Night Creatures: Book 1

by Ebony Brightman

  Their bodies exploded, all sanity undone, their restraint meeting violent end. Arlo held tight, seed surging deep into Nisa’s core. She welcomed it with a guttural cry, her body tremulous as lips sought her neck, her mouth, her breasts. She didn’t want to be done. She’d never be done with him, but for now they were spent and collapsed onto the forest floor.

  CHAPTER 14

  Nisa’s bones were liquid, the chilly night air raising goose bumps on her flesh. Stars winked at her through branches and leaves. Arlo lay next to her, his smoky scent mixing with moss and wood, his arm lightly touching hers as he too stared up at the atmosphere. His fingers laced through hers and he pulled her hand to his lips for a sweet, unexpected kiss.

  Nisa grinned and rolled her head in his direction. His eyes were dark and fathomless. But still she could see happiness there and satisfaction that they were lying together in the moonlight. He propped himself up on an elbow, first looking into her eyes before they roamed over her body. His fingers brushed her collarbone then lightly skimmed the slope of her breast.

  “My God,” he breathed, “you are lovely.”

  Nisa’s body blushed as she laughed and looked back toward the sky.

  “You are,” he said. “You’re exquisite. I knew from the moment I saw you.”

  He leaned in to softly kiss both nipples, then fell forward to explore the shape of Nisa’s lips. She loved this. She’d rollicked in the thrill of something so powerful taking her body to the brink, but nothing he’d done to her as the Beast compared to what his touches and attention were doing to her now. His mouth was tender but not at all shy as he nipped and licked, and entreated her to part her lips. She opened to him just as tenderly, lightly sucking his tongue, enticing him farther in. This wasn’t just pleasure. It was personal, each stroke hurling her deeper into indescribable bliss.

  Arlo’s fingers glided down her belly, seeking the slickness of Nisa’s divide, then with forefinger and thumb, tugged gently at her clit. Nisa wrenched her mouth away, gasping at the sensation. But Arlo was unfazed. His teeth grazed her earlobe as his fingers continued their work and his cock stirred against her hip.

  She wanted him to go there, to demand her body again, but the absence of his lips on hers had allowed her questions and thoughts to crystalize. Stammering she implored him to stop.

  “Stop what?” he murmured. “This?”

  Nisa squirmed, moaning as he again gave her a tug and she pushed at his wrist.

  “W-we, we need to talk.”

  Arlo was still smiling but his eyes grew weary, his fingers reluctant as they slipped from between her thighs. She regretted it as soon as they were gone, but steeled her resolve. She needed some answers and now was the time.

  Arlo again rolled onto his back, letting his arm flop over his eyes.

  “What do you want to know?”

  Nisa splayed her knees, sitting up into a sidesaddle position. She was achingly aware of her clitoris, ravenous and swollen, but was determined to ignore it. How much time had gone by since they’d been at the party? Forty minutes? Fifty? She was not this woman—a woman who ran away to fuck strangers in the woods. To fuck a monster. Or at least she didn’t used to be, but truth be told she liked this Nisa a whole lot better than Nisa from two days ago. This Nisa does fuck monsters, without regret.

  She pulled at the arm covering Arlo’s eyes. “Please look at me. Please.”

  Arlo let his arm fall away then sat up, sitting cross-legged. Even as a human his member was impressive. It took effort for Nisa to not get distracted.

  “I’m a Lycanthrope.”

  Nisa nodded, appreciating the way he’d just laid it out there. That he didn’t dance around it. “Like . . . a werewolf?”

  “Not exactly. Werewolves go full-canine. They literally become wolves, running around on four legs. Lycans make less of a transformation. Our wolves come to the surface, but they never completely take over. We’re still us, just bigger, strong, faster.”

  “Furrier.”

  “Yes,” Arlo agreed. “And furrier.”

  Nisa was silent for a moment, trying to understand. “How long have you been this way? Were you bitten?”

  “No,” Arlo chuckled. “I was born Lycan. There are stories of people being bitten and suddenly wolfing out, but it’s more likely that the bite triggered a recessive gene.”

  “When did you first ‘wolf out.’”

  He smiled. “Wolfing out is slang we use for Lycans who lose control. For the rest of us it’s called ‘the change.’ Everyone’s a little different, but typically the wolf surfaces in junior high or high school. You get acne, your balls drop, you go through the change. It’s the hormones. They bring your visceral instincts out to play. Suddenly you can smell stuff from a mile away, then a month later you can see in the dark or hear neighbors fighting on the next block. They come one at a time.”

  “But those are senses.”

  “Yes, but your senses feed your instincts. They pull in information, even if you’re not conscious of it. You smell a steak on the grill and you salivate and want to eat. Not a salad or a muffin, but meat. Smell is the trigger. To eat and hunt is the instinct. You don’t need a smell to get hungry, but it helps define what you’re craving. When you turn as a teenager those senses build on one another. Just one enhanced sense is overwhelming, but kids are malleable. Their bodies are changing every day, so they can adjust. When lycanthropy surfaces in an adult, all of their senses heighten at once. They get overloaded and the wolf quite literally explodes to the surface. It’s rare but it happens.”

  “Which of your senses came first?”

  “In my case, it truly was an instinct.”

  “What was it?”

  “To mate.”

  Nisa guffawed. “Like every teenager, ever?”

  “It was bigger than that.”

  “Bigger how?”

  “My family had to move.”

  “To another city?”

  “To another state.”

  “What?”

  “There were a lot of unhappy husbands in our town and a lot of women who’d broken the law. It was simpler for everyone if I went far away, so that’s what I did.”

  “Is that what’s happening here, Arlo? Am I just . . .”

  “No, Nisa. No.” Arlo leaned in. “That’s how I was as a teenager. The wolf calms after a few years. Not just for me but for everybody. We figure out who we are. We hit our stride. Wolf instincts are still strong, and even stronger when the moon is full, but that’s only part of what drives us.”

  She wrapped her arms around her knees, trying to understand. “Why me? Why not some other woman?”

  “I saw you, and I had to have you. Or at least I had to try.”

  “So you were driven by your instincts.”

  “That’s an oversimplification.”

  “Well, explain it to me. I’m not sorry for what we did, but I need to know that I wasn’t just some easy mark. That my life has upended because of something real and not because your wolf just wanted to get laid.”

  “We’re not beholden to the moon, but we are influenced by it. When the moon is full, my wolf becomes like the tide. Even if he’s not on the surface it pulls at me. If I try to ignore it, a wave becomes a tsunami.”

  “So you have to let him out.”

  “I could keep him in, but then I’d be distracted and irritable. Letting the wolf out to be wild and run helps me find balance.”

  “If you’d run into Shelby, could it have been her instead of me?”

  “Nisa, don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Then explain it to me, Arlo! Because it sounds like you were racing around the woods with a hard-on and I was the nearest warm body.”

  “I did run into Shelby that night. And Shane too, remember? I got to the house late and I was cranky, so instead of the party, I went for a run. I never for a second thought anyone would be in the woods that late, and especially not that deep. I went to check out their scent, but only because I was cur
ious.”

  “Scent, as in . . . ?”

  “Their arousal. Their fucking. Wolf nose, remember?”

  “And watched.”

  “For a minute or two. I was actually about to leave when I saw you.”

  “Oh, please.”

  “I’m serious,” his voice softened. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You were so devastated. It was easy to guess who Shane must be to you. But then you started laughing. Laughing! You pulled yourself together. You made yourself strong. I didn’t care if you were Shane’s wife or anybody’s wife. I wanted you. My wolf wanted you. I know I must have frightened you, but I needed you. Not just some female, but you. And I think you needed me too.”

  Nisa didn’t know what to say. He had scared her that night. He’d chased her and herded her. She’d thought he was going to kill her or at the very least rape her. But in the end he’d helped her. He’d focused on her pleasure and made her feel desirable, which is something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. She’d never regret what had happened. It had woken her up, and she knew more than ever, she’d never go back to how things were. She couldn’t. She’d experienced too much.

  Arlo lay back as Nisa crawled over to him and stretched her body the length of his. He exhaled as she placed soft kisses on his chest.

  “I did need you, Arlo. I still do.”

  The forest spun. Nisa was suddenly on her back, Arlo pushing her thighs apart with his legs and hips. His tongue was in her mouth in an instant, and she reveled in it as his cock pushed deep inside of her. She wanted the energy of the Beast right now and Arlo made sure he was giving it to her. His thrusts were ruthless—each plunge shaking her belly, her ass, her tits. She hooked her ankle over his thigh as her arms roamed his back, holding on for the ride.

  Arlo’s body went stiff as grunts became growls. Nisa braced for his release, but instead she was met with rippling flesh. Fur sprouting from skin. Face elongating to muzzle. His body grew heavier, and inside of her he grew hotter, longer, and wider. He’d already ceased thrusting yet she couldn’t help but orgasm. She was wrecked when her body stopped convulsing, too exhausted to move.

  Arlo had pushed back into a crouch, pulling out of her with a still-erect penis. He was in full-Lycan mode now, claws and fangs out, snarling into the night. She was winded and ruined, but Arlo was alert and alive. His ears flattened, another growl ripping from his lips. For a moment Nisa thought she’d broken him—driven him so mad the Beast had taken over, but then he narrowed his eyes, angrily watching the tree line.

  Nisa followed his gaze, mouth going dry as four more Lycans pushed through the ferns and skulked into the clearing.

  CHAPTER 15

  Nisa tried hard not to freak the fuck out. That there were more Lycans than just Arlo in the world was not surprising; after all, he’d just told her as much. But seeing them in the flesh was a whole different ball game. They were moving with absolute purpose, the leader in the front, a beast at each flank, and a straggler at the rear. The leader was slightly smaller than the others but still fairly large, and if snarling was any indication, by far the fiercest. Nisa had scrambled to a crouch, trying to escape notice. But that didn’t stop her from gawking at how different they were from the Beast she already knew.

  The leader was mostly white with hints of auburn around the ears and eyes. Hair around the neck formed a thick collar above the sternum, and oh my, the leader had breasts! Not eight as you would expect on a wolf, but two. They were small but they were most definitely there, and with the exception of the nipples, were covered in sleek, white fur. Nisa’s mouth dropped open. She was staring at a Lycan female.

  She surveyed the rest, checking their sex organs to see if they were all women. A thought flitted through her mind. Was this some strange love pentangle? She was vastly outmuscled, but Arlo belonged to her. She’d fight if she had too. Good thing the other three were definitely male. Being that well-endowed must be a Lycan thing.

  The Lycan on the leader’s right was pure steel gray, but his fur almost shaggy. While the leader did most of the snarling, when Arlo got more aggressive the gray one chimed in with equally fierce growls. The Lycan on the leader’s left was a reddish brindle with a darker face, and the only one of them that had dropped to all fours. He didn’t snarl, just emitted a low, steady rumble ready for an attack, while the Lycan in the back hung closer to the tree line. The straggler was golden tan like a Labrador and whined as he gave Nisa a sheepish look.

  The leader then looked at Nisa too, first at her face and then at her naked body, before turning back to Arlo and snarling with renewed fervor. Arlo’s response was equally antagonistic as he positioned himself in the space between them. The brindled wolf clearly didn’t like that, because he charged at Arlo—and Arlo, quick as a whip, charged right back.

  Nisa gasped as Arlo and the brindled wolf tumbled across the clearing. They moved in and out of the shadows, a mess of claws and snapping teeth. The white and gray Lycans charged forward as well, jumping into the fray with angry yips and vicious barks.

  Nisa looked around, trying to spot a branch or a loose rock. She was terrified—but she also wouldn’t sit around while her man got jumped. She stood up, sprinting to a fallen tree limb, and after hefting it, ran for the ruckus. She was mid-swing, ready to crack the gray one across the back when something came at her from the side and tackled her around the waist.

  The wind rushed out of Nisa’s lungs as she thudded to the ground. But even with no breath she immediately began to fight. She kicked her heel back, aiming for what she hoped was groin and jabbed with her elbow.

  “Ow!”

  The voice sounded familiar, but Nisa was too far-gone to give up the struggle. She army crawled, scrambling for her makeshift weapon. But as soon as she could reach it, arms again wrapped around her waist and hurled her up from the ground. She twisted and bucked, making herself cumbersome. No Lycan was dragging her away from this fight. Or away from Arlo.

  “Nisa! Nisa! It’s me!”

  A bang shook the forest as Arlo and the three Lycans bashed into a redwood. Nisa looked over her shoulder, anxious to see what was happening—but all she could see was a very nude Benny.

  “Benny? What are you doing here? Put me down!”

  Nisa stumbled as Benny did what he was told and dropped her to her feet, but was on her again the second she tried to run back toward the scuffle.

  “No!” he yelled, grabbing her arm, “Let Willa and Callum handle that.”

  Benny’s grip tightened as he snatched up her panties, shoes and dress, then dragged her back to the trail.

  “Get your hands off me, Benny. I mean it!” She dug her heels into the dirt but he was just too strong and he continued to tow her like a misbehaving child. “May I at least put my clothes on?”

  Benny abruptly stopped walking. “Promise not to try and run back?”

  Silence.

  “What good do you think you’ll do there? You’ll only rev them up.”

  “‘Let Willa and Callum handle it . . .’ What does that mean, exactly?”

  “It means they know how to stop a fight. You and your twig don’t.”

  “It’s three on one! Arlo could get seriously hurt.”

  Benny scoffed and Nisa could smell the whiskey on his breath. “It could be ten on one and my money’d still be on Arlo. They’re just letting off steam.”

  She wasn’t convinced but she knew he was right about one thing—she’d be totally useless in that fight. Nisa scowled but Benny finally released his grip.

  He shoved her clothes at her. “Your boyfriend is fine, Nisa. This isn’t his first rodeo.”

  Benny turned away as Nisa sorted herself out, but then turned his head just enough to watch. She bent over, quickly stepping into her rumpled panties.

  “So you’re telling me, that two of those wolves were Willa and Callum.”

  “We prefer the term ‘Lycan,’ but yes.”

  Nisa looked for the opening of her dress. “Then who were the ot
her two?”

  She slithered the dress up over her hips, then looked up to find Benny leering at her tits. Fabric ripped as she yanked the dress up the rest of the way and quickly fastened it. It was too late though. Benny was already getting an erection and, like Arlo’s, it was massive.

  “Oh wow, you’re a Lycan too.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Nisa had accused Benny of being a Lycan, and in turn, Benny had looked at her like she was stupid. He told her that of course he was a Lycan and asked why else he’d be running around the woods with no clothes on. Nisa reminded Benny that any kind of debauchery was possible with him. He’d decided to get offended by her candor and, in retaliation, refused to answer any more of her questions.

  It had taken them over an hour to get back to the house. Benny had offered to let his wolf out and run, but Nisa had not-so-respectfully declined. The idea of Benny’s hand on her ass as her boobs bounced up and down over his shoulder was not an appealing one. So she’d opted to walk. Problem was, her feet were cut and sore from two nights in the forest. Consequently, she’d had to hike slowly.

  Nisa hadn’t minded though. She’d kept hoping their slow pace would give Arlo time to catch up. She needed to see that he was okay. That after being jumped by—not one, but three—wolf-people, he was going to be all right. Her mind was still boggled that both Willa and Callum were Lycans. She supposed it made sense. Willa was Arlo’s aunt after all, but how did she find Callum? And how did Benny play into all of this? Was he somehow related to them too? She’d asked him, but he’d refused to answer.

  That was okay. She’d wait for Arlo. She didn’t know if they were in love, but she knew with absolute certainty that she was totally out of love with Shane. It had taken a Lycan to make her realize it—to know what it was to be treasured and truly desired. Going back to LA for a life of boredom and self-doubt was no longer an option. She and Arlo had a connection, maybe stronger than anything she’d ever felt, and they owed it to themselves to explore it.