BITE {Discontinued}

...The standoff induced more fear as the seconds ticked on.

With a snarl, one of the wolves lunged for Guadalupe, and two screams filled the air: one of fear, and one of boiling rage.

Zev pushed forward, and Nox gladly let him take control.

"I'll teach you fucking lowlife scum not to interrupt me when I'm trying to get my woman to love me." He snarled just as he willed his human's flesh to contort and transform into his giant furry skin.

He intercepted the rogue that was brave enough to lunge for his gorgeous girl, and didn't waste a second tearing into his throat and ripped his head clean off his body.

One down, five to go.

Three had inched back, but the remaining two attacked simultaneously, and Zev dodged, swiping his claws and sinking his teeth into their throats, ripping the life right out of their bodies. The three who had stepped back were now pushing forward. Two aimed for him, while one went for Guadalupe.

Guadalupe, who had been watching on in a mixture of awe, excitement, and crippling horror, had snapped out of her daze when one of the wolves charged at her. With a squeal, she dodged at the last second, then sent a kick to its muzzle as it tried advancing on her again.

The wolf had paused momentarily, then set its menacing yellow eyes on her again. The menace and life died before it could lunge at her as Zev, or as Guadalupe could see, the much bigger wolf with a silvery-white coat who had replaced Nox, latched his jaw around the rogue's neck and clamped down, shaking his head violently.

Blood splattered across her cheek, and Guadalupe held in a scream. She did scream when Zev detached the rogue's head from its body, and scrambled backwards several paces, coming to a stop when her hands pressed down on a wet patch of grass.

Zev tore his eyes from the corpse, and searched for his gorgeous girl, who was now a few feet away from him, her pretty hazel eyes wide and filled with fear and shock.

"Oh, well. My job here is done. Nox, you're up."

Zev returned control to Nox, and to Guadalupe's horror (and awe?), the fur receded and the body shrank and contorted to form a human, the human she was with less than twenty minutes ago. His silver eyes were filled with worry, regret and trepidation.

It all turned to shock when Guadalupe's eyes rolled back, and her head hit the grass. The last thing she heard was his voice, the voice that sparked those new, confusing feelings in her, calling out for her in a panic.

Consciousness came slowly.

Despite the soft, comfortable surface under her, her muscles ached, and her head was pounding unforgivably.

She could feel the coolness of the room she was in. It was comforting; perfect for sleeping. And she almost did fall back asleep, if it weren't for the muffled voices she heard.

"How long has she been asleep?" a feminine voice inquired. It almost sounded familiar to Guadalupe, like someone she has overheard a few times on campus.

"It's already been a day. I won't be surprised if it takes one, maybe two more for her to come to. It must have been pretty traumatic for her." His voice replied, and Guadalupe almost snorted at his statement. Almost.

She inhaled deeply, then willed her eyes to open. Grateful for the darkness of the room, her eyes opened completely, and was greeted by a ceiling covered with glow-in-the-dark stickers. A snort left her then.

Who would have thought that such a pretty person, who also happens to transform into a deadly creature of the night, would have a ceiling full of glow-in-the-dark stickers? Guadalupe wasn't surprised that the door creaked open.

'Well, they technically are dogs...'

She snorted again at the mental comment, and giggled at the thought of the large silvery-white wolf rolling on his back for belly rubs that she would be more than happy to give.

"Bella?" his voice called out softly, and Guadalupe cringed at how hoarse her voice sounded when she replied with a simple, "Hi."

His footsteps sounded muted, almost non-existent, and her thoughts drifted to how soft the carpet would feel under her bare feet. The bed dipped, and the face that had haunted her dreams from the day they crossed paths loomed over her.

"How are you feeling?" he whispered, and a smiled tugged at the corner of her lips.

"As fine as anyone could be after seeing their date become a creature of the night and then take out other creatures of the night." He grimaced at her statement, and her smile broadened.

"Surprisingly, I'm okay Nox. Just shocked at the gore, but good nonetheless."

Nox sagged with visible relief, and collapsed gently over Guadalupe, blanketing her in his much welcomed warmth. The familiar shocks that she received whenever their skin made contact erupted over her torso and face.

"Thank the Gods." He sighed, and slowly raised himself so their eyes met and noses touched. "I was so worried about you. I thought you'd be one of those humans who would have a complete meltdown." Nox said, and Guadalupe laughed.

"Why would I when all I've wanted, ever since I was little, was to have a dope-ass adventure with a supernatural creature who took interest in me for some reason."

Nox stared at her in disbelief. "So... you're not freaking out that I can shape-shift into a giant furry creature and that there are more like me?" Guadalupe shook her head.

"With a world as large as this, and a universe infinitely larger, do you really believe that humans are alone?"

"You believe in aliens." It wasn't a question; Nox just knew that his gorgeous girl stared up at the stars at night, hoping to catch a glimpse of a UFO.

"Yes." She responded firmly, and Nox grinned.

"AWWWW YOU GUYS ARE SOOO CUTE!!" Guadalupe's heart leapt into her throat as the feminine voice she heard earlier squealed loudly.

"Letta!" Nox groaned, grateful that the room was dark enough for Guadalupe not to see his blush. The person in question shuffled closer to the bed, her hands cupping her cheeks and a wide grin on her face.

"I couldn't help it Nox!" A younger, feminine version of Nox came into her line of sight. "Hi! I'm Violetta, and it's so nice to finally meet you!" The girl's grin grew wider.

Trepidation coursed through Guadalupe. Not wanting to seem rude, she smiled back, but Nox could see that it was forced. He had gotten to see a genuine smile on her gorgeous face, and it was something he never wanted to forget a single detail of.

"Alright, alright. You got to see her in person, now shoo!" Nox pushed the girl away, and she pouted, before another grin grew. "I'm going to get mom!"

"No!" Nox yelled, but she was already sprinting out of the door, cackling. He groaned, and glanced down at Guadalupe. "Lemme help you up." His hands slipped under hers, and she was slowly pulled upright and out of the bed.

"I have a bath prepared for you. Your muscles must ache." Guadalupe nodded, ignoring the slight ache in her chest. It wasn't a bad ache, no.

It was a good one; she remembered feeling it prematurely whenever Mateo had done something thoughtful for her.

No back-handed compliments or disguised insults to accompany it; just a sweet gesture that a boyfriend would usually do for his girlfriend.

He guided her to the bathroom, which, not surprisingly, was within the bedroom; and it was huge. At least five times the size of the bathroom she had to share at home.

Speaking of which...

"Hey... do you have my phone? I should let my cousins know I'm okay in case they sent out a search party... probably." She murmured the last word, her mind reminding her that no one probably even noticed her absence.

"Don't worry, bella. Violetta spoke to a... Yohan? And told him that you were spending a few days with her." Guadalupe sighed upon hearing one of her cousins' names.

"How much time did that buy?" she asked as her eyes swept around the expansive bathroom. True to his word, a bath was prepared.

Problem (or not so much?) was that the bath was the size of a swimming pool, and would be able to fit all seven of the wolves comfortably, with at least four inches of space between them.

"Uhm... I'm not sure? I'd actually like to keep you forever if that's possible. But I'll give you your phone after you soak in that tub." Guadalupe hoped he didn't notice her blush.

"You mean the swimming pool?" she chimed and Nox chuckled.

"Yes, bella. The swimming pool."

Like an actual swimming pool, there were steps and a railing attached. Nox guided her to the bottom stair, then pulled away. "I'll uh.. leave you to it. Someone will bring you clothes and some food in about an hour." Guadalupe nodded, ready to make her fifty-minute soak worth it.

Nox turned to leave, but Guadalupe held onto his hand. "Thank you, Nox. For everything."

Nox looked at her with slight confusion. "I've barely done anything to deserve your gratitude, bella."

"But you saved my life..."

Nox closed the distance between them, cupping her face and tilting her head upwards. "Protecting you is ingrained in me, bella. It's something that I'll do for the rest of our lives."

It was Guadalupe's turn to look at him in confusion. The corner of his mouth tugged up. "I'll explain. But after y-"

"After I soak in the swimming pool." Guadalupe cut him off, and Nox chuckled again.

"Yes, bella." Nox kissed her forehead, then quickly left the bathroom before Zev decided that they would join her in there.

Guadalupe sighed, missing the tingles she got from their skin-to-skin contact.

.

.

.

Her fifty minutes was up. The water was cold, but Guadalupe didn't want to leave. She sighed sadly.

'Maybe I could sneak here everyday just to take a bath.' She thought as she climbed out of the tub and wrapped the downy towel Nox had left around her. She dried off slowly, still feeling a slight ache in her body.

Tiptoeing out of the bathroom, Guadalupe made her way to the California king-sized bed, dressed in dark blue sheets and a mountain of pillows covered with the same color. With a bedside lamp as her only illumination, it was clear that she'd be naked for a while longer.

Guadalupe sat silently on the bed, her thoughts whirling around too fast for her to focus on just one. It was like walking in a crowded place and getting snippets of conversation from each person she passed by. It was a usual occurrence for her, but this time, she felt a bit more at ease.

It was obvious that the room she was in belonged to Nox, just from the scent that stuck in the air. It wasn't at all unpleasant, but calming and enticing all at once.

After what felt like half an hour of sitting in silence, the door opened and Violetta stepped through, a smile on her face. "Have you been waiting long?" she asked sheepishly, and Guadalupe shook her head, a soft smile on her face.

"Oh, okay." Violetta sighed, and handed over the clothes with an enthusiastic "Here!"

Guadalupe accepted gratefully, then padded back to the bathroom as Violetta exited the bedroom.

Guadalupe was stunned to see what she was given. It was a pair of leggings, brand new, and a sweater plus underwear that she distinctly remembered forgetting at Jaime's when she spent a night on impulse to get away from the truth of Mateo sleeping with Denise.

She took a whiff of the sweater after pulling it over her head, and sure enough, it smelt like the fabric softener that Jamie used and Guadalupe associated with him. She had scoured the supermarket shelves for a bottle, but came up empty-handed.

Guadalupe exited the bathroom, ready to give Jaime an unexpected call after months of simply sending emails to each other when the bedroom door opened again.

Her heart stopped and eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. The intruder was frozen in their tracks, eyes so comically wide that she would have laughed her head off had it been any other situation.

The silence was painfully awkward. There were so many emotions wreaking havoc inside of Guadalupe, she wasn't sure what she should feel first.

Relief?

Excitement?

Happiness?

Betrayal?

Heartache?

Anger?

As the seconds ticked on and the blush deepened on the intruder's face, Guadalupe decided that anger was the best emotion to feel at the moment.

His mouth opened. "I can explain."

If it weren't for the fact that she was naked and only in a towel from the waist down, Guadalupe's hands would be resting sassily on her hips. She settled for a glare as she adjusted the downy cloth around her. "Oh, you better."