by Ruby Raine
“Hey, wait a minute,” motorcycle man shouted, catching up to her. “Bad day or not, can I at least know your name?”
She stopped mid-street and stared at him, nearly laughing out loud in nervous response. He must think I’m an inconsiderate ass. But what’s new?
“Melinda,” she found herself telling him. “My name is Melinda.”
Just then, a car screeched to a stop, honking its horn. “Yeah, yeah, keep your knickers on! I’m moving.”
Her dark haired hero then did something quite unexpected.
He grabbed her hand and sauntered alongside her, seeing her safely to the sidewalk across the street. He let go once she was safely off the road. Melinda shot him a questioning look. Why was this total stranger being so nice to her?
“I couldn’t well save you from falling, and then let some impatient driver run you over now, could I?”
She guessed that made sense. He was just being nice. Helpful. She knew a few local island boys that could take a lesson or two. Jerkwad came to mind. Forget him! Pissed off enough already.
They were near his motorcycle. She stepped closer to take a look. She’d never really looked at one up close. It had clearly seen some mileage, but its solid black steel construction called out you can trust me. I won’t let you down.
“Best way to travel,” her savior winked, grabbing his helmet.
Melinda noticed an extra helmet hooked to the bike.
He noticed her staring at it.
“You wanna go for a ride? I’m a safe driver. Promise.”
There were so many reasons to say no. Charlie is in serious trouble. This guy is a total stranger. She had no idea where she would be going, and no one else would know where she was going.
Nobody will know where I am. The thought suddenly filled her with exhilaration.
She grabbed the extra helmet and straddled the bike. The young man hopped on and she wrapped her arms around his waist. “Get me the hell outta here!” she breathed out with an air of defiance.
“Your wish is my command.” He kick-started the motorcycle to life. Something about that motion, that sound, shot ribbons of excitement through Melinda. She squeezed her arms around him, unknowingly. She didn’t see his grin beaming down after her arms wrapped around him as if her life depended on it.
He made a sharp U-turn and headed out of the town, speeding his way through the winding roads of The Demon Isle.
Melinda closed her eyes taking in every smell, breathing in the fast moving air as if she had never breathed properly before.
“What’s your name?” she shouted over the roar of the engine.
“Riley,” he shouted back.
“It’s nice to meet you, Riley,” she responded with a squeal as he took a sharp turn at a very high speed.
He laughed, amused by her behavior. “You’re going to cut off my circulation if you hold on any tighter.”
She eased her grip. “Sorry, I’ve never been on a motorcycle before,” she admitted.
“Well then, Melinda. I’d better make sure I give you the ride of your life.”
She averted her eyes, feeling her cheeks heat up. A flutter floated through her stomach sending butterflies plucking at her nerves. She wanted to pinch herself and make sure she wasn’t dreaming. That this was real and happening, right now.
Just this morning she had been perfectly content knowing her future would be spent working alongside her brothers to find their father. Michael and Emily had been the epitome of happiness and now, it had all gone to shit!
William was still stuck at the forefront of her thoughts, to a haunting level, and still very much off limits.
And by this time tomorrow, Charlie might not belong to himself. She could not think about this. She could not handle losing a brother. Not after everything else she’d already lost in this life. She could not think about what would become of him if this alpha took control. He’d probably kill himself before allowing anyone to control him.
She let out a trembling breath.
Screw all of this!
I’m sick of worrying about everything. And everyone.
What’s right, what’s wrong.
What’s waiting around the corner.
If I’ll have another dream of someone I know, dying, or about a vampire I can’t have.
Sick of being in that damn house a single minute longer.
What the hell am I doing? Doubt crept in, just like it always did.
I should be helping Charlie. I should be with my family.
They’re used to handling things without me, her inner voice argued. Probably better if I’m not there. I’d just get in the way.
But I should be there.
A wave of nausea rolled through her and she almost asked Riley to pull over.
I can’t. I can’t go back. I can’t think about losing Char... Melinda closed her eyes and let it slip away with the wind, leaving it behind in the motorcycle’s wake.
She had to loosen her grip on Riley again, having been grabbing him too tightly.
Just be in the moment. Screw everything else.
Once out of the town, Riley sped up the bike even faster. Melinda felt a rush of adrenaline kick in and squealed as the wind slapped against her skin. This was the only place she wanted to be. It felt just right. Perfect.
At least she hadn’t worn her ankle length summer dress today. Not that she was dressed much better than the previous day. But she had at least found a well-fitting pair of cutoff jeans to go with her tank top and sweater. She glanced down at her flip flop covered feet, not that they covered anything. And definitely not the smartest choice for a motorcycle ride. She toyed with throwing them off and just going barefoot, but decided against it.
“I love this!” she shouted, unable to contain her giddiness over this feeling growing inside of her.
Riley peered around his shoulder and cast a brilliant smile upon seeing her.
She had never understood why people rode motorcycles until just this moment. There was something freeing about it. The air whipped by and yet she could see everything flying past as though in slow motion, almost like seeing it for the first time. With every rotation of the tires, she flew away from her life, farther and farther from every worry, doubt, or fear.
She liked this feeling.
And she liked this molasses-eyed stranger named Riley.
CHARLIE AND MICHAEL stepped into the study.
“You two find anything useful?” Michael asked.
“No,” William answered without lifting his head from the laptop. He squinted at the screen and looked at the keypad, typing a letter. “Look at that. You type it here and then it shows up,” his eyes rolled over to the brothers, staring at him in momentary delight.
“My gosh, William,” Emily blurted, shaking her head in well-meaning humor. “For a vampire who moves at speeds I can’t even fathom, you are the worst typist I have ever laid eyes on!” She marched over and motioned for him to move.
William frowned and rolled his chair out of her way.
“Okay, let’s see here. What question do you want answered, William?”
“What allows a werewolf to transform on a night that is not a full moon, at the same time allowing it to pass on its curse, as if it is a full moon?”
“Um, that’s what you want the internet to answer for you? I don’t think that answer is just going to pop up, William. I mean, it’s a bit, huh.”
“Huh, what?” Michael leaned over her shoulder to look.
“I don’t really know if this is at all helpful, as this is a chat forum for a popular fantasy series, so, fiction, but this one guy, his name is RadWolfman- hey, Charlie, maybe you should pick up a nickname,” she sputtered, getting sidetracked. “That would be way cool.”
Michael just rolled his eyes.
“Not such a bad idea,” said Charlie. “I’ve been called a few things over the years,” he let his sentence trail off.
William rolled back over to read the screen. Emily shot him a
steely look and he retreated.
“As I was saying. This one guy, RadWolfman, he’s on here a lot, and a few months back he posted about our very topic. Apparently, there’s some heated debate surrounding a werewolf character in a book that can only change into an actual werewolf during a full moon, but,” she kept reading, “it can also transform into a regular wolf, oh,” she said, surprised. “This werewolf is also a shapeshifter. Are those real?”
William leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed as he thought on the subject.
“Yes,” Michael told her. “Shifters are real. But even if that happens to be what we’re looking for, if it was shifted into a wolf form, but not transformed into an actual werewolf, how did you get infected?” he aimed at Charlie.
“Because it is still werewolf blood,” William whispered. “The wolf still resides in those that are bitten whether transformed or not. A shapeshifter taking on the form of a wolf could still pass on the curse. A weakened form, possibly, which could explain your wolfish nature, but why you have never fully transformed.”
William bounded out of his chair, sending it rolling across the floor behind him.
“That said, this is all conjecture. I do not pretend to know all the ins and outs of werewolfdom. It could be that the witch’s blood that courses through your veins is keeping the full transformation at bay. It could be that nothing, in the end, can keep you from a full transformation, if the right trigger is used against you. More importantly, if it is a shapeshifter we are searching for...”
“It could be anyone,” Michael finished, glumly.
“Oh my.” Emily cleared her throat, attempting to sound upbeat. “I’ll keep searching. There’s bound to be other possibilities.”
While she returned to searching, Charlie held up his phone. “Going to try to reach Melinda.” He ignored the subject of the shapeshifter theory and stepped out of the study.
Before making the call, he leaned his back against the hallway wall.
“Keep it together, Charlie. Keep it together.” He closed his eyes, bursts of dark lights forming under his eyelids, thoughts swimming through his brain threatening to overwhelm him. He wondered if this is what Melinda felt like when she was getting a panic attack. He opened his eyes and dialed her cell phone number, confused when he heard her phone ringing inside the house. He followed the sound into the kitchen.
“Damn it!” he groaned in frustration, picking her phone up off the floor. “She probably doesn’t even know she dropped it.” He leaned into the counter, thinking he could really use a shot or two of Nina’s tequila.
He had assumed Melinda would return after a few minutes. More importantly, he was beginning to doubt he was going to be able to keep his promise.
Nothing was right with this situation.
If he did transform and the alpha took over... if he did not transform but got himself killed trying to get rid if this thing. Or say they did kill the alpha werewolf, then what?
I’m still stuck with this monster I don’t know how long I can control. It’s never going to just go away. It is always going to be inside of me.
MICHAEL EXPLAINED TO William about their plan to visit the crime scene while Emily typed away on her laptop.
“Do you think it’s safe for us to venture into the park?” asked Michael. “We don’t know where this alpha could be lurking.”
“Logic tells me it is safe. The crime scene will be busy with police and such, scouring the area for evidence. The park itself is likely to be filled with tourists.”
“If tradition holds, lots of people would mean no supernatural creatures wanting to expose themselves,” Michael agreed. He let slip out, “I think Charlie’s losing the battle, William. I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s trying so hard to keep his shit together, but there is this fear drowning him. He doesn’t think he’s going to make it.”
“Which is why I am coming with you today.” He held up his hand before Michael could argue. “I know the risks of coming into contact with a werewolf.”
“I hate to admit it, but I’d feel better if you were with us, William. If something happens and Charlie loses it, I don’t think...” Emily let out an exasperated moan. “Something new?” Michael asked, hopeful.
“No. Nothing. Nothing at all!” she exclaimed. “Either it’s a shapeshifter, or it’s something none of us, including a four-hundred-year-old vampire, have ever heard of, read about, or dealt with before.”
Michael cast a glance at William.
He wore his usual emotionless face.
Michael wished his empathic abilities worked on William. However, the vampire had always said that this was a good thing, as his emotions were more intense than a human mind could handle.
“Let’s get this trip underway,” Michael suggested, seeing as William would give away no more about how he truly felt about their current predicament. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find something.” He didn’t hold out much hope for that to happen.
They stepped into the kitchen to find Charlie.
“William’s coming with us,” Michael informed him.
“Yeah, okay.” There wasn’t even a threat of argument in his tone. He held up Melinda’s cell phone. “She dropped it when she stormed out of here earlier.”
“She’s probably sitting down at the Wicked Muddy,” Michael said. “Grace took a liking to her. I think Melinda felt comfortable there. You know she isn’t going to stray too far. This is Melinda we’re talking about.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. “Sorry, I’m having a hard time controlling the paranoia. The wolf really drags it out of me.”
Emily saddled into the kitchen. “Why don’t I look for her? If she’s in town, I’ll find her.”
Michael grabbed hold of her, brushing his hand against her hair and kissed her affectionately. “Thanks, Em. I know we said we’d give her some space, but we’d feel a lot better if we just knew she was okay.” He walked her to the front door.
Emily moved to leave, but he grabbed her again planting another kiss. “I just can’t get enough of that,” he mumbled in between their lips tugging at each other.
“You could have been getting that a long time ago if you weren’t so stubborn.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“I’ll see you later,” she mouthed with a grin, pulling away. She grabbed her bag and flitted out the door.
Michael rejoined Charlie and William.
Charlie leaned hesitantly against the countertop.
“I was thinking, since we’re heading into White Pines anyway, maybe we should take a side trip to the old tree. I had wanted us all to go together and pay our respects to Mom, and search for clues about Dad, but since we’re going to be so close...”
“What do you think, William?” asked Michael, glad that Charlie had brought it up. He’d had the thought himself, but couldn’t decide if it was appropriate considering the circumstances for their visit into White Pines.
“I don’t see the harm,” the vampire conceded after a moment. “It is just minutes from the crime scene.”
“Um, that’s kind of coincidental, don’t you think, William?” said Charlie, that fact just dawning on him.
“It had not occurred to me.” William pondered this new quandary worried it was some vital clue he had overlooked. It seemed ridiculously obvious, definitely something he should have seen before now. Especially since Melinda wasn’t close, clouding his thoughts.
“William?” questioned Charlie.
“Sorry. Not sure why I didn’t catch the possibility sooner. I think we would be remiss to call it mere coincidence, and if we are going to add a trip to the old tree to our itinerary, I think we’d better bring along a few precautionary items.”
“I’ll go grab some potions,” said Charlie. “We’ll be careful with them,” he aimed at Michael. “We still need to use them, regardless of what happened to Mom.”
“I know. Like you said though, we’ll be more careful. I’ll go grab a crystal.
” He took off to get it.
“And I will grab a snack, just in case,” William intimated.
“So much human blood in one week?” jested Charlie, understanding what lunch meant. “Maybe one out-of-control supernatural monster in the house is enough?” His voice reeked with sarcasm.
William’s mouth turned up into the slightest of smiles. “Ah, but I can handle my poison.” Although after his Melinda blood cravings in the last twenty-four hours, he wasn’t so sure about that anymore.
Charlie could not help but laugh. It felt good to joke with William, even in the face of the dangers they likely faced in the upcoming hours.
MELINDA TOLD RILEY to slow down and take the next right. It was a sharp turn, and he nearly had to come to a complete stop to do it safely.
“Where’s it go?”
She just smiled and nodded for him to pay attention.
“Yes, Ma’am,” he replied.
If Melinda hadn’t pointed out the turn, Riley would never have seen it. The trail was unmarked and just wide enough for a small car to fit through. The ground was smoothed over from years of use, so the motorcycle had no trouble even though it was unpaved. The trees and bushes surrounding the sides of the road grew tall, threatening to reclaim the road to its natural wild state.
Soon, they came to a blockade of granite rock about three feet in height, and he parked the bike. A look of awe spread across his face.
“What is this place?”
“It’s where we locals like to get our kicks,” she answered, dismounting the bike and taking off her helmet. He did the same, grabbing hers and hanging them both on the bike.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. Are we still in Maine?” he joked.
“Neat, huh? It’s a quarry, been here since long before I was born. To be completely honest though, I haven’t been here in years. But things don’t really change much on the Isle. C'mon.” She grabbed his hand daringly, dragging him along to the edge. There was no other person in sight.
Melinda let go of him and shouted into the quarry. Her echo carried to the other side, repeating her shout until the last echo finally faded into the distance.