The Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance

by Trisha Telep

  “Daniel,” someone at the table said. “Introduce me.”

  I glanced up, meeting a pair of blue eyes on a smiling face. Black hair hung past his shoulders, untamed and playful, like his expression.

  “Finn.” There was a hint of a growl in Daniel’s voice that hadn’t been there before. “This is Marlee. Marlee, my younger brother, Finn.”

  Again I was surprised at the family connection, though I shouldn’t have been. Why wouldn’t all of their kind congregate together?

  “Hi,” I said in the same non-committal tone I’d used before.

  “Charmed,” Finn replied, grin widening.

  “Cut her a break, she’s had a bad day,” the girl next to him muttered before giving me a sympathetic glance. “I’m Laurel, Daniel’s cousin. Sorry about what happened.”

  “Which part?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  She sighed. “All of it.”

  There was no stopping my snort. “Yeah. Me, too.”

  Daniel cleared his throat. I returned my gaze to the table in front of me, tracing its edge. It’ll be another day or so before people even realize something’s happened to me. How long after that before Brandy or my parents organize a search, if there is one? How many days will go by before they give me up for dead? How am I supposed to just sit here, surrounded by werewolves, and pretend nothing is wrong?

  A tear slid down my cheek. I sucked in my breath, aghast, but that only made it worse. Another one came down. Then another. I bent my head, hoping my hair would hide it, when a warm hand landed on my shoulders.

  “Laurel, have the food sent to my cabin,” Daniel said, then he scooped me up before I could even protest. We were out of the dining lodge and down the street in the next few heartbeats.

  “God, you’re so fast,” I gasped in astonishment. Fresh tears spurted. How could I ever get away, if he moved this fast and there was a town full of more creatures like him?

  “You’re going to be OK, Marlee,” he said.

  No, I wasn’t. I was trapped in a strange place surrounded by creatures that weren’t supposed to exist. My old life might not have been all champagne and roses, but no one had the right to rip me away from it without my consent. The enormity of what I’d lost between yesterday and today slammed into me. I didn’t care any more that the tears wouldn’t stop, or that I started hitting Daniel. My grief was too sharp to worry about embarrassment or consequences.

  Four

  Wolves were chasing me, biting at my ankles, snarling as they crowded around me, letting out howls that made my blood turn to ice. I ran, twigs stinging me as I darted between the trees, gasping for breath, crying out with each new flash of pain in my legs. They were toying with me. My death was only a matter of time.

  The full moon came into view between the trees, illuminating more wolves in my path. I screamed at them, but it came out as a howl. Horrified, I looked down to see that my feet had turned into paws. Fur slithered up my body, replacing my skin. I fell forwards, claws shooting out of my fingers . . .

  “NO!”

  I woke up screaming the word, flinging the sheets away like they were animals attacking me. It took me a second to orient myself. Wood ceiling, wood walls, an antler chandelier above me. Right. I was in Daniel’s cabin. All the better to make sure I couldn’t escape.

  He sat in the reclining chair on the opposite side of the room, his eyes slitted. Watching me. He’d slept in the chair last night. I guess I should appreciate him giving me the bed, but my gratitude was in short supply.

  “Another nightmare?” he asked quietly.

  I’d had them all night. Either I was getting eaten by wolves, or I was turning into one. Terrifying no matter which way you sliced it.

  Daniel stretched. The afghan he’d thrown over himself slipped, revealing that he’d taken off his shirt. Cords of muscles flexed beneath taut, tanned skin.

  Despite everything, I looked. I’d never seen such a perfectly muscled body before - at least, one that wasn’t on TV advertising gym equipment. Daniel didn’t have the bloated look associated with steroid users, but he had a thick, brawny frame that usually spoke of many hours in a gym. Absurdly, the image of a werewolf bench-pressing flashed in my mind.

  I glanced up to find Daniel staring at me. He didn’t wink or make a comment, but there was no doubt he knew I’d been staring at his body.

  I managed to shrug. “Stockholm syndrome,” I said. “The whole ‘bonding with your captor’ thing. I’ve already cried in your arms, now I’m checking you out. Just ignore it. Of course, I can’t be your first captive, so you’re probably used to this.”

  A faint smile touched his mouth. “You’re the first female I’ve had to quarantine, and none of the men looked at me the way you did.”

  There was something deeper in his voice with that last sentence. I shivered, both from unease and other things. Yes, Daniel was very attractive with his russet hair, thick brows, full mouth and piercing hazel eyes - not to mention that body. But this wasn’t a first date. This was a hostage situation, and a macabre one at that.

  “Don’t let it go to your head. I’m scared to death and looking for any form of comfort,” I said, regaining control. “Speaking of that, since a certain murderous grey wolf keeps appearing in my nightmares, I need to know. What happened to Gabriel?”

  Daniel’s face became shuttered. “He’s under arrest. If you shift, he dies for infecting you against your will. If you don’t turn, Joshua said Gabriel losing his eye was punishment enough. Joshua had liquid silver poured into Gabriel’s eye so it wouldn’t heal.”

  Their harshness apparently wasn’t limited just to outsiders. I felt mildly sick over what I’d heard, but under the circumstances, pity for Gabriel was beyond me.

  “And the others?” Gabriel hadn’t been alone.

  “They run the gauntlet.”

  Daniel said it lightly, but I swallowed. “As in, the thing Native Indians used to do with captives, where they line up on both sides and beat the shit out of the person as he tries to dash down the centre?”

  There was that hint of wildness in Daniel’s gaze again. A primal, untamed gleam I’d never seen except in the eyes of an animal. On a full-grown man, it was both mesmerizing and frightening.

  “Something like that. Except we’ll be in our fur, and they won’t.”

  I couldn’t help but gulp. That sounded barbaric, and it was on my account.

  Something occurred to me. “But it isn’t the full moon. How can you . . . you know?” In fact, how had any of the werewolves changed form the other day, if I had to wait until the full moon to see if I was infected?

  “Once we’re past the first year, we can shift at will. New pack members are dependent on the full moon to change though.”

  I digested this. “So, right now, you could turn into a—”

  “Wolf,” he finished for me. “Yes.”

  So many emotions crashed through me. Fear. Revulsion. Curiosity. Disbelief. What if all of this was a twisted farce, and I hadn’t seen what I’d thought was a wolf turning into a man in the woods? What if this was just a town full of crazies who thought they were wolves, and in my stress, I’d bought into that?

  “Show me.”

  The words were out of my mouth before I could form another thought. I had to see it. No matter what.

  Daniel stood, the afghan falling to the floor. He met my eyes, and a ripple went through me. They were even wilder than before, starting to slant and gleam with amber. He undid his jeans, letting them drop to the floor. Nothing but bare skin underneath.

  I might have made a sound. Seeing a magnificent naked male body only a few feet away is worth a sharp intake of breath, no matter the circumstances. But all my feminine appreciation fell away when he crouched on the floor and rivers of silvery hair began to replace the skin on his back.

  There was a crunching sound. Bones curved, popped and formed where none had been before. It didn’t look the same as in the movies. There was no screaming. No slow protracting of a
muzzle replacing a face, blood spurting, or drawn-out writhing. Daniel had simply crouched on the floor and then, in about ten seconds, a wolf the size of a pony, covered in silver and charcoal fur, stared at me with bright yellow eyes.

  “Marlee,” it - Daniel - rumbled.

  I felt light-headed. Nope, you’re not crazy, and neither are they. But that’s the bad news.

  I had moved towards the door without even being aware of it. Daniel sat on his haunches in front of it, those golden eyes drilling into mine.

  “Sit,” he said.

  A rather unhinged cackle came out of me. What looked like a huge dog was telling me to sit. How backwards was that?

  “Woof,” I replied in a shaky voice, but sat in the chair he’d recently vacated. The wolf’s lips pulled back in a canine version of a grin.

  “Stay.”

  I was about to say he was pushing it, when there was another ripple over his body. As seamlessly as water flowing on rocks, skin covered that thick silvery coat of hair, bones elongated, reformed, and in less time than it took me to get over the shock of seeing a wolf in the room, a naked man knelt on the floor. The only thing left over from the unbelievable transformation was a fine sheen of sweat on his skin.

  “Does it hurt?”

  Daniel sat back. “The first few times. Then you get used to it, and it feels . . . freeing.”

  He looked like a man. A beautiful, mouth-watering specimen of a man, in fact. But an enormous animal was inside him, and took up God only knew how much of his mind and conscience.

  Daniel smiled slightly. “You smell like fear again, Marlee, but I’ve already told you - you have nothing to be afraid of.”

  “That’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen,” I replied, glad my voice was steady even though I was shaking inside. “How do I even know I’m talking to you? It might just as well be the wolf.”

  “It’s both,” he said at once. “Always. And you still don’t need to be afraid.”

  Yeah. Sure. Considering it might be me shifting into an animal in a couple weeks. From where I was sitting, I had plenty to be afraid of.

  “I want to go home.”

  Even as I said it, I knew it was useless. But it was true - so true that the very words ached.

  “I’m sorry for what brought you here. But even if you left and never told anyone about the Pack, think of your family. You’d hurt one of them, Marlee. You wouldn’t mean to, but you’d do it.”

  Ice crept up my spine. “What are you talking about?”

  He inclined his head. “Your ankle.”

  I looked at it. It was still wrapped in a cast, same as before. What . . . ?

  It hit me. When I’d walked to the door from the bed minutes ago, I hadn’t been limping, hadn’t felt a twinge of pain. The ugly scratches and cuts were also gone.

  “Your ankle isn’t broken any more,” Daniel confirmed, sympathy etched on his face. “And there isn’t a mark on your skin, which would be impossible . . . unless you were one of us.”

  Five

  The lights from the street seemed to pale in comparison to the moon, which shone like an ominous bright hourglass in the sky. I looked up at it and shuddered. When it reached fullness, I would change into something not human. The thought was still as unbelievable as it was horrifying.

  All the residents of the town were in the streets. I did a mental head count and came up with forty, maybe fifty people. The Pack, Daniel called them. My new family.

  I thought I might throw up.

  There was a slight commotion as a dozen people came from the far end of town. I recognized one of them and flinched, but Daniel laid a light hand on my arm.

  Even though he was a virtual stranger, the gesture calmed me. It shouldn’t, of course. Daniel was dangerous, but somehow I sensed he’d defend me against the man being led to the middle of the street.

  I’d only glimpsed it right before passing out, but still, I’d know that face. When someone tries to murder you, it makes an impression. Not to mention that Gabriel was the only person here with one eye. His dark brown hair hung in strands around his face, and he was naked. What was it with these people and their lack of clothes?

  Joshua stepped out from the crowd. At least he was still dressed. “Gabriel Thompson, you have been found guilty of infecting a human against their will.”

  “It’s not the full moon,” Gabriel snarled, trying to pull free of the two men who held him. “How do you know she will turn?”

  Joshua looked my way. Daniel grasped my hand and led me forwards. I didn’t want to get closer to Gabriel, but thankfully, Daniel stopped after a few feet. The blonde doctor stepped out of the crowd.

  Gabriel shot me a look of pure hate. Instead of scaring me, it strengthened the momentary wobble I’d had in my knees. I’d never done anything to him, but he’d ruined my life. If anyone had a right to hatred, it was me.

  I put my shoulders back and matched his glare. Daniel gave me an approving nod.

  “Diana,” Joshua addressed the blonde doctor. It was the first I’d heard her name. “You examined Marlee yesterday. What did you find?”

  “Her right ankle was fractured,” Diana recounted in a clinical voice. “She had multiple abrasions, contusions, lacerations and puncture wounds on both her legs, plus a deeper wound on her right arm.”

  Joshua swept out a hand to me. “Look at her now.”

  I could almost feel the eyes raking over me, taking in my skin revealed by the short sleeved shirt and rolled-up pants I was wearing. Both were too big, since they were Daniel’s. My own clothes had been bloodied and ripped up in the attack, so they were no good. I didn’t ask what had happened to my backpack. Seeing it again would remind me too much of everything I’d lost.

  “She is completely healed. There is the proof,” Joshua stated flatly. “Gabriel, your sentence is death.”

  Gabriel was released. He looked around in defiance, and I saw some people bow their heads, wiping at their eyes. Was his family here? I wondered. Daniel’s was; I could see his mother on the opposite side of the street. How awful for Gabriel’s family, even though I still didn’t pity him.

  “I die, but the rest of you will follow,” Gabriel hissed. “I’m only giving out the same mercy our kind has been shown. I refuse to be ashamed to hunt those who kill us.”

  His words had barely died away when a shot rang out. I jumped, sucking in a breath as a gory crimson hole bloomed on Gabriel’s chest. His eyes went wide, then he let out two harsh, laboured breaths before falling to the ground.

  Somebody sobbed. Joshua’s face was grim as he lowered the smoking rifle.

  “We only hunt to eat what we need to survive. We will never be like them,” he stated.

  Seeing someone die from a gunshot wound was nothing like in the movies, either. No, it was horrible in ways I couldn’t even begin to describe.

  “Never be like who?” I asked Daniel. My voice was dull from shock.

  He didn’t look away from Gabriel’s twitching, bleeding form. “Humans.”

  I didn’t stay to watch the five men run the gauntlet. I’d already seen things that would be burned on my memory, no matter how I’d try to forget them. Daniel took me back to his cabin. He made coffee in silence and handed me a cup. It tasted like it was laced with something alcoholic, which I was grateful for. Occasionally, I’d hear shouts coining from the direction of the town. The gauntlet was a noisy business, it seemed.

  “Gabriel’s wife,” I said after the minutes stretched. “Joshua said a member of the Pack was upset because his wife had been killed. That was Gabriel, right? Did . . . Did hunters kill his wife?”

  Daniel sat across from me, resting his elbows on the table as he drank from his own cup. The lighting in the kitchen reflected off his hair, making the russet colour look richer. “Yes.”

  “But why hurt me?” I wondered. “I was camping, not hunting wolves!”

  A sigh rumbled out of Daniel. “Gabriel wasn’t being logical. Neither were the others with him. The
Pack has been going through a hard time since the laws were changed.”

  “What laws? No one even knows about werewolves; it’s not like it’s open season on them.”

  “Grey wolves were taken off the endangered species list a few months ago,” Daniel said, his expression hooded. “The government did it knowing what would happen. Before the ink was dry, scores of wolves were killed. They’re trying to eliminate all wolves again. What Gabriel did was wrong, but I know what drove him to it. You can’t understand what it’s like, having people try to wipe out your very existence.”

  His voice was bitter. I set my coffee cup down with a bang.

  “I’m Jewish. Don’t tell me I can’t understand what that’s like.”

  After a long moment, Daniel inclined his head. We sat in silence, but oddly, it wasn’t tense silence. It was as if we’d come to an unspoken truce.

  “So,” I said at last, mythology and reality competing in my mind. “Gabriel’s wife was shot while in wolf form. How would the hunters know to use silver bullets? Maybe you’ve been found out after all.”

  A bleak smile cracked his face. “The bullets don’t have to be silver. No, Marlee, we can be killed in a lot of normal ways. But if the wound isn’t mortal, and if it’s not exposed to silver, we can usually heal it.”

  There was noise from the town again. Something like a cheer.

  Daniel nodded in its direction. “They must be finished.”

  What a strange, harsh society this was. Gauntlets. Executions. Shape-shifting. And me, stuck right in the middle of it.

  “You know that soon my family will start a search for me,” I said. “My parents will notice when I don’t come back from vacation, not to mention that my employers will wonder what happened when I don’t show up in the next few days.”

  He shook his head. “What were you thinking, hiking alone?”

  His tone was so scolding that I stiffened. “I didn’t start out alone. My friends came with me, but then Brandy twisted her ankle so she and Tom had to leave. I was going to leave, too, but . . .”

  I stopped. Finishing that sentence would be too revealing. But I was sick of putting my dreams on hold, waiting for the perfect situation.