Untamed Darkness

by Kate Wendley

  She changed the subject because she was too out of sorts for this heavy topic right now. “I work at Plummer and Wakefield Marketing Consultants. It’s downtown on Twelfth Avenue.”

  His eyes went wide. “That tall gold building with the plants on the rooftop patios?”

  “Yeah. Have you been there or something?”

  “I work a couple doors down at Global National.”

  “The insurance company?”

  “Yeah. I’m in IT.”

  Huh. A party boy in IT. It could happen. Ok. Her respect for him was slowly climbing out of the depths. “Well, thanks again. I guess we should get ready for work then, so…”

  He fidgeted anxiously and her heart tweaked at the sight of it. Why was he nervous? So far she’d only ever seen him being relaxed and self-assured no matter where he was and what was going on.

  “I guess I have your cell number now, but maybe you should give me your work phone, too. Just in case.” He fumbled with his phone, and she reluctantly gave him all her information. It felt weird, like her private space was being invaded without her consent, but he seemed more than willing to be there for her. Why, she still had no idea. Surely he could get good feelies from other women. He seemed to have lots to choose from.

  “Since we work right next to each other, we should meet for lunch today to see how you’re doing.” He stood to leave and before she could argue about who he thought he was trying to make her check in with him, he flicked a hot look down her body, then casually glanced away.

  She hadn’t been so aware of her near nakedness until now, and even if she shouldn’t get involved with him, he was still a damn sexy man and his interested eyes were on her. She pulled a blanket off the sofa and self-consciously wrapped herself in it as she walked him to the door.

  When he turned and saw her all covered up, a quick disappointed frown creased his brow. “You’ll meet me for lunch?”

  “If you think I need to.”

  His eyes lit up in irritation. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think, but something’s going on with your wolf. You could go to the family and let them know your control’s a little weak, which usually means they put you on house arrest. Or you could meet me for lunch so we can talk about how you’re doing today.”

  It annoyed her that he didn’t think this was a one-time thing. She’d been controlling her wolf for the last six years. Why would he think one mishap was so bad? And going to the family now, after realizing they’d actually killed the man that did this to her, well… one scary thing at a time. Besides, her life was her own, mistakes and all. There was no way she was going to let anyone else to tell her where she could and couldn’t have the freedom to go.

  “I’ve been controlling my wolf just fine, actually, until I met you. Maybe I just need to stay away from you.”

  Her stomach lurched at the thought, and her wolf trembled in irritation inside her.

  Marc didn’t seem very pleased either, and she felt bad to see the bitter look on his face. “Well, you were nowhere near me last night and look what happened.”

  “Then maybe I should take your number out of my phone.”

  Now he really was mad. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “What?”

  He closed his eyes, grit his teeth, and sighed in frustration. When he opened his eyes again, he leaned forward and put his hands on her shoulders. Even through the blanket she could feel the energy he kept asking her about. It beckoned her to him, but was that just part of his extra power? Or part of his supreme sexiness?

  The hurt in his voice broke her concentration from the feel of his hands so firmly holding her, as if he didn’t want to let her go. “Helena, I can’t imagine what it’s been like to be on your own this whole time, but I’m just trying to help. If you don’t want my help, just say so. But you definitely need someone’s help.”

  He stepped back and absently pulled his keys out of his pocket. She wanted to snuggle into his arms and tuck herself close to his body, but she felt like a fool for thinking he’d see her for anything more than a short lived fling. He had too many admirers, beautiful admirers, to ever be happy with the likes of her.

  “Noon. I’ll meet you at the Indian place between our buildings at noon. And… thank you. I mean it.”

  A relaxed smile finally crossed his handsome face and it was all she could do to not throw herself at him as he walked out the door. He even gave her a coy look as he left, which only made her mad that he was toying with her like this.

  **

  Marc made it to work on time, even after driving home from Helena’s to shower and get clean clothes. And then he obsessed over her all morning long.

  He wasn’t sure he believed she’d only been wolf for six years, but why lie about something like that? Everyone he knew thought that the ‘rule’ they all learned growing up to not bite humans was a load of crap since no one had ever heard of anyone being turned into a shapeshifter. You were born this way. But if Helena had been turned from a bite, it would explain a lot of things about her, including the rock solid aura he felt from her. If she’d learned to control her wolf all on her own, then she was definitely not a flighty woman, even though she was having some troubles controlling her wolf right now. Because of him?

  If her story was true, then she was pretty badass. Most shapeshifters grew up either in the apartments in Brookhaven, or in the shelter of small schools and neighborhoods with others just like them. It was a lot of work to get your animal side under control, and you definitely didn’t work on it in front of regular humans. There were life and death consequences if you didn’t take this supreme duty seriously.

  Helena had somehow managed it all on her own, so it made sense she also had a strong, steady aura. But since she had an extreme amount of control over herself, would there be anything he could possibly do for her? Would she even need someone like him in her life?

  Maybe. He’d given her the hotline number, and she apparently felt the need to call almost immediately, so she must be looking for answers to things she didn’t understand about herself. Maybe he could help with that. It could be a way to show her that he’s a good guy after all and not the flighty party boy she seemed to think he was.

  Her questions at the park yesterday told him all he needed to know about what she thought of him. She’d seen him kissing another woman, then partying with Rio and the crew with girls hanging all over them. And now he was chasing her.

  He growled to himself in frustration as he made his way from the parking garage into the building at work. He needed a way to show her he’d be good for her, though in the back of his mind he wondered if that would ever really be true.

  It was more of the usual crap from Kev and Alek all morning, though they toned it down some when they both needed help with the issues they were working on, even if Alek was cranky about asking for it. Marc kind of liked that he was the one of the three of them who usually knew the answers. For once he felt like he actually had some valuable skills and wasn’t just a lazy screw-up.

  The morning flew by with most people calling because they just didn’t know how to use a computer properly. Those were the easy, if not frustrating calls. It was the calls where people actually knew what they were doing and were just seeing some weird crap that Marc actually liked because he got to use his brain.

  **

  Helena found a spare moment before lunch and called Charlie at the Werewolf 911 hotline.

  She sounded happy to hear from her. “Good morning Helena. What can I do for you today?”

  “Hi Charlie. I have a weird question for you.”

  “I’m sure it’s not weird at all, but go ahead dear.”

  She took a deep breath, then spit it out. “What does it mean to be marked? Is there something special about it?” Marc seemed frustrated with her this morning, like she wasn’t grasping something when he told her he’d marked her. She hated feeling like she was in the dark about things she should know about, and now that she had someone t
o ask about werewolf stuff, she wanted to know everything.

  Charlie sounded surprised. “Did someone mark you dear?”

  “I… don’t know. I mean, yes, but I don’t understand if it’s supposed to mean something.” She had a nice, bloody scab on the back of her neck right now, but somewhere deep inside, her wolf felt pretty happy about it and Helena had no idea why.

  “Do you care for the one who marked you?”

  “I, uh…” Did she? Besides wanting to jump his bones? “He’s a friend.”

  “I see. A friend who marked you.” The insinuation in Charlie’s voice bothered her.

  Frustrated, she snapped, “It’s not like it sounds. Never mind.”

  She was about to hang up when Charlie said, “It means they’ve claimed you as theirs, dear. Your friend has claimed you. The bite is so that others know you’re taken.”

  A fluttery feeling quickly grew in her belly. Marc was claiming her?

  She looked around her office even though the door was closed, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “Do werewolves mark more than one person at a time?”

  Charlie sighed. “Werewolves are just like humans, dear. There are those that are faithful and those that aren’t. Our wolf side tends to be strongly monogamous, but our human side can have quite different feelings about love. And it’s a complicated thing to get both your wolf and your human side to agree on a lover. Sometimes it never happens, but we date and marry anyway.”

  She stared in horror out the window. Her wolf and human side both liked Marc, but there was too much she didn’t know about him.

  And for the next hour a relentless question circled round her brain. Which side of Marc claimed her last night? The monogamous wolf or the fickle man? Did she really want to know?

  Chapter 9

  Marc had been trying to think of what to say to Helena all morning, and when she stepped off the elevator outside the Tandoori Indian Restaurant, he still had no clue how to win her over.

  And damn she looked sexy. She had on a slim fitting skirt that hit her right above the knee, a button down blouse with a stringy looking bow, and high heel shoes that made her calves look sexy as hell. She was all tightly wound up, and delicious to the max.

  She gave him a suspicious look as she approached, and he hated to say he was getting used to that with her. Why was she always so leery of him?

  “Hi.”

  “Hi. You look nice.” He put his arm out for her and she gave him a little smirk before looping her hand around his forearm.

  “You don’t have to flatter me just because I let you sleep in my bed last night.”

  He didn’t like the insinuation that he was only nice when sex was possibly involved, but she had an easy smile for once so he rolled with it. “Good to know, gorgeous, even though it was your wolf that allowed it. But I’ll remember that for next time.”

  “Next time?”

  “Yeah. I think I should sleep on your couch tonight. To be close by in case your wolf takes over again.”

  She tensed, but he’d already decided. Besides, it was either that or she needed to go to the family. She probably needed to anyway because he had no idea what he was doing, but he didn’t want to give up his time with her if he could help it.

  They walked the few feet to the restaurant and got seated before she could try to talk him out of it. She tried, though. She really did.

  “I can manage this. Really. I mean, I appreciate all your help, but−”

  “But nothing. Do you not remember telling me what happened to the guy that did this to you?” He took a sip of his water as he casually eyed her.

  Helena’s gaze flitted around in worry as the wheels spun in her head. He hadn’t been trying to upset her, but it was the only way he could think of to invite himself back to her place since she didn’t seem all that into dating him. And he didn’t want to think too hard about what she might not see in him as a potential significant other or he’d lose his nerve.

  Luckily she didn’t have a good reason to deny him, so they ate a pleasant lunch together, and he felt like the cat that ate the canary for the entire rest of the day.

  **

  Helena was nervous to have Marc over tonight. Having him take her under his wing to explain things about being a werewolf was awesome. But her attraction to him was insane, and both her and her wolf wanted him naked in her bed, pronto. So it was weird having him just be her friend right now, but it would be too confusing to mix the two up. How could she really get to know him and decide if he was the guy for her when she was so focused on her own issues right now?

  She told him she’d make dinner for them both as a thank you, but she ended up working late so Marc offered to pick up food instead. Ugh. She couldn’t even get the friend thing down right.

  He was by the curb as she pulled up. Damn. He beat her here. She didn’t know why she was nervous, but then, he was still a stranger, and a stranger that she didn’t know how to handle. He was sexy, and yes, she felt the same crazy pull towards him that he claimed to feel for her, but that didn’t mean this still wasn’t just intense physical attraction. And a friend with benefits was not what she needed right now, or ever. Also, she wasn’t someone to just invite guys to her place, let alone someone she just met. So why did she agree to this?

  Oh yeah. Because the family is scary. And she was too chicken to tell Charlie about her wolf taking control of her last night, so she was taking her chances on Marc helping her over this bump in the road of her werewolf life.

  She really hated being a werewolf.

  “You ok?”

  “Yeah. Just had something on my mind.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?”

  She narrowed her eyes at him as they walked together to the front door. Why was he so easy to talk to? It would be much easier to think of him as a playboy if he was a jerk. “Just thinking how I hate being a wolf.”

  “What do you hate about it?” His cheerful expression faded and she was instantly sorry for sharing with him. His positive, easy going attitude was starting to grow on her, and she hated to see him look so melancholy.

  She unlocked the door and he reached in front of her to push it open. Such a gentleman. She could get used to a guy watching out for her.

  “I hate the times when I don’t feel like I’m in control. Like when my wolf’s pushing me to do something I’d normally never in my right mind do.”

  They walked up the short flight of stairs in silence, and again while she opened her apartment door. Once inside, Marc put down the bag of hot food, then turned and took her into his arms and gave her a big hug.

  She felt awkward at first. It was weird to have this stranger being so nice to her, but damn if it didn’t feel good to have someone to talk to about all this wolf crap. And… it did feel like home to be in his arms.

  His face was turned into her hair, and she swore he was smelling her, but the longer he held her, the less she cared. Besides, he smelled good, too. So she held on, gripping him tighter and tighter as the last six years of confusion and frustration hit a fever pitch and all she could do was cling to him. Her body trembled as she thought of all the times she felt out of control and had no one to talk to or to even explain what the hell was happening to her.

  And here was sexy Marc, just here to give her a hug. She laughed at that. He stilled, then pulled back from her.

  “You ok?” He wiped at her tears and she again marveled at how girly she felt around him as she looked up at him.

  “Yeah. I’m ok.”

  He held her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. “Being werewolf means sometimes our wolf has control, and sometimes our human side does. It helps if you can learn to trust your wolf because big picture, neither of you want to do anything that hurts the other. You’re both living in the same body after all.”

  She stared at him as that sunk in. Did she want to hurt her wolf? And did her wolf want to hurt her?

  She felt a pinch in her stomach as if in respon
se to her question. No. Her wolf didn’t want to hurt her.

  “Do you trust your wolf?”

  Marc smiled as if she’d asked him a secret. “It’s taken a while, years actually, but yes. And the more I trust him, the more help he is even when I’m the one totally in control.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means your natural, gut instincts will heighten the more you’re in tune with your wolf.”

  “Really?” Her stomach growled loudly.

  “Really. You know what my instincts are telling me right now?”

  “What?”

  “That you’re hungry. Let’s eat.”

  She chuckled and whapped him on the arm as he started pulling food out. And his widening grin and the spark in his eye as he gave her a sideways glance made it clear he’d be just fine with them being more than friends, but she still wasn’t sure if that was a good idea. Women and partying and people being totally out of control was what ran through her mind when she thought of a future with Marc. For now, she was content to just get through the night without embarrassing herself.

  **

  Marc felt weirdly comfortable at Helena’s. They’d barely gotten to know each other these last few days, yet it felt like there had never been a time they hadn’t known each other. But Helena liked to change the subject a lot whenever he mentioned the incredible feeling between them when they touched. He knew she felt it, but for some reason didn’t want to talk about it.

  Or maybe she was too confused about why her wolf was taking charge of her so much lately. He supposed that would be worrisome, so he didn’t push her. He was just thankful she allowed him to be here tonight.

  After eating dinner they decided to watch a movie until bed time, and they’d agreed on some sci-fi thriller that neither of them had seen before. Over halfway into the movie, though, Helena pulled his arm off the back of the couch and draped it over her shoulder so she’d have something to grab on to for the scary parts. He liked that.

  It was when she absently started petting him, then softly nibbled the fleshy part of his hand that he nearly came undone. She stared intently at the TV screen, oblivious to what she was doing to him. At least he hoped she didn’t know because if she did, she was a damn good actor and he’d get her back in a big way for stringing him along all this time.