by Juniper Hart
Screaming like a mad man, Jax rolled away from under Brock’s collapsing body and swung the serrated blade wildly at the group. His eyes settled on Annabelle’s horrified face, and some semblance of reality began to sink through. He blinked his slate gray eyes twice as if trying to secure a grip on his emotions. What happened next chilled Annabelle to her bones. Jax smiled.
Chapter Four
“Jax, stop!” Bryden screamed, lunging toward him.
Abruptly, Jax turned to jab the knife in the musician’s direction, narrowly missing him by inches, with Brock’s blood still dripping off the blade. Bryden’s eyes widened in fear, but he wasn’t looking at Jax. His gaze had shifted to Annabelle. Jax turned to follow his stare, his own mouth dropping.
Before Annabelle could follow suit, a low, menacing growl reverberated the ground on which she stood. She didn’t need to look. She knew the wolf-like beast was present, that she hadn’t simply been imagining him seconds before. A massive paw found its way onto her shoulder and roughly shoved her backward. She stumbled against a rock and fell onto her rear, watching as the beast pounced toward Jax, Julian, and Bryden, baring his teeth. Jax reacted before his friends, literally jumping over Brock’s wounded body, brandishing the blade with panic.
Again, the creature growled, swatting at Jax as if he were a pesky gnat. The weapon went soaring through the air, landing at Brock’s side. Brock was losing blood at such a rapid pace, his ruddy complexion turned to gray ash. Bryden and Julian backed away from the animal and towards Brock, eyes wide with awe and terror. Jax continued to move forward, fueled by adrenaline and fury.
“Come on, fucker! Is that the best you got?” he screamed at the animal.
Annabelle was suddenly horrified for Jax. She knew the beast was going to kill him, and despite her feelings toward her abusive partner, she could not bear the thought of seeing him hurt. She did not think her psyche could handle watching him being dismembered before her eyes. The wolf closed the distance between the two, falling onto all fours in a predatory stance, but Jax was too enraged to fully comprehend the peril he was facing. He lashed out, his fist landing squarely on the creature’s snout. A spray of saliva showered Jax as the wolf opened his mouth and let out a howl of fury. He raised back onto his hind legs, claws extended, but before he could react, Annabelle let out a shriek.
“No! Stop! Please!”
Everyone froze and slowly turned to stare at her, as if they had forgotten she was there. The beast’s huge chest was heaving at an alarming pace, and his livid pupils almost overtook all the color of his irises.
“Run, Anna, run!” Julian screamed at her.
The beast roared in Julian’s direction, but did not move. She scurried to her feet, ready to run. The animal looked at her, his pupils beginning to restrict slowly, his breathing starting to even. Annabelle was overcome with a now familiar sense of electricity as their eyes locked, and she was decidedly unafraid. A calm was befalling him, and Annabelle tried to will him to walk away before anyone else was injured.
The animal understood her silent plea as if they shared some telepathic bond. His frame shrunk as he backed away, eyes still fixated on the lovely girl before him. Annabelle knew he was about to flee, and she desperately tried to smile encouragingly, but it would not manifest around her mouth. Her nerves were much too frayed. Her body physically relaxed as he took two uncertain steps away from the group.
Before he could disappear, the knife’s blade was plunged into the depth of his solid shoulders, pain lighting his eyes like a flame. Annabelle began to scream, loud, wild, and haunted as the beast began to crumble. Horrified, she turned her violet orbs toward the assailant. Brock had risen to his knees, blood still pouring from the gashing wound in his stomach. He left the knife in the beast and fell unconscious.
“Annabelle, run!” Julian screamed. Bryden and Julian half led, and half carried Brock, moving as quickly as they could.
But Annabelle could not move. She felt as though it was she who had been stabbed. She fell to the ground beside the beast as Jax ran toward her. He yanked her up by the hair once more, screaming in her face.
“Run, you stupid bitch! This thing is going to kill you!”
Annabelle did not even have a chance to open her mouth. She was sprayed with blood as huge, sharp claws slashed at Jax’s face. His face twisted into shock, but not a sound was made as he fell to the ground. The hyperventilating beast was doubled over, but still standing. He reached across and scooped up Annabelle, throwing her over his good shoulder like a caveman. She did not fight or make a sound as he carried her off into the depth of the woods. Despite the trauma she had just incurred, Annabelle felt safe.
The beast stealthily slid through the flora, moving at a stunningly fast pace. He didn’t make a noise, except for his heavy breathing. From the awkward, partially upside position, Annabelle watched his paws dance over rocks and tree roots like a choreographed dance. It was evident he knew the woods, as he never stumbled nor paused, and made abrupt turns onto paths otherwise not visible.
The trees became thicker, closer together, and Annabelle was grateful for her thick hair protecting her face against indiscriminate twigs and mosquitos vying against one another to attack her smooth skin. She did not move or try to speak. She only silently wondered where he was taking her. She somehow knew that he was not headed somewhere intending to harm her, but how she had come to that conclusion, she did not know.
It seemed logical that the beast would most certainly want her dead, having seen him. She wondered if he was capable of intelligent thought. Annabelle recalled the scene on the beach and was convinced that he was definitely capable of reasoning.
He was trying to protect you. But why? Why has he been watching you? Who is he?
Annabelle guessed that they had been traveling for an hour when he finally slowed his pace somewhat. Afternoon sunlight trickled through the dense trees, casting natural spotlights on wild mushrooms and blueberry bushes. Civilization was a long way away. Annabelle didn’t know if she would ever be able to make it back if the creature decided to release her.
He paused under an ancient oak tree and gently allowed her onto her feet. Immediately, her legs cramped and her knees buckled. The wolf caught her before she fell and placed her onto a mossy rock. He quickly turned his back to her and began gathering some items Annabelle could not see. The blood began to resurface in her head after being carried for such a long distance in an uncomfortable position.
“Hey…” Annabelle called out timidly, reaching her hand out in his direction. The beast stopped but did not turn to face her. “Thank you.”
After a second, he resumed his activity silently. Annabelle looked at his shoulder, searching for where Brock stabbed him. She tested her legs for strength, and confident that she could withhold her own weight, she ventured closer for a better look. She did not see any blood, and even as she neared him, she couldn’t make out a point of entry on his large, rippling muscles. Directly behind him now, she reached out tentatively to touch him. He whipped around before she was able to make contact, his jade eyes ablaze.
“What are you doing?” he snarled.
Annabelle jumped back, stunned that he could speak.
“You can talk!” she exclaimed, her heart thumping ferociously.
A thin, mirthless smile touched his long, dry mouth, and she caught a glimpse of the dangerously sharp teeth within. As before, however, her gaze kept returning to the magnetism of his eyes. They consumed her as they locked looks.
“What is your name?” she whispered, stepping in closer once more.
The beast backed away and cackled slightly, but did not respond. Somehow, Annabelle thought she detected amusement in his facial features, but he turned his head once more before she could be certain.
“My name is Annabelle,” she offered.
He was on the move now, on all fours, and he seemed more wolf than man as he sniffed the ground, apparently seeking something she could not see.
“Why did you attack the guys back there?” she pressed, following behind him as he continued his search.
“You don’t like being alive, Annabelle?” the creature mocked. “If I hadn’t appeared when I did, you surely would be as dead as your friends are now.”
Annabelle paled at the thought of Jax and Brock.
“You think they’re dead?” asked Annabelle.
Her initial concern for Jax had dissipated as the hours had passed, almost like Jax had been someone she had known a long time ago and no longer had any intimate connection.
“I don’t know,” said the beast. “I hope not. Well, at least I hope Brock is all right.”
“Thank you,” she told him again, genuinely grateful for him saving her life. Abruptly, the beast spun to glower at her.
“Stop thanking me. You put yourself in an incredibly bad situation with that man. None of this would have happened if you had the foresight or the spine to walk away from a bad situation long ago,” he almost shouted at her.
His words cut her more deeply than she would have thought possible from a stranger. Defensiveness attacked her body.
“What do you know about me?” she yelled back, unconcerned that the animal had the capacity to end her life with one effortless gesture. Her anger had overridden her common sense. “You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know anything about anyone! You’re a…a…”
“A what?” he snarled, dropping his findings and beginning to circle her.
For the first time since he had scooped her from the beach, Annabelle tasted fear.
“Nothing,” she answered quickly, realizing her mistake. “You just don’t know anything about me.”
“I know a great deal about you,” the creature drawled, continuing his slow lap around her body.
The feral scent of him was making Annabelle lightheaded, and without realizing it, she had closed her eyes to inhale his pheromones.
“I know you allowed a man take over your entire life, alienate you from your friends and your family. I know that you have relinquished control to a spoiled, narcissistic brat who bullies in order to achieve getting what he wants.”
Annabelle’s eyes flew open as the wolf continued to speak, defensiveness turning to sheer anger.
“That’s not true! I—”
“I know you have no self-respect, no dignity, and no backbone, or else you wouldn’t be this pathetic, weak, cowering version of yourself,” he continued, a leer painting his mouth.
Annabelle felt her lids drop as her eyes narrowed into slits. “How dare you!” she hissed at him, her fists balling at her side.
He let out a laugh which was more of a growl.
“Oh, I dare, little girl. What are you going to do about it? You are spineless, weak, and lack any fire. You bet your ass, I dare.”
Annabelle was flying toward him, open palm to slap his smug, furry face, but he was expecting her. He caught her attempted blow with a powerful forearm and batted her away, gently, as if she weighed a feather. Furious, she went in for another blow, and again he countered her, laughing out loud, his green eyes aflame with amusement. The third time, she grabbed his snout and yanked it toward her face, shocking them both by slipping her tongue along his wet teeth.
He did not immediately respond, so she reached up with her other hand, encircling it about his ear and gently pulled at the fur at his neck. Suddenly he was embracing her, almost too tightly, pulling her close to his solid frame. They fell to the leaves, their kiss intensifying. The beast cupped her curvy buttocks in his paws, and Annabelle unbuttoned her pants.
Her desire for this mysterious beast was beyond anything she had ever read about, but she knew she wanted him, and she wanted him to want her. He yanked her pants off her roughly, the sound of denim tearing under his claws, and he pushed her down, but Annabelle had other ideas. With surprising force, she shoved him back, realizing that his erection had emerged, huge and engorged through the dark, silken hair between his legs.
She stared into his eyes again and gently straddled him, putting his monstrous paws on her large, firm breasts. Sighing in anticipation, she guided him into her and began to rock on his hardness, feeling him fill her deeper than she had ever experienced. Moaning with pleasure, he bucked up slightly underneath her, urging Annabelle along faster, and she cried out, happy to oblige.
Still holding onto each other’s gazes, the rhythmic motion became faster and harder until Annabelle could feel herself begin to shake. The beast pushed her down, stabbing into her from underneath, encouraging her juices to flow all over him. A low, long moan escaped Annabelle’s mouth as the orgasm struck. Closing her eyes, she felt the wolf spill himself into her at the same time, both of them trembling in ecstasy. He jerked upward one last time, ensuring that every last drop had fallen, and then they were both still.
Annabelle kept her eyes closed, relishing that moment and feeling that nothing would ever be that perfect again. She was finished worrying about who the beast was or where he came from. All she knew was that she needed him, and he needed her. She had never been more certain of anything else in her life.
“Are you going to tell me your name?” she finally asked, breaking the silence. Eyes still closed, she leaned down to lay her head on his chest, but something was different. She opened her eyes, confused.
“You already know my name,” he replied, but even his voice had changed. Annabelle looked at the hairless, pale chest upon which she was lying and jerked her head upward. The beast was gone. The piercing green eyes were still the same, but the face was that of a man.
“Alex!” Annabelle breathed.
Chapter Five
“Hello, Annabelle.”
She jumped off his now flaccid penis and scurried to find her pants, completely unsure of how to react.
“What… how…What the hell?” she finally managed to sputter, yanking on her jeans and pulling her forest green t-shirt down over her erect nipples. She had goosebumps all over her body.
“I don’t understand the question,” he replied, casually. He was stark naked, his lean, toned body completely void of any wolf-like features.
“How is this possible?” she almost yelled, her hands on her hips. “What are you?”
Alex scowled at her, and for some reason, Annabelle was relieved to see his surly expression. It grounded her to the reality that it was, in fact, Alex sprawled amongst the leaves.
“I am a man,” he replied slowly. “With lycan qualities.”
“How is this possible? Am I delusional? Oh my God, I’m imagining all of this, aren’t I? You’re not even real, are you?”
Suddenly, Alex was on his feet, exercising the same grace that his alter-ego had shown.
“I am real,” he answered simply. “Do you regret what we just did?”
Annabelle paled at the question. She turned her head for a moment. She didn’t even like Alex. He was a sullen, sarcastic brat. He’s a sullen, sarcastic brat who just saved you from harm at risk to himself. He’s a sullen, sarcastic brat who makes your heart jump into your throat. He is a sullen, sarcastic brat who you were meant to be with forever. Her revelation shocked her.
Annabelle turned back to face him. “No. I don’t regret anything. But you don’t even like me!” she implored. “Why would you hurt Jax to protect me?”
Alex turned his back on her, and Annabelle found herself looking at his perfectly formed rear end. Embarrassed, she looked at her feet.
“That’s not true, Annabelle,” he muttered, climbing through the trees.
“Where are you going?” she called after him. He didn’t answer her, so she followed after him. He took a turn, and they were standing before the side of a giant rock formation.
“Alex?”
He was pulling at the side of a huge boulder. It gave way, and they were staring into a deep crevice. Alex stepped inside, sure-footed. Almost instantly, he was holding a torch and the inside of the cave was illuminated. It was nearly empty, except for a large dark-colored duffel ba
g and a case of bottled water. It was obvious that Alex had utilized this place before, and Annabelle watched impatiently as he scrounged through the depth of the bag, pulling out clothing. Soon, he was dressed in a dark blue tracksuit and black running shoes. He threw the hood of the jacket over his black curls and retreated outside to join Annabelle, torch in hand. He tossed a bottle of water at Annabelle, which she caught effortlessly.
“Alex, how can you change like that?” Annabelle asked. “Does anyone else know what you can do?”
He sighed deeply and leaned against a tree. “No, Annabelle, no one knows about me. I have been this way for as long as I can remember. I have made the mistake of letting people in on my secret before, but I assure you, it never works out well for me.”
“How did it happen?”
“I was born this way, as was my father,” Alex said tiredly. “I know you’re dying of curiosity, and you have every right to want to know, but we’re in a bad situation.”
Annabelle was unperturbed by the urgency in Alex’s voice.
“Can you at least explain why you saved me from Jax? You’ve always hated me!”
Alex frowned.
“Annabelle, I have never hated you. I hate who you became because of Jax. I hate Jax. When I first met you a few years ago, you were full of life, and I fell in love with you. Then, you changed. I knew Jax was hurting you, so I’ve watched you over the years, to protect you in case he ever hit you.” Alex moved towards Annabelle and swooped her up in an embrace, “I hated watching you in pain, trapped, scared. But no, I never hated you. I found it hard to sit back and watch you with that asshole. I wanted to kill him every time I saw your eyes get sad. You always looked so unhappy, and I just wanted to see you smile. Watching you miserable made me miserable. So, I’m sorry if you ever thought I hated you, but what you were seeing was my loathing at the inability to change the situation.”
Annabelle felt color turn her bronze cheeks pink.
“You have been watching me for years, haven’t you?” asked Annabelle.
