I sat back in my chair ginning like a moron. I thumbed through the magazine looking for my article. IT was smack in the middle and I couldn't hide the little tremble that went through me when I saw my very first byline. Nolan Grey looked so good.
"You plan on working today?" asked a sarcastic voice. I smirked and looked up at Sage who was leaning against the door jamb of my little cubicle. For a girl that worked for a geek magazine the girl dressed like she was the editor of Vogue in her tight fitting Maxi dress and knee high boots. I always felt underdressed in my t-shirts and jeans around her.
"This is my first article I was just savoring the moment." Well it was my first article in a national publication. My high school newspaper couldn't compare to this. Sage sat down in the little chair wedged into what I liked to call the corner of my office. Which was just the corner of the partition between my cubicle and Peter's.
"Yeah that just an excuse to come talk to you." Her green eyes danced as she warmed up to the topic she really wanted to talk about. "I hear someone has a hot date tonight." I loved Sage I really did, but her boy craziness was sometimes annoying. Especially when it was directed at me.
But I sighed and smiled, "I finally got Josh to nail down a date. Its tonight and I plan on getting all dolled up and everything." I was really just going to go get my nails and feet done. My hair was still holding up pretty well so I didn't need to get that retouched, and I had a new dress swinging in my closet as we spoke.
Sage giggled, "As if you needed to do anything other than show up. Girl I don't know how someone as beautiful as you is still single." Sage said that at least once a week. Like she was a knock out. The girl could stop traffic and the fact that had been the subject of a lawsuit from a man who claimed her smiled caused him to wrap his car around a mailbox was still a sticking point for her.
"Well maybe Josh can change my losing streak in the dating department." I turned back to my monitor and checked my google calendar. The filming of the new season of A Game Of Thrones was coming up fast and I had some interviews lined up. I was excited as hell to be going and frankly there were a lot of autographs I wanted to get. "He's taking me to that new seafood place on the Riverfront." I guessed being the new hotshot D.A in town opened a few doors for you because I had been trying to get reservations to Delphi for months.
Her perfectly arched eyebrows rose up into her hair, "Well, well someone is working hard to impress you or he is expecting some tail when you get back to his place." I blushed right down to my Jordans.
"You know you are the only black girl that I know that blushes as much as you do." Sage giggled which in turn caused my blush to deepened. I hated that I blushed so much because she was right. I didn't even know too many black people that blushed like I did. I chalked it up to being the real nerd girl that I was. "But enough chitchat I'm on deadline with the the Darksiders II review." She stood up and cracked her knuckles. A move she did before she sat down to play video games for hours on end. She blew me a kiss and flounced out of my "office"
After Sage left the rest of the day dragged on. I was nervous about my date and I just couldn't concentrate on anything. Good thing my next article wasn't due for another week because for the life of me I couldn't keep a coherent thought in my head. I stopped by Sage's office to see if she wanted to go to the nail shop with me but with the shouts coming from the Game Room I gathered she was in the middle of her Jason beat down. I swear those two should just sleep with each other and get it over with. This little dance they did every time a new game came out was exhausting to watch, but it kept my milk money flowing. I had hundred down on Sage.
The dating gods must have been on my side because when I got to the nail shop it was empty and quiet. Did everyone know it had been nearly 3 years since my last date? Before I could go down the dark road I picked out a electric blue color for my nails and then I was taken right back for my pedicure. The massage was relaxing and I had to fight to keep myself from falling asleep and then the sharp sting of the nail dust from my manicure kept me awake.
All in all I was in and out in less than an hour and that was a miracle. I was home in time for a relaxing soak in my midget sized bathtub, but since I was 4 foot 8 inches tall on a good day I fit in it perfectly. It was a nice soak too as I got to use some of the fancy stuff I had gotten for Christmas last year. I cracked open a bottle of wine as I soaked and tried not to talk myself out of my date. Josh Grant was a successful D.A that had just won that large case against the Dick and Jane killer. His face was plastered everywhere and he had been on a media tour of every political talk show from coast to coast. He had called me from the set of Anderson 360 yesterday. I was't sure how I was going to measure up in his world. I had just gotten my first real job since graduating college and that had been a few years ago. And the only reason I had a place to live was because my grandfather had owned the apartment building and he was letting me stay rent free. "Ah hell," I groaned I was one more negative thought away from canceling my date.
I got out of the tub and swaddled myself up tight. I fired up my iPod and got some Beyonce blaring through my apartment. I needed this date not to mention I wanted Josh's lips on my neck. Getting dressed helped to lift my spirits and by the time 7:30 rolled around I felt like I could run the world. I was wearing a one shouldered yellow dress that fell down to the floor. The fabric pooled my feet but when I stepped into my highest heels the dress was able to swing around ankles. It was the most I had ever spent on a dress and I felt like a princess in it. The color played off my skin nicely. I looked like a wrapped up hershey bar. And I was hoping Josh was up to making me melt in his mouth and not in his hand. Good grief for a virgin I was being vulgar as hell.
On the drive downtown I had to rein in my imagination. This was a date not the start of a porno, but I guess my body was telling me it was time to lose my V-status as Sage liked to call it. Since summer was dying down people were crawling out of their air conditioned fortresses so traffic was heavier than I thought. I pulled up to the restaurant with minutes to spare. Delphi was a sparkling jewel that looked was sandwiched between two casinos. The entire front of the restaurant was one solid piece of glass that went up nearly three stories. It overlooked the river and the lights from the casinos bathed the patrons in a kaleidoscope of colors.
A valet opened my door and helped pull me out of my Mini Cooper. He handed me a ticket and jumped behind my wheel. I was feeling like a movie star when the door was pulled open for me and I was ushered into the vestibule. It was the fanciest restaurant I had ever been too. Growing up in a small town in the middle of east Texas Shreveport was the largest city I had ever lived in.
"May I help you?" The woman looked me over as if I were street trash that had wandered in though her voice was as professional as ever. Well damn it wasn't as if I were the only black person in the place. I threw back my shoulders and walked over to her with as much dignity as I could muster in six inch heels.
"Reservation for Grant please," I told her. Her eyes widen as she took me in up close.
"Yes Ms. Grey Mr. Grant called a few moments ago. He regrets but he has to cancel he is stuck in New York, but he asked that you stay and enjoy yourself." she handed me the phone message that he had left. Which said everything she had told me and my heart sank. Did I want to sit in this fancy restaurant surrounded by couples having a great time or did I want to run by the corner store grab as much vodka as I could carry and drink my pain away?
I shook my head. I just wasn't up to the pity looks I would get if I sat alone in my beautiful dress, "No thank you." I gave her a small smile and turned around to collect my car. I hopped in before the tears could start flowing and I made a total fool of myself.
I left the glitz and glamor of the riverfront and headed to a seedier part of the city. If I wanted to drink my body weight in vodka in a party dress and not have anyone ask me any questions it was best to do it in a part of town that didn't like questions.
When steel mesh fences started replacing wrought iron I knew I was in the right place. I parked my car and got out. Rap and salsa music competed for the limited air space and I was sorely tempted to head toward the salsa music but a scuff in front of a bar with a roaster painted on the window stopped me from heading in that direction.
I wanted to walk on the wild side sure, but I wanted to still be standing in at the end of the night. I headed toward the rap music. It was coming from a single story grey cinder block building with purple strobing lights over the entrance. Of all the women in the line I was clearly overdressed. Most of the girls were wearing t-shirts masquerading as dresses and enough make up to give Covergirl a hard on. The bouncer stared at my driver's license and my face for a full five minutes before deciding that I was indeed 18. Like I would get a fake ID that said I was 26 when I was barely 5 feet tall, but he let me in. It was a light crowd and I chalked that up to it only being 8:30 and they were most girls. Free before 11 must still be SOP for clubs. I hadn't been to a club in years so it was news to me. I grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a screw driver.
By the time the club was in full swing my head felt like was floating in one of the jars in the biology lab. I had moved to a booth that ringed the dance floor because I didn't trust my balance on a bar stool after that first drink. My bar tab was already higher than my car payment when last call rolled around.
I kicked off my heels and stumbled out of the club holding my dress in one hand and my shoes in the other. I blinked up at the glare of the streetlight as I tried to find my car. I turned down an alley I thought for sure had to be where I parked my car. "Hey baby," I whirled around to find three blurry figures blocking the mouth of the alley.
My sobriety shot up my spine and I realized they were standing in the only entrance to the alley. "Excuse me," I said making a move to slip between them.
A big hand swung down and blocked me. "Don't you want to stay and play with us. You smell good enough to eat." I recoiled back. All of them were as big as boulders with thick ropes of muscles that encased their bodies like cellophane.
"I was just heading home," I whimpered trying to keep myself from panicking.
The advanced on me and I flew into full panic mode. I tried to feint and dash past them but they tracked my movements like sniper scopes. The one in the right snagged me off the pavement and slammed my body against the side of building. All the wind rushed out of my body as stars did the electric slide in front of my eyes. "That wasn't very nice. Was it Dean?" The man holding me asked. He leaned in and inhaling before running his tongue alone my collar bone. I struggled in his grips as his buddies laughed and egged him on.
"We might need to teach her some manners." One of them said.
"I can teach her a lot more than that." his big hands started pushing up the hem of my dress as I tried to kick him. He slammed me against the wall again. I felt the back of my head crack. The tight grip of oblivion was dragging me into its warm embrace as I tried to squirm away from him. His hand snaked up my thigh. He ripped my panties off.
"Oh god please," I begged as the tears streamed down my face.
"Don't start begging yet. I haven't done anything." He growled as he pressed his lips on mine. He tasted like a revolting hybrid of tobacco and dog. The bile rose up in my throat as he started fumbling with the front of his jeans.
Before he could get his jeans undone a mighty roar rose up from the mouth of the alley and we all turned to the source of the noise. Even in my drunken scared shitless stupor I had to blink to make sure I was seeing what I was really seeing. A massive tiger was eating up the pavement and headed right towards our little happy rape scene.
The guy holding me dropped me to the pavement and I crumpled like a pile of laundry. The other two guys were vibrating in the middle of little dust clouds. Snarling muzzles replaced their face and soon a honest to god wolf jumped free of their clothes before attacking the charging tiger. I screamed like the girl I was and scrambled back from the melee.
A sonic boom detonated in the alley with the tiger finally met the wolves in a head on collision. I wanted to tear out of the place like my panties were on fire but they were fighting near the entrance and self preservation told me if I wanted to live to stay put. I had seen when animals attack on the Discovery Channel loads of times, but that did not compare to the real deal. The sheer volume of the growls and snarls was driving a spike into my frontal lobe. I could have suntanned myself on the heat that the rolling off all the animals. Well shit they were people who changed into wolves fighting a wild tiger that just happened to be wandering the streets. I shook my head and tried to stand. The tiger turned its purple eyes on me and growled. I took the hint and sat back down.
He returned back to the fight just as one of the wolves snapped at his leg. He bit down on the wolf's back and the thing howled and listed to the side. The remaining wolves darted in to attack at the tiger one on one, but they were paying for it. The tiger's massive paws swiped at them and soon all of them were missing chunks of fire and blood was dripping down from a variety of wounds. I guess the tiger was getting bored with the whole fight as he snarled and pounced on one of the wolves. He flattened the poor animal to a chorus of breaking bones and howls of pain. The other wolf took the hint and hightailed it out of the alley and into the night.
The silence was deafening.
Neither wolf was moving and the tiger was vibrating in a dust cloud. While it was distracted I pulled myself up on shaky legs. I inched around the bloody heap that was left of the wolves and made a run for the mouth of the alley.
"I'm not going to hurt you," a weak voice called behind me. I whirled around and a large naked man was kneeling on the concert covered in scratches and blood. Right where the tiger had been.
"Oh shit," He was the tiger. I had heard the stories, but I thought it was just that stories. I mean sure vampires were real, but people who turned into animals. That just boggled the mind. The man pushed himself up off the ground. I swallowed as I got a good look at his entire body. He was big from head to toe. Bigger than the men that attacked me and totally bald. His purple eyes were fuzzy with the after effects of the fight he had just been in. When he swayed I threw caution out of the window and rushed over to him. "You're hurt." It was stupidly understated but it was all I had.
"This is nothing," The man winched as he put pressure on the leg that one of the wolves tried to bit. "Are you alright. I tried to get here when I saw them tracking you but I had to get around a squad of cop cars in front of that club." I looked up at him. He had fought those men trying to protect me.
"Why the hell would you do that?" I blurted out.
"I hate men who prey on women especially rapist." He grunted as we hobbled out of the alley. I was acutely aware that I was holding onto a totally naked man and we were in the middle of a seedy part of the city. I pulled him to a stop and he nearly fell over. I tore off the bottom half of my dress and handed it to him to cover himself up. He smirked at me before wrapping the fabric around his waist like a towel. "Thanks. Look its not safe for you right now, plus you're bleeding." He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the street to a massive redneck truck.
I tried to yank back. Just because he had played Superman didn't mean he didn't want to kill me himself. "Let me go," I was sucking in air to let out a nice high pitched scream.
"I'm not going to hurt you. Look the name's Quinn. That were that got away is probably headed to your house right now to finish what he started. So I just want to make sure you're ok." He let go of my hand and I nearly toppled over onto my butt, but he caught my elbow before I did.
"How the hell does he know where I live?" I demanded.
"Believe it or not but you smell amazing." Her purple eyes sharped as he sniffed above my head.
"Its just perfume. He can't possible me find my house based on a perfume. Hell its not even mine its my friend Sage's." and good luck finding Sage at her own house at this time of night.
Quinn shook his head as he popped the door open to his truck. "Its not the perfume he is smelling. Its something about you. In your blood. I've only smelled it one other time on another human." As if he said something earth shattering he grabbed me. "Come on." He moved too fast for me to run away and he was too strong for me to fight him. He picked me up like a child and pushed me into his truck. He jumped in and the engine roared as it turned over and we shot away from the curb so fast my head was nearly put through his window.
I didn't have my cellphone with my so I couldn't call for help and since I liked my face where it was I wasn't going to try and jump out of the moving truck. "Look I'm not going to hurt you ok. I didn't jump into a fight with three grown Weres just so I could kill you myself." I had no idea where we were going so I didn't bother trying to follow the twists and turns he was making. "What's your name?" He asked pulling a shirt over his head with one hand and then the other to keep the truck on the road.
"Nolan," I growled as I crossed my arms over my chest and just sat back for the duration of the ride. Quinn managed to wiggle his ass into a pair of jeans without wrecking the truck and I had to hand it to him. It took girls at least four slutty years in high school to prefect the art of dressing in a moving a car. "Where are we going?" If he wasn't going to kill me he shouldn't have a problem telling me that.
"The local packmaster." He answered as if that just told me the entire story.
"What's a packmaster?" The only thing I knew about wolves was from Red Riding Hood and since that was a horrible movie I figured I was a dunce on this subject.
"Wolves operate in packs and the packmaster is the guy in charge." We pulled into a parking lot surrounded by a high fence. There were a few cars in the lot though it was well passed last call at this point. He parked his truck and killed the engine. "No one is going to hurt you alright." For someone I believed him so I nodded.
He grunted again and climbed out of his truck. I followed him. I almost needed a grappling hook to reach the ground but I managed. Quinn waited for me which I thought was sweet and indicator that he wasn't going to finish raping me and then turn into that tiger to devour my body. He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the parking.
"Ok um yeah not wearing any shoes big guy," I grumbled. There went my pedicure.
"Oh shit I'm sorry." He stopped and swung me up into his arms like a child. I wanted to protest, "Just relax Nolan." he chuckled. He walked across the street to another nondescript grey cinderblock building. A red glowing dog was plastered across a blacked out window. A big beefy guy in need of a drive-by root canal was guarding a steel slab of a door.
"Quinn," He grunted. "Bringing us a snack tonight?" the man asked as he had the gaul to smirk at me. I could smell his rotting breath for 20 feet. I shrank back into the comfort of Quinn's arms as he growled at the man.
"I need to speak to Alcide. Three weres were trying to rape her. Two of them are down over on Trade Street." His purple eyes pegged the trash heap with a blazing stare and the man threw open the door.
Once inside he set me down gently as grabbed my hand. We moved through a little coat check area into the belly of the bar. It was a standard set up with a long wood topped bar running along the back wall and round tables scattered here and there. A group of people were milling around the bar and Quinn pulled me along.
I was aware of a dull throbbing in the back of my head and I was praying there was a warm bed at the end of this rainbow ride.
"Packmaster," Quinn said as a way of a greeting. I was standing behind him and in the shadows so I had to peek around his arm to see who he was talking to. The man he addressed threw back whatever he was drinking before turning. The man was a ruddy sort of tanned. As if he spent all his waking hours outdoors. He was well over six feet tall and I felt like a acorn at the bottom of one of those huge oak trees in California. Like Quinn and those men who attacked me his body was wrapped in muscles and his dark hair fell in waves across his face. I was struck stupid at how gorgeous he was. He lifted his nose into the air and inhaled. His body swayed and I started blushing. Once he had his feel of my smell his green eyes found my face and I knew my body was in full blush mode. He held my faze for a few moments before he turned his attention to Quinn.
"John Quinn," He dipped his head. "To what do we owe the pleasure." The man murmured. His voice was like warm butter sliding across toast. It started a fire somewhere in the pit of my belly and I was sure if I had been wearing panties they would have gone up in smoke as well.
"Your wolves are getting out of control. I stopped 3 of them from raping Nolan tonight." I squeaked when he said my name. Every eye in the bar turned to look at me then.
I stepped out from the protection of Quinn's shadow and waved like the idiot I was. Every nose in the car was in the air at this point. Geez did I really smell that bad? "What is she?" one of the female patrons asked with a glazed expression on her face as she kept breathing deeply.
"Who is she?" The raven hair Adonis asked.
"Nolan Grey." I answered.
"So she's human so why would any of my wolves attack her?" He was talking to Quinn like I wasn't in the room.
"You think I normally walk around town in half of a dress with no shoes on and torn panties?" I asked. I tired not to blush at the torn panties party and I think God my body for once obliged me.
"Damnit Alcide you know damned well she isn't all human. You can smell it I know." Quinn growled. My head snapped up at his face.
"What the hell does that mean? Not all human. What the hell?" Quinn wouldn't look at me and I pumped him in the arm, and got some bruised knuckles for it.
"Shit," Alicide cursed. "I'm not calling her Quinn." He turned around and downed another drink.
"This should be good," one of the younger looking men in the room said as he bounced happily in his chair. "Sookie makes life worth living."
"What the fuck is going on?" I wanted to stamp my foot but I remembered just in time that I didn't have any shoes on. Who the hell was this Sookie and what did she have to do with me?