Alien Mate

by Gloria Martin

  Across the city, a distraught Ross tried hard to remember where he had gone during his time as the creature. It wouldn’t be the first time he would have to run from a city because of similar circumstances. The town up in Maine had been much the same, which was why he went so far south. He hadn’t killed anyone there, but something just seemed to change about the air, and he felt no longer welcome. Disappearing a long way away was the best thing for him to do and one of the only other skills he had aside from photography.

  Taking out a map, he began to plan his next escape and decided he would go all the way across the country. California, maybe, if he could afford it. It was the only way he could keep the love of his life safe from the horrible impulses of his body.

  Eventually, the news died down about the dead teen and Johnny went about his business as if he had never been involved with a lying beast. The days dragged by one after the other in a haze, his own body suffering from lack of comfort and intimacy. The storm seemed to dissipate as Johnny’s emotions began to pass, the loss of Ross feeling less awful with each passing day. A few weeks had passed when he finally decided to grab a beer at a local bar, taking up darts while he listened to old rock music playing over the speakers. He ordered two shots from the bar and had the bartender, Aaron, drink with him.

  “We drink to freedom,” Johnny said as he raised his glass. “And to storms passing.”

  “That sounds pretty deep, John. You alright?” Aaron asked before shooting the liquor.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” Johnny replied while looking down at the bar. “I’ll have another beer.”

  As Aaron opened another bottle, he handed it to Johnny and said, “On the house.”

  It made Johnny smile even though he wasn’t in the mood to smile. The simple gift had made him feel better. He hadn’t even enjoyed his own volunteering at the food kitchen lately, which was a telling sign that he was incredibly depressed. Maybe I can forget about Ross by picking up somebody else, he thought while looking around the room. Within his sight wasn’t much variety, and anyway, it wasn’t like this was a gay bar where he knew the men were gay. Rolling his eyes, he chugged down the rest of his beer and then grabbed his coat to head out into the wintry night. The chilling air bit his face as he crossed the threshold which caused him to dip down into his coat and walk quickly to his car. He looked up into the night sky briefly to find a lone cloud eerily creeping across a full winter moon.

  A full moon.

  Johnny picked up his pace as he realized what night it was, thoughts of Ross flooding his mind while he sprinted to his car. The coat billowed about him and exposed his arms to the cold, the chill pinching the skin uncovered. It didn’t concern him. He was more occupied by the fright that raised the hair on his arms, caused by wondering whether Ross was still in town. They had parted as soon as Johnny had told him off, the screams still echoing in his own head. Just as he was fumbling through his coat, he heard rustling and a growl. The keys Johnny was wrestling from his pocket hit the ground and he turned with a knot stuck in his throat.

  Before him stood a great beast with glowing green eyes, its jaw hanging open and dripping with saliva. The paws of the wolf were gargantuan and had enormous black claws that glittered under the gentle light of the moon. It seemed to be studying Johnny who was frozen in place, unsure of what to do in this moment. He looked around the empty parking lot as the last alcohol from the beer he had drunk coursed through his veins – at least he might be a bit buzzed when he died. After formulating a quick plan, Johnny peeled off his college ring from his left hand and tossed it at the beast who shuddered in response. The small ring seemed to leave a burning print on its face which agitated the beast, inspiring him to lunge forward. Johnny had already picked up his keys and fallen to the ground to roll under his car to the other side where he could run into the distance.

  This turned out to be a poor decision on his part, as he realized the beast was faster on four legs. The parking lot ended just a hundred yards from his car and he ducked behind some other cars in hopes maybe the wolf would lose interest. As the creature crawled over the vehicles, it growled again and scraped its claws against the metal, the noise piercing in the cold and quiet night. Seeing an opportunity to sprint again, Johnny took a deep breath and lunged between two cars, back to his where he shoved his key into the door. Before he could unlock the vehicle, the great beast had him pinned to the ground underneath a row of sharp teeth decorated with what might have been blood in the dim light. Johnny accepted his fate and said a small prayer in order to save his soul before his last breath, then shut his eyes as the mouth came down for his head.

  *****

  The growling, fanged maw above his face was coming down slowly, elongating the time between living and dying. Another prayer came to mind for a quick death as the claws of the beast dug into his shoulders, his body collapsing beneath the weight of the filthy animal. As Johnny squeezed his eyes shut, something large barreled into the beast from the right, shoving it off his body. A quick glance revealed a black shadow about the same size that growled heavily and sank its teeth into the creature that nearly took his life. Dazed, Johnny stood to watch the primal battle between these two huge wolves, their shining teeth sinking into fur and reappearing bloodied and black. It wasn’t long before one of the beast which had attacked him collapsed to the ground, its howl fading as it passed away and shifted back into the human it used to be. As the light of the moon illuminated its face, shock ran through his body as he realized that face was a familiar one.

  His student, Mark!

  After recognizing the body, he looked around for the other beast, but was met with distant howling and the scent of a familiar cologne. It was Ross who had just saved him! This poor teenage boy who hardly had any control over his body was merely confused, incapable of controlling the beast that desperately wanted to take over. In his horrible fit, he had attacked his teacher and was then defeated by another beast, Ross, who had been trained to control these inclinations. But Ross was gone, and Johnny took pity on the boy, his youthful features glowing in the light from the full moon, the very thing that controlled his curse. A lone tear rolled out of his eye and fell to the cold pavement below, echoing in the empty lot that had once been filled with growls.

  Realizing the situation, Johnny turned to jump into his car before the police arrived. He wouldn’t be able to explain his presence other than the fact that he was at the bar. And what of evidence? He hadn’t paid with a card and nothing of his was left at the scene save for – his ring! Quickly looking around didn’t reveal the ring’s location, but panic led him to drive away before anyone noticed the dead body of his student in the parking lot.

  That night, he hardly slept, thinking of all the ways the police would break down his door in order to arrest him for being an accessory to murder. Surely they would find the ring and connect it to him. Maybe they would even show up in his classroom and arrest him in front of his students, making an embarrassing spectacle that would be spoken of perpetually as part of Reynolds High history. Mr. Christensen was a murderer who clawed up this poor little teenage boy. He was just pent up with rage over his ex-boyfriend. What a shame. What a pity. It’s always the quiet ones who have the fits, isn’t it?

  Dawn broke through the window, the sun breaking through the darkness of the nightmares haunting the disturbed teacher’s mind. Johnny woke in a fit and looked about wildly, waiting for something to come at him. His eyes focused on the figure in the far corner and relaxed when he recognized it was Ross.

  “Ross!” he cried while shaking. “You saved me!”

  For fear of alarming his lover, Ross didn’t budge from the corner of the room, but smiled in response. He held up a handkerchief and then placed it on the bed, motioning for Johnny to open it up.

  “You could have used that to your advantage, but you threw it. I’m sure it could come in handy some other time,” explained Ross while rubbing his chin. “Why did you throw it, anyway?”

  Johnny leaned
over the sheets to inspect the cloth and unwrapped it to reveal his class ring. The silver winked at him in the morning light, suddenly reminding him of the day he had graduated college. He wasn’t even sure why he still wore this thing, but now it was apparent that fate had other things in mind. Silver was a bane to werewolves, so it was no surprise that it burned Mark when it had struck his face.

  “I panicked,” Johnny said while holding the ring up to the light. “Did it hurt you to carry it? When did you even get it?”

  “I went back in the morning to retrieve it,” said Ross while looking at the ground.

  Johnny’s mouth dropped open in shock.

  “But the body!”

  Ross shook his head.

  “The body was gone when I went back and there weren’t any police. I don’t think we have anything to worry about. Some young werewolves, when they are defeated in the midst of shifting, tend to simply crumble away after death. It’s something that keeps our species safer. No body. No mess.”

  The explanation seemed far too ludicrous and Johnny pressed for another reason that the body had disappeared, insisting there must be something more to it than that. Ross shook his head and assured Johnny that it was the truth. It still didn’t settle well, but the stress was overwhelming and caused the exhausted teacher to collapse against the sheets of the bed. Ross, realizing the discomfort he had caused, flew over the edge of the bed to embrace the poor man whose heart couldn’t seem to take much more tragedy. The truth resided in the gut of the primitive beast along with the remains of the teenager whom he had gobbled up after Johnny had left the scene. There was no need for the boy to be discovered and for their ancient secret to be revealed. Even the beastly side of Ross understood this fact, but it wasn’t something he could reveal to Johnny.

  As Ross stroked the hair of his lover, he whispered words of comfort and assured him it was something supernatural that he might never understand.

  “The curse of my existence harbors many secrets,” he explained over the sound of Johnny’s tears, “and there might never be a time where it would be understood.”

  He stroked Johnny’s face.

  “Will you hide this secret for me?” Ross asked while laying kisses on the weeping teacher’s face. “Will you stay with me and help me hide this secret? I love you and your kindness is what keeps me calm and focused. Being without you is a horror I never wish to face again.”

  Still sobbing from the news, Johnny wiped the tears pouring from his eyes and nodded. There was nothing he wanted more than to be wrapped up in this reunion, the sweet embrace of the hardened man before him such a warm relief after weeks of being apart. Their hands intertwined and their lips pressed together as they cried intermittently between whispers.

  “Never leave me again,” Johnny said between kisses. “I don’t want to ever lose you. Promise me that. I will do anything to keep you.”

  “I promise I will never leave you again. There won’t be a day that passes that I won’t be at your side. Don’t ever worry about my absence unless it’s on the days of the full moon,” said Ross while cupping Johnny’s face.

  As his lips caressed the graceful skin of his partner, the sun rose higher in the sky and warmed the town from the freezing cold of the previous night. The couple was wrapped in a hot embrace as the day progressed, nothing else proving to be as important as this moment of passion. The secret would never come to light and Ross swore it would burn up in the rays of the sun as their bodies rolled into each other. They whispered their vow of love and swore themselves to the other, promising forever to keep themselves true and to keep the greatest secret ever to haunt mankind.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 38 of 40

  Heart of the Werewolf King

  I had just returned home after work, and was eating mango sorbet out of the tub while watching a movie. It was Friday evening, and I had my sweats on and was ready for a night in after a long week. However, my roommate, Jessa, had other plans. The front door of our two-bedroom apartment slammed open as she ran in excitedly, waving a sheet of folded, deep blue paper in the air.

  “Guess what?” she said breathlessly. I looked away from our tiny television and shrugged.

  “Promotion?” I guessed.

  “No.”

  “Boy toy?”

  “Nope!”

  “Free cake?”

  “No. Jeez, Kat. I got the password to Club Walpurgis!” She squealed in excitement as I groaned.

  “I have plans, Jess,” I said, gesturing to the television.

  “With?”

  “Myself, my sweats, and the TV,” I replied.

  “Oh, come on! How often do you get the chance to visit an urban legend?” she said.

  I had to admit, she was right. Club Walpurgis was an underground nightclub that you needed not only the password to get in to, but also the details on where it was being held. When it was being held was easy—it only convened on Sabbats, or Witches’ holidays. It was rumored to be run by a high priestess of a coven of witches and a werewolf king in order to appease the supernatural by creating a large gathering of humans.

  “So, what Sabbat is it?” I asked, taking a bite of sorbet. I wasn’t entirely sure that I believed in the existence of werewolves and vampires, but I sought to appease Jess.

  “Beltane,” Jessa replied. “It’s the start of summer. Please say yes.” Her eyes were large, pleading with me. I sighed heavily.

  “Okay,” I said. “But next weekend, I want to go nowhere, and do nothing.”

  “Deal. I won’t bother you all weekend. I promise.” she said. “I can’t believe we’re going!” She ran off down the hallway.

  Thus, I found myself wearing my black Balmain mini-dress that I had splurged my first paycheck on. I wore a pair of black and tan giraffe-print heels that had gold buckles on the side. My hair I styled straight with a flat iron, so that it fell in silky smooth swaths over my shoulders. Jessa was wearing a white linen mini dress with peasant-style sleeves. We both wore flower crowns in honor of Beltane. Mine was made of blue fabric roses, and hers were yellow. Our heels clicked on the pavement as we walked.

  “Jeez, Jess,” I said. “My feet are killing me already. How much farther?” She pulled the piece of deep blue paper out of her clutch. It had bronze-painted lettering in a calligraphic script, proclaiming our official invite to Club Walpurgis. She used the light from her phone to check the address.

  “Just a few more buildings,” she said. I looked around us. We were in one of the sketchier parts of town. The buildings were all abandoned, most of the windows had been broken, and the chain linked fences surrounding them were rusted and broken through. Most of the buildings had graffiti scrawled across them at human height. Brambles and small trees had begun to grow up around the buildings, as though nature, after being shut out by the urban sprawl, had begun to sneak back in.

  It was so silent; I regretted not owning a Taser in that moment. Anyone could have easily snuck up on us. We reached the building that had the street address on Jessa’s invitation. We could hear the faint strains of electronic dance music. Strobe lights were on inside of the building.

  “How do we get in?” I asked, looking over at Jessa.

  “I don’t know,” she replied, scrutinizing the invitation in the blue light of her cellphone for any instruction on where to go from here. We heard the clink of a chain linked fence being pulled aside, to see a rumpled, scruffy-looking twenty-something man. He had thick black gauges in his ears, and wore a black hoodie over a pair of black jeans. He was holding back the fence, where a large cut had been made.

  “Over here,” he said, gesturing. We walked over to him. “Password?”

  “May Day,” Jessa said. He gestured us in.

  “May Day was the password?” I said. “It’s the first of May.”

  “Yeah, so?” Jess shot back.

  “Tell me, how is it hard to get in here?” I asked bitingly. Jessa just rolled her eyes, and grabbing my arm tightly, dragged me towa
rd the abandoned brick building that was hosting Club Walpurgis. The doors to the building were open, and we walked inside. It had once been a warehouse, and was in a state of disrepair. It smelled musty. At the center, on a raised platform, there was a DJ. Lights had been placed up near the ceiling, and kept the room at a dim, but safe level of lighting. Two bars were set up along opposite walls, and Jessa began dragging me toward one of them. They had aqua-colored lighting across the back, and shelves of liquor in front of a large mirror.

  Across the room from us, there was another raised platform. Upon it, two seats were situated. One was woven out of dark wood, and decorated with wild flowers. A woman sat on it, and she had a regal bearing. Her posture was straight, erect, and her hands were folded in her lap. Her eyes were lined thickly in kohl, and she wore a gold, slinky dress. Upon her head, there was a ringlet of wildflowers, and she watched the crowd like a cat. The other chair appeared woven out of birch sticks, and decorated with red berries. A man lounged upon it sulkily. He looked almost angry. He had high, sculpted cheekbones, and was well-built, fit, but not overly muscular. He was dressed simply in a black oxford, unbuttoned at the top, and black slacks. He also wore no shoes. His gaze shifted, for a second, and he looked right at me. I gasped, feeling the predatory gleam of his sight. He scowled at me, and I kept my eyes on him, feeling that it would be a bad idea to back down.