Blood Cursed

by H. L. Graham

  Too small, I thought. They’d be lucky to fit a queen-sized bed in here. And there was only one walk-in closet. Did the architect really expect the owners to share this closet? It was apparent a man designed this house. Any self-respecting woman would never want to share closet space with her spouse.

  House number one, rejected. I was feeling better and better.

  I wandered toward house number two. This one had a four-car garage. Excessive. It had tile floors covering the entire house. There were no carpets in the bedrooms, again not good planning. I headed to the master suite. OHH, nice! It was a big room with space for a sitting area, double walk in closets with good lighting, and a huge bath. The bath was split into two sides, the woman side and the man side. Both had their own sinks and counters, on opposite walls, and then there were two, yes, count them, two, commode closets. That was great planning. I would have applauded, but considering my wolfiness, it would have to wait. The shower was situated in the middle of the room with two entrances and several showerheads to accommodate both people at the same time. I decided I needed a bathroom like this immediately. Note to self, bug Gaven to get me a new house.

  I roamed around to the back of the house and got lucky. The pool had just been filled and smelled perfectly balanced. Brilliance! I jumped into the water. What a great way to wash off.

  I paddled through the water, washing the dirt off my fur. I then padded back through the house toward the front door. Something in the kitchen caught my eye as I passed. I turned back, heading into the very large elegantly designed kitchen. On the counter were some architectural plans detailing everything from light sockets to floor tile. I jumped my front paws onto the counter to get a better look at the plans. What do I see, but the Jacob Anderson logo emblazoned across the top of the plans.

  It figures, jumping back down. The only bathroom I’ve ever liked was designed by that jerk. I was not looking forward to having to deal with him on a regular basis. I began to feel my anger level rise again, but I squelched it, refusing to spoil my good mood.

  I headed home to get some rest. My evening of exploration was most fulfilling and my anger abated for now. The moon had cleansed me. Jacob would not ruin that.

  I continued to think about Jacob as I trotted toward my house. I psychoanalyzed my strong dislike toward Jacob. I knew I had to work with him, even if he was a scheming jerk. I would be stuck with him as soon as the moon was full. He was good looking, but not in any way I found attractive. He was pretty much the opposite of Gaven. Gaven with his surfer boy good looks and sandy hair, who was an honest loving and giving man. Well mostly honest, he did leave out that bit about being a Magique Aqua, but I really couldn’t hold it against him.

  But Jacob, he was dark. Dark hair and brown eyes. He was manipulative, controlling, completely unreasonable and of course a jerk. Did I dislike him because of what he is or who he is or both? He never pretended to be anything, but what he is. Wasn’t that a positive trait?

  I was having a difficult time with this line of thought and decided to blame it on being a wolf at the moment. Maybe werewolves were not meant to psychoanalyze anyone? Maybe we were just supposed to eat whoever got in our way? Would be Freudian or Jungian?

  I approached the doggie door, slid through and settled onto my doggie bed. My head hurt from my self-imposed analysis. I decided tonight was not the night to figure out Jacob or anyone else. I would save that for my human brain.

  As I curled into a comfortable position, my body began dosing off. My brain decided to practice a well-worded speech intended to tell Jacob off for lying to me about the ceremony. He conveniently left out Kristi’s probable attack and my need to use the pack’s power, forcing me to share my power. What a super-duper jerk. Sleep enveloped me.

  Chapter 25

  I woke with the loud click of Gaven unlocking the garage door. “Hannah, there’s a call for you. It’s Jacob.”

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “8:00 am,” he answered. “You look much more relaxed. I guess you were right about needing to run.” He watched me stand up naked and cover myself with a robe. “Your lip healed,” he said as he handed me the phone.

  I covered the mouthpiece, “you’re going to love this house I found last night, great bathroom. Only one problem, the designer.”

  He gave me a confused look as he headed back to the kitchen. Gaven was used to my one-sided conversations where he was only a participant in my imagination.

  “Jacob, what do you want?” I asked trying to reach my anger from last night.

  “I heard you howling last night,” he answered with tension in his voice.

  “So, I had to get out and run if you must know. I had a visit from your ex-wife yesterday and she pissed me off,” I said feeling my annoyance rising.

  “I know,” he answered.

  “How? Never mind. I don’t care,” I paced the garage.

  “What do you want Jacob?” I asked after an awkward pause on his end.

  “I want to finalize the plans for Saturday,” he said cautiously.

  “What’s up with you? You sound weirder than usual,” I asked feeling more annoyed.

  “Kristi called late last night and filled me in on her visit to your office. I was unaware an attack would be coming so soon. I thought we had another few months before Alexander attempted to take my territory,” he explained.

  “Who is Alexander?” I asked.

  “He’s the Ft. Myers pack leader, with whom I have a very unstable relationship. Kristi called to let me know she would be coming to the ceremony and officially challenge you. If you win, we will be able to keep him at bay. He won’t be strong enough to take us. If she wins, the pack will be his.”

  “What do you mean if she wins? What constitutes winning?” I asked nervously.

  “Death,” he answered.

  “Crap.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing, so now I have to kill her on Saturday to assure my continued existence and protect your ass?”

  “Rebecca…”

  “Shut up Jacob, that was rhetorical. Why the hell would she call and tell you Alexander’s evil plan?”

  “I’d like to think she still loves me and doesn’t want to see me killed. My death would be Alexander’s first order of business when he took over. She still wants to co-rule our pack and will do anything to get it back,” he explained.

  “That’s bull crap and you know it. She’s a nut bag and only thinks about herself. She was trying to scare you. She doesn’t care about you or Alexander. She wants to rule both packs and she’s working both sides. I can’t believe you fell for it.” Men, stick a crying woman in front of them and they melt like butter.

  He was silent for a minute.

  “Jacob, just so you know, I’m aware you attempted to manipulate me into forcing the change onto the whole pack,” I said.

  “I knew you would eventually figure it out,” he replied. “I recommend you pull power from the pack when fighting Kristi. She is very powerful. You will need us.”

  “Don’t worry about me, just send the car for us on Friday. But have them wait for us two blocks away. There will be a police car in front of my house to protect me from the murderer, courtesy of the local police. We will be sneaking out the back to meet the car,” I ordered.

  “Agreed,” Jacob replied.

  There was a pause in the conversation as I thought about Friday evening. My thoughts quickly jumped to last night’s wanderings and the amazing bathroom I saw. “Nice bathroom.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I saw one of your designs in our neighborhood last night. I thought the bathroom was masterfully designed. Separate sinks, toilet closets and all that.”

  Jacob paused, “Uh, thanks.”

  “Do you know which house I’m describing?” I asked still slightly annoyed.

  “Yes, thank you for the compliment. The design was inspired from the torment of sharing a bathroom with my siblings. I always thought it would be wonderful for ea
ch of us to have our own space to use and clean. So for a mid-sized home, it just made sense to separate the master bath. Two people, two spaces,” he explained easily.

  “So there was a time you weren’t crazy rich?” I asked warily.

  “Oh yes, we were very poor when I was a child. I have only acquired my wealth since my induction into our wolf way of life.”

  “Nouveau riche,” I said with insolence in my tone.

  He laughed. “Yes. You could say that, but I refrain from becoming garish. It’s just tacky to be flamboyant when you come into money.”

  My interest was piqued. “So it’s the ‘in thing’ to be classic and understated? Maybe you could convince my neighbor Kevin of that. He wants to make me his fashion project.” Why was I chatting with him? I was supposed to be angry and we were yakking like old friends. My energy shifted.

  Jacob cleared his throat quietly. “Hannah, thank you for your willingness to share your power. I am certain your acquiescence will be for the betterment of the pack.”

  I was instantly at DEFCON ONE ready to spit nails at him, “There is no need to be condescending. I get it. I am stuck in a corner and in order to get out, you’ll get your wish of freedom from the moon and I get to live. Just remember, I go forward only for the safety of me and mine. That does not include you.”

  “Well alright, see you Friday. Have a lovely day.” He waited for me to mumble a snotty ‘whatever’ and hung up.

  What a jerk! Why do I let him get to me? I was going to have to deal with this guy on a regular basis very soon. I figured each time I caught him in a falsehood, I would call him a childish name in front of the underlings. That way I would feel better and let him know I didn’t respect him. If he wanted my respect, then I would need full disclosure of all his evil plans.

  I had a pang of guilt for treating him badly. There was a miniscule moment of connection where he opened up to me. The next instant I was sure it was all manipulation to mold me to his evil ways. I reverted back to my original plans. Name-calling and living up to my new status as Alpha Bitch.

  I know it’s childish, but it really made me feel better. My inner-therapist tried to reprimand my inner-child, but I kicked it to the curb and decided Jacob would be The Jerk until further notice. I smiled, thinking he would be The Jerk for a very, very long time.

  “I see the call went well,” Gaven remarked casually. He was sitting at the kitchen table perusing the most recent fishing catalogue.

  I wanted to scream, but I decided to redirect my anger into more rewarding activities, pie consumption. I headed to the refrigerator to dig around for the leftovers.

  Frustrated, I slammed the door closed. “Ok, where is it? I know you turkeys enjoyed Baker Bobs latest creation and I also know it was chocolate pie,” I huffed. “There better be a piece for me or heads will roll.”

  Gaven looked up at me, “First of all, don’t take your post-Jacob fight out on me. Secondly, the pie is in the freezer where I thoughtfully placed it 20 minutes ago, for your majesty enjoys her pie a bit chilled.”

  I grabbed the pie out of the freezer with one hand and a fork with the other, spun around to land at the table while simultaneously shoving an oversized bite into my mouth. “Ank u,” I muttered through the pie.

  “You’re very welcome,” Gaven replied.

  Gaven silently studied his fishing catalog while I stuffed bite after bite into my mouth, moaning with delight. I was actually starting to calm down again.

  I finished off the last of the pie and considered licking the plate. Gaven remarked, “Are you prepared to fight Kristi tonight?”

  “Not exactly. Why are you so cheery anyway? Doesn’t the idea of me fighting the Bitch to the death make you a bit nervous?”

  “Nope.”

  “Do I get an explanation or will it be a surprise?” Why did everyone in my life have to be such a pain in my ass?

  Gaven smiled brightly, “Well Hannah, I overheard your conversation with Jacob. And it dawned on me that if you were fighting with him then you wouldn’t be starting fights with me. I think that is something I can really get behind.”

  “Ha Ha. You’re such a smart ass.” I smiled at Gaven who was barely holding back his laughter. “What makes you think I don’t have enough fight left over for you?” I flirted. Now I was just stirring up trouble for the fun of it.

  “Just a well-educated guess.” He was smiling again.

  I conceded, “Okay you’re probably right. This might be really good for our relationship. I fight with Jacob and you and I get along famously. We can detest Jacob together.” I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my bloated stomach which was beginning to ache from too much pie.

  “I don’t detest Jacob,” Gaven informed me. “I just don’t care for him.”

  “Tomato, toemato. Let’s not split hairs.” I rubbed my stomach again, deciding to take some tummy medication. I rummaged through the medicine cabinet and popped two chalky antacids into my mouth.

  “You could have just eaten one piece,” Gaven observed.

  “Well what’s the fun in that?” I smiled.

  Chapter 26

  Rebecca wandered into the kitchen to refill her coffee cup. She had the morning paper in her other hand, which she placed in front of Gaven who immediately dug for the sports page. I think his favorite baseball team played last night. Gaven was very serious about baseball.

  “We heard you howling last night,” Rebecca stated. “It took an act of congress to keep Leslie from bolting to apprehend the murderer. I had to pheromone him like crazy. I felt like a skunk spraying him down,” she said while filling up her cup.

  “Ahhh! They lost again, I really don’t know why I follow the Mets. They’re already losing and it’s only the beginning of the season.” He looked up at me, “Leslie was convinced the howling animal was one used in the attacks. He wanted to go look for it last night. We convinced him it was too dark and too dangerous. He shouldn’t attempt to locate and take down the murderous beast on his own.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” I muttered under my breath.

  “I swear I had the pheromones on full blast,” Rebecca added.

  “She almost had me following her around like a puppy dog too,” Gaven added. “Thank god my Magique blood allows me to block the pheromones when I choose.”

  “You didn’t mention that the other night,” I pouted. “I thought I had you in my clutches.”

  He smiled, came over to me and planted a wet kiss on my lips. “I didn’t want to ruin your fun. And by the way, you have dog breath.”

  I breathed into by hand to check my breath, “Liar, I have pie breath.” I grabbed his face leaned in for a kiss and licked his check, chin to forehead.

  “Thanks,” Gaven groaned. He wiped his face and sat back down to his baseball scores.

  “So what else happened with Leslie?” I asked changing the subject.

  Rebecca smiled. “I had him help me clean up my room. I had to keep him busy until the pheromones wore off. He is quite talented at organization.”

  “You’re joking?”

  “Nope, by the time he had finished with the room, it looked like I had hired a profession organizer. And he had calmed down enough to think rationally about the dangers of tracking a wolf at night.”

  “So, you didn’t take advantage of his weakened state?” I joked.

  “Come on Hannah, give me some credit.” Rebecca tossed back at me.

  “Alright, did you find out anything else about his progress on the case?” I asked.

  Gaven got up to pour himself another cup of coffee. “He said he’ll have a car in front of our house on Saturday at noon until noon on Sunday.”

  “Don’t worry, I told Jacob to send the car two blocks away to pick us up. We can sneak out the dog door and run behind the house to the car,” I informed him.

  “Good. Also, Leslie thinks the killer will be coming from Ft. Myers and the police will be doing random stops on the northbound roads. That doesn’t affect u
s, but it might delay your buddy Kristi.”

  “I truly don’t think a police barricade will stop her. Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll attack them and get shot. That might slow her down or weaken her,” I tried to joke about the challenge because I was getting nervous.

  Gaven grew serious, “Hannah, you don’t have to go through with any of this. We can leave tonight and never look back.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but I have to face this. If we run they’ll hunt us. I have to finish this here and now. Anyway, you love Florida and it’s growing on me.” I tried to reassure him.

  Rebecca interrupted, “She’s right Gaven, running will only delay the inevitable. Kristi will eventually find her and me along with her.”

  I looked at Rebecca. I guess she had become more than my long-lost cousin. She had become my best friend and sister I never had. I fought the urge to cry, but a tear slipped from my eye as I hugged her.

  Rebecca hugged me back then released me. “Hannah, do you think you can cancel the rest of your appointments this week? I read some interesting things in Jacob’s books and I think we need to go over them.”

  “Will that take two full days?” I asked confused.

  “Yeah it will,” she said very serious.

  “Alright, I’ll reschedule. I’ll also tell the answering service to put any emergencies through to Dr. Pete,” I said.

  Dr. Peter Rosario was the guy who took my office emergency calls whenever I was on vacation. I had just covered for him two months ago so I was sure he wouldn’t have any problems with helping me out for a few days.

  I grabbed my phone and briefcase and dug out my appointment book. It looked like I would only have to reschedule five people, all regulars.

  Thirty minutes later everyone was rescheduled and covered until Monday. I felt like little Miss Efficient. Gaven went to the studio to meet with his morning appointments and get some work done. Since the party last Saturday, he had been commissioned for 15 new pieces. He worried he would get more orders than he could handle. At this rate, he would be doing nothing but working non-stop for the next 6 months. I already missed him. I suggested hiring a business manager. Then he wouldn’t have to waste his time with consults and would have time for me.