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Chapter 17

For the next few weeks nothing out of the ordinary happens, though I have continued to remain on my guard and armed as much as possible despite the fact that no other signs of the house being watched have been found. Chase and the rest of his pack have started to relax their guard because of this, but I still see Richard glancing out the nearest window every time a noise of any kind echoes from the forest.

The lessons I have been giving the pack have been goin extremely well. It is now a very common sight to see at least one wolf with their nose buried in a book sitting by the fire at night. More than once I have have walked in on Jake slumped over the armrest of a chair where he fell asleep reading late into the night. At these times I find it very hard to hide a smile of pride as I gently wake him up to move to his own bed.

Chase surprised me after his and Richards trip to town with a collection of spices so large that I doubt even this group of bottomless pits will run out any time soon. After refilling my personal spice box and storing it away with the rest of my belongings I set about organizing the rest of the spices in the kitchen. Jake was more than eager to help with this and learn each of the spices names.

More and more I have found him hanging out in the kitchen watching and even helping me cook at times. If his reading abilities have increased, it is nothing compared to his cooking skills. While I still don't feel fully comfortable giving him free reign on cooking an entire meal on his own just yet, most of the dishes he has tried under strict supervision have been fairly good. Certainly a lot better than the supposed stew I tried when I first woke up here.

"So after we mix in the noodles we wait for the sauce to come to a boil then reduce the heat and let it simmer?"

I nod to Jake who is carefully stirring in some egg noodles to a creamy stroganoff he has been begging to try for a few days now, "Thats right, but you want to make sure you stir it occasionally so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn."

He nods in understanding as he checks the temperature on the stove then covers the dish and sets it to simmer. After finishing he turns to me with an unmistakable look of pride on his muzzle, "Thanks for letting me try this Eb."

I give a slight nod in his direction, "Your welcome. But to be fair I have an ulterior motive for letting you try your hand at cooking."

He looks at me with a tilted head and a cocked ear, "What do you mean?"

With a slight shrug I say, "Well someone will have to do the cooking when I leave. Figured I may as well let you learn since your interested in it now."

His ears droop and his expression rapidly shifts from the slightly bubbly and excited look he normally wears, to a more depressed and sad look not to different from a scolded puppy. After a moment he asks, "Do you really have to leave though Eb?"

I let out a sigh, "Yes I do Jake. I've told you before I don't like to stay in one place to long. I have already been here longer than I ever intended to be."

With a dejected look he turns back to his stroganoff and lifts the lid before giving it a half hearted stir. As he replaces the lid he says in a soft voice, "But I still don't understand why. We like having you here and I think you like being here. Why else have you stayed this long?"

For once I find myself at a loss for words. What he says is true, I have grown to like being here and being around other wolves for once. But at the same time I know that staying here is only putting them in more and more danger by the day even if they don't realize it.

Before I am forced to try and come up with a believable line for Jake a door slams in the living room followed soon by Chase stomping into the kitchen, snow sticking to his fur. With a grunt and a shake he dislodges more than a small amount of the white filth on the floor.

His actions give me the answer to Jake's question, "Mostly I have stayed because of the weather Jake. Traveling in snow like we have had lately would be dangerous at best."

Chase spares a second to glare at my comment before saying, "Yeah it looks like another heavy snowfall is moving in tonight."

He lifts his nose in the air and takes a deep sniff before saying in a hungry voice, "Something sure smells good in here."

Jake's smile returns as quickly as it had vanished as he lifts the lid on the stroganoff to stir it saying, "It's our dinner tonight. We made it from one of the cook books."

Chase leans over the pan smelling deeply before look up with a questioning look, "We?"

With a nod in Jakes direction I answer, "'We' is a loose term, I simply supervised. Jake did all the work himself."

I look Chase in the eyes and I can see his brain whirring as he takes in what I said. Before either of us can say anything a steaming spoon appears in front of Chase and Jake asks hopefully, "Wanna taste?"

For a moment I can see Chase waging an internal struggle with himself. He doesn't want to be rude to Jake who has tried so hard and is obviously proud of his work but at the same time he is remembering the last time Jake was left to cook on his own.

He licks his lips carefully then forces a smile, "Sure."

Carefully he wraps his muzzle around the offered spoon and sucks off the hot sample of food. For a moment I question what his reaction is going to be but then I see his eyes light up with the real smile he had tried to force just a moment before.

He licks his lips again but this time it is out of enjoyment and satisfaction. He looks at the stroganoff again then at Jake and finally back to me, "He really did this on his own?"

I nod silently as Chase turns back to the younger wolf who is beaming up at him with pride and more than a little anxiety at what Chase has to say about his dish. For a moment Chase just looks down at him and says slowly, "Jake... We all know that you are not the best of cooks and you have always tried despite that fact when it was your turn to cook."

Jakes ears deflate a little at Chase's words as he continues, "That being said...." He spares a quick glance and a wink in my direction, "...this is probably one of the best dishes we have had come out of this kitchen that wasn't made by Ebony."

The speed at which his ears shot up made me think they were going to fly off the top of his head as Jake perked up excitedly while his tail began wagging in a rapid blur behind him, " You really mean that?"

Chase nods smiling, "Yeah I do Jake, you should be really proud of yourself. You did really well with that."

With an excited yip Jake turns back to the stove and returns to tending his dish with care making sure nothing goes wrong with it.

After a moment Chase catches my eye and with a slight jerk of his head towards the door and asks, "Eb can I have a word in private?"

I quickly look in Jake's direction trying to find some reason to deny the request. Ever since Chase and I spent that night together I have gone out of my way to make sure we were not alone together if I could avoid it. Every time we have been he has hinted, not so subtlety, that he would like a repeat event despite my objections.

Problem is my objections sound more and more hollow as time passes, even to me, and he knows it.

With a resigned sigh I nod and follow Chase out without a word leaving Jake happily tending his meal.

Once in the hall Chase turns to look at me and says in a quiet voice, "Ive been meaning to ask you, have you had anymore luck translating that book?"

This question was not the one I had expected but is more welcome. Feeling my brow wrinkle a bit at the thought of the infuriating book I look into his warm eyes and answer, "Ive translated the words yes, but the meaning is still just as confusing as ever. Parts of it seem to be a journal telling about a demon hunter chasing their prey only to in turn be captured themselves. But other parts seem to talk about events that have nothing to do with the rest of the journal. Almost like they were written by a different person telling something completely unrelated. But the handwriting and the style never changes which makes it even more confusing. Why would someone split a journal up like that?"

Chase thinks for a moment then answers, "Well I suppose it made some kind of sense to them. Maybe they were writing in a code for some reason."

I lean against a wall and cross my arms, "I suppose that could be the reason. Though the demonic runes would be enough to keep all but demons and hunters from reading it, and that raises another question. Why would a demon hunter keep their journal in demonic runes? Sure they need to be able to read them to hunt demons but typically hunters avoid actually using the runes if they can avoid it."

He looks up at me with a bit of worry in his eyes, "Have you had much trouble with hunters in the past Eb?"

Giving a slight unconcerned shrug I say, "Ive run across a few from time to time. Most are idiots who wouldn't know a true demon from a horned lizard. It's the ones that don't say they are demon hunters that you have to worry about."

Chase scratches his chin for a moment before asking, "Why are those the ones that you have to worry about?"

I look at him with a humorless grin, "Because the ones who go around shouting they are hunting demons are usually the first ones to die at a demons hand. The ones who don't brag are typically the ones who have fought a real demon and lived to not talk about it."

He thinks on it for a moment before shrugging, "Ok I guess I can see where not bragging about what you are doing would go a long way to keeping you alive."

I give him a half smile, "Wise words to follow no matter your position in life."

He nods slightly then asks, "So which kind have you come across? The stupid ones or the quiet ones?"

My grin spreads a bit wider, "Some of each actually. The stupid ones never found out what I really was and the quiet ones.... well.... we came to an..... understanding."

He looks at me with narrowed eyes, "What kind of understanding?"

With a half shrug I move away from the wall and start towards the stairs leading back to my room, "They had an opinion about the length of my life being to long and I made them understand that their lives were to short. In the end they agreed to leave me alone."

Crossing his arms he lets out a slow sigh, "Did you kill them?"

I stop and scratch my chin for a moment thinking back, "Only a few of them. But if it settles your nerves it was entirely self defense. They were the ones who decided to corner me in a dark alley. Six on one really wasn't all that fair."

Starting up the stairs I hear Chase following me and can feel his gaze boring into my back, "You took on six of them? And won?"

Reaching my room I stepped in side as I moved my head side to side, "Well I wouldn't say I won per se. Just that by the end they were hurting just as bad as I was and we both thought it better to leave the other alone. Basically I agreed to stay away from their city and their order agreed to not hunt me beyond its walls."

Stopping for a moment to think as Chase moved past me to sit on the edge of my bed I consider that long ago night again, "Though now that I think about it, the fact that I took off the right hand of their grandmaster may have had something to do with reaching that agreement."

He looks at me with a mix of revulsion and curiosity as he asks, "You managed to beat their leader?"

Nodding I sit down in the chair against the wall and relax a bit, "If it had been one on one I would have killed him easily without using any demonic powers. He was just a normal human after all. Course they thought they were hunting a pure demon not a watered down hybrid."

With a tilted head and cocked ear he asks, "Why would that have made a difference?"

Smirking I try to keep from chuckling, "Well normally pure demons have set rules and weaknesses that they have to follow. For example all but the most powerful can't go out in direct sunlight for more than a few minutes without out starting to burn, if they stayed out to long they could eventually die. Second pure blood and half bloods can not set foot on holy ground without becoming paralyzed at best, dying at worst, and then there are the religious artifacts. Those can have a wide range of nasty effects on them."

He remains silent for a time taking in the new information before asking, "So none of their weapons would work on you?"

I study his gaze for a moment before saying, "Yes and no, they had effects on me certainly. But being that I am what I am it was easy enough to ignore the worst of it with out any lingering trouble."

Watching him I see the gears of his mind turning behind his eyes and I can tell that he is trying to figure something out. Eventually what ever he has been chewing on falls from his lips, "Based on what you just told me, wouldn't those rules apply to your brother then? He wouldn't attack you during the day, not touching holy ground, and the artifact stuff?"

For a long moment I consider his words and think I see where he is going with it, "In theory..... But there is no way to know for sure short of testing it on him."

He nods then asks, "So what are their affects on you then?"

I stiffen slightly at the question. Is he asking out of concern for my well being or is he planning a counter to use against me one day. Eventually I decide to be, if not totally honest, then at least honest enough that his concerns for me will go away.

Taking a large breath I say, "Well I've never tried to enter holy ground before so I can't say what would happen there. Sunlight is a major annoyance to me and I am sensitive to it, but can be out in it for extended time if need be without suffering worse than a migraine and bad sunburn. As for the various artifacts...."

I give him a shrug before continuing, "That goes on a case by case experience. Each one is uniquely powered by the religion it represents."

He tilts his head to the side thinking over my comment before shrugging, "To be honest I'm not even going to pretend I understand all of that. But as long as you do I guess I can catch up in time. Pretty sure we don't have anything around here that would qualify as a threat to you anyway. But it could be useful to have something on hand if your brother ever did come knocking one day I suppose."

Staring at him with a calculating gaze I try again to figure him out. Every thing he does seems to eventually lead back to his being convinced that I'm going to stay in one way or another. And now that I think about it, things have been conspiring in such a way that staying here long term not only seems inevitable.... but is desirable even. I know the longer I stay the more likely Agerex will show up hunting me. Maybe investing in a few precautions wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Like what you see?"

I give a slight start and notice that Chase is staring me straight in the eyes, "Sorry, got a little lost in thought."

He nods and licks his lips, "You sure did. Can't help but be curious as to what those thoughts might have been."

Rolling my eyes at him, "Nothing like that I promise. I was just thinking about what you said about useful items in case my brother were to arrive. I've never thought about trying to set up any kind of a defense against him before, seeing as I never stayed in one place more than a few days at a time."

His face falls slightly at my words, disappointment replaces the frisky look he had a moment before, "Ah gotcha. Can't blame a wolf for getting his hopes up a little though. It has been a while since...."

His voice trails off and I can see him trying to put a lid on whatever emotional box he had unintentionally opened. Leaning forward with my elbows on my knees I look at him with a questioning gaze, "Anything you would like to talk about?"

He shakes his head a bit more fiercely than I thought the question warranted saying, "No its nothing. Just old memories is all."

He stands and moves to leave the room but before he can get a step away I ask, "Who was he?"

Chase's whole body goes instantly rigid as his ears swivel towards me. Without turning towards me he asks in a coarse whisper that contains a rage which is very out of character for him, "Who told you?"

His question catches me a little off guard and I quickly decide to not be totally honest before I answer, "No one did. I just was guessing."

He turns on me and actually bares his fangs at me in a snarl as he growls the question out again, "WHO TOLD YOU?"

Struggling to suppress my own anger at being threatened in such a brazen way I hold my gaze locked with his and stand my ground. After a moment of silence I give my answer, "No one told me anything actually, but Rick and Jasmine both made comments about you having been hurt in the past. I admit that got my curiosity up, but they both said no one would talk about it."

He turns and starts storming towards the door muttering, "I will rip them apart, they know better than...."

Before he can get to far I quickly get to my feet and in two large strides manage to grip his left shoulder with my right paw, "There is no reason to be mad at them. They said the topic was off limits for your pack and I have respected that till now. I was only curious is all"

I barely get the words out though before he turns on me and with a feral look of rage in his eyes throws my arm off his shoulder and before I can react has his right paw wrapped around my neck, his claws pressing painfully into the skin. Reacting on years of instinct I grab his paw and pull it away from me and spin him around before slamming him face first into the wall. His arm wrenched behind his back as I pull it to hold him in place.

Growling deeply, behind his head I say, "Now just calm down. I never meant to upset you, I was just...."

Before I can finish the statement however a loud crack causes all my senses to go black for a moment. I feel my grip on his arm slacken as pain shoots from my nose. Opening my eyes to stars I instinctively press a paw to my nose only to feel a warm wetness gushing from it. Chase had slammed his head back into my nose and possibly broke something.

For a moment I am dazed but thats all the time he needed. The instant my gripping paw loosened he had wrenched his arm free and turned on me with a feral glint in his eyes. Rage had replaced all logic in his mind and I had no idea why. Before I could regain my balance he was jumping at me, claws outstretched and fangs bared.

As the pain from my nose mixed with with the sight of my blood and the attack coming at me something in my mind clicked free before I could stop it. In less than a heartbeat I felt my clothes first become unbearably tight then rip and explode away from my body as I shifted into my demon form to combat the threat my inner demon perceived. Before he was able to gain a foothold on my mind however I was able to regain complete control.

Just then a wall of angry fur barrels into my chest sending us both rolling to the floor pinning my wings painfully underneath us. Chase swipes wildly with his claws and snaps drool covered fangs at my face. Thankfully my sudden increase in size and mass combined with my conveniently place scales and horns has caused him to avoid causing any serious damage to my person. However he is still above me working very hard to change that making it extremely difficult to gain leverage.

As I use my arms and talons to try and stop his assault I use a trick my dad used on me when I was a tiny pup. While Chase's full attention is on my face and chest I manage to snake my tail around his waist and pull him off with a hard yank throwing him off to the side. As he goes rolling over the floor only stopping when he hits the wall I get up on my hands and knees as quickly as I can. Placing a scaled claw to my nose I feel for the flow of blood and pain of a broken nose.

Aside from the blood already there there is no flow or pain. The rapid transformation seems to have healed it. Turning my gaze back to Chase I see him getting to his feet shaking his head slightly to clear it only for his eyes to lock on me as he rushes to attack again. This time however I am able to grab his wrist in my claws and using my much larger bulk force him to the ground.

Despite my increased strength and mass it takes a few moments of struggling to get him pinned to the ground so he is looking up at me, but eventually I manage to straddle his legs and pin his arms above his head. Spreading my wings behind me as far as the room will allow I look down on him in my full demon form and growl low and deep, vibrating the very floor he is pinned against, "THAT IS ENOUGH!"

Eventually his snarling and snapping gives ways to tired panting as his eyes begin to loose the feral look gradually being replaced by fear as he sees my horned head glaring down at him. Eventually another emotion begins fill his eyes as his struggles die down to nothing... shame.

As he stops fighting and just lays limp beneath me I glare down at him and ask in my gravelly voice, "Are you through?"

He holds my gaze for a moment longer before lowering it and nodding his head. Slowly I lift my weight up off of him and move to sit on the floor beside him. For several minutes he just lays there panting before slowly shifting to sit up with his back to me. I sit and watch him as the silence stretches out between us until there is a knock on the door followed by a soft voice, "Eb you ok in there?"

I look up at Jasmines voice before clearing my throat with a cough before saying in a voice as close to normal as I can, "Uh yeah, just tripped and fell."

Keeping an eye on the door I hold my breath for a moment before she replies, "Oh ok. We just heard a loud noise downstairs. Glad your ok."

As her footsteps recede down the hall I turn my attention back to Chase and ask, "Are we ok?"

He remains seated with his head bowed and ears and tail limp as he nods and says quietly, "Yeah...."

Rustling my wings a bit behind me to get more comfortable I lean back against the wall and wait to see what he will do next. It is several minutes before I realize that he is moving slightly in his position but I cant figure out what it means. Watching him I can see his shoulders moving in jerky up and down motions with each breath coupled with the odd sniffing sounds. Then it hits me, Chase is crying.

Slowly I inch my way over to him and reach out a taloned claw to rest on his shoulder, "Hey, Chase, are you sure your ok?"

He stiffens a bit under my grip before collapsing even more into tears, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to attack you Eb. It's just that every time that subject comes up I loose control of my temper and go crazy."

Not sure what exactly to do or say I just leave my hand resting on his shoulder letting him go at his own pace. Eventually he starts talking, "It was about fifteen years ago now when I met him. His name was Braden, a lone wolf I found wondering the forest. He was half starved and had been several days without food. So I invited him back here."

Sensing that this is the first time he has told anyone this story in a long time I just rub his back gently with my paw as he speaks, "All seemed to go well at first. He got along well with everyone, me especially. Eventually we ended up together. I thought that we were doing well and were happy. Then one day.... that was revealed to be.... a lie."

Feeling him tense up under my touch I stop moving to let him work through his emotions at his own pace, "One day Braden and I were alone out in the yard doing something, I don't remember what, when he called my name. I turned just in time to see the dagger swipe at my throat."

Instinctively I feel my claws clench in anger at anyone threatening Chase like that, even my inner demon growls protectively at the thought. This being a rare occasion where we both agree on something completely I ask, "Why did he attack you?"

Chase takes a deep breath before saying, "Apparently he only ever wanted to be the alpha of his own pack. He had told me how he had been cast out of his former pack by the alpha but I had never pressed for details, figuring that the past was the past. Well apparently he wanted to rule so bad he was going to try and take it by any means necessary, including going so far as to seduce and then kill me to try and get the top spot."

He rubs his side absently before continuing, "Well I managed to avoid the blade aimed for my throat, but not the one aimed for my side. As soon as I felt the blade pierce my side I knew the fight would only end with one of us dead. Acting on pure instinct I let my anger at being betrayed cloud my mind till I was little more than an animal. The next thing I knew I was standing over his shredded body my mouth filled with blood and his throat torn open."

I feel the blood in my veins go cold. For werewolves like us going savage to that degree is the height of personal shame and leaves a black mark on our souls we can never remove. Worse still if a wolf falls to the blood lust like that once then the next time it will happen easier. If allowed to happen often enough it can result in the wolf going completely feral and loosing their identity to the blood lust entirely, becoming little more than the monster of rage that so many humans think werewolves are.

For the first time since waking up here I feel like someone here knows a little of what it is like for me to live with my inner demon. Slowly I reach my hand up to his shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze, "Im sorry, I had no idea. I never should have asked."

He shakes his head as he wipes his eyes and sniffs, "No, there was no way for you to know. Most of the pack don't even know the full extent of what I did that day. Richard and Jasmine are the only ones who know how I killed him. The rest just assumed I used claws or blade. That wasn't even the worst of it though."

Confused at the last comment I ask, "It wasn't?"

He shakes his head, "No, the worst part was that I loved him. I loved him with my whole heart and he never once had any plans for me other than to kill me."

Before I realize it Chase has turned around and wrapped his arms around my neck burying his muzzle into my neck below my lower horns. For a second I think he is attacking me again only to realize he has begun sobbing uncontrollably into my neck fur. Letting go of my defenses I relax and wrap my arms around him then wrap my wings around both of us into a kind of cocoon made of leathery flesh.

For quite some time I just hold him, wrapped up in my arms and wings as he lets out the years of pent up emotions of anger, betrayal, and loss all at once. Unsure what else to do for him I just let Chase release his feelings into my shoulder, which is soon wet from his tears. Eventually he gets control of his emotions and manages to sniff the flow of tears back under control.

Before long he pushes back away from me and I unfold my wings and arms from around him. For a moment he looks at me through reddened eyes with a confused look then asks, "When did you go scaly?"

Suppressing a growl I reply, "About two seconds after you broke my nose."

What color you could see under his fur quickly drains as a look of horror spreads across his face, "I am so sorry Ebony, I didn't mean to. I.... I wasn't in control of myself."

I lick my lips and taste the blood that has begun to dry there before saying, "That much was obvious."

He lowers his head in shame, "I'll leave you alone then. I doubt you want to be around me much right now... or ever again."

He gets to his feet and moves to the door, "I sure wouldn't hold it against you if you decided to leave tonight even and never look back."

For a moment I watch him head to the door with the look of a broken wolf about him with his shoulders hunched, ears pinned to his skull, and head bowed low. Before he can get halfway to the door however I am on my feet shifting rapidly back into my wolf form as I reach a paw out and grab his arm, "Hey wait."

He pauses in his step and looks down at my paw as I speak, "Look, if that was all it took to drive me away I would never go near anything approaching civilization. I don't even know the number of times I've been hit, bruised, stabbed, or other wise assaulted just for being furry, let alone for other, more legitimate, reasons. No your little tap to my nose isn't even enough to warrant being upset over."

He can't help but let out a small chuckle despite his downcast look, "I guess that's true."

With a gentle tug I get him to turn around and with my free hand lift his chin till he is looking up at me. Once I have his gaze I add, "Besides, if you want to get technical about me leaving, you kinda owe me a set of clothes now."

He looks at me with a confused look before he realizes my naked form causing his eyes to widen slightly before I add, "My transformations are not all that nice to fabrics."

His eyes dart around the room taking in the scraps of cloth littering the floor before he says, "I'll see what we can do about that."

With a tug he makes to move to the door again but I keep him in place, "Chase, just so you know, I do not blame you in the slightest for this little scuffle. I never meant to drag up those memories, I was just curious about what happened in your past is all. For that I am sorry."

At my words he looks at me and gives a half smile, "Thanks, that means a lot."

For a moment he looks at me then says, "That blood on your face is rather distracting Eb, if you let me go I'll get a rag for you."

I give his arm a gentle squeeze before letting him go. As he heads for the door I turn and sit down on the foot of the bed with a sigh. In less than two minutes Chase is back with a damp rag, his own face showing signs of having been hurriedly washed and dried. I go to reach for the cloth but he just bats my paw away saying, "I caused this the least I can do is help clean up the mess."

He presses the warm cloth against my muzzle and begins to wipe away the blood caking the hairs around my nose. With strong but gentle strokes the rag slowly grows black as more and more of my blood is cleaned from my fur. Eventually a frown creases his face as he keeps wiping. With a raised eyebrow I ask, "Whats wrong?"

With a grunt he sets the now almost black rag to the side and looks at my face again before saying, "You and your blood. Its almost the exact color as your fur which makes it near impossible to tell if I got it all or not."

I wipe a paw across my muzzle and look down at it, "Looks like you got it all to me, and if you did miss any its nothing a shower wont fix."

He nods then turns to make as though he is leaving but I stop him saying, "Just so you know, I am sorry for what he did to you. I won't claim to be a saint by any means, you know that. But I can say that I would never willingly betray and hurt you like that."

With a hard sniff he gives me a half smile, "Thanks. I had thought that the worst of the pain would have gone away by now, guess I was wrong."

I stand up so that we are looking at each other on a level basis. I try to say something to reply but the words wont come to me. Instead something clicks in the back of my mind and I feel a push against my mind. It is so insistent that my body reacts as though I was physically pushed. Before I realize what is happening my lips have pressed tight against Chases.

This time I don't even try and resist.