Puppy Love

I crashed through the door of my apartment, bleeding and sore from last night’s incident. In all honesty, I don’t even know how I made it to the front door, let alone got the key in the lock.
I started to replay what I could through my head. Where had everything gone wrong? Mai was right in the palm of my hand, and she was going to give herself to me like she used to. And then that little bitch backed out when that thing showed up.
What the hell was he? And what kind of pull did he have on my woman that she would deny me?
I let a growl roll through clenched teeth. The two windows in the main room of my apartment rattled on the wall. Why was this falling apart from me right now?
“Dude, do you mind for once?” Yunxu lifted his face from the pillow of the couch. “I’m trying to sleep here.”
I growled under my breath. I was letting the kid stay under my roof with my paycheck supplying and how does he repay me; by ditching my ass last night and eating everything in my refrig. I remember asking him, nicely even, to come out and get some night-watching in with my brothers. Damn teenagers, all they’re good for is cleaning the house out of unwanted shit and cheap labor. And they don’t seem to even be able to do that correctly.
“By the way, there’s no more Coke,” he yawned and stuffed his head in between the cushions again. “I drank the last one last night.”
“There was more than one before I left last night. There was a whole case left.” I opened the refrigerator to see nothing of extreme importance to me in there. Just some molding fruit, aging milk, and cheap beer. Fucking hell, even my god damn bottle of rum was gone.
“Oh, that’s how many were there. Guess I drank all six of them…”
“You know, this may just be the adult talking in me, but I’d say stick to the rats and you’ll be fine before I kick your sorry ass back out on the street, kid.”
All I got for a reply was a moan. I took it as a yes.
I pulled out a beer pushed all the way towards the back, “Kid, it’s Sunday. Shouldn’t you be doing something instead of sleeping all day?”
His muffled voice didn’t get to me from its prison.
“Say again, kid? Didn’t hear you with all that down your throat.” I took a quick swig of the bottle.
“You know, fuck you, Orso.” He brought it head up from the pillows to continue his cursing.
“You better calm the fuck down, Yun. That mouth of yours will get you in big trouble someday. And that’s a promise.” I left the empty bottle on the counter next to the sink as I started to walk to the bathroom. Catching a look at my limping self in the mirror, I had to swallow down a small thought of self-security.
My body pulsed with the urge to mate. How it yearned for her body; that silky smooth skin, so soft even as the goosebumps emerged from under the touch of my fingertips; those lips, holding a natural rosy pink tint.
I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore. I pulled my cellphone out from my pocket and dialed an all too familiar number. When my voice rang through the ears of whoever was on the other line, they knew exactly where to direct my call without hesitation.

I sat at his bedside, my mind still on replay from the events last night. I don’t even know how I got home. And even then, I don’t know why I brought this man back with me. Regardless, he helped me through what could have turned into a bad situation.
I held his arm up delicately, as if it would break with the smallest amount of pressure applied to it. Rolling his arm over in my hands, I searched for a wound that was there. At least, so I thought.
A light groan took my attention away from the flawless skin of his forearm. The man with the sandy blond hair opened his eyes slowly, meeting mine dead-on. My breath caught in my throat.
Such wonderful eyes. The dark brown was unnaturally bright, full of life, yet still be light enough to have darker specks be scattered around the pupil. I felt my jaw drop slightly, despite my best efforts, as my eyes roamed the rest of his features.
His kin was pale, yet seemed to have some darker pigments spreading as the months grew warmer. His eyes were almond shaped, taking up a minimal amount of space in his face. The structure of his nose was strong, yet complimented the complete look of his face. And those lips. The top was a little thin, but the bottom lip made up for the loss in its fullness. I watched, transfixed as they formed words that I couldn’t quite hear.
“Excuse me?” I cleared my throat, trying to focus on him, not his physical attributes.
“I said, you must really like my hand.” There was a playful tone in his voice. It was cute. Adorable even.
I glanced down at my hands, not realizing that our fingers had become intertwined. I immediately let go, directing my attention back to his face. Which, his expression seemed to be a little disheartened.
“I am so sorry, I didn’t even notice.” I shot up from the edge of the best in a mad rush, “Is there anything you want me to get you? A glass of water? Cup of tea?”
“An explanation would be lovely, to start. Don’t you agree?”
“And explanation? Of what?”
He kept his eyes stead on me. Was it possible that he didn’t remember?
“Oh, oh.” I let out a nervous laugh, “You had a bit too much to drink last night and were incapable of driving yourself home, so I took you back here. I swear nothing happened, so if you want some black coffee for that hangover, just say so, and I can drive you right back to the brewery so you can get in your car and…”
Go home.
But I didn’t want him to leave. Nor did I want to lie to him. But who else was going to believe the other side of this crazy world that we live in? It didn’t matter if you were part of it or not. If you didn’t know, it was better that way. Life was complicated without the whole introduction of the clans, packs, elders, and whatever else was essential to this life.
“Am I supposed to believe that?”
I bit my lip.
“Listen,” he started, struggling to sit up and running a hand through that thick hair, “as much as I’d like to believe that, something is telling me that you’re lying to me.”
My breath caught. What the hell was up with him?
We stayed silent for a moment. Me chewing on my bottom lip, him circling his thumbs around one another. He wanted an answer, but the truth might be too hard to handle. Hell, I couldn’t even wrap my head around the whole thing. How could you explain something that you didn’t quite understand yourself?
His palms slapped down on the down-feather comforter in frustration.
“Well? Am I going to get an answer or not?”
I cleared my throat again, sitting down on the edge of the bed and struggling to get comfortable on what little space I was taking up. My hands locked. I closed my eyes, peering through my eyelashes at the wooden boards along the floor so I wouldn’t make eye contact with him.
“I was jumped by a few men in the ally on my way home earlier this morning. I didn’t have a car, so I was going to just walk home. I’ve done it before, so I didn’t think there was going to be a problem.” I licked my lips and racked my brain to find the right words in my mind without just dumping it all on him, “I tried to fight them off, but it didn’t go as well as I had hoped. However,” I glanced up and locked eyes with him, “You came out of nowhere. If you hadn’t showed up and helped me back them off, I am almost positive that I would not have woken up in my bed this morning. So… thank you.”
It was his turn to turn away this time. Licking his lips, I watched his eyes trace the designs on the wallpaper.
“That doesn’t exactly explain why I’m here.”
I wrinkled my nose. I told him the truth, or at least most of it for a lack of better judgment, basically throwing my soul out on a silver platter for him, and that’s the kind of reply I get? No wonder I was normally celibate. Men were downright assholes.
“Well what the hell was I supposed to do, huh? You were knocked out right before they left. I took you home, gave you a warm bed to sleep in for the night, and offered you food and drink as repayment for what you did. I might as well take the offer off the table, as well as the free drive back to your car, and kick you out now.”
“Okay, okay. Jeez, I’m sorry.” He held up his hands in defense, “I was just wondering, no need to get testy about it.”
“I am not getting testy. You’re the one who’s asking bullshit questions.”
“Technically, they weren’t questions. You asked the first question, and I answered from there.”
Wonderful. He was a smart ass. Just lovely.
I narrowed my eyes at him, keeping my voice level as I spoke. “You don’t remember anything… do you…”
It definitely sounded more like a matter-of-fact statement than a question. When he didn’t reply, I just got up and headed for the door. I turned back as my hand reached for the doorknob, plastering on that fake smile that I normally gave customers that rubbed me the wrong way and let my voice just ooze with a hateful undertone.
“So, I’ll just get you glass of water. I figure you must be hungry, considering that it is almost 10, so I’ll see if there is anything that I can whip together for you to eat before you leave.”
I didn’t bother waiting for a reply from him before I left, I was too fumed to care. However, instead of rushing down the hallway and the staircase into the kitchen, I leaned my back against the door.
Last night’s events were still fresh in my mind, the ones that I remembered before passing out anyway. How was it possible for someone to not know that they were a shifter? And by one’ early twenties, one would definitely know by now. But that was not the only thing that seemed to baffle me.
He was a shifter. That much was certain. However, what was his other half? Such immense power flooded out of him that night, nearly drowning us all, but he didn’t transform. But what was that strange light? And why did he have wings?
Things weren’t adding up.