Saturday 31 December 2011

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012


Hey everyone!

2011 was a year full of surprises, some good and some bad. But I would like to welcome 2012 with open arms. I also would like to thank a number of people who have inspired me this year and since I joined the writing community.

-

Lavinia Lewis - Your Shifter's Haven books are fantastic. I love all the characters and can't wait for the next one.

Joyee Flynn - Loved the Wolf Harem books to pieces, Spencer is such a cute guy, as are Ryder, Luc, Dean and Ethan!

Amber Kell - Too many wonderful characters to mention. But I especially love Silver and Anthony, that alpha pair are brilliantly written.

Dextrousleftie - Your story about Trey and Azhim was brilliant. Please do a sequel!

Emily Carrington - Can't wait to see what happens to Luke and Mark next!

and finally to Marissa Farrar, who was kind enough to give me an Advanced Review Copy of her latest release when I asked. Your stories are brilliantly written!

-

I have been making progress with my books, but getting down to write them is easier said than done.

My new years resolution this year is to have three published novellas that have been edited and released. Considering I have two on the go now and plenty of ideas, that shouldn't be too hard. All I need is to inject some energy into my inspiration!

Thank you for all the support you have given me and if I have left anyone out, I apologise.

As a special New Years treat, I will upload the entirety of Endangered after midnight tonight.


See you soon, hopefully with more content.

Calvin.

Thursday 29 December 2011

Review #2 - Attracting Anthony (Moon Pack Book #1) by Amber Kell

Available Now at Silver Publishing Click Here
Also available on Amazon.co.uk and All Romance eBooks.
Retail Price - $3.99 (Approximately £2.59)

-

A few years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of reading male pairing fiction, but three authors in particular helped me to love the genre. Shelley Munroe, Joyee Flynn and Amber Kell. Although I read one of her other titles before this one, I decided to choose this one because I re-read it only a few days ago.

Attracting Anthony tells the story of Anthony Carrow, a man who lost his lover a year before and has never truly recovered from the loss. Under the persuasion of his friend Steven, he decides to go to a private nightclub, where Steven is a member because he is part of the local werewolf pack. Although not werekin himself, Anthony is allowed to come as Steven’s guest.

The last thing he expects to see when he enters the club is a gorgeous werewolf named Silver Moon, who sweeps him off to his bedroom and tells him in no uncertain terms that they are meant to be together. This is because Anthony is his mate. Although slightly frightened by the prospect of being involved again, he agrees to let the beautiful werekin claim him.

Anthony leaves for work the next day and after a series of inconvenient interruptions, he finally decides that he is ready to truly accept Silver. The werewolf is only too happy to let his beautiful mate be with him for the rest of their lives, and gives him a beautiful present to celebrate their long awaited union.

The two main characters of the story are parallel opposites in most ways, but their love for each other is clearly shown and feels like you are standing right in the room with them. Anthony lacks confidence, but he doesn’t lack a strong spirit and a good heart. Silver is a firm ruler, but has a heart of gold and would rather cut off his own tail than let anyone hurt his mate or his pack.

Although brief, the story is well written and gives a clear impression of how their relationship blossoms throughout. There were several moments that made me smile, and not once did anyone feel out of character. The scenes of sexual intercourse were well described and felt as if they fitted into the storyline. Whereas a lot of stories use sex as a distraction, this felt like it was meant to happen.

There are many more titles in the Moon Pack series, and each of them involves both Anthony and Silver as side characters. In conclusion, Attracting Anthony was thoroughly enjoyable and one of the best choices to make if you want a werewolf romance that has very masculine men finding their soul mates.

And that is something we all deserve to find.


My score - 10/10






Friday 23 December 2011

Free Story #17 - Foretold (Chapter 7)

The bullet in question, went straight through Campbell's head.

His body, silent and unmoving, fell to the ground. The blood oozed from the wound and landed in a puddle next to his body. Jenna's scream of grief had rung through the air. And not surprisingly, it took Arc, Zoe, Stephen and Doug to keep her from clawing at my father's body.

"There's nothing you can do, he's gone" Arc said to her.

"It can't be! He can't be gone!" she screamed.

Every single werewolf in the clearing changed form if they hadn't done so already. Even the people who couldn't change shape naturally became another form if they were able. Slowly, every animal in the clearing began to howl. Jenna transformed and howled louder than anyone else in the clearing.

It was the same kind of howl that had been sung the night Hax had been murdered. And I felt the familiar pang of grief beginning to strike. But I had to be strong for everyone so I joined in the howl. If I hadn't been able to, it would have looked disrespectful. Thank god for my instincts.

When the howl was over, we all changed back into human form. Whilst Jenna lay sobbing beside Campbell's torso, Stephen knelt before his fallen father and closed his eyes for the last time.

Farrell's body was thrown unceremoniously into a small marsh that was in the woods whilst my father's was left on the ground to rot. They offered to let us release our emotional discharge on Farrell but I had to refuse. Doug and Shadow also wanted no part of the deal, which made me feel proud of my two boys just for a minute. After thinking it through, it made me sound like an old mother looking out at her sons.

But the memory of the incident brought me back into the room within seconds. This was a good thing because everyone was starting to leave. Doug and Stephen carried Campbell to the car and lay him on a mat. It felt so wrong to see him being carted away in such inappropriate conditions but we all knew that he wouldn't have wanted us to make a fuss.

Doug got in the car with Jenna and Stephen. I walked over to the car and went up to the window. There was barely any room for the three of them in there with Campbell as well. I said the only thing that I could given the circumstances.

"I'll take Shadow home" I offered.

Doug looked up at me. He knew I didn't know what to say so he nodded as if to check it was ok after a deep cut.

"Sure. Do you mind if I stay with Jenna and the others tonight?"

I shook my head.

"No of course not, but call me if you need me"

Doug weakly smiled. It was a happy smile by any description but a smile of someone waking from a coma and not being sure where they are. As if the sight of his hands were part of an elaborate trick.

"Tell Shadow it's not his fault" Doug explained.

I understood what he meant entirely. The guilt must be starting to seep into him. Doug wound down the window and the car left as quickly as it could. I turned back to see that Shadow was stood looking at the place where Campbell has died.

"Oh fuck" I thought to myself. I didn't make a habit of saying the word very often but given the circumstances, I figured I was exempt from any kind social etiquette for a short period of time.

Zoe and Arc walked over at that moment. They looked just as heartbroken as we did.

"Do you need any help?" Zoe asked.

"No, I'll get Shadow home, you two go" I replied.

They opened their mouths to protest but upon seeing the look on my face, they nodded.

"Call if you need us" Arc said.

"Of course"

After our conversation, Arc and Zoe started walking back to the town. After a minute, I walked over toward Shadow.

When I reached my son, he looked at me with eyes glistening with unconditional sorrow.

"It's not your fault" were the only words I could say.

Shadow nodded.

"I know" he answered, his voice racked with emotion, "But why him?"

That was a question I couldn't answer.

"Probably because my father wanted revenge for both his life and Farrell's"

"Was he always that way?"

"How do you mean?"

"Did your dad always hate werewolves?"

I stopped. I hadn't considered this at all. For some unknown reason, I felt the need to defend my dad even after everything that had happened.

"I don't know, but for his sake, I hope he sees his mistake"

Shadow nodded at my response. He seemed to have reached a peak in his emotional flow so he was sad, but his voice remained neutral. It also seemed my words had cured him of any guilt, at least conscious guilt.

"I'm sure he wasn't always that way. I just wish he could have found another way to express his hate"

"You and me both, Shadow" I said with a half smile.

He wiped his eyes of his almost tears then looked at me with a curious expression.

"Do you feel sorry he's gone?" Shadow asked.

It took me a while to answer. But eventually, I did.

"As his son, yes"

"And as a man?" Shadow asked.

"Honestly?" I said.

After a moment, I knew the answer. Hard as it was to admit.

"No"

After a second, I let go of Shadow, stood up and turned away. He put his arm around me.

"It's okay to hate him you know" he said.

My emotions rose to boiling point after his words. Without thinking, I pushed away from him and ran over to my father's body. Shadow followed after me a second later but I didn't notice in my blinded state.

When I reached him, I began to punch his lifeless face.

"You bastard!" I screamed at this top of my lungs.

A few seconds after I began, Shadow grabbed me and pulled me away from him.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Dad, you need to stop! Otherwise you'll just as bad as him" Shadow said his voice twisted with desperation and grief.

After a final punch, my dad's nose broke. The sound brought me back to reality and I realised Shadow was right. After a second of stunned silence, I placed my head into his chest and began to cry.

My son stroked my hair just as I had done for him and I cried until I couldn't anymore. When I was done, I looked at him with what hoped was intense gratitude.

"Thank you, for making me sense" I said slowly.

"You'd do the same for me" Shadow replied.

I nodded and licked his ear. After he returned the gesture, we turned to face the shining full moon.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Shadow said to me.

"Beautiful but dangerous" I admitted.

"Kind of like us then”

We held each other close and gazed at its silver surface for a while, then we walked back to my car and drove back to the flat.

When I look back on it now, it was almost too painful to bear at the time. If I could have found any words to express the shock of what had happened in those seconds, I wouldn't have said them out of respect.
But now, Campbell was gone.

How me, Shadow, Doug and both of the packs were going to cope was something I didn't know, but I knew we had to adjust to this new way of life. In a strange kind of way, it was almost as if this was foretold. But if there's one thing I had learned over the last three months, it's that no matter how much you think you know how the world works, there's always something to surprise you.

And in some ways, I wouldn't have it any other way.

####

Hope you enjoyed Forteold. The series will continue with Endangered. It is available now on Smashwords, but if you want to wait, it will be released on the blog in the next few days.

Free Story #17 - Foretold (Chapter 7)


Four weeks had passed since that night. Well almost. It was now the night of the full moon. It was hard to believe, even for someone with my imagination, but it was true. Tonight was the night Shadow would first transform. I was going to be there for him every step of the way. Just as the packs had been for me.

Mum, Helen and Gran had eventually moved back into the family home. But only after Zoe had used her magic to scare my father out. Which were all grateful for because the flat was getting a little cramped to say the least.

About an hour before we were due to shift, I was sat in the front room whilst Shadow sorted a few things out in the room that was now his bedroom. Just before the others were due to arrive, he opened his door and put his head through a few inches.

"Hey dad, can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, what's the problem?" I asked, walking over and putting my arm around his shoulder.

"Well, I'm nervous about tonight. How I'll cope with it all"

"It'll be fine. You've got me, Doug, Jenna and the rest of us to help you out. It's only a month ago that I first transformed"

This seemed to make him feel better and he smiled a broad smile that reminded me of when Doug showed his perfect at that moment, I knew he would be fine. He went to the bathroom a second later. I think that he was just making sure he looked just so. That was one trait he got from Doug, not me.

He had finished two minutes later, allowing me to use it quickly before we left. About twenty minutes later, Doug, Campbell, Arc and Jenna were all in the flat waiting for me to finish in the bathroom.

Embarrassing I know, but I couldn't get the smell of Zoe's perfume out of my hair. I had accidentally used it instead of Doug's Calvin Klein to cover my scent. Eventually, I got most of it off so I decided that enough was enough. When I came out of the bathroom, Shadow had changed from wearing an orange shirt and tracksuit bottoms to a blue t-shirt and baggy jeans.

"Ready to go?" Doug asked him.

"Yeah, ready when you are" Shadow replied.

His voice didn't seem sure but his expression was. We left in single file and Doug locked the flat door behind him.

Doug and Shadow went in my car with me, whilst the others went into Campbell's range rover. It wasn't exactly well looked after but the paint was unscratched.

Lord help the man who tried, I thought to myself. About thirty minutes' drive later, we came to a clearing next to a wood. It wasn't like the place we normally used, but it was better than nothing at all. Being picky wasn't really an option.

The clouds started to part and I could see that Shadow was beginning to tense. Even though he knew it was coming, he was still scared. Just as the moon came into full view, Shadow yelled in pain and fell to the floor. Me and Doug tried to go forward to help our son but Campbell and Jenna held us back.

"He needs to do this alone. When he's changed, you can help him then" Jenna whispered.

Shadow contorted and he screamed with pain. I remembered the transformation all too well. But something was wrong. Very wrong. I had started to sprout fur almost immediately after the transformation began. But Shadow remained human. Nothing changed.

"Campbell, something doesn't seem right …" I said.

The alpha male spun round. His original intention had been to reassure me but his expression turned into shock. He then looked into the sky and gasped. We all spun our heads upwards and echoed Campbell's sentiment. The moon was gone from the sky.

"But how is that possible, it's a full moon" Zoe exclaimed.

Arc looked closely at the sky. He seemed to be searching for some clue as to its disappearance.
"There!" he said and pointed to something like looked like a star. But it was larger than a star. It was a beam of light from the moon.

"It's been eclipsed" I gasped.

There was no denying the fact. How the hell it had happened was anyone's guess. Harsh laughter echoed around the clearing and Farrell and my father strolled from the woods.

"How do you like my little trick?" Farrell asked.

Doug shifted into his wolf form and launched himself at Farrell, teeth bared. But he blasted some energy from his hand and deflected the werewolf with ease.

"You'll need more than that to stop me" he laughed.

The rest of the group stepped forward to confront him.

"Why are you doing this?" Jenna shouted.

"Merely repaying a debt my dear, or should I say ex sister-in-law?"

Jenna stood stock-still. Doug stood carefully, whining occasionally from the bruising caused by the energy blast. When he looked at Farrell once more, he gasped.

"Finally remember me huh? Looks like my memory spell worked"

Memory Spell? What did he mean? Jenna and Doug looked at each other. They were clearly thinking the same thing because their expressions were the same.

"What do you mean sister-in-law?" I shouted.

"Ah Taylor, I may as well tell you. I'm not just your father's best friend. I'm the brother of the man he murdered"

He pointed at Doug.

"That wasn't how it happened!" Doug snarled.

"Then how do you explain the bullet through his head?" Farrell asked.

"He killed himself. When he failed to kill me after shooting my mate"

"And you bit him. Which provoked him to do so" my dad yelled.

"I didn't know that would happen!" Doug shouted back.

The two men laughed a cruel laugh.

"Regardless, if this werewolf can't transform, he's going to explode. Poetic justice for my brother"

My stomach clenched in fear. Farrell and my dad were going to kill Shadow, and there seemed to be no way I could stop them.

Shadow yelled out in pain, and blood started to leak from his fingertips. He was crying and struck with silent fear. Throwing caution to the winds, I ran forward to him and held him close.

"It's alright son, it'll all be ok" I said and stroked his hair.

"I'm so scared Dad" Shadow choked.

At his words, something snapped inside me.

He could attack me all he liked but there was no way I was going to let him hurt Shadow in any way shape or form. I snarled and transformed. It felt good to use my wolf form but this wasn't the time to revel in guilty pleasures.

Decided that instead of attacking him full on was foolish, I went go into the woods instead, being sure to look like I was running away. Jenna would read my mind to find out what I was doing. And that was just what I wanted.

"Looks like your father has abandoned you" Farrell said. He used a blast of purple magic to cut Shadow's face. The straining werewolf yelled in agony and fell to the floor.

Jenna, Campbell, Arc and Zoe were speechless.

"He just left his son to die" Zoe blurted.

Jenna closed her eyes and used her telepathy to read my thoughts. Just as I had predicted.

"No, he's got an idea. But we all need to pull together"

She huddled the others together and sent Doug a message. Then she sent one to me. I received it and smiled. Farrell wouldn't know what hit him. Then, Jenna sent a message to Shadow. He looked over at her and she nodded.

It took a second but he understood. She wanted him to play possum. Shadow gave a whine of pain and fell to the floor. Still as death. Doug ran over to Shadow and licked him. He looked relieved at seeing his father but knew better than to move.

He felt his father's warm muzzle massage him. After a minute, Doug raised his nose to the sky and howled. It was full of false grief. But Farrell and my dad were fooled, that was what mattered. Farrell's hands stopped glowing and in a moment, the eclipse was gone from the sky.

Thankfully the moon had gone behind the clouds otherwise the illusion would be lost. I was in the woods about twenty feet from Farrell's back. The reason for this was that my time with Zoe had taught me if you attack a magic user from behind, they cannot use their magic for a few seconds. I didn't know why it happened. But I had asked Zoe to borrow her book on duelling magic for research, and it was one of the rules in the book.

Meanwhile, Farrell seemed to be so happy at his own success that he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. Which worked to my advantage. I waited till he reached the edge of the wood, then ran forward and leapt into the air. Farrell laughed one last time but before he could leave; my front paws collided with his back.

He fell forward and landed directly in a pool of mud. I yipped in victory and ran forward to see if Shadow was ok. He smiled up at me and I breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Shadow tensed up once more. Thinking it was Farrell interfering again I turned to face him.

But he was still face down in the pool. I looked into the sky and saw the moon, shining full and true. Shadow yelled and fur began to grow. This was it. His ears relocated and his tail popped out. His hands and feet changed to paws and finally his face extended into a muzzle.

Like Doug, his fur was golden blond. But there were patches of brown scattered over his tail, his paws and his back. Unlike me, his body seemed to recover remarkably fast. His mind however was still in shock. He whined just as I had done.

Doug muzzled one side of his face and I licked the other side. We swapped from time to time until finally, Shadow seemed to be calm. He sniffed the air and barked in surprise. Before we could go any further however, Farrell woke up. And he wasn't happy.

"You may have stopped my plan, but I can still stop you"

Out of his coat, he pulled a blade, of solid silver. Campbell growled and shifted into his wolf form.

"No Campbell, don't try to be a hero!" Jenna called after him.

What happened next was nothing short of horrific.

Campbell, with a single swipe of his mighty paw, struck my father to the floor. In a single leap, he leapt toward Farrell and took his head clean from his shoulder. When Campbell landed, he howled in victory.

But his song was cut short. By the sound of a gun being fired.

The Big 1000!

Today is a monumental day for me, because Guided has reached 1000 downloads on Smashwords!

Thank you so much for the downloads.

The remainder of Foretold will be posted today, hope you enjoy it :)

Thursday 22 December 2011

Free Story #16 - Foretold (Chapter 6)


When the hug was over, Shadow seemed to be calm, well more so than he had been when we had first met. After saying goodbye to Markus, we started to walk back to my car which was parked outside my parent's house. To be honest I wouldn't have been surprised if Dad would have vandalised it but when we got there, it was completely untouched.

I checked the car for signs of any explosives, hey you can never be too careful and after giving the all clear, I unlocked the doors. Shadow looked at me with an expression that seemed to ask if it was ok to get in, I smiled and tried to place an expression to answer with a yes. He climbed in the back seat and Doug followed to keep him company.

After getting in the driver's seat myself, I turned the ignition and pulled off onto the road, after putting my seatbelt on of course.

On the journey back to the flat, we decided to try and get to know each other a bit better. After all, if we were going to be living together we should at least know the bare basics. Or wolf basics if you wanted to be serious about it.

"So how long have you been together?" Shadow asked me.

For a second, I had to think. It seemed like a lot longer ago than it had been but it had literally only been eight weeks since we met.

"About two months. I met Doug on the full moon"

"Bit quick to have me then" Shadow laughed. I was glad he had my sense of humour if nothing else.
"Taylor didn't actually know we could have you to be honest" Doug said calmly.

For a minute, I wondered if Shadow would be hurt or offended by Doug's statement but he kept a genuine smile on his face. Much to my relief.

"Are a lot of Moonborns are born by accident?" I asked Doug. It wasn't obvious to me if a lot of couples had children this way so I thought it was fair to ask him, to both give me the knowledge and to be absolutely sure that Shadow knew that he wasn't a mistake.

"It usually doesn't happen until they've been together a few years but I guess in our case it happened sooner rather than later. A lot of couples aren't told about it and then when it does happen, they deal with it as best they can" Doug said after a moment.

"So if you hadn't known, Markus would have explained it?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah" Doug replied.

Before we could do anything else, we had arrived at the flat. When I parked, I suddenly realised that Shadow would have nowhere to stay. The flat only had two bedrooms and I wasn't sure Zoe and Arc would want to share.

"You getting out?" Doug asked me with a laugh.

Snapping out a trance I hadn't known I had entered, I noticed he had opened the door for me. When I shut the door and clicked the lock, I turned to see Shadow standing in the front garden. Well, lawn.

"You ok?" I asked him.

After a moment, he turned to me. His expression seemed to be a mixture of many different things. Too many for me to decipher.

"I think so, it's still so new to me" his voice wasn't anxious, more like when you recover from the best experience of your life.

"You're not angry about what I said are you?" I asked. I knew I had asked before but as a parent, what
"You're worried about me being offended by the fact you didn't know you could have me?" Shadow said after a moment.

I nodded carefully after a moment.

"There's no need. I have life thanks to the two of you, and I love you, no matter how it happened"
The relief of his words swept through me like a tsunami. He gave me a brief hug then ruffled my hair.
"Don't get all soft on me Dad" he joked.

After a second, I realised what he meant and smiled.

"Wouldn't dream of it" I laughed and together, we walked to the front door of the flat. Doug had already let himself in and was talking to Arc who had watching TV. The shapeshifter turned to face us after a second and smiled.

"Hey Tay, who's your friend?" Arc asked.

Me and Doug exchanged a nervous look. Eventually I felt it would be best if we told him the truth.
"Arc, this is Shadow, he's my, or should I our son" I said, When I had directed Doug to be included, I waved my arm in his direction.

I didn't know how long Arc was speechless for, but in the end he laughed. But when he saw no change in expression in either of our faces, his expression soured.

"You're not joking?" He asked at no one in particular.

When he didn't get an answer, he got off the sofa and stepped away slowly toward Zoe's bedroom door.
"But how?" was all he managed to say.

"Shadow is a Moonborn" Doug explained.

The term didn't seem to be familiar to Arc.

"He was born using the magic of the moon" I added.

Arc stopped moving. He was shaking slightly.

"You used magic to make a son?" he asked slowly.

"To be honest, it was an accident" I said with a blush.

"What, did you drop your athame in the wrong cauldron?" Arc asked. His voice was shaking and his arms were trembling slightly like when you see a partly set jelly being tested.

"It wasn't black magic, it happened when me and Doug were in perfect balance with each other, Markus used a spell on the moon to give us both something to love" Doug explained.

Arc stopped shaking. I knew he had always assumed people created magical sons and daughters out of dark forbidden arts but now he thought about it, he knew Doug and I weren't dark practitioners.

"So, he's not the product of evil magic then?" Arc asked slowly.

"No" I replied firmly.

His face flushed and he sighed.

"Guys, I'm sorry. You must think I'm a total douche" he said after a moment.

"No way" Doug answered.

"At least not for that reason" I joked.

Arc saw the humour and laughed. He walked over to Shadow and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet ya mate" he said.

"Likewise" Shadow replied.

Before anyone could move, there was a knock at the door. I went over and opened it carefully. On the doorstep was my mother, Helen and Gran. They each had a small bag with them and looked shaken but determined.

"Hey Taylor, can we come in?" Helen asked.

"Sure, what's the problem?"

"It's Dad, he's kicked us out"

-

Ten minutes later, we were in various positions in the living room. Mum had taken the chair, Gran had taken the single chair and Helen was stood by the kitchen counter, her hand shaking. Arc had made everyone a cup of tea and the new visitors had taken them gratefully. Me and Doug were stood by the sofa and Shadow was sat on the three piece suite, next to Arc.

Eventually, Helen spoke.

"So how long have you been one?" she asked me.

"I only changed last night for the first time" I answered.

"How was it?" Gran asked.

I looked at her and she smiled.

"Incredible Gran, apart from a few surprises it was the best thing to happen in a very long time"

Mum's ears pricked up.

"Surprises?" she asked.


"He didn't know about our customs" Doug explained.

She turned to face him with a look of intense curiousity.

"Customs? Like what?"

"How we deal with certain members who disobey the pack order, your son didn't of course but he saw what happened to those who do"

Mum relaxed at this. As much as she could.

"Why didn't you tell us you were dating a werewolf?" Helen asked. The last word in the sentence came out strained. Like when you are trying to squeeze the last bit of toothpaste from a tube.

"We only started dating two months ago" I replied.

"Seems a bit quick for him to change you" she asked after a moment.

"It wasn't planned" Doug said with slight hesitation.

Helen put her mug down quickly and glared at him.

"What did you do to my brother?" she shouted.

Doug wanted to answer but he couldn't. He was so surprised at her reaction and guilty for breaking up their home just as I was. A second later, he ran through the room and into the bedroom, slamming the door after him.

I turned to Shadow and signalled to the bedroom door. He got my silent message and went into the bedroom after him. After I had done this, my attention turned to Helen.

"Helen, he had no choice. It was a life or death situation"

"What did he do?" she growled.

"It wasn't him. His ex-boyfriend went insane and tried to kill him. Then he tried to kill me. The only way I could have survived was if he changed me"

Helen processed the information and sighed.

"Did I do it again?" she asked.

"Yeah" I said softly.

"I'm sorry Tay, I didn't mean to jump to conclusions like that"

"It's not me you have to apologise to, but thanks" I said calmly.

Almost as if it were planned, Doug and Shadow came out of the bedroom. Doug had cried a little but he was mostly alright. Helen walked over to him and gave him a hug. Doug bristled at first but then he accepted the embrace.

"Tay explained everything, I'm sorry Doug" she said softly.

Tears fell from his eyes and she rubbed his back carefully to sooth him. Once he was finished, Helen wiped his face with a tissue she had up her sleeve and smiled.

"Thank you" Doug said softly.

"Don't mention it" Helen replied.

After a second, Mum looked at Shadow. He returned her look and smiled carefully. Returning the smile, she faced Gran who in turn looked at me.

"I see you have Markus to thank for that young man there" she said in that knowing way old women always seem to have.

"What has Markus got to do with him?" Mum asked her.

Gran looked at me and Doug. She seemed to ask if it was ok if I told her the truth. I made the same look at Doug and he did to me. As if it were automatic, we turned to Gran and nodded. She cleared her throat and began.

"You know when I told you about my ex-boyfriend after you were born? The one who had two dads?"
Mum thought back.

"Yeah, Frank wasn't it?"

"He was a Moonborn dear, he had no mother. They were both his parents"

Mum seemed familiar to the term. She looked at Shadow then turned to look at the two of us.

"He's your son?" she asked me finally. I nodded once again. I was going to get a stiff neck if I didn't stop.
"I'm a gran?" she asked herself. For a second, she seemed uncertain but then she smiled.

"Better now than when I'm in my sixties" she laughed.

"Guess you're an aunt then Helen dear" Gran smirked.

Helen looked at us with complete bewilderment. But before she could say anything else, there were three large knocks on the door.

I sighed and went to answer it.

"If it's trick or treaters, you're too early" I said jokingly and opened the door. I had to jump back pretty sharpish because there was a large figure on the other side of the door.

It was Campbell, and he looked pissed.

A second later, he strode into the room, not talking to anyone. I carefully closed the door and turned to see what was wrong. It must have been something horrible because I had never seen the alpha werewolf this angry before.

He stood by the window, letting everyone get an inkling of how he felt. Even without second sight, it was incredible just how powerful his aura was, it gave everyone in the room a feeling of foreboding.
Eventually, Campbell spoke.

"One of our kind was just shot" he said with a faux calm tone.

Doug got to his feet.

"Who?" he asked.

"Andrew" he said after a moment.

Everyone gasped without realising it. Andrew had been one of the new members of the pack so it had been easy for the assassin to take him out. I thanked heaven that he survived. Even though I wasn‟t religious.

"Who did it?" Arc asked Campbell. It was the question that no one wanted to know the answer to, but we needed to hear it.

"A man named Graeme Michaels" he said after a moment.

I suddenly felt sick. Dad had been serious when he said he would kill my new brethren. Campbell walked over to me and held me with a tight but gently grip on the throat.

"Did you know?" he asked. His voice was quiet but a threat was clearly present.

"No" I answered after a moment.

For a second, he looked at me. But then, he relaxed and let go of my throat. Staying silent was the best thing to do I realised. Otherwise, Campbell would have had reason to question me further because my eagerness to prove myself might have looked suspicious in itself.

"Campbell, I’m so sorry" I said after a moment.

He looked at me with somber eyes.

"I know it’s not your fault" he said.

"But it is, if we hadn’t gone round to my parents, he wouldn‟t know"

Campbell blanched.

"You told them?" he asked firmly.

"No, his dad found out himself" Doug said.

For the third time in the space of a few minutes, the alpha werewolf regained his composure. I could tell Campbell didn’t blame me, but it wasn’t exactly an easy situation to deal with.

"He must have smelled your scent"

Campbell mused after a second.

Doug shook his head.

"That’s impossible, I was wearing my deodorant"

Campbell sighed.

"Hunters can smell through it"

Doug looked taken aback but he didn’t go any further. He knew, as we all did, that what was done and was done. As long as Andrew was alive, everything was ok. For now.

He turned to face Shadow and smiled.

"See you’ve been busy" he said with a smirk.

"Someone beat you to that joke" I laughed with a nod at Arc.

Campbell laughed.

"I’d better get back to the hospital, check on Andrew" he said after a moment.

He walked toward the door. But he turned back to us after a moment.

"I know he’s your father Taylor, but if he proves to be dangerous, we may have to take drastic steps"

I respected his honesty and I acknowledged him with a nod. Expecting to see the family take offence to this, I looked at them. Gran looked resolute in her disgust toward her son-in-law, Mum looked as if she hated him with all her might and Helen looked as though if Dad ever spoke to her again, she would punch his lights out.

After a moment, my attention was drawn back to Campbell by his throat being cleared. I noticed it was a habit of his that he only did upon leaving a room. I was ninety nine percent sure it wasn’t anything to do with the fact he was dual-natured.

"Arlena, keep them safe for me" Campbell asked my gran.

Gran nodded and smiled.

"Of course I will" she said.

After this, Campbell went through the front door and closed it behind him. For a moment, we were all silent, lost in our own trains of thought. At that point, Arc got to his feet.

"So, who wants another drink?" he asked.

Free Story #15 - Foretold (Chapter 5)


I had to find Doug.

Deciding to use my new nose to sniff him out, I drew a few short sniffs. It took a while but eventually, I knew where he had gone. To the hill by the woods, where I had first changed. Hoping that he wasn't going to do anything stupid, I decided that transforming was the quickest way to get to him.

Shedding my clothes bar my pants took mere seconds and I threw them into a nearby bin. I slowly but carefully shifted into my wolf form.

A few seconds later, I hid myself from view and then, I ran towards the woods as fast as I could go. About three minutes later, I reached the edges to find Doug in human form standing against a tree. He was breathing heavily, and definitely looked to be in no mood for jumping into my arms.

He sensed I had arrived and turned to face me with a look of complete distrust prominent from every pore.

"What do you want?" He asked.

"To ask you why you ran away" I replied.

To try and bottle my exasperation would be too much effort at this point so anything I said, I would have to apologise later.

"You should know, your father is a cold blooded killer of our kind. And according to him, so was your grandfather"

"So you're implying that I have the same trait, as that it?"

Doug shifted into his wolf form and snarled.

"That's exactly what I'm saying" he spat.

That was it, the gloves were off and I was ready to let rip.

"For your information, I didn't know I had a father for a hunter. And up until a year before I met you, and I wasn't aware the supernatural existed. So how the hell would I know about what my family were if they didn't tell me?"

That was a surprise for Doug. He winced slightly but for the moment, he stood his ground.

"So you didn't know that your family used to hunt our kind?" he asked.

"No, I only found out when you did. When you left, I berated my dad for not telling me. Then I decided to come and find you so you could see that I would never hurt you"

Doug shifted back to his human form once again. His expression had changed from anger to a fusion of sadness and bottled adrenaline.

"I let my temper get in the way again didn't I?" he said turning away.

I shifted once more than put my hand on his shoulder.

"You had every right to be angry; you found out that someone you love had skeletons you never knew about"

Doug faced me.

"How do you stay with me every time I lose my temper like that?"

"Simple" I replied.

He looked confused for a moment. I placed my hand on his cheek and licked his forehead.

"Because I love you"

He licked me back and tears started to come from his face. Wiping them away with my free hand, I kissed him on his crimson lips. When I had finished, he smiled a forgiving smile.

"Taylor, you deserve so much more than me" he laughed.

"But we've imprinted on each other, so what's not to deserve?"

Doug's eyes widened and he pushed me away.

"You imprinted on me? When?" he asked angrily.

"The night when I became a werewolf" I replied.

"And it just happened to slip your mind?"

"I didn't tell you because I didn't think it mattered. I loved you before it happened, and I love you now more than I ever have"

Doug didn't look convinced.

"Telling you I had imprinted on you was the hardest thing I ever had to do. So you repay the favour by not telling me you had done the same?"

He was taking this the wrong way and I was getting sick of his attitude.

"It's not that though I didn't want to tell you. I just never found the moment that was right"

"That is bullshit Taylor and you know it"

For all of our relationship, it felt like it was me that had been doing all the fighting. But now, I was fed up.
"You know what Doug, I may as well tell you now. I was scared of telling you because I thought you might not think the same of me. Like you had to be with me"

It was his turn to apologise, but just at this moment, he didn't.

"You know me better than that, or at least you should"

When people patronized me, it filled with rage. And now, it was ready to burst at the seems.

"Doug, I love you and I'm sorry I kept that from you. But if you are going to turn every little molehill into a mountain, I don't think I want to spend another second of my immortality with you!"

Giving him a look that I hoped conveyed my feeling of betrayal; I ran into the forest and changed. About five miles into the lush botanics, I started to cry lupine tears and howl with heartbreak present in every note I sang.

A few minutes later, I heard similar howling to mine. At first I thought it was the echo of my own voice but then I realised it was Doug. The half of me that was angry at him faded away.

It wasn't just a plea to get me back. My words had invoked something in him that I rarely saw in anyone and never hoped to see.

I had broken his heart.

Feeling guiltier than I had ever done in my entire life, I ran through the woods without stopping and reached Doug. He had shifted like me and was straining choked sobs and howls from his wolven throat. I ran over to him and nuzzled him with all my strength. I then licked his muzzle and looked into his eyes.

"Doug, I am so sorry"

The waterworks began once again. I became human once more and hugged his werewolf form with what I hoped he would accept as an apology. He licked the back of my neck and shifted slowly just as I had done before. He patted me on the back and I did the same.

A few seconds later, we looked into each other's eyes.

"Don't ever leave me" Doug said. There was a desperation in his voice, like a child needing his parents.

"I never will" I replied.

Our lips met and we had a truly mind blowing kiss. There was the usual passion and heat, but this time there was the energy from our forgiveness to each other and our desire to be in perfect balance with the other.
Before either of us could move, something wonderful happened.

Our bodies glowed with a light blue energy. It grew stronger and stronger as our kiss intensified and then when the moon came from the behind the clouds, it began to glow with the same fluorescence.

We both suddenly noticed the auras and tried to break apart but the aura kept us together. The energy from both of us began to float into the air, leaving us behind with our usual grey lunar area. The blue energies spun around for a second but then, the two fused together.

The instant the energy fused together, it slammed into the ground.

Me and Doug were both knocked backwards by the blast, landing about six feet from where it had landed.
 After checking I was unharmed, I stood up and when to see what had happened. The blue energy had left behind something flesh and bone.

And human, at least in shape. The human looked to be about twenty years old, with golden shaggy hair, a very toned body and a penis that would shame a porn star. For some reason, looking at that area made me feel disgusted. I looked at Doug; he was looking down at the strange man that had appeared. He seemed to be just as dumbstruck as I was.

The young adult blinked and awoke. He had emerald eyes that shone brighter than I had ever seen. He turned to face me and his eyes opened wide. Then suddenly, he rose to his feet and ran away towards one of the trees. After staring speechless for a moment, I took a deep breath, and then fainted.

The next thing I remember, a splash of water hit me on the face and I awoke to see Doug standing over me.
"What happened?" I asked him.

"Well..." Doug began.

I looked over to see the strange man standing naked against of the trees. For some reason I couldn't explain, it feel like there was a connection between us. But I wasn't sure how.

"Who is that man? And what was that light?" I asked.

Doug sighed and took a deep breath.

"The truth is Taylor, this man is our son" he explained.

Looking into his face, I saw no visible signs of a lie. I choked and stared at him in silence.

"But how?" What? When? Why?" I finally asked.

I had so many questions and it was clear that Doug didn't know the answer to most of them.
"Well, as for how, he is a Moonborn" Doug replied.

"Moonborn?"

It wasn't exactly a term I was familiar with. Doug face palmed himself and looked at me in a way that could have been interpreted as an apology.

"For were-animal couples that can't have children of their own, due to sexual preferences or other reasons, they can have what is known as a Moonborn son or daughter"

Well that was a relief in one way. I was glad that becoming a werewolf hadn't given me female reproductive organs. Not that there was anything wrong with them.

"When the couple make love, and they are in perfect synchronisation with each other, a son or daughter will be born, thanks to the power of the moon"

So that was one of the reasons why the moon was so important to werewolves, apart from the fact that it was the time that all new were-animals transformed for the first time.

"So if someone were to check his DNA, what would they find?" I asked Doug. He thought about it for a second then replied.

"They would find the DNA matched both of us. This is why we generally keep Moonborns secret. If scientists discovered that same-sex breeding could occur, there's no knowing what would happen"

A sudden image of two werewolves locked in a cage under a moon being forced to love each other sprang to mind. It wasn't a pretty sight so in a second it was gone.

"But he must be at least twenty years old. He's missed his childhood. Does he have any knowledge at all?"
"Moonborns are given a share of traits and intelligence from their families. They are not truly aware that childhood or adolescence exists so they cannot miss it. In a sense, this is the moment of their birth"

It felt strange to me that Moonborns were given life that would be as fulfilling as growing up from a child. But that was a part of my human instinct that still remained.

"In fact, one of the first were-animals was a Moonborn" Doug ventured.

"Really? When did that happen?" I asked intrigued.

"Two thousand years ago, a man named Zephr fell in love with another man, who was named Bryak. In those days, that kind of love was forbidden so a powerful elder warlock cursed Zephr to become a wolf.
The two still remained together but due to laws of bestiality, the two were banished to a forest. Where they met a kindly sprite named Marusiran. Who happened to be your guardian"

I gasped. Just then, a puff of green smoke appeared and Markus appeared in his usual genie slash fairy ensemble. After giving him a hug, we both smiled at each other.

He turned to look at the man who was still standing against the tree. He was staring at the floor. Lost like a sheep away from its flock.

"I see you've been busy" he smirked.

"It was an accident" I said on the defensive. I stopped suddenly and thought it through. I was defending a man I hardly knew. But somehow, listening to my new wolf instinct told me that this was my son.

"Was it you who gave us a Moonborn?" I asked.

"Yes, because you deserve to have one. Your love is stronger than any I have seen in a thousand years"
Doug cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, Markus saw their pain and gave the two what they both lacked to be whole. He gave them the power to shift between wolf and human form. They became the first werewolves"

"I couldn't undo the curse but I could change it to make it so they could be together. But the first Moonborn was born until they were in perfect balance with each other, not just physically but emotionally" Markus explained.

"Knowing that they would never be able to pass on their genes without a little help, I cast a spell on the moon to help them out. Just as I did with you two to give you a son"

Speaking of our son, we all looked over at him. He still looked scared, confused and lost. He smiled at us and turned back to face the ground.

"Does he have a name?" I asked

"His name is chosen by the two of you. Zephr and Bryak's daughter was named Minerva"

"The goddess of wisdom" I answered.

"Exactly. And wise she was. She brought together many others and changed them if they wanted to be changed. They decided to keep themselves secret and only breed with those of their own kind if they could help it. So in effect, that's how everything Doug and the others come to know as normal came to be, and now you have the wisdom Minerva bestowed all those years ago"

Markus smiled and I returned the gesture to thank him for the history lesson.

"I think he needs you" Markus said carefully pointing at our Moonborn son. "Both of you"

Me and Doug looked at each other. This was all happening so fast. A few minutes ago we were fighting and now we had a son?

"I think it's best to go one at a time" Doug suggested.

He was right.

"Do you want me to try?" I asked.

Doug nodded and kissed me lightly.

"Be careful" he said quietly.

"I think it's a bit late to be careful" I whispered back. He laughed and lightly tapped my arm with his hand. Taking several deep breaths, I started to wander in the direction of my son.

After walking a few inches, he looked at me with caution.

He growled lightly out of instinct so I approached slowly and carefully. When I about three feet away, I assumed a non-threatening position as best I could. After a while, he could sense that I wasn't a threat so he let down his guard.

"You ok?" I asked him carefully.

"Yeah, I think so" he replied.

I chose the soft approach in case he didn't know of his dual nature.

"Do you know what you are?"

He was silent for a second, then spoke his next sentence slowly.

"All I know is that I'm a werewolf born from moonlight. But I don't know my name"

He looked at me with slight confusion present in his face. A weak smile stretched carefully from the corners of his mouth. If I had been given a son in a heterosexual relationship, this is what I imagined he would be like, if we had met for the first time as adult. Because of my new werewolf instinct, I understood completely what he was going through and exactly what to say.

"You don't have a name yet. You were only born a few minutes ago"

He looked surprised. Then blushed and pushed his hair from his eyes.

"I kind of guessed as much. I don't have any memory of life before being here. But it feels pretty strange to be born from light, like some kind of shadow"

A brief smile crossed my lips. The bond between us was growing stronger every second. And it felt comfortable, normal even.

"Do you like being called a shadow?" I asked him.

For the first time, I saw a genuine smile cross his face. Not just an expression but a true emotional response.
"Just Shadow sounds cool. Kind of noble" He replied.

"Then, do you want that to be your name?"

He looked up at me. Then after a second, he slowly nodded. The whole situation was moving rather quickly yet I remained as calm as I could. The biggest surprise was the next thing he asked me.

"Can I get a hug?" Shadow asked.

Being one of his fathers, I had to oblige. He rose to his feet and we joined together in a bear hug. After a minute, Doug carefully walked over from Markus and joined in the hug. Shadow seemed cautious at first but after he realised who the other man was and relaxed.

Being the curious type, I had questioned if there was a bond between us in any way whatsoever. I mean, how could you suddenly have a family connection in a matter of seconds? But being close to him now, there was no question about it. His scent and the unconditional love I felt, erased all doubt from my mind. This man was our son.

I couldn't speak for Doug, but I couldn't have been happier if I tried.

Free Story #14 - Foretold (Chapter 4)


This part contains strong language and sexual scenes. Just so you know. :)

-

I woke up next morning feeling hungry, very hungry. Not really surprised, I got up and looked around. Some of the others had gone but most were still around. After some effort, I got to my feet and walked around for a bit.

A hand placed itself on my back. I spun round to see Campbell and Jenna. They laughed at my surprise and threw my clothes down in front of me.

"How did you get …?" I asked.

"Doug went and got them from your car when you were asleep" Jenna answered. I was highly grateful to my boyfriend at that point because although a lot of the others weren't modest, I was.

Speaking of Doug, he came up behind me and gave me a hug. I spun round and gave him a grateful lick. After a second, he sniffed carefully and winced.

"We'd better get you in the shower" he joked.

"And you, you smell like a pig sty" I laughed.

After a second, he put his clothes back on and we walked back to my car. When I was driving along, I was amazed how calm I was about everything; I mean we had lost two pack members last night, one who was innocent and one who was a manipulative prick. And in some ways, it was hard to tell which was which.

As soon as we parked next to the flat, I saw Arc was outside in his cat form. I got out and stroked him gently. He grimaced as much as cat could and shifted back into the human form.

"Morning guys. Enjoy last night?" he asked.

"Was a bit strange, but the best night of my life" I replied.

"He was fine" Doug reassured him and hugged me gently.

"He'd better be, otherwise Zoe will flip" Arc laughed.

We all agreed that point. Zoe may flip out at times, but she cared about her friends and family more than any other person I knew. Arc suddenly realised that he was naked in a public place and covered himself carefully with his right hand.

"I'd better go and put some clothes on" he said. And with that, he went inside the house, leaving the door slightly ajar. Not wasting a second, me and Doug went through the front door to find Zoe sat on the sofa watching a DVD.

When she saw me, she smiled broadly and gave me a massive bear hug. After her outburst of emotion, she brushed her fringe from her face and looked me over carefully.

"No bones broken?" she asked.

"Nope, But I need a shower"

She sniffed and winced just as Doug had done.

"Too right you do" Zoe said flatly.

Me and Doug laughed and I rubbed Zoe's hair out of shape. She swore loudly at us as we ran to the shower room and Doug shut the door just as she threw at a pillow at us.

Once I had set the shower up, I climbed in. Doug waited outside for his turn. At least he did for a minute. When I had washed my body clean, he climbed in as well and grabbed the sponge from me.

"I'll be done in a few seconds" I falsely protested, knowing that he would see the joke.

"So will I" growled Doug seductively and licked my shoulder. It sent a wave of pleasure through me and before I knew it, I was kissing him. He gratefully accepted the gesture and we used our hands to stimulate the others equipment and stroke the others skin.

A few minutes after our make out began; we cried out in pleasure and came. Doug climaxed first so I bent down to suck him off as he ejaculated. When he was finished, I licked my lips and swallowed gratefully. When I came, he worked it harder than he had ever done before causing me to moan in pleasure as he drove me over the edge.

After I was done, he swallowed too and we commenced to clean ourselves properly. But of course we kissed a few times along the way.

When we were dry and dressed in new clothes, we went through to the living room to find Zoe and Arc drinking a coke in the kitchen area.

"Good shower?" Zoe asked.

"Oh yeah" I replied.

"It was perfect" Doug said with a dream like tone to his voice. I laughed and lightly cuffed him. Zoe sighed but before she could say anything, the phone rang. Seeing as how I had just come back, I decided to take the phone this time.

I clicked the receiver to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Taylor, It's Helen. Don't forget about tonight"

I froze for a second. Tonight was the night I was going to introduce Doug to my family.

"I didn't forget" I lied.

"Sure" Helen said sarcastically. She knew me too well. After all if your own sister can't tell, who can?
"See you at seven" she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Okay, see ya then" I said and hung up.

I gulped. Walking back into the kitchen, I reminded Doug about tonight. He was slightly concerned I could tell but he didn't let it spoil his mood. For the rest of the day, we hung out with Zoe and Arc in the flat, sharing stories about shape-shifting and various things.

When quarter to seven came around, we were ready to leave. Zoe and Arc were leaving at the same time as us so when we had all left, Zoe locked the front door and dropped the key in her bag.

"Good luck guys" she said and she and Arc started walking toward the place of their date. In this case it was the cinema.

After watching them leave, Doug got into my car and I joined him after making sure the front door was locked. We drove to my parents semi-detached, got out of the car and waited for seven o'clock to arrive.
As soon as it did, we walked up the drive, not sure if tonight was going to be a success or a massive disaster. In a way, it was both.

-

I had made sure we dressed smart casual, or as close as we could get without being too upper class.
Doug wore a black t-shirt with no logo and a pair of blue jeans whereas I wore a white polo shirt with blue and red stripes with a pair of three quarter length shorts. Admittedly it wasn't the weather for them but I figured it was best to wear light clothing given the situation tonight.

We had decided to tell them about us, but not to tell them about what had taken place in the last few months. After all, they wouldn't believe a word until we showed them, and that was against the rules.

"Do you think they'll like me?" Doug asked me.

"They'll love you, just as I do" I replied and licked him.

He smiled and licked me back, making sure to get my favourite spot just above my left eyebrow. After straightening our shirts, I pressed the doorbell twice and waited.

The door opened quickly to reveal the figure of Michelle Michaels, my mother. She was fifty five, with brown hair straight out of a bottle and a smile that could charm an asexual man to give her a good seeing to. Which is no mean feat. Her dress was made of lavender silk and seemed to be held up by nothing more than her upper body weight. She wasn't fat, but she had a firm chest.

"Taylor!" she said and gave me a kiss.

Thankfully on the cheek that didn't have werewolf slobber on it.
"Hey mum" I said and kissed her back. In the background I could see my sister Helen, she had just turned twenty nine and had platinum blond hair, blue eyes and a figure like that of a supermodel. She wasn't vain in any way, but she had been blessed with good looks.

"Hey bro, long time no see" she said.

"Nice to see you too Helen" I answered.

Even though I couldn't see him, I could tell that Doug was slightly nervous. I turned back to him and smiled.
"Mum, this is Doug, my new boyfriend" I said. Half of me almost said 'mate', but then I remembered that she was human and not supernatural.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Michaels" Doug said and gave her a brief hug.

"Please, call me Michelle" she answered and did the French kiss thing. Behind her back, I rolled my eyes.
"Is that you son?" came a voice from upstairs.

My father Graeme came down the stairs; he had the looks of Brian Krause combined with the guy who plays Nathan Patrielli in Heroes. Add about ten years to the both of them and you got my dad. He was wearing his usual attire of a West Ham football shirt and tracksuit bottoms. Which to be honest was a relief. Casual clothes meant that he was less likely to accept me and Doug.

My family had accepted my homosexuality with open arms. It wasn't something we went into great deal about, but at least it wasn't like dust swept under a rug.

"You must be Doug" Dad said and shook his hand.

"Yes sir" Doug replied.

"Please, call me Grae, everyone does, apart from my son and daughter anyway" he said, laughing at the last part of his sentence.

A few seconds of silence ensued, broken suddenly by a voice from the kitchen area.

"If you don't get back in here Michelle the mushrooms are going to be frazzled" came the familiar voice of my grandmother Arlena.

"Coming!" Mum said and scooted on through to the kitchen to help my grandmother.

Dad smiled at me and we bumped fists, as men do. He went into the living room and Helen went down the stairs to join him.

"Fancy going to meet my gran?" I asked Doug.

"Sure, if there's room in the kitchen" he said.

"There's always room in my kitchen for you" I purred.

"Oh really" Doug purred back and we joined our lips for a brief moment. After our brief encounter, we walked into the kitchen to find my grandmother and Mum preparing a meal fit for royalty.

"Hey gran" I said and hugged her.

"Good to see you too" she laughed and hugged me back. For a minute she didn't let go. It was almost as if she were trying to find something.

"You've been walking in the wilds" she whispered in my ear.

I should have known she would guess something had changed about me. Arlena is one of those women who knows everything and can find dust in a matchbox. Tonight she was wearing a red shawl with matching embroidery and simple earrings in the shape of moons.

She may not look it but isn't frail by any means. If anything she looks great for her age. She was in her eighties at least but she looked only just ten years older than her daughter. Which to be honest now I thought of it seemed a bit peculiar.

She got to her feet and shook Doug's hand.

"And you must be Douglas are you not?" she asked.

Doug nodded and she smiled.

"It's alright my dear, I won't bite. Except on a full moon night" she said shrewdly and winked at him. Doug took a moment to realise she was making a quip. Once he did, he laughed.

After that, Mum asked if we could take some washing and put it in the tumble dryer in the shed. I agreed and Gran insisted on coming too. I knew I wouldn't be able to shift her, not that I would want to so I agreed.

When we got to the shed, Gran went in first and plugged in the dryer whilst I loaded it, when I had finished, I shut the door and clicked it to spin for half an hour. When I turned to talk to Gran, I thought she had gone. But that was impossible, the only way out was through the door.

It was then I heard a loud barking noise. I looked down to see a cream coloured werewolf on the floor, and she was wearing my grandmothers red shawl on her head.

"Gran?" I said.

"What's the matter dear? Never seen a werewolf before?" she laughed.

I did a double take, and gaped at my grandmother. I could only think of two words to sum up the situation.
"Holy shit"

A minute of silence later and I still had only spoken those two words. Gran shifted her paws and waved her tail briefly before she spoke. So that's what wolves looked like when embarrassed. I had done the exact same thing in the woods.

"Well that's better than how your mother took it" Gran said in her deep wolven voice.

My voice had gone. I tried to talk but it was no use.

"You're, You're …." I stuttered.

My grandmother laughed as well she could.

"A werewolf, just like you dear" she finally stated.

I still was speechless. She licked my hand and stepped back to give me room to process this.

"But how come Mum isn't?" I finally spurted.

"I was bitten after your mum was born. On my fiftieth birthday"

That definitely explained why she looked younger than she was.

"But why tell me now?" I asked her.

"Because I felt sooner rather than later was the best choice. I know Campbell, he was the one who ordered the attack on the one who bit me. He's a good man, both disciplined and strong"

Half of me was angry at Gran for keeping this from me, but another part of me knew why she had kept her other self a secret. If she had been let near anyone in her other form, who knows what people would have said?

She transformed back into her human form and got dressed. I averted my eyes until she was finished and then when she walked over to me, I hugged her.

"Thank you Gran, for sharing your secret with me" I said.

"Thank you for sharing yours" she said.

For a moment I was shocked, but then I realised she could sense I was a werewolf. I decided to ask Gran a question.

"How did you tell I was?" I asked. No one had ever told me how to detect a werewolf in human form. Not that I ever needed to up until now.

She rolled her eyes and whispered in my ear.

"Just sniff"

I laughed at the simplicity of it and after another hug, we closed the shed and went back into the house. In a way, I wish I hadn't. Doug and Dad were in the living room, facing each other. Their body language showed they were on the verge of attacking and Doug looked like he could shift at any moment.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked.

"This bastard is a werewolf" my dad replied.

For a moment I wondered how he knew. It was then I noticed Farrell, my father's best friend sitting in one of the chairs. He was fondling a gun in his left hand.

"Dad? What is he doing here?" I asked.

"I asked him to come here. It was just a coincidence he happened to have the gun on him but all the same, it is useful" my father sneered.

"And I'm glad he did" Farrell said and got to his feet. "Otherwise I wouldn't have the pleasure of killing another lycanthrope"

Doug tensed, growled and shifted. He roared in anger and leapt through the window, smashing it to smithereens. Farrell started to go after him but my father held him back.

"It's no use, you can't go after him now, he's probably alerted the pack by now" he said.
He turned back to me with a look of revulsion.

"How could you bring a werewolf into our house?" he roared.

For a moment, I quaked in fear, but my new instincts rose above his futile anger and gave me the indestructible courage I needed to face the man I had submitted to my entire life.

"Because I love him Dad, he's human just like you are! And judging by the way you just acted I'd say he's more so"

His face contorted.

"You're defending a monster!"

"I'm defending my boyfriend!" I roared back.

"If you expect to be welcome under this roof again, you'd better not see him again or any other werewolf for that matter"

He was trying to threaten me, it wasn't going to work.

"It's a bit late for that Dad, because I'm one too!"

I drew up my arm and showed him the faint outlines of the bite he had given me. My father looked disgusted once again, but now it was ten times worse. He picked up the dining room table and flung it across the room like it was a piece of paper.

"GET OUT!" He roared at me.

My mum and gran came in with an expression of confusion on their faces.

"What is going on?" Mum asked.

"Your son is a werewolf thanks to his flea ridden rent boy!" my father shouted.

Mum looked shocked as well. But not as shocked as she could be.

"Well, aren't you going to throw him out? Or shall I?" my dad asked her.

Tears started to fall from my Mum's eyes. She left the room without a word and my gran followed her. Helen left the room shortly after as well to go upstairs. We couldn't see it but all of them had shock on their face because of the whole situation. And I didn't know it yet, but if they had been able to face up my father, they would have been disgusted with him.

"Why do you care so much about werewolves?" I growled.

"Because I am a hunter. Both me and Farrell are. It's what we do. We kill the bastards and make sure they can't reproduce. And guess what, that's what I am going to do to your mutt!" he snarled, laughing maniacally at the last statement.

The wolf in me snarled in anger. I let it roar directly at my father, using my human throat to convey the sound.

"You are not going anywhere near my mate!" I bellowed. Then, I walked up to him and punched him right in the face. Farrell stepped forward to help his comrade, aiming the gun at me to be sure I wouldn't try again, but I wasn't frightened. My father's spirit hadn't been dampened by the attack.

"Your mate?" he laughed. "Well that's a romance that's going to end in tears"

I turned and walked towards the front door. As I opened it, I looked back to see Farrell nursing my dad's wound. When they looked at me, pure ire burned through my eyes.

"If you do, Dad or not, I'll rip your fucking throat out" I snarled.

As I said the last sentence, I slammed the door.

Free Story #13 - Foretold (Chapter 3)


After a few minutes of waiting for everyone to settle, Jenna walked over to me.

"It's time" she said.

The female alpha took me over to the middle of the clearing. She stepped back to the others and in a split second, they were all in their werewolf form. Before I could wonder what was going on, they started to howl. Just a few seconds later, I looked to the sky.

As if it was meant to be, the clouds parted and the full moon, in all its radiant glory was revealed. If I had bared any thoughts it wasn't going to be that bad, they were gone in a second.

My entire body went to spasm. I screamed in agony and convulsed. I could hear my bones cracking as they changed shape and I could feel every muscle being torn and reshaped. The process was uncomfortable but it wasn't as painful as I had anticipated.

After a second convulsion, my arms flailed out to the sides as did my legs. Thick chestnut brown fur began to grow all over my body and after another spasm, a bushy tail erupted from just above my rectal area. My face tingled once more and it reshaped into a muzzle. I yelled in pain which came as out as a mix between a scream and a whine.

My voice box suddenly snapped into place. I tried to let out another scream and this time, it came out as a whine. My hands and feet snapped and in a second, they were paws. My ears stretched and relocated to the top of my head. The fur stopped growing and after a final convulsion, I stood on four legs, as a fully transformed werewolf.

The new instincts flooded my mind. I wanted to chase, I wanted to hunt, I wanted to have sex, I want to chase my tail. Okay I made that last one up. Somehow, I seemed to know how to work my new body and within a few seconds, my tail was wagging from side to side on command and my ears were able to prick whenever I wanted them too.

The flooding stopped and I was able to focus once more. My vision was in colour which was a surprise. A nice surprise mind you. I looked around at the pack, who had stopped howling. Doug ran over to me and rubbed his muzzle against my face. I repeated the gesture and then, he yipped and started to run away from me.

If I had been human, I would have been worried. But my new instincts told me to chase him, so I decided to appease my curiosity. After a few careful steps, I started to run on all four of my new legs. I can say without a doubt, it was the biggest thrill of my life.

Just when I got close to him, Doug jumped into the air and ran further away. I followed and without knowing it, I yipped out of pure ecstasy. Doug barked in delight and without hesitation, I repeated the gesture. I was grateful that my new body knew how to perform these actions because I wouldn't have known where to start on barking. Or yipping.

The other werewolves slowly started to join in and eventually, the whole pack was playing the game. After about fifteen minutes, Campbell howled and the game stopped. He and Jenna stood away from all of us and cleared their throats.

"Now that we have welcomed our new brother, it is time to hunt" said Campbell in a very gruff tone that was similar to his human voice.

I gulped. This was going to be a test. Not just of my wits, but my guts.

I hoped I didn't look as nervous as I felt. But I reminded myself that as a rule, canine faces seldom showed real emotion so a werewolf face wouldn't either. It stood to reason. But I cut myself some slack. After all, I had never transformed before so there was a lot of learn.

A few of the wolves left the group and entered the woods. The only ones left by me were Campbell, Doug and Stephen. They seemed to be both anxious of how I was coping and excited to be starting their hunt on the night they loved the most.

Doug walked over to me and nuzzled my neck. I did the same to him and his tail wagged in pleasure. Campbell cleared his throat and we both turned to see what he wanted to say to us.

"The others have gone to a hiding place in the woods. When you go in, find a place where no one else has hidden and mark your scent"

"How do I do that?" I asked.

This was the first time I had heard my voice in werewolf form and for a minute, it completely threw me off balance. But once I was calm once more, Campbell continued.

"I think you know" he said.

After a brief thinking stint, I realised what he meant. It was lucky that I hadn't been to the toilet before I transformed otherwise it might have been difficult to undertake the task he had in mind. Let's just say that one outranks the other two, if you catch my drift.

"Then, when you hear my howl, go around the woods and find any prey you can. When you do find and bring something down, howl and I'll come and take the first bite and then you can finish the rest"

The look of confusion on my face brought Stephen to the rescue

"It's a mark of respect for the alpha to eat first" he explained.

After he had explained, I relaxed. But it also occurred to me that I had no alpha. I was in effect a lone wolf. I explained this situation to the others and for a moment I thought they were angry. But Campbell smiled as well as a wolf man can.

"We'll sort that out later, don't worry about it" he said.

For a moment, I absorbed his words. Then I realised that it was all very well hunting, but for how long?
"When does the hunt end?" I asked the other wolves after a brief hesitation.

"Listen out for three howls from Campbell, one after another. When it's over, come to the middle of the woods where we sleep until sunrise" Stephen answered.

Sounded like a plan to me. I just hoped I could find where they meant. But after remembering I could now find werewolves easily thanks to my enhanced senses my fears were subsided. For now.

"Right, let's go!" Campbell said and he ran into the woods, quickly followed by his son. Doug licked my cheek.

"You ready Tay?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be" I replied.

I carefully placed one paw in front of the other at first to regain the feeling of walking on four legs. When I was comfortable, I broke into a run and yipped in joy. Doug ran beside me and with a wink, sped off in an entirely different direction to me.

For a second after he left, I was slightly nervous but my new instincts eased my worries. Wolves were meant to hunt in groups only with larger prey. For a wood like this, there was no sense to overcrowd things. If I had been human, the idea of hunting innocent animals would have sickened me slightly, but now I was a werewolf, I was excited by it, I needed to hunt, run free and eat my spoils with relish.

Running through the woods with all the sights and smells was the best feeling I had ever had. I yipped several times to let out my excitement and finally, I decided to find a place to hide. It was definitely harder than I thought, being as thought there were about thirty werewolves including myself in the woods.

Eventually, I managed to find a small hollow. After carefully checking for another scent or other signs of life, I decided to set up camp.

There was a large pine tree by the hollow so I cocked my leg and marked it with my scent. It took a while for me to feel comfortable enough to do it but eventually I relaxed and it trickled onto the bark with the pressure of a fire hose.

When it was over, I lay down on the bed of leaves and waited for Campbell's command. I heard several of the others running about the woods still looking for hiding places. A few tried to make my hollow their place but instinctively I growled to warn them away. Once they detected my scent and my warning, they left.

About five minutes later, a long loud howl echoed from the throat of Campbell. I took a deep breath and left my hollow. The hunt had begun.

-

It suddenly occurred to me I had no idea how to hunt. Kicking myself for not asking Campbell or Doug about it, I decided the best way to learn was to try. Sniffing the air gently, I was overcome by the amount of smells I obtained and sneezed several times.

I wondered if werewolves blushed, because right now I felt more embarrassed than I had done in a very long time. I shook it off and finally, I managed to get myself walking in the opposite direction from where I came from.

Just at that moment, it started to rain. I whined in exasperation and shook my fur to get rid of the water but it was coming down too fast to make much of an impact. I gave up after a minute and charged through the woods in an attempt to keep myself mainly dry.

Sheltering under a fallen tree that had moss growing all over it wasn't glamorous, but until I got used to the rain I was going nowhere. Just as I had settled, I heard an angry buzzing noise and turning, saw I had nearly sat on a wasps nest. Thankfully the wasps didn't pay any attention to me but I left my shelter faster than I could think and barked to release the pent up emotions that came from the shock.

I happened to stop just in time because a white wolf went past me at an incredible speed. I didn't recognise him but I knew better than to chastise him. That was asking for trouble seeing as how I didn't know him on a personal level.

At that moment, a rabbit came out its borrow and ran by me. I picked up its scent almost at once and my instincts told me to chase. When I had let it get far enough away to be a challenge, I started to run after it. The rabbit noticed I was there within two feet and started to move as fast as it could.

For about thirty seconds, I seemed to be within good chance of catching it, but unfortunately fate took a hand. My back paw on the left tripped on a tree root and I feel muzzle first into the mud of the woodland path. The rabbit clicked with some kind of laughter from a safe distance and ran out of sight.

When I got up, I snorted in frustration. But before I could move, I heard a howl coming from just round the corner. Curious to see what the ceremony of the alpha eating first looked like, I sped ahead and came to where the noise had come from.

It was Hax who had howled. He had caught a rabbit. The same rabbit I had tried to catch, I could tell by the smell. But what was most surprising was that he was eating it, before Campbell had arrived.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Eating" Hax grumbled.

"But what about Campbell?"

"He won't care, I'm one of his favourites" he replied and continued eating his prey. Just then, Campbell emerged from the clearing. When he saw what Hax was doing, he snarled in anger.

Hax spun around completely taken aback.

"What did I say?" he asked Hax calmly.

No answer.

Campbell repeated himself three times, each time his voice raising in volume and the level of his patience decreased. Finally, he walked over to his beta and swung his paw at his face.

Three long cuts appeared on his muzzle and Hax whined, clearly begging for pity. But Campbell had none, an alpha couldn't afford it.

"Get out of my sight" he barked.

Hax left before he could say another word. Campbell turned to the prey and nibbled a piece of its foot. When he had swallowed it, he turned to face me.

"How you doing pup?" he asked.

"A little shaky but not bad"

Campbell nodded. Another howl sounded through the woods and he left to inspect another hunt.

A short while later, I had caught nothing and my stomach was growling. If I didn't eat something soon, I would go back to the rabbit Hax left behind, or eat a large breakfast tomorrow morning.

Eventually, I caught a rabbit. Purely by chance, I managed to chase it onto a straight path where I had the advantage. I pounced and slammed it against the tree where it splatted against the rock, breaking its neck and dead as a dead thing could be.

I raised my head into the air and howled. I waited but Campbell didn't come. For five minutes he didn't arrive. I tried twice more but it was no use, he wasn't coming. Not willing to risk what Hax had, I sniffed the air to find his scent.

A scent can tell you the direction a person is in, the emotions they are feeling and in rare cases, memories that are deep within their mind. After searching the area, I picked up Campbell. I ran in his direction but I was taken aback when I saw a crowd around him. They cleared aside so I could see what was going on and I gasped.

Campbell was feeding on something, as were Jenna and Drake. But what shocked me most was what they were eating.

It was Hax. And he was definitely dead.

For a second, I was paralysed, in both shock and disgust. They were eating another of their kind? The animal in me told me it was natural but the human half was stronger, at least at that moment. I turned on my heels and ran out of the woods, tears falling from my eyes. I reached the stream halfway between the woods and my car and stopped.

The tears fell on the water and made my reflection ripple. If they had been raindrops I would have thought they were beautiful but now, they only reminded me of the sight I had seen.

I heard a howl echoed through the woods. It was Doug, asking where I had run. I ignored him and continued to release my emotions into the glistening water. Eventually, I heard the pattering of wolf paws and turned to see him running full pelt toward me.

I growled at him to stay back. He ignored me and came closer. I barked and he still didn't stop. Eventually, I roared and ran away. He kept up with me with ease being the stronger wolf and pounced me to the floor, holding me down by the throat.

Eventually I calmed down and whined. He released me and I let him nuzzle me.

"Why did you run away?" he asked me gently.

It took a while to answer through my tears but eventually I did.

"You're heartless cannibals" I blurted.

Doug looked surprised.

"Why would you say that?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes the best I could in my new form.

"Don't play dumb, I saw Hax being eaten. Just for disobeying Campbell"

Doug realised what I meant and sighed.

"We didn't kill him Tay, we found him dead"

That was a surprise, my whole body stiffened. Even my tail stopped moving.

"What?" I burst out, a little more forced than I planned.

"We found him hanged, someone had set a trap" Doug explained.

Even though Hax had been annoying, he didn't deserve that. I suddenly remembered the fact he was being eaten and my temporary phobia of the pack returned.

"So why was he the main course?" My voice had a bitter quality that I did nothing to disguise.

"It's a mark of respect. Whenever a werewolf is killed by means beyond our control, we eat his remains to honour his memory"

"Did you eat?"

"No, I prefer not to if I can help it"

That was a relief. I just hoped Doug would never have to do it for anyone, or come to think of it neither would I. But the fact it wasn't senseless violence calmed me down somewhat.

"You ready to go back?" he asked.

"Sure" I replied and together we ran back into the woods, gently snapping at each other on occasion. After a quick sniff, we found Campbell and a few of the others had congregated a mile or so ahead.

We ran the entire way but came to a stop immediately once we saw what was happening. The pack was standing in a circle, and in the middle of the circle were Campbell, and Drake. The alpha was clearly furious with him, and judging by his scent, he had done something unforgivable.

"Why did you set the trap?" Campbell growled.

"He was competition. I wanted to be second in command, not that worthless sprig" Drake spat.

"He was your mate!" Campbell roared. "Why in hell's name would you do it now?"

"You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelette" Drake said.

He clearly felt no remorse for what he did. It was clear that he didn't feel anything for his so called 'mate'. I assumed imprinted and mate meant the same thing.

"Yes" Campbell snarled. "But what you did earned no respect. In fact, you don't deserve to have any respect from me or the pack"

Drake had been nonchalant before now, but now he looked slightly scared.

"Drake, your sentence is decided. For the crime of killing a pack member with no justifiable reason, I hereby take your life as punishment"

Campbell pounced forward. Drake tried to move but he couldn't. He was too afraid. The alpha’s claws slashed at his throat and his back as he landed on him. His blood spilled onto the floor and in a few seconds, Drake was unconscious.

Campbell raised his head and snapped his neck. The guilty werewolf went limp. In a second, I realised he was dead. Campbell shook his fur clean of the blood and looked around at his pack.

"Justice has been served. Do not discuss it" he ordered. And no-one did, including me. Because you didn't dare argue with an alpha, unless you wanted a pre-mature end. At least that's what I had come to realise.
Clearly Drake had overestimated his importance. And it cost him.

The alpha wolf raised his head and howled three times. The hunt was over. I suddenly remembered the rabbit but somehow I didn't feel hungry for it anymore. The shock of both events had directed my attention to another place.

The pack began to shift back into their human forms slowly and lay down together in small groups to sleep. I suddenly realised that I didn't know how to change back.

I walked over to the alpha and bowed in respect. He repeated the gesture so I felt safe to ask.

"I forgot to ask. How do I shift between?" I asked.

Campbell suddenly realised he hadn't told me. I could tell he found it both amusing and embarrassing at the same time.

"Just think of wanting to be human and will yourself to change back. Your body will shift after a few seconds. Same thing when you want to shift into a wolf"

Taking his advice, I willed myself to change. In a second, I was surrounded by a haze of heat and pheromones and I suddenly grew back into my human form. Checking myself over, I found no traces of wolf remained. What I did notice however, was that I was filthy and smelled of the wilderness. And not in a good way. I also felt slightly nauseous.

But I assumed that it was because it was my first time.

An idea formed in my head at the moment, I just get used to shifting otherwise it would be tricky if I needed to on a whim. I thought of being of a human and willed myself to change. After a few seconds, another invisible haze issued and I was human again. I laughed in victory.

"Nice shift" came the familiar voice of my lover.

"Thanks" I said and kissed him.

After meeting with Stephen and Kari, Doug lay down and I lay next to him. The change back had exhausted me more than realised so I forgot I hadn't eaten.

Within moments, I was asleep. And because I was so tired, I felt nothing but peace for the whole night long.