№27|Running
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“What’s that?” Dechen pointed to the pink cotton candy a pup passing by Dayo and Dechen ate.

“What do you mean?” Dayo chuckled, looking at Dechen strangely.

“That fluffy stuff that pup was eating.” Dechen looked confused, watching as the pup’s eyes lit up when he devoured the cotton candy.

“It’s cotton candy, Dechen.” Dayo laughed. Dechen, however, was still confused.

“What?” Dechen tilted her head.

“Cotton candy.” Dayo repeated, noticing Dechen’s confused expression. “Don't tell me you don’t know what cotton candy is, ododo mi?”

Dechen shook her head. “I’ve never tried it before. Is it good?”

“Okay, ododo mi. What sweets have you tried?” Dayo questioned.

Dechen thought about it. “Never been much of a sweets fan… so maybe just chocolate cake.”

“That's it?” Dayo was shocked.

“Yep. Why. Is there more?” Dechen asked sincerely.

“We need to find you a bakery... and fast!” Dayo grabbed her hand, pulling her along the compound till they reached the kitchen to see Malakai and Vanessa partaking in a rather heated makeout session.

“Ahem.” Dayo coughed.

“What do you want?!” Vanessa growled deeply.

“I just wanted to ask Malakai if we can try some of his sweets. Dechen’s never had any sweets before, but if this is a bad time we can come back.” Dayo smirked slyly.

Malakai chuckled and got off Vanessa. “No…” Vanessa pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Vanessa, darling,” he kissed her nose, “we can play later. This won’t take long.”

“I wanna play now~” She fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. “They don’t mind. I bet Dayo and Dechen would love a little show.” She winked slyly at the two. “Don't cha?”

“U-Um… n-no tha-thank you.” Dechen stammered, her cheeks staining red.

“It’ll only take a few moments.” Malakai assured her.

“You’ve been in a Fleshie Town so much working on those pastieries that you forgot the best dish you’ve ever tasted has been right in front of you…” Vanessa grumbled.

“Don’t be like that.” Malakai stroked her hair, brushing strands of her curly black hair back. “Yes, you are the best dish I’ve ever tasted, but I haven’t forgotten about you.”

Vanessa smiled softly. “Hurry back.” She whispered, sending Malakai to deal with the two wolves standing patiently in the doorway.

“So. You said you never had sweets before, Dechen?” Malakai questioned, walking towards the fridge.

“The only sweet I had was chocolate cake. My mom used to make it for me…” Dechen’s eyes saddened slightly. Not enough for Malakai and Vanessa to notice, but Dayo sure did.

“I think I have something that will wake up that sweet tooth.” Malakai reached back into the fridge to pull out a plate of sweets. “I call this the Sweet Loves Dream.” He handed the platter to Dechen.

On it was a variety of sweets… everything from cupcakes to liquorice. Dechen’s eyes widened with shock and desire. “Woah…”

“I get a lot of these orders during Valentines Day because a lot of couples like sharing them.” Malakai picking off a piece of truffle chocolate from the platter and fed it to Vanessa. “The caramel truffles are Vanessa’s favorite.”

Vanessa giggled as Malakai fed her another. “You know me so well.”

Dayo intertwined his fingers with hers, smiling at Vanessa and Malakai. “Thanks, Malakai. How much do I owe you?”

“Free of charge. I never charge any of the wolves here, so why should you be any different?” Malakai smiled brightly, waving goodbye to the two wolves.

Dayo and Dechen walked outside the cafe, sitting down at one of the tables. “Why did you look so sad when you mentioned your mom?” Dayo asked, eating one of the chocolate covered strawberries.

Dechen’s eyes widened slightly, causing her to look away from him and down at the platter. “Mmm… that cupcake looks good!” Dechen bit into the cupcake, her eyes lighting up at the sweet taste of the blue icing. “You have to try this, Dayo!”

“I’ve tried his cupcakes before. They’re great, but why were you sad?” Dayo asked once again.

“Ooh! Strawberry brownies!” Dechen bit into the brownie, trying desperately to avoid Dayo’s questions. “Here! Try one!” She fed him the brownie. Dayo smiled slightly.

“Dechen, why were you sad?”

“Is that a cake pop? Gotta have one of those!” Before Dechen’s soft hands could wrap around the cake pops, Dayo caught her wrist. Dayo slowly gazed into her deep brown eyes, melting at the sight.

“Why were you sad?” His voice commanding yet compassionate at the same time.

“My mom has the Fury virus…” Dechen muttered. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to pity me…”

“I’m so sorry, ododo mi (my flower).” He whispered softly, pulling her in for a hug. “I had no idea…”

“It’s alright. You didn’t know anything.” Dechen frowned, picking at the cookie in her hands. “Ya know… when I got the news, I was crumbling… just like this cookie.” The cookie crumbled in her hands, falling to the ground.

“Ododo mi, promise me something.” He stroked her cheek, wiping away the tears. “Never feel like that, okay? I never want you to feel like your whole world is crumbling.” He lifted up her chin. “As long as I’m here, I promise you, ododo mi (my flower), you will never feel pain like that ever again.”

“They all say that.” Dechen muttered, turning away from Dayo. “They all say that I’ll never feel that pain again but yet I always do.”

“I’m not other guys.” Dayo stated, stroking her soft hands. “I’m not those idiots who feed you empty promises.”

“Then what are you?” Dechen scoffed.

Dayo leaned in close, their faces inches away from each other. “I’m the one who’s gonna stay.”

◥✥◤

“Little one, it’s time to wake up.” Valentin’s voice made the she wolf in his arms to stir awake from a delightful nap.

“Va-Valentin?!” Dalaja stammered, quickly backing away from him. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw you napping and you were shivering. I couldn't just walk by and leave you in the cold.” He kissed her forehead, smiling softly at her.

“Was my door open?” Dalaja yawned, stretching her arms out.

“Yes, it was. You should be a little more careful, little one. There’s some crazy wolves out there.” Valentin warned, stroking her cheek. “I wouldn't want anything to happen to my little one.”

Dalaja gasped slightly, blushing like some silly school girl. “Yours?” She whispered softly.

“Sure,” Valentin winked at her, “I do think of you as my little one.”

Dalaja’s blush deepened. “Th-thank you…”

“You’re welcome.” He kissed her cheek. “Promise me you’ll close your door when napping. I can’t have any horny wolves scooping up my little one.”

Dalaja nodded, smiling up at him. “I will.” Her eyes widened slightly as she watched him get up. “Wh-Where are you going?”

“I thought since you were awake you don’t really need me anymore.” He muttered. Dalaja wrapped her arms around him.

“Can you stay a little longer? Please?” Dalaja requested, gazing up at him.

“Okay,” he smiled, kissing her forehead, “I’ll stay a little longer.”

◥✥◤

“Alistair.” Yvette kissed along his shoulders and crawled up behind him. “Please talk to me… you’ve been so silent since the meeting with your parents.” She nibbled on his earlobe. “Where’s my knight in furry armor?”

Alistair sighed deeply. “It’s either you or my parents, Shona…”

“If you want to choose your parents, I won’t mind… maybe we can have some secret relationship…” She muttered softly, backing away from Alistair.

“Shona,” Alistair turned towards, “have you seen my family? My choice is clear…” he lifted her chin up, “I choose you.”

“Good,” she pulled him down to the bed, “cause I couldn’t last a secret relationship. I wanna flaunt you off to everyone~”

“Am I some trophy husband?” Alistair chuckled, resting her forehead on her’s.

“Hu-Husband?” Yvette stammered, “I-I-I didn’t think about mar-marriage…”

“Do you want to get married?” Alistair asked sincerely.

“Ma-Maybe…” Yvette played with her hair. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about a wedding. Sometimes her, Chelia, and Liliana would look at wedding dresses.

Alistair laughed, kissing her cheek. “Shona, it would be an honor to marry you, but at least let me buy a ring.”

Yvette laughed alongside him. “We don’t need to get married now, but in the future I would love to be your wife.”

◥✥◤

Dr. Lycia and Medusa sat in rolly chairs as they examined Kirkland closely. Luckily the endorphins he got when Piper was around held the virus in him, and kept it from infecting others.

“How long are you girls gonna keep poking me with stuff?” Kirkland whined slightly. They’d been at it for almost an hour, and Kirkland and his wolf were getting tired of being poked and prodded.

“Only a few more minutes. We just want to make sure our data is correct before we give you treatment.” Medusa said, shining a light into Kirkland’s eyes.

“Treatment?” Piper asked, playing with Kirkland’s hair as he hissed at the bright light.

“Yes.Medusa’s found a way to place endorphins into a medical bracelet that will pump endorphins into his body whenever they’re low. It’s not a complete cure, but it holds off the virus so nobody can get infected. If it works on Kirkland, we can start handing these out to the other infected wolves.” Dr. Lycia explained.

“So I’m a guinea pig?” Kirkland gave the two a deadpan look.

“Technically, yes, but this also means you can leave the box.” Medusa smirked, knowing that would please the wolf.

“Why didn’t you start off with that!” Kirkland smiled brightly, clutching Piper’s hand.

Medusa chuckled, taking one final test on the wolf before handing him a slim golden bracelet. “Keep this on you at all times, even if she is around.” Medusa instructed, slipping the bracelet onto Kirkland’s wrist.

“We also need you to wear this one.” Dr. Lycia placed another bracelet on his other wrist, but this one was white rather than gold. “This bracelet tracks your vitals.”

“Again, so I’m guinea pig?” Kirkland’s deadpan expression returned.

“Maybe.” Medusa and Dr. Lycia chuckled nervously.

“Fine.” Kirkland rolled his eyes. “It’s the least I can do…”

“Thank you, darling.” Piper kissed his cheek. “Do you remember how you got the Fury Virus?”

“N-No…” Kirkland looked down at his hands. “That night was such a blur… I remember there being a man… he has a really thick voice and then he pulled out this needle and injected me with some green stuff…”

“Do you remember the man’s name? Or what he looked like?” Medusa questioned.

Kirklands shook his head. “I don't. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“It’s alright, darling.” Piper rubbed his shoulder, smiling at him. “Good news is you’ll be able to leave the box! We can run.”

“R-Running? I-I don’t think tha-that’s a good idea…” Kirkland stammered.

“Why not? It’ll be nice. I know my wolf is dying to see yours.” Piper laughed. She stopped when she noticed Kirkland’s nervous expression. “What’s wrong?”

“I-It’s been a while si-since I ran…” Kirkland gulped.

“How long has it been?” Dr. Lycia asked.

“Almost a year…” Kirkland muttered.

“A YEAR?!” Medusa, Piper, and Dr. Lycia shouted simultaneously.

“Yes, a year! There's no need to yell, god damn…” Kirkland grumbled, wincing slightly at the loud noise.

“How does your wolf not hate you?!” Piper exclaimed.

“I don't hate him. I'm ticked off at him, but I don't hate him.” Kirkland's wolf explained.

“That does it. We're going for a run!” Piper declared, grabbed Kirkland's hand as the two marched towards the courtyard.

“Piper… I don't know…” Kirkland's voice grew weary.

“What are you so worried about?” Piper placed her hand on her hip, drumming her fingers.

“What if the other wolf comes out?” Kirkland muttered.

“What?” She looked confused momentarily, but soon sighed. “You mean that fury wolf that was out when the virus was activated?”

Kirkland nodded sadly. Piper kissed his cheek. “You have endorphins pumping through your body to make sure the virus won't activate. Plus,” she planted a kiss on his lips, “I'm here too.”

“It's just been so long… what if I forgot how to shift?” Kirkland gulped.

“No wolf forgets how to shift.” Piper laughed, taking off her shirt to shift into a beautiful burnt orange wolf.

Piper nudged him as though she was saying 'your turn'.

Kirkland released a shaky breath, taking off his shirt and closing his eyes tightly. Once shifted, the light brown wolf's eyes shot up when his paws felt the soft grass he longed to feel.

Kirkland couldn't contain his excitement as he rolled around in the grass like a little pup.

For months, his wolf was dormant in his mind, refusing to talk to Kirkland because of the horrible things he did to Barron and his friends. Now that the two of them were on good terms, his wolf finally got the privilege of a good run.

He quickly ran in circles, excited to finally be free. He crouched in front of Piper, wagging his tail excitedly.

Piper chuckled. “Someone's excited.” Accepting the challenge, she pounced on Kirkland, the two of them wrestling until Kikrland pinned the burnt orange wolf to the ground.

He licked Piper's nose as Piper did the same to him. Kirkland smiled softly, taking in her beauty under the warm glow of the moon.

In a blink of an eye, Piper escaped his grasp and darted into the forest. Kirkland smirked. “If it's a chase she wants, then it's a chase she'll get!”

Kirkland darted after her, the fresh smile of pinewood the forest gave off clouding her scent. “Our mate’s a smart one.” his wolf commented, continuing to chase after her.

Kirkland noticed that she was nowhere to be seen. He looked behind him, frantically trying to find the burnt orange wolf. Suddenly, an orange flash tackled him to the ground.

Shifting back into her human form, Piper smirked at him. “I win.”

Kirkland scoffed and flipped her over. “You win this time, Pipey, but next time I won’t go so easy on you.”

“You thought you were going easy on me?” Piper’s smirk only grew. “It was so cute how frantic your wolf got when I disappeared.”

“Shut up. He’s worried about you… so am I.” Kirkland muttered.

Piper kissed his cheek. “There’s no need for worrying, my love,” she stroked his cheek, “this time we’re not leaving each other's sides.”

“Promise?” Kirkland whispered.

“Promise.” Piper whispered back.

◥✥◤

“Will you stop growling? It’s one date, Barron.” Medusa sighed, applying lipstick in the mirror.

“Yes, but it’s a date with him.” Barron hissed. He looked up at her snakes. They, too, were hissing. “Even your snakes don’t want you to go!”

“Well, my snakes will have to deal with it,” she turned towards Barron, “and so will you.”

Barron hugged her from behind. “Is there any way I can convince you to stay?” He whispered slyly in her ear.

“No, Barron. I need to do my research. You promised me you wouldn’t block me from doing my research.” Medusa reminded him, fixing her hair.

“I know, I know…” Barron sighed slightly, nuzzling his face into her hair. “Keep her safe, alright?” He whispered to the snakes.

The snakes nodded, hissing pleasurably at Barron’s touch. “Have I ever told you how much I love your snakes?” Barron kissed along her neck, licking over the mark he gave her.

“Yes, you have.” Medusa tilted her neck, allowing for more access.

“Each of them have their own personality. I was going to give them names, but I couldn’t think of any that matched each personality.” Barron chuckled, his hands trailing across her hips. “Did you know you have scales on your hips?”

“Y-Yes I did.” Medusa blushed slightly.

“It’s not just there, you have little patches of scales all around your body. Just all the more reason to love you~” Barron whispered, his fingers going extra slow as they traced over the scales on her hips.

Medusa gasped slightly, biting her lip. “Dammit, Barron…”

“What’s wrong? I thought you liked that~” Barron purred, nibbling on her earlobe. “Don’t you like it when your alpha touches you like that?”

“Barron…” Medusa tried her hardest not to moan, but Barron wasn’t giving up without a fight. “Come on… don’t do this, I have a date to prep for.”

“I doubt your date will care if you're a little late.” His fingers found their way under Medusa’s dress, wrapping themselves around the soft skin of her thighs. “I doubt he’ll mind if you don’t even go at all.”

As much as Medusa didn't want this to end, she was going to be late. “I know you don’t want me to go, but honest to god I’ll be okay.”

Barron whimpered, looking down at the carpeted floors. “You know I’m better…”

“Of course I do, but this is just research.” Medusa stroked his cheek, lifting up his head. “During the date, you promise to behave, right?”

Barron nodded, “I'll behave…”

“Thank you.” Medusa kisses his lips. “This is just for some research. After tonight, we won’t ever have to see Julio again.”

~A/N~

HEY EVERYONE!! How was everyone's turkey day? I know I ate a ton of ham! I passed out right after LMAO. Anyways! What did you think of the chapter?

Isn't it soon sweet seeing Dalaja and Valentin? Oh and Dayo and Dechen? And we can't forget about Alistair and Yvette! They're all so cute!

So, how do you think Medusa's date with Julio will go?

How will Kirkland adjust to being back with Piper?

How will the international wolves relationships form?

Find out on Monday's update of Wereology!