She Howled, They Came Read online

  She Howled, They Came

  By Gabrielle Demonico

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

  ***

  Don’t Miss Out!

  Join my newsletter today and get advance notice of new titles, exclusive excerpts, free unpublished content, news and more!

  ***

  “You… will never… survive without us.”

  Those words bit into her.

  Over and over they surfaced in the forefront of her mind at the perfect time to do the most damage possible. Nervousness twisted at her insides. A tug of war between her desires and the pack’s need for pragmatism. They said it was a mistake. That she should have stayed to see it through. That’s what was best for the pack. But, too much went wrong and wrong too quickly. Circumstances forced her hand and left her with only one choice.

  Now, as she sat in the lobby of her new employer, the low hum of productivity filled her ears and distracted her mind from the anguish of her decision. She needed to focus and prepare herself for the day ahead, the first day of her new job.

  She’d been there before of course, for the interview. But for some reason the fluorescent lighting overhead seemed different. It felt cold, clinical and unlike what she remembered the last time she visited. A powerful medicinal aroma filled her nostrils. Probably too strong for most, to her it smelled like healing and hope. It did help to settle the glare of the lights upon her consciousness, but only a little.

  All around, she noticed the matching brown uniforms of the staff. The nurses handled their patients with organization and efficiency in a never ending assembly line of treatment. She glanced down at her clothing and smiled. In a few minutes she’d be one of them, at least for today, and that was enough for now. So few things in her life seemed in control that the orderliness of this place gave her a sprinkle of confidence.

  She needed it.

  As she glanced around her surroundings, the taste of instant noodles in a cup lingered in her mouth. Not exactly the breakfast she ought to eat, but it was the only one she could manage that morning. She looked down at a notebook in her lap one last time, just to be sure she wouldn’t do or say anything to put the situation at risk. Her fingertips moistened by nerves, she grasped the frayed edges of the pages and muttered to herself as she read.

  For the next few minutes, she drowned out most of the activity around her and made the final preparations for what the day would hold. As the moments passed by, her mind drifted to that place of solitude she loved so much. No one could touch her there, least of all the pack. And that focus, more than anything else, was what she needed to bring her dream of freedom to life. She slipped into her blissful cocoon for a few moments, until hot breath beat in time against the exposed flesh of her arm. Distracted, she looked to her right and locked eyes with its source.

  “Shit,” the man said as he noticed her gaze. “Sorry about that.”

  She looked at him, paused for a moment and shrugged. “No problem… That’s part of my job.”

  For a moment, she forgot all about the pressure of the day. The stranger’s eyes looked like warm caramel candy might when poured over a confectioner’s table. As she stared into them, the color seemed to change from light to dark and then back once more.

  Dirty blonde hair dripped across his brow as he turned towards her. He reached upwards, ran his right hand into it and pulled it back. As he moved, she awkwardly broke her gaze upon him but cast a sly sideways glance as he tugged the unruly strands away from his face. A quick look was all she needed to see that his hands were well-worn from work or intense physical effort.

  Further evidence of his hard-earned callouses appeared as her eyes traveled up his forearms and then to the sleeves of a perfectly tight t-shirt. Tanned skin and sinewy biceps bulged against the thin fabric and filled the whole of her vision. Just then, he leaned back into his chair and as he did, the cotton of his shirt formed a tight seal against a rippled midsection. She cursed herself for being such a nerd that she hadn’t even noticed when he came into the room.

  “Beautiful…” she cooed.

  He lifted his chin and stared back at her. “Thanks. You, um, wanna touch?”

  “I would love to. If… if you don’t mind.”

  “Nope.” He said with a casual, confident shrug. “Be my guest.”

  She grasped the stack of notes in her lap and placed them in the chair next to her. As she turned back towards him, a loose strand of her cinnamon brown hair slipped down across her face. Without wasting a moment of movement, she tugged it behind her ear and extended her hand in anticipation.

  But just as she did, she stopped. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course. I mean,” he began, as he gestured towards her uniform. “I’m assuming you work here and I can trust you… you know, as a professional.”

  “Yes, I do,” she said. “Well, I do now. Today is my first day.”

  “Good enough for me,” he replied.

  She nodded and continued to reach in his direction until, a moment later, she touched it. It was solid, thick and quite unlike anything she’d felt before. As her fingertips sank into it, it felt as if she were pressing against a heavy sandbag. There was something reassuring about its hardness. As if Nature endowed it to tolerate any degree of pain. Even so, his eyes conveyed a tenderness, softness and maybe, a need to be loved.

  “Amazing,” she replied. “Really… beautiful.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I get that all the time.”

  As he spoke she found herself wondering more about him. It wasn’t like her to talk to strange men especially one as… yummy… as him. She chewed the corner of her lip as he moved. His body rippled with a mix of natural grace, raw power and sanguine ease. Her nostrils flared as her wolf stirred between her thighs. Saliva seeped in anticipation at the edges of her mouth.

  And then, it happened…

  “Hey!” the man snapped.

  In a semi-stupor of lust, she hadn’t noticed. But without warning, a warm wetness and a thick tongue pressed into her flesh. Her eyes widened as she glanced down at her forearm to see it firmly in the grasp of a set of massive jaws.

  “Bosco!” the man said.

  The immense, all-white beast gently pried open his mouth and looked up at her. She laughed as the moistness of her skin blended with the cool air of the veterinary waiting room. The man tugged at the leash wrapped around the canine’s long, thick neck.

  “Sit,” he commanded.

  “Oh, my goodness,” she chirped as she looked at the stranger’s dog in sudden awareness of the breed. “Is that… a Dogo Argentino?”

  “It is,” he nodded. As he spoke, the muscled, gleaming white dog began to stand. “No,” he said in a firm, even tone. “I said… Sit.”

  The large animal lowered his head and did as the man instructed.

  “Sorry about that,” he began as he shook his head. “They’re a… mouthy breed… It’s a show of affection.”

  “That’s okay, really. He’s incredible. I’ve never seen one in person. Thank you for letting me pet him.”

  “Yeah, no problem… He’s something alright,” the man replied as he nodded. “Helluva dog.”

  As he spoke, she made small circles against the wet spot on her forearm. Within moments, all evidence of Bosco’s affection vanished except for the faint, pink tinge where his teeth pinched her milky flesh.

  “You okay?” the man asked. The uncertainty in his tone conveyed some experience in dealing with people that weren’t accustomed to a dog of Bosco’s size showi
ng… affection.

  She nodded and smiled back at him. “I’m fine.”

  “Good,” he said as he sat forward in his chair. “I’m Chuck.” He flashed a quick, white smile at her. “This, of course, is Bosco.”

  “I’m Tina. Tina Danton.” She said with a smile as she leaned over and patted the dog on the head once more.

  ***

  “Teenah,” he said in a low, throaty tone. His voice had a raspy, dangerous edge to it. “Good to meet ya.”

  Tina nodded, unsure of exactly how to respond. She did work there after all. The last thing she wanted her new boss to think was that she was so hard up she flirted with every hot guy that came in the office. So instead of speaking, she continued to pet Bosco and act as if he were the only thing she had an interest in.

  Of course, he wasn’t.

  Chuck seemed unaffected by her lack of a response. Instead, he stared straight ahead in the direction of the reception area.

  “You, uh, got a pet?” he asked without turning to look back at her.

  “I used to… but it’s been a couple of years now,” Tina said as she cleared her throat.

  “Um,” she said as she gestured towards Bosco. “So, what’s wrong with him?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean… is he sick or…?”

  “Oh… no, just a checkup. Actually, I…”

  But as Chuck spoke, he stopped and leaned his upper body in a straight line against the back of the chair. With Bosco’s leash held firmly in his left hand, he slipped his right down into the front pocket of his jeans and produced his cell phone.

  “’Scuse me for a sec,” he said. A moment later, he started to text.

  The sudden motion of his torso was strong enough to stir the still air between them. As he settled into the chair, a hint of his cologne drifted in Tina’s direction. A slightly sweet, woodsy aroma tantalized her nostrils. The fragrance conveyed a hard masculinity at first but finished soft… and subtle. She’d never smelled anything like it. He’d taken care when he chose it. Its uniqueness was evidence of that fact.

  Nervous energy crackled from her fingertips as she stroked the coarse hair of the muscled canine at her feet. While she ran her fingers along the dog’s firm backside, she stole small glances of Chuck every few seconds. Anyone that looked like he did probably got a never-ending stream of attention from women. The last thing she wanted was to get slotted into that category within the first five minutes of meeting him.

  Even so, she found it difficult to look away for long.

  After a final pat of Bosco’s oversized skull, she reached to her left and grabbed her notes, along with a pencil that lay on top of them. While he texted, Tina pulled her hair back in a ponytail and inserted the pencil between her lips.

  As she did, the sharp cedar flavor of the number two spilled across her taste buds. Tina enjoyed the sensation she experienced when the angular undersides of her canines penetrated the soft wood. It was no match for the sensation of biting into a fresh kill, but she lived in a different world now and had to satisfy her primal pleasures in more… discrete ways. She held the pencil tight between her teeth and lips, slipped her hair inside of the elastic band of the tie and wrapped it snug with one swift motion.

  “Fuck,” he muttered as she released her hair.

  Tina raised her right eyebrow and cast a half glance back towards him. His brow furrowed as he lowered the cell phone into his lap, while Bosco turned and looked up toward his disgruntled owner. Chuck bit into his lower lip as he contemplated a response. The action didn’t convey any sort of nervousness or concern, but rather determination and perhaps a bit of anger.

  He raised the phone upwards once again. With her peripheral vision, Tina looked on as his fingers moved with speed, accuracy and purpose. Uninterrupted, they danced across the tiny keys. The digitized sound of the simulated keystrokes click clacked in her ears as he typed.

  “Tina?” a female voice said from behind the receptionist desk.

  Tina lifted her head, her Chuck trance momentarily broken. Nervousness made a sudden return to the pit of her belly.

  “Doctor Hurley is ready for you now,” the woman said.

  “Thank you,” Tina replied, as she smiled and began to gather her things.

  As she did, she ran through her mental checklist one last time and, for a moment at least, forgot about the presence of Chuck and his all-white companion. She stood and with her notes tucked beneath her left arm, smoothed the fabric of her brown scrubs over her curves and prepared to walk away. But just then, a large warm, hand grasped her forearm. Tina’s breath hitched as his flesh pressed into hers. She made an awkward, semi-violent half turn back towards him.

  “Sorry,” he began as he raised his hands upwards in mock surrender. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “No, you didn’t,” she lied. “I just… it’s my first day. I’m a little nervous is all.”

  “Oh yeah?” he replied, as he looked up at her. “So I’ll see you again?”

  Tina shrugged.

  “I certainly hope so,” he said.

  “You… do?”

  “Yeah,” he said, as he patted Bosco on the head. “It’s not everyday someone knows what kind of dog Bosco is.”

  “Oh,” Tina replied. “Right.”

  Only she didn’t leave right away. Tina found herself lingering in his presence. Both Chuck and Bosco looked up at her in equal degrees of confusion. Chuck raised his eyebrows while Bosco turned his head to one side.

  “Do you… need to get going or…?” Chuck said.

  “What?” she replied. A warm rush of embarrassment surged from deep within Tina’s belly and spilled out across the round little moons of her cheeks. Wrong place and even worse time to act like a schoolgirl.

  “Yes,” she said. “Right… Well, it was nice meeting you.” She stroked Bosco on the head once more. “You’re such a sweet boy.”

  Chuck smiled. “Same here. Nice to meet ya.”

  With that, Tina turned and started to walk away.

  “Oh hey,” Chuck said.

  Tina’s head swiveled back towards him and as it did, he lifted his index finger and thumb and pinched his chin between them. “Good luck… you know… on your first day.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Of course. Maybe I’ll see ya around here sometime.”

  Tina smiled. “Maybe.”

  ***

  His small black pupils contracted further as he glared at his stepdaughter.

  “No, no, no, no, no!” Tina exclaimed. Enraged breath filled her lungs.

  No longer did she attempt to conceal her hatred of him as she had for so many years. Both of her small hands sat in plain view now, for everyone to see… most of all… him. Her fingernails dug deep in the fleshy pads of her palms as she clenched her fists tight. Clammy rage collected along the bottoms of her wrists and forearms and caused them to stick to the daisy-patterned, plastic tablecloth underneath.

  If she heard him say it to her… just once more… she would lose it.

  Tina’s spine stiffened. Still seated after dinner, the flavorful remnants of her favorite childhood meal lingered in her mouth. Savory chicken and salted, tender vegetables used to warm her insides, comfort her and remind her of the good times with her father.

  But, not any longer.

  Now she saw it and countless other little things as a form of control, a way for her mother to calm the growing hatred Tina built in her heart for him, the “man” who replaced her dad. Her mother and stepsisters sat in silence, as usual, unwilling or afraid to come to her defense. Tina had long since come to accept that while her freedom might come at the price of her life, to stay with all of them would mean a fate much worse.

  And besides, the last thing he cared about was her life and even less, her freedom.

  Tina’s mother, Louise, had exchanged her place as the bride of a possible alpha and had settled for him instead, Albert Entwistle. Little more than an administrator in the pack, A
lbert was a passionless control freak who wanted nothing more than to climb as high as he possibly could in the ranks and do so by any means. But, without the benefit of the blood that ran through Tina’s veins, Albert could rise no further and it drove him mad.

  Weakness consumed Tina’s mom after her father died. Consistent with the sort of man he was, Albert swooped in. He said and did what was required to woo her and then once he had, everything changed. If her mom had only known his true intentions, perhaps things would be different. But, it didn’t matter now. As far as Tina was concerned, her mom may as well be dead for all the support she showed her any longer.

  “You are such a disappointment to me Tina,” Louise said. “So much more than Jericho.”

  Distracted from her anger for a moment, Tina scowled at her mother.

  “Don’t you talk about Jericho,” she said. “You hear me? I am warning you. Now is not the time, Mother.”

  Albert’s short-cropped, slicked-back hair glistened like a toxic oil spill poisoning a pristine estuary. In the yellowish glow from the dinner table light overhead he narrowed his eyes at Tina like a serpent. He folded his hands as one, arched his pointy shoulders together and leaned forward in his chair.

  “Yes,” he hissed. As he spoke, he drew his thin, gray cheeks inward. “You will lose everything. You know that don’t you? Is that what you want? Your mother has suffered enough because of your ridiculous decisions. It’s time you put the needs of someone else ahead of your own for once.”

  Tina scoffed at him.

  It was a well-crafted statement and one Tina had heard often in one form or another. For years, his domineering tone served its purpose and intimated her into doing what he felt was best. But not any longer. She was done. The same, however, could not be said for the other women at the table. Every tiny movement he made and venomous word he uttered rippled into them.

  As the silence between Albert and Tina escalated, the discomfort felt by the others resulted in a series of throat clearings, erratic finger tapping and finally, the dropping of a fork from the table. As the utensil clanked upon the linoleum floor, Albert scowled and waited for someone to pick up the offensive noisemaker.

  “You are such a bitch, Tina.”