Who will I be when I wake up next to a stranger?

[Yes, that might be easier.]

[Fantastic, where would you like to skip to?]

[It's up to you really, I don't mind.]

[We could skip to the next day, when Daniel and Marlee meet up? And I can have Lily turn into a human and go into town, where she runs into Emmaline.]

(Yes, that sounds really good.)

Lily rolled over in the den, feeling well rested from the family hunt last night. Her mother and father had left long ago, but Daniel's scent still lingered a little. He must have left recently, no doubt to go visit his human. The thought of her irritated Lily, but she brushed it off, knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop him at this point. She stood up, her dark brown coat was shiny and silky, thanks to her dip in the river last night. Unfortunately it was that disgusting human smell that caused it to happen, but at least she was clean now. She stretched her limbs, and shifted into her human form, figuring she would give the forest a break and go get some human food from the center of town. Ironically enough, when Lily was a human, she was a vegan. Most of the meat and animal products that humans ate were disgusting, processed foods that could actually poison someone. Lily only ate meat when she caught it, because at that point, she knew exactly where it came from. Her wolf body couldn't handle anything processed like that, so she didn't dare put it into herself when she was a human, either.

Lily made her way to the center of town, wearing a white cotton V neck and a pair of dark jeans with black canvas shoes. Though she was quite tall, Lily's body had no fat and a fair amount of muscle, making her appear very lean and slender. However, she had enough confidence to know she could take down anyone who happened to compromise her safety. Lily was not the type of girl to fuck around with.

Once she arrived at the center of town, she turned left down Main Street and began to head for her favorite restaurant, a quiet little corner store that served all kinds of delicious vegetables and vegan meals. She sat down at a table, and began reviewing a menu, when she smelled something horrid, and familiar. When Lily looked up, she noticed the girl from yesterday was standing at the counter and placing an order. Intrigued, Lily watched.



Daniel had left the den early to go home and shower and get ready for his date night with Marlee. He put on a nice button down t-shirt and dark jeans, and he went to the super market to get a bouquet of roses for her. Daniel was a firm believer in being a gentleman, and that meant buying roses for his girlfriend when they went on dates, even if it was just a date at her house. It was around 5 pm, and he knew Marlee would be getting out of work any second, so he headed over to the cafe where she worked and stood outside the car, holding the bouquet. When she came outside, a wide smile spread across his face as he rushed over to her and scooped her up in a deep hug. He kissed her softly and gently before placing her back on the ground and handing her the roses. "Are you ready to get going?" he asked, opening up the passenger door for her. They headed out towards Marlee's house, laughing and joking about the evening.

"Have you decided on dinner and a movie?" he asked, reaching for her hand. He found it, and held it firmly in his. Daniel felt complete when Marlee was around, like there was no better way for him to be spending his time. He truly believed that she was the love of his life, but he still needed to put telling her about his family on hold; they hadn't been dating that long, and he wasn't sure marriage was in his future. Not if Lily was going to be stubborn and make him keep his promise, which he knew she would. Daniel tried to spend as much time with his sister as he could, especially now that he was dating Marlee. He wanted to prove to her that he could do both, but she didn't seem to care.

When they arrived at Marlee's house, he noticed that her mother was just leaving the house. Daniel smiled and waved to her. "Good evening, Ms. Padilla," he called. Daniel had a great relationship with Marlee's mom, and he didn't even have to try that hard. She was a wonderful woman who did a great job providing for her daughter. On numerous occasions, she had mentioned that Daniel was perfect for Marlee, and as long as the two of them were happy, their relationship would forever have her blessing.

Emmaline had woken up early that morning so she could go out and get some more drawing in, she went to a different place as she was still scared about the giant wolf that she had seen hiding among the trees in the forest. After a while she finished drawing and decided to go get some food as she was pretty hungry, she went to her favourite restaurant that she went to as much as she could. She already knew what meal she wanted to order, so she walked straight up to the counter and ordered herself a pumpkin, chickpea and coconut curry as she felt like something hearty and filling. Once she ordered and paid for her meal she turned around to find a table to sit at, her eyes scanned the area until her eyes landed on the brunette girl from the other day in the forest. She was slightly surprised to see the girl sitting there at a table on her own, but was it a sign for Emmaline? She wasn't sure but she decided to take a chance and stepped over to the table, "I wanted to apologize about the other day. I shouldn't have walked off the trail," She spoke as she had realised that she was in the wrong once she arrived back home.

She was this person who loved nature so much and had been a vegan for a few years now, she couldn't stand people hurting animals just for food or holding animals against their will in horrible conditions just so they could collect produce from them. She looked at the pretty girl and something in her didn't want to walk away, "Mind if I join you? I'm really not as bad as you think I am," She asked as she wouldn't mind getting to know this girl more, if the girl decided to let her in which Emmaline highly doubted after what happened between them the other day. But she was still going to try as this girl was intriguing to her, something that didn't happen often to Emmaline as she found it hard to find person like her or who had the same interests in a smaller town.

She found herself sitting down on the chair at the table, "You know there's wolves out in that forest. You need to be careful, they can get dangerous if their territory is threatened." She told the brunette girl as she had done an essay on wolves back when she was in high school, she has always found the animals to be interesting and she had loved researching them.

---

Marlee had a long day at work as she had to cover the morning shift as a girl called in sick, but she kept going knowing that she would be having a date with her boyfriend. She had rushed out of the cafe once her shift was over and a wide smile formed across her face when she saw Daniel waiting by his car, in his hands was a beautiful bouquet of roses which he knew were one of her favourite flowers. She laughed softly when his strong arms wrapped around her body and her feet left the concrete sidewalk, her arms instantly wrapped around his neck and tightened as she needed a hug after the day she had. Her smile only grew bigger when he kissed her lips before setting her back down, "I'm ready. Thank you, the roses are beautiful." She took the bouquet and couldn't help but to smell them, she climbed into his car and relaxed her tense body as now she would be able to spend time with the only person she wanted to.

"Yes, I have and everything is already planned out." She told him as she had prepared their dinner last night so all she needed to do was cook it and serve it, she also had a couple of movies that they could decide on and watch together. Holding his large hand as he drove towards her house, she smiled and kissed her Mom's cheek as she was leaving for her night shift at work. Something that Marlee never really liked as it left her at home alone at night, she had never liked the feeling of being vulnerable but she dealt with it because her Mom needed the job.

Once they were inside the small house, Marlee told Daniel to make himself at home so she could change out of her cafe uniform. Stepping into her bedroom, she pulled the uniform off and pulled on a nice dress as she still wanted to look good for him even if they were just staying at her house. She brushed her blonde locks and tied her hair into a messy bun, she walked out barefoot and filled a vase with water before placing the roses in to keep them alive for as long as possible. "Dinner won't take long, you can look through the movies." She called out to him as she opened the fridge, all three movies were more action based as she knew Daniel loved those types of movies and so did she. She pulled out everything she needed from the fridge and turned the stove on, she was making vegan burgers as she did eat meat but it wasn't often as she wanted to become more healthy. Then for dessert she had already baked a vanilla sponge cake with cream and fresh raspberries, as she cooked the patties she got them both a drink and checked on Daniel. "I really need this, today was horrible." She told him softly.

Lily noticed the blonde girl approaching her, and she stiffened. What was going to happen? She was 4000% sure that Lily would not leave a fight with her with even a pinprick on her, but she also didn't want to disrupt the peace and bring attention to herself. She quickly sipped as much of her tea as she could, ignoring the scalding in the back of her throat. When she opened her mouth, Lily steadied her nerves, ready for the tiny girl to start screaming. She could already hear it; what you said yesterday was inappropriate, and I demand an apology. Despite her pride, Lily was willing to offer it up if it meant this girl would walk away in peace. But instead, Emmaline apologized.

"I'm sorry about the other day," the girl said. "I shouldn't have been off the trails." Lily inwardly laughed at that. No, she shouldn't have been. Despite how much she hated people, she knew she needed to protect them in order to protect herself. It was an ulterior motive, in a way. But it had to be done.

"Can I join you?" Lily thought about that one. This girl just kind of kept talking, and didn't really let Lily get a word in edgewise. She thought back to their meeting yesterday, and recalled that she didn't even give her name. Emmaline had literally no idea who Lily was, and she was acting like they had shared a moment in the forest. Before she had a chance to say no, Emmaline was already sitting down. Lily decided to use this to her advantage -- if she was friends with the girl, she would have a better chance of keeping her out of the forest. Lily decided that Emmaline's action, which normally would have made Lily mad, had just pretty much spared her life.

When she mentioned the wolves in the forest, Lily couldn't help it. She laughed. It was more of a bark, really. Pointed and loud. She shook her head. "I told you I lived in the forest, and I wasn't lying. My parents bought a cabin there, and it actually requires a lot of maintenance. That's where I live, and I provide the upkeep. I've seen the wolves, and I've seen what they're capable of. My dad leaves wounded animals around the cabin for them to eat, so they don't bother us. In fact, we kind of have a mutual respect going with them. They don't bug us, and we kind of hand them food. They won't eat it if it's dead on our doorstep, but they do know where it comes from." It was a lie as close to the truth as Lily could muster, without seeming ignorant to the things in the woods where she lived. "There are tons of other dangerous predators, and that's why I told you to leave."



Daniel flipped through the movies , and stacked them in the order he wanted to watch them, in case they ended up watching another one. The smell of food from the kitchen was an overwhelming aroma, and Daniel was famished. He burned up the energy from last night's kill already, and had not fed his human form since his dinner with Marlee last night. He could distinctly smell what she was cooking; his senses as a human weren't as good as his senses as a wolf, but they were still better than the average human's. The vegan burgers smelled great -- not as great as a fresh kill would be at the moment, but Marlee's cooking was also great enough to rival that.

He thought about all the things that would make her a great addition to his family; his parents loved her, and her mom loved him. She was great with chores, and Daniel could provide the best protection she could ever hope for. But they had only been seeing each other a few months, and Daniel needed to seriously consider their relationship for at least a year before deciding to reach out to her in the most sacred way a member of his pack could. All of his siblings were doing great in their marriages, thanks to the fact that they had waited a very long time before revealing their secret, and luckily all of their people decided to accept them for who they were. They even swung by the den every now and then to say hello, and they brought along Daniel and Lily's nieces and nephews, whom Lily still didn't know. She always disappeared when their siblings came to town, and in a way, Daniel couldn't blame her. It had been so hard on her, watching her family disappear. Lily was the only one who had gone to a public school in their family, because she was so easily able to control her powers. She didn't get to go in until 5th grade, but she still had more of an understanding of how humans were supposed to live their lives, and she knew that family wasn't supposed to abandon one another. And it's not like his siblings lived far -- the farthest one was about 20 minutes away, and could definitely make it down every Sunday to hunt with the family. They all could. But their own families consumed their lives, which was also something Daniel could understand, now that he had Marlee. However, it was easy to see how much it pained Lily to watch her family leave her behind.

When Marlee spoke up, Daniel pulled her down onto the couch. "What happened? Do I need to rough some people up?" he asked, jokingly. In all seriousness, he wanted to know exactly what was going on with Marlee to make her so upset, and he would do anything he could to make it up to her.

Emmaline didn't appreciate how the girl laughed at her when she mentioned how dangerous the wolves in the forest could be, but she also didn't know how she felt knowing that the girl's father laid out injured animals for the wolves to eat. "Don't you find that horrible? You use poor animals just so you can live in the forest without being attacked, how you thought that maybe the forest is the wolves home and you shouldn't be there." She stated as apparently it was okay for this brunette to live in a cabin in the forest, but she couldn't wander off the trail for a few seconds. She felt like the girl was hiding something, which she most likely was considering how rude she was acting.

Why else would anyone live in a forest and not closer to the town, it only made Emmaline even more curious as to what the big secret was. She didn't even care that she didn't know the girl, nor did she know the girl's name. But she had always been a curious person, some even said that she was nosy and she would admit that she was.

"I know that there are more dangerous predators out there, but I didn't see you leaving the forest. What gives you the right to tell other people to leave when you don't, the forest is there for anyone who wants to take a walk or explore. It wouldn't be open to the public, if there was a high chance of someone being attacked." Emmaline spoke as there were signs around the forest, and it was safer to go into the forest during the day. Anyone who went after the sun set was just plain stupid and probably would be attacked by a wild animal, as a lot of animals were more active during the night.

---

Marlee sat down on the couch beside Daniel, she smiled at his comment about him needing to rough anyone up. "You could if you wanted," She smiled as she looked at him, "It's nothing really. There's just this guy who used to live down the street from here, he's a year older than me but he always enjoyed picking on me when we were kids. He came into work today with his three brothers and they really pushed my buttons, they were loud and dropped things on the floor which they told me to clean up." She told Daniel as she had no idea that the boys came from a werewolf family that also lived in the area, she got along with a lot of people but she didn't like Sean or his family as they all tended to think they were better then everyone else.

"Sean is a horrible person, he told me that I should watch myself." She told him although she didn't understand what Sean meant by her having to watch herself, but she didn't want to ask as she didn't want to be around him for any period of time. "He was probably just trying to scare me," She brushed it off as she didn't think Sean would be stupid enough to actually try anything, "But I don't want him ruining our night." She smiled as she leaned closer to him and pressed a tender kiss to his lips, she lingered there for a few moments before slowly breaking apart from him.

Marlee just wanted to focus on them tonight and she would make sure that happened, "I have left over burger patties if you wanted to take them home. Maybe I could cook dinner for your family one day," She suggested in excitement as she really did like his parents, she knew her Mom would love them as well although she wasn't in a rush to have their parent's meet for the first time. They had plenty of time for that as they had only been dating for a few months, however the past few months have been the best for Marlee.

(Sorry for my post being on the shorter side.)

Lily rolled her eyes and sipped the tea, savoring the flavor before swallowing her sip and responding to Emmaline. She could have taken the harsh "my father bought the land and we have permission to shoot anyone who wanders too close to it", but she decided to settle on simple. "You would understand if you lived there," Lily said, leaning back in her chair. "As a kid, I was almost attacked by a wolf. My dad realized he had to do what he could to protect his land." That part was actually mostly true. When Lily was small, they were at the den, and she turned into her human form. She must have been about 5 years old. There was a wolf in the area; not the kind that Lily and her family was, but an actual wolf. It had hungrily come sniffing around her, and the toddler didn't know any better. She reached up to hug the creature, thinking it was her mother or father. She almost lost her arm in the process.

"If you have a problem with it, don't go there," she said, as nonchalantly as she could manage. She wanted it to be Emmaline's choice, even though she knew she would eventually have to persuade her. Lily knew better than anyone how dangerous the forest could be.



Daniel stiffened when he heard the name Sean. "I want you to call me if he ever shows up again," Daniel said. He tried to keep the malice out of his voice, but he had no luck. "I know him, he won't bother you if I'm around." Daniel let his troubles melt into the kiss he received from Marlee. He was serious about protecting her, and Sean's family messing with her was the biggest threat at the moment. He smiled at the idea of Marlee making dinner for his parents. "I'm sure they'd love that," he said. "Maybe I can steal you away next weekend."

Daniel stood, offering Marlee his hand. "Come on, let's ho eat." They walked into the kitchen together, and Daniel pulled out a chair for Marlee. "Your seat, madam." He kissed her forehead and took a seat across from her. He dressed his burger, and took a bite. "Oh, my god Marlee. You've outdone yourself!" Of course, it was a different kind of taste from a fresh kill, but it really was fantastic.

[That's okay! I had to make a short reply to, I'm about to be late for work! I'll respond to our other one when I get home for the night.]

Emmaline really hadn't expected to hear that this girl had nearly been attacked by a wolf, "If you were nearly attacked out there then why would you want to live there?" She asked as a waiter brought of the curry that she had ordered, she thanked the guy who looked only a few years older than her. "You obviously know how dangerous it can be out there, what if something happens again? Aren't you nervous about that?" She asked yet another question as she was only getting more curious about this girl and her life, as a young girl Emmaline had always loved the idea of living in a forest in a tree house. Her father always took her hiking and just took her outside so she could be closer to nature, which is where Emmaline got her love of being outdoors from. As she begun to eat her delicious meal she glanced over at the girl, "Did you want some?" She offered as she could eat a lot but she also didn't want to appear like she was a pig.

She took a sip of her drink before taking another mouthful of her food, "Are you going to tell me your name anytime soon?" She looked at the brunette that was sitting across from her, she still didn't look pleased that Emmaline was there but it wasn't something that she paid much attention to. She wanted to at least try and become somewhat friends with the pretty brunette, she was a rather quite person and tended to stick to herself and her drawings. So she didn't have many friends, she was still in contact with some people from school but they were all getting their own lives now. Which Emmaline didn't actually mind because she was fine being on her own, but her parents were being to worry about her.

---

Marlee heard the malice in Daniel's voice which she hadn't heard before, she didn't think what Sean did would make him feel that angry. She wasn't going to worry herself over Sean nor his family, she had ignored him for many years growing up so she would do it now if he continued to act like a child whenever he saw her. "I'll call you but I'm sure it's nothing, he probably just wanted to feel like a big man in front of his brothers." She assured him and felt his body relax once again as she kissed him, she smiled at him as she really wanted to spend more time with his family. "You wouldn't have to steal me," She laughed softly as she followed him over to the dining table, she smiled as she sat down at the table and put her burger together.

"Maybe Lily could actually stay this time," She looked at Daniel as his sister always left when she came to visit their parents and it was beginning to get to her, she thought there was something wrong with her. She waited until Daniel took a bite as she wanted to know how the food was, she beamed when he complimented her on it. "Thank you, I'm glad you like it." She started to eat her burger which was delicious, her bare feet stretching out and brushing against Daniel's legs as they ate dinner together. "How was your day? Did you do anything exciting?" She asked as she reached over the table and used a napkin to wipe some sauce from the corner of his mouth, she always enjoyed hearing what he did with his days considering her days were usually always the same when she had to work.

(That's fine with me, have fun at work!)

Lily raised her eyebrows at Emmaline. "You sure do ask a lot of questions, don't you?" She noticed the food brought out to her, and she declined when she was offered some. Lily reached for one of the cookies off her plate and nibbled on the edge of it, and sipped her tea. She let the flavor linger in her mouth before she swallowed and answered. "My name is Lily. And no, I'm not scared of living in the forest where I almost died. I'm not scared of anything," she finished, putting her cup down and smacking her lips together. Lily knew she was being a little off-putting, but she didn't exactly know how to make friends. She had her parents and her brother, and that was all she needed. Lily was okay with living a solitary life with her pack; it was exactly like belonging to an exclusive club. It took a lot to get a membership, but for the most part, once you had one, you were in for life. Her other brothers and sisters used to be a part of Lily's Exclusive Pack, but they left on their own, and nothing Lily ever did could stop that from happening. She just wished that her family would pick her first. Thankfully she had Daniel to lean on. Despite all of the attitude she gave him, he was her best friend, and she was super grateful that he was so kind to her.

Lily watched as the small girl in front of her put away an entire curry. She smirked, as it reminded her of herself, but she didn't dare say anything to Emmaline. That would mean opening up, which would mean she trusted her. It was true that Lily wanted to be kinder to Emmaline in order to keep her out of the forest, they may even be able to form a pseudo-friendship. But make no mistake, Lily did not trust her. Lily didn't trust anyone.



Daniel let out a bark of a laugh when Marlee suggested Lily stick around. He hadn't meant to, but the idea of it was hilarious to him. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm not laughing at you. It's just that Lily doesn't like you. And it's not you, trust me. Lily doesn't like anyone. She pretty much hates all human beings, except for me and our parents. I can't even really explain it, because I don't know exactly what goes on in her head, but she has pretty bad abandonment issues, I think." Daniel hoped this would never come up around Lily, because he knew she would have his throat laying on the ground in a matter of seconds if she knew he told all of this to a human. "All of our siblings grew up and got married. She's the youngest out of all of us, and she feels like me dating you is going to take me away from her. It's totally stupid and a little selfish, but I can also understand where she's coming from. My family is very close, and I can't imagine what life was like for her, to watch all of her family leave her and never come back. They all live relatively close, too, so it's not like they can't visit more often. They come by often enough, but for the longest time they stayed away. I think they finally started coming back around like 2 years ago, now that their families are all settled in and stuff. But Lily refuses to be around them, because she's holding a grudge because they left her. They all promised they would be around to watch her grow up, and then they just ditched out. I was a little older, so I understood better than she did. But she was just a kid. She was 3 when our oldest brother left, and she didn't really understand then, but she had just turned 14 when the last one left. She had been told her whole life that she was bright and beautiful, and worth sticking around for. Then they all left. That's why I promised her I would never leave, that I would be there for her until the end of time. But then I met you, and I fell in love, and it's been the happiest 4 months of my life, I wouldn't give it up for anything. But now Lily has a resentment towards you, because she thinks I'm going to run away with you and forget all about her. She just needs some time to realize that I won't be like that."

Daniel hoped he didn't just share too much, and Marlee seemed awfully quiet. He filled the void by answering her other questions.

"My day was good, pretty average, you know? I helped my dad out around the house, got lunch with my mom, the usual." It was as close to the truth as he could tell her for now, and Daniel hoped that someday he would really be able to explain what his day was like.

Emmaline continued to eat her curry and it wasn't long before she had finished off the bowl, although that was never hard for her. If the food was great and she was hungry, which she usually was always hungry then she could eat a lot. "Well it's nice to finally know your name, Lily. You have to be scared of something, everyone is scared of at least one thing." She raised a thin brow at the girl who was sitting across the table from her, "I'm scared of snakes" She stopped herself from finishing her sentence, she didn't want to open up too much about what her fears were. Her fears were personal to her but so many people were scared of snakes so she felt like that was pretty common to hear about, but she was also terrified of losing the people who she loved. Which would also be very common but it was never something that she liked to think about, she didn't have a big family even though she wanted on. She was an only child, all her Grandparents had passed on and she did have a small handful of cousins but they lived hours away and she never really have them in her life.

She used to day dream about having siblings who she could play with and be best friends with, but that never came true so Emmaline just had to deal with it. She was close to her parents but she never felt like it was the same, and now that she was older she had to go make friends with people her own age and date people. Not that she had done either of those things yet, which was surprising considering how open and welcoming Emmaline could be. "I'm asking a lot of questions so I can get to know you a bit better, not that you're making it easy for me." She wiped her mouth with a napkin and sipped her iced coffee, there was something about Lily that intrigued her but she couldn't put her finger on it and that was beginning to become frustrating for Emmaline. "Do you live with any family?" She asked yet another question, but Lily hadn't told her to shut up or to leave her alone yet so she was going to continue asking her questions about herself.

---

As Marlee listened she could feel the guilt growing deep in her chest as she finally understood why Lily didn't like her, she hadn't even thought that could have been the reason why Lily didn't like her and she felt horrible about it. "I'd never do that, Daniel. You know I wouldn't, I'd never take you away from any of your family." She told him honestly as that was the last thing she'd ever do, she knew exactly what it felt like to lose a loved one but Lily had all of those emotions grow as she grew up. Every time one of her siblings left to lead their own lives, those emotions would settle into her and never leave her body or her mind. She looked at Daniel and she knew that he knew she wouldn't take him away from his family, but she did eventually want to settle down but that wouldn't be happening any time soon. She didn't know what else to say other than that, she'd never take Daniel away even though her heart melted when he told her that he had fallen in love. Reaching across the table she took his larger hand into her own, "Should we talk to her about this? I don't want her hating me over something that won't happen," She wasn't sure what she could do, Lily wouldn't believe her but she could still try.

"I could come over more, show her that she has nothing to worry about." However that could be too much as well, "I feel horrible now. I never meant for this to happen, I don't want to be the reason why Lily doesn't like me." She knew it would either take time for Lily to warm up to her or this is how their relationship would stay, Marlee wanted to be friends with Lily. She was the younger sister of her boyfriend after all, she wanted to spend time with his family and not have tension or for Lily to leave. "I just want her to like me," She whispered softly as she realised that may never happen, she could see herself settling down with Daniel and having a happy life with him. But that didn't mind they were going to move away or lose contact with Lily, family was important to Marlee especially after losing her father at a young age. She didn't want anyone else to go through what she did, but she didn't know how to make herself happy with Daniel and still not make an enemy out of his sister.

Lily blinked slowly at Emmaline, wondering exactly how long she would be bombarded with questions for. She decided that it was easiest to just answer them, and maybe that would get Emmaline off her back soon. "I'm not afraid of anything," she said, almost truthfully. "Fear is for weak people, and I am not a weak person." Of course, Lily was terrified that she would end up completely alone in the world with no one to look out for her. It wasn't that she couldn't care for herself, but Lily had the strongest pack instinct out of anyone in her family, or any other family that she had noticed so far. Once she had her pack, she would protect them until she was dead, and that was the most serious promise Lily had ever made to herself. However, it wasn't easy to get in the pack, and it was very easy to betray her trust. She thought back to when she was a kid, and her brother Ethan came face to face with a bear. Lily remembered smelling his fear at the monstrous creature in front of him. She remembered seeing it, and being a mere 10 years old at the time, still bearing her puppy fur. She remembered launching herself into the air, and latching onto the bears throat. She remembered holding on until the bear stopped moving. That was the day she discovered the amount of strength that she had, and the intense drive of loyalty she had to her family.

Lily sipped her tea again, and licked her lips before putting it down. "I live with my parents and my brother. I had more siblings, but they've all left." It was hard to keep the bitterness out of her voice. The wounds from them leaving her were still fresh, and she had not found a way to forgive them for abandoning her pack.



Daniel shook his head, and scooped Marlee into his arms. "It isn't your fault, it's theirs. I need to talk to her on our own -- just me and her. I don't want to force her into this, but it is something I need her to do. I need her to get over this, and it will happen eventually. She holds grudges, but with enough fire they melt." Daniel remembered back to when he threatened to leave her behind when she was a kid -- Lily would still bring it up from time to time when she was upset with Daniel, like when he first met Marlee. But it was a grudge she was willing to let go. Unfortunately, she had not forgiven their other siblings, and she held a resentment towards Marlee for pretty much existing. "She hates all of our siblings significant others. It isn't just you. She needs time to realize that they didn't leave because of her. They left because they wanted to. Which might be worse for her, I'm not sure. But enough about my sister, I don't want to upset you anymore," Daniel said, brushing her hair back behind her ear and planting a lingering kiss on her ivory-white neck. "I love you," he mumbled into her flesh, leaving a little nip on her skin. It wasn't enough to mark her, but it was enough to make her feel it, and send goosebumps down her body. Daniel shivered, sharing his own case of the goosebumps with her. He pulled away from her neck, and kissed Marlee deeply, holding her steady by the hips as she sat in his lap on the kitchen chair.

Emmaline didn't really believe that Lily wasn't scared of anything and she actually thought people were weak if they had a fear, but she decided not to push the subject any further even if she wanted to. So she sipped her iced coffee so she wouldn't made another comment about it, "Really? How many siblings do you have? I've always wanted siblings, but I'm an only child." She sighed softly as she really couldn't help but ask Lily more questions, she could tell that Lily was growing annoyed but again the brunette hadn't done anything to stop her. Emmaline hadn't actually done this in a long time, talk to someone new that she didn't know. But it was nice sitting there talking to the girl from the forest, even if it was pretty much one sided. For now Emmaline didn't mind and she was ignoring the feelings that Lily didn't want her to be there, she would ignore those until Lily actually told her to get out of her face.

"Does your family like living in the forest too? It would be nice and quiet, away from the busy streets and the noisy people." She smiled at the thought of living somewhere like that, away from any street and surrounded by trees. Always being out in the fresh air, she imagined that Lily wouldn't get sick that often because she wasn't near the pollution that littered the air. She could see herself living in a place like that, "Have you always lived like that? Away from suburbia?" She asked looking at the pretty girl as she took the straw between her lips and drank the cool drink.

---

Marlee felt Daniel take her into his arms as she moved over to sit on his lap, "Alright. But after you do speak with her, if you think I should try then I will." She told him as it wasn't her fault, but she still felt bad about the whole situation. "I'll leave all the pushing up to you, so good luck with that." She couldn't help but smile as that was more his department than it was her's, she probably just push Lily too far and make things worse for herself. Marlee knew that if Lily was told that her siblings left because they wanted to, that they wanted to have their own lives then it was going to hurt and upset her even more. Her blue eyes slipped shut when she felt Daniel's warm lips press against her neck, she inhaled sharply at how good his kisses felt especially when he kissed her neck. "And I love you," She whispered as a wide smile formed across her face, a shiver ran along her spine which caused small goosebumps to prickle her skin.

Her warm hands moved up over his firm, well built chest before resting on his shoulders. Her lips pressed against his for a deep kiss that would have made her legs turn into jelly if she had been standing, "So this is why you wanted to come over for dinner." She smiled cheekily as she teased him, her hand moved so her fingertips could delicately touch his cheek. Leaning closer she kissed him tenderly as her heart beat increased in speed in her chest, she felt like her heart was going to break out from her rib cage. The thumping was echoing in her ears and she was pretty sure that Daniel would be able to hear it as well, which was a little embarrassing but it was just how he made her feel and she'd never be embarrassed over that.

[Sorry these are a bit short.]

[Heeyyyyy sorry I haven't replied to these, I work like 7 days a week currently, and my next 16 days are jam packed, so I may have short replies that come every few days.]

Lily shook her head at Emmaline, and sighed. "I have 6 older siblings. I only talk to one of them, really," she said. "Don't ask why, because I won't tell you," Lily offered, knowing the question that was bouncing around in the blonde's head. She didn't like talking about her family, mostly because she was still a bit bitter towards all the older siblings that left. She had been doted on the moment from birth, and then was just left in their wake, and Lily didn't like feeling abandoned by her pack. She knew she wouldn't hate them forever, but they needed to know that Lily was not up for forgiveness at the drop of the hat. They had lost her trust, and now they had to earn it back.

Lily stood, checking the clock on the wall behind Emmaline. It was already 6:00. How had she wasted so much of the day without realizing it? Was she actually enjoying her company with Emmaline? She was torn between wanting to say she had to go, and wanting to stay, and continue being bombarded by questions that she was totally evading. Of course, she still hated all humans and wanted nothing to do with them, but at the same time, Emmaline didn't seem half bad. However, the words that Lily found herself saying nearly rendered the brunette speechless.

"I have to get going, it's my night to clean the house. Would you like to come with me?"

Lily almost slapped her hand over her mouth as that last sentence escaped, but now that it was out there, she waited for long moments before Emmaline responded. She was a mixture of both excited and horrified. Perhaps Emmaline would say yes, and they would go, and her parents would be happy that she was finally getting along with a human, not that they would ever know, as it was their night at the den. Or she would say yes and Lily would learn that she hated Emmaline and wanted nothing to do with her. But what scared Lily the most, was the chance that she would be rejected. She tried to play it coyly, and also braced herself for the idea that maybe Emmaline had her own life, or just didn't want to go. What did it matter to Lily? Why was she making excuses for a human?"



Daniel grinned into the kiss and held Marlee closer to him. He placed his hands on her waist and steadied her, whispering against her mouth, "yes, the only reason I wanted to come here tonight was for this exactly. You caught me." Daniel's hands moved up her spine, warm, and steady, with a firm yet gentle touch. He pressed his lips harder against hers, his breath coming slightly more rapidly. Marlee made him feel crazy, and completely out of control in the best way possible. He could hear his heartbeat and hers melding together in a rhythmatic, almost musical way. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist as he stood, holding her small, warm body against his, and stumbling out of the kitchen.

They didn't even make it to her room.

The couple collapsed on the couch in the living room, hot hands moving fast over each other. Daniel broke away from Marlee's face just long enough to begin planting his lips on her neck and across her collar bone. His hands moved over her chest and into her hair, then back down to her waist again. "Mmmm, Marlee," he moaned softly. His hands fumbled around to her back for the zipper of her dress, and he pulled it down as quickly as he could without ruining the pretty fabric. He didn't remove it, Daniel was still a gentleman, and there were certain limits he would not cross without receiving the signal. Whether Marlee herself removed the article of clothing, or she told him to go ahead and do it was the only way Daniel knew his actions would be acceptable. If she made no such call, Daniel respected her wishes.

However, after he received that initial acceptance, there was no turning back.

The dress slipped off her easily, and hit the floor. He felt her hands run under his shirt and up his chest as he ripped it off and flung it to the floor, planting heavy kisses on her lips again. He moaned loudly, the pressure between his legs building up to the point where he thought he would burst. He throbbed sweetly, and unhooked Marlee's bra, feeling no sweeter sensation than that of her bare skin against his. Daniel kicked his jeans off, and they landed in a heap next to all the other articles of clothing on the floor. Daniel gently bit Marlee's lip, and ravaged her torso with his lips, moving like fire down to her waist.

Emmaline hadn't been expecting to hear that Lily had 6 older siblings, and she had wanted to ask why she only spoke to one but then she was told not to so she didn't. She hadn't noticed the time that was flying by until Lily stood up from the table and actually invited Emmaline to join her, "Yes. I'd love to," She spoke faster than normal so Lily couldn't take it back if she changed her mind, standing up she grabbed her backpack and slipped the straps over her shoulders. "Lead the way," She told the pretty brunette and followed as Lily walked out of the cafe and onto the street, she would message her parents later that she would be staying out with a friend so they wouldn't worry about where she was. "My car is just down the street, but I don't mind walking." She offered as she wasn't sure how far away Lily's house was, she would drive them if needed but would be happy to just walk there as well.

She glanced over at Lily who seemed to be thinking about the answer, Emmaline wasn't sure how Lily arrived in the town but she murmured that they could drive closer before they walked the rest of the way. Nodding she took Lily over to where her car was parked which wasn't far, she locked the doors and climbed in before starting the engine. Pulling out she begin driving as she followed the directions that Lily was giving her, Emmaline wasn't paying much attention to how long it took before she was parking her car once again but it hadn't felt all that long. She grabbed her bag again and locked the doors to her car, waiting for Lily to lead the way towards her house. The house that Emmaline realised that she was excited to see, it was among the forest which she had never seen before so why wouldn't she be interested in where Lily was taking her.

Why she was invited was beyond her, Lily didn't come across as someone who wanted people around her or someone who let people into her life easily. She wanted to thank the girl but didn't want to over step her welcome, so she'd thank Lily later once they had arrived at the house. As they entered the forest, Emmaline couldn't stop herself from scanning the area as she help but try to take everything in. She truly did enjoy being in the forest, it was quiet and the nature hadn't been harmed by humans. It was raw and beautiful, she felt calm in the forest and it was a place where she could think and sort out any thoughts that were floating around in her mind. "It really is peaceful out here," She mentioned as she continued to follow Lily and she was being careful not to step on anything or disturb the forest in any way.

---

Marlee smiled when she heard his whisper, they had made love to each other a few times before tonight and every time had blown Marlee's mind. Before Daniel, she had only had sex one time before with a guy who she dated in high school. It had been a horrible experience for her, it was her first time so it was uncomfortable for her not that he seemed to care. He also wasn't good at it so it was nothing like how she had always thought it would be, so she was disappointed and the guy only thought about getting himself off. But then she gave Daniel her complete trust by letting him into her heart and with that came the first moment when they were intimate, she had been nervous but he was caring and only continued when she was ready. It had been the best night of her life and now every time they do make love, Marlee is never going to forget how truly amazing and special she felt in those moments.

Giggling against his lips as her back landed on the softness of the couch, her body felt like it was on fire but she never wanted to cool herself down. Daniel was able to get her hot and flustered within moments and it seemed so easy to him, her hands roaming his back and chest as her eyes fell shut when his lips found her neck. "Dan... Daniel," She moaned quietly biting down onto her bottom lip, he was driving her crazy as her body reacted to his touch. She arched her back so he could lower the zip of her dress before he waited for her guidance, "Don't stop." She whispered to him as she so badly wanted to continue, she shifted on the couch so he could remove her dress before the fabric was discarded on the floor. Her small hands slipped under his shirt and a smile crossed her face when his shirt was falling onto the floor near her dress, her eyes moved over his fit body as her fingers ran over his abs.

Her lips pressed to his as her fingers tangled into his short dark hair, her lips left his and moved down to his neck and she moved him closer to her once he had removed her bra. She was more than ready for him so she watched him pull his jeans off, however her head fell back as he trailed kisses down her body. A moan left her lips as she reached her thighs, but it was to much for Marlee so she reached over to his jeans where she pulled out a condom from a pocket as they were always prepared for times like this. "I love you," She looked at him as she pulled him back up to her lips, she kissed him deeply while her fingers pushed his briefs down his legs. She smiled against his lips as she teased him a little while placing the condom onto him, she lifted her hips to help him remove her own underwear when she felt his hands at her hips. She moaned lightly when she felt the pleasure burst through her body when he entered her, "Daniel yes." She moaned into his ear as she wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands moving along his spine as their bodies melted together in a way that Marlee has always dreamed about.

Lily was outright flabbergasted at herself.

Why the hell did she just invite a human to her home? At least it wasn't her den, but still. This was a private place where Lily's family could exist peacefully as humans if they chose, on most nights, it was not something that Lily chose to do. Most nights she spent as the magnificent, chocolate colored wolf that roamed the forest and didn't allow anything to come close to her secrets. Tonight, she held the door of her home open to the biggest, most threatening enemy she had ever faced; humans.

This girl didn't seem like much of a threat, however. She was respectful of the forest, and the fear that Lily's wolf form instilled in her suggested she at least had a little common sense. Maybe their first meeting was just poor judgement on Emmaline's part, and maybe if she had known she was following a massive wolf, she would have turned around and never went back.

But Lily couldn't be too careful, especially with a stranger. If Emmaline was going to hike in the woods, Lily needed to make sure she was safe, and not a threat to her very existence. Maybe Lily would go hiking with her more, and ensure that she stayed on the main path, and away from her den. It wouldn't be ideal, but it would be safe, and that's what Lily needed. The idea of security.

When they arrived at Lily's front door, she could see the look of near amazement on Emmaline's face. It was a huge stone house, with gardens surrounding it, and a little brook that ran just before the property line in the back, with a small bridge that crossed over it. There was a bench and a wooden swing set just to the left of the house, and large pillars that held up a second floor balcony. The large red door gave way to the "grand hall" of sorts, with stairs directly in the center that branched off to the left and right. It wasn't exactly a cottage, but it wasn't a mansion, either. It was a small piece of normalcy in Lily's life, and in a way, she both abhored and adored her human home. It was perfect, far enough back in the woods that it was undetectable from the street, but also close enough that she didn't actually disturb any of the wild life by living here. This house was mostly used for Lily's father, as he owned a large company, and often times had dinner parties here. Lily was almost never present.

"Well, this is home," she said in a dry, flat voice. "I'm actually not cleaning anything, I just have to watch the maid to make sure she doesn't steal anything." For the next three days, Lily was on house watch. It didn't necessarily have anything to do with the maid, and more about the fact that the neighbor wolves were nearly dead set on destroying their property. If anything went wrong, Lily was likely the best body guard they had, so she got house watch on weekends, when trouble was more likely to strike. Lily didn't mind -- it gave her time to relax her human mind, clean the body, and give her wolf form a break. It grew exhausting every now and then, but it was still Lily's preferred life style, and she wouldn't change it for the world.



Daniel moaned as Marlee slid the condom on, the pressure building so intensely he thought he would explode and not be able to perform that night.

But then he was inside.

Sweetly, Daniel brought his body closer to Marlee's, going nice and slow before picking up rhythm. In and out he slid, each time his breath growing as rapid as his thrusting, before it turned into long, loud moans. Daniel's hands tangled in Marlee's hair, he tried not to pull too hard but it was effort. One hand moved slowly down her body, cupping one of her breasts in his hand. He began to thrust harder and harder, until they were almost moving the couch. He felt Marlee's hips arching towards his, knowing he almost had her sweet spot. But victory doesn't come that easy.

Daniel slowed to a stop, Marlee's pants and moans growing faint as he slid out for just long enough to slip his long fingers inside of her. Hearing her gasp, Daniel grinned. He loved to please Marlee, and it was easy to. His thumb teased her clitoris as he worked his index and middle fingers inside of her, knowing exactly what felt right for her. Daniel was not obsessed with sex. In fact, he had hardly had any practice before meeting Marlee. But something about her made it so easy to do the right thing, to just relax.

Daniel moved quickly, his whole arm moving to get that single spot high up inside Marlee. He felt her legs tightening, and heard the loud moans coming from deep in her throat and grinned. It was almost time, but not quite yet. Daniel moved again, this time sliding further down her body, keeping his hands steady inside her, but his thumb still moving in slow, wet, almost lazy circles. He felt the warmth between her legs on his face as he moved slowly towards her, planting small, intimate kisses on her inner thigh. Marlee was ready, and Daniel was excited. This was a new thing for him and Marlee, something he had been dying to try for awhile. Tentatively, he glided his tongue across her opening. Hearing the gasp Marlee made, Daniel knew it was a pleasurable feeling. He tried it again, her gasp melting into a loud moan. Daniel plunged in, his tongue working fast over her clitoris, his fingers still inside her. Marlee was dripping, and Daniel used it to his advantage. His fingers were slippery, and the sweet taste made him work harder and faster, building up to the extreme moment of Marlee's climax. He felt Marlee move herself against him, her moans loud and rapid. He felt her fingers dig into the fabric of the couch, and he felt himself, pulsating deeply. "Oh, Marlee," Daniel spoke into her, the vibrations of his voice adding to the extreme amount of pleasure his mouth was creating. He removed his hands to slide them under her thighs, and he gripped her waist as he pulled her closer to him, moving his face all around to give her full pleasure. His tongue delved deep into corners he never imagined, then came up to give attention to all the other areas that needed it.

Finally, when he knew neither of them could take any more teasing, he slipped himself back inside, and thrust rapidly, holding her close to him. Together, they moaned deeply as they both reached climax, slowing Daniel until the very moment they both stopped. He rolled off her, panting heavily. All he could manage was a single, breathy "wow".

Emmaline couldn't believe what she was seeing, she hadn't been expecting such a grand house to be sitting out in the forest. She had been expecting a cute cottage but the house was more than she could have ever imagined, everything about it was beautiful. It was a mansion compared to the house she lived in with her parents and the houses that surrounded her's, Emmaline lived in a decent part of the town but there was one street where the people with more money lived. She never understood why people needed large houses unless the family held many members, her own house was a two bedroom wooden house but it was homely and more than enough for her and her parents.

"It's beautiful, Lily." She whispered as she took it all in, so far the garden had to be Emmaline's favourite section as she loved plants and watching them bloom from seeds. She followed Lily over to the large red door and stepped inside, she instantly took off her shoes and left them outside as she didn't want to dirty anything. "You have a maid?" Emmaline asked in shocked, she had only ever seen maids in movies that she's watched but it made sense. The house was big enough to need someone to clean it often, especially if Lily and her family were busy with life and work.

Emmaline's eyes were moving around constantly, everything that she could see seemed to be placed perfectly. From the shoe rack to the coat stand, "Thank you for inviting me over." She glanced over at Lily as she truly meant it, she knew that Lily didn't need to invite her to her house but for some reason she did. And she was going to enjoy spending her time there, as she stepped further into the house she noticed there was a beautiful large kitchen off to side which would be an ideal place to cook for a number of people or even to hold dinner parties. On the opposite side was the living room, she couldn't tell from where she stood but she knew the couches were going to be extremely comfortable.

"Will your family being coming home at any point?" She asked turning to face Lily, she had no idea about the jobs that her family had but she wouldn't mind meeting them. She wanted to see where Lily got her coldness from, hopefully it wasn't from her parents but that meant it would have to come from something that has happened in her life. And that would be worse because something or someone would have hurt Lily in the past, it wasn't any of her business at that point in their sort of friendship. She also didn't know which sibling she talked to, if it was a sister or a brother. "I can't believe that you live here, don't people come across it?" She asked as it would take a hiker to get lost and they could find the house, that would be something that Emmaline would worry about especially if no one was home all day long.

She smiled as she saw some frames placed on tables and some on the walls, she moved closer to take a look at the ones on the walls. It appeared to be Lily with her siblings from when they were children, it was interesting to see the growth that Lily and her siblings did in every picture. They all looked so happy until the pictures stopped, the children weren't even that old but Emmaline decided not to mention anything about it.

---

Marlee's body still felt hot, like it was on fire from what Daniel had done to her. Her breathing was heavy as she tried to calm herself and her body which was still tingling from the pleasure that had been flowing through her, she hadn't expected what Daniel decided to try but she sure did love it and would want it again. "Yeah," She breathed out as she couldn't think of anything else to say at that moment, her mind was foggy and she felt like she was floating on cloud nine. She turned her head to the side so she could look at her boyfriend, "That... That was beyond amazing," She smiled as she looked at him, beads of sweat had formed on her forehead and her blonde hair was in a mess. She knew if she tried to stand then she wouldn't be able to, her legs wouldn't be able to hold her body up.

So they laid there for a little while longer before Marlee turned to him, "Join me in the shower?" She smiled at him as they both needed to clean themselves up, she slowly stood up from the couch and pulled Daniel up onto his feet. She entwined their fingers together as she took him into the bathroom, she turned the taps on and waited for the water to warm up. She leaned in giving Daniel's cheek a tender kiss, "I loved what you did. I'll have to repay you next time," She whispered to him as she wanted to pay special attention to him next time, or she could just surprise him one time when they were alone.

She stepped into the shower letting the warm water run over her body and down her hair, she shut her eyes to let the water wash over her flushed face in hopes of somewhat cooling her skin down. She really did have the perfect boyfriend, she hadn't been this lucky before in life but now that she had someone as amazing and wonderful as Daniel. She wasn't going to be letting him go, she wouldn't allow anything to come between them.

"I'm the luckiest girl ever," Marlee smiled as she turned to face Daniel and moved so he could stand under the water spray, "Did you want to stay over tonight?" She asked looking at him as she always wanted him to stay over, but she knew that there were times when he couldn't and that was fine with Marlee. But tonight she really wanted him to stay there with her.

Lily shrugged Emmaline's amazement off. Most of it was just for show against the closest wolf pack. They were less likely to attack a random human, like the maid, who was there nearly full time, and her father needed to show off what a rich business man he was to his boss. All of this Lily had grown up with, which she imagined did sway her view on her human home. But as she had grown up living most of her life laying in a dirt patch under a rock, she didn't consider her lifestyle to be luxurious. Lily stepped up the dark cherry wood stairs and followed the hall to the left, towards her room.

Lily had been given the freedom to decorate it however she wanted, so she filled it with more of the same thing she experienced as a wolf. The walls were a deep, dark shade of purple, all the accents surrounding were white. Posters and pictures of wolves hung around, some attached with a clothespin to a string hanging across the ceiling. There were books on bears, bunnies, snakes, and any other kind of animal imaginable that surrounded their area. A string of white lights crossed in every direction across the ceiling, serving as the only form of lighting in the large, spacious room and yet they provided exactly enough to see everything clearly immediately. The lights twinkled like stars against the ceiling, making her room look like the night sky.

The room was littered with plants in every direction. Some were neatly placed, others were haphazardly placed throughout the room, yet everything still managed to look neat and comfortable. Lily strode over to the bed and flopped down onto the silver duvet. Her human home did serve as a type of sanctuary -- it was very safe, and she felt very comfortable being inside of it. Her room especially turned into a sanctuary, as she was able to be herself here without any of the stress of being a wolf. Lily's human home was the one place she liked being human.

"This is home," she stated, sitting up on the bed. "Feel free to sit somewhere."



Daniel climbed in the shower after Marlee, feeling the warm water run between her chest and his back. Daniel grinned, feeling himself stiffen again. The warm water was stimulating him, causing a sweet tingling between his legs. "I would love to stay the night again," he mumbled as he leaned in to Marlee's neck. He bit softly, spinning her around to him and pressing himself into her. He slid between her legs, allowing her to feel how stiff he was before he slid his index and middle finger into Marlee. Hearing her gasp and feeling her clutch him, Daniel grinned. Nothing felt better than pleasing her, not even pleasing himself. Daniel rapidly worked his fingers inside of her, his thumb circling her clitoris in short, fast motions. He grew harder, the water rolling between him and Marlee did nothing for the sweet ache in his groin but make it worse. He moaned loudly, pulling his hand away fast and sliding inside her. He couldn't help but let out another moan again, the sweet throbbing subsiding into something much more wonderful, something that was harder to even explain. He bit down on Marlee's neck, not enough to leave a mark but enough so she would feel it, thrusting again and again, each time faster than the last.

He lifted the small blonde girl off her feel and wrapped her legs around his waist as he continued to thrust in and out rapidly, banging against the wall of the shower. Daniel let out another moan, he and Marlee causing a cacophony to echo off the bathroom walls. Between her screams, Daniel's moans, the screaming in his head, or the banging on the wall, he wasn't sure what was making more noise. He gripped Marlee's ass tighter in his hands. "Oh, sweet god Marlee," he proclaimed loudly into her chest. He moaned rhythmatically with his thrusting, going deeper inside her each time.

Finally it happened, he could feel the grand finale building up. Daniel let out a long, loud sigh as he thrusted his last times, pulling out before he could explode. He quickly replaced himself with his hands, working all up and down Marlee, causing her to finish the race with tiny explosions of pleasure bursting from her body at an incredibly rapid race. Daniel dripped with pleasure, beads of himself rolling off into the water. He kissed Marlee's chest, neck, shoulders, cheeks and lips in that order, and tangled his hands in her hair, pressing his lips to hers. "I love you so much," he proclaimed when he broke away, looking her in the eye and grinning.