Black Heart: Wild On

by TW Gallier

  "My God, I heard you'd been Changed, but it never really sank in until just now. You're a vampire," Timmy said, thankfully amazed rather than repulsed.

  "How can you tell?" I said.

  "You smell of blood," he said. "Vampires have a very distinct tang to their scent."

  That's when I noticed his aura, and coldness infused my body. I was too late. Timmy had a werewolf's aura, but I'd never seen him while I was a vampire, so didn't know what his aura looked like originally.

  "Really?" I said, managing to keep my composure for once. "I haven't noticed, and my sense of smell is pretty darned good, too."

  "Start paying more attention, you'll pick up on it. It's subtle, but there," he said.

  "Really? Like a werewolf's aura, like a normal persons, just slightly different," I said.

  "What's an aura?" Timmy said.

  "You're Sable Hart?" a distinguished looking man said.

  He looked fiftyish, with graying temples and slicked back hair. I think I found the tux wearing man in the limo. At the moment he was wearing jeans, barefooted, and no shirt. He had a very hairy chest.

  "Yes. And you are?"

  "Piers," he said. "Piers Rainier."

  "He's the leader of the Black Moon Pack," Timmy said.

  "So, you're the one causing all the trouble?" Piers said. He didn't look pleased.

  "Probably. But you'll have to be more specific," I said, grinning. "I'm a real rabble rouser." I glanced around. "There's about a dozen vampires here tonight who'd like to see me dead. Most of them are on council."

  "And you came?" Timmy said. "You never were the brightest monkey in the tree."

  Dane gave him a curious look. I grinned.

  "Speak for yourself, wolf boy," I said.

  "You may think it all fun and games, but there are some pretty powerful vampires asking around about Timmy," Piers said. His fangs began to grow, top and bottom. It made me wonder just how much control an alpha wolf had over his morphing. "You've put Timmy and the pack into extreme danger."

  I narrowed my eyes at him. He wasn't laying the blame for this on me. No sirree.

  "I beg to differ," I said. "I'm not the one that snatched Timmy right from under his wife and child's nose. I'm not the one that grew fangs and threatened his family, and then led him away."

  "It's none of your business."

  I stepped past Timmy and jabbed a finger in Piers' chest. Yeah, I was pissed.

  "Timmy's wife thought vampires took him, since you showed fangs," I said. "I hunt and kill rogue vampires, so Timmy's family called me in to find him."

  "You made it sound like we were after the vamps money," he growled.

  "You took my friend," I said. "What kind of idiot kidnaps a man and doesn't think his family will come looking for him?"

  "You need to learn respect," Piers said.

  "You need to earn it."

  Piers started morphing into a wolfman. So did Tami Jo and most of the others around us. Timmy panicked.

  "No!" he cried. "She's my friend!"

  Chapter 15

  Dane and I both reached for pistols we weren't carrying. Talk about feeling naked. I was about to sprout wings when Timmy half-morphed into a wolfman and roared.

  "No!" Timmy cried. "Calm down, dammit."

  I gawked at him. Timmy was alpha. Only alpha werewolves could shift into a wolfman. Gabe could do it.

  "How are you already a werewolf?" I said. "The moon isn't up yet."

  "It's up," Piers said, looking at me like I'm stupid. I get that a lot. "It's just not over the trees yet."

  "An alpha's first shift happens as soon as the full moon clears the earthly horizon, trees and other obstructions be damned," Tami Jo said. "Everyone else shifts when they first see the full moon."

  I looked at Timmy, halfway between man and wolfman. He looked more embarrassed than anything. His family was not going to be happy, and I suspect they'll lay part of the blame on me. Just because I'm a vampire.

  "You need to call your family," I said. "One simple phone call would've resolved this crap a long time ago."

  Timmy started shifting back to full human. "I-I don't know what to say, what to tell them." He glanced at Piers uncertainly, "They're not going to like anything I have to say. In my family's eyes I am now evil."

  "Join the club," I said. "Can you imagine how my family reacted to me becoming a vampire?"

  Timmy chuckled. "Actually, I do know. I was there to witness some of it. Which is why I'm sure my own family will react the same way."

  I sighed gustily, understanding completely. It would be hard, but avoiding them would only make it worse. But before I could voice that thought, more trouble arrived.

  "I should've known Sable would be the cause of this commotion," Jeff Howell said.

  Jeff, Vanessa, Henri, and Rod were standing behind Piers. Jeff glared at me hatefully, while Vanessa and Henri looked curious and Rod looked eager to see blood spilled. I forced myself to calm down, not wanting to put on a show for those bloodsuckers.

  "Bite me, Jeff," I said.

  "Any time, Sable. Any time."

  "In your dreams, fang boy," I said.

  "More like a dark fantasy," Jeff said, then he turned to Timmy. "So, this is the infamous Timothy Saxon. Sable’s boogie man."

  "What?" Timmy said, turning curious eyes to me.

  "Remember? Your wife and parents thought you were kidnapped by vampires," I said, shrugging. "So I put a fire under the feet of all the vampires whose accounts you worked on."

  "Oh my God!" Timmy said. "Are you crazy?"

  Shrugging with a sheepish grin, "Maybe."

  "It works for her," Dane said. He turned to Piers. "But it’s your fault."

  "My fault? How do you figure that?" He looked offended. His pack mates surrounding us weren’t particularly pleased by the accusation, either. "We did nothing wrong. Nothing."

  "Wrong, furball," I said. I think a couple of them growled at that. "You ran Timmy off the road with his wife and child in the car, threatened them, and then you and your girls exposed long, frightening fangs for his wife to see. Most people associate fangs with vampires. And thus this whole shebang started. Thanks to your heavy-handed tactics."

  "Is that the proper usage of the word shebang?" Dane said.

  "What are you, an English teacher?" I said.

  "No, but it is my first language," he said.

  Our little exchange brought everyone up short. People were just gawking at us. I suppose they expected us to be frightened, quaking in our boots and such. They were probably right, but sometimes I think people become vampire hunters because there is something just not right in their head or psyche. I’ve been accused of having a screw loose more times than I can remember, and that was just counting the times before I started hunting.

  "So, Timmy, I take it you aren't being held against your will and there's no going back after being bitten," I said. I frowned at him. "So let's get back to Charlotte and your parents? You have to talk to them."

  Timmy froze, all vestiges to being a wolfman vanishing in his deep blush. His aura displayed his embarrassment even more. He couldn't look me in the eyes anymore.

  "I told you. I don't know what to say to them," he said. He half morphed into a wolfman. "How do I explain this?"

  "Alpha," I said. Not a question. It was obvious. I turned to Piers, who was looking upon Timmy with pride. "Why Timmy? Why did you have to ruin the lives of so many people?"

  "He's alpha," Piers said, as if that explained everything.

  "That's obvious. But why? He was a perfectly happy, productive member of society. A happily married man, with a very young child," I said, with rather more heat than I intended. "You bit him, and now he's a man on the run. His family is miserable. His child may never know his father."

  "No, I would never abandon them completely," Timmy said.

  "Completely? What does that mean exactly?" I said, eyes narrowing. Childhood and family friend or not, I would find it obscenely hard to su
pport anyone just abandoning their family for another lifestyle.

  "A young wolf needs time to gain control of his body and mind," Piers said. "Timmy is still discovering what he can do, learning to control his superhuman strength and abilities."

  "I could easily seriously injure Charlotte or Trey," Timmy said. "My, um, condition makes my moods swing violently sometimes. I'm quicker to anger, and more violent in that anger."

  "He is better and safer among his own kind," Piers said. I didn't care for the superior air in which he said that. "His pack will take care of him."

  "Pack? Take care of him?" I said, turning on Piers. "You mean the pack that bit him? The pack that forced him into becoming a werewolf? Is that the pack that is going to take care of him?"

  "Sable, it's not like that," Timmy said.

  I whirled on him. Timmy stepped back, almost going into a fighting stance. I eyed him narrowly, thinking how terrified and worried Charlotte was, his parents were. Did he understand what they were going through? Did he care?

  "Then tell me how it is," I said. "Did you seek a werewolf out?"

  "Well, no," he said.

  "When you were first approached, did the idea of being a werewolf appeal to you?"

  "Uh, no."

  "At any time prior to being bitten did you want to be a werewolf?"

  "That's not a fair question," Piers said.

  "What's not fair? He either wanted to be a werewolf, or you forced it upon him against his will," I said.

  "Few people want to be a werewolf," Piers said. "The social stigma and all."

  "Oh, great, you're whining about social stigma to a vampire," I said. "I'll cry a big tear for you later."

  "You say that, but being a vampire is much more glamorous and appealing to the masses. In part because you are considered more dangerous."

  "He has a point," Vanessa said. "I mean, who wants their great claim to fame to be the ability to get all hairy? Eww."

  "I love you, too, Vanessa," Piers said.

  "Prove it," Vanessa said. She gave him a come hither look, turned, and sauntered off sexily.

  "Timmy," I snapped. He was watching her walk away with longing eyes. All the men were. I stepped up to him and jabbed my index finger into his chest. Hard. "You are a married man. With a child. What about Charlotte? What about Timothy the Third?"

  "I haven't forgotten them."

  "Do you still love them?"

  "Yes!"

  "Prove it," I said. "Call Charlotte. Tell her what happened to you. Tell her what your plans are for the future. If she's not part of them, then set her free to go make a life for herself."

  "I plan to go back," he said.

  "Back to 'plans' again, are we? Good intentions and plans are worthless. Actions are what people see and feel," I said. "Charlotte sees you are gone. You aren't exactly fighting your way back to her and your family."

  "I don't want to hurt them."

  "You're ripping them to pieces right now! They are soul sick, damn you," I cried. "They asked me to find you. They asked me to save you. Your father has put his, and many others', lives on the line to rescue you."

  "He did? How?"

  "He started an anti-vampire coalition to force us into giving you back," Jeff said. "Like we're that easy to intimidate."

  He gave me a look I didn't care for. But he wasn't moving against me at that moment, so he could wait until later. The longer he could wait the better.

  "As you can see, the vampires are not happy with them," I said. "I've had my hands full keeping them out of trouble."

  "If need be, the pack will protect them, too," Piers said, glaring at Jeff.

  "Yes, the pack protects its own," Timmy said. "I am pack, so my family falls under the pack's protection."

  "Well, they've done a piss poor job of it so far," I said. More growls. I looked around at them. "What's this obsession with packs?"

  "There's safety in packs," Piers said. "Pack is family. The pack is everything."

  "Werewolves don't like it when a werewolf stays alone," Dane said. "They are rather anal about ensuring every wolf is in a pack."

  "Lone wolves are dangerous. Young wolves, especially, need to be taught how to be a werewolf," Piers said. "They need structure and guidance."

  "Timmy wouldn't need your pack, you structure and guidance, if you hadn't bitten him," I said.

  "We had no choice," Piers said. "Timmy is alpha."

  The werewolves all nodded, including Timmy. I stared at them, waiting for someone to explain to me what was so important about being alpha. And how they could tell. Apparently, just saying he was "alpha" justified everything.

  "Okay, humor me," I said. I glanced at Dane, who also seemed interested in finding out why. Mercedes was after him, claiming he was alpha. "Why can't you just leave someone you believe to be alpha alone? Why do you have to bite them?"

  The werewolves looked at me like I was stupid. The vampires smiled or chuckled.

  "Alphas were born to be werewolves," Timmy said.

  "To not bite them would be to deny them their God given blessing," Piers said.

  "God given?" I cried. "Are you insane?"

  "Wolves are not damned souls like vampires," Piers said with that superior air again. "We even have our own churches."

  "That's true," Dane said. "I know of two Methodist, a Presbyterian, and a Baptist church in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that are entirely werewolf, with werewolf ministers."

  A horn sounded. Everyone froze. The excitement in the air changed. One moment it was the tension of fight or flight. In an instant it turned to euphoria. I swear, the auras around the werewolves intensified, brightened. Their eyes came alive with something feral and frightening.

  "What the Hell was that?" Dane said.

  "The run has started!" Piers said. "The prey is loose."

  Piers threw his head back and howled. He began to morph as he howled, transforming into a wolfman with astonishing speed. He barely had time to pull off his clothes as he morphed.

  The men and women all around me started morphing and pulling off their clothes at the same time. Most went four-legged right off. The alphas mostly went wolfman, then turned four-legged. Piers was huge.

  I swear, Piers doubled his mass when he morphed. As a wolfman his girth doubled and he had to grow at least six inches taller. Then he turned into a wolf in about fifteen seconds. And that wolf was at least twice the size of Piers the man.

  Timmy didn't morph as fast as his pack leader, but he grew another four or five inches taller as a wolfman, and he thickened up impressively. His chest was deep and rippled with muscles. His head went completely wolf first, then the rest of his body.

  Once they were all four-legged, Piers threw his head back and howled. It was a deep, base howl that sent chills up my spine. The other pack members howled in unison, then Piers took off running, leading his pack toward the forest.

  Leaping forward, I grabbed Timmy's tail before he ran off. He turned and bared his teeth, a low growl rolling out.

  "Call your wife! Call your parents," I demanded. "Tomorrow. Because I'll tell them tomorrow night, and I think they'd rather hear it from you."

  He growled again, the fur on his nape rising.

  "Do it!" I cried.

  He nodded and I let go. Timmy raced across the open area quickly, and vanished in the woods. There were only a few werewolves still morphing, and they wouldn't be there much longer. Everywhere you looked were discarded clothes.

  "Wow," Dane said, echoing my thoughts.

  "Aren't you going on the hunt?" Henri said.

  A thrill raced up my spine. The memory of blood came to my mouth. Salivating, I licked my lips and stared at the dark forest surrounding us.

  "Deer?"

  "Wild boar," he said. "Much heartier. Stronger. Meaner. Much more dangerous."

  "Oh?" I said, intrigued.

  "Boar fight back," Rod said, eyes wild with blood lust. The next second a wolf leapt out of Rod's clothes and he raced off into the sur
rounding woods.

  Oh, that was exciting. The thrill I got from chasing down and killing the elk came back. That kill was shared. Would a prey that fought back, that was dangerous, be more thrilling?

  "Afraid?" Henri said, and laughed.

  With that Henri morphed into a wolf and raced off after Rod. Jeff wandered off, back towards the bonfire. The few remaining wolves all around us were running away as they completed their transformations. I looked at Dane, unsure what to do.

  "Go," he said. "I see it in your eyes, in your body language. You want to hunt."

  "Yes, God help me, I do," I said, and I morphed into a bat.

  I flew straight up out of my clothes, then morphed again in midair. I hit the ground running, a sleek black wolf with sapphire eyes. I felt tiny compared to the werewolves around me, who all gained at least half again as much mass as their human bodies.

  Just before entering the woods, I glanced back to see Dane bending to gather up my clothes. Pleasure filled me, knowing that Dane cared. He could've just walked away, disgusted with my supernatural urges and needs. Yes, he was too good to me.

  I followed the sounds of pursuit through the dark, winter woods. Wolves were all around me. Most were larger werewolves. The best I could tell, I was better at seeing and otherwise sensing dark, shadow-hidden obstacles.

  Reaching out with my vampiric senses, I tried to find the boar. I found boar. In fact, I found a dozen of the angry little monsters. They were all in full panic, with an undercurrent of rage. Nothing like what I felt with the deer and elk.

  Two groups of three were to either side of me. None of them more than a couple hundred yards away. I could already feel a couple groups of wolves cornering, surrounding individual boars. The whole Run seemed to be coming to a disappointingly quick conclusion.

  Sensing and hearing one such cornering just up ahead, I headed for it. I found the boar cornered, back up against a pile of downed trees and brush. A good dozen slavering wolves surrounded him, stalking back and forth. All were werewolves. One wolf was limping, his left flank and hind leg drenched in blood.

  Maybe not so fast, after all, I thought.