Chapter 11 - Harlow

As soon as I got back into the house, I changed into comfortable clothes. I was healing, and wearing tight jeans against my wound was not making life pleasurable. I limped to my room and threw on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized shirt. I wasn’t going to do anything today. I wanted to relax, watch that guy scream at chefs, and drink wine.

         I limped to the living room, clicked on the television, and started my show again. It was already instant chaos. I limped to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of wine. While changing, I took a few pain meds. Might as well mix and match my painkillers.

         As soon as I got settled on the sofa, the house went off. “Unknown visitor, unknown visitor, unknown visitor.”

         “What the fuck?” I took a sip of wine before I limped to the kitchen. I grabbed the forty-five that I left there for easy access and went to the door. There was a button on the side of the door, and I pushed it. And the frosted glass on the top of the door went clear. On the other side of the door was Malachi. He waved and smiled at me.

         My stomach tightened at the sight of him. My heart started to beat faster. Seriously, what was wrong with me? “What do you want?” I yelled through the glass. I held the gun down.

         “I just want to talk.” He said and gave me another smile.

         “Like we talked earlier?” I yelled through the glass again.

         “No, I actually want to explain what’s going on.” He stared at me through the glass.

         I cracked open the door as far as the chain would allow. “And you have no intention of attacking me?”

         He laughed. “No, of course not.”

         “Fine.” I released the chain and opened the door.

         “Unauthorized guest, unauthorized guest, unauthorized guest.” The house sounded off.

         “Jesus Christ, shut up,” I yelled at the house. I punched in the override code on the keypad next to the door.

         “This house is decked out, huh?” Malachi looked through the open door as I tried to get the house to stop yelling at me.

         “Yeah, way more than there needs to be. This bitch randomly likes to yell at me.”

         “Guest authorized.” The house said.

         “It’s a pain in the ass to get into this house.” I turned and walked toward the living room. “Come in and close the door behind you.”

         I limped through the kitchen to the living room. I sat down, laid the gun on the coffee table, and grabbed my glass of wine.

         Malachi looked at the gun on the coffee table. “You don’t go anywhere without a gun, huh?”

         “Easy form of protection.” I took a sip of my wine and cocked an eyebrow. “Because I’m pretty sure breaking your bones would only be there for a few minutes before completely healing.”

         “Touché.” He smiled at me again. “May I sit?”

         “Have at it.” I gestured to the sofa beside me. I could smell him, he smelled of spices and mahogany. A purely man smell. “Would you like a glass of wine?” The offer came from nowhere.

         “Sure.” I made to stand, but he put his hand out to stop me. “Let me get it.”

         “In the kitchen, red is on the counter, white is in the fridge. Glasses are in the cabinet next to the fridge.”

         He grabbed a glass and opened the fridge; he was a white wine man. With a full glass, he came and sat down next to me, closer than he was before. The proximity tightened my core.

         He took a sip of his wine, then held the glass in his hands.

         “You wanted to talk?” I asked, it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything unless I pushed him.

         “Yes.” He cleared his throat, then took a big gulp of the wine. He stared at me with his green eyes. They were darker now than they were earlier. “You see, it’s difficult for me to explain as my kind has been kept secret for hundreds of thousands of years.” He stopped and stared at me.

         I wasn’t going to interrupt; he was finally saying something worthwhile. I took a sip of wine.

         “Having someone on the outside knowing about us can bring harm to our kind. And it’s my job to protect us.” Concern laced his eyes as he continued to stare. He took a deep breath.

         “And what is your kind?” I asked since it didn’t seem like he was going to continue.

         He took a swig of wine. “We are…werewolves.” He said as he hesitated on the word werewolves.

         I almost spit out the wine that I just drank. I started to laugh. “You can’t be serious.” I stared at him waiting for him to say ‘just kidding’ but that never came. “You want me to believe that I have stumbled into a city where there are werewolves…a mythical creature.”

         Malachi looked offended. “Believe it or not, that’s what we are. Yesterday, you said that you saw one of the guys you were fighting against change; he had fangs, a longer snout, and his eyes glowed. Right?”

         “Yeah…” I trailed off, not finishing my thought. I was going to say but, but there wasn’t a but to say. I didn’t believe my eyes; I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so out of the ordinary that I thought I was hallucinating.

         He touched my leg with his hand. Heat blossomed where he touched me and radiated through my body. I wanted to pull away, but at the same time, I wanted to lean into it and cover his body with mine. “I’m telling you the truth.”

         I stared at him with my mouth open. Not sure what to say. I couldn’t believe him. How could I believe something as far out as that? “I just can’t believe it.” I took another gulp of wine.

         “I can prove it to you.” He said with a glisten in his eye.

         “Oh…okay.” This was the first time in my life that I was speechless.

         “I’m just going to change around the corner. Please don’t freak out or shoot me.” He stood and set down his glass. “Promise you won’t shoot me.” He stared down at me.

         My heart fluttered, if he was telling the truth, I was going to see firsthand a werewolf. Something I thought only existed in fiction. I always thought those stories were cheesy, but now if Malachi was being truthful, I would actually see a werewolf.

         “Promise.” He continued to stare at me.

         “I promise. But if you attack me, that promise is off the table.” I set my glass next to his.

         He gave me a quick smile; I’m sure an attempt to calm my nerves. But it didn’t work. My mind ran a mile a minute. My leg was still on fire from where he touched me. He walked to the dining room, out of view. I could hear clothing being removed and a zipper being unzipped. What I heard next was more gruesome than any torture I had ever inflicted on another person.

         The noise was what I could describe as bones crunching together, grinding against each other. I could hear flesh being torn. Malachi didn’t scream out in pain or ask for help. So, I didn’t move. I heard something big breathing heavily in the other room.

         I stared at the open space that led to the dining room. I waited for whatever Malachi said he was to pop out. I hoped that he would just be wearing a wolf onesie, and he, Joe, and that other guy were delusional. But those noises had to be proof that he was what he said he was.

         What walked out made me crawl back in on the sofa. Away from this creature that walked on hind legs. He had to be ten feet tall; he could easily extend his arm and touch the top of the cathedral ceiling. It was a mix of a man and a wolf. I could see his abs and pectoral muscles, but they were covered in dark gray fur. His mouth lay in a constant grin, showing off the fangs that grew there. Pointed ears protruded from the top of his head. A large tail swung back and forth behind him.

         I stared at this beast. I took a shaky breath. “Holy fuck.” I breathed out. I wanted to grab my gun, but I stopped myself.

         The creature kept his distance and just stared at me. With those green eyes I’ve come to know as Malachi’s, they glowed. I probably looked like a scared child. I didn’t care. What was before me was something that would terrify any ‘tough’ man out there.

         I took another breath. “And I fought creatures like you last night?” I swallowed. I didn’t know if Malachi could answer or not. But I needed to ask.

         The beast huffed out a breath and nodded.

         “Creatures like you exist?” I was shocked.

         He nodded his head again. He took a step forward; he extended his hand, wanting to touch me. I pushed back onto the sofa more, an attempt to put more space between us.

         He dropped his hand and looked disappointed. I felt bad. He was showing me exactly what he said he was. He didn’t try to attack me; he responded to my questions. There was no reason to be afraid of Malachi.

         I extended my hand out to him. His head lifted; it was almost as if he was smiling. He lifted his hand and touched me; he was careful of his claws. Heat surged through my hand at his touch. I let out a nervous laugh. “You’re real.” I brushed my hand against his arm, I felt his soft fur. It was softer than I thought it was. He dropped his head back as if he were enjoying it.

         Malachi took a step back and put a finger up. He went back to the dining room. The same gruesome sound came. I heard the shuffling of clothes. Within a minute, he walked out in his human form. He didn’t say a word. He only came back, sat down on the sofa, and grabbed his wine. He had a big smile on his face.

         “Why are you smiling?”

         “I’m just really happy you didn’t shoot me.” He laughed and took a drink.

         “I thought about it.”

         “I know.” He laughed again. He grabbed my wine and offered it to me. I looked down at it, and his hands were no longer claws, but strong human hands. I took the glass from him and emptied it.

         “Does it hurt?”

         “Nah, the first change hurt like a bitch. But as a werewolf grows older, it becomes easier.” He took my empty glass, went to the kitchen, and filled it up with wine. He brought it back and offered it to me again. I grabbed it, and our fingers brushed against each other, running heat through my hand and across my body.

         “This is going to sound stupid…” I paused.

         “I’m sure it won’t.”

         “Can I contract it?” The random stories of werewolf bites and changing on the next full moon ran through my head.

         Malachi let out a chuckle. “No, it’s hereditary. Unless your parents were werewolves, you won’t be. And you would have found out by now.”

         I nodded to his response.

         “Are you okay?”

         “Umm…I’ve seen a lot of weird shit in my lifetime. And this takes the cake. It’s a lot to process.”

         “Yeah, I dropped an information bomb on you.”

         “Joe and that other guy…they’re werewolves too?”

         “Yes, Alec and Joe are my Beta and Delta,” Malachi said.

         “And you’re what, the Alpha?”

         “Right.” He flashed a smile at me. That tightened my core.

         “I’m assuming that your…group.”

         “Pack.” He quickly interjected.

         “So your pack is not the only one.” I took a sip of wine.

         “No, there are packs all over the world. And not all werewolves are alike; some look more like giant wolves, and others look like me. It’s just how your bloodlines are.”

         I nodded.

         We sat there in silence; I tried to let the information flow over me. I thought I was the only apex predator in the world. Now I was up against mythical creatures that turned out to be real. Are there other creatures out there that I thought were fake but are actually real.

         “What are you thinking about?” His eyes were filled with concern.

         I let out a breath. “I thought I was on the top of the predator list…but now I’m up against creatures I didn’t know were real. And now I have to wonder, are there other creatures I thought were myths but are actually real?” I searched for an answer on his face.

         “What type of creatures are you wondering about?”

         “Vampires, witches, mermaids, the creature from the black lagoon…to name a few.”

         “Real, real, real, and not sure about the creature, but it’s a possibility.”

         “Shit.” I stared at him.

         “What’s wrong?” He leaned toward me and touched my shoulder. I loved the feel of when he touched me; it was like a warm blanket on a cold night. It instantly soothed me.

         “If I’m pitted against a creature that the Faction doesn’t know is a creature, I very well sign my death certificate.” I ran a hand over my face. “We vet our targets, we learn everything about them, their schedules, what they eat, what’s their favorite fucking color. But I have never come across something like this.”

         I knew I wasn’t supposed to talk about the Faction with a non-Faction member. But since I knew this big secret of his, I felt that it was an easy trade-off.

         “If I’m being honest, you took on four werewolves by yourself. That’s not an easy feat. Not to mention, you captured two of them. That’s hard for even me and my pack to do. With that being said, those other creatures don’t stand a chance.” He gave me an encouraging smile.

         “Thanks.” I rolled my eyes at him. He only saw a small portion of what I do. I preferred long-distance take-downs; up close always got me hurt. I had two stab wounds to prove it.

         “Can I ask you a question?”

         “Sure,” I said as I looked over my wine glass.

         “I know you and Joe were some kind of assassins, right?”

         I nodded.

         “How do you get into something like that?” He waited patiently for my answer...there was no time like the present.