Into the dark unknown (Closed for The_gladiator)

[The_gladiator]

The door opened. The large black wolf’s ears perked up. He was eager to meet his mate. She came bustling out saying something about taking so long. Aiden was grateful in that moment that her towel started to slip and she focused on that on keeping her wet hair from cascading all over her dry clothes. It had the added benefit of allowing him to take over control and flash himself into human form. He manifested a clean pair of black jeans tucked into dry boots and a button-down shirt, with the sleeves rolled back at the forearms. That had been close. The wolf had almost not let him have control back.

He turned to face her pretending he had been studying the laptop that was sitting on the desk, forgetting it was closed. “I took the liberty of ordering you dinner,” he said. “I assure you that the steak I got you is nowhere as large as the one I ordered for myself.” His grin was wolfish at the thought of food.

Inside, the wolf was clawing at him. It wanted back out. It did not like that it had been foiled at its attempt to make itself known again. “How are you feeling?” he added after a moment.

 

[Angeleyz]

Straightening back up once she was certain the towel was secure, she glanced in the direction of his voice, noting his casual attire with a small degree of relief. She worried she’d be underdressed when she had pulled on her current outfit, but he looked just as comfortable in his jeans and shirt as he had in his Armani suit. Her suitcase hadn’t contained a single stitch of clothing that would be presentable if that was his only attire, but the faded blue jeans and a lightweight lavender sweater that caused her eyes to look as purple as her name shouldn’t raise an eyebrow.

“Steak sounds wonderful, although you might have to protect your plate as I’m starving,” Violet teased before adding, “I missed lunch… I think.”

She padded over to the suitcase to retrieve her brush and a pair of warm socks, finding the socks easily but the brush proved to be more elusive. Muttering softly under her breath, she continued to search although occasionally she’d pause and send a him a concerned look. If she were to bet a diet soda, she would have said he was agitated, but looking at him he presented a perfectly calm demeanor. “Find your damn brush and stop imagining things,” she told herself after the third pause.

“I’m much warmer than before, thank you. My teeth have stopped chattering,” Violet smiled, not admitting that she still felt minute shivers occasionally, hoping the socks would take care of those.

Finally finding her wayward brush tucked under a stack of lacy lingerie, she carefully tucked away her one indulgence for the trip before turning fully towards him. “I hope I’m not keeping you from your friends," wondering if that was the cause for the turmoil she felt even if she didn't see.

 

[The_gladiator]

The man watched her. The wolf in the man’s eyes watched her. It knew something he didn’t and it wanted out. He forced it down. He was not a pup anymore he should have better control. His lips quirked in a small smile as he caught sight of her lacy underwear briefly as she looked around in her bag. He only caught the glimpse before he made himself turn away to gaze out the window, unwilling to let her see him being a voyeur.

“They’re not my friends,” he commented finally. “Rather annoying business associates to be honest. We all have them,” he said. “Surely you have some of those yourself? People that demand things and even though it’s your job sometimes you’d like to be thanked for it?” he didn’t know why he was saying so much, yet he continued to talk to fill the space, uncomfortable with the silence. That was very unlike him. He was the epitome of strong and silent. He didn’t want her asking too much about the local pack. She didn’t need to know he’d carried out justice here, some details of his work were probably left unexplained.

 

[Angeleyz]

Unwrapping the towel, she rubbed it vigorously against her hair before tossing it on top of her closed suitcase. She considered his questions as she carefully brushed the snarls out of her hair. She knew she had co-workers, she had remembered their comments about her appetite but for the life of her couldn’t even remember what it was she did let alone know if she ever missed being thanked. Instead of allowing herself to get worked up about her faulty memory, she concentrated on the long, smooth strokes of the brush through her wet hair using the sensations to help her find her happy place. For a few minutes, the only sound in the room was the rhythmic stroking of the brush until her stomach made its near empty state known.

“Looks like I was right about missing lunch,” Violet laughed as her cheeks pinkened slightly, “And sorry, I sometimes zone out when brushing my hair. I can't remember whether or not I have annoying business associates, but I think it's perfectly normal to want to be thanked.”

Placing the brush on the desk, she quickly plaited her hair into a smooth French braid before trying unsuccessfully to one handedly get the rubber band wrapped around the brush handle. “Would you mind giving me a hand…,” she asked holding the brush out to Aiden.

 

[The_gladiator]

Aiden watched her. As she worked to brush her hair he got lost in the symphony of her movements. Such a simple exercise, yet it displayed so much about her. It was almost a meditative action for her. He could respect that. His hands actually twitched as if he wanted to do that for her.

“You did hit your head hard,” he murmured more to himself than to her as she said she did not remember. “I agree with you, though to be honest I find more prefer me to do my job and get the fuck out of their territory.” He smiled to deflect her from the truth of his words. “But not everyone can be liked all the time, right?”

He rose smoothly to his feet, and came towards her. The wolf made it almost a stalk, or prowl. He took the brush and removing the band, he handed it to her, his hand covering her small one for a moment, before he drew it away.

“We best hope the steaks get here soon, before you take a bite out of me,” he commented finally addressing her earlier comment about missing lunch.

 

[Angeleyz]

Realizing she didn’t know what he actually did for a living, Violet wrinkled her nose slightly at Aiden’s use of the word territory. She had never heard someone use the word territory unless they were in sales or… Once more her faulty memory took her right to the precipice of some grand revelation and then dropped her into the abyss of absolute nothingness. It was maddening!

Sighing soundlessly, she watched as he rose to his feet. There was something in the way he moved that convinced her there was no way he could be in sales. He seemed too rugged, too… oh lord, she wasn’t sure what it was. Wild, maybe? Too something… something that wouldn’t be satisfied with an ass kissing, smarmy salesman position.

There was another flash of partial recognition as he drew near and took the brush from her. She felt his touch, accepted the band, and even heard his comment about hoping the steaks arrived soon, but was distracted by that niggling that teased the perimeters of her mind.

“You move just like…,” Violet muttered softly only to trail off when the elusive thought slipped further and further away. Shaking off her frustration, she quickly secured the bottom of her braid and flipped it back over her shoulder just as there was a knock at the suite door.

“Looks like you’re safe from my nibbles,” she grinned. She headed towards the door but pulled up short when Aiden somehow beat her to the door and leveled a stern look at her. “Sorry, habit…” she added, wondering if she had really heard him growl. It’s his suite, dumb ass.

 

[The_gladiator]

“I move like a hunter,” he said very serious, but he’d also told her his last name was Hunter. “Safe from your nibbles sounds exceedingly less fun,” Was his next comeback. He growled his irritation when she lit off towards the door like there was no danger.

It took only a few strides to pass her and he gave her a stern glower, that was mixed with disapproval. “Do not trouble yourself,” he said, “I’ll be sure to do the killing if it’s anyone but someone with our food.” Was his next comment. He did hope she kept interpreting what he said as jokes, that sure made things easier. He was pretty serious though.

As he opened the door, he could smell it was indeed their dinner. Aiden glowered at the man with the tray long enough to smell the man had no weapon, and did not reek of fear or aggression. Finally, Aiden stepped back to let him in. The man set the trays on the small table and then departed.

It was Aiden’s turn to show his hunger. He began lifting lids. Violet had a decent sized steak though it paled in comparison to the porterhouse that Aiden seemed to have ordered for himself. Aiden’s was rare, just like he liked it. It took all his control not to tare into hit. However, he sat on the edge of the bed and actually took a knife and fork in hand even as the wolf snarled for meat.

 

[Angeleyz]

Something struck her about the guarded way he opened the door, filling the entrance in its entirety such that she couldn’t initially see whoever was on the other side. You need to learn caution, pequeñita. Look what happened to your cousin… Delicious smells wafted in setting off another round of embarrassing noises from her stomach and distracting her from the burgeoning memory.

Telling herself that it would be bad manners to snatch a tray from the hotel employee, Violet forced herself to be patient as he laid the trays on the small table near the bed and left. That patience was tested though when Aiden started removing the lids covering the plates and the sight of the meat all but left her drooling. Juices from the steaks were already forming a pool around the meat, starting to soak into the baked potato and mixed vegetables that accompanied them.

Pulling a chair closer to the table, she sat down, placed a napkin in her lap and picked up her silverware. “This smells sooo good,” Violet all but moaned as she started to cut a bite. Popping it into her mouth, she squirmed a little as the tender morsel melted on her tongue. She quickly took two more bites of steak before sampling the potato and mixed vegetables. Looking up at Aiden who was primarily focused on his steak, she grinned, “Don’t mind me as I wolf this down…”

 

[The_gladiator]

Aiden watched her eat, that first bite seemed to make her almost have an orgasm so great was her pleasure. He had to admit his first bite was quite impressive as well. He focused on the methodical nature of eating, so he did not embarrass himself.

Then she said it, and he almost choked on his bite. “No worries my lady, I have been known to act like an animal myself. We all have that inner beast that comes out when we let loose the reigns of control.” He was almost testing her in the wording, the double entendre there. He wondered if she had ever shifted. His wolf told him that his mate was inside her, he had to be right, that didn’t mean she’d ever shifted though. Some of the born shifters suppressed the gifts until long into adulthood. This was not the case for Aiden. No, it seemed as if his furred companion had always been with him.

“How’s the memory lady Violet? Though I suppose that’s a silly question, how can you know if your memories are all returned if you do not know what all you lossed.” As he asked it, he finally tried his potatoes. He made a less than satisfied face and returned to his steak. The vegetables had been pushed to a far corner of the plate, banished from the heaven that was his steak. It was clear what part of the meal he would conveniently “forget” to eat.

 

[Angeleyz]

We all have that inner beast that comes out when we let loose the reins of control.

Carefully finishing another bite, Violet responded, “The only time my inner beast comes out is if someone gets between me and dark chocolate… and then my claws come out.” She laughed as a series of fragmented memories flashed through her mind of a handful of teenage boys playing keep-away with a bag of chocolate over the head of a younger version of herself, followed by an image of her tackling one of them before ending with a final impression of her hightailing it out of the area holding her prize close to her chest.

Picking through the mixed vegetables for the green beans, she slowly ate one after the other while pondering Aiden’s question. It seemed like her recollection rate was increasing, but the pieces were so disjointed that they hadn’t really produced anything meaningful. Sure she remembered her name (yippee), but she had no idea who Derek was to her and why they had fought. She knew she was on a vacation she had planned for month, but was equally convinced she was unemployed. That she came from a large family, but was a bit of an anomaly.

“That’s it,” she said suddenly, “You move just like…” She stopped and frowned, trying to recall what had been on the tip of her tongue. “You move like them, whoever they are,” she finally finished. Sighing, she finished the rest of her steak before looking up at Aiden, “Yeah, apparently my memory still stinks.”

 

[The_gladiator]

“Who are they,” Aiden sang, drawing the melody from a Tim McGraw Song. He hoped the joke would deflect her both from her distress over not being able to remember as well as prying questions about his movement.

Aiden took more bites of his steak. “It will come back to you. I am just glad you are safe, and that I found you out there. I am glad this wolf you saw did not hurt you. Most likely he was curious if anything, you were in the woods, the land of such creatures was you not?” he smiled, wondering if his words could help her be more accepting of his wolf. He knew it was only a matter of time before the furry bastard wanted out to see her again. He just hoped he didn’t hurt her this time.

 

[Angeleyz]

Tilting her head to the right, Violet heard the faint chords of the country song that Aiden’s singing invoked. Country wasn’t typically her go to, but given the size of her family she had heard it a time or two. Family… that was it. Sitting up straighter, her eyes became unfocused as she pushed to follow the thread. Family, a big one. Loud, boisterous, opinionated and over protective. That’s who Aiden moved liked… her family.

Blinking rapidly as the swirling images in her faulty mind’s eye once more faded out, she played with her potato mashing it with her fork as he spoke of the wolf she may or may not have really seen. She had always had an affinity for animals and had often seen wolves near her home, so it wasn’t like she had never seen one before. No, her panic had been seeing one outside the safety of the compound. Not realizing she had spoken her last thought aloud, Violet smiled weakly as she tried to joke, “Yes, perhaps he was more scared of me, then I was of him.” Her appetite suddenly gone, she put down her fork and cast about for something else to talk about, “How long will you be in the area?”

 

[The_gladiator]

Aiden looked a bit surprised as she mentioned a compound, but he didn’t say anything. Though that rang a bell with him. There was a family of shifters, all born, which was rare. They had a sanctuary where they sheltered real wolves, and even ran with their brethren when they could. However, he couldn’t remember where they were or who they were exactly. He would remember eventually he was sure of it.

“Not sure he was afraid,” he said before he could sensor. Mentally he kicked himself, certain that that would set off some kind of red flag for her. “I mean did it seem nervous?” he finished trying to backpedal.

He didn’t much like her new topic but held onto it. “My official business is done here, but I will stay here until I have finished assisting you, finished seeing to your safety and health. If your memory comes back tomorrow then you may be rid of me quickly, if not, you could be stuck with me for some time.” He said with a chuckle that didn’t quite reach his eyes, which watched her intently, he was quite serious he would be certain to protect her.