Free Story #4 - Guided (Chapter 4)

Zoe apologised to me profusely when I entered the flat a few minutes later. I accepted it without question then after giving her a hug, I then went for a shower.

As I washed myself, my anger and fear was beginning to ebb away leading me to listen to my real feelings for the first time. As brief as our encounter was, I had never felt a longing to see a person again in quite the same way.

I went to bed straight afterward. I was so tired I fell asleep quickly but my dreams were filled with images of my last conversation with Doug. As I agonised over it, I hoped I could put it right somehow.

The next morning, I went into the living room to find Zoe and Arc were on the sofa. Arc was playing with a rubber mouse I had bought him last Christmas.

Zoe was watching a cooking show presented by a woman who looked as though she belonged in an issue of Playboy. As I watched, she poured a whole pot of custard over a freshly baked apple pie and started scoffing it herself.

'You won't keep up that figure if you keep doing that' I thought to myself with a smirk.

I sat in the small armchair facing the TV and Zoe turned to face me after a moment.

"Something wrong? You seem troubled" She asked.

It took a while but I relayed the whole sorry story to her. Instantly her hot headedness returned, not as strong as before but it was still there.

"What did you think you were doing? You could have died or been given something that would make lose years of your life?" she screamed. I knew what she was saying and for once, my hot temper remained in the back of my mind.

"He was right to save you Taylor, why did you blow him off?"

I forgot that I hadn't mentioned he was partially transformed and related this to her. She looked incredulous and rolled her eyes.

"No one would have believed him. So why were you so scared of him? It's not like you haven't met scarier people in your life?"

If a sense of humour had been apparent in me, I would have laughed at the irony of Zoe's iron clad defence of Doug.

The more I thought of him however, the more I realised that there was more than just primal lust in my thoughts, there was the stirring of an unknown emotion. It was frightening but at the same time it felt right.

I decided to give Zoe the honest answer.

"The reason I was scared of him was I afraid he would attack me when he had transformed. That he wasn't the guy I had started to love"

That statement alone broke my anger and tears ran from my face. Zoe noticed this and she softened her expression. She walked over and held me close while I cried out my fears. After I had stopped, we sat and watched a DVD.

As we began talking as if it hadn't happened, our rift was repaired.

A few minutes later, I realised I had a shift at work. I got dressed then said goodbye to my roommate and left as quickly as I could. Working in the social club isn't my main job. I work in a supermarket.

It's only a small one on the outskirt of town but it pays the bills. Just.

When I arrived, I logged onto my till. I was in such a rush to get there I had forgotten about Doug.

But as soon as I thought about him, there he was in the front of my mind. The first customer came up a few seconds after my login was confirmed. I put his items through as if I were a robot programmed to do so. He paid and went on his way.

I looked at him closely as I left. My perception told me he was a vampire. Looking closer, I saw he had bought cranberry juice and three bottles of fake blood from the party section.

No accounting for taste crossed my mind. For the next few hours, things continued in much the same pattern.

It wasn't till I served the last customer before I went on my break that I got my biggest surprise. I didn't look at him at first until I asked him for his money.

It was Doug. He was dressed in similar clothes to the day before. They didn't seem to suit him somehow, but that was the last thing on my mind.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well I thought I'd come in to get something to eat. I didn't know you worked here too" he replied with slight distain in his voice.

I knew we needed to talk so I explained I would meet him in a few minutes. A few seconds of thinking and he nodded in approval.

Stephen took my place when my break came round. He was young and in his late twenties. When Doug mouthed something at him and he nodded back, I was slightly confused.

But when we left the supermarket, he explained that Stephen was the son of his alpha. I assumed alpha meant leader but I decided that it was his business.

It was then I realised that Stephen was the son of a werewolf; he must also be one as well.

I couldn't help wincing slightly as I was still cautious of all things related to supernatural canines at the moment.

After a second, we walked down the local chip shop and bought two portions of chips. After thinking for a second, we sat down on the bench down by a nearby car park to eat. An awkward silence hung in the air while we ate. Doug decided to break it by speaking first.

"I know I shouldn't have transformed when I did. I'm so used to acting on instinct when someone's in danger. I forgot the situation I was in"

After fondling with a chip, it burned the back of my throat as I swallowed it. I coughed slightly then took a sip of lemonade.

"I shouldn't have been so stubborn" I said slowly and carefully.

"You had every right to be. You'd just discovered that something existed that you didn't know before. It's natural to be slightly cagey till you know the truth"

He seemed to speak with a wisdom that seemed beyond his years. I could tell he meant what he said but it had obviously been rehearsed with someone else.

"How did you know I was in danger, and more to the point how did you know where I was?"

"Last night in the bar after Kevin left and we had sex, I looked at you and suddenly it was like you were the most important thing in the world to me. I tried to deny it. That's why I left"

"Did I do something wrong?" My voice was full of concern and I hoped my face reflected this.

"No, nothing like that. But when you were in danger this morning, something in my mind triggered that I couldn't explain. I followed it and found you again. I was freaked out so that's why I overreacted. When I calmed down, I went to my alpha and he told me the truth"

"What did he tell you?" I asked.

I was both intrigued and slightly wary of the way that was going. Doug's emotions were pointing due north so the next thing that came out his mouth was the truth.

"Last night I imprinted. On you"

The words seemed to come out his mouth as if they were some kind of ancient ritualistic chant. I knew enough from reading certain kinds of fiction to know that the imprint only happens when someone finds his or her soul mate.

"Imprinted? But we barely know each other" I was flattered to say the least but a little bit freaked out.

But in a way, it felt like a good thing. What was even stranger was it felt right and that he was the man for me. It was as if the imprint had worked in two ways.

"The imprint is more of a sign to indicate a mate. If it disappears after the first kiss, then it means it is not meant to be"

I wondered if that if only worked on werewolves considering that human love I knew was rarely like in fairy tales. He seemed to indicate a kiss would tell us all we needed to know.

I was slightly sceptical but I was willing to give it a shot. To apologise to both myself and to Doug for treating him badly the last time we met.

"Well there's only one to know if it's true or not" I said.

We looked at each other and he nodded in consent. We drew ourselves closer together and our lips met. For a split second, there was slight disappointment that nothing had happened. I thought that we could be friends and nothing more. But when I looked into his eyes, that feeling instantly left me.

I could tell he was genuine, caring and handsome. Everything I needed and more than I could have ever dreamed possible. Our lips drew apart and we backed away for a second to consider what had happened.

"Taylor?" Doug asked me after a minute.

"Doug?" I asked him back.

We both knew what we wanted to say but words weren't enough. I wrapped my arms around his chest and he drew his around mine. Tears of happiness and a few of grief fell from our eyes for all the time we had wasted but we didn't cry.

We wiped our eyes and looked into each other's face. Our lips joined once more and as we separated from the kiss, we said the same words at the same time.

They were cliché, tale as old as time words and at the time they could have seemed impulsive and stupid to say. But at that moment, they felt as real as they ever could.

"I love you"

-

Doug walked me back to work after our encounter. He said I was welcome to come by the pub tonight if I wanted to.

I assumed it was so he could introduce his new boyfriend to his pack. After a moment's hesitation of wondering why I would need their approval, I said I would.

He smiled a broad smile and after another kiss, he left me to get to back on shift. The till closed for a minute whilst we switched over and Stephen looked at me closer than he had done before.

"Didn't know you knew Doug" he said.

"We've only just met" I replied.

"So how long have known he's a werewolf?" He asked me.

I wasn't sure if he knew I knew about the whole secret situation, But I decided to be honest.

"As soon as we met" I casually responded. Stephen was taken aback.

"How? Did he tell you?"

"Nope, one of my friends told me. He's a sprite"

"So Doug told you I'm one too then?" he asked me cautiously.

I could tell by his change in demeanour that he wasn't exactly comfortable about meeting someone outside the pack who knew about him.

"I worked it out when he spoke to you. Don't worry, your secrets safe with me" I assured him.

The tension instantly vanished and he grinned slightly, not enough to make him looking amused, but enough to give the illusion of a casual smile.

"See you around then" he said and walked off.

As I looked at him, I saw his blond hair trail behind him and his muscular physique show slightly out of his uniform.

Wondering if all werewolves were mysteriously muscularly was something I would have to do later. The till chimed to confirm I was logged in so I turned to face my first customer.

The woman waiting at the checkout was waiting to pay for several boxes of melting ice cream, reduced meat pies and several bags of wet dog food.

I got some money from the cash point after leaving work and had a quick shower. After putting on some fragrance, and brushing my teeth, I washed my face then combed my hair. Leaving the house thirty minutes later, I closed the door then locked it.

Zoe had gone out and Arc was prowling, so I didn't need to worry about locking anyone in which was nice for a change.

Five minutes of walking whilst listening to my MP3 player proceeded. As I listened to Lady Gaga singing Bad Romance, I arrived outside the pub hoping it wasn't going to be clairvoyant as well as ironic.

Looking through the window, I saw about twenty men and one woman. They were of different shapes and sizes. But it was obvious they all had one thing in common. They were all werewolves.

Clearing my throat, I straightened my shirt then pushed open the door and entered the lobby room of the pub.

Knowing this was the only chance to make a good impression with the pack; I walked through the door into the main room and let it close behind me.

The first thing that I noticed when going into the pub was that the pack were on one side of the room. The pool table and dart board were being used on the same side and most of the patrons were on completely the opposite side.

Not knowing if that was on purpose or not, I walked gently into the middle of the room and looked along the table to find Doug. He was sat about three seats down the table with a man with tan coloured hair that was showing signs of whitening. He was wearing leather biker gear and his arms were covered in tattoos.

I could tell he was quite high up on the ladder because all the members of the pack were treating him with silent respect.

I wondered if he was the alpha that Doug had referred to. There was a dog tag on his jacket that read the name "Campbell". Just as I happened to think of this, Doug noticed me. He seemed to say something along the lines of 'see you in a minute' and the older man started talking to another werewolf in his mid teens.

Doug came up to me and kissed me. I repeated the gesture and then turned to face the people he had just left.

"Guys, this is Taylor, he's my imprinted" Doug announced.

The whole pack stopped talking and turned to face me. For a minute, there was grim silence. I could tell something was wrong and just to prove my point, the older man came up to me and sniffed me all over. I wasn't exactly pleased about this but I knew it had to be done.

"Doug, this is a human" the man said.

"I know Campbell, but I thought you’d be happy for me" Doug replied.

Campbell cringed.

"I don't know about you, but I don't treat humans with respect" he snarled.

Making a sarcastic comment like 'standing right here' wasn't appropriate I realised. This kind of annoyed me in one way but relieved me in another. After looking me over once more, he sniffed me again and he shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe you imprinted on that?" he remarked snidely.

"That happens to me my boyfriend" Doug yelled back.

"Don't speak to me like that!" Campbell snarled and hit him across the face with a paw.

His hand had shifted into its altered shape due to the alphas rage. Doug growled in anger and his fangs emerged.

Everyone knew that Doug had made a big mistake by threatening him. The room waited with baited breath and a few of the meek patrons ran to the toilets.

"It's time I showed you that you should treat me with respect!" the alpha shouted. In an instant, he had shifted from man into wolf. I hadn't known what to expect a fully transformed werewolf to look like. But now I knew.

His frame was mostly that of a very muscular human with wolf fur. It also looked like he could stand on two or four legs depending on his need. A thick bushy tail extended from just above his waist and his face was now a muzzle.

His ears had moved to the top of his head and his teeth were now fangs. He looked completely ready to harm anyone or anything. The leather had ripped to shreds and was scattered over the floor. His fur was the same deep brown as his hair with mixed grey in places.

Doug shifted a second later and his ripped clothes fell to the floor. Doug's fur was golden blond and shaggy like this hair in human form. Although there wasn't a big difference in how the two looked, the alpha was stronger, wiser and more importantly, in command.

The two wolves growled then lunged at each other. Staring around, I noticed that none of the other clients had noticed this. It was then I realised they were all supernaturals of some kind and they had decided to let the two fight it out.

Drawing my attention to the fight, the weight of the situation hit me and with every blow Doug took, my expression lost more of its positive outlook.

I guess that the more I thought about it, the more I began to accept my boyfriend's other life. But also I was scared that if I got in too deep, I would be left wide open to the dangers that his kind imposed. After about five minutes of constant fighting, Doug was exhausted. The alpha however, was not.

With a final roar of anger, he pounced on top of Doug and held his paw up against his throat.

I rushed forward to try and help but the only girl from the pack table stood in front of me.

"Don't worry, he's safe" she whispered in my ear.

As if to prove her point, Doug whined in defeat. The alpha took his paw away and shifted back into his human shape.

"Don't think you're welcome in this pack again!" he snapped.

He left quickly followed by the other members except for Stephen and the girl who'd stopped me from making a foolhardy move.

Doug slowly shifted back into human form and Stephen gave him a spare set of clothes. They were slightly too small but it was better than being arrested for nudity.

The female licked him and Doug returned the favour. Slightly grossed out, I looked away. It was then I realised that it wasn't a lick in the way of lust, more of a gentle lick of affection.

"Sorry about my dad, he's been around for a thousand years and is very set in his ways" Stephen apologised.

"It's okay Ste, you weren't to know" Doug gasped. Blood was trickling from the side of his mouth and the cuts and bruises were healing slowly.

"To be honest, I've been thinking of leaving for a while now but it's the fact I have nowhere to go that makes it risky. That and the fact he would flip"

Stephen seemed to give off the impression that his father's pack was the only pack in the area and that finding another would not be easy.

"I'm sure he wouldn't be that bad. I could talk to him" the girl said. Her voice was warm and kind, with an air of honesty.

"That's sweet Jenna, but coming you he may get a little defensive" Stephen replied.

That surprised me because she seemed to be quite friendly and fit in with the others. But then again, I was completely oblivious when it came to the supernatural.

"You must be Taylor, Doug's told me a lot about you" she said.

"Yeah I am. Who are you?" I asked her.

"Jenna, this guy's older sister"

She pointed at the healing werewolf in my arms. The resemblance however slim was easy to notice.

"Why is he so set against humans?" I asked Jenna.

"Campbell? He was transformed into a werewolf several hundred years ago. His fellow humans threw him out of his village, so he had to fend for himself. He joined the pack he's in now but he took the job of Alpha only ten years ago. When the former Alpha was shot dead"

Before I could react, a howling noise echoed through the pub. Stephen's ears pricked and he sighed.

"Sorry guys I've got to dash, I'll see ya soon"

With that, he left the bar. As quickly as her expression had changed before, he suddenly looked sullen.

"What's wrong Jenna?"

"Now that Doug's been exiled, he's in grave danger"