Denouement
AEGIS
----
Three weeks.
That’s how long it took her to wake up.
The days crawled by, and with each passing hour, I hated myself more and more. What sort of Alpha just turns his back on a rogue werewolf?
I hadn’t been in my right mind… but that was barely an excuse. I was trying to hold it together, in front of the other two Alphas. My Beta had just run off with our dying Chief of Police, a person of importance to all of the packs, and Lawrence had left with him.
Still excuses, and barely even good ones, at that.
I had stupidly thought the thing was dead, that Rudy had killed it, being in his own first shift. I shouldn’t have assumed. I should’ve checked. That was the smart thing to do.
But with Sylvia in danger, the kids missing, Rudy nearly getting shot when he’d tore out of that trailer like a bat out of hell…
Excuses, I told myself repeatedly, bitterly and angrily.
The worst, of course, was the kids.
“Will Mama get better?” Lucy- vibrant, sweet, ridiculous Lucy- had become reserved. Quiet. Fewer and fewer words were spoken with each passing day that Sylvia slept and healed.
“She’s fine, sweetheart,” I told her, kneeling next to her. We were in the room we’d prepared for Sylvia, in case she turned. A room Jade had built on a whim- like a panic room, but for werewolves- was now her prison. Every day, Lucy brought flowers to place in a vase next to Sylvia’s bed.
“Does she need an IV?” Collin was the one holding up the best. He could sense what was changing in his mother. The Alpha gene in him was strong; we’d already begun some training.
“No,” I said. “The virus in her body will reject it. She’s healing faster on her own than she would with the help of a hospital.”
“Then why hasn’t she woken up?” This, the most miserable of the three of them, was Dylan. The life had gone out of him, and nothing I could think to say was any help. The only thing that could bring him out of the darkness of self-loathing- much like myself- was his mother.
Ivy healed up and was back on her feet, complete with a massive scar that stretched across her face, in less time than it took Sylvia to wake up. She, along with Brittani, came to visit as often as they could.
“Stupid idiot,” Brittani said, sitting by her side and looking miserable. “Stupid, brave idiot.”
Ivy had just nodded.
I was surprised, therefore, when I walked into her room one day a short time after dropping off the kids to find her sitting in bed, staring toward a window, lost in thought.
I stood there, frozen, on the threshold of the room. Sylvia didn’t move, but the sunlight glittered in her red hair, washed by Jade and my mother in turns. Her green eyes glowed with that faint in-between of the werewolf gene, and every fiber of my being hummed eagerly in her direction.
You don’t deserve her, a miserable voice whispered in my mind. You let her get hurt.
“I’m a werewolf, aren’t I?”
I shouldn’t have been surprised that Sylvia knew I was there. Even in human form, her hearing would be amplified, her strength, her smell. Everything was different now.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
She turned her head to me, and it was as though the sun had risen at last. She smiled, and warmth filled my bones for the first time in… a while. “How long was I out?”
I moved slowly toward her bedside, careful not to startle her. I saw her muscles tense, and she rolled her shoulders, frowning and looking confused at her own involuntary reaction.
“Three weeks,” I said.
Sylvia’s eyes widened, horror glittering in the depths of those soon-to-be lantern eyes. “Three weeks?!”
“Yeah.”
She groaned and dropped her face in her hands. “God, the bills… There’s no way I’ll have enough money with how little I worked for you. Even with the aid Rudy managed to snag me, there’s no way that’s covered food-“
“Don’t worry.” I gently took her hand, giving a very small, slow squeeze. “Relax, Sylvia. You haven’t shifted yet. I’ve been taking care of everything.”
Her head snapped up, and she looked horrified. Even still, she was the most beautiful being I had ever seen.
“Oh, Aegis,” she breathed, grabbing my arm. The skin tingled where she touched me. “I’m so sorry, you- no. That’s not right.”
“Isn’t it?” I tilted my head, taking in the sight of her, breathing in her slightly modified scent. “What sort of mate would I be, Sylvia, if I left your family to suffer?”
“Aegis, we haven’t even been on a date yet,” she said, lip trembling. “It’s not right for me to use you like this when we’ve only kissed… what, twice? Three times?”
“Something I need to rectify,” I said dryly.
“Aegis, seriously. It’s not right-“
“I nearly watched you die.”
Sylvia’s beautiful face fell. There were freckles across her nose, and they stood out sharply, beautifully, in the afternoon sunlight filling the room. “That was not your fault.”
“Of course it was.” I frowned. “I should’ve known better. I should’ve had Paul stay with you. I should’ve had better walkie talkies. I should’ve had the FBI stay with you. I should have done a thousand and one things that I didn’t do, so eager was I to use our numbers to try to comb the woods.” Bitterness filled me. “I failed you.”
“Aegis.” Her voice was soft like silk and birdsong. “I don’t blame you for this.” She paused. “How are my babies?”
“They’re completely fine,” I said softly. “They’re scared and they miss you, though. Lucy suffered a cold after we brought her in, but she’s on the mend. Dylan’s taking this the hardest.”
“Oh, Dylan,” she sighed, looking dismayed. “I have to see them.” She looked at me, suddenly concerned. “Can I see them?”
“I’m sorry, Sylvia. Not until after you shift at least once.”
Dismay filled her features, and she looked down, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. “No, of course. That makes total sense. Have… have to make sure I don’t… hurt my own children.”
“At least you won’t have to wait long,” I said, trying to sound positive. “Tonight is the full moon.”
She looked up at me, startled. “You mean I… I have to shift? So soon?”
“I know. If it were up to me, I’d have loved if you’d woken up last week, or even just yesterday.”
She squeezed my hand, and I took hers in both of mine, dwarfing it. “Oh,” she breathed, looking off in the distance. “I’m not… ready.” She stared off for a moment, before turning back to me. “How are the kids doing otherwise?”
“Good.” I loved the way the sun lit her eyes, now. “They’re doing all right. They’re in school right now, but they’ll be ecstatic to hear you’ve woken up.”
“And… and Rudy?” Her voice trembled as she brought him up.
I snorted. “Rudy’s fine,” I said, giving her a crooked grin. “If anything, the old man’s beat the world record for fastest shift mastery. We think it was because of Collin: he called out to Rudy, and Rudy- not the beast- answered.”
“I’m so glad,” Sylvia breathed, shoulders relaxing in relief. “Where is he?”
“Probably out shopping with my mother,” I muttered. “They’ve become oddly close.”
Sylvia’s eyebrows shot up. “What, Leanne? Leanne and Rudy? Seriously?”
“They’ve bonded over their shared grief.”
“Didn’t see that coming,” Sylvia murmured. She looked up at me. “Aegis… I’m sorry.”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Apart from running head long into a werewolf, you mean.”
I chuckled bitterly. “I admit, I wasn’t very happy when I heard about that.”
She winced, her face wrinkling prettily. “Not my best plan, but it had Annie.” She looked suddenly worried. “Where is the rogue?”
I blanched. “I… I killed him.”
“Aegis!”
“Post-mortem confirmed what the rest of us all sensed,” I said, holding up a hand. “He was lost.”
Her face fell again. “Too long as a rogue, then?”
“Yes. He’d gone from Los Angeles to Oregon on a deadly killing spree. Too much blood, too much violence, too long in that raw, primal form. His original identity had been consumed by the virus; I couldn’t stop him. He fought straight to the death.”
“What a shame,” she whispered. “His poor family.”
“I spoke with them.” A small wave of regret flooded me. “It’s hard to really regret what I did, after I saw him throw you like a ragdoll.” I shuddered. “I thought… I thought I’d lost you.”
She smiled, small and wry. “Takes a lot more than a bite to take me out.”
“And I am glad for it.”
We sat and stared at each other for a long while, and I raised a hand to touch her cheek. She leaned into it, and it felt as if my fingertips were grazing the sun, golden and warm and full of life.
“Aegis,” she whispered, and my heartrate picked up. “Everything feels so strange, now.”
“Strange, how?” I brushed my fingers across her skin, and she hummed softly.
“Everything is so much more intense,” she said, eyes closed. “Every touch is… more. It’s so hard to explain; like the difference between hot and cold.”
I chuckled. “Wait until you shift. I’ve been told the world changes entirely; you’ll see better in the dark, hear better, and everything will taste much more strongly.”
“And I’ll have a hankering for meat.”
I laughed. “That is true, yes.”
She shifted and turned in the bed, so she could lean her head against me. I wrapped my arm around her and trailed shapes along her arms.
“What now, Aegis?” She said softly. “I can’t see my kids until I gain form mastery?”
“Essentially, yes. I think tonight will make a large difference, however.”
“Why is that?”
“It’s the full moon, remember?”
----
Once word got out that Sylvia had woken up, visitors came flooding in, even if they couldn’t actually see her until after she’d shifted.
Ivy was allowed in on the caveat that she Paul came in together. This wasn’t difficult, as Paul had been trailing after Ivy constantly since her injury.
“Oh, Ivy!” Sylvia said, eyes widening as she took in her best friend’s altered appearance. “Your face!”
Three enormous, jagged lines of scar tissue stretched from one side of her face, across her nose, and onto the other. Even so, Ivy was grinning as she sat at the edge of Sylvia’s bed; she looked as though she wanted to grab her in a hug, but that wasn’t quite safe.
“I think it looks pretty good,” she said, laughing. “Paul says it gives me an air of intimidation.”
“I’ll say,” Sylvia said, bursting into laughter. “Imagine going in to question someone with scars like that!”
“Took on a werewolf and lived,” Paul grunted, equal parts proud and anxious. “Never thought she’d be that foolish- or you, for that matter, Sylvia.”
“What can I say, except that I never disappoint?” Ivy joked.
Brittani and Lawrence came by later with food, which Sylvia saw and just about inhaled.
“Thought you’d want steak,” Brittani said wryly, sitting next to her one-time friend. “I’m glad you’re alive, Sylvia, but you have slept way too long.”
“Best sleep I’ve had in eleven years,” Sylvia admitted, pausing between bites. “I feel like a living garbage disposal. It goes in, and I think it just disappears.”
“I could not be more angry with you,” Brittani said suddenly, expression filled with disdain.
“What? Why? What did I do, now?”
“Because you are all anyone’s been talking about. As if I didn’t have enough of that to deal with, now the other two packs are singing your praises up and down the shopping district, too!”
Sylvia blinked, then burst into laughter. “You’re ridiculous!”
“And I can’t even disagree with them.” Brittani’s expression turned sour. “You saved my daughter. You put your life on the line for her.”
My Sylvia sobered up. “You did the same for mine, Britt. You took all of them with you.”
“I’m sorry.” This was Lawrence, and we all looked to him. He was graver than usual, which was impressive. “I am sorry to both of you.”
“There is nothing-“ I started to say, but he gave me an acidic look.
“You are my Alpha,” Lawrence said. “What you say is law… but I have a lot to be sorry for. Don’t try to deny that.”
I shook my head, but said nothing.
“I didn’t want to accept that you were Alpha.” Lawrence was quiet. “I didn’t want to accept that being an Alpha meant making the decisions your father had had to make.”
“We’re only human,” Sylvia said, then winced. “Well. Sort of.”
“The point is,” Lawrence continued, “I became obsessed with the idea of changing how things are done. I could be a better Alpha, if I could just be given a chance.” His face fell. “Watching you at that glade, knowing what you went through, the choices you had to make… I’m sorry. I would much rather be the Omega.”
“That’s a relief to me,” I said, “because you’re exceptionally good at your job, Lawrence.”
“Tell me about it,” Brittani said, before sighing. “We brought some food. Hang tight tonight. If you can get through that first shift without causing too much property damage, you can probably see the kids tomorrow.”
Sylvia nodded, and I saw the anxiety in her face. She wanted to see them so, so badly.
Rudy and my mother visited shortly after, bearing yet more snacks.
“Oh, you look gorgeous,” my mother gushed as she held Sylvia’s blushing face. “Oh, being a werewolf suits you.”
“Mom,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “That feels like something you shouldn’t say.”
“No, she’s right,” Rudy said, looking fondly at Sylvia. “Hey, kiddo. You look good.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Rudy,” Sylvia said, smiling at him. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Guess there’s still work for me to do, huh?”
“I’ll say,” my mother said, a twinkle in her glowing eyes. “For starters, my heater still needs fixing!”
Rudy snorted. “I’m telling you, Leanne, it’d be far better for you to call a professional at this point, before I set the building on fire!”
“Nonsense! If you’re going to be looking after my Sylvia, you need to have some skills in that head of yours! Proper skills!”
“Your Sylvia? I was the one who saved her, thank you!”
Sylvia laughed in delight. “I didn’t think you two would get so close!”
My mother huffed, but still there was that twinkle. “What can I say? He’s good company, I suppose, even if he is a first generation werewolf.”
“I am too, Leanne,” Sylvia teased.
“Yes, but you’ve given me the gift of grandkids,” my mother said, waving her hand flippantly. She winked at me. “Or at least, you will, once the two of you have gotten married and I can legally spoil those delightful children of yours.”
“I’m proud of you, kiddo,” Rudy said, as my mother bustled around and prepared to leave. He patted Sylvia’s head. “Your parents would be incredibly proud of you, too.”
Sylvia just nodded, eyes wet with unshed tears. She hugged him once as he left, nearly breaking his back to do so and apologizing profusely while my mother laughed in delight.
“What will the kids do tonight?” She asked, once our guests had left.
“They’ll most likely stay in with Jade, Ivy, and Paul,” I said. “That’s been their usual setup lately. The back fence in your yard has been fixed,” I added dryly.
Sylvia chuckled. “I used to use that to sneak out.”
“And do what, borrow a book at the library?”
She burst into laughter, a beautiful sound. “Maybe. I just liked the idea of sneaking out, which is probably why my parents pretended not to notice.”
We fell silent, and her expression softened.
“What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“When all of this is done,” she said, suddenly quiet, “I want to… visit them.” She glanced at me. “Their graves… I mean. I never… I wasn’t there.”
For the funeral, my brain finished for me. “Of course,” I said. “We can bring some fresh flowers.”
I sat with her as the afternoon drifted into evening. The shadows lengthened, the sunlight becoming golden honey in her hair, her eyes like the leaves on a beautiful tree in the summer.
“What are you thinking about?” She asked. She was getting more and more nervous as nighttime approached.
“You,” I answered automatically, my eyes roaming over her face. I worked to keep myself in check, though sitting with her alone in a room was beginning to become difficult for me to ignore. “You are beautiful.”
“I am the same as ever,” she said, laughing. “A tired mom of three.”
“No.” I leaned forward and lifted her chin, kissing her deeply, my mouth moving against hers. I nearly had to rip myself away, so desperately did I want her. “You are more beautiful than ever.”
She blinked a few times, adorably and sweetly disconcerted. “Do you know,” she said, after a moment, “that this was what I’d dreamed of as a teenager?”
“What?”
“Becoming a werewolf.” She blushed, her cheeks turning a gorgeous pink and making her freckles jump out. Perfection. “I dreamed of one day waking up, magically a werewolf, and then the full moon would approach, and we’d know we were fated mates.”
I grinned. “More of a possibility now than not.”
“What if we’re not mates?” She asked suddenly. “What if that moon casts its light on us, and nothing happens?”
“I’d forsake my mate a thousand times if it meant having you,” I said. “I’ll do it on the spot. If you’re not my fated mate, then I don’t want one.”
“I probably won’t even know,” she said weakly, and I felt her grip tighten subconsciously on mine. “I’ll be an uncontrolled werewolf.”
“You’ll know,” I said. “If anything, it’ll help with the form mastery.”
“You think?”
“Why not? There’s quite a bit of research that supports it.”
She hummed. “I suppose… we’ll find out, won’t we?”
----
Nighttime came all too quickly, and yet it seemed to take years. We talked, and then she napped some, and I watched the emotions dance across her features, her eyes equal parts bright with laughter, embarrassment, and joy. I tasted her scent, drank in the sight of her awake and so healthy and so at peace.
I checked the locks on the doors as it began to get darker, moving things around so Sylvia was less likely to break the important stuff, should her first shift be too uncontrolled. She became progressively quieter as time slipped by, moving to sit so her legs dangled over the edge.
“Whatever happens,” she said, voice soft as I returned to her side, “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I will always be here,” I said.
We watched through a window as the sun disappeared, and the night deepened. All too suddenly- too quickly, too slowly- moonlight began to filter in across the floor.
“There it is,” Sylvia whispered. The glow in her eyes was deepening. “I can feel… I can feel it calling to me.”
“Try not to fight it,” I warned. “It’ll go a lot easier and hurt a lot less.”
She nodded, tense, and tried to roll her shoulders loose.
It happened suddenly. Sylvia stood up out of the bed, tensed, and her muscles spasmed. The moon called to me, begged me to shift- but I held true. I kept my form, because it was the one she’d recognize the best. Her body doubled over, and I wanted so badly to help her… but I couldn’t. She had to do this on her own. She did, too; in moments, she straightened, confusion and fear and pain filling her very new, lupine features.
Sylvia’s fur was the same red as her hair, and she had a lithe, narrow shape to her face. Her eyes were closed, but as the moonlight filled the room and danced across her new form, she opened them, and our eyes locked.
All the world shifted. The ground fell out from under my feet, and the moon was replaced, finally, with the object I had always known would be the center of my world. Love, desire, hope, need- it flooded me. I looked at Sylvia, and I saw her own eyes widen. The confusion of the shift faded, and I saw those same emotions reflected back at me in her emerald green eyes.
All that beauty, all that wit… all that intelligence, that determination, that drive.
“My Sylvia,” I breathed, my voice rougher and lower.
“Aegis.” Her voice was awkward and slow, new muscles tough to move. “Aegis?”
“It’s me, Sylvia.” I reached out to cup her face. “Can you shift back? Relax; everything is okay. Everything will be okay.”
“Aegis,” she breathed, and pushed her face against mine. She breathed in my scent, and I tasted her’s on my tongue, and oh how I loved her. How the world turned on its axis for her, how everything worked only because she was there…
“Try,” I breathed, running my fingers through her new, red fur. “Try, Sylvia.”
She hummed, her voice deeper and more gravelly and uncertain. Several moments ticked by as she let me hold her… and then she shuddered. I stared at her, stepped back, and watched in total shock as she slowly shifted back into her human form. Each limb popped back into place; the fur shrank back slowly, fading into her hair. She gasped, lantern eyes lighting up the night as she looked back at me.
Neither of us said anything for a long time. My blood stirred, and oh, I how I loved her.
“That’s got to be a record,” I said finally. My voice was husky.
“Most likely,” she breathed. “I’m still… I’m…” She shook her head. “Wow.” Her green eyes were on mine. “It’s like… everything has shifted. All the confusion melted away when I saw you.”
I cupped her face in my hands. “I always knew.”
“Liar.” She smiled, and then kissed me, her mouth moving eagerly against mine. I ran my hands through her hair, and the need grew in me, grew as it had before everything had gone south.
“Aegis,” she breathed, her own fingers moving to drag through my hair. “Aegis. I love you.”
I gripped her, and for a moment, I was afraid I’d hurt her- but she gripped me back, and I had to remind myself that just moments ago, she’d been a werewolf.
“I love you,” I said, and then I picked her up and carried her back to bed.