Love Among Shadows

by Smokey Moment

  The door opened. Legend stood in his pajama pants and tee shirt. “What’s wrong?” Legend said, as he stood in the doorway. Zen looked frazzled. He could see something had her on edge. “Aesir hasn’t come home. We had an argument and he left the house. He was so angry at me. Said that I smother him. All I did was ask where he’d been. He turned around and left right back out. I followed him. He ran into the woods. I tried to keep up, but he’s so much faster in his wolf form. Finally, I caught up with him then stayed back so he couldn’t see me. I think he’s going to do something stupid. He hasn’t been himself. And I don’t know what’s wrong,” she said.

  Zen shook her head then covered her face with her hands and wept hysterically. Legend stepped out onto the porch and comforted her. He looked around. He could see Trinity’s silhouette. She stood with her arms crossed. Even from yards away, he could tell she felt some type of way with Zen’s visit.

  “Where did he go?” he asked. “To some bar,” she cried, as he rubbed her back. “Go home. Relax. I will go and get him. Is the bar on the corner of Rotunda?” he asked. Zen raised her head from his chest. She looked intently at him. She wondered what he knew of that bar. “Yes,” she said, as she wiped her tears. “I will go and get him. Don’t worry,” he said.

  Zen hugged Legend then walked off his porch. She walked down the road, keeping her head straight as she passed Trinity’s home. She refused to acknowledge her controlling behavior. Trinity looked back at Legend. He turned and walked back inside his home. There was nothing to say. He had to find Aesir.

  There were just a few hours of darkness left. The sun would be rising soon. Aesir jumped in his car and drove near Spenard. It was one of a few cars he liked to keep on the outskirts of town. The village had no incoming roads and so cars had to be kept in the cities and town around Cedar Falls. It was a cool night. He drove around an area known well to the local police. It was an area riddled with abandoned homes and boarded up buildings.

  He stopped at the corner. A woman stepped out from the shadows. He turned the corner and pulled over. He watched as she ran across the street. Her dirty, white and grey rabbit fur coat, short skirt and tan knee-high boots were typical for the ladies of the night. Their calling card to make life simple. The request, the fee and a trip down Waymont Avenue, where plenty of motels lined the street near the edge of the main road. A place tourist used to populate until the local economy took a hit. Now the hotels were run by men and women looking to make a fast buck. Even in bitter cold, the area still seemed to stay busy. The women of the evening didn’t expect to be outdoors for long. There was always a lonely gentleman looking for company.

  “Hey. Where you going?” the woman asked. Aesir looked in his rearview mirror. “I haven’t decided yet. Need a ride?” he asked. “Yeah I want a ride. Want to hang out? We can talk. I can keep you company,” she said. Aesir was familiar with her way of speaking. A way to open the doors on the discussion about money without requesting it for sexual favors. He was skilled. This wasn’t his first rodeo. And he played along.

  “What’s your name?” he asked. “You can call me Gina,” she replied. Aesir chuckled. He wondered if that was her real name. It didn’t matter. He would be forgetting her name soon enough. “Get in Gina,” he said.

  Aesir released a thick cloud of smoke from his mouth. He allowed it to travel to his nose, then inhaled sharply. The marijuana and tobacco laden blunt soothed what had started out as a bad evening. Zen was controlling and he was tired. Aesir pulled up to a parking area off the forest generally used by hunters who used the trails to go deep into the forest. He put the car in park and turned the radio on. He liked jazz and was particularly fond of anything with trumpets.

  Gina smiled and waited for him to make the first move. Aesir reached in his door compartment and pulled a stack of money folded and wrapped in rubber bands. Gina’s eyes got big. Aesir counted out several hundred in twenties and handed them to her. Gina took the money and slid it in her bra before relaxing and looking around to see if there were prying eyes. She moved over him and straddled him. She moved her body on his lap. He took a puff and blew the smoke in her face.

  “Let me,” she said, as she took the blunt from him. Gina was young. Aesir had no idea how old she was, but he was sure she wasn’t twenty years old yet. “Why are you out? Don’t you have a home?” he asked. “Nope,” Gina replied, as she took a puff. Aesir took his blunt from her and took another hit. It was 4:00 a.m. Aesir realized her had just a few hours. “I don’t like it here,” she said, her arms around his neck as she continued to tease him. “Okay then. Where?” he said. Gina named a hotel he was familiar with. He started the car and pulled off headed for the Motor Lodge Inn.

  His company for the evening took a dip below the covers. He closed his eyes as she took him inside her mouth. It was something he rarely got at home. Zen did it, but only for him and it wasn’t the same. She lacked the intensity that human women had. Zen looked disgusted and ended it way too soon. He would rather pay. It was a guilty pleasure. Females wolves didn’t indulge. And the unknowing males were fine without it. Aesir was too. Until he decided to take a walk on the dark side. And now, he was forever changed. And trying to get his wife to do something she considered vile, was no fun.

  Aesir heard a car pull up right outside his door. His motel room faced the main road. Cars were coming and going. The bright lights of several headlamps had shined through the cheap thin window curtains. He ignored the sounds of the idling engine. But something caught his attention. His innate senses peaked. “Wait! Stop,” he said, as he pushed Gina off of him and stood up. Aesir walked to the window and peeked out. The bright light blinded his view of the car’s occupant. He could see a silhouette. He furrowed his brow. He stood in the window. Whoever it was, looked straight into his room. Their eyes seemed locked on him.

  “Hold on,” he said, as he opened his door and slowly walked out. Aesir was shocked. Legend glared at him. The anger and disappointment on his face made Aesir ashamed. He was caught. He worried Legend would tell their father. He walked to the passenger door and got in.

  “Please tell me you are not keeping company with a human. Please tell me you are here because you are seeing someone from the village and you don’t want Zen to find out,” he said. Aesir looked straight ahead. His silence was his answer. He looked down in shame. Legend looked forward and shook his head in disbelief. He thought he was the only one to have been made weakened by human women. It was dangerous. And Aesir appeared to have gone a step further. Legend believed this wasn’t his first time. He’d been having sex with them. Something Legend had not done yet.

  “Go home. Leave here now and go home,” Legend said. “Don’t tell pop. I don’t know what he might do. And Montaan will want me dead,” he said. He was right. His uncle would want him dead for fear that it wouldn’t be the last time. And for fear of the possibility of him falling in love and creating a Ruid.

  “Pop is the least of your worries. Humans can be dangerous. This is playing with fire. Especially their women of the night. Cops follow them, to arrest them. Arrest who they get in cars with. You would not like their jails,” Legend said. “Oh! You know something about them?” Aesir said. Legend sighed loudly. “Look, just go. It’s not safe,” he warned. Legend was worldly. He knew something about the seedy side of the human world. He moved at night. Alone. Something wolves didn’t enjoy doing since there was a formidable enemy among them. They were stronger than the humans. And they were stronger as a pack. But not if a human leveled the playing field with a clean shot to the head or chest. It was risky to go against them. Silver bullets weren’t required. That was old wives tales.

  A small bullet from a 22, would injure them. A hollow point would seriously wound them and if they got shot with one of the most powerful bullets known to man, it would mean certain death. They feared what they’d come to know as R.I.P bullets. A favored ammo of several of the local town’s most aggressive hunters. And so, wolves did not go close to town or venture
into the woods alone at night. Because human male sport hunters sometimes hunted at night for the fun of it. That way they could shoot endangered animals and be able to move them without being seen. Legend had seen it before. He had seen worst. And he hoped to protect Aesir from such a fate.

  “Alright. I’ll go. I’ll do anything, not to see that look on your face. Just remember, you live as I do. Instead of trying to change me, you should show me what you do. How you move,” he said. Legend had no plans to. He wanted his brother to do better than him. He had been ruined by humans. Raised with them and prone to desires to be near them. But Aesir was not raised among them. Legend expected better. He just needed to get control of his appetite.

  Aesir got out of the car. He looked back at his disappointed brother. His face tight and showing no emotion. He walked back in the motel room, leaving the door open. Soon he exited and got in his car and left. The woman exited the room soon after. Legend looked at her face. He needed to study it. Every line. Every fine hair. Her eyes. Her lips. Her nose. The color of her hair. The distinct way she moved. Even the way she smiled at him. She was unaware she was being examined. Something necessary, in case she saw or heard something she wasn’t supposed to.

  He cracked his window so he could smell her. Her scent was unique and it would make tracking her easier. She carried the scent of several other people, including his brother. But the main scent was hers. Legend was disgusted. She was a prostitute and not a clean one. The woman walked slowly away, looking at the handsome man in the SUV. She walked down the street. He watched until she was some distance away. Legend pulled off. He took his car to his favorite spot and walked quietly towards the forest and disappeared into the night.

  L

  egend had a lot on his mind. Aesir had ventured off into the human world and tasted the forbidden fruit. Legend had heard tales of Valkan men ruined and eventually killed for such behavior. And yet, he too was guilty. He was surprised that Aesir was seeking human companionship. He was married. But Valkan men had weaknesses they didn’t like to admit. And they seemed unable to pull themselves from what was supposed to be a silent enemy. Humans ran the world. And were intolerable of anything not human. Valkan and Harou wolves found them to be weak and unintelligent. And the spirits told them to stay away. But there was evidence that the men had been getting close to the women of that world. And Ruids were being created.

  The Ruid he was stalking, was a twenty eight year old woman named Valentina Ireland. She worked as an executive assistant at a marketing firm called Schuster, Hocking & Davis. She was also taking classes at a local college to obtain her master’s degree. Legend had her address and a list of bars, bowling alleys and movie theaters she frequented. He could tell from what he had gathered that she had an active social life. She would be easy to get to. She lived alone. And she had no children. Legend planned it carefully. Her circle was small, but the people really cared for her. She couldn’t be underestimated. He wanted things done quickly. Cleanly. And he had plans to make the kill less traumatic for her and her family. If there was such a thing.

  L

  egend stood against the wall smoking a cigar. Her panties in his hand. He looked at the red satin and lace underwear. He rubbed them between his fingers. He imagined what she looked like. He closed his eyes and took in her smell. It was sweet. Inviting. He put the panties in his pocket and took another hit of the cigar. The smoke hit his healthy lungs. He enjoyed the crisp feeling he got. It helped take the edge off.

  The night was pleasant. The air was nice and cool. The aroma of sweetbread filled the air. The factory was a mile down and the delicious scent travelled to the delight of the residents in the area. He leaned on an abandoned building across the street from a bowling alley. Valentina was inside with her coworkers. The had a bowling league and it was their meet night. Cars drove by. People walked by. Legend stood out among the crowd. He didn’t look typical. He looked like a man straight out of a Hollywood hit movie. His rough and rugged yet sexy looks, hit toned physique and tough exterior exuded sex. The women walking by noticed him immediately. Something that could hinder his attempt at being unnoticeable. But he was outside a bar. He expected as much.

  “Hi there,” a group of women said, as they flirted with the handsome stranger. One chuckled and looked back. Legend nodded and turned the corner. He was getting too much attention at a time he wanted none. He still hadn’t seen her yet. He still had not laid eyes on his mark.

  He returned when the women left. He needed no witnesses that could describe him completely. He liked Anchorage. He wanted to stay a while. Hang out. He was becoming used to the area. There was a lot to do for a werewolf bored and lonely. A lot of women were lonely as well. And their night life was decent. He watched the door, pulling the underwear from his pocket once more. People came and went all night. He was patient. She had to exit at some point.

  Legend sat on the edge of a step to an old building. A cigar in his right hand and a pair of red satin panties in his left. Another sniff and he was done. He put them in his pocket as he took a puff from his cigar. It had been a while. He thought of her home. How easy it was to gain entry. She wasn’t living in fear as she should have been if she had been the victim of an attack. He wasn’t sure yet. Time would tell. She would have raised scars on her skin, if she had been bitten. Legend looked on the ground. He tossed the cigar and picked up some twigs. He pulled the bark and outer covering off and twisted the soft sticks into a crooked cross. He looked at his work. He loved wood. He could make anything, even with his bare hands. He could twist soft wood and make stick people. Or take sticks and bind them, making baskets or rope.

  The door to Diamond Lane Bowling opened. The familiar scent he had honed in on, drifted into his nostrils. He stood up. It was a large group. They laughed and talked loudly, as they exited the bowling alley. Legend looked at the group of men and women. She was in the crowd. He wondered which one was his mark. He looked to the sky. The half-moon was casting a weak light. The waning crescent did little to reflect off the cornea. He needed a full moon light. Legend sighed. He needed to get closer. He hoped his mark would separate from the group. Their scents wouldn’t mingle and he could hone in on his target. If her eyes weren’t telling, by the red glow, then her scent would be. The group of six women and four men walked toward the parking lot. Legend crossed the street. The women were being silly. It was obvious to him that they were all intoxicated.

  “Oh wow. Hey handsome,” one of the women said. Legend looked everyone in the face. They were too preoccupied with each other and too intoxicated to pay attention. He was glad. He could look at them for a second unnoticed. Drunken humans made for terrible witnesses. He looked closely at them all. He looked for the red in their eyes. But none of the eyes glowed red. He blamed the weak moonlight. It was a terrible disappointment. The light didn’t allow him to see what he needed to see.

  Legend walked past, through the lot and towards the back. Suddenly he noticed a woman standing on the outside of her car. He glanced at her as he walked by. The woman seemed preoccupied with her phone. She was beautiful. Legend stared, then looked away when she glanced up. The wind took her scent downward and he wasn’t sure if it was her. He could hear her greet the group.

  “Hey. Why are you guys leaving so early? I’m sorry I’m late. My sister needed me,” Valentina said. Legend walked slowly. He turned around and glanced back again. The woman was stunning. He realized that she was part of the bowling league. Possibly his mark. He turned back and shook it off. He could not get distracted by the beauty of a human. Possibly one that was a Ruid. What he knew for certain was one of the women in that group was her. He would need to go back to the home he invaded and wait. He had their faces etched firmly in his head. Now he needed to know which face was hers. Which sweet smelling woman would lose her life.

  Legend sat in the shrubs, obscured from view. He twisted thin branches out of boredom, as he waited on one of the women to pull up at 21220 Pine Lake Road. The ground was cold but
the coolness felt good. He was still heating up. He had not had sex and there was no release. Sex would cool him down. Ejaculation was an important part of their lives. It was the ultimate feeling and also a necessary way to keep cool. Otherwise, one could get as hot as lava. Hot enough to be detected by touch. He could masturbate and release his heat. But Legend refused. It felt unnatural to him even though lots of wolves did it.

  The sound of cars came and went. Legend sighed. She hadn’t showed and it was midnight. Legend decided he would wait until dawn. Even if she spent the night out, she had to show up soon. He got comfortable. He leaned back against the tree. Soon the faces of the women entered his mind. One in particular stood out. The beautiful woman he saw as he walked past. He shook his head. He hoped it wasn’t her. All the women were attractive, but she was different. Her eyes were remarkable. Large and almond shaped with thick lush lashes. She reminded him of an alpha woman. Their lashes were thick. Their eyebrows full and shapely. The hair on their head, full like a lion’s mane. The woman he saw had a ponytail. So he couldn’t see her hair. But her other features added up. It was possible she was the one. She resembled his kind the most. Legend hoped he was wrong. There was another woman in the crowd who also had those features. But it could still be any one of the women, since it was possible that any one of them could have been bitten.

  The sound of birds chirping, woke Legend from his deep slumber. He jolted awake and looked around. He stood up and looked in the driveway of the home. There was no car. No sound or movement detected from inside the house. He sharpened his senses. He listened intently. No one was home. He was sure of it. He sighed. This meant he had to move to plan C. He was prepared. The woman also went to college. Legend enrolled at the same school. He had the faces committed to memory. Whichever one it was, she had a class the next evening. Legend plan to be there. He had to. He was ready for it to be over. He turned and walked towards the mountains. The Denali Mountain stood tall in the distance.