I opened my latest envelope from Matthias with trembling fingers.

Elise,

How are things?  Everything is fine here.  Things have been quite boring, actually.  We caught an enemy trying to sneak into our territory on rounds last night, but we took care of him quickly.  Glad he didn't have to cause you more suffering.

Your dad seems to be warming up to the idea of regular human tech a bit.  I'm hoping he goes for it.  It won't entirely replace patrols, but it would definitely help us cover our bases better.  I know you've never been interested in the details, but you've always cared about the safety of the pack.

I don't know what to tell you other than that.  Beth was delighted by your call, although instead of getting her off my back she instead she cornered me into a long conversation.  You know how she gets.  Also, I learned she apparently has a thing for Ernie, which makes me worry she might have lost her mind.  I can't think of a single reason a nice sane girl would think she would want more time around that.  So there's pretty much everything you've been missing while you've been gone.

I never know what I'm supposed to put when I write to you.  I still feel ridiculous writing to you like it's last century or something, but Moramay said you really liked them, so...  I keep trying since I guess it helps you feel better.

If you're sitting there and laughing at this thing tell me and end my suffering.

I do miss you, though, since we never used to go longer than a couple of days apart.  I think I knew before, but now I really know, you know?  I don't know.

Matthias had scribbled something out at the end of the line.

Anyways, I'll come and see you on Saturday again.  Your dad's going to have them work my schedule so I get them off regularly now.  He figured it would be good to give you structure and now that you've been going along to work with him, it makes sense.

Can't wait to see you,

Matt

I really did not know what he was thinking.  Was it my imagination?  Was I simply hoping for something more?

The curse ran over my skin and dived into me.  Whether or not it was truth or imaginings, the curse thought I was out of line yet again.

"Seems a big risk to make such a commitment on the off chance it would work," my father grumbled.

I broke in.  "I think l-l-love might b-be the answer.  I kn-know it's r-r-ridiculous, b-b-but..."

All three looked at me.

"B-But if it c-comes up, it's b-better than the alternatives."

My hands shook so I clasped them together.

"Ser-Ser...  C-can w-we g-go h-home?"  Perhaps I was weak, but I did not think I could stand any more abuse from the magic and I had a lot to think about.

"Of course."

Pastor Jensen pressed a pile of papers into my father's hands.  "For Doctor Alexi."

My father nodded.  "If you have any ideas, let me know, pastor."

"Of course," he said easily.  Serge picked up my bag and helped me up.  Pastor Jensen walked with us to the exit.  "And you're welcome back anytime."

"Thank you," Serge said.  We went out to his truck.  My father hugged me.  "Take care of yourself, Elise."

"I w-will, dad."

He shut the door behind me.  Serge jumped into the driver's side and we shifted into gear.

We drove home, mostly in silence.  The curse gradually began to retract its claws.

"Do you really believe that might work?" he asked.

"M-maybe," I said, not wanting to give him false hope.

He did not respond.

* *  *   *   *   *   *  * *

We returned home and I scurried to the sanctuary of my room.  I emerged only to eat before quickly retreating again.

Serge did not push me for more.

When I woke up the next morning and went out to find breakfast, I found Serge at the stove.  "Eggs?" he asked.

"If it's no tr-trouble," I said.

"I'm already cooking," he said lightly.

Feeling daring, I sat one seat closer to Serge's coffee cup.  Only one seat would remain between us when he sat down.  The curse protested, but I stayed firmly where I was sitting.

Serge put eggs, bacon and a glass of juice in front of me and sat in his habitual place.

"Want to go for a run after breakfast?" he asked.

I paused, "B-but d-don't we have to...?"

"I think we could both use a break today.  I've already let my office know I'm working from home."

I nodded.  If he needed it, the curse would accept it, although he was probably doing it in consideration for me.  I could not help but feel warmed by the thought even if my fear absorbed it.

After we ate, I followed him outside and shifted into my wolf form.  I found him waiting in the yard and I meekly walked up to him.  He pushed his muzzle into my shoulder and started running through the forest.  I followed him, feeling the slight touch of elation that the curse could not entirely suppress.

I barked to let him know I was enjoying myself.  We ran near the perimeter of his land, but still shallower than the patrols, before we returned back to his house.

I transformed quickly and dressed, then went inside and got ready to face the rest of the day.

* *  *   *   *   *   *  * *

Serge worked throughout the day, Karen came over and fed us, and I pushed through my typical routine.  I studiously did not think much about the idea of the previous day, because the curse attacked me whenever my mind strayed in that direction and I wanted to talk to Matthias in person first.  I just had to hold out until the weekend, then I could find out if there was anything there to worry about.

I went with Serge into the office on Thursday.  It was getting easier, because the little unused office was becoming a comfortable crevice for me.  If I stayed in there and kept my thoughts in line, it was not much worse than hiding in my bedroom under the covers.

Friday followed the same pattern, at least until after supper when my non-hostile movie allies came over to Serge's for their increasingly regular visit.

I jumped up and rushed to the door when I heard a knock.  I pulled open the door.

"Hey, hun," Tabitha said as she entered.

"Hey," I agreed.

Jodi followed her inside.  "How's it going?"

"I-I'm good," I stuttered.

They took off their shoes and made their way inside.  We did our usual popcorn routine and settled ourselves on the couch.

"We've only got three episodes left," Jodi commented.

"Good.  I won't have to watch the unrealistic neophyte run around kicking butt anymore," Tabitha said.

I just smiled a bit.  I still did not care what we watched and I secretly suspected that Tabitha enjoyed having something to complain about. The mindless unrealistic nature of the show kept the curse from assaulting me too much and at the moment distractions from my curse removal theory were just what I needed.

I watched the screen as the show detailed the chaotic mayhem of the previous episode, and then Jodi skipped the intro.

"This show had so much promise.  If only they had simply hired someone competent with weapons."

"Shhhh.  You're distracting me from my eye candy," Jodi complained.

That reminded me of another person who probably fell under the eye candy category, although I really did not want to consider that thought any further until I had a chance to talk to him.  I would surely see him the next day when he visited the territory.

Then, my mind wandered to the mystery of my brother and my suspicions about his visits.  I spoke quickly before the curse had time to put me in my place.  "So, apparently my brother has been coming here to this territory, but he hasn't been visiting me."

Tabitha looked at me questioningly and Jodi stared resolutely at the screen.

"Really?  That's weird," Tabitha said.

"Yeah, weird," Jodi echoed in a very poor imitation of Tabitha's curiosity.

It caught Tabitha's attention.  "Jodi?  What are you hiding?"

I glanced at Jodi's face.  "Fine, We've been hanging out.  Sorry, Elise.  It just sort of happened.  Your brother is—"

I cut off that horrible train of thought.  "It's pretty awful, but you do you," I responded.  "I'm at least glad someone could like him."

"You naughty girl," Tabitha said with a grin.

Jodi grinned back.

I took a bite of slightly delicious buttery popcorn and turned my attention back to the show.

We watched until the end of the last episode.

"Ugh, cliffhanger?" Jodi complained.

"Well, at least I've got a while before I have to deal with that nonsense again," Tabitha said.  "Seriously, what was she shooting at the end?  The ghosts of bullets past?"

"You need to just relax and stop counting, Tab."

"Or, they could go with something more realistic."

"Nobody wants to watch them reload sixty times an episode," Jodi said with an eye roll.

"Well, I do."

"Yeah, well, you're unique."

"Rude."

"Suck it up."

"Make me."

They continued bickering until they made their way to the door.  I smiled and gave a little wave goodbye.  I could hear them arguing all the way out to Tabitha's vehicle.

After the sound of the engine faded, I cleaned up a bit to soothe the curse, and then I went and refilled my glass with water.  I was surprised when I heard Serge walking behind me.

I listened as his footsteps paused by the door.  "I'm just going out for a run," he explained.

I paused.  It was far outside the regular schedule that I had fallen into, but it sounded nice.  The curse crept along my skin, but I still found myself considering what I was going to say.

"Um, can I c-come too?"

"Yes, of course," he agreed.  He sounded pleased and that both soothed the curse and made me feel pleased as well.

I followed my leader outside into the dark forest night.

I transformed and made my way over to where Serge was waiting in the yard.  As always, he was faster getting ready to run than I was.  The curse slowed me down every time, but he never seemed to mind.

The larger wolf greeted me as I approached and I began to follow him into the tree line.  There was enough light from the moon that I could see fairly well.

He sped up to a level that I could still manage and we darted around trees and rocks in the cool night air. If only we could both run fast enough to escape the torturous magic that bound us together.

Serge stopped at the top of a rock and howled, a high, keening sound that reverberated through the air into the very depths of me.

I copied him with my own melancholy cry, and somewhere off in the distance another howl sounded in response, and then another, and then another, until a half dozen wolf voices combined together to create a symphony.

* *  *   *   *   *   *  * *

Serge and I ran a while longer and then made our way home.  We trotted slower as we got closer and I imagined that Serge did not want our outing to end any more than I did.

I felt the same, but we could do this again.  I would be with him for the rest of our lives if my new theory did not pan out.  And that was assuming that I could even find love in this pitiable state. It seemed an impossible stretch, until Matthias' name thrummed through my mind.

Though the fear still clutched at my insides, I was not afraid of being stuck with Serge.  Still, I did not want to live like this, nor did I want him to have to live like this. The removal of the curse would free us both.

I shifted and dressed before I found Serge sitting on the stairs, looking up at the sky.  The waning moon hung above the silhouette of the trees, surrounded by stars.  I considered going inside immediately as the curse pushed me to do, but I decided to defy it again. Every battle I won made the next slightly easier.

I sat on the step with Serge, as far as I could away from him, but still far closer than for the curse's comfort.

We were quiet for a long time.

"Do you think your idea will work?" he asked me.

The only response was the song of the crickets while I tried to gather my thoughts.  "I think the c-curse thinks it will work." A shudder ran down my spine.  "And I hope it's right."

He paused.  "I've been thinking."

I simply waited for him to continue while only the sounds of the night broke the silence between us.

"About your idea for the removal of the curse."

I glanced near him, close enough to see that he was sitting very still, before turning my attention back to the moon.

"I've been considering something, but I'm not sure how to broach the idea without putting undue pressure on you, Elise."

I swallowed, wondering what he was going to ask.  "I think I can answer honestly, as long as y-you don't order me not to."  The curse clutched and clawed me, perhaps for being so assertive.

He inhaled slowly and deeply.  "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I said.

"Will your idea work?"

I swallowed.  "Probably.  It's better than the alternatives."

He chuckled lightly.  "Yeah."

He paused.  "I want to fix this, Elise. I want to make amends. I want to you to be free."

"I want you to be free, too." The curse raged its icy fury.

He was quiet again for another long moment and I began to wonder if he had reconsidered whatever he had been about to ask.

"Would you..."

He inhaled deeply.  "Would you consider marrying me?"