by Ava Walsh
Derek had the past. Hell, who doesn't? Quinn had the past and so did he, he thought as he finally saw her come through the door. Her matching red heels and tank top seemed to glow in the midst of the black pantsuit she had on. It caressed her curves in the most attractive way and for a moment he caught himself staring.
He couldn’t go there. Stopping his thoughts before they got ahead of him, he distracted himself from her by watching the door to the judge’s office until he came out from behind it.
The trial was short and as Derek predicted, Quinn won her case and came out being just shy of twenty grand richer. He could hardly recall any of the proceedings as he had spent the majority of the duration admiring the shiny blonde curls that hung just a few rows in front of him.
She rose and hugged a friend nearby but hung around a few moments longer until the courtroom had all but cleared. So he stayed, intrigued, pretending to be busy on his cell phone. He watched as she approached the front of the courtroom, waiting patiently for the judge to re-emerge from his office. When he finally did, Quinn stepped towards him with a smile that could melt a man to liquid in seconds. With admiration for her professionalism, he remained in the back of the room as she shook hands with the judge and asked some further questions about the case. With a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the judge assured her that she would not have to deal with Michael Biers anymore.
Derek planned to leave the room before she noticed his lingering presence but failed as she turned around quicker than expected and froze at the sight of him.
Chapter 3
“Hello again,” she greeted him with a wide grin spreading across her face.
“Case well won, Miss Astley. My congratulations to you,” he quipped.
Her heart skipped a beat when he flashed a dazzling smile at her. Derek gestured to lead her from the room and into the hall which was basically empty except for the two of them.
“Thank you again for reassuring me before heading in there, I think I needed a boost,” she replied, continuing to smile.
With fresh nerve running through her, Quinn turned to head for the doors of the courthouse, she had a nice bottle of wine waiting for her at home regardless of today’s outcome. The moment she reached the door a hand grabbed the handle before she could even raise her own. She looked up into the shining grey eyes that were starting to become familiar, and let him open the door for her. They exited together and she thanked him again, speeding up towards her car.
“Wait, Miss Astley!” He called without thinking.
She turned on her heel, “yes Mr...” she trailed, she didn’t know his full name this time.
“Harting,” he replied sweetly.
“Mr. Harting.”
“I just wondered if I could maybe take you to dinner tonight, you know, to celebrate your success”, he rambled. Well, that wasn’t very smooth, he thought silently.
“Um...” she started.
“We don’t have to if you’d rather not”, he interjected through fear of being rejected.
“No, that would be... lovely, thank you”, she stuttered a little at the thought of going out with the handsome stranger.
“I’ll pick you up at seven, where do you live?” He quizzed.
She shuffled through her purse for a moment and retrieved a little purple pen. Then she took his hand and wrote her address on his palm, smiled, and got in her car.
Wow, how does she do that? He contemplated as his hand seared with heat where she had touched him.
Chapter 4
Derek hadn’t been this distracted by a woman since Isabel and that was over five years ago. Isabel was one of Derek’s more serious relationships and one of the most complex. They met in law school and had been close for years before they started seeing each other romantically. Isabel was always out with her girlfriends and enjoying her younger years in a more carefree way than what Derek was used to himself. She was a socialite and loved to party which often brought her in situations that made Derek jealous. Her social circle had no boundaries and was ever expanding which seemed to leave Derek on the outside a lot of the time, but he loved her.
When his parents died she was there for him when he needed her most and she was patient with him. But something inside Derek changed when he lost the most influential people he had ever known. It started with the desire to be left alone at night and progressed all the way to struggling to refrain from hitting her whenever they argued. He knew something wasn’t right and that he had to figure it out before something bad happened.
One night he took Isabel to the park for a walk in the cool summer grass. It seemed to be exactly what he needed, he felt comfortable and at ease and became even more so as the night went on. The moon rose slowly and lit up the sparkling green trees and Isabel looked so wonderful in the moonlight. And then he felt it; a tingling in his toes and fingertips that reminded him of being drunk. Then it spread through his arms and legs, up through his torso until it reached his muscular chest and poised head where it exploded into searing, burning pain. He screamed in agony as Isabel rushed to his side. The next thing he was aware of was Isabel’s high-pitched shriek and her brown hair flowing behind her as she ran in the opposite direction. Still blinded with pain, Derek looked down at his trembling hands and saw that they were now covered in hair and his fingernails were growing longer and sharper by the second.
What the hell was going on? He panicked and he felt his spine crack as he hit the ground in misery. The scorching pain thriving in his body lasted only a few minutes but it felt like hours. Feeling it ease, Derek attempted to stand but was unable to find balance and fell back onto all fours. He realized then that something horrible had happened. His eyes refocused and he had never seen this clear in his life. The trees glistened with dew in the light of the full moon and Derek very quickly became aware of how heightened his other senses now were. He could hear the whistle of wind through blades of grass crunching beneath his feet. He could smell the gamey odor of the animals in the distance and most intensely he could taste the hunger for meat burn in the back of his throat.
How the hell had this happened? Derek asked himself once he had regained a human disposition. It’s not like he had contemplated becoming an animal, he didn’t want this. What happened? He continued to wonder.
He headed home, sick with guilt and concern for Isabel. Once safely back in his condo Derek sat down to a cup of coffee and his laptop. He opened it up and with doubt he’d learn anything, dove deep into the realm of superstition which no longer seemed so ludicrous to him.
Apparently there were plenty of ideas about why these changes occur in different people. Certain changes were triggered by puberty. That definitely wasn’t the case with Derek. Other triggers were things like a near death experience or simple evolution. None of those seemed to make sense either. And then he found it. Trauma. He thought back to when he started having strange feelings in his gut and when his attitude began to change. It happened just after his parents’ deaths. Of course. He thought solemnly, remembering his parents' faces in his mind. Now what?
Derek knew he couldn't let this secret out, not to anyone. Needless to say, Isabel never called him back and he couldn't find the sense in himself to blame her. He was a monster that easily could have killed her that night. Instead, he had managed to kill some raccoons and a few squirrels which seemed to do the trick. And soon enough he learned that that was how he could control it. Keeping out of the way of humans on a full moon to protect them was the only thing he could do.
Chapter 5
It was only five o’clock by the time Quinn arrived home from her small errand runs for the day, but she was in a hurry to jump in the shower and clean up for her date. This would be her first date in months and he was extremely attractive to boot!
Tearing off her pantsuit and whipping a brush through her tangle of curls, Quinn scampered into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She liked the water almost hot enough to burn and she was always red from head to toe when she emer
ged. Hastily scrubbing her luscious locks and rinsing off the day's sweat and fatigue, Quinn hopped out of the shower, securing a towel around her, and made for the kitchen. Tea was what she needed, it helped to calm her and she was far from calm. What am I going to wear? How should I do my makeup? And what if he wants me to come back to his place? The thoughts scrambled through her mind as the water boiled. Deciding that she would just have to wait and see, led her back to her room with her cup of freshly boiled confidence.
An hour and a half later, Quinn hung up her towel and slipped into a green, velvet dress that stretched just above her knees. Smudging the last shade of grey eye shadow over her smoking eyes, Quinn stepped back from the mirror to make her assessment. The dress was cinched at the waist and formed a V-shape starting mid-thigh. It was truly flattering and it brought out the highlights in her hair and eyes. Unprepared for the immediacy of the situation, the doorbell rang, making Quinn jump.
She ran to the door, gave her hair a quick shake while looking in the sun shaped mirror in the entranceway, took a deep breath and opened it.
Standing in her doorway was a man even more handsome than the one she had met that afternoon. He was now dressed in a full-blown suit with his hair gelled in place and a scent of clean and not too overpowering cologne.
“Hi”, she stammered. “You’re early”.
“I can go back to my car and wait if you need more time to get ready,” he replied politely.
“Oh no! It’s fine, I’m just not used to people being on time these days,” she recovered.
“Ah, I see. Well, it’s kind of a self-imposed rule I have to always be early. At least twenty minutes,” he remarked, smirking at her obviously impressed gaze. “Shall we?” And he offered her his hand.
She took it and they walked down the steps to his car. It was a Porsche 9 11 in Sunflower Yellow. This is literally my dream car, Quinn thought, not realizing she said it out loud.
“It was mine too, and now it’s my reality,” chirped Derek.
He assisted her into the passenger seat and shut the door behind her. Quinn held her breath for a moment, making sure she wasn’t dreaming and then let it out as they sped down the driveway.
Chapter 6
For the first time in a long time for both of them, Quinn and Derek had an outstanding first date. They told each other about their families, asked questions and enjoyed a delicious meal in a candlelit restaurant.
The pair shared intimate details with one another as if they had known each other their entire lives. Quinn's liveliness and eccentric attitude were a refreshing breath to Derek who spent most of his time around office folk who were desperately bored with their lives. But Quinn was genuinely passionate about real estate and he could see her eyes light up as she talked about it. And for Quinn, Derek's gentlemanly demeanor and sincere interest in her life were reviving. Before Mike, the last guy she dated had an overwhelming desire for sex and sex alone and it got really stale really fast. The date was a welcome change for both of them and the time seemed to float away.
Derek watched entranced as Quinn sipped her wine from across the table. Her lips puckered as the elixir dripped into her mouth and he had to stifle a slight giggle. She was so intriguing he thought, as a desire to taste the wine from her sweet lips grabbed him below the belt.
She caught him staring out the corner of her eye through her wine glass and her breath caught in her throat. Those eyes could burn a hole in my soul she thought, finding herself staring back at the rich, brooding, sexy man that sat across from her. She felt her insides liquefy when he met her gaze. Her body was electrified by the connection and she wanted him, more than she had wanted anyone in a very long time.
It was some moments before she finished her wine and Derek had called for the cheque. By this point, the level of concealment of their desire for one another had become so clear that the older couple across the room had begun to stare, unsettled by the obvious attraction between the two.
“Dinner was wonderful, thank you,” Quinn cooed with a pleasantly full stomach. “Let’s go walk it off down the waterfront trail!” She proposed excitedly.
Not remembering what day it was or the time of that day, Derek smiled in agreement and took her hand as they walked towards the water. He couldn’t help but let her walk a pace ahead of him so that he could keep an eye on her tantalizing rear end. Quinn popped out of her strappy sandals and carried them as they walked along the shore of the Scarborough Bluffs. It was the perfect night.
Their chatter continued into probing questions about past relationships and what they wanted out of life. Quinn was enjoying herself immensely and Derek was pleasantly enthralled with watching her prance along the water’s edge as they spoke. He took her hand and looked into her globe-like eyes sparkling like emeralds when he caught sight of it. Just there dancing above and dipping behind her pupils, two of them, two full moons. He froze. How could he forget? Tonight was the full moon. Worse still, a quick glance at his watch told him that it was only one minute before midnight.
Catching the distinct change in his stature Quinn asked if everything was alright. The moment it took Derek to recover from his paralysis was one moment too long as he felt the tips of his fingers suddenly going numb.
“You have to go,” he growled through gritted teeth.
“Why? What’s going on?” She asked, getting a little afraid. He looked like he was ready to punch a hole in a wall or something and she didn’t understand it.
“Just go, take my keys and go,” he said as he threw the keys to his Porsche in her direction and she almost caught them if she had not had a slight lack of depth perception.
“But why? I can get help if you need it,” Quinn pleaded.
“I said GO! ” He bellowed as the familiar snap of his back brought him to the ground.
She stumbled backwards a few steps but did not move. She stared in concern and terror as she watched his fingernails extend and his eyes glaze over and turn yellow as they snapped up to focus on her face. Snatching the keys from the ground in front of her but far enough from him so he couldn't reach her, Quinn ran for her life back to the car and slammed the door so hard she feared she might have broken it. Turning the key quickly, she heard a low howl in the distance.
Chapter 7
Minutes later Quinn pulled up the driveway of her apartment and hurried up the stairs slamming the door behind her. She sank against it. Her mind racing, she tried to make sense of what she just saw. Her date turned into an animal right before her eyes. That’s the kind of thing you dream about or read in shitty teen novels. It’s not real life. Waiting until her heartbeat slowed, she rose from the floor and walked over to the kettle. Tea.
While the water boiled, Quinn steadied herself at her laptop she left on the table that morning. Taking a deep breath she flipped it open and went into Google. Shape Shifter. She typed in feeling completely ridiculous. She laughed to herself and poured a cup of tea. The words that came up on the web pages she found were things like mythology, folklore, stories, and magic. But this wasn't a myth anymore, it wasn't a story, this was her life and she just watched the man she had dinner with losing his human senses and transform into some creature!
Delving into the lore further and drinking her tea, Quinn began to lose some of her fear of the shape-shifting man that scared her half to death. She began to build an interest in the reasons behind the changes.
The first thing she realized in her research was that not all shape-shifters have the choice of turning or not. Some have it bred within them and there is nothing they can do about it. Others had the ability to change on command. Clearly, based on the terrified look on Derek's face tonight, he had not had a choice. The next thing was that there are many kinds of shape-shifters. They seemed to stem from all sorts of ancient traditions and beliefs. There were spiders and dragons, stags, and even wolves. Wolves. The word stood out to Quinn like a sore thumb. It was a full moon that night and it was nearly midnight when they left the restaurant. The y
ellow eyes, the hairy knuckles, and the teeth that began to protrude from his gums when she turned and ran for the hills made sense. They all pulled together when she heard that long, distant howl as she drove away.
Derek was a Werewolf.
Glancing at the time in the corner of her screen, Quinn tried to collect herself and brush it off. She was crazy, she had to be. There was no other justification for what happened that night. It was almost 3 AM and she had to get some sleep. Maybe in the morning, she would forget the entire thing. Draining her teacup, she headed down the hall to bed. Once in her room, she slipped into her floral robe and hung up her dress. She crawled into bed and pulled the covers up trying to shut out all memory of that Tuesday. Wednesday would be a better day she thought and closed her eyes.
Chapter 8
It was 9 AM when Derek woke up again on the ground near the old oak tree he’d climb as a kid. The grass was still damp and he had to reorient himself when he stood up. Usually, the morning after he transformed, it was difficult to remember what happened the night before--during his transition. But he knew something bad had happened this time. Suddenly her image stood out clear to him in his mind. Blonde hair, curvy hips and bright green eyes. Quinn. Dammit. He thought to himself as he pulled his shirt over his head. He'd have to explain himself to her and soon before he lost her like he did Isabel.
Jogging through the city he considered stopping at her place to make sure she was alright. Hell, he’d need to get his car back sometime anyway. Plus he couldn’t keep from thinking how badly he wanted to see her again. But he went to the office instead. It wasn’t very likely that she’d want to see him again after what happened.