Standing Before Monsters (Vorans and Vampires) Read online

  “Sorry, Lena, I guess we’re going to have to cut our training short this time,” he said to the girl closing the distance between the women and putting himself between the werewolf and the men behind him. “I checked with Eric and it’s happening with Katie as well. It’s their time of the month in a big way.”

  As he tried to steer Charlotte towards the changing rooms, the woman reacted angrily and struck at him. Being wary of the touchy girl, Nick caught her arm and restrained her hands. Unfortunately, his hands remained in sight of a werewolf’s instincts. Biting his hand, the voran winced feeling two very distinct points on his skin as her fangs came out in her anger.

  “Did you really just bite me?” he questioned under his breath into her ear. “Your fangs are out, woman. Take control of yourself.”

  The fight went out of Charlotte in an instant. Her eyes revealed fear knowing that her human teeth couldn’t pass on the curse; but when any of her werewolf teeth or claws came out, no matter what time of the month, they could pass on the curse to others. A voran was immune thankfully, so her bite would do nothing other than mark his hand.

  She had drawn blood and as he released his hold, Charlotte kept her mouth clamped over the skin though no longer to bite him as she willed her fangs to recede. Her eyes looked ready to cry as her demeanor turned apologetic. Like a normal woman on hormones, she could crest and fall from anger to fear and sadness in an instant.

  Leaning into him after releasing her bite, Charlotte let him hold her close as she rested her head against his shoulder. She whispered, “What is wrong with me today? I know better, but I just can’t seem to control myself.”

  “We’ll talk about it after we leave,” he answered quietly rubbing her back even as he felt her hands hug him low around the hips. Afraid that she would lose control again, Nick separated to look her in the eyes. Tears were barely held in check even though he could see their beginnings. “Go get changed before something else happens.”

  The smell of her perfume had lessened with her jolt back to herself, but Nick could smell it worrying over what that might mean.

  Lena led the taller girl past the men and heard Charlotte’s meek ‘sorry’ as she passed by. They were fighters and not usually ready to let such things die so easily, but they let her go without further incident.

  Chapter 4- The Itch You Can’t Scratch

  Sitting in the third vehicle he owned, a blue BMW 3, Nick and the girls pulled out to begin winding their way back to the apartment. He could smell her pheromone scent from the passenger seat beside him and wondered how Lena could possibly not smell it. Eric had stated that most women couldn’t as well as regular humans and even some werewolves. Those who could smell it were compatible or desired mates of the female in heat, or something to that extent, the voran thought with a sigh.

  “What the heck was that?” Lena finally asked as she leaned forward between the seats. She hated to be the one in back, but there was something going on between the other two suddenly that seemed to need to be resolved. Still, the girl couldn’t leave the matter alone since it had happened right in front of her.

  Even Charlotte was forced to look at Nick unable to answer her own meltdown. Sitting in her red top and tight shorts, he wondered how her personality change could perplex the person undergoing the metamorphosis; but then again werewolves losing control of their minds and bodies during the full moon meant that there was another side to the humans trapped in their curse.

  “Eric says that female werewolves lose control during a mating cycle. Apparently Charlotte has entered heat with the spring weather,” he answered not bothering to pull any punches. The morning was beginning to get to him also apparently, either that or the woman’s scent was beginning to have some form of affect on him as well. The second idea brought the problem back directly on him and Nick didn’t like the implications.

  Turning crimson in embarrassment, Charlotte couldn’t even speak while Lena leaned back starting to laugh uncontrollably. “Oh my goodness,” the younger girl cried with tears in her eyes, “you can’t be serious. I am so sorry, Charlotte.”

  “Are you sure?” the afflicted woman questioned quietly feeling the warmth in her cheeks and able to look down at the redness on her exposed chest. While she had never been one to shy away from showing some skin, which is why she had the top anyway; being unable to stop herself was like when she was controlled by the wolf and moon. Charlotte hated being out of control and her curse brought that upon her every month. Now she was facing something potentially worse.

  “He said Katie is undergoing the same problem.”

  That brought the woman’s eyes up to his looking more worried, “Really? What did Eric say would happen to us?”

  Looking uncomfortable, like a father having to tell his child the birds and the bees; Nick felt a blush warm his cheeks as well. “You’re looking for a mate, or sex, he wouldn’t be clear on that. You put out pheromones to attract other males.”

  “You said that you could smell her perfume,” Lena added being rather unhelpful to the man she wanted to mentor her. He noted that and began thinking of ways to torture her for being a pest even as he struggled to avoid looking more embarrassed. “Does that mean she wants you for a mate or you want her?”

  Gritting his teeth, Nick answered as close to Eric’s belief as he would admit, “According to Eric, in theory we are compatible.”

  Like she had missed this part of the embarrassing story, Charlotte questioned aloud though perhaps as much to herself, “Who did Katie attract? She’s got several potential candidates in the two houses.”

  “You two were close?” Nick asked not ready to tell her what he suspected.

  “Not as close as...” the words faded into nothingness. “She didn’t find anyone in the houses, did she?”

  “Eric says no, but maybe no one has come out and said anything to him. Apparently she started today also, so your pattern is the same.”

  Shaking her head even as he tried to steer her away from the same conclusion he had faced, Charlotte refuted his claim as she answered, “No, Katie always liked my brother. She never tried to make a big thing out of it and I think part of that is because she feels guilty for what happened to him... to us, but like me she would never want any of the others. That only leaves Logan, which is why he snuck away without telling us who he was going to see.”

  “You think that he knows why she wants to meet with him?” Lena asked acting like she was hearing some plot to a soap opera.

  Again Charlotte shook her head, “No, he would have never seen this coming, but he likes her too so it will be a good match. If it just takes smelling the pheromones to get him to act, then it won’t take much to push them together.”

  Her eyes strayed to Nick as he drove and sighed. The conversation lapsed into silence for the last part of the drive. Even Lena maintained the silence only broken by what was playing on the radio at a quiet volume.

  Once back in the apartment, Geni looked a bit surprised by their early return. “You’re back earlier than I thought, but it’s all finished, Nick,” the little blond stated as the three entered to see his maid and friend. “If you don’t need me anymore today, I think I’m going to head back. I have a paper due Friday that I should probably get to work on,” the girl finished with a warm smile.

  Nick did his best to place a smile on his face, as he said, “Thanks, Geni. What would I do without you?”

  Shrugging, she replied, “Live in squalor most likely, especially with all these houseguests you’ve accumulated.”

  Charlotte didn’t look amused and Nick could smell the perfume increasing once again. “Well, I could put them to work on cleaning up after themselves, but then I wouldn’t have anything to pay you for,” he chuckled as the girl came over to give him a quick hug. “I’ll see you in two days then.”

  Nodding, Geni gathered up Lena before the two left leaving him with Charlotte all alone. The woman was rubbing her arms and the level of her perfume was increasing in intens
ity.

  He frowned and thumbed towards the door, “You’re getting jealous over Geni now?”

  Looking surprised by his comment, Charlotte asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, come on. I can barely breathe with all those pheromones you are putting out. How can you be jealous of her? We aren’t even together and I’m not a werewolf,” he reminded her sounding more perplexed than vexed by the situation. Maybe it was the perfume acting on him, but Nick found that he did like the woman. On the other hand, he was so close to Nicola that the man didn’t want to mess that up either.

  Like she was suffering from a rash, the woman continued to rub at her arms as she tried to explain, “I’m sorry, but I’ve had a bit of a crush on you, I guess. I mean, I know you and Nicola are dating; but I’ve enjoyed spending time around you.

  “I was never comfortable in the pack house. I mean, I enjoyed some of the girls, but the males could get a bit creepy the way they looked at me. None of them ever dared try anything with any of the girls, if they weren’t interested. They would have had Eric to deal with if they had, even if we couldn’t take care of them our selves.

  “Just being here, with you and Logan has been such a nice change. I guess that just makes me feel closer to you and, of course, you were the one that came and saved us that night in the forest. When I opened my eyes and saw you, I was frightened for only a moment and then you threw me a shirt to cover my nakedness. I know that you saw me, both that way and as a wolf also, but you didn’t recoil or take advantage either.

  “I like those qualities and you. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

  A moment passed as Nick tried to think of what to say, but suddenly Charlotte cursed as tears began to run down her cheeks. “Ah, this is so ridiculous! I itch all over. Can you get my back?”

  Seeing her discomfort and wondering what new reaction she was going through from her bizarre werewolf physiology, Nick rubbed her shoulders and felt the tension caused by her reaction ease. “Try my arms, please,” Charlotte asked of him seeming more curious about something than needing him to scratch her. He merely rubbed the skin with his palms gently and as he did the woman shook her head and sighed.

  “Did Eric say if we imprint on the one who can sense our pheromones or something similar?” she asked refusing to look at him. The girl still rubbed her front including having to scratch at the flesh under her top.

  “No, why?” Nick asked suddenly worried.

  “Everywhere your skin touches me, the itching stops. It’s like we blend our oils or something and it goes away,” the woman sighed. “I’m allergic without you. This is so ridiculous. Damn Katie for bringing this curse on us!”

  He wanted to tell her that she didn’t mean it, but he knew that she hated the curse, if not the woman who had accidentally brought it on her and her brother. She wasn’t a hateful person, but this curse had robbed her of the life she had wanted. The wolf ruled too much of her world to rejoin civilization and the pressure of her preferred profession was as stressful as her brother’s. They doubted that they could maintain their composure as either a lawyer or doctor.

  Suddenly she squirmed in his hands and Charlotte pulled up the halter top. Her back was too him, but as he attempted to back away she grabbed both his wrists forcing his hands over her breasts to cup them. Releasing a contented sigh of relief, the girl kept her hands over his. He didn’t need to move them, she simply needed the contact.

  Unable to help himself from asking, he questioned into the back of her head, “Really?”

  “You have no idea. I was about to run to the kitchen to get a knife and cut them off they itched so badly.” She looked down and joked, “Sorry, girls.”

  Glad that it was daylight and Nicola couldn’t walk in and stumble across a very awkward situation, the man shifted his face to her shoulder. The brief touch made her shiver in relief. “You know I can’t do this all day and night. First off it’s really inappropriate and secondly I have things to do that will take me away. You’re going to need sleep at night. Am I going to have to lie in bed next to you all night or you’ll itch yourself to death?”

  Shaking her head, Charlotte replied, “I don’t know. Maybe I can try taking a bath a minute. Maybe washing off my skin will settle me down the same way?”

  Keeping her back to him, Charlotte removed his hands and leaned down to pick up the top from where it had landed on the floor. Artfully keeping him from seeing what he had just held, the woman hurried into his room and the master bath. He had a tub and shower combination. After nearly two months of living with him, Charlotte had even managed to let him bring in some of her favorite shower and bath items. It was like sharing with a wife whom he had never married. His vanity was half covered with makeup, facial scrubs, shampoos and conditioners and dozens of items that he didn’t even know what she used them for in there.

  Hoping her plan would work and free them from having to virtually become Siamese twins; Nick sat and opened his computer. He wanted to distract his mind and try not to think about the beautiful woman bathing in his master bath. The feel of her warm, smooth skin was different from Nicola’s, he mused. While the vampire was as soft and smooth to the touch, her skin was cooler. Even the taste of his blood couldn’t bring a vampire up to a normal human temperature.

  Still, Nick knew that he loved her and touching Nicola was just as pleasurable as Charlotte had been. The problem was that he admitted he enjoyed Charlotte and not just getting to touch her or look at the dark haired beauty. With or without her pheromones trying to pull them together, the man was attracted to her. His body could love both, but his mind dictated that he choose just one.

  “Nick!” the cry from the bath sounded like Charlotte was in great pain.

  The laptop was tossed aside on the couch as an afterthought as he hurried to find the woman. She was crying as she tried to dry her skin rapidly. Seeing him at the door, the female werewolf basically threw herself at him while still naked. Rubbing against him Charlotte explained even as her frustration made her voice come out in choked sobs, “It was... like acid... b-burning my skin. I couldn’t take it anymore. I’ve never felt so much pain in my life. Turning into a wolf hurts less, Nick.

  “I don’t know what else to do,” the girl cried as she finished and turned towards him hugging her body to his.

  He had just seen the beautiful woman in her entirety, and not for the first time. She was clean of hair as if shaving meticulously could stop her from being reminded of the wolf she would turn into whether she wanted it or not on the full moon. Being early spring, her skin was still porcelain white due to her European ancestry.

  Shaking his head, a sudden thought dawned on him. “Hang on, I have an idea.”

  He stepped back and removed his shirt before tossing it to the nude woman. “Put it on.”

  Without touching her again, he waited for Charlotte to pull his shirt over her. It wasn’t long enough to cover her crotch and rear entirely, but that wasn’t his worry as much as the other result he desired. “Do you still itch where it’s touching you?”

  Thinking only a moment, the girl shook her head. “No, but it might just be that I touched you a moment ago.”

  “How about your legs?”

  “My lower legs still itch though not too badly,” she admitted. While her upper body and thighs had rubbed against him, Charlotte hadn’t finished rubbing all of her skin against him.

  He went into the bathroom pulling his bath towel from a hook. It hadn’t been washed since they had left before putting it into the hamper. Nick knelt in front of her trying not to look at her exposed areas as he concentrated on her lower legs. He rubbed them down quickly and rose once more to look in her brown eyes.

  “How does that feel?” the man asked knowing that he had avoided touching her with his hands so that only the towel had been against her skin.

  “The itching is all gone, though it’s probably more being held back for now,” Charlotte confessed looking more at ease.

  Going
to his gym bag, Nick tossed her the shorts he had worn for only half an hour. The girl made a face at the idea and he shrugged, “They may not be as tight and flashy as yours, but they should stop you from itching.”

  After pulling the shorts into place for modesty’s sake, Charlotte asked, “Do you think that we beat all the symptoms? I mean, if we’re stuck together, since it looks like I am bonded to you anyway.”

  Again he was forced to shrug, but this time because he couldn’t truly answer the question. Nick tried though as he said, “We’re only on day one. Eric seems to believe that if your needs aren’t met by this first full moon, you may be in heat until the next one.”

  “Gah, in heat! I can’t believe that my body’s more like a dog than a girl. Now I get to have the same problems a human girl has and get to add a wolf’s being in heat. This sucks!”

  He couldn’t dispute the complaint, but at least they had found a stop gap on the pain so he wouldn’t have to be around her at all moments of the day. If Eric’s beliefs were true, then neither of them was ready to go to the final extreme. He liked Charlotte, and had to admit she was very attractive; but being forced into sex by a strange werewolf problem wasn’t the choice either of them wanted to make.

  An hour later found the two on the couch. Charlotte was reading a magazine while Nick was looking through the internet for more possible leads on the feline hunters, as well as checking some of the local police and FBI sights he wasn’t supposed to have access to, while checking to see if they had left any evidence around the city of late. While the voran had contacts in a few precincts and even the FBI, he hated to go to his sources and allies at the drop of a hat without trying his hand at detective work.

  He had been a part time reporter off and on for most of the last century. It was a job that helped steer the general population from the truth about some of the darker things that were best left to the imagination and not their beliefs. While some people needed to know or had their run ins with vampires that Nick couldn’t make pretend to not have seen what they had seen, those often became his contacts and many owed them their lives. Some owed them their careers as well, since revealing to their superiors that there were vampires involved was as good as saying aliens had landed. Having someone who knew and understood the truth was often a relief outlet that let people get on with their lives. He was also the one they called when something supernatural happened.