She was attracted to him, Gabby thought, as she walked through the garden looking for weeds.
It wasn't just that Dominic was handsome, and he was at that. But his personality was attractive. He had a natural allure. It had been a month since she had found him. He was still very weak, but he was starting to get restless. She could tell. He would look at maps and stare out the window speculatively, longingly. He would look at her strangely from time to time, when she walked in to give him his food or to simply sit with him. She didn't understand those looks, but didn't ask him about them either.
Then the day came that she figured out what he was.
It happened on the day before the full moon. She woke up to the noise of screaming and was instantly reminded of the day she had been led to him by his cries. She barreled from her room, toward his. But when she opened his door she froze.
On his bed was a roiling mass of blankets, fur, and claws. At first she thought some kind of animal had attacked him, but then she realized there was only one thing in the bed...and it was Dominic. But it wasn't Dominic. He was straining and snarling. She could hear joints popping and the sound of snapping making her wince. After what seemed like forever, while she stood in the doorway, the movement stopped. He lay in his bed panting and then, as though sensing that she was there, his eyes opened and moved to her.
She gasped. His eyes were the same – a brownish yellow. But his face...it had changed. He no longer looked much like a man, but more like a beast. His nose had lengthened and formed a long muzzle, sharp pointed ears turned this way and that, and his entire body was covered in fur with the ragged remains of clothing on him still. But he didn't look like a true wolf. He looked as though he was in the between stages of wolf and man. A hybrid.
He whined softly and she started, moving back. But then something in his eyes stopped her. His eyes were filled with pain. She hesitated a moment and then slowly, walked forward. He watched her, with no expression on his lupine face. She held out her hand and he stared at it for a moment before leaning his head into it and sighing. She relaxed and then sat down on his bed, stroking him. She thought maybe she was in shock. A werewolf? But werewolves didn't exist. Everybody knew that. But when she looked at him, she couldn't deny the truth. He wasn't fully human, that was for sure.
After allowing her to stroke him for a while, he gave a jaw-breaking yawn and lay back down, his frame so much bigger now, that he nearly didn't fit. She watched his eyes slit and then lay down beside him. He seemed startled for a moment and then hummed his acceptance. She smiled and drifted into sleep, feeling his fur and body heat warm at her back.
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She continued to surprise him. He would never have shown her his lycanthrope form had he any choice. But before he had been able to get outside to change, it had overtaken him. And it was horrible. Usually his change was instantaneous and only slightly uncomfortable. But this, this had been excruciating. He winced just thinking about it. His sickness must've affected his change. And he shuddered because it would happen again for another two nights.
He looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully next to him. She hadn't woken when the moon had disappeared and he had turned back. It had been a lot smoother than turning into his lycan form, so he hadn't woken her.
He remembered her running into his room, but he had been in so much pain that he hadn't looked at her. Not until it was over. The look in her eyes had been frightened and he couldn't blame her. Even his brother wolves would've winced at the painful change. But just as she had begun to leave, she had stopped. She seemed to have realized that he needed somebody, anybody to be with him. To comfort him. And she had. He could still feel her soft hand stroking his fur.
She stirred and then cuddled back to him. Her soft body molding into his muscular one. He groaned softly at the feel of her buttocks bumping into him. It had been a long time since he had had a woman. And he was deeply tempted by this one. But lycans rarely slept with humans. Humans were weaker and they didn't seem to appreciate it when lycans would lose control and bite and claw during climax.
Sighing, Dominic relaxed back into the bedcovers. Not being able to help himself, he buried his face into her long, blond hair and let himself sleep.
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Gabby woke up the next morning feeling warmer and cozier than she generally did. She lay for a moment, relaxed, enjoying the sensation. Then she remembered what was different. She was in Dominic's bed. And Dominic was apparently a werewolf. She shot upright and looked around.
He wasn't there.
She leapt out of bed, thinking maybe he had decided to leave now that she knew his secret. His sheets were still slightly warm though, so he couldn't have been gone long. She ran out of the room and toward the kitchen where she could hear voices and the smell of cooking bacon. She barreled into the kitchen about to ask her aunt if she had seen Dominic when she noticed him.
He was cooking and chatting with her uncle. And he was wearing an apron. Her mouth gaped open and she stared.
"Are you alright, dear?" her aunt asked, concerned. And Dominic and her uncle turned to look at her as well. She swallowed.
