Wolf Legend - Part XI

11. Adoration

Rabeka stepped out of the warm shower to muffled music coming from downstairs. She stood silently to listen, then rolled her eyes at the style of the music; jazz.
She quickly dried herself and dressed, paying more attention to her hair and cursing at herself while examining her face; she had washed her make-up off in the shower. She pulled her hair up in a messy up-do, and searched everywhere in his cabinets for hairspray. She didn't expect to find any, but settled on an almost empty can of mousse instead.
After she was satisfied, she opened the door to the bathroom to smell of bacon. She smiled and bounced with happiness, despite the heavy jazz music being played.
Rabeka walked around the corner into the kitchen to find a peculiar sight—Andrew dancing to his music—kicking his feet in the air; flipping pancakes, and skatting with the current jazz solo.
Rabeka leaned against the wall, palming her face as Andrew got his groove on.
Suddenly Andrew spun full direction facing Rabeka.
“Almost done,” he said, speaking it with the rhythm of the music.
“Wow,” was all Rabeka could say.
Andrew flipped the bacon strips onto a paper towel and placed them on the table. Rabeka sat down closest to them, tempted to grab the whole thing and start eating.
Breakfast was a nice transition from the fear and drama they had both experienced. Everything on the table looked wonderful; eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes and orange juice.
“I hope you don't think I can eat all of this?” Rabeka said, eying the food Andrew constantly kept putting on the table.
“Nonsense, we shall feast,” he said, “We need our energy for the days to come.”
Rabeka smiled and anxiously eyed the food. She was shocked that Andrew even knew how to cook.
Andrew finally turned the burners off and sat across from her at the table. He could hear both their stomachs making noises from hunger.
“Well, lets dig in,” he said, immediately going for the bacon.
Rabeka didn't move for anything; it seemed she wanted the bacon as well. She smiled as she watched Andrew pile several pieces on his plate.
“Gotta have that meat huh?” she teased.
Andrew nodded as he passed the bacon plate to her, who took an equally generous amount.
It was silent for quite a while before Rabeka finally cleared her throat.
“So, tell me about werewolves,” she said.
Andrew looked up with his mouth full of egg. He chewed quickly so he could answer.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
“Anything, what was it like growing up in a pack? Oh, well, I think I understand
that already.”
Andrew nodded and rolled his eyes.
“Ok, then if you don't need a full moon, how does it work? Is it like one of those hulk things?”
“What?” he asked, chuckling, “No, no. I can change at will.”
“Ah,” was all she said, nodding her head.
“Obviously you saw that with my paws and eyes earlier.”
“Oh, right,” she said, sitting further back in her chair.
Andrew could tell she had many questions, but couldn't find the right words to say. He figured he'd lend a hand and tell general information.
“But obviously that wasn't everything.”
“Yeah, I wonder if I'll ever see the whole thing,” she said, squinting her eyes in his direction.
Andrew squinted back, “Dunno. What else do you want to know?” he said, changing the subject.
“How do you become one? A bite I bet huh?” she asked, taking a bite of pancake.
“Yes, but not just a regular bite,” Andrew responded
“Then, what, take a chunk of flesh with you?”
“No,” he laughed, “It needs to be a long bite, to give plenty of time for my... venom to circulate your entire bloodstream.”
She raised her eyebrows, “Oh wow, that sounds painful.”
“It can be,” he said, taking a bite of food.
“How long does it take?” she asked.
“A minute, at least; or, until it happens.”
“Until what happens?” She put her utensils down and rested her head on her hands. She was much too interested to pay attention to her food.
“You change.”
“Just like that?” she asked, gesturing her hand out.
“Yep,” he said, returning back to his meal.
“That's fast... have you ever bit anyone?”
“Nope,” he said, not looking up from his meal.
Rabeka sat staring for a while, then returned to her meal, taking a few bites of her eggs, which were now getting cold.
“Are you immortal?” she suddenly asked.
“No, I age normally,” Andrew said, finally looking up. He had already finished his meal and was getting seconds with pancakes.
“Can you die, though?” she asked, half giggling.
“Yes, unfortunately I can,” he laughed.  
“How? Obviously getting shot didn't hurt you one bit,” she said, nodding at his chest where he was shot earlier. “How's your wounds today by the way?”
“All healed,” he said, smiling. Rabeka smiled back.
“Good to hear,” she said.
“As for literally dying, it's by decapitation,” Andrew shuttered at the word, “or fire,” he finished. “Then of course starving ourselves or something like that; malnourishment.”
“Wow, so its pretty hard to kill you,” she said.
“We are built to survive,” he said, nodding.
Andrew stood up and headed back to the kitchen. Rabeka still hadn't finished her meal. Andrew went over to the freezer to pull out a small bag with steak in it. He popped it in the microwave on defrost and came and sat back down.
“Do you always have to have meat?” she asked, then taking a few more bites of her now cold food.
“Yes, our bodies rely on it. We have to have several pounds of meat a day to stay healthy.”
“Wait,  how does that work with your job?”
Andrew laughed, suddenly remembering all the times he had snuck meat into the workplace and eating it when nobody noticed.
“It takes practice. I would have meat during breaks, or eat something while I went to the restroom. I just took my time to make sure I had some, especially before work. If I went to work without it, I'm cranky.”
Rabeka laughed, “And I've seen you pretty cranky at work, so that must have been a time when you forgot huh?”
Andrew laughed as well, “Probably.”
Rabeka finally put her last bite in her mouth. She stood up and head for the kitchen as well. Andrew looked over his shoulder to watch her move gracefully. He pondered what their next move was.
Andrew finished his last few bites and stood up and brought his empty plate to the sink, laying it on top of hers. They both smiled as they walked to the living room. Andrew laid down on the couch and turned on the TV. Rabeka wasn't sure what to do, so she sat down on the next chair over.
“So now what?” she asked.
“Well, I guess we should just sit back and relax,” Andrew said, softly.
“No, I meant what to do now?”
Andrew lifted his head toward her.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes having a hard time leaving the television.
Rabeka scoffed, “As fun as this is just sitting around, I would like know what we're going to do about my problem.”
Andrew wasn't sure what to do. He was all out of ideas at this point.
“Well, what do you want to do?” he asked.
“I don't know, I would like to see all this come to some end. I want to get my life back. I'm sure you do too.”
“There really isn't anything we can do now, Rabeka,” Andrew shrugged. “It's Saturday, lets just relax.”
“Relax?” she asked, confused. “We're just going to sit her on our asses while the mob is trying to find me, to murder me?”
Andrew sighed and sat up in his seat. He looked back at her; her face was flustered and annoyed.
“Andrew,” she murmured, “You can help me.”
“I'm not sure what you mean,” he said.
“Are we gonna nail those guys or what?” she finally said.
Andrew sighed once more and turned the TV off.
“You want to go after them? Now?” he asked, knowing that this topic wasn't heading anywhere remotely good.
“I'd like to get back to my life, so yes.”
“I don't really want to get shot again.” he said, looking down at his leg. A small red mark where the bullet hole was, was all that remained of his wound. He rubbed it gently while giving her a whiny face.
“Then get a gun for yourself and shoot back,” She laughed.
“Rabeka. We just need to lay low for a while. We can't just barge into this without a plan.”
“You are the plan,” she said.
Andrew cocked his head sideways. “Come again?”
“You are a werewolf for crying out loud. Now that I know your secret, you don't need to hide anymore, you can rip them to shreds, end my problem for good!”
She was beginning to sound desperate. Andrew wasn't sure how to respond.
“They won't stop till I'm dead Andrew!” She said, continuing to hound him as he collected his thoughts.
Andrew gazed over at her sad eyes. She fought back tears.
“I... I can't,” Andrew finally said.
“You can't, or you won't,” she asked, harshly.
“Bit of both actually.”
Rabeka stood up, frustrated and on the verge of crying. She silently paced the room for a while.
“I'm tired of running,” she softly whimpered. “It can end now!”
Andrew nodded. “I can understand what you're saying Rabeka, but think about what you are asking me to do. You are asking me to murder a few human beings. That doesn't bother you one bit?”
“No, they murder people all the time,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“So, one murder justifies another?”
“Yes, they deserve it,” she snapped, “They are the bad guys, remember?”
“I can't take judgment into my own hands, that's the police's job.”
“And the police is owned by them, don't you get it?! There is no way out of this!”
“Then, I guess you'll have to run again,” he said, keeping calm.
“No,” she snapped again, “I'm tired of running. I'm tired of hiding. I've been doing it my entire life! And now, finally I've found someone strong enough to face them and stop them for good, and you aren't willing to help me!”
Rabeka stomped out of the room and down the hall to the bedroom. Andrew put his hands on his face. What am I going to do? he thought.
Andrew stood up and called after her, slowly making his way down the hall. He walked in to find Rabeka on the bed curled up in a ball. She was facing the open window, a bright beam of sun shining on her. He looked closer to see several streams of tears creeping down her cheek. Andrew hated seeing her cry, but now it was even more devastating to know he was the cause. He knew she was scared, and she had every right to be mad at him.
He slowly walked to the window and looked out. Rabeka's soft sobs were heard over the hum of traffic below.
“I want to help you Rabeka,” Andrew said, softly. “I want to make sure you are safe. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let another person I care about...” he trailed off, knowing what he had promised himself to do.
“I promised myself I'd protect you, but I won't fight your battles for you.”
Rabeka's sobs stopped.
Andrew turned to face her, she looked up at him, her eyes still red and wet.
“You can't ask me to kill them,” he continued, lowering his voice.
“But you can stop them!”
“No I can't,” he fought back, raising his voice a little.
She sat up, matching his voice level. “Why not?”
“Because I'm not a killer!” he shouted, surprised that he even did. He looked away, taking a moment to calm down.
“I won't kill people. I refuse to be anything that my family was.”
She looked away and closed her eyes. Another wave of disappointment. Andrew couldn't take making her sad. He grumbled and sat down next to her. She turned her face away from him.
“What can you do then?” she grunted.
“All I can do is protect you.”
“And what good is that to me?” she said, now shouting as well, “All I've ever done was run. Sure I made a mistake, I get that. I've had to pay for those mistakes again and again. But I am putting my foot down. I am tired of running, and here I have found someone who can actually do something about it, and you won't? Is that what you're telling me?”
Andrew hung his head in shame. He wanted so easily to say yes. How easy it would be to give in and kill all those men. It would stop all of this. It would make her happy. But Andrew's gut instincts told him not to follow his family's footsteps, and to make matters worse, Rabeka's attitude reminded him so much of Stephan's mentality.
“No,” he muttered, his final words on the subject. He would not sacrifice a human, it would be no different than his family sacrificing his friend's life.
“There is never a right in a wrong,” he said, finally looking up.
Rabeka shook her head. Her face was the most angry he had ever seen it.
“Then what good are you to me,” she harshly whispered, and stood up and walked past him.
Angrily, Andrew followed, firmly grabbing both her arms, shaking her lightly, forcing her to face him.
“Hey, I came on this date knowing full and well what might happen. I knew the risks, and yet I did it willingly. So far tonight I've ran halfway across New York City; I've taken two bullet holes for you, I've risked my life as well as my identity. I seriously injured a man already, and most importantly, I've kept you alive; I've even giving you a safe place to stay.”
Andrew took a few steps forcing her against the wall. She gasped at the loud bang it made. His voice raised in volume. His body closed in proximity.
“So don't stand there and act like I haven't done anything to help you. I've done more than anyone you could ever imagine, so don't you dare say I'm nothing to you. I am everything to you right now! You'd be dead now if it weren't for me, so don't act ungrateful for what I have done!”
Rabeka's face flushed with guilt and tears began to form in her eyes. She held onto the corner wall for support at Andrew's eyes closed in on hers. She could almost see a glow of yellow begin to form around irises.
“I am your friend!” he said, putting his hands on either side of her face. Rebeka closed her eyes, for fear he would do something horrible to her.
Andrew took a few heavy breaths before closing his eyes as well. He backed off only slightly putting his hands on her forearms.
“You're right,” Rabeka said, finally closing her eyes, causing several tears to stream on his hand. Andrew lifted his hands away and stood there, patiently waiting for a response.
Rabeka nodded and leaned against the wall, her eyes tightly shut.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “After reading your journal, I can understand that.”
Andrew clenched his teeth. He was too steamed up to say anything, all he could do was nod once to accept her apology.
He put his hand over his face, backing away and towards the doorway.
“Wait,” she said, taking a few steps toward him. “What am I supposed to do now? Just go on like none of this happened?”
Andrew stopped and turned his head, but not turning his body around completely.
“Whatever you choose to do, I will do my best to protect you, Rabeka.”
“Thank y—”
“But I'm not the answer to all your problems.”
“Fair enough,” she nodded.
“So if I leave New York, will you come with me?” she asked.
Andrew lowered his head, and turned around to face her again.
“My life is here. Unless my secret is blown—and I'm really hoping that doesn't happen—I don't want to give up my life here.”
“So you won't stay with me,” she said, answering the next question in her mind.
Andrew took a few steps closer to her, shaking his head, “I'm sorry.”
“OK, well than I will leave.”
“Why?” he asked, “It's the best chance you got. Sure this is a big city, but they've proven that the odds of beating them are slim to none.”
“No, I have a werewolf on my side.”
Andrew glared, “Don't get into that again.”
“I'm sorry, its just... I don't want to leave... without you.”
Andrew froze in place, taking a moment to analyze what she meant. His facial expression softened. Rabeka nervously played with her hair, while giving him a mournful look.
“You said earlier that you were my friend,” she said, slowly walking towards him. “Could you possibly be more than that?” Her body language was becoming more and more evident to what it was she insinuated.
Andrew put his foot forward, folding his arms.
“What are you saying?” he asked, moving in closer. He already knew the answer to that question, but was eager to see where this was going with her obvious invitation.
“Maybe it was fate that you found me. Maybe this is.... something more?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
It was clear now what she was suggesting. She was admitting her true feelings about him, but Andrew wasn't sure how he felt about her at this point. His feelings for her had been all over the place the past few days, especially given her past and the amount of lies and trouble that she had gotten herself into. All this responsibility and danger now including him was something he never thought would be a problem with should he ever find someone. Plus, she was becoming more and more of a burden on him. What set him off the most about Rabeka was that she was OK in justifying murder to escape her fate. It wasn't even a case of self-defense, which was the only way he was going to take a life.
Andrew's blank stare of thought seemed to catch Rabeka's attention, as she lowered her head to match his eye contact. He blinked and noticed her once more, still walking slowly toward him. The closer she got to Andrew, the higher she lifted her head up to face him, until their faces were incredibly close. Her body gave sure signs of what she was about to do as her lips trembled and her heart raced. Andrew couldn't tell who's heart was beating faster, hers or his.
She's seducing me. She's actually doing it.
It wasn't something he expected. He fantasized kissing her several times in dreams, but never did he imagine a human girl, who just learned about his beastly secret, would ever want to kiss him still.
Andrew froze, an almost grin on his face, watching her every move the closer she moved, capturing her perfect gestures; their faces moving even closer towards each other.
It seemed like almost an eternity of waiting, and Andrew couldn't handle the tension any longer. They paused just inches from impact, but Andrew felt himself lose a bit of restraint and made the rest of the way allowing their lips to finally touch.
They both froze in place, getting their lips used to the touch. Rabeka's lips moved first, gently opening and closing her mouth around his lips. Andrew followed her motions, giving her the freedom to express herself. He wanted to see what she wanted to feel, and he in turn would do his best to deliver it. What she did, he did back. It only felt natural. He wanted most of all to experience a real human kiss for the first time in his life.
The movements were soft and simple at first, then grew in intensity. Andrew froze once again as he felt Rabeka's tongue gently moving on his lips. This caused Andrew to have urges to try things he had never once thought to do, but had only seen other humans try. Andrew only ever knew to kiss with his tongue. Licking was how his family kissed, just like the wolf, so he would need to hold back his instincts to make it work. Her tongue gave him the idea to explore, to do what humans found the best part of kissing to be.
He dared himself, finally sliding his tongue gently between her lips. Surprisingly, this felt natural. His human side was teaching him instincts he had never experimented with before. Rabeka seemed to find it normal, and continued to play tongue tag, wrapping her arms up and over his broad shoulders and neck.
The kissing became more fluent and passionate. Both were getting into their groove of what was comfortable and delightful. Andrew lifted his hands back up to her arms, pulling her in even closer. He could feel his body move in sync with hers as her arms wrapped around his waist and they began to slowly walk backwards.
As their bodies gently and patiently molded together, Andrew now understood why humans desired to do this on a regular basis. To feel close to another human. This also shed light on his pack and their discussions of intimacy. It was all they ever talked about aside from their hatred of humans and the hunt; but now it was all becoming clear, and Rabeka was one of those humans who longed for comfort in a physical way. He hoped, however, that her feelings of infatuation weren't centered around sex. Andrew enjoyed this kissing, and found it pleasurable enough to satisfy, but just like his animal instincts dictate much of what he does, he needed to stay in a place of self control.
However calm the kissing continued to be, Andrew's senses raged on as he explored new areas, leaving her lips and heading down her cheek back to her neck. Rabeka's skin was so soft and warm there, almost like velvet. It was quite the contrast to his stubble face. He felt embarrassed for not being clean shaven, but she didn't seem to mind.
Andrew seemed to lose a temporary control as he buried his face into her neck, gently licking it and kissing the moisture away. Rabeka slowly leaned her head back, softly exhaling. She obviously understood his instinct to lick as a kiss, which he was grateful for. Andrew also found it strange to have the strong sensation to bite down. He knew he would need to bury that thought deep in his mind, or he could very easily make a mistake he'd regret the rest of his life.
Neither of their eyes dared to open now, and Andrew's mouth was careful to stay within a generous area. He shuttered as he felt Rabeka's hands leave his shoulders and slowly move up and down his back; nails digging in as hard as her human fingers could. This caused some alarm as Andrew noticed it seemed to trigger some unwanted activity—his back muscles began to contract—causing the large mane hairs on his neck and shoulders to rise and thicken. His body had changed without his permission. That had never happened before. This meant he would need to concentrate to keep himself from shifting. All this taught him a new self awareness of his body's ability to keep the wolf inside, and its wants and needs when it came to intimacy. It tingled and ached for the change, only something hormones could ever cause. Andrew shut his eyes even tighter, focusing on turning his back to normal, hoping Rabeka wouldn't notice.
However, his concentration broke and his eyes flew open as Rabeka grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him in even closer, causing both of them to fall backwards on the bed behind her, forcing him on top of her body. This was quite a shock for Andrew. He soon realized Rabeka's thoughts had wondered into much broader areas of passion. He had never considered what started as a simple kiss would turn into this, especially given their recent argument.
Oh no, he thought. She thinks I want to have sex with her. Here? Now? What was I thinking? How could I let this go too far?
He couldn't deny he wanted to, but he had morals, and a mindset that contradicted many of his kinds' perceptions. He had often been mocked for his chastity, but he never broke his vows. Saying no always sounded easy to him, but he never imagined it would be this difficult; his body screamed yes, but his mind said no. He couldn't even contemplate what intercourse with a human being would be like. He wanted to know, eventually, but not this way. He had heard many stories from his pack mates that mating in human form almost always ended in anthro form. The change was almost inevitable, and impossible to stop. This was one of the biggest reasons Andrew kept away from females. He knew any sort of love relationship would ultimately end with his secret being blown, and a seriously freaked out girl, who would most likely have mental problems for the rest of her life.
Andrew lifted his body away as much as he could, trying to make it obvious to Rabeka to stop, but she was too much involved with his lips to even notice.
Suddenly there was a loud crack—his vertebrae—the beginning stages of shifting. He let out a small grunt as he felt as though the wind was knocked out of him. It would be hard to fix it in his current position. He tried to concentrate even harder when he realized he was reaching a point of no return. He would need to pull away quick, as he noticed another strong urge to bite down. The wolf inside him wanted to devour her, in every sense of the word, and the thought of doing so became more and more tempting as their passion grew.
Andrew tried to ignore as he kissed her back, gently caressing her cheeks and moving his hands down and around her waist. All negative thoughts of her seemed to melt away completely. He hoped he could hold his restraint long enough to enjoy the rest of this beautiful moment he was having with Rabeka, but her movements were becoming too much for him to handle. He felt his back arch, another crack emerged as his back and base of his neck prepared to extend. It was too much, he had to stop. Suddenly, a loud involuntary growl came from Andrew's throat, escaping his lips without warning; which were currently occupying her ear lobes. Rabeka's eyes opened in surprise at the sound.
“Andrew?” she breathed, turning her head to face his. “Did... did you just growl at me?”
Andrew gasped, finally released his grip from her, sitting up.
Rabeka exhaled, sitting up with him.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, her arms went for him again. Andrew moved his hands in the way, blocking her advancement. She sat still and watched as he closed his eyes, concentrating hard on his body which was very close to shifting. He could feel his fangs had almost begun to surface as well. Andrew clenched his teeth tightly together. Finally his back muscles relaxed and his shoulders dropped, causing him to exhale loudly.
Andrew shook his head in frustration. How could I lose control like that?
“Are you OK?” she asked, a worried look on her face.
“Sorry, I...” he shuddered, still composing himself.
“Was it too fast?” she asked, biting her lip.
“A... a little,” he downplayed it and then looked at her. She gave a look of doubt in his sentence.
“OK, way too fast,” he admitted. “At least it was for me.”
“Oh,” she responded, giggling a little, swinging her legs over the side of the bed to sit next to him.
“It's just, I've never...”
“Oh,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “I see.”
Andrew gulped. He knew she would know sooner or later, so there was no point in hiding it.
“Yes, I'm a virgin.”
She nodded, her eyes moved away to focus on something else across the room.
“I didn't mean to lead you on like that,” he continued.
Rabeka nodded, “No, I'm sorry as well. I... I shouldn't have, well, come on to you that fast. Especially since it's different for you.”
“Yes, it was. But...” he wasn't sure how to word it, “I've never had a hard time controlling my changes before. Well, not including my drinking incident.”
Rabeka grinned, as if liking the idea of that.
“That's OK, we can try again if you want, go slow.”
Unbelievable, he thought. Her life and sanity hangs in the balance and she still wants to try again?
“No, no!” he exclaimed, suddenly regretting it as he saw her face go from happiness to depressed.
“I just... I don't want to...”
“You don't?”
“Well, the changes, and I feel like I'm taking advantage of you. That and... I always promised myself that I would wait until I get married to be intimate with someone.”
“Oh,” she said, looking away, “I thought, maybe... you felt the same.”
“I do, oh believe me, I do,” he said, putting his hands up in defense. “It's just, I have a few personal goals I'd like to keep.”
“I see,” she said, folding her arms. It was a defensive move she always did when she wasn't quite getting her way. Andrew could tell he upset her again. There was nothing he could do to keep her happy. He wished like crazy he could be human, now more than ever.
“I just... I hope you don't get the wrong impression. I... I do like you, Rabeka,” he said, looking over at her. She looked back, giving a grin.
“I think that's pretty obvious now,” she laughed.
Andrew laughed too, putting his hand out. She slowly set her hand in his; his large fingers folding over hers. He put his arm over her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.
“I care about you, and I will always be there to protect you, I hope you know that.”
“I do. I think I always have, since the day I met you.”
“Really?” he asked, a look of pride on his face.
“There was always something about you that intrigued me.”
“The same for me,” he said. “The moment I saw you in the office, I felt something was different about you, and I've seen a lot of new girls come and go too.”
“Maybe it was fate,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
Andrew smiled, and leaned his head on hers. “Maybe,” he said.
“So... is this it then?” she asked, lifting her head up again.
“Am I your 'mate'?” she asked, giving a large smile. Andrew grinned and nodded, liking the sound of that.
“Do you want to be?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered, and gently kissed him on the lips.