Being the mare that she was, Agnes could be stubborn when it came to getting ready for a journey like this one.
He chuckled, seemingly reading my thoughts.
"Yes, I would appreciate that very much."
~~~
I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the wrapped hunk of dear that I had to go feed that beast.
My father left a while ago, telling me to give it to the wolf some time before the sunset.
The sun had set about an hour ago, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.
Every time I stood with the intention of doing it, that stupid feeling returned every time without fail.
It was like my body knew something and didn't want to share it with my brain.
My brain couldn't even fathom what the big deal was.
The basement where it was kept was a very well built structure, one of the things my father was most proud of.
It was a sturdy room with stone walls and a smooth dirt floor.
A very small area of the room was dedicated to the small tools needed for handling wild animals, as well as a simple table and chair for observational purposes.
The actual area in which we kept them was what he was most proud of.
He had built a wall just over four feet tall from one side of the room to the other, the rest of the space to the roof filled with metal bars around four inches from each other.
Besides the roughly 25 square feet dedicated to observation, the rest of the large room was built for the animal.
He wanted there to be enough room for the animal itself to explore, whatever animal it may be, and thus made it as spacious as he could without having the earth above it cave in.
That mainly being the reason it took him a little over two years to build.
Not to mention the time it took to clean that area after releasing an animal back into the woods.
It even had a little crawl space to separate the small area it could come in and be observed in from the rest of the space, giving it a bit of privacy.
My point being that there's a small chance that I wouldn't even have to see the wolf.
If it happened to be on the other side of the crawl space, which I was greatly hoping it was, I could just dump the meat through the small part of the bars I could open, and book it back up here.
The private area already had practically a tub of water in it, so I didn't have to worry about that.
Just the food. That was all I needed to accomplish until he returned.
Although what were the odds that I'd never see the damn dog until he came back.
Slim to none I'd assume.
Dad said he didn't show fear or aggression so the wolf would have no reason to hide.
Something just told me that it wasn't just the drugs wearing off that caused it to act like this.
Although if it was that same something that caused my body to freak out around that wolf, who knows if I should trust it.
My heart thumped harder at the very thought of it.
I let out a long exhale, slouching down in my chair a very unhealthy amount.
No, I just need to do this and get it over with.
If anything, I need to see if whatever happened happens again.
If it was real, or just a weird response.
If I was crazy or not.
I really just needed some sort of clarification after all of the strange shit that's happened today.
First, my dream was different, then my body decides to completely freak out over some dog.
I needed some kind of answer, whether it be good or bad I didn't really care.
I kicked myself back from the table, hearing the awful sound of the chair scraping against the wood floor.
I just have to get this over with.
As soon as I stood that pull in my chest returned immediately, the stupid tingling spreading from it.
In fact, the impact of it caused my balance to slip for a moment.
I steadied myself quickly, trying to swallow whatever I was feeling.
I didn't allow myself to think about it as I slung the wrapped meat over my shoulder, and stomped my way out the door and over to the shack.
The cool spring breeze blew harder than it did this morning, effectively adding to my weird burst of determination.
The determination that completely disappeared the second I walked into the shack and stared down at the stairs.
The soft flickering of lantern light already illuminated the stairway as well as the room at the end.
I was beginning to be able to feel my heartbeat in my throat as the feelings in my chest intensified regardless of my attempts to ignore it.
I just stayed up there for a minute, listening in to see if I could pinpoint if the wolf was moving around.
Nothing. I heard absolutely nothing.
Which got my hopes up in thinking that the wolf would be hiding in its privacy
Slowly I began taking the steps one at a time, trying my best to make as little noise as possible.
I didn't want to gain its attention more than I had to.
I kept that goal at the front of my mind as I crossed the last few steps, keeping my eyes towards the ground.
Still, I heard no sound as I reached the bottom, still keeping my eyes locked onto the floor.
Ever single odd sensation in my b
Gorgeous olive skin.
That was the first thing my mind processed.
The tanned olive skin that this supposedly naked man in my basement possessed.
Luckily the stone wall that met the bars covered his lower half.
The next thing I processed was the stark white hair that fell just slightly passed his broad shoulders.
A combination of skin and hair that I had never seen before, yet was admittedly stunning to see.
My eyes then locked onto a pair sky blue eyes that were staring right back at me
My already thundering heart somehow grew worse, the thumping now spreading to the rest of my body.
That annoying tingling also began to spread and the pull actually caused me to take a step forward.
I should be screaming.
Why wasn't I screaming?
There shouldn't be a man down here!
Yet here he was, his hands intertwined above his head as he leaned against the bars, effectively showing off his nearly perfectly toned build.
All with a content smile on his face.
A couple strained sounds exited my throat as I tried to say something, but couldn't seem to do so.
All I could do was stare, and take on whatever the hell was happening to my body.
Until finally, he looked away, his eyes shifting down to what I had dropped.
"Is that for me?" He asked, his voice apparently being smooth enough to cause butterflies in my stomach.
I shook my head a bit, trying to snap myself out of whatever the hell I was in.
Soon after, my voice came back to me.
"No..." I winced a bit at the fact that no sensation within my body was calming down, and it was impeding my ability to breathe normally.
It was impeding my ability to think.
In fact, the only thing I could think to do was to get closer to him, but luckily the logical side of my brain was more powerful and was cautious.
"No this... this is for the wolf," I managed to get out, turning to pick the meat back up.
Wherever it may be.
The man hummed, that smile never fading, "I guess that means it is indeed for me then."
"Wha-?" I winced again, squeezing my eyes shut for a second, "Who are you? How did you get here?"
The man took the opportunity to move along the bars so he was closer to me.
"The names Luka. Luka Lovota. As for your second question, well, I can only assume you brought me back yourself. I only saw you in that grass for a moment before that man you were with knocked me out," He casually shrugged, blowing it off as no big deal, "And you are?"
My answer came involuntarily.
"Lydia Anabor."
"Lydia," he repeated after me in a whisper, his smile growing as he spoke.
Those butterflies swarmed yet again, and I had to push through them to get my next thought out.
"Wait, wait, wait. Are you trying to tell me that you're that wolf?" I questioned.
He said nothing, just nodded.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say he looked slightly amused.
"There's no way," muttered under my breath.
No?" he began, and I was just surprised that he actually heard me, "Dont you see the resemblance?"
He just pointed to his hair.
The stunning white strands that had just the slightest wave to them, tossed together with an odd wildness to it.
It looked soft too.
Jesus, what's wrong with me?
He took my lack of an answer as an answer, deciding to take this one step further.
"I guess the hair isn't enough to convince you. then how about," He closed his eye for a moment, my entire body tightening when he reopened them.
His right eye stayed that brilliant blue, where the other now held that familiar gold color.
No. Absolutely not. This was not happening.
This had to be a dream right? Right?!
This whole day. Yeah, this whole day had to have been a dream, since absolutely nothing about today was adding up.
Maybe I accidentally shot myself with a tranquilizer this morning and now I was suffering the consequences.
"No... the wolf had black fur too," I defended, honestly just grasping at straws to find some sense in all this, "If you're that wolf, then wheres the black?"
He just blinked at me for a moment, his eyes shifting down towards himself before looking back at me.
"Do you really wanna know?"
A blush quickly swept itself across my face, succeeding in making me actually take a step back.
He almost looked panicked by my reaction, but it withered as I began talking again.
"Okay. So what, you're like a dog... person... wolf thing?"
He bit his lower lip in what looked like an attempt to stop a laugh.
"Sure. But personally we call ourselves werewolves."
"Were...wolves?"
Another nod.
"Yup, and judging by you're reaction to all of this, I take it that you're unaware of the fact that you're one as well."
My eyes bulged.
Yep. A dream. This had to be a dream.
God, please tell me this is a dream.
"I've never even seen a wolf until today. Plus I think I'd know if I was part wolf." I countered.
"I'd think so as well, but we can figure that out later," his left eye returned to blue after a blink, "I'm just happy that I found you."
That pull at my chest grew stronger.
"W-why?"
His lips quirked up.
"Because Lydia, you and I are mates, and I've been looking for you for a very long time," he said, with a grin that showed off his ridiculously sharp canines.
My body seemed to shiver at the very word itself, despite my confusion that just seemed to keep growing.
"Mates? Like buds? Friends? Chummy chum pals?" I think my desperation for some common sense was becoming a little too evident.
His smooth chuckle filled the room.
"Not quite." Is all he said
"Then what?"
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