The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Moody Blue

Anna awoke to the sound of Daniel snoring softly on the floor next to the sofa and she was carful not to disturb the lump of black fur at her feet. Though wolves had better vision than humans in the dark she still required a few moments to allow her eyes to adjust, and she looked around blearily. 

A chime from the clock in the hallway pierced through her ears causing her to wince in annoyance. Sounds were sensitive to wolves, especially early in the morning. She squinted to check her phone and saw through the blinding light that it wasn't nearly morning yet. Anna had never been a sound sleeper, but she'd been hoping a different environment would help her. The cramped loveseat had proved to do more harm to her sleep cycle than good. 

The room was warm, too warm for a werewolf, and she was about to get up and open the window herself when a slight breeze let her know it was already open and just not helping very much. With her attention directed towards the windows she noticed the silhouette of a man sitting up on the bed and looking out the window. His hair, the slope of his nose, and the bump of his cheeks were visible outlined by the purple blue sky outside.  

She instantly recognized it as Elijah; she always would. It was the image of a man she'd known all her life. A handsome man, and a man who had for a time owned her heart. He dominated her fantasies and ravaged her dreams. Seeing him like this was comfort, a reminder of how Elijah was before... before tragedy struck. When Elijah was little she used to see him staring like that whenever she would venture from her room at night, it was how they'd connected in the first place. She often wondered when he found time to sleep.

In the day Elijah was rough and callous, but at night--- as she'd known him--- he was gentle and calm. He became a much more docile version of himself under the forgiving light of the moon, almost like a reverse werewolf. It was this Elijah that Anna loved, this quiet secluded Elijah that she alone knew, and she wished him to be this and this alone. 

He sensed her motion and lazily shifted to see her. In the dim of the light his glowing blue eyes were the only facial feature visible. He let his gaze fall back down and his eyes disappeared from her sight. He was sad, she could tell by the color of his eyes, and a wave of concern washed over her. Elijah would always try to hide his emotions, but for werewolves eyes betrayed everything. There was no lying in a werewolf's eyes. 

Anna tip toed over Daniel's swinging tail and pushed softly over to where Elijah was sitting. She knew that he could both hear and see her, and yet he didn't object. She took this as encouragement and proceeded. 

"Elijah?" She asked, her voice soft as velvet. Using his first name was a risk, but back home she never called him Alpha when they were alone. Of course, everything changed after the death of Elijah's father. Not Anna or anybody else could make the pain go away for Elijah. "Are you alright?"

Elijah paused, then slowly shook his head. 

"Is it the bond?"

Elijah nodded. 

"You want to be with him?" Anna asked after a pregnant moment of silence. She wasn't totally sure what answer she was hoping for, but something in her already knew it was the truth. Elijah was strong, but he wasn't stronger than the pull of the bond. Werewolves were creatures of instinct, they moved very rapidly. Elijah was probably already nearly in love with Teddy, who knew nothing of this.

The Alpha inhaled sharply, then nodded. 

"I feel pulled," Elijah's deep voice broke through the quiet of the room. "It feels wrong to be waiting here.... I just... I want to be with him... but I know he'd barely recognize me if we were together.... I don't know what to do with myself."

"I'm sorry," Anna attempted. "I've always been jealous that Alpha's get mates... you never have to wonder if it's meant to be, or if it's true love....I suppose I never thought having a mate could be a struggle... I just thought it always sounded so-- wonderful."