Embracing the Wolf

by Catherine Bybee

  “My brother will pick your car up and bring it here.”

  She wanted to argue, but the medication gave a warning about driving. Besides, she’d need a ride to work to get her car. This way she could get a little sleep before she had to pick up Joey. “It seems I’m going to be forever in your debt,” she said, then popped the long white pill into her mouth.

  “If it’s okay with you, I’ll stay here until he arrives. That way I can give him a ride home.”

  His request seemed reasonable, and not something with which she could argue. “It’s the least I can do.”

  He took off his expensive coat. His dark hair was a little long for a guy in a suit. Once he loosened his tie, removed it, and tucked it into his coat, he looked downright normal. She smiled despite the pain traveling from her arm to her head.

  “Would you like Cheerios or Lucky Charms?” He asked on his way to her kitchen.

  “You don’t have to get me anything.”

  “That bottle says to take it with food. I happen to know you haven’t eaten anything since before three. It’s almost 8:30, and besides, I haven’t had Lucky Charms since I was a kid.” He picked up the box giving it a little shake, “I didn’t know they still made this stuff.”

  Kate laughed. “They still make it and with more sugar than ever.”

  He stumbled around her kitchen, opening and closing cupboards.

  “Next one over,” she called.

  He removed two bowls, set them on the counter. “Well?” He held up both boxes of cereal.

  “Cheerios, please.”

  “Good. These are almost gone, and I’m hungry.”

  He smacked his lips together after putting one of the colorful marshmallows in his mouth. Kate caught herself smiling at him. He was worse than her son, eating straight out of the box.

  He poured the cereal into bowls and filled each with milk before setting hers in her lap. Taking a seat across from her, Richard lifted his spoon in salute. “Enjoy.”

  Kate took a few bites before she spoke.

  “Why are you doing all this?”

  He stopped mid bite and smiled. “You won’t believe me.”

  “Try me,” Kate pressed.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “Well it’s all those fairytales. I’m a sucker for a damsel in distress.” His cheek twitched, lighting up his eyes.

  What could she say to that? “I’m not sure of the damsel part, but I don’t remember being more distressed.”

  “You’ve handled it like a pro.”

  “And what would you know about that?”

  Richard sat back and put his feet on her coffee table, mimicking her motions. “Most people don’t put in security systems until after they’re robbed. In my line of work, I’ve seen a lot of people after they were assaulted or worse.”

  “Oh.”

  “My guess is that if the bullet missed you completely, you would have ended your shift and come home like nothing happened.” He swirled his spoon around the bowl, avoiding the blue moons.

  “You learn to take life’s little punches being a single parent.”

  “I’d say last night was more than a little punch.”

  She noticed the blue speckled milk in his bowl. “True.”

  He smiled up at her. Her heartbeat skipped and her body grew warm. The cleft in his chin was even sexier than earlier.

  “Are you saving the blue moons for last?”

  He glanced at the evidence of his behavior and laughed. “Old habit.”

  Kate concentrated on her bowl. Even his laugh was sexy. She focused on putting her spoon to her mouth and did her best to ignore her body’s response to the man.

  How long had it been since her body reacted to a man’s smile? Joey’s father, she reminded herself. He could charm the pants off a nun, and most likely earn a trip to hell in the process.

  With a deep sigh, she put the empty bowl on the coffee table and leaned her dizzy head on the back of the sofa.

  “Meds kicking in?” Richard asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Good, you could use some rest.”

  Richard took both their bowls to the sink, grabbed an old faded afghan from the back of the couch, and proceeded to spread it over her.

  Murmuring thanks behind falling eyelids, Kate let her body relax, and her mind rest. Before she fell asleep, she saw Richard pick up her paper and open it. She should try to stay awake, she thought. But dark bliss beckoned like a warm summer night.

  Chapter Three

  Soft, even breathing from the sofa told him she had fallen asleep. He lowered the paper and watched her rest. The steady rise and fall of her chest had a way of tightening his.

  She was beautiful. Sometime during the ride to her kid’s school and back, she let her hair free of the rubber band. It fell in a long sheet to the middle of her back. He stared at her, feeling an uncanny desire to run his finger through it. Would it feel like silk? And those plump sexy lips…

  Shifting in his seat, Richard ignored the heat between his legs and reminded himself that she needed his protection.

  His brother Max told him her car held the scent of the wolf. Even if last night’s werewolf hadn’t bit her, he would return.

  Tonight or next month, he would be back.

  A light knock on the door signaled his brother’s arrival. Kate stirred, but didn’t awaken.

  Through the peephole, Richard saw Max in the hall with his hands in his pockets. Richard opened the door as quietly as he could and let him in.

  “Hey,” he whispered in greeting. His finger went to his lips before pointing to the sleeping woman on the couch.

  Max nodded and followed him into the hall between the two bedrooms.

  “Did you find anything?” Richard asked in hushed tones.

  “Only that her car was definitely marked. The witnesses couldn’t confirm if she was bitten.”

  “And Janet wasn’t sure.”

  “It wouldn’t make sense for the wolf to tag her car if she was already turned.”

  Rubbing his eyes, Richard asked, “Why?”

  “We can smell our kind. If she is going to turn next month, the wolf would find her like you find a good barbeque joint.”

  “So you think he’ll be back?”

  “Probably.” Max peaked around the corner, his brow rose in appreciation. “I can see why.”

  “Your wife is pregnant,” Richard reminded him.

  “And I love her to pieces, but I still have eyes.”

  Richard smiled. Max’s devotion to his wife and married life wasn’t something he questioned. Janet loved his brother in spite of the fact that he turned furry three nights a month.

  “You need to track him tonight so he can’t get to her.”

  “I need more than one night, and you know it. It will take the better part of the month to find this one. We’ll be lucky if I can. From what I can tell he doesn’t run with a pack, which makes him even more difficult and dangerous.”

  “Then we’ll get more of the family involved.”

  Max glared down at him, his mouth a thin line.“Mom and Dad are in the Bahamas along with Uncle Bruce and his family, or have you forgotten?”

  “What about Jesse?”

  “Utah, in the motor home.”

  “Shit.” Richard started to pace. “What can we do?”

  “We’ve had this discussion before, Richard.”

  He turned to his brother, his jaw twitched with indecision. Yeah, they had it before all right. Max had suggested more than a dozen times that Richard should turn to ease the burden of the hunt. Only this time Richard’s immediate refusal didn’t spew from his lips.

  Every other time he refused.

  Every other time they had more options, he reminded himself.

  His gaze went to Kate who emitted a soft snore. The tough single mom couldn’t be more vulnerable despite her strength. She had no idea what was coming after her.

  Richard thought about Joey. If the werewolf from the restaurant turned
Kate with a bite, then her nights of the full moon would be destined to reek of violence and evil.

  Every full moon, Max and the other werewolves in the family would search out and protect innocent people from the werewolves who preyed on them. The Ritter family’s ancestry had werewolves in their blood for hundreds of years. With every generation, several members of the family chose to turn and took on the form of a wolf.

  As with humans, werewolves came in two categories: good and evil. The Ritter’s used the strength and skills of the change to even out the playing field.

  The wolf like the one who attacked Kate the night before was obviously from the seedier side of the food chain. A bite from an evil wolf was like a virus entering an open wound. It would fester and swell until it swallowed the humanity of its victim. Kate could fight it, but her nature would eventually change. Very few people could alter that path once it began.

  However, if someone like Max turned her, then she stood a chance of keeping her morality even inK-9 form.

  Up until now, Richard never considered taking the change. He didn’t need to grow a long nose and pointy ears every full moon to help his family rid the country of evil. He helped in his own way. His human way.

  “Well?” Max asked breaking his train of thought.

  “Dammit.”

  Max positioned his hand on his shoulder.

  Richard’s eyes darted up.

  “You’re really considering it, aren’t you?”

  Richard sought out the steel barred windows of Kate’s apartment, the flimsy locks on her door, and the convalescing woman on the sofa. “She has a son, Max. Six years old with no father to be found.”

  “Even more reason to keep her from being turned.”

  Richard brought both palms to his eyes and rubbed vigorously. “I need some sleep.”

  Max patted his back before moving to leave. “Let me know,” he said while dropping the keys to Kate’s car in Richard’s hand.

  Richard went to his jacket, pulled his car keys from the pocket, and tossed them to his brother. “Bring it back before dark.”

  Max nodded before letting himself out.

  ****

  The alarm on Richard’s watch sounded fifteen minutes before Joey’s scheduled departure from school.

  Truly surprised he managed any sleep at all with the noise coming from down the hall. Richard rubbed his eyes in an effort to wake up.

  Kate slept with no sign of waking.

  After finding a forgotten crayon and piece of paper, Richard scribbled a quick note explaining where he had gone along with his cell phone number. He set it on the table and left her side, her car keys in hand.

  The school parking lot appeared less crowded then in the morning. Only the kindergarten kids left the campus at noon. The others still had three and a half hours to go until they escaped their prison of schoolbooks and exams.

  He leaned against the stucco building along with the other adults waiting for the bell to ring. Before long, the kids piled out of the building.

  Joey walked alongside his friends with his backpack half on, half off his shoulder. The construction paper hat on his head attempted to model after Robin Hood brought a smile to Richard’s lips.

  It took Joey a minute before he recognized Richard. When he did, he waved enthusiastically, and walked right up to him.

  “Where’s my mom?”

  “At home sleeping.”

  Joey put his hand over his brow shading the sun from his eyes, all the while scrutinizing Richard to the point he feared the other parents would become suspicious.

  “My mom told me never to ride with a stranger.”

  He hadn’t thought of that. It never dawned on him the kid wouldn’t go with him. “Oh, well...I took you to school this morning. And I’m driving your mom’s car.” Richard pointed to the beat up old Nissan, which belonged in a scrap heap.

  Joey glanced at the car, then him. “Okay,” he said, much to Richard’s relief. Just then, the older woman who led the children to the pick up line started walking toward them. Her gaze settled on Richard. Joey saw her, put his hand in Richard’s, and tugged him away from the school.

  Not wanting to battle the school’s pick up policy, and knowing damn well they would call Kate’s home and wake her, Richard started moving.

  The woman he assumed was Joey’s teacher stopped walking toward them when they stepped off the curb, obviously no longer interested in who picked the boy up.

  Her lack of follow-through ticked him off. Part of him wanted to march up to the woman and tell her she should demand to know who was picking up the kids. Wasn’t it her job to ensure their safety? For all she knew, Richard could be some pervert, or worse.

  The teacher helped another student into a car, he and Joey completely forgotten.

  “Hrmmmp,” he moaned. A call to the district was in order.

  Joey sat silently in the back seat. In the rearview mirror, Joey’s eyes were glued to him.

  “What?” Richard asked.

  “Is my mom really sleeping?”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “She never forgets to pick me up.”

  “She didn’t forget you,” Richard told him. “She had a tough night, remember her arm?”

  At first, Joey narrowed his eyes as if he searched Richard’s face for any sign of deceit. Then he shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

  The Elementary School was only a few miles from Kate’s apartment, yet the drive took forever with the California traffic.

  The supermarket on the corner reminded Richard of the lack of food in Kate’s kitchen. “Do you think your mom will mind if we stop by the store and pick up a few things?”

  Joey shrugged his shoulders. “I dunna know.”

  ****

  Kate ran as fast as her legs would take her through the thick lush forest. The full moon lit her way, but it lit his as well. Her chest ached with the pain of running for too long and too fast. She couldn’t stop, ever.

  Suddenly, the forest floor opened up. Her arms thrashed above her head trying to catch hold of something. Anything. But it was no use. She closed her eyes and prayed her death would come quick and painless.

  Then, without notice, everything stopped. She stood in her apartment, only it didn’t look like her apartment. The furniture, the paint, even the smell was different...new.

  Richard came in the room. The smile on his face erased all the fear she felt from the terrible fall. He said nothing as he walked toward her. Even before his arms gathered her close, she knew he was going to kiss her. How long had she waited for him to do it? Forever, it seemed.

  He leaned closer, his breath on hers. His hands stroked away the lock of hair that had fallen in her eyes. He cradled her face in his heavy palms. “Let me take care of you,” he whispered.

  “Please. I’ve been alone for so long.”

  “I know.”

  Kate moistened her lips and laughed when he did the same. Her heart raced, her palms dampened. Kiss me, she cried in her head. Hurry, before it’s too late.

  Kate sat straight up with a strangled cry. The room around her came into focus. The pain in her arm from the sudden movement reminded her where she was and what had happened.

  “Damn,” she said, tossing herself back onto the couch.

  She scanned the room, listened. Something didn’t feel right. Empty. Richard was gone. His almost kiss only a dream. One she hadn’t wanted to wake up from.

  She turned her head to the side to catch the time, then shot off the sofa with a muffled moan.“I’m late. Oh no, I’m late.” Kate rushed around the room searching for her keys and purse. Running to her bedroom, she franticly searched on her dresser and bedside table.

  Nothing.

  Where is my purse?

  She shook her foggy head and remembered she’d left it at work. Back in the living room, she grabbed the phone and started to dial Joey’s school. A breeze from the ceiling fan flipped the colorful note on the table and caught her eye. Kate picked it up a
nd read:

  You slept like Sleeping Beauty. It would have been a shame to wake you. I’m picking up Joey.

  Richard had signed his name and placed a phone number under it.

  Closing her eyes, Kate sat back down. She tossed the phone beside her.

  Two things hit her at the same time. First, she never allowed anyone to pick up her son from school before. Second, she knew without a shadow of doubt, that she trusted Richard’s intentions. Strange, she’d only known him a few hours, yet she trusted him entirely.

  Why was that? She’d never placed her son in anyone’s trust except Manuela’s―ever!

  Still groggy from the drugs she’d taken to ward off the pain, she relaxed into the sofa and contemplated the mess that had become her life.

  ****

  By the time they left the store, Richard understood why every mother complained about taking their kids shopping. Joey asked if he could have everything. Richard’s “quick trip” turned into a shopping spree.

  Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops were the least of the problem. The kid had taste. He pointed out two different types of block cheeses and four different types of crackers. He liked every fruit in the produce department, and even had a preference for the cut of steak he ate. “Rib eyes have more flavor,” he told him.

  Richard rolled his eyes and crammed the cart full. Kate’s poor car hardly managed the weight of fifteen bags of goods by the time they finished.

  Once they parked the car in front of the apartment, his phone started to ring.

  “Hello?”

  “Where are you?” Kate’s voice was frantic.

  “By the front door.”

  “Joey?”

  “He’s right here. Did you think I took him?”

  Lifting bags from the car, he attempted to shut the door with his foot. “Buzz us in, my hands are full,” he said before ending the call.

  Joey carried his weight and bounded up the stairs with the speed of a rabbit.

  Kate stood in the hall with the door to her apartment open wide.

  “Hey, Mom, Richard and I went shopping. You won’t believe all the stuff he got.”

  Kate bent down and kissed her son’s cheek before he went inside.