Chapter 6 #2
The snap of twigs nearby had me perk up, listening intently. Another crunch sounded closer. I gripped the strap of my messenger bag and waited, not wanting to startle whatever it was. A low snarl rumbled, and with it, I heard a familiar voice. “Delicious.”
“Hello?” I called out, staring into the dark trees. Movement out of the corner of my eye had me whipping my head in that direction. I kept my voice calm and my tone light. “It’s okay, I’m not dangerous.”
Another rustling sounded, and I waited, standing tall. Running would be the worst thing to do if it were a predatory creature. Even if they came to understand what I could do, their instincts might push them to hunt first and talk later.
Heavy snuffing sounds seemed to echo around me, and a growl came from over my head, too big for any animal I’d ever encountered, even bears. My heart rate kicked up, but I stood my ground. None of my previous experiences could have prepared me for what stepped onto the path before me.
I drew in a sharp gasp but tried not to let panic take over.
Calm. I needed to stay calm. Adding the scent of scared prey to the situation would be a bad idea.
The creature before me was big, really big.
Nearly two feet taller than my five-foot-seven.
It was covered in black fur and had an elongated snout like a wolf.
Its eyes glowed pink, and its teeth were bared, with drool dripping from them.
It had its arms lifted, with long, sharp claws gleaming in the torchlight.
My eyes scanned down its enormous body to see a T-shirt stretched tight across its chest.
No… his chest. There was no mistaking the bulge beneath the jeans that seemed near their breaking point.
He was a… werewolf? No, that couldn’t be.
Those didn’t exist. Except, there was no other word that came to mind as I looked at the hulking creature who stood on two legs and wore clothes. I could see his tail twitch behind him.
He tilted his head back and sniffed the air.
Sniffing toward me. Then he let out a roar that seemed to bounce off the trees around us.
It was so loud that I imagined everyone on the island would hear it.
Loud enough to make most men quake and quiver.
I could admit, I quivered a little, but I forced myself to stay steady, especially as I heard the word that came through the roar.
“Miiiinnne!”
Mine? Was he talking about me? I hope he didn’t mean, like, to eat. He was a predator, and a big one at that. Predators ate meat, and here I was being meat. I couldn’t blame him, though he might have had a bigger meal if he found someone who wasn’t as scrawny as I was.
“Hey there, big guy,” I kept my tone in that gentle, disarming one I used when greeting new animals.
I’d never met a werewolf before, but I hoped there was enough of the wolf part of him to respond to a canine approach, which usually involved praise.
Every species of canine I’d met had responded to praise.
His tail twitched, and his head cocked to the side.
It would have been cute if he weren’t a giant supernatural creature that shouldn’t exist.
Holding out a hand, I took a step closer. “It’s okay. I’m a friend.”
The beast stiffened and stepped back slightly. “No!”
Huh. Interesting. Was he… scared of me? I took another small step closer. “You don’t have to be frightened. It’s okay.”
A low growl rumbled out of him, giving me pause. “No. Don’t. Want. To. Hurt. You.” It seemed like it took him great effort to bite out the words.
I lowered my outstretched hand and took a chance to look up at his face. His glowing pink eyes seemed to tighten with what looked like warring emotions. “It’s all right. You’re not going to hurt me. You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
His tail wagged behind him, and I saw his eyes soften. I couldn’t help but smirk with amusement at the reaction. I took another step closer, and this time he didn’t back away. He huffed loudly as he remained still, but his tail gave him away, swishing as I grew closer.
He inhaled again, meeting my gaze, and growled. “Smell fucking delicious.”
I chuckled in surprise before remembering the treats in my bag. That must be what he was smelling. I quirked my lips to the side as I tried to figure out what to do with this giant freaking beast. First… maybe I could make him feel less giant. “Can you sit?”
To my amused surprise, he crouched into a squat, bringing him closer to my height. “Good boy.”
His tail wagged again, and his eyes lit up, so I decided to continue on this same path. “That’s right, you’re a good boy, aren’t you?”
Reaching into my bag, I grabbed one of the bully sticks I kept. They were safer and healthier than rawhide for a lot of breeds, while still requiring more time to consume than dog biscuits, which was helpful in some situations. Holding the stick out, I offered it to him. “Do you want a treat?”
The crouching werewolf snarled at me as if he were offended by the suggestion, but his eyes went to the rolled bully stick, and a string of drool fell from between two of his very sharp teeth.
“Go ahead. You can take it.”
With his clawed hand, he snapped out and grabbed the stick from me, and held it to his mouth, chewing on it with a grimace. He wore a strange look on his face, one that almost looked embarrassed.
“See? You’re not going to hurt me. You just needed to gnash your teeth a little, I get it, but I’m a friend. My name’s Bowen.”
“Bow-eeen.” He roared out my name in a way that made the hair on my arms stand up. His chest rose and fell as he huffed loudly between bites on the bully stick. “Bowen is mine!”
“Yes. I can be your friend.”
“Not friend!” The werewolf stood to his full height and stepped closer, towering over me.
I stayed completely still as he leaned down and sniffed my hair.
Giant teeth were much closer to my face than I would like, but I forced myself to stand my ground.
His jaws opened, and a rumble sounded through him.
Well… maybe the bully stick wasn’t quite enough.
It took all my strength not to cower with him this close, and his hot breath huffing against my face.
Before I could react, a large tongue swiped along my cheek, licking from my chin to my forehead. “Not friend. Mine!”
I was too stunned to react, but the werewolf pulled away. He let out a roar that reverberated through my body. What the fuck was I supposed to do? “Hey, big guy, we’re cool, right? You’re not going to eat me because you’re a good boy.”
The wag of his tail came again, and he lowered back into a crouch. “Not eat. Not hurt Bowen.”
“See? Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. I’ll probably be around for a few days, so if you see me again, maybe don’t sneak up on me next time, okay?” I reached out and patted the top of his head.
His eyes closed, and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth, as if he were any other canine happy to be petted. A smile tugged at my lips. Sure, just petting a werewolf, no big deal. “That’s a good boy. Be safe.”
When I stood back, the pink glowing eyes seemed to have lost some of their intensity, and an almost human expression could be seen behind them.
Right. Because werewolves weren’t just animals.
That meant there was someone inside there, too.
Someone I had just called a good boy, and who had licked my face.
I felt my skin warm at the thought and suddenly needed to get away as quickly as possible before it turned awkward.
I walked backward, watching the big beast to be sure he wasn’t going to follow me.
Turning your back on a predator was never a good idea.
Though he seemed calm now. Calm and watchful, but I didn't feel any kind of tension from him. Taking a deep breath, I turned away from him and hurried down the path back toward the main building of the inn. I didn’t sense him following me or hear anything else, and I breathed a sigh of relief when the lobby entrance came into sight.
Maxime was at the front desk and opened his mouth to greet me, but I rushed past before I could get drawn into a conversation. As soon as I got into my room, I sank against the closed door, trying to process what had just happened.
So… werewolves were real. Actually real. And I gave it a dog treat. A laugh bubbled up in me at the reality of the situation. I laughed so hard that I had to wrap my arms around my stomach. “What the fuck?”
It licked me. He licked me. I’d been licked by plenty of animals, but never by a human, not like that.
Shit. What the fuck did I do with that? How does it work, I wondered?
This wolf-man guy? Based on the movies and shows I'd seen, he could look like any average human, right?
Would I even know who he was outside of his wolf form?
Did I want to know who it was? Did I want him to lick me again?
I inhaled sharply, surprised by the last thought. The most fucked-up part was… I didn’t know the answer. What the hell was wrong with me? Maybe a weird mix of adrenaline and loneliness.
Loneliness didn’t get to me often because I usually found animals to be around.
I didn’t date much because people tended to portray what they wanted you to see without letting you in completely.
Not that I was one to talk, because starting off a first date by confessing my ability wasn’t something that typically ended well.
On the few times I’d managed to pretend my way through a date and get back to their house to hook up, I couldn’t ignore their pets or the secrets they shared.
Nope. Animals were my friends, but as far as romantic or sexual relationships, I’d mostly been on my own. Which left me with this weird whatever-the-fuck I was feeling. Longing? Curiosity? Shit, I didn’t know. I was so screwed up.
Standing, I dropped my messenger bag on the chair and face-planted onto the bed. As much as I tried not to think about the werewolf or the heat of his tongue as it swiped along my face, it replayed over and over until I drifted off to sleep.
My dreams started on the walking path cutting through the woods, and the hulking beast in front of me, huffing and chest rising.
My eyes lowered to the sizable bulge in his pants.
I could feel my skin heat and an ache low in my belly, but it was soon accompanied by the sense of dread that had been following me.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my skin prickled with goosebumps.
The werewolf’s eyes flicked up to peer behind me, and he let out a roar. “Run. Bowen Run.”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw the shadowed hand reaching through the trees, reaching out to me. I woke with the feeling of falling against my mattress, and my heart raced as I scanned my room.
“Fuck!” I muttered and hit my hand against the bed.
Once again, I found myself opening the curtain and turning the bathroom light on as I tried to get my mind and my heart to relax.
This was going to get really old, really fast, if I kept having nightmares like that.
Although I’d never had nightmares feel as real as the shadow ones, or woken with the fear still wrapped around me.
If only I could have kept dreaming about the wolf-man.
No… it was probably good that it was cut off with the direction it was headed, because that was a morally complicated situation.