A branch snapping nearby brought her attention back to the yard, and the surrounding woods. She glanced over and thought she saw movement just on the edge of tree line. She stepped off the verandah and approached the area slowly and cautiously. She just wanted another peek of him. She’d get a look then go back to the bedroom and wait for him. Maybe by then, she wouldn’t be as sore, and they could f**k again. Once was definitely not enough with him.
The ground was soft and wet beneath her feet. The first frost was just around the corner. She wouldn’t be surprised if in the morning there was silvery dew on the branches. Didn’t bother her, not when she still felt warm and gooey inside from their lovemaking.
Another branch snapped to her right. She stopped and peered into the dark. Her breath was coming out in puffs. She could feel her heart begin to race.
Adrenaline pumping through her. She would not be afraid. Garrick would not hurt her.
Faintly, she heard a snuffle, like a dog trying to get something off their nose. She turned around and peered behind her. She saw a dark shape standing no more than twenty-five feet from her. The shape moved and stepped forward slowly crouched low to the ground.
“Garrick?” her voice shook. She couldn’t help the fear that radiated in her.
The shape raised its head and she could hear a deep intake of breath. He was smelling her. A low growl sounded deep in its throat as it took another slow step toward her.
Olivia began to shake. He was stalking her. There was no doubt in her mind. She turned and ran back toward the house. Oh, God, she was going to die. She could feel it deep in her bones. She couldn’t possibly escape him.
She was almost at the verandah when she slipped in a small spot of mud. She went down to a knee, banging it sharply on the hard dirt floor. She struggled back to her feet, mud and dirt caked on the robe and her hands as she pushed herself up. She could hear the soft pounding of paws on the ground behind her. It resonated loudly in her head, like surround sound at an IMAX theater.
As she ran, she felt like she was submersed in water. Her arms and legs felt heavy, pushing against a viscous liquid that made it almost impossible to move. She closed her eyes as a feeling of floating encompassed her. She felt like she was in a movie moving at slow motion for the best effect. There was nothing like a spray of blood at slow motion speed to shock an audience.
Right before she mounted the verandah steps, Olivia glanced behind her. The wolf was right behind her. It was pressing off with its hind legs to jump, and she swore it smiled at her.
Olivia tripped on the stair and rolled onto her back.
She put her hands up in defense against the springing wolf. She took in a deep breath as his razor-sharp teeth neared her throat.
“Corin!”
Olivia turned to see another wolf jumping in the air from the side, a bigger darker wolf. The wolf in the air also turned, but it was too late. The black wolf slammed into him, tumbling them to the ground.
Olivia scrambled to her feet as the wolves fought on the ground. One was definitely Garrick. She recognized the blue of his flashing eyes.
She watched in horror as the two animals swiped and jumped at each other. The other wolf jumped and caught Garrick in the shoulder flank with his powerful jaws. He stood over him, shaking his head back and forth, with Garrick's bleeding flesh between his teeth.
Garrick swiped at him with his claws, catching him across the eye. Olivia saw a spray of blood as his eye broke open. She cringed back at the gruesome sight.
The injured wolf relinquished his hold on Garrick.
Just then, Olivia heard other low growls from the area. She gasped as two other wolves, one gray, and the other reddish, stepped out of the shadows to surround the dueling beasts.
“Garrick, there are more!” She yelled.
Garrick didn’t flinch; he kept his gaze on the other wolf. He circled him and pounced. His powerful jaws caught the wounded wolf around the neck. He pressed the animal to the ground by the force of his weight and the squeeze of his teeth. The other wolf yelped. He was done for. There was no escape for him. Olivia held her breath as she waited for Garrick to move.
“You must finish it.” the low mumbled sound came from the gray wolf. “It is our law.”
The red wolf stepped toward the verandah. Olivia yelped and took a step back.
“Finish him, or we will finish her. Become pack leader and she will be protected.”
Garrick’s ears twitched and he glanced up at Olivia. She could see the agony in his eyes. She took a hesitant step toward him. She wanted to console him in some way. She reached out toward him, just as he twisted his muzzle and ripped out the other wolf’s throat. She shut her eyes and leaned against the verandah railing.
It seemed like an eternity as she waited there, and when she opened her eyes, Garrick was kneeling on the ground in his human form. She glanced down at the ground and saw another man lying dead, his eyes wide open, his throat torn.
She looked around and saw two other men standing apart. One tall with graying brown hair, the other short and redheaded. They were both staring down at the dead body and at Garrick.
She took a step toward him. Garrick put up his hand, but kept his head bowed so she could not see his face. “Stop. Don’t come down here.”
“But…”
“You can’t see me like this.”
Olivia took another step. “I don’t care, Garrick. I already told you that.”
He raised his head. Blood dripped off his chin, and ran in rivulets down his neck and bare chest. It was smeared over his mouth and cheeks like ruby lipstick.
Olivia stopped in her tracks, bile rose in her throat.
She put a hand over her mouth to stop the scream that threatened to escape.
“You will find some clothes, take the keys for my truck and drive home. Lock the keys inside. Put them under the seat. I will come for it in a few days.”
“Garrick, I…”
“You must never come back here. And you must never speak of this. Ever.”
She heard the threat in his voice, but saw the hurt in his face. She didn’t want to leave. Although the blood repulsed her, she felt a deep connection to him, which she was not sure she could live without.
“I don’t want to leave. I want…to be like you. We could run and hunt together.”
“No!”
She flinched at his harsh objection.
“This can not be. You will always be protected as long as I am pack leader. You are safe. Go home and live your life. Get married, have some kids. Be happy.”
Olivia blinked back the tears that welled in her eyes. She felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest, and the blood on his face was not from the man that lay dead before him, but hers as he chewed on her pain.
She sobbed violently as she ran into the house. She went into his bedroom and dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, then found the keys to the truck hanging on a peg in the kitchen. She ran back out of the house, avoiding looking over at Garrick, and got into his red pickup. She started it and raced out of the driveway, spewing rocks behind the wheels.
* * * *
Garrick didn’t watch her as she drove out of the yard.
It was too hard to see her go. But he did what he had to, to ensure her safety. Now that he was pack leader, however reluctant that he may be, she would be at risk from other predators searching for a leg up.
The redheaded man, Tommy, stepped up next to Garrick. “I knew you’d be next.”
Garrick just nodded. Somehow, deep inside he knew it too. Corin and him had never gotten along.
There had always been a rivalry between them.
“What about the girl?” The gray-haired man, Smith, asked.
“She’s not a worry. I’ve got it handled.”
Smith nodded. “She looked pretty tasty.”
Garrick smiled to himself.
“Do you think she’ll keep her word, and not come back?”
He looked up at the night sky and toward the waning moon. “Hmm, hard to say.” But he knew.
Knew that by the next full moon he would definitely see her again, the taste of her blood still lingered teasingly in his mouth.
Chapter One
Wicked soft, warm breeze tickled the leaves of the grand Aoak trees as Anisa stepped out of the woods. The sultry night air pressed down on her. The weather had been unnaturally hot for the end of October, and the dying sun had brought no relief to the day’s humidity. Sweat trickled down her back and over the firm swell of her buttocks. Her red silk robe clung sinuously to her clammy skin, and her long hair stuck to the back of her neck. The walk from her home to this sacred place was short, but in this heat even that produced enough sweat to slick her skin.
Bright light from the full moon illuminated the small clearing. Anisa could clearly see the large wood stump she had consecrated months ago for her altar.
She walked to it slowly, breathing in the sweet scents of the night air. It was a perfect delectable night for making magic.
She set the wicker basket she was carrying down gently on the wooden altar. She stepped alongside it, shed her robe, and slipped off her sandals. She stretched her arms up to the heavens and closed her eyes. The warm breeze caressed her na**d body. The only thing she wore was an Egyptian ankh amulet around her elegant neck, a ward against negative energies. She took in one last deep breath, then turned to her basket and the work at hand.
She took out a long length of gold cord from the basket. She mapped it around the area before the altar and made her circle, kneeling down in the center.
Anisa set the basket down on the ground before the altar. Taking out a red cloth, she spread it out over the stump. On it, she placed two candles; one silver and the other gold, in matching holders. She lit them both.
Next, she took out a yellow candle. She turned to her left and lit it.
“I call upon the element of air to be present and to bless the work to be done.” She raised it in the air.
“Hail and welcome.”
Anisa pushed the candle into the ground on her left side. She then, took out a red candle and turned toward the bottom of the circle.
She lit it. “I call upon the element of fire to be present and to bless the work to be done.” She raised the candle. “Hail and welcome.”