Fang

No please gods no. I pray feeling Jessie’s resolve outside the room. How does he know about my night mares?

He loves me. . .

The feeling is overwhelming and in that instant what I had been trying to deny feeling for months now will be denied no longer. I love him more. It is that simple and that impossible and for that reason I will have to leave him.

He had been listening in and I can feel the anger and hate for Trevor, my anger and hate for the monster alone no more, build in him.

I am not alone. . .

Nothing Trevor, the Tribunal, the Shadow man had ever done to me breaks me the way that one simple thought breaks me now.

I see my Jessie and nothing else matters but his shape changing causing his death by Trevor and all Werewolf’s gathered here’s hands are imminent in the form he would have to take to face them down.

All coherent thoughts leave me and I find myself running from the room as fast as my feet can carry me. I have to stop him now or lose him forever. The site of him crouched ready to strike takes my breath away.

For me he is doing this for me! My heart celebrates my mind cringes.

He almost lunges but pulls short recognizing me. I see his mind clearly for the first time allowing everything in. He will not let me stop him he will push me aside if need be his mind is made up. I know I am no match for him he is stronger than any one Werewolf here.

I do the only thing I can think of changing into human form I place myself in his path grabbing his huge head between my hands, forcing him to look at me.

There is a moment of hesitation his mind taking in my form and nudity. I understand now the awkwardness between us as humans. I mistook it for rejection when it was respect all along.

“No, not this way Jessie please.” I whisper to him.

“I won’t let anyone take you from me.” His mind hardens and an angry growl escapes his muzzle.

I do what I had longed to do what my heart had demanded my body to do weeks ago. I lean in and kiss him. It is not quite what I imagined him being in Werewolf form but I put every memory of our time together in that one motion and project my own feelings as strongly as I can directly into his open mind.

“I love you too.” Tears stream from my eyes unchecked for the first time in my life. “Trust me now please.” I beg shamelessly.

He is stunned. His mind a joyful jumble of hope for us a future for us. I see he had been hiding this from me and I love him more for it. I was not ready and he loved me enough to put his own happiness aside for me.

I don’t move and I don’t stop sharing his loving stare. I try and say to him with my eyes what I had neglected to all this time while my heart is breaking with the knowledge that the Tribunal member passing me now heading out of the Compound had in carelessness and spite just taken from us this very future.

It’s even worse when I realize we are surrounded by pack members silently watching our exchange of love. The same pack members I had shunned and turn away from for years stood at my back now waiting for me to make my choice. I stagger under the emotional onslaught as I realize they will fight for me.

My pack will die for me.

For now the treat has passed and I do the only thing I had learned to do in the face of uncertainty I change and run. For the first time ever I am not alone in my flight. He is there beside me. Inside my mind. I cannot and mind-blowingly enough do not want to outrun him. Oh Jessie what have we done.

I reach Our den and I stagger at his reaction to my thoughts. Seeing me think of this place as Our den is to him better than any declaration of love I could make.

I understand now, my thoughts no longer clouded, my heart stutters and my view of the world changes. I allow myself this moment this one tiny moment of happiness. I give in to it, give myself over to it, to him, to my Jessie I turn and he does not disappoint.

Long ago life taught me that fairy tales are only that tales and that life is only predictable if you accept the in avertable pain it brings to all.

I do not want to but I fall asleep in happy bliss tugged snuggly in strong protecting arms and I dream the worst nightmare of all. They come for me and this time I am not alone this time they destroy a pack that had never afforded me anything but love and understanding and my heart as they tear him apart leaving me deader than I thought possible.

If I do not give myself to the Tribunal this will become what my other nightmares are. Reality tucked away as far as my subconscious will allow.

I wake slowly reluctantly then as I realize I am alone I sit up scanning for Jessie immediately. My heart stops for a moment as my mind conjures up images of him having gone off after Trevor . . . then it calms he is close.

He is not alone and I hear voices shouting.

“I don’t care what she decides I won’t let her go!” Jessie growls.

At first I grab for the cloths hanging on the den wall but the urgency in the voices outside decides me and I rush out changing as I go. The pack mind assaults me as it has never done before. For a moment I desperately want to throw up my shield but after what they were willing to do for me last night I hesitate.

“Jane.” Michael acknowledges me as I step around the den opening.

Jessie whirls around. The smile on his face makes my knees weak and my breath catch. He is mine…I want to be his and his alone.

He walks to me pressing his head to mine in respect and acknowledgement of my own feelings. When he licks my cheek the whole pack sighs as if they had been holding their breaths. In that moment with that simple action Jessie had made my place in the pack perfectly clear for all to see. For the first time I feel no anger or fear I simply feel loved.

When I turn to Michael and he sees what I am hiding from Jessie he shudders. “No Jane please don’t.”

His thoughts are not as well hidden as mine and Jessie explodes with furry. “I don’t care if they send a thousand soldiers after us. They cannot have you! Not now! Not ever!” His ear-splitting howl has pack members whimpering.

Then like a whirlwind he runs past me back into the den and I can see him searching for things and throwing them into his mother’s bag. His thoughts are clear if I will not stay here and allow the pack to protect me he will take me to his old pack back to his home and hide me among the wolfs.

It is futile. This plan cannot work but I am astounded when Ian and Michael enters the den and starts helping him. Have they all gone mad?

The only way for this not to end in total bloodshed is for me to go and present myself to the Tribunal with some luck they will let me go when I come of age. No matter the price to my soul they will surely extract it is worth it to save my family and my love.

We argue this point back and forth myself against them I do not know how to make them see…