“Please, Master, I will do anything you say from now on. Just please spare me,” the woman begs.
“Never! I will not spare you. You will be food for the gators.” he seethes.
He walks over to the trunk of the car and grabs and axe from the trunk. Sebastien makes himself visible to the woman. She looks at him and smiles. She knows what the white alligator means. If you see one, you have been given a second chance at life. You will be free from the chains that are holding you down. The man slowly walks back over to the woman and she screams in fear for her life. He raises the axe high above his hand and strikes a warning strike close to her. She is quivering in fear on the ground, waiting for her life to be over.
All it is going to take is one strike with that axe anywhere on her body and then she is done for. He chooses to stand there and torment her, waiting on him to strike true. He stands there holding the axe, shaking in his boots. The power he has over her is empowering him. He craves the fear he creates when he hits her every night. He takes great pride in taking her every night for everyone to see. She lives in constant fear, wondering when he will snap and just kill her. Tonight is that night. I can see all of this playing out in her heart right now. Her life is flashing before her eyes and it is scaring the hell out of her. If, somehow, she makes it out of this alive, she will start anew.
He can take her presence no longer. He wants rid of the waste that has become her life. When he first met her, she was so beautiful and ripe for the taking. He let his carnal desires guide him to her. She was unknown to man when she was brought to him. Her parents sold her to him, so they could move to another country away from her. She could never do anything right by them. She was never good enough. They wanted a son, not a daughter. So they sold her to the highest bidder in the underground. Since then, she has become his sex slave. Serving him many times a day for several years now.
He raises the axe again, this time ready to strike true. I watch as he slowly lowers the axe down toward her. He stops in midstride. Out of the water comes Sebastien. He slowly creeps over to the man. The woman gets to her feet and runs behind a nearby tree. Alexandre and Pierre and I are right behind Sebastien, close on his heels, ready to cover his back should anything go wrong. Sebastien corners him against a huge Spanish oak tree. He has nowhere to go. He is trapped in that spot.
On the other side of the car, I spot a white wolf; it is guiding the woman to safety. Where the hell did that wolf come from? And who is it? I wonder if it is the same wolf the locals are talking about. It has to be, if it is here trying to help the woman get away. It keeps looking our way with wide black eyes.
I watch as Sebastien quickly grabs him by his midsection with his sharp teeth. He slowly creeps backward into the water. Once he is in the water with him in his mouth, he thrashes around and death rolls around and around. He snaps him in half. Pierre and Alexandre fight over the half that was slung away from Sebastien. Sebastien devours his half of the man in one swift bite, swallowing him whole.
When there is nothing remaining of the man, Sebastien changes back to human form and goes over to the car. “I am taking the car and dumping it at the junkyard. I will meet you all back at home,” he says.
The rest of us shift back into human form. “Job well done, Sebastien. We will see you at home,” I say.
“Deuce, did you see that white wolf?” Pierre asks.
“Yes, I did. I think that maybe I should follow its scent. And see who this new shifter is.”
“From what I could smell, it is a she. She has a very unique scent. She smells of honeysuckle and cinnamon. I have never smelled anything like it before,” Alexandre says.
“I know that scent. I smelled it today when I was taking the airboat out for a ride. All I can say is that, that wolf was magnificent. It was graceful and courageous. I am simply captivated by it, for some strange reason.”
“Umm, man, are you alright?” Alexandre asks.
“I think so, brother, but I feel like I have to go after that wolf. My soul is screaming that I follow it. I have to know who she is.” I sigh.
“Do you think that is a good idea, Deuce? I think you need to just head on home and get some rest. The business opens back up tomorrow night. We need you to be right on your game,” Alexandre states.
“I disagree with you, Alexandre. I think he should follow the wolf. He needs to see if she is his soul mate. He will never know unless he follows. If it was me, brother, I would follow and not think twice about it. What is your heart telling you to do?” Pierre asks.
“Who cares what his heart is telling him. We are men; we do not think with our hearts. We think with our heads,” Zander exaggerates.
I stand there listening to them arguing like women. I know that Pierre is right and Alexandre is right, each for different reasons. I have to do what my heart wants, and it wants to follow the white wolf. I may never have another chance like this again. If I go home, I will go nuts wondering why I did not listen to my heart. I will go insane, and so will the beast within me. I kneel down to the ground and place my hands on the ground at my feet. I take the energy from the ground into myself. Joslyn and Skylar taught me how to do it. It helps to keep my mind clear and level. The energy does not consume me; it just gives me the extra boost of courage that I need. My brothers are still arguing.
“Hey, assholes, I am standing right here you know. I am in control of my life, not you two. I will make my own decisions. If I need your opinion, then I will ask you for it. I love you guys, but come on. If you were in my situation, would you just leave and risk the chance of the beast going insane?” I ask.
“I guess if it came down to it, I would go after whatever it was that was calling to my soul. I am tired of being alone. One night stands just don’t cut it anymore. They leave me feeling guilty and disgusted,” Alexandre says.
“I would follow my heart. We only get one chance at finding our mate. I would not want to deny myself a chance at true happiness. We all serve a purpose in this world. Our main purpose in life is to find our mate. The one who can keep the beast under control. As the days go on, it gets harder and harder to keep it under control. I can sense a calm in your beast since you spotted the wolf, Deuce. Go after her. Don’t waste any time. Take this chance. Do not let it go to waste,” Pierre adds.
“You are right; I am going after the wolf. Do not wait up for me. I do not know how long I will be. If this is indeed my mate, I have to at least introduce myself to her.” My beast has been quiet since we spotted her. He knows who she is and he is not telling me anything at all. He huffs that I need to figure this out on my own without him helping. But, he warns that if I go in the wrong direction, he will cause me great hell.
“Go after her. Don’t worry about us or the boat. We will take it back home. We will make sure that Sebastien has dumped the killer’s car first and then head home. We will not worry about you. Nor will we try to stop you in any way. This is a time where we will not interfere. This will make you stronger and be able to get some relief from the beast,” Alexandre states.
“Go on, man. We have everything else under control. Go see if she is indeed your mate. You will never know until you come face to face with her. So...go!” Pierre says.
“Good luck, Deuce,” they both say and walk toward the airboat. They fire it up and head off in the direction of home. I know they have it all under control, but somehow, I feel like I am letting my family down, even when I know that is not the case this time. This is a once in a lifetime kind of opportunity. I would regret it for the rest of my miserable existence if I do not go after her.
Time for me to put my money where my feet are. Time to get moving. If I wasn’t so damned scared, this would be a piece of cake. I need to put my fears aside and get on with it. I run off in the direction the wolf went with the woman. I think she may be leading her to the main road. Usually, my gut instincts are not wrong. In a few miles, I will know if I am right. I continue to follow her scent. Her scent is driving me insane, but in a g
ood way. It is giving me all kinds of dirty thoughts that I should not be having. Her scent seems to go straight to my cock, springing it to life, causing an ache that I fear only she will be able to satisfy.
Chapter Six
Adele
My eyes must be deceiving me. I cannot be seeing what I am seeing. I honestly thought they were a figment of the locals’ imaginations. The legend is real; they do exist. I am in my wolf form, so I know what I am seeing is real as fuck. Damn. There are four of them. They have to be the most magical creatures that I have ever seen. I am just blown away by this find. I could hear the screams of the woman from miles away, so I decided I needed to come see what was going on. I am here to help her in some way, but now I am not so sure what way that is going to be just yet.
Those gators are here for a reason also. I need to wait this out and see what happens. I have a feeling that the guy the woman is with is going to try to kill her. Minutes tick by and the guy teases and taunts her with her death. The poor thing. She has to be scared out of her mind right now.
I watch as the gators inch closer and closer to the bank. One of them is right underneath the water at the bank’s edge. He is waiting patiently. The one that is the furthest away is staring at me. Merde! I have been spotted. Oh well. There is nothing I can do about it now. They are not worried about me, because if they were, that one gator would be coming my way and he is not.
The guy goes to the trunk and retrieves an axe and thrashes it right next to the woman on the ground. This guy is asking for it. If the gators do not kill him, then I will rip him to pieces. I cannot stand anyone who comes here to the swamp to carry out their evil deeds. It just fucking pisses me off so badly. Why bring someone to the swamp, just to kill them? Why not kill them somewhere else? Stupid people make no sense to me. I could never kill another human being as long as I live. It goes against everything I believe in. I cannot watch another person suffer at the hands of a sadistic killer. The only exception to that rule is if someone is trying to kill me.
The man raises the axe again, but as he is lowering it down, the gator closest to the bank rises out of the water and lunges for him. The woman stumbles out of the way and hides behind the car. She is watching the massive twenty foot white alligator tear that man to pieces. She is laughing at him. I watch in awe as the two other gators emerge from the water and finish the guy off. I run over to the woman and push up against her in an attempt to get her moving away from here. She needs to get as far away as possible.
When I am in wolf form, my size if different from a regular wolf. I am the size of a tiger. I nudge the woman some more until she realizes that I want her to get on my back so I can get her out of here. I look back toward the bank and see the gators have shifted back into human form. Oh my god. The man I saw this morning eyeing my houseboat is one of them. He is extremely handsome. In fact, they are all very attractive men.
I can tell instantly that they are brothers; they all have that same look in their facial features that gives it away. Wow, just wow. The woman finally gets on my back, and she holds onto my fur at my neck so she does not fall. She wraps her legs around my torso to keep on my back. I know some of the terrain we will be traveling in a few minutes is rough.
I watch as they gather closer together. They are talking amongst themselves. They are talking about what to do with the car. I hear the one mention seeing me, but he does not say anything else. I decide it is time to get the woman out of here before we are discovered by the gator boys. I slowly creep away from the scene. I am being as quiet as I can so they do not hear me. Once I am away from them, I gather up my strength and head in the direction of the main road. The main road is about five miles or so from here. I need to get her there so a passerby can pick her up and take her to safety.
I hope to one day come into contact with that gator boy. I feel that they are on the same mission as me. We could possibly work together. When the man was hitting the woman, I could see the compassion in their eyes. It was killing them just waiting there until the right moment. But, they stopped him from killing her. The things he was telling her were just awful. He was hateful man, and I am glad that the gators ate him up and he is no more. Those gators would be a nice ally. I wonder if they know that supernatural family that lives in that plantation style house up the road from here. I have not met that family yet, but I can feel their power from my houseboat.
Enough dilly dallying; time to get this poor woman to safety. Hopefully, someone can pick her up. She needs a second chance. Everyone deserves one. She met the wrong man, her family was assholes, and she needs a fresh start. A new start, for a new beginning at life. I bet she will be very cautious from now on.
I race in the direction of the main road. I am jumping over rocks and fallen trees with a wounded woman on my back. She holds tight to me, making sure that she does not fall off during our journey. She is silently crying on my back. Her sobs are breaking my heart.
“I cannot believe that I believed everything he ever said to me. All the promises he made, he never kept them. He just used me for my body, and when that did not please him anymore, he resorted to beating me. How could I be so stupid and naïve? To this day, I still cannot believe that my parents sold me to him. What did I ever do so wrong to warrant them to sell me? I am their only child. All I ever wanted from them was their love. But they could not give it to me. I was apparently supposed to be a boy, but instead, I was born a girl. Since then, they have pushed me off onto anyone they could. They never wanted me. I never deserved the treatment I was given growing up. When I turned sixteen, they found the man in charge of the sex trafficking and sold me to him for ten thousand dollars.” She sobs.
I cannot believe humans would treat their only child the way she was treated. No child deserves that. They should have put her up for adoption when she was born. At least then she would have had a chance at a normal, happy life. My heart just breaks for her, and I hope she can overcome all the wrong that has been done to her.
“At first, he was so gentle and patient with me. He treated me like a princess. When I turned eighteen, he took me into his bedroom and seduced me. I would have given him everything he ever wanted. He was my first, although I never loved him. He was almost like a father figure to me for two years until I was a legal adult. But, I was still his. Even though I was an adult, my body was not mine, it belonged to him. Some nights he would have his friends come over and they would take turns fucking me. I was a toy to them and to him. I never truly meant anything to him. I learned that the hard way. I have tried for years to get away from him. I am now twenty five. He caught me every time I tried to escape. That is when the beatings started. After my first attempt to escape, he started beating me senseless. I would not be able to move for a week after the beating. He would go so far as to use a thick leather belt and sometimes a two by four. It all depended on the mood he was in. I am so glad that he is finally dead and gone. Thank the good Lord for small miracles. Now, maybe I can start over and finally put that chapter of my life behind me. I will find a way to go back to school and get my GED and hopefully get a good job. I will finally go to that shelter for abused women and see if they can help me. I will tell the cops about the sex trafficking in this town.”
Now that is the spirit I want to hear. You go get ‘em girl! You can do anything you put your mind to. Of course, she cannot hear me, but I am still thinking it. This woman has tremendous courage and I applaud her. It will take all the courage she has to overcome what has been done to her. We are about a mile from the main road. Her sobs finally stop. I can smell that her fear is finally gone. She smells of confidence now. I am so glad I was in the right place tonight. I do not want to think of what would have happened to her if I was not there. Would the gator boys take her to safety? I would hope they would have done that. It would be the only right thing to do.
We get to the main road and she gets off my back. “I do not know who you are, but thank you for saving me and giving me a second chance at life. I wil
l forever be in your debt. I know you are a shifter of sorts, so I know you can change into a human. But, I do not blame you for not changing and revealing yourself to me. Just know that I am so grateful for what you have done for me this night. If, for whatever reason, you may need my help someday, do not hesitate to come and seek me out. I will come when you call. Thank you so much,” she says.
I nod my head in reaction to her statement. She is truly a unique person. She grabs me and hugs me to her. Then, she rises to her feet and walks toward the road. I can hear a car coming from the left. She walks along the side of the road. The car approaches her and stops on the side of the road. There is a sign on the side of the car. It reads “Shelter for Abused Women”. Well, how very fitting is this. A woman gets out of the car and approaches her. She looks at her and smiles. “Are you in trouble, my dear? Do you need help? We can help you start a new life, if you want it?” the woman from the car says.
“Yes, ma’am, I could really use your help. My boyfriend just tried to kill me and dump my body in the swamp. By the grace of God, I was able to get away.”
She gets into the car with the woman. As she closes the door, she looks back toward me and mouths “Thank you”. The car door closes and they drive off toward town.
I watch them leave before I start to head back home. I want to make sure they are gone and she is truly safe. It is ironic, how the vehicle that stops, is the one she really needed. I love how sometimes things just happen how they are supposed to happen. God has a plan for everyone in this world. He made sure that the woman got what she needed this night. She had two different supernatural creatures help her and the shelter that she needed to go to picked her up along the side of the road. God is good.
Deuce (Swamp Desires Book 1) Page 4
