Twenty

The out of body experience again. Kitty couldn't believe she'd invoked it so quickly but there she was floating above her body. Her father seemed to think she fainted. No time for that now. She had to get to David.

Kitty soared into the cabin just as it exploded.

If she had a heart it would have stopped. It took her a second to realize that she wasn't dead, unhurt, and still alive, but with that realization came thoughts of David. And she screamed.

"No, no, no!"

No one could hear her and there was fire everywhere. She could feel the heat against her soul but it didn't burn the way the thought of losing David did. Where was he? Did he get out in time? Was he dead?

Don't think like that.

"David?" She called. If he was able to see and hear her the last time she did this then what was to say he couldn't now? Of course, if he was anywhere within earshot he would probably be dead.

"David?" She called again. He wasn't answering her. He was dead, dead somewhere in the cabin and she hadn't made it to him in time. Kitty breathed deeply and felt tears running down her cheeks. She wanted to lay there and give up but she had to find him.

She floated her way around the debris and came across a charred body in the hallway. She turned away from it, would have thrown up if she could. Instead she cried. She wasn't sure how she was capable of tears in a spectral form but they were there.

"It's not David," She said, bracing herself and turning around again, sucking in a breath when she saw the body for a second time. It was still on fire. "it's not David."

The body was blocking what was left of the door to the hallway closet. The spot where everyone threw their coats or luggage when there wasn't enough space in their own closets. Kitty stuck her head in and found nothing there, she was about to descend to the basement to check there until a low growl stopped her.

"David?" She put her head through the door again and looked around, just the usual pile of coats on the floor with every hanger on the rack completely empty.

The piled twitched and the growl returned. "David!" Kitty focused her energy and pulled away the coats, boots and clothes, and there he was.

His neck was bleeding and he was disoriented. She touched his cheeks, he felt cold, prickles of wolf hair reached out from his pores.
"David? Can you hear me?" How was she going to get him out of there?

He opened his eyes, they were yellowish and glowing, and he smiled at her, his fangs were in and his jaw was trying to lengthen to make room for the rest of the teeth that would follow.

"He couldn't do it." He said.

"Do what?"

He lifted a clawed hand and pointed to the punctures on his neck. "Bit me. Thought he would kill me but he put me in here." His ears twitched, they were longer and pointier, he was listening to the fire destroying the cabin. "Is he dead?"

Kitty licked her lips, despite herself she wished it had been different. "Yes, he's gone."

David nodded. "Good, he's better off in the next life." Then he cringed and cramped up, kitty could hear the bones in his arms breaking and she screamed at the sound. He was still fighting the change, she could tell.

"David, David look at me you have to stop. You need to calm down and just let it take you, you're only making it worse."

He clenched his jaw. "It's killing me."

More bones snapped to realign themselves, and Kitty knew it was true. The potion wasn't helping, and her heart bled.

"No, no it's not, it just feels that way." She lied. She wanted to go back to her body and get someone to help her but there was no way any of them would run into a burning cabin for a Hunter, and definitely no way they would let her either. She didn't have the mental strength to pick him up and leave. The only thing she could do was stay and watch him die.

Don't think like that.

"Look at me, look at me." She pushed several stray blond hairs out of his eyes and held his face in her palms, his twisted, changing face.

"I love you."

His semi human eyes cleared and his mouth opened in shock, she thought she saw something close to a smile on his lips before he threw his head back and howled as he transformed.

The reaction made Kitty jump back, and without meaning to she lost her concentration and was pulled back into her body.

"No!" She screamed when she jumped up, surprising Larry who was holding her. He lost his balance and fell over, taking her with him.
John ran to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What happened to you?"

"We have to get him! He's still inside! He's alive!" She shrieked, fighting to stand and throwing John's arms off of her but when she made to run for the cabin he grabbed her again.

"He's dead! No one could've survived that!" He said, avoiding her thrashing.

"Kitty, please stop it." Larry begged.

Kitty knew they would never let her help David if she went back to her body. Why did she have to lose her concentration like that? She was running out of time! She needed to go! Now!

Desperately, she threw her head back and head-butted John in the nose. He cried out and dropped her to the ground, clutching his bleeding nostril with both hands.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled behind her, running for the cabin, but this time Eric was standing in the way. He looked more shocked that she could be acting like she was than willing to stop her.

The cabin was on fire behind him and it was only getting worse the longer she waited. Kitty was in no mood to play around. "Get out of my way." She growled, her eyes shifting to that of a wolf.

"Kitty, I—"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when Jimmy surprised him from behind and bit his neck, and suddenly the focus was on getting him off instead of keeping her from running into a raging fire.

She ran while everyone's attention was elsewhere and jumped forward, changing mid leap into a white wolf and charging into the cabin, knocking over the door with her wolf strength and heading for the closet where she'd found him the first time before she was forced to stop.

Blind! She was blind! She couldn't open her eyes and the sting was killing her. The smoke was everywhere covering her, like a hand that wished to choke her, and the heat was singing her fur.

She dropped to her hunches to escape it and scratched at her eyes with her front paws. That was better, the sting remained and she still had trouble seeing but she could at least make out where she was. She should have kept her thoughts clearer before stupidly charging in.
The smoke made her nose useless, and the screaming fire prevented her from hearing anything, so she called out with her mind, praying that the change didn't effect him to the point where he couldn't respond.

David?

She got no response.

Kitty crawled forward, through the kitchen and into the hall. She yelped when she came to close to a burning chair that singed her hind paw. She kept still and whined. That hurt.

David! She called out again, louder this time. There was a very good chance that the change had killed him before the fire could touch him, but she didn't want to believe he could be dead. It couldn't over just like that.

She forced herself to stop whining and move on, favoring the paw that hadn't been burned. Dead or alive she would find him and take him out of here.

The closet door in the hall was open, smashed from the inside out. When Kitty saw it her ears perked and heart lifted. He was alive, he had to be!

She crawled faster and poked her nose in see what was inside. Nothing, just the pile of clothes that had been sheltering David during the explosion. She put her nose right into the pile of coats and shoes to see if there was any trace of him left, and underneath the smell of smoke she detected a faint trace of David, but the smell wasn't entirely the same.

Don't get your hopes up, she told herself, because even though she wanted to howl with joy the fact was that he could have easily broken through the door and crawled off somewhere to die in some half human half wolf state.

She heard the cabin groaning under the assault of the fire and knew that her time was almost up. If she didn't find him soon she would have to leave or have the roof of Bill's cabin fall on her head.

Kitty pulled herself out of the closet to continue her search when a menacing growl from her left caught her attention.
She turned and felt her heart jump in her chest. David, it had to be him, he stood as a pure black wolf with his head down, growling at her suspiciously.

It's me, David, it's Kitty. She said, trotting toward him and completely forgetting about the smoke in her eyes. She found him and he
was alive, they could get out of there.

But when she was close enough he snapped his jaws at her and backed away, his lip curled in a snarl to show her his fangs.
Then Kitty felt it, and a prickly shiver crawled down her spine as she dropped back to her belly.

His head wasn't lowered to keep it out of the smog, it was bent low because he was ready for a fight, the black hair on his back standing on end.

She was afraid this would happen. He didn't know who she was. Evey's potion had apparently been enough for him to withstand the change, but not enough for his mind to take control of the wolf.

She tried reaching out to him. David, come on, it's me, you know it is. Kitty, remember? I'm going to take you out of here.
She tried approaching him again, but he snapped at her and backed into a burning wall, yelping when his fur caught fire.

She jumped and clamped her teeth around the skin of his neck, pulling him away from the fire and jumping up to try and smother out the fire with her own body, but he seemed to think she was trying to attack him, and he fought and clawed until he had his jaws around her neck and had her pinned to the floor.

Kitty's heart pounded but she didn't dare move, David the wolf could rip her throat out if she so much as breathed wrong, and the fire was scaring him. She could tell he wanted to run but didn't know where to go, it was the same with all wild animals. They hated fire.
She could feel the breath from his nose and mouth touching her neck and face, and slowly, David released her, stepped back, and cocked his head.

Kitty looked up at him curiously, wondering why he was studying her like that when she realized that, of course, his nose was useless in all this smoke too, but up so close, he recognized her scent.

Kitty rose to her feet, but the cabin groaned again and David jumped, searching for a hiding place.

Don't run, She said gently. Kitty doubted he could understand her, but she knew he could at least hear her thoughts. She just had to coax him out. When she approached this time he didn't snap at her like before, and she snuffled his neck, touched his nose and tugged on his ear.

Come with me, this way. she said, for a few seconds he didn't move, and Kitty had a genuine fear that they wouldn't get out before the cabin collapsed on them. The windows were smashing under the heat and now there wasn't a spot anywhere that wasn't bathed in fire, but they could still get out if he could just come with her.

She looked into his wolf eyes. Please trust me.

Amazingly, David moved forward and followed her, and she let go of his ear so they could run out the way Kitty came in.

The door Kitty had broken open fell off its hinges and was tilted over their exit. They couldn't even jump over it. She could see everyone, her father included, standing outside and waiting for her.

Kitty's heart sank and she whined. Now what?

This time David grabbed her by the ear and tugged, but he didn't wait for her and sprinted off.

Where are you going? She followed him, praying that David knew another way out.

She found him pushing a bedroom door open with his paws, and she quickly followed, careful to stay in the middle of the hall should the burning walls catch hold of her coat.

Then she saw what he wanted her to see, and her spirits lifted.

Not a door, but a window, one that had smashed with the heat, allowing them a way out but also more fresh air to feed the fire. A burning bed was blocking the way, they would have to jump over it.

Kitty knew if she stopped to think about it the wolf would take over and her fear would never let her do it, so she ran, leaping onto the bed and out the window so her paws scarcely touched the blankets on fire.

She was outside now, on the porch and finally able to stand without choking, but the porch was on fire and David hadn't followed her.
David! she barked and howled, pleading with him to follow. She stood on her hind legs to peer into the window but the black smoke assaulted her face. We're almost out! Come on!

She whined. Unsure of where he was or what he was doing until a black mass flew over her head and landed clumsily on the porch, nails scraping the floor until he stumbled and fell.

She wanted to laugh, instead she bit down on the scruff of his neck and pulled him up. They still weren't in the clear yet.

This way. She said, leading him down the porch, avoiding the flames until they trecked down the steps. The sight of everyone's faces when they saw the two of them appear would have made Kitty blush with pleasure if she were a human. She told them David could still be saved, but did they listen? Noooo!

The earth felt cool against her paws, a nice change from the hot fire she'd just exited, and she decided to lay down and cool off. Just for a minute. She told herself.

David was sniffing around, exploring the new scents, and he didn't seem to mind when Jimmy knelt down to pet him, curiously touching his fur and scratching under his chin.

It was probably the first time the former Hunter had ever seen a live Werewolf up close.

Kitty grinned wolfishly. David would probably be embarrassed if he remembered it when he changed back.

Her father knelt down. "Kitty, how do you feel?"

Tired. She replied, shutting her eyes. Just resting. She could sense that no one had the intentions of hurting David, and it didn't seem as if he would run off despite barking at a squirrel, so she relaxed and let the darkness take her.

To Be Continued….

A.N: Sorry it took a while to update, no real excuse for that, I fixed the last chapter because I noticed that there were no spaces between paragraphs, and made sure there will be spaces in this chapter for easier reading. One more chapter and possibly an Epilogue, not sure if one is needed yet though.

Thank you's: The Enforcer :-) I'm glad you're still reading and enjoying, hope you liked this chapter.