Beneath Our Seams

I know as soon as our eyes meet

That we are the same

Two wolves hiding among sheep

My heart beats a rapid tattoo against my ribs

A shameful thrashing in my chest

Will he reveal me

My disgusting secret

He only smiles, flashes his fangs

Confusion consumes me

I can see the predator in those dark eyes

I know he can see it in mine

Yet we cling to our disguises

Our ill-fitting sheepskins

Only letting little glimpses of the beast show

The echo of a howl as I laugh

Too sharp teeth as he speaks

A taste of blood as we kiss

Suddenly the charade is too much

My blood is rushing hot under the skin

Not enough air is reaching my lungs

I’m barely keeping it in

The wolf beneath my seams

He can feel it too

Can sense the monster begging to be let out

Like a child faced with a wild dog behind a fence

He can’t resist taunting me

Poking through the chain link with a stick

His hands leaving a trail of fire in their wake

Then they are gone

As suddenly as they came

My control snaps

We are struggling for dominance

My claws are ripping down his back

His teeth are tearing my throat

Our mouths are filled with the other’s blood

Sating that terrible thirst in us

He is reaching his inevitable end

And I can feel myself dying

The fragile organ in my chest fluttering frantically

Lungs burning as air fails to reach them

Yet I’ve never felt more alive

As we tear eachother apart

Just as swiftly as we came together

We come apart at the seams

Chests heaving as we fill our long empty lungs

We release each other

But I can still feel his fangs on my neck

Piercing the fragile skin

And I can see the bloody trail of my claws

Running down his sweat slicked back

For an instant I feel a sickening fear

Will this be the last I ever see of him

Am I doomed to merely remember him

The fellow predator that slipped away

Just another shadow to add to the dark

Then he turns his head and I’m caught again

In that black wolf’s gaze

For a brutal moment I feel like one of the sheep

A mouse in the shade of a great hawk

Then I feel my spine straighten

My lips curl into a vicious snarl

There is a flicker of fire in his eyes

As he watches the sheepskin slough off me

And I know we’re about to battle again

That our struggle is never ending

But as his fangs dig into me

I’ve never felt more whole