This experiment was not about to put her or the babies in danger, which was another reason why he had readily agreed to do it. At first he thought that Samuel was going to propose that he wanted him to star in the porn movie with another man. He snorted at the idea. That was so not going to happen. Seeing the shapeshifting mongoose come in on them in drag was bad enough, but to even think of being with another man made him green.
Demona would have to suck it up and deal with it. It was better than having to go on some assassination run and end up getting killed. Not everything had to be dealt with by brute force or by who had the biggest teeth. If he could protect his family without endangering them, then that was what he was going to do. Demona was going to have to learn that sometimes you had to take one for the team.
He scented the air. His mouth watered for something short, fat, and juicy. He could go for some Italian mobster or Portuguese baker. They made the best pastries in his opinion. However, their host had said no hunting in his territory. That only limited Sebastian’s appetite. He would have to settle for human food. He didn’t mind eating cooked meat, but he preferred rare and still screaming if he could get it.
Demona was the same way. Now, with the babies, her hunger was going to be even more voracious. He would have to find a way to placate her until they could get back on their way out of New York City. He had definitely decided that after this they were heading back down to Louisiana to the bayou. First he would have to contact the pack leader there and see if it was still okay for them to move into the territory. He assumed it would be since he was friends with the Louisiana pack leader. The bayou wasn’t much of a hunting ground for too many wolves. If the space was still available then it was all theirs.
Sebastian searched the shadows. Demona was hiding in them, stalking the humans. There was more animal in her nature than human. It had to be the hormones driving her on. He had to stop her before she got them into trouble. He broke into a run, following her sweet bouquet, and noticed that her scent had changed a little. There was an added texture to it. It sat on his tongue more. That was something new. Something that had to be produced by the changing chemicals in her body. It made her even more enticing.
When he caught up to her, she had some poor woman cowering against the wall of an alley. Her claws had grown along with her teeth. Her face had elongated. She was hairier than she should have been. She growled. Demona whipped around and lunged at him. He caught her and held her away from him while she snapped at his neck.
“Demona, get a hold of yourself. Now is not the time to be wolfing out. We have to get you something to eat. You cannot be preying on innocent humans. We promised Samuel that we would not kill anyone while we are in his territory. We have to respect that.”
“But I want her! She smells so good. You will not stop me from taking a bite out of her.” Demona struggled in his arms.
He growled at her. That made her stop. “Pookie, you have to remember who you are. If you’re mad at me and want to get back at me for the whole porn movie thing, I understand. But we can’t make trouble for ourselves here. Fine. I was a jackass. It won’t happen again. Cut me off from sex, but we can’t eat humans here. I swear the first thing we’ll do when we get on the road again is go after whatever you want. Come on. I know how much you love linebackers. We’ll find some small town. Then let you take your pick. Hell, we can even eat the quarterback if you want. But not here.”
Her eyes widened. “You mean that, Big Daddy?”
He rolled his eyes at the cutesy name. “Yes. Now let’s leave the nice lady alone. I smell this Italian place a little ways down. Why don’t we go there? You love cannoli. I’m sure they will have a ton of them. Homemade, too.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
His mate’s appearance normalized and returned to human parameters. She turned and faced the woman who sat stupefied and shaking in the alley. “I’m really sorry for the misunderstanding. Please don’t tell anyone that you saw me this way. It’s embarrassing, really.”
The woman nodded. Sebastian offered her a hand. She ignored it and got up, slowly using the wall for support. “I apologize. My wife is pregnant. It makes her a little crazy at times. You know all the hormones and stuff raging through her.”
“N-no problem,” the woman whispered.
He nodded and slipped an arm around Demona’s waist. They walked for a couple of blocks before they came to a small Italian restaurant. After they were seated, their waiter handed them menus and took their drink order. As they sipped their drinks, Sebastian ordered a rare steak and Demona ordered Chicken Marsala.
When their salads came, his mate picked at it. She had never been one for rabbit food. He didn’t mind it. The lettuce helped to fill a small space in his stomach.
While they ate their appetizers, the owner came around and began talking to his customers. Sebastian had to look twice. Something wasn’t quite right about him. He inhaled. There was a certain scent to him. It was dead. The clean smell of going into a new house or hospital room. As the owner got closer, the image of a short, balding, fat, red-faced Italian wavered. Underneath it Sebastian spied a tall man, wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, sandals, piercings in his face and covered in blue tattoos.
“So how does the lovely couple enjoy the food tonight?” the owner asked.
Demona smiled. “We don’t know. We haven’t eaten it yet. And I’m starving, so if you don’t tell your chefs to get on it ASAP, I’m going to go in there and—”
Sebastian put a hand on his mate’s arm. He smiled at the owner. “You have to pardon my wife. She’s pregnant. It’s our first.”
The owner smiled widely. “Well, congratulations. Dinner is on the house then. I’ll make sure that my chefs get right on it.” He turned to move to the next table. Sebastian grabbed the owner’s arm. He glanced down at them. “Is there something else I can help you with?”
A wide grin spread across Sebastian’s face. “Yeah. You can tell me where you got all those great tats. I see the eyebrow piercing is new.”
A look of shock moved over the owner’s face. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what you mean.”
Sebastian leaned in further. Demona gave him a confused look. “Come on, Clem. I know it’s you. Do you really think that illusion is going to fool me? What has it been? Forty years?”
The owner slapped Sebastian on the back. “Sebastian, I thought that was you. Dude, who is this fine looking lady you have at your table?”
The illusion fell away, revealing the man Sebastian knew. Well, he wasn’t exactly a man, but a Grim Reaper he had run into years back. “Clem, this is Demona. She’s my mate.”
Demona grinned warily at the man.
“Wow, I never would have thought you would settle down, and you’re going to be a family man at that! Good for you.”
Sebastian saw them bringing their order over. Clem put a finger to his lips. The illusion returned so the waiter wouldn’t suspect anything. Demona glanced at him, as though wondering what was going on.
He smiled as the meat was placed before him. She took a long whiff of hers and beamed in delight. He knew then she would be satisfied with dinner. Clem turned his attention back to her. “I hope you enjoy it. It’s my own personal recipe. Knowing this big ole lug, I’m sure he’ll enjoy his meal.”
Sebastian bit into the steak. It was rare and very tasty. There was a little bit of a sweet flavor to it. “This is really good. When did you start cooking? I thought you were some big bad Grim Reaper?”
Clem chuckled. “Oh, I still am. But I have some free time now and again. When I do, I come down here and cook. I’m getting ready to have a cookbook out in a few months. Of course, I don’t have any recipes for cooking humans. Not that I would condone you killing them. Wasn’t that how we met in the first place?”
“Pookie, if he’s a Grim Reaper, then does that mean that he’s come to collect one of our souls?”
“Oh, darlin’, I’m off duty. You don’t have anything to worry about. You
two make a wonderful match. I can tell you’re a real spitfire, just what he needs to keep him on his toes! So, Bas, what’s been going on these past few decades?”
He shrugged. “Not much. Roaming about. Now we’re here for a little while and then heading down into the bayou. I’ll have to invite you down for dinner one of these days. No human, of course. I’m sure Demona and I can fish up something for you. How can I get in touch with you? It’s not like I will see you every fifty years by running into you at an Italian restaurant.”
Clem fished into the pocket of his shorts. He pulled out a business card and handed it to Sebastian. “Keep this. If you need to get in touch with me, start singing Don’t Fear the Reaper—”
“Ahh, Clem.”
Both Sebastian and Demona glanced over to the other side of the table. Standing there was a skeleton dressed in a black robe. “Andy, what are you doing here?”
“Ahh, the head office told me to come and get you. They said you were needed.”
Clem ran this hand over his braided beard. “Sorry to cut this short, Sebastian. Duty calls. Dinner is on the house.” He picked up Demona’s hand and kissed the back of it lightly. “My dear, you are such a good match for him. He just doesn’t know it yet. If he does, then he’s in for a wonderful surprise. Don’t let him get the better of you. Push his buttons right back.”
He held up his hand and gave Sebastian a high five. “It’s good to see you again, Wolfman. See you around the blue bayou.” With a small pop the Grim Reaper was gone. Demona dug into her Chicken Marsala and Sebastian continued eating his steak. It was interesting running into the Grim Reaper again after all this time. There had to be something to it. He wasn’t sure what it meant, but it made him pause and think while he swallowed the steak.
“How do you know Clem?” Demona asked.
“I met him right before I met you, actually. I was a couple of towns over from yours. I think I was hunting an outlaw. At that point I was into bad boys on bikes. Anyway, I got the man down. While I was eating his leg, Clem appeared, leaned over the body, and took something from it. Imagine my surprise when the Grim Reaper realized I could see him. I finished the thigh and we went out for beers. It was great. I haven’t thought about him in ages. It’s great to know he’s still around. It’s a very rare thing to see a Reaper while you’re alive. The only time you see them normally is when they come to collect your soul. If you touch one, they can also take your soul.”
Demona shivered. “Wow. I never realized that there were so many powerful beings out there. I mean, we’ve met vampires before, but we dealt with their prissy asses. I was so proud of you the night that you stood up to the one who tried to eat you. What was her name?”
Sebastian smiled, knowing that Demona remembered Dominique. They had run across her in New Orleans thirty years back. They had gotten into it over a mortal they were both hunting. The wolves had won the fight on that one and driven the bitch back into her coffin for a while. They hadn’t stayed in New Orleans long enough to see what she would do. Vampires were ruled by a Council whose headquarters happened to be in New Orleans. He didn’t want to face them. If that were the case, then they would have been hot dogs. “Her name was Dominique. My gut tells me that we don’t ever have to worry about going up against her again.”
“How do you know that?”
He shrugged. “Just a hunch. Now, how’s your chicken?”
She licked her lips. “Good, but it’s overcooked.”
Sebastian laughed. “I doubt the humans would think that way about my steak. It’s practically mooing by their standards. You really should have ordered the steak. Why don’t we head out for a little fun on the town? We can hightail it to Central Park and give it a good run. Then maybe you’ll forgive me for what I said to Samuel earlier. Come on, how about it?”
Demona rolled her eyes. He was getting through to her. She couldn’t stay mad at him for long. It wasn’t in her nature. All he had to do was give her some puppy dog eyes and a good kiss and she would melt.
“Maybe.”
He kissed her lightly on the cheek and trailed his fingers along her spine. She shivered. He nuzzled her neck as they walked outside from the restaurant. The night air sang to him. The moon would soon be full, meaning they would have to transform. The moon would rule them. They could turn whenever they liked, but on the days of the full moon they had to obey its call. And right now he wanted the earth beneath his feet and the screams of humans filling his ears.
They started to walk. Soon they were at a jogging pace. His form shifted. Muscles elongated. Bones snapped. During his change, he went from running upright on two legs to down on four. All the while people were screaming around them. He liked that. He lifted his muzzle to the sky to let his song join the melody of the night.
Chapter Ten
Demona stretched and yawned. She opened her eyes, feeling the joy course through her body. The past two nights they had run through the streets of New York City, causing terror among the populace. Sebastian was snuggled against her, still sleeping. They hadn’t seen Samuel in this time. She hoped the Red Dragon drag queen would forget about them. However, Sebastian said they had to wait around. If he wasn’t back by the end of the third day then they were going to split.
The moon was getting fuller. It weighed down on her skin and called for a pelt and four legs. Each day closer made her human body feel alien. The wolf inside scratched against the inside of her flesh, wanting out. The itch to change was even more intense now because she was pregnant. Everything was more powerful.
She got up slowly and padded into the bathroom. Once inside she used the facilities and took a shower. She came out drying her hair. There was Sebastian talking to Samuel. “Hi, sweets. What a looker you are. Candy is going to have so much fun with you. I was just telling your mate here how much fun it’s going to be. I’ve been setting up the shoot these past couple of days over in the warehouse next door. I wanted to come over to get you to show you the set.”
Demona plastered a fake smile on her face. “Sounds great. Can I put some clothes on first?”
“What’s the need? You’re only going to be taking them off in a little while.”
She glanced at Sebastian for help. He sighed. “I think it would make her more comfortable being dressed. We normally don’t run around naked in front of others.”
Samuel pouted and shook his head. “Shifters. I’ll never understand them. I thought wolves didn’t mind wagging their tails.”
“Ahh, no offense, but getting naked to shift is another thing altogether from being nude in front of a few people who are going to be filming you when you are about to be having sex. When I agreed to this it wasn’t to exploit my mate or have you ogle her,” Sebastian commented.
Demona put up her hand. “You know. It’s fine. We’ll give you what you want because you have been so hospitable and all.” She gave Sebastian a smile and dropped her towel standing naked before the two of them. This was getting weirder and weirder. Whatever kind of porn movie they were going to be making they had better be going to get a cut of the sales because all of this was getting ridiculous.
A cool smile spread across both of their faces. She walked between the two of them. Her fingers brushed their chests lightly. “Gentlemen, are you coming, because I don’t know the way?”
“Of course.” Samuel fluttered before her and opened the door. He led them through the labyrinth of the warehouse. They walked over a breezeway that connected the two warehouses. The wind cut through the breezeway and chilled her skin. Sebastian ran his fingers over her shoulder blades. She growled at him to back off. They were going to get this over with and then get the hell out of there.
Their host opened another door. They went into a well lit room that smelled of sex and perfume. It was tainted with another heady scent she had never smelled before. There were three other people in the room. Before them was a bed with another woman on it. She was completely naked and lounging on the bed with a large panther. Its black t
ail caressed her stomach. A paw rested on the woman’s leg. There were three cameras aimed at the bed. The bed had a black canopy and sheer black curtains tied on the posts. A wrought iron candelabrum stood next to the bed with white candles dripping wax onto the floor. In another corner was a dungeon. The shackles and the whips appeared to be the real things, and not just some movie props.
The woman on the bed glanced at them when they entered. “Hey, we didn’t agree to any other shape-shifters,” Sebastian growled.
Samuel grinned. “What did you think I was talking about? I don’t make movies for humans. I make them for shifters. Besides, your wife could be a star. She has a gorgeous body. I believe the camera will love her once we get her used to it. So, sweets, this is Candy. Candy, this is Demona. Come on over and say hello.”
The woman got off the bed. The panther jumped down. In the smoothest shift she had ever seen became a human woman with long sleek legs and jet black hair in one fluid move across the space. She stuck her hand out. “Demona, that’s a lovely name. One hell of a demon in bed and one that knows how to moan. You wouldn’t even have to change your name to make it big.”
Demona took her hand. The panther’s grip was secure. She didn’t flinch and gave her the same kind of handshake. She wasn’t going to let the other shifter think she was intimated by her at all. I can do this. I can do this. It’s only one movie. I can do this. One movie won’t hurt me in the long run. I have centuries to put this behind me. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, too, Candy. How long have you been at this?”
She chuckled, which turned into a purr. “Oh, Sammy. She is sweet. I’ve been at this for a long time. Sammy will tell you how good he is to his girls.” The panther kissed Samuel on the cheek.
Sebastian inched closer to Demona. “Are you sure you still want to go through with this. I mean, we can call it quits now. No hard feelings and all.”
Demona kissed her mate on the lips. “Ahh, Big Daddy’s jealous of a little kitty. Do you think I’ll find her more attractive than you? Don’t worry about it. We’ll get through this and in a few days we’ll be on our way to Louisiana.”
How To Ruin Easter For A Werewolf Page 5
