danny Elfman fan." Alaric shrugged. "Why? Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not at all," Lou replied. "Personally The Nightmare Before Christmas is my favorite. I just didn't take you for someone who would like that sort of thing."

"Well, my dear," Alaric took her hand and kissed it, then began leading her towards the pack-house, "Perhaps you should stop making assumptions and take a more direct approach to getting to know me better."

Lou was grateful for the cold rain that made it impossible for her cheeks to burn. She wasn't entirely sure if he was flirting or he if was being sincere. Either way, she found her self aching for more. The skin on the back of her hand was still tingling with pleasure from the brush of his lips against it.

"Yeah?" Was all the reply she managed. Oh Goddess, what was wrong with her?

"You seem a little out of it," he smiled. "Let's get you inside."

He stopped in front of pack-house entrance and opened the door for her. That was an interesting change of pace. No one had ever opened a door for her. Well, Draven had tried a few times in the past, but she had reacted so negatively he gave up.

"Is something wrong?" Alaric questioned, noticing her hesitation.

"No," Lou shook her head and forced herself to walk. Things were awkward enough between them as it was. She really didn't need to add more fuel to the fire.

"Alpha, we've managed to dig up some old towels and blankets, and even got a fire going in the old pipe stove we've found in the kitchen. At least, I think it was a kitchen," Emily reported.

"How is everyone?" Lou questioned.

"Injured, and a bit demoralized, but everyone should be just fine," Emily replied with a smile. Had she been in her wolf form, her tail would've been wagging.

"It could have been worse," Lou sighed. "Any food around?"

"Not that we could find," Emily's smile fell.

"Figures. I will see what I can do. Go warm up with the others." She ordered. Emily trudged off. For whatever reason she shot Alaric a glare as she went.

"She got some kind of beef with you?" Lou muttered to him from the side of her mouth.

"It would seem so, though I am not aware of having done anything to warrant it," Alaric replied. "My best guess is that she's blaming your bad mood on me."

"Who says I'm in a bad mood?" Lou demanded.

"The body language gives it a way," Alaric replied with a smirk. She wasn't certain if she wanted to kiss or hit him in that moment.

"Whatever." Lou huffed. "That's not important right now. I need to get ahold of Draven and let him know what's going on."

"Makes sense," Alaric nodded.

They sat and stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments. She couldn't do it. She couldn't ask him.

"Are you waiting for something?" Alaric cocked his head curiously. "Do you need me to leave the room or something?"

"It's not that..." Lou grumbled. The fact was, she didn't actually have a phone.

Typically, she was with someone else who had a phone, and had never bothered to get one herself. Mama had tried to get her to buy one a few times, but she had really never understood the appeal. Unfortunately, the present situation was making her rethink that stance.

"Then what is it?" Alaric tilted his head the other way. If it were an anime, Lou felt sure there would be question marks popping up all around his head. He would look pretty cute as a chibi now that she thought about it...

"Er... Um... I... Uh..." Lou tried to force the words out. How many times had she asked someone else in the past? It really wasn't that big a deal.

"Do you need to borrow my phone?" Alaric blinked, as though having a sudden realization. Lou's cheeks burned.

"I mean... if you don't mind..." She couldn't look him in the eye.

"Of course not," Alaric smiled. "In fact, Draven and I exchanged contact information that night I stayed at his place. I'll call him now."

"Thanks," Lou smiled weakly. She turned away from him and shook her head vigorously as he dialed the number. She wasn't sure her heart could take much more emotion for the day.