by Natavia
“He saw us making love, Elle,” Camille said.
“She remembers? Damn, bro, you must have given her some good wolf loving,” Dayo said then I growled at him.
“I’m going to take her in the room and let you all talk,” Anik said. She picked Camille up then walked up the stairs with her; even the female wolves were strong.
Dayo and Goon stared at me. “I’m not going to lie, bro, that’s some weird shit right there. I thought maybe she was just a fling but you found her after all of these years. I’m surprised she is still living,” Goon said.
“Don’t say nothing, Dayo! Not a damn word,” I warned him because I heard his thoughts after Goon said he was surprised Camille was still living.
Izra came down the stairs. “Can someone tell me why Anik is carrying a dead woman? What type of shit is going on? Goon isn’t practicing waking up the dead, is he?” Izra asked us.
Dayo pushed Izra. “Have some respect for Elle’s mate,” Dayo warned Izra. Izra laughed.
“This nigga actually said a joke that was funny.”
“Bro, he’s serious. She is human and she aged,” Goon told Izra then Izra laughed even harder.
“Y’all smoked weed and didn’t invite me? I could’ve pulled my dick out of Adika for twenty minutes.”
“I’m ready to put this muthafucka’s back in the wall,” Goon said then Izra stopped laughing.
“Wait a minute, bro, seriously?” Izra asked.
“Yes, damn, does your brain ever work?” I asked him then walked into the kitchen to get a drink, as they followed behind me. Amadi came from the basement yawning.
“What’s with all the noise?” Amadi asked.
“Long story,” I said. I pulled out my cognac then passed it around so they could pour it into their glasses.
“Y’all woke me up so I’m down to listen,” Amadi said. I told my pack brothers everything from the very first time I met Camille, up until when Anik and I went back to get her from her home.
“I need another drink,” Izra said reaching for the cognac.
Kanya came down the stairs. “Goon, honey, I’ve been waiting for you to come back to bed,” she said then nibbled on his ear. He grabbed her bottom through her silk robe, squeezing it firmly.
“I will be there, beautiful. Run the bath water and I will meet you in there,” he said to her. She kissed his lips then said goodnight to us before she went back upstairs.
Goon looked at us angrily. “How dare y’all stare at my mate’s ass like that,” he said then we laughed.
“Excuse me, bro, but you just gripped that muthafucka and it spilled out from the side,” Izra said. Goon chuckled.
“And I’m about to go and make her howl and splash all the water out of the tub,” Goon said as he stood up.
“We can’t talk about pussy around Elle and Amadi. Neither one of them niggas are getting it,” Dayo said.
“I may not have the pleasure of entering her yet, but I have tasted the juicy, ripe fruit,” Amadi said. Izra gave Amadi dap.
“My fucking brother,” Izra said.
“Elle’s pussy expired,” Dayo blurted out. Izra held his laugh in but it ended up slipping out. Amadi tried to keep a straight face but he couldn’t.
“Fuck all of you,” I said which caused them all to laugh even harder.
“Take a joke, bro, damn. We talk about each other’s mates all the time. Jalesa disappears like a crackhead because one minute you see her and the next she done teleported,” Izra said. Dayo laughed until he had tears in his eyes.
“What do you think she stole, Izra?” Dayo asked.
“Amadi’s manhood because I’m not eating pussy without filling her up with my inches,” Izra said then the both of them fell out laughing.
“This is what happens when a beast is born without a brain,” Amadi said.
“Real talk, though, Elle. Why do you hate that we speak like humans but you are in love with one?” Izra said.
“Nigga, did you see that lil’ old woman? She doesn’t understand the human language now, either,” Dayo said.
“I’m going to bed before I shift and bite the both of those jackasses,” Amadi said then left the kitchen. Dayo and Izra both went back upstairs for bed.
Kofi came into the kitchen with his robe on. “What’s going on? Nothing has changed, I see. You all still like to keep a beast from sleeping at night. I heard Dayo and Izra from all the way upstairs and down the hall. Do those two ever sleep?” Kofi asked.
“I suppose not. How does it feel to be back home?” I asked him.
“It feels different with the females in the house, especially that little one, Arya. I find her beast to be quite interesting. She is very observant. I miss my mate but I’m glad to be back,” he said then patted my back.
“What do you think is going to happen with you and Ammon? You went against your pack,” I said to him.
“I honestly don’t know what is to come with Ammon and his warriors. But I do know that I am to protect you all and I will do that even if it means going against Anubi. I’ve been with all of you for over a hundred years. I taught you pups how to do almost everything you know. You all became my pups and nothing will ever change,” he said.
“Ammon is still on Earth, isn’t he?” I asked him.
“According to Naobi he is, but Musaf has a shield over Ammon. We can connect to his thoughts but Naobi cannot see a vision of where he is hiding. We have to wait until the spell Musaf has on Ammon wears off. Unlike Naobi’s, Musaf’s spells are temporary because he is a very, very ancient witch. He is not strong like he was many years ago,” Kofi said. After I told Kofi about Camille he looked at me with a surprised look on his face. “Humans can’t cheat death and just know whatever happens is out of your hands,” he said to me.
After I talked to Kofi and finished my drink, I headed toward my room. Anik and Jalesa both were sitting down with Camille. They excused themselves then exited the room when they saw me. I checked on Camille and she was asleep.
*******
When I woke up the next morning, I checked on Camille. Anik was in my room giving her breakfast and a cup of my herbal tea. I slept in the guest room to give Camille her space. I checked on her all night to make sure she was breathing.
Kanya walked in with new night clothes. “I ran out to the store to get Camille some things. I’m sorry I would’ve met her last night but I kinda got tied up,” Kanya said.
“You have a nice family, Elle,” Camille said weakly. After Kanya and Anik left out of the room, it was just Camille and I.
“I need a bath,” Camille said.
“I can get one of the females to help you,” I said to her.
“I’m still the same woman, Elle. It might look different but you’ve seen me naked before. You treat me like I’m your great-grandmother,” she said as she sat up. She slowly got out of the bed then I carried her to the bathroom. I sat her on the toilet seat then ran her bath water. I dropped a little oil inside the tub along with bath salts. When Camille took her clothes off she was nothing but old skin and bones. I could see her ribs and her breasts were like dried raisins but I still loved her. I helped her into the tub. She leaned her head back. “This feels good. Arthritis is a pain in the ass,” Camille said.
“You don’t have to be this way,” I said to her as I watched her from the doorway.
“Maybe one the witches can help her, I thought to myself.
“What are you going to do? Bite me and turn me?” Camille asked me.
“I wish it was that simple but we cannot turn humans into wolves,” I said.
“I know,” she responded. “I don’t mind death, but if there is a way for me to escape it to be with you again, I will. Help me wash my back then afterwards I want you to take me outside into the woods by the lake. I want to see the beast I have been dreaming about since the day I met you,” she said.
*******
My beast crept up on a deer then tackled it. My jaws clamped down on the deer’s throat.
I cut off its air supply to suffocate it. Once the deer stopped breathing, I tore into it. My beast savagely ripped the deer apart.
“Oh, my heavens,” Camille said then coughed. She sat on a blanket with her back against the tree. She wanted a flower behind her ear. It took me back to our dates by the lake. She used to watch me kill and rip my meal apart without an ounce of fear. I knew then that she accepted my beast, which wasn’t likely for most humans.
“You were hungry,” she said then laughed. I licked the blood from around my snout. Camille held her hand out so that she could rub my mane. My beast lay against her body as she patted me. “This is an amazing gift you and your pack have. It’s beautiful, almost like a fairytale,” she said. Then she stared at the lake. It was a beautiful morning; the sun shined down on us and the birds chirped.
“When I die just take me back to my home. There is a number by my bed I want you to call. It’s a must that you dial that number. Tell them that I am dead and then the rest will be taken care of. The funeral home will come and get my body,” she said. We sat until the sunset and the crescent moon peaked over the cloud. I shifted back to my human form then grabbed my clothes. I got dressed behind the tree because even though Camille had seen me naked before it was no longer the same.
“Are you ready to go back?” I asked her. Her eyes were closed and the night breeze blew her thinned, gray hair back.
“Camille!” I called out to her then jogged toward her. When I kneeled down in front of her I stared at her chest. I put my hand to her throat and there was no pulse; Camille was dead.
“It’s okay, Elle,” a voice said from behind me. When I turned around it was Kofi.
“How did you find me?” I asked him.
“I heard your thoughts, so I came,” he said as he looked down at her.
“She is gone,” I said to him.
“I know,” he said. I picked up Camille then grabbed the blanket she sat on. I wrapped the blanket around her body then Kofi patted me on the back. “Now you can live freely. She is in peace and so are you. You’ve spent many years watching her, knowing that the two of you had no life with each other. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean that it’s meant to be,” he said as we walked through the woods. Kofi walked with me all the way to Camille’s house, which was over an hour away on foot.
When I got to her house I lay her down in her bed. There was a number by her telephone and I dialed it.
“Hello,” the sultry voice answered.
“Hello, my name is Elle. I’m a friend of Camille’s and—”
“She died?” the voice asked sadly.
“Yes,” I answered.
“I will be right there. Give me twenty minutes,” she said then hung up.
“She has a big family,” Kofi said as he looked at the pictures on the wall.
“I know and she was all alone,” I said. Kofi leaned against the doorway of her bedroom.
“She didn’t die alone, Elle. She died with the person she was in love with. You came into her life for a reason and that reason was for her to not die alone. We all have a purpose in someone’s life. You were her protector and that’s why you always felt the need to watch over her,” he said. I kissed Camille on the cheek then walked out of her bedroom into her living room. I sat down on the couch and thought about everything. Kofi was right. I felt more of a need to protect Camille than anything else. Kofi started to growl then his eyes changed. I stood up.
“I smell an animal,” I said to Kofi.
The door flew open and there stood an ebony woman with glowing yellow-brownish eyes. Her face was ready to grow into a snout and her sharp teeth hung over her bottom lip. She growled as her body crouched and snapped as she was ready to shift.
“What are you doing here? What do you want with a human?” she asked me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her as my neck snapped. My beast was fighting to come out, but I couldn’t risk the woman I called, seeing my beast fighting in Camille’s house when she arrived.
“I’m a friend of Camille’s, and if you don’t answer me, I will bite your damn dick off,” she said then my beast calmed.
“I talked to you over the phone,” I said to her then Kofi stopped growling.
“Are you Elle?” she asked me.
“Yeah, how do you know Camille?” I asked her. I have watched Camille over the years and have never seen her with an immortal.
“It’s a long story,” she said then walked past Elle and I. We followed her to Camille’s bedroom. The stranger sat on Camille’s bed and stared at her lifeless body. A tear fell down her face. “She was such a strong woman,” she said then kissed Camille’s cheek.
“What business does an immortal have with a human woman?” Kofi asked the stranger.
“The same business you two have with her. I don’t have to tell either one of you shit. I thank the both of you for being with her but now you two can leave. I have everything in control from here on out,” she said.
“Just who in the fuck are you talking to like that?” I asked her.
She stood up. “Is your beast challenging me? If so, we can take it there. I don’t mind fighting two male beasts. Matter of fact, I find it quite entertaining,” she said.
“Let’s just leave, Elle. We don’t take challenges from female wolves. Our breed will snap her in half,” Kofi said then walked out of the room. I took one more look at Camille then followed Kofi. The stranger growled until Kofi and I were out of the house.
“She was a straight-up bitch,” I said then Kofi looked at me.
“Such language coming from you,” he said.
“She is a female dog, and calling her a bitch is a compliment compared to the other words I have for her,” I said to him. Kofi chuckled.
“I think the younger pups are rubbing off on you,” he said referring to Dayo, Goon and Izra. Kofi and I shifted to our beast then headed toward the house. Our beast was fast; the hour and a half walk turned into fifteen minutes as we ran our way home.
Amadi
“Stop, Amadi,” Jalesa giggled as we showered. I gently bit her neck again. I pressed my body against her; she was trapped between me and the shower wall. I kissed her lips then she kissed me back. “Why won’t you take me?” Jalesa asked. Her arousal permeated the air; it almost caused my beast to come out, but I wasn’t ready.
“It’s just not the time right now,” I said to her.
“I’m giving myself to you, Amadi. What are we waiting for?” Jalesa asked me.
“I’m not trying to hurt you; I cannot control my beast during intimacy. I told you I have killed someone before,” I said to her.
“She was human and I’m not human. As soon as you bite me it will close up. I will not bleed to death,” Jalesa said then she hurriedly washed up. She opened the shower door then stepped out. I rinsed off then stepped out behind her.
“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.
“When are you going to let that woman go, Amadi? I’m living in her shadow. You are afraid to enter me when I have an arousal. I have an ache between my legs that is driving me crazy. I’m ready to give you my body now and you won’t take me,” Jalesa fussed.
“You know, for you not being with a man in this life, you act like you have been with a few,” I said. A force came like the wind, knocking me into me the bathroom shower door.
Jalesa was standing in my bedroom looking at me with anger-filled eyes then she disappeared. When she reappeared she was standing over me. “Be careful of your tongue when I’m careful with mine when I speak to you. Don’t you dare refer to me as a jezebel,” she spat. I heard the door to the basement open. Jalesa threw a towel at me, so I could cover up then she disappeared again.
“Everyone in the kitchen wanted to know if y’all were okay,” Izra said standing in the doorway. I slowly got up, winced as I stepped on the small pieces of glass.
“Are you okay, bro?” Izra asked me.
“I’m fine, and do you ever fucking knock?” I spat
at him.
“You cursing at me?” Izra asked surprised.
“My bad, I’m cool,” I said then patted his back.
“Why were your eyes about to turn then? You almost shifted, bro,” Izra said.
“Jalesa used a force that knocked me into the shower,” I told Izra.
“I just knew her weird ass was kinky. I’m going to tell Adika to try that tonight,” he said. I let out a deep breath because talking to Izra at times could be complicated.
“She was mad at me for not entering her,” I told him.
“What is wrong with you and Elle, bro? He is sad about a woman who looked like one of our mummified ancestors. Now, you are getting your ass kicked because you won’t fuck your woman? You know I thought something was wrong with Dayo but you two muthafuckas are questionable,” Izra fussed.
“I killed someone. Why don’t y’all retarded assholes understand that?” I spat. I was on the verge of losing my mind. I tried to keep my anger in but I fought with it every day. I stayed in my room on the other side of the house, making oils to meditate me.