WeresDigest (16 page)

He had never wanted someone this much before. Never
lost control so quickly and completely. He plunged his tongue in and out of her
mouth in the same rhythm that he pushed into her body. As they neared the crest
together, she clung to him and sobbed for release. He let out an unearthly
howl, as he could no longer hold back the tide within. His seed burst into her,
hitting her tight muscles with just enough force to send her over the edge into
oblivion. It was quite awhile before either of them moved or even attempted to
move. When Diego finally lifted his head to glance at his new lover, he was
aghast to see that her shoulders and neck were smeared with blood. He jerked
away in shock, not comprehending what had happened. He reached out to touch her
and noticed that his hands were also bloody.

“I did that to you.” he whispered, horrified by the
truth.

At his words, Marissa opened her eyes. “Did what to
me? Gave me the most pleasure I’ve ever experienced? Well, if that’s what you
are referring to, you are correct.”

“No, I scratched you. More than scratched you, I
gouged you!” he hissed angrily as he pointed to the thick lacerations on her
upper shoulders.

Marissa followed his gaze. She picked at the bloody
spots with a slight wince. “Ok, so they hurt a little bit. I’ll heal. It was
totally worth it,” she said with a laugh as she curled up closer to Diego.

Diego resolutely pushed her away and rose to his feet.
“I will not do this. I will not hurt you. I’m so sorry Marissa. What we shared
was truly magical, but it can never happen again. What if I hurt you worse next
time?”

“You worry too much! I chose to be with you, so I
chose to assume any risk involved. You shouldn’t feel guilty! If I had a
choice, I would choose to become like you. I’ve always dreamed of the life you
live. While I was a child reading those legends of the Takinaw wolves, I would
close my eyes and picture myself wild and free just as you are! Never did I
imagine that my fantasies may actually be real!” Marissa passionately made her
case, desperately trying to make him see reason.

“Our lives aren't fairy tales or fantasies! My people
are half beast, half-human. We don’t totally fit into either world! Why would
you wish that upon yourself? Why would you wish that on anyone? What if we
conceived a child together? Would it be fully human like you, or a half-blooded
beast like me?” He flung the words angrily at her, hoping to crush her
infatuation.

“I wouldn’t care! If we had a child, it would be our
child, and that is all that would matter. I would love it with everything I
have, and I know you would too! I always knew I wasn’t normal! I knew it was
unusual to live in my own world filled with fantasy creatures and superstition.
But I know that this, what you and I have just shared is right. I feel it with
every fiber of my being. I was made to be with you! Do you think it is just
coincidence that I knew about your people, about your secret? That I fell in
love with your tribe long ago? It's not chance, it’s fate! How can you deny it,
deny us?” She begged tearfully, praying that he would just give them a chance.

For a moment, Diego stood in silence, staring off into
the distance. When his eyes finally met Marissa’s, they were full of sadness
and regret. “I'm sorry, but I can’t do this. I won’t. You deserve better. You
need a real human.” With those final words, Diego turned his back and walked
swiftly away. He heard her sobs growing louder, even heard her shouting his
name, but forced himself to keep walking. It’s for her own good. He repeated to
himself all the way home, trying to ignore the emptiness he felt inside, the
pain that increased with every single step.

* * * *

When he woke up the next afternoon, Diego felt like
shit. He had tossed and turned most of the night thinking about Marissa, and
hadn’t gotten to sleep until after dawn. He hadn't felt this bad since his
college drinking days. Wolves don’t metabolize alcohol very well, so werewolves
get one hell of a hangover if they get drunk. Since he hadn’t woken
up
until almost noon, most of the day was already shot. He spent what was left of
the afternoon reassuring himself that he had done the right thing by leaving Marissa.
His head agreed, but he had one stubborn son of a bitch of a heart. He wanted
to see her just one more time. He fought off the impulse for hours, but finally
gave in just after sunset, when he would normally have been watching her. He
figured it couldn't hurt to just go check on her and make sure she was all
right. He would make sure she never saw him, so that she would never be the
wiser.

He hid in his normal spot and watched for her, but she
never came. He sat there for hours in his wolf form, waiting, hoping to catch a
glimpse of her one more time. At first, he thought maybe she was just late, or
was afraid of running into him, so would come at a different time. By midnight,
his hopes were dashed. He knew she wouldn’t ever be coming again.

He started to head home, but found himself wandering
towards her house instead. He convinced himself that he was just making sure
she was ok. It wasn’t anything personal, he just felt a bit of guilt over
hurting her feelings. When he arrived at her house, he crept up to the living
room window and peeked inside. This wasn’t the first time he had watched her
through this window. In fact, he often followed her home after her evening
expeditions and watched her putter around the house. There was something so
warm and cozy about seeing her in her home element. He often dreamed about what
kind of life they could have had together if he were only normal.

Tonight, however, he didn’t get those warm, fuzzy
feelings. As he watched through the picture window, all he could see was a
beautiful girl, curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace, crying herself
to sleep. The living room looked like a hurricane had blown through. There were
bits of broken bottles, broken lamps, empty tubs of ice cream, and far too many
used Kleenex tissues. Obviously, she was going through all the stages of grief.
Anger, denial, depression, bargaining, he only hoped soon she would get to
acceptance and find some peace. Feeling as low as a human, or even a dog, can
possibly feel, Diego trudged over to Marissa’s front door. He curled up in a
ball on the welcome mat, still in wolf form, and fell asleep.

* * * *

Diego awoke to find the object of his dreams rubbing
his belly. Marissa kneeled before him, her eyes still slightly puffy and rimmed
in dark circles. Obviously she hadn’t slept well. Of course, neither had he due
to the visions of her in pain that haunted his dreams. He rubbed his muzzle
against her face and licked her cheek. She laughed and smiled sadly. “I was
surprised to find you here this morning,” she told him as she stood to her
feet.

Diego stretched and then changed into human form. She
offered him her bathrobe to cover himself. “I came last night to make sure you
were ok. When I saw how upset you looked, I couldn’t just leave, so I bunked
out here for the night.” He answered honestly, as he shrugged into the robe. It
was much too small for him. It barely covered any of the essentials below.

“Would you like some coffee?” she asked distractedly
as she stared unashamed at his exposed flesh.

“Sounds like a good idea.” He agreed and followed her
inside. His cock was now hard and throbbing. Just being near her drove him
crazy, made him want to forget all the reasons why he had ever walked away. She
poured them both a cup of coffee and then led the way to the living room. They
settled onto the faded red couch together, much too close for comfort. He tried
to cover himself better, but it was no use. His dick was like a divining rod,
sticking straight up in her direction.

“I see at least some part of you has brains and knows
that we should be together,” she said acidly.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be with you. God, right
now I just want to drive myself into you until I lose consciousness, but I’m
holding off for your own good. You could at least show a little appreciation
for my amazing restraint,” he grouched.

“It’s not restraint, it’s stubbornness tied together
with stupidity,” she argued back. He stared into her forlorn emerald eyes and
mentally kicked himself for ever causing her such sadness. Why couldn’t she see
that things weren’t that simple? That he was dangerous to her, could even kill
her?

“This is pointless. If I stay, it’s just going to make
this harder. I don’t think we'll ever agree on this particular subject,” he
retorted, full of frustration and irritation at her naiveté. He stood to go,
hoping this time he could find the willpower to actually stay away. However,
before he even took a step away, she reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Don’t go,” she begged in a voice laced with tears.

Diego looked into her tear-filled eyes and knew he
couldn’t just abandon her again. He felt like such a heel for causing her so
much pain, but it was only because he wanted to protect her! Why couldn’t she
see that? “I’ll stay,” he promised warily, “but only to talk. I don’t even know
that much about you and I’d really like to know more.”

“What would you like to know?” she asked,
unconsciously wiping away the tears still rolling down her pale cheeks. As he
watched, he couldn’t help but wish he could lean in and chase those tears away
himself.

“Well, to begin with, what do you do besides bathe
naked in the lake every night, or is that your main source of entertainment?”
he asked wickedly, trying to make her laugh as he once again settled onto the
couch beside her.

“Are you complaining about my naked bathing?” she
asked coquettishly, fluttering her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

“Of course not, but I figured you probably did
something to pay the bills as well, unless you are a trust fund baby.” He gave
a swift glance around the room, taking in the well-worn furniture and the
shabby curtains. It definitely didn’t look like she had been handed down a
fortune.

“Well, believe it or not, I’ll soon be a college
professor. I was always fascinated with Native American legends and folk-tales,
thanks to my grandfather, so that’s what I studied, Native American History and
culture. Right now I’m student teaching while I earn my PHD, but it looks like
I’ll be able to take over the department when the current professor retires in
a couple years,” she answered, surprised that he seemed truly interested. Most
people got a glazed look in their eyes when she talked about her work.

“Sounds like you were really close to your grandfather
growing up. Is he still around?” Diego asked curiously. It seemed that the more
he learned about her, the more she fascinated him. He wanted to know
everything, to truly understand this woman who had so captivated him.

“No, he died a few years ago. This cottage was
actually his home. When he passed away and left it to me, I couldn’t sell it.
So I’ve lived here since then. I never even re-decorated…I just couldn’t change
anything,” she said sadly, gazing around the place with obvious affection.

Her admission made Diego look around the place with
new eyes. The furnishings that had at first seemed old and beat-up took a new
shape before him. He couldn’t help but wonder if anyone would care that much
about him when he died. Probably not if he was honest with himself. He never
let anyone close enough to care that much.

“What about your parents? You never mentioned them, so
I wondered if they live around here.” Diego asked trying to distract his mind
from the depressing loneliness he felt closing in on him.

“They died when I was very young. I don’t even
remember them. My grandfather was the one who raised me,” she answered quietly,
averting her eyes to hide the pain that shone there.

“I’m very sorry to hear that. My mother died when I
was eleven and my father left us way before that. There’s no doubt that
sometimes life sucks,” he admitted, surprised that he was opening up to her. He
usually guarded his thoughts and feelings like a mother bear guarding her cubs,
but there was just something about this woman that crushed all his inhibitions.
Maybe that was why he wanted to grab her and throw her on the nearest bed every
time they met.

“What about you?” Marissa asked, abruptly changing the
subject.

“What about me?” he asked, confused by the sudden
question and his own wayward thoughts.

“What do you do for a living? Is it easy to get and
keep a job when you are a werewolf?” she questioned playfully.

“Well, I’m really busy around Halloween,” he said with
a laugh. “But other than that, we only work for the tribe. We have to make sure
we keep the balance of power safe around here. We have a sort of love-hate
relationship with the vampires, so we make sure we keep a friendly eye on them
all.”

“So vampires are real too? Wow.” Marissa gave an
involuntary shiver at the thought. Without thinking, Diego reached out and put
a protective arm around her.

“This must be a lot for you to take in. But as long as
you have me watching over you, I promise that no man or beast will ever touch
you.” Diego almost growled out the words, his killer instincts flaring up at
just the thought of someone threatening Marissa.

Feeling his anger rising, Marissa quickly changed the
subject. “So where does your tribe get the money to support all you werewolves
if you only work for them?”