Standing Before Monsters (Vorans and Vampires) Read online

  “Are you attacking me or am I attacking you?” she asked as they began to circle slowly to their right looking for a hold.

  “Either is fine,” Nick answered wondering the same thing. The werewolf felt aggressive, even though they had yet to start anything. Again he wondered if there was something going on with Charlotte that he didn’t know about.

  She lunged and he countered, but her tight clothing only gave him easy access to her arms short of grabbing the woman inappropriately. Clothing, especially loose clothing, made for easier throws, but arms and legs were the main targets. Moving quickly in and out trying to find her own possible holds; the girl looked intent as if she wanted to win despite this just being basic training.

  Nick changed it up jumping in and catching hold of her left arm with both hands trying to turn the arm and using it in turn to take control of her body. Charlotte knew the hold and flipped end over end surprising him by keeping the arm from being turned. He still had the appendage and started to change the hold to his advantage. Barreling into him with her shoulder, the werewolf succeeded in throwing off his attempt; but he countered by using her momentum to pull her down with him to the mat.

  It was the first throw and the woman looked annoyed that he had turned it around.

  “I assume that you have had some training then,” the man asked barely looking like the struggle had happened.

  Charlotte let out a deep breath as she gave him a nod. “I went to college to become a criminal lawyer. Knowing that I might be around less than reputable people; my brother and father wanted me to be able to take care of myself. I considered going into law enforcement instead when I found out I enjoyed my self defense courses.”

  He knew that she had fought alongside her brother against Cyrus’s vampires, but Charlotte was known for being a very tender soul. This antagonistic side had never been shown to him before and strangely the aggression seemed less about fighting than something else.

  Being almost as tall as he was, the dark haired beauty wasn’t at too much a disadvantage in reach, though it was still his. Her werewolf abilities, even muted as a human, gave her good speed and reflexes which he didn’t discount as he considered the girl. He had been studying various schools of fighting for nearly a century, however, so even a werewolf was unlikely to be more skilled. She was also just twenty six and needed several decades to learn what he had.

  Again it was the girl who was the aggressor. Lunging in to go for a leg like a wrestler, Nick set the limb against the earth twisting in behind her. Snaking his arms and sinking down, he had her arms immobilized and useless as he pushed her neck down with his hands. His legs gave her no way to break out of the simple hold. A black belt wasn’t needed to counter the move, so hearing her struggles let him know that she was no true master. Having taken simple self defense classes only made Charlotte better than the average attacker; or at least able to surprise one with the basics needed to protect herself in a pinch.

  Releasing Charlotte, he offered her a hand up. Appearing to start to take the hand, she surprised him pulling the man over and quickly rolling on top of him. “Gotcha,” she declared pushing down on his shoulders. It was hardly a submission hold as much as a girl playing around.

  With a smile, in return he asked, “Really?”

  Crossing her arms with his left, the man rolled from his right turning the girl over onto her back. Controlling her arms with his left, only her supernatural strength would easily break his hold. Strangely enough, instead of looking frustrated, Nick could have sworn that she appeared turned on instead. Like this was all just foreplay to the woman, Charlotte seemed to just be enjoying rolling around with him; which was pretty much what she had declared back at the apartment.

  She was more submissive this time and they reset. Charlotte was beginning to breathe a bit harder, though Nick breathing was nearly as even as the start.

  “You stay in good shape,” the dark haired girl nodded appreciatively.

  “The same can be said for you,” Nick reciprocated the compliment, though he was afraid that it came from a different place than mere appreciation.

  “My turn?” Lena asked feeling a bit awkward as she did. The girl felt the strange tension between the two as it was easy to see for anyone looking.

  Noticing Lena waiting, Charlotte bowed out reluctantly and moved towards the edge of the mats and her water bottle. As the younger girl took her turn with Nick, one of the men in the gym came closer to the werewolf and said, “You’ve got some good raw talent there.”

  The dark haired woman looked at the young man, shirtless and sweaty. Her first instinct was to blow him off for the pick up line he was attempting to subtly use on her. Instead she lifted her bottle of water exposing her neck and turned slightly to the side. A trickle of sweat rolled along her neck as she did before lowering the bottle again. While she slowly screwed on the cap, Charlotte sized him up taking in the bare chest and tight abdomen that he was trying to hold in despite his gym body.

  Being lighter skinned and of Irish descent, she contrasted with his tanned skin; but the girl had a sleek body with muscles toned from both working out and being created from her werewolf transformation. Bending down to replace her bottle made her calves tighten and her tight rear end was tantalizingly before him in the process. By the time she stood back up to look up slightly to see his eyes, some of the sweat beading on his forehead wasn’t just from his workout.

  “So you think that I have talent?” the girl questioned in such a way that the man wondered if she still meant fighting.

  “Y-y-yeah, of course,” he stammered as the woman put him off of his game.

  Some of the other men were watching and were both amused at their friend’s getting in over his head and wishing that they had been brave enough to talk to the beautiful woman. She was barely dressed exciting the men as the beauty brushed at the base of her sports bra to remove a couple drops of sweat moving the cloth to show a miniscule bit of extra skin. Followed by her playing at the top of her shorts revealing that she wore no underwear that could be easily seen; Charlotte seemed to be intentionally trying to turn them on even more.

  “You seem fast and pretty strong for a girl, er, woman,” the fighter struggled to get his words back under control.

  Charlotte released her ponytail a moment before shaking out her hair as he spoke. As she replied, her arms were lifted to pull the dark locks back into their band to secure a new tail. “Strong for a woman, that sounds a bit condescending. If I were a fighter, would you discount me because I am a girl?”

  “We don’t get to fight girls around here, but I just meant that you are stronger than you look.”

  Nodding without appearing convinced, Charlotte shocked him and asked, “So you think that you can teach me something new?”

  “Y-yeah, sure, I’m Bobby by the way,” he said extending his hand.

  “I’m Charlotte. So you’re training to become a pro fighter?” she asked suddenly seeming interested in the young man. Lena and Nick watched the girl as much as the other fighters and he was a bit worried by the interaction. The woman had been acting strangely all morning long.

  “You’ve known her longer than I have, but that doesn’t seem normal to me,” he said quietly to Lena. “She’s been acting a little off all day and I swear she keeps putting on more perfume every time I see her.”

  “What perfume?” she asked unsure of what he meant.

  “You can’t smell it? She’s wearing a fragrance that’s pretty strong even though it smells good. It seems like she goes away and she puts on more of it. I don’t know why, since she’s a werewolf and her nose must be more sensitive than mine,” Nick mused curiously.

  Lena on the other hand was left shaking her head. “Maybe my senses just aren’t as good as yours, but I haven’t noticed any perfume on her.”

  “You didn’t smell perfume in the car?” he asked looking at the girl incredulously.

  She shook her head and replied, “Nothing unusual. I smelled th
e new car smell of your BMW more than I did anything else.”

  A couple other fighters had come to join Charlotte and her new trainer. She seemed to be enjoying rubbing up against him as he attempted to show her some new holds in a gentler way. The attention from the other men just seemed to goad her on in her seductive actions. Nick had never noted the dark haired girl being overly flirtatious over the months he had known her. They had been to night clubs on occasion and the beauty did draw attention, but she had always remained somewhat reserved.

  “It’s not a full moon for over a week,” mused the voran as he watched the girl trying to figure out what was going on with her. He realized that if it was something to do with her being a werewolf, then he would need an expert. “Can you keep an eye on her while I make a call?”

  Not wanting to get in her mentor’s way, Lena shrugged before Nick hurried to the locker room. He just hoped things didn’t escalate. If it was a werewolf thing, then the voran didn’t want to see where this would end.

  Using a number that had been hard to get from its owner, Nick auto dialed his contact for all things werewolf.

  “Nick?” the voice questioned sounding rather surprised.

  “Hey, Eric, how are you?”

  “Like you really care,” the man replied without heat as he added, “I can only guess that this is business and not pleasure. What is it?”

  Not wanting to speak of one of the former members of his pack, since they were once on his kill list; Nick took a breath and tried to ask the question without directly referring to Charlotte by name. “Is there something in a werewolf’s chemistry that would suddenly make them change from their normal nature?”

  There was a pause before a rebuttal question returned, “Changed how? It’s obviously not a killer wolf thing since it isn’t a full moon.”

  “Someone shy is coming out of their shell in a strange way. It’s almost like they’re another person today,” he managed to avoid naming the woman in particular.

  “Let me guess, Charlotte’s acting unusually horny out of the blue?”

  Another pause sat before he confessed, “Yeah, and I smell a perfume on her that’s strong, but Lena can’t smell a thing.”

  There was uncontrolled laughter from the other side of the phone making Nick regret calling the pack leader. Eric was much older than the rest of his pack. While they had never talked about where they came from or how old they were, the voran had a feeling that the wolf could be over a hundred years old as well. While Nick’s upbringing had been that of a southern gentleman, Eric was much more crude and rough around the edges; though much of that could be the years of the wolf clawing at his mind.

  When the laughter ended, Eric informed him, “We’re having the same problem with Katie today.”

  The name struck a chord with Nick. Katie had been the patient of Logan’s who had infected the man changing the siblings’ lives forever. But the fact that both women were basically turned so close to one another, made him ask, “Are the other females having the same problem?”

  “Nah,” Eric replied casually, “this thing only happens in cycles. Katie and Charlotte turned the same year, so it’s not exactly surprising that they’d experience the need at the same time. It’s the wolf side that seems to need to mate. If she doesn’t get it out of her system by the first full moon, you get to see more of this for another month.”

  Stunned by the news that only seemed to amuse the werewolf leader more in his silence, Nick asked, “So she’s looking to mate? Does she have to have a child or is she just looking for sex?”

  “Mostly the sex, if she doesn’t get pregnant by the second moon of spring you’re safe, at least from her wolf urges anyway. She’s still a human woman as well, so Charlotte might have other needs and the full moon can make those emotions greater each month too.

  “By the way, congratulations,” the man finished with a laugh being intentionally vague awaiting Nick’s inevitable need to clarify.

  “Congratulations for what?” he asked closing his eyes waiting for the bomb to drop.

  “Well, normally only other werewolf males can smell a female’s scent. Humans usually can’t distinguish it at all, though it might make them notice her more. Other females can’t usually distinguish it unless they’re fighting for a certain male’s attention, then they’re fighting for dominance of a potential mate which can get pretty ugly.

  “So anyway, if you can smell her pheromones, then that means she considers you a potential mate.”

  Groaning a curse made Eric laugh even harder, but another question made it into his stunned mind anyway and he asked, “How are you dealing with Katie, if she’s going through the same thing?”

  “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.