Sam awoke surrounded by warmth. A familiar, comforting scent filled her senses and she quickly melted into the oddly warm pillow she was resting on. She was swaddled in thick blankets and there was a grounding pressure resting on her back, holding her to the sweet-smelling pillow. She was supremely comfortable, in a way that she usually couldn’t achieve without shifting into her wolf form. Maybe she had? She slowly cracked open one aching eye to make sure she hadn’t accidentally ripped her bed up with her claws in her sleep again and was greeted by a very flustering sight. 

As her eye slowly opened, two things became apparent. One: the thing she was resting her head on was most definitely not a pillow. Two: Sam was not the only person in the bed. A small spark of alarm shot through her before that same scent wafted into her nostrils yet again and she began to calm down. While her waking brain wasn’t yet conscious enough to identify her bedmate, both her subconscious and her wolf recognised them as safe, so Sam stilled and sank into the warmth of her pack member’s soft chest yet again. She let her eye wander and saw a familiar olive-skinned arm limply flopped across the bed. Her eyes travelled lower and she noticed that the black fabric of her pack-mate’s tank top had ridden up some time in the night, revealing a soft swell of pale olive-toned stomach. It made Sam smile a bit, reminding her of Roxy’s own slightly pudgy belly, which, despite the fact that the blonde thought it was cute, the shorter girl would often complain about.

Oh. Roxy. That makes sense.

The realisation sent another wave of warmth through the girl and she allowed herself some amusement at her own obliviousness. Who else would she possibly be cuddling with like this? There was a strange tingling in her mind, as though she’d forgotten something important, but she was far too tired and comfortable to bother trying to pursue the thought. Pale morning light filtered in through the window, creating the perfect atmosphere for the sleepy cuddles the blonde was indulging in. She sank further into her sleeping partner’s embrace, wrapping her arm around the other girl’s body. Nothing in this world or any other could tear her away from this peaceful moment with her mate. Nothing other than the girl herself, apparently.

A slight whimper slipped past Roxy’s lips and Sam heard her heart rate pick up. Was she having a nightmare? The blonde girl shifted slightly so that she could see her partner’s face and was instantly reminded of the events of the previous night. The sleeping girl’s face was covered in bruises, but the thing that really alarmed Sam was the dark, hand-shaped mark that marred her neck. She still hadn’t gotten all of the details about what had happened the day before, but the picture that Roxy’s face painted left Sam feeling like her stomach was full of rocks.

The raven-haired girl’s face twisted into an anguished expression as she let out another  strangled whimper. She started thrashing about, almost knocking Sam off of the bed in her fervour before her eyes snapped open with a loud gasp and her hands darted to her bruised throat. Sam kneeled next to her, placing a gentle hand on the girl’s arm, causing Roxy to startle before she realised where she was. 

Her face relaxed when she locked eyes with her girlfriend. “S-Sam… Hey…” Her voice was hoarse with sleep.

The blonde smiled back gently. “Mornin,’ sleepyhead. You doin’ alright?”

Roxy faltered. “I… I’m not sure,” she admitted softly.

“Nightmare?”

“Y-yeah…”

A familiar mix of emotions gripped Sam’s heart. Anger, worry, dread, sorrow, and an unhealthy twinge of jealousy. The exact cocktail of feeling that had led to last night’s… incident. Sam wasn’t one for bottling up her emotions, but given the situation, she really didn’t want to end up causing another argument so early in the morning. She swallowed her feelings and pushed herself up against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. 

“Are you ready to tell me about it? How you know about the hunters? And what really happened yesterday?” She took a shaky breath, fighting to keep her voice even. “What do you know about my parents?”

Roxy was silent for a time, staring into her lap as she fidgeted with her fingers. “Yeah. It’s only fair for you to know. I’m sorry for keeping it from you.”

“It’s fine.”

Roxy explained everything: How her curiosity over Sam’s red eyes led to her finding the hunters website, how she felt like she was being watched almost all the time after that. Sam flinched a bit when she described how she found her parent’s picture, but said nothing. How could she, when she was so full of things to say that even the slightest spill would lead to an uncontrollable avalanche of painful, damaging emotion? The shorter girl continued on about how she guessed that it was the hunters that were following her and decided that Sam couldn’t be involved, lest she get hunted down. 

As messy as the whole situation was, it did ease Sam’s anxiety to know that her girlfriend wasn’t trying to leave Sam out because she didn’t want to spend time with her, just that she was being protective. The main catalyst of her outburst of emotion the night before had been the spark of jealousy she’d experienced when she’d heard that Roxy had decided to go with Leif instead of her. A slight twinge of guilt shot through her and she hugged her knees tighter.

Roxy told her how she went to Leif for help, how they ended up cornering the stalker in an alleyway, the tense back-and-forth and the frantic brawl that followed, leaving both girls bruised and battered. She finished up her explanation and let out a sigh, sinking back into the bed. 

Sam had been uncharacteristically silent through the entire thing. She could feel Roxy’s eyes on her, waiting nervously for her to say something, anything, yet nothing came. A few minutes of uneasy quiet passed before Roxy spoke up again.

“Sam? Could you say something?”

Another moment passed before she returned her girlfriend’s gaze. “This is just… It’s a lot, okay? The reason I haven’t really told you much about… well, me, is because I didn’t want you to get mixed up in all this shit. It’s hard enough having to constantly worry about my own safety, I didn’t want to be afraid for you as well.” Her tone turned sour and she chuckled mirthlessly, staring at the bed. “I guess it didn’t matter, did it? You’ve gone and gotten yourself involved anyway…”

“Sam, I-”

“Don’t, Roxy. Just don’t.” Sam sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I just need some space, okay? I need some time to process everything. I’ll text you later.” 

Hurt flashed across Roxy’s face and a small spark of regret flickered to life in Sam’s chest. She quickly snuffed it out. This was all so overwhelming. She needed to be alone.

The dark-haired girl steeled herself and nodded curtly, biting her lip and quickly gathering her things. She was out the door in less than a minute. Sam sighed deeply, releasing all of her pent up frustration and doing her best to ignore the guilt that had taken its place. She slowly worked through her ever-inconsistent morning routine, this time opting to skip out on breakfast and a shower. She had plans, after all. 

Sam didn’t bother changing out of her pyjamas, she just grabbed a bag and stepped out onto the sidewalk barefoot. She made her way to the woods and walked for a while, until she was deep enough that she was sure no one would see her. 

It was a foggy morning and the air was filled with the scent of petrichor. Sam looked around, ensuring she was alone before stripping out of her clothes and packing them away in the bag. The feeling of cold air on her bare skin was invigorating and she let it lead her through her shift. The familiar sound of creaking bones filled the air and before she knew it, she was back on all fours, covered in a comforting coat of golden fur. She memorised the location of her bag and bounded off into the wilds. 

Wind whipped through her mane as she ran through the undergrowth, savouring the exhilarating feeling of flying through the woods at break-neck speeds. Her emotions were always so much simpler, so much easier to get a hold of in this form. She didn’t need to worry about complex thought and she could just sink into her base instincts for a while, free from the heavy chains of intelligence and self-awareness brought on by a human brain. The enticing scent of various woodland creatures filled her nostrils and sent a pang of hunger through her, but she ignored it. She had a destination in mind, hunting for food could come later. 

She ran for about ten minutes until she reached a rocky cliffside. The familiar sight set her at ease, bringing back faded, but fond memories of her childhood. The werewolf made her way along the rocky wall until she reached the entrance of a shallow cave. Stepping inside, she was enveloped in a familiar, bittersweet scent. Even after all these years, it still smelled like them. 

The cave itself wasn’t very deep- only roughly the area of Sam’s basement- but it did well enough protecting its inhabitants from the elements, so the wild girl didn’t complain. The floor was covered in a soft padding, made up of shedded fur and old pine needles. Sam curled up in it and let out a sigh, sending a cloud of dust fluttering up into the air. Despite having just woken up less than an hour ago, the familiar scent and warmth of her old den was lulling the golden wolf back to sleep. She gently shut her eyes and gave in to the comforting darkness.

—

Sam walked through the woods, calloused feet barely registering the rough ground. She was dressed simply: wearing only a tattered, homemade knee length dress. There was a child holding her hand. She was young; maybe three or four, and strangely familiar. Her hair was a thick, tangled mane of blonde, much like Sam’s own, although her eyes were a striking blue, unlike Sam’s green ones. The girl had gotten her eyes from her father. Something about that thought struck Sam as wrong, but she didn’t dwell on it for long. 

The pair found their way back to their den, where Sam’s husband was waiting. As he came into view, silver hair shimmering in the sunlight, the young girl suddenly broke free from her mother’s grip and ran towards the man, embracing him in an eager hug. 

“Daddy! Daddy! Look! Mommy took me into town and got me this!” the girl yelled excitedly, showing off a small children’s book. “Can you read it to me? Pleeeeeeeeaase?”

The man chuckled, sending a flutter of affection through Sam’s heart. “Of course, starlight. We’ll read later, okay? I have to go and hunt first so that you and mommy can eat!” He stood up, placing a hand on the young girl’s head as he made eye contact with Sam. 

“You have any trouble in town, Deb?” he asked, eyes turning momentarily serious. 

Sam laughed with a voice that wasn’t hers. “No, no, everything’s fine. No sign of the hunters. We did run into Carol and Ava though. It was so nice to see Sam playing with someone her own age,” she said fondly. The man let the young girl run off into the den as he approached his wife, embracing her. Her face fell a little bit and she leaned against his chest as he lovingly ran a hand through her hair. 

“I know you miss them, Debbie. I wish we could live among people, but it’s just too dangerous right now. They were already on our trail when we left; who knows what would have happened if we’d stayed any longer?”

Sam sighed. “You’re right, I just wish Sam could spend time around other kids without us constantly having to worry.” She pulled back to look the man in the eye. “How do we even know that they’re still on to us? We haven’t seen a sign of them for months! Sam needs to have a proper education- a life! And she’s not going to get one if we spend the rest of our lives cowering in the woods like the animals they think we are.” 

The man stepped back, pinching the bridge of his nose. He grunted. “Alright, alright. We can talk about it more over dinner, okay? Now, unless there’s anything else, I have to actually go and get our dinner first.” He pressed a kiss to Sam’s forehead before stripping down and shifting into a large silver wolf. He turned and gave his wife one last meaningful look before bounding off into the trees. 

A few slow hours passed and her husband had yet to return. She began to grow worried as the sun faded behind the trees and he was still missing. Her daughter was sitting in the dirt, tracing lines in it with a stick as Sam frantically paced back and forth outside their den. Suddenly, a flash of movement caught her eye a split second before a searing pain tore through her shoulder and a loud bang echoed through the clearing. She fell to her knees, gasping in pain as her daughter ran up to her in alarm.

Six men walked out from the treeline, each dressed in an identical dark uniform save for the one in front, who was dressed like some sort of priest. Each man had a gun holstered on one hip and a sword on the other. One man was dragging something behind him, a limp form that had Sam’s stomach churning with fear. They stopped approaching and the man chucked the body into the centre of the clearing. She caught a flash of blood-stained silver hair and she cried out in anguish.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” 

Sam screamed in fury and pain as she attempted to shift, all too aware of the proximity of the hunters to her daughter, who was now attempting to growl in a way that would’ve been utterly adorable in any other situation. Burning pain spread out from her wounded shoulder as she shifted, but she pressed on regardless. Whatever they’d shot her with was able to slow her down, but not enough to suppress the pure rage boiling in her gut.

Within seconds her arms were covered with protective fur and her nails had morphed into razor-sharp claws. Her teeth had become long and pointed and her voice had distorted into a deep growl. Her clothes ripped and tore as her bones shifted, her already large frame growing massive. Some of the men began to pale as they beheld the hulking monster that now stood before them, but the priestly man just frowned.

“Sam.” Sam said firmly, her voice accented by a deep growl as her red eyes never left their assaulters. “You need to run, sweetie. Run, and don’t look back.”

“B-but mo-” 

“GO!”

Sam could only hope her daughter heeded her request as she leapt into the fray. She knew there wasn’t much of a chance of getting out alive, but if she could at least save her daughter, the light of her life, none of that would matter. She would lay down her life without a second thought if it meant that Sam was safe.

The name rang out in her head like a bell. Sam would be safe. Debbie would make sure of it.

Debbie threw herself at the hunters with reckless abandon, claws swinging at incredible speeds, rending flesh from bone and splattering blood across the clearing before many of the murderers could even draw their weapons. A silver blade pierced through her hand as she aimed to tear a hunter’s face off, but she barely even felt it. Her other hand sunk deep into his abdomen with a disgusting squelch and his face contorted in pure agony as she tore his intestines out. 

Good.

She ripped her impaled hand back and grabbed the hunter’s head, flinging his soon-to-be corpse at 2 of his comrades, making some space for herself. She quickly took a cursory glance around the clearing. Sam was nowhere to be seen; no more distractions. There were two hunters on the ground, already injured by her initial flurry and knocked down by the body of her first casualty, as well as a third desperately fumbling with his gun. Debbie didn’t hesitate.

She was on him in less than a second, tearing his throat out with her fangs. His death gurgle was ignored as she quickly turned to finish off the last two hunters, still attempting to pick themselves up off the dirt. They didn’t last long. 

Debbie looked around the bloodsoaked clearing, ignoring the burning pain in her hand and shoulder, almost seeming to spread through her body. Five bodies lay in the clearing, four hunters and… Mark. She knelt down next to his broken body, covered in lacerations and bullet holes. A sob tore itself from her throat. 

It didn’t make sense. Mark wasn’t a direwolf, he wasn’t as innately strong as she was, but still, those hunters were absolute pushovers, he should have had no issues dealing with them. It just didn’t make any sense! He was a competent fighter, the only way he would’ve lost was if he couldn’t shift for whatever reason. Her thoughts moved back to the priest. He had almost seemed surprised when she’d shifted, like she wasn’t supposed to be able to. Wait… THE PRIEST!

Debbie shot to her feet just in time for a bullet to graze her torso, missing anything vital by a hair's width. She frantically looked around, trying to locate the shooter, but it was too late. Another shot rang out and tore through her right leg, shattering her kneecap. She fell to the ground with a loud cry as the priest emerged from the trees, gleaming revolver trained at her head. He grinned smugly.

“Hmm, it seems as though silver does not interrupt a direwolf’s transformations as effectively as it does for the other subspecies. We’ll have to make note of this for future hunts,” he muttered. His weapon clicked as he drew the hammer back. “Any last words, mongrel?” Debbie just glared up at him defiantly. 

“G-get off me! L-l-let me g-go!” a young voice cried out. The last hunter stepped into the clearing, tightly carrying a thrashing child in his arms. Debbie’s heart dropped.

Oh god no.

The priest smiled joyfully. “Ah, good work, boy. You’ve saved me a trip.” 

Sam continued to thrash, crying out desperately for her mom. The sheer terror in her voice broke Debbie’s heart and she looked to the priest with the most pleading expression she could muster.

“Please! Let her go! She’s just a child!” she begged, tears pouring down her cheeks. The priest laughed.

“Now why would I do that? Her age has no more relevance than the colour of her hair. It changes nothing, she’s still a beast and it is my God-given duty to put her down before she can unleash her terror on this world!” She froze as he thrust the tip of his gun against her forehead. “Now die, dog!”

The last thing she heard was Sam crying out for her as everything went black.

—

Sam awoke with a guttural scream. Her heart hammered against her chest and her whole body was slick with sweat. She must have shifted back at some point during her nap, as her emotions were currently far too human.

What even was that? She’d always remembered that day vividly, watching her mother… die before biting through the hand of the hunter holding her and shifting, running as fast as she could through the woods and ending up at Carol’s doorstep. Whatever that was, though, was something else entirely. It’d felt strange, almost like she wasn’t really… herself.

Her stomach growled with an accompanying pang and Sam sighed. “Probably best not to dwell on it anyway. It was just a nightmare,” she told herself, doing her best to shake off the pounding adrenaline still streaming through her veins. The blonde picked herself up and stepped out of the cave, surprised to find the sun already high in the sky. She smiled at the feeling of sunlight on her bare skin and calmed a little.

A scent on the breeze caught her attention. Rabbit. Her mouth began watering and she eagerly gave in to her base instincts, shifting quickly and following the scent of her meal. It wasn’t hard to track down and she found it just sitting there, chewing on some grass without a care in the world. She pounced, snatching it up in her jaws and crunching down on it before it could even react.

She made quick work of her meal before continuing to aimlessly wander around the woods, the last vestiges of her dream - incomprehensible to her current animalistic mind anyway - flitting out of her memory along with a passing breeze. She wandered aimlessly for some time, relishing the feeling of the wind in her fur.

A strange sound whispered through the trees on the breeze, accompanied by the familiar scent of her mate. Curious, Sam carefully made her way through the undergrowth as the sound got louder and louder and her heart grew heavier and heavier as she recognised what it was. Eventually, she reached the source. Sitting against a tree in the clearing in which they’d first met was Roxy, crying her eyes out. The wolf could barely make it out, but it sounded like she was muttering apologies in between incoherent sobs.

Even with her mind regressed to only the most basic instincts and thought processes, she still recognised what this was. Roxy had come to her last night seeking help and comfort and Sam rejected her. Now Roxy was alone and hurting and it was, without a doubt, Sam’s fault. She’d let her emotions get the best of her and now her mate was hurting. She had no doubt that if her wolf brain was able to process guilt, she’d be feeling it in waves right now. She needed to fix this. Roxy wouldn’t recognise her in her wolf form but that didn’t matter. Her mate was hurting, anything else could come after she felt better.

Sam stepped out from the bushes and made her presence known with a questioning boof. Roxy slowly looked up, smiling at her in spite of her bloodshot eyes and tear stained cheeks.

“H-hey, Artemi-” She suddenly cut herself off, expression flitting through a thousand different things that Sam couldn’t hope to parse even with a human brain before landing on something akin to uneasiness. “I-it’s you…” 

Her expression remained oddly cautious. That confused Sam. She thought that Roxy would’ve been happy to see her? It didn’t matter, it just meant that she would have to take more drastic measures. Sam carefully stepped closer, taking care not to startle the girl in spite of not knowing why she was being defensive. When she was close enough she gave her face a tentative lick, expressing her love in one of the only ways she knew how right now. She could taste the lingering salt from Roxy’s tears and the girl startled a bit before a tiny giggle slipped from her lips, encouraging Sam to continue. 

Roxy’s giggles turned into full blown laughter as she fought to fend off the wave of affectionate licks. Eventually Sam decided that she’d had enough and sat back, letting her tongue hang out of her mouth in a way she knew would get a laugh out of her mate. Sure enough, when Roxy gathered herself and looked back at her, she couldn’t help but snort affectionately. It worked! 

Roxy sighed and slowly picked herself up off the floor, her body language and happy, strangely relieved scent conveying that Sam had been successful in cheering her up. She wagged her tail happily as the girl hugged her neck.

“Th-thank you, S-” she faltered. “...Artemis. I needed that…” 

Sam got the feeling Roxy had more to say, but the wolf didn’t really care. Her mate was happy and that was all that mattered.

— 

Time rolled ceaselessly forward. After their encounter in the woods, Sam had called Roxy up to apologise to her, which the latter was quite grateful for. As reassuring as it was to get her face aggressively licked for two minutes straight, Roxy wasn’t able to fully believe that things were okay until she heard it out loud directly from her girlfriend. She’d been terrified that she’d ruined things after Sam’s dismissal, but evidently the girl held no anger towards her and truly did just need some time to process. Roxy would admit she felt pretty dumb for freaking out so much when Sam had literally said just that, but, given the intensity of the argument they’d had the night before, Roxy felt like she was at the very least slightly justified in how she’d reacted. 

Her parents had, understandably, freaked out at her injuries when she returned home (well, mostly her dad, her mom just looked her over with a vaguely worried expression before realising that she was fine and going back to whatever she was doing), but she explained that it had been an attempted mugging and that she and Leif gave as got as they got. The one up-side of the whole situation was that they signed her up for mixed martial arts classes, which she would gladly take given that she doubted the cult was just going to give up on her after she knocked out one of their members. She was pleased to find that Leif had also signed up after their ordeal and, given that there was only one club in Dewsbury, they’d be training together. 

It was reassuring; having a familiar face there, one that understood her trauma, especially when she found herself accosted by flashbacks whenever one of the grapples they were practising felt a little too much like a hand squeezing her throat. Leif ended up having to calm her out of an oncoming panic attack on more than one occasion. The feeling of steadily growing stronger was worth it though, especially when she caught Sam admiring the new-found definition in her arms, even if that annoying little bit of belly flab never did quite disappear, as much as her girlfriend enjoyed it. She’d also convinced her dad to buy her a taser, which, after seeing what it did to the stalker, made her feel much safer when she had to walk home from work late at night.

The weeks flew by and exam season was fast approaching. Eventually, Roxy was able to let things touch her neck without immediately freaking out about it, which was good news for her overly-affectionate girlfriend, who relished the opportunity to place fluttery kisses there whenever she could. The topic of her identity as a werewolf still hadn’t come up, but Roxy wasn’t gonna push it, content to just enjoy her girlfriend’s human and wolf forms separately, as hard as it was to not accidentally slip up and call her by her real name when they were roughhousing in the woods.

One person that hadn’t crossed her mind throughout those weeks was Blaine. She hadn’t seen hair nor hide of him outside of class since whatever happened between him and Sam in the library, so when she found herself being all but cornered by him at her locker, it was pretty safe to say she was surprised to see him. The one time Sam wasn’t around…

“Hey, Rox, it’s been a while,” Blaine said in that awful drawl of his that Roxy was sure he thought was hot but only really succeeded in making him sound like he’d watched too many bad pornos- at least to her ears. Apparently it was quite effective among the more male-interested of her classmates though, if the rumours were anything to go by, so what did she know? She was, after all, Gay As Fuck™

“I guess it has,” she shot back flatly, praying that the dude would just get the hint and leave her alone.

“Say,” he started, clearly not getting the hint. “I’ve got some tickets to this movie on Friday night. Wanna come? We could catch up, maybe… get to know each other a little better?” The implication was obvious and Roxy had to resist the urge to gag.

Roxy sighed with poorly concealed frustration. “Really, dude? I’ve already told you I’m not interested. Besides, I’m already dating someone anyway. Now could you please get out of my way? I’m already late to class.”

Seeing that he was making no effort to move, Roxy tried to just push past him, only to be stopped when he grabbed her shoulder tight enough for her heartrate to pick up.

“Now, hold on a minute. Who said anything about a date? Bit presumptuous, don’t you think?” His voice was even, but there was a darkness in his eyes that set Roxy on edge.

 

She took a calming breath before speaking, not eager for the encounter to devolve any further. “Blaine, we’re clearly not friends. There is literally no other reason you’d invite me to see a movie. I didn’t think I’d have to spell it out for you, but I’m gay. Even if I wasn’t dating Sam, I wouldn’t be interested in you. I’m just not interested in men.” 

She finished and once again attempted to leave, hoping that the simple knowledge that she was dating Sam would be enough to scare him off, but his response stopped her in her tracks. 

“How do you know though?”

She turned to him. “What?”

“How do you know you aren’t attracted to men? I mean, have you even tried being with a guy?” He stepped closer to her, pushing her against the locker yet again. “I could show you what it’s like if you want.” His eyes flashed brightly and Roxy acted on pure instinct.

She drove her knee up into his crotch hard. His eyes bulged out of his head and the green flare in his irises flickered out. If Blaine was a werewolf, she wasn’t going to take any chances. He doubled over in agony, eyes tearing up. 

“Stay the fuck away from me, you creep. Unless you want Sam to have another talk with you.” To her surprise, he laughed, although it was clearly pained.

“Th-that fucking mutt? Of course you’re going out with the fucking direwolf, I should’ve fucking guessed.” He slowly rose back up as Roxy backed away. “It doesn’t matter, she’ll get what’s coming to her. Watch out, Roxy. I always get what I want.”

He turned and stiffly walked away.

—

“HE FUCKING WHAT?!”

Roxy winced. “Not so loud, dude. Everyone’s staring.” 

Sure enough, Sam’s shout had echoed throughout the changing room and suddenly every head was turned their way, eager to catch some new spicy info to gossip about. Roxy had to fight even harder than usual to keep her blush down, which definitely wasn’t an easy thing to do when her 6’2” amazonian of a girlfriend was wearing nothing but a sports bra and some P.E. shorts that showed off an alarming amount of toned thigh. Sam had the humility to at least look around sheepishly before turning back to Roxy, fire burning in her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said, quiet enough that no one else would hear. “But I swear to god, Rox, I’ll break his fucking legs if he so much as looks at you again.” She placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned down to look her in the eye, mischievous grin clear on her face. “He needs to understand that you’re mine and he’ll never get to do this.”

A shiver shot down her spine and Roxy forgot about everyone else in the room. Sam looped a hand behind her neck, pulling her in and capturing her lips in a deep, possessive kiss. Roxy would be lying if she said she didn’t squeak a little. The blonde nipped her bottom lip as she pulled away, not noticing or caring about the hushed whispers that had filled the room. Well, if people weren’t aware that they were dating yet, they sure as shit knew now.

Sam was gazing down at her with all the love in the world. Her cheeks were dusted pink, no doubt mirroring Roxy’s, and she wore an almost sheepish smile, as if she hadn’t just absolutely demolished any and all composure Roxy had managed to maintain when being in such close proximity to a barely dressed goddess. 

Artemis… I really chose a fitting name.

Sam faltered, mistaking Roxy’s complete and total gay shutdown for something worse. “S-sorry, was that too much? I-it’s just that with everything going on and we’re in this change room together and I was just like wow look at her and I guess I got caught up in the moment and-”

She was cut off by Roxy, hitting her in the head with the shirt that she was supposed to be changing into. “It’s fine, you dork.” the shorter girl reassured affectionately, still unable to look Sam in the eye. “Now, please, put a shirt on before I faint from all the blood rushing to my head.”

Now it was Sam’s turn to blush as she rushed to comply. Roxy turned back to her own pile of belongings, swallowing down the many socially unacceptable thoughts she was having about her girlfriend as she got dressed herself. There would be ample time to make out with Sam later. She sighed.

“Look, you do whatever you need to do to that asshole. Just… save it for when there aren’t any teachers around? I don’t want you getting in trouble. Or hurt for that matter.”

“You got it, babe.” Sam winked, making Roxy’s heart flutter so much her stomach hurt.

This girl is gonna be the death of me, I swear.

—

Roxy leaned back as she sat in the grass, legs splayed out in front of her, watching intently as Sam jumped and intercepted the ball. The blonde deftly dodged past Blaine as he and his teammates tried to block her, scoring another touchdown for her team before wildly pumping her fists and cheering loudly. Their P.E. class had combined with Leif’s and while she was grateful for the opportunity to ogle her girlfriend as she absolutely dominated the other team (even if it was just a scrimmage), she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t worried about Blaine’s proximity, especially now that she knew he was a werewolf.

Leif was lying in the grass next to her, dead to the world. She’d been informed of the whole Blaine situation and was now gazing idly at the clouds, chewing on a piece of sourgrass. The game continued on, but Roxy could practically feel the tension rising from the field. Sam and Blaine kept glaring at each other. It was only a matter of time until one of them snapped.

A girl from Roxy’s class came and sat down next to them. She was vaguely asian in appearance, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. Her name was Brooke, if Roxy remembered correctly. She smiled at her warmly, though there was a mischievous aura behind her eyes.

“So,” she started. “Samantha Reed, huh?” 

Yep, that explains it. 

She groaned. “I take it this is about what happened in the change room?” 

Brooke laughed. “It might be.”

Roxy fell into the grass exasperatedly, resting her head on her hands. “Yeah, sorry about the PDA. Sam can be like that. Not that I’m really complaining.” she added with a smirk.

“Oh, it’s fine, you two are cute together.” The new arrival looked to the field and Roxy had to fight back a blush as the compliment warmed her. Leif snickered a little, exiting her trance to tease her friend. “I knew Sam back in primary school. She was nice, just… a little odd. She once bit a kid for stealing her sister’s pencil.”

“Yeah…” Roxy laughed breathily. “Sam’s a biter.”

Leif outright snorted at that and Brooke raised a knowing eyebrow before seizing the opportunity. “Yeah, that was pretty obvious from the change room.”  

Roxy felt her face heat up, but before she could say anything, a crack and a loud, pained shriek that sounded way too familiar echoed from the playing field.

Roxy shot up and scanned the oval, though it wasn’t hard for her to see where the commotion was coming from. Sam was lying on the grass, clutching at her side and gasping for breath, her face contorted in pain. It was all the incentive Roxy needed to get up and sprint over to her, not even noticing Blaine standing off to the side with a smug look on his face until she was close enough to see that the green in his eyes was noticeably brighter than usual.

“Sam! Sam, what happened?” Roxy knelt down next to her and frantically scanned her for any sort of visible injury. Sam didn’t reply, instead slowly lifting herself up onto her elbows as she aggressively stared down Blaine. Her eyes flashed red and it was the only warning Roxy got as Sam all but flung herself at the other werewolf, screaming and snarling at him as she pulled him down to the ground.

They rolled around, punching and kicking and even biting as they desperately wrestled for control. Roxy could only stand back in shock as they tore into each other. Despite all of the students crowding around and watching, none dared step in to break them up, even as the teacher frantically rushed over, calling out to stop the fight. 

Despite having whatever injuries she’d already sustained, Sam managed to find her way on top of Blaine and started absolutely wailing on him. Her fists came down like anvils, completely pummeling his face. As incredibly gratifying as it was to watch, Sam seemed to be in a bit of a frenzy and Roxy decided to step in before she accidentally killed him or something.

“Sam! That’s enough, he’s done!” She called, wrapping her arms under Sam’s armpits and pulled her off. The blonde didn’t resist, allowing herself to fall into Roxy’s embrace as she moved back to holding her side. She had a bit of blood leaking from her nose from where Blaine had managed to score a hit.

“What the hell is going on here?” 

The P.E. coach finally reached the circle of gawking students and took in the scene before him. One student on the ground with a bloody face, just about managing to pick himself up and another, also clearly in pain, being held back by another student. It certainly painted an interesting picture.

“Th-this psycho bitch just attacked me out of nowhere!” Blaine screeched, pointing an accusing finger at Sam. 

“No I fucking didn’t! He came after me first, I was just retaliating. I think he broke my fucking ribs!” Sam rebutted, wincing slightly as the shouting irritated her injury.

The teacher looked around helplessly before pointing to a random student. “You! What actually happened?”

The student faltered a bit at being put on the spot before he swallowed and spoke. “She’s telling the truth, sir. Blaine just tackled her down out of nowhere and then stomped on her chest.”

“I’ve heard enough.” He harrumphed. “Both of you, to the principal's office, now!”

—

“Do you two have some sort of history that I should know about?” Mr. Ericson asked.

Sam winced as she held the ice pack against her ribs. Turned out that getting stomped on really fucking hurts.

“We wouldn’t if he would stop harassing my girlfriend.” She grumbled.

“That’s Roxanne, correct?” She nodded. “For now we’ll treat that as a separate issue. My understanding is that Blaine started this fight. What reason would he have to do that if you were the one with the problem?”

“Because he’s an absolute psycho! He thinks he deserves Roxy or some shit and he-”

“Language, Samantha! I understand that you’re in pain, but please, control yourself,” he chided, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. Sam faltered before taking a breath and calming herself.

“Sorry. He’s mad at me because he wants… Well, to speak plainly, he wants to sleep with her and I’m in the way of that.” 

“Hmm.” The principal leaned back in his chair. “Am I to take your word for this?”

Sam glared. “Nope. Why don’t you call Roxy in here and ask her what he threatened to do today?”

He sighed. “This is going to be a long day, isn’t it?”

Sam shrugged. “Probably.”

—

In the end, Sam got out with a week long suspension. Not bad, considering she got to beat the ever loving fuck out of Blaine and get him expelled. Turns out, threatening to sexually assault another student before starting a fight and having a freak out in the principal’s office wasn’t really a good look. Roxy ended up getting a detention for admitting to kicking Blaine in the nuts, but she wasn’t really bothered. Hell, even Mr. Ericson seemed apologetic for it, stating that he would’ve just let it slide if not for ‘school policy.’

Now, Sam found herself slouched against Roxy, looking up into eyes as she breathed in her scent. There was a movie playing in the background, something about twelve dudes robbing a casino, but neither of them were paying much attention. Sam shifted around until she was lying flat against Roxy, what the school nurse suspected was a broken rib had healed enough in the last few hours that it wasn’t really bothering her. She was close enough that she could count Roxy’s freckles and feel her breath on her face. The brown-eyed girl smiled.

“Hey there,” she whispered.

“Howdy,” Sam whispered back, causing Roxy to grimace and try to push her off, failing miserably.

“You did not just ‘howdy’ me, Samantha.”

“I did, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Sam smirked, booping Roxy’s nose smugly. The raven-haired girl just raised an eyebrow with a smirk of her own, one that screamed oh really? Sam gulped.

Roxy hit her hard and fast, capturing her mouth in a passionate kiss. Sam could do nothing but melt into it, whimpering slightly. She was forced backwards until she found herself on her back, Roxy straddling her hips. She pulled away and eyed her with a look that made Sam’s heart race.

“That was payback for that stunt you pulled in the change room, dork.” 

“Your dork.” Sam sighed wistfully, smiling up at her girlfriend. That seemed to catch Roxy off guard a little bit. Surprise flickered across her face before her composure shattered. She giggled, falling against Sam’s chest and hiding her face in it. 

When she looked up, her face was still red, but she wore the most adoring look Sam had ever seen. It made her choke up a little bit. She couldn’t help herself, she pulled Roxy up closer and cradled her face, kissing her before her girlfriend could see her tears. 

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, kissing languidly, hands safely roaming and exploring, occasionally taking short cuddle breaks until they both passed out, safe in each other’s embrace. Shame that neither of them noticed the pair of green eyes, watching them through the window.