No Remorse (2 page)

With the bloodlust upon her wolf, Amber lost all control and savagely ripped off chunks of skin, meat and muscle. Her strong teeth crunched through his bones like they were toothpicks. The wolf lapped at the blood that his still beating heart pumped, squirting through his exposed veins. Until his heart stopped, and there was no more blood. The wolf had made her kill.

The wolf’s bloody teeth showed in a wicked grin as it savored Andrew’s fleshy meat, he tasted like pork. She liked pork! With her belly full the wolf stretched, yawned, and lay down on the ground, head resting on her paws. With the bloodlust sated, the wolf relaxed, but her ears were ever alert for anyone or anything that might try to sneak up on her. The wolf released its control and allowed the change to consume her body once again.

Turning back to her human form was painful, but not as much as the change into a werewolf. Once she was fully returned to her human body, Amber glanced around to ensure no one was around and hurried to the cold stream to wash the blood from her skin. Running through the woods to her stashed clothes, she dressed quickly and returned to the campsite.

As a human, Amber was still mortified, but also amazed that she could savagely kill and eat another human being. She couldn’t change the fact that she had been born a werewolf, or that humans were werewolves natural prey. She had grown up with the horrible secret and the knowledge that if humans discovered what she was, they would track her down and kill her.

Amber mentally gave herself a shake, wiping the thought from her mind that maybe they should. She was too willful to take the cowardly way out. Life might not be much fun, but it was still worth living. Hopefully things would eventually get better, but Amber knew she would always have to keep the wolf side of her hidden from the world.

There could be no trace that Andrew had been in this area. Amber worked quickly, tearing down the tent, she started a fire and tossed things in that would burn. Items that would float were pitched into the river and swept quickly downstream. She carried the remaining items deep into the woods and found the rocks that she had come across during her runs. The cracks led to caverns that went deep underground. As they were dropped, Amber heard Andrew’s personal items bouncing off the rocks inside and then lay quietly where they would rest forever. Returning to the campsite, Amber stood with her hands on her hips and looked around, nodding her head in silent approval, she turned and walked away.

CHAPTER TWO

A
mber deliberated whether or not she should feel guilty for killing Andrew, remembering how he had talked about his family in one breath; then turned around and made a pass at her in the next. While his wife and family waited for him at home, he was out trying to get laid. When Amber had declined his offer, Andrew had grabbed her, threw her to the ground and jumped on top of her.

In her human form, Amber was stronger than any human, man or woman. To keep up the pretense of being a helpless female, she had allowed him to manhandle her.

That didn’t last long, she became irritated with him quickly and to end his barbaric behavior, Amber wedged her hands under his chest and pushed, lifting him easily from her. With the flick of her wrist, Andrew was flipped off landing with a thump onto his backside. Nimbly jumping to her feet, she aimed a side kick to his ribs, but not using full power. After all, she didn't want to break any ribs and hurt him…yet.

Andrew was surprised she had tossed him off so easily, but saw the kick coming, twisting just enough so that her foot connected with the fleshy part of his back rather than his side. He moved quickly to counterattack. Rolling away, hastily coming to his feet.

Amber stepped towards him, but he was quicker than she had anticipated. He spun, twisting away, reached out his hand and grabbed her shirt, pulling her towards him. Amber jerked back and heard the sound of her shirt ripping. He became excited when her front was bared for him to see.

Andrew gave an evil laugh, holding up the scrap of material, waiving it around like a trophy, taunting her with it. “You want to play, huh?”

People saw more when she wore a bikini, so she wasn’t bothered with him seeing her bra. Amber watched him carefully, crouching lightly, turning as he circled her. When Andrew charged, she stepped to the side. Grabbing his outstretched hand when he got close enough, she spun him away hard and fast. When he came to a stop a few feet away, he looked at her in surprise, not expecting her to move so quickly.

 
“So you think you’re a tough one, do ya?”

Amber could smell the hormones emanating from Andrew. Being rough appeared to excite him more. A slight sheen of sweat was forming across his forehead.

Tired of playing, she had seen and heard enough from him. And he had ruined a perfectly good shirt. She watched him with narrowed eyes and waited, anticipating his next move.

Andrew began circling her again, reversing a couple times before he finally lunged. Amber read his movements and met him halfway, stepping into him at just the right moment. Her front kick landed with a solid thud and a whoosh when the air quickly vacated his lungs.

Gasping for breath, he was helpless on the ground when she bent over and snatched the scrap of material from his clenched fist. Straightening, she calmly walked out of the campsite. Once in the cover of the trees, she turned and watched with a sinister smile. Andrew writhed in pain on the ground. It really had to hurt like hell to have his balls slammed back up inside his body that way. This is only the beginning, Amber thought to herself as she retreated into the shadows of the forest.

After that encounter, knowing the change would be upon her soon, Amber had spent the next couple of days in the woods watching Andrew. Making a mental note of his habits, she wanted to be sure he was what she was looking for and that they were genuinely alone.

Andrew had been pretty predictable as she watched from her secluded hiding place among the trees. He woke up, relieved himself downstream, ate breakfast, fished, and hunted. His hunting skills sucked, which would work to her advantage. He didn’t know how to track and would not have seen that Amber had been hanging around even if he could. Being a skilled hunter, she knew how to stay hidden.

Throughout the day, Andrew drank his beer while he puttered around the campsite. Towards the end of the day, he broke out the bottle of whiskey and did a couple shots, and drank a few more beers before going to sleep.

From her concealed spot, Amber enjoyed seeing him move around camp and watching him bathe in the stream. His nakedness had nothing to do with it; it was the thrill of watching someone that was not aware they were being stalked.

She found that she had become attracted to him. Not because he was a good-looking man, which he was. He was a scumbag who had taken advantage of other women, possibly even raping some. She was attracted to him because his heartbeat was strong and his blood called out to her.

Andrew was in good shape. The little scrap they had at the
campsite had allowed her to feel his muscular frame. The scuffle had also permitted her to work off some of the odd sensations of aggression she had been feeling the last couple of weeks.

∞∞∞

Tired of staring at the ceiling of her motel room, Amber flo
pped over onto her stomach with a frustrated sigh. The bed was hard and uncomfortable. Looking around the hotel room she noticed it wasn’t in shambles, but the space was definitely in need of repairs. The ceiling was stained from many roof leaks over the years. The wallpaper was pealing in some places. The furnishings could stand a little updating, as well. If she were to guess, the dresser and makeshift desk that held her laptop were more than likely the original furniture from when the place had been built in the seventies. Amber paced the room, continually looking out the window. The secluded motel was in the perfect location, and with her requesting her room at the back, she was closer to the woods if she needed to get into the trees quickly.

The old television didn’t work and the internet services was hit and miss on connecting, so, with nothing else to do, Amber continued her train of thought, remembering how she laid on the wet ground, looking out into the forest cleaning his blood from her paws. Her stomach was full, but she hadn’t been satisfied. Andrew’s blood had taken care of the blood lust, but it just wasn't as satisfying as it should have been. The wolf raging inside her was still craving something; she just didn't know what that something was.

In restless frustration, Amber sat on the side of the bed, wondering if she would ever be able to resist the change. Groaning when her body became hot, her head began pounding and her canines emerged. She didn’t want to change again, not if she had her choice, but the wolf was strong and pushed for control. Would she ever be at peace with the feelings of her wolf always clawing at her insides? The wolf was emerging again and there was no plan in place this time. Amber worriedly jumped from the bed and ran for the door. Slinging it open, she bolted from the security of her motel room and headed deep into the forest.

While she ran, Amber wondered if she would spend the rest of her life in pain and causing others pain. Would she ever be able to really control the changes like her mother said she would?

As a kid, she had read books and watched all the sci-fi movies about werewolves. The entertainment industry had it all wrong. In the movies, werewolves changed with the full moon, waking up reverted back to their human forms by morning. Amber learned the difference. Her mother had given her an abbreviated version of the history lesson on how, in the real world, typical werewolves cannot change until the night of the full moon but continue changing, at will, for up to five days after the initial shift. From what her mother had told her, this was called the Full Moon Phase and that she would eventually be able to control the first change, but she was not to the point yet, and wondered if she ever would be.

Amber understood early on that she was unique. She didn’t shift at the normal age werewolves usually changed. It had taken her years. For her, once the transformation finally took place, it could happen at any time. Her wolf was not bound by the moon phase like other werewolves appeared to be. She knew nothing about her father, but did know that her mother changed only during the full moon phase. Amber’s wolf was strong and would emerge any time she became agitated, angry, upset, excited or just because it wanted to. It frustrated Amber to have no control. The only signs the transformation was about to take place were the pulsating headaches, her canines elongating and her skin crawling. By the time this happened, she had precious little time to get away from humans and get to safety, deep in the woods. The safety was not only for hiding her secret, but to keep from killing every human in sight. She had to constantly be on the alert, always aware of her surroundings.

Amber continued running through the trees, deeper into the undergrowth to complete her transformation. Stepping from behind the tree, she looked out into the forest through her wolf’s eyes. Sniffing the air, she could smell the left over heady scents of the hikers who had made their way through the woods earlier that day. Her sensitive ears twitched at the sound of an owl hooting off in the distance. The mice and rats scampered through the leaves in search of food. The wolf’s sharp eyes caught the silky strands of a web as the spider delicately spun its snare up in the trees.

The moonlight filtering through the branches cast shadows across the leaves and underbrush. Amber was still learning to read what her wolf needs were, but quickly realized her wolf was not hungry. She just wanted to run free.

CHAPTER THREE

A
mber spent the next three days changing often and running wildly through the woods. Even though her mother was no longer around, the story she had told her was haunting her. The more she thought of that horrible story, her wolf forced the shift, which caused her to wonder if that was her wolf’s way of protecting her. Amber wondered if it were possible for her to remain in her wolf form where she could run free in the woods, away from the human world. To her disappointment Amber could not remain full time in wolf form and made the painful shift back to her human form and once again lay staring at the ceiling of her motel room and her mind still wandering to the life she had with her mother and when she had told her that horrifying story.

Even though Amber had not changed yet, she remembered how her mother had home schooled her out of fear Amber would unexpectedly shift and lose control at school. Her mother had told her that with all the traveling they did, it was hard to continue explaining to the nosy school officials why she was being pulled out after only a couple months or even weeks of enrollment. Her mother pointed out that if she had attended public schools, it would have left a paper trail for anyone following them to track her by, and that would have been disastrous.

Amber recalled seeking information about her father and other family members. Her mother had been reluctant to offer any insight until Amber threw a tantrum and ran away. Her mother had tracked her easily after only one day of being gone. When her mother burst into relieved tears, Amber had felt ashamed. After calming down, her mother agreed to explain the reasons why they had to keep moving around.

“Amber, what I’m about to tell you cannot be told to anyone, do you understand this?” Winona gripped her daughter’s shoulders tightly staring hard into her eyes. “This could mean life or death to us both.”