by Pepper Pace
“What did they look like?” I asked.
“They all look different. Some looked like big hairy humans with wolf heads and talons. The older ones looked like oversized wolves with human-like bodies. And then every variation in between.”
I shuddered. They sounded so ugly. And Paul was so beautiful. How could he want to look like a deformed wolf?
“What do you mean that they’re powerful?”
“We’re faster, even when not transformed. I hear…everything. My sense of smell is just like my sense of taste, and taste is like touch. I can run fast, jump high. I can break trees with just a swing of my fist.” He laughed. “It’s frigging great!” I closed my eyes.
“Oh, Kim, baby. You’ll see. It’s not a bad thing for a werewolf to have your back.”
“How did they…change you?”
“Well they told me that it takes a bite from a transformed lycan to infect a human. Turns out it takes a lot of bites. The first month I didn’t change. I had to go through the whole thing again. I woke up one night shivering like I had the flu. My body hurt; every muscle—even my bones hurt. I knew then that I’d change. Every day my body strained to break free of my human skin but it wouldn’t happen until the full moon. The first time hurt like Jack the Ripper had at me. But the pain brings the wolf. He didn’t come out of my body like Alien. I morphed. The pain wasn’t long at all and afterwards I forgot it quickly.”
“The second time was just a couple days ago. It was faster. The older weres said that I had more power then they’d ever seen and they wanted my blood in the pack more then ever.”
“I guess they were pissed when you left.”
He shrugged but didn’t say more.
“Have you changed without the moon yet?”
“Not yet. But I will be able to soon. I can feel it. The next full moon here, in this city, is going to happen this weekend.” He looked at me expectantly. “I-I don’t want you to see it then, not until I get better control.”
“You mean…like you might eat me?”
“No.” But he didn’t sound convincing. “Just that…it’s hard to control my urges.” His eyes gleamed at me and I could almost see the werewolf in his eyes. “I need to go out back in the woods behind your house and run free, hunt, eat.”
“You…don’t eat humans, do you?”
“No. I’m not a cannibal. I told you, small animals—at least until I get better. Then maybe deer.”
I stood up with a sigh. “I don’t know about all this…”
He came up behind me and gripped me lightly, his forehead resting on the back of my shoulder. “I wasn’t stupid enough to think you would be happy about all of this. But I didn’t want you to be sad.”
I folded my arms over his. “I was forced to be a Vampire. I’d do about anything if I could be a human again.”
He turned me around to face him. “I’m still a human. A couple times a month it might get difficult to be around me. But I’m still Paul.”
“I want to see you turn.”
“You will. Just be patient.”
I wanted to tell him about this monster in me, but there was too much heaviness for one night. Still…I couldn’t help but to think that our monsters were somehow linked.
Paul gripped the fabric of my shirt in his fist and he breathed into the back of my neck lightly.
“I came back to protect you.”
With a sigh I turned to him. I guess the night was going to get much heavier.
“Then you came back in the knick of time.”
Now it was my turn to tell him my story. I knew it would be a lie for me to leave out the very beginning; my need for Alexis. I told him how devastated I had been when he hadn’t returned my calls. I described the burns and the slow recovery. I left out everything related to my Territorial rule because the night was too short for that. But because this was a personal story I had to tell him about Tony and our love affair.
Paul listened without comment. When I described last weeks discovery that Alexis hadn’t disregarded me his eyes hooded and I felt that he was torn. He sympathized with me, but yeah…it hurt him to hear it.
Matter-of-factly, I mentioned turning into a monster and attacking Tony. He tried to hide his smile of pleasure but couldn’t do it.
“Shit, go ahead and laugh.”
“I’m sorry, Kim. I don’t feel sorry for Tony. If he hasn’t figured you out by now he never will. Now, you say that you turned into this creature? You weren’t just mad and got hissy faced and really bulked-“
“No no no. I was this Creature.”
“And the last time it happened was just days ago?” Paul got up and paced. “Do you think it’s linked to my change?” He asked.
“I think so, but I just don’t see how. I mean…maybe if we were bound like Alexis and I are, or even Tony and I are.”
He looked at me. “You’re bound to Alexis and Tony?”
“Yeah, but apparently being bound to multiple people doesn’t really matter. It’s only the first bond that counts. Alexis…Alexis is my husband, not Tony.”
He didn’t respond but he seemed to be thinking about what I’d said. “Okay, so what happened when you got to Spain?”
I glanced at the clock on Paul’s bedside table. It was getting late. I recounted the story as quick as I could. Leaving out Alexis and my sexual encounter I think I did the story justice with the limited time I had.
This time Paul watched me wide-eyed as I recounted what happened during the Barcelona Council meeting. He looked at the wall when I described Esmeralda’s attack on us. He smiled to himself when I described how Alexis crushed them. He chuckled to himself in his own private joke then watched me again.
“What are you thinking?” His quiet was driving me crazy. And what was with that chuckle?
“I’m thinking how cool it will be when you can awake during the day. And I’m thinking about how capable you are without all of us surrounding you trying to protect you. I guess I just want to back you up…not lead you. That’s where Tony and I are certainly different. I’m not even going to talk about Alexis…Because I don’t get that. I think he’s got you under some…Vampire spell or something. Alexis is so…I can’t even put a word to it.”
I shrugged slowly. I couldn’t discount what he said. Alexis was feeling the same emotions I had for him is all I knew. Whatever caused them was immaterial because they were still there.
He rolled his eyes, but not like he was angry. “The sun will be coming up in a bit. Tell me about what happened when you got home. I know it didn’t end in Spain.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” I told him about how my Council had bombarded me, and about Esmerelda’s murder.
“As long as Athena’s alive then she’ll always be a danger to you. Trouble has a way of always finding you. You’re right, I did come back in the knick of time.”
I smiled. Not that he could do anything to solve the Athena problem, but it just felt good to have him to bounce my ideas off of.
I stood up and quickly kissed his forehead. “I’m going to bed before the sunrises and catches me unexpected.”
Paul stood up and pulled me to him. “I missed you, too, Kim.”
“It’s good to have you home.”
He smiled at me. “Like old times. Blue balls and all.”
I gasped and then laughed. Knowing that my lust could flare with little urging, I hurried out of the room and down the stairs. We had talked all night, it really was like old times.
A Vampire and a Werewolf…It was still hard to believe. All we needed was a Frankenstein monster.
***
The next evening I awoke anxious. Paul was home and the empty feeling that I’d had since breaking up with Tony and leaving Alexis in Spain was suddenly not as overpowering. Athena didn’t haunt my thoughts and the Elder Council’s impending investigation didn’t dampen my joy. Paul was back!
I dressed quickly in dark pants and an airbrushed nylon shirt that had a funky print to it. I pulled m
y hair up and wrapped a multicolored piece of cloth around it. Polished wood hoops and matching bracelet rounded out the ensemble.
Monica told me a long time ago that Vampires didn’t have to brush their teeth because they didn’t get tooth decay…but I’m here to tell you that a diet of just blood doesn’t leave the breath very fresh. I hear tell that there are many Vamps that haven’t bathed in years. But me, I do it all; bath, brush teeth, wear deodorant…
After I got all cleaned up I hurried out to find Paul. He was sitting in the family room with the ladies and it looked like they were having a party. There were empty plates of food and the stereo was playing some hard driving rock and roll that I knew Tyler preferred.
Not for the first time I felt really left out that I slept during the day and awoke so late in the evening. Everyone greeted me happily, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous that I had missed out on all of the catching up.
Paul was lounging on the sectional and he sat up when he saw me. His eyes drank me in.
I caught Kat giving Mara a knowing look. I ignored it. I sat down in a wing chair tucking my feet under me.
“Hey,” he said. “I was reading the planner. I never got to sit in on a territorial meeting. I can’t wait.” It was Monday and we were going to have a busy evening.
“Yeah, we were telling Paul what to expect.” Kat said.
“It’s a lot easier now.” I said.
“Yeah, now that we don’t have to kill someone every day.” Tyler said in boredom.
“Yeah, we haven’t had to kill anyone in…what? Six, seven weeks?”
“Well,” Mara added in her sexy Latin accent, “We’ve had to kill, but not in the territorial meetings. Usually that happens when we make our house calls. But enough of that. What’s this big secret Paul won’t tell until you were awake?”
I met his eyes in surprise. He knew me so well! He smiled in a way that was a thorough turn on. His lip curled up slightly. I thought I was going to burst.
The ladies came to attention and watched me expectantly.
“Thanks for waiting until I was awake…but you tell it. It’s your story to tell.”
Paul stood up stroking his chin. “You all know that I went away…mostly because I wanted to become a stronger man. Now that I’ve been sitting here talking to all of you ladies I realize that I truly didn’t understand. I thought being the only man that I was supposed to be your protector. I’ve…grown a lot since I’ve been away. Even though you don’t need me to protect you, I still don’t think I could have stayed at the mercy of the Vampires. So…I’m back now to tell you that I have achieved my goal.”
Mara said something in Spanish. She didn’t seem too happy about his announcement, either.
“What did you do to yourself?” Karen asked.
“I’m Lycan now.”
“Lycan? A Werewolf?” Monica said with wide eyes.
Tyler was staring at him really hard. “I knew…something.”
“Oh Paul…” Kat said with concern.
Mara stood up. “Look, out of all of the Supes that he could have chosen he chose the right one.”
“So…you’re going to turn into a wolf?” Tyler asked.
“No…not a wolf like you know. I mean, I wouldn’t ever be mistaken for a real wolf.”
“Paul, are you going to be all out of control like on the movies?” Karen asked hesitantly.
“No, Karen. I won’t hurt any of you.” He looked at all of us. “That’s why I stayed two moons with the Lycan pack so that I could be sure. The pack that made me is different then what you see in the movies.”
“Different?”
“They don’t change only at the full moon. And they can stop the change at different levels so when I was with them I’d see men with wolf faces or tails-“
“Paul?! You’re going to have a tail?” I exclaimed.
“I…yeah.”
Everyone just froze. Then Karen with her strange sense of humor giggled. But when she did it everyone started laughing, including me. That seemed to break the tension and the ladies spent the next few minutes questioning him before Mara tugged at her collar and looked at me.
“You ready, Kim?”
I nodded and stood. The other girls paid us no attention. This was routine. But Paul had all eyes on me as he continued answering their questions.
Mara swept her long hair to the side and tilted her head. “It’ll be so nice having Paul back.” She said.
“I know.” She looked at me just as I dropped my teeth.
“Did you want to-“She gestured to Paul. Without another word she stepped away from me. “Paul, you haven’t donated in a while. I think you need it more then…”
Mara’s eyes grew wide and she looked from one to the other of us. “Dear Lord…your Creature. Kim, your Creature is Paul’s Werewolf!”
“Oh my God!” Tyler exclaimed. “That’s exactly what it is!”
Paul rubbed his hair back. “We…talked about that yesterday.” He was shaking his head. “But how could that be possible?”
Nobody spoke. “If they were bound,” Monica began slowly, “maybe Paul’s being changed could somehow transfer to Kim if he didn’t block…but Paul’s human. Human’s don’t bond they just turn.”
“We need Julie for this.” Kat said.
I concentrated on her. She didn’t even wait for me to ask she just appeared.
“Sorry to bother you, I know we’re supposed to get together later tonight…” I said. “But, we have a…situation.”
Julie eyed Paul. She was wearing black leather pants, combat boots and an anime t-shirt. Her usually pixy cut hair was spiked and she was wearing Goth makeup. The makeup didn’t make her look any older. She still looked like a 12 year old; just a scary 12 year old. We wore all black whenever we had a territorial meeting. The ladies would generally change about an hour before. We kept wardrobes of clothes for just that purpose.
“Who is this?” Julie asked cautiously.
“I’m Paul. And you’re Julie.” Even though I had warned him about her look he still seemed a bit shocked. Still, he knew better then to treat her like the little girl she appeared.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.” Julie held out her hand to shake his. Her short nails were painted black.
He took her hand and she narrowed her eyes.
“You can tell, too. Can’t you?” Tyler said.
“Yes. He’s…powerful.” She glanced at me curiously while sliding her hand from his.
“Can you tell…anything else about him?”
She looked him up and down. “He’s cute.”
Paul blushed. “Like wise.”
“Thank you.” She smiled at him for the first time which changed her immediately from scary Goth to innocent 12 year old.
“I’m a Lycan.” He said.
Julie’s expression became more intrigued. “Really? I’ve never met one.” She looked at me.
“Julie, my Creature and Paul’s Werewolf…couldn’t they be linked?”
She went still the way only Vampires can do.
“I think so. But I don’t understand how. If he were Vampire that had gained some special ability I could see how he could share it with his bound mate…but only if she were Vampire, too.”
“Human’s can’t bond with Vampires?” Paul asked.
“No…because they would just turn.”
Paul frowned. He swept his hands through his hair anxiously and cursed under his breath. “Christ almighty…that’s why it was so hard to leave. It’s why we were so connected, so close-“
“What are you talking about?” I asked in confusion. With bright eyes he hurried to me and gripped my arms.
“Kim! We’re bound.”
“What are you talking about? There has to be a blood exchange. I’ve never-” I was about to say that I’d never given him blood but I had.
“To bond with another Vampire you’d have to link. And you can only do that because you’re drinking each other’s blood at t
he same time.” Karen said mostly to herself.
“Oh my God…” I said. I’d almost drained Paul one night. The next evening he was so weak that it scared me. He’d asked me for some of my blood to boost him and despite my misgivings I’d shared some of my blood with him. Immediately he had felt better. But could that have been a blood exchange? I mean, he was drained one night and I gave him my blood the next night…”
“It’s possible. But Kim, you’d know if you were bound to Paul. It’d be like dying to lose him.”
I closed my eyes and carefully pulled my lips between my teeth. “God…it’s true.” I looked at Monica. “Remember, I asked you if it was supposed to hurt like this when a donor left and you said no.”
“But I didn’t know you two were bound.”
“I’m the first bond.” Paul said looking thoughtful. “Alexis bonded with you the night before your punishment so…mine was first.”
I literally fell back into the wing chair.
Paul knelt down on his knee in front of me. “That means we’re married. Alexis is not your husband. I am.”
CHAPTER 11
The girls quietly left the room leaving Paul and I alone. I was speechless and completely stunned. The emptiness that I had thought had disappeared returned like gang busters!
It hurt to know that Alexis was no longer my husband. It really hurt. I understood how the first bond was the only one that counted, but a bond was still a bond and it hurt me to know that Alexis’ role had changed. No…I loved him just as much but I knew that it was different now. Did he love Athena the same way I loved Paul because of their bond? I had never stopped loving Paul in all this time. Did that mean that I wouldn’t ever stop being in love with any of the people I had bonded with, including Tony?
Paul was watching me intently. He took my hands in his and kissed each one of my fingers.
“I know you’re shocked. But I’m happy.”
I smiled. “I’m happy that you’re happy.”
He watched me again. “You know, when I left it was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I-I knew that I was destined to die the night that the Council punished you. And I knew that if you lived through that punishment you’d hurt even more because of my death. I loved you so much…that I couldn’t allow myself to die trying to fight them because I knew how it’d hurt you. I had to do this. I have to be able to protect you.”