Hector woke up with a start and groaned as the crick in his neck sent a jolt of pain up into his head at the sudden movement. Flexing his head left and right a few times took care of it though, as the sore muscles healed quickly and he sat up on the couch that had been his bed for the past 15 days. His thoughts tumbled through his head at an annoyingly sluggish pace as he realized that he was far from finishing the duty he had assigned himself and was not getting anywhere with his tactics.
From the very start, he'd noticed that Valery was not herself and had wondered at her behavior when she ran out of the cocktail party. His caution had increased however when, as he was driving her to the one private and secluded spot he knew of in that area, she'd suddenly shifted and turned into a wolf, ripping her beautiful dress to shreds. He'd been startled and had yelled in surprise as she'd extended her claws to swipe at him, growling menacingly like she didn't recognize him. The SUV had skidded to a stop as a result and he'd practically yanked the doors off their hinges in anger as he got out and opened one of the back doors so that he could restrain her; if she didn't want to behave, then he would have to convince her to in less than savory ways.
His plans had come crashing down when, as he opened her door, she'd jumped straight at his face with a snarl, making him duck quickly as she soared over his head and took off from the road and into the darkness, her howl fill the air. Hector had stared after her in shock and growing irritation; he really had little patience for out of control situations. But this was Valery he was dealing with and he'd grudgingly gone after her, racing through the darkness and tracing her scent until he found her, or rather found the wolf, pacing around in circles, snarling and growling. He'd approached her carefully, recognizing the madness he saw in the animal's eyes, having seen it in many a vampire's eyes, on numerous occasions. The wolf had stumbled around in the darkness, pausing every so often to growl as if it was in pain and he'd waited, all senses alert, ready to restrain her if she tried something as stupid as attacking him again.
Suddenly the animal had stopped and arched to howl up at the skies, its cry echoing through the night before it collapsed and the fur receded with its form lengthening to turn into Valery. He'd moved quickly then, listening to her beating heart and finding it regular. Hector had taken off his jacket to cover her naked form and carried her unconscious body back to the car, moving as fast as he could with his supernatural speed and driving like a maniac to reach the little cabin he'd had built centuries ago.
It was a sturdy structure built just for him. He'd bought the land over two centuries back and had brought his one and only sire to the cabin to teach her how to best control her abilities. She'd learned slowly, often letting her feral nature get the best of her and he'd been glad that the land was vast and isolated with woods to cover their activities as he'd had to restrain her many times. It seemed like the best place to bring Valery to after she'd displayed such uncharacteristic behavior and he'd had hope that he could help her as he did his sire, then.
It was 15 days later and while they'd made a little progress, Valery didn't seem to be getting much better. She was moody and changed, nothing like the woman he'd gotten to know before and while they'd established a routine of letting her animal out in the late evening, allowing the wolf to run and roam the plains and the woods as Hector followed at a safe distance, she still had instances where she'd lose control and try to get away from him. On many an occasion, he'd watched her hunt down and devour small woodland animals, an act that bespoke of the increased savagery and wildness of her beast and one he could barely stand to watch. No humans had crossed his territory in the 2 weeks however, and he was grateful that their stay there had remained inconspicuous.
The plus side was that she'd managed to establish enough control over her wilder nature and the random shifts had all but stopped, so long as she let the animal out at night. That was when it was most taxing. Granted, his wilder vampire nature loved the chases and the chance to catch his prey, but he hated that he'd often have to restrain her, trying to not hurt her but eventually doing just that as the wolf fought against him, trying to bite and claw its way out of his grip. Its whimpers of pain when he'd finally put a stop to its struggling would eat at him and he found he could barely sleep at night as he heard the girl's own whimpers coming from the bedroom upstairs even when she tried to muffle her crying into the pillow.
It was the same routine day in and out and he was getting frustrated. Valery would sleep fitfully whenever she dropped off and her constant tossing and turning was audible to him, frustrated him and ensured that he couldn't sleep as well.
He sat up on the couch as he heard her groaning, no doubt still asleep and fighting whichever demons appeared in her dreams. Glancing at the clock in the room, he noted it was coming to 6am and quickly made up his mind, standing up and climbing the short flight of stairs leading to the bedroom which he entered without knocking. He found her asleep, tucked underneath the covers with her hair spread out on the pillow beneath her head but even from his distance at the door, he could see the dried but visible tear streaks on her cheeks. His heart sank at the sight and he crossed the room quickly to sit on the bed beside her.
"Valery," he called quietly and lifted his hand to stroke her forehead as she started to stir. She was a light sleeper, he'd noticed over the weeks, and he was loath to disturb her but he couldn't wait any longer.
She opened her eyes, sleep clouding them for a few seconds before they cleared and he saw her focusing on him in the dark.
"Hector?" she asked with a frown, sitting up and angling herself so she could look at him. "What's going on? Is something wrong?"
"Well, yes and no," he said, chuckling softly as he saw the flash of irritation cross her face. She was certainly quick tempered and he found that irresistibly adorable.
"You need to learn to speak plainly. Especially if you're going to wake me up at ungodly hours of the-"
"It's 6am, Valery," he cut her off.
"Really?" she asked with a frown before she sighed heavily. He was well aware of the dark circles beneath her eyes and the tired, worn-out air that followed her around these days and that's what he planned to put a stop to, that day.
"Yeah, but I suppose I could have left you to have a few more hours of sleep before I woke you up," he said, feeling a little guilt grab his heart.
He'd gotten used to her pulling out uncommon emotions in him. From the time she'd turned his advances down nearly a decade ago, he'd taken a liking to her and had hoped to still stay in contact. While he'd gotten used to women falling into his arms pretty easily over the years, it also hadn't been the first time a girl had been wary of him and turned him down. She'd grown on him and he'd found himself liking their light friendship, even going as far as looking forward to their interactions whenever he was travelling into her city. But there was little he'd ever cared to know about wolves and she hadn't been willing to share, so he'd found himself in a position where he was unable to offer a solution to her problems.
"Yeah, I guess so, but I wasn't having a very...enthralling dream so I'm glad you woke me up," she said, interrupting his thoughts. "What's on your mind?"
He gave her a small smile, rather glad that he'd found her in one of the rare moments when she was a bit more like her old self and more reasonable.
"I have to go back into the city today," he said, watching her face closely for reactions.
"Uh, okay. You don't need my permission for that, Hector. I've been fine during the day for nearly a week now."
"No, you haven't. You've been moody and quick to anger," he responded, looking directly at her, knowing she'd read his stern facial expression even in the dim light. Werewolves' eyesight was almost as good as that of vampires. "I need to know that you won't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"Yeah...yeah, sorry about that, but I won't. I'm not exactly stupid, you know" she said calmly, trying to be polite but he could see her bristling underneath at his words and the indignation in her tone was audible. "Will you be back before nightfall, though?"
"About that," he said, choosing his words carefully. "I don't think our routine is working, your progress is very slow and-"
"But I
am
making progress, Hector," she interrupted him. "I am! I can feel the difference. My wolf is more vocal now and my control is getting better. Please...don't give up on me."
Her heartbeat was getting faster and he could see the slight panic on her face.
