A Month with Werewolves (The With Werewolves Saga Book 1)

by Marla Braziel

  The night was alive with the sounds of insects, owls, and night birds, all seeming dangerously close. Maybe some were even inside the hollow with me. I couldn't tell. All I knew was that I was cold and frightened. Where was Rex? Why hadn't he come for me yet?

  Feeling my way through the darkness, I found the entrance to the hollow. My hands worked to push back the pine branches, wincing in irrational fear as the needles poked at my fingers. Rex had done well to conceal the hole.

  On hands and knees, I crawled out of the hollow, crunching over the downed branches that I had pushed out of the way. I could hear the river as plain as day to my left, but there was still no sign of Rex. Reluctantly, I stood to scan the area, though I was too afraid I would get lost to move away from the tree. My eyes were not accustomed to seeing in the night as Rex's were.

  The wind howled, and in the distance, coyotes joined in, baying as if they were celebrating a fresh kill. My mind raced with possibilities. Had Rex been captured during the day, and if so, what was I to do? I wouldn't be able to find my way to the cabin at night, and I was frightened of being alone. Maybe allowing Rex to drag me back out into the forest hadn't been such a good idea. Perhaps we should have stayed at his cabin. At least then I'd know what had happened to him, if the compound had come to pick him up.

  Fear drove me back into the hollow, though I didn't bother covering it this time. I sat directly in the center, holding a thick branch in my hand for protection, should one of the few remaining predators in the reservation stumble upon my hiding spot. How I hoped that wouldn't happen. I must be pretty stupid to think that a scrawny little stick would protect me if a bear came along. Still, there was a small sense of security in holding the thing.

  Hours passed. It had to be somewhere around ten o'clock at night, I imagined. Rex obviously wasn't coming back. Something must have happened to him, which meant that I would have to make a new game plan tomorrow—have to find his cabin.

  It was another restless night. Between worrying about Rex and not feeling safe, I couldn't expect much more. When the sun broke over the horizon, I was ready to move again.

  I crawled out of the hollow and made my way to the river, pealing my shoes off to soak my feet in the cool cleansing water. They looked worse than I had imagined they would, with a line of blisters practically ringing the bottoms of both of my feet, not to mention the ones on my toes. While I sat with my feet in the water, I drank and drank and drank until I thought I would vomit. My body was so famished and dehydrated that I felt dizzy.

  As soon as I found Rex's cabin, my next priority would be food. Hopefully, he would have some jerky saved back. Hunting and fishing were not my forte, and I was stupid when it came to plants. If he didn't have something for me to eat when I got there, I would likely starve.

  I let my feet air dry in the sun, knowing that if I tried to put my shoes back on immediately it would only make things worse. It probably wasn't the best idea to stick them in the water to begin with, but they were so sore that I would take whatever relief I could get.

  Finding my way back to Rex's cabin was easier than I had thought it would be. I made a few wrong turns here and there, but I knew the general direction and was able to locate it within an hour. As Rex had done, I approached cautiously, though there were no immediate signs of danger.

  One thing was apparent. Someone from the compound had been there. There were fresh ATV tracks in front of the cabin, though I couldn't tell if they had been from this morning or yesterday. Probably yesterday when I was sleeping. Otherwise, I would have heard them coming.

  I opened the door to a flood of bad memories. My eyes instantly landed on the cot where Rex had given me the lycanthropy disease, though horrible thoughts were softened by those of having a comfortable sleep on it. As primitive as it was, this cabin was my home now for as long as Rex would have me.

  Brushing unpleasant memories aside, I began foraging through the few cabinets and boxes that I could find. Thankfully, Rex had a small abundance of dried strips of meat and what appeared to be fruits and vegetables as well. I tried to ration it out as best as I could. Rex had told me they usually put people in solitary confinement for a week, which meant I would have to make the food stretch that long before he returned and could provide more.

  It was funny thinking of it that way. Never in my life had I wanted to have to rely on a man to provide anything for me, and yet here I was, stranded and helpless, unable to provide for myself. How upside-down my life had been turned due to his stupid mistake? Part of me still wanted to hate Rex, but how could I hate the man who was now my salvation.

  After investigating the inside of the cabin, I decided to take a look around the outside. There was a small garden behind the back where ripe tomatoes clung to vines. Greedily, I fell to my knees to consume two were I sat. A tomato had never tasted so delicious in all my life. Everything was starting to taste a lot better now that I felt like I was starving.

  Apart from the vegetable garden was a small herb garden. I didn't know most of the herbs, but one plant I did recognize was aloe vera. Without hesitation, I broke off a stalk to take inside and rub on my blisters.

  It seemed strange sitting in Rex's cabin all alone. My eyes darted around the room, exploring, wondering how pissed off he would be if I gave it a good scrub. While the place was surprisingly clean for belonging to a bachelor, it could still use a woman's touch. Besides, what else did I have to offer him in the way of support? I didn't know how to hunt, I hated fishing, I burned everything I tried to cook, and I had a black thumb of death. But cleaning was one thing I was good at. With as small as the cabin was, it wouldn't take me very long to clean it from top to bottom, a day maybe, if that much.

  What would I do after that to pass the time? With no books or television to keep me entertained, I worried I might shrivel up and die from boredom. I couldn't help but wonder what Rex did for entertainment all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. If only I had thought to ask him, then again, I hadn't expected for us to be separated like this.

  I would find something to do while I waited for Rex to return. I would have to, because there was no way I was going back to the base of the reservation, not after what Rex had done to save me. He was paying the price now, and so was I in my own way. I would make it through this somehow though. We would make it through this somehow.

  CHAPTER SIX

  When they came for me, I was eating a meager meal of two strips of jerky, a tomato from the garden, and some chewy dried berry that tasted like sweet rot. The ATVs could be heard from several yards away, maybe even a mile into the forest. I had never been a good judge of distance.

  They were coming to take me back to the base of the Blackfoot Werewolf Reservation, and for a moment, I thought about cooperating. It had been a while since I'd had a decent meal. What I wouldn't give for a proper bed too?

  My moment of desperation was fleeting though. If I returned with them, Emmett would have his way with me, and he would likely not be very nice about it. That thought alone spurred me to take my scraps of food and stow myself away in the cabinet.

  After a few knocks on the door, I could hear it creek open, the compound staff entering as if they had every right to be there. I held my breath, trying to stay as silent as a shadow while they approached.

  “You don't think she's out in the forest, do you?” a man's voice asked, seeming aggravated.

  “Did you see her when she was touring the compound?” the second person, also a male, asking incredulously. “She wouldn't last a day on her own in the forest.”

  “Well, she's got to be somewhere.”

  “Look under the bed.”

  There was a rustling noise and then a sigh of defeat. “No, not under there. Where could she be?”

  “You don't suppose she died, do you?” the voice was uncertain.

  “Who knows?” the other one said with exasperation. “It would serve the stupid bitch right for running off like that.”

  “Yeah. These werewolve
s can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.”

  “Sometimes I think it would be better if they just put them all down. Would make our job easier.”

  “No it wouldn't, you idiot. Then we wouldn't have a job.”

  The other man thought for a moment. “Oh, well, I guess your right. Still, this is a big pain in the ass. The boss is gonna be pissed if we don't find her.”

  “She'll turn up. One way or another. I'm not going to worry about it.”

  “You don't think John will be mad?”

  “Not really. She's a werewolf now. It doesn't really matter if she goes missing. If this would have happened before she'd been a werewolf, well, then we'd be in deep shit if we didn't find her.”

  “I hope your right,” he sighed. “Well, let's get out of here. I think we should split up. I'll follow the river, and you go back down the trail.”

  “Sounds good to me,” the other one replied, and then I listened as their foot steps moved away and the door closed behind them.

  It wasn't until the sound of their engines had all but disappeared that I felt safe enough to come out of hiding. Had I made the right choice by not showing myself? My stomach wasn't sure. One thing was certain though. I wouldn't last much longer without getting some real food in my belly.

  The following day was the hierarchy trials. I couldn't help but wonder if the werewolves had bothered having them without me being present. That was the point of it, after all, to help me find my place within the pack. Others would be disappointed if they put it off, particularly the omegas, looking for their chance to climb out of the shit hole they had fallen into by placing last at the previous trials. It could have easily been me this time, and with as malnourished and weak as I felt, I was sure it would have been had those men captured me and taken me back to the base of the reservation. I had made the right choice by hiding.

  While I was cleaning Rex's cabin, I came across a length of string with a hook attached to it. Desperate for sustenance, I decided to try my hand at fishing. If the werewolves had decided to go through with the hierarchy trials, then the compound staff probably wouldn't have time to come after me. It was my best chance to try to find food.

  I approached the river with caution, remembering something my grandfather had told me long ago about scaring the fish by making noise. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was true or not, but I didn't want to take any chances.

  As I walked toward the riverbank, I chewed on a wad of jerky until it was soft and pliable. That would be my bait, since I couldn't think of anything else to use. Surely, if it was good enough for me, it was good enough for the fish.

  With my wad of chewed jerky on the hook, I got down on my stomach and inched up to the edge of the water. The string would only cast a few feet, so I had to find somewhere deep enough to make it worth the effort.

  There were four perch gathered where the line hit the water. They scattered away from the hook, but then settled, looking at it with their small round eyes.

  I had never considered fishing to be an adrenaline sport before, but as I lay there, watching the scaly things dance curiously around my hook, my heart pounded with a fierceness that made me think it might burst from my chest if I actually landed one . . . or if I didn't. My morale was riding on this catch. If I went back to the cabin empty handed, I would melt down. There was no question in my mind.

  Come on. Come on, you bastards.

  The fish eyed the bait, which to my horror was quickly untangling itself from the hook. Perhaps I had chewed the fibrous tissue too much, not leaving it intact enough to cling to the hook properly. How I hoped it would hold. It needed to hold.

  Finally, a fish approached, pecking at one of the sinuous strings that was waving from the hook like a miniature tentacle. It pecked once, tasting the bait. Twice, pulling some from the hook. On the third time, it jerked the bait completely free, leaving my hook dangling lifeless and ignored. Everything in me wanted to scream and curse and pound my fists into the dirt, but I knew I couldn't do that. I had to try again.

  This time, I didn't chew the jerky quite so much. My hopes were high as I cast out again, praying the fish hadn't lost interest. Thanks to my horrible aim, I missed them by several feet, and they didn't seem very investigative.

  After a few minutes, I reeled in and cast out again. The fish scattered, and they didn't school back together, opting for going their separate ways instead. I waited with all the patience I could muster, hopeful.

  The adrenaline died down with the distance of the fish from my bait. My stomach gurgled loudly, signaling another round of hunger pangs. I pressed my face against the grass, closing my eyes and swallowing my pain. When I looked back up, the fish were even farther away than before, and something inside me snapped.

  My hand went limp, hanging over the riverbank, though I wasn't stupid enough to let the string go. Tears burned my cheeks on their descent to the ground, and after a few seconds of silent weeping, I broke out into full sobs. How could life have gotten so bad so fast?

  “What are you crying about?” a voice said, and my heart nearly froze in my chest as I rolled on my back to see where it was coming from.

  Rex stood several feet away, leaning against a tree with an amused look on his face. The sun made his bronze hair glitter, his green eyes look almost luminescent. He was cleaner than I had ever seen him before, wearing a new blue jumpsuit. They must have given it to him back at the compound.

  “Rex.” I sat up, wiping my eyes while I reeled in the fishing line. “It hasn't been a week yet. How'd you come back so soon?”

  “Well don't pretend like you missed me or anything like that,” he said sarcastically, pushing himself off of the tree to come help me up. His hands were rough against mine, callused from hard work.

  “You said that they'd keep you in solitary for a week. It's only been a few days,” I stuttered, still fighting back tears. These tears were from joy though, not despair.

  “We made a compromise. One you'll have to help me with. Come on, let's go back to the cabin. See how much food you left me,” his tone was harsh as usual, and I cowered under it, wondering how pissed he would be with how much I had eaten. While I had tried to ration for seven days, my hunger had gotten the better of me a couple of times. Not to mention I had dipped into the garden quite a bit.

  “I see you've done some rearranging,” he said once we reached the cabin and stepped inside. “Annoying.”

  “I got bored,” I confessed.

  Rex removed his shirt to rip the sleeves off, and a blush came to my cheeks as my eyes flitted down to the tight muscles of his stomach, causing impure thoughts to cross my mind, secret hidden desires that never should have been.

  “Go out back and cut a stalk of aloe vera. You know what that looks like, right?” Rex glanced up at me for a moment, and my cheeks brightened with the realization that he had caught me staring. Thankfully, he seemed to be oblivious to it, only caring about the task at hand.

  I nodded, making my way to the door, images of Rex shirtless burned into my mind. What was I thinking? The man had raped me, taken me against my will. There was no logical reason for my attraction to him. Besides, he was too rough, too crude, and nothing like I had ever wanted before. I needed a prince charming, someone romantic and kind and loving and affectionate. Someone like. . .

  A small sigh escaped my lips as I broke off a stalk of aloe vera. Chris had never been those things either. He was kind and playful and caring, but he had his bad moments too. A lot of them. Definitely not a prince charming, but far better than Rex in regard to manners.

  I wondered how Chris was doing back at the base of the reservation. Had he actually had sex with Sasha the night Emmett tried to rape me? Did he miss me at all? The possible negative answers to those two questions were too depressing to think about. What did it really matter anyway? Chris had given me up when he had decided not to come with me to Emmett's place.

  When I went back inside, Rex was sitting on a chair with his forearm propped up
on his knee. In his other hand was a box cutter.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked, utterly confused about his intentions.

  “You know that compromise I told you about?” He looked up at me, holding the box cutter precariously over his forearm.

  “Yeah?”

  “They said they'd let me off of solitary if I agreed to be microchipped. Apparently, they can't do it without our consent because of some law. I agreed to do it, so I could get back to you sooner, but I ain't meaning to keep the thing inside of me. They can follow me where I want them to go. Nowhere else.”

  “So you mean to cut it out?” disbelief was strong in my voice.

  Rex gave me a look as if to insult my intelligence. Of course, he meant to cut it out. This was a man who didn't fear most of the things that common men did: pain, confrontation, being alone.

  “What do you need me to do?” I knelt beside him with the aloe vera.

  “When I cut this thing out, it's gonna bleed. I need you to take some water and wash the wound. Then rub some aloe vera on it and wrap it up. I could do it myself, but since you're here, I might as well use you.”

  With my eyes fixed on the blade, I nodded. Even though it was his flesh about to be torn open instead of mine, my heart still beat fiercely with nervous anticipation. I certainly hoped Rex knew what he was doing.

  His eyes flashed up to mine, asking if I was ready. After a moment of silent understanding, Rex turned his attention down to his forearm, placing the blade over where the microchip had been implanted. It took everything in me not to wince away when the blood began to flow, trickling over the side of his arm and spilling onto the wooden floor below. Rex hissed in pain as he dug out the small thing, about the size of a grain of rice. It reminded me of something out of a science fiction movie, and I caught myself staring at it as he carelessly dropped it to the floor.