Friday Night

Liam Drake

Published by Purple Sword Publications, LLC

www.purplesword.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are

fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons,

living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks,

product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their

respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied

endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes,

the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or

mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Copyright © 2010 LIAM DRAKE

ISBN 978-1-936165-62-9

Cover Art Designed By Anastasia Rabiyah

Edited By D. Thomas Jerlo

For Vincent.

Some secrets are best kept.

Chapter One: Monday

“Why don't you like women?” Raul asked me, sounding

amused. He had the most fantastic brown eyes, dark like a deadly
night. I tried not to look there. He would know my soul if I did, and
he was good at seeing into people. I could tell that about him right
off. I wasn’t really sure I wanted anyone to see that far inside of me.
Even I was afraid to look now, but there was something about this
man that made me feel different, made me hope that I could belong
to someone for keeps. I’d never had that, not even as a child.

The potted lavender on the patio kept my eyes busy instead. I

stared there, at the tight little buds that hadn't finished blooming.
That was me. I was that lavender, not quite ready to be plucked.
Not tonight. It was only Monday after all, and I didn’t know him
that well even though he was visiting me at the restaurant most
days on his lunch break. This was the first time he visited for
dinner.

“I never said I didn't like women.” I searched the walk for

anyone I might know…for the memory that haunted me. There
were a lot of people out tonight. Raul and I were seated in the small
patio of Over the Rainbow, a gay bar and grill in the heart of the
city. It could have been any city, any bar, but there was no one like
him. Not anywhere. I knew somehow that he was different, but I
couldn’t quite place my finger on why.

“You never said you liked them.” He set his warm hand on mine

then, and I had to face him. He had a jagged scar down his left
cheek, placed there by his stepfather when he was fourteen. One of
many. He had told me that story. He'd snuck out. He had done that
a lot as a teen—with good reason. That time he'd been caught and
punished.

“Do you like them? I need to know.” His squared face was

handsome in a rugged way, the kind of face that had seen a lot of
hard times but still fit well with a smile when things were going
good.

“I like them, but not the way you mean. You already know that,

though.” I offered him a sideways grin. I don’t know what he was
playing at.

“Good.” He smiled at me, a raw, sexy Latino grin that showed

me what he desired. He wanted me, in the bed, out of the bed,
against a wall. He wanted intimacy as well as sex, and I'd been
avoiding all that. It was easier. Getting too attached was dangerous.
Letting him know who and what I really was? Out of the question.

We met in group counseling. A support group. I'd been in a

really bad relationship with Pedro my last ex, but he hadn’t been
the first. It went back to bad foster parents. Me being in the wrong
place at the wrong time—too many times to count. Some people
just get the raw end of the deal. I did. Especially with Pedro.

Things went too far one night, and I left him. Snuck out of the

house he'd inherited from his doctor daddy, left all my belongings
there except my truck. I did that so he might think I was coming
back. I bet he thought that at first.

That one night he lost control changed the course of my life

forever. In so many ways it was too late for me.

It was easy enough to sell my truck to some guy that wanted to

take it across the border to Mexico and turn it for more cash. I took
what he gave me for it and used the money to rent a room close by
the bar I was in. I worked tables on the weekends and cooked in the
kitchen during the week. Lame job, but it gave me just enough.
Being some spoiled, drunk, rich dick's beating bag wasn't what I
wanted. Sure, it was nice to have a guy in charge, but Pedro took
that to a degree that went beyond what I thought of as sexy.
Besides, money I could do without. It wasn't important. Life was.

“Ah. You're thinking too much again.” Raul squeezed my hand.

“I can tell when you're thinking those deep thoughts. You get a
little dimple between your eyebrows. What are you thinking about,
Jack?” He lifted his bottle and drank, his full lip curving over the
small rim.

“The past.”

“Aha.” He clucked his tongue, disapproving. “I can teach you

how to forget the past. I can teach you so many things. Come home
with me tonight. Spend the weekend. I'll do you right; you'll see.”

“You're so flirty. I bet you say that to all the guys.” I laughed at

myself. The weekend was out of the question. There was a full
moon coming.

“I do. But only you listen. I like that about you. You're always

paying attention to what I say. It’s refreshing.” He had a thick
accent that really turned me on. I loved to listen to him talk. When
he'd had a few Coronas, his accent got heavier, and it made me feel
like I was down south in the fancy parts of Mexico where tourists
go to catch the sun and lay on the sand for vacation. Or maybe
somewhere more dreamlike, Spain even. I wanted to go to Spain
someday. I wanted to see all of Europe. Do something bohemian
like travelling there with a backpack and the money in my pocket.

“Maybe after we get to know each other better,” I said.
His face turned solemn, and his demeanor cooled. “Yes, you are

right, Jack. You are right about that. I'm sure we have a lot more
secrets than we let on, don't we?”

I shrugged. Again I looked away, out over the busy street and

the people milling by. Secrets, I thought. Yes, I have some. One really
big one that no one needs to know about. Something I wished would go
away. But some things don't go away no matter how much a person
wants them to, no matter how many prayers, or how far we try to run. We
simply can’t escape the truth.

Chapter Two: Night Run

I watched Raul leave that night with a heavy feeling of sadness

weighing down my chest. We had each others' emails and phone
numbers. I had his home address. He didn't know mine, but I bet
he could have figured it out easily enough. He would go to bed
alone tonight. I would finish the prep for tomorrow and clock out.
Then it was that secret time. The time that was my own. I usually
ran the streets for hours trying to reconcile what I had become with
the man I once was. It was getting easier.

When I was free of my apron and I had washed my face and

hands in the bathroom, I wondered a lot about what it would be
like if I could stop the monthly change. I had tried not to do it, tried
to stay home and be normal, watch TV, laugh, fighting the pull in
my bones and blood. But who was I kidding? Pedro had made sure
I would never be normal again.

I waved at Lewina, my manager, before I headed out the back

way. She waved back, her burgundy dyed spritely hair askew from
long hours over the grill.

I liked the alleys in this busy city. There were cats and shadows

that moved in the corner of my vision. Graffiti covered the walls,
some meaningless, most gang signs or puffy letters that meant
something to someone, somewhere. I wondered why the guys that
did that never got caught. Then again, I had never been caught. Not
even close.

It's not hard to keep secrets. You just don't tell. No matter what.

Secrets are dark things though. They swallow up what might be.
Mine makes me sacrifice.

I breathed deep and picked up the lavender, car exhaust, the

scent of a woman who was turned on, and the musky perfume of a
man about to come. Why could I smell things like that? Why did
my heart feel cold and empty every full moon? For the thirty-six
hours that stupid white ball stayed so brightly lit? Why didn't I lock
myself up somewhere until the change passed?

Hard questions. I guess we can't help being what we are.
By next Tuesday it would all be okay. I could relax for another

month. The moon would have gone through its phase, and I would
have gone through mine. The moon would begin its annoying
show on the twenty-third, this October. Three days in which I
couldn’t change back. Days I’d already managed to not be
scheduled for work. Days I’d wander and hunt, lurk and try to
survive, try not to give in and kill some unfortunate person who
might cross my path.

I bypassed a couple in the park, squashed together and making

out. It was them I had smelled. I didn't need to look to know the
man's pants were open, that her hand had dipped in there. The
beast inside me growled. It wanted to look, to taste, to tear apart.
The hunger would be worse come Saturday night.

I cleared my throat and hurried on.
Through the trees, I started to jog, thankful that most of the

park’s cover was pine. There were few autumn leaves to crackle
and pop as I hurried along. The night air whipped through my
hair. The length brushed my cheeks, reminding me I needed to visit
the barber. I wanted to run, to strip off all my clothes, hide them in
the bushes, and run like the wild thing I was. My cheap apartment
was across the other side of the park. I stopped and caught my
breath, turning a circle to be sure I was alone. My nostrils flared as I
tested the air.

Wet grass. Moist mulch. Blooming flowers. The not so clean odor

of the park's man-made pond. Ducks.

I licked my lips. The ducks smelled good to me. They would be

hot, wet, and crunchy to bite through.

Sure I was alone, I pulled the t-shirt over my head, exposing my

body to the night, my scarred chest that I kept hidden. I never
wanted Raul to see that. There would be too many questions. I
didn't want to lie to him. It was easier to not say, to leave things
out. Running my fingers over the thin marks, I remembered when
Pedro had given them to me; one slash for disobeying him, the next

for not submitting, another for not crying out when he gave me the
first.

Those scars never healed. The secret they gave me would never

dissipate. I had become like my former lover, my former master. I
was a slave to the moon, but unlike him, I was not a slave to my
desires. I had learned to resist, to control, and on the three days a
month the beast couldn’t be put back inside the man, I had learned
to hold back.

I unbuttoned my jeans and pushed them down. Kicking off my

shoes, I listened; I tasted the air.

Alone.
My boxers came last until I stood there in the moonlight

flickering from moving trees above, naked. My dick was still a little
hard after being with Raul. That happened. Not that I needed to do
anything about it. Not here. Not in the park. Imagine getting
caught like that, having it off with myself. Talk about embarrassing.

I ran both hands through my unruly hair and closed my eyes. It

felt good to be here. Free. Wild. Close to what I know the thing
within me wanted. Not close enough. But one day I would find a
place I belonged. Maybe even a companion that could understand
me. One like me. Maybe. That was a lot to hope for.

How many people were out there like me? How many suffered

each full moon? How many were able to resist the madness? How
many chose not to resist?

I bent and bundled my clothes into a sloppy ball then tossed

them under a bush. No one would find them there before I came
back.

Leaves crunched not far behind me. Footsteps. Someone was

coming, and I didn't want to be seen.

I gave in to the moon's sweet call and shifted.
It wasn't painful to change. The pain came when it was time to

turn back. The thing inside me never really wanted to go back. It
wanted to stay the wolf. It wanted to hunt and kill and race
through the park day and night.

But not me. I was not like that. I wanted to be what I was before

Pedro.

Dropping on all fours, I savored the ticklish feel off thick fur

sprouting across my skin. My eyes narrowed, vision sharper in the
dark. Now I could smell even more. So many little scents to follow.

Ducks.
Yes.
I needed to eat. A duck would make a fine meal and wouldn't be

missed.

The footsteps moved closer. I turned my head and saw a

silhouette. Man or woman, I couldn’t tell. I didn't run. No. That
would draw attention. I walked away from the place, skulking
among the shadows, proud, confident, a beast upon the earth
meant to prey upon weaker beings.

I circled the pond, watching, waiting. Ducks often slept near the

edge, hidden among the shrubs or thick grass. I sniffed. I froze.
Two. One for me and one to be left behind. I darted forth.

My jaws clamped shut. A squawk.
Snap.
It was over.
Life ended in seconds. Sad though it was, I was hungry. I trotted

away to lie among the moist grass and devour my meal. As I tore
the prize apart, I heard a wolf calling. A wolf. And I knew I had
been followed. I watched the tree line and the lake for any signs. A
shift in the wind, a branch swaying oddly. Nothing.

I had only met one other like me. Pedro. I didn't think he could

find me here. But maybe I was wrong. A wolf had no place in this
park. Not unless it was like me.

Chapter Three: A Set Date

Sated from the meal, my muzzle wet and bloody, I stood and

sauntered away. Again, I would not run. My kind liked it when
prey ran. I was not prey. Not this time. Not ever again. I was the
predator. And I was growing comfortable as that. Circling the lake,
I picked up the musky scent of the other wolf. Spicy, foreign. It was
not my old lover. It was another animal like me. Not a wild wolf,
for there were no such creatures in this city. It was one like me.
Exhilaration charged my senses. Another! I was no longer alone in
this. Another might be able to understand, able to give me
companionship. Another might know a way to better control the
beast inside.

I rolled in the grass. Afterward, I trotted to the place where I had

left my clothes, cautious and still sniffing for the newcomer.
Nothing. Alone. Sitting back on my haunches, I contemplated if
what I was about to do was the right thing. After all, it could be a
dog or maybe Pedro had made another slave.

I leaned my head back and howled.
Waited.
Silence.
More silence.
Trees swaying.
I was still alone.
Frustrated, I forced my body to change back. I had cleaning to

do at home. It was past midnight, and I had to work in the
morning. The pain burned in my paws. It felt like fire eating at my
skin, erasing my fur, charring bone and muscle. I liken it to being
melted down and then rebuilt. I knew to clench my teeth to keep
from screaming over the agony. Pain I could bear. Being found I
could not.

I hastily dressed and wiped my mouth across my arm, half

expecting there to be blood. There wasn't. Then I was walking. Jack
the man, not Jack the monster. Just Jack who was gay and odd and

lived in a crappy apartment on 17th Street. Jack who would go to
his loneliness and stay safe there. Keep the people safe by
remaining alone.

I gave one last look at the world around me, the facade of a

wilderness that couldn't be found for real anywhere near me. But
there was no one. I must have fooled myself.

I hurried home, climbed the black railing of stairs, and set the

key into my lock. It was dark inside, but I liked it that way.

I went to shower first. Then cleaned the dishes and the counter.

After that, I curled up in bed and stared at the alarm clock. It was
almost one. The phone rang.

I flinched.
It rang a second and third time.
I picked up. "Hello?" I asked, trying to sound groggy.
"Hey, Jack. It's Raul. You sleeping?"
I stared at the sliver of moonlight peering through my blinds.

Nearly full. Waxing gibbous. "I was trying to. Are you okay?"

"I couldn't sleep. Kept thinking about you."
A smile spread over my face. "Oh really? What were you

thinking exactly?"

He groaned, and I heard his breathing. Heavy, slow. The

breathing of a man who was in a warm, comfortable bed, his eyes
likely closed. A man who was relaxed. Bumps prickled my skin. I
imagined he might be naked, too. That would be a fine sight.

"Well?"
"You know what I was thinking," he finally answered.
Yeah, I knew. "Why don't you tell me? Describe it all in detail.

Keep us both up."

"Mmm. I wish you were here with me now." The phone made a

soft, whispering sound. "I would show you what I was thinking."
His accent was thicker than usual. "I would show you until the sun
came up, and we would sleep after a night of working out each
other's pasts."

I chuckled. "Right. Our pasts. Somehow I think you want to

work something else."

"Well that is good, too. Might as well. If you were here with me."
Silence for a time. He breathed. In, out, in, out.
"You sleep naked, don't you?" I asked.
"Jack. Are you spying on me?"
Another chuckle. "No. Lucky guess is all. Listen, as much as I'd

love to stay up and talk dirty with you, I have to work in the
morning. You do, too, in case you forgot. How about we do this
some other time?"

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. How about Friday night?"
"Date then. Friday at some ungodly hour, you get naked, call me

up, and tell me your fantasies."

He laughed. "I want you to come to my place, Jack. I want you to

sleep in my bed and let me cook for you. I want to spoil you and
know you. Come Friday."

I reached down and touched myself, imagining his fingers were

there instead of mine. "Friday," I repeated. "Yeah." The moon
would be starting the next night. I could go around with no
cravings, no wildness for that one day. "Friday is good."

"I like you, Jack. I think we have a lot in common."
"That's a lame line."
"I know. But it's true. I'll drop in tomorrow for lunch."
"I'll be there."
"Bye."
The phone clicked. I hung up and rolled over, thinking of him

naked, his hands where my hands were. This was a strange
attraction. Kind of slow and heated, like a fire that had been
burning a while. Not rushed and out of control like it usually was
for me.

I wondered what it would be like to kiss his mouth, to taste him,

to have him want me. How easy it would be to make up lies each
month about my having to be gone. Would he believe them?
Would he try? I eased my hand up my length and rounded the
head of my dick. Soft. Gentle. Not the ravaging way Pedro used to
touch me or try to turn me on. It was hot then, but so full of

dominance and pain. He wanted to hurt me. He had hurt me. I was
changed forever by his cruelty.

I let go of myself and waited for my arousal to slacken. It took a

while with the smirk of Raul’s face so fresh in my mind. He made
me so hard. And we’d never done anything but talk.

Freaky.

Chapter Four: Kiss

Tuesday I was standing over the hot grill, wishing the rush

would end. It did make the time go by faster, but man, my legs
were killing me from staying in the same place, flipping meat over
and over. Like a robot. Frickin’ lame job. I didn’t like it. But I
reminded myself it paid the bills and it kept me under Pedro’s
radar. He wouldn’t think to look for his boy-toy here. Too
mediocre. Too working world. Not posh enough.

“Hey, Jackster.”
I half turned, offering a nod at Lewina. “Yeah?”
She grinned at me, her blue-violet eyes sparkling with mirth.

“Chimichanga’s here to see you again. Lemme know when you
want to break for lunch.”

She had nicknames for everyone. She called Raul Chimi most

days, likening him to a deep fried burrito smothered in luscious
enchilada sauce, guacamole, and sour cream. The woman had a
way with words. I guess I could see Raul that way too, come to
think of it.

“How long can he stay?”
“He said until two. I’ll fill in for ya,” she said, batting her lashes.

“If you’ll do me a favor.”

Skeptical, I flipped the three burgers and stirred the cheesesteak

mixture. “Name your price, woman.”

She squeezed down the narrow line to stand behind me, retying

her apron. “Work tables Saturday. Mikey-Bikey wants time off to
go the Harley show.”

I groaned. That was impossible. “Wish I could,” I said, truly

sorry. “But I can’t.”

She bumped my ass, pushing me out of the way. “Jackster.

Sheesh. I thought you’d do me that solid.”

She snatched the spatula from my hand and gave me a

disappointed frown that wasn’t very convincing, especially since it
broke into a smile afterwards. “You owe me one then.”

“All right, Lew. I owe you.”
With a swing of her hip, she jostled me backward. I took the hint

and squeezed down the tight line out of the cramped kitchen. I
removed my greasy apron and hung it on my designated hook,
complete with Sharpie scrawled nickname above. Lewina had
crossed out three names prior to mine. Tacky but effective. I had to
like the gal. It was hard not to.

When I went into the dining area, I saw Raul right away. He was

seated inside this time, nursing a tall iced tea and staring out the
window. I slid into the booth across from him. “Hey.”

His head snapped as he faced me, an angry look on his face. That

faded fast though.

“Hello, Jack. Sleep well?”
“I tried to. But couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Raul grinned. He tipped his glass at me before taking a long

swallow. His tongue licked away the traces of moisture from his
upper lip, then his lower. I watched, fascinated, my dick getting
hard.

“You’re blushing,” he said.
I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand. Had to keep the

libido in check.

His other hand came across the table and took hold of my

fingers. “I am looking forward to Friday night,” he said. “To
having you all to myself, not out in the open. I think maybe…you
will let yourself out when it’s the two of us. You’ll stop being so
cautious. No?”

I shook my head. “Maybe. Hell, I don’t know.”
“We can’t keep running for the rest of our lives. We have to try

again, Jack. Why not now? Why not you? Why not me? We know
what it’s like to be hurt. To run. To feel like we are not worth more
than dirt.” He winced when he said that last part, obviously
haunted by his past as much as I was haunted by mine. “I won’t
hurt you.” He grinned, all seriousness gone from his eyes when he
whispered, “Not unless you ask me to.”

“Ha.” I squeezed his hand, imagining the possibilities, ready to

make up monthly lies to hide why I’d be gone every full moon.
Desperate for companionship. Hopeless.

I stayed with him while he ate his lunch. Every lick of the fork or

suck he made on his lower lip only increased my torture, my lust
for the man sitting in front of me. He talked about work, about his
boss and the old woman that answered phones for the company.
He liked the old woman a lot. Called her Nana as if she were his
grandmother. He talked about his little sister who would be
coming to visit him any day now and now I understood why he
had asked me about liking women.

“When’s the last time you saw her?” I asked.
“Seven years. Our stepfather was evil to Maria. He was abusive

to the both of us. It’s worse for a girl I think.” Pain transformed his
stern features into something crushing, ultimate sorrow and regret.
“My sister is stronger than me,” he said in a low growl. “She
survived. She stayed there after I ran away. She is the strongest
person I know.” He pushed his empty plate aside and frowned.
“You will meet her, Jack. You will see what I mean. I’ve told her
about you.”

He glanced at his watch and shook his head, blue-black hair

shining beneath the fluorescent lights. “Have to go.”

We both stood.
He closed in.
Every cautionary instinct fired off inside me. Run. RUN!
His arms clutched my body, barring me to him as he turned his

face to one side and pressed his firm lips to my mouth. I was
trapped. I was scared. I was afraid of being hurt again. The wolf in
me shivered and whined. Then, with a defeated whimper, the wolf
submitted. Heat washed over my skin.

I kissed back.
Raul broke away and left me standing there as he rushed out

back to work. It wasn’t weird for men to kiss each other here. It was
a gay bar after all. But it was weird for me to be kissed like that.
Out in the open. Forcefully with passion, not trickery. And as he’d

pulled away I’d felt his dick all hard against my leg for just a
second or two.

There are things in life that happen like a tide, rushing in to

overtake the beach and wash it clean of all the scars—footprints,
tire tracks, anything marring its surface. Raul felt like a crashing
tide to me, and I was so ready to be cleaned of the darkness, of the
pain and the scars. It was a futile hope, but one I clung to at that
moment.

I wandered back to the kitchen, back to my post to turn the

meats and let myself go blank for a while. Lewina was shouting at
the dishwasher kid. He was behind again, slower than usual. I
slipped into position, feeling dazed. My wolf wanted Raul. It had
never wanted Pedro after he’d brought it to life within me. It had
resisted. The wolf had been the real reason I found the courage to
leave. It was braver than me.

My boss bumped me when she reached up to get a cutting board

off the shelf behind me. “How’s Chimichanga?”

“Hot today,” I said, chuckling.
“Hot and fresh. That’s the way a chimi should be.” She licked

her lips sarcastically. “Mmm mmm mm. You ever want to share
him...”

“Lew!”
She shrugged. “I’m just saying. He’s a looker.” She set the board

across the three-compartment sink, vanished for a while, and then
came back with onions to prep. “What’d you say he does anyway?”

“Works in construction.”
“Naw. Like he drives a bulldozer or something?”
“Nothing like that, Lew. He works in the office for Greenway.

You know, that place that specializes in solar, off the grid living,
that kind of thing.”

“Yeah, yeah.” She started chopping the ends off the onions faster

than I could keep track. I tended the grill, tossing on another pair of
patties for the next order. Lewina was a workhorse. I liked that
about her.

“He’s too good lookin’ to do office work.”

“Right.”
“He is.” She stopped chopping. “You better check him out real

good before you get involved, Jackster. You gotta be careful these
days.”

“Believe me, I know.”
“Mm hm.” She scraped the ends into the trash bin. “I know you

know. Can tell by the way you carry yourself. Some asshole did a
number on you. Messed you up real bad.”

“Yeah.” I shook my head. I didn’t really want to talk about it, not

with her anyways. I wanted to get lost in the daydream that a
hunky guy wanted me, really wanted me for who I was. I wanted
to believe that love was possible, that I wouldn’t get hurt.

Sometimes when you want something real bad, you get it.
Most times you’re left wanting.

Chapter Five: The Call

Wednesday and Thursday I didn’t hear from Raul at all. No

return emails. No return phone calls. I started to panic at 9:30
Wednesday night, thinking the worst. Something bad had
happened to him. Pedro must have found out. People talked.
People would have told him about Raul if Pedro figured out where
I worked. No one really knew me there except Lewina. What did
anyone else care about ratting me out when there was a wad of
cash to loosen the flow of info? I paced in my tiny living room,
anxious, nervous, slowly edging into a total freak out. That was
when I realized how much I needed Raul in my life, that calm that
edged over my psyche when he looked into my eyes.

The wolf wanted to find him. Now.
I paced another twenty minutes or so, smashing a path in the

already thinning carpet.

Needing to calm down, I went to the kitchen and poured myself

a shot of cheap whiskey. I sucked it down and poured a second
while the first burned its way into my body, heating me up,
calming me to a level where I’d stop jumping to conclusions.

It didn’t help.
Something was wrong.
He always called or emailed right back.
The wolf in the park, I thought. That was what was wrong. It

hadn’t been the howl of a dog. No. I had known that night what it
was. And it probably was Pedro. In fact, it had to be. How many of
us were there? He’d never talked about others. But then, someone
had made him just like he made me. Maybe he had a whole pack
just like him.

Stop, I told myself. Stop doing this.
Clenching my fists, I headed to the bedroom to get a look at

myself. My eyes were wide, crazed. My nostrils flared with every
breath. I looked more animal than human.

“Fine!” I shouted. “We’ll go for a run. Just one round. To check

the park. To be sure.”

It was dangerous. If Pedro was out there, he’d find me. I’d have

to run, and I’d lose any chance I had with Raul. But if Pedro was out
there and he had already discovered Raul, my chance was gone
anyways.

I locked the door behind me and jogged down the steps to the

parking lot. The crappy apartments were soon far behind me, and I
followed the gum-black dotted sidewalk to the edge of the tree-
lined park.

I breathed in.
Grass. Water spraying from the sprinkler heads. Dry leaves.

Pumpkins. People. A cat. Pigeons. Farther away, ducks and the
man-made lake.

I crept off the walking path and into the thick bushes to strip and

shift. My skin shivered for a moment, the wolf in me excited to
hunt. It wanted answers. It wanted Raul back.

Fully furred, I trotted out of the plants to see and smell what I

could find. Nose to the ground, I tested the air for evidence of the
intruder from Monday night. I retraced my steps from that night,
finding nothing but stray duck feathers where I’d taken my kill.

I ran the edge, as close as I dared to the sidewalk, risking being

seen. It was late on a week night though. Odds were on my side.
Most people had to work the next day. No one was in the park for a
stroll. A third of the way around the park, I froze.

Sniffing, I tasted the new scent in the air.
Wolf.
Not Pedro. I knew his scent well enough.
Not a wild wolf.
But a wolf for certain.
I gave a yip and a low howl, testing my limits.
My tail hung low, ready to curl up under my belly should I feel

the need to protect it. Waiting was not easy for me. The chance that
I would encounter another being like myself; well that was exciting
and terrifying all at once.

And then it happened.
I was at the crest of a grassy hill, trees at my back, the wind

shifted, stealing the scent from me and sending mine down to the
lake. The shadows down by the water moved, a four-legged
stranger loped out from the cattails. A very dark wolf, nearly black,
but likely chocolate brown had the sun been up. It stopped, raised
its head and watched me. It had gold-brown eyes that glittered in
the moonlight.

I yipped a second time, hopeful. This was not Pedro. He was a

different shape entirely. Shaggy, unkempt, almost mangy looking
when he was in wolf form. No, the creature before me was
magnificent. Wild looking. Beautiful. Graceful as it took another
few steps to get a closer look.

My wolf wanted to bound forth and smell every inch of this

creature, memorize the new scent. And run with another.

The other wolf lowered its head and tail. Those gold-brown eyes

narrowed in a very un-wolflike way, a human way. Clearly an
expression of disapproval. Black lips curled up in a snarl, revealing
bright white teeth as it growled at me.

I couldn’t decide if I should turn tail and run or step closer.

Dumb really. Anyone else would have beat it out of there. Not me.
I simply held my place.

The other wolf snapped at the air. A warning. A threat.
I snuffed out a sigh.
It took a step toward me, slow, calculated.
The hair across my shoulders and back stood up. My tail slowly

curled underneath me. The wolf was going to attack. It lunged,
lightning quick, racing at me, then leaped through the air, clearing
me as I ducked.

I spun and it was gone.
Farther away I heard a lone howl, and that sound sent a tremor

through me. He was coming. He’d found me. Tracked me.

I ran in the opposite direction. I needed to pack what little I had

and go.

After crossing the park, I skidded to a stop in the bushes where

I’d stashed my clothes. I hurriedly pulled on my pants and shoved
my hands in my pocket for the apartment key. The rest of my
clothes and shoes I balled up and bundled under my arm. There
was no time. The moment of peace here in the city was over. It was
time to run again.

I sprinted across the street, panting from fear, not exertion. My

body shook. My heart raced. Every intake of breath made me feel
dizzy. When I reached the top of the stairs, I heard the phone in my
apartment ringing.

After slamming the key into the lock and shoving it to the side, I

went in and locked up behind me.

The phone continued to ring.
I held my hand over it, contemplating if answering it would be a

mistake.

My fingers closed over the slim cordless. Caller ID said it was

Lewina Figueroa. I clicked the answer button.

“Hello?”
“Thought you could leave me, huh bitch?”
My lungs froze up.
“You’re mine. I marked you. I made you. And I’m coming for

you, Jackie.” Pedro’s low voice sent shivers down my spine. I
glanced around the apartment to be sure nothing was missing or
moved He was calling from Lew’s phone. Had he been to my job?
Was he at her house?

Crap, I thought, angry that the few people I knew here were in

grave danger because of me.

The line clicked.
I hung up and started to stash the rest of my clothes in my

suitcase. I kept the clean ones there anyway, out of habit. All the
better to run with if they were already packed. I closed up my little
laptop and shoved it in with the clothes.

I zipped the suitcase up.

It took me a minute to dial Raul’s number. He probably

wouldn’t answer. Hell, he hadn’t for the past two days, but I had to
give it a shot.

Ring.
Ring ring.
Ring ring ring…
Nothing.
“Damn.” I had tried. That was all I could do. Had to hope I’d run

into him again someday.

Chapter Six: Smashed Pumpkin

I couldn’t help it. I had to at least go by Lewina’s place and be

sure. Probably walking into a trap. She lived in a little eclectic two-
room on the corner of Ridgeway and Shaker. It was on the way out
of town near the tracks. I set my one suitcase with all my
belongings in the trimmed hedges across the street and ran over to
get a closer look.

Her TV was on. The light in the living room was bright through

the beige curtains. I leaned my ear against the front door. She lived
alone, but that didn’t mean she’d be quiet.

Nothing except the drone of the TV. After a while I realized it

was an infomercial.

I knocked.
Listened.
“…but wait, that’s not all! If you call in the next twenty

minutes…”

I rang the bell.
Ding-ding-ding.
Listened.
Waited.
“…you believe it, Ron? Two for only nineteen ninety-five plus

shipping and handling. But only if…”

“Lewina!” I shouted.
A moan. It was a moan I heard. Not the good kind either.
“Shit.” I jiggled the handle. The door was unlocked. Inside the

place was trashed. Someone had rifled through all of her stuff. I
found Lewina on the floor, face down in her funky seventies style
kitchen. A pumpkin lay on its side, chunks and seeds splattered out
from where it had impacted. Next to that, the remains of broken
plates. There were streaks of blood on the linoleum tile near her,
and the tell-tale sign that Pedro had been here. A perfectly shaped
paw print made in the blood that faded the farther he had run from

the scene. I hoped it was his blood, not Lew’s as I wiped it out with
my shoe.

I turned her over to see how bad the damage was, searching for

any open wounds, praying with all I could that he hadn’t done to
her what he’d done to me.

“Lew?”
I set my cold hand on her cheek.
Her eyes opened real slow. She blinked a few times. “Call 911.

Damn freak beat me. Broke my mom’s vase. Jerk…asshole…mother
fuck…” She trailed off in a slew of curses before she muttered,
“…asking for you.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, unsure of what else I could say. This was

all my fault. I knew now what I should have done. I should have
left the human side of me behind. Who could trace a wolf? I could
go completely feral and hide out in the woods somewhere. Find a
pack of real wolves and blend in. He’d never find me that way.
Never.

I found her cell against the wall under the kitchen table and

called 911, giving the operator what little information I could. I
should have left then. I shouldn’t have gotten involved. If ever
there was a time to disappear, this was it.

By the time I got off the phone, she was sitting up, her back

propped against the wall, her eyes taking in the damage.

“That was your ex, wasn’t it?”
I frowned. “I think so, Lew. He called me before I came here. I’m

leaving town. Wanted to check on you…to let you know my
leaving the job wasn’t because of anything you did. It’s a shit-job,
but you’ve been good to me.”

“You can’t run forever, Jackster.”
“I have to.”
“If he found you in this hell-hole, he’ll find you no matter where

you go.” She looked into me then, really gave me one of those I been
there, I know looks. “You have to put a stop to it. Guys like
that…they’ll keep at you until they get you. They’ll destroy
everything that means anything to you.”

I hung my head. Lew might be a crazy bi chic, but she knew

exactly what she was talking about.

“How’s Chimichanga?”
I didn’t look up, couldn’t. “He’s not answering my calls.”
“You been to his place too?”
“No. We have a date tomorrow night…but for the past two days

I haven’t heard from him.”

“You think ass-ex got to him?”
“I, uh, yeah. That’s my guess.”
I listened as Lewina stood, bracing herself on the table before she

made her way to me. “That creep busted my pumpkin. You believe
that? What the hell kind of ass busts someone’s Halloween
pumpkin?”

I half laughed, half sighed. “I’m glad you’re alive, Lew. I

couldn’t forgive myself if…” I raised my head.

She curled her fingers in my hair and gave a playful tug. “Bitch

better thank God I didn’t have my gun with me. I see him again I’m
gonna blow a hole through his chest.”

I knew that would slow him down, but unless she had silver in

her bullets, it wouldn’t stop him for good. The sirens were down
the street, getting closer. Police would be here soon. I should have
run, I guess. But how could I leave her alone there?

Maybe she was right. Maybe it was time to stop running.

Chapter Seven: The Woman I Don’t Like

After helping her clean up that night, I slept on Lewina’s worn

out green couch. It was pretty comfortable, broken in by years of
use, and smelled faintly of Febreeze. She drove me to work the next
day, pissed that she was going to have to explain her black eye over
and over to everyone that would ask.

I had given Pedro’s name and address to the police, had offered

a very clear description, and, like Lew said, I hoped for the best. I
had placed myself on the line by not running.

When we got to the restaurant, there was a woman waiting

outside for us. She had suntanned skin and blue-black glossy hair
that hung down to her waist. She could have been a model, the way
she looked, her face all angular and exotic, her skirt and blouse
made of something shiny and nice.

Lewina whistled between her teeth.
“Are you Jack?” the woman asked, giving me a once over.
“Yeah.”
She frowned and swished her black hair over one shoulder with

her long, thin fingers. “I am Maria. Where is my brother? Have you
seen him?” Her accent was thick, her Rs rolling and her broken
English a little unclear. I knew right away why she was so
attractive.

“You’re Raul’s sister.” I nodded. “I um. I don’t know. He hasn’t

returned my calls for a couple days.”

She snarled, an expression that made her beauty dangerous. “I

wait for him here.”

I figured I should tell her no. We didn’t open for another hour,

and we had prepping to do, but Lewina interrupted.

“Yeah, come on in. You can hang out.” She unlocked the door

and stepped aside while Maria swaggered past, her chocolate eyes
shifting once down the street before she entered the dim dining
area. I watched the way she took in her surroundings, calculating,

curious, and aloof as if she thought something might jump out at
her at any moment.

Lewina went in the back to switch on the lights and turn the AC

back down. That was when I smelled her. Maria had a sweet scent,
an earthy scent that I had smelled that night in the park. The night I
encountered the other wolf.

“Hey,” I said softly, confused but certain. “Have we met before?

A few nights ago? The park?”

Her eyes narrowed. She took a chair down from one of the tables

and sat gracefully, shifting one sun browned leg over the other, her
short skirt sexy and drawing my eye even though she wasn’t my
type or gender.

“Maybe we met.” She shrugged. Her eyes flashed gold for a

moment.

The wolf in me knew her as it had known her that night. Known

what she was. We were the same. “Yeah. We did. Sure of it. You
were the chic with the fur coat and the sharp teeth.” I laughed in
case she wasn’t what I thought.

She let out a low, sarcastic chuckle. It reminded me of Raul.

“You were the cowering fag in gray. Not really my brother’s type.”
She narrowed her eyes in a dangerous glare and then lifted one
hand to inspect her fingernails. “Not his type at all.”

That was insulting. But she had confirmed my suspicions.
“My ex is in town,” I said, changing the subject. “He’s the one in

gray fur with gold eyes and a hell of a bad temper. Name’s Pedro
Galvez. Keep an eye out.”

She sniffed and glared at me worse than before. “I have seen this

one. In the park by your apartment last night. He was waiting for
you. But you didn’t come back home.” She examined her pinky
nail, a slow smile upturning one side of her full, red painted lips.
“He is like my stepfather was, this one. Liking to be in control.”

“Was?”
Her smile came full force, bright white teeth, mirth in those

sinister eyes. “Was. That is right. Was. He is nothing now. Ashes. A
memory I care not to relive.”

Lewina poked her head out from the kitchen. “Come on,

Jackster. Let’s get to work. It’s what I pay you the big bucks for.”

I escaped Raul’s sister, a little frightened of her. He was right.

She was a survivor, but she was pretty damn scary.

At eleven we officially opened and I hovered over the grill in my

usual position. Lewina worked in the kitchen too, hoping to hide
her face from her regulars. They’d ask, and she didn’t want to talk
about it.

“She-wolf still sittin’ out there waiting?”
“Huh?”
“Chimi’s sister.”
“That’s her nickname? She-wolf?”
She cackled out a laugh. “Heck yeah. She’s hot. Probably bites,

too.”

She had no clue how appropriate the nickname was.
At one o’clock I took a lunch break and went to sit with Maria. I

set a plate of food and a Coke in front of her even though she
hadn’t ordered anything. Burger, fries, nothing too special. She
poked at the burger with her finger and raised her chin, taking me
in with those cold eyes.

“Gracias, Jack. Is good to eat like this. From a plate.” She

laughed softly, almost under her breath, as if what she’d said was a
joke.

“Have you been to Raul’s place?”
“Yes.” She lifted the burger and took a large bite, a man’s bite,

and chewed. After swallowing it down, she elaborated. “I went
there that night before I met you. All things broken. My brother
missing. I show up at his work next day. They say he call in sick.”
She took another bite, larger than the first. It gagged me to watch
her eat like that.

“My brother doesn’t get sick. Neither do I.” She nodded at me.

“Neither do you, no?”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t gotten sick since the change. Not the

usual autumn cold. Nothing. And I was around people a lot when I

waited tables. Germ potential was definitely there. “Um no. I guess
not.”

“You are not so fast thinking,” she muttered. Another

humongous bite. More chewing.

Then it hit me. I should have known. The wolf in me should

have known him the moment I’d first laid eyes on him.

“Raul is…like us?”
She snorted in disdain before taking a drink from the soda,

swallowing and swallowing until half the glass was empty. “Si. He
is. We have not found others like us. Only our stepfather. Raul
thought it was funny you didn’t know.”

“Great. I knew you right away. Been with him seven times in the

past week and had no clue.”

She frowned. “I thought maybe it’s not so funny. Maybe you

pretend not to know.” She narrowed her eyes, glaring. “But no. You
are estupido. You are slow. He likes you, but I see no reason why.”

She was a rude thing. No doubt about it. “Anyone ever told you

you’re not very nice?” I asked.

She patted her mouth with her napkin before she answered, as

raw and rough as before. “No. They say I’m a bitch. We are what
we are, Jack.”

“Uh huh.” I sat back in the chair and looked away. What was I

supposed to do with her? Was she going to hang out here all day?

“I think your old boyfriend, he send you a message soon.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Si.” She bit, chewed, swallowed. “I think maybe he has my

brother.”

My skin went cold. Of course. Of course Pedro would have him.

He’d probably known all along I was here and had been waiting
for me to take interest in someone so he could steal that away from
me. Make me pay for leaving him. “I um, what should we do?”

“We?” She set the small bit of burger on her plate, frowning.

“We…” She said the word like it left a foul taste in her mouth, like
she was trying to like it but couldn’t get around the flavor.

“We…are getting my brother back. I am killing this Pedro for
daring to touch my brother.”

I ran my hand through my hair, untangling it in the back. Kill

Pedro? She thought she could? Damn, she was nuts. “Okay. Okay
then.”

She reached across and closed her fingers over my wrist. “When

I was a little girl, my stepfather used to play games like this with
me. Take my toys, a special book I favored. He would test me like
this. He would try to break me by breaking these things. This
Pedro… I think he is like my stepfather. He likes to hurt those he
thinks he loves. But he can’t love. The ones that do these things,
they don’t know what love is.”

I nodded, remembering what Raul had told me about the man.

The beatings, the rants. Pedro used to lose his temper with me and
lock me in the basement, break my things, anything to hurt me
without hurting me physically. They were the same. Our pasts were
what had drawn Raul and me together, what made me come out of
my shell and agree to meet him in person in the first place.

“Yes, I think you’re right.”
“I am always right.” She tapped one fingernail on the edge of

her plate then scooped up the burger and devoured the remains.

Chapter Eight: The Ex

My shift slipped by, and I had that creepy feeling like somebody

was watching me when I clocked my time card. Maria stood in the
service hall, leaning against the wall. She made the hairs on the
back of my neck stand on end. Raul’s words to me on Monday
echoed in my head. “Why don't you like women?”

Maria made a bunch of reasons pop into my mind, but I wasn’t

so sure it was because she was a woman at all. If he’d been afraid
I’d want his sister instead of him, he’d been wrong on a lot of
counts.

She followed me out into the cool autumn twilight. The distinct

scent of a burning jack-o-lantern they’d lit next door in the incense
and henna shop wafted to my nostrils. I walked along a ways
before Maria softly punched me on the shoulder. “We go now for
my brother, I am thinking. There is your message.” I looked at her,
following her pointing finger to the clue across the street. It wasn’t
subtle.

“Shit,” I said in a whisper. “How long has he been there?”
“Not long.”
I stared at Pedro. He had changed since the last time I’d seen

him. He looked leaner, gaunt, his eyes haunted with shadows, and
his upturned grin completely malicious. I struggled to remember
why I’d found him so handsome that first time we met in the back
of the bookstore. This was not the same man who seduced me. This
was the monster he’d kept hidden.

He started across the street, walking with a pronounced

swagger. A few feet from me, he stopped and looked me up and
down. “Bad, bad Jack. It’s Friday night and I don’t have my dance
partner. Time to come home, honey.”

“No thanks.” My skin crawled. The man I had been before the

change wanted to cower and be beaten again. The beast he had
created in me wanted a fight, to make a stand for once, to stop

running, to face my fear and the creature that had changed the
course of my life, even though I knew it was hopeless.

Behind me, Maria paced. The hairs on the back of my neck

sizzled with electricity. She made me nervous because I didn’t have
any idea what she was really capable of. Sure, big talk was cheap.
But a werewolf was standing in front of us; one I knew was capable
of horrible cruelties. Despite that, I didn’t think Pedro would hit me
here, right out in the open.

He tsked and shook his head. That’s when I noticed the pink scar

along his neck. A new mark made by teeth or claws from the look
of it. Had he made others? Was he assembling a collection of beings
like him? A pack?

“Come home, baby. I have a little present for you.” He kept his

eyes on me mostly, but I saw them flicker for an instant to Maria.
He knew I didn’t like women, so I bet it bothered him that she was
with me. Or maybe her generally creepy manner was getting to
him, too.

“What’s that?” I pressed, keeping his attention on me. “You got

a new beating stick you want to test out?”

Pedro raised his chin, eyeing me. He looked strangely feminine

in that moment, and I remembered how convincing he looked
dressed in drag. He’d had his share of freaky abuse growing up. I
don’t know why I was attracted to guys like that.

“I have your boy-toy, that hunky piece of caramel eye candy you

were kissing the other day. Shame, shame, Jack. You’re not allowed
to taste anyone but me.”

Maria’s breathing grew into a huffing frenzy. I heard her heels

click-click-clicking. She was going to wear a line in the sidewalk.

“So, give him back. He has nothing to do with us.”
Pedro snorted. “Us. Is there an us, Jack?”
Maria growled.
“There’s something to settle between us. I’d like it over and done

with.”

“Then you meet me at the abandoned warehouse on Third and

Marshall Avenue in one hour.”

“What happens there?” I asked. This couldn’t end well.
“We have a little competition. The winner keeps the caramel eye

candy. How bad do you want him back?”

“He doesn’t belong to me.”
This seemed to irk him. Doubt flashed across his face, raising his

perfectly plucked black eyebrows. “You lie,” he said in a low
grumble. “Lies, lies. Like the little boy who cried wolf. I’ll never
trust you again.”

The feminine growl behind me changed then. It became gruff,

feral, the growl of a wild creature. I glanced back and grimaced.
Maria had shifted right there on the sidewalk. She paced in her
wolf form, upper lip curled in a frightening snarl.

Pedro let out a frantic laugh. He hadn’t expected that. Then he

leaped to the right as Maria lunged past me to attack. He was half
transformed when she bit into his leg, her jaws sinking deep. Blood
spattered the sidewalk. He twisted and scrabbled until he broke
free. In a lope he fled, leaving a dribbled red trail behind.

“Meet eye candy’s sister,” I said with a laugh as she sped after

him.

Marcus from the incense and henna shop next door came

bursting out, bells jangling against the glass door and a cloud of
smoke filtering after him. “Didya see that?”

“Yeah, yeah.”
“Man those were wolves. Holy crap! What the hell are they

doing in the city?”

I shrugged. What could I say? Werewolf fight? Some lie about a

guy whose hybrids had broken off their leashes? Who’d have
believed me?

“Naw. I think they were dogs. Couldn’t have been wolves. Not

here.”

Marcus fisted his hand in his kinked hair. “Dude, that was

wild.”

“Yeah, wild. Hey man, I’ll see you later,” I said, and headed off

after Maria. It wouldn’t take long for him to notice the discarded
clothes. I really didn’t know what to say about that.

An hour wouldn’t be long in coming. Might as well get to the

warehouse and see what Pedro had planned for me. Hopefully
Maria would slow him down, maybe even stop him.

At one point the trail of blood went in the opposite direction I

needed to go. I looked after it for a few seconds. Deciding not to
chase them, I sprinted down Halberton to cut through to Third.

Third and Marshall was in a much seedier part of town than

Over the Rainbow. It was nearer to the tracks than Lewina’s place,
and a big freight train was chugging by when I came around the
corner to the corrugated tin building Pedro wanted me in. The train
whistle screeched a few times. Clunk-clunks and the echo of its
thunderous passing hid any other sounds. I scanned the scene.
Busted out windows. A wide door on slides that was chained up.
Rust. Filth. A pile of black trash bags near the dumpster which was
overflowing from people’s illegal dumpage. The place reeked of
grease and rot. I breathed deeper, my sharp senses picking up
another smell, a familiar one. Raul.

I was no fool. I’d survive this or I’d be Pedro’s prisoner again.

He’d kept me in his basement most nights, and at first it had been
fun. A wild ride into the darkness of sensation and lust. I never
questioned why he left me for a few days once a month. I was too
happy when he came back to spoil me, to fuck me. And that’s all it
was. There was no kindness in it. He played my body like an
instrument, tapping into my desires as easily as a psychic reading
my thoughts and using them against me.

I crept across the deserted street unsure what form was best to

be in when I would make my way inside. I found Pedro’s Hummer
in the back alley. The sky had darkened by then, navy blue
glittered with pricks of starlight, and the moon was coming. As she
edged over the lip of the horizon, my body reacted. She wasn’t full
yet, but tomorrow I’d be forced into the shape and held there. I
shivered and clenched my teeth to fight the urge to shift.

Through the tinted window I made out a crumpled business

jacket in the passenger seat. I knew who it belonged to. Raul had

worn it the day I’d last seen him. Squinting, I saw the shape of
shoes on the floor mat. Couldn’t make out much else.

My ex-lover’s daddy was a doctor. The little vial on the dash was

all I needed to see. He’d drugged Raul and taken him here. For all I
knew Raul was already dead. Maybe he’d been dead for the past
few days.

Something crashed against the tin wall behind me, making me

jump. Metal clanged and rolled inside the building.

I ran half across the street before I heard his low voice. A moan.

Soft, succinct, a mumble in Spanish. Raul was in there, and he was
human and alive. Run, my subconscious urged. Just get the hell out
of here. If you run far enough, he can’t find you. You don’t even know
Raul that well. Imagine what it’ll be like with his sister breathing down
your neck and insulting you all the time. You don’t have enough vested in
this to stay. One kiss isn’t enough to make you risk your life.

Running was the easiest way out. Always had been for me. I was

such a frickin’ coward. I shivered again, and the wolf in me pushed
its way to the forefront of our mind.

Chapter Nine: Rag-Tag Pack of Lies

I padded on all fours to the south side of the ratty building and

squeezed in between two rusted panels of metal. I sniffed the air
and smelled blood, oil, and the nasty odor of meat that had sat out
too long. The place was full of junk. Old metal drums lined one
wall, and one was overturned. That must have been what I heard
outside. Above it, hanging by rope, a body slowly swayed about
four feet above the ground. His head was limp, chin against his
chest. He was naked.

Raul. And he looked bad. He looked worse off than me after

Pedro had beaten me.

My hackles rose when I heard the skittering of claws against

concrete. A chain rattled. The doors to the warehouse slid on their
runners, squealing about how much they needed to be oiled.

A huge dark-skinned man sauntered in wearing only a pair of

cut off jeans. Even his feet were bare. He reeked of wolf, and it
wasn’t a sweet scent like Maria. It was foul as if he’d rolled in a
dead kill and walked around like that for days. He was the smell of
bad meat I’d breathed in.

He whistled through his teeth, arms swinging as he made his

way to Raul. When he reached his prisoner, he jammed his hand in
his pocket and produced a syringe and a vial.

He poked the needle into the bottle to draw out the clear liquid

inside.

I glanced at Raul for some sign. Nothing.
I couldn’t let the guy drug him.
Claws tap-tapped as another being entered, a gray wolf that

walked with a pronounced limp. The left side of its face bore a
horrible injury. Fur was missing revealing mottled reddish skin.
The wolf froze and nosed the air, body tensing. I felt its eyes wash
over the place where I stood in the shadows and wished I could
become the darkness.

The wolf snorted. It took another step and then morphed to its

human shape, the same scars on his human face. Burn marks. I
didn’t want to imagine how he’d gotten them. These two must
belong to Pedro’s pack.

“Hurry up,” the scarred one said. “He should be here any

minute.”

The man with the needle held it up, examining the liquid in the

dim light cast from the few working fluorescents high above.
“Don’t rush me. Been a while since I had to stick someone.”

“You were a nurse for eleven years. You don’t forget basic shit

like that.”

Needle man snarled. “You want to stick him?”
Burned one shook his head and backed off. He rounded Raul,

looking up at him with an expression of fear and awe. “Can’t
believe he’s still alive after all the shit P pumped into him. Sure
pissed him off when I told him about Jack. Stupid ass for selling
that truck to Luis. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Needle stepped up to Raul, ready to do the honors.
The growl that rolled from my throat struck fear into me it was

so vicious. Burned one froze again, sniffing the air with his wide
nose like an animal. “Someone’s here,” he whispered.

Needle looked around, eyes wide. “Come out, come out,

wherever you are.” He smiled, his big teeth white and bright in his
deep brown face. “P’s missed you, Jackie. We all get a piece of you
now.”

Raul groaned. The pained sound of his voice sent a wave of

protectiveness through me.

I heard the footsteps just as I was about to lunge. Glancing to the

doors, I saw Pedro, his chest bloodied from his fight with Maria.
Things hadn’t gone as well as I’d hoped. He was carrying her
wolfen form in his arms, a sinister grin on his face. “Look what I
found, boys. A female. Don’t see many of them.”

Needle shook his head and put his finger to his lips. “Your boy’s

here, P.”

Pedro dropped Maria. She hit the concrete with a crunching

sound, limp. The smell of blood made my mouth water, made me
want to rip and shred. Who was I kidding? I was so outnumbered.
This was it.

Should have run when you had the chance, I thought.
Kill, the feral voice in my head contradicted. The wolf knew Raul

belonged to us, and it was pissed.

Against the odds I exploded from the shadows toward Pedro.

My legs carried me in graceful bounds before I pushed up from the
ground and bit into hot, wet flesh. The animal took over as I locked
on and tore.

The others were coming for me, but they were too late now. I

tasted his blood in my mouth, gagged on it as it gushed. Down,
down he toppled, my body atop his. I yanked my head to one side
and then the other.

Blinking, I saw the color leave Pedro’s eyes. He’d not expected

quiet, submissive, whimpering Jack to do this. Hell, I hadn’t
expected it either.

Behind me the cries of the others alerted me to their indecision. I

released my kill and raised my head to glare at them. Panting, I
waited for the attack.

The gray one sidled up to the black one.
They’d take me down. There was no way I could kill them both.

I took a step forward and my paw touched Maria’s shoulder. I
lowered my head to breathe in her sweet scent. I nuzzled her, but
she didn’t respond. Her fur was still warm, and she was breathing
so shallow.

Something thumped in the shadows. I didn’t have time to look

and see what it was.

The biggest one was on me, tumbling us over each other until

we slid against the wall with a metallic rumble. His teeth sank into
my leg.

The yelp that broke through the warehouse wasn’t mine.
My attacker let go and turned to see what had happened.

I looked instead to the rope, hoping for one last memory of Raul,

of what could have been. Instead my heart skipped. The dangling
rope swayed, empty of its victim.

Chapter Ten: The Tolerable Woman

He was a flash of chocolate brown, huge, bigger than the one

who had attacked me. His teeth snapped and closed down. He
fought with a disturbing ferocity that pleased my wolf. Raul had
shifted and fallen away from the ropes. He took the gray wolf
down, snapping its neck and turning to the dark one. Together we
attacked, our lean bodies in unison as we felled our common
enemy. When the dark one sighed out a final, choked breath, Raul
let go and stared at me, into me with his soul capturing eyes. His
fur receded. His body shook when he took his human form, and he
slid down, his face upturned to me as he collapsed.

I went to him and ran my cheek against his, shifting as our faces

met, becoming myself. Bare skin touched skin. His lips tickled my
ear as he murmured, “My Jack. You found me.”

“Just in time,” I said. I didn’t dare look at his sister, still as death

beside Pedro’s body. “Come on; let’s get you out of here. Get you
somewhere safe.”

“Not yet. I’m so tired.” His voice sounded strained. “I know this

is not the time or place, but I want to stay here by you…like this. I
dreamed of it, dreamed of being with you.”

“More of a frickin’ nightmare.”
His hand closed over mine. He squeezed, and I knew this was it.

I’d found what I’d been searching for. There was no reason to run
now. No reason except to run at his side.

I can’t say how long we laid there. He was warm against my

naked body, and if we’d been anywhere else, I’d have shown him
how much I wanted him.

I raised my head and looked over at Maria. “Your sister.” She

hadn’t moved.

“I can hear her breathing. She is strong, Jack. Stronger than the

both of us. We take her from here and let her rest. Maria heals fast.”

“Crap. I hope Lew likes animals.”
“Your boss likes everyone from what I’ve seen.”

I stood and swept my hand through my long hair. Raul carefully

pulled himself up. I wished I could wash away the pain, the blood,
the horror Pedro had put him through.

“You like my sister?” he asked.
“Not exactly.”
Raul chuckled then. “You must carry her. I still can’t feel my

fingertips.”

“I’m sorry ab—”
He shushed me with two fingers to my lips. “He confronted me

in the alley by my office building. I have been running all my life.
You know. You understand. That time, I should have run, but I
didn’t. I punched him in the face. He jabbed me with a needle.
That’s the last I remember of that day. There are flashes of being
here, of him hurting me, but I was numb, Jack. Numb until I heard
you growl. You are so beautiful in your wolfskin.”

“I um, didn’t know what you were until Maria…”
He smiled and went to his sister, running a hand over her furred

face. “Maria is not afraid of what she is…like I always was. She
never ran. She stood her ground and fought.”

I knelt and lifted her up. Her chest rose and fell. Maria’s eyes

opened and I swear, even in her battered state, she glared at me.
We walked away from that filth ridden warehouse and out into the
night. Two naked men, one carrying a wounded wolf, the other
stumbling every so often to keep up. I kept trying to think of what
to tell Lew. I had to go back to her place. That’s where my stuff
was, and Raul’s place had been sacked according to his sister.

We scavenged some clothes from a line at one of the houses by

the tracks. They didn’t fit well at all, but it was the best we could
do, and it was enough to get us to Raul’s place.

He lived in a corner house on the east side, a nice neighborhood

with clean yards and fancy cars. I felt out of place walking to the
door. Inside, the mess from Pedro was still there. I couldn’t help
but growl over what he’d dared to do.

Raul waved a hand at me, dismissing it all. “I’ll call for the

cleaning service. They’ll have this place back to normal in a day.

Don’t worry, Jack. Everything will be fine now.” He set Maria
across the ruined couch.

“Okay. I just need to head to Lewina’s and get my stuff. Hate to

impose on her.”

“I’ll shower first,” he said. “And I want to get some things. We

can stay in a motel tonight.”

“All right.” I slumped into a chair near the front door and

listened as he rummaged through his house, gathering what he’d
need for the night. Even through the mess, I could see his home
was nice, had been well kept before Pedro trashed it. What would
he have thought of my crappy apartment?

Soon he came out dressed in slacks and a white button down

shirt, one hand on a leather carry-on bag. He smelled so clean, even
from the distance. His hair was moist and slicked back. I had to
shake off the sudden lust I felt.

He motioned to the hall. “Go shower and shave, Jack.”
I did, walking in stiff steps past him. I wanted to grab hold of

him and crush him against the wall, kiss away every breath from
his mouth. In the bathroom, I ran a shaking hand through my hair
and really took a good look at myself in the mirror. I seemed like a
different man. Harder, more stern. Hell, I was a mess, but I didn’t
look scared anymore.

I stripped and got into the stall, his heat lingering all around me.

I breathed in the air he’d occupied only moments ago. The hot blast
of water washed away all traces of the ordeal. I scrubbed myself
clean and wondered where things would go now that I didn’t have
to run ever again.

Chapter Eleven: Revelations

We took a cab to his work so he could pick up his Mercedes.

Maria hardly moved the whole time, but her bleeding had stopped.
The healing process accelerated. We headed for Lewina’s house,
out of the business district where Greenway’s lot was, and deep
into the heart of working class society and less. My mind was
elsewhere, lost now. I had no idea who I was after all this.

Like a zombie, I took each step to Lewina’s front door and

brusquely knocked, Raul standing at my back.

“Hey Jack, you found your date, looking a little worse for wear

but still spicy as ever.” She opened the door wide, shot a glance at
Raul and smiled. Lew eyed the wolf in his arms. “Whoa, whoa,
whoa. Is that what Marcus was talking about?”

“Yeah.” I gave Raul a warning glance. “Yeah, he thought he saw

a couple of wolves when I got off work.”

“Just my dog,” Raul explained.
Lewina looked skeptical. “Um okay, I guess. Just keep it away

from me. I don’t do well with animals.” She backed inside and
hesitated at the kitchen entry. “Guys, I’m gonna finish up my
pumpkins. I’ll be out in a sec to play hostess.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lew. I just came to get my stuff. We won’t

be long.”

Raul seated himself on the green couch with his sister’s furry

body across his lap, petting her in long, slow strokes. She was
sleeping, healing faster than I thought possible, as Raul had said
she would. I watched the way he held her, the way he cared for her,
and I have to admit I was jealous. I wanted to be curled up in that
man’s lap instead.

Lewina disappeared into the kitchen with a low, “Okay

Jackster.”

I stuffed the clean clothes she’d washed for me into my suitcase

and then got my toothbrush, paste, and deodorant from the

flamboyant pink bathroom. Once I was packed, Lewina called to
me. “Jackster? Hey, can you come here a minute?”

I winked at Raul. Soon we’d be away from here, alone with each

other, well, except for Maria. But she hardly counted in the state
she was in.

He flashed me a wide grin.
“Be right there.”
In the kitchen Lew was sitting at the table, the pumpkins

finished and smiling with Sharpie drawn maws. “Hey, can you
check this out for me? I think maybe it’s infected or something. It
really itches.”

She pointed at her back, and my heart skipped when I saw the

red peeking through the large bandage on her shoulder, just by the
edge of her tank top.

“Shit, Lew! What’s that from?”
“Just check it. There’s peroxide in the cabinet. And another

bandage.”

I got the items she’d asked for and pulled a chair up beside her.

After picking the edge of the old bandage, I peeled it back and
grimaced. “Pedro did this to you.”

“Yeah.”
It was Friday night. By tomorrow, Lewina would be like me, like

us. “God damn it,” I whispered. “Damn it all to hell.”

“What?” She pierced me with a confused look. “It’s just a

scratch. Is there pus or something?”

“Do you remember him doing this?”
“Naw. Must have happened after he knocked me out.”
But I knew better. It wasn’t just a scratch. It was a frickin’ bite

mark on her shoulder. The full moon was tomorrow night. How
could I possibly prepare her? I couldn’t. I had to, though. No one
had prepared me when Pedro lost his temper, shifted, and left the
thin scars on my chest. I remembered that first full moon, how
terrified I was, how hungry.

I rinsed the wound with peroxide and patted it with a dry rag.

“It’s not infected,” I said, and placed the new bandage over it. “But
it’s gonna leave a scar.”

She giggled at me. “Chicks dig scars.”
“It’s um…it’s gonna change things for you—”
“Jack?” Raul was standing in the doorway, his face pensive.
“Yeah?”
“I know it’s been a rough couple of days for you, but I was

wondering. It’s Friday night. We had a date. You still up for it?”

I looked at Lewina, all cheerful and innocent right now. I could

tell her when I came back. We could both tell her.

“Go on. I’ll watch his dog for you. Long as she doesn’t bite.”
“She won’t,” Raul said. “She’s tired. Had a long day. She’ll sleep

a while.”

“Don’t do anything I would, boys.” She clucked her tongue at us

and pushed the pumpkins to the middle of the table.

Raul took my hand and tugged me out of there. I swear he could

see the tension in my eyes. “It will be okay, Jack,” he said. “You’ll
see.” He dragged me out of the house and past the front yard
where his Mercedes waited at the curb.

“He bit her.”
“Yes. I can smell the difference already. We’ll take care of

her…like a sister.” He clicked the door lock open and waited while
I climbed into the front seat. I closed my eyes and leaned back,
breathing in the lingering scent of Raul’s cologne in the space.

He moved in beside me and closed his door. I waited for the

engine to start, but it didn’t. Instead his hand closed over my
shoulder, pulling me toward him. I opened my eyes to find his face
a breath from mine, his eyes intense as they bored into me. “I have
wanted to be alone with you ever since I met you. Always at the
restaurant. People watching.”

My breath dried up. I couldn’t move.
He closed in and crushed his mouth to mine. Every muscle in

my body tensed. His tongue dipped inside my mouth to roll across

mine. He tasted so good. His hot palm drove down the front of my
pants to cup my growing erection.

It was all I could do to kiss back, clumsy, lost.
His stubbled chin scraped me. He kissed harder, his hand

forming to my dick, touching it, teasing the heat and making me
throb with need. I moaned in his open mouth, fighting the urge to
come. It had never felt this good with anyone.

“I want you,” Raul said against my lips, pulling. “Not here…in

the car.”

“Not enough room,” I agreed.
His hand gave a gentle squeeze to my dick. I groaned and raised

my hips. “Hurry.”

He grinned wide at me. Then he pulled away and started the car.

The neighborhood flew by in a blur, houses decorated for
Halloween. A fake witch smashed into a tree. Styrofoam grave
stones in an elaborate faux graveyard. Electric pumpkins. I felt the
pull of the moon tugging at me, warning me that tomorrow night I
wouldn’t be able to change back.

“I want you to stay with me, Jack. I want you, forever.”
I exhaled. That was a big thing for him to say. “You sure about

that?”

“Mmm.” His hands tightened on the steering wheel as the car

turned a corner. “My mother told me I would know the moment I
found my mate. She did not understand me. Not that I was gay,
that I saw men like she did. She thought I would find a woman. But
she said the pull is the same as the moon’s call when it’s full. A
calling that can’t be stopped or denied no matter how much we try
to fight it. I feel this for you. I have from the first moment I saw you
in the restaurant.”

My chest tightened into a strange panic. Beating frantically, my

heart confirmed what I feared facing. I felt it, too. The pull to him.
Had felt it since that first moment, but tried to fight it.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes.” His voice trailed into a soft, succinct hiss. “I am certain it’s

you.”

The car pulled into the lot of a motel. Raul nodded at the place.

“Is this okay?” he asked. “I am so hungry for you, Jack. But if you
want to wait…”

I glanced at the place. It wasn’t shabby or run-down. But who

really cared? “I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“Good.” He turned off the car and got out. I followed him to the

office and watched as he reserved a room. He signed in, swiped his
card. He had money, something I never really did have, and I
wasn’t used to it.

I followed him to the room, and he flicked on a light inside.

There was a huge bed in the center, nice decorations, colorful
Mexican paintings. But I was soon too distracted to notice much
else when his mouth closed over mine and his hand tore down the
pants I wore. He kissed me with ferocity, and I kissed him back as
passionately. Our tongues fought, out teeth clacked together more
than once. I curled my fingers into his hair and fisted my hands,
hurting him so that he whimpered in my mouth.

“I want to taste you,” he said. And down he went, pawing open

the buttons of the shirt I wore, his hot mouth tasting my chest,
licking my nipples, sucking them in and rolling them until I shook.
His hands explored and massaged their way as he lowered himself
before me. I looked down, my hands still in his thick hair.

“Please, let me taste you?” he asked.
My Raul was begging. No one had ever begged for me before

now. I was always the one kneeling, the bottom boy, the one
submitting. He hooked his fingers in my underwear and dragged
them down. My dick bobbed and hit his eager, full lips. Then his
mouth opened and drew me into the wet heat. I held his head as
his mouth and tongue sheathed my sex. He circled my slit and
swallowed. His small moans made everything thicken worse. One
of his hands closed over my length to keep me from going down
too far. Then he began sucking until I could help but pump into
him. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back, arching to go
deeper.

With a growl I let loose into his mouth. He slowed and drank me

down. He licked me clean and I was still hard for him. His mouth
kissed my inner thigh. He licked me, sucked my balls inside and
reached behind me to cup my ass. “Take me,” he begged. “You
have to take me. I belong to you. I’ll follow you anywhere.”

His words gave me a new sense of power, of control. I was the

alpha male here. I’d been the alpha male in the warehouse coming
to rescue my mate. It was right that he should bow to me, beg for
me.

Looking down at this huge man, so muscular, so powerful, I

realized at once what it must have felt like for Pedro to be the one
in charge. It was a high I’d never experienced. Had I been like him
I’d have taken advantage of Raul, spread him and fucked him until
he was sore from it. Made him know for certain that he belonged to
me and no one else. The wolf in me wanted that.

But I was not all wolf.
I never would be.
“On the bed,” I told him, breathless. “You. Naked. Your ass

ready for me.”

I watched as he crawled away without a backward glance. Raul

pulled away his clothes. He fished in his pocket and found lube
which he promptly put into place. I saw myself there in that
moment, wanting to be fucked so bad I’d do anything to be
dominated.

Never again.
I was the dominator now.
He stood and bent over onto the bed, his perfectly rounded ass

ready to take what I had to give. I stroked my dick as I sauntered
toward his offering. Heat rushed to fill my length again. Being wolf
made me ready, faster able to perform. I ran a hand over his
backside and gave him a sharp slap that left a red mark.

“Mine,” I said in a low groan.
“Yes.” He trembled.
I trailed my fingers down his crack to his hole and teased the

puckered entry. It was slick from the lube, and he relaxed as I

pushed my finger inside. I circled and forced in a second, a third.
He loosened even more with sharp exhales.

“Please,” he begged. “Take me, Jack. I want you inside me.”
I set the head of my dick in place and withdrew my fingers. With

a swift thrust I claimed him as mine. I pierced him as deep as I
could, until my dick was so buried in him it was hard to tell where
I ended and he began. But I was not a selfish lover. I reached
around his body and gripped his curved cock, stroking as I
hammered at his ass. He’d come with me. We’d do this together.

I clenched my teeth as I pumped him. My second orgasm came

after much more work. But when it did, enclosing my dick in wet
heat that slicked every pulsing thrust, I felt Raul’s cock reacting in
my hand. His sex erupted and throbbed, shooting out his release
onto the bedspread, and his body milked mine dry. He gave a low
cry that made me want to kiss him. And we collapsed onto the bed
together, curling our bodies into a knot.

He spread soft kisses over my skin until we both fell asleep, hot,

sweaty, and spent for the night. Tomorrow would present new
challenges that I would face as the leader of my own rag-tag pack.
For that’s what I was now. The alpha.

Chapter Twelve: Full Moon

We showered in the hotel bathroom together, taking turns

washing each other’s bodies and comparing our scars. Even though
Raul was taller than me, he slouched so that I felt superior, higher.
Above him. As I cupped his cheek and looked into his soul
searching eyes, a feeling of responsibility filled me. He was mine.
Mine to protect, to love, to pleasure. Could I be enough for him?

His answer was to lean forward and rest his head on my chest. I

clutched my mate and kissed the top of his head. Yes. I can do this. I
was remade to do this, be this.

He set out clothes for me from his suitcase and watched as I

dressed. We were silent as we drove back to Lewina’s house. I tried
to think of how to explain everything to her, how to make her
ready.

Raul knocked.
Lew answered, her eyes shadowed from weariness. “Hey guys.

Have a good time?” she asked.

I nodded.
“Oh yes. Very good,” Raul said, beaming.
She chuckled and closed her eyes. “Ah, I can imagine it. What a

decadent picture…”

“Lew!”
She grinned and stepped aside to let us in.
Maria was spread across the couch. She lifted her head and

stared at me. Her eyes didn’t narrow this time. She turned slightly
to regard Raul, then went back to studying me.

“There is something we need to explain to you,” Raul began,

addressing Lewina. “About how Jack and I are different.”

She giggled. “Yeah what, you want a woman in the middle?”
“No. Not really,” Raul said, frowning at her joke.
“This is important, Lew,” I said. “Maybe you should sit down.”
She moved to the recliner, reached back, and scratched at the

bandage on her shoulder.

“It’s a full moon tonight,” I began. “You’re going to change into

something when it comes out, something like her.” I nodded at
Maria. “And we’re going to stay with you and help you through it,
okay?”

The side of her mouth turned up in a skeptical sneer. “Very

funny.”

“It’s not a joke,” I said. “It’s real. Pedro was…well shit, Lew, he

was a werewolf. That cut on your shoulder is a bite mark. You’re
going to be one of us now.”

She snorted out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, yeah. Happy

Halloween and all that.”

“Maria,” Raul snipped. “Show her.”
The wolf on the couch rose up on all fours and gave a shake as if

she’d come from a bath. Her body elongated, fur slipping away
into bare skin, long black hair growing from her head. Her muzzle
shrank inward until her face reshaped itself to the strikingly
beautiful but scowling visage I knew as Raul’s bitchy sister.

She pushed back and sat, crossing her legs, her eyes on Lewina.

“You see,” she said with her thick accent. “Now you believe these
fools?”

Lewina stood very still, her eyes wide.
I went to her side and set a hand on her arm. “You okay?” I

asked. “Lew? Hey? You all right?”

She blinked several times before she raised her face to stare at

me. “Holy shit, Jackster. She-wolf really is…” She tittered out a
nervous laugh. “Holy shit.” Then she buried her face in her hands
and sobbed.

Maria huffed and strode away, her naked backside swaying

seductively. When she returned dressed in a pair of Lewina’s jeans
and a tank top, she offered me a smile. It wasn’t sinister or cold.
“Let me,” she offered.

I stepped back and she knelt beside my boss. “There, there,” she

said and crooned out something in Spanish. “We will take care of
you, little one. Me, and my brother…and his mate. You can be in

our family, a part of our pack.” She petted Lew’s pixie hair and
kissed her on the cheek.

Sniffling, Lew wiped her eyes and raised her face to Maria’s. An

understanding passed between the two women, something I
couldn’t really get, but it was there.

As they both turned to me, I felt that same pull Raul had

described. They were mine too, to love, to protect. After all these
years I had found something I’d given up on years ago. My family.

The End

About the Author

Liam Drake writes gay speculative fiction and romance with a
heavy focus on horror. He is currently tapping away at the
keyboard at all hours of the night, trying to keep up with his muse,
Vincent.

Find him online at :

www.liamdrake.blogspot.com

Also Available at Purple Sword by Liam:

Ghost of His Past

PURPLE SWORD PUBLICATIONS

Romantic Speculative Fiction

www.purplesword.com