by KB Winters
“Have you always written about…werewolves?”
I raised my brow at Clark’s question. “I guess so. I mean, I write about the paranormal world in general as well, but my bestselling books are about werewolves.”
“Why?”
Nicholas’ sharp question was startling. I looked over at him quizzically. “Why?” I asked parroting his question back to him.
“Yes, why? Why werewolves? Why not vampires or fairies?”
I thought for a second. “I don’t know, really. I just got that itch and I started writing one day. Maybe I’ll write about vampires once they become a lot less sparkly.”
The men except Nicholas chuckled softly. I turned my head to see where Kayla had gone. When I didn’t see her anywhere, I turned back to the men.
“Did I say something to upset you?” I asked breaking them out of their silence. Nicholas glanced at me and opened his mouth as if to answer. When nothing came out, he closed it with a click and shook his head. Before I could ask anything else, he brushed by me. The feeling of him brushing so close was like a shock, but the fact that he was leaving was like a cold blast of air. I turned to see him walking towards the sign for the bathrooms.
“He’s not upset.” I turned back around at Rafael’s gentle words.
“He has a real strange way of showing how not upset he is,” I replied with a twist to my lips. I didn’t believe him in the slightest, but I wasn’t sure what I could have possibly said to offend him. “Is it the werewolf talk?” My question was met with silence and I widened my eyes. “Oh geez. Is he really religious? I know some sects of religion see paranormal ideas as like devil worship or something.”
Clark chuckled, but shook his head. “No, not at all. Nicholas is pretty much agnostic, I think, and though I grew up Baptist—I haven’t been to church in years.”
I nodded in relief and looked over at Rafael and Porter. “Are you…”
“Born Catholic,” he replied with a wide toothy smile. “But I’m more of a ‘live and let live’ type of Catholic rather than a ‘do as I say’ type of guy. Porter here is more into chasing tail than chasing God.”
“Fuck off, dude,” Porter replied with a smile. He turned his gaze back to me. “Seriously, don’t worry about Nicholas. Sometimes he can be kind of a moody princess, especially when he doesn’t have a good day.”
“Oh,” I breathed in relief. I didn’t want to think his quick disappearance was because of something I’d done.
“Yeah. There’s some girl at his gym that’s been driving him crazy and he’s usually on edge after having to deal with her.”
Clark’s words dried up my sense of relief. Could he be talking about me? Was I the reason for Nicholas to be in a bad mood? He hadn’t seemed any different at the gym today and he had invited Kayla and me over to meet his friends. Maybe he really was going for Kayla and hadn’t realized until tonight that she was taken? The thought of him only inviting us over and being nice to me in order to impress her made my heart start beating faster, and I found my good mood taking a nose dive.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded quickly and brushed off the hand that Rafael placed on my arm. I couldn’t even look at him. What if the guys knew about my crush on Nicholas and felt sorry for me? “I’m fine. I just need a little fresh air.”
“Are you sure? Your heart is bea—I mean, you seem distressed,” Clark said. He reached his hand out to slow my movement, but I ducked it and gave him what I hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, I’m—I just need to go outside for a second. Get some fresh air. I’ll be right back.” I turned quickly and ignoring everyone else, pushed my way through the throngs of people until I could see the front door. I could hear Clark, Rafael and Porter calling out from behind me, but I powered through. With a gasp, I leapt past the doorway and into the cool air of the outside. I glanced around not seeing Kayla and figured maybe she’d gone to the restroom. I felt bad for just leaving, but I couldn’t bear to be in the bar any longer, not when I’d pissed Nicolas off. I didn’t even know why I cared.
I sucked in a deep breath and turned toward the gym. I’d call another Uber and wait for it outside. I’d just text Kayla and let her know where I was and why I left.
“Shit, but I can’t just leave her here,” I muttered to myself. I took a few steps away from the entrance where the bouncer was still checking people’s IDs. Kayla and I always had a rule that if we went out together, we wouldn’t leave one another no matter what. I didn’t want to break that pact and put her in danger, but I also had no desire to step a foot back into that bar.
There were faint noises coming from the bar, but otherwise the night was quiet. The fresh air carried the pleasant scent of flowers in bloom as well as the strong smells of car exhaust and garbage. I wrinkled my nose as I walked down the sidewalk and glanced down at my cell phone. I scanned my fingerprint to unlock it before bringing up the last text I’d sent to Kayla. Maybe if I texted her that I was outside and not feeling well, she would come right out and we could go. That way I had an excuse for why I wanted to leave early without having to actually go back inside and face Nicholas and his friends.
I probably should’ve been paying more attention to my surroundings, but I wasn’t expecting anyone to hassle me standing in plain view of the huge windows. Unfortunately, my expectation was wrong—so horribly wrong. Two strong hands grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me into a narrow alleyway between the two buildings.
“Don’t scream,” growled an unfamiliar voice. Hot air brushed by my ear and I nearly choked on my breath. The pain of being slammed against the wall made stars burst behind my eyelids, and I opened my mouth to let out a scream. The hand that slapped over it before I could utter a sound was sticky, and I nearly gagged at the putrid smell of it. I opened my eyes and had to blink rapidly to clear away the flashing spots from my gaze. When I finally focused, I was shocked to find the man’s face familiar, but that was nothing compared to the shock of seeing his eyes lit up with an unholy scarlet glow.
“I told you not to fucking scream,” the man hissed. His sour breath flowed over me and this time I did gag. I reached my hands up in an attempt to scratch him hoping that the slight pain would loosen his grip and give me an opportunity to get away, but as I raked my nails across his skin—he didn’t even flinch. My eyes widened when I saw the bright pink lines I’d scratched into his flesh disappear before my eyes. When my gaze went back to his face, his expression was smug.
“Did you really think you could hurt me?” He leaned in further and I closed my eyes in fear at the feeling of him breathing against my neck. I steeled myself, ready for unholy things to happen, and raked my nails across his skin again, only this time, it was hard enough that I felt skin gather under them. The hand against my mouth moved away, but before I could take advantage of it, his mouth came down over mine.
I shouted under the hard press of his lips and the bile rose sourly into my throat. I tried to push him away, but his grip on my hip was too strong and his freed hand had moved to clasp me tightly on the back of my neck. I was helpless, trapped and ready to piss myself. Hot tears fell down my cheeks and I frantically sent out thoughts for someone, anyone, to come and help me. I was hopeless and weak against the strength of this man and a sob bubbled up in my chest. When his lips lifted, I let out a soft sob of relief.
“You taste just as sweet as I thought you would,” he hissed. He leaned scratching his rough chin against my cheek. The feeling of it made me shrink back as much as I could in order to get away from the pain.
“Who are you?” I whispered. My voice cracked and sounded frail in a way I’d never heard in my life. “Why are you doing this?” I tried again to push him away from me, but it was like trying to move a brick wall. I didn’t have the strength to break his tight hold.
The man chuckled. “Who am I?” He leaned his head back until I was once again trapped under his scarlet gaze. “Don’t you recognize me?”
I narrowed my eyes
trying to appear braver than I truly felt. “No. I don’t know who you are, but that’s okay.” I thought desperately of a way to get myself out of this situation. “I don’t need to know who you are, okay? I won’t tell anyone about this if you just let me go. I won’t even call the cops. I promise.”
He snorted in disbelief. “Liar. I heard your heart skip a beat. You’re lying.”
I blinked. “What?”
“I said I heard your heart skip a beat when you said that.” He leaned his face in again and I turned my head away. “You lied when you said you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
His words didn’t make any sense to me. “What do you mean you heard my heartbeat?” That was impossible…wasn’t it? “And I wasn’t lying.”
“You were!” He shouted pushing his face into the side of my neck. I was dead. I knew it. His lips brushed against me and I shuddered in fear. I was gonna get fucked by this beast of a man and there was nothing I could do or say. God why didn’t I stay inside?
“But don’t worry. I know your last boyfriend didn’t take care of you like he should have. I’ll make sure to give it to you nice and rough so you have no complaints.”
My stomach fell to the ground and I once again tried to fight my way to freedom. His grip was punishingly hard and I knew I’d have bruises where he held me too tightly. I opened my mouth to scream again, but this time he stopped me with his tongue. I could feel fresh tears slide down my cheeks as I struggled in vain against my attacker. I could only fight with my remaining strength and hope that someone would see me and help.
The sound of a loud growl somewhere to the left of me was not what I was expecting. My eyes sprang open as I felt myself suddenly flung to the side. I landed with a thump on my hands and knees onto the hard rough concrete, but I barely felt the sting of gravel beneath me. The sounds of grunts and growls behind me were shocking in their viciousness, and I quickly crawled towards a nearby dumpster in order to put myself further out of harm’s way. When a large hand curled around my ankle, I screamed and kicked out with my other foot to try to get free.
“Let me go!” My shout echoed in the small space and I turned my head in order to aim my next kick. The sight of blood red eyes and long glistening teeth had me choking on fear, and I was paralyzed knowing this could be the last night of my life. I didn’t want it to end like this. A white blur broke my frozen gaze and I hastily finished crawling away when the hand around my ankle disappeared.
I scrabbled against the ground, I had to get as far away as possible. My breathing was panicky as I ducked behind the only thing saving me from being torn apart by brutal savages. I covered my hands over my ears in an attempt to block out the sounds of growls and yelps as the two things in the alley with me dueled…for what—a chance to rip me apart? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was about to die and I didn’t know why.
Abruptly, the noises came to an end. The silence was shocking in its suddenness and suddenly I could hear my own heavy breathing. My body was trembling with adrenaline and terror and I squeezed my eyes shut in order to block it all out. I didn’t want to see my end come, but it wasn’t pain I felt next—it was a warm wet nose. I tensed at the feeling and waited a moment longer unsure if it was just my mind playing with me. The second brush of it on my elbow had me reluctantly opening my eyes until my gaze locked on the same indescribable color that had intrigued me the first time I saw them. I swallowed the sick bile in my throat as I studied the creature in front of me.
No, not creature—wolf.
The wolf was a startling white color, save for the splashes of red that my eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to. It was large, much larger than I ever really thought wolves to be, though I’d never actually seen one before. It stepped forward and brushed its snout against me again and unbelievably, my body relaxed. I didn’t know this animal, and yet something about it was familiar, like a word on the tip of your tongue just waiting to be spoken. I leaned forward and turned my gaze in order to see where the other creature had gone, but the wolf let out a faint whine and butted me with its head.
“What? I just want to see—” My words were stopped abruptly by its face coming fully in my vision. If the wolf had displayed any signs of aggression, I might have let out a startled shout. “What was that thing?” I asked softly turning my focus back to the wolf. It curled its lips back and let out a soft growl that made me shiver. I wondered if it could hear the uptick of my heart because it abruptly whined again and brushed its head against my cheek as if to soothe me. Surprised at my own daring—and the friendly wolves in my own books—I raised my arms up and wrapped them around the wolf’s neck leaning into it. Its snowy fur was far softer than I’d have thought, and though I could smell the iron tang of blood, underneath was a second spicier scent that had my eyes widening.
“Nicholas?” The gentle vibration that accompanied my whisper was enough to convince me. This wolf was Nicholas. Werewolves were real. “Oh my—”
“Nicholas!”
The familiar sound of that shout had me looking up past the wolf in my arms. When Rafael came around the corner of the dumpster, the sight of his eyes burning a bright jade should have terrified me, but I all I could do was stare. Clark also came around, his own eyes also brightly lit with the same green hue. They didn’t look surprised to see me and that was confusing. I opened my mouth to speak, but the sound of bones popping and the feeling of shifting under my hands rendered me mute. The milky fur that I’d been clutching at receded leaving smooth tanned skin still painted red with blood.
“Are you alright?” That scratchy familiar voice asked softly.
I leaned back still unwilling to remove my arms completely from where they were now looped around a very human neck. Nicholas’ gaze seared into my own and my shivers came back for a very different reason. His eyes were as red as the blood that dripped from his body, yet where the other creature’s eyes had scared me beyond reason, Nicholas’ only made me feel…safe.
I nodded, not trusting my voice not to break as I heard the sound of sirens in the distance. Clark leaned down placing a hand on Nicholas’ shoulder. I felt Nicholas flinch and I wondered if the transformation had hurt him. Without thinking, I ran my fingers through his mussed up hair.
“Are you hurt?” I asked looking down his torso to see if he had any cuts or slashes. At the sight of his soft cock laying across his thigh, I quickly jerked my gaze back up. He didn’t seem to notice his own nudity and I wondered if it was something normal for him.
“No,” he replied. “I’ve already healed. Are you okay? I felt your fear so strongly and I was worried I hadn’t gotten here in time.”
“You did,” I reassured him. I realized I was still running my hands through his hair, but since he didn’t seem to mind—I didn’t bother to stop. “You got here just in time. Just a few scrapes and bruises, but I’m fine.” I couldn’t stop staring. I felt drawn to him like a beacon and I wanted to know everything about him. “How did yo—”
“I’m sorry, Alpha, but we really have to go,” Rafael cut in. I looked up in time to see him glancing out of the alleyway and suddenly I realized that the police had no doubt been called. I jerked my hands out of Nicholas’ hair. “Porter already made the call and went ahead.”
“I just want to make sure she’s alright,” Nicholas replied with a growl. I could see Rafael peering back over his shoulder. His frame was tense and all traces of amusement were absent from his face. Clark had his cell phone out and was typing quickly, but his posture was similarly tense.
“He’s right,” I said. I turned to look back at Nicholas. “You guys have to go.”
Nicholas expression fell and he leaned away from me. “I would never hurt you, River.”
I shook my head and leaned forward cupping his face in my hands. “I know, Nicholas. I know you wouldn’t hurt me, but Rafael and Clark are right. You guys need to go before the police get here and arrest you for murdering some guy.”
His expression turned hopeful. “You aren’t
afraid of me?”
I considered his question quickly. Was I afraid of him? No. I was fascinated for sure, but nothing about him as a wolf had made me frightened. “No. I felt…safe with you. You saved me.” My confession was simple but true and before I could lose my nerve, I leaned into him more and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “Now go. We’ll talk later.”
He looked at me a moment longer and I stared back intrigued by the red that slowly bled away leaving his normal eye color behind. Nicholas leaned forward quickly and returned my soft kiss before pushing up off the ground. I stood just as quickly in order to keep from staring at his cock. I looked over at Clark and Rafael.
“You guys brought clothes, right?”
They both grinned and Rafael tossed Nicholas’ clothes to him. Clark walked over to a large black shape on the other side of the dumpster. I stood up on my toes to try to see, but it was too dark for me to make anything out. Clark crouched down before throwing the carcass over his shoulder. I decided it was best for me not to see it and turned my head with a grimace. Nicholas was already back in his previous clothes, though he was still barefoot. I wanted to ask him so many things, but I wanted him safe more.
“You guys need to get out, now. I can handle the police,” I said firmly. Nicholas reached out and took hold of my hand.
“What are you going to tell the them?” He glanced up at the entrance to the alleyway. “They can’t ever know anything about us, and you can’t tell anyone either.”
“Hey,” I said softly drawing his attention back to me. “I will keep your secret for the rest of my life, and as for the police…I’m a writer. I make things up for a living.” I squeezed his hand and gave him what I hoped was a comforting smile. When his lips quirked up slightly, I nodded and moved to walk past him. “Get out of here. I’ll handle this and you guys dispose of whatever that thing is.” I waved a hand over at Clark who gave me a smirk. I walked towards the entrance of the alleyway and started thinking up things to say to the police.