Deep Wolves (2 page)

I took a few steps back and opened my arms, offering myself to him. I narrowed my eyes to try and make him feel the lust that was running through me. I knew that it would take more than a few hours to satisfy him. He started to walk forward to me and I closed my eyes. Then I felt his hand grab mine. When I opened my eyes, he was returning the smirk I had just given him.

“Come on, Ariel. You’ll be late.”

I took a deep breath and sighed, knowing that he was really the one in charge. My hand interlocked in his, I leaned in close to him. Together we leisurely walked through the forest and back to the normal life that was waiting for us.

Chapter 2

Vaughn and I spent most of our time together alone. He would greet me when I got off work sometimes and I would do the same for him when our schedules matched-up. But we weren’t much for get-togethers with other people or other couples. Just as he had no other wolves to turn to in the city, I didn’t have very many friends. Vaughn was everything to me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Despite my life seeming like it revolved solely around work at the bar and playtime with Vaughn, there was a third spot that I was beginning to spend most of my time.

As I sat in the tiny shop, I waited patiently for the old man in the back. I looked at the object sitting next to the wall staring back at me. I remembered what Irvine said to me when I first noticed it. The gold surrounded by the obsidian was a ward to protect against werewolves. I wasn’t sure if the Contego actually worked but I didn’t want to risk it. So every time I stopped by The Phoenix Tavern, I would always be alone.

It was better this way. I wondered what the old man would think if I brought an actual wolf into his shop. And explaining to other people that I was addicted to his tea would be difficult. This was the one moment I had all to myself, even if it meant getting rid of the lingering effects that Vaughn had on me.

Phoenix slowly made his way from behind the curtain in the back. The old man shuffled his way toward me, his feet not even rising from the ground as they moved. I smiled softly at him as he placed the small cup of tea in front of me. The kindness was always there in his old and weathered face.

I never told Phoenix explicitly that I was in a relationship with Vaughn. But he quickly inferred after I stopped by nearly every day for the antidote he possessed.

“You’re not going to run out of any of this, are you?” I asked him.

“Not a chance, Ms. Ariel,” he smiled politely. “I make it from scratch and… I don’t get too many requests for this particular order.”

He winked at me and I blushed. Burying my face in the cup, I poured the liquid down my throat and started to regain the senses I lost. I could feel my eyes beginning to lose their redness and my normal, human instincts returning as well.

“I’ll be in the back if you need anything else, Ms. Ariel.”

“Phoenix,” I stopped him before he started to make his way to the back.

“Yes?”

“Please. Would you like to sit with me today? I could use the company.”

“Company? Ms. Ariel, I’m sure you can do better than a perverted old man.”

“Maybe,” I chuckled. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t give you a chance. Please.”

I held my hand out to him and offered him the seat in front of me. Phoenix labored to get into the chair. I smiled at him as I took another sip of the concoction he had prepared for me.

“You know, I can prepare some for you to take home,” he said. “You don’t have to stop by here every time you need to cure your hangovers.”

“That’d be nice. But I don’t come here for just the drinks.”

I winked at him and he chuckled softly.

“You are a sweet young lady, Ms. Ariel. I have no doubt you’ve captured the eyes of many men… and then some.”

I looked down from his stare, his eyes belying the fact that we both knew but never really talked about. Everybody in the city that saw me knew that I was in a relationship with Vaughn but Phoenix was the only one who knew what he really was. I didn’t mind. I knew that he would keep it a secret.

“I wanted to ask you something,” I started.

“I’m an old man, Ms. Ariel. You can do much better than me.”

“I don’t know about that,” I laughed. “But it
is
about someone. A man…”

“The man you’re seeing.”

“Yes.”

He nodded with understanding as I took another sip of the tea. There were a lot of things in Phoenix’s shop that I didn’t completely understand. They could probably be passed off as pieces of art but I knew that they were something else, just like the Contego sitting across from me.

“Have you ever… Have you ever heard of someone like me before, Phoenix? Someone who’s in a relationship with a man like…”

“Heard of it, yes. But it’s been quite some time.”

He leaned back in his chair and sighed. I watched his eyes as they shifted to the ceiling, searching for memories that were buried in the back of his mind.

“So I’m not the first?” I asked. “It’s possible.”

“Possible? Ms. Ariel, you’re living it right now, aren’t you?”

“I know but… It’s only been a few months. Is something going to happen? How long can this relationship with this… man… How long can it really last?”

“Would you like to know the truth, Ms. Ariel?”

“Yes.”

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. I leaned in closer to better hear what he was going to say. I knew that my relationship with Vaughn was out of the ordinary. I didn’t want to fall in love so deeply with a man if things were going to change.

“These men,” he started. “They don’t usually date women as they are. They change them. I can sense that he’s changed you, even just a tiny little bit.”

“You can sense that?”

“It’s very slight,” he said as he nodded. “But when you get to be my age, Ms. Ariel, you start to notice the little differences. Young women, they quickly become enamored with the men they fall for. And that’s the last you’ll ever see of them. They are no longer just young women.”

“So he’s going to change me then?”

“No,” he shook his head. “That’s what makes you so curious, Ms. Ariel. You’ve come into my tavern every single day and though I can sense the change, you’re still you. This man you’re with… He’s holding back. He’s denying his very instincts to keep you as you are.”

Phoenix had only confirmed what I’d already suspected. Vaughn was an animal. He wanted me to be his Alpha despite using every effort to deny himself.

“M-maybe I am changed,” I said. “Maybe he wants me as I am now.”

“Perhaps. I don’t know what his motives are, Ms. Ariel. But you say you’ve been with him for months now and you still manage to make it into my shop.”

I sighed as I took another sip of the tea. I only wanted to make Vaughn happy and be whatever it is he wanted me to be. But he was holding himself back so that I wouldn’t lose my own humanity.

“It’s not impossible,” he said to me.

“What?”

“I can see the frustration in your face,” he said. “You don’t hide it very well.”

I started to blush as he smiled at me.

“Yours is a curious case, Ms. Ariel. I’ve seen and met many men like the one you speak of. I’m sure he’s good-looking, handsome, built like a creature from the heavens. But without even meeting him, I know that he’s different.”

“What? How can you tell that?”

“As I said, Ms. Ariel. You’re still speaking to me right now.”

“So it is possible for us to go on like this? I can be in a relationship with him as it is?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “In fact—and I don’t mean to get your hopes up—I have heard stories. Myths, if you will. The… alcohol that you imbibe every night. You can grow immune to it. If you’re exposed to it for long enough, it may not affect you.”

“What does that mean?”

“The symptoms you have from your hangovers. Your red eyes. Your stability. The thoughts that run through your head and cause you to no longer think straight. It will all go away. The intoxicating effects of the alcohol will no longer affect you.”

“And I’ll be able to think for myself…”

He nodded silently to me. I looked down at my cup. I thought about what would happen if Vaughn no longer had that effect on me. I loved what Vaughn did to me, despite the negative effects and his protest. I was beginning to dread the possibility of no longer being able to experience the bliss only he could give me.

“But it is just a myth,” he said. “Not everything you hear is true and this might be the case. Some alcoholics only grow more dependent.”

“But what if it
is
true? Does that mean he’ll no longer be able to… change me?”

“Is that what you want, Ms. Ariel? To be like him? Because I can assure you that it is just as much a curse as it is a gift. Once you become that, the longer time passes, the less chance you’ll be able to go back.”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Just know this, Ms. Ariel. This decision isn’t yours to make.”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t met this man. I haven’t seen him. But they’re all capable of the same thing. If he wants you to be like him, then he
will
change you. There is no doubt about that. He is
not
giving you the courtesy of making the choice for yourself. There may come a time when he will make that choice and you will no longer walk into my tavern.”

“Why?”

“Because nothing I have in the back can cure that.”

He stared at me solemnly. I swallowed anxiously as I thought about everything he had just said. I knew what Vaughn was. But I never really considered what he was truly capable of. Phoenix was right. If Vaughn wanted me to be a wolf like him, it was up to him and him alone. Nothing I did would be able to encourage or deny him either way.

“Thank you, Ms. Ariel,” he sighed.

“
Thank you
? For what?”

“For listening to the ramblings of an old man.”

He smirked at me and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Regardless of whether or not it was what I wanted to hear, I appreciated his honesty.

“Thank you, Phoenix. The cure for hangovers and relationship advice. If people knew what you offered, business would be booming.”

“Curing hangovers I can handle. The ups and downs of a relationship are much too uninteresting for an old man like me.”

“Then I thank you for listening to me ask about my relationship.”

“That wasn’t relationship advice, Ms. Ariel. That was life advice.”

He winked at me before pushing himself up off of the table. Phoenix disappeared into the back and I looked at the last remaining bit of tea in my cup. I rested my elbow upon the table and put my head into my hand. I turned to look out into the city and thought about everything Phoenix had just said to me.

The shop was silent. My head was clear. I could think straight. As I looked through the window of the tavern, I watched all of the people go about their day in the city. I thought about the ordinary lives they lived and what they did just to make ends meet.

I was in love with Vaughn. There wasn’t any question of that. But I was beginning to wonder if he really felt the same way about me. He was a man and he was a beast. I wanted both of them to feel the same way about me but as it stood, only one of them truly felt that way.

The conflicting feelings I knew I was forcing Vaughn through forced me to sigh. I sipped the last of the tea in my cup and slowly made my way out of the tavern. I joined the rest of the people that were going about their ordinary days and finally headed to work for the night.

Chapter 3

It was the end of another long day for most people but that meant the night was just beginning for me. Here at The Arrested Bar, men came here to gawk at the waitresses and women came here to look for someone to go home with. And all of them came here to drown their feelings and forget about everything else they’d been through that day.

I had gotten used to the rowdy atmosphere of the bar at this point. Even though I wasn’t as obsessed with tips as I used to be, it was nice to see a crowd of people to keep me on my feet.

I made my way around with tray after tray of beer. Glasses and pitchers and bottles were shuffled from the counter to the tables spread throughout the room. I walked to the sound of the music the live band played, occasionally catching the conversations around me. It mostly consisted of men discussing their latest exploits at work to impress the women around them. The girls who came here to enjoy their time off weren’t the only ones victim to this. Frank the owner knew that pretty waitresses meant more business, so all of my coworkers were victim to every attempt of lame flattery. There was a time when even I might have fallen victim to their charms but with Vaughn in my life, I didn’t have to worry about any of that.

The rest of the women I worked with were like my sisters. We were all in this together and the bar was like a war zone we were trying to make our way through.

One of those waitresses was May, my best friend. The Chinese girl I met when I first came here welcomed me with open arms and she was always there to ease me through the nights it got difficult. Tonight wasn’t particularly hard but it was nice to know that I had someone here to go through all of this with.

As I leaned up against the bar and waited for the next order, May took the spot next to me.

“What do you think of the new girl?” she asked me.

She pointed with her head at the blonde woman across the room. She was a good-looking girl that stood out for so many different reasons. Her shirt was tight on her body and showed-off the size of her breasts. Her jean shorts were cut so short that they barely covered her ass. I couldn’t blame her for dressing the way she did. She had the body to pull it off and the men she was serving loved every bit of it.

“She’s gorgeous,” I said. “What’s her name?”

“She says her name is Alex. She’s pretty much the total package. Just when I thought I was going to be the one raking in the tips, Frank managed to find another beautiful blonde. I thought Summer running off would have meant that I would be the hot one here.”