I tested the door knob. It was locked. I pulled out my wallet, sliding the credit card that Michael had given me out. I slid it in between the door and the lock, manipulating the card and the knob at just the right time—I had learned this trick through raising my siblings. Sometimes, in our overcrowded apartment, one of them would lock the rest of us out of the single bedroom, for “privacy,” while they spoke on the phone or journaled. When they overstayed their private time, I would sometimes have to jimmy the lock in order to break in so the rest of us could go to sleep.
The lock clicked open, making a chiming sound, and I walked in. The room was dark, and I could make out a messy tangle of sheets on the massive, four poster bed…but there was no one asleep in it. I frowned and turned the light on. The room was empty. It was modern, sleek—a high tech bachelor pad.
“Michael?” I asked, then paused as I realized that this was the first time that I had referred to my employer on a first name basis. I was greeted by silence. This was ridiculous. I crossed the room to what I assumed was the closet, turning the knob and opening the door.
It was a large, walk-in closet, with bare racks and empty shelves. Taking up most of the space was an enormous, rebar cage that had been battered severely. Inside of the cage, Michael Thompson, my stern employer, was curled up on the floor, asleep…and naked. Wounds covered his flesh, some were fresh, and others were scars several years old, yet massive and twisted. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth in shock.
Michael woke with a start. I began to back away as his eyes opened. He was shocked to see me, and he reached out a hand, as though to stop me.
“Wait,” he rasped, as though he had screamed for weeks. I ran, closing the door to both
the closet and the suite behind me. I ran to my room, packing everything. I had to leave. I had thought that he was strange, but now I knew too much—or did I? Was it a fetish? Was it…what?
I couldn’t desert Mary. I didn’t feel like she was in danger, but I also couldn’t let her be raised by someone so obviously…out of touch. As I finished packing my things, Michael, dressed (thankfully), in a t-shirt and boxer shorts, entered my room. He closed the door behind him, and I put out a hand.
“Leave that open.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?” I placed my hands on my hips. “Because I honestly don’t know what to think, and I honestly don’t have the time.”
“It’s—” He stopped, sighing.
“Look, my sister is in the hospital. She’s in critical condition, and I have to go be there with her. I can’t deal with your weird…whatever.” I picked up my bags. Michael stood there by the door, a concerned look on his face.
“You’ll come back, won’t you?” his voice was soft.
“I can’t think about this right now.” I moved to pass him, but he stood in my way. He made as though to caress my face and I flinched.
“I…I won’t touch you. It has nothing to do with you,” he said. “But I need you. Mary needs you. Promise you will come back.” I looked at the floor, but I nodded. I believed him. And I would come back.
“I will come back. For Mary’s sake.” He nodded, and let me pass.
Chapter Thirteen
I sat down in the chair beside my sister’s bed. My other siblings had gone to get some sleep, having been nearer to SUNY. Julie looked so young, almost swallowed up by the hospital bed. She had inherited my mother’s smallness—she was slim and willowy, while the others and I were curvy and built like our fathers (Yes, fathers. Our mother got around). I reached forward, taking her delicate, pale hand that had bluish bruises already forming.
“Hey Jules,” I said. “You’re almost out of the woods, baby. Just keep walking back to me, okay?” I hoped for an answer that wasn’t coming. In order to help her heal, she was still in a medically-induced coma, and would be for a few more days.
“I have been through some weird stuff since we last talked,” I said, brushing her bangs back on her forehead. “You know, Michael Thompson is way weirder than we thought. I think he actually likes me.” I smiled, realizing that, despite the cage, I cared about him. I missed Mary, and wondered what that kid was up to. Now that I was at my sister’s side, I could relax a little. I was where I could be effective. She was still breathing. There was no internal bleeding at the moment, and she was stable. There was nothing that I could do but wait. I pulled my phone out of my bag, and dialed Michael’s number. He answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hi…Michael,” I said, deciding to be brave and speak to him familiarly.
“Jennifer. How is she?”
“She’s stable. In a medically-induced coma, so we won’t know how her brain is until she wakes up.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good news. Not great. But, considering…” he trailed off.
“How’s Mary?”
“Concerned about you. But she’s keeping Soraya busy.”
“You should read to her. We’re in the middle of the fifth Harry Potter book.”
“I’ll let Soraya know.”
“No,” I said, “You should do it. She’s always talking about how you used to spend time with her. She would love it if you read to her.”
“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised. “Okay. I think I will.”
“Good,” I said, smiling at the thought of them reading together. “Well, I should get going. Just wanted to let you know that I got here in one piece.”
“Thank you for letting me know,” he said, his voice still sounding tentative.
“It’s okay, Michael,” I said. “I don’t understand, but it’s okay.”
“Thank you,” he replied, exhaling.
Julie woke up on the third day. She was fine. My siblings and I had a small reunion of sorts, all three of us crowding around Julie’s hospital bed. It took two weeks for her to heal enough to leave the hospital, and I went with her, back to the apartment that I had set up for her using my funds from my nanny job. I sat on the couch, exhausted from maneuvering her wheelchair through the tiny elevator. She rolled over to me.
“I’ve hired a home-health nurse,” she said.
“That’s enterprising of you,” I replied sarcastically. “With whose money?”
“Yours,” she smiled sweetly. That was the thing about Julie—she was definitely the spoiled youngest. “You need to go back to them.”
“Excuse you?”
“I heard you talking to him, like, every day,” she said pointedly. “It’s obvious that you care about him. You talk about Mary like she’s an absolute angel.”
“But what about you?”
“With your salary, we can afford the nurse,” she said. “You have to go back.” I smiled at her. Of course she had listened to my phone conversations with Michael. I had spoken to him every day, the conversations stretching on longer and longer as my absence progressed. He had asked, every day, at the end of the conversation if I was coming back to him.
“I guess I have a call to make.” She rolled her eyes, then rolled away in her wheelchair.
“Hello?” Michael answered on the first ring.
“I’m coming back,” I said.
“She’s coming back,” he yelled, and I could hear Mary in the background, her tiny voice celebrating. “When?” He was speaking to me.
“As soon as I can get a flight,” I replied.
“I can set up a private jet for you,” he offered. “I’ll have a car service pick you up in the morning.”
“Okay. Then I can drive the car that I took from Chatsworth back to the house. It is still at the airport, right?”
“Should be,” Michael replied.
We spoke for a little longer, happily looking forward to the next day. Speaking to him for the past two weeks, I had realized how truly I cared for him.
Chapter Fourteen
I was feeling antsy—I had texted Michael when I had gotten on the private jet that I would get in at two, but we hadn’t taken off until late. It wa
s now 5:30 PM, and we were just taxiing on the runway, making our arrival at the tiny airport in western New York State. I jiggled my foot nervously. Michael would have already gone into his strange chamber by now, unless…he would have waited for me, right?
When the plane finished taxiing and I finally had a signal on my cell, I sent him a message.
Plane was delayed. Finally got in.
The flight attendant handed me my luggage, and thanking her, I walked down the staircase and onto the tarmac. The airport really was tiny—I walked from the tarmac to the parking lot in under ten minutes, placing my phone in the glove compartment. I was a safe driver—never leaving out any distractions, like my phone.
I was driving back in the Camaro, driving along the back roads to get to Chatsworth. I took the drive through Ashford without stopping. I didn’t want to risk running into Damien. I wondered how he knew Michael, and why their relationship, if it could be called that, was so strained. My thoughts drifted toward Michael, the man who seemed to have won my heart entirely.
What I couldn’t understand or let slide was the cage…and why he seemed to have so many injuries. Was he hurting himself for some reason? Was it a cry for help? I needed to get him to open up to me. If we were going to be together—which is what he seemed to want, then he was going to have to tell me everything. I was willing to give him time, but he was going to have to explain everything down to the last detail.
I watched as the sun began to set behind the trees that covered most of this area of New York state. The woods looked black against the vibrant oranges and pinks of the sunset. I remembered my first impression of these woods—like the ones from Snow White, threatening and personified, trying to ensnare me. Now, I felt like I was driving home. As it grew dark, I switched my high beams on. I knew that deer were everywhere in this area, so I didn’t want to accidentally hit any.
Regardless, I barely had any time to hit the brakes when something jumped in front of the car. I couldn’t tell what it was, but it was huge; a giant mass, crouching in the road. I swerved to miss it, causing the car to spin, crashing sideways into a tree on the side of the road.
I hyperventilated, inhaling and exhaling rapidly, trying to calm myself. Glass from the driver’s side window had cut me on the side of my face, and I had contact injuries from my seatbelt. Something heavy landed on top of the car, denting the ceiling inward, and I screamed.
I froze in fear as I realized that it was walking on top of the car. I looked around me for something that I could use as a weapon. The front window shattered, and I found myself facing an enormous wolf, its hand-like claws reaching for me. It snarled, saliva dripping from its jaws. I tried to duck away from its grip, but I had nowhere to go since I was trapped in the smashed Camaro.
I thought about my life, so far. I thought about my family, even my mother, with fondness. I thought of Mary, and I thought of Michael—my second family. Just then, another wolf charged the first, knocking it off of the car in a roiling mass of limbs, teeth, and claws.
I exhaled, getting myself together. I needed to act immediately. I tried the car—it was dead, broken in the crash. Hoping that the wolves were distracted, I unbuckled my seatbelt, crawling through the passenger side door, landing on the ground on my knees. I got up quickly, sprinting. Adrenaline was coursing through my veins, and I felt like I was on fire.
I had gotten less than ten feet from the car when one of the wolves tore out the throat of the other. I turned when I heard the one whimper, and saw a stream of red and one wolf standing over the other, gore dripping from its mouth. My stomach dropped in fear as it looked in my direction. I began to run, faster, as the wolf bore down upon me. It reached me, and it moved its head, nuzzling my arm. I stopped, stunned. I looked at it—it stood on two hind feet, like a man. It had midnight-black fur, and ice-blue eyes.
“You want me to come with you?” I asked in shock. The man-wolf nodded, and began to walk along the road. I followed, and it waited a few feet ahead for me to catch up. We walked in silence through the night. I was unsure of what to do. I needed to thank this…being for saving my life. We were in sight of Chatsworth House when the sun began to rise. The wolf paused, beginning to shift, and before I knew it, Michael stood before me, bleeding from various injuries inflicted by the other wolf-man. He looked at me warily, but I ran to him, wrapping my arms around him. I stood on my tiptoes, kissing him passionately.
“Mine?” he asked.
“Yours,” I replied. He smiled broadly, for the first time. He picked me up off of my feet, and carried me towards Chatsworth House.
Epilogue
Placing me on the bed, he began to run kisses down my neck, unbuttoning the blood-splattered blouse that I had been wearing. I took his face between my hands, bringing him back to my mouth, kissing him deeply. I sat up, helping him to remove my shirt. I reached forward, cupping him in the palm of my hand and feeling him stiffen. He inhaled sharply, taking my bra and ripping it, before throwing it aside. I laughed huskily as he did the same to my pants—I should have known my clothing wouldn’t survive sex with a werewolf.
He looked at me, running his hands along my sides, and goosebumps rose along my skin. I leaned back into the bed, arching my back, and letting him slide my panties off. I could feel myself responding to him as he cupped my mound, feeling the wetness of my desire for him as he slowly entered me.
I moaned as he began to pump, rotating his hips so that he was hitting against my most sensitive parts. He placed a large hand on my stomach, and ran the flat of his palm upwards. I felt myself building—it was kinetic.
He began to pump harder, and I felt myself coming undone in waves, crying out as we reached crisis together.
Michael held me tightly in his arms, our bodies entwined beneath the sheets. I lay with my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat beneath my ear.
“I was bitten three years ago,” he said, “by a werewolf who disappeared from the area shortly after. He either returned every few years, or was able to go dormant. I only knew because he would commit carnage that I would have to worry I would be hunted for. I couldn’t figure out who he was or why his pattern was so strange. I believed that he was either a migrant worker, or wealthy enough to travel often. It wasn’t until you introduced Damien to me that I figured anything out.”
“His job as a travel blogger would certainly explain the disappearances.”
“It did. That and the fact that he told me what he did. Evidently, ruining the life of a billionaire was a comfort to him.”
“So the cage was to keep you from hurting people?”
“Yeah. First Mary, and then you. Soraya trained with firearms after I was bitten, and so was able to take care of herself. I’m learning control, but only very slowly.”
“What about last night?”
“When I knew that you would be getting back after dark, I knew Damien would be out. I had to protect you.”
“Aw,” I said. He held my chin between his thumb and forefinger, and looked me in the eye.
“I fought my feelings, to protect you from me, but you are…my mate,” he said. “I’m part wolf, so that’s as romantic as it gets.”
“Pretty romantic,” I replied, kissing him. “I like that you’re part wolf.”
“Oh really?”
“Yes. I’m a dog person, you know.”
“Lucky me.” He was grinning, though.
~*~
THE END
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Forbidden Beast
~ Bonus Story ~
A Dragon Shifter Romantic Thriller
Samantha Hunter is a new resident at the Emergency Room at Linda Vista Hospital. She meets visiting doctor, Mark Johnson, and they hit it off.
Recently, there has been a rise in the number of patients suffering from significant and inexplicable blood loss—where the only visible wound is two tiny pin pricks—like a b
ite. Ignoring Mark’s remarkably cold hands and strange demeanor, she agrees to go out with him. That same night, Samantha meets a strange man in the blood bank…he claims to know the reason for the string of patients with the same condition…vampires. Jared Hamilton is hunting a rogue vampire. Jared himself is a monster, of an ancient and almost extinct race. He finds himself falling for Samantha, seeing a future with her…so long as they can find a way to stop the rogue vampire before he kills both of them.
* * *
Chapter One
I heard the code called over the intercom, and I rushed down the hallway toward the exam room that had been called. I left my coffee, abandoned by the machine. I was fighting exhaustion; every muscle in my body was screaming for sleep. It was my second week as a resident in the Emergency Room at Linda Vista Hospital. Upon entering the room, I beheld the patient, a young male in his late twenties, who was convulsing on the table.
“Starting CPR,” I yelled as I placed my hands above the patient’s sternum, beginning to pump, forcing his heart to continue to move blood through his body. My arms strained as I began to coax his heart to continue pumping. This was maybe the fifth round of frantic CPR that I had done this shift, and my arm muscles were aching from the buildup of lactic acid. One of the nurses rushed in, a clipboard in her hands. She was a blonde woman in her late forties, frown lines evident on her face, as though she had seen too many bad things in her life.
“Doctor,” she said, looking at me. It still hadn’t sunk in that that was now me. “Blood testing on this patient has come back from the lab.” She was frowning, making the lines on her face deeper and more pronounced.
“And?” I asked, my breathing labored as I continued to pump. A strand of my own hair had become stuck to my forehead, but I couldn’t risk stopping the CPR to push it away.
Bad, Very Bad Shifters- The Complete Mega Bundle Page 5
