“You fool!” The man raged. “You’ve screwed us all!”
He faced the sky. His eyes widened as round as the moon. “It’s coming.”
What the fuck? When he arched his back and groaned, Rachel shouted, “Get away from here. Kelly, Mattias, go!”
“What about you?” Kelly asked.
“You know what this means. Go!” Rachel insisted.
From the corner of Mattias’s eye, he spotted Rachel running to the rocks. Kelly scrambled up the beach, headed for Rachel’s car.
The man fell onto his knees and clutched his stomach. A blood-curdling shriek followed. He’d rolled onto his side in a fetal position. His body twisted and lengthened. Shifting. Mattias recognized what he witnessed. The mystery remained as to what type.
Dark fur sprouted from flesh. His profile elongated. The creature rose to two legs, saliva dripping from fangs. It fixed a predatory glare on Mattias as it appeared to vibrate with rage—rage to attack. And then the telltale sign followed—it howled at the moon.
Mattias’s pulse shot to the skies. He adopted a defensive stance. “Rachel, you need to go.”
“No,” she said. “I can handle it. It’s you who needs to run.”
What the hell was she talking about? She couldn’t handle a werewolf.
The sound of screeching tires caught his attention for a flash. It was Kelly driving away.
Danton, Lucan, I think I found the threat. The one who killed the woman.
A wolf shifter? Danton asked.
No. A werewolf. We’re on the beach near Vamps.
We’ll be right there.
The werewolf charged, aiming for Mattias’s neck. He turned and escaped the attack, avoiding the unpleasant consequence of being bitten. His body itched, muscles tightening, ready to shift to gargoyle form for combat.
Shit. It was a natural instinct. He’d have greater strength and a tougher hide that would better withstand the sharpness of fangs and claws.
Yet, it would also mean revealing his secret to Rachel. She might recoil. Call him a freak and run in fear.
Damn. No time to debate the options. One choice would keep her safer. That was critical.
Pinning his reddening gaze on his opponent, Mattias initiated the change. Clothing ripped as his mass grew. His skin grayed and toughened. Wings extended from his back and unfurled behind him.
A strangled gasp escaped Rachel.
The werewolf narrowed its eyes and lunged at Mattias.
* * *
Rachel’s muscles froze. The situation escalated from dangerous to catastrophic. What was he? He’d shifted to an enormous gray creature with enormous wings to fight the werewolf.
The werewolf that had bitten her, changing her life.
They rolled on the sand before her, launching blows. Snapping out of the nightmare, she searched for something, anything, that she could use as a weapon to help.
The stirring within intensified. She collapsed onto her knees as it agitated her veins like the contents of a test tube being boiled. No, no, no.
Her muscles twitched and pulsed. The inevitable change would soon begin as the Supermoon seized control.
Damn, why hadn’t she finished drinking the potion before turning to face Alex? The iciness in his tone had commanded her attention. If she’d continued to drink it, he could have yanked it out of her hand.
She eyed the smashed bottle on the beach. The spilled fluid drained down the rock and into the sand. She fell to her knees. Shit. There was no other way. She crawled over and licked the sticky substance off the rock. It was barely enough to coat half her tongue, hardly enough to have an effect.
Rachel turned her attention to the sand. It seeped through the fine grains. Soon, it would be no better than a placebo.
When she attempted to scoop it up, the wet grains fell through her fingers. Desperate, she cupped what she could of the potion and poured it into her mouth. Sand stuck to the particles. Instinctively, she expelled her tongue before she choked on it and wiped the grains with the back of her hand.
She must have absorbed a couple of drops of the potion. It wouldn’t prevent the change, but maybe it could hold it off for long enough to get Mattias to safety.
The chaos churning within calmed. The potion fought with the call of the moon. She scrambled to her feet. Where was a stick? A heavy rock? Some driftwood?
She had to find something. Anything that would stop the werewolf. Only broken shells and seaweed lay nearby.
Perspiration burst from her pores.
No. She’d envisioned so many possible scenarios in life and planned for how to deal with them, but she’d never fathomed she’d be faced with this situation. The man she loved was in the fight of his life with a werewolf.
Loved. Oh damn, why would she realize that now, at the worst possible moment? His life was in danger.
And she’d soon be a monster, too. Would she attack him? The man she loved.
Oh God. She was the monster she feared. Why did Mattias throw the gun into the ocean? If she had access to it now, she’d use it on the werewolf and then on herself to save Mattias.
It was coming! The moon’s song returned like a crescendo claiming her body as strong as if it had claws.
She was foolish to have thought a few drops would stave off a moon as intense as this one. An enormous full moon with a reddish tinge that warned of danger.
Her bones broke as if beaten by a bat. Her muscles stretched like they were made of putty. Her skin stretched like it was being pulled over a rack. When fur sprouted through follicles on her flesh, it pierced as if sharp needles probed her skin.
She curled into a ball, crying out at the torment. She’d prevented it with the potion for so long and the moon appeared to take her revenge with excruciating cruelty.
* * *
Mattias circled and parried with the werewolf. It was quick, but desperate. Its reckless lunges proved that.
It took all his focus not to succumb to a reckless rampage to destroy the beast and terrify Rachel. She’d think of him as a monster and flee from him forever. Yet, he had to keep her safe.
On its next attempt to attack, Mattias ducked. Sweeping the legs out from his opponent, he knocked it onto the ground. Before the creature could recover from the wind being pressed from its lungs, Mattias grasped its neck and twisted.
He panted as he eyed the creature. No pulse. No movement.
It was a quick death without excessive gore. But it was sufficient. He’d eliminated the threat.
Rachel screamed from behind him.
Shit, had he terrified her? Revealing himself as a gargoyle was frightening enough, but now she’d just seen him kill a werewolf with his bare hands.
He removed his hands from the werewolf’s neck and turned. “Rachel!”
It wasn’t her. Not how he knew her. She was in the midst of an excruciating transition as dark fur sprouted over her skin. Her sounds morphed into painful yelps as she completed the change, more canine than human.
So, this was her big, bad secret.
Fuck.
He moved into a defensive stance.
With stiff movements, she pulled herself up to her feet, stretching out long, furred limbs. She released a low, vibrating howl, more of caution than of rage. He sensed her plea—run. You must run!
How could he? He couldn’t leave her to run loose on the nearby inhabitants. His gargoyle nature wouldn’t permit it.
Neither would his heart. Despite the horrifying creature before him, this was Rachel. The woman he loved.
A flicker of sadness flashed in her yellow eyes as if she was imploring him to run before it was too late. In the next moment, she growled. Dark hunger took over and with it any sense of her remaining humanity.
She prowled, glaring at him through glowing yellow eyes as she approached.
Shit. What the hell was he going to do? He couldn’t hurt her.
Movement from the sky distracted him. The gray winged forms of his brothers circled in. Damn. He�
��d warned them about facing a werewolf. They’d attack her if he didn’t do something—and quick.
“No, don’t touch her!” Mattias waved his hands to warn them. “It’s Rachel. It’s Rachel!” His voice edged higher with a frantic edge.
“She’s the werewolf?” Lucan landed on the sand, keeping his eyes fixed on her.
“One of them. I destroyed the other one,” Mattias said. “Stay back. I’ve got to protect her.”
“Protect her?” Lucan repeated in astonishment. “She looks ready to tear you to pieces. You need to destroy her.”
“No! Never!”
“How do you know she wasn’t the one to attack the woman?” Danton asked.
Mattias ignored the hate-filled stare of the creature. Think. Think! He demanded himself. No thoughts came. “She wouldn’t. I know her. If it was either of them, it was the dead one.”
“What can you do to help her?” Danton asked.
Mattias shook his head as he sought the answer. Before he came up with one, she lunged at him with claws bared and fangs exposed.
Fuck. He avoided her attempt to bite his neck without slamming her on the ground as he’d done to the werewolf. How could he stop her from hurting anyone—including herself?
“I’ll hold her.”
“Are you mad?” Lucan asked. “She’s a raving werewolf. And just tried to attack you.”
Danton warned, “You can’t let your feelings for her get in the way.”
“I came back for her.” Mattias said. “I have to protect her.”
Her vicious glare mocked him, promising to repay him for his foolishness. She parried, moving forward as she aimed to find a way in. Her clumsy efforts proved she had little to no experience in hand-to-hand combat. At least he had that to his advantage.
Hopefully not too much so. If he hurt her, he—no, he couldn’t contemplate the agony.
She ran at him with reckless disregard. No strategy. While she propelled forward, he rolled onto the ground toward her, knocking her off balance. As she fell, he slid behind her and grasped her in a tight bear hug.
She thrashed and twisted in his arms. He prevented her from escaping. Her attempts grew more desperate. She twisted and slid. She punched and tried to bite him. She feigned collapsing. Still, he held on. His gargoyle strength would overpower her, if exhaustion didn’t overtake him first.
Eventually, one of them would tire out. No matter what happened, he wouldn’t give up on her. He couldn’t.
“I see what you mean, brother,” Danton said. “Do you want us to help hold her?”
“No, I’ve got her right now,” Mattias said.
“We’ll stay with you,” Danton replied.
“Right,” Lucan added. “We have your back.”
They would. Immense gratitude engulfed him. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Why would he leave them? He was lucky to have family as tight as this, brothers who had been with him through his darkest hours and who continued to do so now, even with his frantic idea to hold a werewolf who wanted to tear him to tiny gargoyle pieces.
Sweat rolled down his skin as Mattias struggled to keep her from escaping his hold. She gnashed her jaws.
The sound of an approaching car commanded his attention. It was Kelly.
She climbed out of the car and held a bat. “Oh my God! Rachel, is that you? What are you? What are you doing to her?”
Shit.
“I’ll talk to her,” Danton said.
“She’s Rachel’s sister,” Mattias said. “Her name is Kelly.”
Danton shifted to human form before he approached her.
She took a defensive stance with the bat. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Kelly, my brother is taking care of Rachel. Keeping her from harming herself or anyone else. I’ll explain everything.”
Kelly lowered the bat, but held it to her side as she stared at Danton. He took slow steps over to her with his hands raised, as if assuring her he wasn’t a threat. As he explained the situation, he led her back toward the car.
As the minutes passed, Rachel’s fight diminished. She’d lash out, but then give up the struggle.
She whimpered and fell limp in Mattias’s arms. He slid with her to the ground, holding her from behind like they were spooned in a twisted lover’s hold. A gargoyle embracing a werewolf under the eerie red hue of the moon.
Her body stilled. Soon, her chest rose and fell with the slow, steady sign of sleep.
Minutes stretched on to hours. Mattias glanced at Lucan. He’d shifted to stone form to rest, a gargoyle statue on watch, ready to shift at the spark of trouble. Danton and Kelly now sat in Rachel’s car. Watching. Waiting. Mattias was exhausted and longed for the quiet repose of statue form, but not yet.
He wouldn’t let go of her. Not now. Not until she was safe.
Chapter 20
Rachel opened her eyes. She was in her bed at home. What the…? How did she get there? Or, was everything that had happened last night a dream?
More like a nightmare.
The sound of rain fell outside. The scent of brewing coffee and cooking eggs reached her. Someone was moving in the kitchen.
“Kelly?” Rachel sat up. She pulled down the covers. She was in a long cotton nightshirt. Odd, she didn’t remember putting it on. Did someone dress her?
The sound of steps grew closer. Mattias appeared in the door frame. “You’re awake.”
She pressed her hand to her chest and drew in a breath. He was safe—and here in her house? She tilted her head. “What are you doing here?”
Flashes of him on the beach returned. He fought the werewolf, only Mattias had changed himself, turning gray and… and winged. That couldn’t have been real.
“I brought you here once you shifted back.”
She gasped and covered her mouth. “Oh God. What happened last night was—I—I—I don’t know where to begin.”
He’d shifted. She’d shifted. It had turned into a surreal carnival.
His gaze softened. “Yes, Rachel. We have a lot to talk about. I think you could use a cup of coffee first.”
“Or ten.” A pang of icy fear struck her. “Where’s my sister?”
“Safe. At home. I’ll explain everything.”
Twenty minutes later, she was finishing her second cup in her living room, and it still didn’t sink in.
“You’re a gargoyle?”
“Yes.”
“You shift to stone as well?”
“Right.”
“You held me while I was in that horrid form, and then once I changed back, you flew me back here?”
“Exactly.” He nodded.
Her eyes widened. His expression indicated that it all seemed logical to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He cocked his head. “Likely the same reason you didn’t tell me.”
Her cheeks flushed. She couldn’t blame him for something she was guilty of herself. “You thought I’d reject you?”
He shrugged. “Maybe.”
She dragged a hand over her cheek. “I can’t believe this. It’s too insane.”
“It’s a lot to take in. Take your time.”
Would time help? She might need centuries to begin to understand her new reality. “I need to call Kelly.”
Rachel returned to her bedroom with her phone. She was barraged by notifications of texts and voicemails from Kelly.
After Rachel called her, Kelly said, “You’re okay. Thank God. I can’t believe what happened.”
“Yes, what a night. But, we’re all safe.”
“I can’t believe it. Everything went wrong. I left when you insisted, knowing it was what you wanted, but I had to come back for you. By then, everyone had shifted! Rachel, you didn’t tell me you’re dating a gargoyle. A gargoyle.”
Rachel closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. It wouldn’t help if she turned as frantic sounding as Kelly. “I didn’t know until last night.”
“Are you okay with it?”
; Rachel opened her eyes. “I’m still trying to figure everything out.”
Kelly said, “After you shifted back to human form, Mattias wanted to fly you home. Fly. You. Home. Can you believe I’m even saying this? I insisted I drive you. He came along and declared he was staying the night to watch over you. That’s the only reason I left. Holy hell, I think he’d move the stars in the sky to keep you safe.”
His devotion warmed Rachel like a beam of sunlight.
They spoke for another half an hour, going over everything that had happened. After they ended the call, she needed to be alone. She stepped into the room with the piano and stared out into the garden, her tranquil space. Rain drizzled outside forming puddles in her garden. Little sunlight shone through the gray skies, yet some still pierced through dark clouds. Would she ever be able to make sense of what she saw?
A few minutes turned into several as she sat at the piano and played, while trying to process how events played out. She sensed Mattias approach, but then he gave her space. The music soothed the roughest edges of the discovery and she played one song after another.
When her fingers tired, she stood and stared out the window. She examined the veins on the bright purple leaves on the Japanese maple, shiny with raindrops. The stems of the orange day lilies tilted with the extra weight of the water. The rain pattered with a steady rhythm, nourishing all. These organisms were all part of the life cycle, just as she was—and Mattias. Just because she wasn’t familiar with what he was didn’t make it unnatural. The universe was full of mysteries that she didn’t understand.
She returned to find Mattias in the kitchen. He’d washed the dishes and was drying them off before putting them away.
“Feeling better?” he asked.
“Sort of.” She shrugged. “I can’t remember anything after—after you killed him. And I started to shift. Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
“I could have. I can’t believe I transformed out in public like that. I take the potion each month and lock myself in the basement, so I don’t hurt anyone.”
TORCH: Underground Encounters 9 Page 15