by Alice Cooper
Erica fell asleep and then she woke to the sound of crashing glass. She looked towards the balcony and in a flash of lightning there was Lyon in gorilla form leaping down into the open space below. She rushed over, thinking that he was trying to commit suicide, only to see him bounding into the trees and then leaping back and forth from one branch to another. The gorilla was in its natural habitat and the full moon above told her the reason why this had occurred.
Erica went down into the basement and was totally shocked to see all the equipment that she would ever want. Some of the stuff was not even out in the market and she was fortunate to have Lyon to provide her with everything including things that she didn’t even think that she would need. The computer was by far the most impressive machine that she had ever seen. She went to work and all through the night she was tirelessly trying to extrapolate the very serum that would give Lyon back his life.
She was literally pulling out her hair and looking at the screen with her vision blurred and having the effect of not enough sleep. “I know this is not what he wants to hear, but I’m afraid that I have some distressing news. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s not exactly the cure that he’s been hoping for. I just hope that it’s enough and that he won’t feel like doing something stupid. I’m just going to have to wait, until he gets back from whatever he’s doing out there in the wild. I kind of envy him the need for nature.” She continued to work, until she looked over at the door to see the disheveled form of Lyon shaking like a leaf in the buff. His face was covered in blood.
Lyon put up his hand to stop her from coming any closer. “I taste blood in my mouth and I probably look quite the fright. I think I recall tearing into a deer and at the time it tasted like ambrosia on my lips. I need to take a shower before we talk about this any further.” He was about to take a step back, but it was the look on your face that made him stay completely still. “I can tell that you have something to say. There’s no time like the present.”
“My research will help you, but not in the way that you want. I can certainly give you the serum, but it’s not going to take away the beast. You won’t have to worry about it during sex or moments of extreme anger or emotion. The only drawback is that it will come out with even more force during the full moon. You will become primal with no semblance of what you’re doing form one moment to the next. It’ll be 12 hours where you could be the worst possible thing that this human race has ever seen. It’s entirely up to you and I will not try to influence your decision one way or the other.” “I sent a message to my former employer and told him that I will not be coming back. I know that he will never rest to find me, but here hidden away from the world will make it virtually impossible for him to do so.”
“It’s better than nothing. I’m just not sure if it’s worth the tradeoff. I’m going to need some time to think about this. I was hoping for more, but I guess you’ve done everything that you can. You’re more than welcome to leave. I won’t hold you to anything.” Lyon looked at her and was hoping that she was going to stay, but he didn’t want to be possessive. It hurt him to think that she was never going to be here again and last night had been an awakening of something that he had thought was buried in the ground. “I’ll give you all the time you need. Don’t feel that I’m pressuring you in the very least.” He wasn’t expecting much and certainly not the way that she rushed over and leaped into his arms.
He carried her upstairs in human form and they made the bed rock for the next few hours with not even an inkling of the gorilla raising its ugly head. He thrust between her legs and gave her all of him and didn’t leave anything behind. Watching her churning underneath him was a magical experience and then he unleashed inside her with her body accepting him.
Erica wanted this moment to last. She hoped that by coming to him like this that she would prove to him that she was going nowhere. “I know that he has a lot on his mind, but at least now he knows where I stand. “I hope that this tells you more than words how I feel. I don’t have any intention of leaving, but I do need to do my research. This discovery is very important and might take years to perfect, but I’m willing to put in the time.” Erica could see the look on his face and his hand was rubbing his chin in quiet contemplation.
“I want to take the risk of taking the serum. 29 days out of the month, as my human self is a whole lot better than wondering when the beast is going to come out at the most inopportune time. This way, I have a semblance of a life with you. We can go out and not worry that I’m going to lose control. On the full moon, I’m going to have to ask you to be vigilant and to sedate me with whatever dosage of a tranquilizer that you feel will do the job. I’m even going to have myself chained in case the sedative wears off too soon.” Lyon had given this a lot of thought and having his life back was more important than an actual cure. 29 days out of the month was better than what he already had.
He did take the serum and was pleasantly surprised to see that he could actually walk amongst those that he had feared before. She was draped on his arm and they lived a modest life with her finally revealing her miraculous discovery in the year 2025. They even had a baby and married on the property with only a priest and a witness. It was only during the full moon that things got a little hairy figuratively and literally. It was something that they could endure together. Life wasn’t perfect, but they were happy.
THE END
GIFTED LANCE
Chapter One
Sasha stared at the man across from her. There was just not something quite right with his face. Was his nose too small? Were his eyes too close together? She cocked her head. Maybe his eyebrows were too bushy.
“Wouldn’t that be great?”
Startled, she shook herself out of her daze. Shit. He had said something to her. What was his name again? “Tell me about your job, Don,” she said trying to divert his attention away from the fact that she had absolutely no idea what he’d just said.
He looked crestfallen. “I just did.”
Double shit. “I’m sorry,” she said with a smile. “Long day at work, and I just zoned out.”
Her smiled must have encouraged him because his face brightened. “I bet. So you’re a baker? I love cupcakes!”
Of course he loved cupcakes. He probably loved everything a normal ten-year-old boy loved. Why did she let her sister set her up on these blind dates? They were always a complete disaster!
The check arrived, and she watched as he grabbed it. At least he was going to be a gentleman and pay for dinner.
“Mom said girls like to feel independent on first dates. Dutch?” he asked with a smile. “You owe twenty-four dollars plus tip.”
Mom said? This date was so over.
After giving him the brush off at the car, she locked herself safely inside and quickly called her sister.
“Sasha!” she squealed. Sasha could hear her niece and nephew screaming in the background. Apparently they didn’t want to go to bed. “Is the date over already?”
“Already?” Sasha asked. “Calla, it felt like it lasted forever. Where the hell did you find this guy? Boring R Us?”
Her sister got oddly quiet on the other end, and Sasha started her car with narrow eyes. “Calla. Where did you find him?”
“Maybe you just didn’t give him a chance,” she said softly.
That did it. “Calla Lilly Thompson! You tell me where you found him right here and now or so help me God!” Their mom had a thing for flowers. Sasha’s full name was Sasha Rose.
“Okay,” she said with a huff. “You don’t have to yell. I signed you up for this online dating site. Don looked so handsome in his picture, and he seemed so stable and nice when we talked.”
“You mean when you talked and pretended to be me? Well that explains why our conversations made absolutely no sense,” Sasha grumbled. “You will take me off that dating site right now. If you don’t personally know the guy, you don’t get to set me up with him.”
“I just want you to b
e happy,” her sister sniffed. Sasha rolled her eyes. Her sister wasn’t really going to cry, was she? That hadn’t worked since they were ten.
Calla was two years younger than her, and she’s always felt guilty about being the first to get married. Sasha never felt bitter about it because she loved her brother-in-law, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit that she wanted what they had. But it was so difficult to meet a decent man these days. Either they were taken, they were single and deservedly so, they were gay, or they came with an insane amount of baggage. And Sasha didn’t want to settle. She wanted to feel that initial spark of passion.
“Stop crying,” Sasha demanded. “Take me off the website.”
Her phone beeped, and she looked at her Bluetooth dashboard. “Hang on. Work is calling me. I’ve got to go.”
“But,” her sister interrupted, but Sasha hung up on her.
“Sasha Morrows,” she said.
“Sasha! Oh thank god!” Her boss, Billy Anderson, sounded frantic. “Miriam just called. She quit. Quit! Something about moving to Vegas and eloping. I have no idea. But I’m still in Florida, and someone has to man the Hairy and Fluffy party tonight. Susan finished baking, but she thought Miriam would ice them after they cooled. Please tell me you’re free tonight. I’ll do whatever you want,” he pleaded.
“Three days of paid vacation next month,” she said immediately. She wanted to spend some time digging her toes in the sand and listening to the ocean.
“Done,” he said immediately. She smiled.
“Text me the address. I’ll head that way now.” She’d wasted her sultry red dress on the date, so she might as well wear it to the party.
“You are a lifesaver. A doll. My absolute favorite,” he gushed as he hung up on. Sasha rolled her eyes. By next week, Billy would be flipping out on her for something she hadn’t even done. She loved her boss, but he was a bit touchy. Especially when his husband was out of town, which was often.
She pulled up the directions to the party, turned her car around, and headed downtown. Hairy and Fluffy Dating Agency held a massive mixer three times a year in order for their members to meet. Shifters of all types were hoping to meet their mates and humans were hoping to hook up with an alpha.
Sasha knew the rumors. Shifters could sense their mates immediately, and Sasha thought it was ridiculous. How could you imprint on someone when you knew nothing about them? What if your soul mate was actually a huge asshole? What did you do then?
No. While Sasha certainly wanted some passion in her life, she relied on good old-fashioned logic. She wanted to get to know someone before she decided they were her soul mates.
Chapter Two
Cole nearly growled at his mother. She stood in the kitchen with her hands on her hips while he shook the invitation in the air. “This Meet and Greet has my name on it. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you?”
“No.”
“Why are you standing so defensively, then?”
“Because you’re always accusing me of something. Yesterday you thought I’d deliberately shoved a nail in your neighbors tire so you’d have to change it. Last week you accused me of collaborating with your brother so that you’d have to talk to his receptionist. I swear Cole, you’re getting a little paranoid.”
He felt his anger rising. He knew she was behind those little antics. His mother was tired of waiting for grandpups. She wanted Cole to marry, and she wasn’t below a little manipulation to get what she wanted.
“I told you that I would find my mate in my own time,” he hissed.
She smirked. “I know for a fact you haven’t satisfied your wolf in months. At the very least, you need to let him out to play.”
“How did you….” He shook his head in frustration. “Never mind. It’s my life, and I’ll do as I please.”
“Celibacy is dangerous Cole Grayson, and you know it!” She sauntered over and ripped the invitation out of his hands. “A Hairy and Fluffy party? A bit too forward for my tastes, but at the very least, you’ll find some damn release.” She slapped him on the chest with it. “Go. Find some pretty little thing to take home. Someone substantial enough to take your wolf, and pull that damn bug out of your ass.”
Cole growled. “If I find out that you had anything to do with this…” he threatened.
“You’ll what? I gave you life, Cole Grayson. So you adjust that attitude of yours, or I will take you over my knee!”
“I’m not going.”
“The hell you aren’t going. If you don’t, I’ll come visit you at work with a new woman to toss at you for the next month.”
The horror struck deep. “You wouldn’t,” he whispered.
“I’ll even cook. I think the boys at the fire station would enjoy that,” she said with a sly smile.
He groaned inwardly. His mother was the worse cook. Having her show up at the station while he was on duty would be a disaster. And he knew his mother. It was best not to call her bluff. “Okay, I’ll go,” he grumbled. “But I don’t promise that I’ll talk to anyone.”
She smiled. “Well I didn’t send that invitation, so maybe fate is finally stepping in. Go home and shower, darling. You smell terrible.”
“I’ve been working on my car,” he said self-consciously. Cautiously, he gave himself a whiff. Even his wolf was disgusted.
“Wear something nice,” she said as she rose up on her tiptoes. He immediately bent down so that she could give him a kiss on his cheek. “And be on your best behavior. I don’t want to hear about you getting into any fights. You need a lover. You need to find your mate.”
“Yes, mom,” he said with a sigh. What was the point in coming over here? His mom always won.
Always.
Besides, it had been awhile. He was tired of loveless fucking. He did need a lover, and he did need his mate.
But a Hairy and Fluffy party? How the hell was he going to meet one there?
Chapter Three
The party hadn’t quite started by the time Sasha got there. She checked on the baked goods. Susan had done a decent job, and she’d left enough ingredients to make more. Sasha pulled out her emergency apron and began finishing off some of the cupcakes.
“Oooh, those look lovely,” Lydia said with a smile. Lydia owned the dating agency, and she looked Sasha up and down with a smile. “And my, my, so do you,” she purred.
Sasha blushed. The dress showed off her ample cleavage and bit more of her plump thighs than she would have liked, but her friend had told her she was a knock out in it.
“I was on a date when Billy called me,” Sasha explained. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll be behind this apron and in the kitchen all night.”
Lydia frowned. “Well, if that’s what you want. Did the date go well?”
“No. No it did not,’ Sasha cringed as she remembered Don. Christ. What on earth did he say to make Calla think that he’d be a good match for her?
A slow smile crossed Lydia’s face. “Then perhaps you’ll find something else to cream tonight.”
She walked out before Sasha got her meaning. “Wow. This should be an interesting party,” Sasha murmured. She finished the first couple trays of cupcakes and cookies and sat them out in the meeting hall. The table was full of finger foods and punch bowls. Lydia must have expected quite the turn out.
A few of the guests started trickling in, and Sasha immediately ducked back through the doors to the prep room. There was no way she was going to get roped up into this.
In an hour, it sounded like things were in full swing. She’d just finished decorating another batch when Lidia came in. “Sasha, darling. We’re out of cupcakes. Do you have some more?”
Sasha nodded. “Coming right up,” she said with a smile. She grabbed her tray and bumped the door with her hips. It swung open, and she was immediately overwhelmed with the sexual charge of the room.
Beautiful woman roamed the room wearing slinky dresses and coy smiles. It was trendy these days to mate with a shifter. Som
e whispered it was the best sex ever, and clearly these women were looking to get laid. Men prowled the room searching for their next target. Sasha shuddered. She was glad she wasn’t the object of one of these intense stares.
She sat the tray of cupcakes down and wiped her hands on her apron. If the first batch had gone well, they were going to love these chocolate ones.
“I love a woman that can bake,” a deep voice purred. “I bet you’re going to taste just as sweet.”
Sasha grimaced and glanced to her left. The man had a pretty face, but he also had sleaze written all over him. “I’m not here for the party,” she said succinctly. Before he could object, she turned her back and headed back into the prep room.
Just before she pushed through the door, the man entering the room caught her eye. In that first moment of eye contact, all of her breath rushed out of her lungs.
Tall. She was a tall woman, and he easily towered over her. Hard. Even that button up shirt couldn’t hide the muscles that were rippling as he moved. Bronze skin. Amber eyes. She immediately grew wet. God, that man would do nicely between her thighs.
Two slinky blondes immediately sidled up next to him, and it gave Sasha a cold dose of reality. She was here to work, not pick up a guy to fuck. Shaking her head, she pushed through the doors.
As she worked on the cookies, she couldn’t get him out of her head. It had been awhile since she’d had a decent lover, and she could already tell that he’d be phenomenal. He was the type of man who could push a woman up against the wall and fuck her senseless. That was the kind of man that Sasha wanted.
Of course, by now, he’d probably have his dick in one of those women, maybe even both, and Sasha needed to stop thinking about it. She had three more trays of cookies that needed to be decorated.
Chapter Four
