Going Nowhere 1 Howling in the Moonlight

by Brenda Bryce

  She heard a noise and looked up. Pete was running out the back exit with several of Kyle’s men following.

  “Help me. Please.” She tried to call out, but only growls and yips emerged.

  A dark shape stood over her a moment, then reached for her. She tried to move away, but she could only lie on the floor on her side.

  “Oh, Lannie, darling, what’ve I done?” Kyle ran his hand over the blond fur of the animal lying on the floor. He petted her and soothed her until the wildness left the cornflower-blue eyes and they closed in exhaustion.

  Pulling off his jacket, he wrapped her in it, picked her up, and carried her out the back exit door and into the alley. He could smell that Pete and his own pack members had gone in the opposite direction, so he carried Lannie straight to his limo. The driver saw him, opened the door, and assisted him into the vehicle, then returned to the front seat.

  He stared down into the face of his sleeping mate, whom he had apparently turned during a scene of anger and hurt instead of love, as it should have been. He called out to the driver with his instructions.

  As the limousine pulled away from the curb, Kyle tightened his hold on her. He rubbed his nose into the thick fur at the nape of her neck and wondered how he was going to explain this to her. How does a man tell the woman he loves that he turned her into a werewolf?

  Chapter Six

  Lannie woke confused. She didn’t know where she was, or how she had gotten there. Bits and pieces of what had happened flitted through her mind. She looked down at herself and howled. It wasn’t a dream; she was an animal, some sort of canine. She leapt up from the padded cushion that she was on and stumbled.

  Calm down, think ... You can figure this out, Lannie. She took a deep breath and smelled things she had never noticed before. Old ash from the fireplace was the predominant odor. There was a small alcove that contained a miniscule kitchen, and she could scent previous meals and spices. The couch and chair that were in the largest area of the small house stank of dust and sweat. The pad that she had been laying on was near the fireplace. It reeked of wild animal.

  She took another deep breath in an attempt to calm herself further. A wild, woodsy smell caught her attention. It reminded her of ...

  A door that was across the main room opened, and Kyle stepped out. Yup. Wild, woodsy described Kyle’s smell exactly.

  He crossed the room, not taking his eyes off her. She was on her feet, but unsteadily, like a toddler taking her first steps. Lannie wanted to get away, even though she couldn’t find her balance; however, she wasn’t going to leave quite yet.

  What’s happening? What’s going on? Have I gone crazy? To her own ears she sounded like a barking, growling dog, but she could also hear her questions.

  Apparently, so could Kyle.

  “I have a lot of explaining to do. Are you willing to listen calmly and not try to bite my head off, literally?” He had the nerve to smile at his little joke.

  Grrrr. Lannie let him know what she thought of it.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you everything, I promise. Just lay down before you fall. I’ll teach you what you need to know after we talk. Agreed?”

  Agreed. She wobbled on her four legs back to the pad by the fireplace and flopped onto it. Through trial and error, she managed to maneuver herself around so she was facing Kyle and the couch he was sitting on.

  “Where to start?” He looked at her as if she had the answer to that question. “I suppose the beginning is best. Several thousand years ago, when humans were still living in caves, my people came to the Earth. Our sun went supernova, and my ancestors had to evacuate our world. Earth was the first habitable planet that they came across and several of the ships decided to stay. Others continued on, and that was the last anyone heard from them.”

  So, there are more? Hey, maybe they are the aliens taking people and running the experiments. Aliens, right. As if. He didn’t answer her, just went on with his story. Damned man.

  “The ones who stayed migrated to the forests and plains, built homes and lives. Over the millennia, we thrived in secret, but there were times of strife. Humans, as they evolved, grew to fear my race and hunted us. We learned to hide ourselves to the point where we are indistinguishable from humans. But by then, the humans had pretty much wiped us out. We were on the verge of extinction, but some found that we could mate successfully with humans. Certain humans. Humans who, genetically speaking, have alien genes.

  “Did you know humans didn’t all evolve from primates? Neanderthal man did, of course, but the basis for modern man came from space. Interbreeding between the Neanderthal and space humans has weakened the gene, but in some, the gene from space is still strong. We of the lupine race can sense this gene and have been successful in turning the human into lupine. Procreation is then possible.”

  What causes this turning? Offering up a front paw, she waved it in his direction.

  “The bite of the lupine that breaks the skin, with saliva and blood intermingling. I’m not a scientist, but it has to do with the lupine DNA entering the bloodstream through the saliva and essentially overpowering the human genes. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. I think I unconsciously bit you when I was with you the day you left me.”

  You didn’t bite me, but you did break the skin. And I think I had just cause to leave your untrusting ass. She growled.

  “I can never tell you how sorry I am for that. It’ll never happen again. I’m going to do whatever it takes to regain your trust.”

  And it looks like you’re off to a stellar start. She shook her shaggy head. Whatever. So apparently you bit me and caused this change in me. I get that. So now what? Am I going to be a dog for the rest of my life?

  “First off, you aren’t a dog; you’re a wolf. Lupus lycanthrope, to be specific. Werewolf, for laymen.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Secondly, this form is temporary. You brought it on by your uncontrolled anger and fear. You will stay this way until ...” He paused in his explanation, and Lannie wondered why he was looking so worried.

  Until ...? Until what?

  “You will stay in wolf form until you completely accept your new life.” He looked away from her and to the floor.

  Great. I’m a werewolf; I accept that. I’m not happy with it, but I know that I am one. Now what?

  Looking relieved, he stood and approached her.

  “I suppose now would be a good time to teach you how to be a werewolf. Stand up, please.”

  Lannie planted her hind legs and lifted her rear end. She did the same for her front end. She stood there weaving on all four legs. But she was standing.

  “Spread your feet a little. That will give you better stability.”

  Following his directions, she slid her paws a little further apart and noticed that she did indeed have better balance. Looking up at him in triumph, she almost knocked herself over when her tail started wagging unconsciously.

  Whoa! What the heck?

  “Your tail is an emotion indicator. If you’re happy, it’ll wag. Scared, it’ll tuck under you. You’ll learn to control it with time. But for now, try not to get too excited, or you’ll fall over.” He looked like he was trying not to smile.

  Gotcha. Okay, I’m on my many feet. Now what?

  “Now you walk.”

  She tried walking. She lifted one front leg and moved it forward. Planting it, she moved the other front leg and placed it beside the first. That wasn’t going to work, now she was stretched out. Way out.

  She brought both hind legs forward one at a time. Okay, back to square one. Maybe if she ...

  Lannie tried moving one front leg forward, then the opposite hind leg, then the other front leg and the opposite hind leg. It wasn’t comfortable, but she had moved forward without falling.

  She worked on this way of moving for a few feet, and Kyle watched.

  “Well, I guess that’ll work for now. You’ll get better with practice.”

  He taught her how to leap
on the couch and back off again. She practiced walking and leaping for some time. The more she did it, the more comfortable with it she became.

  The only real problems came because her tail had a mind of its own and would occasionally try to knock her off her feet. Muscle control helped, she found. If she tightened her glutes like she did in aerobics, she was able to tuck the tail close to her hind legs, therefore making it unable to wag.

  During the next several hours, she learned many things. Such as, her sense of smell was much better. Odors she had never imagined permeated the small cabin. She could distinguish the different scents that indicated different people who had inhabited the little house. Strangely, they all had a “gamey” smell. When she asked him about it, he said that only members of his family used the cabin.

  Family? You have actual family members? Sheesh! We were nearly engaged, and you never introduced me to any family. Yeah, we would have stayed together, I can tell. Not! Sure, she was being facetious, but, hey! You would think that he could have introduced her to family, at least.

  Kyle sighed. “By family, I mean pack mates. There is a hierarchy within family-type groups of lupine. In each pack, there is an alpha male and alpha female. There are the pack members and the cubs who defer to the alphas. There are even different jobs for the different pack members. Unattached pack members can leave the pack and join another pack if they so choose, but it is usually for mating purposes that pack changes occur.”

  So how many people are in your pack? Wolves generally have small packs. Is it the same with your people? Still trying to get the hang of walking, she paced back and forth across the room.

  “Actually, no. We have considerably large packs. And it is usually location that specifies a pack. There are twelve established packs around the world. Each pack has approximately one thousand individuals.”

  Lannie was stunned. You’re telling me that there are twelve thousand werewolves in the world, and nobody knows about it?

  “I think there are actually more than that. Not every werewolf is known. Some have slipped through the cracks over time and may not know about the collective. They are probably in hiding.”

  Still, that is a lot of werewolves that nobody knows about. She glanced over at him. I’ve been thinking. Why did Pete want us separated? He was very emphatic that we not get together.

  She continued pacing around the room; walking was becoming easier as she went. Pretty soon, I’ll be a natural at this.

  “Pete doesn’t want me to mate and have children. And since you are my one and only chance at having offspring, he wants you out of the picture.”

  Lannie stopped walking. What do you mean, one and only chance?

  “You came to my attention because you were genetically compatible to become one of us. Also, I was physically stimulated by you. Your looks, your scent, everything about you told me that you were my mate. When I bit you, the enzyme that causes the change infiltrated your genetic code. You weren’t able to change until my pheromones imprinted on the new code, because without the chemical mixture of pheromones, the enzyme would have stayed in stasis. A bitten female can be imprinted by only one male. I was the first of the lupine you had come into contact with since the bite, so it was my pheromones you imprinted on. Once the pheromones mixed, it became possible for you to change, and we become a mated pair. Essentially, we were married, by the customs of my people. Any werewolf who comes near you can scent me on you and will know that you have been marked by me.”

  What? I could have been mated to Pete if I had opened my apartment door?

  Vigorously, Kyle shook his head. “Please, don’t tell me he went there after I left.”

  Fine, I won’t, but he did.

  “Luckily, you didn’t open the door. My people mate for life. Do you understand? I can never let you go; I can never have another.”

  I swear to God, if it isn’t one thing with you, it’s twenty others. Let’s see if I’ve got this straight. Lannie began to circle the couch in agitation. Around and around she went, her tail sticking straight out, signaling her anger.

  One day you were walking down the street, and there I was, minding my own business. Sniff, sniff, you smell something about me that makes you want to impregnate me. Joy! Along comes Pete, and he decides that he doesn’t want you to have kids for some reason and lies to your face about me. We won’t even go into the outcome and possible consequences of that discussion, but now I find out I’m married? Oh! Let’s not forget that I’m now a DOG! Her volume increased with every word, and Lannie could feel herself losing control. She had a feeling that when she did, it wasn’t going to be a pretty sight.

  “You’re not a dog; I’ve already explained that. You’re just being perverse now,” he said calmly.

  Lannie stared at him, mouth agape, goggle-eyed, and completely disbelieving. It was probably an interesting look for a wolf. Peeling her enraged gaze off Kyle, breathing deeply so she didn’t explode, she headed for the door.

  Judging the mechanics of opening it against her lack of an opposing thumb, she said calmly, Open the door, please.

  “Where do you think you’re going to go?”

  Anywhere you aren’t.

  “I can’t just let you wander around alone. You don’t know how to protect yourself. You don’t even know where you are. If you go out, then I’ll go with you.” Kyle reached for the buttons on his shirt.

  She felt her control slip. The hair on her back stood up, and she could hear herself growling. She thought she might even be showing teeth, but she wasn’t sure.

  Kyle froze, stared her in the eyes, and calmly returned to undressing. “So it’s to be a showdown. Consider this, though -- I am male. I am bigger, stronger, and while I would try not to injure you, forcing you to acknowledge your vulnerability to me would be paramount. Remember the parking lot? You never harmed me, nor did I hurt you, but you still retreated.”

  I never retreated. I simply fell back to regroup.

  “As you say, but in this case, you’ll have to follow instructions and not fight me, or we’ll stay inside.”

  He was stripped naked by this time, and Lannie couldn’t help but scrutinize every bare inch of skin. Especially that part of him. She couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from it. Sure, the current vernacular for that part of his anatomy was cock, but she couldn’t see herself actually saying ... HOLY COW! His cock is getting hard!

  Her gaze flew to his. While she had been staring at him, he had been watching her. Oh, crud. He knew where she’d been looking. Lannie wondered if wolves could blush, because if they could, she’d be bright red.

  Forcing herself to look away, she stared past him. Then she looked at the ceiling. Then at the floor. Anything to keep from staring at him again.

  She heard a chuckle, then nothing. Curious, she peeked in his general direction. Holy cow, again! There was a huge, giant, really big brown wolf standing where Kyle had been moments ago.

  Wow! He made a great-looking wolf. As in human form, he had broad shoulders and chest. His pelt was the same color as the hair on his head, and his eyes ... well, they were just plain gorgeous, as usual. But there was something about him now that was making her twitchy. She had always been attracted to him, but now she was having problems fighting the urge that insisted she go to him and let him do whatever he wanted.

  What are you doing? He had to be doing something, she’d never felt this sudden submissive urgency before.

  What do you mean?

  I mean that you are doing something to make me want you.

  Ah, that. It’s nature. You, in your present form, acknowledge that I’m a superior specimen of the species, and you instinctively wish to mate with me and have my cubs.

  Superior specimen? Sheesh! Talk about an ego trip. How would I know if you’re a superior specimen of the species if you are the only one I’ve seen? Hmm? I mean, my hormones might be jumping only from lack of knowledge.

  Highly unlikely, my dear. And don’t think you’re going to anger me
into leaving you to your own devices.

  I have a question. You said that you bit me and imprinted me. Everyone will know I’m your mate, supposedly, by my scent. So, what if Pete had gotten to me first? Would I be his mate?

  You are my mate. I’m damned glad you didn’t open the door to him that day. It would have caused a set of problems we aren’t ready to deal with. Unfortunately, the biter doesn’t matter. Any werewolf could have bitten you and nothing would have happened. As soon as you got a whiff of male pheromones, then you would have been capable of change. Not before.

  And what do you base this information on?

  Humans aren’t the only ones with scientists and doctors. While I may not know everything about werewolf physiology, I do know enough to hire individuals who can find out.

  Okay, smarty pants, I give up -- for now, anyway. I’m still going outside. You can come with me, but ... She glanced inquiringly at the closed door. You are also minus the all-important opposable thumb. What are we going to do now?

  Kyle pivoted around and headed for the kitchen. We’ll use the alternate route, of course.

  Lannie followed him into the kitchen, where, lo and behold, there was a large pet access cut into the door to the outside. Guess if you turn into a dog regularly, you have to be prepared for such things.

  Wolf, and yes, it does pay to have escape routes that our separate forms can access. Then he pushed his way to the outside, disappearing from sight.

  She felt a moment of panic. She may have said that she wanted away from him, but now that he was out of sight, she realized that she didn’t want to be left alone much more than she wanted away from him. She knew nothing about being a wolf, or how to return to being a human. He hadn’t told her how she could change back. What if she was stuck like this and he left her? She didn’t know where she was, or how to get home. Didn’t know how to get food, or even how to go to the bathroom. Now that was a depressing thought.

  Just then, Kyle called from outside, You going to stay in there all morning?