Obsessions
Page 3
Chapter 4
“Come on Zoey, get your butt moving. Give me fifty more pull-ups,” London demanded from the gym floor. Sweat poured off Zoey as she pulled her chin up to the bar. Her body had become firmer, and her muscles were becoming bigger. She looked good and people were starting to notice, including all the guys who were working out around them. Some blatantly stared at her and others tried to be cool and act like they weren’t looking. Even the coaches were glancing at her. She was a beautiful girl, but now that her confidence had improved it was starting to show. She walked like she knew she could whip someone’s butt, and had the cocky confidence to show it. London loved it. She was a new Zoey.
When they started, Zoey would hang her head down staring down at her feet as she walked, but now she walked with her head held high and made eye contact with everyone. London would take Zoey to the mall on Saturday when the mall was crammed full of people, and then she would have Zoey make eye contact with people until they looked away from her. It worked after about five trips and twenty gallons of ice cream. Finally, she realized that she didn’t have to look them directly in the eyes, because she could look at their nose or their forehead instead. It actually freaked people out because Zoey got so good at it that people started avoiding her when they would see her coming. That got Zoey’s attention, and it made her confidence level skyrocket.
London also taught Zoey all the self-defense she knew. They both started attending Krav Maga classes so Zoey could experience all the things that London had learned. It was good for her to be around others who had been bullied. Krav Maga taught her to defeat attackers and deal with someone who had knives and guns. It was raw, fast, and brutal techniques that would help Zoey if Penny ever attacked her again.
Zoey was focused until the gym door opened and her eyes landed on the person coming through them. London didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.
“Well look at the little wolf working out. It won’t help you, honey. You will still be the littlest Omega of the Malone Pack. Always relying on big brother to take care of you and protect you because itty-bitty sister can’t do it herself.” Penny’s friends all snickered at her remarks.
“Keep your focus, Zo,” London instructed. Zoey looked away from Penny and continued to pull her body up to the bar. London could finally see the anger in her face. That was good. She could work with anger, but fear wasn’t in her vocabulary.
Penny stepped forward toward Zoey when she realized that she was being ignored. Her hands reached out for Zoey’s feet, but London grabbed her arm and slung her against the gym wall. London’s hand was around Penny’s neck as she leaned toward her. Penny looked shocked at how fast she was.
London couldn’t believe how her body was reacting. She wanted to pound into this woman, and she ached to hit her right in the mouth and hurt her.
Leaning closer, London whispered in her ear, “Now you listen, and you listen good.” She could feel Penny’s body come alive under her hand, almost like she could feel something moving. It was as if something was alive under her skin. Her eyes widened when Penny’s eyes started to glow a yellow color.
“You would be wise little human, to remove your hand before—”
“What’s going on over here?” London noticed that one of the coaches was walking toward them. She hated to let Penny go, but she didn’t need to lose her scholarship for fighting.
“Nothing, Coach Warden,” London responded, smiling as she carefully removed her hand from Penny’s neck, and then straightened Penny’s shirt before stepping away from her.
“Good. What are you doing in here Sanders?”
Penny finally looked over at the coach. “Nothing, Coach. The girls and I were just walking around trying to get some exercise.”
“Then get to walking and leave the gym.” Smiling, but showing too much teeth, Penny motioned to her girls and walked out of the gym.
“Grey?” London looked back over at Coach Warden. “You watch your back with that one. She’s stronger than you think.”
London nodded before turning her attention back on Zoey who had stopped working out. She was focused on the door that Penny and her bitches left out of. The only difference this time was the look in her eyes. She looked determined and didn’t show any fear. Her hands were down beside her as she clenched them into fists. Her breathing had increased as her nostrils flared.
London looked closer at her eyes and they were glowing. “Your eyes...” Zoey raised her hands toward her face then turned around so London couldn’t see them. “Zoey?” London whispered as she gently put her hands on her shoulders trying to turn her around. Zoey shrugged her hands off. “How do you do that? Are you okay?”
Zoey picked up her bag and ran out of the gym. London ran after her but Zoey was too fast. She could tell that Zoey was headed to the dorm so London jogged to catch up with her.
Random thoughts continued to go through London’s head as she jogged to her room. Why did the Coach say that Penny was stronger than I thought? How would he know that? Everything surrounding Penny and her bitches was odd. Was Zoey right? No…no she couldn’t be. I should have told her to just show me. When she couldn’t, the lie could be dealt with.
Entering the dorm room, London watched as Zoey inhaled a piece of pizza that was left over from the night before. Sitting on the bed, London waited until Zoey looked at her. Finally, after eating a second piece, Zoey looked up at her.
Her eyes were back to their beautiful blue color. “I had to leave before my wolf surfaced.”
Rolling her eyes, London got up, went to the mini refrigerator, and pulled out a bottle of water.
“You don’t believe me? Do you?” She really didn’t think much about what Zoey had told her. Putting it out of her memory, London worked on her self-esteem issues instead of the lie about being a werewolf. “I thought you believed me.” Zoey started pacing again.
“Come on, Zoey. Really? You can stop the, I’m-a-werewolf tales. You are a little old now for telling fibs.” Before London knew it, she was flying through the air across the room. She landed with the futon sofa breaking her fall.
Jumping up, London got mad as the water she had been drinking hit the ground spilling all over the floor. “What the fuck?”
Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Zoey had tossed London across the room. It would have been almost impossible for a man to do that. London wasn’t little by any means and that was a long way for any human. Looking back and forth from Zoey to the couch, London’s mouth fell open, and she focused on Zoey, whose eyes were glowing yellow again.
London couldn’t believe that small Zoey had tossed her across the room like a sack of potatoes, and her breathing became erratic as she realized that Zoey was telling the truth or she was on some powerful steroids.
“Hell. Really? You were telling the truth. You…you are really a werewolf?”
Zoey nodded then sat back down on the bed.
“Can you turn into a wolf?” London whispered as she sat down hard on the couch.
“Yes.”
London couldn’t stop herself. She had to see it to truly believe that werewolves existed. “Show me.”
Tucking her feet under her, she watched Zoey take all her clothes off. Then before she could ask how she would do it. Zoey shifted into a black wolf.
“Ho…ly shit.” London was up and off the couch in a few seconds as she stared at Zoey’s wolf. She was beautiful but frightening too. She had never been this up close and personal with a real wolf before.
The wolf walked closer when London jumped behind the futon. “St-stay right there. You-you-sit. Just let me get used to this. Don’t move.” Grabbing the side of the couch needing the support, London got down on one knee and blew out the breath she had been holding.
“Shit…shit…I thought you were joking. I can’t believe it, but you’re right there. I’m so sorry. I should have asked you to show me before. I’m really sorry.” Zoey’s wolf appeared to be smiling. Turning her head sideways, Lon
don shook her head. “Did you just smile at me?” The wolf nodded her head.
“Can I touch you?” London watched as the wolf lay down on the floor. Hesitantly, she walked around the couch and sat down. Slowly she put her hand on the wolf’s fur then ran her hand up and down its back.
“Your fur is so soft. I’ve never been this close to a wolf before. Your eyes are still blue, Zoey. I just never knew. I thought my grandmother was crazy. The woman was telling me the truth.”
Zoey suddenly shifted back. “Ugg. A little notice next time, please?” London said as she removed her hand from Zoey’s naked back. “Does it hurt when you do that?”
“No it doesn’t now, but when I had my first change, it hurt like a bitch.”
London smiled. It was funny how comfortable they were together. Here they were in their dorm room and one of them had just turned into a wolf.
“Does everyone in your family turn into wolves and howl at the moon.” London sat down Indian style on the floor quizzing her best friend.
“We call it shifting or transforming, but to answer your question, yes everyone in my family turns into a wolf. We don’t always howl at the moon either.” London laughed so hard her stomach hurt.
“Wow. This is so strange. I can’t wrap my mind around it. It’s incredible Zoey, but if we’re going to talk about families then maybe you should get all your clothes on. You’re kinda freaking me out.” Zoey and London both cracked up laughing. “All of this is freaking me out Zo. This is really hard to believe, I think I need a beer so it can sink in. Never did I think you were telling me the truth about being a werewolf. Okay, let’s go eat girl and you can tell me more.”
* * * *
Two beers and large spaghetti with meatballs later, Zoey asked, “Tell me about your grandmother.”
Blowing out a long sigh, London explained how her grandmother even looked like a witch with long blonde hair. “Well maybe it’s not blonde now. It’s gray, straight, and long. She wears black a lot, too.”
Zoey laughed at her description. “Does she have a pointy hat and a broom she rides around on?”
“When I went to live with her, she dropped a huge bomb on me. I was angry and mad at the world, but she said that I was a witch and all of my ancestors had been witches. My parents were just killed and I moved to a new city, my life was shattered. I called her crazy and refused to talk about it.” London sighed.
“What if she was right and you are a witch too? Have you ever seen her do any magic?” Zoey asked.
Taking a drink from her beer, London contemplated how to describe her grandmother. “You know now that I think about it, she had a lot of the town people coming to her for advice. She would always take them into the back room. Money would always be left on the table. I asked her one time what they wanted and she said a spell to cure something or to fight off the blues. Again I thought she was just crazy. She always grew herbs and had little bottles of strange looking stuff in them. One bottle looked like it had marijuana in it, but I’ve only seen it in movies so I couldn’t be sure. It looked real though, so who knows?”
“Maybe she is a real witch. You know we have them in Alpha City. They’re considered advisors to the different packs.”
“Did you say Alpha City? What the hell kind of name is that?” London was intrigued now. It was as if she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. Werewolves and witches really are real. What’s next? Vampires? “This is going to call for more beer.” London motioned for the waitress.
Chapter 5
Zoey began to speak, “Alpha City is a special city. A long, long time ago my great, great grandfather Jack Malone was the Alpha of our pack, and he wanted to move them away from the cities to protect them from humans. He packed them all up and went out across the United States to find some land that would allow them to run freely without being hunted. At that time, hunting was a way of life. People had to hunt to get meat to survive, and sometimes they killed a wolf thinking it was a deer. Although, most of the time they would just shoot when they heard a noise.
It was very dangerous for the pack, so Grandpa Jack took the pack across the country to Georgia. They put all their money together and purchased a lot of land, however, the man who sold him the land had also sold it to the Banks Tigers, King Bears, Walsh Jaguars, and the Lynn Panthers. Let’s just say that it gets very interesting when a bunch of wolves, tigers, bears, jaguars and panthers are running around in the woods together. It was going to turn into war because the old man sold them all the same land and put all their names on the deed. By then he’d left town and they couldn’t find him. So, Jack met with each of the Alpha’s and they came up with a solution.
The individual packs, sloths, and clans would remain separate, but they would share the city, and their Alpha’s would come together to form a city council. It’s been that way for hundreds of years and each time an Alpha dies or steps down, the new Alpha for that group takes over the seat on the Council. It’s been so successful that now other shifters want to move to Alpha City and become part of the Council, but they decided when they started that only the original Alpha family members would be on the Council and in charge.
You see only a family member can be Alpha and sit on the council. They did that to avoid war between the shifters that were too power hungry and greedy. My brother, Ryder Malone, is the Alpha of my pack and a member of the Council. The other Alpha’s are his best friends. Their fathers were once the Alpha’s, each stepped down so their sons could rule the next hundred years. These Alphas are special in many ways. I have known them forever and they treat me like their little sister too.”
“Unbelievable. It must be hard to be around all those males?” London replied. Even though, this was the strangest night of her life, she felt connected in some way to what Zoey was telling her. Shifters have been on this earth for a long time and nobody knew it. How nobody ever guessed their secret was beyond her. Surely, with all the movies and books out about shifters others had to know. It was too unreal to believe, so maybe that made it easy for them to hide. She wanted Zoey to continue with her story because she had loads of questions to ask.
“You wouldn’t believe how hard it’s been with that many brothers watching over me. That’s the reason I don’t know how to fight. Nobody in Alpha City had the nerve to approach me or be mean to me. I’ve been smothered all my life. When I was accepted to attend Milton College, I jumped at the chance to leave, and experience life without an older controlling brother looking over my shoulder. It was an opportunity I had to take.”
London sat there with her mouth open. She’d had no clue that werewolves really existed, but to also learn that there were bears, tigers, jaguars, and panther shifters out in the world too was mindboggling. How could this really be happening? How could they hide among the humans without being caught? And they had a city. It was too much for her to grasp. She needed more beer. Holding her hand up, London motioned for the waitress again.
“Are you okay, London? You look as pale as a ghost.”
“Umm…no…it’s just I never thought this was real stuff. You’re telling me there is an actual city of shifters and you’re some type of princess. It’s a lot to take in. Put yourself in my shoes. I mean this is so crazy, Zoey.”
“Yeah, I understand that. It’s the reason I have no other friends. People shy away from me. I understand, London, if you want me to change rooms because this is freaking you out. I just thought you should know and I…” Zoey picked up her beer taking a deep drink. She grabbed her pocketbook, took out a hundred dollar bill, and left it on the table. She started to get up when London came out of the fog.
“Where are you going? What do you mean change rooms? I thought we were best friends, Zoey. I don’t care that you can, you know, change, but give me a minute to process all this.” London knew she was a little harsh on Zoey but this was a lot of information that until yesterday was only in the movies; now she’d seen it with her own eyes. Everything had changed because Zoey was a werewolf.
When Zoey smiled, London couldn’t stop the matching smile that spread across her face. She had never met anyone like Zoey and she was thankful for Penny Sanders, only when she threw Zoey’s stuff out of the dorm room. This allowed the two girls to get to know each other and become best friends.
“London, thank you for understanding. I know how crazy this is. I could have never got to senior year without you. You have been my best friend and I can’t thank you enough for sticking by me.”
“Oh Zoey, you really are too much. Thick as thieves that is what we are. Nobody will get between our friendship. Nobody!” London patted Zoey’s hand. She looked after her best friend and she knew that if this were reversed, Zoey Malone would be here for her in a second.
London sat there for a few minutes deep in thought as Zoey drank her beer. She knew something was strange with Penny. She felt something move under her skin and her eyes glowed. “That’s it. Penny Sanders is a werewolf too?” Zoey looked around to see if anyone was listening. Her face turned serious.
“London you can’t say anything about that. I shouldn’t have told you about me, but I thought you should know if something ever happened. I broke about ten laws that keep us safe. Do you understand that people would hunt us down if they knew we existed? You can never act like you know what is going on. Penny is a wolf too, but she’s not in my pack. Her brother wants to be on the council, he can’t, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to finagle his way in. When I said they were a crazy pack, that is what I really meant, but you can’t let on that you know, especially around Penny. I know that she would stir up more trouble for my family. Our laws are what keep us safe.”