by Jessic Ryan
“Well we can’t run on four legs everywhere,” she said with a laugh.
“A motorcycle is so much better, so much freer.”
“Is that why all wolves drive motorcycles?”
Travis turned to her, a knowing smile creeping across his face. “How would you know all wolves ride motorcycles?”
“Well you told me Jacob does, and then you told me nomadic packs ride them and then you told me that city wolves usually form biker gangs.”
Travis smiled big and wrapped one giant arm around her, planting a wet kiss on her forehead. “You have been listening, I like that.”
“Well we are still getting to know each other in this courtship phase. You haven’t brought me a dead animal yet.”
Travis laughed, his orange eyes lighting up. “We are not to that point yet. Most werewolves do ride motorcycles, and some enjoy trucks. I don’t think you’ll catch too many tooling around in one of these.”
“I like my car,” she said, gripping the steering wheel and looking over the sleek sexy front end of her baby. “I wonder why it smells like piss.”
“Let’s just go,” he said quickly. “The vampire is probably already awake and he may have already left his lair.”
Paige put the car into gear and backed down the long dirt road that led to her trailer. As she backed by the store she saw Duncan standing out front, smoking a cigarette and enjoying the cool night air. He waved at Paige as he customarily did when he saw her passing and she returned the gesture.
“Who is that man anyway?” Travis asked as they pulled away from the store and into the street.
“Duncan,” she said. “He’s close to my age and he’s been working at the store for a long time.”
“Has he ever made a move on you?”
Paige curled her lip and turned in disgust as they drove. “God no! Duncan’s like a brother, probably a better brother than Billy.”
“The male seems to be interested in you,” he said, his face growing dark. “I do not enjoy the way he looks at you.”
“Well we work together so you’ll have to get over it,” she said, shaking her head. “I understand that you can be possessive in the wild, but that’s a turn-off in the human world.”
“It is? It does not excite you to see me smash down all would be suitors to prove my dominance?” he asked, his face deadly serious.
“No!” she yelled. “I don’t want you fighting anybody over me unless they’re trying to hurt me like Randy!”
“What if a male makes an advance on you?” he asked. “I must defend my honor as well at that point or I will look weak.”
“No you won’t,” she said, still shaking her head. “I’m a big girl; I can handle myself and tell a guy off.”
“What kind of alpha male would I be if I did not defend my mate?”
“You’re not defending me from anything. Men hit on women; it’s a part of life. You just have to accept it and move on. If I’m with you then I’m with you. I am not going anywhere.”
Travis balled one fist and spoke through gritted teeth. “I can see human society will be harder to live in than I thought.”
“It will be if you act like a jealous psycho,” she said.
Paige looked over at Travis who was still stewing, his discomfort evident on his face. It wasn’t his fault; it was how he was raised. His world was one that was halfway between that of animal and man, nothing like anything she had experienced. She would have to be patient and not make him feel bad for his thoughts and beliefs.
“Hey, it’s ok,” she said in a soothing tone. She reached over and began rubbing the back of his head. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about these things; I’m here to help you.”
“I’m glad I have someone to help me with these rules of society,” he said, glancing sideways at her. “Without you I may end up locked in a kennel somewhere.”
“I may lock you in a kennel if you don’t behave,” she said, snickering.
“Is that a promise?” he asked, winking at her.
She loved how much he flirted with her. Randy was an idiot that couldn’t flirt to save his life. His idea of flirting was sticking his hard dick against her ass and asking if she felt that. Or he would slap her ass every time she bent over and scream “Whooo!” like he was a professional wrestler. It was all very annoying and very unsexy.
Why the hell did I stay with him so long? she thought as they drove. He was such an unattractive asshole.
She remembered Billy telling her he never saw the flaws everyone pointed out in Tammy Faye until she was gone. Sometimes when you were too close to a situation you were blinded to the trouble it was producing. Hopefully Travis was still new enough that she saw everything and wasn’t blind already. Something told her it would be a lot harder to break up with an alpha wolf than a fat guy from Lawton. Although, the fat guy from Lawton did try to injure her.
“Where are we going exactly?” Travis asked.
“He lives on the outskirts of town,” she said.
“I thought you lived on the outskirts,” he said.
“I do, on the western side; he lives on the eastern side.”
“This town is so large,” he said, looking out the window as they cruised down Main Street, one of the only streets with businesses in town.
“It’s tiny,” she said, trying not to laugh. “It’s one of the smallest towns around here. Our high school only graduates thirty kids every year.”
“That’s not very much?” he asked.
“Well Randy is from Moore and he graduated with 568,” she said.
“That’s a lot of youths,” he said. “I do not know how you would keep track of them all.”
“Being in a small town has its advantages. There’s not a lot of crime and you know everybody. The downside is that there’s nothing to do and you know everybody.”
“I can see that.”
It only took them a few minutes to get through town; there weren’t very many people out. Everybody was probably at church tonight, trying to wash away a week’s worth of sin. Paige couldn’t stand church or the church crowd, so she avoided it as well as she could. Although, she was beginning to think maybe the bible wasn’t as fake as she once thought. If werewolves and vampires are real then what about angels and demons?
The night air was cool and she cruised with the windows down, trying to get some fresh air in on them. Travis filled so much of the car it was getting hard to breath. She left the radio off, not wanting to arouse suspicion or attention from anyone that may be walking down the street. Travis had retreated into his own world after his last words, probably concentrating on the task in front of them. The silence hung heavy in the car, thick enough to cut with a knife.
Finally the buildings of Main Street gave way to houses and then to trees, leading them out of town. Just outside of town she turned right on a gravel road, following it as it twisted through the trees. To the left and right were old dilapidated houses or mobile homes, the absolute dregs of society. People bought this land cheap and slapped whatever they could on it, trying to make ends meet.
Finally they came to the end of the street where the road dipped low, leading to a dilapidated old farmhouse sitting at the bottom of a hill.
“Is this his home?” Travis asked.
“It is,” Paige said.
“How do you know where he lives?” he asked.
Paige had wondered when he was going to ask this question. “My brother and I delivered some supplies to him one night. He couldn’t make it into town and he’d asked for us to help him out by bringing his usual order out to his house.”
“And he didn’t try to eat either one of you?” he asked, his face a mask of questions.
“Not at all,” she said. “Actually he met us at the truck when we pulled up. We didn’t even have to get out.”
“How long ago was that?” he asked.
“A long time actually,” she said. “I haven’t seen Dario in at least a month.”
“Sta
y here,” Travis said, getting out of her car and staring down the hill at the house below. “If there’s trouble leave and don’t come back.”
“Wait,” she started to say, but it was too late: Travis was already stalking down the hill towards the house.
Chapter 7
The vampire kept his house very dark, there was no light on the property. Luckily, Travis could see in the dark. If Paige had decided to join him she probably would’ve already broken an ankle trying to make her way down the hill.
When Travis got to the bottom he looked back up at the top where she had shut her car off and turned out the lights.
Why is that hill so steep? It’s way too steep for a driveway. It’s odd for a vampire to live in such a crappy home, he thought.
Travis started sneaking towards the front door but stopped when he saw the porch in front of it, it was made of old rickety wood, it would creak if he put any of his considerable weight on it. Vampires had very keen senses; he would immediately be given away. Although, the vampire probably already heard the car or saw the lights. Hopefully he thought it was someone trying to turn around. Silently he cursed himself for not thinking things through better and asking her to drop him off further down the road.
The vampire’s home wasn’t much bigger than the cottages Travis was used to living in. It was kind of cozy with the trees behind it: if he was a lone wolf he’d consider living in a place like this.
I bet there are deer in that forest, he thought. I could hunt every day and never have to eat processed human food again.
He sniffed the air, trying to find any evidence of traps around the home. There were none, although he wouldn’t smell the vampire if he was close: they had no scent. Usually you could find a vampire by the heavy smell of blood if they had just fed, but the vampire itself gave nothing to assist a prowling wolf.
There were two windows in the front of the house, Travis snuck to the first one and peered in, finding an empty living room. In the dark he could make out a thick layer of dust covering everything, like the house was never used. There were a few old pieces of furniture, but nothing else that would let you know someone lived in the property.
This is strange, he thought. Vampires love money and personal effects, this place should be filled with gadgets and expensive furniture.
He walked to the second window, looking through the dirty glass of the front window. Inside he saw a dresser, bed and end table. The bed didn’t look like it’d been slept in for a long time.
Did he miss something? Travis was completely confused; it didn’t look like anyone had been inside this house in quite some time.
He walked to the side of the house and sniffed the air again. This time he caught the scent; there was a very strong scent on this side of the house leading to the back. It wasn’t the scent of a vampire; it was the strong musk of a male wolf marking his territory.
Travis began to growl, feeling the hair standing up on the back of his neck. His ears perked up, alerting him to something behind him. He had miscalculated this, badly.
He tried to spin and meet the oncoming attacker; instead he was slammed to the ground by a smaller man. All the air left Travis’ body as the man landed on him, his shoulder plowing into Travis’ chiseled midsection.
As he fought for breath the man began raining fists down on Travis, trying to knock him out cold. Finally Travis recovered and bucked his hips, tossing the man forward. He reached up, grabbing for something as the man straddled him and tried to regain his balance. He wasn’t wearing a shirt but he had very long hair hanging down. Travis grabbed the man’s hair hard and pulled him in simultaneously bringing his head up. The man grunted in pain as Travis’ hard forehead smashed into his nose, showering blood all over Travis.
With the man temporarily incapacitated Travis tossed him to the side, rising to his feet. The man was stumbling to his feet, ready to continue the fight.
Finally Travis could see the stranger in the dark. He was a black man, much shorter than Travis and very lean. His muscles were sinewy and strong for his size. He had long dreadlocks hanging past his shoulders and currently he was waving his arms in front, trying to regain his senses.
“I am not here to harm you,” Travis said, dancing backwards away from the man. “I did not come here for a fight.”
“You found one!” the man hollered, rushing towards Travis again. This time Travis was ready, stepping to the side and catching the man, using his momentum to slam him to the ground. The smaller man struggled under Travis’ iron grip.
“Please stop,” he said. “I do not wish to harm you anymore.”
“Get off!” the man screamed, still thrashing.
“Not until you calm down,” he said.
The man‘s eyes popped open as they glowed a ghostly yellow. He was beginning to shift. Travis stepped back, unable to stop the transformation as it happened. The sound of cracking bones filled the air as the man began to shrink and twist, his body sprouting fur all over. After several intense moments he stood before Travis, a snarling old brown wolf with ragged fur and a broken front tooth.
“Please stop,” Travis said. “You do not want me to shift.”
The wolf snarled and snapped at Travis, not wanting to back down. He understood why it was so angry; he had encroached on its territory unlawfully. Lone wolves were very territorial, unable to allow any other males near their home. This one had obviously spent a lot of time in the forest, away from man and civilization.
“I am Travis,” he said, putting one hand up and backing away from the wolf that was still advancing. “I am the alpha of the Bowshot pack.”
With those words the wolf stopped and sat down, cocking his head at Travis. It was obvious he recognized the Bowshot pack. Had he been a member?
“I am leaving now,” Travis said. “Returning to my car at the top of the hill. If you want to speak with me then I will wait for you at the top of the hill.”
The wolf continued to watch him as he backed away, not wanting to turn his backside to it for any reason. Finally when he was far enough away he turned and bounded up the hill. Once he reached the top he turned to see if he had been followed, but he was alone. The wolf remained on the side of the home, out of Travis’ sight.
He sat down on the hood of Paige’s car, feeling the shocks strain and dip under his weight.
“What happened?” Paige said behind him, getting out of the car. She walked up beside him, gasping when she saw the blood splattered over him. “Did you kill him?”
“No,” he answered. “He did attack me though.”
“Did he hurt you?” she asked, putting her hand on his back in concern.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” he answered. “We’re just going to wait here.”
“Why?” she asked.
“To see what happens.”
She must have sensed that Travis didn’t want to go into any more detail because her questions halted and she joined him on the hood of the car, putting one arm around him. Her touch was amazing after the ordeal he had just been through; he loved the small comfort she provided.
Together they set in silence, staring up at the night sky in total darkness. As the temperature dropped she began to shiver, and Travis pulled her in tight, trying to warm her with his body.
“Why are you so hot?” she asked.
“Werewolves all run hot,’ he said. “It’s just our nature.”
“That wasn’t what I was asking about,” she said, rubbing his chest with one hand. He immediately felt a tingle in his nether region at her sexual touch.
“I guess I’m just lucky,” he answered, rubbing one hand on a thick, curvy leg.
He didn’t know how much longer he would be able to resist her, but it appeared she wouldn’t be able to resist him much longer either. He had never had a woman be the aggressor when it came to sexual activity: this would be interesting.
It had been at least a half hour since he had encountered the other wolf, he should have turned back into a man a
t this point.
“I don’t think he’s coming,” Travis said, pulling away from Paige and standing up. The car groaned in appreciation and popped Paige off the hood and onto her feet beside it.
“Well what now?” she asked.
“I guess we go home,” he said, turning and heading for the passenger door.
Just as he was about to open the car door a voice spoke behind him. “Is Jacob ok?”
Travis jumped and turned, finding the stranger standing behind him in nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts.
He studied the man up and down, there seemed to be genuine concern on his face. “No, he’s no longer with us.”
“Did you defeat him?” the man asked.
“No,” Travis said, shutting the car door and turning back to the smaller man. “The entire pack was slaughtered by a vampire.”
The man’s eyes grew wide with shock as a hand shot up to his mouth. “This is very troubling news.”
“Who are you?” Travis asked.
“Dario,” the man said. “Former member of the Bowshot pack.”
“Former member?” Travis asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“I have never heard of you,” Travis said.
“I’m not surprised,” Dario said, chuckling. “Many years ago I thought to challenge Jacob for leadership of the pack; instead I was defeated rather easily.”
“So you struck out on your own rather than face the humiliation of defeat?” Travis said.
Dario looked at the ground before looking up and speaking. “That’s right.”
“I’m sorry to have bothered you,” Travis said, turning around and heading for the car.
“Wait a minute,” Dario said, reaching out and grabbing Travis’ arm. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“I thought you were a vampire,” Travis said bluntly.
“Why the hell would you ever think something like that?” Dario asked his lip curling in disgust at the thought.
“Your unusual spending habits,” Travis answered, motioning to Paige.
Dario looked over at her, his eyes flashing wide with recognition. “Well hello Ms. Strong. I didn’t know you had a wild side.”
