The Legend of the Werewolf

by Mandy Rosko

  She abruptly released his lips. His brows came together in confusion.

  “I love you,” she said. She didn’t care if admitting it only after she knew he felt the same made her a wuss. She had to say it.

  Those same brows shot up like rockets. “I…didn’t say anything because I thought what we were doing was just a fake.”

  She licked her lips. “Not entirely fake.”

  His eyes half lidded as he watched her tongue moisten her lips. He lowered his head in an attempt to kiss her again.

  She put her hand up before his mouth could touch hers. "Stay with me."

  An eager grin touched his face as he drew her body close to his. She could feel his skin tightening beneath his clothes as the blood rushed to his primary brain. "Tonight?"

  Anne fought to keep from giggling like an idiot school girl. "That too, but I mean every night. Stay with my pack. Don't leave." She despised how the last part came out as if she were begging, but if that’s what it took then so be it.

  Mike's hands didn't falter around her waist. He gripped her tighter and Anne easily detected the reluctant embarrassment rolling off him without the red tinge that brightened his cheeks. "Uh, I've been meaning to talk to you about that."

  A spark of fear ignited. Those were never good words. "About what?"

  "Remember how we lied and said that we bonded by accident?"

  Anne wished she knew where he was taking her with this. How could she forget that day? It was the day she got married. "Yes?" Her reply sounded more like a question.

  Mike stared into her eyes, his brow knit together in concentration. It wasn't exactly a lie.

  Anne gasped. The clear cut sound of his voice when he didn't even open his mouth passed over her like a shiver. He was a mind reader, he could read most everyone’s thoughts. However, he could not speak them through his psychic channel. If she could hear him then it meant only one thing.

  “I figured it out when I felt you were gone.”

  “You…but…really?”

  Mike chuckled and kissed her before she could sputter anything else.

  ***

  Mike kicked in the door to their room, carrying Anne bridal style. With the gown, she felt like a bride too.

  She screeched in laughter when he collapsed on the bed with her the second it was in sight.

  She didn’t get her dream wedding, but being carried over the threshold by her husband was definitely part of the fantasy.

  In everyone's eagerness to meet Bud and finally give Chris the recognition he deserved as a hero, no one seemed to notice when she and Mike latched hands and slipped off to be alone.

  His lips landed on hers and despite the corset she wore with the metal frame that sucked in her stomach and waist, his hands burned through the tight thing as they travelled up and down her midsection.

  She threaded her fingers through his hair, moaning softly. "I've wanted you to do this to me since the second I saw you."

  Mike growled in her ear. "I've pictured doing this to you at around the same time and haven't stopped since."

  Abruptly, he sat up and stared down at her with a puzzled expression.

  "What's wrong?" Anne asked, eager, impatient, and out of breathe.

  He pointed at the gown she wore. "I have no idea how to take this off of you."

  She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. "That's okay. I'll just do this."

  She curled her fingers into the fabric, grabbing at the thin metal poles for extra purchase, then pulled with all her strength.

  Mike's mouth dropped as the bodice ripped in half, revealing bare breasts and tight pink nipples for him to see.

  Anne flung the offending thing across the room and laid back again for his inspection. "You should have no trouble getting the gown off, right?"

  He didn't seem to hear her. "It doesn’t matter that I was supposed to be the one to do that. Watching you rip off your own bodice is the sexiest thing ever."

  "I'll remember that. Now, show me what you planned on doing to me that night we met."

  Mike lowered himself down her body and helped her shimmy out of her gown and the remains of her chemise. He grinned wickedly from his position between her legs. "This isn't the whole of what I pictured doing with you, but the rest will have to wait until we can find some condoms."

  Anne opened her mouth to tell him she, and the pulsing between her thighs, could care less about that, but Mike lowered his head and kissed the demanding space that throbbed before she could speak.

  Her would-be words turned into small incoherent squeaks and she decided that this would definitely serve until they bothered to search around for protection.

  Her head fell back into the sheets as her breasts arched up with her back. Puffy breaths took the place of her calm breathing as his mouth licked and sucked while his hands massaged her legs.

  Her body quaked as the bubble inside her grew and grew. Anne curled her legs around his back, reached her hands out, grabbed a pillow, and smothered herself with it to contain her scream as the bubble burst and showered her with the glow of her orgasm.

  Too fast. Way too fast. She wanted this to last a little longer.

  Her hands fell limply at her sides as her ears picked up on the faraway sound of Mike's laughter. He pulled the pillow from her face to admire his work. "I take it back. That was the sexiest thing ever."

  The urge to snuggle up with him and fall asleep almost took precedence over the other pressing matter at hand.

  Anne shook herself and sat up, forcefully knocking him on his back before straddling his legs and working on the buckle of his belt. "Think I can outdo myself again?" sShe asked, ripping his jeans down with fiery impatience.

  She shimmied down his legs until her face was at level with his erection. She was going to outdo herself. If he thought for one second he was getting an easy ‘O’ like what he just gave her, he was out of his mind.

  She was going to torture him until the sun went down.

  His back arched when she took him inside her mouth, though not as violently as when he did this to her. "Oh, well, if you want to try I won't stop you."

  ***

  A rough shake yanked her from her dream world. Anne raised her hand and swatted whoever it was who tried to lift her from her comfortable place, but her hand was gripped and shoulders shaken again.

  "Anne, get up. He's gone, Anne."

  Anne forced her eyes open. Mike stood over her, completely dressed all the way up to the cowboy hat on top of his dark head of hair.

  She rubbed her eyes. "What? Who's gone?"

  "Hadrian. He's not here anymore and Bud unconscious."

  Her brain finally woke up. Anne sat up straight and flung herself out of her nest of blankets.

  "Bill?"

  He's the one who came and got me. He's with Westley."

  "What about your backup?" He'd told her that he made a call to his cop friends back in Griffon City after they finished crumpling the sheets and making noise.

  "Not here yet, a few minutes at most. I want to get you out of here and in a more crowded place before anything happens." Mike went to a dresser and pulled out any clothes he could find, tossing them over his shoulder and at her, regardless of their sizes or color.

  "He wouldn't sneak up on me again," she assured him, wrinkling her nose at the giant grey sweater before pulling it over her head. A pair of men's blue swim trunks followed. She put them on but the sweater was so long and heavy that, when she stood up, it looked like she wore nothing else.

  Mike gave her no opportunity to scrutinize how bad she must look. "Let's go." He grabbed her hand and rushed out of the room and out of the cottage with her.

  "Watch your feet." Mike lifted her into the air and carried her across the field of grass, dirt, and rocks to Gordon's house.

  His feet brought him to their destination so swiftly, she didn't have time to remind him that the gravel wouldn't hurt her bare soles.

  He opened the door and let them in before sett
ing her down on a polished floor, keeping one arm possessively around her waist.

  "Bill? Westley?" Anne called.

  Scurrying feet brought the two people she needed to see most within her line of sight. Bill's wooden stick was replaced with a real cane, but that didn't slow him as he pushed the younger werewolf out of the way and embraced her with more strength than Anne ever thought he had.

  "I've been worried sick!"

  Anne pulled away from him "Hadrian—?"

  "Is gone," Westley cut in. "We think Bud fell asleep. The second the poor kid was out, Hadrian knocked him on the side of the head."

  Anne swallowed. "Is he—?"

  "He's fine," Mike answered her unasked question.

  Anne wished people would let her finish her sentences.

  "He's in this house right now but, when I was told about it, I had to run back and make sure Hadrian didn't try to take you back to the Shadow world."

  She cocked her head.

  "He still thinks you're Luna," Mike said, probably reading her mind and hearing her confusion.

  Anne groaned. "He's out of his mind if he still thinks I'm her."

  "Either way," Bill said, lifting the still glowing moonstone for them to see, "hopefully we'll find him before the real Luna gets here."

  Anne's insides froze. That was right. Now that her grandfather finally had the orb back in his hands, Luna would be able to find him.

  She would come to Earth, see that Bill was not turning into some crazy monster, and then take him away with her. If he and Luna left before Hadrian was apprehended then there would be no way to prove to that crazed warlock that she wasn't the Moon Goddess.

  Bill's hand reached out to touch her shoulder, jerking her from her thoughts. His blue eyes were warm as they stared at her. "I will not leave before I know that you are perfectly safe."

  Behind her, she could feel Mike's emotions. With their new telepathic link, she knew that he agreed with Bill's decision.

  His arms squeezed around her. "It's the right thing to do," he said gently.

  She ignored him and tried to make Bill see reason. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger over me. If she comes to get you then you need to go. You've been waiting a thousand years."

  "And, there is the very real possibility that she has given up on me and won't come. For all she knows, I'm still a mindless beast who will attempt to dismember her the moment her feet touch the Earth."

  "She's a Goddess," Anne reasoned. "She has to know that werewolves are capable of control by now."

  "Regardless," Bill said, "I won't leave you in danger like that."

  Anne opened her mouth to protest further, but Bill's hand caressing her cheek stopped her. "You are right, I have waited a thousand years. A little while longer will not hurt."

  The statement was so true and so powerful that Anne forgot what she wanted to say. Bill went on, "I don't have any children. You're the closest I've ever come to being a parent. I will not allow him to hurt you."

  Anne sniffed. Her eyes didn’t burn, they downright flooded.

  "Neither will I," Mike murmured in her ear.

  And the waterfall fell harder.

  "Me either," Westley said. "And, I'm still pack master, whether Fanny likes it or not. Everyone on this ranch will defend you if I tell them to."

  Anne sniffed and wiped her soaked cheeks. "You're getting used to being in charge, aren't you?"

  Westley grinned at her.

  "We should probably take the rest of this conversation in the sitting room," Bill said.

  "No." Anne couldn't help the small rise of panic. She didn't want to sit down on an oversized couch and get comfortable while there was a murderer out there who wanted to kill the people she loved and steal her away.

  She wanted to come up with a solution right now. A plan to draw him out from wherever he was, then act on it. Despite what Bill said, she didn't want him to have to wait until the next full moon for his chance.

  Again, Mike read her thoughts. "We've already thought of where he might go. According to you, and Bill, Hadrian himself said that he used the last of his powers on his last attack."

  "Which means he went to the Shadow World," she said, feeling no better now that she knew where the snake was hiding.

  "Exactly. And, because it's dark out now..."

  "He could just attack with his shadow soldiers!" Her eyes widened. "They could be outside right now!"

  “Or he could be alone,” Mike reasoned. “Remember, Bud brought down his castle. We don’t know if any of them stayed with him.”

  "Which is why everyone's staying inside with as many lights on as possible. I've told everyone here that if they’re in a room that's casting shadows, then there aren't enough lamps turned on," Westley said.

  "It doesn't matter. He's immortal. He can wait us out." Or wait until Luna drops in and takes her away.

  Everyone in the room seemed to hear her thoughts even though she thought she kept them to herself.

  "It won't come to that," Bill replied, his voice faltering, as though the one he meant to convince was himself.

  Right at that moment, Anne knew he was right. The idea that came to her would make sure of it.

  Mike's arms around her tightened as their bond allowed him a front seat view of what she intended. "Don't even think about it."

  Anne tensed. "That is getting really annoying."

  "Well, until you learn how to block me out you’re going to have to deal with it. You're not doing it!"

  "Doing what? What was she going to do?" Westley demanded. Anne hated how he stared as though expecting whatever idea she had to be crazy and outrageous.

  He was right.

  "She's planning on using herself as bait to draw Hadrian out." Mike's arms remained tight as he explained her idea.

  Westley pinched the bridge between his eyes. "Oh my God."

  Mike continued to hold her close, as though he were reluctant to ever release her. "We're going to find another way. That's not the way we should do this—"

  "Wait," Bill said. "It might be our only option."

  No one said a word.

  NINETEEN

  Mike shook his head and grit his teeth until he heard a crack.

  Anne sat on a log under the overhead lights that lit up the front lawn of the ranch. The glowing moonstone lay hidden under her thick borrowed sweater, further protected from giving off light by a dish towel that had been wrapped around it.

  "Are we sure no one else had any ideas?" Mike asked. He wanted to come out from his ridiculous hiding spot underneath Gordon's porch and go out there to be with her.

  He fought with his brain for ideas too, but nothing came of that either.

  Westley elbowed him and hissed. "No, stop asking."

  Mike clenched his hands into fists in the cool dirt and grass, hardly able to believe that he was allowing himself to sit down and watch as this joke of a plan was carried out. The only comfort he had was the way Bill held onto Anne's hand as he sat next to her.

  Unable to let his granddaughter take all the risk, he sat with her, waiting, for his lost lover who might not show up, and for a crazed madman who likely would.

  "Are we ready?" Westley asked.

  "No," Mike muttered, but everyone in his pack who were laying under that porch with them nodded in silent agreement.

  Westley shut his eyes, silently speaking to Brock and telling the other werewolf to cut out a few of the lights.

  Half of them went out, leaving just enough illumination to cast phantom shadows that stretched, pulled, and swayed. The lamp Bill and Anne sat under remained lit, but its’ beams weren't bright enough to keep any small shadows from reaching them.

  It would not offer them any protection should Hadrian attack with any of his shadow soldiers. Which was the point.

  "I'm so sorry about this," Bud whispered.

  Mike stared down at his younger brother before clapping him on the back. "It's my fault for bringing you into this. You did well, th
ough."

  "What about your backup? When are they getting here?" Bud asked.

  Mike didn't bother checking his watch. He'd called Jason and had his partner's assurance they’d have the help they needed hours before Mike set off into the Shadow World.

  He’d called again after Hadrian escaped, but only got voicemail.

  That shouldn’t have happened.

  The cavalry should have arrived, but Mike couldn't tell his younger brother that. "They'll be here any minute. With some luck, they'll get here before this whole thing even starts and everything will be fine."

  His words didn't seem to offer the comfort Mike hoped they would. Bud nodded anyway, lips pressed together in a firm line.

  Mike felt the same as his brother looked. Even though it was the only plan that made the most sense for capturing Hadrian, and they were taking every precaution necessary, Mike wanted to turn all the lights back on, take Anne back to their cabin and make sure no evil warlocks ever laid their eyes on her again.

  Despite how his worry entirely belonged to Anne, everyone else in the pack, save for Westley and Chris, focused their energy solely on Bill. No one wanted the real legendary werewolf to be sitting out there and putting himself in danger.

  Stop worrying, Anne said, shocking Mike with the ease in which she got inside his head. He usually kept his mind closed against anyone who might be listening. A habit as a psychic and a cop. In his worry, he'd forgotten that.

  Anne stared right at him despite the trimmed bushes he, Bud and Westley used for cover. We've got the stone. The second he shows up, I'll pull it out, get rid of the shadows, and then you can come and arrest him.

  And, if for some reason that doesn't work, we can always switch the lights back on. I know, it doesn't make me feel any better about this, Mike replied. The crashing of glass took his attention away from her.

  The source came from the hanging lamps that Westley ordered to be shut off.

  Each of them brightened and popped, raining down glass.

  Mike tensed, waiting for the light above Anne and Bill's head's to explode as well. They waited for the same thing, looking up and crouching low should they need to spring away.

  The lamp above them remained lit, as did every other light that Westley hadn't ordered shut off.