The pounding rhythm of her feet on the forest floor mingled with the frantic beating of her heart as she ran. A rock flew dangerously close to her head and hit a tree as she passed. All she had done was trip and spill chocolate milk on Kimberly’s shirt and now her and her gang were chasing her through the woods armed with rocks and sticks and god knows what-the-fuck else. It wasn’t even her fault! Kimberly’s friend was the one that tripped her in the first place!

These people are fucking psychos

Blood rushed in Roxy’s ears as she made the mistake of looking over her shoulder to see how close her pursuers were. Right as she looked back, a rock finally found its target and struck her over her right eyebrow. A sharp pain rattled through her skull as she stumbled but somehow managed to keep her footing on the rough terrain. She wasn’t nearly as athletic as most of her pursuers, but the fact that she had been walking through these woods since she was a little girl meant that she knew exactly where she was going and how to quickly traverse the uneven ground without tripping up or slowing down. It was the only advantage she had over them, and it was what would lead her to safety should everything go to plan.

At this point, Roxy could feel the blood dripping down her face from the wound the rock had made. It was throbbing along with each of her frantic heartbeats and the blood was stinging her eye, but she grit her teeth to the pain and kept running. Up ahead there was a steep slope that, through her years of practice, Roxy knew how to slide down perfectly without losing any speed. For anyone unfamiliar with the territory, however, they would have to either slow down to a crawl to carefully descend, or keep up their speed and most likely tumble and injure themself.

Roxy could see the slope coming up and allowed herself a little preemptive relief that she was about to be free of the horde of psychotic teens, but that relief ended up being short-lived. Whether it was due to the stinging pain in her head, the intense adrenaline of the chase, or the blood obscuring her vision, Roxy somehow failed to notice the root that was sticking out of the ground, right in front of the slope. It caught her ankle and the world slipped out from under her as Roxy fell.

She tumbled down the slope head over heels, praying to any deity that would listen that she didn’t hit a tree or something on her way down. In reality, her fall only lasted a few seconds. To Roxy, however, it felt like hours as her body painfully scraped across the twigs and rocks on the ground, leaving stinging cuts along the olive skin on her bare arms and legs.

Her tumble finally came to an end as she hit the bottom of the slope and continued rolling until her head cracked painfully against a tree, leaving stars in her vision as she hopelessly attempted to regain her bearings. The orange light of the setting sun shined through the canopy and coloured everything in a tangerine filter that was definitely not helping her regain her bearings. Through the haze she could vaguely make out forms descending the slope slowly, laughing as they came.

The raven-haired girl tried to pull herself to her feet and continue running, but as she put weight on her ankle a sharp pain coursed up through her leg like lightning. She let out a hiss as she fell back onto her behind and tried very hard to focus her sight on her offending ankle, but all she could make out through the ever-present blur was that any movement sent pain shooting up her leg and her skin was already turning a painful shade of purple. Something, somewhere deep in her mind was screaming at her that she needed to run, but Roxy couldn’t for the life of her remember why right now.

A figure loomed over her, and Roxy’s vision chose that moment to start clearing as she looked up, revealing Kimberly’s sneering form towering over her, the chocolate milk stain from earlier still very clear on her white school uniform, matching with her chocolate brown hair.

Oh, that’s why I was running. Fuck.

Roxy tried to crawl away backwards, heaving herself on her scraped elbows and pushing off her good ankle, doing anything to put distance between herself and the one who would hurt her, but it was in vain as a kick lashed out into the side of her head, knocking away any delusions of escape and sending her careening back into that blurry unfocused hell as the throbbing pain in her skull reached new heights. In the back of her mind, Roxy wondered if she had a concussion, but right now that seemed like the least of her problems.

“No more running, Rox. Did you really think I would just let you get away after that stunt you pulled? Like, who do you even think you are? This was my last clean shirt!” Kimberly spat, “You ruined it, so you’re gonna pay for it.” She stuck out a hand. “Cough up, dyke. Fifty bucks, right now, and I’ll consider letting your sorry ass walk away.”

Anger flared in Roxy’s chest at the hateful slur and she felt her instincts switch from flight to fight. The raven-haired girl forced herself to her feet, gritting her teeth against the pain. She leant against the tree to fend off the dizziness and made sure to keep her weight firmly on her good ankle.

“Why would I e-even have fifty bucks on me right now?! A-and it wasn’t even my fault, you f-fuckin’ moron. If you were paying any attention you would have seen Leon trip me. Or, was that your plan? Get him to trip me so I spill my drink on you, so you can try to shake me down and feel even slightly justified for it? Well, guess what? Even if it wasn’t his fault, I still wouldn’t give you a goddamn cent, you horrible bitch. Go find someone else to rob.” 

Roxy glared at her tormentor defiantly, burying the fear coursing through her veins and trying to ignore the shaking in her legs. She was tired of letting these people push her around forever. She was probably gonna end up regretting goading them like this, but at the moment she was far too fed up to care.

Blood dripped down Roxy’s face and onto her own uniform, staining it with harsh red among the brown dirt stains from her fall. Kimberly stared at her in disbelief for a moment before her expression quickly switched to furious rage. “What the fuck did you just say to me, freak?”

“You heard me, Kimberly. Fuck off.” 

The tension in the air was palpable as the two girls stared each other down, each silently daring the other to make the first move.

It was Kimberly that broke first, pinning Roxy against the tree by her shoulders and bringing her arm back to throw a punch that, despite how obviously it was telegraphed, Roxy only just managed to block by throwing her arm up, the fist still slamming painfully into her forearm.

Roxy shoved all her weight into the other girl, pushing her off, before throwing a right hook at Kimberly’s jaw. The hit connected and Roxy hissed as a sharp pain shot up her arm.

No one ever told me how much punching someone hurts! Fuck!

The brunette recovered quickly and leapt at Roxy with a furious growl. She violently gripped Roxy’s hair and pulled, forcing Roxy to accidentally step back onto her bad ankle in an attempt to keep her balance. She cried out in pain as her leg buckled, bringing her crashing into the dirt with Kimberly close behind. 

Roxy was stunned from the fall and as such couldn’t do much to react when Kimberly started hammering her fists down onto Roxy’s face, each strike thickening the fog residing in the girl’s head, and that certainly wasn’t helping her recover her senses. Roxy was about to try to bring her hands up to get this crazy bitch off of her, but suddenly, with a flash of gold above her and a yelp from the other girl, Kimberly’s onslaught was no more.

Roxy sat up and immediately froze at what she saw. Kimberly was lying on the ground a few meters away, looking like she was about to piss herself. She was pinned to the dirt by a giant golden wolf, red eyes boring into the brunette’s soul as a deep guttural growl filled the clearing, reverberating through Roxy’s chest.

“Artemis...” Roxy whispered as the sight clicked in her fog-addled brain. Artemis’s ears twitched and she looked away from her catch towards her human friend, leaving Kimberly panting in the dirt. The wolf quickly trotted over and sniffed at Roxy, a strangely concerned look on her face, before a giant tongue flicked out and started licking at the wound on her forehead, sending lashes of pain shooting through her skull.

“Ow! Arty! Stop!” Roxy yelped. The wolf acquiesced and stepped back with a guilty look. “I know you're just trying to help, okay? But that really hurts. I'll be fine, sweetie, don't worry.” Roxy reached out to affectionately stroke along Artemis’s head, much to the wolf’s pleasure.

“What. The. Fuck.” Kimberly’s shrill voice pierced the air, breaking the brief peace between Roxy and her wolf and causing them to look over at her. She was back on her feet, one of her friends holding onto her arm to keep her steady. She stared incredulously at Artemis and Roxy. Roxy might have been imagining it, but she seemed to be quivering slightly. Artemis growled at her again and the brunette immediately tensed up, clinging to her friend even harder.

“This is fucked,” She turned to her friends. “Let’s get out of here, I am not gonna get mauled just to teach that freak a lesson.” Her words earned her a vicious bark from Artemis that made her jump about a foot in the air before she turned and walked away as coolly as anyone could while they were gripping onto their friend so tight their knuckles had turned white.

Adrenaline still coursed through Roxy’s body as she watched her attackers retreat. She pushed herself backwards until she was leaning against the tree again. Her whole body was shaking and the painful throbbing in her head never seemed to cease. Nothing seemed real right now, like she was watching the world through a hazy screen. She was nauseous. Her ears were ringing. Roxy vaguely noticed that her face was wet. Why was her face wet? Oh, she was crying.

The realisation opened the floodgates and Roxy broke. Loud sobs ripped out of her chest and echoed through the clearing. She dimly felt a warm presence next to her as Artemis curled up and rested her head on Roxy’s lap. The weight was grounding and Roxy buried her face in her fur as she bawled her eyes out, crying away her adrenaline and fear into the safety of her wolf’s fluffy mane.

“Thank you..” Roxy’s words came out as a tiny whimper and were muffled by the fur, but Artemis understood. She’d finally stopped crying and now she just felt exhausted and sick. Her body felt like it’d been hit by a truck and she could already feel her face swelling up where Kimberly had hit her.

“I need to get home, but I don’t think I can walk with my ankle the way it is right now,” Roxy thought aloud. “If I'm not home soon my dad’s gonna start freaking out and at that point my ankle’s gonna be the least of my worries.” She let out a forlorn sigh against the wolf’s fur. “I don’t know what to do, Arty.”

Suddenly, Artemis lifted her head from Roxy’s lap and gave a big stretch before standing up to her full impressive height, tail wagging idly behind her. She bent back down into a prone position, making eye contact with the girl, before nodding her head towards her back.

“You... want me to get on?” The wolf let out a tiny huff of confirmation, and Roxy found herself carefully pulling herself up onto Artemis’s back, holding on tightly to her neck as she lifted back into her full standing height.

“Ok, uh... What are we-” Her questions were cut short when the wolf started bounding through the trees, Roxy crying out and clinging on for dear life. They sped through the woods at an incredible speed, trees flying past as a blur until before she knew it, they were at the edge of the woods, right outside Roxy’s backyard.

The wolf gently lowered back to the ground, allowing Roxy to gingerly climb off into a nauseous heap on the floor. She nuzzled the shaken human and gave her a gentle lick on the cheek to calm her. Roxy took slow, deep breaths before allowing Artemis to help her to her feet. The injured girl leant on her wolf as she limped towards her back door. Once they reached it Roxy turned to Artemis and gently rested her forehead against the wolf’s own.

“Thank you so much, Arty,” she said softly, stroking her fur with one hand. “Next time I go into the woods I'm definitely bringing some treats for my good girl.” Artemis wagged her tail with incredible gusto and gave her companion one last lick for good measure before quickly bounding back into the undergrowth. Roxy watched her go until she was gone, already missing the comforting scent of pine.

—

The incident in the forest was on Thursday. Today was Monday and the first day Roxy would be returning to school after what happened. Over the weekend a brilliant array of bruises had sprouted over her face and body and for at least 2 days afterwards she was so sore she could barely move. Today was better though and she was able to walk, albeit with a limp, on her injured ankle. Thankfully, it had only turned out to be badly sprained, not broken, and only required a brace over the weekend.

Roxy had never been much of a makeup gal, but today she was wishing that she had at least dipped her toes in it when she was younger, lacking any kind of concealer to cover up the assortment of dark bruises on her face. She limped through the school halls, keeping her head down and powering through all the stares and whispers about her appearance. She was just about at her locker when she bumped into someone and involuntarily looked up. She found herself staring into Sam’s gaze, her piercing blue eyes gazing back at her, a distinctly concerned look on her face.

Without a word, Sam gently grabbed Roxy’s chin and tilted her face up, taking in the bruises on her face and the bandage above her eyebrow. At this point Roxy had been friends with the girl for about a week, and she was already getting used to the unusual gestures and frequent physical affection she was fond of, as much as it always made her heart flutter and her face heat up. This, however, was something different. In place of her usual bright smile, her lips were a thin line and there was something serious in her eyes, something furious. For a second there Roxy would have sworn that she saw Sam’s breathtakingly blue eyes flicker red for a moment, but she passed it off as a trick of the light.

Sam hugged Roxy in a tight embrace, and while the shorter girl was now used to the feeling of Sam’s freely given hugs, this one was different from her usual bright, energetic, lift-you-off-the-ground bear hugs. It was soft, warm, protective in a way that left Roxy feeling breathless against the other girl’s chest.

“I’m glad you’re okay. If that bitch ever comes near you again, I'll rip her apart.” Sam whispered, and Roxy knew that she meant every word. She hugged back tighter for a second before realising something and pulling away to look at the other girl.

“Wait, how did you know it was Kimberly that did this? I haven’t seen you since lunchtime on Thursday.” Roxy questioned. There was a slight, almost unnoticeable pause where Sam faltered for a second before replying, but Roxy caught it.

“I-I-I saw you spill chocolate milk on her at lunch, then saw her gang eyeing you as you left that afternoon, and kinda put two and two together. Also, she was kinda loudly bragging about it at lunch on Friday, it was pretty hard to miss.” Sam replied, noticeably avoiding Roxy’s eyes.

“Sam...” Roxy said sternly, making a note of how the other girl immediately tensed up. “Have you been watching me?” She let her fake sternness slip into a playful smirk, and watched with glee as Sam immediately grew red-faced and flustered.

“Wha- What?? No! Wait, I mean yes! Wait! No...?” Sam was sputtering and laughing nervously, eyes looking everywhere but Roxy, hands waving around crazily. “I-I-I j-just happened to see you at those moments! I wasn’t watching you! I swear!”

Roxy laughed wholeheartedly at the display of adorable floundering before her before smiling openly up at the other girl and giving her a playful punch on the arm. “It’s chill dude, I was messing with you!” Sam audibly breathed a sigh of relief. “Anyways, I was wondering if you’d wanna hang out sometime? Like, outside of school.”

“Oh! Yes! That’d be awesome!” Sam’s bright smile lit up the whole hallway, her twinkling blue eyes leaving Roxy feeling both breathless and enraptured.

“Great! Well, I've gotta get to class but we’ll talk about this more at lunch, okay? See you later!” Roxy started to walk off past Sam, but stopped and leaned up on her toes to whisper into her ear.

“By the way, you’re really cute when you’re flustered.”

Roxy smugly dropped back down and sauntered off as much as she could with her limp, leaving Sam a bright red, stuttering mess in the middle of the hallway.

Score one for Roxy! That was revenge for the nose thing last week! Not that I’m still thinking about that or anything…

—

They had agreed to meet at a diner, grabbing something to eat before heading out and exploring the town. Sam was waiting in a booth, trying to sit still while she was forced to  remember exactly why she generally tried to avoid places like this. While most werewolves (Sam assumed, as she didn’t actually know any other werewolves.) find it easy to block out all the external stimuli that comes with having heightened senses, Sam had never quite wrapped her head around that particular puzzle, and as such, she was aware of everything. 

The sweat of the overworked staff on this busy Saturday mid-morning, the dozens of different smells emanating from all the food and drink nearby, that guy a few booths down who was wearing way too much cologne. All of these scents combined with all of the sounds one would associate with being in a diner, (turned to the max due to her heightened hearing), were turning out to be incredibly overstimulating for the blonde girl, her usual calm and spacey demeanour shifting into something much more tense.

And so she sat there, bouncing her leg, biting her lip, sitting in one of the most stress inducing places in the known universe, just because a girl that she maybe-sorta-kinda liked had asked her to meet there. She was aware that it was pretty pathetic that she was already completely enraptured at this point, but could you blame her? Roxy was kind, funny, brave, and literally the cutest person Sam had ever met. Not to mention she wasn’t even afraid of her wolf form! That was big, Sam had decided. It was important.

Someone cleared their throat and Sam jumped so hard she slammed her knees against the table. She had been so caught up in her lovesick thoughts she hadn’t even noticed the waitress who had been standing at her table for presumably some time. She raised an amused eyebrow at Sam’s reaction before speaking.

“Hi, welcome to Danny’s, what can I get for you today?”

“I-I, uh, I'm wait-waiting for s-s-someone,” Sam vaguely realised her hands were shaking, so she moved them to her lap in an attempt to hide it. Where the hell was Roxy? “I-I’ll order when she.. When she ar-arrives, p-please.”

The waitress shrugged. “Alrighty then, you sure I can’t at least get you a water or something? You look a little stressed there.”

“Th-that would be nice. Thank you.” Sam gave a shaky smile as the waitress walked off.

I really hope Roxy arrives soon, I'm not sure how much longer I can handle this.

The urge to shift into her wolf grew with every passing second in the hellish diner. She could feel it itching under her skin, desperate to escape the horrendous overstimulation, but she held her ground. The fact that it was the full moon that night didn’t help, but nothing was gonna stop Sam from getting her day together with Roxy.

The door to the diner opened with the ding! of a bell, and Sam immediately caught the one scent she actually wanted to smell. Lilac and strawberries hung in the air, announcing Roxy’s arrival, and the blonde girl immediately perked up. If her tail was out right now, it would definitely be wagging. Roxy walked into view, smiling at Sam as she came and...

Oh, wow...

She was wearing ripped black skinny jeans and a tight black crop top, exposing her midriff. Sam knew she was definitely going to have to put a considerable amount of effort into not blatantly staring at it, but some part of her already knew that was not a battle she would win. The outfit was complemented by some dangly earrings, a necklace with a little sword hanging off of it, and her usual black converse shoes. Simply put, she was gorgeous, the faded bruises adorning her face doing little to counter that. If anything, they were adding to it. Sam suddenly felt weirdly underdressed, despite her perfectly adequate choice of wardrobe. She herself was wearing a white graphic tee, complimented by a red flannel and some denim jeans.

Roxy slid down into the seat across from Sam, still smiling at her and definitely noticing the way she’d been staring, if the slight shade of pink adorning her cheeks was anything to go by.

“Hey, Sam!” She said brightly. “How are you?”

“Uh- g-g-good! I'm good! Great, even! How are you?” Sam desperately tried to play it cool but it was proving difficult as she was still hyper-aware of every little thing going on inside the building. Roxy raised an eyebrow.

“You sure, dude? You're looking a little nervous there, are you alright?” The shorter girl’s face dropped into a concerned expression that made Sam’s heart twinge with affection.

“Y-yeah I'm okay, I ju-just don’t really tend to do too well in, uh...” Sam took a second to breathe and consider her words. They came out as a whisper as she lowered her head a little. “These types of environments...”

Roxy’s face flashed with confusion for a split second before realisation dawned across her features. “Would you feel better if we sat outside?” She smiled softly at the taller girl, causing a warmth to spread across Sam’s face.

“Oh my GOD yes.”

The two girls moved to one of the outside dining tables, much to the confusion of the waitress, who had just returned with Sam’s water. She quickly realised where the girls had gone and took their orders before returning back inside the diner. Roxy ordered waffles while Sam ordered her favourite, bacon and eggs with extra bacon. The two girls happily gossiped, talking about rumours they’d heard about their classmates, (“did you know that Percy has a crush on Brad? I know right?!”) although it was mostly Roxy doing the talking, as Sam was usually far too spaced out to pay attention to the proceedings of the school courtroom. Not long after, their food arrived, and they happily dug in, Sam doing her best to use the not-actually-silver silverware provided and trying to resist the full-moon-enhanced urge of her wolf to tear the food apart with her bare hands.

“So, what do you wanna do today?” Roxy asked in between bites of waffle.

Sam thought for a second before shrugging. “No idea, honestly I mostly spend my weekends just wandering around the woods or doing whatever Ava wants to do.” The blonde laughed nervously, scratching her neck. “I don’t really know what most people my age do since I don’t really hang out with them much.”

Roxy paused and looked up, her curious brown eyes meeting Sam’s blue ones.

“Wait... Did you say ‘wandering around the woods?’”

Sam swallowed down her food harshly before replying. “Yeah, I did say that. Why?”

“Oh, it’s just, I like to walk around the woods too, I was just wondering if you’d maybe ever seen a giant golden wolf walking around?” The dark haired girl asked sincerely.

Sam choked on a piece of bacon she was eating and started coughing manically. She quickly recovered, however there were still tears stinging her eyes. “What wolf? What are you talking about? I haven’t seen any wolves! Haha no idea!” Sam chuckled nervously, refusing to meet Roxy’s eyes. She eyed the display with something akin to confused suspicion on her face before shrugging and continuing.

“Oh well, there’s this wolf that I've seen out there a few times, she’s actually pretty friendly! I was just wondering if you’d seen her as it’s been a little while since I last ran into her. Although, to be fair, I haven’t really been into the woods as much since...” She paused solemnly, looking down at her now empty plate. “what happened with Kimberly... I don’t think she’ll come after me again, but man, it was pretty scary getting cornered like that. Those woods have always been a safe and calming place for me, but now every time I walk through them all I can think about is what happened...” The raven-haired girl’s voice came out as nothing more than a whisper.

Sam’s expression softened, and she reached across the table to gently grab one of Roxy’s hands. The other girl startled a little at the contact, staring at their intertwined hands with a steadily reddening face. Sam spoke up.

“Hey, listen to me. I’m not gonna let her hurt you again, okay? As long as I'm around, you’re safe.” Roxy tore her gaze from their hands to meet Sam’s eyes. She broke out into a shy smile, her eyes slightly wetter than they had been before. She nodded. “Now, enough about her, let’s go do something fun.”

The two girls finished up at the diner and quickly departed, heading into town to continue their day. They wandered through Dewsbury, taking in the sights and enjoying the warm sun before stopping to get some ice-cream from a stand. Roxy got strawberry while Sam got vanilla, and the two girls headed towards the last stop on their agenda today, the mall.

Sam was reluctant, expecting the intense noise and stimuli of the mall to be too much for her wolf to handle, especially with the upcoming full moon that night, but when they arrived the blonde girl found herself to be miraculously calm, her wolf eased by the comforting aura of Roxy’s familiar presence. She found herself smiling happily as they explored the complex, checking out different stores (although taking a wide berth around the incense store) and trying on different clothes. Roxy tried on a one-piece swimsuit in preparation for summer and when she’d walked out of the changing room to show it off, Sam had just about passed out from all the blood that rushed to her head.

All throughout the time they spent at the mall, there was a suspicious scent lingering somewhere at the edge of Sam’s senses. It was familiar, but between the multitude of other scents from the people around them, as well as the overwhelming scent of Roxy that Sam was quietly enjoying, it was hard for her to put her finger on exactly what it was. Something about it was setting her wolf on edge, but in the crowded shopping centre there was nothing she could do about it, so she just did her best to ignore it and focused on enjoying her day with Roxy.

—

The restroom was silent save for the sound of water running out of a tap and the muffled sounds of the lively shopping centre beyond. Roxy scrubbed her hands clean in the cool water, excited to get back out there and spend more time with Sam, who was currently waiting outside. The day was going even better than she could have hoped, Sam seemed like she was having a great time, and if the way that she kept catching the blonde staring at her was any indication, Roxy had definitely made the right choice of outfit for this outing.

She smiled to herself as she thought about her friend. They’d only known each other for about two weeks at this point, yet they were already growing inseparable. Something about the girl’s freely given affection and carefree yet caring attitude had completely broken down Roxy’s walls in record time and in their wake had left an ever-present something sparking at the edges of their relationship, something that, if Roxy wasn’t mistaken, both girls seemed to be aware of yet never spoke about. Either way, their dynamic was clearly working, and Roxy was eager to see where it would end up.

The raven-haired girl was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening. She looked up into the mirror and when she saw who had walked in, she froze.

“Well, fancy seeing you here, Roxanne.”

—

Sam was standing guard outside of the toilets, waiting for Roxy. The suspicious smell from earlier was slightly stronger, but it was still too weak for her to identify without shifting into her wolf form right here in the middle of the shopping centre. So instead she settled for keeping an eye out, looking around at everything to see if anything jogged her memory.

Suddenly, a different, albeit much more enticing scent captured her wolf’s attention; the smell of meat. Immediately, Sam could feel herself begin to shift, her wolf desperate to search for the source of the appetising smell. The blonde bit her lip to try and regain some self-control, but all she succeeded in doing was cut herself on her steadily sharpening fangs.

Alright, fine! I'll go and see what that is and maybe get some, but only if you calm down!

Her wolf quickly complied and Sam begrudgingly (excitedly) set off to find the source of the mouth-watering scent. It wasn’t hard and the werewolf quickly found herself inside a kebab store, staring at a giant slab of meat slowly rotating on a skewer. The server sheared off a few slices of meat and put them in a bun with some sauce and other things before handing the finished kebab to a waiting customer. Sam suddenly realised she was salivating and shook her head.

If you're good, we can come back here after Roxy is finished in the bathroom and then we can get some, but not without her!

Sam turned on her heel and walked out the door, back in the direction of the bathroom. The closer she got, the stronger the familiar scent grew, mingling with the lilac and strawberries of Roxy’s scent, until realisation hit her like a slap in the face. Memories flashed in front of her eyes, visions of the forest, an injured Roxy, and one very angry brunette bitch.

The blonde broke into a sprint, letting her wolf out just a little bit, making it to the restroom much faster than even the quickest Olympic sprinter. She knew her irises had definitely turned red, as they always did when she tapped into her wolf, and she would usually be worried about people seeing her, but right now nothing mattered except for making sure Roxy was okay.

She burst into the restroom with enough force to rip the door off of its hinges, but immediately knew it was empty. She couldn’t hear any signs of life coming from any of the stalls, but she could smell the lingering scent of Kimberly and Roxy, as well as the latter’s fear, hanging in the air. Sam ignored what the scent of fear meant and instead used it to track down where they had gone.

She followed the scent out of the restroom and down a service corridor. The door at the end was slightly ajar and she could hear voices coming from the alleyway outside. Sam stepped out and was immediately confronted by the sight of Kimberly and two other girls cornering Roxy against the far wall. Roxy was standing tall, but from the scent of her sweat and the sound of her rapid heartbeats, Sam knew it was just a front. Kimberly was saying something but Sam wasn’t listening. The brunette suddenly shoved Roxy back against the wall and Sam stepped in.

“You stay away from her!” She shouted, walking up and roughly grabbing Kimberly’s wrist. The girl was surprised at the sudden interruption, but broke out into a smirk.

“Aww, you must be Roxy’s girlfriend! Don't worry, we were just...” Kimberly faltered as she took in the blonde’s appearance. Sam’s irises were blood red, her teeth were bared, and her nails were longer and unusually sharp.

“Don’t play dumb with me, bitch! I swear to god, if you ever come near her again you’ll be spending the next six months in a hospital bed!” Sam made sure to let an audible growl into her voice as she spoke. She could feel Roxy’s eyes on her.

Kimberly’s face flashed with fear before quickly being covered with a mask of confidence. She shoved Sam away from her. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

Suddenly, an arm snaked around Sam’s throat from behind and she felt herself being choked by one of Kimberly’s friends. “I’ve got her Kim! Take her down!”

The brunette stepped forward menacingly, but before she could get far Sam reached over her head, grabbed the girl behind her by the back of her shirt, and bent over, pulling with all of her strength and flinging the girl over her head like a ragdoll. She slammed into the ground roughly, her head cracking against the pavement.

Kimberly looked taken aback by the show of strength, but rushed forward anyway, only to be met by a powerful right hook that sent her immediately collapsing to the ground in a heap. The last of Kimberly’s lackeys stood there, staring at Sam fearfully, before running off, leaving her two friends behind.

Sam released a breath she didn’t realise she had been holding and let her wolf settle, her eyes reverting to their natural blue. Finally, she turned to look at Roxy. The poor girl was pressed against the wall, arms crossed over her chest in a defensive manner. She ran to Sam, wrapping her in a tight hug, gripping the back of her flannel tightly and pressing her face into the crook of the blonde’s neck. Sam could feel Roxy’s body quivering against her own and she tenderly returned the embrace.

“It’s okay, Rox, you’re safe. I told you I wouldn’t let her hurt you.”

Roxy could only squeeze harder in response.

—

The girls found themselves cuddled together on Roxy’s bed, the shorter girl cradled against her taller friend’s chest, lying there in the comforting darkness of the evening. After the confrontation in the alleyway, they quickly decided that they’d had enough for today, but as Sam went to leave Roxy had quickly grabbed her hand, not wanting to be alone.

And so here they were, Sam holding Roxy against herself protectively, the only sound being their quiet, intermingled breathing. Part of Roxy knew that she should probably be flustered by such intimate contact, but after the events of this afternoon she was far too tired to care about that, only caring about enjoying the warmth and comfort of Sam’s arms.

Speaking of Sam, what even was that today? When she burst into the alleyway she’d looked... different. Although Roxy hadn’t gotten much of a good look considering all the movement and intensity of everything that was happening, the blonde’s movements were strange, animalistic almost, and that’s not even to mention...

“Hey, Sam?” The blonde snorted and shifted a little, whispering a little ‘huh?’ as she moved. Evidently she had fallen asleep at some point.

“Back in the alleyway, when you were fighting Kimberly, and even before that, your eyes... They were red. What was that?”