Crawl Straight Home

Chapter 3: Where they wander

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Over the next week he was spending more and more time with me. I found myself no longer asking questions but instead enjoying his company. We went on hunts in the forest together, he dropped me off at work and picked me up afterwards. We ate together. Showered together. Slept together. I honestly don't think he had a place to stay in the city other then my bed. I had been content but I knew it couldn't last. I needed to get rid of him. The vague questions I had been asking about mating gave me enough information to know the freaky senses overdrive effect of mating only occurred if he bites me and we don't have sex or if he is nearby and we haven't had sex. That bit I had pretty much figured out for myself. The glorious new information being, the bite did go away, it could take up to six months but if the dominant wolf didn't restake his claim whatever hormones he injected into the submissive would have worked there course through her system. So now I just needed the male to leave me alone for six months, or the rest of my life preferably.

"I think you should go back to your pack." I had been thinking of telling him as I watched him making dinner, so at home in my kitchen, it bugged me. I didn't mean for it to slip out while he was placing the food on the table. Oh well, this will make for some interesting dinner conversation.

He didn't comment, only paused, raising an eyebrow at me before seating himself at my table and gesturing for me to do the same. "You've told me everything I need to know."

"You're my mate. You will come with me."

"No I won't. I've learnt about packs and werewolves. I know enough to know I'd rather be alone."

"You don't get to make that choice. You are my mate."

I wanted to tell him I wasn't his anything but that would be both childish and untrue. For the time being I was his mate, however unwanted that status was.

"You have a pack full of female wolves."

"And if I wanted one of them I would have taken them."

I sighed not knowing how I could get him to see reason. I get the pack structure he was used to was 'might makes right', but I didn't want this. I didn't enjoy being a werewolf why would I want every facet of my life to be about the part I hated the most. He put down his knife and fork, coming to some conclusion himself.

"Tell me how you were bitten and I'll leave your house. I'll give you some space." The look on his face showed he thought he was being very fair, soft even.

"Okay," Maybe it would make him lose interest. "But I'm not talking about this while eating."

I avoided him and the topic for the rest of the night but when I felt the bed dip behind me I knew I couldn't hold it off any longer.

"I was 19. An apprentice chef. I lived at home still because I didn't earn enough to move out. I was doing something mundane, like hanging the laundry out when this thing jumped over our fence. It was mangy, scrawny, looked diseased. At first I thought it was a dog but it didn't look right, it's limbs were too long, the head too wide. It attacked me. Bit me above my ankle. There is a scar there now. I fought it off. It must have been dying because I got rid of it pretty quickly. I was screaming, hysterical, even after it had run away. I went to hospital. The wound healed. I started to feel different. I didn't tell anyone about the heightened senses. I thought it was shock form the attack. My first change happened almost six months after the attack. I was walking home from work when I felt this cramp in my stomach. I thought I had food poisoning or something. I ended up in a carpark crouched behind someone's car. I spent the next four years in that form. My mind just blanked, completely forgot that I had ever been human. I lived on the outskirts of cities, eating garbage. I probably attacked more then one human. I killed other werewolves when I came across them. Ran when they were stronger then me. At one point I hadn't eaten in at least a week. I was wounded from a fight, I thought I was dying. So I found a suitable place to curl up and die. I must have changed back into my human form, too weak to stay as a wolf. I woke up in a women's shelter. Someone had found me, naked and battered. They nursed me back to health and helped me get a job and here I am, a functional member of society."

He was frowning, absorbing the cliff notes version of my history. I hoped I had told him enough for him to realise I was unstable, feral.

"Usually when new wolves go feral they don't regain their senses. You are strong."

"Strength would be not going feral in the first place."

"You are trying to push me away. It won't work."

"I told you my past. I listened to your sales pitch. My decision hasn't changed." He opened his mouth but I cut off whatever he had been planning to say. "I want you to leave."

"Now." I added when he made no attempt to get off the bed.

The bed shifted as his weight lifted from it. "You don't have a choice in this. I'm going against my every innate urge to not force this. I'm giving you space even though it's driving me crazy. Do not think for a second that means you are not my mate. I will not let you walk away from me." his voice shook with restrained anger, but contrary to his words he picked up his clothes and left my bedroom. I remained in bed tracking his movements through my house until he let himself out the front door. I didn't sleep until long after he had gone.

::: :::

I hope my neighbours hadn't woken up uncharacteristically early this morning. And just in case someone was watching my driveway in this pre dawn hour I schooled my features to display shock and revulsion. A deer slaughtered and dragged onto my doorstep, his scent all over the animal. What the hell was this? A threat or werewolf flirting? I looked at the houses surrounding my own, no lights on yet, I propped my door open and dragged the carcass inside. I would have to think of a way to dispose of it away from prying eyes.

I had to assume he had found the deer carcass gift I had disposed of in the parkland outside the city limits because no more dead animals turned up on my doorstep. Instead every morning I received something new. Flowers, chocolates, books, shoes, underwear. I left them all on the porch, hoping he would get the hint and stop sending them. The annoyance of the fumbled, unwanted courtship coupled with the heated, needy yearning of my body left my irritable and surly. I was currently taking a forced leave from work, even though they were currently understaffed, they didn't want me there, were scared of my constant changes of mood. Stupid male werewolves ruining my life again. I don't think I have many more chances to start afresh and I was tired of moving. Every time I did a more troublesome wolf would enter my life. A wolf more annoying then the one currently stalking me I couldn't even begin to imagine and didn't want to chance meeting. The male was leaving he presents for me without having any direct contact with me. His scent was clear around my townhouse, he wanted me to come to him. He was the dominant and I should be crawling on my belly to meet with his approval.

The week I had spent with the male had eased the constant ache in my body. Now it pulsated, sometimes mild and easy to ignore then a sudden flash of heat would sear my nerve endings, leaving me panting, raking blunt nails up and down my body. I have never masturbated as much as I have since meeting this wolf.

I kicked aside this mornings gift and stepped onto the porch, it was wrapped in plain white paper and smelled of bacon. What a waste. I really like bacon. I stretched quickly before jogging to the end of the street, I had been avoiding my usual running path, which took me through the nearby national park because I was certain that is where Mr. tall, dark and stalker was hiding out but today I found myself running along the familiar path. The surrounding forest was large, there was little chance of running across his stomping grounds. Or maybe my subconscious desperately wanted to see the domineering, irrational and seemingly devoted male.

My mind wandered as I ran, my feet choosing their own path. I had missed being in the park, the thickly forested area was large enough to be able to lose the commonly used hiking and running trails and run on my own in dense woods, I could run on two feet or four depending on my mood and never see another soul. Soon the sound of running water broke my train of thought. Small creeks ran the length of the park, sometimes naturally dammed and widening into cold, rocky lakes. The easily accessible ones closer to the carparks were heavily populated during summer. In Autumn not so much. I caught the sound of faint splashing and slowed down, instincts of a predator instantly changing to stalk. I crouched and glided towards the sound, only one swimmer, possibly doing lazy laps. I jumped and grabbed onto the lower branches of a tree, swinging myself up soundlessly and hiding in the low foliage. It gave me a perfect view of the male specimen swimming naked in the cold, clear water. I felt my cheeks heat up in a heavy blush. I should jump down, continue my run pretending I had never seen the male but I felt glued to the spot. If he caught me, which he surely would with the slightest change of wind direction, he would take it as an affirmation of his suit. He would drag me back to his territory without a second thought.

When the male slipped out of the water and stretched out on a large rock in the early morning sun I all but drank in the sight of him. One arm draped over his eyes the other resting dangerously low on his abdomen, resting almost innocently near his hip. His cock was half hard, I swallowed roughly as I watched it, the hand resting on his stomach made a slow tantalising path to his cock, gripping it firmly as he stroked himself slowly, almost lazily, as if he had all the time in the world to get off. A small mewl of protest caught in my throat at the thought. I was suddenly so light headed that crouching in a tree became dangerous. The soft exhales of breath and gentle grunts he released had my body throbbing.

"Baby, get out of that tree." My body tensed in surprise, momentarily losing balance. I had been watching the involuntary jerking of his hips so closely that I hadn't noticed him shifting his arm behind his head, shuttered eyes watching my hiding spot closely.

I felt myself jumping down, I had kicked off my shoes before conscious of my decision to join him. He made no attempt to move, only growling in approval as I continued to undress. When finally free of the heated confines of my running clothes I paused, knowing I shouldn't be doing this. This man was insufferable, he left me dead animals as presents. He wanted to take over my life, force me into a role of his choosing but I wanted him. The bite on my neck was calling me to him. More then the way his cock managed to cure aches I didn't know I had. He had known my motivations when selling his life to me. It rankled but it was true. I could be a cold hearted bitch and that was exactly what he wanted.

I looked down at him, no longer touching himself, he was waiting for me to make my move.

"This doesn't mean anything." I said grudgingly. Dropping down beside him, my face level with his throbbing cock, I nuzzled it gently before popping the tip into my mouth, sucking gently. I swiped my tongue across the head, lapping up the pearly drops that were seeping out. The throbbing of my body wouldn't allow me to continue this slow torture for much longer. I moved up his body, pausing at sensitive male nipples to give them both harsh nips, revelling in his soft groans.

"You're being strangely compliant." I muttered against his neck.

"I could say the same for you." I wanted to roll my eyes, instead I rubbed my cheek against his ever present stubble. I moved my lips across his, biting harshly and when he opened his mouth to my teasing kisses I drew his tongue into my mouth and sucked softly. Shifting my hips I reached down to guide his member to my entrance, sliding it against my folds before tucking the thick head inside and sliding down onto him completely. His hands gripped my hips roughly, nails digging into sensitive skin. I bit down on his lips again as a sign of domination and braced my hands on his abdomen as I began to rock onto him.

I had always wanted control during sex and even though their positions allowed for deep, hard thrusts I couldn't reach the pleasure I had received when he had dominated me, I let out a soft growl of annoyance, of course I would have him right where I wanted him and he would do something to ruin it. The hands at my hips shifted, instead of holding, he was now guiding. Pushing me up and dragging me down onto his shaft, angling his hips to reach further inside me, pulling me down so I was filled completely.

"Touch your nipples. Pinch them." I lifted my hands to my chest, no longer needing to brace myself since he had taken control. I rolled my darkened nubs between my thumb and forefinger, pinching down harshly when his thrusts increased in tempo. I leaned down over him, my breasts bouncing in front of his face with each upward thrust. He littered them with bites and kisses before one hand forced my head down to his, crushing our lips together in a desperate kiss. Every muscle in my body was tensing in anticipation, my vaginal muscles clamped down hard, spasming around his still thrusting cock, his deep thrusts began to lose rhythm and each shallow jerk of his hips sent me into another mini orgasm. I must have blacked out, I woke up and the sun has shifted in the sky. If I decide not to go with him I will definitely miss this.

"You actually passed out this time." Came the laughing voice from beside me.

"It doesn't mean anything."

"I've heard that before."

"I should go."

"Do you really want to keep doing this? You run. I chase. You start a new life. I destroy it. We have amazing sex. You deny it."

"You're right, we should stop."

"The only way I'm going to stop is if you come home with me to our territory." I picked up my clothes, redressing hastily.

"Somebody is watching." I muttered, having felt curious eyes on me since I woke up.

"Chase, what are you doing here?" His anger directed at the trees on the other side of the lake.

The man who emerged from the trees and made his way hastily towards them was rough looking. Tall and built with an almost wolf like movement even when he was human. Savage, terrifying and he had probably just watched me having sex with his alpha.

"You are needed back at the territory."

"I'm busy."

"You cannot keep neglecting your duties." My mate growled in response and the other, larger man backed away. "There has been another incident. Closer to home. News crews." He growled again, this time his anger directed elsewhere.

"Fine let's go." He seemed to forget my very existence, through hooded eyes I watched them leave, I watched Chase glance back at me but my lover didn't even spare me a glance.

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The forest rushed by in a blur. Uneven terrain hurdled by, small animals scattered before me. I didn't pause, ran as if the devil himself were chasing me down. He very well could be. The itchiness, hyper aware, supersensitive, crawling skin I felt when he was near but not touching had come back with a vengeance. I tried to run the feeling off, he was not here. Could not be here. The mark from their ill fated mating had healed to nothingness months ago, he hadn't tried to find me since then. Remembering the other close encounters I had with the male left me nervous, a wave of fresh tingles slid across my body as a counterpart. The encounters at least were always exciting.

A flash of fur to my right alerted me to his presence. The bolt of longing that shot through me at the sight of him made me stumble. I shook my head roughly to dispel the feeling and angled more to the left. The wolf by my side had disappeared again. Whenever the male showed in my peripheral vision I jerked in the other direction like startled prey. The comparison rankled within, along with the knowledge that my body was on fire. Adrenaline, need, desire I should not feel with the mating mark gone. Then suddenly stopping, digging my claws into the ground to maintain balance. Realisation hit me like dirt in my mouth. He was herding me, and anywhere he wanted me to go I did not want to be.

My heart continued racing, then freezing, then picking up again. Fast, slow, fast, slow. Anticipation. Nerves. I have not seen him in four months. Had not expected him to reappear after the mark on my neck had disappeared. Relief warred with disappointment every time I thought of it.

I have travelled a lot in my life. Had never found a place to settle, whenever I came across other werewolves I would run. My rudimentary knowledge of my kind had led me to believe that we were a solitary species who only tolerated the companionship of our mates. Packs were rare and volatile It would take a lot to keep a large number of creatures who all possessed brute strength and a need to prove themselves, in line.

He emerged from the woods in his human form, naked. Confident. I remained in my wolf form, my muscles tense, ready to move. Whether to run or attack I hadn't decided yet.

"So stubborn." He stopped, leaving a large amount of space between us. "It's time for you to come home." If I were human I would have scoffed, instead a thick string of saliva dripped from my jaws to the ground. "What if you are pregnant? Do you want our child to be displaced like you?"

He was clutching at straws, we both knew I wasn't pregnant. What I didn't understand was why he was pitching this to me again. We had been over this months before.

"You are mad because I left. I understand but it was urgent business. Business you would have been included in if you had joined my pack."

Of course, this is my fault, I thought. I shook my head. I had no intention of fighting this any longer it's just that his methods made me see red. If he hadn't tried to herd me where he wanted we wouldn't even be having a one sided argument right now.

"I'm trying to do this the nice way, but this is your last chance. Run from me again and I will drag you back to my territory. This chase is long over and I am the dominant wolf in this pairing. I will show you your place and you will enjoy the submission." I growled at his threat, turning and running from the clearing. Despite all his words he didn't try to follow me.

::: ::: :::

I finished packing the car quickly, I didn't have many belongings that I wanted to bring with me. Mainly clothed and the contents of my kitchen. I had broken my lease early and forfeited the bond but it didn't matter, I needed to be at my destination early I had an interview for an apprentice chef position at 10am. It had taken me one week to get everything organised. I hasn't seen or heard from him in that time, and he definitely wasn't the type to make empty threats. Not that it mattered. I was going to him. He was right. I needed to be with my own kind. The time I had spent with him, not hiding anything about myself had been cathartic, when he left and I had to go back to pretending to be human, something I had found to be so easy before, now became a tiresome chore. I had been planning to move even before he had tried to herd me into his territory. I had purposely run close to where we had first met to get a feel for my new homes forest, and to maybe catch a glimpse of him.

The interview had gone well, even with my distracted mind I had managed to secure a trial. The restaurant wasn't anything fancy. Just a BBQ restaurant specialising in ribs and steaks. The owner had made a point of warning that previous chefs had quit because of the workload. A restaurant that specialised in ribs with a werewolf pack nearby, of course the place would be busy. I sighed, heading back to my car, I hadn't organised a place to live yet. A foolish part of my brain thought that I could just track down the bane of my existence and tell him he had a new roomie. The rational part knew that I had to find a place of my own if I wanted to continue having any self respect. With that in mind I drove around looking for a real estate agent.

The minute I crossed the invisible line into his territory the tension had started to build. A giddy, welcome tension. I keep wondering how long it would take for him to find me and what would happen once he did. I had goosebumps sliding up and down my arms that had nothing to do with the cool weather. I spent the next three hours driving around after a real estate agent looking at prospective properties. I decided on a small one bedroom cottage set on the edge of the suburbia I had tramped through naked six months prior. The cottage was being marketed as an artists retreat and had once been an outpost for park rangers before they moved to better facilities elsewhere. I didn't care about any of that. It was private, it came furnished, it was perfect. I drove back to the real estate to fill out the rental application forms.

It would take a couple of days for the real estate to get back to me about the cottage so I stopped by a drive through for a snack and made my way to a familiar motel. I wasn't coming here for sentimental reasons. It was cheap and I technically didn't have a job at the moment.

::: ::: :::

One. Two. Three. Four. It had been four days since I moved. I had started work, moved into the cottage, gone hunting in the woods, familiarised myself with the streets of the city I currently called home and still he had yet to make an appearance. What type of 'Alpha' wolf let others roam their territory unchecked? I shifted back into my human form and left the forest, trudging back to my little home. Work had been brutal, I could only assume wolves had come in to eat that night, it had been so busy I couldn't even peek out of the kitchen to check. I had stayed back to clean up the kitchen, the place had been eaten clean out. Usually I could take the leftovers home, but not tonight. Too tired to cook anything I decided to go hunting for my dinner, it also helped to clear off some of the nervous tension running through my body. The chase and kill had helped run off some of the wound up muscles and nerves but did nothing to ease the tension. My body was wound bow string tight, ready to snap. Dissolve. Explode. It could be because his scent was everywhere in the forest. Deep seeded in most places around town. I stepped into my house, making a bee line for the shower wanting to wash the blood from my skin and crawl into bed.

The shower was tiny. The water pressure was rubbish but at least it had an endless hot water tank. I closed my eyes and leaned my head into the spray of water sighing in contentment.

"Damn, I thought you only made those noises for me."

I may have screamed, tried to jump, crashed into a body. I opened my eyes only to get shampoo in them. Hands steadied me, pulled soapy hair away from my face and gently pushed me back under the spray. Strong hands gently massaged the soap from my hair before grabbing conditioner and running it through my hair. Once my heart settled down I peeked my eyes open.

"It's usually a lot harder to sneak up on me." I muttered, watching the water make trails down his chest and stomach. He groaned and brushed his body against mine, his erection touching my stomach briefly before he moved me back under the spray.

"I went to your last apartment and found it empty. I came back home to start tracking you and your scent was everywhere. I thought I was going crazy. Chase told me you were here." He left off, clearly expecting an explanation.

"I want to give this a go."

"This?"

"Being part of a pack. Being with my own kind."

"Is that all?" He started playing with a tendril of my hair, curling it around his finger, I leaned in close, rubbing my breasts against his chest, scraping my teeth against his neck. He growled all gentleness forgotten as he roughly pushed me against the cool tile wall. Grabbing my butt hard and lifting me from the ground, I wrapped my legs around his hips and helped guide him into me. It had been four long, lonely months and I just about exploded at the first rough thrust. By the time we were finished the hot water I had thought to be inexhaustible had run cold and the muscles of my vagina felt locked up. He eased out of my tender flesh and carried me to bed, he crawled in behind me and nuzzled the fresh mark he had made on my neck. I squirmed, turning in his tight embrace, eyes closed and sleepy I nosed my way towards the junction of his throat, knowing where to go by instinct. His whole body was tensed.

"This still doesn't mean anything." I muttered jokingly before biting down, claiming him as my own. I lapped at the small droplets of blood before falling off into a satiated sleep.

A/N: I really should just combine chapter 2 and 3. So this started as an experiment in descriptive style and you can really see that in the first chapter but I lost the voice in the subsequent chapters. This chapter is purposely jumpy, I wanted to convey a feeling of urgency, not too sure if it worked. This is also just an aside to a longer story I wrote in tandem. It involves Chase and the pack and more about pack life. Undecided on whether I should post it.
Thank you to everyone who read this story, favourited and reviewed, hope I didn't let you all down.