Selena’s POV

Well, that was close. I was so excited to just talk to and meet everyone here that I very nearly revealed my big secret! Not that I minded, of course, but I knew that Nora would be none too happy if she had to play damage control. It was a time to relax and have fun, and that was precisely why I was going to get her some cider.

Fall parties were always fun to me when I was a kid, and my nose being so much more sensitive to the smells in the room (especially the pumpkin spice on the donuts) was lovely! As I approached the table, I noticed a pretty good spread of a variety of absolutely delicious food. I wasn’t sure if I could touch any of the chocolate candies, I’d have to do some research on that later, but everything else looked great, especially the caramel apples!

A-ha! The cider was in a big bowl next to a couple of still-full jugs of it. Guess it was popular enough they’d expected to have to refill. Plus, what was cider without it coming from one of those jugs, right?

As I reached over to grab a cup, I noticed someone stepping on my tail, and a rather incredible THUD that suggested whatever hit the floor was heavy. Turning around, I noticed that the thing was, in fact, the someone. He seemed to be a rather tall and fit man, one you’d expect to see a a party of a slightly more energetic variety.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” I asked, concernedly. I offered my paw to him, only to find him pulling himself up.

“Watch where you’re going, mutt,” he spat.

I kind of sat there, stunned, and then responded curtly, “You watch where you’re going, you stepped on my tail.”

As I finished speaking, I sensed something on him. Fear? I shook my head. Whatever it was, the last thing I needed was him doing something dangerous. I had no idea who these people were and I didn’t want Nora having to run with me to her car in the middle of nowhere, and even if he was in the wrong, there. I breathed deeply and responded, “Are you hurt at all? I’m sorry that you tripped.”

He laughed meanly. “Just because you pushed me down doesn’t mean I’m hurt, bitch. You’re the one who should be worried about that.”

It was my turn to laugh. I could hardly help it, someone as small as him trying to threaten someone who, even as he was trying to stand up as tall as he could, was a full six inches shorter than me with obviously less strength, even with what looked like months of training. “Alright, have a good night then, bud.”

I felt a yank on my tail and turned around to him looking furiously at me, grabbing, pitiful though it was, my tail. It was at this point I noticed the crowd had stopped talking to each other and started looking at me, awaiting my response. I couldn’t ignore what happened, and it almost seemed like he wanted to escalate it, but I was still nervous. I couldn’t just pull what I pulled in the mall every day, especially not with so many people watching.

“Whatcha gonna do, freak?” he responded, causing murmurs in the crowd.

I whipped my tail in a sideways motion, skidding him across the floor as he was forced to let go. Fuck, that was not what I meant to do. I really wasn’t aware of my strength, was I? He took a few seconds, looking winded, and his clothes seeming a bit worse for the wear. I imagined that even with the dirt floor, he had to have a bit of roadburn from that.

Surprisingly, he seemed to pull himself up pretty quickly and came charging at me. Of course, all I could do was hold him back. What that seemed to translate to in my body reaction was take him and pick him up. He was real fidgety still, but mostly he seemed to tire himself out after a few seconds of flailing. It was then I noticed someone running through the crowd, a very familiar someone.

“Selena!” Nora cried, racing towards me.

His eyes widened as he windedly wheezed, “You know her, dogbreath?”

“She’s my girlfriend, so I certainly would hope so,” I responded and shrugged. I decided now would probably be a good time to set him down, so I did that and scolded, “Don’t try any funny business while I’m turned around.”

I turned to my girlfriend and gave her a hug. “Sorry I didn’t get the cider, babe,” I replied, “had a bit of an issue.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she responded as she nuzzled into me, the concern permeating her demeanor. Fuck, what had I done?

“Hey Hartwick,” the man called out, as my girlfriend whipped her head around. “What do you want, Johnson?” she replied, unimpressed, “are you going to pick a fight with me too?”

“I uh…” he muttered scratched the back of his head, “no?”

“Out with it, come on then,” she said as she glared sternly at him.

He sighed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know that she was your girlfriend. I wouldn’t have picked a fight if I had known.”

Nora was making a face that was less furrowed with concern now and more distinctly unimpressed. She huffed and replied, “I really don’t know the context of what happened but I certainly hope you haven’t ruined my girlfriend’s night.” She put her hand on my arm in a way that made me very, very blushy.

“It’s okay, hon,”  I said, “I think it’d be best if we focused on other things.”

She turned to me and stared as if to ask, “are you sure?” I nodded back to indicate I was. She led me away, and the room seemed to largely return to its pre-fight chatter. As we reached the place in the room we previously were, I noticed Jamie raising her eyebrow at me and smirking.

“Not bad for someone who was trying not to fight,” she congratulated, “I was almost worried you were going to get scratched.”

I laughed a little at that and replied, “Yeah he seemed a little sure of himself, though I guess if you haven’t actually fought someone with wolf muscle before, sizing yourself can be pretty challenging.”

I noticed that Nora’s mood hadn’t lightened at all, despite the laughter, and I gave her shoulder a little rub, causing her to smile a little as she looked up at me. “I’m just glad you’re safe,” she sighed, looking back at her feet, “I don’t like it when you get into fights.”

I paused and nodded. This was a distinctly different reaction from yesterday, but I was certain the party wasn’t the place to prod further. For now, I wanted to be sure I could give Nora the time she came here to have, that is to say, a good one distinctly unmarred by further drama.

“Hey Nora,” I asked as I nudged her, “would you mind introducing me to some of your other friends?”

She immediately lightened up and nodded. “Sure! I’m sure they’ll be delighted to meet you.”

As she led me through the groups of people, I noticed a lot of people giving me an eye. I wasn’t sure whether it was good, bad, or just appraising. I guess I was hard to miss at the height I’m at, but something told me that this wouldn’t be the last time I’d hear about the incident earlier.

Her friends, however, seemed to mostly be jovial and friendly, asking me about myself, and treating me more warmly than I’d been treated by strangers in any recent memory. It was nice, being here with my love, meeting other people she cared about.

As I found the night winding down, I found Nora slowly getting more comfortable just resting on my arm as I did the talking. I wasn’t sure if she was tired or my arm was comfy, or some combination thereof, but it secretly thrilled me immensely. I never could’ve imagined myself here, and yet, I sat in the middle of a circle of people laughing and enjoying myself at a party for once, with a lovely girl on my arm.

As the night wound down, and the last slow dance of the evening came on, I found myself swinging gently back and forth with her, our eyes fixed intently on each other. We kissed, and for once, I forgot all about everything, except the enchanting look in her eyes.

Leviathan86

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