Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We walked down the dark, long spiral staircase made of steel. It's not a stair you run down fast without falling and getting hurt. It made me think of all those old fiction vampire movies with the vampire sleeping in a casket in the basement. It’s kind of eerie.

The stairs ended in a large basement room. It is a living room with a TV and a sofa. It's beautiful—Ingeborg gestures for me to take a seat on the couch. I walk to it and stroke its fabric; it's so soft. It’s dusty rose; the color is soft pink.

“It won’t bite.”

I jumped slightly in fright, and she started laughing at me.

“Hey, that’s not funny.”

She hands me a spoon and throws herself on the couch. I sit beside her. She asks,”what do you want to watch?”

I want to sigh, but I don’t. I never really watched much TV in my pack, and when I did, I just watched whatever the others watched or what was on. Ingeborg broke my train of thought. “How about we watch Tales from the Darkside? I love that show. Have you seen it?”

I feel pretty stupid because I never knew or cared what the pack member had on the TV. I don’t know if I have seen it before. I try to be honest: “I don’t recall if I've seen it.”

“You will love it.”

The show starts, and it's dark, looking like a horror show or something. It starts, and it's about A reformed alcoholic who is visited by his young son Jerry, but he doesn't have a son called Jerry. I think it’s scary, but I don’t dare to say that. I ate from one of the large ice cream containers, and it was yummy. Mint-chocolate. I turn my head and look at Ingeborg, and she makes me smile. She’s totally engrossed in the show, shoving ice cream into her mouth with the help of chips. Her spoon lay on the table unused.

She looks at me and smiles. “Try it. Everyone thinks I am weird, but it's very good. Just try one.” she says, and shoved a chip with ice crème on it into my mouth. What the hell, Delicious. I am surprised. Did I moan from eating ice cream with chips? Ingeborg started to giggle at my moan and said,

“See I told you it was awesome.”

Hours must have passed. It was complete darkness in the room, and I was still on the giant sofa. I was alone; I don’t know where Ingeborg is, but I heard loud voices from upstairs. I try to look around the room, and I remember how it looked when we got down here. Without my wolf, I can’t see well in the dark. I miss her so much. I want to hate the goddess for taking my wolf from me. In one breath, I hate her; in the other, I don’t, oddly enough. I can’t say I have any love for the Moon Goddess.

It was silent for a minute, then they started to shout again; they sounded so mad and alarmed. It made me curious. I want to go up the stairs to eavesdrop just a little bit. Walk slowly up the stairs, I try to make no sound at all. I try not to give away that I am listening in. I hear a male voice that gives me chills, freezing my bones and somehow simultaneously caressing my soul most sweetly. I feel confused. How is this possible? I am worried I will be found out, and I rush down the stairs and trip. I fell and hit my head, and something wet is on my forehead. I brush it off with my sleeve and hurry to the sofa. I thought Ingeborg would come down. I heard people pacing or walking; it's why I hurried down to get to the couch. No one is coming. Strange, I was sure someone was heading for the door to the basement. This is a weird place for sure.

I was sitting on the couch, hugging my legs in a fetal position, feeling my eyes slowly closing. I let the worry of where to go after this night disappear and stay in the now, even though it’s weird in this house. I feel myself slowly fall from a sitting position to a lying fetal position on the sofa. I let myself fall; I am sleepy and can no longer keep my eyes open.

In the distance, I hear someone walking, but my eyelids are too heavy to open. Someone lifts me and carries me, and I feel safe in the person's embrace. I feel a soft bed under me, and the person puts me down.

“Now isn’t this better?” A male bass voice says in my ear as the beard tickles me. His deep voice sends electrical shockwaves to my soul. A moment passed, and nothing. I thought I was alone. Then suddenly, the bed tips and someone presses their body close to mine. I feel panic rising in my heart as it beats out of control. ‘What is happening’

The man inhales the scent from my neck, down slightly, and up and down. His beard is tickling me, making me stiff as a board with nerves. Who is he? I don’t dare to open my eyes.

He doesn’t touch me or caress me. He hugs me, tenderly like I am breakable. I pray to god or whomever I can pray to these days that it’s not Ingeborg's father. His arm is getting heavier against my stomach; he must have fallen asleep. Maybe I dare to open my eyes to see what man did this to me. I muster all my courage and come face to face with an older, bearded man. He has a full, long beard that ends at his chest. It has curls in it and some tiny braids, not in all of his beard, but a few braids. His face is relaxed, and his breaths are slow and steady. He looks to be between 40 and 50, an old man. Oddly, he is looking good for his age. He opened his emerald-green eyes, and they hypnotized me. They have a hardness to them. Demanding. I forgot to breathe. “Little pup don’t for get to breathe.” He says in a coarse voice.

What do I do? What do I say? I feel sheer panic.

“Little puppy, calm down. I haven’t done anything to you yet. I can feel how wildly you heart is beating.”

“What? Why?”

“Chill little woman. I Won’t touch you until you are of age. From that banging body of yours, it must be soon. I won’t let you roam free either, you are mine now. My mate. Mine to do what I want with.”

I can’t believe the gall of that man. If he thinks I will be a pretty girl, he can breed, or whatever he has in mind, he is wrong.

A jovial voice breaks my thoughts. It’s Ingeborg.

“Aww, hello, lovebirds. I see you met my uncle, Holger. He is your mate.”

I squick, “Mate? I am human.”

Holger's low voice laughs, and it makes me shiver. “Little mate, you have faint smell of werewolf. Explain that to me? Have you had a werewolf boyfriend or are you just a teenage slut? For your own sake you'll be better a virgin!”

Pure shock is on my face and Ingeborg's.

“Uncle how could you say things like that?”

“Not that I owe you an explanation, but I was a werewolf until very recently. I was also part of a pack. I am no slut nor do I deserve to be called that.”

“Good, good. All your firsts are mine! You need to tell me the whole story. To make it clear I am an Alpha to my own pack just like Ingeborg's father. We are werewolves.”

“Hey, Uncle, why don’t you get us breakfast and we can chat and talk about what happens next.”

Holger looks at me with daggers for an endless minute before he turns and leaves.

Ingeborg looks at me with pity and something else, worry or urgency maybe. I look at my two still-packed bags that are in the corner. Ingeborg says, “Yes”

I look at her like a question mark.

“Yes, run. Now before he gets back!”

She calls her uncle to tell him that I need a specific juice and to go out and buy it. Being a werewolf mate, of course, he does.

Ingeborg tells me why she wants to help me. Holger has already had three mates, so it is a shock that the moon goddess would give him one more. All his mates have been young. Not as young as me, but young. All virgins. All were torn limb from limb after he had taken their virginity. She says to amplify: he is a real psycho. It is why I live in the basement: to avoid all the werewolves and other creatures coming through this house. I never thought anything like this would happen; otherwise, I would never have brought you here. I wish I could escape with you, but I need to stay to try and stop him long enough for you to get away. I am sure you are wondering what I am. I was born to werewolves but am a disappointment since I have no wolf. I am basically a human. Also, why do I pay for room and board in my father's house? It's why I work in that café; I couldn’t get any other job.

“Grab your shit, now”

I hurry to put on my shoes, take my things, and look in surprise when Ingeborg opens a hidden door in the wall. We both walk out the door, and she points out to me where to go and hide until she gets to me and helps me out of the city. I am about to rush to the hiding place. Shen yells, “Stop.” I look with dread towards her.

I almost forgot; she takes out something that looks like a perfume bottle, but it's glowing blue. She is spraying it all over me.

“It’s a masking your scent, Holger know your scent now. I will find you latter in my hiding place. Pleasse stay put there until I come to get you tonight.”

I say, “thank you.” I wanted to hug her, but I didn’t dare, in case it would mess up the masking potion. I ran to the wooded area she pointed out to me. I pretty quickly found the place she described.