She sat there, staring out the window; she never looked at him while speaking. He didn't make a move to answer her. He knew she comprehended the situation; now he had to wait for her to truly grasp it and accept it for what it was. Finally, once it had sunk in enough for her to think calmly about it, he saw that she had accepted it. She turned and looked at him, meeting his eyes with a level gaze.
"No wonder I could feel all that pain in you. You've lived a hundred—no, two hundred lifetimes—watching everything you've ever cared about live and die, but you remained. Oh my god! How did you do it? Why haven't you gone off the deep end?"
He looked right into her eyes. "I have love. Several times I did, but I always came back. That is my curse and my gift; I always come back." The deep sadness came through as he looked into that beautiful face. "Now I have you."
She sensed what he was trying to convey to her in those silent moments. Her tears began to fall; she understood. She knew that even as her own life would wax and wane, he would go on. Yet he was still willing to love her anyway, knowing the pain he would suffer when she finally passed away. Her tears filled her eyes, blocking her sight. She cried for several minutes, knowing that she would love him until she died, her soulmate, her friend, forever. She wiped the tears from her face and looked at him, seeing the same thoughts within those deep blue orbs.
"Why me? What made you choose me? I'm not even your species—at least, not anymore I'm not."
She found herself getting angry. Why did I have to fall in love with an immortal werewolf? It's just not FAIR! Then she laughed. Fair? When has life ever been fair? Shit. The Fates have really screwed me this time. Oh, a couple of boneheaded boyfriends, her parents getting killed in a car wreck, a so-so job in a small town—these things were enough to teach her about life and unfairness, but what did she ever do to deserve this? Her thoughts and questions finally played themselves out, and she brought herself back into the present and really looked at him.
He had watched her eyes glaze over while she asked her questions, so when she finally came back, he stepped over to her and lowered his muzzle to her face, licking her on the end of her nose. He kept his head right in front of her face, looking into her eyes. Yes, love. I will care for you until you are old and gone. Forever. The Fates are fickle and cruel to me as well. I am not immune to their cruelty; in fact, I suffer more than you will ever know. He crooned at her,
"Aaaarrrrrroooooooooooahhhhrrraaahhhh!"
Professing his love to her. She smiled. That beautiful smile; it warmed his heart. The happiness lasted for a few minutes. He grew serious again, knowing that he needed her to see the rest. He sent out a gentle caress into her mind, sensing that she was once again calm. She felt it, that feeling he was looking into her mind, her soul, right INTO her very being. She realized that there was more, and looking back into those deep blue pools, she nodded and thought, Show me.
The edges of her vision clouded over again, and she felt herself falling into that deep blue water, those icy cold depths. This time it was different; the deep blue wasn't quite so cold this time. All she could see was the color blue. Then, that bright flash; she saw the full moon shining in the sky. The dreadful feeling that her skin was on fire and that the flesh and muscle were going to melt off her bones. Then, horrendous cracking and popping noises surrounding her, realizing that those sounds were her own bones shifting and twisting—then nothingness.
Flash.
Waking up on the forest floor naked, covered in blood, and feeling like she had just finished eating at a feast.
Flash.
A Centurion asking about the report of a missing villager that was found mauled to death.
Flash.
Throwing up in the bushes with a horrible realization that the feeling of being full that morning was part of the mauled villager filling her stomach.
Flash.
Vague dreams of seeing a half-wolf standing upright on its hind legs reflected in the still waters of a pond.
Flash.
Horrible guilt over more missing and mauled villagers. Escaping the Legions and running into the forest; forsaking civilization.
Flash.
Running on all fours, leading a pack of wolves chasing down a buck. She felt herself slowly coming back to the surface of the cold blue pool. Her vision cleared, and her breathing returned to normal. Finally, she found herself sitting in the chair again, looking into the face of her friend. Her skin still itched, and her bones ached with residual feelings from the visions. Luckily, she didn't feel the urge to throw up again. She'd had enough of that for one day.
She felt that there was still a trace of him inside her, calming her, soothing her emotions. She was grateful for this, realizing that he was preventing her from going into shock over what he had shown her. She briefly wondered, Why didn't you do this the last time?
I had forgotten how, love. But I remembered this time.
She jumped, hearing that deep masculine voice in her head. It frightened her, having never heard another voice inside her head before. Then all traces disappeared; she was all alone inside herself once again. She shivered with the realization that he had spoken to her in her head. The combined shock of the visions, the feelings, and the voice drove her into a rigid state. Her eyes remained open, but she no longer stared out from them.
He immediately regretted his decision to answer her in his own voice like that. He should have known it would do this to her. She sat, staring at nothing—gone. He sighed deeply, saddened by her reaction. Gently closing his mouth over the arm of the chair, he dragged her across the room until they were next to the cot. Grabbing her belt and coat in his teeth, he pulled her limp body out of the chair and laid her on the cot. He gently arranged her legs and arms, and then he grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it over her. She never made a sound or moved a muscle to indicate that she was aware of any of this.
He paused to look down at her face, still expressionless and her eyes open, sightless. He put his nose to her eyelid and gently lowered it; seeing that it stayed closed, he did the same to the other. Leaving her asleep on the cot, he padded out the doo r and into the woods. He needed some time to think.