by Mia Harris
She didn’t want to even speak to Jon, let alone be married to him. Over the years when she was younger, she had met Jon a few times, and he was always a rude, arrogant pig. Last time she had seen him was just after she had hit puberty, and he had referred to her as a stuffed sausage because the dress she was wearing was a little tight over her newly-formed curves. Unfortunately for her, her mother agreed with her father, and she didn’t have a choice. It was either marry Jon, or be disowned from the family.
Sometimes, she wondered if being disowned wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. While her father had provided her and the rest of the family with everything they could possibly desire, Juliette often thought that it wasn’t worth it. All the designer clothes, the private education, the big mansions – was it all worth the thousands of deaths that his company caused? According to the general public of the city they lived in, the answer was yes.
She didn’t agree, though. As far as she was concerned, Lycancorp was one of the most depraved companies ever formed, and she often felt ashamed to be associated with the Carpenter name. Lycancorp’s basic business model was to hire out contract killers to the government (or whoever else had enough money to pay for them), and these killers would hunt down as many werewolves as they could to fit their assigned quota. When found, they would either be killed immediately, or brought back to medical test facilities where they were studied and then killed afterwards.
From what Juliette had learned in school, it had been around thirty years since the werewolves decided to reveal themselves to the human public. They had apparently wanted peace with the humans, but unfortunately for them, humans have never been particularly peaceful or tolerant. They were immediately shunned and treated as sub-humans by most of the major states, and two years later, Juliette’s father had formed Lycancorp.
The Carpenter name was now synonymous with ‘werewolf killers’, and Juliette couldn’t stand it. Sometimes she just wanted to change her name and run away to one of the free states where humans and werewolves were considered as equals and co-existed peacefully, from what she had heard, anyway.
Moments later, her mother shuffled into the main part of the bedroom with five more dresses loaded onto her arms.
“Here, sweetie. I think I’ve narrowed it down to these ones. Try them all on for me, and I’ll tell you which one to wear,” she said.
“Okay, Mom,” she replied, sighing again.
As she slid the emerald green silk dress over her hips, she realized that she needed help doing up the zip. Her mother stood behind her and wrenched it up as hard as possible, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Oh, Juliette, honey, we pay for all these gym memberships and personal chefs and whatnot… how are you still at this weight?” she asked.
“Mom, I’m perfectly happy with my body,” Juliette replied indignantly.
It was true; she was happy with the way she looked. Her mother could never understand. She was one of those stick-thin trophy wives who never ate more than 1500 calories a day and spent half their time at the pilates studio. Juliette, on the other hand, had been voluptuous and curvy since the day she turned thirteen, and she actually admired her body instead of torturing it with endless diets and workouts.
Her breasts were full, soft and round, and her waist flared out to curvy hips that made all the male staff members in the house stare at her whenever she walked around the mansion. She had no idea why her mother would want to take that away from her. Probably so I can be as miserable as her.
Deciding that the green dress was too small, she pulled it off and tried the maroon one. Once it was done up, she looked at herself in the mirror proudly, and even her mother gasped in approval. The dress hugged her breasts and hips, showing off her best assets, and the deep red color went perfectly with her long, dark hair.
“It’s perfect. Jon won’t be able to resist you,” her mother said, rubbing Juliette’s shoulders.
“Mom, I don’t really have to marry him, do I?”
“Sweetie, it would make your father and me very happy if you chose to follow the path in life that we have set for you. Remember, who pays for all these fancy dresses? Your father, that’s who,” her mother replied sternly.
“Well, maybe I don’t need fancy dresses.”
“Of course you do, Juliette. You’ve grown up with a particular lifestyle, and it’s not like you can just easily give up all the things you have, can you?”
“Okay, Mom,” she replied, sighing and casting her eyes down again. Maybe her mother was right. It would take a hell of a lot to make her finally brave enough to leave her parents and never look back.
Her mother patted her on the back.
“Good girl.”
“Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
Juliette swallowed nervously.
“With Dad’s company… he’s never really told me any of the specifics. How do they find the werewolves? Don’t they look like us?”
“Yes, they do. It’s a very long, difficult process to find them. They can be anyone; your neighbor, your hairstylist… anyone. The Lycancorp employees can take many weeks to follow up tips and carry out surveillance on suspected werewolves. But they always find them in the end.”
“But if they look like us, then… shouldn’t we give them equal rights? They are basically just humans like us, except with different abilities,” Juliette replied.
Her mother glared at her in the mirror.
“Don’t ever let your father catch you saying that. They are not our equals. They may look and act like us, but at their very cores, they are dirty savages. If you were ever alone with one, it wouldn’t hesitate to tear you apart limb from limb,” she said, her voice icy.
“How do you know that?”
“Because your father was attacked by one when he was younger. His old business partner, in fact. You know that, sweetie. You’ve seen the scars. That was the whole reason he started the company.”
“Oh, I remember now. James Montgomery, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. The Montgomery family are the most powerful werewolf family in this state, and they have managed to evade capture somehow. I don’t know how. I think they live up near the north border. You’d have to ask your father about that.”
The state to the north of where the Carpenter’s lived was a free state for werewolves, and Juliette had often wondered what it would be like to live there. They seem fine up there, and the werewolves don’t attack humans. Why can’t people follow the example of the free states and end all of this?
Sighing, she realized that there was probably nothing she could do about it, and sat down near her dressing table as her mother put makeup on her. When she was done, her mother told her to look in one of her drawers for a matching mask to wear to the ball, and Juliette did as she said.
The ball was being held in the Carpenter ballroom downstairs, and Juliette was grateful that she didn’t have to leave the property to attend it. Several times in the last month when she had gone out, she had been mobbed by picketers demanding that she speak for the actions of her father, and it had been terrifying. On the other hand, she was glad that some people were finally taking a stand against Lycancorp.
A couple of hours later, the ball was in full swing, and she was being swept around the room by several of her friends, who were much better dancers than she was. Her cousin Tyron interrupted her and requested a dance.
“Sure, let’s go. I’m warning you, though, I suck at dancing,” she said, taking his hand and taking her mask off. “God, it’s way too hot to wear this stupid mask anymore.”
“So, anyway, what have you been up to, little cousin?” he asked as he twirled her around the dance floor. “You look lovely tonight, by the way.”
“Thank you. I’ve just finished the semester at college, and I have a few weeks off before I go back.”
“Oh, that’s right. What are you studying again?”
“Business, with a minor in sociology,” she replied.
Tyron’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Sociology? Ha, I bet your Dad loves that. Isn’t that pretty much all bleeding-heart liberal crap?” he asked.
“No,” Juliette said, really not in the mood to get into this right now.
“Oh, well I knew a guy who studied that once. He turned out to be a werewolf-lover. He lives up in one of the free states, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was actually dead by now. Those goddamn werewolves probably tore him apart after tricking him into thinking they are like us.”
“Maybe they are,” Juliette said, incensed by her cousin’s attitude.
He laughed softly.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, I’ve been working for your Dad, did he tell you? We’re on the trail of the Montgomery pack. Apparently, a couple of them have been spotted in the city recently.”
“Oh. No, I didn’t know that.”
“Well, that’s what’s happening at the moment with me. Here’s the guy that I’m looking for specifically,” he said, stopping for a moment and pulling out a photo from his suit pocket. “I keep it with me all the time so I don’t forget what he looks like.”
Juliette looked at the grainy picture, and nearly gasped. The man in the picture, werewolf or not, was absolutely gorgeous. From what she could make out, he had dark curly hair, even features, a strong jawline, and green eyes. Even in such a low-quality picture, he was by far the most stunning-looking man that she had ever seen.
Tyron mistook the look on her face for horror.
“That’s right. Unbelievable, isn’t it? He looks just like one of us. His name is Roman Montgomery. He’s the son of the werewolf that attacked your father all those years ago,” he said. “Anyway, I’m going to get a drink. Talk to you later, Juliette.”
He strode away, and Juliette accepted a dance with Jon at her father’s behest. He was just as arrogant as she remembered, and as he spun her around, her mind lingered on the photo that Tyron had shown her. I wish I could meet a man who looked like that instead, she thought, forcing a smile as she looked up at Jon.
Half an hour later, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled up, and she turned around and scanned the room. A tall man was staring at her from the other side of the ballroom. She couldn’t tell who he was, because he was wearing a mask that covered nearly his entire face, aside from his mouth and lower jaw. A strange tingle ran up her spine as she looked at him. Who is he?
Something about the way he was looking at her was unnerving. I wouldn’t even call it looking; he’s staring at me, she realized. His head turned slightly to follow her every time that she moved, and something about him seemed oddly familiar. He must be one of Dad’s friends. I swear I know him from somewhere.
Tired from all the dancing, she decided to go and freshen up her hair and makeup in the bathroom. To the right of the ballroom, there were bathrooms for guest to use, but the line for them was crazy. Knowing the house like the back of her hand, Juliette went to the left and walked through a darkened hallway that led to the service entrance of the ballroom.
She knew that there were a few bathrooms down this hallway for staff to use, and there were no lines. I can finally be alone for a few minutes. Her heeled shoes were getting uncomfortable to walk in, and she decided to take them off the time being. As she was bending over to pick them up, she felt two strong arms wrap around her waist, and caught a whiff of expensive cologne mixed with sweat.
“Tyron, let me go!” she said, assuming it was her drunken cousin wanting another dance.
The arms released her, and she whirled around. It wasn’t Tyron. It was the masked man that had been watching her earlier. Up this close, he was even taller than she had originally assessed, and without her heels on, he towered over her five-foot-three frame.
“Umm… I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else,” she said, nervously wondering why he had put his arms around her, and why he was currently staring down at her like she was some kind of prize.
“I don’t think so,” he replied. His voice was smooth and deep, and sent shivers racing up and down her spine.
Even though she couldn’t see most of his face, Juliette could see his sparkling green eyes, and she was strangely drawn to him. A warm tingling sensation formed deep within her belly, spreading downwards until a distinct heat started to pool between her thighs. The man leaned closer and murmured down into her ear.
“I’ve been watching you, Juliette. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Come with me.”
Juliette seriously considered going with him wherever he wanted to go. Something about him was driving her crazy, despite him being a complete stranger who she had only been around for a few seconds… and besides, what could be better than sneaking off with a masked man and ignoring Jon and her father all night?
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, finally realizing that it might not be a good idea. For all she knew, he was some kind of kidnapper. “I can’t leave the ball.”
“Who says we have to leave the ball?” he said, leaning down further.
His warm breath caressed her ear, and her skin prickled as goose bumps spread down her neck and chest.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You live here. You know where all the secret little rooms are. Take me to one, and give me just half an hour of your time.”
With that, he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on the smooth skin of her neck, and Juliette was lost. It no longer mattered to her that he was a complete stranger. She wanted him. She needed to feel him touch her, kiss her, be inside her.
She had had a few fumbling experiences back at college, but they hadn’t been any good. In fact, they had nearly been enough to put her off sex for good, but the raging fire in her belly right now told her that this man would know exactly how to please her. His warm lips alone had awakened something inside her that she had never felt; a deep, burning desire for him to make love to her.
“Okay,” she whispered, hardly believing that she had said it. For all she knew, she was making the worst decision of her life. Too bad, she thought. I can’t explain it, but this just feels right.
The man pulled away and grinned. She marveled at how straight and white his teeth were, and his smile was infectious. She found herself grinning back, and then took his hand and ran down the dim hallway, holding her shoes in the other hand. Once they had reached a certain door, she opened it and turned to him.
“This is one of the rooms that the staff can stay in if they need to work really late. It has a sofa… and a bed.”
He didn’t say anything, and simply smiled again as she said the word ‘bed’. Juliette entered the room, locked the door behind them and flicked the light switch on, only to find out that the light wasn’t working.
“Globe must’ve blown,” the man said, before encircling her waist in his strong arms again and burying his face in the side of her neck, nipping her soft skin and sending violent tremors through her body.
Even through his suit jacket, Juliette could feel that he had hard, defined muscles, and she suddenly couldn’t wait to get his clothes off. He seemed to feel the same way about her, and one arm traveled up her back, trying to find the zip of her dress.
She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder as he slowly pulled the zip down, and his green eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. Some moonlight was peeking through the blinds of the room’s only window, and she assumed that it was a trick of the light as his eyes seemed to burn even brighter once her dress was bunched around her waist, revealing her full cleavage nestled in the lacy black cups of her bra.
As his gorgeous eyes stared into hers, she felt the fire begin to spread throughout her entire body, and the tingling between her legs became more obvious. Crazy, in fact. She wanted him to take all of her clothes off right now, and do whatever he wanted to her.
Squirming out of his arms, she turned and faced him before slowly slipping the dress all the way down to her ankles. Stepping out of it, she moved even closer
to the man, and his eyes blazed with arousal as they lingered over her full, soft curves.
“God, you’re even more beautiful out of your dress,” he murmured as he slid his suit jacket off. “Let me kiss you, Juliette.”
She tilted her head up, giving him permission to kiss her, and he leaned down and gently placed his hands on either side of her face. Then, he leaned even closer and pressed his lips to hers. The effect of his kiss was instantaneous; a magical feeling of fireworks and powerful shivers swept through Juliette’s mind and body, and she shivered despite being quite warm, still unable to believe how her body was responding to this man.
