Shifter’s Madness Lucia’s Story
Shifters Madness Lucia’s Story
By
Cadence Michaels
Smashwords Edition
* * * * *
Shifters Madness Lucia’s Story
Copyright © 2011 by Cadence Michaels
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
The weekend was supposed to be a relaxing getaway from school and work but it turned into a nightmare.
The worst thing that was supposed to happen was Lucia dealing with her annoying friend.
Instead she was attacked by a werewolf, changed against her will, gain's a stalker and three handsome suitors claiming she is their true mate.
What's a girl to do and how does she survive in this new and violent world she's been forced into?
Follow Lucia's story.
Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/). Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
About the Author
Cadence Michaels was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri and has traveled all over the united states as well she was an exchange student in high school where she spent a few weeks in Germany and Austria learning about new cultures and making new friends. She has always had a love for writing stories which has spanned from elementary, Jr. High on through High school and present.
Cadence Michaels attended Hickey College to pursue a career in computer networking but found that her passions lay elsewhere. She enjoys writing stories on paranormal romance and science fiction amongst other genres where the hero and heroines aren’t the typical knights in shining armor, but so much more.
She now divides her time between taking care of her adorable two cats and finishing up her full length novel series Natures child Book One The Awakening, Natures Child Book Two The Gathering, and Natures Child: Book Three New Life, and Natures Child: Book Four Destiny along with many other titles.
Email: michaels.cadence@gmail.com
Blog: http://michaelscadence.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CadenceMichaels
Chapter 1
“Lucia, are you sure you know where you are going? This is the second time you have had to stop and turn around and go in the opposite direction.” Monica asked her warily.
Lucia snapped her head to the side, a startled gasp escaping as she looked at Monica, “I thought you were out for the count.” Lucia said noticing Monica’s eyes were still closed, her breathing even and posture lax.
Her eyes still closed, she shrugged, “Nope, just resting my eyes. So when are we going to get there? I am sick and tired of this car.” Monica asked in a bored bland tone.
Why did she have to say yes to this ungrateful wench? She wanted to scream but held her temper in check and instead pointed to the sign up ahead. “Look there’s the sign. I told you I knew where I was going, although I also told you we shouldn’t have stopped at that stupid burger joint. It’s hard driving these back roads at night and easy to get turned around.” Lucia told her as she turned down the gravel lane that would lead to her tiny cottage.
She had just inherited it from her late grandmother’s estate along with a healthy insurance policy netting her a comfortable sum. She didn’t need to worry for anything now.
“Yes, but I thought you came here a lot when you were growing up. Shouldn’t you know it like the back of your hand? You are always so full of shit.” She said irritably, blowing out a heavy puff of air.
Lucia blinked a few times at that little bit then stopped the car, placed it in park then turned her head to look at Monica, her ire rising, “Excuse me. I can’t help it if it’s been like 6 years since I’ve last been here! Cut me some slack. You’re the one who wanted to come with me ok. I don’t remember inviting you so just back the hell off or you will be sleeping outside for the duration of our stay.” Lucia threw back. She so did not want to put up with her stank attitude the whole weekend and didn’t have a problem making good on her threat.
“Whatever.” Monica shot back rolling eyes.
“God you always have to have the last word don’t you.” Lucia grumbled sighing heavily, not wanting to get into a further argument with her.
“Better believe it.” Monica said smugly, pursing her lips in supreme arrogance.
Lucia’s hands tightened on the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. She wanted to slap her around a few times but reigned in her temper by just a thread. She took a deep calming breath before she turned back to face the road, switched the car into drive and continued on their course. I can do this, I can do this she repeated over and over in her mind until she was once again cool, calm and collected.
They pulled up in front of the tiny cottage some 10 minutes later, both girls quickly exiting the car stretching their arms and legs relieving the kinks in their joints from sitting for so long.
“It feels so good to be able to stretch. I forgot how long it took to get here.” Lucia moaned as she popped her neck sighing in pleasure at the release of built up pressure.
“Yea, I know what you mean. Though I slept through most of the drive.” she said with a small smile, lip quirked to the side snidely.
Lucia ignored her walking up to the front door and reached inside her bag, pulled out her key and unlocked the door then covered her face and doubled over gagging at the foul odor coming from within the cabin. Seeing that her hand wasn’t masking the smell well enough she grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her mouth and nose then slowly eased her way inside the tiny living room searching for the source of the odor. It smelled like rotten meat and spoiled milk. It was rank.
“What the hell is that stink Lucia?” Monica asked following behind her.
Lucia turned and gave her a narrowed eyed look, shaking her head in disbelief. “How the heck should I know when I just got in here?” She said rolling her eyes before turning back to look around the room.
As she walked toward the kitchen the rancid odor got stronger. Glancing around the room she froze barely able to hold in her dinner, the burger churning in her stomach. Lying on the floor to her left was a dead squirrel with flies swarming around it and maggots coming out of its mouth, the stomach sunk in like someone had stepped on it.
It was the most awful thing she’d ever seen and she was sure the image would remain stuck in her head for quite awhile. She heard a squeak behind her and turned to give Monica a piece of her mind but stopped when she saw how pale she was turning and quickly ushered the girl back outside. If Monica vomited then she would to and that was just not going to happen.
“Stay here and take deep breaths. I’ll go in and take care of it.” Lucia told her although she far from wanted to do the deed herself but knew that between the two of them she was the strongest when it came to handling this situation.
She pulled her shirt back up to her nose, squared her shoulders and went back inside the house. Walking into the kitchen once more, avoiding directly looking at the dead animal she grabbed a trash bag from under the sink then donned a pair of thick gloves. She walked over to the dead animal, staring at it with utter disgust before opening the trash bag.
“Eewwhhh. I don’t want to touch it.” She moaned averting her eyes then stuck her hand inside the trash bag stopping at the bottom, next she bent and picked up the animal and then flipped the trash bag in over itself and quickly tied it in a knot then placed it in a second bag and took it outside to the garbage can out back. She came back inside, removed her gloves then washed her hands and lastly opened all the windows in the kitchen and living room to get some fresh air flowing inside.
“Ok Monica, it’s all taken care of.” Lucia told her.
“Are you going to mop and wash everything down? I am not coming into that kitchen until it is sterilized.” She complained.
Lucia sighed. This was already shaping up to be a crappy weekend. All she had wanted to do was to come out to the country and relax. Her midterms were done and she finally had some free time from the club she worked at, not that she really needed to work right now with her grandmother’s insurance policy along with what her parents left her as well but she didn’t want to dip into the funds. She had them invested in interest baring accounts as well as she owned shares in a few companies that netted her hefty sums annually.
“Well?” Monica asked from the front room doorway.
“Well what?”
“Are you going to sterilize the kitchen or not?” Monica asked again, this time with an even bigger attitude, her hands on her hip as she glared at her.
Lucia huffed, folding her arms defensively, cocking her hip as she laid into her. “Why the hell do I have to? I threw the animal away, which was the hard part. You can at least mop the floor and wipe everything down with bleach and water.” She had planned to mop and wipe the counters but since Monica was running her mouth she could just do it herself.
“But this is your place and I’m the guest.” She pouted, stumping her foot in agitation, clearly not expecting that answer.
Lucia ignored her, storming past her and out of the house heading to her car. Once there she started pulling out her bags with extra clothes, bedding and snacks then looked up to see Monica still standing at the door watching her with a look of incredulity.
“What!” Lucia shouted losing her temper.
“Nothing fine, I’ll do it alright.” She said then stormed inside the house, back ramrod straight with indignation.
Lucia was done putting up with her spoiled ass and shoved past her as she stalked into the living room, set her bags in the corner then walked down the hallway peering in rooms familiarizing herself with the cottage once more.
She looked in the room her grandmother used to occupy. Everything looked neat and tidy, a little dusty perhaps but otherwise in good condition. She looked in the other room across from the bathroom and saw that one was pretty much the same though smaller and decided that would be Monica’s room. Lastly she checked the bathroom, saw that it needed a little more work and decided she would give it some attention before going to bed.
Lucia walked into the living room, glancing around giving it a cursory once over. The room was tiny but neat. There was a small wooden sofa with blue and red checkered fabric, a small wooden table on either side with a rocking chair across the room in the corner next to an outdated record player with records underneath. The room needed to be dusted and the furniture re-polished but otherwise it was in good condition. She would do that tomorrow.
She walked into the kitchen pausing when she saw Monica with a towel wrapped around her mouth and nose busy wiping everything down with straight bleach making her eyes water and her nose and throat burn when the fumes hit her.
“Uh ever heard of water? Why didn’t you dilute it? You’re going to have the whole house smelling like bleach now.” She said fanning her face and coughing. She felt like her breath was being stolen.
“It’s better in its pure form. It sanitizes and kills everything.” She said, her voice muffled, barely audible through the towel covering her face.
“O..k, just make sure you keep the windows open so the place can air out. Oh and about sleeping arrangements. I am going to take the room at the end of the hall, yours is across from the bathroom.” She said grabbing up some cleaning supplies and heading out of the kitchen quickly walking towards the bathroom to clean. Once inside she closed the door to block the smell of bleach that was slowly traveling through the house.
An hour and a half later the bathroom was clean, practically sparkling. By the time she gathered all the supplies from the floor she was dead on her feet. Going back to the kitchen she quickly put everything away, grabbed up her bags from the living room and headed down the hallway yawning widely as she pushed the door open and froze.
Monica was in her bed sound asleep. That bitch. She dropped her things on the floor, calmly walked over towards her pile of crap, grabbed up all her stuff then walked to the other room and deposited it in the middle of the room then walked back into her bedroom, went to the side of the bed and lifted the mattress up flopping Monica off the bed and onto the hardwood floor.
“Hey!” She yelled looking around bleary eyed before getting slowly to her feet.
“Hey yourself! I told you this was my room. Why did you come in here?” Lucia asked angrily, glaring at her.
“Well I was tired. Besides this room is bigger and the bed is a lot softer in here than in the other room.” She said grumpily rubbing her backside.
Lucia shook her head at her sheer gale. “Are you out of your mind? I could care less about that. This was my grandmother’s room which is why I wanted to sleep here. I am really starting to regret bringing you here with me. All I wanted was a nice quiet relaxing weekend and you are already ruining it.” They weren’t even close friends. Monica was just someone she hung out with occasionally at school.
“Couldn’t we share the bed? I mean it’s huge, way big enough for the both of us.” She pleaded, her eyes beseeching.
Lucia looked at Monica, taking in her short stature and thin figure. She was 20 pounds underweight with pale white skin and a smattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. She had mousy brown hair which Lucia wanted to pull out at the moment. What the hell was she thinking agreeing to let her come? They barely got along at school.
“Just for tonight. I’m still a little freaked out from the dead animal and my skin feels like its crawling.” She pleaded, her eyes over bright as she rubbed her arms up and down for added dramatic effect.
Lucia felt slight remorse, closed her eyes and took a deep breath then opened them and focused on her face. “Ok, but just for tonight and just so you know I only sleep in my bra and underwear.” She said turning her back and removing her clothes.
She removed her clothes then set down in front of her late grandmother’s vanity, picking up the brush laying off to the side and started brushing her long auburn hair. Once done she put each side of her long hair in a braid then stood about to make her way to the bed but paused when she caught her reflection in the mirror, frowning slightly she walked back over to stand in front of the mirror, giving her body a once over.
Had she lost weight, she wondered turning from side to side in the mirror, moving her hair behind her shoulders to get a better look. She had full rounded high breast sporting almost a c-cup, tiny waist that curved in on the side and hips that flared out giving her the perfect hour glass figure though she was slim. Go figure.
She was shaped like her paternal grandmother who had been a beautiful African American woman with the body and face of a goddess in her youth, though she herself looked more and more like her late mother every day.
Lucia gazed at her reflection, noticing the likeness and differences in herself and her late mother’s looks. Her mother had been an Irish Caucasian woman with dark red hair, bright green eyes and short frame and she had inherited her mother’s clear green almond shaped eyes, but her father thick sooty eye lashes, her mother’s heart shaped face and tiny slightly tipped nose, and her father’s full lips. She had creamy skin that was the color of coffee when you added to much milk. That was the best way to describe her appearance. Her beauty was a blessing and a curse at times.
God she missed her parents. Her mother along with her father had died in an automobile accident during her sophomore year of high school. She had moved in with her maternal grandmother until she went to college then moved into the dorms. Now here she was 21 and working towards a degree in finance.
“Lucia are you coming to bed or are you going to stare at yourself all night?” Monica asked her bringing her back to the present.
Lucia turned and looked at Monica who was lying in bed on top of the sheets with nothing on but her underwear. Gross she thought taking in her pale tiny breast with huge pink nipples and her rib cage sticking out. She really needed to cover up and when did she get undressed for that matter.
She shuddered in utter disgust, trying to block the image from her mind. “Yes, I’m coming, but try not to snuggle up to me or I’ll throw your ass on the floor again.” She warned turning off the light and walking over to the bed. She got up under the covers, turning her back towards Monica lying as far away from her as possible and was out almost immediately.
Lucia awoke to someone gently kneading on her breast, raining soft kisses down her neck and shoulder and stiffened. She opened her eyes squinting from the morning light shining through the windows then glanced down and saw Monica with her eyes closed touching and caressing her body intimately.
Her eyes shot wide open as she jerked away. “What the hell are you doing Monica?” Lucia said fiercely shoving her forcibly away. She quickly got to her feet only then noticing her bra was unhooked. She quickly clasped the front of her bra closed then shot her a deadly glare, shaking her head in disbelief, a look of displeasure evident on her face.
Monica set up quickly throwing her hands up in front of her to ward off an attack, “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I was dreaming and the next thing I knew I was awake and touching you. You woke me up.” she said blushing crimson.
“Monica are you gay? You couldn’t tell you were touching a girl? You even unclasped my bra.” Lucia asked her. She didn’t have a problem with gay people but she did have a problem with someone putting the moves on her when she asleep and vulnerable.
Monica scowled at her. “No of course not. Like I said I was dreaming and woke up touching you. I didn’t mean anything by it, honestly.” She told her bunching the covers up around her body.
Lucia walked over to the chair at the vanity and pulled on the robe hanging off the back of the chair. Once done she turned back to Monica. “And pray tell, what were you dreaming about then?” this had better be good or she was getting a fist to the nose.
If possible Monica blushed even redder. “I was dreaming about the new head of security Meric and his partner Devlin at our college and how sexy they are. I was dreaming about touching his hard muscular chest and kissing and licking every inch of him. He exudes sexiness, a god among men.” She said dreamily, her eyes taking on a glassy faraway look.
Yea, she knew of Meric Kenner and Devlin Monroe. They were both sex on legs and both drew the eyes of every woman within a 10 mile radius, even some of the guys on campus. Hell even the married women wanted a piece of them and they were supposed to be in committed relationships. The other day she saw Mrs. Spence flirting madly with Devlin who seemed bored and barely acknowledging her flirting. Poor Mrs. Spence she’d thought at the time.
Thinking back to Meric, he was totally gorgeous and tall, standing at least 6’5 with raven black shoulder length hair, deep set pale blue eyes, naturally tanned dark skin, wide muscular shoulders, arms and chest with a tapered waist holding a freaking 8 pack and strong muscular legs. Devlin was the polar opposite. Shorter by a few inches with spiky ice blond hair, amber eyes, slightly tanned skin, wide shoulders and leanly muscled.
She watched them running one morning in nothing but shorts and got so turned on she nearly came right there. She knew she was attractive and a lot of guys asked her out but even she didn’t have the confidence to approach them. There were girls far better looking than her who they turned down one after another.
Coming back to the present once more she turned and looked at Monica who sat there looking at her with a look on her face she couldn’t quite define.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked with a frown. Monica was starting to make her nervous.
“Do you have any idea how truly beautiful you are. I am not saying this because I am interested in you like that. But you are and you get more and more beautiful everyday because you have such a sweet soul.” She said wistfully.
“Monica that was.. I don’t …know.” She stuttered not sure how to reply to that or if she even should. This was weird. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she said, “Thanks, but look Monica, I’m a little uncomfortable with you so from now on you sleep in the other room, no offense or anything.”
“It’s ok, none taken. I just wanted to let you know that.” She said getting out of the bed and leaving the room.
She watched her go feeling very awkward. She had slept in bed with other girls and dreamed about having sex with a guy but she’d never woken up touching another person or vice versa and the things she said were odd. She didn’t know if Monica was jealous of her or interested?
Lucia was at the pond about 1/2 mile out from the house swimming happily when she felt a tingling sensation run up the back of her spine, a sudden awareness coming over her. It felt like someone was watching her. She slowly came out of the water, grabbed handfuls of her hair and rung it out as she glanced covertly around the vacated area. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary she grabbed her t-shirt and shorts dressing quickly then headed back through the wooded path that would take her back to the cottage.
She heard rock music blasting in the distance from the house and was instantly put out. “Someone kill the bitch and put her out of my misery. I really wanted peace and quiet this weekend.” She groaned yanking her hair in frustration.
Lucia was halfway to the house when she felt the hair on the back of her arms and neck rise and alarm bells went off in her head. She was being watched again and thought she heard movement to her right, a shuffling noise then something snapping, maybe a tree branch. To afraid to stop and look around she raced through the path, branches slapping her arms and face leaving bleeding scratches. If that wasn’t bad enough she tripped over a loose vine cutting her knee and cried out in pain and frustration but quickly got to her feet and kept moving, not stopping until the cottage came into view. She sighed in relief when she saw Monica standing out back turning the meat over on the grill shaking her hips to the music.
“Monica.” She yelled out of breath as she hurried up to her, grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the house with her.
Monica looked at her with disdain, “What’s wrong with you?” she asked yanking her arm from her clinging grasp.
Lucia took a step back shocked at her tone but said, “I think someone’s out there. I was at the pond and felt someone looking at me so I got out of the water and could swear someone was following me back to the house.” she said looking out the window towards the little wooded area.
Monica raised her left eye brow high then rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Lucia you are so paranoid. Look!” she told her pointing out the window at the empty woods. “There is nothing out there. You think everyone wants you, even out here in the middle of nowhere.” Monica told her, turning and opening the back door then marched back out to the grill shaking her head in annoyance.
What the hell was that all about? Monica had been in a terrible mood ever since this morning when she got caught touching on her body. Since then she had been a complete and utter bitch to her trying to find any reason to argue and berate her. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the counter, her heart still yammering away in her chest, her mouth dryer than a desert.
Maybe she should cancel the weekend and just head back into town she thought irritably, walking through the kitchen and down the hall towards the bathroom. She would take a long hot shower and decide what to do after but first thing first she needed to warn Monica about her food allergy.
She turned and ran back into the kitchen, opened the screen door and called out to Monica. “Make sure you don’t put garlic on my meat, it breaks me out in hives. I’m going to take a shower then fix up the salad and corn on the cob.” Lucia told her, closing the door and heading back towards the bathroom.
Later that night Lucia was laying in bed thinking about the strange day she’d had. She couldn’t believe how crazy Monica was making her. First she bad mouthed her about being scared of nothing over lunch and then she’d added garlic to her meat after she had specifically told her not to and she had promptly broken out in hives which were now slowly going away. If she didn’t know better she would say Monica was out to get her.
As she turned on her side in bed she saw someone looking at her through the window, his hands flat against the glass leaving finger prints as his hands shifted. She screamed at the top of her lungs scrambling to get out of the bed, tripping over the covers in her haste. Once she was untangled she got to her feet and ran out of her room and into Monica’s only to find it empty.
“Monica, Monica.” She yelled running into the living room searching for her and finding nothing. She ran to the front door, picked up the plank of wood they normally used to prop the door open and paused taking a deep calming breath a split second before opening the door wide, ready to confront the peeping Tom but came to a stop, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle a sob at the sight before her.
Monica was lying on the porch, blood spilling from a wound on her neck. She walked closer and bent down for a better look, the light shining from inside the house made it easier to see her tiny frame. She looked closely at her neck and saw what appeared to be a deep bite wound on her throat.
“Monica, what happened?” she cried placing her hand on the wound trying to stem the blood flow.
“G..go. Run aw..way.”She gasped out painfully, blood running out of the side of her mouth.
“No, come on. We have to get you some help.” She cried just as something heavy crashed into her side knocking her to the ground, the piece of wood flying out of her hand and sliding across the porch out of reach.
Lucia heard a low menacing growl and looked up in time to see a huge black wolf peering down at her and froze, hoping that if she stayed still it wouldn’t attack and let her eyes roam around the porch looking for the wood. She spotted it about a foot away and let her hand inch slowly toward it but stopped when the wolf let out another low growl. The hair’s on his head, neck and back standing up on end.
Looking over at Monica who laid so still, blood still running from her neck wound she realized she had to save her. She couldn’t just lie here all night, she had to do something or they would both die she thought biting her lower lip, heart pounding in her chest. She’d never been more frightened in her life.
Taking a deep breath and calming her mind she found a resolve deep inside of herself. The will to survive overshadowed any fear she had and moving quickly she shoved the wolf away from her with all her might sending it falling to its side on the porch and made a quick grab for the stick and felt a stinging pain in her right side.
She looked down and saw the wolf tearing into her and took her elbow and slammed it on top of the wolf’s snout as hard as she could. When it moved its head to the side to avoid another blow she punched it on the side of its mouth with all her strength, its teeth digging into her knuckles before it fell back and let out a painful growl.
Lucia reached for the wood and screamed out in agony as her side erupted in pain, a burning stinging sensation spreading through her side and center. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the stick, turning swiftly she bought it down hard pounding the wolf on the head and side until it lay unmoving and bleeding from its head and mouth.
Breathing hard, her muscles aching she watched for any signs of the wolf waking and attacking her again. When it remained still she quickly ran inside the house, pulled on her robe then grabbed her purse and Monica’s along with the keys to her car then back out onto the porch. She bent down and felt Monica’s pulse. It was weak but there was one thank god.
She heard the wolf move slightly then growl and her heart rate sped up. Fear giving her the strength she needed as she pulled Monica’s limp form up off the ground and dragged her down the porch steps and across the yard stopping at the passenger side of the car. She laid her on the ground, unlocked the doors then picked her up and threw her in, righted her then strapped the seatbelt around her. She quickly made her way to the driver’s side and got in, put the key in the ignition, turned it over and put the car in drive and sped out of there like the hounds of hell were after her.
She didn’t know where the hospital was out here but she knew there was one right off the highway about 20 or 30 minutes away and hoped she would make it in time. She reached in the back of her car grabbing up a discarded sweatshirt and pressed it against Monica’s neck.
“Hold on Monica.” She told her, tears streaming down her face. “Please don’t die.”
Lucia pulled into the entrance of the hospital and hopped out of the car in nothing but her robe which was covered in blood and ran into the hospital shocking everyone as she called out for help.
The hospital workers sat stunned at first but quickly moved into action. Running out to the car where they quickly pulled Monica out and placed her on a stretcher while another worker placed her in a wheelchair though she told them she was ok. They were both willed back into emergency where a doctor met them and went with Monica who was the worse of the two.
“Can I get a smock or something?” Lucia asked the nurse as they willed her into an enclosed room. She really wanted to get out of this bloody robe.
“Sure.” The nurse told her opening up a draw and handing her a hospital gown to put on.
She cleaned her side at the sink along with most of the blood, noticing that the wound didn’t look as bad as she had first thought then dressed it with ointment and gauze she found in a pantry. She wiped down everything cleaning up any droplets and splatters of blood then set on the bed and waited for what seemed like an eternity before she heard the door open and an older man walk in.
“Hello I am Doctor Adams. Can you tell me what happened tonight?”
Lucia told him what happened, about the person looking at her through the window, about her finding Monica out on the porch and the wolf trying to attack her but she kept mum about it actually biting her. Some instinct had her keeping quiet about that fact though she wasn’t sure why.
“So you fought it off with a stick. Good for you. What happened to your hand?” he asked, eyes narrowing on her knuckles.
She had completely forgotten about her hand and looked down at it. It looked like it was in pretty bad shape. The skin looked flayed right down to the bone. It was swollen and bruised with dried blood and a little bit of dirt caked in it.
“I lost my balance and fell on some sharp rocks and scrapped it while pulling Monica to the car. How is she?” she asked trying to stop the doctor from looking to closely at her hand.
“I’m sorry. Your friend didn’t make it. She was D.O.A. I will get a nurse to clean up your hand, then we will do an x-ray to make sure everything’s ok. We will need her next of kin. Do you know who we should contact?” The doctor asked her getting to his feet and writing something on her chart.
“I think her mother lives in Arkansas. Her information should be in the car. I grabbed her purse. I’ll get it for you.” Lucia told him.
“Thank you but that won’t be necessary. I will send someone out to the car. It needs to be moved anyway. May I have the keys?” She handed them to him. “I will send the nurse right in.” he told her exiting the room.
As she set in the room waiting for the nurse she started feeling sick, her skin getting hot and tingly, her mouth going dry as cotton and her head aching. How could this have happened? Monica was dead. No way, she thought to herself, tears streaming down her face. This was too unreal.
Chapter 2
Lance bent to wash his face in the pond and winced. He looked down at his side and saw two of his ribs were sunk in and cursed. Reaching down he stiffened his muscles before pulling his ribs up and out of his lungs, coughing up more blood in the process, his breathing ragged, a weak feeling washing over him. He heard someone behind him and tensed, taking a deep breath through his nose scenting the air and relaxed his guard.
“Lance, did you do it?” His Alpha Dillon asked coming through the woods and stooping down next to him.
“Of course I did, although that bitch broke my ribs and a few other bits.” He said through gritted teeth as he snapped his pinky finger on his left hand in place.
Dillon reached over and touched the bump on his forehead. “What about the other one?”
Lance laughed darkly. “I ripped that stinking bitch’s throat out. She would have just gotten in the way, besides the other asked me to do it.” He grinned, showing straight white teeth.
“So, where’s the redhead now?” He asked looking around for her.
“She got away, but don’t worry, she’ll be back. Where’s Nina, why haven’t you found her yet?” He complained rinsing the blood from his chest watching as the water turned red then a pale green.
“I don’t know but we’ll find her. Did you check her out? I saw her at the pond the other day too. She was so beautiful, like a goddamn angel.” He said, his honey colored eyes looking dreamy and lost in some self induced fantasy.
He was right, she was beautiful. When he saw her again tonight it took everything in him not to shift to his human form and take her right then and there. Her full sensual lips were just asking to be kissed, her full soft breast licked and caressed. He shook his head, clearing away unwanted thoughts. It did no good fantasizing about her when there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
“So, what’s our next move? We don’t even know her full name.” Lance asked him, finding holes in this plan already.
“It shouldn’t be hard to figure out, and I’m sure she will return. One of us will just have to wait until she comes back and if not, we will go searching for her. We have her scent.” Dillon said matter of fact.
“Hmm…” He mumbled, already thinking about ramming his cock inside that sweet beautiful little body.
******
Lucia stayed in a nearby hotel for three days, two of which she was sick with a high fever and chills. The first thing she had done when she made it to the hotel was run water for a bath and had broken out in a fever. She had ended up staying in the tub, running cold water in the shower to keep her body cool.
She still had a temperature of 101.5 but she didn’t feel sick anymore. If anything she felt great if not a little weird. Her hearing was 20 times better than it had been as was her sense of smell, her vision, hell even her strength had improved. Her wounds were all healed which surprised the hell out of her. Maybe the fever did something to her. It had got as high as 109 degrees and she should have been dead but had somehow survived. Maybe staying in the ice cold water helped, not to mention the bottles of Tylenol she’d purchased after leaving the hospital.
Lucia reached for the can of pop to her right accidently knocking her sandwich off the side of the table and the strangest thing happened. It was like her eyes zeroed in on the fall and angle of the sandwich and her hand shot out like a bullet, quicker than the eye could see and caught it, balancing it in her palm, not a slice of meat or cheese out of place. She sat there stunned. This would take some getting used to. Perhaps she should see a doctor she thought sitting her sandwich back on the desk. No, they would treat her like a lab rap.
Lucia could already see it. Going inside and showing them what she could do and then she would be bound to a table and her blood and tissue being stripped away. No way, she thought feeling agitated. She propped her elbows on the table and leaned her head down in her palms, feeling odd all of a sudden like something was moving under her skin.
“What’s happening to me?” she whispered reaching down and rubbing her arms as goose bumps covered her skin. She felt like there was a sleeping beast inside her just waiting to get out.
Lucia quickly finished her food, downed the rest of her pop then got up, packed her small overnight bag and left the room. She went to the front office, paid her bill then headed back to the cottage. Hopefully the wolf was long gone but just in case she had a bebe gun. That should scare him away.
An hour later she was busy packing her things when she felt a chill crawl up her spine and turned around slowly. Standing in her doorway was a tall dark haired man with shabby jeans and shirt and no shoes. He was lean with a hint of solid muscle beneath his clothes.
Feeling at a disadvantage she slowly got to her feet to face him and noticed his honey colored eyes were glowing and there was a deep growl like purr coming from him.
“Can I help you?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes, as a matter of fact you can.” He said coming farther into the room.
Lucia took a hasty step back, her calf bumping against the wooden rail of the bed. “Well, what is it?” she asked quietly, praying that he actually wanted something but deep down she knew it wouldn’t bode well for her.
“You can strip and let me mate you.” He said coming further into the room, his eyes giving her a slow appraisal, mouth quirking to the side in a small half smile. “Hmm, yea, that’s what you can do for me.” He said taking off his shirt and letting it drop to the floor.
Lucia felt her heart skip a beat and her throat go dry. “Are you crazy, mate me. I think you should leave.” She said, grabbing her cell and hitting 911 just as he jumped 10 feet across the room, snatched the phone out of her hand and smashed against the desk. He grabbed her arms and shook her viciously making her head flop back and forth like a rag doll.
“I said strip. We can do this nice and easy or hard and painful. I can sense you’ve not been touched by a man.” He said pulling her close and smelling her skin and hair. “It makes me want you even more.” He said grinding his hard length against her.
Lucia shrunk away from him and managed to pull one of her hands free and slapped him across the face so hard the sound reverberated around the room. He growled at her defiance, reared his fist back and punched her in the temple, black spots immediately appearing before her eyes as she swayed then crumbled to the floor in a heap.
Clutching her head she looked up at him, seeing double as she tried to focus her eyes on him. “Why are you doing this? Who are you?” She moaned in pain as he grabbed her by her arms in a bruising grip and bought her roughly to her feet.
Lucia pushed against his hold trying to break free even though she knew it was pointless. He was too strong, tossing her on the bed like a sack of potatoes and started ripping her clothes off. She pushed, kicked, punched, scratched and screamed to no avail. He just kept going, seeming to enjoy her screams.
“Stop it. No!” She struggled feebly against his superior strength as he then tied her hands to the bed post with her ripped shirt.
He grabbed the sides of her face making her look at him. “I am your mate, from now on you do as I say.” He said getting to his feet and finished undressing.
Lucia’s eyes nearly exploded out of her head when she saw his cock. As skinny as he was his cock was huge and he was going to stick that thing inside her. He was crazy, and what was he talking about, mating her, what was she a fucking animal? She glared at him, tears streaming down her face.
“Do I look like a dog to you? If you want a mate then go and find someone else or at least someone’s who’s interested. Let me go damn you! Don’t do this to me please. What’s this all about?” she sobbed, struggling against her binds, wincing as the bindings bit into her skin.
“You haven’t sensed the changes in you. You’re like me now. A were-shifter or werewolf as some like to be called. You were changed 4 days ago and tonight when the moon is full you will shift for the first time.” He said climbing onto the bed and lying between her legs.
Lucia bucked her hips trying to knock him off her but he only laughed and bent his face to her neck, licking his way down her shoulder to her breast and sucked a nipple into his mouth making her cry out in disgust.
“No.” she screamed, jerking and bucking her body like a mad woman.
He slapped her hard across the face making her halt her movements then smiled. “Yes.” he murmured bending his head and biting her nipple making her cry out in pain then placed his fingers against her vaginal hole, pushing what felt like 3 finger inside her and she cried out in pain and fear.
“You’re so tight. A virgin through and through.”
When he lifted his head above hers intending to kiss her mouth she smashed her forehead against his nose and bit his chest making him roar in pain. When he shifted his body trying to get away from her face she bought her knee up and slammed it into his balls. He let out a high pitched screamed and started punching her in the face.
“You fucking cunt, I’ll kill you just like we did your friend.” He screamed, wrapping his hands around her throat choking the life from her.
“Why. Wh..y d.id you k.ill her?” She gasped out in pain.
She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. It was like something out of a nightmare.
“Because you asked us to. Don’t you remember? That day in the woods when you were walking back towards the house and I quote, “Someone kill the bitch and put her out of my misery. Isn’t that what you said? My friend simply did as you asked?” He laughed evilly and slapped her across the face, then choked her again.
She looked up dazedly, her vision going dim, her chest burning from lack of oxygen and saw a beautiful dark haired woman come up behind him, lift a shovel above her head and bought it crashing down on his skull, a loud banging sound echoing around the room before he slumped over her.
“Are you ok? Look what he did to you.” she said pushing the unconscious man off her.
Lucia looked over her injuries as the woman untied her wrist then helped her up off the bed. She could barely see now, her eyes and face swelling from the beating she received. She tripped over something on the floor and realized it was the bag she had been packing.
“Can you help me please?’ She cried, heart pounding in her chest as her vision went completely black. “I can’t see.” she cried out in panic, reaching out blindly in front of her latching onto the dark haired woman.
“It’s ok, I’ve got you. Your eyes are swollen shut. Here let me help you dress. Lift your arms up for me.”
“Who are you?” Lucia asked as she lifted her hands and felt something fall over her head, arms and down her body stopping at her knees.
“My names Nina. He tried to mate me as well but I ran away. I have never met his partner but they were both searching for me when they came up on you. I am truly sorry.” She said sighing sadly.
“Can you help me get my things out to the car? I don’t want to leave anything of mine or Monica’s behind. He said they killed her.” She said forlornly. Thinking about how Monica’s mom looked when she came to claim her daughters body and take her back home. Damn these crazy murdering bastards.
“Sure but I’m driving. From now on you and I will stay together. I have some things to explain to you about what happened.” Nina said escorting her outside to the car.
They were sitting in a hotel room about an hour’s drive from Lucia’s campus dorm eating pizza and drinking cola when Nina looked up at her, her eyes narrowing as she examined Lucia’s face then reached out turning her face from right to left and nodded.
“What?” Lucia asked hoping she didn’t look worse. She hadn’t looked in a mirror since the attack. Afraid of what she would see.
“You’re looking much better.” She said smiling.
“Thanks for getting me out of there. He was crazy. What the hell was he talking about, me being like him now?” she took another bite of pizza, brows drawn in a frown as she contemplated the last couple of days.
“Well here’s the thing. You are no longer human. Four nights ago when you were attacked, you were infected by that man. He transferred over his shifting ability to you and tonight when the moon rises you will shift for the first time.” She told her straight, no voice inflection, no stilted words, just straight to the point.
Lucia stared at Nina for a long time then burst into a fit of laughter and found she couldn’t seem to stop. Her eyes watered, her side ached and she could barely breathe but still she laughed until she thought she would go crazy. This was hilarious. The whole world had gone insane, werewolves, mates and claiming. The world had gone to shit.
Nina frowned at her for a moment, taking in her hysterical laughter then scowled when she didn’t stop. “Enough.” Nina shouted reaching out and slapping her across the face hard enough to leave her hand print behind.
Lucia stopped laughing then started crying. “What is this? Beat up on Lucia day? I’m so leaving. I do not have time for jokes!” She said getting up and heading for the door only to find Nina already there leaning against the frame looking at her outstretched hand, admiring her nails.
Lucia gasped, placing her hand against her chest, frightened. How did she do that? She was behind her a moment ago.
“We can move very fast.” She said pushing away from the door and began stripping out of her clothes. Once Nina was completely nude she bent her knees down to the carpet and changed into a beautiful blackish brown wolf with a white patch on her chest and on her snout running up her nose stopping in the center of her forehead.
Lucia screamed and ran across the room grabbing a lamp off the night stand and held it tightly to her chest ready to launch it at any moment if the wolf so much as moved a step closer to her.
“I don’t understand. How is this real? I don’t want to be a wolf. I want my life back.” She cried, her body shaking as she replaced the lamp on the nightstand and folded her body in on itself sinking to the floor rocking back and forth.
Lucia felt arms come around her and stiffened when the hand gently rubbed her back, soothing words flowed over her and she relaxed slightly under her touch.
“It’s going to be ok, don’t worry. I’m here for you.” Nina crooned.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Lucia asked, looking up at her, green eyes wide and shimmering with tears. She was breathtaking, her vulnerability and innocence drawing out Nina’s protective instincts.
Nina hugged her tightly before loosening her hold but not letting her go. “It’s ok, I’m here for you. God you are so innocent aren’t you? We have to stick together. Those two won’t leave us alone now. They’ll hunt for us, that’s what wolves do when they want to claim a mate. Since you and I are without a pack that will leave us vulnerable to other rogue males.” Nina explained gently.
“So how does this work. Male shifters can mate us against our wills?” She didn’t think that was right. It was rape, that’s what it was pure and simple.
“When an unmated male without a pack meets an unmated female who is without a pack he can force her to mate because she is without protection and when a wolf mates it’s for life. So if a wolf forces you to mate and submit you will stay with that wolf whether you want to or not once he marks you. It’s instinctual. Not all males will force you to mate though with the shortage of females there are many that will try. If we find ourselves in an area with an established pack they will force us to join their pack. Females are protected although some males as you witnessed firsthand can be brutal.”
“So what can we do and what do you mean mark me?” Lucia asked shaking her head back and forth, biting her lower lip, not understanding a thing.
“When you are in the heat of passion, a wolf will bite you somewhere on your body, normally between your neck and shoulder. He will bite you taking a bit of your blood and leaving his enzyme behind which will form an unbreakable bond, but enough of this discussion. We need to find a pack and fast. When we go to a new territory and if there is a pack already established we have to seek out the alpha or Alpha’s present and ask their permission to come into their city. They will protect us if they agree which more than likely they will since we are lone females.”
“Well I want to finish school. I have about a year and a half left.” Lucia said folding her arms defensibly.
“Where do you go to school?”
“The University of Amherst. It’s a huge campus but the town is relatively small and spaced out. I’m sure we can fit in and not be noticed.”
“Honey you’re a new wolf now. Fitting in is going to be a problem. You will need to learn to control your speed and most of all your strength. You will also crave sex.”
“But I thought you said we mated for life?” Lucia asked in confusion, brows knitting together in frustration. There was too much information flowing back and forth for her to keep it in order. She felt like she was stuck in a nightmare with no way to wake up and get back to the real world.
“We can sleep with humans, hell as many as we want, but when we mate with another shifter it is for life, well if they mark us but still it’s tricky sleeping with a wolf because instincts take over.”
“Oh, ok. Are we immortal?” Lucia was getting to like being a shifter more and more except for the forced mating part. The strength was a plus because she didn’t have to worry about guys trying to force themselves on her anymore.
“We aren’t. We age one year for every thirty five or forty. We can definitely be killed by beheading, drowning, breaking our neck, but we are impervious to human disease so that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about. We heal fast as you can see for yourself depending on the severity of the injuries. Plus when we’re in wolf form we heal faster.” She said rubbing the side of Lucia’s face where the swelling had all but disappeared and all that was left were a few bruises marring her creamy skin.
“What about kids, can we have them?” Lucia always wanted a large family someday with at least 5 or 6 kids. If she was told she couldn’t she would be crushed.
“Yes we can, in fact we normally have 2 or more litter with each pregnancy. Single births are rare for us.”
“So can we get pregnant like regular people and have a period and everything.”
“No you will no longer have a period in the typical sense. You will cramp and sometimes bleed a little when your body is preparing to release eggs but its very light and you can only get pregnant when you go into heat which is about every 5 years or so. Normally our heat starts somewhere between February and April.” She looked at her closely her forehead wrinkling as she bunched her face questioningly. “How old are you?”
“21 why, how old are you?”
“I’m 74. Most wolves don’t come into their first heat until about 20, so going by the time of year it is now you might come into your first heat cycle soon after you shift but not all heat cycles result in a pregnancy. A lot of the times the egg passes right out or sometimes you don’t even release one.” She said sadly.
“What?” she squawked, shocked that she could get pregnant so soon.
“Yes, and that will not be good. Your pheromones will drive unmated shifters crazy and have them coming out of the woodwork in droves, and you’ll want to mate with anything on four legs or two with a dick so be careful.”
“What about you, have you been in heat already?”
“3 weeks ago. It generally lasts about a week or a week and a half, though sometimes longer. Everyone is different.”
Lucia sat talking with Nina for hours learning as much as she could. This was all so surreal and if Nina hadn’t shifted in front of her she would not have believed a word she’d said. How could her life change so drastically in such a short time span? Yea, it seemed like fun living for centuries but the rest of it didn’t sound so great. Who wanted to shift into a wolf and who wanted males trying to mate her just because she was a lone female wolf?