by Stacey Mewse
Then he rubbed his hand dry on his jeans and mooched out back into the hallway, letting himself in through the creaky bedroom door to inspect his new sleeping quarters. He was not impressed with the bed, it was a single and did not look comfortable at all; pushing down on the mattress confirmed his fears and he grimaced at the lumpiness of the old thing. He supposed he was exhausted enough that he would probably sleep well regardless, but it was still not ideal. Especially so soon after the change, as he was usually left with some residual aches and pains. He then checked through the chest of drawers that sat at the end of the bed and found nothing but dust and a few cobwebs… He supposed he’d have to get back into his old clothes or drape a towel round his waist after his bath. Not that this was a problem for him; he was quite comfortable with his own nakedness. He was more concerned that whoever was sent to see him might not be.
Closing the drawers he returned to the bathroom and turned off the taps, testing the water temperature with one hand and smiling at its welcoming warmth. He couldn’t wait to get into the steaming hot water and almost tripped over his jeans as he kicked them off. He climbed into the bathtub and settled back into the deep water with a contented sigh, careful to hold his tagged ankle out of the water. The warmth felt fantastic on his aches and pains, and he was desperate to scrub off the remains of the scene of Lucy’s passing. He felt as though her death was clinging to him, and though he cared deeply for her he could not stand the smell or feel of it, it made him feel her loss all the more intensely.
Snatching up the face cloth from the floor by the tub he dipped it into the water and scrubbed at his face roughly, closing his eyes and letting the rough material scour at his grubby skin. He then scrubbed at his arms and torso, before slipping down until he was fully submerged, taking a great gulp of air before dunking his head below the waterline. The water amplified the creaky sounds of the old cottage, and he listened for a moment before sitting bolt upright to take another deep breath. Then he submerged again, using the cloth to scour at his legs and just beginning to work on his groin when the sound of the door being slammed open downstairs echoed through the water.
He pushed himself back with his feet, sliding his back up the smooth edge of the bathtub and slowly surfacing in a flurry of bubbles. He could hear somebody moving about downstairs and the smell of the pack house drifted up the stairs to him.
‘I’m up here’ He called, taking the opportunity to pull a mound of bubbles over his midsection to hide his privates. He didn’t want to flash anyone by accident.
The sound of footsteps coming towards him echoed through the rickety old cottage, every now and then a creaking step breaking the monotony. He watched the door, sliding back into the water a little as a chill rushed across his wet skin.
He watched a shadow lurch across the doorway and was suddenly reminded of the monster which had crept out from behind his parents sofa all those years ago. A thought that made him shudder despite the heat of the water around him. The figure who appeared in the door however was a far friendlier one. It was Eve.
‘How are you?’ She asked as she entered the room, apparently not even remotely concerned by his nakedness.
‘I’m fine.’ He answered perhaps a little too curtly, still agitated by his own attraction to her.
She pulled a face that suggested slight confusion but continued her advance and sat herself down on the toilet seat; which she brushed off before daring to be seated. The lid had been down for quite some time and was very dusty.
‘Are you sure? I understand how stressed you must be.’ She looked genuinely concerned, a far cry from Audra’s cold attitude.
Hunter nodded ‘Yeah I’m as good as I can be I guess. Obviously everything’s come as a bit of a shock, so much has happened that its hard to take it all in. I do know that I want this parole time to be over so I can rip the throat out of the fucker who’s done this… That much I’m certain of.’
Eve nodded ‘I can imagine this isn’t easy for you, having such a monster explode back into your life in such a tragic way. We are fully behind you when it comes to his demise, it will be a service to mankind and to weres across the globe to have him killed.’
Hunter gritted his teeth ‘Nothing would make me more satisfied than being the man to do it.’ He paused for a moment, in thought. ‘Do you know, for a while I thought you had set me up. That’s how it seemed to begin with.’
Eve’s eyes widened ‘why on earth would we do such a thing?’
Hunter shrugged ‘I have no idea, it just seemed too much of a coincidence that the police arrived when they did. Though I see now that I was wrong.’
Eve nodded ‘Very wrong Mr. Dalton, we’re with you every step of the way with this.’
Hunter felt uncomfortable with how formal her tone was, it didn’t fit the situation, what with him being sat in a bathtub. ‘Please call me Hunter’ he requested ‘I’ve had enough of this Mr. Dalton crap from Audra, I do have a Christian name.’
Eve smiled ‘of course, I apologise. Hunter it is.’
He smiled in return. ‘Good, it makes me feel less like I’ve done something wrong if everyone’s on first name terms.’
‘Besides which you want her to warm to you faster’, his wolf insisted. He ignored it.
Eve looked him over as though she had heard his lupine self, and he was suddenly filled with the irrational fear that she had. He slipped lower into the water and waited for her to continue. After a moment she did, though he could not shake the feeling that she had heard, and she had looked him over a little too intently. Perhaps she felt the same…?
‘I suspect you’re glad she’s one of the ones going on Varulv’s trail?’ She asked with a smirk.
Hunter nodded ‘you have no idea. She’s intolerable in large doses isn’t she.’
‘You should try living with her!’ Eve laughed, a delicate sound which was so filled with happiness it had goose bumps erupting all over his skin. ‘Everything is about pack structure, about how she can work her way up the ranks... Its tiresome.’
‘I can imagine.’ Hunter replied.
‘She’ll be off with Tobias soon… Let him deal with her for a while! I suspect he’ll put her in her place if she gives him any grief. In the meantime though we have to arrange your things. If you get a police visit here and you’ve got no belongings in the building you’ll be hauled back into the station in no time.’
‘I’m not certain what I can really bring to make this place look like a home.’ Hunter chuckled.
“A duster for one’ Eve quipped. ‘Though you don’t need to bring anything, it’ll be us bringing things to you. So you’d better work on a list of things you need.’
Hunter chuckled again at her remark, and she couldn’t help but notice the dimples that showed his mirth. ‘I’m not sure what I’ll need for a week to be honest with you, seeing as I’m not going anywhere probably not much. Shall I just reel things off or do you need a written list?’
‘Just reel things off, that’ll be fine. I’ve got a pretty good memory.’
Hunter nodded and continued. ‘I’ll be needing my toothbrush, deodorant and other basic toiletries obviously; also a fresh change of clothes for each day I’m here… So seven t-shirts and pairs of boxers and socks, and three pairs of jeans. I’d also like my electric razor if it’s going to be safe to plug in here?’ He looked around at the sockets that were by the mirror, taking in the rust around the screws that held the plate to the wall.
‘It should be’ Eve replied ‘what about food?’
Hunter rubbed thoughtfully at his stubble-covered chin before answering. ‘I’m not particularly fussy, I do like a good supply of fresh meat though, and I’m fond of cheese and vegetables, my tastes are pretty basic. I like to have fresh fruit about too, and cider on hand in case I fancy a drink. If I’m permitted to drink.’
‘So long as you don’t completely drown yourself in it I’m sure it will be fine, we need you fit to get up and go at any moment in case Varulv appears after a
ll.’
Hunter sat up a little ‘I hadn’t given it as much thought as perhaps I should… That he might come to find me.’
‘We don’t think that will be the case as we are sure he thinks it was one of our pack members that he set up for discovery with your friend. It is worth considering the option that he might stumble across this place and think it would be a good place to hide for a day though. And if he discovered another were here he definitely would not hesitate to rip them to shreds; so you’ll have to have your wits about you at least a little. Though we will have pack members monitor the area to help you rest a little easier.’
Hunter nodded ‘I’m sure I’d cope on my own, though I suspect there will be no talking you out of it so I won’t try.’
Eve nodded firmly ‘too right’ she winked, ‘I better head off and gather some of your things together or you’ll have nothing to wear by the time you get out of that bath.’ She got up and crossed perilously close to the tub, looking down at the bubble coated water as she went. ‘We wouldn’t want you getting cold.’
Hunter reflexively covered his already hidden crotch and watched her exit the room, calling after her ‘don’t forget the cider!’
She laughed to herself as she walked down the stairs, the sound slowly trailing away as she left the house and realised that despite his tone being merry he was planning on using the alcohol to medicate his grief. She mused over the idea of staying with him for a while when she returned.
Chapter 21
Varulv had not felt so smug in a long time. Things had gone so smoothly, and he could not help the self-satisfied smile that refused to budge from his handsome features. Things could not possibly have been more perfect. He felt particularly satisfied at the time he had spent with the woman… Lucy he thought her name was, he tended to blank the little unimportant details from his mind after the event. That made him chuckle quietly to himself, the idea that his attitude to them as human beings was so unforgiving. He knew that it would kill his victims all over again that he did not care… Were they still around to appreciate the fact that is.
He sat back in his chair and sighed contentedly to himself, surveying the hotel room he had booked himself into on the day of the murder. It was plush and comfortable, decorated in neutral colours with dark green splashes of colour here and there. The bed sheets were a deep green, and reminded him of the moss he used to sleep on in the forests of his home country in the first few years after he had been turned. It bought back happy memories of carnage and bloodshed, and he enjoyed reminiscing about the murders he had committed more than anything else in life. He could sit for hours and remember the fine details of his past acts, remembering everything down to the smallest detail… Their eye colour before their eyelids flickered closed forever, the ways in which he had tortured them in the run up to their demise… Even the patterns their blood made in the dirt or on their walls and floors.
He reached for the glass of brandy which was set on top of the table next to the armchair he had settled into and took a long swig, sighing again. It did not matter to him that it was barely the middle of the afternoon. There was no life better, not for him. Then there was the added sweetness of the fact that he had managed to involve a local pack… The idea of the panic this would be causing them amused him to the point that he let out a deep laugh to himself. He wondered how they were doing in the wake of his plan, and amused himself by picturing weres across the globe panicking at the possible discovery of their kind.
He wished that there had been some way of staying and seeing the scene unfold without risk of being caught, but as it was he would have to wait and enjoy the news reports. He had no idea who he had caught in his trap. He liked to think it would be some poor, young, inexperienced female who had been sent out to do the pack’s dirty work by her alpha. The thought amused him so much that he began to concoct a fantasy around the scenario… He imagined a poor little confused werewolf happening across the scene in human form and finding the body; being so traumatised by the sight of it that she transformed there and then in the bloody pools of water that he had left everywhere… He imagined the newly transformed wolf unable to keep itself from gorging on the fresh flesh of the dead girl he had so completely abused; and as his mind concocted these horrific images his hand strayed down to his trousers and unzipped them with a practiced ease. He pushed beneath his waistband and grasped the thick length of his erect shaft, pumping his clenched hand up and down and closing his eyes to enjoy the memories of what he had done so recently. It did not take long for him to work himself up into a frenzy, his hand moving faster and faster until he was fit to explode… But then all of a sudden… Numbness.
Total numbness.
He needed the body of a woman before him to be able to reach a climax, to be able to touch it and love it and do what he wished with it. He was the worst kind of monster and only the most awful acts of cruelty would do.
Releasing his throbbing member he agitatedly re-zipped his trousers and snarled to himself. It was no good, he would have to find another or there would be no release… And the trouble was, the memories of one aroused him so much that he needed another release… The murders were becoming more frequent, more brutal… He needed more and more to keep himself satisfied.
Topping up his glass and drinking the contents down in one he slammed it back onto the table, and poured another and another until the entire bottle was drained and he was so drunk he sank into a dreamless sleep. It was the only way to calm the need.
He would have to kill again… It would have to be soon.
Chapter 22
Audra had left the little cottage swiftly, she was desperate to get on with the job she had been assigned and prove to her father that she was a suitable candidate to be a beta one day. She knew that this would mean that Eve would have to be out of the picture but she was certain that she could arrange that in the long run… It would only take one little accident to be rid of her under the right circumstances.
She contemplated the dozens of unfortunate little mishaps that could happen involving her pack mate as she drove back to the pack house, smiling to herself all the while. It did not take long for her to reach her destination and she pulled up outside the house in a hurry, hopping out of the car and dashing into the building as though the sunlight would burn her.
Once inside the house she headed straight for the library, which was where her father could usually be found. The large room was directly above the meeting hall and approximately the same size. She scaled the old staircase to the left of the front door and dashed to the library entryway, which was an open arched doorway with no doors to bar it from the corridor.
She peered around the doorway before entering, checking to see if her father was within, and he was just as she had expected. He sat in a large ornate chair behind a heavy dark wood desk at the far end of the room, flicking through an enormous hardback book. She did not care as to whether she was disturbing him or not. She bustled into the room and made her way straight for him, coughing quietly to announce her presence as though he hadn’t already heard her hurried footsteps.
The pack alpha looked up from his reading and removed the glasses that had been perched perilously close to the end of his nose, placing them on the desk. Folding his hands one over the other on top of the age-faded pages of the book, he smiled warmly at his daughter. Despite her ill manners he was always pleased to see her.
‘How are you my little pup?’ He asked, using an old pet name he had always had for her, for she was his only daughter, and as such very dear to him.
She smiled at him warmly, fond of him in a way despite her wolf’s pushing her to overthrow him as head of the pack. Her human side loved her father very much, but unfortunately her lupine side was stronger. ‘I’m very well father’ She replied. ‘Hunter is safely at the cottage and I believe Eve has gone to fetch his things? I could smell her in the woodlands.’
Alfred smiled in return ‘you are entirely correct my dear, she left not lon
g before you arrived here.’ He paused and studied his daughter, always amazed at how prim and proper she looked, always well kept and in his eyes very beautiful. ‘Are you ready to depart with Tobias little pup?’ He asked.
Audra shook her head ‘no, not yet father, I thought I would come and update you on things before I left and find out if you had any more orders for us.’