The Reluctant (6 page)

“Then I will keep you from leaving,”
he stated.

I verbally and physically fought
against him that morning in the kitchen. And I lost. I fought
weakly due to his overpowering, manipulative biological effect on
me. Being in the house with him overnight, I could not resist
breathing him in. This fight was the last vestiges of my free mind
struggling against the captivity of Will’s influence. He locked me
in the guest room with its adjoining bathroom, never leaving the
house. I did hear another man’s voice that day, but being locked in
my room, I had no means of finding out whose voice
spoke.

I must admit, this was a shameful
transition for me. It was the last time I fought him on anything.
From then on, I was his prisoner mind and body. It hurts me to
admit it now, to allow my weakness to be known for all, but this is
not a story about how I wish things would have turned out. It’s a
tale of what actually happened. And my acquiescence to domination
is not fiction, just as Will did not lie to me about his curious
friends or himself. Over the next few days, I would become
entangled in a world that did not want me, had no use for me, and
could have devoured me whole without even pinning my ears
back.

After two full days and then some in
imprisonment, Will knew that he held me under his sway. The horror
of being Changed into a…werewolf?...faded. Suddenly, I found myself
bored, passing the time mostly be reading and watching TV. I
reached that trance-like state again, and accepted my boredom as
just punishment for my doubt of a man who only wanted me to want
him. He did not speak to me through the door, just slid
hand-written poems under its frame. I read them, happy to have
something new to study. The poems were beautiful, romantic in an
abstract way with their nature references. Because of Will, I
became familiar with W.B. Yeats, John Keats, and even e.e.
cummings, who became one of my favorites. I can even recite a piece
of the poem I received from Will, I liked it so much:

No fate (for you are my
fate, my sweet) I want

No world (for beautiful
you are you are my world, my true)

And it’s you are whatever
a moon has always meant

And whatever a sun will
always sing is you

Yes, lovely. I never liked English in
high school, so the poetry touched a chord in me that had long gone
unstrung. Was I in love? No, definitely not at that time, for there
was that quiet corner of my mind that rejected being imprisoned
biologically and physically, but I did enjoy the attention.
Finally, early one evening (or so the clock on the wall told me,
but without windows, I really wasn’t sure), he entered the room and
left the door hanging wide open. I had no desire to flee. If
anything, I actually wanted to kiss him and lead my body into his.
I had missed his warm comfort. He accepted my embrace and did not
taunt me for giving in. Were I to love him for anything, I would
have loved him for that.

“Would you like to go out tonight?” he
asked with a smile.

“Oh yes,” I purred, pushing my face
into his hard chest.

He tipped my chin up and kissed me
gently. My body instantly responded, mocking his gentleness with
its insistent passion that surprised me. His hands roamed down my
ribs and stomach.

“God, I love your curves,” he exhaled
heavily.

I squirmed away from his touch, but
stayed close enough to rub my hands beneath his shirt and over his
flat stomach. Such a beautiful man, and he was mine. I kissed him
greedily as his hands found my body again. Once again, we made love
as if Will didn’t have the potential to hurt me. His thrusts were
tender and he licked my neck and shoulders before finding my lips
to wonderfully crush me with his claim. My body responded to his in
no time, my nerves quivering in delight for reacting this way. I
lay back in quiet contentment, my body completely sated and my mind
not far behind. I was Will’s, body and soul now. That’s a heavy
phrase to use and quite cliché to the extreme, but at that moment
in time, I remember feeling nothing but affection for the man who
wanted to possess me.

“So where are we going?” I asked,
lazily brushing back his dark hair.

He opened one eye sleepily. “Oh yes.
You make me forget so easily with this stunning body of
yours.”

I grinned, openly and
optimistically.

“Well, other than the fact that you’re
still wearing the same clothes you had on when you arrived, I think
it will be nice to get out. I mean, not that I don’t enjoy you
lounging around naked while I launder your clothes,” he added
impishly. “Luka wants us to go to this arcade with him. He’s
anxious to meet you—as a human, that is.” Will seemed
amused.

I sat up in the bed. “Really? Aren’t
you boys a little old for games like that?” I thought that perhaps
I was, too, but my excitement continued to rise at the prospect of
enjoying a night away from Will’s house to actually meet
someone.

So a shopping trip and a night under
the lights of a digital playground; not my usual Friday night, but
I was definitely up for meeting another of the Lycanti. Had Luka
killed his mate, too? We rose to dress, and I felt like that night
would be significant in the course of our getting to know each
other better.

Will

I loved seeing you happy and relaxed
that night at the arcade. The new clothes helped, I believe. Seeing
you every day in your running attire began to get old, so your new
jeans and your shirt that smelled like melted plastic clung to your
body in a way I had never imagined clothes to do. And the fact that
you wore your long, dark hair down made me want to bury my face in
it, or even run my fingers through it. You were beautiful without
makeup, but when I saw that thickly-applied mascara and eyeliner, I
could have taken you there. I had no idea that you were so
sinister. I should have assumed by your music and your manners in
bed how wild you are, but I guess I just wanted you to be the
innocent element in my life.

I thought you might find it childish
that Luka and I wanted to play pool and ski ball for a few hours,
but then again, I have seen lately how absolutely delightfully
playful you are.

Anyway, I don’t know why I wanted you
to meet Luka so badly. His evident self control only highlights my
lack of it. If only he had known then what I intended for you by
his hands, he may have never agreed to speak to you. He is the only
one left around here that can do it though. I don’t want to ask
him, but I will. And he may think less of me for it, for which I
will be greatly sorry.

But where else am I to find another
Lycanthrope to do the deed?

Emily

That night, the bright lights of the
arcade brought me to life. Still being a teenager helped. The first
thing I saw about this arcade was that it was not for children. It
served alcohol and I might call it a gameroom under normal
circumstances, but I know very little about the arguments of
semantics.

Luka sipped on a Miller Lite while
waiting on us at the bar in the back of the building. Those eyes
danced with humor—the same glow of Will’s eyes, only in the dusty
shade of blue. He had already staked out a pool table, stacking
four lines of quarters on the rails to reserve games. Since I’m
horrible at pool and underage to drink, I figured that I would have
a very boring night of listening to Luka and Will talk about
werewolf things all night. And I must note that yes, even though
Will had pretty much bawled me out for associating him with the
popular horror movie stars, I could not help but think that,
really, that’s what they were. Right?

Luka’s gaze singed me as I walked in,
taking in my walk and even how I turned my head shyly to look at
him from the corner of my eyes. Will was handsome, but in a generic
frat boy way. Luka’s exotic dark looks brought a blush to my face
as I felt the twinge of guilt for betraying Will. But it was hard
not to stare at those glowing sapphire eyes or note the playfully
sardonic smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth. Built like
Will with the broad shoulders and the slim waist, they could pass
for brothers but for the complexion, especially with the similar
eyes. Will’s Caucasian background dominated his Hispanic, but this
man’s skin was red-brown like burnt umber. No wonder his eyes
seemed so bright, with skin as dark as that.

“Ah, I see you finally decided to join
me,” he said, his words heavily accented with some European flavor.
Were all well-educated immigrants werewolves?

Will roughly clapped him on the
shoulder. “Yeah, well, I was busy entertaining your
mom.”

Luka laughed, a rich, buoying sound
that brought a smile to my lips. His eyes cut sharply to me as I
found myself under his full scrutiny again. He bowed low to me,
coming back up to lock gazes with me. “If this captivating creature
is my mother then no wonder I’m so pretty.”

Now even Will laughed. I just blushed
again and wondered how the hell Luka could be so
charming.

“Thank you,” I finally said after the
laughing stopped. “I don’t think I’d made a good mother for you.
I’m terribly selfish.”

He waved away my words. “It happens to
the best of us. Fortunately I have no negative qualities, so
perhaps I will teach you a thing or two about generosity along the
way. I’m remarkably humble for one of such per-fection.”

I laughed again.
“Obviously.”

“Well, Mr. Perfect,” Will interjected.
“When you’re done flirting with my girl, why don’t you let me kick
your ass at pool?”

Luka’s perfect grin flashed. “But I
have not even been introduced to your companion.”

Will rolled his eyes. He turned to me
and said, “Emily, this is Luka, the worst pool player in
California.”

“So he is, in fact, not so
perfect?”

“Not so much as he likes to think.” He
turned to his friend. “It must be all that humility getting to his
brain.”

Luka shrugged. “Sometimes I feel the
need to be charitable to others.”

“We’ll see,” Will said.

“Emily, would you mind doing the
honors of racking a set for us?”

It pleased me that Luka did not think
this beyond my skills. Honestly, I was a bit rusty at pool, but I
smiled my consent and grabbed a stack of the quarters. The balls
rolled from the holding area and suddenly I realized that I had no
triangle to form up the balls. The only other pool table near us
lacked one also. Will and Luka were thoroughly engaged in
conversation, so I figured I’d take care of the problem myself.
Once again, please give foolish Emily a round of applause as she
stumbles into trouble.

I made my way over to the nearest pool
table which inconveniently stood in the next room. The L-shaped
building had set up most of the pool tables and games in the front.
We had walked through the long hall to get to a sectioned-off room
in the back with only two pool tables and the bar where Luka
waited. Not a long walk at all, but as it was Friday, people
thronged the arcade, so I waded through them conscious of only my
goal. It was unlikely I would see anyone I knew; my friends would
never go to an arcade.

Few people played pool at that moment,
so I approached an empty table to look for a triangle first.
Thankfully, it had one. Taking the triangle, I started back to the
boys. Yet again, I had a chance to escape, but honestly, the warmth
and camaraderie between Will and Luka drew me to them. My high
school friends had all drifted away to different colleges, and with
no job and no classes to make new friends, I really had become
exceptionally lonely over the last year. I had started jogging to
pass the time and burn some extra energy. The lost weight proved an
added benefit, but mostly I just wanted something to do. Why not go
back to Will and Luka, who at least liked me and made the attempt
to include me?

A hard grip yanked me away from my
melancholy thoughts. I wanted to snap off the offending hand, but
as I found the challenge in front of me, I realized that her eyes
smoldered like bright jewels. With Luka’s acquaintance and Will’s
rapture, I officially knew two werewolves. I knew what to look for
now—practically an expert. The red-haired, lithe girl about my age
had those glowing emerald eyes that dominated her face and the look
of someone who wanted to take a bite out of me. Judging by the look
on her face, she would immediately have spat it out in
disgust.

“Yes?” I asked coldly. If anything, I
could whack her in the face with the triangle. Hey, it was a plan,
okay? Better than nothing.

“You should not be here.” Her voice,
equally cold, sounded more like a metallic echo.

“I was invited. I would hate to be
impolite.”

“You’re not Miss Fucking Manners,” she
snarled. “Leave.”

I have no idea why, but for some
reason her cussing offended me. Now, I have no objection to
dropping the F-bomb, but I guess because she used it in anger
towards me, the word seemed viciously vulgar.

“Get the hell out of my way,” I
snapped. “I know what you are, and I’m not scared of
you.”

Her body tensed, muscles contracting
and expanding. Suddenly she relaxed and chuckled. “Go on human.
Play your games. I know where he’s keeping you.”