Dark Haven

by Leigh Allen

  “Thanks,” I said as my eyes never left the rainbow of clothes.

  Brad left me to myself and I began sifting through the outfits. I found a pair of jeans in my size. While the weather was still warm, I wasn’t sure where all Brad would be taking me. I felt jeans were a safe choice especially since I would be meeting new people, um, I mean werewolves soon.

  I then found a navy blue t-shirt with a low, V-neck that hugged my frame nicely. I had always maintained a nice figure. I had been a dance team member since I could walk. It was a great way to have fun and stay fit. Now, I wasn’t sure if I still needed to keep up my daily regime of yoga and dancing.

  When I made my way back downstairs, I noted how quiet this house was. I didn’t hear others voices or any other sounds at all. I expected to hear something, but it was though silence was the norm.

  “I hope this is ok,” I spoke as Brad sat alone at a large, marble kitchen table nestled near a large bay window overlooking the property.

  He turned to face me and again, his eyes scanned my body. “Yes, that is fine,” he stated.

  I rolled my eyes. Brad called me indecisive but he was moody as hell.

  “So, what happens now?” I asked as I stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. I silently wondered why they had a kitchen if they didn’t eat human food anymore.

  Noticing me staring, Brad seemed to answer my silent question. “We have a kitchen for appearances. When hunters come, some stay in the large guest house and they require meals. Davis, who you will meet later, is a master chef and cooks for all guests. Just because we don’t eat food anymore doesn’t mean we have forgotten what it is,” Brad said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

  “Look, I don’t know why you are acting so pissy right now. This is all new to me and I may have acted out of line earlier, but you need to be nice to me right now,” I blurted out.

  Brad regarded me carefully, a small hint of a smile appearing on his face. “Fine. I will try to be more pleasant,” he added.

  I walked over and took a seat on the opposite side of the table at Brad. As we waited for everyone else, I glanced out the window and took in the picturesque view outside. Green grass as far as my eyes could see expanded into the horizon. Trees bordered around the property and in the distance I could see what looked like a smaller version of this house. I assumed that was the guest house Brad had spoken of. To my left, I could see part of a large driveway and a few trucks and SUV’s were parked on the concrete.

  Suddenly, I was brought out of my trance as I heard a door open somewhere and footsteps approaching. Looking over at Brad, I noticed him tense. That didn’t sit well with me.

  Four men and three women walked into the room as they were silent. The first man I noticed from this morning. He had long hair and wore jeans and a flannel shirt. He was holding hands with the woman who Brad had told me earlier was his wife. She was tall and lean and had gorgeous blond hair. A second man stepped further into the room and he had on khaki pants and a soft blue polo shirt. He looked very out of place amongst everyone else. His brown hair was slicked back and he looked more like a banker than a werewolf.

  “Hello, I am Davis,” the man spoke. He tucked one hand into a pocket of his khaki pants as he smiled at me.

  “Davis is our master chef. He went to culinary school in France,” Brad stated. “I believe you recognize John and Sarah from this morning,” he added as I smiled at the group.

  A third man took a step forward too. “Hello, I am Will,” he said in a strong southern accent. “I used to run my own boating and hunting company in New Orleans,” he spoke with a sense of pride.

  I nodded and smiled in his direction. The fourth man stood back, watching me carefully.

  “That is Will,” Brad said as he glared at the man. “Will was a lawyer in his previous life. He runs the business side of things around here and he is uptight,” Brad finished.

  Approaching us, Will gave Brad the same annoyed look. “Yes, I am uptight. But, I don’t go around bringing in new people to our clan without talking it over with everyone else first,” he snapped.

  The group all turned to Will and began chastising him for his rude comments.

  “No, don’t be upset with him,” I interrupted.

  All eyes shot to me and I suddenly realized I was surrounded by a group of werewolves.

  “I uh, just meant that Brad just brought me here with no warning. I am sure you all have questions and concerns,” I stated.

  The tension seemed to ease a bit as I spoke. “Finally, someone who understands,” Will said as he offered a slight smile in my direction.

  This made Brad tense more. The anger boiling inside him made his eyes seem more red than golden in that moment. Man, they must really hate one another.

  The two other women walked up and smiled at me.

  “It is nice to have another female around here,” a girl with long brown hair spoke. She was average height and had a tone body. She looked like she must workout daily to keep that figure. “My name is Allison but everyone calls me Ally. I was a teacher in my former life. I taught pre-school,” she said with a sigh.

  I noticed as she spoke, Davis regarded her with a soft smile. He must have a crush on her, but it was obvious she had no clue.

  Finally, the last woman stepped up and I noted that she looked much different from the others. She had short hair, cut high above her ears and wore dirty blond locks in a spiked style. She had broad shoulders and wore jeans and a white t-shirt.

  “I’m Nelly,” she said as she reached out her hand to shake mine. I was taken aback by her pleasantries and almost forgot to extend my hand. Shaking my head, I shook her hand and smiled.

  “Hi, Nelly.”

  “I run the grounds around here. I make sure all of these assholes do what they are supposed to do. I guess you could say I am in charge around here. I used to work on a large horse farm here in Kentucky. I know how to handle animals,” she finished with a smirk.

  I instantly liked Nelly. She had a spunk to her that made me feel relaxed and welcomed.

  “It is important for you to know what everyone did in their previous lives so you can understand their roles in our clan,” Brad said from his seat.

  I had almost forgotten he was there.

  I nodded, not sure what else to do. “Clan?” I asked.

  “Yes, this is our clan. We are a team, a family unit of sorts. It is important for our survival to join a clan. It helps us blend in society so humans don’t detect anything about us and it helps us survive against those that wish us harm,” Brad stated.

  “Wait, don’t you mean humans? But, don’t you willingly let them come here?” I asked as the more I learned the more confused I became.

  Stepping up, Nelly began to speak. “Humans are the least of our concerns. They either don’t notice us or the ones that do are so intrigued they want to become us. Our biggest predators are those that are just like us,” she said with a shake of her head.

  I felt worried suddenly as I realized, humans and werewolves really weren’t all that different. The biggest threat we all faced, were ourselves and those just like us.

  “Why would you have to fear other werewolves?” I asked.

  “There are some werewolves who didn’t want this life. They didn’t choose to become undead. They are angry and want to destroy all of us. And... there are some jealous of our clans. Not all werewolves lead lives like we do,” Will stated as he waved his hands around the expansive kitchen. “If you are here with us, you have to prove your loyalty or else,” he warned.

  Brad’s words finally began to make sense. He wasn’t trying to scare me, he was trying to prepare and warn me. If the other’s here knew I hadn’t chosen this life, they might not accept me or worse. Realization struck me like lightning and I realized right then and there that while Brad might be a moody asshole, he was also protecting me.

  “How did you all find one another?” I asked as my curiosity peaked.

  Sarah, who I could
tell was sort of the motherly figure within the group turned to answer. “John and I were about to be married. We lived during the time of the Gold Rush. We made a fortune mining on our own land out in Oklahoma. People began to attack us, to try to steal our land and our gold. They hunted us like we were their next meal. We were turned by a werewolf named Marcus who found us dying one night on our property after a group of thieves had attacked us and left us for dead,” her eyes cast down, as she remembered the horrific details. “Marcus took us back to his home and healed our wounds, but we had already been bitten. It was too late, the venom was already in our blood.”

  I suddenly felt sorry for asking.

  As she continued, her husband silently urged her on. “Marcus asked us what we wanted, to die or to be born again as a werewolf like him. At first, I thought he was playing a cruel joke,” she half smiled. “But, I quickly realized he wasn’t. John and I both decided to be turned, so we could live and gain revenge on those who had hurt us. And we did,” she said with vengeance in her eyes. “We ate their flesh and meat like they were wild animals too.”

  An overwhelming sense of power seeped through her as she stood before us. “It may sound terrible and even wrong, but we felt vindicated when we hurt those who hurt us. We both vowed to never hurt anyone else again after we sought out those who had hunted us.” She paused for a moment and looked over at Davis. As he listened, a soft glow appeared around him. While he appeared tough and cold, he had a soft side to him too.

  Stepping up, Will decided to further explain. “When they found me, I was in a lot of trouble. I had been part of the Chicago mafia working as their accountant and business manager. I stupidly believed they would protect me. One night, I discovered one of the guys was stealing money from the account. I had been working on our account ledgers and I kept seeing inconsistencies with the amount of money being deposited into our bank accounts versus how much was being brought in. He realized I was on to him. One night, he caught me at my apartment and kidnapped me. I was shot in the head and left for dead in a ditch along a lonely highway. Will found me as we drove through one night. I begged him to save me, but life was quickly draining from me. Without a choice, Davis saved me the only way he knew how; he turned me into a werewolf. Honestly, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I found strength to use my skills in a more productive manner and I don’t have kill anymore. At least not humans,” he joked.

  I smiled as he tried to make light of such a serious story. I felt for those that had shared with me. Their lives had each been difficult, their journeys very different, but each one led them to where they are now.

  Ally stepped up and sat down next to me at the table. She was the only one to get close to me other than Brad. “I had been in a very abusive marriage. I married at seventeen and he was a wonderful man at first. Then, he began to drink and when he did, he would become angry and hit me,” she stopped talking and wiped away a single tear that had escaped her eyes. “One night, I tried to leave him. People at the school where I worked were starting to notice the bruises he left on my arms and back. Once he punched me in the eye and I had to create a story about falling down the stairs to get them to stop from calling the police. Looking back, I should have let them. Anyway, the night I tried to leave, he caught me and beat me so bad that I was barely breathing when he dropped me off in the middle of the woods near a lonely highway.”

  She stopped talking and her voice began to fade as the memories were just too difficult to share. Moving to her side, Will continued where she couldn’t. “I go to the site where Davis found me every year on the anniversary of the day I was turned into a werewolf. One particular time, Davis came with me. We had made it to the site on the side of the highway. We paid our respects and as we were about to leave, we heard someone moan and cry out for help. We both rushed to the woods where we found Ally. Her face was so bloody we couldn’t make out her features. Her small body was bloody and cut up from the beatings she had endured,” Will said as he gritted his teeth. He clenched his fists at his sides like he would blow up at any minute. “We wanted to help her. But, we realized she would die either way. I knelt down and gave her two options. She asked me to save her anyway I could, so I gave her the same opportunity that had been gifted to me,” he said as he smiled at Ally.

  “Yes, and we have been best friends ever since,” Ally mused.

  I noticed Davis wince at her words. It was clear to everyone but Ally that Davis didn’t want to be friend zoned with her. He was obviously in love with her. Maybe I could help her, I once helped several of my friends meet some great guys too.

  “What about you?” I asked as I noticed that Brad had been noticeably silent throughout the stories.

  “My story isn’t as exciting,” he said.

  “Liar, Nelly blurted out. “My story isn’t exciting. I was kicked in the head by a horse. Sarah and John used to come every weekend to ride horses at the stables where I worked. They found me and turned me. But you,” she said as she pointed at Brad, you have a story to tell,” she stated.

  “Fine,” Brad began as he ran a hand through his hair. “I had a rough childhood. My parents were drunks and never cared for me. I was placed in foster care at ten years old. At fifteen, I was diagnosed with cancer. No one wanted to spend money on a kid no one wanted,” he said as he shook his head. “I somehow managed to get the basic health care I could at the time. It was the seventies and Cancer research wasn’t as widely studied as it is now. I was dying. I had decided I had had enough and wanted to take control of my life. I hadn’t been given a chance so I wanted to control how and when I died. I left the hospital one day and walked to the woods. I had decided to hang myself using some rope I had found in one of the mechanical rooms at the hospital. The group,” he noted as he pointed to everyone in the room, “they were all hunting when they found me about to jump out of a tree, a noose tied around my neck. They gave me an option and I made a decision right then and there to let them turn me. I wanted to live, just not like I had been. I wanted to finally control something in my life and this I could control. I could decide whether or not to become a werewolf. The rest is history,” he said.

  I stared at Brad and felt tears building in my eyes. How had I not known he carried so much sadness? He was broken, much more than me. I wanted to hug him but I thought better of it.

  “I’m so sorry,” I spoke, as I looked at him.

  “Don’t be. My life is what I want it to be now,” he stated, with no emotion.

  “Why did you decide to become a werewolf?” Sarah asked as she still held her husband’s hand. It was clear she was helping Brad by changing the subject back to me.

  I wasn’t prepared for that question. I had been so engrossed in listening to their stories and learning about this life, I couldn't fathom the idea that they might turn to want to know about me.

  My eyes glanced to Brad who almost looked as nervous as I felt. “She wanted to die,” Brad spoke up.

  Everyone shot their eyes to him.

  “Why?” Sarah asked.

  I couldn’t tell if she was interested or judging.

  “My life was a mess. My family is all gone now, they screwed up and embarrassed our family name and now I am left with nothing and no one,” I admitted. “This life is better than living as who I was,” I spoke.

  My words surprised myself. Sometimes I cannot take myself or the place I had come from. Sometimes my words can shock even myself and those around me. Brad almost smiled as he heard me speak. We both knew what I was saying was true. I didn’t need to hide or lie.

  The others seemed interested in what I was saying but more than anything they seemed satisfied too.

  Something took a part of me the night that Brad turned me. It was a part of me that needed a change. I still am not sure what that something was, but it was in Brad.

  “Why her?” Davis asked.

  His words sounded harsh but he didn’t mean anything negative, I could tell.

  “I saw her tryi
ng to kill herself. I knew instantly this was a girl who needed a choice,” Brad admitted.

  My headshot to him and I smiled.

  “Why let him turn you?” Will asked.

  I was being hit by a firing squad of questions. “I guess I was moonstruck,” I said before I realized what I had said.

  Brad’s head turned to the side as he regarded me. I saw a glint of a smile in his eyes as he watched me closely. I had been acting like I hated him and now I was admitting that I sort of accepted him.

  “What does that mean?” Sarah asked.

  “He found me in the moonlight. I was hurt and angry and terrified. It took one look at him in the moonlight and I was struck with the need to live, but not live as I was,” I finished.

  I wasn’t sure where this honesty was coming from, but I felt it was helping my case. Maybe this change was the best thing for me after all. All of my life, I had been thought of as weak. Now, I was a dangerous, mythical creatures people only assumed were legends. I could protect myself. I could kill. That had my body on high alert and feeling like I was filled with a million tons of electricity. I had never been so open and honest before in my entire life. It almost felt good to get rid of the weights of self-pity and harm that were holding me down.

  “Looks like you did right this time,” Will said as he looked at Brad.

  I caught the exchange between the two men and I couldn’t help but feel curious to what Will meant. I decided to save that question for another day. My head was full of information and I knew I would be overwhelmed shortly with a tour of the property.

  “I need to take Amelia around the property and find her role here,” Brad said. “We need to get started today. We have hunters coming this weekend ready to hunt doves. We only have this month, September through October for this season so we will be busy,” Brad said.

  Everyone took note and then dispersed, obviously set to do their part today. And just like that, Brad and I were left alone again.

  “Come on, I need to find out what you can do,” Brad said as he began to walk toward the back door.