The dull sounds of rain splashing against glass made Aurora look up. In her hands she was carrying a heap of t-shirts, a few pair of panties and a jeans which she quickly crammed inside her backpack. She took a few hasty steps towards the window and stared outside into the darkness. "No no no.. Why? Why now?!" She mumbled slightly frustrated. Aurora stared at her own reflection for a moment or two and shrugged. The death of her parents had brought her to the other side of the country where it was known for being wet and cold most of the time. That said, it had been raining for the past few weeks and tonight was no exception. Nothing her cap and a raincoat couldn't survive. With a deep sigh Aurora continued stuffing her backpack with a few necessities: a flash light, warm clothes to last at least a few weeks, enough pocket money and some of her toiletries. If she was going to run away at night she might as well survive the path through the forest ahead.

There was no way around it: every map she had taken a look at said that the fastest way towards L.A. was south, through a large detour in the mountains at the edge of the forest. But that was if you had a car or something faster than a bike. Spending the night in the valley was not something Aurora wanted to try. Besides, she'd be caught very quickly. That's why she decided going through the forest was the best way to go. Once on the other side, she'd already feel the temperature difference. At least, that's what the Internet had told her.

Her aunt, whom had willingly agreed to take her in after the tragedy, was soundly asleep when Aurora passed by her room. A dim light next to her bed revealed Aunt Agnes with a book in her left hand. Her head was bend backwards against the wall and she was snoring loudly. With the amount of wine she had drank last night she wouldn't wake even if Aurora decided to slam doors.

Once Aurora was out of the door, the cold wind lifted a few long strands of hair and made her shiver. She was all tucked in with a thick sweater, a raincoat and a black cap keeping her long blonde hair in place. The street lights weren't even lid any more and the small village was asleep. "Here goes nothing.." She whispered to herself.

Sorry, my posts might be a bit short until things really kick off.

Mal, growing up a bit of an outsider in his pack, liked to break some of the many rules of night watch. Two of the most important being a) Don't go near the town, and b) Do not fall asleep. On that particular night, he was happily breaking both rules. In all his time with this pack, only one human had ever wandered into the pack's territory. So most nights he had watch duty were spent near the highways, trails, or backyards, dozing peacefully at the edge of the woods as the soothing white noise of distant cars lulled him to sleep.

He was rudely jolted from his nap by a girl wandering by whose scent was startlingly strong. His tired brain couldn't process it at first, but it sure did surprise him when she just walked off of the path and into the forest. She was only ten feet away and his ink black fur was hiding him, so he decided to have a bit of fun. He waited for her to wander in a bit further, then rose to his feet and silently followed her. His amusement grew when he saw the full backpack. A runaway, he surmised, and he decided to begin his game.

Silently he crept up to her. With a playful growl, he rose onto his hind legs and shoved her forward with his front paws, settling on her back when she fell to the forest floor. He pressed his nose into her neck and snuffled around, gauging her scent. Amazing, he decided. Her scent was indescribable. Maybe something like blankets fresh out of the drier, or the air before a rainstorm. Autumn mist. All intangible, fleeting scents that made one feel comforted.

Aurora felt slightly uneasy as she tried to find some sort of path through the woods. The panels she had just climbed were a joke. She never really understood why people were so afraid of going into this forest. And her aunt never really told her what was the real reason she was not to go near it. She figured people here only believed in old wives tales as WiFi was uncommon and having sex before marriage was frowned upon.

The uneasy feeling slowly faded away with the sounds of the wind rushing through the trees and the night owls whoo-ing at each other. The moon stood high and gave her just enough light to not walk into a bush or tree. The flash light was for emergencies. The batteries she stole from the remote control were probably not charged the night before.

Suddenly, the sound of a twig cracking sounded. It was a few meters behind her. Aurora squinted slightly but there was no moving shadow to be seen. With a frown she turned around to continue walking. But as she turned around, she felt a hard push on her upper back, making her trip forward. Aurora let out a quick scream. Trying her best to not fall flat onto her face she tried to land onto her hands first. There she was, on the ground, feeling her heartbeat into her throat whilst remaining as silent as possible. Some sort of animal stood on top of her back and was snuffling all around her neck and hair. Aurora closed her eyes and held her breath, hoping the wild animal would soon go away. "Why didn't I listen to my aunt.." She wondered.

Mal nuzzled his nose against the woman's shoulder, trying to breathe in as much of her scent as possible. Her skull knocked into his nose a bit painfully and he gave a bewildered huff. He shifted, the air around him shimmering like waves of heat off pavement, and his wolf features slowly melted away. All that was left of the wolf was it's playful, mischievous green eyes, greener than the forest in summertime.

He rose up enough to give the girl some air, turned her onto her back, then resettled himself on her hips, straddling her and effectively pinning her to the ground. "Hi there." His voice was deep and smooth, with just a telltale hint of a rasp that gave it a slightly seductive cadence and the lightest hint of an accent. He reached down and wrapped a lock of her soft blond hair around his finger while she was still reeling from his shift.

"You smell really good. And a little bit like old person." He paused, looked her over with an amused glance, and continued. "You're a funny little thing. Are you from town, or are you just passing through?" he asked with a curious smile. There was nothing wicked or corrupt in his gaze. Just this friendly, oddly cheerful aura. Like a puppy, really.

The animal took a few more seconds to catch her scent and backed away. The strong paws that were pressed against her shoulder blades disappeared and the weight of the entire animal shifted. Unsure what to think about the situation Aurora opened up her eyes again, now completely used to the darkness. Then, the weight entirely vanished and Aurora blinked a few times trying to realise what had just happened. But the excitement didn't end there: her entire body got swung around so she laid upon her back, staring up at what seemed like.. "A human?"

The two most bright green eyes were gazing at her, making her eyes widen even more. The man had taken seat on top of her, clearly making sure she wasn't going anywhere. Aurora couldn't help but to feel confused about the whole situation. Didn't she just hear some sort of animal sniff her down like she was bound to be its next meal? And then, the man greeted her. Just a regular 'Hi' as if their acquaintance was one of the most common ones ever. Aurora tried to process what was happening but the man didn't let her.

"I-I smell nice?" Aurora felt the blood rise to her cheeks, remembering she hadn't even showered that day. She tried to push herself up from the ground but that seemed futile. But he wasn't finished. Though the way he looked at her was as if he had just received a bright new toy to play with and there was not a single damn thing in the world that would keep him from doing so. "Get off me will you?!" She completely ignored his question whilst wiggling her legs around to loosen his grip.

Mal, a bit surprised by her wiggling, gripped her hip tightly enough to hold her still. The beast in his head was pacing around curiously. He shook his head and sat up straighter. "Sorry, I can't let you go. You were warned not to enter the woods, weren't you? And you don't even have permission from my Alpha or your mayor to be here. So you belong to us now." He realized from her expression that he probably wasn't making any sense, so he expanded.

He never thought he'd have reason to use the speech all wolves on night watch were taught. He couldn't remember most of it, so he just barreled into the story head-first. "A long time ago, there were humans and there were wolves. No one can remember exactly how it happened, but somehow, some of the humans gained the ability to become wolves. Werewolves." He met her gaze. "Most of the legends you've heard aren't true. We aren't grotesque, and we don't change at the full moon. The urge to be a wolf is stronger at that time, though. Honestly, we might be a bit more dangerous than traditional werewolves."

He reached up and tapped the side of his head thoughtfully. "Each wolf has a second conscience, I guess. A wild half up in their heads that's very strong-willed and very persuasive. I'm very good at controlling my beast, but some others are not. You're lucky that I'm the one who found you. As it was, I almost couldn't calm the beast in my head after you wriggled around like that." He waggled his eyebrows, making it very clear what he meant.

"Fast forward. Now, it's two hundred years ago. This town was just getting started. But our pack has been here longer than any human can trace back. Back then, we were trying to learn to live peacefully, but werewolves are a very cautious and, sometimes brutal, race of people. We didn't want humans anywhere near us. Some of the pack killed human children to warn them away. The humans started hunting us. After quite a bit of bloodshed, the leader of the humans and our Alpha made a pact. Any human who enters this forest without permission belongs to the pack. Any wolf who leaves the forest and enters the town without permission may never go back to the pack." He leveled his gaze on her. "You entered the woods without permission, and now you must stay here."

Aurora felt anger boiling up from the inside when he told her she couldn't leave. And even more so when she supposedly belonged to 'them' now. She couldn't help but wonder who 'they' were and what he meant by that. She frowned and wiggled around a bit more, noticing he tightened his grip more and more. "Whát are you talking about?!" She spat out, not even trying to hide her anger. But none of it would do. The man started to calmly tell her about some sort of wolf story which made no sense to her. He was clearly delusional and this seemed like the the worst nightmare ever.

Though something in the back of her head told her there was some truth to it. Why else would the people of this town build such a shitty fence? Why would nobody really pronounce what was in the woods? Maybe they tried to forget about the past, forget the wolves ever existed? The wars and hunts? "...This is total bullshit, this guy is absolutely nuts!"

"Let me GO!" She mumbled beneath her breath, already feeling tired from moving around underneath his body. "So, what IF there is this tribe of wolves you speak of, what use would I be? Wouldn't I be a burden? Exactly! Now move away, you're c-crushing me!" Her voice crackled from barely getting any air by now. Her tiny lungs were being crushed and her skinny body was sore all over. The ground underneath her back was moist and cold which made the whole situation even worse. Aurora felt like her jeans was soaked and the rain was now slowly starting to affect her undergarments as well.

"No, you won't be a burden. I'm just going to take you back to the pack. The Alpha will give you a job to do and assign you somewhere to live. Probably with me, since I found you. I'm sorry it had to happen this way, but The Law is The Law. I can't break a hundred years of rules for you. Do you know what would happen if you let it slip to the wrong person that there are werewolves in these woods? Do you know what would happen to us, to our children, if the government or any scientists realized we exist? They'd give us no mercy. They'd turn us into guinea pigs, lab rats. They'd dig through our brains and dissect us, still alive, until they figured out how to recreate what we can do. Or they'd force us to breed. That's no life." Finally, he stood up. He hauled her to her feet, keeping a solid grip on her wrists.

"I'm going to let go of you now, and then I'm going to shift into a wolf. You're going to climb onto my back and then I'll take you to where the pack lives." His grip tightened momentarily and his intense green gaze captured hers. "If you try to run, I will catch you. I'm much faster than you are. Please, for your sake, cooperate and this will go easier on you." With that, he let go and shifted back.

He was huge for a wolf, almost horse-sized. Certainly big enough to ride on. His fur was a deep, inky black and his eyes were the same intense green, too intelligent for a mere wolf. He sank to his belly and motioned for her to climb on, giving a menacing growl to keep her from getting any ideas about escaping.

Although the man was trying to convince her that joining his pack was the way to go, Aurora had a whole other set of plans in her mind before he caught her. And they were still relevant. She wanted to start a new life, all by herself. For a moment, she allowed herself to take a glimpse at his bright green eyes as he pulled her onto her feet. His hands were wrapped around her wrists quite tightly.
"You're going to.. Shift?" She couldn't even hide how nervous she felt. Quickly, she took a few steps back to give him some space. She felt as if someone punched her in the stomach and the stabbing pain lingered through her arms and legs into her fingertips and toes. She took a few more steps back and tightly held onto the straps of her bag back, squeezing them so hard her knuckles went white. There was no way around it: she was frightened. Once he was fully transformed, Aurora felt a little weak onto her legs and stared at the huge wolf in front of her. Her mouth felt dry and for a moment she did not know what to do. Run? Get killed? Stay? A deep growl awoke her from her thoughts. It gave Aurora the shivers which made her squeal instantly. "Do NOT growl at m-me! How will I know you won't.." She bit her lower lip to keep her from talking. She did not want to give him any funny ideas.

His fur was very soft but wet. It seemed like it was pitch black but as it was night she shouldn't be too sure. Aurora thought it would feel rough and sticky, but surprisingly it felt as if he just bathed and had a good wash. She tilted her head to the side to look at his head whilst running her hands through the thick fur. It felt as if she was petting a very large dog. As he laid still and did not growl at her anymore, her breathing calmed again and she found the courage to finally lift herself onto his back.

"Should I have run? I'm pretty sure he'd devourer my head of if I did.."

It all felt so surreal. An hour ago the plan was to simply cross the forest and start a new life in the sunny L.A. But now all has shifted and turned. She was ought to work for this wolf pack deep inside the forest as she, supposingly, belonged to them now. Does that mean she'd have to marry.. A wolf? In his story he mentioned children, would she'd have to.. "Oh god, I feel sick.." A slight headache started oozing up and Aurora close her eyes for a moment. She listened to the wind and tried to focus on the rain splashing all around her. "Let's get out of here, I am freezing." She mumbled softly.

Mal sighed and rose to his feet, trying to ignore the emotions he scented from her and the protests of his inner wolf. The female is scared. The female needs comfort. Give the female comfort. He pushed aside the thoughts. He could try and console her later. He couldn't speak as a wolf and he didn't have time to shift back and help her through whatever she was feeling. By now, the others in the night watch had probably wandered past, scented the girl, and reported back to the Alpha. He had a job to do.

He gave a stretch and a shudder, then started at a reasonably paced lope, letting her get used to the way he moved before speeding up. Soon, he was running faster than most cars on an open highway, leaping over logs and dodging trees and branches. He couldn't help himself. He let out a loud, happy howl that some nearby wolves reciprocated. They joined him, casting odd looks at the human on his back. Some of them even got close enough to nudge at her leg with their muzzles, sniffing curiously.

Feeling oddly possessive, the beast in him did not like this. He growled and shoved the wolves away, which were all male, and pulled ahead of them. Most of the other wolves growled unhappily and broke away, running in other directions. It seemed there was more of a swagger to his gait after that, as if he were proud he'd protected her from the others for no reason. I have found the female, so the female is mine. The other males cannot have my female.

The whole trip Aurora kept her eyes shut, but she could sense they were going at a very high speed. It almost seemed as if she was riding some sort of fuzzy motorcycle. But then without the steering. And without any wheels. With a large beast breathing in between her legs. She let of a deep sigh and dug her nails deeper into his fur.

Suddenly, the wolf let out a loud cry which seemed to be answered by several others. It didn't take long or Aurora could make out 3 to 4 other large wolves running alongside. A few even came dangerously close to take whiff. She quickly pulled in her legs to make sure they couldn't reach them anymore. This came incredibly handy as the wolf she was riding on aggressively shoved them out of the way with a growl. Was he protecting her? It sure seemed like it.
Soon all the wolves disappeared into the forest again and yet again they were alone. Aurora silently laid her head down onto his back with a headache throbbing behind her eyes. "Ahh.." She grunted.

About 10 minutes later the wolf returned to a more reasonably paced lope and they reached a far stretched open area. It was clear a few trees had to go in the process of building their village. Their houses consisted of decently build cottages put together with large pieces of rough blue stone and wood. There was a clear path sturdy enough to support large trucks and heavy cars, illuminated by street lanterns. It seemed like the road lead all the way to the lake in the valley. Aurora couldn't keep up with the amount of cottages as they continued their walk through the village but there was one large house in the middle of the village that stood out the most. It was clearly an important place. Though it was utterly quiet. Well, it was 3AM at the very least, so most of the people were probably asleep. "Do you live here?" Aurora said softly, now noticing she was very thirsty.

Mal finally came to a complete stop just inside the edge of the treeline. He waited until she climbed off before shifting back, giving a luxurious stretch as he stood. "Ah, what a run," he sighed, twisting side-to-side. "I haven't had a workout like that in awhile." He motioned for her to follow, leading her into the huge clearing.

There was a large house about twenty yards ahead of them, and then smaller cottages branching out from there. The deeper they went, there were actually people standing along the pathways and loitering outside their houses, many of them staring at Mal and the girl with him curiously. Some lights set into the ground every fifteen feet lit the pathways to the larger structures. He led her towards one of the less-lit pathways to a small cottage with one light on in the window.

"Welcome to my home. For now, get cleaned up and get some rest. Tomorrow afternoon, I'll take you to meet the Alpha." He stepped up, unlocked the door, and motioned for her to go inside. He heard footsteps and turned, watching one of the others in his pack approach. "Do you need something, Dunbar?"

"Yes. She should be in the main house," the smaller man growled. "It's protocol." He looked very unfriendly, unable to tear his hungry gaze from the human girl.

"It's also protocol to keep the humans alive and unharmed. Get back to night watch or I'll have to wake the Alpha so he can deal with you," Mal said breezily, turning away to usher the girl inside.

The whole walk through the village was a blur to Aurora. She only managed to remember the minimal information she needed such as; they were about to enter his house and she was going to spend the night here. The rest was background noise. As she walked inside the cottage there was a huge temperature difference and she noticed a fireplace was lid across the hall. As she continued inside, she noticed the wet jeans cling to her legs and hips. It made her cringe. Not sure where she was ought to go, she walked through the hall towards a comfortable looking couch and threw a quick glance towards the door. The guy who brought her home was talking to someone outside and Aurora saw the moment as an opportunity. In a few seconds she unzipped her jeans and it dropped to the ground. She quickly threw her backpack on the couch and pulled out the other jeans she had packed. Both her legs were clammy and cold, clearly showing goosebumps all over. The fabric of the jeans stuck to her moist legs and she immediately regretted packing a skinny jeans. "Common.." She whispered to herself, not noticing that the guy had entered his house. The sound of footsteps through the hall made her look up. Her heart skipped a beat and she slightly panicked.

"D-Don't look at me!" She quickly shouted through her long hair that blocked her view. She was still hunched forward whilst pulling the jeans over her ankles. The downwards angle did not do her headache any favour. Whilst her face turned completely red she managed to pull the jeans over her knees but then got stuck again when it reached her wet underwear. With a deep sigh she completely gave up and sat down onto the couch. Both her hands covered her face and she let out a soft sob. "Why did you bring me here.."

Mal blinked in surprise as she struggled to pull on her jeans. He made a face and took a deep breath, scenting embarrassment, grief, fear, and pain. Physical pain. She was hurting somehow. He turned and went into his room, leaving her by herself for a few moments while he grabbed what he needed. He returned with a pair of warm, dry sweatpants, some Tylenol, and a glass of water.

He set the pants on the couch beside her, politely averting his eyes from where her wet underwear was see-through, and put the water and medicine on the table. "I brought you here because to do anything else would mean death. No one will hurt you here. Except maybe Dunbar, but he's pretty weak. He can't do much more than toss insults around." He straightened and ran a hand over his wet hair, looking kind of uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry it all happened this way. There are other humans here, though mostly it's just children that wandered in and some old man that has dementia. I think there is one guy about your age." He took a step back. "Anyways, you just take awhile to calm down. Take that Tylenol and put on those sweatpants. You can take a shower if you'd like, and the guest room is at the end of the hallway." He paused, wanting to say something else but not knowing what it was. So he just went back to his bedroom, leaving her there.

Aurora heard his footsteps going into one of the rooms and he came back shortly after. She sat still with her pants halfway up her legs and her hands covering most of her underwear. He had returned with what seemed like a sweatpants and some medicine. Though she did not find the courage to look up at him, based in what condition she was in. The words he spoke were very little comforting as she feared for her life in here as well. What if the other wolves did not like her? What if they got hungry all of a sudden? What if he got angry at her? Nobody would save her here, she figured.

When he apologised she shook her head softly. "You're not sorry. Somehow I feel like you're happy you've found me." Thoughts rushed through her head and anger started to boil up again. "What did you expect, that I'll be your wolfy WIFE?" She spat out, now looking at him directly. "Well, keep dreaming." Aurora then turned her head away and stared at the wall, clearly indicating she was done talking to him. It worked, because he left soon after.

Now completely alone in the small living room, Aurora pulled off the 2nd clammy jeans that was stuck around her legs. It seemed like loads of her fresh clothes got wet as her backpack was made out of cotton. She laid most of her clothes out on the ground in front of the fireplace so that she would have something dry to wear in the morning. The sweatpants was dry, but waaaay too big. Most of the time she stepped onto the loose fabric and had to pull them up again so that her feet peeped out. After taking the Tylenol she gulped down the rest of the water and sat down on the couch again. It would take a while for the painkiller to kick in so Aurora decided to check out the guest room and get some sleep. It was already 4AM by now and she had no idea how long she'd be able to sleep. Or how long they'd let her sleep. With a yawn, she walked towards the last door in the hallway and opened up the door. It was plain and simple: a bed, a closet, a small table set next to the bed and that's it.

The bed had the thickest blankets ever, probably made out of wool. Once covered by all the layers of blankets, the long and heavy night took its toll. Aurora was sound asleep.

Mal had fallen asleep almost immediately after he'd laid down, and had slept like the dead the whole night. He'd woken about an hour after dawn and grabbed breakfast, but he'd fallen asleep again after that. A good run always wore him out completely. He was completely wrapped up in his sheets from the waist down, one arm tossed over his head, and the other shoved up the shirt he'd pulled on as if he'd been trying to itch himself. His shirt was pushed almost all the way up, baring his lean-muscled chest and stomach, along with a detailed tattoo of a compass just above his left hip. His hair was an absolute mess, wild and wavy on one half of his head and pressed flat on the other half. He was pouting in his sleep, like a little boy who'd just been scolded by his mother. Young and serious.

(Ugh, that's kind of terrible. Sorry. Didn't know what else to do.)

(Hmm, you could've done a monologue with some members in your pack, maybe going to alpha to tell about his night watch,.. Loads of stuff really!)

It was about 10 AM when Aurora first opened up her eyes. At first, things were a little blurry and she couldn't quite recall where she was. Yawning and rubbing in her eyes she pushed the heap of blankets away and sat up a little. Then it all seeped right in. "Hmm, the wolf.." She mumbled, scratching through her hair as if she was deciding what to do next. Her hair was all messy and was sticking together in some places. A hot shower would feel amazing she figured. With a grunt she pushed herself up from the bed and yawned once more. The sweatpants hung very loosely around her hips and she quickly pulled them up as she walked through the hall. There was no sign of the wolf guy so with a shrug Aurora grabbed her backpack from the couch, some of her dry 'fresh' clothes and hurried inside the tiny bathroom. It had both a tub and a shower, but after finding out the bathroom door had no lock, there was no way she could take a bath in peace.

She had undone herself from the dirty t-shirt she had been wearing since last night and his way too big sweatpants then hid her undergarments in her backpack. The guy could be a pervert for all she knows. Once she had the water running, it immediately got hot enough for her to jump in. "Oh yess.." She mumbled to herself whilst she let her hands run through her long hair, working out the sticky parts. Fortunately she had brought a small bottle of shampoo but given her long hair it only lasted one wash.
Aurora was quite the paranoid type, so once in a while she stuck her head outside the now fogged up transparent glass door to check if nobody had entered. She therefore did not dare to stay in the shower for much longer and after giving herself a quick wash she jumped out of the shower. It took her a few minutes to find where the towels were, but like most bathrooms they were kept in the cupboard beneath the sink. With a rather big towel wrapped around her body she cleared the mirror and looked at herself for the first time since last night. Most of her mascara was gone and she had quite the dark circles beneath her eyes. Probably from the less than 6 hours of sleep. "Nothing a little concealer and mascara can't hide right?" She said to herself, and started brushing through her hair.

It didn't take her more than 10 minutes to get fully dressed and leave the bathroom. Still there was no sign of any living creature. This made her realise something. "Maybe he's out with his pack? Maybe.. I could just.. sneak out quietly?" With her backpack still in her hands, she quickly ran towards her sneakers, pulled them on and made her way to the door.