A Bride For a Werewolf

by Rachel E Rice

  Stepping into the house, Harper walked around staring at the emptiness of his large home. It was full of furniture and things that was supposed to make a house look full. Chandeliers in each room bring lights where there is darkness. Heavy drapes to keep out the sun, or moonlight.

  He searched around for someone. Anyone. But it was Emily he sought to find. It was only Emily that stirred his heart and made his body quake with need.

  Everyone had gone to bed. It was eleven p.m. and the staff were asleep.

  The staff well over sixty years, but they might have been maybe seventy. He never took time to ask. They had always looked old to Harper. Anyone over thirty and had any signs of grey hair were old to a twenty-two year old man who is now a werewolf.

  Marching into Emily’s room, on the first floor near the entrance to the kitchen, he wore purpose and determination on his face. He had made up his mind. He wouldn’t be put off by her. When he married her, didn’t that show he was sincere? What did he have to do to convince her that he had changed his mind and now he was ready to confess to her about the werewolf thing?

  It isn’t just a thing. It’s a big deal. She would have to give up a lot. What woman wants to give up her life to live with a man who roams the woods hunting and killing his food night after night, day after day, and month after month, he thought. And oh, the need, fueling his insatiable desire for sex from his mate.

  He could make her happy if she overlooked those things. And then there’s the matter of being able to enter her. Was she up to the task? He didn’t know, but he needed to find out.

  He’s married to Emily, and for Christ sake, he hadn’t had sex since he became a werewolf and after he met Elisabeth. He didn’t want to think about it. It had been a long time and now he was ravenous with need.

  Harper thought about appealing to her that she was his wife, and that he needed her. He wouldn’t take no. She should come with him tomorrow, but tomorrow there would be the problem of the full moon.

  It would have to be Emily. He didn’t want any other female. Human, werewolf, or were-cat. He desired Emily. If what Angela had said was true about mating during the first sign of the full moon, his time was running out.

  He would beg her if he had to. He knew now that he couldn’t do without her. “Emily. Emily,” he called out to her. Seeing a light in the bathroom and hearing the shower, he opened the door.

  “Who are you?” Harper said in surprise.

  “I’m the new maid.” A woman with a pleasant face, middle age heavy set with her hair in a bun was on her knees scrubbing the bath tub. She glanced up at Harper with a smile.

  “What are you doing cleaning this time of night?”

  “Well, sir. I wanted to get caught up with my work. This is such a large house and there are three floors with only two maids.” He had never thought of that. Lately he was consumed with this werewolf thing and what it was doing physically to him.

  “I’ll see that you have more help,” he said not thinking about anyone but Emily. “Where is Mrs. Samsa?”

  “She brought her things up to your room,” The maid said after stopping her cleaning. Harper titled his head. Well, she changed her mind, he thought. Now all he had to do was apologize and confess. Confession is good for the soul. He knew he heard that somewhere and it became most appropriate for now. He gave the maid a closed smile and he exhaled.

  “How did you learn about my wife?”

  “I heard the staff talking and they seemed happy about it. About her sleeping with you. They seem to think there could be some little ones soon,” The maid said as her eyes brightened. “That would be wonderful to have babies around.”

  Harper thought so too.

  “Thank you, and I’ll see that you get more help.” Harper left and on his way up the stairs his phone rang.

  “Yes.”

  “Harper, this is Michael.”

  “Yes. I know. But I thought you would be in bed with your wife at this time.”

  “I would if it wasn’t for you. She got tired of me getting up in the middle of the night and rushing out of the house. By the way, how are you and your wife?” It was a taunt, but Harper knew he deserved it. Michael was like a father to him, and Michael had given him good advice, warning him about his firm position of not wanting to marry a virgin.

  “I’m going up the stairs to our room.” He sound happy and Michael hated to tell him.

  “Harper, she’s not there.”

  “What do you mean?” He stopped in his tracks and then continued walking because he had to see for himself. He opened the door and as Michael had said, the room was dark but it was easy for him to see and smell. Emily’s scent was faint. She had been and gone.

  “Where is she? I assumed you called to tell me she has left me.”

  “On the contrary. She took off for that town you just named as Samsaville. I hear you have big plans for it. If you had called me or your wife, you would know she left to be with you. ”

  “It’s crawling with werewolves and shifters,” Harper’s voice raised in a panic. “Not to mention men who are depraved and dangerous.” Harper turned around and bounded down the stairs. He didn’t know how he got to the foot of the stairs so quickly. “I have to go, Michael. I have to get back to Samsaville before the first full moon.”

  “What’s going to happen with the first full moon?” There was a pause from Harper. “Tell me Harper. I have a right to know.”

  “Either I will lose her or she will lose me. I can’t let that happen. I have to mate with her on the first full moon. That’s the only thing that will bind our relationship. I have to go. I’ll call you when I get there.”

  Harper rushed outside and jumped into his truck, started the motor, and zoomed out of the garage and into the street.

  With his mind full with the thought of some wild werewolf searching around and finding Emily, then claiming what he had refused, her virginity, in his mind this was unbearable. And now he blamed himself. He would never get over it unless he killed the werewolf or human who would claim what was his.

  The thought paralyzed him, but he continued driving and only focusing on what he could control. Is that what he had become, a vengeful animal who kills and lives to commit fornication with any and every female during the full moon?

  He would rather die than have to live like that. He would have a family and it will be with Emily. Only she could save him, he thought.

  About two hours out of San Francisco, heading east, the light flashed on the dashed board. When he glanced down, it was the gas gage. The truck was out of gas. He hit the wheel with both hands in frustration almost tearing it from the steering column. The truck coast to the side of the road. He had two hundred miles to go.

  Could he make it in time he wondered.

  Now was the time to test his metal. What was he made of, steel or iron? For all the nights he jogged around the city, muscles had built in his legs, and they were powerful now. And it was now he needed to test that part of him. Could he run as fast as a race horse?

  He reached in the back seat and retrieved his extra clothing in a bag and placed it down. Then he concentrated and shift. His bones cracked as he went from a man, to something resembling a man with thick dark hair over his body, to a white wolf standing on all fours. In a matter of seconds the change was complete.

  He had finally learned how to shift quickly and he felt proud of himself. He took off in a sprint through the forest headed east. He would get there early. Tomorrow was the first moon. His only worry was Emily. As he tore through trees and past a few farms along the way, he felt he had gained ground and he could tell he was almost to Samsaville.

  One hundred miles and he hadn’t broken a sweat. Harper stopped. Hunger had taken control. He felt weak. A pain hit him, he grabbed his stomach, and bent forward.

  Harper didn’t have time to stalk a deer and there were no streams for fish he could smell or see. He knew he would have to catch something. Something wild and small, but he didn’t have the
time it would take to stalk a rabbit. They can be just as fast and elusive as deer.

  Turning around and smelling the air, he eyed a large farm. There are dairy cows. He didn’t like domesticated animals only because he didn’t enjoy killing an animal that stands there and let itself be killed. He wanted a hunt. The wolf in him loved the hunt. The fight that large animals like an elk or moose put up gave him the rush he was looking to satisfy his wolf instincts.

  With the month changing, and the moon soon to be full, and the need to have the strength to make it to Samsaville for Emily, Harper gained an urgent purpose. If he would ever have the family he desired with the woman he desired, now was the time to put away such benevolent thoughts and kill his food.

  Reluctantly he stalked around the pasture, and then he saw a herd of cows sleeping. He didn’t have time to choose carefully. He didn’t want a heifer or her calf, he didn’t believe in killing the females or young. It would have to be the male.

  Circling the sleeping cows, and hiding behind a tree he didn’t expect what happened next. He expected one bull but not two. But his hunger and physical weakness drove him to the herd.

  As the cows sensed a threat, they stood and began bellowing with their tails tucked low.

  When Harper looked around, the yearling bull had his head low and his hair standing on his back. Smelling and hearing the cows, both bulls began shaking their heads and pawing their feet. The older bull horned the ground, but the young bull charged in Harper’s direction at rapid speed.

  Harper knew the animal ways, and he understood instinctively that this wasn’t a fight he didn’t want or need. He dashed across the pasture just ahead of the angry young bull. His protection was behind a large fence. If he could get there in time, he would be ok, he thought. He knew one gore from the bull would be the end of him.

  Reaching the fence he knew now he could make it. He bounded on two legs and over he went. But he had a weak landing on his four legs. It was time to change but he didn’t have the energy needed to become a man again. He was in limbo. Half man and half wolf. Crawling along on the ground out of breath, and out of hope of reaching Emily before another werewolf came across her and forced her to mate with him, he summoned what little strength he had left and stood.

  Now what, he thought. He didn’t have any strength to continue. Then he looked across the meadow and behind a tree stood three horses.

  He crept close behind them trying to stay out of their wind. If they smelled him they would bolt and all hope would be lost.

  Two older horses neighed and then took off across the pasture. But the large black colt was young and inexperienced. He watched at Harper with a curious eye. Harper got close enough to rub his nose and let him get his scent. And still the horse didn’t move.

  Harper grabbed a hold of his mane and swung himself on the back of the colt and took off with him over the fence and into a wooded path away from the farm and headed east.

  With Harper riding the young steed for his life, Emily’s life was beginning to change, and it wouldn’t be for the best.

  Chapter Twenty

  When Emily took Angela’s invitation to spend the night at her place she didn’t expect much. She had seen and lived in worst places with her father and it didn’t surprise her that she slept on the floor of a two room shack in the middle of the woods. But Angela had taken her in and she didn’t see why she should invade her privacy by asking why she stayed in such a remote place.

  Emily woke, but Angela had been out and killed her breakfast. Angela knew the ways of humans, and she tried to make her feel comfortable even if Emily slept the night on the floor. Angela walked into the room carrying a tray from the bar. She had a smile on her face showing dazzling white teeth.

  “Did you sleep well last night? Here, I cooked you something.”

  She handed Emily a plate with a half cooked piece of meat she didn’t know or wanted to ask what it was, but she had berries and an apple on the plate.

  Taking the plate, Angela watched at Emily, and when Emily ate everything on it, Angela felt good. “Do you want to come with me to the club? Nero didn’t come back last night.”

  “Does he do that often?” Emily inquired.

  “Sometimes. He’s out hunting.”

  “I wouldn’t let Harper go out hunting without me,” Emily said in her naïve manner. Her voice sounding like a newlywed. Wanting to be with her man every day. “I would go with him.”

  “But you can’t hunt with him. He’s a werewolf silly.”

  “A what?” Emily choked on the piece of half-eaten apple.

  “A werewolf. Oh shit.” Angela’s hand flew to her mouth as if a bee flew in it. “Didn’t he tell you? I can’t believe he didn’t tell you.” She scratched her head and blinked her eyes.

  “What was he supposed to tell me that he didn’t?” Emily said watching at Angela search for words.

  “It’s not my place to say. You have to ask him,” Angela’s voice odd and impatient. She walked to the closet and pulled out her only black leather jacket, putting it over a black shirt. Her pants black, skin tight, fit her like skin.

  “Do you want to come with me to open the bar, or stay here until Harper comes back?”

  “I want to go with you of course. I’m afraid to stay here alone. There isn’t anything out there but trees and more trees. I’m a city girl, and I don’t believe in werewolves. But I’m keeping an open mind. And Yes, I want to go with you,” she said her eyes wide looking out at the thick forest behind Angela’s house.

  Angela and Emily hopped into Emily’s Range Rover parked near Angela’s red rust colored jeep. It took ten minutes to pull up in front of the Rusty Nail.

  When Angela opened the car door she raised her head and glanced around. Walking to the driver side she open the door and said to Emily. “Stay in here, I smell something strange.”

  “I don’t smell anything.”

  “You wouldn’t because I’m a were-panther. I can see and smell better than you. You’re a human.”

  “I thought you were human too,” Emily said.

  “I’ll tell you about that later,” Angela said to Emily as she stooped and strode around the side of the building. She disappeared and Emily didn’t see her. She decided to climb out against Angela’s demands.

  As she came near the far side of the building, she heard a loud roar. She had to wipe her eyes to be sure of what she was seeing. It was a large panther and mountain lion rolling and biting and clawing at each other.

  When the mountain lion caught sight of Emily she rushed in Emily’s direction and Emily made a mad dash for the truck. She pulled and pulled and finally it open just as the mountain lion jumped on the hood. Then the panther hopped up and grabbed the mountain lion with her large teeth and pulled her from the hood of the car.

  They were pawing and biting each other and trying to scratch at each other. The panther had the advantage because of how large it was, but the mountain lion was more agile as it rolled and jumped on the panther’s back and then away from her sharp teeth and claws.

  Emily watched in disbelief wondering if the cats had attacked Angela and she was lying dead behind the bar. Emily sat and screamed and then a man walked from behind the bar. He had only a pair of jeans on. His chest wide and arms muscular. He walked up to the two animals and held them by the scruff of their necks pulling them apart.

  “Stop it. Stop it now,” he said to them as if they were his house pets and they had a misunderstanding, and they were fighting to see who would sleep in the master’s bed. Which wasn’t far from the truth.

  When he dropped them on their feet, they changed into two females, one tall with dark hair and the other with brown hair and shorter. They were both shapely as they stood in the nude. And one of them was Angela.

  “What the fuck is going on with you two?” Nero said his voice sounding harsh and irritated.

  “Nero. I thought you said we were exclusive to each other. You promised me that you weren’t going to be with any
one else. Tonight is the full moon and here you are with this bitch after you said you were out hunting.”

  “Go. I have to talk to Angela,” Nero said pushing the mountain lion. She stalked away. Then glanced back. But before she left she came running back and made one large swipe across Nero’s face. When Angela went after her Nero stopped her. “Let her go. I’m the one to blame. Can you forgive me?”

  When Nero turned to kiss a naked Angela, he saw Emily looking at him. His eyes grew wide. “She’s not supposed to see this. She’s a human and she has to be killed.”

  “You can’t do that. She’s Harper’s wife.”

  “But why is she looking at me with such fright in her eyes?”

  “Because Harper never told her what we are.”

  “Get her out of that truck and bring her inside. You have to put some clothes on. I feel as if I could fuck you here. The way you look to me. And you fought that were-cat for me,” Nero said with a smile. He seemed pleased.

  “She could have killed me,” Angela said. He put his arm around her.

  “Well she didn’t.” He gave her a kiss and walked up the stairs and opened the locked door and left Angela to explain everything to Emily.

  “Emily open the door,” Angela said pulling on the car handle.

  “No. You’re going to hurt me.”

  “I’m not going to hurt you. It was what I was trying to tell you and you didn’t want to believe me. There are werewolves and were-cats in this area.”

  “You mean that Harper would bring me to a place where I could get killed and eaten by large animals which turn into people and then turn back to animals? I can’t believe he would do that.”

  “I’m not going to eat you. We don’t eat people. We are half human ourselves. Now open the door and come in. It’s getting cold outside. Come in near the fire.”

  “You have nothing on and you’re not cold?” Angela said.

  “I’m different.”

  “I’d say you are. I hope you are telling me the truth.”

  “If I wanted to do you something to you, I could have done it when you were asleep.” She heard the door click and Emily opened the door and cautiously stepped out.