The Wolves of Arnoux Manor- Volume 1

by Kiana

  A migraine began to form in my head. I could not figure out how to escape with Lystra. Maybe I could get help. No, he looks like the type to have connections everywhere. They would throw my ass in the looney bins without a care, I thought to myself. I needed more information. A knock on my door made me jump. The door unlocked and two men stepped in. Then O stepped in the room.

  “It’s time.”

  He didn’t give me a chance to speak. The men escorted me out of the room. They didn’t grab me, but they watched my every move. If I even so much as jerked to the left, the guards were ready to pounce. The trip from my room was not very informative. It didn’t look like a normal lifeless hospital. Instead, I felt like I was inside of a luxury home with glazed walls and warm lighting. Occasionally the halls would break way for a large glass window. Most of the occupants were still. They seemed resting not dead. That brought me relief. We stopped at a brown door that read LAB in golden letters.

  O opened the doors, I followed, and the guards closed it without entering the room. Another man was already there. His white coat was thrown on the chair connected to the desk. He checked over the vials and tools in front of him. When he noticed we were in the room, he walked over.

  “Good morning, Ms. James. How are we feeling today?”

  “Do you really want to know the answer to that?” I said with an attitude. He chuckled.

  “I guess that is a stupid question. What I mean to ask is if you have any urges to bite my neck.” I laughed, but I was mad about it. I didn’t like that he broke through my attitude that fast.

  “No, I had breakfast,” I shot back.

  “My name is Edric Fulton. I’ll be doing your lab work today. I want you to know that you’re in the hands of a professional.” I nodded feeling no comfort behind this at all. Edric gestured towards an available chair. I sat down, and he pulled out several straps. I was strapped to the chair.

  “Is this really necessary?” I asked. Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe my results could come out negative. I was so worried about getting out of here alive. I never considered what would happen if I was infected.

  “It’s for your safety. In case your body reacts violently.”

  “To what? I’m just giving a blood sample.”

  “I have asked Dr. Fulton to immediately start treatment once your results come back,” O said. He began to unsnap the button on his sleeves.

  It didn’t take long for Edric to find the vein. He took only a ten ml and left it in a syringe. I watched him take it over to a beaker filled with water. He let three drops loose into the water, and nothing happened. After it was done, he unstrapped me.

  “You have a clean bill of health, Ms. James.”

  “You kept me here just to drop my blood in some damn water?” I asked with an attitude.

  “Holy water, ma’am,” the doctor corrected me.

  “Oh,” I responded sheepishly.

  Edric slid my NDA in front of me, and I signed it without going over it as if I would really tell anybody about this. I wanted to get Lystra and go home. I left the lab and found O leaning up against a wall in the hallway. The two burly men who escorted me here were no longer around.

  “Are you ready to leave?” O asked.

  “I told you I wasn’t leaving without Lystra.” He blew out a frustrated sigh.

  “Fine, you will have to stay with me at my home.” I shook my head in protest.

  “All this land and you don’t have guest accommodations?”

  “We don’t take guests. All of the wolves here are family or become family.”

  “So where is Lystra staying?”

  “Right now she is staying in our hospital, but when she is released, she will be with Anton.”

  “Can I at least see her?”

  “As soon as she is responsive.”

  Responsive? I questioned in my head. Worry flooded my thoughts.

  “Where is she?” Those gray eyes held me captive again.

  “Calm down. I will take you to her, but you must remain calm.” I just nodded.

  He held my hand and walked me down the hall. From the glass window, I could see her on her side sleeping in Anton’s arms. He gazed over at me, as I glared at him. My heart raced as anger spread through my body. Had she never met him none of this would have happened. He could sense my anger and held on tighter to Lystra. He was protecting her.

  “It’s time to go now,” O said, pulling me from the glass. I shook myself from his grip. We walked back down the hall.

  “Just take me back to my room.”

  “I cannot do that. It's already occupied.”

  “I don’t know you. The last time you saw me, you threatened me. Now you want me to live with you.”

  “How would you feel if someone you’ve never meant before was able to do things you thought were impossible?” I looked around the room gesturing to my current situation like “Bruh, really?”

  “Ok, poor choice of words. You are not a threat to me in any way. You clearly have some kind of effect on me, and I’d rather a way to keep my eye on you than leave you to your own devices.”

  “I have a job and a life! So does Lystra.”

  “Oh you mean the art show that’s at least three months from now or all three hundred of your IG followers.”

  “You ain’t have mention the IG status. That was low.”

  “What about my clothes? I can’t just wear these scrubs everyday.”

  “We will discuss this at my home. We are leaving now.” He turned on his heels, and I had no choice but to follow.

  It took a 15-minute drive to get to his home. It sat at the end of the estate the way a castle does at the end of a village. Tall pillars decorated the outside of the house. The ground was covered in hay instead of grass. Al though it was only two stories but it seemed much bigger.

  Once we were inside I began to wonder if he really lived there. The house was barren. Jo furniture or pictures were in the house. The floor was scuffed up but the walls were pristine clean. And an unsettling shade of white.

  There was one wide stair case in the center of the room. He climbed it and I stayed closely behind him. So close that when he stopped in front of a door I bumped right into him.

  “You may have this room for the time being.” It was plain. A queen size bed sat in the middle of three windows covered by sheer white curtains.

  “I thought you didn’t have guest accommodations.”

  “I don’t. This was a storage room. I had things moved around. I had a feeling you were going to stay. Feel free to decorate it how you want.”

  “I won’t be here long enough for that.”

  “Lystra’s recovery will take a while.” My shoulders sank.

  Further along in his mini-tour, I discovered that most of the rooms were empty. He didn’t have couches or any furniture outside of his bedroom and his kitchen.

  The oddest thing about this house was there was no stove in the kitchen. Then again, wolves don’t really need to cook, do they? Oh GOD , does he eat raw meat? I was human, and I wasn’t eating anything bloody.

  “Those are all really negative stereotypes. I prefer my steak medium rare,” he fussed. I keep forgetting that he can read my thought.

  “Then why don’t you have a stove?”

  “The women of the compound fix me so much food that I never need to cook anything. It’s their way of showing gratitude.”

  “O?”

  “Yes.” He answered in my head. I hate when he does that. I hope there’s a way to stop it before I leave.

  “We are going to have to fix this. I need a stove.”

  “Whatever you want is yours, Cara.” He pulled out a laptop.

  “Order what you need from here, except for the stove. I can have one at the end of the day. There are a furniture and appliance store about a mile out. I only ask one thing.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I’m aware that my home is a bit empty. Fill it, but do so with my tastes in mind. If I co
me home to pink everywhere, it’s all going back.”

  “First of all… ew, and second of all, I can handle that.” With that, he left me alone to shop.

  For someone who threatened me 24 hours ago, he sure was being nice.

  6

  O

  Meditation is the key to a prosperous life. I begin each day deep in meditation. I cannot lead others will a cluttered mind. Cara has been in my home for seven days now, and my mind is a mess of pecan scents, lusty thoughts, and anxiety.

  I have taken on all of Cara’s emotions like that of an empath. Her anxiety about her friend’s health is only cured by her creative releases. At her request, I provided her with art supplies. She spends most of her time in her room painting. Cara may act like she is not attracted to me, but the body does not lie. Her arousal is heaviest at night. It seeps into my room and drags me from my sleep.

  Last night was the hardest night of them all. Our thoughts are more connected than that of my own pack. Her dreams invade mine. She dreamed of me fucking her roughly in bed. I was so attached in her dream that I awoke to semen on the head of my dick. I was brick hard and angry as hell. I do not know how she is doing this to me. It must be some kind of black magic. I am an Alpha. No one should affect me like this.

  I needed answers. I needed to speak with Nasha. Every element has a spirit. The earth, the wind, fire, water, sun, and moon all have spirits. Each creature is guided by an element. I am guided by Nasha, the spirit of the moon. So are all the other creatures of the night.

  Once the moon was mid sky, I sat on the floor of my room controlling my breathing focusing on the beauty and light of the moon.

  She appears to me as she always does. Black hair twisted atop her head, a crown of twisted cherry blossom branches balanced on her head, and two furry ears on either side of her head. She smiles knowingly at me.

  “Greeting, Ozni.”

  “Greetings, Nasha.”

  “I don’t assume this is a social call.”

  “Nasha, I am troubled. There is a woman. She sends me visions. I am becoming obsessed with her. Her scent lulls me. Her touch surrenders my beast. I have never had this happen before.”

  “And you never will with another woman. This woman is your mate, your Alpha female.” I soured at her revelation.

  “I thought we had an agreement. I would lead best without a mate.” She laughed like one does at a child.

  “My dear Ozni, you made that decision. I never confirmed it. I cannot tell you the future. I can only provide you guidance. The choice remains yours.”

  “Cryptic, ever so cryptic. It is neither helpful nor appreciated.”

  “The girl is your mate. You cannot deny it much longer. It will manifest in you. It will become a dark lust that you will not be able to control. Allow destiny to take its course before it does so violently. “

  “Violently? Am I capable of hurting her?”

  “Very. Do not dwell on the possible. Focus on truth, denying it will only bring pain.”

  A powerful strike of light sent me back to reality. I didn’t think Cara was going to be against becoming my mate. My concern was losing control of my pack, my freedom, and myself.

  I could hear faint footsteps outside my door.

  “He’s probably not even in there,” I heard Cara whisper.

  “Come in,” I said loudly. My bedroom door creaked open. She cautiously entered the room.

  “Good morning, O.” I took notice that the sun had indeed come up. Nasha’s visits often took hours even though they felt much shorter.

  “Good morning, Cara. What do you need?”

  “I want to see Lystra,” she spoke the words as if she wanted it all in one syllable.

  “She is still in the hospital.” Her shoulders sank in disappointment.

  “Is there any updates on her condition?”

  “She is becoming more aware by the hour. We hope to release her in a few days.” Of course, that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

  “Can I just sit with her? Maybe if she heard my voice, it would help.” I could sense that this was about something other than Lystra’s health. I really need to get out of this house. I heard her say in her head.

  “Why don’t we do something today?”

  “Like?”

  “Maybe a walk in the woods.” Oh, GOD! He’s going to kill me and bury me in the woods, she thought, taking a step back. I growled in annoyance.

  “Woman I am not going to kill you!”

  “You were the one who threatened me. Why should I believe that?”

  “If I wanted you dead, why would I have you stay with me? I could’ve disposed of you while you were strapped to that chair in the lab! If there were anything impure about you when your blood dropped into that vial, it would have sizzled. I suspect that you have an underlying power. Have you ever had visions before?”

  “Outside of déjà vu, no.”

  “You pose no threat to me, Cara. Now please go change and be ready to leave in 40 minutes,” I said, scooting her out of my room. I needed to regain some peace of mind. Honestly, why would she even think something so ridiculous?

  She pulled at the button on her ringmaster style jacket. I liked the black skater skirt she paired it with. Cara did not like wearing jeans. Over the last few days, I’d only seen her in skirts and dresses. Her style was very feminine. Her hair framed her full face. It was a rainbow of different colors blended in with raven colored strands.

  She pulled on the passenger side door.

  “So where are we headed?”

  “You will see.” We pulled up to the park area. It was at the further end of our estate. On the weekend, it was filled with young pups and pack families. However today was Wednesday so most of the pack was busy, which was perfect timing for Cara and me to explore the land. Golden and orange leaves covered the ground. The trees held very few leaves. I love fall. Cara took a seat on a picnic table.

  “It’s beautiful out here. I just love fall.”

  “Me too.”

  “Living in the city, I don’t get to take it in like this. Everything is soggy and run over.”

  “Have you and Lystra always lived in the city?”

  “No. We used to stay in the suburbs when we were kids. That was before my parents died.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s ok. It was a long time ago. They passed away in a car accident, drunk driving.”

  “That’s a damn shame.”

  “I know. They should have taken a cab home. They took out a car full of teenagers.” I didn’t expect that response.

  “It didn’t help that during the time, I was in classes with their siblings. I was tortured in the aftermaths of their deaths. Lystra was my only friends. She means everything to me.”

  She turned her head away. I knew she was wiping away tears. I knew it was a sour memory for her, especially because her best friend was in the hospital, and she couldn’t do anything about it. I didn’t want to see her like this. I needed to bring a smile back to her face.

  I began to undress. She turned around, and her eyes grew wide.

  “What are you doing?” she exclaimed.

  “I’m not letting this day go to waste.” I removed my clothes, and she took them folding them neatly and placing them on the blanket. I could feel the heat from her stares. She bit her lower lip staring at my dick. I laughed to myself.

  My body shifted into my wolf form. Her smile was wide and bright. I’m used not of this reaction to when I shift. I’m used to people cowering in fear. She walked up to me and raised her hand. I growled.

  “Oh don’t you start with me!” she fussed. Then she placed her hand behind my ear and began to scratch. I hate how much I love this. It’s the same as receiving a back rub. Her tiny hands moved from behind my ear to under my chin.

  Grab my fur! I told her in thought.

  “What?”

  “Just grab on.” She grabbed on, and I lowered to the ground the best I could.

  “Get o
n.”

  “No way, I’ll fall.”

  “I won’t drop you.” She was still hesitant.

  “Trust me.” Her face softened, and she climbed on my back.

  “Now hold on tight.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. Once I knew she was secure, I took off through the park.

  My sight was a blur of reds and oranges. I ran with the land as it rose and fell. I could hear her gasp and giggle from behind me. I knew these woods better than anyone. In a few yards, the land broke apart, and a 30-foot drop leads to a rushing, rocky river. It was a big hurdle to get across.

  “Do not let go!” I picked up speed.

  Her body tensed as she realized what was about to happen. She gripped my neck tighter. I leaped across canyon and land on all four paws powerfully. Cara’s body began to twitch. She slid off of me and to the ground. She was holding on to her chest. I could hear her heart beat against her chest.

  “Are you ok?”

  “That was…that was...Oh my GOD! I've never done anything like that in my life. How did you know we’d make it?”

  “I trusted my wolf. That’s the thing about taking risks. You can do research, collect data, make equations, and predictions, but it won’t matter. You’ll never know what will truly happen. You have to go with your gut and just do it.”

  We made our way back to the car, taking in the beauty of nature and enjoying small talk. I learned a very important detail about Cara. She is loyal. It’s not a common trait amongst humans. I respect that. She also loves nature. Despite her not being a wolf, I know I want her around for just a bit longer.

  7

  Lystra

  My new home is vastly different from my apartment. I now lived in a three-bedroom ranch with a ridiculously spacious backyard. The adjustment of inner city apartment life to a ranch house in a small town would take time. I had yet to meet the other women of the estate. My hunger was not under control. O thought it was best to keep Cara as far from me as possible. Therefore, it was now going on week two that I hadn’t seen my best friend. I needed her more than ever. She was the only face I really trusted. Still, until I was situated, it would be best.