The Human Pup

🐺 t e n 🐺

It all started going wrong when Nova went to bed. Her brothers and Eva were already asleep in their beds when she stepped out of the bathroom and slipped into her sheets. Her head was aching and her eyes tired, but for some reason, she couldn't fall asleep.

That night kept reappearing in front of her eyes. She could see her father dead on the ground, and the big wolf with scary blue eyes glaring at her, snarling at her. She could almost hear the howls of other wolves in the distance. And, after years of reliving this moment, she could now feel the earth shaking under her feet, just a little bit, as other wolves—Morgan and her Beta—ran closer. She could smell everything and everyone in the wind, especially the blood of her father. His blood smelled rusty and salty as always, but... different.

Nova's eyes shot open. She was panting slightly, her head now pounding. She hadn't even been asleep, but thinking about werewolves and humans seemed to have triggered this picture out of her. She had never been able to smell or feel when she saw nightmares. This one felt too fucking real.

Nova ran down the empty hallway. Her father's blood smelled different. She was different... Without knowing where she was headed, the girl followed her instincts, letting her pounding head direct her wherever it wanted to go. A minute later, she found herself behind her own room door. She couldn't think, couldn't even stop herself from pushing down the handle. She was different.

Hunter was lying in her bed, the duvet not covering his strong chest and toned arms. One of his arms was bent, his head resting on his hand as he read a book. His green eyes snapped up the moment Nova opened the door.

The guy threw the book onto the bed and quickly got up. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

Nova's eyes were wild, staring at him wide-eyed. She was different. Why did she smell blood? Why was she different? Her hand reached for him when he closed the distance between them, and before she knew it, her face was snuggled into his neck, her arms tightly around him, legs bound around his waist.

"What's the matter baby, hm?" Hunter closed the door and went to sit on the edge of her bed.

Nova said nothing, breathing in his scent. His scent. He smelled simply divine, and she couldn't put a name to it. He smelled like Hunter. The name rang in her ears with such melody. She couldn't grasp the feeling in her stomach.

His strong hand rubbed gentle circles in her back, while the other one softly fondled her hair. "Tell me what happened," he rumbled, his voice soft but demanding.

Nova's body started shaking before she could get a word out of her mouth. Silent sobs raked through her system, and tears started pooling out of her eyes with relief. She just sat there, on this man's lap, and cried her heart out.

"Hey, shh, shh," Hunter whispered, gently bouncing his knees as he rubbed her back. "It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay, puppy."

"I'm scared," she suddenly cried out.

"Of what?"

She hiccupped the words between her sobs. "I don't know what's happening to me."

Hunter didn't respond. He simply sat there, rubbing the girl's back, and relished the feeling of her face against his neck.

It took more than fifteen minutes to finally get the girl to calm down, by which time, her eyelids were halfway closed, and her body was limp. The man stood with her in his arms before placing her on the bed that had belonged to her since she was six years old.

Nova was reluctant to let go of him, but she had no other choice. Her head met her favorite pillow, and her headache seemed to worsen. She hiccupped again.