Strange and Lovely (Part 1) (5 page)

He laid down on the bed, and pretended to snore. I pushed him, and laid down next to him. The bed barely contained him, so I had to squeeze myself against him to fit. He turned to face me. He kissed the tip of my nose.

“I should ask my professor about that rain thing,” I said. He winced, sitting up. I sat up too.

“Really? We’re on this bed, all cozy, and you want to talk about your professor and the rain?” he asked.

“Didn’t you think it was bizarre?” I asked. He put his hand on my thigh, and caressed it.

“A lot of strange things have been happening. Like all of my dreams coming true,” he said. He kissed my mouth, nibbling on my bottom lip. He grabbed me by the hips and pulled me on top of his lap. I pulled his shirt off. I ran my fingers along his muscles, tracing the valley between his chest muscles, and between his abs. When my hand reached his navel, he put his hand over it, flattening my hand against his stomach. He leaned back, and I draped myself over him. He kissed me, his tongue exploring inside my mouth. His back arched, and I could feel his firm erection through denim. It pulsed hard and unyielding against my legs. He put his hands on the back of my thighs, and pulled them up, so I was straddling him.

I raised my arms, and he pulled off my dress. He moved his hands behind my back, tracing the bottom of my bra. He unclipped it, and it fell between us. He cupped my breasts in his hands, one of thumbs brushing against my hardened nipple. Being almost naked in front of him was both exhilarating and frightening. He had a dire gaze in his eyes that could never belong to a young schoolboy or to someone who was only a friend. It was a hunger that only men had. It was a need that traced back to a primal ancestry.

He moved his hands to my underwear. I began to squirm, nervous about this next stage. I had fooled around with a couple of guys, but I had never gone all of the way. I didn’t know if I was ready, and I didn’t want to lose Declan as a friend.

He yanked my underwear down, his hands caressing my naked ass. When I leaned away from him, he growled—a deep and husky sound. He wrapped his arm around my waist and rolled me underneath him. His breathing was heavy, and he no longer looked in my eyes. My underwear fell down to my ankles. He slipped down his boxer briefs, and his cock emerged, stiff—warm. It pressed and massaged against my upper thigh
. No, I couldn’t do this.
His girth would never fit inside me. I shoved at his chest. It barely moved him. He spread my legs apart. Impulsively, I pushed up and felt it stroke soft then and then hard along my wet clit.

I kicked his groin.

He reared back. When he looked at me, a golden luster bled into his irises. Declan’s cheeks were taut as leather and wolf sized canines flashed at me. He snarled as he launched off of the bed. Declan keeled over and white fur began to push out of his skin. His head changed, elongating, with his hair changing into upright ears. The front of his face melded into a snout. His hands and feet shortened into a hairy set of paws. A tail grew out from his back. Instead of staring at my best friend, I was now in front of a menacing wolf with its hackles raised. It growled, spreading its front legs. It was getting ready to pounce.

I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst.

Suddenly, light shined through the window. The wolf whined, and backed away from it. Staring at the sudden light, I realized that the sun was high up in the sky. My jaw went slack, and I couldn’t move. I looked at the clock. It was 9:42 pm.
Night
.

Something touched my arm. I turned to see Declan, fully human again. He looked away from my gaze.

“I need to tell you something.”

***

“Y
ou’re a
werewolf
?” I repeated for the fourth time. Declan nodded. “What....why....how come you never tell me?”

“Would you have believed me?” he asked. “I can see how that conversation would go.
Hey, Rory, by the way, I can change into a wolf whenever I want or when I feel extreme emotions....Hey, Rory, why are you putting me into an insane asylum?
”

I rubbed my face. I looked out the window. The sun had gone back down within twenty minutes after it came up. “What about the thing with the rain and the sun? Is that you too?”

He shook his head. “That’s never happened before. There is a myth...”

“The daughter of the stars,” I finished. He nodded, raising his eyebrow. “My professor told me about it.”

His eyebrow raised even higher. “Your professor? Normal humans don’t know anything us about us. They can’t know. If they knew they’d want to hunt us down and experiment on us. ”

“Saying he’s normal is a bit of a stretch...”

“Unless...” Declan pondered deeply.

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Are you saying he’s some kind of werewolf too?”

“No...” Declan said. He gave me a sheepish look. “There’s not only werewolves. I’ve heard that there’s pixies, fairies, ghosts, demons, vampires, mermaids...though, my brother could be lying about some of those. I met a pixie once. She was a bitch.”

“And...nobody knows about them?” I asked. “I mean, nobody
normal
knows about them?”

“No,” he said. “We have a council that makes sure everything is kept secret. My brother is worried about these beheadings though. He thinks it has to be a supernatural creature. He suspects its vampires. By beheading them, nobody can see the bite marks.”

“Is there a lot of supernatural creatures?” I asked. “Or are they all here in New York City?”

“Well...” he said. “I told you my brother and I came here because our uncle was retiring and we were taking over the bar. It’s actually because there were rumors that a large source of power had moved here. A lot of people move to the city in the fall, so I never made the connection, but...it must be you. You’re the power source.”

I shook my head. “That’s impossible.”

“Didn’t you just see me turn into a hairy mongrel?” he teased. I put my head in my hands.

“I just wanted to go to college not be a part of some trumped up prophecy,” I groaned. He bowed his head.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wouldn’t wish this supernatural life on anybody. And I’m sorry I let my feral side take over. I understand if you’re afraid and you don’t want me showing up around here anymore.”

I leaned against his arm and kissed his cheek.

“What because you sprouted a little hair and finally reached puberty? I need you now more than ever,” I said. He nodded.

“My brother says a war is coming,” he said. “Everyone is going to want you because of what you can do.”

“Make it stop raining?” I asked. He smiled.

“You can make the sun never appear again,” he said. “That’s what the vampires want. They experience excruciating pain in the sun, and die if they’re in sunlight for too long. Without the sun, they could go wherever and whenever they wanted. The moon has a gravitational force that changes the tides. The mermaids want high tides all of the time.”

“And what do werewolves want?” I asked. He shrugged.

“We like the full moon. It seems to give us more energy and make us more powerful, but it’s not as big of a deal for us as other creatures,” he said. “What we want is to keep you away from the other creatures because if they get you, they will have an unstoppable amount of power.”

“I don’t even know how I made it stop raining or made the sun come up,” I said.

“It seems to be connected to strong emotions too,” he said. “But I don’t know. There has to be a way for you to control it. I learned how to change by thinking like a wolf.”

“So, what, I’m supposed to think like the rain?” I asked. He took my hand, and held it.

“You don’t have to be anything but Rory,” he said. “As long as the other supernatural creatures don’t know that you’re the daughter of the stars, you’ll be fine.”

“And if they do find out?” I asked. He grimaced.

“Then, I’ll tear out their throats.”

***

D
eclan and I sat in The Legend, eating stale popcorn and drinking soda, before the late night crowd came in. He threw popcorn into the air, and caught it inside his mouth.

“Is that one of your...uh, special abilities?” I teased. He laughed.

“No,” he said. He watched a few students walk into the bar, and lowered his voice. “Other than the whole transformation, there’s enhanced strength and speed, but that’s it. I’m afraid you got the lamest creature of all.”

“What else can other creatures do?” I asked.

“Well, I only met that pixie,” he said. “And you do
not
mess with pixie dust. That shit makes you feel like you’re going through meth withdrawal.”

“Is that why you missed school for a week, and you didn’t want me to come over?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I didn’t need you thinking I had a drug problem.”

I intertwined my fingers between his fingers. “I’m sorry you had to keep this from me.”

He smiled. “It’s alright. Do you remember when you always tried to outrun me and lost?”

I smacked his arm. “Of course. I spent months jogging in the morning to try to beat you.”

“You couldn’t,” he shrugged. “It’s in my blood to run.”

“Rory!” a voice called out.

I turned around. Sam and his frat buddies were settling down at a table. I looked back at Declan. He sighed, looking away. Sam walked over and leaned against the bar.

“What’s up?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you since Rambo hit my friend.”

“He was being a racist,” Declan snapped, glaring at Sam. “Why don’t you teach your friends some manners?”

“Manners?” Sam snorted. “Are you really trying to tell me about manners? You punched a guy in the face.”

“And I feel like punching someone else,” Declan growled. “I’m glad you happen to be standing here.”

Sam laughed. “Please. I learned martial arts from the best fighters in the country. I’d like to see you try.”

Declan stood up, kicking his stool back. “I learned to hit in actual fights. I could take your preppy ass any day of the week.”

“Declan,” I cautioned. “Don’t get too emotional.”

Sam gestured to the door. “Let’s take this outside. I wouldn’t want to destroy what’s left of this shit bar.”

Declan walked to the door. Sam followed him outside. I grabbed my bag. If Declan transformed, he could end up killing Sam. I had to prevent that, for both of their sakes.

I walked outside the bar, but I couldn’t see where they have gone. I walked toward the east, but I didn’t see any spot where they could fight. I walked back toward the west, and I heard Sam’s taunting voice.

They were in a parking lot, both of their bodies tense, and their fists ready to swing. I crept behind a car, keeping my head low, and watched them through the windows. Declan already looked like he was about to change. If I suddenly ran up to them, I was afraid it would trigger him.

“You know, when I met Rory, she was all over me,” Sam said. “I think I was the first guy in her room. She practically spreads her legs every time she sees me.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Declan snarled, his voice deeper than usual. His fingers were curled, and I watched as they turned into claws. I was frozen behind the car, as I watched fur grow out of his skin, and his head transformed into a wolf’s. The wolf bared its teeth at Sam, and howled.

When I finally looked at Sam, he only looked slightly surprised.

“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” he asked. He smiled. Instead of the perfect teeth I had seen before, he had two fangs that glistened against his lips. He crouched down, and launched himself straight at Declan’s throat.

W
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for my new release mailing list.  I’d like to thank everyone who helped me achieve finishing this novella, especially my co-author. You know who you are. I’d also like to thank my family for being patient with me always and allowing me to push the limits no matter what their misgivings. When they knew I was going to write erotica, they nodded kindly and that’s all I asked. ;-) Their support and love is like none other. I also want to thank Pixel Studio for the great covers, and Svenia Schreiner for providing the arctic wolf photo and supporting the creative commons.