Asanni (27 page)

She pressed closer. “Jack, don’t let me
suffer anymore. Make love to me.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
Her hot breath felt like burns on my skin.

“Astrid, you know we can’t. Now would already
be too late anyway. You are about to transform.”

“How about a quickie?” She managed a smile
through another wave of pain. “Or a bit of touching, making out.
You know what teenagers do.”

Boy, there was nothing in the world that I
would have wanted more than to take her bathrobe off and love her
until there would be no pain, just sweet, sweet pleasure.

“Maybe some oral sex,” she continued.
“Wouldn’t hurt if I practiced it a bit. What do you say?”

I swallow hard, trying not to imagine her
practicing
too vividly. “Stop it,” I said firmly. “Once your
spirits are connected, you’ll be welcome to use me for improving
your skills as much as you want.” I gently pushed her back on the
pillow and rose. “I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Jack.” She stopped me. “Come closer, I want
to tell you something.” She reached for my hand and pulled me down
beside the couch. “Don’t ask me how I know. I just know. When we
have sex for the first time, my spirits will link. We should do
that close to the change, but don’t wait until the full moon rises.
That’s too late, the pain is too strong. You’ll see tonight how
fast I shift. If you’re not around, we need to wait till the next
month. And Jack...” She pulled my head closer. “There’s something
else you need to know.”

My heart threatened to jump out of my chest
as she started whispering another set of instructions into my ear.
Very kinky instructions.

“Are you sure?” I stuttered, gasping for air
and laughing at the same time.

“Ask Ellida Morgaine, I’m sure she will
confirm it.”

“You expect me to discuss sexual positions
with Ellida Morgaine?”

“Then take my word for it. It’s logical.
Basically your wolf’s dealing with another wolf, and that’s how
wolves copulate. Your wolf needs to convince me to join my human
spirit, right?”

“I’ll keep your tips in mind, Astrid. And I’m
relieved to see that you also have a strong logical side.”

“Oh, Jack, when you’ve lived with Ms. Spock
for so many years, logic is your middle name… Please bring me
something to eat.” She glanced through the window into the soft
early night. “I’m always hungry before my transformation.”

AFTER SHE ate, Astrid insisted on moving to
the bedroom. She was in constant pain, and I felt helpless and
frustrated. “It’s coming!” she groaned suddenly. “Leave the room
now!”

“I’m not leaving! I’m staying with you!”

“You’ll leave, Jack!”

“The hell I will!”

“Get out!!!”

These were the last words I heard. With a
great effort, Astrid crouched on the middle of the bed and took off
her robe. Her breathing was fast and labored, interrupted by
painful groans, first softly, then more heavy, until they mingled
into a single roar as powerful as a coming thunderstorm.

My own transformation was fast, faster than
any other werewolf I knew, but it still took a few moments during
which I was able to actually see how my bones and skin changed into
another form.

I heard a tearing sound coming out of
Astrid’s body. Fascinated and speechless, I saw how her white body
turned briefly first into an undefined bloody mass, as if some
unknown power had turned her inside out, and the next moment a huge
wolf erupted from it.

Stretched across the bed lay the biggest and
the most beautiful bleithast I’d ever seen.

“
Hey, Jack
.” I heard her soft voice in
my head.

“Hey baby,” I muttered, mesmerized. “You
okay? Are you hurt?”

“
I’m fine. A bit tired.”

I was finally able to move. I took her head
between my hands and buried my head into her soft, reddish fur. She
smelled wonderful.

She rested her head between my neck and
shoulder, her favorite place. I could hear how her heart gradually
slowed down to a steady, strong rhythm. Her breathing was deep and
regular.

“
I’m okay, don’t worry so much… Oh, it is
easy to talk to you! Sorry I was naughty before.”

“You were wonderful. I love you, Astrid.”

She nudged my chin with her muzzle. “
I
love you too, Jack. Tell me about me. There is no mirror here. I’d
never wanted to see myself before.”

“You are a magnificent wolf, Astrid. You are
huge, you are about my size, and I am a big wolf. ”

“
Extra-large size, huh?”

“Among werewolves, size matters,” I explained
stroking her fur gently. “Bigger wolves are stronger, more
powerful. Alphas are usually the biggest wolves in a pack. You are
an Alpha female, love, like it or not.”

“
Oh, I think I might like it, after
all.”

“See your fur? It’s almost the same color as
your hair, only more reddish. That’s why I think you’ll end up as a
redhead.”

“
My eyes?”

“Light amber. They’re beautiful, baby.”

“
You really like me, then?”

“Do I ever!”

“
Can we go to the living room?”

“Are you okay walking?”

“
I think I am.”

She cautiously jumped down from the bed and
paused for a moment stabilizing herself on her legs.

Not until she firmly stood on the floor was I
able to grasp the whole magnitude of her size and beauty. She
reached above my waist. Her body was long and strong, with firm
back and sturdy legs, and more than twice her human weight. She
walked with natural elegance, holding her head straight and ears
erect and forward. She held her tail vertical and slightly curved
toward her back. Her body, unmistakably female, revealed a dominant
wolf. No doubt there.

Before I reached the door, she’d lifted
herself on her back legs and grabbed the knob with her front paws.
She opened the door on the first try and headed toward the living
room.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, assessing her
carefully. She looked weary, but not hurt.

“
Not really. I’m thirsty, though
.”

I poured water in a bowl and placed it in
front of her. She drank and then, with a girly movement, cleaned
her muzzle on her front leg.

“Astrid, I’m going to change, too. Would you
like to watch?” I said.

The golden eyes looked at me for a few
moments. “
Yes
.”

I started removing my clothes. Astrid tilted
her head and fixed her amber gaze on me. “
Now I’ll finally see
you naked, and I won’t remember a thing. Rotten luck!”

I laughed. “I see your sense of humor didn’t
stay trapped somewhere there with Ms. Spock.”

“
Lovely. I’m very pleased
,” Astrid
said as I took off my underwear. A smile lingering in her eyes
traveled to her lips. She bared her long, white teeth in a
semblance of a smile.

My change was longer and far less dramatic.
It felt rather like a mild growing pain. It tickled more than it
hurt.

“I’m sorry to spoil your fun, Astrid, love,
but here I am.”

I always transformed from the bottom up,
ending with my hands, fingers and head. That kept me in an upright
position until the moment I could easily lower myself onto my front
legs.

I glanced at Astrid. Her eyes were wide open
and filled with love.

“
Jack Canagan, I sincerely apologize for
telling you that I didn’t want to have puppies with you. Now I’ve
changed my mind. Can we start now?”
She paused and tilted her
head to the other side, still assessing me. “
Generally speaking,
we can do it as wolves, can’t we?”

I laughed. “
You think about sex all the
time, Astrid. Well, providing we are both in wolf form, yes, we can
do it, but just for fun. We don’t reproduce in wolf form... Wanna
go outside? There is a little pond near here. Let’s go there. You
can see your reflection on the surface.”

We walked out side-by-side,
shoulder-to-shoulder. I was right: she was almost as big as I was.
I’d never seen another female werewolf so big, not even close. Her
werewolf power was proportional to her physical size, and that
meant it was also enormous.

I usually liked to run in my wolf form, and
sometimes transformed just to do that. But tonight I was happy to
have a stroll through the woods with my girlfriend. It was our
first date.

“
Astrid, are you tired?”
I asked her
again. She was quiet, but her heart thumped in a strong, healthy
cadence.

“
Oh, I’m fine
,” she reassured me.
“
Actually, better than ever before. I have much more
energy.” She turned to me, baring her teeth. “
You understand I’m
trying to give you a smile, don’t you? You are the main reason that
Astrid stopped fighting me, her wolf side. She’s been prejudiced,
and she’s ashamed of that.”

“
Don’t be silly. That’s an order,”
I
said, smiling, unable take my eyes off her.

I heard her earthy, deep laugh. “
You can’t
order me, Jack. But you can always politely ask me, and I’ll
consider everything you say.”

“
Well, technically I can. Alpha males
outrank Alpha females. I’ve already explained that,”
I said,
anticipating her reply.

“
I’m an
Ellida,
I outrank
everybody!”

“
You are also my mate, which means I’m the
boss. Technically.”

“
If that’s what you want. So you won’t ask
me to play reverse roles, ever?”

“
Oh, here we are again, more naughty
thoughts. May I ask something personal? When did you, ahem, last
time...?”

“
You may not! None of your business,
that’s all I’m going to say
.” She giggled. “
Jack, when I
flip-flop back, please tell me what we were talking about tonight,
just in case I don’t remember a thing. I’m enjoying it so
much.”

“
You won’t believe when I tell you how
horny you are, but I’ll do my best.”

WE STOPPED by the little pond. The night was
quiet, with a tiny breeze that rustled the tips of the pines and
spruces. The sky was cloudless, and the moon shone bright, a round
silver swell on the sparkling ink-blue horizon.

Astrid turned to me and locked her dark eyes
with mine. “
Jack, what do you see in my eyes?”

I looked deeply into her two dark pools,
losing myself in them. “
I see myself, love.
”

“
That’s the right answer
,” she
whispered, and turned her head toward the smooth, motionless,
watery mirror. For a long while she stared into her reflection,
tilting her head occasionally from side to side, to catch a better
glimpse.

“
I am pretty
,” she said quietly, and
then I heard a soft chuckle, “
even my nose doesn’t seem too long
anymore.”

We sat beside the pond, on the soft, rustling
dry grass.

Astrid fell asleep. Her head rested
peacefully on my shoulder. She inhaled slowly, and I could see her
strong chest rising with each breath. I breathed in her scent until
I was almost dizzy, and then, glancing at the moon above, closed my
eyes and ran to find Astrid in my dreams.

ASTRID THOUGHT I’d been overprotective and
she was often annoyed. When I sensed four vampires closing in on
us, for a brief moment I was angry with her. “
Do you still think
I’m exaggerating!?”
I wanted to yell. Or maybe I did. I felt
unbearable, paralyzing fear, like never before.

And then the cold rage took over.

SHE SENSED them, too. We still couldn’t see
them, but two of them were coming from behind, and the other two
were approaching us from the cabin. According to their smell, they
were relatively young male vampires. Some leftover trash from
Warren’s legions, I was sure.

“
Astrid, can you run?”

“
Not fast enough.”

“
Stay in your wolf form…”

“
I can’t change back before tonight… Jack,
they came for me. They need me alive. You run and bring
help.”

“
No goddamned way, Astrid! I’m not gonna
leave you here!”

Then we saw them. They looked like ordinary
young men in their jeans, wind jackets and sneakers, the two from
behind joining the other two in front of us.

“The red dog must be the bitch,” said their
leader, a tall man with a stiff, expressionless face. “She can’t
throw her spells in her wolf-form, but be careful. The bitch is
huge, and we need her alive and unhurt. Which means we need to get
rid of the dog first.”

I pushed the panic back, and concentrated on
them. Four vampires wouldn’t be a problem if I didn’t have Astrid
beside me. She couldn’t run fast enough, couldn’t hide, and didn’t
know how to fight.

“
I can fight, Jack,”
she said as if
she could read my mind. Her voice was calm.

I let out a low, threatening snarl.

“Your babysitters aren’t coming,” the tall
vampire said. “They have their hands full of cardboard boxes. They
should drive that truck straight to Copper Ridge.”

“Seth may accept it as your dowry,” a vampire
on his right side said, laughing at his own joke.

My heart jumped. “
Astrid, they don’t know
about Tristan and Liv!”

Astrid smirked. “
It seems so. But then,
Liv and Tristan don’t know about them, either.”

I wasn’t so sure, although I couldn’t explain
why.

They were coming closer to us. “
Stay
behind me,”
I ordered and put myself between Astrid and the
vampires.

“Listen! What do I call you, witch or bitch?”
the leader said, and his soldiers laughed. “Why don’t you just come
with us, and I promise we won’t touch your boyfriend. He’s free to
go.”