Chapter 8 Knight in Shining Armor

Grace’s POV

I felt him nod, and he continued to wash my hair. By the time he was done, I was finally warm enough to do the rest myself. Once I was done, I turned to Jack and saw that he was washing himself as well. And yes, I did notice how the droplets of water seemed to shimmer in the sparse moonlight. And they seemed to contour the muscles on his back as he moved. Damn, the guy was fit! I couldn’t help but compare him to Cole, but while Cole seemed to get all his muscles in a gym, Jack seemed like the kind of guy who got them from hard work and manual labor alone!

Thinking of Cole again made my heart ache, and I didn’t understand why. I hated that even after all this, there was still a part of me that--- I swallowed hard, but there was no getting around it. I missed him. It made me sick to think about it, but the truth remained the same. When he rejected me – when he spoke those cruel, unforgiving words – it felt like everything inside of me shattered. As if he tore out my heart. Even now, when I was fighting to survive, the thought of him made me question if it was worth it if I had to live my life without him…

“Done?” Jack asked, bringing me back to the present. I quickly nodded and looked around for my discarded robe. But to my surprise, Jack handed me a large T-shirt and a pair of shorts that he’d pulled out of a backpack, and I realized that this had been what he’d picked up earlier. He put the soap and jar away and pulled out a pair of boxers and jeans for himself and got dressed. I quickly did the same, before the cold caught up to me. The T-shirt was big, fluffy, warm, and comfortable, making me almost moan in delight. The shorts were way too big, but luckily there was a drawstring, so it all worked out in the end.

Once again, I felt tears forming and I cursed, hating how I was acting like all the damsels in distress that I’d always hated in the movies. You’d think that with all the crying I’d been doing lately, I would be all out of tears.

And I hated it!

Yes, I like that he was helping me, but I couldn’t depend on him. He said it himself! We just met by coincidence and the second he was done he was going to leave. I would be alone again, and I hated it! I hated that I wanted him to stay and---

“What’s wrong?” he asked with a frown, pulling up a ripped pair of jeans that hung low on his hips. I quickly shook my head and forced the tears back. I was not going to guilt him into helping me. But then again, if that was what it took to survive then perhaps---

No!

I shook away that idea. I barely knew him, but a part of me respected him too much to try and take advantage of him. He could have taken advantage of me a million times over by now, but he hadn’t. The least I could do was show him the same courtesy…

“You’re---” I whispered, hoping that my meek voice didn’t give away the tears. “You’re helping me.”

I wanted to say, “thank you” and tell him everything he did for me meant a lot, no matter what. But he just snorted and walked straight back to me.

“Yeah,” he mused, as he bent and without warning, he picked me back up. I let out a startled gasp, as I was back in his strong arms. With the same swiftness as before, he picked up his backpack, and just like that, he marched effortlessly back into the forest.

“I’m a real knight in shining armor.”

He was being sarcastic, but I couldn’t help but giggle at that. It was the first time I’d laughed in weeks.

“I think I can walk now,” I said, feeling a bit embarrassed. Because despite not being able to see a hand in front of me and barefoot, I didn’t want to be a burden. But to that, he just scoffed and continued walking. And well, ok. That one stung a bit. But then again, he was a werewolf. An apex predator, created to use the night to his advantage.

And I was a meekly human…!

So yeah… Letting the wolf who seemed to know his way around the big, dark, and freakishly scary woods seemed like a good idea for now…

Despite the darkness, he seemed to be doing fine. Even when he started going uphill he didn’t even bat an eye. And he was carrying me this entire time. And again, I noted how his eye was glowing bright yellow. And yes, I was too curious not to ask.

“How is your eyes--- erm, eye glowing?” I asked, not knowing if I should say one or two. Because only one of them was glowing. The other remained white and still, as he continued to move his head around, apparently listening for the sounds of the woods.

“Night vision,” he grumbled--- as if that explained everything. It didn’t, but I just assumed it meant that he had some of the same abilities that ordinary wolves had. Like seeing in the dark. But I didn’t remember anything about wolves being particularly strong. That was more in the category of bears or---

Ants…

He finally paused and put me down. And I realized that it was another cave, although not so big or deep as the one we’d left behind. In reality, it was just a space with a big overhang sheeling us from most of the wind. Despite that, I still felt a shiver creep down my spine as I eyed the clay-like walls, and the scent of earth and rock filled the air.

“Stay,” he ordered and to my horror, he began undressing.

“What are---?” I gasped, jumping away from him as fast as I could. But he just gazed at me lazily, and his communication was obvious.

“I’m not into forcing women!”

And in all fairness even if he wanted to, there was no chance in hell I could outrun him. However, if I said that out loud, I was pretty sure I would insult him. Because despite what he said earlier, he’d actually helped me a whole hell of a lot already. I didn’t owe him any mistrust and I instantly felt bad.

“Sorry,” I sighed, biting my lips. “I-I guess I have some trust issues to work on.” He didn’t respond – something I was slowly getting used to by now – but his communication was clear:

“You think?!”

And I could even hear the snark in his tone when he rolled his eyes at me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled again, before remembering what he was doing, since--- well, he continued to undress. “What are you doing?”

“Shifting,” he replied already down to his boxers. And just like that, terror slipped its icy clutches around my neck and squeezed.

“You’re---,” I gasped, and without thinking I was by his side, fear choking me until I could barely breathe. “You’re leaving me here?”

He looked surprised when he eyes the hand that gripped his arms. And to my own astonishment, I hadn’t realized how hard I was clutching him until I saw my own knuckles turn white.

Embarrassed and horrified by my own action I let go as if I’d burnt myself. What the hell was wrong with me?! I wasn’t the clingy type. I’d ever depended on anyone but myself my whole life and now I was having a panic attack because a stranger was about to leave me?! It was stupid and I felt like such an idiot. Hell, even the dark voice at the back of my head was laughing and mocking me.

WEAK! She spat the words. You’re WEAK! And you asked WHY Cole didn’t want you?! You’re pathetic, that’s why!

I took a step back. She was right. If I hadn’t been so weak, I would have stood up for myself. I wouldn’t have fallen for his charms and declaration of love. If I’d just been stronger, smarter, braver then none of this would have happened. If I’d just---

Suddenly warm fingers wrapped around mine and to my surprise, I saw Jack studying me intently.

“I’ll be back,” he said calmly and while it was irrational, his voice sounded soft and reassuring. As if he was talking to a scared and wounded animal. “You’re safe now.”

I tried to breathe but upon hearing his words--- they did something to me. They changed the game somehow. Because I wasn’t alone anymore. I wasn’t abandoned in the cold anymore…

Refusing to cry again, I held my head high and nodded. He would be back and I trusted him. It was irrational. And probably stupid. But what did I have to lose at this point?

I took a step back and turned my back as he took off his boxers. The sounds of breaking bones filled the air and I knew what was happening. With shaking limbs and a quaking stomach, I turned around to see…

And gasped!

His face was contorted in pain, as his body bent and reshaped. Blood dripped from the wounds on his face as the scars tore and his mouth opened in a silent scream. But before my very eyes, his jaw lengthened and reshaped. His features transformed and within seconds the man was gone and in his place was a beautiful gray and black wolf, with a white underbelly that shone in the moonlight. Despite being one of the deadliest creatures I’d ever set eyes on, I couldn’t help but admire the majestic beauty…

The wolf turned to face me--- and I tried not to gasp when I saw it. I didn’t know why it took me by surprise, but just like the man, the wolf’s left face was hideously deformed. Only for the wolf, it was worse somehow. His lower muzzle was badly deformed that his tongue lolled out at all times. The snippets of skin that were supposed to protect his canines looked like loose flaps of flesh that didn’t do much in form of protection or function. His one ear was slightly torn, something I hadn’t noticed in his human form, but made sense when I looked at his scars. And once again one golden eye was staring straight back at me.

My heart was twitching in my chest and to my surprise, I realized that it was only one part fear and one part excitement. Sure, for all I knew he might jump me and kill me, but my instinct was telling me that he wouldn’t. And although I was skeptical about them now, I didn’t feel like I was in any kind of danger…

“Are you---,” I asked, tranced by awe and fear. “Jack?”

As a reply to my question, the wolf actually wagged his tail. Which considering the huge beast was a killing machine, looked ridiculous.

And cute at the same time.

Which didn’t at all fit the terrifying beast picture. And I couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped me. Because despite looking like some hell-spawned, post-apocalyptic dog, he still reminded me of a puppy wanting some cuddles from its master.

Yeah, I might be losing my mind – just a little bit…!

The wolf turned towards me, taking careful steps towards me as if seeing what I might do. And I didn’t understand why, but I remained in place, only sinking slowly to my knees as the huge beast walked towards me. My breath was heavy, but unlike the time I met the other werewolves, it wasn’t just fear coursing through my veins. He came close enough for me to touch him and although my hands were shaking and small rocks were digging into my skin, making me extremely uncomfortable, the significance of the situation made me remain rooted to the spot. I couldn’t really describe it, but I had a feeling that there was something significant happening right now. That werewolves didn’t let just anyone pet them like this…

That this was special…

His fur was surprisingly soft yet extremely dense. He reminded me of an overgrown Timberwolf with his gray and white coloring, but the way his tail kept moving back and forth made me think of the kind of huge family dogs that didn’t really realize that they were huge. A true monster in appearance but a puppy at heart…

A puppy that ripped apart those other werewolves.

I jumped when suddenly I felt him lick the side of my face. It was sloppy and wet and gross and without thinking, I pushed him away.

“Ewe,” I exclaimed, trying to dry the thick trail of doggy-slobber running down my face. “I just had a bath, thank you.”

A snicker-like sound came from the wolf, just before his golden eyes shone again and he spun around, running into the darkness of the woods. And without thinking I found myself wanting to call out, begging him to stay. My heart started to beat faster, afraid that he’d abandoned me. But I recited the words Jack had told me over and over again, forcing myself to believe in them. But my faith in others had been crushed thanks to Cole. Hell, I didn’t even trust my own instinct, despite having followed them blindly my whole life. They’d never led me astray before.

Not until Cole…