Splendour In The Grass Ch. 03

As soon as Lucy had fallen, Levi reached down to check her for injuries. He knew that he had acted the way that a doctor should have in the situation, but was still concerned with the girl's well-being. The instant that he reached down toward the slumped brown wolf, he heard a feral growl emanate from Eli's throat. Levi looked up toward his Alpha, whose face bore a threatening expression and whose body tensed as though he were holding himself back from something.

"Woah, there..." Jonah began, turning to approach his friend and stopping in his tracks when he saw the wild glint in Eli's eye. Jonah, who had stood still watching Eli's bizarre reaction to Lucy and the girl's surprising shift, had now begun staring intently at his friend. Eli had reacted to the girl in a way that Jonah had never before witnessed.

Eli had become Alpha at a young age, forced into the position after the death of his parents and many of the pack elders at the hands of a rival pack when he had been less than twenty years old. Though Jonah had been fourteen at the time, he had recognised the change in his surrogate older brother when, through family lines, the responsibility of leading a pack had landed on Eli's shoulders. The combination of losing his parents, who had been his only family (and Jonah's too) and suddenly losing his youth as well had caused a shift in Eli's personality that had permanently altered him. He became more withdrawn and more cold around everyone except Jonah. Jonah knew that this was because after the incident, he was all the family that Eli had left, regardless of their lack of a blood connection. Eli had thrown himself into his position and embraced it fully, working hard to make a better life for the pack. And he had succeeded in many ways. He had given them safer lives through training pack members in combat techniques and improving security. He had also single handedly increased the quality of life and brought the pack into the new millennium by improving the financial standing of the pack business that supported their lifestyles and allowed them to maintain their community. The downside of this was that Eli had become the textbook workaholic. His serious manner regularly made it difficult for him to show much emotion, and yet here he was using a gentle touch and welcoming body language toward some girl that he hadn't even been introduced to. And who's a prisoner and possible rogue to top it all off! Jonah was completely flabbergasted. And when Levi had gone to touch her, Jonah could have sworn that he growled in a way that was positively... possessive? What the hell was going on with him today?

Jonah made to speak again, ignoring Eli's glare. "What's up with you, man? He's just making sure she's okay. She did collapse, after all." Jonah motioned toward Levi and Eli followed his gesture, the two men now focusing on Levi as he attempted to lift Lucy, still in wolf form, into his arms.

Eli realised the man's intent and moved to do it himself. "Levi, let me." Eli reached down and gathered the wolf easily into his arms, brushing off the other man's attempts. Levi was getting old and wasn't in the greatest shape any more, and Eli didn't need the pack's only doctor pulling a muscle and putting himself out of commission. I may very well be needing his services again soon with the way this one fights, he thought, looking down at the bundle of chocolate fur in his arms. And such soft fur at that... Eli felt a calmness with her in his arms, her body heat radiating against his core and her scent, even stronger in her wolf state, wrapping around him like a boa constrictor threatening to cut off his airways. He realised that he was still painfully hard. That won't do. He chastised himself for his lack of self control, burying the thoughts of burying something else of his... preferably in the delicious specimen in his arms. He cleared his throat, looking up at the other men whom he had temporarily forgotten about and noticing the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room.

"Eli... we need to talk about this one. She needs help." Levi looked at his Alpha pleadingly, and his honest concern for the girl showed in his eyes. Eli was thankful for having good men like Levi in his pack. He knew that he could always trust the older man's judgement.

"You're damn right she needs help. She's clearly unstable and she's a threat to the pack. She needs to be taken care of. You know what I mean, Eli." Jonah shot stubbornly at the Alpha, desperate to have his opinion heard.

Eli didn't even show that he had heard Jonah's words. He simply wouldn't entertain the thought of ever harming her. She's mine... forever. He almost shivered as he felt a surge of protectiveness and possessiveness over her, marveling at the strength of his emotion toward the girl that he had seen for the first time only minutes before. He had to put her down somewhere before he did something to her that he would regret.

"You're right, Levi, we need to talk about her. Let me just - uh - let me find her somewhere more comfortable, make sure she's safe - I mean, make sure she's being watched, you know. Give me a minute." Eli practically ran out of the room, embarrassed that he had stumbled over his words in front of his subordinates. For a man that regularly projected such a strong image of power and dominance, he was quickly being unwound by the little wolf in his arms. Finding a place for her was another matter. He wouldn't take her back to the cold, sterile hospital ward. She needed warmth, comfort. But he couldn't be the one to give it to her. He didn't even know her name, she was already in a state of practical hysteria and he could imagine the intimidation that his presence would bring. And intimidating amounts of arousal, he thought as he recalled her obvious agitation when he had touched her. He smirked, instantly flooded with male pride. She was already doing bad things to his ego.

Before Eli had realised it, he was at the doors to his bedroom. If anyone had questioned him carrying another wolf on his way there, he hadn't noticed. He had been in such a daze as he thought about his little wolf, but his own wolf howled gladly at the prospect of laying her down in his bed. As he entered the room, he placed her softly on his bed and drew the covers over her, trying to make her as comfortable as possible. The effort was probably futile as she was still unconscious, but there was a part of him that distinctly wanted her experience in his personal space to be as enjoyable as it could. He looked down at her, breathing deeply where she lay. She really was a beauty, even in wolf form. She was petite, practically delicate, but his wolf could tell that she had the potential to be strong and fierce. His other side knew that she would be a mate that he could be proud of.

Wait a minute, 'mate'? Who said anything about that? he questioned, wondering when his feral part had gained such control over himself. Eli was a hardworking man. He had no illusions about that. He knew he often stifled his need to hunt or take a run when he had too much on his plate, which was practically always. My wolf's been frustrated for a long time and I know he wants to get out. I'd better be careful or this girl will make that happen.

He took one last look at her before turning and heading out the door, locking it as he left. After all, she is a security risk... Locking the door would have to do for now. The thought of someone else alone with her, guarding her... even the thought made his blood boil. He really wouldn't be able to hold himself together if that were happening. I'm sure Jonah's overreacting anyway. The boy's got a fighting streak in him.

Reaching for his cell phone in the pocket of his pants, Eli dialed Jonah's number. "Come to my office with Levi as soon as you can." he ordered his Beta. "He's right - we have to talk about this little wolf."

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Jonah and Levi walked into the Alpha's office to find him not seated behind his desk where he spent most of his waking life, but rather standing by the window overlooking a large portion of his pack's compound. He hardly showed any recognition that the other men had entered the room and they didn't dare to break the silence, instead sitting in the small seating area in the room and waiting for him to acknowledge their presence. Eli had been acting so odd since meeting the girl; they weren't sure how to react to him.

He turned to face them finally, running a hand through his jet black hair. He had a weary look on his face, as though he were struggling with some terrible internal conflict. He sat down in a chair across from the two men and looked toward them.

"Levi, tell me what you know about our little prisoner." Eli addressed the doctor first, who seemed surprised but went to respond quickly.

Before he could, though, Jonah interjected angrily. "Eli, her medical situation is irrelevant. She's a rogue who needs to be put down, now. The fact that she's crazy to top it all off - I mean, denying being a were when we've seen her shift? Her presence is a threat to pack safety!" The Beta was exasperated as he made his case against the girl, and looked disbelievingly at Eli when he made no response. Calmly, Eli shifted his gaze from the doctor to his loud mouthed friend, unsurprised at his outburst but infuriated with its content.

"Jonah, I won't have you talk about her that way. I appreciate your efforts and you were just trying to protect the pack when you brought her in. That being said, Levi has a certain way with people that may not be your strong suit. He's spent more time with the girl, and I trust his judgement." Eli gave a small smile to the silent Levi, who waited to respond. Eli continued. "Levi, please, tell us what you know about her."

Levi spoke shyly, honoured that the Alpha was placing so much trust in his word. "I know that she was a suspected threat, Alpha, but the situation is far more complicated than Jonah made it out to be. It seems that before today, she was... she was unaware that she was even a werewolf. She's been stifling her wolf side, and it's trying to be noticed in these extreme outbursts of sensation. That's why she seems uncontrollable at times. When Jonah brought her in, she said that she had smelled his kill from a considerable distance and although she isn't aware of it, I'm pretty sure that she was drawn to it by her wolf and its hunger. And when Jonah challenged her, she fainted when she should have shifted and fought him."

Eli's eyes widened in surprise. "You're saying that she didn't even know that she's a were? How did she shift, then?"

"I'm guessing that was the first time that she had done so." Levi explained. "Something about your interaction, Alpha, and the anger and confusion that she felt at being restrained and being told that she was a were, it really set her off. She couldn't stifle her wolf when she was experiencing so many different powerful emotions at once, and it finally came out. There are probably other situations that would trigger this that we don't even know about yet."

Eli was absolutely shocked. How could the woman that he felt such a powerful attraction to be such a foreigner to her community, to her own self? How could she ever understand their way of life? Would she even accept him? And more importantly, where the hell did she come from?

His musings were interrupted by Jonah's noises of frustration. "She's playing you, Eli. Levi fell for it too. Don't let him rope you into her lies!" He leaned forward as he spoke, punctuating his words with the pounding of his fist on the coffee table between them. The look on his face was threatening.

If Jonah' face was threatening, Eli's was murderous. He snarled, his wolf suddenly at the surface. He reached across the coffee table and shoved Jonah back into his seat, causing the Beta's eyes to show fright and instantly submit. "You will NOT speak about her that way again, do you understand? I don't care how much you dislike her. You will be nothing but pleasant to my mate for as long as she lives!"

Jonah's submission was forgotten as he gasped in surprise. "Your mate? No fucking chance! Eli, she isn't your mate. She's just some little scamp trying to fool you, and you're playing right into her clutches! I don't know what she wants, but mark my words, it isn't good." Jonah wouldn't accept this. She was a liar, and she had tried to fight him! There was no way he'd fall for her little charade like everyone else had. He squirmed out of Eli's grasp, knowing that the Alpha wouldn't have let him do so unless he wanted Jonah to be released.

"I want you gone, Jonah, now. I'll talk with you later." If Eli didn't have the relationship with Jonah that he did, he would have hurt him by now. Thankfully, Jonah stormed out the second that he was dismissed.

Eli sighed again, putting Jonah out of his mind. He would deal with him later. He would make him understand. But for now, he needed to know more about his little wolf.

"Levi, what's her name?"

Levi spoke quietly again, not wanting to upset the seemingly temperamental Alpha. "Lucy Atwood."

Eli repeated her name. "Lucy Atwood." He let it roll across his tongue. It was sensual to him, the words sacred. Lucy Atwood. His little wolf.

"Alpha, I need to talk to you about something else." Eli, thinking again of the girl - Lucy, he reminded himself - had again forgotten that he was not alone. Levi continued before he lost his nerve. "You say she's your mate, which I'm not challenging... believe me, I know, when you feel it, you feel it. But remember that although she's going to have to become a part of this community, she knows nothing about it. She's a stranger here. She needs to be integrated, to learn fully about herself and us, about how she is going to live and about our way of life. Give her space. You two can't do anything binding without her fully understanding the consequences of her actions." Levi had spoken delicately, and Eli knew that the doctor was referring to the mating practice. Although his wolf panted with lust with his need to claim her, he knew that the doctor was right.

"Thank you, Levi. I understand. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think she might need me. When she wakes, she'll want answers."

Eli left the room intending to go straight to his bedroom and further explore Lucy, but was stopped when he smelled Jonah in the hall. It had darkened while the men conversed in the office, and although Eli could only barely see his form in the hallway, he knew that his friend had been waiting for him.

"Eli..." Jonah began, his tone rough. But the Alpha stopped him.

"No, listen to me, Jonah. You know that I value your opinion and that I trust you more than anyone. You may as well be a brother to me, and nothing can change that. But that being said, Lucy is important to me too." Eli couldn't see his friend's expression but knew as soon as he spoke the words that Jonah would be struck with incredulity at Eli's conviction that Lucy was his mate. "I know it's hard for you to accept, but the way that I feel about her... I can tell, just by her scent. You have no idea how powerfully sure of this I am. You'll feel it someday too, Jonah. And I expect you'll warm to Lucy too, because tomorrow you're going to teach her to fight."

Jonah growled and Eli chuckled. His Beta was the best fighter the pack had, and as a new member Lucy would have to learn to defend herself. Who better to teach her but Eli's most trusted ally, and the only male he knew wouldn't try to come onto her? Sometimes he really did impress himself.

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When Eli finally reached his bedroom it had gotten late. He stepped inside silently and inhaled the air in his chamber, now full not only of his scent but of hers as well. The perfect way that their scents combined reminded him of his desire to join not only their smells but their bodies by mating her permanently to himself and ensuring that she would be his forever. That would have to wait, though. It might be a good idea to, you know, have a conversation with her first.

He stepped lightly toward the bed and heard her breathing, indicating that she was no longer unconscious but sleeping instead. Her body was hardly visible beneath the covers, but he could tell from the head and pale shoulders that she had shifted back into her human form since he had left her. Which means she's naked... The thought of her supple body resting nude in his bed, waiting for him, coated in his scent, was very tempting indeed. He felt his cock stir and his pants become uncomfortably tight. He shed them and the rest of his clothes quickly, lifting the covers and slipping beneath them as he wiggled toward her on his side. He stopped some distance from her as he realised that the best way to get her to trust him was probably not to tackle while he had a hard-on. Eli rolled onto his back, his arms aching to reach out to Lucy but instead planted on the mattress at his sides. Self control was going to be something that he would really have to work on, especially if he wanted to spend any time around her without ravaging her. This is why I've stifled you for so long, he thought to his wolf in frustration. I can't control you when you get out. He and Lucy were similar in that respect. I guess it'll be a learning experience for both of us. He sighed for what felt like the millionth time before drifting into a fitful sleep, his dreams invaded by a certain petite minx.

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Lucy awoke in the darkness. I don't remember it becoming night time. Last time I was awake it was late afternoon. Memories of the day flooded her and she tried to keep her body still as she reeled with the shock. I turned into a wolf. Did that actually happen? As Lucy questioned herself, she could feel some other presence in her body. Another, more instinctual voice told her that it had indeed happened and that she had better accept it if she wanted to have any hope of retaining her sanity.

She inspected her body, which seemed to be in order. No fur, at least. She was surprisingly calm for having woken up in a strange location for the third time that day. And this time I'm naked? She struggled to remember when she had lost her clothes but found that it was one of the many blank spots in her memory.

Lucy stretched out her legs, too tired to question her surroundings and content that she was at least comfortable, here in a big bed, with room to relax...

Her leg hit something that felt surprisingly like skin and she retracted it immediately, a jolt of fear running through her. She took a deep breath to calm herself and smelled the same smell from earlier, a smell that she couldn't forget if she tried. Cedar and moss, earthy, the spicy musk of the man from the hospital room. The man that had made her knees weak and who had hypnotised her with his presence. She thought of him and tried not to remember her reaction. I practically fell at his feet! She resolved not to let him know how he affected her, upset with herself that she had let another person have so much power over her. Oh my God, if he's here... I'm naked in his bed. What the hell did we do? Lucy silently prayed that they hadn't had sex, as much as the thought excited her. The embarrassment of the possibility caused her body temperature to rise as she felt a flush cover the skin of her face. I have to get out of here. She moved her legs toward the edge of the bed, hoping that she would be able to slip out undetected and that the rustling of the covers wouldn't wake him.

Apparently it was too much to ask for, and she heard a rumbling sound come from deep in his chest as he murmured something in his sleep and turned over half onto his stomach, one arm flinging outward and grasping her around the waist. She squeaked at his sudden response and felt herself being pulled toward him, a protest dying on her lips as she realised that she would rather be imprisoned by the sleeping man than to have to succumb to his presence after waking him. She resigned herself to slipping out sometime in the morning and found herself cuddled against his chest, his breath tickling her neck as his head bent protectively toward her. He murmured something else and though it was too low for her to understand it, the sound sent shockwaves through her body and she felt her pussy moisten. This is unbelievably pathetic. She bit her lip as she concentrated on shifting slightly to put more room between them, but her plan backfired when he pulled her even closer to himself. She was now plastered to the length of his body and practically pinned beneath him, his weight settled comfortably above her. I'm surprised he isn't crushing me to death, she thought. Lucy could feel his body against her and imagined that he was not a light man, judging by the hard muscle which seemed to coat his frame. God, he's hard everywhere, including... she didn't think that she could be more awkwardly aroused until she felt what could only be his hard length pressing against her side. Jesus, he really is an impressive specimen. Even compared to what she had seen in porn, he seemed huge. She felt assured now that they hadn't had sex. I would have remembered that. She laughed quietly at her thoughts, feeling naughty. She couldn't deny that she was curious, though, and could feel her body heating even more as she savoured in the feel of his skin against hers and his scent so close to her. Man, in some other universe, I'd let this guy do terrible things to me...