by Jessic Ryan
“The wererats?” Travis asked, walking down the hallway towards the bathroom. “No.”
“Oh thank god,” she muttered.
“This was from a deer I caught and killed,” he said proudly. “It was good to have some real food for once.”
The fear in her stomach was suddenly replaced with a queasy feeling. She was going to spend the rest of her life with a predator that liked to eat furry animals. At least he wasn’t getting stinking drunk every night though.
“So what are you going to do now?” she asked, following him into the bathroom.
“I do not know,” Travis said, looking at the ground. “We need to spy on these creatures and get as much information as we can. We don’t know how many of them there are or what kind of defense they have. Can they replicate the lunar form trick they pulled before?”
“There were enough of them to destroy your pack,” she said absent mindedly. The look on Travis’ face let her know she had said the wrong words. “I mean to say it appears that way.”
“It does,” he said, dropping to his knees in front of the tub and turning the water on scalding hot. He leaned over and began scrubbing at his face with his hands, trying to get the blood off.
“Let me,” she said, sitting on the edge of the tub and grabbing a wash cloth. Travis sat perfectly still, looking up at her as she began to wash away the blood.
“I wonder if most of my pack was killed by the vampire,” he said. “That would make more sense than rats.”
“I have an idea,” Paige said.
“What is that?” he asked.
“My niece is friends with one of the rats little girls right?’ she asked. “Why don’t I take her over there and scout the place out?”
“No,” he said defiantly, standing up and stepping away from her. “I will not allow you to put yourself into danger like that.”
“It might be the only way,” she said, standing up putting her hand on the side of his wet face. “I have as much invested in this pack now as you do. Let me help.”
“I could never live with myself if they harmed you,” he said, turning his back to her. “I cannot allow this.”
“Fine,” she said, letting go of him. “You do what you need to do then. I’m going to go shopping some new clothes for you today.”
“Do not spend too much of your money,” he said, raising one eyebrow in her direction. “I do not intend to wear clothes when we return to Bowshot.”
“That will be up on the table for discussion,” she said. Paige knew it’d be impossible to concentrate on everyday tasks with Travis’ massive manhood swinging between his legs all day on top of his exposed, rippling muscles. Clothes weren’t just to protect you from the elements; they were there to protect Paige from her own libido. She felt the soreness in her loins, her body crying for a reprieve as she thought about jumping Travis’ bones every day.
“I expect there will be a lot to discuss when we return to Bowshot,” Travis said, his face darkening. “If we ever make it back to Bowshot.”
“We will,” she said. “I’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter 4
Travis watched Paige’s car roll backwards out of the makeshift driveway in front of her house, feeling a little pull of sadness on his heart. He hadn’t expected to become this attached to the human so quickly, but here he was already missing her and hoping she’d return safely to him soon.
I have a good thing going, he thought. She’s more than willing to be my alpha mate and she’s going to do a damn fine job of it.
Jacob had told him horror stories about human females almost being forced to join some packs. In the case of nomadic or city wolves they usually didn’t give women a chance, they just took them and forced them to live in the pack, often being shared amongst pack members. The thought of sharing Paige with any male made his blood boil. At this point he couldn’t picture bedding another female either; he had the strongest chance to produce powerful alpha children with her and nobody else.
It was the perfect day to lie in the sun and sleep the day away, but Paige had warned him not to sleep outside in human or wolf form in case somebody wandered up. Instead Travis opened every window in her bedroom allowing the sun to bathe Paige’s bed. Without another thought he quickly transformed into wolf form and hopped onto her bed. The mattress springs creaked and groaned under the weight of seven hundred pounds of wolf, but they held as he lowered himself into a comfortable position.
He felt like he was sitting on a dais above other wolves, surveying his kingdom. Instead all he could survey was dirty clothes and old furniture. Hopefully Paige would be more willing to live her life free of the shackles of clothing when they returned to Bowshot.
He had many plans for his return to Bowshot. He considered having the cabins torn down and erecting one large building for all the wolves to live together in. Jacob had taught him how other packs lived. Some tried to retain their humanity, like the Bowshot pack, living a half wolf and half human existence. Others went completely wolf and lived in caves hardly shifting out of wolf form. Travis thought the latter sounded more appealing, but he had always gravitated towards his wolf more than his human side. It was incredibly painful to pose as simple redneck Travis Bowshot over the last few days. Luckily Paige had managed to snag him a few more novelty t-shirts from the store, but he dirtied them up so quickly shifting into wolf form. He’d even forgotten to take one off the other day and had shredded it. She was going to spend her hard earned money on clothes for him; he had to be careful.
Still, there would be no use for these clothes when he formed the new pack. Dario was a lone wolf, spending a lot of time in his wolf form. He knew the elder wolf would support him in his vision for the new pack. He wasn’t quite ready to live in a cave all day, but his new pack would embrace their wolf more than the previous pack had.
Travis believed if his pack was closer to their inner wolf then they would be harder to defeat and more fierce in battle. If any more vampires or a rival pack got ideas they’d make them think twice before sending them on their way, if they chose to let them live.
It was with these thoughts that Travis drifted off to sleep, not wanting to be tired when night fell. Tonight they would do something, he was determined to make the wererats pay and get his staff back.
His dreams did not allow him restful sleep. In them he was no bigger than a common gray wolf, being chased by a pack of lunar-shifted wererats. Each of them was about six foot tall walking on hind legs with long human like arms that ended in claws. Their worm-like tails drug on the ground behind them as they pursued the wolf. Finally they caught up to him, each driving long incisors into his flesh. He gnashed and fought, trying to stop them from tearing him to pieces, but it was futile. In the end they stood over him laughing.
As he took his last breaths he noticed they were back at Bowshot, the vampire stood in the shadows, his face obscured by darkness. He was dressed impeccably in an Armani suit and he held rolled up construction plans in one hand. All around Travis bulldozers moved in to begin tearing down his pack’s cabins, preparing the land for whatever oil rig the vampire planned to erect.
Travis’ eyes popped open, revealing the real world to him again. He was in a sleep-drunk haze staring at the silvery moonlight shining through the window and into the bedroom. It took him a minute to realize there was a loud knocking at the front door.
He dropped off the bed, shifting quickly back into human form. He stretched out, trying to get used to the confines of his human body again. He found the jeans he had been wearing on the floor and slipped them on, walking to the front door.
“Hold your damn horses!” he yelled. “I’m coming.”
He opened the door to find Dario standing on the front porch, a panicked look in his eyes.
“What is it?” he demanded from his subordinate.
“They have her!” Dario said.
“Who has her?” he asked.
“The Lockharts,” Dario said, out of breath and excited
. “They have Paige.”
Travis’ eyes grew wide and he nearly broke the door in two slamming his fist into it. They would pay now.
Chapter 5
Paige was speeding down Highway 7 on her way home, the backseat filled with bags of clothes for Travis. She knew the alpha wolf always wanted to remain naked, but she would have to put her foot down on this. The pack would have to remain a bit more civilized than he wanted them to. She hoped maybe they could build a nice big house in Bowshot, one that she could raise a family in. Hopefully she could get DIRECTV or something in Bowshot and DSL internet. She knew it was too far out for cable.
As she looked out at the pretty fall leaves falling to the ground she wondered what Travis was up to today.
Probably sleeping the day away, she thought. I’m going to have to get used to his schedule. Damn nocturnal animals.
But, why should she get used to him? She was the one with the pussy, the one with all the power. Why couldn’t he get used to her schedule? Travis thought he had the power in the relationship, but she knew who wore the pants; literally and figuratively because the werewolf hated pants.
As she drove she got into the music on the radio, dancing in her seat as it blared away. Just as the song reached her favorite part her phone began to ring. She looked down to see Billy’s ugly mug staring back at her.
“God dammit,” she muttered. “Is he going to yell at me again? Hello?”
“Paige, where are you?” Billy demanded on the other end.
“I’m driving home from Lawton,” she said. “Why?”
“I’m in Lawton,” he said. “I had to run out to pick up some items for the store. The girls are over at the Lockharts house after school, but I don’t want them staying the night. I won’t be home tonight; can you pick them up and bring them back to your place?”
Paige froze, her hands beginning to shake as she held the phone up to her ear. Her nieces played with the Lockharts all the time, but now that she knew what they were she was scared to death.
“Paige?” he asked. “Did I lose you? God damn cell phone. Paige!”
“I’m here,” she said. “Sorry Billy. I will go get the girls, don’t worry.”
“Good deal,” he said. “Don’t let them stay up all night watching TV and eating junk food. I know how you like to have your little slumber parties when they’re over.”
“We’ll be fine, Billy,” she said. “Can I go get them now?”
“I don’t see why not,” he said. “I’ve gotta go.”
Paige hung up the phone, staring at the road in front of her. She gripped the steering wheel hard and gave the gas pedal hell; she wasn’t going to let her nieces spend another minute with those monsters. What if the vampire was in the house? What if the Lockharts shifted and attacked her nieces?
She flew through town, hoping no deputies would catch her. She considered pulling over and grabbing Travis for protection, but she knew he would try to start a fight. The Lockharts would smell the wolf on him and everything would be ruined. She had to do this alone.
She pulled through the iron gate outside the Lockharts old mansion just a bit after four p.m., the sun hanging heavy behind the house. The mansion had been built plantation style in the early 1940’s for an old rich man that still held ties to the south. After he had died it had bounced around in bank sales, finally being bought by Jasper Lockhart in the early 80’s. Her parents told her he seemed like a nice enough guy, until he moved his five children into his house with their spouses and children.
She didn’t know exactly how many Lockharts there were. She knew the youngest, Janie, went to school with Lyric, but she didn’t know if there were any other children. Rumors in town flew about as to the actual number, but most agreed there were at least twelve of them living in the house. She wasn’t even sure if old Jasper was still alive.
The mansion rose up at the top of the hill, like a stern father looking down on its children. She had never been inside before, just outside the mansion to pick up her nieces. The only Lockhart she ever met was Angela who was Janie’s mother. Angel was always waiting out front with her nieces, but today she was nowhere to be found. Had Billy called to say she was coming? Usually he did.
She got out of her car, her heart pounding in her chest. The gigantic front porch with its great wood columns loomed in front of her. The house hadn’t been painted in years; the white paint was chipped all over the house and columns. Weeds and plants grew up all around the house, covering windows and scratching away at what paint was left.
It’ll be fine, she thought. Just walk up, ring the doorbell and ask for the girls.
Earlier she had thought it would be a good idea to try and spy on the Lockharts herself, but now that she was face to face with their den she was scared shitless. It took all of her strength to take those first steps away from the safety of her car and towards the unknown that waited behind the front door.
The front door was painted bright red; the only thing that was freshly painted on the train wreck of a house. The golden knocker was a wolf’s head, very appropriate for the situation. She knocked three times, hoping that Angie would open the door and the girls would be standing right there.
She heard the big door unlock and then it swung open slowly, revealing a short, fat man who appeared to be in his early forties. He had stringy hair that horseshoed around a bald spot on top of his head. With grubby fingers he reached out and shook her hand.
“You must be Paige,” he said.
“I am,” she said, realizing she had been holding her breath. “And you are?”
“I’m William,” he said. “I’m Angie’s father in law, Jasper’s son.”
That would make Janie the great granddaughter of the families patriarch; there were a lot more of them than she realized.
“Please come in,” William said, motioning for her to step into the foyer.
“I thought Angie was Jasper’s daughter,” she said, speaking without thinking.
William chuckled and put his hand on her back, sending chills all the way up her spine. “Oh no, there are a lot of us here. We don’t come into town too often.”
“How many people live here?” she asked.
“I’m not even sure,” he said. She turned to look at him and he was eyeing her with a smile on his face. Finally he busted out laughing and elbowed her in the side. “I’m just joshing with ya! There are 15 of us living here: Jasper and his children, which are me, Virginia, Gabriel, Silas and Patricia. Then there is my son William Jr and his wife Angie. Virginia has a grown son named Robert and then Silas has three kids: Louis, Trevor and George. Gabriel has a son named Bart and Silas has a wife named Amy. Then there’s also Janie, she’s the youngest.
Only two significant others in the whole bunch, she thought. I wonder what they do with their significant others?
She shuddered at the thought, not wanting to know the answer.
“The girls are upstairs,” he said, leading her through a side door to a large staircase. “Follow me.”
Paige wanted to do anything but follow him. She wanted to pull out a gun and blow the dirty rat away before setting the house on fire and running away forever, but she had to rescue her nieces. Hopefully he would just give her nieces to her and then send her on her way. He seemed nice enough right now, just a creepy old man.
The inside of the house was just as dirty as the outside. No rugs covered the musty wood floors and there were no paintings on the walls which were peeling away, revealing the old lath and plaster walls behind. This place would be a nightmare for her allergies if she had actually lived there, but luckily she was just picking up her nieces and getting the hell out.
“Your nieces are in Janie’s room,” he said, stopping at the end of a long hallway. “That’s an interesting perfume you’re wearing. What is it?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, realizing she was trapped at the end of this hallway. She did not like the feeling gathering in the pit of her stomach. Alarm bells started goin
g off in her head when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, unlocking the door. She had to leave, but she couldn’t do it without her nieces. “Why do you ask?”
“Because it smells like wolf,” he said, his face suddenly twisting into a mask of rage.
She turned and tried to run, but he was quick. She felt his grubby fingers catching ahold of her hair, yanking her backwards towards him.
“Do you think you can bring that wolf into our home?” he demanded, his voice a tidal wave of rage. “I knew we didn’t finish the job!”
The door swung open to reveal her two nieces sitting on the ground beside Angie and Janie Lockhart. All four appeared to have been crying as they sat huddled in the empty room. With all his might William flung her into the room, bouncing her off the floor as she hit.
She felt all the wind go out of her body and she reached up, gasping for air. She thought a rib had cracked as she felt pain shoot through her midsection.
“Stay in here, wolf lover,” he said. “Victor will be back tonight and he’ll want something good to eat. Hopefully that wolf comes looking for you so we can finish the job.”
Her senses started to come back as she heard the door slam and lock behind him.
“I’m so sorry,” Angie said, reaching a hand out to touch her.
She recoiled in fear, not wanting to let the wererat touch her. She scrambled back towards the wall, cornering herself as she stared out at her nieces and the mother/daughter combo.
“Get away from me!” she screamed. “Girls get away from her! She’s a wererat! Stay away!”
Angie’s eyes grew wide and then the tears came cascading down her cheek as she grabbed her daughter and hugged her tight.
“It’s ok Aunt Paige,” Lyric said, crawling over to her. “She’s on our side.”
Paige looked up at Angie, feeling every emotion possible sweep through her body. Why had they trapped this wererat in the bedroom with her? Why was she locked up with her daughter and Paige’s nieces? Something didn’t add up. Then something Travis said hit her. He told her that werewolf females hardly ever produced children and they had to go to humans to produce their offspring.