"I bet she's just a tease," another jeered, and they all began to chuckle and laugh along with him. "Probably hasn't cracked open those legs of hers in years. Probably locked shut and covered with cobwebs." They all continued to laugh and joke.
Luna noticed they all were pretty buzzed and, other than the prick who grabbed her, were standing a couple of feet away. They'd already taken her purse. She was afraid if she waited around much longer they start trying to take what they were leaning towards taking next. She figured this was the best opportunity she was going to get, and so she kneed the jerk who grabbed her, causing him to release her arm as he cradled his aching balls. In shock over what just happened to their friend, the men didn't react as Luna pushed past them and ran farther down the alley. She hoped and prayed the alley opened up on the other side of the street and wasn't a dead end. If it was, she was the one dead, but if it led to a street, maybe there were other people around, and these drunks would give up their pursuit. She saw the street lights at the other end and was so happy she wanted to cry. Luna was almost there when she saw something that once again made her stop in her tracks. There in front of her, coming into the alley, was a single black wolf.
"Oh God, maybe I am losing my mind," Luna said to herself as the black wolf stopped and stared right back at her. This wolf, like the others she'd seen on the island, looked larger than the average wolf. She was so stunned she momentarily forgot she was being chased, allowing all five drunken pricks to catch up with her.
"Oh no you don't, bitch. We're going to have some fun." One of them grabbed her from behind and began pulling her back into the alley.
"Stupid ho. I'm going to have fun making you bleed, bitch," jeered the one she had kneed. The others laughed as he grabbed the neckline of her top and tore it open down the front. Luna saw a flash of motion, and then the man was screaming as the wolf dug its fangs into his calf. Seeing their friend writhing on the floor and under attack caused the others to quickly step back. The man holding Luna still held her tight, but now he used her as a shield.
The man screamed for help from his friends as the black wolf crunched down hard. When two of them looked as if they were going to attempt to rescue him, five other wolves appeared flanking the black one. They growled and began to move closer. The man on the floor finally passed out, either from pain or from bleeding. The black wolf released his leg and then led the other wolves further into the alley. The prick holding Luna was so scared that his grip on her head tightened, causing her to cry out in pain. The black wolf gave a loud growl, and the five wolves charged. The other three drunks immediately turned and ran away. The bastard still holding Luna threw her to the ground, probably hoping the wolves would go for her while he turned and ran to catch up with his friends. Luna stayed completely still on the ground on her hands and knees as the growling wolves ran right by her to chase the men out of the alley. They passed closely enough for the soft fur of their body to brush up against her arms. Luna couldn't believe what was happening around her. Her body began to shake, and she knew she was probably going into shock. She didn't look up or move an inch for fear that one of the wolves would change direction and come back for her.
None of it made any sense. First, she got chased through the woods on an island where there weren't supposed to be any wolves, and now she found herself being saved by another pack of wolves in the middle of south Boston—where she knew for a fact there were no wolf packs on the loose. Maybe she was losing her mind and this all was an elaborate illusion, but if it was, then how to explain the fact that the five drunken thugs saw the wolves too, and one was even now passed out face first on the ground bleeding out? And as if to add to Luna's mental breakdown, the black wolf slowly walked over to stand directly in front of her. She saw its paws before she slowly looked up to stare it in the face. Finally, when her face came up and looked the wolf in the eyes, she couldn't believe what she saw. The wolf had deep brown hypnotic eyes that reflected a higher intelligence. Luna also saw caring, sympathy, and worry in those eyes. It was no longer growling, and Luna swore the wolf had approached her cautiously as if it was trying not to spook her. This was all way too weird and getting weirder by the moment. When she thought it couldn't get weirder, out of nowhere she heard the silky sound of a female voice in her head.
It's okay now. You're safe and amongst friends. No one will hurt you. We're here to help you. What's your name?
Luna knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that voice in her head was coming from the black wolf standing before her. It was all just too much. The next thing Luna knew, the world around her went completely black as she lost consciousness.
Luna began to come around slowly. As the blackness began to clear, Luna quickly became aware that she was no longer in the dark and dingy alley that she last remembered. She awoke to find herself in a strange bedroom. She was lying on a large king bed pushed up against a wall near a window. The black and wood tones in the furniture made the room look lavished, but homey. Luna sat up in bed and realized that someone had tied the two halves of her shirt together into a bow and taken her shoes off as well. When she moved to the side of the bed, she found her shoes sitting nearby. She looked around the room again and confirmed that she was alone in the room, a room she didn't know. The view out the window did absolutely nothing to help her identify where she was. Where was she? Was she even still in Boston? How'd she get here? Who was responsible for bringing her here, and why? How long was she out? Was it even the same day, or had more time passed than she thought? The last thing she remembered, she'd been saved from a group of drunken men by a pack of wolves and came face-to-face with a telepathic female wolf.
As she finished putting on her shoes, she saw her purse on the dresser across the room. So whoever rescued her in the alley had rescued her purse, too. She walked to the dresser and heard muffled noises coming from somewhere outside the door. It kind of sounded like a party. Luna checked her bag and determined nothing was stolen or damaged. She was slightly afraid about what she might face once she exited the bedroom, but she reasoned with herself that if whoever brought her here had meant her harm, they could have easily done so already while she was unconscious and completely helpless. She also knew that if she wanted answers, she wasn't going to find them here alone in a strange bedroom. Before she lost her nerve, she opened the door and exited the room. She found herself at the end of a long hallway. At the other end was a stairway leading down. The closer she got to the stairs, the clearer the sounds became, a mixture of music and laughter. Holding on to the banister, Luna slowly came down and found herself in the middle of what looked like the large parlor of an historical home turned into a club.
A steady electronic beat of techno music flooded the room from hidden speakers. Luna felt it vibrate through her as she merged with the crowd of clubgoers. Against one wall was a large bar with two bartenders mixing drinks. There were also a couple of waiters and waitresses moving around the room. They were easily spotted, as they wore black T-shirts and aprons while holding serving trays with drinks and snacks. One of the waiters passed close enough for Luna to read the club's name off the shirt: The Wolves' Den. Luna couldn't help but see the irony after having multiple run-ins with wolves in the past two weeks. She'd never been to this club—or even heard of it—so seeing its name didn't help Luna figure out where she was.
Luna continued on through the crowd and made her way over to the bar, catching the attention of the closest bartender. "Excuse me. I—"
"Ah, nice to see you've come around," the cheeky little blond said as she smiled Luna's way. "We're almost at closing. Why don't you hang around here, and then when the crowd clears out Syrene can come talk to you? I bet you have a ton of questions to ask. Are you thirsty? Do you want a drink?"
Glad that the woman was so helpful and nice, Luna perched herself on the closest bar stool. "A glass of water would be nice." The bartender nodded and poured some water. Luna thanked her and sat there nursing her drink waiting for closing. Thirty minutes late
r the DJ announced last call, and as the song ended, three large bouncers also wearing black T-shirts with the club's name emblazoned across their chest made sure everyone exited peacefully. Luna was busy watching everyone exiting through the front door and didn't notice someone had come up behind her.
"Glad to see you're up and about." Luna tensed as she remembered that voice. It was the same velvety one she'd heard inside her head coming from a large black wolf. She turned around slowly and came face-to-face with the most beautiful woman she'd ever seen. She was slightly taller than Luna. Luna loved women taller than her. The woman's skin complexion was a shade darker than hers as well, and unlike Luna's free flowing brown hair, this woman's straight black hair was cut evenly to fall just short of her shoulders. Her smile was beaming and friendly, but what most captivated Luna most were the woman's deep brown eyes. They were exactly like the black wolf's. She had beautiful feminine curves equally mixed with strong lean muscle making the fitted black jeans, black halter top, and black boots she wore sexier then they had a right to be. "I'm Syrene," the beautiful creature said as she held her hand out to shake Luna's.
"I'm Luna Rivers. Nice to meet you." Luna noticed that Syrene had a much stronger grip than she'd expected as they both were around the average height and weight for women. Luna guessed that Syrene had to be no more than 120 pounds.
"Wow, you are absolutely beautiful, and you're in heat. No wonder he wants you so badly."
Luna was so lost in Syrene's eyes that it took a minute to understand what she'd just said. Who wanted her? And in heat? Well, she was definitely horny at the moment, but that was due to not having sex with anyone in over two months and Syrene being just the type of woman she went for. Luna's confusion must've shown on her face as Syrene giggled and then said, "Maybe I need to start at the beginning."
"If you want me to have any chance of following, I'd say that'd be a great place to start."
"All right. Why don't we take a seat in the lounge while the others begin with the nights clean up?" she said as she gestured to a seating area closer to the DJ booth.
Luna followed Syrene and noticed that, like all of her employees, she seemed to glide as she walked. Every movement she made was graceful and effortless. Luna wished she had inherited that trait from at least one of her parents. The black leather sofas and chairs were even more comfortable than they looked. Luna unconsciously ran her hand along the cushioned arm on her chair while Syrene sat next to her on the end of a sofa.
"How much do you remember about what happened earlier tonight?" Syrene asked. Earlier tonight meant Luna hadn't been out for long. It was still the same day. Possibly the longest day ever, but the same one.
"I remember the night's events very clearly. The only question now is if the Rangers were right and I did hit my head hard two weeks ago. I think I'm going insane."
"Because this isn't the first time you've found yourself face-to-face with wolves?" Luna liked that Syrene didn't beat around the bush, but she'd said the word ‘wolves‘ so casually as if it were a normal everyday occurrence to see large wolves on the loose strolling the streets of Boston. "It's a lot more common than you think."
"How'd you do that?" Luna jumped back in the chair, thinking that Syrene had just read her mind.
"I need to answer a few other questions before I get to that one. Now what I have to say, you're going to find hard to believe, so I ask you to be open-minded and not to panic. Just remember you're safe and among friends." Syrene waited for Luna to nod before she continued, "As you've probably already figured out, the wolves you saw in the woods two weeks ago and the wolves you saw earlier tonight weren't normal wolves. They were werewolves." Syrene paused for that information to sink in.
"Werewolves?"
"Yes. Werewolves. They do exist. They're not just myth, legend, or horror movie stars. And...you're sitting in a room full of them now." Luna looked around at all the club's employees going about cleaning the club and imagined all those men and women shifting into the large wolves she'd seen earlier. Syrene, once again seeming to read her mind, quickly obliged. She stood up and moved to the open walkway. One moment Syrene stood before her, the next there stood in her place the same black wolf Luna saw before in the alley with her paws tangled in a pile of black clothing.
"Oh, shit!" Luna yelled and backed up so far she practically climbed over the back of the chair. Some of the others stopped what they were doing long enough to laugh at Luna's reaction before going back to work.
Relax, Luna. I told you you're amongst friends. No one will hurt you. I won't allow it.
"I'm sorry, but seeing people morph into wolves right before my eyes does have a tendency to make me forget things. Like how this isn't supposed to be physically possible," Luna replied as she once again heard Syrene's voice in her head. "And now I'm talking to a wolf that used to be an attractive female." Luna couldn't help but think that it was just her luck that the first female she'd been this strongly attracted to had to turn out to be a werewolf. She was just too perfect.
Thanks for the compliment. I think you're drop dead sexy too. And personally I don't think me being a werewolf should be a strike against me.
"Would you mind turning back, please? I feel like I look comical having a one-sided conversation with a wolf. And that last comment wasn't meant for you to overhear. It was supposed to be inner dialogue," Luna said. Just as quickly as Syrene morphed into a wolf, she morphed back into the black haired temptress she was before. Only this time she was completely naked, as her clothes were still on the floor before her. Syrene seemed completely comfortable with being nude in front of everyone, and with a body like hers, Luna understood why. Luna took a moment to appreciate all of Syrene's fine lines and curves without clothing blocking her view before she reminded herself that she needed to focus on the topic at hand. Which–as unbelievable as it sounded—was the existence of werewolves.
"No one thinks you're crazy. Everyone here is part of my pack, and they all can hear clearly when I speak to you in your head," Syrene replied, picking up her clothes and redressing. "Pack members can communicate with other pack members telepathically as long as they're within range, but I promise we'll get to that part later. Let me finish explaining what I started before I move on to other topics," she said as she finished dressing and retook her seat on the sofa. "Me and my pack used to be a part of the pack you ran into in the woods on Lovell's Island. They like to travel to all the Boston Harbor Islands so they can shift and run through the woods at night without being seen by the campers. When you came upon them by accident the pack leader Micah saw you and scented that you were... different."
"Different how?"
"You smell like us. Like a female lupine. In heat, no less."
"Why do you keep saying I'm in heat? And I don't know why I smell like you, but I promise you I'm not a werewolf. I'm pretty sure I'd remember turning into a wolf."
"Who named you? Your mother or father?"
Syrene caught Luna off guard by that question but she answered anyways. Wondering where she was going with this.
"My father did."
"Is your father still alive?"
"No. He died when I was still a baby."
"It was most likely him that was a werewolf. You see, sometimes when werewolves mate with full humans they have what we call hybrid children. The child usually comes out not fully human, but not fully werewolf. They take on some characteristics from both parents. The fact that you don't shift means you didn't get that trait from your father, but I can tell by the scars on your arms you inherited his healing ability," she said as she gestured to the scars on Luna's forearms. "The only reason those are still visible is because they were made by another werewolf; otherwise, they would've completely healed by now."
Luna looked at her arms once again, but this time with a whole new perspective.
"When you were growing up," Syrene continued, "I bet you rarely caught colds or got seriously sick. Or you noticed you ran faster then all your friends,
but you weren't very coordinated. Have others ever commented that you were surprisingly strong?"
Luna didn't know what to say, as that seemed to describe her to a ‘T‘.
"What does that mean?"
"You inherited your father's immune system and speed, but human bodies aren't made to keep up with it. Your mind and body want to go faster than your human muscles are able to. They lag behind and cause you to fall or stumble when you're pushing past the speed they can manage. As for the strength, you've only got part of his strength—making you stronger than a normal human your size, but not as strong as full werewolves. You also inherited the werewolf's reproductive system. You're in that time when all unmated female werewolves give off a distinct scent announcing they're ready to mate. It gets stronger right after your time of the month. It's why you probably find yourself extra horny after your cycle."
It all seemed so far fetched and yet it explained a whole lot. "Assuming that all this is true what will make this heat thing go away?"
"When you find your mate and sleep with them. The exchange of bodily fluid changes your scent and marks you as their mate. Other werewolves will know by the new scent that you're mated."
"So you're telling me that I'm giving off a scent that attracts other werewolves?"
"Yep, and Micah wants to mate with you. That's the reason he tried to bite you. If his saliva had mixed with your blood it would've been enough to claim you as his new mate. Being bitten also claims a mate, but it's not half as enjoyable as the other way."
"His new mate?"
"His last mate died a couple of years ago, and until you, there hasn't been another unmated female in his pack."
"If your pack used to be part of his, why did you separate?"
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