Looking around the room, she realized she could see everything clearly; however, there wasn't any light source. Maybe the moon is up and it's shining enough to light the room and the sky. Yeah, that's what it is, the moon. Well, if it's just after four in the morning I should still be tired and go back to sleep. She closed her eyes and snuggled against Marie .She couldn't go back to sleep. She felt completely rested and wide-awake. She thought she would feel tired and worn out after what they had done last night, and this morning, she added to herself. However, she didn't feel tired or worn out; instead she felt more alive than she had in years. She smiled again, thinking that it must be love that's doing this. Yes, its love.She listened to Marie's breathing, the soft rhythm of it, deep and just a little loud in her ears. She frowned again, it is a little loud, but then her nose is right next to my ear. Elena concentrated for a second and realized she could hear the hum from the cl
"Like what, Elena? What do you mean 'other side effects'?"Marie hadn't really dwelled on what Elena had told her about Damien. She thought it was a fantastic surreal episode in Elena's life, but she had just taken everything at face value and let it pass. The sex act part of the tale had slightly disturbed her, but so what. It was over and that was that.Elena watched marie for a minute and sensed some of what she was thinking, mostly from the expression on her face, but there was that tiny little buzz in her head that told her that wasn't all that she had to go on for Marie's thoughts. It frightened her to think that she might have been altered this much by what Damien had done to her mind."Marie, it is over. Don't freak out, my love. No, I didn't just read your mind. I could see it on your face. What I was referring to when I said other side effects was that I found I could see better in the dark this morning, I could hear the buzz from your clock radio on the nightstand from over
She grabbed her ears and bent over in pain. She stabbed at the off button until the screaming stopped. She stood up slowly and looked at the microwave, and then what she had chosen for her snack and it hit her, OH GOD!! NO!Marie woke up and stretched, then frowned. Elena wasn't in bed with her anymore. Well, maybe she had to use the toilet. She looked over at the bathroom door but it was open and dark inside. Oh, I bet she went down to wash her clothes so she would at least have something to go shopping in. Marie slid out of bed and headed downstairs.She didn't hear the washing machine going; still she thought she'd just check. She lifted the lid, yep, done washing. She put the clothes in the dryer and went to find Elena. She heard whimpering coming from the kitchen. That's strange, why would she be whimpering? Marke stepped into the kitchen and saw elena on the floor in the corner, curled up in a ball hugging her knees, rocking back and forth. She was repeating the same words ove
"OH MY GOD! You just jumped across my living room and landed on your feet! How is that possible?"Marie stopped at that point and thought, oh shit. It's true. It's all true. She looked at elena."Oh god, Elena, what happens now? You aren't going to turn into a wolf, are you?""That's precisely why I screamed at you this morning, marie. I was so scared that I'd change and hurt you, or worse, I might have passed this shit on to you. I'm still trying to figure out how it got into me. I have my suspicions, but I'm not absolutely sure.""Okay, elena. I really do forgive you for this morning. I over-reacted myself. My past caught up to me for a few minutes and I let it rule my thoughts, instead of following my heart and knowing that you do really love me.""Thank you. I still feel horribly guilty about that and I guess I will for some time, but we're past that now. As for how I got like that, well, I fixed myself some breakfast this morning. Oatmeal. But after finishing that, I was still st
"Okay, so now I'm the one who's just a little jealous. I know I said I wouldn't get this feeling, but damn it. Was it that good?""Oh, marie. It's different with you. No, don't give me that look. I'm serious; it is different with you. I don't compare the two of you at all. How do I explain this? Okay, bear with me for a minute. When I had sex with him, it was completely with him; there was a mind-to-mind connection there as well, and I'm sure that was why it was so intense.""He was inside my head when we were having sex. So, he could do things to my body to make it respond. He played me like an instrument, literally. His tongue was almost twelve inches long and it could reach places and do things no human tongue could ever hope to duplicate. Do I miss that tongue? Yes, I do. Do I miss it when I'm with you? Absolutely, NOT! I love you, Marie. I love what you make me feel when we make love, and because it's YOU doing that to me, I feel great. You are giving yourself to me and I am givi
They both started laughing. They laughed until they cried. Then they just cried. They hugged and cried together. When the emotional release finished pouring over them, they stood there looking at each other. Marie had an idea."I think I know what I need to do, but I need to have your permission first.""What? Why do you need my permission to do anything?""I need it because I have to go find someone. I have to go find him. I won't do it unless you say it's okay. I love you too much to lose you just because of this.""Oh. I see. Yes, you can try to find him. I think I know what you are planning and it doesn't include that. You're going to go see if he can fix this aren't you?""That's precisely the reason, but I wanted you to know everything that I was thinking and planning. We are a couple now, marie. That means you have the right to put your foot down if you think I'm screwing up or if I am going to do something that might hurt you.""Thank you, my sweet Elena. I approve of your pla
He gave her an evil look but let go of Marie's hand. Marie tried to hide a giggle."Back to business. What the hell happened?""I'm sorry Elena, really I am. Yeah, he was labeled as dangerous, but the guards figured that since he was only dangerous to wolves, they didn't take him all that much more seriously than as a standard trustee. He jumped one of the guards at meal delivery time and he escaped. We haven't found him yet. We did confiscate his guns, so you shouldn't worry too much. His two cohorts in crime are still behind bars and their guns are in our possession as well."He tried to smile, but it wasn't very convincing. Marie looked at Mark for a second then at Elena."So, the guy that shot out your window and tried to kill Damien is loose?"'Yeah, and I really didn't need him running loose either."Mark was looking at Marie and then back at Elena. The look of surprise was written all over his face. Elena grinned."Yeah, Mark. She knows. She knows everything. She hasn't seen Da
Elena was shivering and she was holding onto Marie. Her vision had returned and she was almost back to normal now. She looked up at marie and found her looking into her eyes, very worried. She smiled."That was close, Elena. Too close. I think if I hadn't calmed you down, something very bad would have happened."Elena breathed deep and sighed. She hugged Marie and rested her head on her shoulder."You're the friend, aren't you?""Yes, Mark. Although, if I were you; I'd try real hard not to piss her off again. Get my drift?""Yeah, I get it. Sorry.""So, you think you can find him?""I don't know, Mark. I have to try."They had spent the previous hour telling Mark their plans and what they had found out that morning. They left out the love affair, just explaining to Mark that they were close and left it at that. Marie didn't like Mark, at all. She couldn't believe that Elena had been friends with him.Although, he had kept his fixation on her a secret, so she couldn't really blame Elen
"I forgot to eat dinner last night and camping always gives me a huge appetite. I'll burn it all off before the day is over. Well, maybe. You have brought some horses but when I go camping, I'm always on foot. So I normally hike ten miles in one day when I go out.""Oh, okay. Yeah, I'd eat that much too if I was going to hike ten miles."Gab just sat there and grinned as he sipped his coffee. Marcy and Elena finished their breakfasts almost simultaneously. They washed their plates and cleaned out the skillets. Gab doused the fire while Elena and Marcy drank their coffee. She watched Gab as he saddled the horses. She was still nervous about this exercise. She didn't know if the horse they would try to get her on would stand still enough for her to do so. She went through her calming exercises in her head, trying to still her nervousness. She figured that if she didn't feel nervous, the horse would be calm as well.They finished their coffee and went over to where Gab was waiting for th
This was the truth, so she knew her voice wouldn't detract from her excuse. They both stared at her a few seconds; and then at each other, they shared a look together before they turned back to her. Marcy was the first to break the silence."I'm sorry to hear that. Again, I didn't mean to embarrass you."Gab was looking at her, and she could see that he was mulling something over in his mind; finally he shrugged and grinned."Well, I guess if you're willing to forgive our lapse in manners, then I'm willing to forget about it and just enjoy the weekend with a new friend."Elena smiled and let out a big sigh of relief."Thank you. I'm sorry too, I should have warned you, but it slipped my mind in all the excitement and rush to get out here."They all smiled their relief at the averted social faux paux. They started chatting about the next day's plans and Gab reassured Elena that she would be just fine around the horses. Eventually they all yawned, Marcy first and then the other two in s
Elena blushed again and she saw Marcy shoot a look at Gab that was a mixture of surprise and annoyance. Goob just grinned and shook his head. He had wanted to surprise his wife with his new friend, and it had worked."I surprise a lot of people, Marcy. So don't feel embarrassed about it, you should have seen Goob's face when I shot that rifle for the first time and just grinned at him like a kid at Christmas. He didn't know what to say or do for a minute there."Marcy laughed and nodded, immediately taking to Elena's easy-going personality and humor."Yeah, I've managed to do that to him a couple times myself. Let me just get the rest of the food into the cooler and then we can hit the road."Marcy went back into her kitchen and Elena waited with Goob."Okay, Elena, we're heading for a friend's ranch and the roads are almost non-existent once we get into the higher elevations. Here's a radio for you to use so we can stay in contact if we get separated. It's got a 12-mile range out on
Damn, but at least with this one I can clean the outer shell of any accidental blood stains and re-proof it with a can of repellant. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run. If I go out every month and ruin a cheaper bag, I'd be spending more than this in four months time.The next morning she was happy when she went to work. Yes, I'm leaving but Rhoda won't be there to ruin my mood anymore. Charlenne proved herself to be as smart as Elena thought she could be. She had no trouble getting her acquainted with the software, but she needed to find some inspiration with the graphics layout. That's where natural talent comes in, you are either inspired or you are not. It's an artist part of the job, and this was where Charlenne had the most difficulty."Honestly, Elena, I've never thought about art or graphics. Can I take a class or something?""Well, yeah, you can. However, this is where you need to let your imagination flow and try to feel for the client. Find out what they are looking
"It's got a custom ladder sight and the wood has been reworked and reinforced to take the recoil of that brutal cartridge, they hand rubbed five coats of Tung oil into it."She really didn't know about the wood finish, but the ladder sight was neat."Okay, sold."He smiled and nodded. He got out the paperwork for her to fill out and he called in her ID and information and the NCIC check came back clear. He put the sling kit on the rifle and slipped it into the carry case and handed it to her."I do have one more favor to ask, if you don't mind?""Miss Brandt, anything for the lady who can shoot a Rossi .454 Casull and smile."Elena laughed."I need to find somebody who can teach me how to hunt and skin the animals. I want to go hunting so I can fill my freezer with good meat. I want to be able to do that myself.""Miss. you just went up three notches on my respect scale. I would gladly teach you how to do that. My wife goes hunting with me and I know she would love to have another wom
He smiled at her confident response. Well, what the hell? Why not?"Okay, so you won't need a scope or at least a big one.""No, no scope. My eyesight is perfect.""Okay. Any preference on caliber or action?""Nope, that's where I need your expertise. I've never hunted before, but I really want to learn.""Okay, great. Well, in that case, um, have you ever shot a rifle before?""No, but I'm an expert with a H&K Tactical .45 ACP."His eyes widened again and he started laughing."Okay, I had that coming, sorry. Well, if you don't have any preference on action or caliber, I'm not sure where to start. How about I show you a couple of standard hunting rigs and you tell me if it's something you might be comfortable with, okay?""Yeah, that'd be great."He reached back on the rack behind him and pulled off a bolt-action rifle with standard iron sights. He handed it to her with the bolt open. She hefted it and put it to her shoulder. She looked at the bolt and then slid it forward and down, l
"There you go mark, all your troubles are answered. It's my resignation. I quit."Elena turned, went to her desk and gathered up her things before heading for the door. Rhoda had just heard her announcement and she was pissed. She had wanted to get Elena into trouble and here she was walking out before that could happen. She had hoped to get her fired, but by quitting, Elena still held the high ground."Elena, wait a minute. Why?""Well, mark, I have had it with that little bitch over there. I was in a perfectly happy mood when I came to work today. But when she jumped me three seconds after walking in and implied that I was trying to get her fired because I wouldn't let her finish the interview, which by the way, lasted over two hours yesterday. Then she had the gall to grab me physically, which I told her was a really bad idea and to not ever do it again. Since I was planning on it anyway, that just put the icing on the cake and instead of in two weeks, I'm out of here today.""She
"Me moving in with you, silly. I still want to keep this house. It's paid for, thanks to dad's life insurance policy. So all I have to pay for is the taxes and homeowners insurance. I will need it for the down time after my monthly trip into the woods.""Heh, the way you keep saying it like that, you make it sound like you have a bad case of the monthly cramps, not, well, you know.""See, even you can't say it out loud. It's like if we don't say it, it won't be true. Yes, Marie, once a month my PMS goes all to hell and I turn into a werewolf.""Yeah, okay. I guess maybe because I haven't seen you like that, it really hasn't sunk in.""Trust me,. Until Damien teaches me to control the shift, to become aware inside myself when I've shifted, you don't want to be anywhere near me. I killed and ate someone who was near me last time.""I'm sorry, Elena, I didn't mean to bring that up.""No, that's okay. If I keep these thoughts inside, it'll make it worse. I do know how you can make it up t
Elena nodded that she had and took it out of the fridge for her. She finished cooking her bacon and eggs. She then smothered honey-butter on her toast. Marie watched her in awe and still wondered how she could eat so much. When she wiped up the last of the egg yolk with her toast she popped it into her mouth and hummed contentedly. She sipped her coffee and felt the rush of caffeine hit her system. Marie sipped hers and smiled, Elena had been right, it was very dark and very rich but it wasn't bitter at all."Well, now that I don't have the raving urge to fill my mouth with eggs and bacon, we can talk. I saw that look, and I'll eat that for dessert, now hush. I want to run an idea past you, but I don't want you to feel pressured in any way. I'm thinking of quitting at the Acantha and trying to find something in Helena."Marie beamed and snickered."You're trying to see if I want you to move in with me, aren't you? Well, the answer is YES! I would love it if you would move in with me."