Curves for the Werewolf Cowboy (Paranormal BBW Erotic Romance, Alpha Wolf Mate) (4 page)

She wants to be spontaneous. She’s wondering how she’ll feel tomorrow morning. Will she regret it? She thinks so. Does she still want to sleep with me? Of course. She’s drawn to me. In her mind she thinks it’s just attraction. She sees my face, my muscles. She likes the jokes I tell. She thinks it’s normal human attraction. She doesn’t realize there’s more at play here, that this pull she feels is supernatural, beyond human conception.

She’s weighing the pros and cons as she orders a drink. She wants to put her mind in the right state to make a ‘mistake.’ But it wouldn’t be a mistake. Doesn’t she realize it’s her only choice? That she’s mine already, even though she doesn’t know it? She was mine before she even laid eyes on me. It’s her fate. Humans don’t understand fate. They see causes and effects, they believe in choices and different possibilities. How could she realize that there’s no one else she could possibly end up with?

And still, I know if she heard this, she’d run away screaming. Thinking I’m crazy. And I am crazy… for her. It’s as if I can see her walking down this dark path, the dark path of her life. And there I am at the end of it, waiting for her. Waiting to give her everything she ever wanted, but never could admit to herself she needed. She’s strong, but sometimes she’s too stubborn and independent, she doesn’t allow herself to trust her feelings. I need her to trust her feelings, because then she can trust me.

But right now, I’m sensing something darker in my presence. Is it coming from Amber? No, definitely not. It’s inhuman. Something is coming after me. There’s two of them. No, three. No, FOUR. They’re circling the blocks in this end of the city, homing in on me. They’re close, too close.

“Let’s get out of here,” said Clay, taking a quick sip to finish off the last of his drink.

“No, we just got here, let’s hang around for a bit longer.”

“We have to go now, finish your drink and let’s go.”

“I don’t know why you’re being so pushy right now. We just got here, come on, I never go out, just let me enjoy this.”

“You don’t understand, we have to go.”

“What don’t I understand? Explain it to me.”

“I—” Clay looked like he wanted to say something to me. “Can’t.”

“You can’t explain it to me?”

“No.”

“Then why should I leave with you?”

“Because you have to.”

A chill shot through me. There was something in his eyes, blue, but wild like fire. Like lightning, a bolt of understanding flicked through me. Suddenly, I knew I had to leave. I didn’t know
why
, but I knew it wasn’t a choice. I put my trust in Clay, not knowing where it would take me. I finished my drink and picked my purse up off the bar counter.

“OK, let’s go.”

Clay took my hand and led me outside. His hand was warm, but rough. More what you’d expect from a rancher than a businessman. But then again I felt that maybe there was something about Clay I didn’t quite know about. I knew that in some sense I wasn’t quite getting the full story.

I’m touching her for the first time. Her skin is soft, supple. I can’t explain the charge of electricity that’s coursing through me, just from the touch of her hand! But I’ve got to keep my head straight.

I’m in danger. And she’s in danger because she’s with me. They’ll kill me. They’ll kill me and take her as a prize, as the spoils of war. They’d be pleased to take her as a mate, but she isn’t destined for them, she isn’t destined for anyone other than me.

They’re so close. I feel like I should be able to see them as Amber and I dart down this dark alley. We’re blocks from my car and she’s in heels. I don’t think we’ll make it. I can feel my muscles tensing, preparing for a fight.

I don’t want to fight in front of her. I can’t have her see that side of me. Could she handle it? Or would she faint in fear? I can feel dread building up inside me. Not at the prospect of the battle to come, but at the look on her face when she sees what I really am. The pure, abject terror at the realization that I’m not who she thought I was, that I’m not human like her.

But does that mean we’re not made for each other? And now as these thoughts race through my head, I see the parking garage where I left my car. It would seem that we were home free, but I can feel the presence of those other wolves. They’re stalking me. Is this a trap?

Clay pulled out his keys and the lights blinked as an alarm went off on a car at the far end of the garage. We walked quickly through the strange artificial lighting of the structure. Even though the light was dim, everything looked sharper to me. I had this adrenaline rush, this anticipation building inside me. I felt like pure electricity. Now we were running to the car. I opened the passenger door and slid into the cold leather of the seat as Clay got in on the driver’s side.

He turned the key and the engine roared, a low, powerful growl. I buckled my seat belt, thinking Clay was about to drive like a complete maniac. I could tell we were escaping from something or someone. But who, or what?

Then I watched as an arm reached around from behind the back of Clay’s seat and tightened around his neck. I screamed in terror. Clay struggled, choking under the grip of the man who’d been hiding in the darkness of the backseat. Clay tried to break free, but he couldn’t reach his arm back and the man’s grip was too tight.

Then I remembered the mace in my purse. I pulled it out and held my hand out toward the backseat, not really aiming, but hoping I might catch him. I knew the stuff burned like hell even if it got close to the eyes. I pressed the canister and prayed for dear life.

The man yelled in agony, and it wasn’t just pain, but anger too. He lunged at me. But now that Clay had broken free he revved the engine and sped backwards in the car, deliberately crashing the back end into the concrete barrier of the parking garage. The man was knocked backwards and smashed his head against the back window of the car.

“Out of the car!” yelled Clay.

I listened. I couldn’t get out of that car fast enough. I ran toward Clay and threw my arms around him.

“We have to call the police,” I said.

“That won’t help.”

I looked back at the car only to see the darkness of the backseat changing shape. A blackness growing, twisting and retching. The expanded form crushed the metal of the car, smashing the glass of the windows as it grew rapidly before my eyes. I looked up at Clay.

“What’s going on?” I asked, tears coming to my eyes.

“Amber, you’ll have to forgive me for this.”

“What?”

It was inevitable. As soon as I felt their presence, I knew what was coming. I didn’t want Amber to have to see this, to see me like this, to see me kill. But she had to know I was protecting her, that I would never hurt her.

Great pain shot through my body. I felt my muscles nearly ripping, bones breaking, my skin disappearing as fur began to appear. I was being torn apart and put back together, that other side of me making its first appearance. No one could know the agony I feel every time my body does this, trading its form for another one, a darker and more lethal one. My senses heighten, attuned to the pain of transformation. But when it’s over I feel stronger, more complete. A wolf. It’s just my nature.

This time it’s different though. The pain of transformation is gone, but I can see the horror in Amber’s face. She never expected this. Who could have? She hates me right now. Hates herself for trusting me. She’s fearing for her life; she thinks she’s going to die, that I might even be the one to kill her.

I’ve been channeling her thoughts, but now I communicate one to her:
you need to hide. Right. Now. There are more coming. Hide. Now. GO!

I can’t describe it. It’s too horrifying. To see that handsome face change into… I can’t think about it. No, I have to hide. But where?

My heels are off now. I’m running. Running and not daring to look behind me. I can hear the growls and the crash of metal as bodies fly against the cars in the garage, setting off alarms.