United. (Book 5 of the Lupus Antiqua Series)
Stop

She sat up in bed, bleary eyed and confused. She looked sleepily over at the clock on her bedside table and sighed. Three in the morning. Why was she awake? What had woken her?

She looked around the room but nothing was out of place. Still, something felt off." She slid out of bed, and into the hall. The door to Endymion's room was wide open. Odd.

He'd been with her two weeks now, and he always slept with his door shut. He liked his privacy almost as much as she did.

"Endymion?" She called, moving to his door where she froze in shock. The room was torn to shreds. The bed and bedding were in ribbons. The furniture broken, the walls gouged with something sharp. "Oh no!" She looked out his window at the sky, where a huge full moon sat regally in the sky.

Wolves could shift at will, but if his control was tenuous the full moon would make it harder on him. He must have shifted, and if he wasn't actually in control who knows where he would end up. It was a big mountain she lived on.

She ran outside looking around for any sign of him but there was nothing. Sighing, she stopped blocking herself off.

Pain, regret, hunger, self loathing. His emotions took her breath away, but it gave her a trail to follow. She took off in the direction of the lake.

He was there, roaming the edge of the lake, glancing up at the sky every few seconds. His wolf was huge and beautiful. He looked powerful in both forms. Talk about God giving with both hands.

"Endymion." She said gently. The Wolf froze and whipped his head around towards her, nose sniffing in her direction, a growl rumbling out of him, eyes narrowed in. There was only one feeling she was getting from him now.

Prey. Hunt.

"Uh oh." She whispered. His body tensed and then he was running at her, faster than a creature his size should be able to move. If he got to her she was dead. There was no higher reasoning in him right now. He'd lost control.

She released her power and slammed into his mind with a singular panicked, unrestrained order to 'STOP.' He halted with a canine screech of pain and she winced. She hadn't meant to be so indelicate, but he'd scared her. It was a moment before she realized he wasn't breathing and she gasped in horror.

Her command to stop had been entirely non specific. She hadn't just stopped his forward momentum. She'd stopped all of his function.

"Shit." She muttered. She entered his mind again and rescinded her command, replacing it with one to shift out of wolf form. It took awhile, as if he were fighting it, but eventually it was Endymion who crouched on the ground.

She walked forward and crouched in front of him. His eyes were feral, the wolf still mostly in control of him.

"I am not prey. I am your friend. I apologize for hurting you. I panicked and lashed out when you attacked me. You are safe and you are not alone. Please relax." She kept her voice as gentle and sweet as possible, and it seemed to work well.

The wolf slowly receded from his gaze until it was all Endymion before her. She sighed in relief and plopped down. When he'd come at her, she'd twisted her ankle stumbling backwards and it hurt to stand on it.

"I lost control." He stated.

"You did." She winced.

"You brought me back out of it." He sounded surprised.

"Apparently, and thank God for that." She muttered. He gave her a sad little smile, then stood, offering her his hand to help her up.

She took it and stood but the moment she didn't have him to lean on, the pain in her ankle doubled. She inhaled sharply and balanced on one foot.

"You are hurt." He was looking at her ankle.

"Yes. I twisted it." She winced again and looked behind her back at the cabin. It was nearly a mile from the lake, though in plain view. With a twisted ankle, getting back there was going to suck.

"I will carry you back. It is the least I can do." His voice sounded gruff. She nodded, knowing it was the better option. She didn't want to be hobbling back to the house for the half hour it would take her in this condition.

He stepped forward and swept his arm under her knees and the other around her back, picking her up bridal style and started to walk towards the house.

By the time they reached the house, he wasn't even short of breath. What would it be like to have that kind of physical prowess? She studied his face and found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him.

What the hell? Why in the world was she thinking about kissing Endymion. She was supposed to help him, not use him to fulfill her desire for anything man related.

When they got back inside he sat her down gently and sat next to her, taking her ankle in his hands while she studiously avoided looking at his naked body.

A low chuckle reached her.

"You don't have to be so shy, Abby. As a creature who changes shape, nudity is a normalcy. Nothing special." He sounded amused.

"I've never seen a naked man." She admitted. His hands paused in their perusal of her ankle, then resumed.

"You may look your fill, if you wish." He stated, voice low and rougher than usual. She blushed so hard she was sure her face was glowing like a Christmas bulb.

"Um, thanks for the offer?" She whispered.

"Shy girl." He murmured in a teasing tone. She ducked her head and blushed even more.

"How bad is the sprain?" She asked, changing the subject. She glanced up at him from under her lashes and caught his smirk.

"It isn't too bad. It will heal in a week or two." She nodded.

"Thank you." He caught her gaze again.

"Thank you." He released her foot, fingers lingering as he did. "Without you, I would have wandered uncontrolled and feral for who knows how long. You probably saved lives."

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help you." She admitted.

"As am I."

"Endymion?"

"Yes?"

"Will you tell me, sometime, what it is that gets you so out of control? I may not be able to fix it, but I can listen."

"Perhaps, one day. For now, it is nice to look into your eyes and see no disgust staring back."

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