"I-I feel guilty for doing such a cruel thing." I murmured, resting my head on his collarbone while his chin rested on it.
"I know you feel guilty, but they still don't deserve your tears. You have a good heart. You are a kind person, Aries. You'd rather hurt yourself than bring harm to others, it's just in your nature, and that's one of the many reasons I love you." Leo's had made me look at him, cupped my face, eyes were fixed on mine. I felt a growing need to kiss him, but I'd to control it at the moment. I tried to suppress it. It was not the right time, even though Leo was just trying to comfort me and how much I like hearing those words from him. I slipped myself into his arms.
~*~
After a while, I became a little calmer. We both were in the woods. It was dark, and I could barely see anything in this place. Leo was still holding me tightly and pressed against his chest. It seemed like an hour we were in that same position.
"Are you okay?" he asked with a worried voice.
"Yeah..." I mumbled, sounding as dazed as the night was.
"Are you sure?" He asked again.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" He then asked before I could answer his previous question.
"Thirsty," I said, and he pulled back.
Leo went to get me some water. He dipped his hands in the pond, collecting water in his cupped palms and drank as he was thirsty. I realized it was the secret place that Leo had brought me to that one time after school. It just looked a little different at night. My first kiss with Leo happened here, and I remembered how beautiful that moment was.
Leo came back, holding water in a big leaf. I drank from it. I looked up at him. He was watching me gracefully, but I looked away as the guilt took over me. He threw away the leaf on the side and buried me in his strong hug, and it evaporated all my lingering fear and cold.
"I'm never letting you out of my sight ever again." He murmured on my hair, brushing them softly.
"I love you," I said.
"Baby, you need a bath." He suggested. I was surprised and looked at him speechless.
"Need to get rid of Ken's smell off of you, and it's making me very angry." Leo clenched his jaw.
"May I wash you?"
"It's okay, I can do it myself," I said, making my way to the water.I stripped down to nothing and slowly walked in the shallow water. No surprise there, water was damn cold given that it was cold outside. The contact of cold water on my warm skin gave me a severe shock, and I froze. I made an effort and took a deep breath before submerging myself. Water quickly rushed into my nose and ears, making everything soundless. I did this not just for Leo but also for myself— I hoped that this would purify my soul as well.
When I got out, I felt warm just for a second, until the cold breeze made my body temperature drop too fast. I started to shake from the temperature change.
The sharpness of the chilled air made me shiver. The wet cold that covered my body made me realize there was no towel. I cursed at myself. I wished I could have thought this through before going into the water, but then I saw Leon, standing—waiting for me to towel in his warm fur. I regretfully ran to him, he told me to sit down, and I did, then he wrapped himself around me like a blanket. Leon was comforting and warmed.
"You can rub all you want on me. I won't mind." He said and gave out a light chuckle.
"I Love You," I told him and then wiped off any lingering water drops on my body. Then I lay exposed, basking in his warmth, breathing deeply as my stress drifted away.
"Aries."
"Hmm..," I hummed in response, leaving my eyes closed.
"You said there was a voice, talking in your head?" Leon asked as I got comfortable inside his fur.
"Yes." I frowned, thinking about how I almost forgot about it.
"Leon, d-do you think I'm a werewolf—," I said with the most believable tone.
"I try to sense it, but I couldn't detect anything different in you. Let's find out. Can you try talking to the voice?"
"O-okay." I sat up straight and cleared my throat.
"Hello." It felt weird to say out loud. "It's Aries, I-we just wanted to know the voice, who you are?"
Five seconds passed, still no reply. I frowned slightly.
"Am I doing something wrong?" I looked at Leon.
"I don't think so, but try talking in your head and see if she responds to you in that way," Leon suggested. I gave him a nod.
'You told me to use my power, and I did, and set the whole club on fire. Who am I? I need to know.' I demanded.
'Please talk to me.' I begged.
Seconds turned into a minute—still nothing.
I sighed and fell back on Leon's belly and closed my eyes, resting on him. Then I realized I was naked.
"I needed to get dressed," I said and got out of his embrace and walked away to wear my clothes that I'd folded and hung over the branch. I heard ruffles behind me. I looked back and found Leo came back in his human form, dressing up as well. I could get used to this, with him being a werewolf.
The revelation still feels very surreal, a mix of fact and fantasy. A world that I've heard in stories, and now I was in one.
Leo made his way to me and then hugged me, and I copied him.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked with concern evident in his voice.
"No, not really... so much has happened since morning. First, you were in a coma. Then I met Leon, your parents, and not to mention your
