I woke up panting again but this time Derik was kneeling over me with a concerned expression on his face. I gently pulled my knees into my chest and tried to control my breathing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." I shook my head and realized tears ran down my face.
Quickly wiping them away I looked up at Derik who didn't seem to care in the least that I'd woken him up. Phantom pain rang in my back like I'd just been whipped and more emotions than I could decipher ran in my head.
My thoughts raced with my heartrate until they were only a blur of undeciferable emotions.
He sighed heavily and sat down next to my bed. Then he did something no one's done for years. He hugged me.
I was suddenly sitting right next to him with his arms around me and his head resting on mine unsure what to do. His touch was gentle and warm slightly relaxing me.
Still a little timid I leaned on him just a bit to see if he'd get mad. When he didn't I relaxed into him and hesitantly wrapped my arms around him hugging him back.
"It's alright, everything's okay," he said softly.
It was like getting something I never knew I needed. Have you ever been out all day long and stopped to eat and realized you're starving and what your eating is suddenly the best thing ever, because this feels a lot like that.
I'm not sure when I started crying again but Derik didn't say anything just holding me.
It was like the peaceful pet shop all over again, I didn't realize what I had for a second and then once I did I couldn't think of anything else.
Having someone that I could rely on when I was upset, it was such a foreign feeling. It had been over a year since I had her to comfort me, and from no fault of her own, her comfort could never do much good. But here, I felt safe, Derik wasn't someone to protect, rather he was strong enough I might even be able to rely on him.
When I started purring I have no idea, but it might be the most mortifying thing ever.
He purred too and we just sat there while he gave a silent steady comfort.
"You okay?" He gently wiped away my tears and looked me in the eye.
I nodded and more tears fell but they felt like good tears. Like I was happy to be around him, to have someone care again. I smiled at him and it felt genuine.
"Thank you," my voice sounded soft in a way it never was but that represented how I felt pretty well.
Derik pulled me up with one hand under my knees and one on my back. He set me on his bed and despite how gentle he was the action completely froze me. *I shouldn't have trusted someone so easily.* I waited stiffly expecting him to try to take advantage of my moment of weakness.
But he didn't make any move to, he just laid down. I'd been through a lot while testing what the vendors would do but I was never letting that happen to me, especially since some vampires literally fucked their pets to death.
When my heartbeat started to slow down he pulled my waist so I was laying next to him. His arms wrapped around my waist he purred and closed his eyes.
Derik never moved his hands to anywhere inappropriate and once I finally relaxed I carefully adjusted to be comfortable.
Snuggling into me Derik didn't try anything after I'd let my guard down, just holding me. *He's treating me like a teddy bear.* When I thought of it that way I started to calm and settled into him.
I was still safe.
It was easy to tell he'd fallen asleep but even sleeping he purred. I didn't feel any less protected than when he was awake or any less happy. I felt content.
When I woke up I was facing Derik with one leg hitched over his and my arms wrapped around him. A gentle tugging sensation told me he was playing with my hair. Soft purring filled the room and everything felt peaceful.
"We should get going soon." He spoke into my hair and despite the slight heat on my cheeks I was reluctant to move.
"Alright." After a few minutes I reluctantly got up and walked into the bathroom.
When I looked in the mirror my hair was significantly more tangled than usual and I'm not sure if I blame the nightmare or Derik.
I brushed my teeth and then my hair. Realizing I forgot to bring a change of clothes and more than reluctant to leave the bathroom in a towel I left the bathroom in search of clothes.
Rustling of fabric came from the closet and I just barely stopped myself from walking into the closet before Derik came out. When he came out he was wearing a white button up shirt and black slacks.
I walked past him and stole one of his t-shirts since I wouldn't be human and in need of clothes for too much longer.
I quickly showered and put Derik's shirt on. I walked back out and Derik didn't say anything about me wearing his shirt. I grabbed my collar and Derik motioned for me to follow him.
We got to the kitchen and sat at the table like any normal day. A slave brought us food and I purred at the scent in the air. Sausage, toast, and eggs were all set in front of me with a small glass of orange juice.
Wasting no time in scarfing down the food in front of me I waited contently for Derik to finish his food.
When he did I enjoyed the peaceful feeling that still lingered from this morning. It wouldn't last long and we both knew it.
I changed into the smaller version of my wolf and sat by Derik's bed waiting. I watched as he gathered clothes into a bag and picked up a thick chain that was a dog collar.
An actual dog collar not just a pet collar, god knows where he got it since the only people that got real pets anymore where parents rich enough to get their kids pets.
But I'm sure he has more than enough money to afford one, if he managed to find one.
*Going to the Regional's meeting he must be some kind of lord.*
With the dog collar he started leading me out to the car. I took slow scared steps feeling venerable. The only time I'd made myself weaker on purpose was for her and I did not like being out of the house feeling weaker than usual.
Even if only my size changed it still made me look weak. A werewolf's strength could roughly be gaged by their size and at my size I was saying I was only a beta when only alphas could compare with vampires.
I was telling everyone I was weaker than them.
I got into the car and tried to ignore my growing anxiety about the whole situation. The car ride there was long and did nothing to calm my nerves but Derik would occasionally reassure me that nothing would go wrong and he would have my back playing the radio to calm me down.