Six Years Later

Date Unknown
Waxing Gibbous Moon (Four Nights to Full Moon)

I was more animal than human; I couldn’t remember the last time I’d changed back to my human form. There was no more Tala; there was no more Selene. There was just one being in my body. I wasn’t ruled by the moon or Packs or Alphas or power.

I was a wolf.

I had my own territory, several hundred miles of wilderness. The other wolves didn’t dare come close. They knew I was stronger than them.

I was roaming the night when I came across another wolf’s scent. I growled and took off, following the smell of the foreign wolf. I would teach him to come through my territory. The thrill of the chase sent energy through my body. From the scent, I could tell that he was strong. It would be a fun fight.

I stopped short when I came to a clearing. I could smell water, the river that ran through my territory, but I could also smell something else. Something that wasn’t entirely wolf.

I cautiously approached the naked figure standing by the water. He turned to look at me. He looked older, more grown up, more handsome. He smiled, “I finally found you.”

I snarled a warning as he tried to come closer.

“Selene? I know you’re in there,” He said as he slowly inched forward. “Please change back so we can talk.

I turned to leave. Talking was the last thing I wanted to do.

“We forgive you, and I know you knew that when you left,” He said, “We all do, even mom. It wasn’t your fault Quinn died, and you saved the rest of us. Quit blaming yourself for one death, that isn’t something a pack leader can do.”

I hesitated, lingering on his last statement. They still wanted me to lead?

“Please talk to me. I have so much to tell you.”

I walked back to him and lay down in front of him. I didn’t even know if I could change back after so long. He ran his hands through my fur and rubbed behind my ears. I could feel his energy flowing through me. He was trying to help me.

I felt cold as the fur began to recede, the distant ache as my limbs changed back to those of a human. My face reformed back to that of a human’s, but I didn’t even know how I looked. Would I look the same as I did five years ago, or would I look older like Randall did? My tail disappeared as I lay naked in the grass. Randall climbed on top of me and kissed me deeply, something I hadn’t experienced in years. I was dirty and I probably smelled bad, but he kissed me anyway.

“I missed you so much,” He whispered into my hair, nuzzling me, enveloping me in his familiar scent.

“I-,” I paused to clear my throat. I hadn’t talked in a long time. I wasn’t used to it. “I missed you too,” I whispered. It was the truth, I had missed him at first, but giving myself over to the animal nature had helped to quell the emotions that were beginning to resurface. I didn’t want to go back to being a human. It hurt too much. It was too complicated. Being a wolf wasn’t so problematic.

“I’ve been leading the Pack by myself ever since you left, but I need someone to rule the Pack beside me. We’re growing; there are nearly twice as many members now. The Elders tell me that I have to pick a bride soon. This is the longest any pack leader has ever gone ruling alone. I need you, Selene. You’re the only one I want. I’ve been looking for you for the last six years.”

“Why me?” I pushed him away and got up, wobbly on two legs. I slid into the slow-moving river to rinse my body off. It was colder than I expected.

“You’re the only one I ever loved, Selene. I love you. I need you. Without you, I don’t feel complete, and the Pack won’t be complete.”

I looked up at him, standing on the riverbank, “You never said that before.”

“That I love you?”

I nodded as I climbed out of the water, wringing out my hair. The night air was warm and I would dry quickly enough.

He pulled me into an embrace and kissed me again, “I should have, but I wasn’t man enough then. I’ve had to do a lot of growing up in these past years. I have to be strong enough for nearly two hundred people. I have to know what I want and I have to know how to say it. I love you, Selene. I always have and I always will.”

“I love you too, Randall.” I kissed him and then pulled out of his embrace, “But I can’t go back. No one in the Pack liked me, not even the Elders. I was no better than Lilith.”

“Selene, your name is celebrated amongst the Pack. If it wasn’t for you, Lilith would have just preyed on someone else, someone that may not have been able to stand up and fight her, someone that may not have been able to defeat her and survive. I have pack members come up to me asking if they can name their daughters after you. Every year we remember the day you defeated Lilith. You are the reason we’re all alive and free today. I want you to come with me. I want you to marry me and rule the Pack beside me. Please,” He said, his eyes staring deeply into mine.

I nodded and began to cry. He pulled me into a tight embrace as tears streamed from my eyes, dripping onto his skin. He walked me out of the woods slowly, to his truck. He pulled a blanket out of the cab and wrapped it around me. He dressed quickly and I climbed in. It was going to be a long drive, and I was exhausted. I curled up and lay on the seat, my head resting in Randall’s lap as he drove. He absently stroked my hair as I fell asleep. It was the best sleep I’d gotten in years.

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A/N: This is the final chapter of Bitten. I hope you guys enjoyed the ride, I know I was late a lot and it still needs major work before it is print-worthy, but it's done and that's all that matters right now. Please comment and let me know what you thought if it as a whole.

I will leave the entire book online for about a month before I take it down for editing. I don't want to just leave the finished product out on the internet for very long. Let your friends know about it, re-read it, offer suggestions, help me to get Bitten to where it needs to be for publishing! Keep this page bookmarked and come back often for updates about Bitten, even when I take down the book. I'm going to take a few weeks break from working on this story to pursue other ideas and maybe finish Becoming, and if I start blogging a new book, please read it! I'll post a link to it here, of course.

As for this final chapter, I actually wrote it a while back ago, just because I had the idea in my head and I didn't want to lose it. I didn't want to make things too cheesy (i.e. Twilight), but I wanted it to be a happy ending. I had some ideas for a spin-off chapter later on about Selene's crazy mom and what she's been up to for the last six years (idea was she got herself bitten so she could prove werewolves existed so she could expose them and find a cure), but if that happens it won't be for a while, and it'll probably be a short story.

Anyway, thank you all for reading Bitten. Thank you for your comments over the past nearly year, and thank you for supporting me. Thank you Brandon for pushing me to write when all I wanted to do was play WoW. >.<>