Standing Before Monsters (Vorans and Vampires) (6 page)

“It started today just like Charlotte’s must have. They haven’t lived in the same house for a bit, but their cycles must have remained the same. It’s a girl thing you may have been lucky enough to miss. These pack houses get complicated when the ladies all get grouchy at the same time,” the pack leader sighed at his own cross to bear before continuing. “As for Katie, none of the males noticed her scent, but she’s never really been that into any of them anyway. The only wolf that girl ever kept trying to win over was Logan and he’s with you now.”

“Crap,” Nick complained rubbing his head irritably. “Logan left the house to meet with someone. Is she still there?”

“No, she went out early and since she was already acting crazy, no one cared. She went for a walk, but hasn’t returned. You don’t think...?”

“If he’s ever returned the interest in her, then there’s a good chance,” the voran deduced as he hoped the werewolf would say otherwise and alleviate his worries, since he already had enough on his plate with Charlotte.

The silence told it all, but Eric finally admitted, “She was the one who turned him, but he never held it against her. I think he cared for her even before either of them knew of the wolf curse. Sometimes Katie’s telling of the story of their first meeting seemed to be more adoration than telling a sad story.”

“Great, just what I need, two love sick werewolves,” complained the man quietly as he looked around making sure there was no one to hear. His other senses told him he was clear of humans, but his worry over their discovery still made him look.

“Three if Katie decides to join him,” Eric sighed without meaning to lump more on him. “If they decide to mate, there’s no way they’ll remain apart for long. Since Logan won’t come back, there’s only one other way in that relationship.”

“Another wolf in my apartment,” Nick stated rolling his eyes in frustration. “Geni’s gonna need to clean every day at this point.”

“So is that all?” the pack leader asked having gotten most of his laughs out apparently.

The previous night’s strangeness came to his mind, so he asked his tentative ally, “Have you ever heard of some form of cat person that hunts vampires and can hide its scent?”

“Man, you’re just full of good news today, aren’t you?” Eric replied with a groan, before he answered, “I can’t say I have, but the world’s a big place. I never heard of a voran either until a couple months ago and I’ve traveled a lot of the states and Canada.

“Of course, cats and wolves don’t usually mix any more than cats and dogs. Even the little ones steer clear of us whether we’re in human form or not.”

Breathing out a dissatisfied, puff of air, the man warned, “I chased down a vampire last night and he was chased by something that I couldn’t identify. There were three creatures that took him out and burned him like they had pulled the life from him, but when I went to chase after them their scents were gone. The only reason I can assume they are cats is from the hairs they left behind at the scene.”

“I forget you were the detective that tracked down Ramon and Lena. Well, if you find out more, let me know. We’ll keep an eye out, but mainly because we hate cats too.”

The conversation ended shortly leaving Nick with his new worries. Charlotte was in ‘heat’, just what he wanted to know. Worse she considered him a potential mate, which would not go over well with Nicola he was quite sure.

Exiting the locker room, Nick realized that the conversation had been too long. Distracted by his need for information and Eric, the voran came out to see a confusing scene. Vince and another of his trainers hovered around the fighter who had been hitting on Charlotte. He was sitting with a bloody nose and the beginning of a black eye. Another fighter was sitting down breathing hard and holding his stomach.

Lena could only shake her head, while Charlotte stood beside her looking angry.

“What happened?” he asked directing his attention to Lena figuring the girl had probably watched the whole thing unfold and had a feeling it centered around the love crazed werewolf. He only hoped that she hadn’t done anything too crazy.

Before the female voran could respond, Bobby cried out angrily, “That chick’s crazy! She acts all sexy and says she wants to learn some holds, and then she goes nuts and breaks my nose for nothing!”

Charlotte fumed at Nick, “I didn’t call him out when he felt my chest up twice as if that was part of a real wrestling hold, but I draw the line when he tries to stick his hand in my shorts!”

“I clipped them when I went for her leg!” the man exclaimed trying to avoid being labeled a molester. “You pick a person up and toss them down by going between the legs. I mean it isn’t like she’s a guy and I’m going to hit her in the nuts on accident! It’s a contact sport for Pete’s sake!

“Look at what she did to Jimmy! He was just trying to get her off of me!”

Glancing at the second man, Nick winced as he realized that he wasn’t exactly holding his stomach but an area slightly lower, but trying not to make it obvious.

“Sorry, Lena, I guess we’re going to have to cut our training short this time,” he said to the girl closing the distance between the women and putting himself between the werewolf and the men behind him. “I checked with Eric and it’s happening with Katie as well. It’s their time of the month in a big way.”

As he tried to steer Charlotte towards the changing rooms, the woman reacted angrily and struck at him. Being wary of the touchy girl, Nick caught her arm and restrained her hands. Unfortunately, his hands remained in sight of a werewolf’s instincts. Biting his hand, the voran winced feeling two very distinct points on his skin as her fangs came out in her anger.

“Did you really just bite me?” he questioned under his breath into her ear. “Your fangs are out, woman. Take control of yourself.”

The fight went out of Charlotte in an instant. Her eyes revealed fear knowing that her human teeth couldn’t pass on the curse; but when any of her werewolf teeth or claws came out, no matter what time of the month, they could pass on the curse to others. A voran was immune thankfully, so her bite would do nothing other than mark his hand.

She had drawn blood and as he released his hold, Charlotte kept her mouth clamped over the skin though no longer to bite him as she willed her fangs to recede. Her eyes looked ready to cry as her
demeanor turned apologetic. Like a normal woman on hormones, she could crest and fall from anger to fear and sadness in an instant.

Leaning into him after releasing her bite, Charlotte let him hold her close as she rested her head against his shoulder. She whispered, “What is wrong with me today? I know better, but I just can’t seem to control myself.”

“We’ll talk about it after we leave,” he answered quietly rubbing her back even as he felt her hands hug him low around the hips. Afraid that she would lose control again, Nick separated to look her in the eyes. Tears were barely held in check even though he could see their beginnings. “Go get changed before something else happens.”

The smell of her perfume had lessened with her jolt back to herself, but Nick could smell it worrying over what that might mean.

Lena led the taller girl past the men and heard Charlotte’s meek ‘sorry’ as she passed by. They were fighters and not usually ready to let such things die so easily, but they let her go without further incident.

Chapter 4- The Itch You Can’t Scratch

Sitting in the third vehicle he owned, a blue BMW 3, Nick and the girls pulled out to begin winding their way back to the apartment. He could smell her pheromone scent from the passenger seat beside him and wondered how Lena could possibly not smell it. Eric had stated that most women couldn’t
as well as regular humans and even some werewolves. Those who could smell it were compatible or desired mates of the female in heat, or something to that extent, the voran thought with a sigh.

“What the heck was that?” Lena finally asked as she leaned forward between the seats. She hated to be the one in back, but there was something going on between the other two suddenly that seemed to need to be resolved. Still, the girl couldn’t leave the matter alone since it had happened right in front of her.

Even Charlotte was forced to look at Nick unable to answer her own meltdown. Sitting in her red top and tight shorts, he wondered how her personality change could perplex the person undergoing the metamorphosis; but then again werewolves losing control of their minds and bodies during the full moon meant that there was another side to the humans trapped in their curse.

“Eric says that female werewolves lose control during a mating cycle. Apparently Charlotte has entered heat with the spring weather,” he answered not bothering to pull any punches. The morning was beginning to get to him also apparently, either that or the woman’s scent was beginning to have some form of affect on him as well. The second idea brought the problem back directly on him and Nick didn’t like the implications.

Turning crimson in embarrassment, Charlotte couldn’t even speak while Lena leaned back starting to laugh uncontrollably. “Oh my goodness,” the younger girl cried with tears in her eyes, “you can’t be serious. I am so sorry, Charlotte.”

“Are you sure?” the afflicted woman questioned quietly feeling the warmth in her cheeks and able to look down at the redness on her exposed chest. While she had never been one to shy away from showing some skin, which is why she had the top anyway; being unable to stop herself was like when she was controlled by the wolf and moon. Charlotte hated being out of control and her curse brought that upon her every month. Now she was facing something potentially worse.

“He said Katie is undergoing the same problem.”

That brought the woman’s eyes up to his looking more worried, “Really? What did Eric say would happen to us?”

Looking uncomfortable, like a father having to tell his child the birds and the bees; Nick felt a blush warm his cheeks as well. “You’re looking for a mate, or sex, he wouldn’t be clear on that. You put out pheromones to attract other males.”

“You said that you could smell her perfume,” Lena added being rather unhelpful to the man she wanted to mentor her. He noted that and began thinking of ways to torture her for being a pest even as he struggled to avoid looking more embarrassed. “Does that mean she wants you for a mate or you want her?”

Gritting his teeth, Nick answered as close to Eric’s belief as he would admit, “According to Eric, in theory we are compatible.”

Like she had missed this part of the embarrassing story, Charlotte questioned aloud though perhaps as much to herself, “Who did Katie attract? She’s got several potential candidates in the two houses.”

“You two were close?” Nick asked not ready to tell her what he suspected.

“Not as close as...” the words faded into nothingness. “She didn’t find anyone in the houses, did she?”

“Eric says no, but maybe no one has come out and said anything to him. Apparently she started today also, so your pattern is the same.”

Shaking her head even as he tried to steer her away from the same conclusion he had faced, Charlotte refuted his claim as she answered, “No, Katie always liked my brother. She never tried to make
a big thing out of it and I think part of that is because she feels guilty for what happened to him... to us, but like me she would never want any of the others. That only leaves Logan, which is why he snuck away without telling us who he was going to see.”

“You think that he knows why she wants to meet with him?” Lena asked acting like she was hearing some plot to a soap opera.

Again Charlotte shook her head, “No, he would have never seen this coming, but he likes her too so it will be a good match. If it just takes smelling the pheromones to get him to act, then it won’t take much to push them together.”

Her eyes strayed to Nick as he drove and sighed. The conversation lapsed into silence for the last part of the drive. Even Lena maintained the silence only broken by what was playing on the radio at a quiet volume.

Once back in the apartment, Geni looked a bit surprised by their early return. “You’re back earlier than I thought, but it’s all finished, Nick,” the little blond stated as the three entered to see his maid and friend. “If you don’t need me anymore today, I think I’m going to head back. I have a paper due Friday that I should probably get to work on,” the girl finished with a warm smile.

Nick did his best to place a smile on his face, as he said, “Thanks, Geni. What would I do without you?”

Shrugging, she replied, “Live in squalor most likely, especially with all these houseguests you’ve accumulated.”

Charlotte didn’t look amused and Nick could smell the perfume increasing once again. “Well, I could put them to work on cleaning up after themselves, but then I wouldn’t have anything to pay you for,” he chuckled as the girl came over to give him a quick hug. “I’ll see you in two days then.”

Nodding, Geni gathered up Lena before the two left leaving him with Charlotte all alone. The woman was rubbing her arms and the level of her perfume was increasing in intensity.

He frowned and thumbed towards the door, “You’re getting jealous over Geni now?”

Looking surprised by his comment, Charlotte asked, “What do you mean?”

“Oh, come on. I can barely breathe with all those pheromones you are putting out. How can you be jealous of her? We aren’t even together and I’m not a werewolf,” he reminded her sounding more perplexed than vexed by the situation. Maybe it was the perfume acting on him, but Nick found that he did like the woman. On the other hand, he was so close to Nicola that the man didn’t want to mess that up either.