The Wolf Code

She fought and kicked, trying to twist out of his grip to no avail.

“Stop it,” he said through clenched teeth.  “Stop fighting me.  You’re alright.”

“They’re going to eat me,” she shot back. 

“There’s nothing there.”

“Bats.  They’re everywhere.”

“Senora,” he said, shaking her roughly.  “Senora, listen to me.”

She struggled against him, but he held fast, still shaking her. 

All at once, the sky ripped open, tearing a hole in the spot just above her head.  The trail remained dark, but the sky above blazed as if it was on fire. 

She threw up her hands, covering her face against the blinded light, but she could still see the trail and the trees even through her fingers.  She watched in awe as the trail imploded inward and she was left in the blinded light, still held tightly by his arms, the hard, rocky trail beneath her knees melting into a soft mattress and warm sheets.

She blinked, looking around in confusion and shaking violently.  Her eyes landed on a familiar, naked chest and traveled up until they met dark brown eyes watching her with concern.

“Ty,” she whispered, then burst into tears.  “Oh, Ty, I failed her.  I let her down, and now, she’s dead,” she said between gulping breaths.

Ty pulled her closer, and this time, she didn’t fight it even though he was completely naked.  She leaned into him, inhaling the now familiar scent of him and letting him rub her back and console her. 

They sat that way for what seemed like an eternity before Senora was finally able to catch her breath and regain her composure.  She closed her eyes and enjoyed the closeness for a brief moment before she pulled away and slid to the end of the bed.

Ty stayed where he was, body relaxed and waiting for her to say something.

“It was just a dream,” she managed, then looked at him, her head tilted.  “Why didn’t you tell me that so I could wake up?”

“Because it wasn’t just a dream,” he said.  “Dreams like that are never just dreams.  There’s something in the dream that you need to know.  Think back.  Was there anything that seemed completely out of place that you could reconsider?”

“You mean like the talking dead girl with a mouth full of bats?” she asked sarcastically.  “No.  There was nothing crazy like that in my dream.”

Ty chuckled. 

“I’m glad to see that you found your sense of humor again.  Let’s talk about what you saw, and maybe we can figure out what the dream meant.”

She shook her head.

“The dream means that I feel like I failed Addie.  There’s nothing more to it than that.”

“Humor me,” he pressed with a sweet smile.

“No,” she retorted.

He laughed softly.

“Fine.  What do you think the bats mean?”

She shrugged.

“That the Sheriff is secretly a vampire.  Aren’t vampires and wolves mortal enemies?”

 Ty rolled his eyes. 

“Where do humans come up with this stuff?” he said, growling and grabbing her.He hugged her close, laughing.  “There’s no mythical monster involved in this.  The Sheriff and his men are evil, but they’re only human.”

She sighed, making no move to pull out of his grasp but knowing that she couldn’t let the embrace go on for too long.  Her body was starting to respond to his nakedness and the feel of him against her skin where her night shirt had ridden up, and she didn’t know how much self-control she had left.

“I need to go for a walk,” she said finally.

“That’s good because the sun is rising and it’s almost time to wake up anyway.”

Startled, she looked to the window behind him, shocked to see that the gray light had given way to a bright orange sky. 

“What about my clothes?” she asked.

“They’re in the top drawer of the dresser over there, along with some other clothes I gathered from villagers.  Between all the women, I think you have enough clothes to live comfortably until we get this situation managed.”

“Thank you,” she said, going to the dresser and pulling out a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt and digging around until she found her bra and panties.  “I think I will take that walk now and try to get my head on straight.  Then, we can tackle those files and see what was worth dying over.”

Ty shook his head.

“It’s safe in the boundary of the village, but you can’t just go off into the woods alone.  Even though this place feels isolated, we’re only a few miles from the Sheriff’s territory.  I don’t want you to stumble into the wrong area and pay for it with your life.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll stay close.  I just need some time to think and be alone so I can process the-”

“The answer is no.”

“Excuse me?” she said, her ire rising.  “I don’t recall asking permission.”

“Look, I’m stuck protecting you, whether you like it or not.  Whether I like it or not.  I’m not going to let you out of my sight and risk you getting hurt.  It’s not worth it.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask for your protection, so you don’t have to burden yourself.”

She was tense and irritated.  Ty had taken what had been a calm moment spent together and made it into a power struggle.  She wasn’t interested in being handled, and she didn’t appreciate his attitude.

“I’m supposed to watch over you,” he repeated.

“Since the Sheriff is the one who brought you in to work with me, I’m pretty sure you’re off the hook.”

Her tone was snide, her face turning pink.  She knew that she was irritated because her feelings were hurt, but she wasn’t about to tell Ty that.  She hadn’t realized that his protective behavior had been ordered.  She had thought that he just wanted to watch over her, and that he enjoyed collaborating with her on the case.  She didn’t know why, but the fact that he’d been ordered to protect her was upsetting, and she felt a sting of rejection that she knew wasn’t rational.