Behind the Lines of the Were War Ch. 03

The transformation was over in about a minute, leaving a large brown wolf behind. He tried to roll onto his feet, but soon lay back in exhaustion and closed his eyes.

Renee was thrilled that he survived the trauma of his first transformation, but distressed by all the damage her mate had sustained. She quickly changed to wolf form and started to lick his wounds closed again. She ignored the blood that coated her white fur as she worked. She was happy that she had a mate, and looking over his form she knew he would be a strong mate and protector of their pups. Since he continued to sleep, she shifted back to human form and asked for some more water, blankets and towels. Putting the soiled laundry in the basket, she made a new bed platform and scooted her mate onto it.

He was starting to twitch again, so she shifted back to wolf form and curled up around his head. She figured that the scent of her mate would calm him and help when he woke up. She caught the scent of her Alpha approaching with others, and she rose up to stand protectively over her mate. She relaxed when Derek smiled and said, "Good, Renee, he made it through the shift. I'd like to have Doc come down and see how he is doing." Renee started to growl, remembering how Doc had advised that he be killed. "You should know Doc worked hard to keep him alive, and now that he is Pack he wants to give him the best chance to make it through this. You should trust him."

Renee lowered her head and responded using the bond. "I will allow it." Doc was lowered into the pit and spent a few minutes checking out the unconscious wolf. "Alpha, I recommend that he be kept heavily sedated for a few days. That will allow him to heal without the rages causing more damage." Derek looked at Renee and they both nodded. "Next Alpha, please understand that he will be in and out of consciousness during this time, but you need to keep him as calm as possible and keep him from hurting himself. I will come by every eight hours to check on him, but contact the guards or the Alpha if something else comes up." With that, he gave her mate an injection and walked back over to the rope. "You should get him used to your scent, his wolf will recognize you and that will calm him. He's a fine looking wolf, Luna has chosen well."

Renee laid her wolf down beside him, curling around the areas that weren't wounded and observing the healing that had already started in the others. She thought about the long life they could have together and the many pups he would give her. She couldn't wait to take him out to the woods and show him the joy of running with the pack. Burying her nose in his neck, she drank in his smell and quickly fell into a contented sleep.

For the next three days, Derek and other pack members would come by to observe how things were going. Most of the time Gary was out of it, but there was an hour or two before the next shot during which he would be able to listen to what was going on around him. During these times, Renee would cradle her wolf's head in her lap while she fed him bits of meat. She would stroke his fur as she explained what was happening. She told him that the bites during his punishment had turned him into a werewolf. She told him about how they believed there were two parts to every human, the rational side and the animal side. Both were always there, but in humans the animal side is repressed and ignored. The bite of the werewolf releases the animal side and brings it forward to share consciousness with the human side. She slowly explained that the wolf in him was not an invader, and that it was always part of him and wanted to help him. She talked of how the two sides would communicate in his mind, and how one or the other would always have precedence in his mind. With the wolf in control of his mind, his body would follow, and that is why he changed to wolf form. She taught him that within his own mind, he could look and see him and his wolf and the balance they had. When one came forward, the other receded. She reassured him that he would heal up, that his wounds were not life threatening and were quickly healing, since were healing rates were much faster than human. She talked to him about the mating pull- how each wolf had one person who was made to complete them, and how they recognized each other by smell. She told him about how sorry she was to have hurt him, and how she would never hurt him again now that she knew who he was.

She told him about how much she looked forward to completing the mating, and how it would happen. She confessed to being a little scared about it, since they had to bite each other on the neck while making love in human form, and she was still a virgin. She told him to rest and recover so they could mate, and that once they had mated they would be linked together in their minds. Renee couldn't wait until she could share her thoughts, emotions and desires with him directly. When he started to move around, Doc was notified and he would come down and give him another shot, after which he would lapse back into a deep sleep.

Every few hours she gently move his limbs and roll him from one side to keep him from getting too sore. Then she would shift back to wolf form and lick his wounds before settling around him, sleeping nose to tail with her love.

Three days later, Doc said it was time to let him wake up. "His wounds are nearly healed. He's had some time to get past the initial shock, but he still could come out in a rage. We won't know until he's fully awake. I'd keep everyone else away." He told Renee she should leave as well but she refused, since Derek had told her before that he would not let her back if she came out. In any case, she wasn't going to leave her mate to face this alone. Torches were lit to make it easier to see what was going on, and to be handy in case they needed to drive him back. Fire was one of the few things even a feral wolf was afraid of.

It took an hour, but Gary started to wake up. He had gotten used to the scents in the pit, and his wolf vision clearly showed him what was around him. He looked down at his paws and his fur, moving each of his limbs and noting with satisfaction that he could move without much pain. Rolling onto his stomach, he pushed himself shakily up to his knees. A white wolf with black socks crawled towards him on her belly; he recognized her scent from the past few days. She licked at his muzzle and rubbed up against him as he swayed on his paws.

Renee was beyond happy, it was going so well! She looked up at her mate with pride beaming in her eyes.

The Alpha was able to use his bond to speak to his newest pack member. "Now I want you to try and shift back. Close your eyes, and think of yourself in human form. Imagine the feel of the rock beneath your feet, and let your wolf recede while you come forward."

It took a while, but with some pops and pain he began to change. Renee changed with him.

Gary looked down and saw his hands and feet again. He felt like he was finally free, his human side had been repressed by the wolf for so long he didn't think he thought it might be lost. It was then he looked up and his human side recognized the woman at his side. She was the one who had tortured him! Immediately his right fist shot out and broke her jaw, knocking her to the ground. She reached for her cheek and looked up in shock. He leaped on top of her, his strong hands at her throat as he squeezed the life out of her. "Die, bitch! I hope you burn in hell!" Her eyes went from fear to resignation as she struggled to breathe but the anger in his eyes never changed. She wouldn't fight her mate, she couldn't ever hurt him. She was still looking up, silently pleading for him to stop, when he lifted then slammed her head against the rock and it all went black.