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 #6 - Guided (Chapter 6)

A quick warning before this part. This scene contains a scene of sexual interaction between two males. Personally I find it hot, but you may not. If you don't, please don't criticise the people who like this kind of content. We don't criticise straight sex. :)

Anywho, on with the tale of Taylor and Doug ...

-

I woke up the next day to find myself lying in bed with Doug lying asleep beside me. He looked so handsome and peaceful without his clothes on I didn't have the heart to wake him. Just lying there watching the breath leave and enter his body was enough. A warm body weaved around my legs making my jump a foot in the air. I lent down, to find it was only Arc. He must have snuck in through the window.

After tapping him on the nose for coming in through such a dangerous route, I opened my bedroom door and scooted him out.

"Morning'" came Doug's voice from the other side of the room. He was awake and already dressed. That was quick. He put my boxer shorts in the small washing basket just by my bed. Zoe had tried to wash them using magic at first but she always made the shirts shrink or the blue socks to turn bright orange.

"Morning" I replied.

The Calvin Klein had worn off so I could only faintly smell the wild smell of his other form. But that smell alone was powerful enough to give me a small erection. Doug smiled when he saw it and I blushed in spite of my own desperate longing to remain nonchalant at the fact that a guy was checking out my package.

"No need to be embarrassed, I see it all the time. Every guy within five metres of me gets one if they smell it. Just the way it is" Doug seemed to be very matter of fact about explaining it.

He must have needed to explain a few things to his former lovers, not the least of which turning into a half man half wolf. There was one thing that I needed to know above all else.

I wasn't sure if he wanted to tell me but I had to know in some way if it was possible, even though Markus said it wasn't I needed to hear it from him.

"So, can you turn someone into a werewolf?"

Doug looked surprised at the question but he obliged me with an answer.

"Only if I bite someone in animal form. And only if they aren't a supernatural being" he answered. He seemed to be rather touchy on the subject. I looked at him with an air of sympathy. When he noticed this, he sighed.

"About thirty years ago, I went out with a guy who I thought I loved and thought he loved me. I accidentally bit him and he transformed into a werewolf.

My pack hadn't told me about this so I was freaked out"

"But not as much as he was. He shouted at me that i was a freak and that he never wanted to see me again. I went to find him to apologise but he had disappeared"

A shrill gasp came from my mouth without me even knowing it had left till I heard the after effect of it. Doug looked both emotionally drained and relieved and a few silent tears had spilled onto his cheek. I realised I must have been the first person he had told the story to because it seemed to have been locked inside for a long time.

I patted him gently on the back and he licked my neck gently to ease some of the stress.

Part of me didn't like the lick but the other half of me told me it was the way that werewolves showed affection. I licked his neck gently and kissed him on the cheek.

"It wasn't your fault no one told you" I reassured him.

"I know, I spoke to a counsellor a few weeks later and we sorted it out" Doug replied.

It seemed like he was over it but the harsh lesson had remained. Somehow I knew that he would never put me in that situation. Deciding that a change of subject was in order, I cleared my throat.

"So, what are you to this afternoon?"

"Me and the pack are going for a drink" Doug replied.

I didn't know why, but I was surprised. I mean after all they were human most of the time and they must have lives beyond the usual circle of friends. He looked at my face and saw my surprise.

"Yeah, is it so wrong?" he asked me in a false tone that could have been interpreted as 'So what?'.

"No of course not"

I tried to picture what would happen if a werewolf got drunk and the image wasn't pleasant. Remembering how one Christmas, a distant aunt's poodle had got into her sherry and threw up all over the carpet, the tree and my aunt. She had taken him to AA every week thereafter until she had got a caution from the police and had been sectioned for carrying out the practice in her local church.

"Alcohol has no effect on us, it just passes through" he said giving me the information I was going to ask for. At least that was something I wouldn't have to worry about at three in the morning.

I sat on the bed next to him then kissed him. He repeated the gesture.

After a make out session, the smell of dry pheromones reached my nostrils. My already straining morning erection grew larger. Doug bent down, released my quaking member from my trousers and took it in his mouth. He was an expert and his tongue hit all the right places.

He gave me pleasure I never had experienced or dreamed possible through masturbation. I moaned in pleasure as he continued to work my tool and two minutes later, I could feel myself beginning to reach the limit.

"Doug, don't stop" I moaned.

He went even faster and I moved my hips in rhythm with his tongue. The pleasure got more and more intense. Until finally, I yelled in pleasure and reached the strongest orgasm I had ever experienced. He sucked me dry and as he did so, worked it over making the pleasure of the orgasm a lot more intense than I had expected.

He pulled out and wiped his mouth clean. After I got changed, Doug went to the bathroom for a wash. We went into the living room afterwards to find Arc and another cat chasing each other playfully round the room.

Still recovering from the effects of the bj, we adjourned to the kitchen and made a subpar set of American pancakes. After we wolfed down our breakfast, (no pun intended), we sat on the sofa together and placed our arms around each other and watched the two cats playing for a minute. Then without warning, the new cat flashed with light and a naked Zoe appeared.

I averted my gaze out of courtesy and covered Doug's just to be sure. I knew that was he was gay, but I wasn't going to give him the chance. Not knowing if that was selfish or being over protective, I dismissed the thought for the time being. I only removed my hand from his face once Zoe carefully put her clothes back on.

She picked up Arc and left the room very quickly. He seemed to be used to her changing because he didn't freak out. I hadn't been there the first time but Arc had gone wild when he saw what happened and it took three hours to persuade him to come out from behind the fridge. Eventually though, he had and the two became better friends.

Zoe took Arc back to her bedroom and Doug took it upon himself to wash up while I dried and put away. Doug looked at the clock and grabbed his coat from the couch.

"Sorry Taylor, I'm gonna be late for work if I stay here much longer" he asked.

He run back; gave me the usual kiss and went out the front door closing it behind him. Just when I thought it couldn't get any stranger, he had a job? I suppose he needed something to do and he couldn't just live in the woods like werewolves from mythology.

I shrugged and suddenly realised I needed to be at work too. So I quickly got dressed, said goodbye to Zoe and ran as quickly as I could back to the bar.

Arriving home after a pretty easy but draining shift, I settled onto the sofa.

I was just about to fall asleep when the doorbell rang. Walking over, I looked through the hole and saw Doug waiting patiently. I left him in and we huddled on the couch. When Arc saw my werewolf, his fur stood on end and he hissed lightly. I moved gently toward the cat to shoo him away. Doug smiled a relaxed smile at the cat and suddenly, he was calm and even lay on his lap. My boyfriend stroked him gently with his perfect hands and placed him on the floor afterward.

"So, do you have any brothers and sisters apart from Jenna?" I asked him.

"Two brothers" Doug replied.

"My father is one of the highest ranked in my old pack and my mother is one the packs surrogate parents"

He didn't look too happy with the idea of his mother being an incubation unit but common sense told me that if he didn't question the fact I shouldn't either. Common sense was a pain in the back passage but I knew it was there for a reason.

Doug turned to face the window; the moon that had not been there last night was just starting to poke from behind the thin clouds that covered the sky. A few stars and several helicopter lights twinkled in the deep black nothingness of space and he sighed. Two howling noises echoed through the window.

Not being used to it I faltered slightly and waited to hear Doug's reaction.

"I should go; Stephen and Jenna are calling me"

Carefully getting off the floor, I kissed him gently. He licked my face then gently kissed me in return. Abruptly, I stopped myself from disciplining him not to do that. I reminded myself that in his society it was a standard way of showing affection. We walked down the hall and I opened the back door to let him out. He walked through and turned to face me one last time.

"Be careful" I said to him.

"Don't worry Taylor, I'll be back" he said with more sincerity than I had ever witnessed from a man in my life.

He waved as he walked away then ducked into a nearby alleyway out of sight .Half a minute later; I heard a howling noise echo throughout the town. I knew that it was Doug, that he was safe and that it was meant for me. I somehow knew exactly what it meant and as I closed the door to the night, I spoke the four words I had been longing to say ever since I had heard the howl.

"I love you too"

Closing the door and turning to face the room. I suddenly noticed that Zoe had been spying on me the whole time we had been saying goodbye.

"He seems nice" she said.

"Nicer than all the other werewolves you've met?"

She met with quite a few super naturals here and there.

"Yeah he does. He seems to really care about you" Zoe replied.

"I guess imprinting on me kind of helped" I admitted shyly.

Zoe looked flabbergasted. Arc, who had been chewing his mouse looked at her and slapped her gently with a paw. She smiled and gently threw the mouse through the cat flap. Arc chased after it and ran through the flap almost falling off the top step.

"He imprinted on you? Well no wonder he cares about you. The imprint is the most important part of their life"

Why Zoe was repeating her textbooks to me I wasn't sure but she was right.

My emotions were as true as they could be. It wasn't true love yet I knew, but it was a friendship and trust far beyond the constraints of simply going out to the cinema or going swimming in a lake. My instincts told me that I had found a good companion. It would be true love someday, but it would take time. Spending any time with Doug was time well spent. I suddenly realised that I was acting like a lovesick adolescent. Slightly embarrassing but true.

Hiding it from Zoe was harder than I thought but she didn't say anything positive or negative. She just smiled. Zoe and Arc went into their bedroom a few minutes later leaving me to surf the channels alone. 

The doorbell rang a few minutes later and looking through the secret peep hole, I saw that it was Markus.

I opened the door with a genuinely surprised look on my face. Whenever Markus had appeared before in my flat, he had appeared in a puff of green smoke.

"Since when do you ring the doorbell?" I enquired.

"Since I heard on the grapevine you've got a new boyfriend" Markus replied. He was wearing a different top tonight thankfully because walking around in his other shirt would have made him look like a pimp. No offence to him I thought.

Tonight, he had gone for the sensible choice of a light blue chequered shirt and jeans.

"Didn't think you'd go with the werewolf" he said in an amazed voice but it also had a sense of deep wondering.

I explained all that had happened in the past twenty four hours. He reprimanded me a little when I told him of the brothel scenario. But once I had explained the whole story, he completely understood why I might have been a little confused. Seeing that I regretted that part completely and was sorry for what I had almost done seemed to cool his temper. He apologised for acting so uptight and stubborn then cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"So Doug has imprinted on ya? That doesn't happen very often outside of the werewolf community" Markus said in awe.

I wondered if it was the kind of awe for his own personal benefit or the awe that would get him massive kudos in the supernatural community. Imagining that it would be like showing off a new toy at school made me smile. A picture of Markus came into my mind using plastic figures of me and Doug shagging each other.

Markus seemed to know what I was imagining and did something I wouldn't have expected. He stuck his tongue out at me for a second. Then, it was as if was never there.

"Anyway, I have to go. A couple of professional bank robbers found a genie in a lamp in a museum"

Looking bemused at this was difficult as it seemed so cliché for one to be found there.

"Now they have wished themselves to become gold statues" Markus explained.

I groaned with slight amusement. Genies in general weren't tricksters. They lived in lamps only as a home, they weren't trapped. They could basically live in any non-living object they wanted. One golden rule was that possession of a human or any other supernatural being was beyond even the most powerful genie's magic.

Which was a relief.

They weren't compelled to grant wishes either; it was just something they did to make sure people didn't think they were evil spirits instead of benevolent servants.

Keeping up the popular myth kept them off the radar.

If only people were more careful about what they wished for, maybe genies would have a better reputation.

"Is it Colin again?" I asked.

Colin was a genie who tended to live around the area. He and his girlfriend Marina had stayed in more objects than were deemed possible. Once an object has been discovered as a genie's home by another being, the genie or genies have to leave it else it could cause mass hysteria or disruption. If everyone thought they could get wishes from a particular object. It would be like Aladdin's lamp all over again.

"No, it's a genie named David. He's only young and a bit unlucky. But it wasn't his fault that the wish was so vague" Markus explained.

He winked at me and in a puff of green smoke he was gone.

I coughed for a few seconds until it faded and cursed at him for setting off my smoke alarm in the kitchen. 

-

Free Story #1 - Guided (Chapter 1)

Hi guys. As a start up for this blog, I thought I would release a piece of my first novella. It can be downloaded for free of Smashwords.com but if you want to wait, I will release a chapter every few days on this blog whilst I do other things.


Bear in mind that this was written several years ago before my writing style changed, so there may be spelling or grammar errors present in a few places. This will not be a problem however with new content, because I will go over it with a fine tooth comb before I even think about sending it to be published.


Without further ado, here is the first chapter of Guided.

-

My name is Taylor Michaels.


I'm a single college graduate working small jobs. At least till something better comes along. But no matter what comes next, I'll never forget the day I first met my boyfriend Doug. He came into the small public house where I was working one night with a smile on his face and a man on his arm. A mixture of sweat, pheromones and Calvin Klein filled the air.


The club was a small set up including an aged snooker table was in the middle of the room. It also had a table football set that had seen better days. Its ball was kept behind the bar so no one could steal it. Not that anyone would. The bar was slightly worn with several beers and lagers on tap. Two fridges out back kept our several soft drinks cool so they were always ready to serve. I rolled my eyes and looked at Doug with false disgust. The physical embracement of an overused stereotype always made me smile.


Just then, a wave of arousal swept over me. Due to my lack of romantic experience, I related this to pleasuring myself in the toilet five minutes afterward. Being single had its downsides. Unlike most people that passed through, I could sense that there was something different about him. Not because of his shaggy hair that was a mix of gold and brown, or his eyes that would have shamed the brightest emerald.

Even the fact that his physique was perfect wasn't what I found to be unusual. The fact he was so mysterious made me more sexually aroused than I had ever been.

"Keep it in your paints Taylor" I told myself.

Although I had come out of the closet years ago, it wasn't very often I saw a man that I genuinely would have liked to get into bed with.

I didn't have any more time to ponder what struck me as unusual about the man. Just at that second, a burly woman in her forties slammed her used wine glass onto the counter. She gruffly asked for a refill and took a drag from her asthma inhaler.

I made sure to count how many she had drunk that evening. At the present time, I was up to three of the smaller bottles we had in stock. She had been in hospital for several weeks.

So my common sense determined that if she asked for another, refusing would the safest thing to do. We didn't need anyone passing out from alcoholic shock.

I poured her a glass of our cheapest rosé. She had insisted on it being cheap. I thought how ironic that sounded, at least in my own mind. After she had paid for the drink, another man walked up to the counter. Smiling broadly when I saw him, I almost knocked a rack of glasses onto the floor with my left hand. After balancing them carefully back on the shelf, I turned to face him.

"Hey Markus, long time no see" I said.

It had been several weeks since I had seen him. Markus was in his early thirties with scarlet red hair and wore a mixture of jeans with white trainers. A vest coat with golden symbols and a blue base completed his ensemble.

"Indeed it is" he replied.

His accent was a mixture of American and British. It gave him the air of not quite belonging if you didn't know him that well. Mind you, he didn't spend a lot of time out in the open at least to my knowledge. This was due to the fact that he was a sprite. No really, he has real magic. All I can say is that thankfully he didn't have wings.

"What brings you round this neck of the woods?" I enquired of my enchanted friend.

"Well to see my favourite godson for one. But there are a few disturbances around here that I need to look into"

I had to figure it must have been a business trip that brought him here. Being sceptical, perceptive and suspicious was part of my nature. But having a good heart and solid moral compass meant it was kept in check. Most of the time. Markus was a kind of policeman for the supernatural so his schedule was pretty tight. But he could travel from Europe to Atlantis and back in time for tea.

Laughter came from a table round the corner so I turned to face what was causing the joke. The man I would refer to later as Doug and his man had just down a shot in one go. Now, they were giving each other deep kisses on the lips. Rolling my eyes, I continued to do jobs round the bar. Making sure to talk to Markus every so often, so he didn't feel like I was ignoring him.

"So what's the emergency tonight?" I asked him.

"Well, there are a few young vampires hanging around the churches. Now and again they trap people in them" Markus explained.

I had to laugh slightly even though I knew it wasn't the least bit amusing. Vampires did drink blood but the most ironic fact was that they rarely drink from humans. 'Take that Hollywood' had been the first thought through my head upon discovering this.

They considered themselves to be pure and didn't need any sustenance from inferior beings. You're probably wondering how I know about vampires and sprites. Well, it's a long story. Let's just say I was once accosted by a very handsome stranger who happened to be a supernatural being.

I'd freaked out at first but once Markus had explained everything, I accepted it as normal. Because what was the point of mindless panic over something you couldn't change?

Another not so well known fact about vampires is that if that if a liquid looks like blood, it will sustain a vampire completely. So they could live on cranberry juice and never once feel hungry or underfed. But a few of the younger ones tended to perpetuate the myth just for fun.

Of course, the sprite always stopped them and used their magic to erase the memories of the people involved. The older vampires always made sure that these jokers were severely punished for their crime. Usually by the means of execution.

"Any supernatural clients tonight?" Markus asked interrupting my thought.

This was a relief since I had been polishing a glass at the time. The heat caused by the friction was starting to burn the tips of my fingers.

"A few gargoyles, a shape shifter and several alcoholics" I said in a nonchalant tone.

Gargoyles could shift into the form of the gigantic dragon-like being as portrayed in the myths. But they stayed in human form during the day and when in public company. Most of them were rather pleasant, if you didn't mind the fact they smelt strongly of marble up close.

Markus looked astonished.

"Taylor Michaels it may surprise you to learn that one of your clients is a bone fide werewolf"

For a moment, I was stunned.

"A real werewolf in here?" I asked.

He nodded judiciously.

"Who is it?" I asked cautiously.

He pointed round the corner, directly at Doug.

-

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