Chapter Text
"Shelby, you gave her your cross."
They're alone. Toni dressed and human, Shelby still in her bloodied, sooty combats, their backs propped against a rock, legs stretched out before them on the pebbled shoreline. Across the water, the sun is breaking over the curved boundary of the horizon. Reluctantly, snow-melt mist lingers on the lake's surface and it makes it look like the water is steaming, vapor swirling upward, catching in the cold winter rays until it dissipates into the sky; sky that is a hundred shades of pale blue.
Shelby's throat bobs but she doesn't say anything.
Through the petrichor of melting snow, Toni can smell the charred forest. It's like a phoenix, this scent of life and death jumbled together, jarringly beautiful. The fire had swept away from the Lakehouse, so the trees here are in full leaf, but Toni wonders if they can sense the destruction, passed in electrical currents through their roots, like mycelium, just like she can sense her pack members.
Distantly, smattered laughter leaks through the Lakehouse walls.
They'd burnt the corpses. Erased all trace of the threat that'd been hanging over them for the past few months. Watched the werewolves burn until there was nothing left to distinguish them from the ash of the forest fire. It had been morbidly cathartic.
Out here though, it’s quiet. The water is like a picture, etching larch stencils onto its surface in perfect detail, the scene mirrored until there's two worlds, only separated by a window ledge of land jutting across the lakes. And yet slowly, the earth turns, the sun climbs higher, and the picture changes.
Shelby still hasn't replied. Brow set, she's staring at the sun rising across the lake, and the light catches in her eyes. Something magical happens there and the weak winter light warms until its golden, radiating from her like a summer day. Like hope.
"Shelby?"
The others had all been waiting for them at the Lakehouse when they'd arrived back, Toni carrying Rachel on her back. They'd been jubilant. Dot had emerged from the kitchen with a crate of beer and started cracking cans open as the others whooped and hollered, already drunk on freedom, celebrating their triumph. Rachel's triumph.
No one had commented when Shelby'd slipped away. Quietly, Toni had followed, and if the others had noticed they had not let it stop their revelry.
Laughter bubbles through the Lakehouse's walls again, louder this time, both soft and sharp against Toni's ear. She imagines Rachel breaking the news to Nora, joyful tears in her eyes as she tells her sister they're finally free. No, Toni doesn't begrudge Shelby for what she did, she just doesn't understand.
Shelby clears her throat quietly, eyes still swirling green sunshine.
"When I was 18, and my Daddy told me I was a Crucifier I didn't believe him. I didn't think he was being serious, I thought it was a joke, or that maybe he'd found out about our relationship. Some fucked-up fighting your demons metaphor for chastity and Godliness. 'Werewolf's don't exist,' that's what I told him." Shelby's eyebrows twitch together.
"He took me on my first hunt that night. Killed a wolf in cold blood... As he branded it, he told me that for everything good God made for this world, the Devil would make something evil. That it was our job to make sure the balance was always on God's side."
Toni reaches out and holds Shelby's hand, threading their fingers together. In the water, mirror Toni does the same.
"And the twisted thing is: he was right. There is a balance of good and bad in the world, he was just on the wrong side of it." Shelby frowns, and Toni can see bitterness creeping into her irises. "I was on the wrong side of it."
Toni squeezes her hand gently, but doesn't interrupt.
"I've done some terrible things in the name of good. And I don't think I'm done making up for that yet. I don't think I've earned my place on your side, Toni."
Toni opens her mouth to object, but Shelby turns to face her and the determined clench of her jaw make Toni's words evaporate like the mist.
"So, yeah, I gave her my cross. The twins, they're not like me, they've always been good people. They never killed innocent wolves. I've made so many mistakes... The biggest one bein' puttin' the one person who loved me for who I truly am in danger."
Shelby flashes Toni a guilty look. Toni winces as the cord on her chest tightens and tugs.
"The truth is we will never have a normal life," Shelby continues, eyes back on the sunrise, "I made sure of that five years ago. I'd give anything to change the events of that night, but I can't. I can't take back what happened to you. But I can try to make it right."
"You want atonement." Toni's voice is like a whisper through the reeds.
Shelby swallows and nods. "That's part of it, yeah. And that starts with Rachel and Nora. Breaking my curse won't atone for my mistakes, but my actions can." Defiance flashes around her irises like a solar flare. "My Dad and that Divination are poison. They won't get away with it, I'll make sure of that. I'm goin' to bring it all crashing down."
Toni’s muscles in her neck flex as she swallows nervously. She knows that look. It’s the same one Shelby gave her all those years ago, after they first kissed in the locker room. Defiance in the face of terror. It means that Shelby is dead set on this, no matter the risks. "How?" Toni asks quietly.
"I want to be an example. You can be a good Crucifier. You can be a Crucifier in a werewolf pack. You can be a Crucifer and be an anchor. You can love a werewolf."
Shelby's throat bobs, and when she speaks again, her voice sounds raw. "You can be a werewolf."
Toni's eyes go wide. "Shelby..." The word sticks in her throat. She knows what she's asking. It's the one thing she can't give.
"Not now- not yet- but think about it." Shelby's talking animatedly now, her anxiety showing at Toni’s wary reply, and Toni's hand slips from her grasp. "There is more than one way to break the curse, there has to be, and you'll always be a wolf, it’s not like I can change that now, so it makes sense that I'm one too."
Toni's jaw knots. "Shelby... I don't- I can't-"
"We could be together, always. Isn't that what you want?"
"Of course, but-"
"You'd be able to teach me how to control it."
"It's not that simple-"
"You'd be my anchor, so I'd have a head start-"
"You don't know that; you can't choose your-"
"If this is about losing your power-"
"It's not."
"-then we can find another wolf to do it and-"
"It's not." Toni's voice rises. "Fuck, Shelby, if you think I only care about my power, then you don't-"
"-then you could still be a Totum Alpha and-"
"Shelby it could kill you." Toni's almost shouting.
"I would die for you, Toni."
"But I'm not asking you to!" Toni cries desperately, her face twisted in hurt, canines suddenly protruding, heart pounding against her ribs, her wolfish instinct to protect barely contained. She feels sick.
"I'm not asking you do any of it, Shelby: to live in fear of yourself every minute, to watch the people who love you most fear you. To live in the shadow of the moon, feeling it count down to the next time you lose control.
"Fuck, I haven't seen a full moon in five years. I- I used to love it. Now I can't even look at it without reminding me what I am." Toni takes a shaky breath, still too worked up to retract her fangs. "And, yeah, it is better, because of you. Maybe one day I'll even see the full moon again with my eyes. But I don't want any of that for you, Shelby. And I really don't fucking want you to change because of me. We're not perfect. This isn't perfect. But I'm okay with that."
Shelby sniffs and turns back to face the sunrise, seeming to sense the edge Toni's trying not to fall over, the warmth in her eyes gone. Toni takes a deep breath and unlocks the muscles in her shoulders, forcing her canines to shrink. For a while neither of them say anything but Toni can feel Shelby's melancholy pulsing from her, along the Alpha tether. In her chest she feels her wolf whine.
Eventually, Shelby sighs shakily, mouth set like it was the answer she was expecting, but hoping against. "I just want to be with you, I don't want to be the thing that's meant to kill you."
"Hey," Toni softens her tone as she lifts her hand to caress Shelby's jaw, drawing her face back to look at her. "I appreciate the sentiment, I really do, and I want to give you everything Shelby, you know that, you know I'd do anything for you. But I can't. Not this. Even if it wasn't so risky, you don't want this. They were the hardest months of my life. I could have killed people... or the virus could have killed me. Not everyone that’s bitten makes it. I can't watch you suffer like that, to bear the agony of transformation every night - because in the beginning it will be every night - knowing I'd caused that. To watch the beast battle with the Shelby I love and not know which would win out in the end.
"Even if you didn't die, if the wolf wins I could still lose you and I know it's fucking selfish but I can't do that Shelby, watch you become a host for the virus… or even worse. We will find another way. I already lost you once, it can't happen again. It would break me. I need you. I think I've always needed you. I- I'm sorry." Toni holds back a wave of emotion as everything spills out and takes a steadying breath.
Shelby gives her head a small shake. "No. No. You're right. I just thought... I'm sorry. I'm the selfish one. I should never have asked."
Toni presses a gentle kiss to Shelby's cheek. "You're, like, the opposite of selfish for wanting the bite. And I understand why you think you want this, but you're perfect just the way you are."
Shelby hums. "At least the Solis is gone right? We’ve got time to work this out."
"And we will, Shelby."
"But you have to promise me one thing."
"Yeah?"
Shelby's throat bobs. "You have to bite me if it's that or death. Dot told me you only get one anchor."
Toni frowns. It's not a choice she wants to think about because just the idea of losing Shelby makes her chest feel tight and anxious. She's certain she'd never let it get to that, knows she'd die before she let anything happen to Shelby, but Shelby's looking at her like her life hinges on Toni's reply and Toni can't deny the logic in it. She nods slowly. "Okay. If that's what you want."
Shelby gives her a small smile. "It is. I’m serious Toni, I am committed to you, to being with you, whatever form that takes."
Toni's heart cartwheels in her chest, shaking off the residual anxiety and revitalizing the ball of light pulsing beneath her breastbone. She smiles. "Yeah, I know."
Shelby smiles back. "But if you get stuck as a wolf again though I can’t promise what I’ll do. I am N-O-T, not communicating via yes and no literature again."
"Better not stab me again, then," Toni jokes, smirking.
Shelby flashes her a despairing look.
Toni chuckles and lifts her arm for Shelby to lean into her side. Shelby rests her head on Toni's shoulder and sighs.
"Are you okay?" It feels like a stupid question after the fight, the bloodshed, everything they’ve been through, but one Toni asks anyway.
"Yeah. Honestly, I’m glad it’s over. And I’m proud of all of us. I just wish I didn't have to hunt. I hate you seeing me as this monster."
Toni smiles and shakes her head. "Shelby. You're defined by who you are, not what you have do. You're so far from a monster. You're my hero."
Shelby huffs a smile in Toni's neck at that then presses a quick kiss to Toni's lips, tears spilling through the threshold of thick lashes. "I love you, Toni."
"I love you too."
"Even though I'm still a werewolf hunter?"
"Curse and all."
***
The days pass quickly in the aftermath of the Solis kill and when they return to Red Pine normality resumes. Giant wolves stalking the streets become old news, lost in layers of print, new headlines replacing faded descriptions. Gradually, townsfolk return from the cities, any lingering murmurs of supernatural activity dismissed as fantasy.
Mr Walter moves back into his house, evicting Fatin and Shelby who end up crashing on Toni's couch, or, more accurately for Shelby's perspective, in Toni's bed. Although it’s after mere days of Fatin's complaining about thin walls and endless nights, that Dot clears out her spare room and without fanfare presents Fatin a key to the bar. She turns a blind eye to the occasional missing beer.
Fatin had shrugged when Toni'd asked if she was ever planning on moving back to Texas by herself, and muttered something about her business being all online, before telling Toni she needed her anyway, promising to booby trap her house to within an inch of its life; an offer that Toni had politely refused.
Leah made it clear that she also wasn't going anywhere when she joined Fatin and Dot to form a somewhat dysfunctional trio living above the bar. Much to Toni’s dismay she had taken to wearing a custom made ‘Team Toni' pin which, despite Toni's best efforts and crimson cheeks, and much to the delight of her other pack-members, Leah had refused to take off.
Toni expected Rachel and Nora to return to New York once the dust settled, now free to live uninhibited by the curse. Toni presumes that their sense of duty was harder to shake than the curse, and with the trail of supernatural activity that been left in the wake of the Solis and it’s pack, they had, with the blessing of the Minnesotan Division, set up an unofficial Crucifier Lodge in Red Pine. Rachel had been clear it'd had nothing to do with being part of Toni's pack, punching her on the arm and breaking the news with, "Shame we gotta put up with your ass," and Toni certainly hadn't bitten back a smile at the way it made her feel a little fuzzy inside.
And so, with her unorthodox pack settled around her, time moves on. Deep winter draws in and the biting cold becomes ever present. New snow settles and stays. Red Pine becomes blissfully sleepy and some days the only suggestion of life is the slow, white trail from chimneys and the faint aroma of woodsmoke that permanently hangs in the air.
They hunt. Toni for game; Shelby for werewolves turned by the Solis' pack, either persuading them to be relocated, Toni in wolf form appealing to their better nature, or, when necessary, Shelby adding another notch to her heritage pistol. They work so well together it feels like it's always been like this: thick forest surrounding them, Shelby leaning into Toni‘s wolf for warmth occasionally, and between their tracking skills, finding their target and dispatching them quickly.
They expand their repertoire and, using Leah and the twins’ contacts, begin accepting bounties for more supernatural creatures. New bounties bring new territory, and it’s not long before they’re following supernatural happenings all over the state, although they try to avoid big cities as much as possible; Toni's wolf is still under the radar and she'd much rather keep it that way. They all know if word gets out to the wider, more conservative Divinations about what happened then… It’s a hypothetical they try to ignore.
But they're headed to a city tonight, and Toni can sense Shelby's nervous energy beside her. Sat in the passenger seat, Shelby is babbling about tactics, about keeping a low profile, about how Toni shouldn't hunt as her wolf, but stay human unless absolutely necessary. Toni keeps one hand on the steering wheel and reaches across for Shelby's and gives her a reassuring smile.
They're not hunting tonight. They're going on a date. It's a surprise, one that right now Toni's finding it really hard to keep.
A date imagined hundreds of miles away, the one dreamed up in a Lakehouse in the woods on a night of reckoning; a silly little fantasy of life beyond the Solis that's finally coming true. The bowling alley's booked, and Toni'd spent hours researching the swankiest restaurants, eventually resorting to Fatin's help to narrow it down.
"-and I think I should use a crossbow rather than my pistol... Toni are you even listening to me?" Shelby huffs in annoyance.
Toni brings Shelby's hand to her lips and kisses her palm gently. "Of course I am. No wolfing out, we'll only hunt after midnight, you'll use the crossbow because it'll be quieter..." Toni gives her a mischievous grin. "But I don't think you have anything to worry about, Bee. I think it's all going to be fine."
"How can you be sure?"
"Call it wolfish instinct."
"Toni," Shelby rolls her eyes but her lip quirks up and her body relaxes. By now Toni knows Shelby loves the little reminders of her wolf, even the inconvenient ones, like it reassures her of how far they had come.
Toni grins back and says, "I promise Bee, it will be fine."
It is fine. More than fine. Perfect. Even better than they’d dreamed that night. Shelby wins bowling, much to Toni's frustration, but she grumbles less when Shelby presses her body against her’s and wraps her arms around her to help Toni improve her aim. Toni's aim becomes somehow much, much worse after that, and every time the ball rolls into the gutter she turns and looks helplessly at Shelby who giggles and says, "Okay hotshot, let me show you one more time."
The restaurant is amazing; even better than Fatin had promised. Although Toni has a werewolf-limited appreciation of food, she’s still impressed, especially with her practically raw steak. She could certainly get on board with eating food more often if it always tasted as good as this. Shelby’s even more in awe, softly gasping in surprise as each dish is placed in front of her, like she hadn’t ordered it for herself a half hour ago. It’s silly but it makes Toni’s stomach somersault every time, and she finds herself waiting for each course with equal anticipation, loving how much Shelby loves every one, until her heart is overflowing with affection, and she’s holding back the hum of energy in her sternum before it reaches her eyes and they shimmer blue.
They do end up sharing two bottles of wine, savoring them until Shelby is smiley and tipsy and a little flushed, blinking slowly at Toni through long, thick eyelashes over dessert, while Toni smiles back at her, drunk on the evening and Shelby’s unfiltered adoration.
Toni offers Shelby a piggy back from the Uber to their hotel room that night, sensing the way her high heels are rubbing at her feet, ignoring the driver’s surprise when she lifts Shelby with ease, Shelby’s legs wrapped around her waist, her emerald dress riding up a little. Toni carries her through the lobby and up the stairs, muffling her surprise when they’re out of sight and Shelby starts pressing kisses against her neck that start sweet but get more heated the closer to their room they get, until Shelby's fingers find their way to Toni's chest and start to lazily pinch at her nipples through the material of her bra. By the time they reach the corridor to their room Toni’s trapping moans in her throat and she can't bear not being able to reciprocate any longer.
Toni manages the last few meters to their door before it's too much. She twists and easily pulls Shelby around so she's facing her, strong enough to hold her there with one arm, Shelby's legs still looping around Toni's waist, and backs her into the hardwood door.
Shelby doesn't hesitate; she groans and her arms wrap around Toni's neck, knotting in her hair, pulling her closer, then her lips are on Toni's, nipping and licking and sucking while Toni fumbles the door handle with her free hand and tries her best to not rip the door from its hinges.
She forgets about it completely when Shelby tilts her head back against the wood, exposing her neck for Toni's attention, tugging at her hair gently. It's an invitation Toni can't refuse. She drops her mouth and shudders when she tastes Shelby's skin with an open mouthed kiss. Opening the door now the last of her priorities, her fingers traces along the low V of Shelby's dress, over the swell of her breast, until she feels Shelby's nipple beneath her fingertips, hard through the thin fabric. It has Toni moaning, the sound escaping before she can stop it, and she slips her hand under the V of the dress, so she can touch Shelby properly; pinching, lightly at first, but getting hungrier with every sound Shelby tries not to make.
Shelby whimpers into Toni's shoulder, her hips starting to roll against Toni's abdomen, seeking friction they can't find in this position. And, fuck, Toni can smell her desire, such a delicious, heady scent it has every nerve in Toni's body going crazy, especially when Shelby's tongue finds its way back to her neck, and her teeth graze Toni's pulse point.
"Shelby," Toni warns, her voice lower and raspier than usual.
"Yeah?" Shelby whispers into her jaw, barely audible, knowing Toni will be able to hear it. Her teeth graze against Toni's hot skin as she speaks. Sparks shoot down Toni’s already flushed body, clustering in her abdomen, liquid hot, then pooling lower. Her brain short-circuits, and she lifts her head to give Shelby better access, her mouth open in a reply that never comes as her eyes flutter closed.
She feels Shelby smile against her jaw.
The muscles in Toni's arm flex as Shelby shifts in her grip, and then there’s fingers at the buttons of her shirt, moving lower, fingers flicking over newly exposed skin of her chest, trailing down from the base of her neck, over her collarbone, then lower, heat and goosebumps rising in their wake.
Then, a pause.
A touch, so tenderly, over her scar.
A touch that says, I’m still sorry. That says, I love all of you. That makes Toni feel safe in the knowledge Shelby’s not going anywhere because there’s nothing left to take her from Toni anymore.
A touch that makes Toni’s heart pulse with energy and her eyes glow, so when Shelby cups Toni's cheek and lifts her head to face her, there’s a pale blue glow reflected in the shine of her eyes.
Toni presses a kiss to Shelby's lips, then lightly brushes a strand of hair behind Shelby's ear. Toni knows she must be giving her the goofiest grin, because Shelby smiles back and says, "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Shelby flicks her eyes to Toni’s open shirt, exposing her bra beneath, as they both realize at the same time that they’re still in the hotel corridor.
"Better open that door quickly," Shelby says, her fingers returning to Toni’s buttons, a twinkle of a threat in her eyes.
Toni nods before hungrily reconnecting their mouths, trying to focus on the handle and ignore the way the backs of Shelby's fingers are now brushing against her stomach, or the press of her high heels against Toni's back, or the way Shelby's dress has bunched around the apex of her thighs and Toni can feel growing heat against her.
Miraculously, this time the door opens on the first try. Toni carries Shelby over the threshold, door thunking closed behind them, and is about to lower them to the bed, when Shelby makes a small sound of protest and says, "Don’t stop showing off those muscles now, hot shot."
A groan bubbles up and escapes Toni’s parted lips, and she spins them so Shelby’s backed against the wall, legs still wrapped around Toni’s waist. It's gentle, but there’s a small thump and air still rushes out of Shelby's lungs at the contact, more out of excitement, Toni thinks, as Shelby doesn’t miss a beat and is sliding Toni's shirt from her shoulders a second later.
"Hope you’re better at this than you were at bowling," Shelby teases.
"You’ve never had complaints," Toni husks back, returning her attention to Shelby's nipple.
"You’re doing well so far," Shelby whispers as Toni’s mouth latches onto where her neck meets her shoulder and sucks softly. "But you don’t have to be so careful with me. Don't hold back; I want you to be rough."
Toni groans against Shelby’s shoulder and bites down, leaning into her, so Shelby’s pressed harder against the wall, heat rushing between her legs when she hears Shelby gasp then whisper, "Good girl."
Pinning Shelby in place, Toni sheds her shirt one arm at a time, then her hands are on the inside of Shelby's bare thighs, sliding higher, towards the dress bunching around her hips, Shelby's arms now around Toni's neck, pulling her closer for another open mouthed kiss, then moaning softly into her when the tips of Toni's fingers finally reach their destination and brush against Shelby's barely-there underwear.
Toni hooks two fingers into the thin strip of material, pulling it roughly to the side, then brushes the backs of her fingers down over Shelby, the touch teasing, groaning when she feels how wet Shelby already is. Shelby makes a sound that starts in a gasp and dissolves into a moan as Toni repeats the motion, her touch still no where near what Shelby needs.
"I- I know- you can do better than- than that." Shelby manages, trying to tease Toni back, but her breathing is ragged.
"Like this?" Toni asks, finally parting her and sliding two fingers through the heat she finds there, circling around her clit, but purposefully avoiding it.
"Uh-huh." Shelby's voice is lower, her forehead against Toni's now, eyes closed.
"Or d'you mean like this?" Toni asks, dipping lower, circling her entrance.
Shelby makes a small, desperate sound, pleading and Toni can't resist anymore. She plants her knee against the wall, so it's helping hold Shelby up, giving her space for a better angle, then enters Shelby with two fingers, smiling when she feels a ripple shudder through Shelby's body, from the legs that are still wrapped around her waist, her high heels digging into the back of Toni's thigh, all the way up to the fingers pressed into her shoulders, pressing half moon indents into Toni's skin.
Toni sets a rhythm she knows Shelby wants: hard and fast, shallow at first but quickly getting deeper. She’s usually more measured than this, building Shelby up slowly, but it’s driving Toni crazy just how dominant Shelby’s being, and when Shelby demands, "More," her voice stern, and Toni adds a third finger, it's so fucking hot Toni wonders if she'll be able to last more than a second when Shelby touches her.
Shelby moans appreciatively as Toni’s thrusts push her harder against the wall, the material of her dress riding up further, and her bare ass slaps against it in cadence with Toni’s movements.
It's not long before Shelby's biting down on Toni’s bare shoulder hard, muffling her cries, her body tightening in Toni's arms. It's making Toni unbelievably wet, the sharpness of her teeth cool against fire roaring in her body.
"I want to hear you," Toni husks, even though she can hear Shelby perfectly well, wanting to encourage Shelby to take what she needs in this moment.
Shelby moans again, louder this time, tilting her head back until it hits the wall, exposing her neck for Toni's attentions, which Toni's more than happy to provide, licking eagerly at her, moaning when she tastes Shelby's skin. It's salty and sweet and Shelby; Toni feels the throbbing between her legs pulse harder.
Desperately trying to ignore it, she focuses instead on the pump of her fingers, and the way Shelby's legs are quivering now, and her movements are starting to become more erratic. Toni tenses her free arm, the one holding Shelby up against the wall, silently telling Shelby she's got her, that she can let go, that Toni won't let her fall.
Shelby shudders, once, twice, then cries out and her hips jerk forward, chasing Toni's touch, before constricting around it.
When Toni's worked her through the aftershocks, and Shelby's gone limp in her arms, flushed with post orgasm bliss, Toni slips her finger out and sucks them clean, moaning when Shelby eagerly chases the taste of herself on Toni's tongue. Smiling against Shelby's lips, Toni carries her over and gently lowers her to the bed.
Shelby blinks her eyes open, a dreamy look in them, propping herself up on her elbows as she takes in Toni above her, standing at the foot of the bed. Her eyes scan up over Toni's muscled stomach and over the curve of her bra, until she reaches Toni's eyes. Biting her lip, Shelby flicks her eyes to the bra then back up. It’s an order.
Wordlessly, Toni reaches for the clasp and lets her bra fall to the floor. Trailing her fingers over her breasts, she pinches her own nipples, taut and sensitive already, watching Shelby the whole time. It's overstimulating. She's so turned on from making Shelby come around her fingers and the delicious smell of sex, of Shelby’s sex, that the sensation makes her feel a little dizzy with want, and she can't stop the moan that follows.
Toni watches through half lidded eyes as Shelby bites her lip, watches her pupils darken as she rakes them over Toni’s body. Then Shelby flicks them in silent command to the hem of Toni's slacks.
Toni obeys. A second later her fingers are at the button, popping it open, and sliding them to the floor, discarding her shoes and socks in one quick movement. When she straightens up Shelby's dress has gone, bunched on the bed beside her carelessly.
Toni can feel how wet she already is, how could she not be after taking Shelby like that, knows the material of her boxers must be sticking to her, can feel what the sight of Shelby in nothing but high heels and a thong is doing to her, and is sure Shelby can see it too, because her heartbeat spikes a little as she sweeps her gaze over the remaining article. It's another command that Toni obeys, discarding the boxers as quickly as she can.
"Come here," Shelby says.
Toni gets onto the bed beside her, intending to kiss her again, thinking that's what Shelby must mean, but Shelby shakes her head and runs a finger along her lower lip, something dangerously commanding - something Toni's powerless to resist - sparking in her eyes. "I want you here."
Toni doesn't react for a beat. Can't react. It's not until Shelby reaches out for her, and encourages her to position herself over her that she does, allowing Shelby to position her, until Shelby's mouth is beneath her, and Toni can feel her breath on her. A ghost of a touch where she needs it most.
It makes Toni so turned on she knows she must be dripping.
"Shelby-"
Toni doesn't get further before Shelby leans up and kisses Toni, firm but close mouthed and sweet, and her train of thought is cut as the contact busts stars into her vision.
"Yeah?" Shelby asks, between kissing her again, a flicker of a tongue with it this time, and fuck, if it's not already Toni's favorite thing.
"Never mind," Toni shakes her head, the sentiment not important anymore, all self-consciousness lost under Shelby's lips.
Shelby gives a contented hum and slips her tongue through Toni, fully, firmly this time, parting her with it and swirling round her clit before sliding back down. Wrapping her arms around each of Toni's thighs she encourages Toni to lower herself, so she can reach deeper.
Toni uses one arm to steady herself against the wall, bringing her other hand to rub over her clit as Shelby rocks her tongue into her, nails pressing into Toni's legs, tugging her down onto her. If it were anyone else Toni would've been worried about losing herself too much and been too in her head to relinquish control like this, but not with Shelby. The trust between them is so implicit Toni knows Shelby wouldn't do this if she was worried Toni’d hurt her and that in itself gives Toni all the reassurance she needs.
"This feels amazing," Toni admits, her voice sounding airy, delirious at the blissful relief of touch.
Shelby removes her tongue for a moment to say, “It’s amazing for me too. I love seein' you like this, Toni.”
Fuck. And if that isn’t the hottest thing. It has Toni chasing her mouth, whining for it, and at Shelby’s encouragement, she starts to rock her hips in time with Shelby's thrusts.
“Fuck, Shelby- you’re-“
Shelby hums her reply and the vibration resonates deep inside Toni and has her moaning, her compliment lost, the tightness in her building already, the heat in her exothermic and cataclysmic, racing through her like an unstoppable force.
It’s a good job Toni’s palm is braced against the wall and not the headboard, she thinks later, because it’s not long later that it snaps, and Toni's gasping through the most powerful orgasm of her life, nails scratching against the plasterboard; her strength growing and swelling, uncontainably powerful, but escaping only in the vibrant hum of her eyes, until suddenly it’s gone, the bliss like kryptonite, and her muscles are like jelly. Shelby holds her up as she shudders and moans through it, and when Toni looks down she sees a twinkle in Shelby’s green eyes, revealing her smile, it has Toni losing it all over again.
They spend the rest of the night tangled together, naked bodies pressed close, loving each other over and over again, until Shelby’s eyes can’t stay open and she wraps Toni in her embrace, Toni’s head on her chest, until she too is lulled to sleep by the steady beat of Shelby’s heart, which is like a melody made just for her.
The next morning Shelby tells Toni this had been the best night of her life, tells her she’s certain they are written in the stars. They return to Red Pine dizzy in love, laughing at the memento of claw marks in the wall above the bed.
***
It had taken no time at all for The Timber to become the hub of their small community again. All traces of their escapades are relocated to the basement, where stacks of secrets are bolted with full-moon chains and shackles behind the locked iron door.
Dickie takes his regular seat at the far end of the bar and Toni makes his whisky just how he likes it. Devon and his crew of bravado boys return, as boisterous and testosterone-fulled as always. Toni remembers the orders as if no time has passed.
It’s normal.
Except, these days, the bar's a little busier than usual.
Their new patrons are as out of place as ever in their matching combat gear, or in an outlandish fuzzy green jacket, or wearing expensive city perfume. Things that are now as regular as they are irregular. And to think, it all started here, with a stranger from California...
Toni looks up as she wipes the bar top a small smile playing over her lips at the memory; Leah's wearing her 'Team Toni' pin tonight, sat at her regular table, laptop open, frowning in concentration as she edits. Her new podcast, Part of the Pack, has gained a lot of traction online. She tells her followers she’s part of a Northern Californian pack and Fatin’s rerouted her IP so if anyone were to check it would look like she was uploading from a small town just south of the Oregon border. Toni feels a thrum of energy behind her eyes as she watches Leah work, a half-drunk beer on a neatly folded napkin beside her keyboard.
Dot places a hand on Toni's back as she squeezes past her behind the bar with a tray full of beers and a sharp, "Behind!" Toni flashes her a grin and turns her attention to another customer's order, making sure to block Dot’s passage back with a smirk.
When she’s served a few more people and the throng at the bar has cleared Martha catches her eye from the booth where she's sat with Fatin, Rachel and Nora and projects, "Another Strawberry Daiquiri, please," to Toni with a shake of her empty glass. Toni rolls her eyes back, feigning annoyance, then chuckles and starts loading ice into the blender, but not before quipping, "I'm fairly sure this counts as a misuse of your powers," back in Martha's direction. Martha just smiles sweetly and shrugs, and Toni can't stop her smile growing into a grin.
The New Year will be rung in tomorrow and the bar is more festive than it's ever been. A wild, claw-cut Christmas tree stands proudly in the corner next to the coat rack, adorned with hundreds of twinkling lights and bushy tails of tinsel. Actually, there's tinsel everywhere, draped in half-moons from wooden beams along the ceiling, daintily wrapped around the picture frames of Dot and her father that adorn the far wall, glittering in the street lights from where it rests on the window sill. Even the antique jukebox hasn't escaped Shelby's attentions: the track list updated for the first time in a generation, there's a soft background of sleigh bells as a generic Christmas song plays unobtrusively in the background.
Shelby bounds through the door as the blender is in full whirl and, her scent blown in with a rush of icy air, Toni smells her before she sees her. When she turns back to face the bar, Shelby's grinning at her, forearms on the counter, eyes twinkling mischievously. Toni knows Shelby's in an especially good mood because the full moon two nights ago had passed without a hitch. She’d let Toni out of her chains again, had been reluctant to put her in them in the first place in all honesty, and despite her memory not being there fully, Toni can remember snapshots of the evening, simultaneously muddled but vivid, like a dream that makes sense at the time but is remembered through a layer of confusion. They’re all sweet: the ghost of a feeling of being curled around Shelby; a sensation of fingers being run through her fur; a delirious sound of Shelby giggling. It’s not much, and it’s slow progress, but it gives Toni more hope than she dares believe just yet.
"Don't tell me you want one of these too," Toni groans, pouring out Martha’s cocktail, which is a sickly-sweet, luminous shade of red, and placing the glass on the counter.
"If you're offerin'."
"Yeah, I wasn't."
"What's the point in havin' a hot bartender girlfriend if you can't order off the secret menu?"
"You're right, that's the only perk to dating me. Wait- you think I'm hot?" Toni waggles her eyebrows and lets her eyes flash blue, just for a second, only long enough for Shelby to see.
Shelby blushes into a smile. "Shut up."
Toni starts to turn to make the drink but Shelby catches her on the arm before she can, pushing onto her tiptoes and leaning over the bar to kiss her. It doesn't take Toni by surprise, not anymore, not since she realized that anything as little as just the sigh she gives when she gets off the couch would prompt Shelby catch her and press their lips together, and Toni smiles against her when Shelby pulls away and then seemingly changes her mind, pressing another chaste kiss to the corner of Toni’s mouth. It's like after those years of dating in the dark, Shelby wants everyone to know Toni is hers and Toni is more than happy to play along with that.
They only break apart when Dot calls, "Hey, get back to work," from down the bar, a crinkle by her eyes telling them know she's only half serious, which elicits a chuckle from Dickie.
Shelby's arms are still around Toni's neck as Toni calls back, "I'm just getting my tips," matching Dot's tone before pecking Shelby again for emphasis. Shelby blushes again but doesn't let go.
"Oh Dottie, leave them be," Dickie rumbles, "I can't remember the last time I saw Queen of the Scowl this happy."
Toni throws him a scowl, hyperbolically screwing her face into it, and Dickie's guffaw bellows around the room. "Never change, kiddo."
Toni can't remember ever being this happy either, she thinks as she finishes making Shelby's drink and sets it before her, unable to wipe the goofy grin from her face. It's not the expanded found family, because she's always had Dot and Martha and Dickie, it's the feeling of really belonging. There’s reminders of it everywhere.
She watches Shelby take her and Marthas' drinks over to join Rachel, Nora and Fatin, Leah having joined them now leaning into Fatin's side, and their cheerful voices raise in greeting, Toni knows whatever she does, whatever she is, she will have a place here. There will be sympathy and forgiveness for her here, when she needs it. There will be love. Warmth. Understanding. A friend to listen. A shoulder to cry on. People to grow with and lean on.
It's more than a home. For the first time, Red Pine is a future.
And, for the first time since being bitten, there's nothing to fear. Not some big bad, not her wolf, not (most) Crucifiers thanks to Rachel and Nora, who'd made sure Toni was flagged to the trusted Divinations as an absolutely-do-not-kill, or a 'gold star werewolf,' as Fatin had branded her. They'd already lined up Shelby's next hunt with Nora and Rachels' help, and thankfully Shelby hadn't developed any side effects to living with Toni.
Yeah, Toni thinks, as she catches Shelby's eye across the room and her grin gets impossibly wider. As far as endings go, she couldn't have dreamed a better one than this.
***
3 months later
Spring comes slowly in Minnesota and this year the ground is still frozen well into March. It’s silent and still on mornings like this, and even the tiniest sound booms loudly to Toni’s heightened hearing, so Toni detects crunch of tires on the early morning frost miles away. She tracks it as it moves, tracing lazy patterns on Shelby’s back where she’s sleeping, the sheet loosely outlining her naked form, tucked against Toni’s warmth. But as the sound grows closer something prickles down Toni’s neck and she sits up, extricating herself from a still sleeping Shelby to listen properly.
The noise shifts as tires pull off asphalt onto frozen earth.
It’s an ominous sound: stones clunking against mudguards as the vehicle races down the dirt track. Someone is coming. Quickly.
Instantly Toni’s hackles rise, and the hair on the back of her neck pricks uncomfortably as animal instinct tingles down her spine. The vehicle is going too fast, the engine whining as it rushes over troughs and peaks in the road, branches snapping against metal with sharp cracks.
Something is wrong.
Toni’s up and dressed in a flash, and is downstairs pulling open the front door and half way down the porch steps as the twins’ black SUV careens into the lot. Dirt and rocks fly from its wheels, veiling it in a dirty fog as it skids to a stop in the yard. Ignition running, the doors open and Rachel and Nora leap to the ground.
"What is it?" Toni asks, sensing their heartbeats pounding in their chests like they’ve just run a marathon.
Rachel takes a breath, wide eyes meeting Nora’s briefly. "Toni, we have a problem."
End of book 1