Six Times a Charm

by Deanna Chase

  “Oh yeah, um, okay.” A dazed look spread over his face. “I wish we’d brought my car now, so you wouldn’t have to walk home. Maybe I should call a cab. You need to rest your ankle.” He pulled out his cellphone.

  His way of letting me know our date was officially over. The curse was worse than ever, not even three dates this time. Kapoohy. Stick a pitchfork in me, I’m done. Lily was hell-bent on taking Get a Mate down, and the curse kept me from finding my own mate. Life really was a bitch sometimes.

  “No, don’t call for a ride. I’ll be fine. I’ll put some ice on it when I get home. I can walk. No biggie.” I waved it off, brave in spite of my pain. “See, I can even put weight on it.” I eased my foot up and down.

  “We’d better get going then, so you can get off it as soon as possible. Here, let me help you up.”

  Oh yeah, the date was over. Jack remained a gentleman, even though I felt he continued to be unsure of me and my madness. He led me out onto the sidewalk, thanked the tour guide and we moved down the sidewalk. No doubt, the stares of the group bored a hole in my back as we moved away. Jack didn’t offer to hold my hand. I felt like a monster or a leper or something even worse.

  “Rylie, I don’t know what to think. Either you’re incredibly unlucky, or you’re into things I don’t think I want to be a part of—things I can’t even understand.”

  Yikes, his words hurt—they literally stung my heart. He was right, though. I couldn’t blame him. I was a freak—a big hairy freak. It not only meant he was taking me home, but I probably wouldn’t be getting a goodnight kiss, either. No more kisses ever.

  “I’m not sure what to say, Jack. I realize things look bad. I suppose I’ve had a run of bad luck lately. Everyone has bad days occasionally.” I turned to watch a group of tourists pass by. I kept up with his pace, in spite of my fake ankle injury.

  Jack took a deep breath, then released it with a deep sigh. “You’re right. Everyone has bad luck.”

  I glanced at him, and he gave a lopsided grin.

  “Let’s just hope tonight was the last of yours for a while.”

  “I think I’ve met my quota for the year.” I chuckled.

  He ran a hand through his hair. “You really do have a great sense of humor about your misfortune. Most people would’ve lost it after just one incident. But not you. You’re resilient, to say the least.”

  “I try my best.” I sighed.

  We walked in silence for the rest of the short trip home. Words failed me. Sometimes keeping quiet is the best thing you can do, and this was one of those times.

  When we neared the building, I caught a glimpse of the moon, and my heart did a little dance. As much as I wasn’t looking forward to the full moon, my body let me know it was. That whole natural instincts thing, I guess. Come the evening of the full moon, it would be me and a big, fat juicy steak boarded up in my bedroom. After so many years dealing with my little problem, I’d learned the best way to get through it was to hide. Take cover from the world. Jennifer didn’t come anywhere near my bedroom on those nights. I had ordered her to stay away. I didn’t want her to see my furry condition. It would only scare her.

  Jack escorted me up the steps and through the entrance. I left him to his own thoughts. If he needed to think about what had happened, then it was better to let him do it in his own way.

  Once inside the foyer, he placed his hand on the small of my back and helped me onto the first step. I’d forgotten about my supposed injury. I limped a little going up the stairs. But who was I kidding? My act was as see-through as Lily’s favorite blouse. After all, Jack was a psychiatrist. Did I think I was fooling him?

  When we reached my door, he paused and gazed into my eyes. His expression held a look of concern, as if he tried to read my thoughts. I wished he wouldn’t. It made me uncomfortable, as if I were being interrogated or analyzed. All he needed was the bright bulbs shining down on me.

  “Thank you for going tonight. It was entertaining.”

  He really shouldn’t have said that. I knew it was a lousy evening and it was entirely my fault. The worst part was there was no way I could have avoided the outcome. Nothing would stop the crazy werewolves from chasing me. One thing was for certain: I needed to find out who followed me and what they wanted.

  “I’m really sorry for everything. For scaring you. The ghosts were supposed to scare you, not me.”

  “It’s okay. Let’s just forget about it. All right?” A crease of worry remained between his brows.

  I nodded in agreement. “It’s forgotten.”

  Jack leaned in and kissed my cheek. It felt as if I stood on an iceberg in the middle of Antarctica, instead of a steamy night in New Orleans.

  “Is your ankle all right?”

  “Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

  “Well, I’ll see you later then.” Jack tilted his head.

  Sure, he’d see me, because he lived next door. I knew I shouldn’t get involved with a neighbor.

  “Yeah… I’ll see you.” I trudged inside my apartment like a chicken with an egg broke in it. I never looked back to see if Jack watched me. I already knew the answer.

  The only noise in the apartment was the ticking of the mantel clock. Jennifer’s door was closed and the lights were off. At least I wouldn’t have to tell her what a rotten lousy evening it had been.

  My feet throbbed, my back ached and my eyes stung. The day seemed endless and the evening even longer. I needed rest. Tomorrow would be a dreadful day at work, especially thinking about how close I’d come to Jack being mine for one brief moment. One short-lived flash and the next he was gone. The curse had ruined it. I needed the hex gone in the worst way.

  I took a shower and slipped into my nightgown. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I padded into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of milk. I grabbed a plate and piled it with several gooey chocolate chip cookies. The pain coursing through my body was the type even steak couldn’t fix. The only remedy anywhere near close enough to making things better was chocolate and lots of it. I leaned back into my favorite chair, curled my legs up beside me and peered out into the dark street, all while stuffing my face with sweets.

  A fog clogged my brain as I stared out the window for the longest time in a zombie-like state. After cramming my stomach to maximum capacity, I placed the empty plate on the table beside me and glanced up in time to catch a glimpse of movement just beyond the patio area.

  The yellow streetlight glow broke an eerie path through the darkness, and the luminosity cast a shadow along the edges of what appeared to be a human figure. A tingly feeling crept up my spine. Someone watched me.

  I jumped to my feet, reached for the shade, pulled it down and scurried over to turn off the lamp beside the bed. I raced back to the window and pulled a sliver of shade to the side. The area loomed empty. Apparently, the figure had skedaddled. Maybe my mind played tricks on me. Just the stress fooling around with my head.

  After a couple of minutes of not spotting anyone, I tossed the idea and climbed into bed. The little black bag and amulet from the priestess sat on the nightstand. I still didn’t know quite what to do with the stuff, but I positioned the amulet around my neck. I should’ve taken it on my date. Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out so badly if I had. Was I starting to believe in that voodoo stuff? Surely if a curse was real, so was voodoo.

  Letting out a deep breath, I snuggled a little deeper under the covers and tried my best to slip off to la-la-land. Thoughts about my whacked-out life raced through my mind, and I worried about my future—a nonexistent future in the love department, and a career down the drain. Would no love be so terrible, though? Too bad I didn’t get along with cats—or they didn’t get along with me, rather—I would have made a great old cat lady. I’d have to find another animal to hoard.

  Even if I did manage to break the curse someday—and that was a big maybe—it seemed inevitable I’d end up with another werewolf, and the sooner I realized that the better off I’d be. But none of the werewolv
es I’d met had been right for me, and trust me, I’d met a bunch of them through my matchmaking business. Yes, I realized the only option I had was to settle. The next halfway decent wolf that came along, I should try him out for myself instead of mating him with some other unsuspecting soul.

  Growing up as a werewolf had been no picnic, let me tell you. My mother always had to hide my hairy outbreaks. Thankfully, I attended a private school just for werewolves, Loup-Garou Academy. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes my life could be fun, like the year I won the contest for best Halloween costume. The judges said my getup was the most realistic they’d ever seen. Being a werewolf was a lot of pressure for a little kid, though.

  I flipped to the other side of my bed, fluffed my pillow and snuggled down again. I tried counting sheep, but that didn’t work, either. The scene of werewolves attacking me played on a loop through my head. Along with the way Jack reacted to my brief disappearance. I tossed to the other side of the bed, and more thoughts rushed through. Could Lily singlehandedly put me out of business? All because of one bad match-up? Others had had bad dates and not complained, but they weren’t Lily. She was special, and not in a good way.

  Finally, the racing thoughts eased from my head. An hour passed with me twisted in my sheets. Sleep had almost taken over when a loud crash ricocheted up into my room from below.

  Chapter 11

  How to Date a Werewolf Rule # 11:

  Don’t ask if having sex with a werewolf will make you a werewolf. It won’t.

  I listened for the noise to repeat. Silence filled the room except for the faint dripping from the bathroom faucet. Seconds slipped by with no other sounds. I closed my eyes, attempted to forget the distraction and catch my forty winks. But another thud made my lids shoot open.

  It could have been movement on the street below, but I didn’t think so. The bang sounded as if it had come from downstairs, smack-dab in the middle of my office. My pulse raced. I lay as motionless as possible, hoping the racket had been a car door slamming and nothing else. Thump. There it was again, and this time I was positive it came from my office.

  A niggle of fear inched up my spine. Something had fallen over with a crash—someone was down there messing around, and I had a sneaking feeling I knew who it was.

  The moon shone through the sliver in the window shade—it would be full soon. I’d have no choice but transform then. One bout as a werewolf a month was more than enough for me, and I exceeded my quota already. And tonight I decided to make an effort to avoid it, even though Lily tried her best to get me to come to blows with her. I had to conserve my energy.

  At least I thought it was Lily. The two idiots chasing me around weren’t Lily, but they didn’t know where I lived. Unless of course they’d followed me home. Why couldn’t other werewolves be like me and never want to change? This whole town was full of werewolves who had nothing better to do with their spare time than sprout hair, bay at the moon and chase people. Heck, sometimes they chased cars too.

  Hooligans. Couldn’t they take up hobbies—like golf or tennis? Bowling, maybe? Then, the thought hit me. Maybe it was the same goon looking for Uncle Ernie again. He had ripped my door down looking for him. Possibly he’d returned after all. He said he would. It was time for another chat with Ernie.

  Jumping up, I dashed across the floor. The scraping sound of something dragged across the floor underneath my room sent my apprehension on overload. I slipped out the door and hurried down the hallway, trying my best not to wake Jennifer—if the noises downstairs hadn’t roused her already. She’d only get hurt dealing with a situation like this.

  The old stairs creaked with almost every step, so I tiptoed. I flipped the wall switch to the overhead light. It didn’t work. What a time for a blown bulb. Creeping my way down to the foyer wasn’t easy—the area remained cloaked in darkness, but the banister helped guide my way.

  My heart thumped loudly. I had no idea what would be waiting for me on the other side of the door. My body stiffened and I forced myself down the stairs. The main door leading to the sidewalk was ajar. My heart pounded. Who or what waited for me in the darkness?

  When I reached the office door, it was open. I gasped. I couldn’t help myself. The room was still and dark. A light shone faintly from a building across the way. Half-broken blinds on the partly open back window flapped in the wind. I assumed the intruder had entered that way—I knew I’d left it shut—then exited through the door.

  I scanned the darkened room, praying the boogieman wasn’t in there. Then I eased in, hoping not to bump into anyone, and flipped the switch, allowing overhead light to flood the room. It was a mess—papers strewn about the floor, more figurines broken. Chairs flipped over and cabinets turned on their sides made tears form in the corners of my eyes. A draft rustled papers on the top of my desk. I knelt to retrieve one of my collectibles, but holding the pieces made me want to cry even more. Someone had taken a nocturnal romp through my office. The lunacy was getting old, quickly. Between the notes, the stalking and the destruction, I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle.

  My hands trembled. I teetered on the verge of full-fledged sobbing. Someone had invaded my space, and that really pissed me off. I stood, then backed up next to the wall. Whoever did this might still be close by, so I switched the light off again. I’d be an easy target in the bright light.

  In a corner, a small lamp had been knocked onto the floor. If it still worked, I’d use that instead. I eased over, weaving through the mess, recovered it from the floor and plugged it into the wall. The lamp let off a soft glow, just enough for me to see and clean up the mess. First, I’d close the window, then gather the papers scattered about.

  Jack cleared his throat. Damn. He’d found me down on all fours, my nightgown riding up my thighs. Better than finding me as a four-legged beast, though. I hoped he didn’t ask about my on-again off-again ankle injury. I should have dressed, but I hadn’t been thinking straight when I heard the noise. All my attention had been focused on finding out who was in my office.

  Somewhere deep inside, when I saw the mess, I thought I could clean it up before Jack or anyone else saw it. Because there was no way to explain this one away. Our date in the graveyard, combined with everything else he’d seen, and I knew he’d had enough of me. The curse had worked its magic and managed to chase the best one away, just like I told Jennifer it would.

  “Sorry to interrupt. Are you okay? What the hell happened?” He stood in the doorway and ran a hand through his hair. He stared around the room at the mess before fixing his gaze on me again. I jumped up and tried to pull my nightgown down, but there just wasn’t enough fabric. I turned to face him.

  Jack had a sexy glint in his eyes. He drank in the full length of my legs, and I couldn’t deny that I wanted him any longer. To hell with the curse and to hell with whatever he thought of me. So what if I was a werewolf? So what if he was human and he’d seen me in more mishaps than an all-day marathon of I Love Lucy reruns? I wanted to feel his chiseled abs under my tongue and his hands gliding over every inch of me.

  “I’m fine. I was just cleaning up. It’s kind of a mess in here as you can see.”

  “Yes, you could say the place needs tidying up. I’m afraid to ask what’s going on. Please tell me you’re doing a very late spring cleaning.” His tone was tinged with something between bewilderment and concern.

  His eyes made me melt every time I looked at them. Even when I should have been embarrassed and crawled under my desk to hide, I couldn’t peel my gaze from his.

  “Not exactly a spring cleaning, sorry. I heard a noise and came down to investigate. That’s when I found the mess.”

  “I’m taking a wild guess, but it looks as if someone broke in,” he said as he looked around again.

  Torture would have been less painful than telling him about the latest addition to my messed-up life.

  “Whoever was here must have just taken off because the window was open and I didn’t leave it that way.” I pointed to
the gaping window. I swallowed hard against the tightness in my throat. In that instant, I felt a terrible sense of dread. I wanted him, but surely he wouldn’t want me.

  He rushed over to peer outside and scanned the darkness. After a couple of seconds, he made a dash for the front door and vanished into the night. Dressed as I was, I decided to stay put. If I heard him scream, or the sounds of a scuffle, I’d try to help, but in the meantime I wasn’t setting foot out there. I listened closely for signs of distress. Jack looked more than capable of taking care of himself, although he might be no match for a rogue werewolf.

  The only sounds came from traffic and a few people talking in the distance. People were always outside no matter what time of night, but they usually remained at the front of the building on the sidewalk. Not in the back alley. I stood by the window and watched as Jack surveyed the area. After a few minutes, Jack returned, thankfully unharmed.

  “There’s no one around. I didn’t see a sign of anyone or anything out there. I’m sure he or she ran off after they destroyed the place. Did they take anything?” He blew out a breath.

  “Not that I can tell. But it’s hard to judge right now with things in such disarray.”

  “Rylie, you want to tell me what is going on? I mean, really going on? It looks as if they were looking for something. Whoever they are. This is more than just bad luck. Breaking a mirror is misfortune, this is much more. Why would someone want to destroy your office? Do you have any idea?”

  “I told you, nothing is going on. There’s nothing more I can say. I don’t have any answers.” I wanted to cry, run or something. Escape. Anything but tell Jack the truth. Although, other than being a werewolf, I wasn’t sure what the truth was. Lily had to be involved to some capacity, but had she hired thugs to chase me down and do God only knows what with me? That didn’t seem like her character, but it was the only explanation. Unless the thug looking for Uncle Ernie had returned. But he wanted Ernie. Why would he do this to my office? My temper flared at the thought.