out to get a rise out of the parents.
I was ha lfway up the stairs when someone entered the mudroom, probably Ash. I ran up the steps, hoping to avoid her. I just wanted to run, and release my frustration. I hurried out from under the tree, stripped, and shifted in plain view of whoever was there, then I shot south into the night. I’d had enough drama and didn’t want to talk anymore.
I just wanted to be a heartless creature, thinking of nothing but what was ahead. I leapt through thick brush and over fallen trees. Sword ferns scraped my skin as soft earth gave way to my claws. It felt good.
I was ten miles south when I noticed the pull was no longer from the east. I was headed directly into it and suddenly wondered, was I headed south? Or had I gone east without thinking? After a few more miles I ran into 101 and followed it down the coast — definitely south.
I ignored the pull and focused on getting to Aberdeen so Sarah and Jack could have their privacy. Before I knew it I crossed 109 and snaked along the coast through the shipyards. I had to swim some areas before I reached the hotel. I shifted, then climbed out of the cold water. My jeans were waiting; I pulled them on.
They’d been watching for me. Jack came out the side door. I found the cigarettes I’d left in the jeans’ pocket and lit one as Jack watched nervously.
“I gotta smoke after a run like that,” I told him. “Give me a minute.”
He sat down at a picnic table that served as a smoking area. He fidgeted till I was finished, but didn’t complain. When I was ready Jack keyed us back in.
“Did she let you watch?” I asked him, as we climbed the stairs.
“No,” he said, bewildered.
“She should have. At least that way you would see what you’re getting into. It’s not glamorous like the movies. Some people can’t deal with it and lose their minds.”
He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at me. “I know I can’t live without her.”
“Let’s hope that’s enough to keep you from blowing your brains out,” I said.
“I love her more than anything in this world…”
His words stirred a vivid memory.
I stood in the doorway and watched Hania as he worked with the cute blonde girl, Elizabeth. Her eyes were red from crying. She avoided my gaze. I should have known better; she was only human. How could I have ever thought she could handle the fact that I was a werewolf? Hania continued his incantation robbing her of bad memories. Once he was done she would go home.
Verloren stood behind me. “Still having your soul resent? They say ignorance is bliss.”
“No,” I replied, watching Hania. “She wasn’t meant for my world… and I wasn’t meant for hers.”
When I looked at him his eyes shone with a strange new light.
“We’re going to Washington,” he said. “Are you coming with us?”
“I might as well,” I sighed as Hania eased Elizabeth onto her back. She dozed off quickly. “How do you know for sure Ashley is your soul mate?”
Verloren stared at me. “I love her more than anything in this world. I would do anything for her. I would even…”
“…die for her,” Jack said.
I nodded at Jack. “That’s a good indicator.”
He was an all right guy who was scared out of his fucking mind. I was waiting for him to snap and start screaming about monsters.
As we entered the room I could hear his heart racing. Sarah sat watching TV. I headed straight for the bathroom. That’s where she’d left the body.
As I went in I said: “You should have let him watch.”
I closed the bathroom door and hurried. I didn’t want to be there any more than they wanted me there. The body was a man — imagine that. When I finished, I balled up his clothes and took them with me. I left their room without looking at either of them. I jogged down the stairs and out the door, then jumped in the water with my jeans on. I shifted in the water destroying the jeans, then swam far out before I let go of the dead
I was ha lfway up the stairs when someone entered the mudroom, probably Ash. I ran up the steps, hoping to avoid her. I just wanted to run, and release my frustration. I hurried out from under the tree, stripped, and shifted in plain view of whoever was there, then I shot south into the night. I’d had enough drama and didn’t want to talk anymore.
I just wanted to be a heartless creature, thinking of nothing but what was ahead. I leapt through thick brush and over fallen trees. Sword ferns scraped my skin as soft earth gave way to my claws. It felt good.
I was ten miles south when I noticed the pull was no longer from the east. I was headed directly into it and suddenly wondered, was I headed south? Or had I gone east without thinking? After a few more miles I ran into 101 and followed it down the coast — definitely south.
I ignored the pull and focused on getting to Aberdeen so Sarah and Jack could have their privacy. Before I knew it I crossed 109 and snaked along the coast through the shipyards. I had to swim some areas before I reached the hotel. I shifted, then climbed out of the cold water. My jeans were waiting; I pulled them on.
They’d been watching for me. Jack came out the side door. I found the cigarettes I’d left in the jeans’ pocket and lit one as Jack watched nervously.
“I gotta smoke after a run like that,” I told him. “Give me a minute.”
He sat down at a picnic table that served as a smoking area. He fidgeted till I was finished, but didn’t complain. When I was ready Jack keyed us back in.
“Did she let you watch?” I asked him, as we climbed the stairs.
“No,” he said, bewildered.
“She should have. At least that way you would see what you’re getting into. It’s not glamorous like the movies. Some people can’t deal with it and lose their minds.”
He stopped at the top of the stairs and looked at me. “I know I can’t live without her.”
“Let’s hope that’s enough to keep you from blowing your brains out,” I said.
“I love her more than anything in this world…”
His words stirred a vivid memory.
I stood in the doorway and watched Hania as he worked with the cute blonde girl, Elizabeth. Her eyes were red from crying. She avoided my gaze. I should have known better; she was only human. How could I have ever thought she could handle the fact that I was a werewolf? Hania continued his incantation robbing her of bad memories. Once he was done she would go home.
Verloren stood behind me. “Still having your soul resent? They say ignorance is bliss.”
“No,” I replied, watching Hania. “She wasn’t meant for my world… and I wasn’t meant for hers.”
When I looked at him his eyes shone with a strange new light.
“We’re going to Washington,” he said. “Are you coming with us?”
“I might as well,” I sighed as Hania eased Elizabeth onto her back. She dozed off quickly. “How do you know for sure Ashley is your soul mate?”
Verloren stared at me. “I love her more than anything in this world. I would do anything for her. I would even…”
“…die for her,” Jack said.
I nodded at Jack. “That’s a good indicator.”
He was an all right guy who was scared out of his fucking mind. I was waiting for him to snap and start screaming about monsters.
As we entered the room I could hear his heart racing. Sarah sat watching TV. I headed straight for the bathroom. That’s where she’d left the body.
As I went in I said: “You should have let him watch.”
I closed the bathroom door and hurried. I didn’t want to be there any more than they wanted me there. The body was a man — imagine that. When I finished, I balled up his clothes and took them with me. I left their room without looking at either of them. I jogged down the stairs and out the door, then jumped in the water with my jeans on. I shifted in the water destroying the jeans, then swam far out before I let go of the dead
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