Brutus was at least twice their size and was quick with their deaths. He may have been a jokester to Mia and Micah, but there was no question watching him now that he was an alpha hunter. In moments, Brutus had taken out four wolves before they could even yelp for help. Mia watched Brutus look around and then stalk silently toward Mia and Micah. In one leap, Brutus was perched in the tree beside Micah in his human form.
“Yuck! Those dogs tasted like shit,” Brutus said, wiping his tongue on the back of his hands.
“Good work, man. What’s the plan?” Micah asked, patting Brutus on his back.
“Those are pups down there. I say we go in gun’s blazing—metaphorically speaking of course. I think the white wolf and Cora are trying to start a pack,” Brutus said, spitting out blood.
“Fucking bitch,” Mia said under her breath.
“The ceremony will start soon. Mia, stay here,” Micah said.
“No!” Mia said, affronted.
“That’s not a request,” Micah said, baring his teeth at her.
“I’m not scared of you,” Mia said, stiffening her shoulders.
“Guys, can we do marriage counseling when we’re not in a tree?” Brutus said.
Micah bit his lip and balled up his fist like he was trying to reign in his anger. Then his face softened and he looked up at Mia with soft, loving eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down and kissed her. Mia froze at his sudden change of heart, but kissed him back. He pulled back and kissed her forehead.
“I’m sorry, Mia,” Micah said.
“What?” Mia asked.
He bit her. He bit her hard on her forearm. The pain was sharp and burned like acid running through her veins. She tried to scream, but Micah was covering her mouth. She was shaking with pain. Brutus’s eyes widened with terror and Mia could tell he wanted to yell at Micah, but any noise could give away their position.
“What the fuck, Micah?” Brutus whispered, looking behind them.
“Shhh. She’ll pass out soon then we can go,” Micah said, holding Mia tightly.
“What if she turns?” Brutus said, feeling Mia’s forehead.
Mia felt her limbs going limp. She could feel every drop of Micah’s venom moving through her body. Brutus and Micah were swimming in front of her as double vision set in. Her body felt heavy. She was nauseous and sleepy all at the same time.
“She’s gone,” Micah said.
Mia tried to hold her heavy eyelids open, but Micah was right, she was gone. Everything went black.
*****
Mia awoke to the sound of loud barking, howling, and yelling. She groaned and swayed realizing she was still on the branch. The ground below her swirled like quicksand and she still felt nauseous.
“Micah?” Mia moaned.
She sat up straight remembering the bite. Her vision was blurry and her voice sounded distorted in her head. Her voice sounded like a low growl. She held her head, but something was wrong. The branch was creaking under her. Mia tried to balance herself but the branch gave way and she collapsed on the ground with a loud thud.
“Ow!” Mia yelled.
Mia rose to her feet and looked ahead, realizing that her vision was clearing. It was not just clearing, it was laser sharp. She could see the smallest ant on a leaf yards away. She could smell the raw, metallic tinge of blood. Mia took a deep breath and looked down at her body. It was covered in reddish brown fur.
“Holy shit. Holy shit. Oh no. What the hell?” Mia mumbled, inching backward.
She was a werewolf. Micah had bit her and turned her. She heard a loud yelp that sounded like Brutus. She had no chance to think or to feel sorry for herself. All she could do is act. She collapsed on all fours and raced towards the action.
Bodies of wolves were strewn all around the open field either severely wounded or dead. The witch was bleeding from her throat and her dark skin looked grey as the life in her body spilled around the fire. Brutus was clawing away at a group of wolves that were ganging up on Micah.
“Micah, look out!” Mia yelled, clawing at the back of a wolf that tried to encroach on Micah from behind.
Mia was almost as big as Micah and she felt power surging through her body. It was a raw, animal power and she was attacking the other wolves with an accuracy and ferocity she had never felt in her life. It was like she was always meant to a wolf. She was meant to be this strong and in control. Her nerves were filled with electricity and she could tell by the way Micah and Brutus glanced at her, they were either in shock or terrified.
“Mia, get out of here!” Micah yelled, running towards her.
“Watch out,” Brutus yelled, jumping on a wolf that was racing towards Micah.
“You watch your back. I’m going after Cora,” Mia said, running away from the fight.
Micah yelled after her, but she ignored him. She could not smell Cora amongst the bodies. Plus, she did not see her white-haired fiancé anymore. Mia was not going to let Cora get away with this. Her massive paws pounded the earth, racing into the woods, back towards the ravine. Cora’s scent was getting stronger. Another smell was burning in her nose: blood. Someone was hurt. Whoever was hurt was slowing Cora down. Mia skidded to a stop. She was surrounded by dense conifer trees. She stalked forward, keeping her head low. Blood and claw marks were on the trees. Mia sniffed something and whipped around.
“Looking for me?” Cora asked, holding a black gun.
Mia growled at her. She was covered in blood.
“He’s dead, you know?” Cora asked, wiping tears from her face.
“You’re a fucking monster, Cora,” Mia said, barking at her.
“No! I loved him. All I wanted was for us to be together. Don’t you get it? It’s all I wanted, and you and your stupid boyfriends killed him.”
Mia rose on her hind legs and felt her body fall back into her human form.
“We were friends, Cora. Best friends. How could you do this to me, to them? You kissed your fiancé over the bodies of your closest friends. You’re insane.”
“No, I’m in love! It had to be this way. Nothing else worked! I couldn’t run the pack as a white girl from Florida. No one would respect me. The witch told me it had to be this way. I can’t believe it was this easy for you. Everything was always so easy for you.”
“Easy? I’m from a fucking blue collar family. I couldn’t even afford college.”
“Fuck college. It’s a joke. People only liked me because I was friends with you. I had no one but you. Carissa, Linda and Tatianna were my sorority sisters and work friends, they barely tolerated me. The ceremony didn’t even work. If you were there it would have worked. This is all your fault.”
Mia backed up, watching the gun shake in Cora’s tanned hands. The cliff was right behind her. She could not back up any further.
“Cora, calm down. You’re not thinking clearly,” Mia said, hearing rocks tumble down behind her.
“Good bye, Mia,” Cora said.
Mia braced herself, but all she heard was heavy feet pounding behind Cora in the woods. Cora turned, but Mia saw him first. Micah’s grayish black body came barreling towards Cora, and Cora fired at him, missing. Micah was too fast. He bit Cora, dragging her away. Cora pulled free, backing up towards the edge of the cliff.
“Cora, look out!” Mia yelled.
It was too late. Cora tumbled backwards, falling off the edge of the cliff. Mia reached for Cora, but she was falling too fast. Micah’s human hands grabbed Mia and pulled her close.
“It’s over,” Micah said, kissing Mia’s forehead.
Brutus came barreling ahead in his human form.
“What did I miss?” Brutus asked, panting.
“Nothing. It’s over,” Mia said, leaning up to kiss Micah.
“Good. I burned the bodies by the way. Can’t have humans coming across that mess. We should get out of here by the way. We were pretty loud and I smelled people. Well, I smelled hotdogs. Someone is nearby,” Brutus said, nodding at Micah.
Micah nodded bac
k and then held Mia at arm’s length, like he was studying her.
“Are you…okay?” Micah asked.
Mia nodded, wiping tears.
“I feel…alive,” Mia said, shrugging. “It’s like I was meant to be this way.”
A broad, face-splitting grin spread across Micah’s face.
“I thought you would hate me,” Micah said, breathing a sigh of relief.
“I would!” Brutus said, scoffing. “She could have fallen out of the tree, asshole!”
“He’s right,” Mia said, slapping Micah’s chest.
“All’s well that ends well?” Micah said with a sheepish grin.
“Whatever. I guess we’re off to North Carolina then,” Mia said, looking north.
“You still want to stay with me?” Micah asked, looking at her hopefully.
“I don’t think another man will want her as their doggie best friend,” Brutus said, pulling twigs out of his knotted hair.
“Hey! Be nice. Besides I would choose Micah any day,” Mia said, throwing her arms around Micah’s neck.
“Alright you two. Don’t be gross. I’ll race you to the Florida-Georgia line,” Brutus said, breaking off running in his wolf form.
Micah kissed Mia and shoved her back playfully and took off after Brutus.
“Nice try, boys,” Mia said.
She collapsed on all fours and breathed deeply. She was taking in new, fresh air and a new, fresh life. She was now all woman and all wolf. She was alive.
THE END
Bonus Story 13 of 40
The French Quarter Hostages
Elizabeth fought to get free of Jake’s tight grasp. He was squeezing her so tightly in his bear form that she could barely breathe. She was tucked under his arm like a carcass, and was bouncing around like a rag doll as he climbed as fast as he could up a thick, bald cypress tree in the Louisiana woods.
“It won’t hold us!” Elizabeth yelled, as the ground disappeared beneath them, as bright green spindles caught in her tank top and jeans, and as sharp, dry branches ripped through the surface of her pale skin. Elizabeth tried to tuck her long blonde hair in her shirt for fear it would be ripped from her scalp in the ascent, but she was bouncing around too much and needed to hold on.
Jake growled something to her that must have been a swear word in whatever growly language bears speak. She could not understand Jake or his best friend Chris when they transformed into bear form. Chris was already several feet ahead of them in the tree, and Elizabeth tightened her grasp in Jake’s, black, thick fur as they raced behind Chris. Jake was just following Chris’ lead, but all Elizabeth could think about was how Chris was likely weakening the spindly branches in his enormous grizzly bear form above them.
Chris must have read her mind, because as he climbed higher he got smaller until the massive girth of a grizzly bear receded into the broad shoulders of a thirty-year-old man. Chris’ tousled blonde hair danced in the cool Louisiana night and his long body ascended the tree with great ease until he settled on a high branch. Elizabeth could see the curves and shadows of his many defined muscles even a few feet down, as they drew nearer to him, Chris’ deep green eyes burned into her. His square jaw was clenched like he was angry, but she knew he wore that stern face more out of habit than out of menace.
When Jake sat her on a branch across from Chris who was bare-chested aside from torn blue jeans riding low on his hips, Chris still stared at her. She knew he wanted her reaction, maybe even an apology. She had told the friends, Chris and Jake, that they were full of shit. She did not think that two hot guys trying to pull a fast one over a bookish college student could be supernatural creatures.
Elizabeth was only in Louisiana for the spring semester since her school, Michigan State, was doing an environmental student exchange with Dillard University in New Orleans. All she wanted was to save the planet, and save at risk animals like the bear population, from shrinking in the Cajun state. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought her earth-consciousness would land her high in a tree in the Louisiana forest with two men who had the ability to transform into grizzly and black bears. Not to mention, inadvertently, she managed to run into a menacing voodoo priestess.
“I think you owe us an apology,” said Jake, flashing her a boyish grin. He had already transformed back into a man, a man nearly as muscular as Chris, but who took the world half as seriously.
“It’s not a joke, man,” Chris said, scowling at him.
“It’s pretty damn funny from where I’m sitting, bro. If Elizabeth had listened to us about not poking the metaphorical bear that is Louisiana voodoo culture we would all be enjoying ourselves back in New Orleans. I just want to take this time to gloat, and bask in what a shitty person Elizabeth must feel like right about—now,” Jake said, whipping his head around to look at her, and subsequently flashing her a cocksure grin.
She gritted her teeth, knowing he was right. Jake’s blue eyes twinkled with humor, contrasting with his inky-black hair. He had this way of blasting you with the truth through his sarcasm, and she had to admit she was happy that he and Chris saved her.
“That’s not going to help us get down from this tree,” Chris said, scowling. Scowling melancholy seemed to be Chris’ way of backhand slapping you with the fact you were doomed, and Elizabeth’s stomach sank with guilt.
“Look, I get it. I get it. I screwed up. I’m sorry. Just—just would you believe me if I told you I was a magical transformative bunny rabbit?” Elizabeth said, feeling exasperated.
“Bunny rabbits? You compare the lords of the forest with rats with long ears?” asked Jake, raising an eyebrow at her.
“We are not the ‘lords of the forest’, idiot,” Chris said, rising to his feet and surveying the land.
After an afternoon of passion between the three of them, Chris had told her that werebears could see for miles, and Elizabeth wondered what it would be like to basically have binoculars for eyes.
“Well, it would catch on if you say it too. People will catch on, and we’re the biggest, so if people disagree, we should eat them. I think that’s only fair,” Jake said, shrugging his massive shoulders.
“Shut up, Jake. Jesus, why don’t you keep a lookout so we can get out of this damn tree?” Chris said, turning his head slowly like a barn owl.
“You see anything?” Elizabeth asked, staggering to her feet. She was experiencing vertigo from being up so high, and the ground was swaying beneath her.
“You should sit,” Chris said, more as a command than a suggestion.
Elizabeth wanted to protest, but he was right, so she plopped back down on the thin, gray branch.
“I really don’t think they followed us this far, man,” Jake said, lazily surveying the quiet countryside.
Chris did not seem to agree, because now his head was darting left and right, and he was sniffing the air.
“No, they’re here. They just don’t know which way to go. We need to get out of here,” Chris said, looking at Elizabeth.
“Go where? I can’t spend my semester running from supernatural psychopaths. I have school!” Elizabeth said, crossing her arms.
She felt like a petulant child, but she had near perfect grades, and this was her senior year at Michigan State, and she wanted to do well. She had to do well. No one in her family graduated or even attended college, and here she was with a full ride to college, and a reputable internship at Dillard to study wildlife hands on. This was an important step to her final college career goal. She wanted to work for the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. She just had to graduate from this program to be considered for their entry level research program, but here she was stuck in a tree instead of saving the trees. This one misstep was throwing off her plans. It was like one domino fell after the other after the other, and her world was crumbling. Elizabeth sat up when she saw a glimmer of light dance about a hundred feet below in the underbrush.
“Don’t move a muscle,” Chris said. He must have seen it too.
/> “Guys, it was nice knowing you. We are totally fucked,” Jake said, shaking his head.
*****
One day earlier
Elizabeth scribbled furiously in her day planner as she marched down Bourbon street. The brick made a wet, slapping noise against her flat shoes as she fought with the recent rain. The ground was slushy, but even in the macabre grey of the day there was an electricity to the city: New Orleans. No matter what street she walked down, jazz was dancing in and out of her ears. There were street performers too, in vibrant colors like they were putting on a pre-show for the upcoming Mardi Gras festival. It seemed fun, but it was not something Elizabeth could be bothered with.
Elizabeth had landed in New Orleans in January, and had until May to submit her thesis on causative human factors in the black bear decline. She did not want to go the bland “human expansion” route because she wanted to dazzle. She wanted the EPA to notice her, and beg for her to join their agency, and she would have to encourage herself to do it. None of her classmates could be bothered with doing extra work senior year. Michigan State was a hard enough school as is. The last thing anyone wanted was extra research. And the last thing Elizabeth wanted was to end up a single mom working in a diner like her mom.
Elizabeth pounded down the sidewalk, not taking in the sights of the historical buildings, blatantly disregarding the magic of the French Quarter, and almost snapping when a human statue tapped her shoulder. She glared at a him, a silvery Charlie Chaplin look-alike, and he stiffened back into character.
Elizabeth just wanted to get back to her dorm room, but her stomach growled menacingly, reminding her it was lunch time, and she had not eaten all day. She looked up from her day planner for the first time in a few city blocks, and realized she was in Gris Street.
Everyone at Dillard told her to avoid Gris Street, because of the evil that permeated the air. It was rows and rows of voodoo and occult shops all with crooked orange and black signs that read ‘open’. Elizabeth felt no evil, it was painted with the same dull gray as the rest of the city because of the recent rain storm. Her issue with the shops on Gris Street was not their reputation, but the fact that they did not sell food. She turned around in a full circle, realizing she was surrounded by occult stores, and pursed her lips. This part of the city was not overcrowded with tourists like the main French Quarter where people seemed to be shoving past her just to get some jambalaya. The thought of red beans and rice made her mouth water.
Endless Abduction Page 45
