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𝑨𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒍

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Syretia looked from Welma to Ettore who was now rubbing his head where the book had hit him.

"Che cazzo," he cursed under his breath. "Dio, sei irritante." (what the fuck)//(God you're irritating)

"He's talking too quickly to keep up," Welma had retrieved the book and started to sift through it again.

"Bene, non tenere il passo," he crossed his arms over his chest and turned his nose to the air. (Well, don't keep up)

"You know what I think?" Welma scowled at him, "you can understand us perfectly well, you're just refusing to comply."

Syretia tugged them along to the desk area and sat down in front of the opening the web browser to a translator, she pressed on the mic button, "okay, resume."

"Sei irritante, sparisci dalla mia vista!" he exclaimed pointing at Welma, but Syretia noticed he said it more slowly so the mic could pick it up. "Forse allora parlerò in inglese."

"What did he say?" Welma feigned a yawn.

"The translator says that he said, and I quote, 'You're irritating, get out of my sight,'" she paused to let out a laugh, even though Welma looked less than amused. "Anyways, 'maybe then I will speak in English.' I guess that's your cue to leave Welma."

"I'm not leaving you alone with him," Welma tutted kicking her feet against the desk, sending her chair rolling a few feet from the desk. "He's going to be sleeping in that pen in human form if he keeps it up. I'll fix that collar."

"You don't mean that Welma..."

"I sure do! I'm too tired of this I'm going to bed. Syretia, you best be getting home, it's late enough as it is." Welma made her way to the backroom, which was also her main living quarters, the couch folded out into a bed and there was an added on bathroom and kitchen area.

Syretia rolled her eyes are Welma's mood change. She got up from the desk making sure to shut down the computer before making her way to the locker area where she left her stuff during the day. She twisted the combination on her assigned locker and pulled out her bag that had her phone, keys, and some other necessities. She took it upon herself to lock the back door that led out to the wolf pens before making her way to the front door. Feeling a presence behind her, she glanced back over her shoulder.

"Why are you following me around like a lost puppy?"

"I don't want to stay here with that woman, she doesn't like me," his voice was deep, rich, and thick with an Italian accent.

"Well, too bad," Syretia rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut in his face, she stuck the key into the lock, locking it quickly. She looked around the empty parking lot as she speed-walked to her '97 Jeep Cherokee. She climbed in and stuck the key into the ignition starting the car quickly. She pulled the knob for the headlights to turn on and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Ettore in his wolf form glaring at her over the hood of the car. She pushed the lock button to lock all of the doors and put the car into reverse. She stomped down on the gas and whipped the car around so fast and shifted into drive in one fluid motion. Holy shit. She sped out of the parking lot onto the backcountry road that would take her back to town and the apartment building she was currently living in. She didn't know why, but all of a sudden her emotions from earlier were starting to surface, the shock had worn off and now she had to deal with a whole new reality.

She looked off to the side momentarily to see Ettore's wolf running in stride with her car on the other side of the road. He looked barely winded and she was already pushing 60 MPH. She hadn't even noticed she'd been driving that fast until then. Suddenly he leaped out in front of the car and she slammed on the brakes causing the car to slide sideways on the wet, worn down asphalt. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a shrill scream. Yet another thing scary enough to make her piss her pants.

She shakily put the car into park and just sat there, letting her panting breaths fill the air in the car. She looked down to see her hands were trembling as she removed them from the steering wheel and shifter. She looked up again, staring blankly ahead towards the illuminated trees and vegetation at the edge of the forest that ran along both sides of the road.

She jumped when there was a knock on her window. She turned her wide-eyed gaze to see Ettore standing bare-chested right outside, a wolfish grin on his face. He looked almost proud and that irritated her. She opened the door and slammed it into him sending him to the ground.

"Is this a game to you?! You could've got me killed just now!" She screamed at him, too pissed to register that he was stark naked. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"I..." he trailed off, his face that was dimly lit held guilt but she wasn't buying it. "I couldn't help myself, I love the chase. I've been stuck in my wolf's body for so long that my instincts have become more wolf than human. Rather predatory."

"That's no excuse for being so reckless, Ettore!" She grounded out, letting her fear turn into full-blown anger. She was never great at controlling her emotions. "Go back to the sanctuary or into the woods where animals like you belong!" She got back into her car not sparing him another glance, she suppressed her anger and fear so she could focus on the task at hand: driving home safely.

The moment she walked into her apartment the feeling of irritation returned, she stomped over to her couch and picked up a throw pillow. She couldn't help herself as she tossed it up in the air and punched it sending it back onto the couch. She needed a release. She always got angry easily and then she found it difficult to relax. She kept clenching and unclenching her fists. He was a complete moron! She didn't care that he had been a wolf he still lacked common sense. Speaking of which...

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!" She yelled, "Werewolves aren't supposed to be real... They're supposed to be figments of our imagination... monsters that go bump in the night on Halloween for Christ's sake." She walked into her kitchen, pulling out a twinkie from her junk food drawer. She unwrapped it and tossed the wrapper on the counter, she'd throw it away in the morning. She munched down the twinkie in a frenzy. The treat made her feel a little better, but she was still shocked about what she had seen and learned tonight.

She made her way to her bedroom, the sugary twinkie no match for the exhaustion that pummeled her. She let out a loud yawn as she discarded her clothes one article at a time on her walk to the dresser. Just like with the twinkie wrapper, she promised herself she'd pick them up in the morning when she had more energy. She pulled out a drawer and grabbed a random pair of panties slipping them on making sure to shove the drawer back in. She pulled open the drawer underneath the previous one and pulled out a large t-shirt and tugged it on over her head.

Making her way to her bathroom, she tripped over one of her boots that she had left out earlier that morning, "motherfuckerpieceofshitjesuschrist.." she pushed herself up from off the ground and looked into the mirror. The fist that came to mind? Ew.

Her mascara was everywhere on her face but her lashes, her cheeks had dirt on them and a couple of small scratches. Letting out a sigh she grabbed a washcloth and her face wash. She took the time to thoroughly wash her face clean and then brushed her teeth. Among the other things, she'd shower in the morning. She stumbled over the boot again and kicked it elsewhere. She finished off by belly-flopping onto her bed and letting slumber engulf her.

ETTORE

"Go back to the sanctuary or into the woods where animals like you belong!"

Ettore sat on the road replaying those words over and over in his head. Syretia was long gone, leaving him floored in her wake.

Ettore slowly stood up, the wet asphalt feeling foreign against the bottom of his bare feet. It had been so long since he had been in his human form, he forgot about how it felt to be human in every sense of the word. Behaviors, instincts, feelings of humans felt so abnormal to him. Sure, he had been trapped in his wold with full control for the past year and a half but wanted to be the old Ettore.

The Ettore he was before what had happened to him.

He shivered from the thought.

The human called Syretia intrigued him. Her being called out to him. He wanted to be near her but she shooed him away like a stray.

His head hung, his barely shoulder-length hair caging around his face.

Animal.

He didn't want to be an animal in her eyes. He just wanted to be Ettore. He clenched his fists and then released them, exhaling the breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding. He begrudgingly shifted back into his wolf form, disappearing into the dense forest.

The wolf knew things that Ettore would never understand.

The wolf was sprinting while Ettore was just learning the crawl again.

Perhaps that's how they worked so well together, the wolf had been in control for so long that the human side was dependable and weak without it. The wolf had grown knowledgeable, agile, and wicked predator. He controlled every action, every decision, every waking moment. The human side was now left to find its way, to stumble as the wolf sat back in recession watching everything unfold. Understanding that the human side needed to strengthen so they were both equal and fueling each other with power.

Ettore could barely recall the last time he had been in human form.

The wolf shut him out, taking over as he continued his journey through the forest. It didn't take long for the wolf to find a cave, he sniffed around making sure there were no other animals around. He made his way inside and looked around, his heightened vision made the otherwise pitch-black cave to appear only dimly lit.

The wolf was pleased with the spacious cave, with his age he was already thinking of having a mate with pups lying beside him. But, he knew his human counterpart was not ready to father any pups, the wolf could wait. He'd have to.

The wolf shook out his wet fur and paused momentarily. Suddenly, Ettore felt himself being forced to the front of their shared consciousness, the wolf forced him to shift to their human form. Ettore sat in the cave unsure of why his wolf gave him control all of a sudden. He stood up slowly unsure of how low the cave ceiling was. Standing to his height he was surprised that he hadn't bonked his head.

He looked around at the emptiness of the cave, and let out a sigh. He missed his pack.

The one where he found himself and lived happily with... well, the wolf forced forward emotions of carelessness and disinterest towards her. He had never truly accepted Ettore's Sweet Genevieve. The wolf was angered that Ettore would lose sight and fall in love with someone that wasn't his. Ettore didn't bother to appease the wolf's wishes and instead decided to divulge in his happiness, taking a page from the wolf's book of selfishness. He knew the wolf wasn't affected when he found Genevieve the night the hunters attacked a year ago. But he was, he had all the time in the world it seemed like to replay that night. He was still hung up on Genevieve and that pissed the wolf off because he wanted the human called Syretia.

The wolf decided to push forward thoughts of the training and killings he had committed while Ettore sulked in the recesses of their mind.

Ettore couldn't help but shift back into his wolf form due to the images that plagued his mind. He felt weak, he hadn't dealt with those things, the wolf had.

Ettore felt disgusting and vile because the wolf was desensitized to it, he wanted the wolf to feel guilty for killing all the supernatural beings he had but the wolf couldn't. Or he wouldn't. But Ettore hoped for the former. Ettore wanted to feel human again as he had when he was younger. Before he had first shifted. Getting his wolf was nothing like he was told it would be. They clashed, he didn't even feel like the wolf was him... he felt more like the wolf was someone else entirely.

And now here he was, lying in a cold, dark, and desolate cave.

This is where animals like you belong.

Her voice cut through him and he tried to suppress the whimper that formed in his throat.

Animal.