Animal Heart (Beast & Beauty)

by M, Jessie

  “Aden, my love... I've never, ever...” She couldn't finish her sentence because tears began rolling down her face and her throat was so tight with emotion that it took her breath away. She couldn't even think of the right words to describe her feelings.

  “Oh God, I love you,” he said with deep feeling as his mouth descended on hers, and his body began to spasm furiously as well. He gulped against her neck over and over.

  She let out the most enormous sigh of satisfaction, her whole chest heaving with it.

  “Tired yet, baby?” he asked with a none too subtle yawn.

  “Absolutely fucking exhausted and spent,” she yawned back.

  He chuckled against the skin of her neck and kissed her ear.

  Then they both fell instantly asleep, locked together, hot and sweaty, and completely saturated in love.

  Chapter 9

  They sat in Lucas' room, mid morning, Shane, Lucas, Cal, and himself. They all looked like absolute shit and probably felt like it too. She-wolves had a lot to answer for, and judging by Cal's bloodshot eyes, alcohol did too.

  “What I'm about to tell you goes no further. Understood?” Aden said, looking at their curious and expectant faces. They all gave their agreement, nodding and muttering.

  “It appears Maddy's a shifter.”

  “You're kidding me, man!” Cal exclaimed loudly.

  “I don't joke about things like that Cal, believe me. And the thing is… I don't know what it means. For her, and for us, the pack.”

  “Well I know some...” Cal said with a deep sigh. “Jeez and fuck man.” He lit a cigarette and started puffing at it ferociously as if he didn't know where to start...

  “So, come on, tell us,” Aden urged impatiently with a splutter as the smoke wafted into his nostrils.

  “They're spirited wolf-folk,” Cal revealed, a touch mysteriously.

  “As in how? Super strong, badly behaved, what?” Shane probed.

  “No, as in they can leave their bodies and travel,” Cal explained, taking a long draw.

  “You have got to be joking?” Lucas asked incredulously, his eyes wide with the obvious potential danger.

  “Look at this fucking face... Is it laughing?” Cal replied seriously.

  “So what happens when they... err, travel?” Aden asked.

  “They rip everything in their path to shreds,” he said coolly.

  “Are you telling me that there's no physical way to contain their full moon spirit?” Aden asked in horror.

  “That's exactly what I'm saying. The only plus is that they won't harm their own kind. But any human is meat, pure and simple man... Jus' meat.”

  “What about drugs, sedatives...?” Aden suggested.

  “You know drugs have no effect on werewolves at full moon. Life would be nice and simple for us if we could knock ourselves out, wouldn't it? Shifters are no different in that respect.”

  “So do we need to take her far away from here, somewhere she can't do any major damage?”

  “She's a werewolf spirit. She needs to find what she seeks. Time, space, and bonds mean nothin' at all. They're merciless. She'll kill tonight Aden. I'm sorry.”

  “How d'you know this?”

  “I've come across one of her kind. His name was Liam. He was a quiet and wholesome guy at heart, but his wolf was a fiend... No, make that a demon. And he always ate the head of his kill. Every last fucking piece, except the skull.”

  They all shuddered at the thought.

  “But Cal, the little I know is different. I heard they each had special abilities. I've never heard anything about them being unstoppable killing machines. Are you sure they're all like this?” Aden demanded with desperation sounding in his voice.

  “Well no. I've only ever met the fuckin' one, aint I?”

  “Then it could be different for her, couldn't it?”

  “It sure could. But how the hell do we know?”

  “We don't. We can only hope can't we? Look, we can't tell her anything. She's in hell at the moment. Her parents are dead, it's her first full moon, and she's more than scared about it all,” Aden implored.

  “Hey, I ain't tellin' the 'lil lady nothin'. She's a doll and I'm a peaceful lovin' kinda guy,” Cal carried on. “But I tell 'ya one other 'lil thing I knows, purely based on Liam, if she senses any ill will or danger to her kind, she'll wipe 'em out. I wouldn't be at all surprised if your Mayor and his roly-poly wife were dinner tonight.”

  “Well I can't say I'd be sorry to be rid of Bill and Philomena Stevens... But to be honest, I don't want them dead! They're just pains in the ass. What if we go to Calgary or deep in the forest? Will they be safe?”

  “You ain't listenin' man! She don't know about distance. They could be in London, Moscow, or Cairo. She'll get 'em. Mark my words. If she's like killer Liam. But she could be Mother fucking Theresa for all I know... And I don't know, do I? The only way we'll know for sure is to wait and look at the fallout tomorrow, because none of us are gonna be watching her, are we?”

  Maddy sat in the truck, between their guest, big biker Cal, and Aden, feeling strangely relaxed and calm. She couldn't understand why the rest of them were so jittery. She had seen them concentrating hard, furrowing their brows deeply, and keeping back their urges to transform. Whatever being a shifter meant, it had positive aspects to it. She had no difficult issues with the moon cycles. At least, not yet.

  On the other hand, it might be better if she did. It'd stop her from dwelling on things. Her parents mainly. She kept remembering painful little things about them. The way her mother took ages to apply her mascara and picked at her lashes with a pin to separate them. How her father lined his books in perfect size order on his bookshelf. Her mother's perfect pastry, she prided herself on that. No one could make pies like her mother. Shane and Aden would have loved her cherry pie and other silly little things. Like the special way she folded the towels in the bathroom. They curled over the towel hoop like cute little tulips. Her father's immaculate stripes on the front lawn. How he loved his scotch on the rocks and listening to his ghastly German brass band symphonies full blast. Those odd little things made them who they are. Or were. She felt their loss so badly. It hit her like a heavyweight punch in the gut. She suddenly burst into tears and didn't seem able to stop. Aden patted her leg lovingly and handed her a handful of tissues, as she bawled her eyes out and snuffled for the umpteenth time.

  “Hey Maddy love. I'm so sorry for your pain. But I'll tell 'ya this. It'll pass, and ya'll remember the best things. Lost one of mine in the same way. A good few years back now. My pa was a big part of my life. Didn't think I'd ever get over it.” Cal gave her a quick hug that damn near squeezed every ounce of breath from her body.

  “I know, I know... It's gonna take time. But I can't stop my tears. I fill up the minute I think about them.”

  “Yeah. It's hard. Losin' both 'ya folks like that, honey. I feel for 'ya. Have a good cry, it'll help.”

  She gradually quieted down and tried to think of other things. Anything, to take away the hurt.

  They pulled into Ted's bar and they all piled out. Aden went in first. She'd noticed that already. He tended to lead the pack wherever they went.

  Ted, the owner, called out in greeting.

  “Hey... Guys!”

  “Hiya Ted... Run a tab will you. I'll pick it up in a few days.”

  “Yeah, I know... the usual three days of boozin' and you pay me in full. My lady says she often sees ya'll going back to the ranch in the mornings, where the hell do 'ya sleep at night, eh?”

  “We sleep it off in cheap rooms,” Aden replied cheekily.

  “We ain't got any cheap rooms in Heart... I bet you crash in that truck of yours, dontcha?”

  “What, that old crate? We've got much nicer places to stay, don't we guys? Deluxe rented rooms...”

  They all replied with a resounding laugh.

  After a few drinks and even a few more, Maddy was feeling happy. She still had no urge to change at all. She notic
ed a few patches of fur and orange eyes amongst their pack. In fact Jamie had a snout forming at one stage. Thankfully there weren't any others in the bar. It was early, before sundown. Ted was pre-occupied, serving and clearing up, so he wasn't aware of anything amiss, or extraordinary occurring within his clientele.

  Aden rounded them up at seven. The sun would be setting soon. They all piled back into the truck in good humor, a little trashed, and set off. They approached the yard, literally two minutes outside of town, and prepared to get out. As they pulled into the front of it, they all stared in horror. Suddenly, they became very sober. There was no yard. The fences had gone. The containers had gone. All that was left was their winter ski gear, sleds, and some fodder abandoned on the concrete before them. A large crudely painted sign sat on top that read, “Legal Seizure”.

  A piece of paper was pinned to the sign, fluttering in the breeze. Aden got out of the truck and stalked across to it. He plucked it from its nail, read it, and brought it back, shoving it in her hand, with a grim expression.

  “All containers removed by order of Mayor W. Stevens, in collaboration with RCMP - K Division, Sergeant P. Stevens – Subject to forensic investigation for illegal contraband including possible live animal trafficking.”

  “Those stupid fucking people,” he spat out to the others. “They've confiscated all our containers to get forensic evidence!”

  “Shit Ade, what the hell are we gonna do?” Shane asked him with panic in his voice.

  “Chain ourselves to a tree. That's what I've done before,” Cal suggested. “Never had a problem yet.”

  “That's probably all we can do,” Aden agreed. “But unfortunately it's getting late and we don't have any chain.”

  “I'll go get some from town,” Ben suggested.

  Aden grabbed his arm.

  “Look at the sun... There's no time. We need to get away from here fucking fast.”

  The sun was waning rapidly and time was so precious.

  Maddy could see orange eyes beginning to glow all around her. She assumed hers were too, but of course she didn't know. She still felt calm. She couldn't understand it. Surely she should feel strange, nervous... something different? She stared at the sun. It was so low it would be gone in ten minutes.

  “Let's go,” Aden said in a loud urgent voice. They all piled back on board and he drove like a mad demon, off towards town for a few hundred yards, and then hurtling right, up the mountainside, along a small dirt track, between the trees.

  “No one lives up this way. We'll be out of earshot at least,” he explained.

  Five minutes later he pulled up at a large clearing in the trees. They jumped out and spread out around the clearing as darkness descended.

  Then it started… The transformation began to take them over…

  For a minute or two she sat in the truck, staring at the beautiful full moon, which she had always loved to look at before. How she hated it now. She prayed to God with all her heart that they would survive this night.

  The half-human howling, shrieking sounds they were making caused her hair to stand on end all over her body. Bravely, she left the truck, in her human form, and grabbing a flashlight, she walked around the clearing looking at them all, one by one. She was mesmerised by their emerging ferocity. Their eyes were evil, orange and harsh, nothing like the normal wolf transformation at all. Their claws were slashing wildly and blindly around their half-changed forms. Aden was no longer the Aden she knew. Mia was not Mia. Shane was not Shane. She could see nothing of her new family inside them. Nothing at all.

  A long ear piercing howl filled the air ahead and Lucas stood up, taking a few long strides, moving straight towards her. She started to run, back to the truck in terror, but it was too far... How completely fucking stupid of her... She turned to face him, armed literally with only a flashlight.

  “Leave me alone, you bastard...” she screamed loudly as she shifted into her wolf form, her clothes ripping and falling off her, as she prepared to fight the savage creature that was almost upon her, baring its massive fangs. She braced herself for the fight, but to her astonishment, he swerved and shot straight past her, ignoring her completely, bounding off to do his evil in the night. She jumped up on the back of the truck and stood high on the roof, waiting nervously to see what would happen next. Would the pack attack each other... or try to kill her? One she-wolf couldn't contain a raging pack of a dozen others. She knew her limitations. She was ready to leap down and fly like the wind if one of them made a move towards her.

  Suddenly Aden's wolf form came out of the darkness towards her, menacing, wild and huge, his long legs carrying him fast towards the lights of the town, already twinkling below them. He belted past her, unconcerned or unseeing of her presence. The next wolf ran and then the rest of them swarmed past the truck, setting off together. It was a horrific scene. A howling, baying, deadly pack of orange-eyed monsters, snarling, growling, and full of lethal slashing claws and long sharp bared teeth. Only one good thing was evident, they didn't seem to be intent on killing each other, at least not yet.

  Her mind was full of horror at what was being unleashed on Heart this night. They would rampage and kill. Dozens of the innocent townsfolk, their little children, beloved pets...

  She couldn't allow it.

  How she could stop this impending carnage, she had no idea, but she could at least try. She set off after them, fast.

  She flew like the wind. As fast as she ever had.

  She saw the last one of them far ahead, Jamie, crossing the railway track and heading off into the trees behind the main street buildings. She desperately needed speed, and pushed herself hard. Soon she was there right behind him.

  What the hell could she do now? She growled at him, trying not to think of the danger she was in...'Stop right there, you devil!'... And to her astonishment he did, skidding to a halt and turning to face her with his orange eyes burning a hole in her head. He made no attempt to attack her, he just stood and stared, evilly, with a low growling noise emerging from his throat, as if he wanted to strike at her, but somehow he was held back by an invisible barrier. They faced each other for a few seconds.

  “For God's sake, just go to sleep or something...” she growled in pointless desperation, and he closed his eyes and immediately sunk to the ground and slumbered at her feet. Her mind swam for a moment. How could this be? But she didn't have time to think about it, there were a lot more of them out there. One sleeping werewolf was not a victory by any stretch of the imagination.

  She took off as quickly as she could, looking for the others. She felt it was a hopeless task. How could she ever hope to track down and stop eleven other werewolves before they ravaged Heart? She stayed central, in the main part of town, hiding behind cars, in the shadows. It was quiet, only a few vehicles were coming down the main street. She saw a set of orange eyes approaching her from a side alleyway. She moved towards them, it was Mia.

  Maddy growled at her. 'Sit'. And she sat. She walked around Mia in amazement as she growled at her threateningly. How could she do this? Make a full moon killer werewolf obey her against their will? 'Lay on your back', she commanded with a snarl. Mia flipped on her back, her claws slashing wildly in the air. 'Hide and sit quietly', she ordered, and Mia scampered off, back up the alleyway, growling in complaint at being denied her murdering pleasures.

  So many left to find...

  She trailed up and down the street, hiding her form from the few people she saw and looking desperately for any sign of another werewolf. She heard a scream, far off, and then another close by. A very loud, piercing scream. She made towards the source of it quickly. He ears picking up the signs of a fierce struggle. As she rounded the corner, a large house stood before her and there she found Verity, her small white nose identifying her quickly. She had their favorite sergeant beneath her on the driveway, and before Maddy could utter a word to stop her, she ripped her throat out, violently. Philomena's eyes dimmed and she died almost instantly, as blood spur
ted from the massive, gaping wound in her neck. She shifted into her human form and rushed naked to her side.

  “Verity, no... No more killing. Oh God... Tell me how to stop all this?” she screamed in horror, holding the poor woman's hand. The wild little she-wolf looked at her with devil-made eyes. To her amazement, she spoke human words, guttural and deep...

  “Cross of fire, water and earth, a holy union will end the moon's curse.”

  “Go hide, sit quietly somewhere,” she ordered. She was sickened, overwhelmed, and also confused by the brutal and strange events that had just occurred.

  Talking werewolves? Am I losing my fucking mind?

  Verity bounded off growling and snarling against her will, up the path behind the house, which Maddy assumed was the Stevens' home.

  Maddy sat at the dead sergeant's side in miserable defeat.

  “I'm so sorry...” she said to her lifeless body as tears flowed down her face. “She didn't know. She would never have done this.”

  A minute or two later the mayor's large and expensive Cadillac Escalade turned up the driveway. She shifted and slunk away into the darkness nearby. His headlights shone on his wife, lying on the ground, lifeless in a pool a blood. She wanted to speak, to console him. But how could she, what the fuck could she say? Not that she would, having no clothes to wear in her human form. He approached with a wail of horror and disbelief, throwing himself on his dead wife's body. “Philly... Oh no, not my Philly... Who would have done this...? No, no, no... Not my lovely wife...”

  Being at a violent murder scene wasn't a particularly good idea. Wolf or human... she needed to go.

  She turned and sidled off quickly, leaving the scene, saddened and distraught. At that moment, Aden's wolf approached the mayor from across the street, stalking him from the rear. His snarling, drooling, angry jaws about to rip him to pieces.

  'Go hide and sit,' she commanded with a glare, and he turned with a deep growl of resentment, leaving the scene quickly, and pounding away down the side street opposite with his long-legged strides.