The growling ended, meanwhile Olivia controlled her heartbeat, repeating calming mantras members of Uncle Kevin’s organization had taught her.
She perched alongside her car hood, unable to go any farther. Greg stood mere inches from her, his girth blocked out the rest of the road. He leaned in. “I smell something good enough to eat…”
The beast spoke in a low tone, his speech surprisingly clear and concise.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she mumbled. Mist had begun to crawl in from the pond, covering the ground in wisps of smoke.
The fact was she was alone. Whether she lived or died was up to her. Her fingers curled and unfurled, anxious for direction.
This. This was what Olivia had been waiting for.
But was it the same as what she’d seen that night years ago?
“I like you. You’re different.”
She drew in air and released it. “What do you want?” Her tone level, calm.
“I don’t want to scare you,” he replied. “Not yet.”
After she unzipped her hoodie, she rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “I don’t frighten easily.”
His body heat radiated around her. The air reeked of damp earth and leaves. “I’m aware. Not a blip in your pulse. Impressive.”
Olivia tried to move to her left. Greg followed, pushing in even closer until she could count the hairs on his snout.
At his advance, Olivia grimaced. “What are you?”
“I’m a monster, bitten by a lycanthrope when I was a child.”
Greg drew closer until she was forced up against the hood frame. The beast leaned in, its limbs dropped onto either side of her, caging her in. Its pupils decreased in size. Saliva dripped onto the front of her dress.
His head was something she’d forever see in her nightmares—if she lived past tonight.
“Finally, a taste of fear. An aphrodisiac.” He gulped in air. “What I want is you.”
When she flinched, he growled. “I need a mate. A female to carry my litter.”
Hearing those words, something dark spread across her countenance. She pounded his body and arms, whatever she encountered, only to hit hard skin and feel the vibration of his rumbling laughs.
“Enough!” He tossed her onto the hood and wedged his body between her legs. His claws tore the front of her dress into strips and scratched her skin. She screamed, trying to kick and fight him off.
With some of her hair loosened from the braid, strands fanned out around her head. He leaned over to inhale her scent. Droplets of saliva fell onto her cheeks. “Lovely. Let’s see if you’ll survive my impregnating you.” His long, broad tongue licked her throat, passing over some of the earlier scratches he’d made.
“First, we’ll have fun.” He pressed down against her.
Something hard smacked the inside of her thigh and fur bristled up against her skin. Olivia gagged and gripped the sides of her hoodie, grateful it remained intact. “That’s disgusting.”
“I must do something about your mouth, but first I’ll take you.” About to shred the remainder of her dress, a blurred figure rammed into him, forcing the lycan to release his grip.
Both beasts slammed onto the road surface and furiously rolled around.
The lone bystander, Olivia hurriedly got to her feet to watch. Her head volleyed back and forth while she caught the various snippets of action.
In seconds the enormous brown wolf straddled the other beast, it’s front paws held down the other’s arms, while it’s back legs appeared to apply pressure to the creature’s lower back. The wolf sunk its teeth into the side of Greg’s neck and ripped the skin apart. Blood and gristle sprayed everywhere.
The lycan roared, trying to rise.
Determined, the wolf retained its grip and continued to bite, but the loss of blood made certain surfaces slick. Olivia noticed when the wolf slipped, losing the advantage it had by containing Greg’s arms.
Noting the opportunity, Greg dug the talons from his free limb into the sides of the unwanted detractor, continuously pummeling its foe’s body.
Olivia watched in increasing horror as her helper first moved, slipped again, the error allowed Greg the freedom of his other arm.
Bite. Yank. Maul. They went at each other until the wolf staggered off the body and emitted a pious whimper before collapsing.
Parts of its neck shredded, the lycan shambled to its side and managed to stand.
Only feet away, Olivia stared into the wolf’s eyes. The animal seemed young, perhaps inexperienced. How she wished it would take off, give itself a chance to recuperate or whatever they did.
But it didn’t.
The lycan picked up the now limp bloody wolf and plodded off with it. As it reached a clearing by the pond, the lycan lobbed the body far into the water. Within seconds a loud splash followed.
Was that it? Had that magnificent creature died already? She guessed it was her fault. If she hadn’t come here tonight….
With a pronounced shake of its head, Greg attempted to bay at the moon but due to his wounds, he only resulted in creating bizarre gurgling sounds. Twisting around, his crimson orbs locked on her.
Noting he no longer bled, and that somehow the damaged skin had slid back in a patchwork-type fashion, she swallowed. Actually, was that gratitude she felt for her uncle after he had made her join his organization after that horrendous night here?
Olivia stood her ground, knowing she couldn’t outrun that thing. There was no place to go. Standing by the passenger side of her car, she waited.
Greg sprinted over. As he was inches away, Olivia pirouetted, bending her knees to enabled her to dip so low her palms skimmed the top of the road. Not realizing the girl had outwitted him, his claws smashed into the windows. Shards of glass and bent steel framework went airborne.
He shook loose the debris and beads of blood and growled.
Now by the front of the car, she waited. Her arms appeared to rest defiantly on her hips, but her hands weren’t visible. There was no way in hell she’d cower in front of this bastard.
With a snarl, he lunged but instead of running towards her, he concentrated his efforts by attacking from behind and simply jumped onto the car hood. Crashing down, metal and various materials shrieked and bent, wielding under his weight. Greg snagged her around the waist, yanking her up towards him with a cry of success.
His satisfaction was short-lived.
Flexing her back as the beast drew her up to him, Olivia momentarily relaxed her arms. Moonlight glinted off the long, shiny surface of whatever she clutched in her fingers before she rammed them into his chest.
The tips of her custom-made silver sais pierced the monster’s leathery skin, sliding through muscle and organs. The twin prongs on either side joined in the melee of destruction as their pointed edges ripped and tore anything in their wake. The damage only increased when she yanked them out.
Greg howled as though his body was in agony. Dark reddish-brown blood flowed down the front of his hairy body. “Bitch! What did you do?” His claws ripped into the car hood.
“My sais were coated in a special poison, to counteract werewolf blood,” she gloated, sure to maintain her distance as he shredded the aluminum in a frenzied rage.
Greg swore when a claw caught on something inside the engine. When freed, he turned, only to waver on his wide, furry feet. Unlike before, his blood couldn’t congeal, nor were the wounds able to close. His body began to show signs of transforming back to his human form, but then the process would stop and reverse itself.
This happened a handful of times. Lycan and man, man and lycan. His confused body short-circuited, unable to make sense of what had mixed into its blood stream, which now began to affect its genetic composition and break it down.
“W-why are there two, no, t-three of y-you?” He staggered towards where she stood still in the moonlight, on the pond-side.
Satisfied he could no longer attack, Olivia wiped her set of sai daggers on the grass bef
ore slipping them into the specialty made holsters rigged inside her hoodie. She zipped it up a little over halfway, enough to cover most of what remained of her bodice. The rest of her dress hung like strips of rags down her legs. Just when she started to approach the beast, she smelled something pungent. She scanned the wooded area as far as the light permitted before she spotted the werewolf. The huge animal sat beside the bark of a tree, partially hidden, its emerald eyes staring at her.
Identifying it as a monster didn’t seem right. Olivia thought it beautiful. She could gather a sense of its intelligence from the way it sat and watched, observing.
Magnificent. Wasn’t that a word she’d already heard this evening too? Various threads of red, dark yellow, and burnt orange compiled its thick coat, the shades reminded her of autumn leaves. From what she could make out, there were no wounds or blood, only wet fur. It panted. Like lycans, they supposedly had quick healing abilities. Since it had not attacked her, had only appeared to come to her aid, she nodded, mumbled “thanks” and left it alone.
“Why?” Greg cried out, sounding once again like a human.
Olivia approached where he had fallen onto the road, his smaller lycan form twitching. While he bled out, his eyes affixed on hers.
“Because you’re a monster,” she softly said. “You had to be stopped.”
He ground out, “You get to decide my fate? Who gives you that power?”
Not answering him, she kneeled to watch his transformation, studying every step so she could write a thorough report. Hopefully, her last one.
Bones shrunk, fur disappeared, and teeth reformed. Even with his humanity partially returned, Greg continued to fixate on her, hatred visible in his glare. “W-we are victims,” he whispered. “M-my grandfather worked for a Montauk group… T-they did weird experiments. Opened portals. Creatures.” He spit up blood. “H-he threatened to expose them. They injected him with drugs, DNA…who knows what. T-they made him…. A monster.”
“And in turn, he bit you. That doesn’t excuse what either of you have done.” A monarch butterfly fluttered around them before it landed on her sleeve.
Greg stared, incredulous. “Who are y-you?”
Where had that beautiful insect come from? Somehow, it calmed her. “I used to live here, in the caretaker’s cottage with my parents.”
While his life slipped away, he took on a dreamy look. “I know you,”
With a definitive nod, Olivia stared at something in the distance. The memory returned. “My mom and my cousin and me were enjoying an All Girls weekend. That night we went swimming in the pond. It was my idea. There was a glorious full moon. Afterwards, I ran ahead to open the gates.” She swiped her tears, hating how her voice still cracked. Not here. Show no emotions to these beasts.
“Then I heard their screams. I raced back and spotted them. A monster had dragged them back towards the water…” The images grew hazy and her words faltered. What else had she seen? A shadow? With slammed lids, she hung her head and begged her mind to return to that time.
“Uncle helped me through the change. They were my first.”
Bastard! Olivia’s concentration broke, forcing her to return to the present. To this thing.
Greg’s head lolled to the side. His eyes hadn’t fully reverted. Orbs filled with a dominant red oozed brown at their edges. They unsettled her.
He gasped in recognition. “You seemed f-familiar. Never saw you…but I smelled you.”
The anger easily returned. After his admission of guilt, that familiar darkness stirred again inside her, waiting for her direction. All monsters needed to be destroyed so they couldn’t hurt humans. “You tore her apart. A sixteen-year-old girl. Broke my mom’s neck.” All monsters.
The lycan was down. Olivia would deal with the wolf shortly.
The butterfly took flight and headed across the lane where it disappeared into the duskiness beyond. Allowing herself a break, she smiled bleakly and mouthed goodbye. Being touched by it meant something. That anger cracked.
Hearing his groan, she refocused on Greg. He lifted his only free hand, the other remained under him, and pointed. “The girls I c-chose…. They’re standing there.”
Olivia pivoted around so fast she almost fell. Not seeing anything by the gates, an electrical sensation made the hairs on her arms rise. She swiped the air in front of her. Nothing. “Some believe butterflies are souls. They’ve been freed. Mom and Elizabeth are free.”
“The woman…” he croaked, “Uncle took her...”
“What do you mean? Don’t lie.” Had she heard him correctly? She had seen her mom. Even though her casket was closed for the service, Olivia snuck in earlier to peek for herself, to make sure Mom was truly gone and not sleeping. There was a body in there. Hers.
“Hey?” He lapsed into a coughing fit.
When she homed in on him, Greg’s other hand shot out, sinking its fingertips into the gashes on her chest. “S-something…remember me.”
With a whack, she knocked his bony arm down. The whimpering she heard came from her. Half of Greg’s nails remained claws, the bones deformed, and the skin covered with scratches, dirt, and…his blood.
How could she be stupid by getting so close?
Of course, he hadn’t fully transformed. That’s what the poison did. Ashamed, she jumped up, staring down at her skin, oblivious to her growing unease. Any discomfort hadn’t registered yet. “What did you do?”
He tried to laugh but gurgled. “Take longer…to heal. You’ll see…feel…. Maybe understand…my curse. You—”
A shadow passed over them. Before Olivia could respond, a shot fired. It hit Greg directly between the eyes. He stopped talking, stopped twitching, gasped for breath and ceased living.
Olivia lurched to her feet, needing to discover who the shooter was. With a glimpse towards the trees, she first noted the wolf’s absence. To her left, blond curls shook as Drake shoved a handgun into the back waistband of his shorts. “See babe? I told you monsters have a habit of coming back. Now this one won’t.”
“Drake? What are you, I mean, how did you learn to shoot?” Olivia stared at him until a hand rested on her shoulder.
“It’s over. You took out the big, bad wolf.”
“Rylan? You’re here too?” Unfortunately, the evening’s events caught up to her and there was no more adrenaline to get her by. When her legs wouldn’t support her, she swayed like a flag on a windy day.
Rylan wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. “Drake called me, worried. Said he couldn’t get ahold of you. Your message to me had been cut off. When I went by your home, your car wasn’t there so I swung by and picked him up. He knew exactly where you were.”
His musky scent wafted over her and she allowed herself to inhale and exhale.
Drake pushed aside the damaged portion of her hoodie and began to clean her chest wounds. His touch gentle, she found his intention sweet. Feeling her attentive gaze, he grinned. Rylan sighed. Drake swallowed before he produced a package from his pocket, ripped it open, and applied a gauze bandage. “I’ll clean it better when we get back to my house.”
Jerking her closer to him, Rylan waved Drake away. “Thanks, but you’re going home alone. Deal with the guests you let into your parent’s house. Remember Gracie and Marty? And the others? I’ll take care of Olivia. This needs to be handled privately and on the q.t. And put my gun back inside the truck safe.”
“I didn’t ask for an older brother,” mumbled Drake. With a wink at Olivia, he walked off.
“I’m not looking to take in any siblings either. I have enough, bro.”
Olivia smirked for a few seconds at Rylan’s reply until she realized something.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She focused on the body on the ground. “I never heard your car pull up or see you guys get out.” Once she admitted this in her report, they’d fail her.
His free hand rubbed the back of her neck, easing her worries. “I think that’s what happens when sho
ck sets in, Livy. It’s over now.”
She nodded, rubbing her hands across her sleeves.
“Look.”
Together, they watched Greg’s body begin to smolder from the inside out.
Rylan
Olivia stood a couple of inches away from me, mesmerized by the burning mass. I grabbed my cell phone out of my back pocket and composed a text to my best friend, Eddie.
Lycan put down on Cemetery Lane
Take samples
need 2 vehicles picked up
1 goes to junkyard & find replacement for Olivia’s Mini
sportscar gets stored-sweep it, get me intel
be discrete, just me
and drop Drake at home
thanks
By the time I hit ‘send,’ nothing remained of Greg but a mound of ash, teeth, and claws.
Livy turned around and held onto my waist. What should I do? What could I do but hug her back, let her know I was here? I relished how her body felt this close to mine. There were a ton of memories for her here. That one night had to be traumatizing. After tonight, she’d need time to heal all over again. I hoped it would be easier.
My wolf paced. He didn’t like the way she smelled. Something about the smells. I only sniffed Drake, myself, and Greg on her. I told Wolf to calm down. I’d already let him out for run after I left the party and he’d enjoyed a rabbit dinner. Right now, I had to concentrate on her.
“I’m sorry we had to shoot that bastard. Didn’t want to take any chances that he’d somehow rejuvenate.” I murmured against the side of Livy’s head, recalling some of the incredibly fast recoveries of shifters I’d witnessed over time.
Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters Collection Page 120