smelled his weakness.
When I collected money from difficult clients this where I stopped, this is the demarcation line I tried to never cross. This is where they began to talk gibberish, drool and soil their clothes. This is the moment when I heard their hearts beating so hard and fast I wondered how it managed to stay in their chest and not explode. But now there was no line to stop me; I kept going. I could snap his head clean from his body but he had been my alpha. I wanted to show some respect. I ripped out his throat instead.
There was a gurgle of hot blood rushing into the cool air-conditioned atmosphere of the room. He began to thrash about wildly, his hands covering his throat, trying desperately to stop the bleeding but the sangre seeped through his fingers, staining the carpet, expanding in an ever-widening, obscene circle. I backed away and let him die.
I heard a low growl from the other side of the desk. Carmen had transformed into a dark-coated wolf, as large and fearful looking as me. Sweet had tried to sneak out. She held him in place until the ex-boss breathed his last breath and I was ready.
I ran over to Sweet, warm blood still dripping from my jaws and I knocked him down. I stood over him, on all fours, blood dripping from my jaws onto his face. I growled. He shook in fear. For what I wanted to do he had to be in a submissive posture. He had to submit to me. With my teeth I ripped off his shirt. I bit him over and over again. I didn’t want to kill him but he had to accept me as alpha. He screamed in pain. None of the guards burst into the room to come to his rescue. They were expecting screams.
Sweet was a flawed man but we needed as many bodies as possible. We needed a pack. There was no telling what the other bosses would do once they found out what happened here.
I turned back into human form and watched as Sweet’s body began to seize and then relax, then seize again. His eyes were wide and fixed on nothing. His pheromones were changing.
I was naked. I walked over and put my pants back on. Carmen did the same. Together we began to go through the Boss’ papers until we finally found what we were looking for—a map of all of the territories. We had twenty-nine more werewolves to find but we weren’t worried. We knew the scent of the pack now. We would find them.
I turned to her. She wanted to find me, she had said. That statement left another question. “Did you catch my scent from the bar?” She smiled, nodded and moved closer to me. I took her hand and she laid her head on my shoulder. “I smelled your scent and it left me breathless. I needed to find you. But I had to find you while running from my old boss,” she said.
I smiled at her truthfulness and at the intimacy of the moment. I had never known true intimacy because of my job and my boss. This was my chance. I wouldn’t blow it.
I separated myself from Carmen, moved the ex-boss’ body aside, righted the chair and sat. Carmen moved close to me again. We were pack but we needed to expand. We would start with the guards in the hallway and at the gate. We had over one million in cash and probably much more in the house safe. It was enough for a start, enough for me, and my pack because now I am the loan shark. Now, I am the kneecap banker.
“I was really going to pay him back!”
“Shut up!!”
The Kneecap Banker Page 5