by Sophia Wilde
The last person on Cindy's list turned out to be a familiar face. Cindy blushed when she saw the little old lady from the train open the door.
"Oh, hello, dear!" – the old lady said, with a friendly smile – "Feeling any better today?"
Cindy was confused and at a loss for words, but the old lady didn't seem to notice, being too busy chattering on. It was as if she already knew why she was here. Well, no wonder, thought Cindy. The little town wasn't much of a tourist attraction, and everybody knew all about the newcomers within minutes of their arrival. And now, the whole town was buzzing about the young reporter who had come on a werewolf-hunting trip. The old lady had been expecting her. Eagerly, it would appear.
A nice cup of tea and the old lady's friendly nature soon helped Cindy relax. Although the whole conversation was really weird. With a warm smile on her face, this innocent-looking old woman seemed to enjoy recounting extremely detailed descriptions of these gruesome murders attributed to the werewolf.
It had all started with the sheep, apparently. That was a familiar story, thought Cindy to herself. Why is it always sheep? Anyway, they all thought a hungry wolf had gotten down from the mountains, looking for food, so hunters went into the woods to hunt it down and stop it from causing more damage. The strange thing was, the sheep weren't eaten. It was as if the animal only wanted to... play with them. A funny little game, the old woman thought, leaving the toys in bloody little pieces. Then it moved up. It started playing with men.
The police could do nothing about it. They were still looking for a mere wolf. Which was understandable. They were, after all, the ones who had to be reasonable. Yet, each one of the policemen was always carrying a silver bullet with them. Just in case. You never knew.
But the old lady knew it very well. She had seen the beast with her own eyes. Those pale blue eyes might be old, but they still served her well.
"So who do you think it is?" – asked Cindy, trying to hold back her impatience. The lady's soothing voice made this whole experience kind of comforting, like listening to her old grandmother read her fairy-tales by the fireplace.
"Well, it's young Bobby Gray, dear." – said the smiling lady without even blinking.
Cindy froze. So, that's why they were all so reluctant to talk about it. Robert Gray was one of the wealthiest men in the state. Young, rich and handsome. An eligible bachelor indeed. He was the last one in a long line of noblemen, who had left him an enormous fortune they had acquired over centuries of killings and robbings of hard working peasants who served underneath them. If stories were to be believed, young master Gray was just as merciless as they were. In a much discrete way, of course.
Pictures of him were all over the headlines for a while now. People loved a good scandal. And this man was an endless source of those. But now, if the word got out that he was a werewolf? The public would go nuts! This assignment was turning out to be interesting after all. Somehow, Cindy looked forward to meeting him. It was bound to be fun.
He had a mansion just outside of the town, and he spent an entire week there each month. He was there now, so she tried to arrange a meeting. Unsuccessfully. The young Gray did not give interviews. Damn paparazzi, always ruining it for decent journalists. They never followed him here, though. He never did anything interesting while he was here. Well, the fact that it was not going to be easy didn't mean she was going to give up. A challenge. Just what she needed to kill the time until she could go back home. Not as if she had anything better to do.
So she decided to start following him around. Everywhere. She felt like a peeping tom, hiding in bushes, looking in through windows, and it was kind of exciting, even though she didn't discover anything at all interesting. What was this man doing here anyway? There was nothing going on in this town. Maybe her friends were right, and once you've turned thirty the single life really did get a bit exhausting, so he really did need some time in peace once in a while, just to pick himself up.
The weirdest part of her little stalking expedition was, she felt as if he knew she was there. And he liked it. No, it couldn't be. Of course, she wasn't very good at keeping a low profile, but she did her best. He would have surely put an end to it a long time ago if he had known. She was just being paranoid.
After a couple of days, it turned out that she was right. The man was well aware of her presence. She had been peeking over the fence into his back yard while he was playing with his dogs on a sunny afternoon. He was handsome. Really handsome. Something about him was really dark and evil-like, and Cindy found herself very attracted to him. She always did have a thing for bad boys, and this one was bad to the bone. Damn, he looked good, all dressed up in black like that, running around with the pack. Okay, two dogs, same thing. Hey, maybe he was a wolf after all. She was just taking out her camera to take a picture of him, to add to her own dirty little collection, when she heard someone announce himself with a polite little cough. The sound was coming from somewhere very close to her. It froze the blood in her veins, but somehow, she managed to turn around. A tall, slender middle-aged man, very sharply dressed, was standing behind her.
"Master Gray invites you to join him." – he said.
A butler!? She thought, following the man through the long hallway, which apparently lead out to the garden. What the hell kind of a horror movie did she get herself caught up in? She could feel her heartbeat accelerating, and a smile was forcing its way on her face. This was turning out to be far more exciting than she thought it would be.
Robert Gray greeted her with a smile. He noticed her following him a while ago, but apparently, didn't want to disturb her about her business. But today was a hot day, so he thought she might be up for a glass of cold lemonade, and maybe dinner later? Smooth, Cindy thought. Living up to his reputation of a lady's man, even though he was mildly mocking her. Looking down at her clothes, she didn't feel like much of a lady. Comfort was what she was always after. Not that she had a body worth showing off anyway. So why was this prince in shining armor openly coming on to her? Maybe he was into some weird stuff and thought she was too, because she's a bit weird and all. Not about to be just a weekend amusement for a rich boy, she almost declined, but then again... This was a perfect opportunity for an interview. She could contain herself. He's not THAT hot. Except that he was, and she knew she was drooling over him like a dog over a big, juicy steak.
Shame on you, Cindy! He is a human being, not a piece of meat! She almost started laughing out loud at the thought. Boo-hoo, a big bad man was being objectified. Screw that, she was entitled to be a dirty pig for once in her life.
That's when she realized she was drifting again. She caught herself wondering about what his bedroom looked like. And if she would get to see it soon. She would sink her teeth into that bad boy in a blink of an eye. Although she would let him sink a lot more than his teeth into her. This one made her blush. The smile on Robert's face made it look as though he could read her mind. Feeling very uncomfortable, she couldn't get herself to break eye-contact, and he seemed to enjoy it immensely.
That's enough. There would be time for daydreams later. Right now, she wanted a quote about this werewolf thing. She was there to work, after all. A lemonade break sounded really good, though.
Cindy ended up spending the whole day with the charming playboy. Damn, he was dreamy. But the more they talked, the more she was convinced there was something definitely off about him. In an extremely attractive way. A deep, dark secret was hidden behind those puppy eyes, and all she wanted to do was to dive in and dig it up. When asked about the werewolf, he actually laughed. It was a strange little laugh. It sounded a bit forced. And his big brown eyes weren't laughing with him.
"That's ridiculous! Where did you hear such a thing?" – he asked, with an interested smile on his face.
Cindy just smiled and shrugged, because she didn't want to get the old lady in trouble. Even though the old bird seemed to be the only one in town who wasn't afraid to talk about it.
"Don't worry,
little girl, you're safe with me." – she heard Robert whisper in her ear, suddenly standing behind her.
She felt like she was being hunted. A big, scary wolf, circling his prey. Closing in on it. She could feel her own breath get deeper. She could hear it get louder. The feeling of being wanted was so damn good, and it was washing all over her. Impatience was crawling all over her skin. The skin that wanted to be touched by this man. Right here. Right now. Focus on the damn werewolves, woman!
A warm feeling was spreading all over her body, setting it on fire. He looked at her smugly, as though he could smell a female in heat. Taking his time, like a true hunter. Not going for the kill until the victim is completely ready. And this one was still doing her best to resist him.
Cindy fought hard to keep her mind on her work. Young master Gray said he knew nothing about the werewolf, and she was going to take his word for it. After all, she knew that werewolves didn't exist. The most she could hope to get out of this, was a cute little story about a little town in the middle of nowhere whose imaginative people had managed to turn some very unfortunate accidents involving a poor hungry wolf who had lost his way, into a wild story about a werewolf. There, her work here was done. Now she could lay back and enjoy the rest of her time in this town. It was starting to grow on her.
So she let him take her on a tour of the house. It was enormous and beautiful, but not really her style. All this was way too complicated for her taste, so she was pretty much unimpressed. Until he took her to the library. The gigantic piece of heaven filled with beautiful, beautiful books. A wide smile spread all over her face as she was browsing the books. Like a kid in a candy store. He had all of her favourite books. And... a whole section on werewolves? That's strange.
Well, isn't that a weird coincidence? And this was no light literature either. These books looked really old and valuable. She probably couldn't afford to buy one single page out of any of them.
Just as she has managed to gather enough courage, and was about to reach out and take one of those books off the shelf, she found herself swept away. Robert's strong hands were all over her. And in an instant, she had forgotten all about the werewolves. Even about her greatest passion, books. Everything disappeared, and he was all that was left. Leaning up on her back. Pushing her gently against the shelves. Caressing her breasts. His face buried in her hair. Breathing her in whilst gently pressing his lips against her neck.
Was she dreaming again? Because if she was, she didn't want to wake up. Having sex in a library? It was every book-worm's wildest dream! So what if she had only met him today? After all the crap she's been through, this was just what she needed to blow off steam. Just don't over think it. Let yourself go.
And that's exactly what she did. It felt as if she was falling from a great height. Like he was performing a smooth dance move, he took her by the hand and made her turn around to face him. And then they kissed. The kiss made her head spin. It seemed to last forever. It seemed forever would not be enough for her to get enough of it.
Taking her by the hand, he lead her to his desk. There he gently took off her glasses and placed them carefully on the desk. He took a long look at her face, tracing its every line with his fingers, finishing it on her lips. Without knowing why she did it, she slightly opened her mouth and gave his finger a gentle suck. This made his breath tremble. She could see his desire getting stronger. There was a kind of an animal hunger in his eyes, and she could barely wait to start satiating it.
In a complete contrast with his state, he was demonstrating incredible force of will. Moving his hands all over her body, gently, yet roughly at the same time. It was as if she was being touched by this great force, capable of destroying her in an instant, but choosing not to. He kept conquering her, bit by bit. Gently circling her nipples with his fingers. Running his lips down from her neck in order to suck on them. It felt as if she had been hit by an arrow.
Cindy couldn't hold back anymore. She needed him inside of her. Right now. So she got on top of him and started undressing him. It was as if she had been roaming the desert for ages and just now happened on an oasis. She was trying to soak him up all at once.
He picked her up in a blink of an eye and carried her to the sofa. Afternoon sunlight was making its way through the tall windows to fall straight on their naked bodies. As she was going through the gentle motions whilst sitting on top of him, she could feel his eyes burning through her skin. He was looking at her as if he wanted to consume her. Yet, he was painstakingly holding something back. Holding her as if she were the frailest thing in the world. As if a slightly stronger grip would break her. She didn't want him to hold back anymore. She wanted him to take her. Passionately. Wildly. The way she knew he could. She could see it in his eyes that he wanted it too. So she stopped. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips, finishing it with a gentle bite.
This seemed to have done the trick. His grip tightened. She could feel his hands sliding up against her back. Grabbing her by the shoulders. Pulling her down towards him, while he was pushing himself deeper inside of her. She let out a loud moan. It was pure pleasure mixed with pain. She wanted more. Oh, so much more.
He was letting himself go, and she was loving it. She started riding him harder, and suddenly she could see that she had absolutely no control over her own actions. His strong arms were doing all the work for her. All she could do was to wrap herself around his tight body while he was penetrating her harder and deeper with each thrust.
The next minute he lost it. He spun her around, getting on top of her, pinning her down and violently ramming himself into her. She could feel herself getting even wetter. This felt so good.
Their bodies tightly pressed against each other. Her sweaty skin sticking to the leather surface of the sofa. His weight on top of her, making it even better.
She could hear herself moaning loudly. There was nothing she could do about that. There was nothing she wanted to do about it. He was enjoying the sound. It made him want to make it louder. So he started going faster. Harder.
"Oh, please, don't stop now!" – she managed to scream out in between the moans, digging her nails deep into his skin. Wrapping her legs around his waist, pulling him in deeper.
She was there. She was in heaven. Her legs gripping him harder in an orgasmic cramp, the weight of his body shaking on top of her, and she could almost feel his warm fluids filling her up while his kiss on her shoulder turned into a bite. Was that blood she felt running down her skin and on to the sofa?
It didn't matter. Right now, nothing in the world mattered. Cindy was still lying on the sofa, with Robert on top of her. She was waiting for something to happen. For him to turn into a monster. For her to wake up. Anything. But nothing happened. It really wasn't a dream. The silence was relaxing. She could feel Gray's heart pounding in his chest. His breathing calm. Satisfied.
"You bit me." – she whispered.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I kind of messed you up there."
"Nah, that's okay. It'll heal." – she was never too sensitive about these things. It's just blood, for God's sake.
"No. It won't." – he said, and got up.
What was that supposed to mean?
Once she has finished putting her clothes back on, he took her by the hand and lead her back to the shelf she had been examining earlier. He seemed pale. Worried. He couldn't look her in the face anymore.
"Might as well tell you everything now." – he said, taking a rather thick old book down from the top shelf and laying it down on the desk, where Cindy's glasses were still patiently waiting for her. Etched on the inside of its covers were some kind of lines and words. Everything was so small, and she couldn't see.
Cindy put on her glasses. The Gray family tree was beautifully drawn all over the book's covers. She was admiring its details as Robert was so obviously trying to find the right words to express something very serious. Finally, he started telling her a story.
It was about a young warrior who lived in a completely di
fferent time from the one we are living in now. Back then, people were praised for killing other people, and this young warrior was beloved for everything he had done for his country. The world was his, and nothing he ever asked for was denied. This made him feel as if he could do whatever he wanted.
One day, he saw a beautiful young Gypsy girl. He came up to her, in order to ask for what he wanted. For the first time ever, he didn't get what he asked for. What was this? She must have been kidding. Didn't she know who he was?
Unaccustomed to rejection, the young man decided that he was entitled to enjoy this woman's beauty, so he took it by force. The young Gypsy woman cried and begged for mercy the whole time. She was resisting him, so he pushed her hard against the ground. She hit her head. There was blood everywhere. She was dead.
It turned out that the young woman was pregnant when this happened, which made the whole matter much worse. Her family craved revenge. The same night, her husband with her many brothers hunted him down, and brought him to face an old Gypsy woman, who sat quietly by the fire. It was a bright night, and a full moon was shining above them, when the old woman brought her ruling and decided his punishment.
He would be thrown to the wolves. But he wouldn't die. From that moment on, a curse would fall on him, and all of his male descendants. And there would be a male descendant in every generation. They would never be at peace while the full moon was up. They would be feared and persecuted. Forever.
Robert Gray was part of this line, and he was, in fact, a werewolf. And now that he had bitten her, Cindy would become one too.
Her face had gone blank a long time ago. Listening to his voice tell this story was turning her to stone. She was sitting in an armchair, tightly gripping the silver bullet that was still hanging around her neck. He was sorry, he said. During the week of the full moon, his self-control was a bit off. He knew that he should not have bit her, and yet he couldn't help it. The same way he couldn't help killing those people. But now, there was no way out of it. He would walk her through everything she needed to know about this. Maybe she should stay with him for the next three days. Definitely, she should stay with him tonight, because it was getting dark, and a full moon was about to come up.
