Wolf Next Door

by Anastasia Rabiyah

  She nodded.

  He walked to her side and sat down in the worn vinyl chair by the bed. “Why don’t you tell me how you got to that cabin today?”

  She turned on her side to face him and blurted out as much that she remembered. When she got to the part where she and Jack were alone in the dirty room and he was beating her, she left out that Darius showed up naked. She said that he had burst into the room, that the two fought, and when she thought Jack was going to choke Darius to death, she had grabbed the wood and hit him.

  The policeman scribbled and nodded. He was kind, soft-spoken. “If we need you to come down to the station, I’ll give you a call,” he said. “They’ll likely want a recorded statement to enter into evidence.” He stood up and held out his hand to her.

  She shook it, but before she let go, she asked, “Is Mr. Keenan all right? The janitor from my school? Jack was wearing his uniform.”

  The officer shook his head. “No. I’m afraid not. We found him in the storage closet, strangled. I’m sorry.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. She watched as the officer set his card by the table. “Frankly, Miss Billings, you’re lucky to be alive. This guy’s left a trail of murders behind him. We have reason to believe he’s the cause of five unsolved in upper Alabama and two in Oklahoma.” He set his hand on her shoulder and patted. “Your neighbor is in the lobby. You want me to send him in? I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  She nodded. “Yes, please tell him to come in.”

  He left, a sad look in his eyes, and soon Darius came into the room. He had a deep frown on his face and dark circles under his eyes. “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, as well as can be expected.” She thought she ought to reach for him. It would feel good to be in his arms, held close, safe. But he stayed back at the rear counter in the room, standoffish, as if something had wedged a rift between them.

  “I, um, God, Kendra. I just don’t know what to say.” He raked his hand over his hair. “I’m so relieved you’re all right. I went to the school for lunch, and there were all these police there. The place was closed up, and they wouldn’t let me in. I tried your cell . . .” He shrugged and looked away at the open curtains and the dark sky outside. “My friend Matthew had told me there was some guy hanging out at the end of our street in a black Honda. I never guessed . . .” He shook his head. “I never know when Matthew’s being stupid.”

  “Matthew,” she whispered.

  “Yeah. He’s been my friend for years. We have a lot in common.”

  “Oh.” She pushed back and sat up, then shot a nervous glance at the door. She was alone in the room, thankfully, but she didn’t want anyone to walk in on his answer—if he would answer her this time. “Why were you naked, Darius?”

  He didn’t face her, just kept staring out at the sky. “I didn’t want him to hear me when I left my truck. I wanted to be as quiet as possible, and I couldn’t do that—”

  The door slapped open, and the dark-haired nurse came in. “Visiting hours are over. It’s dinnertime.” She smiled cheerily enough at Kendra, but gave Darius a baleful stare.

  “Oh, okay. I’ll come check on you in the morning if you’re still here.” He cleared his throat and reached into his pocket. “You can call me later if you feel like it, Kendra.” He set his business card on the side table, next to the officer’s. It felt impersonal, cold.

  She wanted to shout at him to stay, to grab his arm and hold him there. Something weird had happened at that cabin, way weirder than Jack.

  “Tell Matthew thanks,” she said.

  Darius paused at the door and smiled. “I will. I took him back to my place after the police finished up out at the cabin. I’m sure he’ll want to see you when you get back home.” With that he walked out, leaving her with another question.

  “Matthew is the dog,” she muttered and watched her nurse set the adjustable table in front of her, followed by a tray of food. “The wolf. He talks to animals now?”

  “Is that your ex?” The nurse looked suspicious.

  “No, no. Darius lives next door to me.” She reached for the little cup of apple juice and drank it down, wondering now if that dog-wolf really did belong to Darius after all. And dog-wolves didn’t say there was a weird black Honda down the street. Dogs didn’t talk. Neither did wolves. She thought maybe Darius was being silly to break the solemn mood. Or maybe she was confused.

  Chapter Twelve

  Darius looked out the window as her car pulled into the drive next door. Kendra was home. She was back at last. Sure, they’d only kept her overnight to be sure she didn’t have a concussion, but it felt like a small eternity. She had a bandage on her head where the gash was, and there were bruises on her face. She walked with her head held high, though, and he didn’t think she’d been that confident before the incident. She walked without her fear and without looking over her shoulder. He was happy about that. She would never live in fear of a past coming back to haunt her again.

  “Little Mrs. is home?” Matthew asked from the hall.

  “Yeah.”

  Matthew let out a low hum. Darius looked over his shoulder in time to see his friend transform. His hands dropped to the carpet as paws. He looked up at Darius with his best sad doggy eyes and wagged his tail.

  “I guess you’re right. We better get this over with. I don’t like not telling her, though.”

  Matthew nipped at Darius’s hand and growled. Giving in, Darius opened the front door and stepped out into the cool morning air. Leaves were tumbling down from the trees, landing softly on the lawn. He breached the opening in the shrubs that separated his yard from Kendra’s. Matthew bounded past him and trotted straight up to Kendra. He pushed his head under her hand as she set her house key into the lock.

  She jumped and looked down, startled. “Oh, it’s you.” A smile spread across her face. She turned to Darius. “This is Matthew?”

  “You guessed it.” Darius hurried toward her, anxious to pull her into a hug. It might be the last chance he got if he told her what he knew he should. She was running her fingers over Matthew’s head when he stepped in and slipped his arms around her shoulders.

  His furry buddy took a few steps back, allowing them a moment.

  “You still okay?” he said against her ear.

  “Better now that I’m home, now that you’re here.” She clung to his waist, the cheek that wasn’t bruised as badly pressed into his chest. He held her and said nothing, never wanting to let go. Time wore on. She sniffled. “Come inside, Darius. I’m glad you’re here.”

  “All right.” Matthew exhaled a sniff and wagged his tail. Darius gave him a look that said, Beat it.

  But Kendra pulled away and pushed open her door. She made little kissing sounds, coaxing Matthew inside.

  He wagged his bushy tail and bounded past Darius, who groaned. Inside, the wolf padded to the living room and circled before lying down on the rug. Darius eyed him suspiciously.

  Kendra set a plastic hospital bag on the counter and plopped herself onto the couch. She kicked off her shoes and set her foot against Matthew, who leaned in for the offered rub. She looked at ease there. Darius joined her and reached for her hand.

  She clasped his and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. “What a nightmare all that was. I’m so glad it’s finally over. I called my dad from the hospital. He wants me to come visit. He wasn’t sure, but he thought maybe Jack had figured out where I was by going through the trash there. I’m always careful to send Dad pretty anonymous things in the mail, but I did send him a birthday card. The envelope would have had the ink stamp from the post office in town. He mentioned that two weeks ago someone had upturned his trash and spread it all over the alley. He thought it was kids or dogs or something. It could be how Jack found me. I don’t know. I suppose there are ways to find people if you want to badly enough.”

  “Yeah. You’re right.” He squeezed her hand. “But he’s gone now. No one’s ever going to hurt you again.”

  “It’s
my fault,” she said, lifting her head and turning her eyes on him. “I let him into my life. I thought I needed someone to take care of me, to keep me in line. And at first, he did that. He made sure I quit drinking and partying.”

  “You did those things?” He chuckled, nervous, though. Her line of speech was getting somewhere bad real fast. Even if he didn’t tell her the truth, would she let her guard down enough to let him stay a part of her life?

  “Yeah. I didn’t have a mom to keep after me as a teen. Dad was always so busy working. It’s not his fault. He did the best he could, and he had to keep money coming in. Jack made me quit rebelling. He took me to Vegas on my eighteenth birthday and married me. After that he helped me pick out a career, and when we came back home to Alabama, he helped me get a job so I could go to college. Everything was fine for a few years. I actually . . . liked the control, you know? I liked not having to make choices for myself. It made everything so easy.”

  “But he didn’t trust you.”

  “That and I didn’t come home on time that one night. Afterward he never gave up the idea that I’d cheated, that I’d betrayed him. His overbearing side really came out then. It was so scary.”

  Matthew rolled onto his back so Kendra could rub his chest with her foot. His head lolled to the side, and he looked up at Darius, completely content.

  “You’re going to spoil him.” He leaned over to kiss her. She relented, and their mouths touched. She pushed forward, encouraging him. Her lips parted to let him in. He tasted and savored her. The kiss wasn’t long enough. He didn’t think they ever would be.

  “So,” she began. “You said in the hospital that Matthew told you about the Honda at the end of the street.”

  “I did say that.” His chest tightened.

  “And you said he’d be happy to see me. He’s a dog. You meant that as a figure of speech, right?” She laughed a little nervously, but he saw the real questioning in her eyes. Then there would be the inevitable query as to why he was naked at that cabin.

  “Matthew is a wolf, Kendra. More than a wolf.” He felt a nervous lump rise in his throat, so he paused and swallowed. “I’ve known him, God, five years now? Found him near Yosemite. Abandoned by his parents when he was a pup. But that’s not what he looked like when I found him.” He gestured at the wolf who was now narrowing his eyes in warning.

  “He was less hairy then. More . . . manlike.” He didn’t turn to see what Kendra’s reaction would be. She was probably trying to get his joke, or maybe she was starting to think he was a little touched in the head. “I had called a number on a cardboard sign for some handyman work, and this guy showed up. He’s kind of a . . . transient sort of fellow. Takes odd jobs here and there. But he’s followed after me everywhere I go.”

  He dared to look over at her. Her eyes were wide. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Darius chewed his cheek for a moment. “Show her, Matthew. She deserves to know the truth.”

  The wolf snorted at him.

  “Don’t leave me hanging here. I told her what you are. Now show her so she doesn’t think I’m nuts.”

  She pulled her foot away when Matthew jumped up and shook himself. He sat on his haunches, cocked his head to one side, and began the change. Fur drew into his skin. Paws grew fingers. Arms and legs lengthened. His muzzle shortened, and his face twisted until it was the same handsome face surrounded by dark, curly brown hair. He wasn’t smiling as usual. In fact, he looked pretty pissed off about the whole thing.

  “Thanks for ruining it, Darius,” he grumbled. “She would have let me stay.” He set his hand over his bare crotch to hide his nakedness. “Pleased to meet you again, Kendra.” He smiled in his charming way. “In this shape as well as the other. By the look on your face, I’d say Darius just ruined his chances. If you decide he isn’t for you, let me know. I think you’re hot.”

  She sucked in a gasp and held it.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real, she kept thinking. Has to be the pain meds they gave me at the pharmacy. That. Can. Not. Be real. But she had seen it happen. She had seen the animal turn into a man. She had seen it, and she didn’t think she was delusional. Darius hadn’t seemed shocked at all. In fact, he looked a little terrified when he looked at her.

  Maybe he thinks I’m crazy, she thought.

  “Kendra. I know this is all a shock. Pretty hard to believe.” He wasn’t smiling. He didn’t look like a man who had just seen what she’d seen.

  “Um, is there a naked white man on my floor?”

  “Yes. Matthew is a, well, he’s a werewolf.”

  She half smiled. “Bullshit.”

  “I wish. Believe me. I’ve wished this wasn’t real since I was sixteen.” He leaned forward and ran his thumb over her lips. It was a sensual touch, so out of place at that moment. “I really don’t think there’s any way you can accept the truth, but after all that you’ve been through, I think you need to know who and what I am.”

  “Who and what . . .” She crinkled her brow and pushed up off the couch. “Who and what you are.” She walked around Matthew and then stopped beside him. Tentatively, she reached out and touched his face, then pushed a lock of unruly hair behind his ear. He looked serious at first, but then his lips curled into a smile.

  “Change back,” she whispered as if it were a wish that wouldn’t come true.

  Matthew’s grin faded. He glared at Darius. “I told you not to tell her. She’s freakin’ out, man.”

  “Change back, Matthew.” She tried to keep her voice steady. If he could change back, maybe she’d believe this, but she did not like what Darius was hinting at. Who and what, indeed!

  “Do it,” Darius said to the man on her rug. “Show her.”

  With a groan, Matthew looked up into Kendra’s eyes. His brown pupils dilated, then changed color to an amber shade. Fur sprouted from his face as it, too, shifted into another thing entirely. She watched his humanness melt away, replaced by the wolf that she had first seen in her backyard staring up at her through the sliding glass door.

  He got up and pushed at her hand with his head for a pet. She felt her legs buckling beneath her, heard Darius getting up to catch her, and felt the wolf brace as she fell forward.

  * * * *

  She woke up sometime later in her own bed and smiled up at the ceiling. “That was the strangest nightmare,” she said to herself. Kendra turned to the side and stared at the light shining in from the hall. A shadow passed through it, darkening her view for a moment. She tried to reason out what had happened, what she concretely remembered as being fact.

  She’d come home from the hospital. Darius and his dog—yes, it had to be his dog—had come over to see her. And then some parts couldn’t possibly be real. That’s it. Medication could do things like that, cause a person to hallucinate. She nodded, convincing herself. “Darius?”

  Footsteps came down the hall until he stood in her doorway. “Yes? You feeling all right?”

  She nodded. “Better now. I think maybe I fainted?”

  “Yeah, you scared us. But I guess we should’ve expected that.”

  We? Crap. It wasn’t a hallucination. She slipped her legs over the side of the bed to sit up and stare at him. “It wasn’t a dream?”

  He shook his head no. “It wasn’t. I shouldn’t have told you. I’m sorry.”

  “You were naked in the cabin because you had shifted. You’re like Matthew. That’s what’s wrong with you. That’s why you’ve never been married, never been on a date.”

  “Yeah. That’s right.” He set his hand on the doorjamb as if waiting for her reaction.

  “What the hell does this mean for me? Are you going to bite me during a full moon and then we run off into the forest to raise a litter of pups?”

  She watched as he tried not to smile. “Pups? Um, no. I was born human. So was my mother. The change came over me when I was sixteen. Scared the hell out of me, but my mom is the same as I am. She help
ed me get through it, helped me to deal with it. And biting you won’t change you. As far as I know, that’s a myth. The only wolves like me that I’ve met were born into it.”

  She jabbed her hand into her hair and scratched, thinking this over. “How many are there like you?”

  He looked down at the floor. “Not many. I only know of three others, and Matthew is one, as well as my mom.”

  “You said you had a brother. Is he the other one?”

  “No. He’s never been able to shift. He doesn’t know about it.”

  She pulled her fingers through her hair and stood. “Is Matthew . . . ?”

  “He’s cooking up something for us to eat. Hope you don’t mind. By the way, it’s Saturday. I made some potato salad while you were sleeping.” He smiled, but it looked so sad, like he figured she’d push him away and out of her house at any moment.

  “I, um . . .” She got up and started for the door. He stepped aside to let her pass. Kendra marched through the hall and snatched up the bag of meds. She read through the two papers of descriptions and side effects. They’d given her a mild antibiotic and a pain reliever. Hallucinations were not a side effect of either.

  “It’s a choice, you know.” He was standing right behind her then. “I can choose to change, or I can choose to stay the same.”

  “Right. A choice.” This was too weird. Kendra stomped away from him and made it to the sliding glass door. She pressed her forehead to the glass and stared at Matthew. He was wearing a pair of shorts and nothing else while he grilled steaks on her barbeque. She turned to Darius. “There were others in the cabin. Other wolves. I saw them. Didn’t I?”

  “Yes. Lila, Resha, and Sam. Sam’s a shifter. The two females are from the release program in Yellowstone. I don’t think they fully understand what we are. They just want the company of other wolves. I met Sam in Alaska. He’s mostly feral. Doesn’t show his human side often anymore at all.”