FSE

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Chapter 25

Urg... My head hurts... Sophia woke to a throbbing headache, a parched mouth and the feeling of desperately needing to pee. Did I fall asleep..?

She could feel she was laying partially on her side with her legs curled inwards. Her shoulder was awkwardly scrunched against the side of the cave Shadow had guided her to. To her relief, Shadow's large warm body was still pressed into her's. The small cave was dark, but she could vaguely make out the wolf's shape in the little moonlight that made its way into the cave.

"Ohh..." she uttered as pins and needles radiated through her pinned right arm.

Shadow shifted and let out a concerned whine.

"I'm okay," she assured Shadow in a raspy voice. "Just sore."

Reaching her left hand across her body, she gave the wolf a reassuring scritch on his back. She shivered as an icy draft punctuated the otherwise warm air in the cave.

"I guess I fell asleep," she observed. "Thanks for staying with me."

If Shadow hadn't been there... She shivered again, this time at the thought of freezing alone in the mountains.

"I should head back," she said, feeling around for her backpack. "I have school tomorrow."

She expected Wolfgirl to protest at the idea of going home, but she seemed chastened after the night's events. Finding the backpack tucked against the back of her legs, she worked it up her body. As she did, a savory burst of air made its way to her nose as the bag was compressed. Shadow let out a hopeful whimper.

"I'm sorry Shadow," Sophia apologized. "We ate them all. They were good, weren't they?"

I'll have to see about buying some. I wonder if they're cheaper than human food?

With a few quick jerks, she managed to get her main compartment open wide enough to fit a gloved hand in. Reaching in, she felt around the interior.

Waterbottle... pen... ah! Her hand felt the hard shape of her phone.

Grabbing it, she brought it out and flipped it open, partially illuminating the small space. The signal bar was unsurprisingly empty and the "no service" icon was active. But what she was really looking for...

"5:32 AM???" Sophia exclaimed, panicking. "I need to get home!"

Her bladder complained as she squirmed and tried to maneuver around Shadow. The startled wolf rolled away and yelped. With her hand freed, Sophia managed to get onto her stomach and started pushing herself out of the entrance made by the fallen tree's root.

Shadow let out a cross between a yelp and a whine.

"I know it's really cold," Sophia replied, sensing the wolf's worry.

Even as she spoke, she could feel the cold night wind penetrating the paltry protection offered by the denim of her jeans. When her head cleared the cave entrance, she staggered to her feet. Pain seemed to emanate from every muscle in her body and she clutched her pounding head.

Need to pee... she clenched her legs as her bladder threatened to empty itself.

"Uh, just a minute," she told the wolf whose head was now poking out of the cave entrance. "Please don't look."

Stumbling, she made her way to a small copse of young evergreens. They were just big and thick enough to afford some modesty. Undoing the button of her jeans, she worked them and her underwear down her legs. She bit her lower lip in embarrassment as her panties briefly stuck to her skin and the smell of dried vaginal fluid reached her nose. That scent was shortly overwhelmed by a strange mixture of human and lupine urine as she emptied herself.

After pulling up and fastening her jeans, Sophia let Wolfgirl satisfy her instinct to inspect the rapidly cooling waste. As ever, there was little Wolfgirl could glean with her nose aside from that it belonged to her. Still, the act felt necessary and seemed to appease the strange urges and instincts that had appeared with the latest full moon.

Walking out of the copse, Sophia saw Shadow's dark form in front of the cave. He was still as she approached and so she was caught completely off guard when the wolf suddenly stepped forward and stuck his nose between her legs and sniffed. Briefly, Wolfgirl suggested letting him, but her human sensibilities came in a rush. Heat flowed into her face and she roughly pushed his snout away. Immediately, she regretted her response.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as he yelped and staggered to the side.

Quickly squatting, she wrapped her arms around the wolf in a tight hug to reassure him, "You surprised me and... well, it's not something people do."

Shadow let out an irritated chuff, but turned his head and gave her an affectionate lick on the cheek. Down here, she could faintly smell the wolf's musk and her face felt like it got even hotter. Sensing that the wolf forgave her, she let go before Wolfgirl could get any ideas. Shadow whined and turned his head towards the cave.

"I know it's dangerous and cold, but I really need to go home," Sophia told him as she knelt in front of the cave. "Trust me, I'd much rather be with you."

Reaching in, she felt her backpack and pulled it out. After zipping closed the front compartment, she pulled out her water bottle and downed several gulps of the near freezing water. Thirst quenched, but now feeling chilled, she screwed the cap back on and threw it back in her backpack.

Shouldering her backpack, she looked around. It had grown even darker as the moon had slipped behind the mountains and she could barely make out the cave entrance a few feet away. In her confusion the night before, she had lost track of which direction her house was. Tossing her head back, she sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of something that might point her in the right direction. Unfortunately, her nose was still too feeble to find anything. Fear threatened to overwhelm her and she looked down at the silhouette of her companion.

"Can you help me get home?" Sophia asked, gesturing vaguely, desperately hoping he understood.

Shadow was silent for a moment and then let out a clipped bark. Turning, he started trotting away from the cave.

"You're the best!" Sophia smiled gratefully and jogged after.

Shadow moved quickly, forcing Sophia to stay close lest she lose him in the darkness. A few times she did lose him, but he always came back to find her. Each time, the wolf let out an irritated growl as though he were scolding a young pup. Sophia could feel Wolfgirl's shame and she couldn't help lowering her head.

After thirty minutes, Sophia's legs were starting to feel numb and she feared she was going to end up hypothermic again before they ever made it out of the mountains. However, her fears were allayed when they rounded a foothill and she glimpsed artificial lights through the trees. As the trees started to thin and more lights became visible, Shadow stopped and sat on his haunches. Once she had covered the distance between them, Sophia crouched down next to him and placed an arm around him.

"Thank you..." Sophia whispered emotionally. "For everything."

Letting Wolfgirl take over, she nuzzled the wolf's head with her own before giving him a lick across his furry cheek. Shadow returned the gesture before letting out a whine.

"I... Well, I'll miss you, Shadow," Wolfgirl told the wolf, feeling like she was going to cry. "I'll come back as soon as I can... and be better prepared."

Before she could have second thoughts, she sprang up and took off running across the field.

Shivering by the time she reached her house, she was relieved to find it still dark. As she slid the door open, the lingering smell of freeze dried mashed potatoes and barbecued pork from a TV dinner along with the scent of beer greeted her. The smell and sight of the empty tray her dad had left on the table reminded her she hadn't eaten much since lunch the day before. Before she could think about raiding the fridge, she noticed a distant beeping.

She glanced at the microwave clock. Oh no, my alarm has been going off for half an hour. For once, I hope my dad got plastered.

Carefully pulling a chair from the table, she carefully untied and removed her boots. Picking them up, she walked as softly as she could. The beeping got louder as she neared her room and it was shortly joined by the sound of another alarm clock going off in her dad's room.

Crap, that's right, he gets up at 6:00 now, she closed the last few steps to her room, opened the door and slipped in.

After closing the door quietly, she closed her eyes and exhaled. The familiar scent of her room was welcoming, although she already missed the smells of the forest and Shadow. Somewhere in her mind's recesses, Wolfgirl whimpered in resignation at her renewed confinement.

As the immediate threat of discovery faded, the rest of her body started filing its grievances. Bringing her hands to her face, she cupped her head as it started pounding. The skin on her legs, numb until now, started burning and itching as feeling returned. Her back, forced to lie contorted on uneven and hard ground for hours, ached as she slipped her backpack off. Opening it, she greedily sucked down the remaining water in her bottle.

Well, last night was not one of the smarter things I've done, she curled into a ball under her bed covers and tried to will her head to stop pounding. I'll have to get some warmer clothes for the winter and other stuff. I certainly can't rely on my... my boyfriend to save me every time.

Her headache seemed to ease as her heart beat faster at the memory of Shadow's strong, but gentle body pressed against her.

"You're four dollars and eighty-four cents off," Rob told her roughly after counting her till. "Cutting it really close there. You have, what, one more write-up before a suspension?"

"I'll do better; I promise," Sophia pleaded softly. "Today was just really rough."

"We all have rough days," Rob sneered. "Most of us do our best job anyway. Don't stay up all night on Facebook or whatever it is you kids are on these days."

Jerk, Sophia quietly fumed. At least I don't smell like I haven't showered in months.

Losing the battle to keep from reacting to the awful combination of his body odor, cigarette smoke and a mix of dozens of chemicals that seemed to cling to him, she felt her eyes watering. The unpleasant mixture was aggravating the headache she hadn't been able to fully shake all day.

Did you bathe in every cleaning supply we sell?Sophia rubbed her burning nose.

"Are you crying?" he asked contemptuously and rolled his eyes. "Girls always fall apart at the slightest problem. Anyway, here's your check."

He held out an envelope with Sophia's name on it and she took it.

One bright spot today at least.

"Can I go?" she asked impatiently.

Rob waved dismissively and then stalked off carrying her till, leaving a lingering stench. Eager to put the day behind her, Sophia wasted no time in leaving the register. Following the least odorously unpleasant path through the story she'd found over the last week, she headed for the time clock in the break room. Unfortunately, she discovered someone had washed down the table in the break room recently as she entered.

I wish I had stayed in the woods this morning. Sophia punched out, grabbed her belongings and retreated from the breakroom. Gah, I'm starving.

Pausing outside the breakroom, she took a moment to take a look through her wallet. It was depressingly thin.

Only a few dollars, she grimaced. That's not going to get me far. I could get a chicken leg or maybe a beef stick.

Unfortunately, there was no fried chicken left at the deli when she checked. Walking over to the snack food aisle, she stared longingly at the beef jerky. Wolfgirl suggested just grabbing a bag and tearing it open, but Sophia nixed that idea. Briefly, she considered peanuts, but nothing except meat sounded appetizing.

Why couldn't I be a were-something-that-wants-cheap-food? I'll grab one of the beef sticks up front, that should get me home at least.

As she stood there, a shopper stopped to grab a box of microwave popcorn. Sophia smiled weakly at him when something in his cart caught her eye.

Hmm, I wonder if there's something Shadow would like? She considered the big bag of dog food at the bottom of the customer's cart. I'll just take a look and see what the store has.

As she approached the pet food aisle, the scent of rawhide and various kibbles reached her nose. The rawhide smelled good and there were some appealing meaty smells, but even Wolfgirl didn't find most of it particularly appealing.

Ugh, how do cats stand to pee in that stuff? Some of the scented cat litter reminded her of the cleaning aisle. Wow, there's a lot of grain in dog food. Ooh, those smell good.

Hanging from a strip of plastic hooks were rawhide bones advertised as being made of cowhide. Stopping, Wolfgirl couldn't help sniffing the display curiously.

Too expensive, plus they're for chewing. She forced herself away from the display before she bit one. I... Shadow wouldn't like that.

Finally, her eyes came to rest on small bags of dog treats that were only a few dollars. Wolfgirl started salivating as she saw the small morsels of meat peaking through the transparent parts of the bag.

I could... get these. I'd get more per dollar than a beefstick. Wolfgirl plucked the bag off the shelf and sniffed at it. They do look really good.

A woman with a basket walked into the aisle and Sophia quickly dropped her arm holding the bag to her side. Feeling like she had been caught doing something naughty, Sophia smiled innocently. The woman didn't even look at Sophia as she walked past and stopped by the cat food.

Okay, I'm a hungry werewolf, but I'm not stooping to eating dog treats. Reluctantly, she put the bag back on the shelf.

Was my laptop always this noisy? Sitting at her laptop as she licked the remaining juices from two chicken breasts from her plate, Sophia tried to ignore the high-pitched whine of the fan as it powered on.

After she had logged in, she pulled up her school email inbox, wondering if the Outdoors Club had sent anything. Immediately, she regretted it. All three emails were from teachers informing her they were missing the day's assignments. Mr. Pindlewood's email further expressed disappointment that she had nodded off in class several times and asked if she needed someone to talk to.

For last night, it was worth it, closing her inbox, she started searching for better cold weather clothes.