by Gina Kincade
“Next time?” she begged, desperately looking for a way out.
“Next time, but I'm holding you to it.” He pushed her head off the pillow, bending her to put her pussy on the right angle and taking her again. It was better this time, but her fear at him taking her in the ass negated most of the lube she had worked up.
He fell asleep after that, snoring loud enough that she couldn't even concentrate to read, let alone sleep. Lifting his arm, she slipped out of his hold. He didn't wake, just rolled over and snored louder.
Zoe pulled on a pair of PJ pants and her thick coat. After climbing the stairs, she went through the backyard gate to sit on the edge of the ravine, on the bench the Brown family had sponsored in memory of their grandfather. She looked up at the stars; as many as she could make out amid the orange light pollution. Holding her breath, she waited for the sound that broke her heart.
The coyotes began to howl and she wept.
Chapter Two
“Thanks for coming, Linc. I didn't know what to do with him.”
Linc play-punched his little cousin. “Wash, are you giving Auntie Norm a hard time?”
His immediate reply was, “No.” Auntie Norm cocked an eyebrow. “Not on purpose,” he whined.
Linc smirked. “I know, you're antsy. So am I. Same drill as last month. We stay deep in the river valley until sunrise. We don't need anyone thinking we're more than coyotes.” There hadn't been a wolf spotted in the area since the settlers came.
“Yeah, I know. Can we go now?”
Auntie Norm answered, “Yes, for God's sake, get the hell out of my house!”
That made Linc laugh. Wash looked appalled. “My mom says the same,” he explained.
“Auntie Birdie never swears.”
Auntie Norm snorted and Linc laughed again. “That you hear,” they both muttered.
“Come on,” Linc told Wash, grabbing him by the back of the head and pushing him toward the door. The boy stripped down to just shorts and he'd leave those in the backyard before the sun finished setting.
“What's up with the girl downstairs”?” he asked his aunt.
She sighed and shrugged. “I know she's had him over before, but I'd never seen him until tonight.”
“I don't like him.”
“Agreed, but I'm not her mother.”
“Why do women waste their time on men like that?” he wondered aloud.
Norm shook her head. “I have no idea. Your uncle was a fine man and would still be one if that fucking drunk hadn't—” She shut up and took a deep breath. “I guess some ladies think they can't do better.”
“She can. She's cute.”
Norm smiled. “Maybe you should tell her that, not me.”
Linc nodded, trying to remember more than the girl's round face and full cheeks. They'd been red, but he didn't know if that was the cool fall breeze, or anger, or embarrassment. All he knew was that it looked good on her.
“I'll get Wash back in time for school.”
“You better go or he'll be streaking through the ravine and scaring some poor senior out for a walk.”
Linc laughed his way out the front door imagining just that. Wash sat on Grampa Ike's bench in the buff. The sun was red in the southwest and the moon was visible in the indigo sky in the east. Full and yellow—a harvest moon—it looked gigantic and Linc felt his teeth lengthening and shifting. “Okay, bud. Gimme a sec.” He tossed his ruined jeans and worst shirt under the bench next to Wash's shorts. “Let's go find the others.”
The last of the red light faded, leaving only a purple-pink smudge on the horizon. Wash and Linc's bodies both arched, grew thick dark fur, and dropped them to all fours.
“Stay away from the path,” he yipped. Linc had never figured out how they made anything intelligent out of the canine woofs and barks, but he hadn't had any trouble understanding his grandfather, uncle, or cousins. Wash instinctively understood him.
“No path, and deep as we can get,” the boy recited.
“Exactly. Let's head south. I think that's where the others were planning to hunt tonight.”
Sprinting into the tree line, the wolves hoped only their glowing yellow eyes were visible among the shadows. They splashed through the creek to avoid hikers on the path, climbed to a bluff, and then tumbled down to the off-leash area, skirting it and the dogs within. A few always chased, which made Linc laugh.
The city just kept growing, rolling out onto more Alberta grassland. Fortunately, and Linc suspected one of the reasons his grandfather moved here, there was an extensive and continuous stretch left green and relatively wild. The river valley connected to several creeks and ravines, and ran through the entire city. They never had to leave the city limits
A little further east, Adam and Franklin were playing with one of the many stupid rabbits that lived in Edmonton. They'd gotten so tame and reproduced so much that they weren't even good at avoiding the coyotes. Those dogs ate until they were stuffed and still the majority of the hoppers ranged unharmed and unaffected. Rabbits weren't worth eating, though. No meat on them.
“Washington! How's it feel this time?”
“Better,” he howled. “I thought I was going to kill my teacher today, I wanted out so bad.”
“Yeah,” Franklin answered. “It sucks being cooped up.”
“Says he who works for the city in parks,” Linc teased.
“Yeah, and why do you think I fought to get that job?”
“Mine doesn't suck,” Adam pointed out. “And they need a lot more gas and water meter readers than parks laborers.”
Adam and Franklin started nipping at one another and Wash joined in. The three were one rolling ball of fur until a scent blew through the valley.
“Holy shit, a moose? We never get moose in town!” Franklin was back on all fours and loping upwind.
Linc bit on his tail and pulled him back, making Franklin yip.
“Yeah, a moose, as in big. It's going to take all of us to bring that down.” It would be worth it, though. If they fed that well tonight, they might not have to hunt at all for the rest of the moon.
“We all stay downwind,” Adam said, taking charge. “Lincoln, you go southeast. Washington, northwest. Franklin, you circle wide. I'll push it first to Washington, then to Lincoln, and then Franklin comes around from upwind to close the circle.” A solid plan, and something the boys had done with their uncle and grandfather for smaller prey. They'd never taken down a moose before.
Linc pushed his feet in quick lopes, swinging as far as he could without the prey catching his scent.
He heard growls and yips as Adam and Wash each got in their attacks.
Linc knew the animal was headed his way and broke through the brush to the clearing they'd flushed the moose into.
“Dammit! Calf!” He howled.
Franklin was still on his way and the two moose were trapped, but they couldn't hold both of them.
“Cow or calf?” Franklin asked, not slowing.
“Cow!” Linc answered, moving right past the calf to bite into the neck of its mother.
The little brown being, with no antlers to speak of, hurried away. It probably wouldn't survive without someone to show it the way out of the city, even this close to the edge. It would fall to the coyotes, if they weren't too stuffed on rabbit. Death was a part of life, so Linc didn't spare the calf another thought as he and his cousins binged on the moose. An hour later, Wash was done. He had curled up, tail covering his nose and blood matting the fur of his chest. Aunt Norm was going to have fit when he came home to shower.
Franklin and Adam each headed toward home, leaving Linc alone with the pup. He didn't mind. He had to go back to Auntie Norm's for his clothes.
Linc splashed in the creek, soaking himself from nose to tail. With any luck he'd just need a rinse in the morning. He looked back at Wash sleeping and left him to check on the house.
From the edge of the trees he saw her, sitting on the bench atop his clothes. Her figure was hidden in the coa
t she wore against the autumn chill. Beneath, she wore flannel pants. Perfect for sleeping, but not daily wear. She didn't look like much of anything.
When he inched close enough, he saw the tears streaking her cheeks in red and white lines. Her sobs came out in little puffs of steam and he cursed being a werewolf for one of the first times in his life. He wanted to comfort her. He wanted to tell her that she deserved better than the asshole she was with. She deserved...so much more. More than a man that disappeared three nights a month.
Linc had never had a steady girlfriend. He had a circle of lady friends, though, and a few indulged him from time to time—the ones that had no plans to settle down. He was constantly picking up girls, too. At the bar, at the coffee shop, in class at the U. He had never stayed with one more than a couple months. It wasn't that he had picked girls who were jealous of him taking off. Most didn't even notice, but after a month, he was ready to move on. Franklin called it the “Littlest Hobo” effect. He was one to talk. He'd been with Celeste since high school; no ranging for him.
No, Zoe deserved more than he could give, but she needed to ditch the dick.
Chapter Three
Zoe dropped her book bag, taking a deep breath of crisp, fall air. It was sunny and reasonably warm, something that wouldn't last. She tossed her jacket on the ground despite the chill and sat on it. Pulling out her textbook, she opened to the latest Chapter.
“Hey, bitch,” Elliot said, dropping next to her. “Whatchya doin'?”
“Reading,” she said, not looking up. That should be obvious.
“Yeah, but why you want to do that?”
Zoe took a sidelong glance at her boyfriend and followed his gaze to the skinny blonde hanging a banner over one of the building doors. Well, her butt specifically. She put her nose back in her book, ignoring him entirely.
When he didn't say anything else, she worried. Was he brewing some new nasty for her? No, he was staring at another girl, a redhead this time. She was bent over a book the same as Zoe, but Elliot's eyes were lost in her cleavage, not Zoe’s.
She shook her head before looking back at the page.
Something caught the corner of her eye and she turned. A small smile touched her lips when she recognized Mrs. Brown's nephew. She didn't even know his name. Today he was wearing a white tee beneath his barely buttoned plaid shirt and his jeans lacked air conditioning. He was chatting with another girl, one much better looking than Zoe. He turned his head in her direction and she stuck her nose in her book again.
Unable to resist, she glanced back. He was laughing at something the girl had said.
He is probably just wondering who the freak staring at him is.
“So, Friday night. I'm coming over to get some.”
She closed her eyes to stem the tears welling up. Elliot had barely talked of anything else. She'd gotten him to lay off for a week by claiming she was on her period. It had been a lie, but she was grasping for anything to avoid that dreaded night. After nearly two weeks, she knew her time was running out.
She took her eyes off the book, searching the quad from Mrs. Brown's nephew, all around and over her other shoulder. No one was looking at her. No one wanted her.
At least I have Elliot. I could still be alone.
Maybe it would be better to be alone.
She didn't quite believe it.
Chapter Four
“Oh, Violet, you didn't!” Linc said, laughing freely at his friend's retelling of her latest sexual mishap. He'd spent one night with Violet and ended up with his cock bruised and sore. She hadn't meant to roll onto it with her knee, but that sort of thing was constantly happening to her. This time, she'd taken someone in her ass without meaning to and screamed bloody murder at him until she realized it was her own fault.
“Well, it hurt!” she said, smacking his arm for laughing.
“I bet it did.” He snickered. “You tossed him out of bed. At least you didn't step on it.”
She made a face. “I only did that once.”
Linc’s laughter broke off as he sensed someone watching him. He looked over to where Zoe sat with her asshat boyfriend. That douche made no bones about staring at every girl in the quad. She had gone back to her reading.
“Who is she?” Violet asked.
“Huh? Oh, she lives in my aunt's basement.”
“Cool. So are you going to the Pi Beta Psi party?”
“That's still weeks away,” he said, planning to make excuses when it got closer. He couldn't attend on the full moon after all.
“Yeah, well, I want to know if you'll be there.”
“So you can hurt me again?”
“No,” she complained, frowning. “So you can look after whoever I do hurt.”
Linc braced his hands on his knees, laughing. Violet turned to go, tossing her hair and putting her nose in the air. She tripped on an uneven paving stone and nearly bit it. No one was as graceless as Violet. He shook his head, trying to imagine the man who could stand up against that.
His gaze passed over Zoe again and the jerk was standing, talking to her in a voice that was far too loud. Or perhaps it was just Linc's good hearing. He often forgot that his ears were keener than other people.
“Can't wait to have that ass, bitch.”
What the ever-loving fuck? He started to storm over, but Elliot strode away before he even got close. Instead, he squatted next to Zoe. “Why do you let him talk to you like that?”
She shrugged. “Not like replacements are lining up.”
He brushed her curly brown hair back from that round cheek. This close he could see the warmth in her brown eyes and the tears that she fought. Her full bottom lip trembled. It was plump and soft, and he almost leaned even closer before catching himself.
“Well, maybe I'll have to get in line then.”
Her head whirled toward Linc, and their lips did brush before her nose crashed into his. He covered it and cursed.
“Oh my God. I am so sorry. Are you okay?” She reached up, touching his fingers.
“No worse than you,” he answered, smiling and running a finger down her nose. It turned up very slightly at the end and had a smattering of faint freckles.
“I don't even know you're name and I'm already breaking your nose,” she muttered.
“I'm Linc,” he said immediately. “And my friend Violet has done far worse.” Linc shifted to sit beside her, his arm bracing on her jacket behind her back, and told her Violet's story.
She didn't laugh. “I bet that hurt.”
The moron's last words came back to him. “You don't have to be with him. You deserve better than that.”
“Yeah, I should have hot guys like you fawning over me.”
He worried about coming on too strong. He had a tendency to do that. With the type of women he usually hooked up with, that was perfect. They were forward, independent, take-no-guff ladies that liked his honesty. Zoe, he could already tell, was fragile and he might scare her off. So instead of agreeing and kissing her, he nudged her with his shoulder.
“Sure; me for a start.”
“Yeah. You are going to pick me over that girl you were just talking to.”
“That was Violet,” he explained.
She let out a little snort. “Oh. I wouldn’t have guessed.”
“Not everyone is what you expect. For instance, I expected the guy you spend time with to be, you know, civil.”
Zoe chuckled wryly, looking away. “He can be civil. He just doesn’t bother around me.”
“He should.” Linc turned and kissed her cheek. “You deserve that and a whole lot more.”
Chapter Five
“Zoe. Don't look, but that guy is staring at you.”
Zoe's brow wrinkled. She and Sarah sat facing Kelsie and Anna who were still eating lunch. She'd pointed out guys looking at them several times, but never had anyone been looking at her. She ran her hand through her hair, thinking there must be something stuck in it.
Sarah blew a raspberry at her. �
�There's nothing in your hair. He's looking at you.”
Zoe shook her head and pulled her hair over her shoulders to hide her now hot cheeks. “No he's not. He's looking at one of you.”
“Zoe,” Elliot said walking up to the table. “Friday.”
She didn't meet his eyes and the others stood up for her as she had never been able to stand up for herself. “Take a fucking hike, Elliot.”
“Leave her alone, you jerk.”
“Hey, now, girls,” he argued. “She wants me. Don't you, baby?”
Zoe shuddered knowing he meant bitch. “Yes,” she answered, not looking up.
He didn't say anything else, but grinned as wide as a wolf about to pull down its prey. Zoe thought she could feel her neck snapping in his jaws. He stroked her hair possessively before walking away.
“Zoe, you have got to stand up to him,” Sarah advised. “I mean, he was okay when you started going out with him. No prince charming, but at least not a pig. It's only going to get worse, you know. He thinks you'll always be there, no matter what he does.”
“And he's right,” she said, not meeting any of their eyes. “Do you know how many dates I went on before I met Elliot? Two. That’s it. No one wants me. If I don’t go to his place, or invite him to mine, I won’t be doing anything Friday.”
“Fuck that,” Kelsie said. “Friday you're coming to my place and he can go fuck himself.”
Zoe shook her head. “It'll just be worse if I put him off anymore. He’s going to be rough as it is.”
“Rough?” Anna asked. “He’s not hurting you, is he, Zoe? You have to do something if he is.”
Zoe shook her head. “Not yet. He hasn’t hit me or anything, but he isn’t gentle.”
Sarah shifted in her seat next to Zoe. “That’s a fine line, girl. You be sure it doesn’t get fuzzy. Rough and tumble is one thing. Rough and unapologetic is something else.”
“Rough and tumble,” Zoe repeated, trying to discern if that was all it was. Elliot definitely enjoyed sex rougher than she did. Although he hadn’t purposely hurt her, he had left bruises and warned her to go with the flow or there would be more. “That’s right,” she finally said, not meeting any of her friends’ eyes.
