by Zoe Chant
Michael snorted derisively at that. “Bear Creek? You’re dumping me for someone from that place?”
“Hey!” Louis glared at him. “She told you to get out.”
“I already dumped you! What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “Shouldn’t you be busy dating Ashley?”
“That’s none of your business. You should watch out for him.” Michael nodded at Louis. “He might give you rabies!”
“All right, that’s it.” Louis moved around the table, striding up to Michael and grabbing his arm. “Stephanie doesn’t want you here, and I don’t want you here. Time to leave.”
“What the—hey, let go of me!” Michael struggled against Louis’s hold.
Stephanie was pleased to see that Louis had little trouble dragging Michael over to the door and pushing him out.
“And stay out!” Louis told him, before closing the door in his face and leaning against it. He rolled his eyes at a heavy thud against the door. “He doesn’t know when to quit, does he?”
“No,” she replied, sagging against the kitchen counter. “There’s a bolt at the top and the bottom, if you want to lock him out.”
“Great idea.” He quickly slid both bolts shut, walking over to her and pulling her in for a hug. “You okay?”
She rested her head against his chest, closing her eyes to soak in his embrace. “Ask me again tomorrow.” She felt tense and exhausted the same time.
“I think you hit a nerve when you mentioned Ashley,” Louis said, sounding thoughtful.
“I think we both hit a lot of nerves.” She beamed up at him. “Thanks.”
“He didn’t listen to you, so…” He gave an awkward shrug. “Shifters are stronger than humans, and it seemed like the quickest solution.”
“It was.” She sighed, wishing she could stay here with Louis forever. “But you won’t be around to kick him out all the time.”
“Watch me.”
She smiled at Louis’s determined voice, then shook her head. She couldn’t depend on Louis. “There has to be a way to stop him from bothering me.”
“He needs a hobby,” Louis grumbled.
“Catering for the cast and crew has kept him busy enough, but now he’s seen you around.” Would Michael’s jealousy mean he’d get even pushier?
Louis pulled back to look her in the eyes. “And that worries you?”
“I don’t want him to bother you as well.” Then again, Louis was mostly around as a wolf. “Or ask everyone if they’ve seen Joshua’s friend Louis, you know?”
“Yeah, that makes things more complicated…” He sighed. “I wish I could just challenge him to a duel and have it over with, but he’s not a shifter.”
She raised her eyebrows at that. “Duels?” She thought of Louis in some billowing shirt and a saber. But before she could lose herself in a pleasant daydream, she realized he’d mentioned Michael not being a shifter. “As animals?”
Louis nodded. “We sometimes settle disagreements that way, like animals do. It’s not a fight to the death, just until surrender.”
“Okay, so there're rules.” There was so much she didn’t know about shifters or Bear Creek.
Or Louis.
“If it makes you feel better, it’s not always a fight,” he told her. “Sometimes it’s more like a competition. Fighting is very rare. I don’t want you to think Bear Creek is filled with brawling shifters. I just—Michael hurt you.”
“Wait. You wanted to fight him to defend my honor?” She stared at him. Louis barely even knew her.
“Well, yeah. He cheated on you.” Louis sounded completely sincere, his gray eyes earnest as he looked down at her.
It was difficult to think with him looking at her like that.
Well, it was difficult to think anything but x-rated thoughts.
“You’re not secretly a telepath as well, are you?” she blurted.
His mouth opened and closed in surprise a few times. “What?”
So that was a no. “Never mind.” She took a deep breath, trying to ignore how good he smelled and how warm and hard his muscles were against her hands.
They had work to do.
“You should turn into a wolf and leave, and I should finish prepping the sausages.” She smiled up at him. “You’ve got a nice young lady to kill, Dr. Werewolf.”
5. Louis
He still couldn’t believe Stephanie had taken the reveal so well. If only her ex hadn’t interrupted when he had…
We still should’ve challenged him!
Throwing him out after Stephanie had her say had been satisfying, though.
He remembered Michael visiting the cabin earlier that day. Stephanie had been so on edge that it was a surprise she was the same woman who told Michael to get lost just then.
Whatever had given her the confidence to give Michael a piece of her mind, Louis hoped she kept it.
It was too bad they didn’t have more time. She had sent him away after shifting so she could finish prepping the sausages with syrup, food coloring and peanut butter for texture. They’d agreed to put the fake blood on his muzzle on set, so Kat and Paul could tell them how much blood was necessary for the scene.
Louis hoped Michael was indeed kept busy by making food for everyone. Stephanie knew him best, so if she thought Michael would keep bothering her, she was probably right.
But how could they make him stop? Challenging him wasn’t an option.
He was wracking his brain while waiting for Stephanie to arrive. A few feet away, Paul talked Vicky through the scene.
“You’re coming round that tree, limping a little on your wounded leg. Scared to death, because the wolf is right behind you,” Paul told her. “You look over your shoulder and trip over a branch.”
“Right, another excellent life decision from my character.” Vicky smiled.
“Hey, if everyone in horror movies behaved sensibly, we wouldn’t have any.” Kat laughed.
Louis had to chase Vicky around the tree several times, stopping a few feet away from where she’d tripped to growl threateningly. They’d film the attack scene where he bit her next.
Vicky had some real scratches mixed in with the fake ones after she’d tripped over the branch about ten times, but she never complained about doing it again.
When Stephanie joined them, Louis had to fight to stay focused on Vicky as he came around the tree rather than run to his mate.
Paul eventually decided they had the shots they needed, then instructed Vicky to lie down. He turned to Joshua. “Can we practice this before we shoot? I want to see how your dog reacts to Vicky trying to fight him off.”
“He’ll be fine,” Joshua replied airily, but led Louis over to Vicky. “What do you want him to do?”
“I want her to put up a struggle, but I also don’t want her to hurt your dog or vice versa. If I were in her shoes and a werewolf wanted to bite me, I’d be kicking and screaming. But kicking would hurt your dog.”
“She could miss,” Joshua suggested. “If we practice how she kicks, then I can get Louis to avoid the kicks. She fights, but doesn’t hurt him.”
Louis tried to radiate obedience and trustworthiness. Paul was right. It would be a better scene if his victim fought back.
Vicky smelled nervous when they tried it, so Louis took care to move slowly and not growl like he would for the actual filming. Once Vicky, Paul and Kat were satisfied that Vicky could kick out without hitting Louis, they filmed the attack and struggle.
He was hyper-aware that Stephanie was watching his every move. Even though she knew the truth about him, it still couldn’t be fun for her to watch a wolf pretend-attack someone. His growling and snarling weren’t any less vicious for it.
Every time Paul called ‘cut’, Louis immediately sat down and away from Vicky. She didn’t smell scared, but she let out a sigh of relief when Paul declared they had enough good shots of the struggle.
“He is extremely obedient,” Vicky said when Louis ran back over to sit by Joshua’s side. “But there
are more fun things in life than having a dog snarl at you.”
“Agreed.” Paul turned to Kat. “We’ll have to go over how we want to film the attacks with the other actors. Our final girl will have the biggest, most epic fight on her hands.”
Kat nodded. “Now that we know how obedient Louis is, it’ll mostly be a matter of what the actors are comfortable with.”
Pretending to bite Vicky’s stomach was next. Paul and Kat discussed it with Joshua first, who then took Louis aside to pretend he was giving the dog commands. Louis mainly nuzzled at Vicky’s tank top while snarling. Vicky cried out in pretend-pain, flailing and patting Louis’s shoulder a few times. It was barely a shove, but maybe with some editing it could look part of her struggle.
Paul declared it time to apply the sausages, and Louis sat next to Stephanie as she worked on Vicky’s stomach.
“Are you here for me or for the sausages?” Stephanie grinned at him before rearranging the peanut butter-covered sausages so they wouldn’t slide off.
Louis bumped her shoulder with his head, earning him some scritches. It wasn’t a belly rub, but it’d do.
Vicky lay as still as possible. “I’m surprised he doesn’t seem interested in the sausages. He’s not even trying to sniff them!”
“Joshua must have trained him very well.” Stephanie applied more syrup to the sausages and her tank top. “Okay, Louis, you’re next for the fake blood.”
Louis sat neatly while Stephanie used a paintbrush to spread some red syrup along his muzzle. It smelled overly sweet, but the sausages would taste much better. Stephanie took some pictures of him for reference and continuity, and Louis wondered how he looked.
“You’d think he’d need a command from his owner to do that,” Vicky commented. “Or are you some secret dog whisperer?”
Stephanie laughed, but Louis could hear the hint of nervousness. “Joshua and Louis visited the makeup cabin earlier. I guess Louis is used to me now.”
He felt a stab of guilt at having dragged Stephanie into their lies. He didn’t want to put her in a tough spot. But Vicky believed it, and Louis didn’t want to wait for Joshua’s command every time. If he’d only stopped attacking Vicky on Joshua’s command, it’d be seconds after Paul calling ‘cut’, and he didn’t want to worry Vicky any longer than he had to.
“That must be it! You’re a natural with him,” Vicky said.
“He is a very good boy.” Stephanie gave Louis another scratch behind the ears. He let out a low, content rumble and wagged his tail. “See?”
He froze when he smelled Michael approach and turned his head to see what the other man wanted.
“What is—oh.” Stephanie sighed, getting up. “Hi, Michael.”
“Hi.” Michael looked around the set before turning to her. “I got some more sausages, in case that dog eats them all before you’re finished with the scene.”
“Thank you.” Stephanie’s smile was polite as she took the bag. “We won’t need you on set.”
“I’d like to stick around, anyway.” Michael folded his arms across his chest. “Just in case.” He looked around again, and Louis knew he was wondering where Louis-the-human was.
Stephanie shook her head while she passed the bag to Kat for safe-keeping. “So long as you don’t get in the way.”
“Just checking how things are going. Did you already film the attack?” Michael sounded concerned.
“Yes, and he’s been an angel.” Vicky reached out to pet Louis.
“I’m glad to hear it.” Michael’s voice was warm as he looked at Vicky. “He was very different earlier this afternoon, so you be careful.”
“Maybe that was because of something you did,” Joshua told him firmly. “Louis has been very well-behaved with everyone so far.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Michael gestured at Stephanie. “I brought her sausages this afternoon, and your dog started growling out of nowhere.”
“Did he?” Kat turned to Stephanie. “You didn’t mention that.”
“It wasn’t a big deal. He probably just wanted the sausages,” Stephanie explained. “Honestly, he was perfectly fine this afternoon except for when Michael came in.”
Louis sat neatly next to Stephanie, showing zero interest in the sausages and hoping Paul and Kat would take Stephanie’s word.
“You should still be careful,” Michael told her, in that same condescending tone from when he’d visited earlier that afternoon to tell Stephanie she’d gotten it all wrong. “Dogs can be unpredictable, especially around food.”
Stephanie looked down at Louis. “He seems pretty predictable to me.”
“Whatever the problem was, the dog is fine now,” Kat told them both, raising her voice. “Joshua, can you hold the sausages since you’re his owner? Michael, I appreciate the concern, and we’ll keep an eye on Louis’s behavior, but Vicky’s right. He’s been an angel so far.”
“I’m only worried about Vicky,” Michael insisted, giving Vicky another warm smile.
Louis shared a glance with Stephanie, who seemed confused. For a man who’d been eager to get back together, her ex was acting very flirty with the actress. If he was interested in someone else, why spend all that time on Stephanie?
Or had he finally gotten the hint and was moving on?
Stephanie finished with Vicky’s tank top, snapping a few pictures of the sausages. “Paul, we’re ready to film!”
Louis couldn’t waste any attention on Michael and his behavior towards Vicky or Stephanie. His wolf was salivating over the sausages and peanut butter. But Louis made sure not to bite down. Instead, he tore chunks free and ate those, hoping he looked like a vicious werewolf feasting on the guts of his enemy.
They did multiple takes, with Stephanie rearranging the sausages every time and adding more when necessary. She went through the pictures to make sure the sausages looked similar enough in each scene, although it was unavoidable that Vicky’s tank top got dirtier with each take.
Vicky screamed and cried out for the initial nibbles, then lay back and sobbed as she pretended to die.
Another take? More sausages? His wolf pleaded.
But even Paul was satisfied after about ten takes of Vicky dying while Louis snarled into the sausages and tore into them.
“And that’s Vicky done for the night!” Paul declared. “Joshua, can you and Louis stay? I want to get some more shots of his prowling. We can never have enough of those.”
“I’ll help you get cleaned up.” Stephanie helped Vicky up. “The syrup can get messy, and the makeup cabin has a shower.”
“So does ours,” Michael supplied. “Just saying,” he added with a wink, when Stephanie threw him a glare and Vicky shook her head.
“I’d hate to get in your or Colin’s way,” Vicky told him, giving him a quick smile before walking off with Stephanie.
Michael watched them go and walked back to the catering cabin, humming to himself.
Louis wished he could go after Stephanie, because he was sure he was owed belly rubs after his performance.
“Does it matter that he’s got that bloody snout?” Joshua asked when Paul went over the shots he wanted.
“Oh no, that’s fine! Kat, take some pictures for Stephanie so she can replicate it for tomorrow evening. He has to look like he’s just come from eating Vicky when he strikes again,” Paul explained. “The two guys are next, and they should react to realizing one of their friends is dead. That bloody muzzle is perfect.”
After about fifteen minutes of running around and snarling at the camera, Paul declared everyone was done for the night, and directed them to the catering cabin for something to eat and drink. Most of the cast and crew would camp out here, and Joshua grabbed a few bottles of regular and alcohol-free beer.
Louis walked alongside him as they headed for Stephanie’s makeup cabin. He couldn’t shift until he was sure Vicky wasn’t in the cabin anymore, and he waited impatiently when Joshua knocked on the open door.
“Is everyone decent?” he cal
led out.
Stephanie, who’d been tidying up the kitchen counter, smiled at them. “Vicky is getting changed.” She gestured at one of the other rooms. The door was closed. “But I appreciate you bringing us something to drink.”
Joshua looked down at Louis as he put the beer bottles on the kitchen table. “I figured celebrations are in order for our first successful day of filming.”
Louis wagged his tail, wishing he could shift already to talk to Stephanie.
Vicky emerged from the bedroom, wearing a dress that fell to her knees, her hair still glistening from her shower. “Wait, your first day? Ever?” She took one of the beer bottles from the kitchen table. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Joshua replied. “I saw the ad and figured ‘why not?’ Do you want to see if Colin and Michael thought to make snacks?”
“Oh, they better! Everyone’s hungry at the end of a night like this.” She clinked her bottle against Stephanie’s. “Even if all I had to do was lie there.”
“You lay there like a pro. I’ll clean up here before joining you,” Stephanie replied.
“D’you mind watching Louis?” Joshua asked. “I think he can do with some quiet after all the excitement.”
Louis yawned pointedly, lying down on the floor next to Joshua.
Stephanie smiled. “No problem.”
Vicky gave her a thumbs up. “You sure you don’t need any help in here?”
“No, it’s fine. This way I know where everything is tomorrow.” Stephanie gestured for her to leave.
Louis waited impatiently until the scents of Vicky and Joshua were faint enough before shifting. Stephanie stared at him with wide eyes for a moment before offering him a beer. “I needed that,” he said, after his first gulp.
Stephanie had opted for one of the alcohol-free ones. “A long evening for you as well, huh?”
He nodded. “Do you really need to clean up around here?” He hoped it had been an excuse to stay behind, but both kitchen table and counter were covered in bottles, tubes, and makeup supplies.
“Unfortunately, yes.” She took a sip from her beer. “But it’ll go faster with two people, especially if the second person puts things where I tell them to.”
