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Chapter Seventeen
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2021-08-31 09:41:00We spent the next few hours drinking wine and playing cards. I’d never played rummy, but I found myself to be quite good at it. I enjoyed Kenzie’s frustration over what she called ‘beginner’s luck’ so much that I actually forgot where I was or that the moon was full and I was technically in danger. It wasn’t until Snow stood at attention and snarled that it all came rushing back to me.
I froze in dumb terror as I watched Kenzie slam her cards on the kitchen table where we’d been playing and push herself off of the chair. Moving with rapid stealth, she went to the window and peered out from behind the closed curtains.
“I don’t see anyone,” she said in a hushed tone.
Finally regaining my wits, I raced to Noah’s bedroom to get a view of the back part of the house. The bright moonlight made visibility easy as I scoped the landscape through the bedroom window. I was
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We remained in the basement while the men cleaned up and made sense of the main house after the battle. It turned out that there were three werewolves come to fetch me back to their pack. I could only imagine the mess the fighting created.“How badly did they destroy his house?” I asked.Even though the décor wasn’t my taste, it was a beautiful home. I felt horrible that I was the reason for any destruction that occurred while protecting me.“They broke a few things, but it’s mostly the bodies and blood that need to be cleaned up,” she replied. “I’m going to go up and see if they want our help.”I nodded as I watched her climb up the stairwell. Within seconds, she was back down relaying the fact that they would appreciate it if we just stayed in the basement until morning.Since there was a futon sofa, a recliner, and a television, we made ourselves comfortab
Last Updated : 2021-08-31Of Wolves and Men Chapter Nineteen
True to their claim, the brothers’ wounds were barely visible by mid-morning. Oscar explained that, had he not tended to them with a special cleaning liquid that their grandfather concocted, their wounds would not have healed so readily and would have left scars. As it was, their bodies were fairly devoid of marks that would mar their beauty.I kept it to myself that, had Noah been scarred, I would have loved him just the same because my brief moment of intimacy with him was just that. Brief. Just as he’d held me close in his bed while sleeping, only to keep a good distance from me in my waking hours, his intimate demeanor disappeared as soon as we returned to the main floor of the house and he was reminded of the danger that I was in.His shifting of behavior around me made me question his true reasoning for caring for me. Was it the same love that I felt? Or, was it guilt over the fact that he’d inadvertently exposed me to th
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He could have just been busy, but it seemed to me that Noah spent the rest of the day ignoring me. He was in and out of the house throughout the day, but said minimal to me whenever we were in each other’s company. I felt acutely alone. Especially because Kenzie and Oscar took off to do what they could about completing their tagging assignment. Although I still has Snow as my constant companion, our conversations were one sided… me speaking and him listening.Not only had I been forbidden to go out of the house for fear of being seen, but I was forced to wear that blasted, cumbersome red cape. The only benefit was that when I held it to my nose and sniffed, it hinted of his scent. It gave me a sense of feeling wrapped in his protective arms.After a few sarcastic jokes about Red Riding Hood, I settled down and gave in to my situation. I had to admit -to myself at least- that I was behaving badly because of the disappoint
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The muffled sounds of voices coming from the main room of the house slowly roused me from my slumber. I reached for Noah, but his side of the mattress was empty and cold.Taking a few minutes to gather my wits about me, I swung my legs to the side of the bed and then padded my way to the ensuite bathroom. After inserting the last of the medication that Dr. Blake provided, I closed my eyes so that I could concentrate on assessing the condition of my body. I felt pretty good. All that remained was a mild soreness in my ribcage which I expected that a few more days would see an end to. During my examination, the doctor declared that there was only a hairline fracture in my rib and that it should heal quickly. Considering the loud crack that I’d heard when that beast fell upon me, I’d experienced doubts about the validity of that claim. I was happy to discover that he was right.Feeling refreshed and encouraged, I hurri
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“Well, well,” Oscar bellowed as he and Kenzie entered the room. “I see you called in the troops, brother. William and Joseph are keeping guard outside. They said that they saw signs of Snow’s hunting. I was wondering when you were going to send him off to tend to his needs.” Turning to Danica, his jovial attitude went sour as he said, “Hello, pain in my ass.”“Hello, shit face,” she replied with what I can only describe as an evil sneer.Kenzie and I simultaneously looked from Danica to Oscar. Their tone of voice and expressions hinted of an interesting story. Curious, but knowing better than to question anyone about their unusual greeting just then, Kenzie stepped forward.“I’m Kenzie,” my friend said as she offered her hand to Danica.“The human,” Danica grumbled as she rejected Kenzie’s hand and walked into the kitchen wit
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Kenzie and I sat on the front porch while we watched the sun slowly ease its way behind the trees.“The moon will be full again tonight,” she mused. “I reckon we’ll see the turning in about four hours.”“How did you know that you had the right to cut off her head?” I asked as I vigorously rocked in the Adirondack styled rocking chair. “No one was going to stop you.”“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I sometimes lose it when I’m around bitches like her. It stems from my high school days. I wasn’t a beauty, as you well can see, and I was picked on quite a bit by the popular girls.”“I think you’re beautiful,” I said in earnest. “So does Oscar.”She gave me an affectionate smile.“I’ve got a long way to go to be in your category of looks, but I will admit that I’ve grown into myself,&rd
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I was both disgusted and frustrated.A week earlier I had no idea that werewolves existed anywhere but in fairy tales, books, and movies. Suddenly, not only were they real, but they existed below our social radar in a world of their own with rules of their own. By some sick twist of fate, I’d fallen into this underground reality and was forced to deal with the fact that I’d never be free of it.If I wanted some semblance of normality to return, I had no other option than to give in and find someone to mate with. Then, I’d be able to go home and resume a life of writing books and enjoying small town living.Sadly, the thought of committing myself to a man simply to be able to lead a normal life was overwhelmingly oppressive. This was especially hard hitting because the man wouldn’t be Noah.I longed for the same joy that my friend Kenzie was experiencing. Hers came from years of devoted friendship that
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The pack’s howling faded into the distance, but there was still an odd, almost creepy feel in the air. I mentioned it to Kenzie and she readily agreed.“I don’t know if they’ll be coming back like they did last night,” she nervously said. “Oscar hinted about the need to keep Danica busy so that she couldn’t circle back and cause us harm.”“That’s just dandy,” I hissed. “What if someone from another pack shows up like they did last night? What do we do then?”“I asked him that very same question,” she admitted.“And?” I said and then waited with eager silence to hear his solution.She shrugged as she informed me that Noah was posting his most loyal men around the perimeter of the land to keep watch for invaders.“Will that be enough?” I asked. “What if someone slips past them? After all, from wh
Last Updated : 2021-08-31
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Of Wolves and Men Chapter Forty-Three
I could feel the life force slowly ebbing from Danica. The human part of my mind reasoned that, with Kenzie out of danger, the right thing to do would have been to release her, but the wolf in me refused to let go. The urge to finished the job and tear her throat out was so intense that I trembled from the effort to resist it.The shouts of the crowd around me as they rooted for their pack leader to take Noah down and finish him off only served to drive my animal instinct to kill even further. I’m not sure if I’d have resisted much longer had Oscar not returned with Noah’s pack.With the numbers on a more equal basis, Caleb’s pack quieted down. I took note of this fact. Apparently, not only was Noah a strong leader, but his pack was ready to fiercely defend him if the need arose.From what I could see, they need do nothing. Although Caleb managed to get in a few good punches, bites, and throw downs, Noa
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Forty-Two
Noah’s altered werewolf voice was a welcome sound as he bellowed from the distance, “Snow! Down boy!”The beautiful white wolf ceased his snarling, but he didn’t move an inch.No longer feeling threatened, I turned in the direction that the command came from just in time to see Noah leap through the air toward us. His strong legs had managed to catapult him over yards of ground with one single bound. I found it incredibly impressive.“Lisa, is that you?” he asked as he cautiously approached Snow and me. His voice had a tone to it that I couldn’t decipher. Was it anger or sadness when he said, “It smells like you. You’ve shifted to full wolf form.”I wanted to say something, but could only make canine sounds.When he moved a bit closer, my heightened sensed took in the familiar smell of his body. The combination of his human and werewolf pheromones was all the
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Forty-One
Caleb waited until an hour before the moon was full to come to my room. Furious at being ignored by him for days, I snarled as he entered.“You’re in the process of shifting, I see,” he said with a smug smile as he lowered himself into the room’s only easy chair that was located in the far corner. Resting his elbows on its thickly padded arms, he touched the tips of his fingers together, tapping his index fingers lightly as he spoke. “I understand you miscarried. I suspected as much.”I went to respond to him, but found that my voice didn’t want to cooperate. I was shocked at how foreign it sounded to me when I finally managed to eke out, “What?”“I lied, you see,” he said as he sat forward. “It’s true that putting venom into your system promoted your shift, but I didn’t need to put as much as I did. One small bite would have been sufficient. I could
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Forty
There were still a matter of hours before the full moon would rise and I already felt terrible. In fact, the sensations in my body were so strange and awful that I couldn’t even accurately describe them to anyone if I tried. Every inch of me twitched and ached, from my bones to my muscles.Since I’d never experienced this before, I suspected that it had to do with the fact that I had Caleb’s venom inside of me. I would have confirmed it with him, but he was nowhere to be found. After I’d submitted so willingly to him a few nights earlier, he’d not returned. It was almost as if he’d lost interest after a successful conquest of my body.Since I’d arrived almost a week earlier, I’d not been allowed out of my room. The only faces I’d seen were Caleb, Philip, and Danica. Kenzie returned several times over the course of the few days, but was unsuccessful in getting near me. It was
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Thirty-Nine
I was disgusted both with myself and with Caleb. He’d managed to subdue my body and get the response from it that he wanted through sex while he left his venom inside me night after night. Week after week. Surprisingly, unlike with Noah, the more time I spent with him, the less I liked him. By the time the moon’s cycle had reached the brink of another full moon, I could say that I actually hated him.Unlike when I awoke after the first venom installment, I not only could use my legs, but they were so full of energy that it was almost too much. I needed to walk some of it off, but since Caleb was afraid that I’d run away, I still wasn’t allowed to leave the room.As I paced the floor with my new and improved legs, I found that I was moving with the ease and grace that reminded me of a caged panther I’d admired in a zoo when I was younger. Approaching the window just in time to see Kenzie pulling into the driveway, I immediately
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Thirty-Eight
I hadn’t eaten since the dinner party the night before, so the spicy broth hit the spot.It occurred to me to question its contents, but, then, I thought better of it. What did it matter? I didn’t like being handicapped in such a way. It actually brought forth hints of the claustrophobia that I suffered from. As the creepy cook so adamantly insisted; if I wanted to use my legs, I’d have to drink the broth and I definitely wanted to use my legs again.I found the fact that this broth had such crazy healing properties puzzling since it tasted like a simple Asian beef broth to me. Since I knew so little about werewolves and their ways, I accepted that it had some type of property that would renew my ability to function normally and drank every last drop.I didn’t get a chance to test out the results of the broth before Caleb returned to my room. I’d fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep almost immediately after consumin
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Thirty-Seven
When I awoke, I was surprised to discover that I’d slept through the majority of the day. To add to my confusion, I felt weak and exhausted.I was about to climb out of bed and find the nearest bathroom when the door to my bedroom opened and the cook entered with a food tray.“Good. You’re awake,” he said with a deep, baritone voice that didn’t match his short, stocky stature. “I’ve brought you some broth. You’re to drink it all up.”Extremely self-conscious of my nakedness, I held the sheet tight to my collarbone as I said, “I need to go to the bathroom.”His tone was matter-of-fact as he said, “There’s a bedpan under the bed.”“What?” I said with surprise. “I’m to use a bedpan? Why can’t I just use the bathroom?”“I was given instructions to keep you in the room no matter what,” he explained.
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Thirty-Six
The guest room where I was placed in the big house was adjacent to Caleb’s. In fact, there was a concealed door that allowed him to enter without going into the hallway. This wasn’t something that I was aware of until I heard it open a few hours after I’d gone to bed.I was in that zen state of not being fully awake, yet not quite into a deep sleep when I heard the creaking of the door. My mind was aware of it, but my body remained unwilling to respond as I peacefully lay beneath the damask coverlet that adorned the bed.The wherewithal to react finally hit me when I felt the cool air on my nakedness as the covers were pulled away from me. Sitting up, I quickly turned on the light while pulling the top sheet up high enough to cover my bare breasts.I rarely slept in the nude, but since I’d arrived with the intention of an afternoon visit and not a lengthy stay, I had no night clothes to wear. I could have rem
Of Wolves and Men Chapter Thirty-Five
I was furious. First I was kept in Noah’s home like some kind of prisoner for my protection and, then, Caleb insisted on the same thing.“I just want to go home,” I pouted as I walked with Kenzie back to the SUV. “I may not have been abducted, but I feel like it. I came here to meet him and now I can’t leave. It’s so wrong.”“You can come back with us,” Kenzie offered. “I’ll speak to Oscar about it.”“I wish that she could,” Oscar said as he approached us from behind. “Unfortunately, I don’t hold the power to go against Caleb. The only one who can is another pack leader.”“Like Noah,” Kenzie mused.“Oh, hell no!” I exclaimed without hesitation.“Listen to me,” Oscar said with urgency. “Caleb is a renown humanitarian, but, over the years, I’ve noticed something abou
