"I feel like I should be freaking out- should I be freaking out?" I asked Elaine, running my fingers through my hair.
Elaine scoffed. "I think its too late now. Good lord, Red, why didn't you say anything to him?"
"I did. I just- I made fun of him."
Elaine gasped. "You didn't!"
"Not in a mean way!" I whined. While watching the pups with Elaine I mentioned to her how Aster had kissed me a couple weeks ago. We were nearing the second full moon, which meant that it had almost been two full months since I was bit- and it also meant there were only six months left until graduation. I had been working my ass off for extra credit after I fell behind, and worked on most of my stuff in empty classrooms where there wasn't too much noise distracting me. Elaine was freaking out because she said that it was a big deal, but I hadn't thought anything of it when it happened and now I was kind of panicking. Was that like- a confession? Or was it just to keep me in line?
I buried my face in my hands. "Aw damnit. What if he meant something by it? What am I going to doooo?!"
"Well sitting here wailing about it won't amount to anything," Elaine pointed out. She sighed. "Well, why don't you go bring the pups in from outside. The fresh air might help you decide what you're going to do."
As I made her way out the door I heard her mutter, "No wonder he's been so out of it lately...". Now I felt even worse. I didn't mean to upset Aster. It wasn't like I got kissed on the regular, I just felt so comfortable with Aster that I barely even realized that it had happened. Was that even possible?
I slipped out into the cool evening air. Wolf was eager as it clawed at my belly. I looked around the clearing, but the pups were nowhere to be seen. That was strange, usually they stayed here, but it was fine. I tilted my head upwards and inhaled slowly. They had gone West, the direction of town. That was less fine, but they knew to stay away from humans. They didn't do a very good job of that with me, but Aster and I were positive they had learned their lesson.
But as I kept walking, in the direction they had gone, I smelt somethine else. A strong scent, but not from a werewolf. It was a human. A human that smelled like alcohol and weed. My heart started thudding violently, and I stopped walking- I began sprinting. As I ran, tree branches whipping my face and leaves slapping my skin I began to shift, my feet turning into paws as I fell onto all fours and kept running, not missing a beat as I grew a thick shaggy coat and my nose began to grow.
"LOKI!" I managed to cry out before my voice fell to doggish woofs and growls.
I was nearing them now, and the man's scent was growing stronger by the minute. I broke out onto one of the trails through the forest, and looked around wildly. I heard Suki barking, and Juniper was howling loudly somewhere beyond the screen of bushes. I dove through the brush and skidded to a stop in a small clearing with a scattering of picnic tables. I saw the pups first. Suki and Juniper were cowering beneath a table, while the man I had smelt earlier was holding up Loki. Loki was squirming in his grasp, writhing and wailing as the man held her by the scruff and dangled her like some sort of stuffed animal.
I didn't have time to think, so I acted. I dug my paws into the earth and lunged forward. The man cried out in surprise as my chest knocked into him, bowling him over. My feet thudded to the ground on either side of him. I snapped my teeth shut inches from his face, snarling and seething. The man hit my face, my chest, my stomach, trying to get me off of him, but the booze was slowing him down.
You fucking bastard!
I tilted my head, opened my jaws, and was about to sink my teeth into him when something even bigger knocked into my side and threw me off of the man. The warm, familiar scent of Aster flooded me. I didn't understand, why was Aster attacking me? I writhed beneath his heavy paws, his thick black fur engulfing me as he stood above me, pinning me to the cold earth. I kicked at his stomach angrily. He had to let me go, he had to see that the man was hurting the pups. He needed to die. He needed to die!
Aster growled low in his throat, his voice close to my ear. He was telling me to be calm, telling me to let him take over, but I couldn't. Where was the man? I turned my head, and saw him stumbling away from the clearing, back towards the trail. I strained against Aster and bared my teeth at him. This wasn't right. The humans didn't bother the wolves, the wolves didn't bother the humans. They weren't supposed to mix. They couldn't.
I kept trying to fight of Aster, digging my claws into his stomach and trying to push him off of me. Aster growled, much harsher this time, but still I wouldn't this. I raked my claws through his belly fur, whining for him to get off of me. Aster bit down gently on my neck, holding his jaws there as I panted. He was trying to get me to stop, but I kept fighting against him. Against his grip, against his teeth. Aster moved his mouth, pawing at the earth on the side of my head. He growled loudly.
Stop, he was trying to tell me.
NO! Wolf cried. KILL HIM! I whined in pain.
Aster laid down then, his body on top of mine, trapping me beneath him. Aster turned to the pups and uttered a short bark. Suki was furiously licking Loki's fur, smoothing the ruffled hair on her neck. Juniper yipped, and the sisters followed her out of the clearing and into the bushes, their tails disappearing through the brush.
I wriggled against, Aster, whining as I tried to follow them. Aster nipped my face, growling ferociously. I was supposed to stay here with him, I wasn't allowed to go after the pups or back to the house. He was keeping me here. I growled back at him, but Aster gave me another harsh nip to the cheek and I fell silent.
Aster shifted then, his fur turning to bare skin, and his face shrinking back to normal. His yellow eyes flashed as they stared at me. He was still pinning me down, but in my wolf form I had a better chance of kicking him off. Aster grabbed my fur. His face was cold, his tone icy.
"Shift. Now."
I whined in protest.
"I swear to god Red, you are in so much fucking trouble if you don't shift. Now."
I did as I was told, my fur returning to skin and my paws were replaced by fingers and toes. We were both naked again, but I could tell that that was the last thing on his mind. I kept wriggling beneath him, still trying to break free, but now that I was in my human form and half his size I didn't have a chance. Aster sat on top of me, straddling me with his legs. He grabbed my arms and held them up above my head. Eventually, I fell still, trembling beneath him.
"Stop shaking," Aster hissed. His fingers dug into my skin, leaving bruises. "You don't get to be fucking scared. You weren't fucking scared when you attacked the human, so you don't get to be scared now."
"A-Aster I- ahh!" Aster rocked his hips against me. I bent my head and groaned. "P-Please stop, I'm sorry, okay?!"
Aster shook his head. "You don't get to be sorry." His breath was hot against my face. "If you're going to act fucking stupid then you have to face the consequences. Tilt your head up for me." I furrowed my brows and opened my mouth to protest. "Tilt your head up. Be a good boy, I don't want to have to punish you more than I'm about to."
"I'm sorry-"
Aster smashed his lips against mine, growling deep in his chest as he did so. Without even waiting for me to adjust he jammed his tongue into my mouth and licked the back of my throat, earning a series of choked gags from me. Aster bit down hard on my lip, and the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.
"Mmph~ Please-" I whined, pulling against him.
Aster kept kissing me. His lips vibrated as he spoke. "You're going to have to beg a lot harder than that if you want me to stop. Stop talking, head up."
I grimaced and tilted my head upwards, giving him full access to my neck. Aster sunk his teeth into a section of skin at the base of my neck. I gasped at the feeling of his teeth digging into my skin, and let out a startled moan. I covered my mouth with my hand, arching my back against his crotch as he mercilessly attacked my neck, biting everywhere he could and leaving small purple bruises. I'd never been given a hickey before, and even though it hurt at first once Aster moved his mouth from one section to another it began to tingle with pleasure. I worked my jaw back and forth, every moan that escaped my lips sounded choked and strained.
Aster growled against my throat. "You're going to have to moan better than that if you want me to forgive you," he spat. He ran his tongue up and down my neck, wetting all the bruises he had made already. His saliva glistened on my neck in the moonlight.
"Nngh- stop! Please, I ahh~" I tried to withhold the unholy noises being ripped out of me. "I'm sorry! He was- he was hurting the, ahh, he was hurting the pups! I had to get him away from- mmm- I had to get him away from them. I didn't do anything wr-wroahh~"
"Stop talking," Aster spat. "Just keep whimpering."
I did as I was told, short, ragged breaths followed by shrill whimpers of pleasure and pain. It felt like my entire neck was coated with spit and bruises. "Fuck-" Aster panted. He sat up, his chest heaving. He grabbed me by the hair and pulled me upwards. "You are so fucking lucky I'm not going any further." He stood up and dragged me to my feet. My whole body hurt. Aster grabbed my by my neck. "Find your clothes, and go home. I am going to mark your entire fucking body when we get back. I want every fucking werewolf to hear you moan for me, do you understand?"
I nodded meekly. There was nothing else I could do. I bowed my head in shame and started walking back to the house, my body aching as it imagined all the things Aster was going to do to me.