š²šA Howl In The Nightš²š
š¹(She’s Mine)š¹
š¼From Novel r0m@nƧĀ£š¹
šChapter 17š
š„Betrayalš„
~ Xavier ~
“You really think I should?” I ask, peering into Jake’s deadly serious eyes.
“Well, we don’t want your fans to boycott the club just because you aren’t there anymore,” he replies plainly, “this way, you can deal with them yourself.”
“Fine,” I huff, “but you better not auction me off in secret while I’m there. I know you… you’ll do anything for a bit of extra cash.” Jake is our moneyman, business-like with a wild side. I have absolutely no idea why the girls like him. Obviously they can tell that the green wads of paper in their hands appeal more to him than they do.
“Don’t worry, I’m not inhuman enough to do that… but that’s a great thought though. Imagine! We’d make 100,000 bucks off you for your last auction. They’d all be bidding like crazy,” Jake dreamily says, brushing a hand throu-gh his short, crystal white hair.
Without another word, I storm out of the kitchen, wanting to avoid one of Jake’s devious schemes. It’s not like I could pu-ll another “bĀ©yfriĀ£ndof the week” package anyway. Everything has changed since I met Mona.
I can ba-rely remember the Xavier from a couple days ago who could enchant any girl at all, all the while thinking that it was just a game. I was a true pla-yer then, toying with people’s feelings, ma-king them believe I cared. My behavior was a lot lazier, my existence almost meaningless. I was a lot meaner too, cutting off all contact with my bewitched clients when I gained another one.
How can mating change me so much?
Even if I want to morph back into my old self, the p@rt of me that wouldn’t give Mona a second glance, I can’t. Every tĀ©uƧh that she gives sets my heart on fire, ma-king my skin tingle. I can almost feel her emotions, like a throb in my che-st. Every p@rt of me longs to be by her side, to smell that truly intoxicating fragrance that has been there since the beginning.
Even the others have admitted her smell is above ordinary, although I’m sure it is heightened around me. With this added enchantment, Mona is so irresistible that her looks aren’t necessary. Just one word, one step closer so her smell is magnified, attra-cts me greatly. Her appearance doesn’t matter now, so unlike the hundreds I have d@tĀ£d in my lifespan.
Not that her appearance is as horrible as she thinks it is. What really makes her seem so ugly is when she is su-cked of self-confidence, convinced she is hideous. But if she straightens her back, tilts up her head, wears a little bit more fashionable clothing and smiles, then she isn’t ugly at all. Maybe that’s just a lovesick guy’s opinion, but to me, it’s absolutely true.
I walk down the hallway, pas-sing by Mona’s room and almost stĀ©pping. Mona doesn’t even seem grateful that I am being patient for her. She can tell I’m her true mate for life, and I know she is attra-cted to me. How couldn’t she? The mating practically f0rƧĀ£s you to fall un-der the other’s spell, Mona fighting valiantly but failing. I can see it in her eyes, the way she wants me. So why is she objecting every step of the way? Am I really that bad?
I suppose I am so detestable that she cannot allow me even a single k!ss. Mona can really bring down a guy’s ego.
I sl!pinto my room, walking to the closet and swinging it open. A plethora of stylish suits all hang, available whenever I want to be fancy. The girls like it better if I wear a suit, and it will be best to wear one anyway when we go. Unless they suddenly decide to throw eggs at me or something. I don’t know if something like that could ever get out.
Picking a dark gray one that accentuates the color of my hair and eyes, I tug it over my skin. It takes less than a minute to put on with my speed, my hands blurring.
A stupid idea comes to mind, and I walk to the door connecting my room and Mona’s. “Hey Mona?” I call, “you okay?”
There is a silence, a long one that stretches seemingly forever. “I’m… fine,” a whisper ba-rely louder than a sharp intake of breath emits.
“Will you come with us to Moonlight?” I invite, imagining the scenario. They would throw everything they got at Mona, shifting their hate from me to her. Especially since her appearance is lacking a little. However, I really want her by my side, to be close to the sweet smell that attacks my s-en-ses.
“I think I’ll pas-s,” her shaky voice replies, and I go sit on my be-d. I slide my feet on it, my head on the pillow, and stare at the ceiling. The slow ticks of the clock as the second hand moves ring throu-gh my head, a beat I can’t get out of my mind.
“Xavier!” Wes calls, “it’s time to go alre-ady!” I shoot out of be-d, slinging the door open. Suddenly wary, I troop back in, checking my hair in the mirror. A stray piece is sticking up, my hairbrush quic-kly attacking it. Now it is perfect.
Being flawless is essĀ£ntial when I am going to a place like this.
Wes, Jake, and a very depressed-looking Yi stand by our Mercedes, waiting anxiously for me. “Where’s Ray?” I wonder aloud. It’s not an auction week, so Ray is not required to come, but he usually goes anyways. He seems to enjoy time at the club, turning into a devastatingly handsome devil whenever he walks throu-gh those glas-s doors. We all do, for we know the more flir-tatious we seem, the more bucks those ladies will cough up.
“He’s in his room,” Jake lazily answers, “probably obsessing over the stock market again.” Ray is a hvge stock market guy. He is a master of figuring out which will skyrocket and which will plummet.
“Mona doesn’t want to go?” Wes questions innocently.
“No, she wants to go get pelted by wine glas-ses and whatever else they can get their hands on,” I reply sarcastically. Of course she would not want to go. She’s not exactly a social bu-tterfly. I was just stupid enough to ask her.
All four of us shuffle inside the luxurious and incredibly spacious Mercedes, Jake in the front seat with Wes beside him, then Yi and I in the back. I, at times like this, always feel like a celebrity, knowing that we are going to a place where people think us to be famous. I am so used to anonymity throu-ghout the week, except on our d@tĀ£s, that it always feels like a splash of frighteningly cold water when we take the first steps out of our Mercedes into a sea of wealthy fans.
The car gives a low, healthy growl, and then starts the smooth ride over to the club. For some reason, I have a feeling that I am like a pig being led to the slaughter. I probably won’t get out of the club tonight without a few scr@pĀ£s, bruises, and red tomato splotches. If someone’s feeling p@rticularly spiteful, I imagine they might pour their highly expensive drink on my head.
I’m looking forward to ending my highly successful career, though. Repeat customers, Meryl especially, have been kind of… possessive, lately. I have tried explaining to them that “bĀ©yfriĀ£ndof the Week” does not mean “bĀ©yfriĀ£ndof the Month” for a select few, but the meaning doesn’t exactly get across to them. They almost enjoy calling me and paying the $500 fine.
I lean my head against the tinted windows, looking into the baby blue skies. Clouds that are a de-ep, devastating gray are spĀ©tted across the horizon, symbolizing the dawning of a horrific thun-derstorm. I have always thought of clouds as a bruise, marring the otherwise perfect sky.
The sun is setting, rays of orange and red starting to shoot throu-gh the air. With the way this car is moving, it will be nightfall before we reach the club. I hate traveling by car; wolf form is so much easier. However, it burns so many calories, and we don’t have any meat to eat when we get there… ma-king us want to take a delicious human snack to ease our hunger. Which is definitely not good, especially with rich, snotty, and especially beautiful women practically throwing themselves at us.
Yes, traveling by car is certainly safer, but painful all the same.
Mona’s smell is dangerously small, the weakest it has been in days. I find myself sniffing for it, trying to search for the quic-kly-vanishing scent that enchants me so de-eply. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to leave her. I should have dragged her with us, forcing her to at least sit in the car. I don’t like leaving Mona with Ray also… even though he’s probably not going to do anything, anyways. Ray can be a hermit sometimes, staying in his room for hours doing who-knows-what.
The lush landscape around us, filled with tall trees, prickly bushes, and many colorful flowers, fades into a concrete road, trimmed gras-s, and stubby buildings as we reach the edge of our territory. We own practically the entire forest, earning both privacy and a great place to hunt. Rumors swirl around the surrounding area, some of which we start ourselves, scaring most people into fearing the forest more than death itself. We’re lucky Mona never heard those rumors, for then we would have a lot of explaining to do.
The hvge city looms before us after we reach the edges of the suburbs and inch along the interstate. Cars multi-ply, many old and beaten, trudging home from work. Suddenly, the T-word begins to develop. The word I hate more than anything.
Traffic.
bu-mper to bu-mper, never ending torture erupts in the blink of an eye, the overcrowded roads stretching endlessly. Our destination seems to grow farther and farther away as we sit, unmoving.
Ages seem to pas-s as Jake slowly maneuvers us throu-gh the throng of cars and trucks. Why does everyone have to use this road?! Why can’t we just use our wolf form?
Once again, I must say that I hate cars. Mona’s frightful story from a few days ago only reiterates this point.
Exactly as I predicted, the sky is a majestic, sapphire blue that is quic-kly morphing into a de-ep black by the time we reach the towering building, climbing almost fifteen stories in height. At the tĀ©p is the famed Moonlight nightclub, where you get a perfect view of the beautiful moon every Saturday.
We slide out of the car with grace, our movements fluid and enchanting, and the valet driver takes our car to the parking lot. It is time for us to bring the life to the p@rty.
The only thing is that right now, I feel dead. Without Mona’s aroma and my usual confidence, everything seems dark.
And Ray… I don’t even know what to think about him.
I wave away all doubt as I reach the fifteenth floor from the stairway, trying to focus at the matter at hand. The feisty wolves are right beyond the glas-s doors alre-ady, waiting for me. Jake shoots me a sympathetic look as I reach forward to grasp the handle.
“You’re dead,” are the last words I hear before doom strikes.
A plethora of lovely ladies crowd around me instantly, something I have grown to handle. Many new faces are around, made-up into oblivion. I instantly smile, trying desperately to veil the sudden discomfort un-derneath. I used to be right at home un-der these admiring gazes, but now they scare me as if I am a deer caught in the headlights.
A red-sequined dress clinging to a truly magnificent bĀ©dy slides my way, home to a nas-ty minx with de-ep chocolate eyes and voluptuous, plump redl-ips. “I’ve been waiting for you,” she says coaxingly, p@rting the women like they were the Red Sea, and then pu-lling me into a heartfelt embr@ce.
“I told you not to hvg me when I’m not yours! You know the rules,” I tell Meryl angrily, and she laughs.
“But Xavier… when I see you surrounded by those truly pitiful girls, I just have to save you,” she purrs like a kitten, pu-lling at my arm. I frown. “Is tonight auction night? For I am going to make you mine again,” she adds.
“About that…” I trail off as she tugs ferociously on my hand, pu-lling me into the shadows. Her bĀ©dy is pressed against mine as we are suddenly in a corner, annoying me more than alluring me like she hoped.
“How ’bout I buy you for life?” she offers a simpering grin, “I could offer a couple million.”
“You ask me that every time I come to Moonlight,” I complain. She stares at me intently, as if she is seeing me in a whole different light.
“Are you okay, Xavier?” she asks worriedly, putting a soft hand to my forehead. “You just seem… different. More tired than usual.”
“Actually, I am tired,” I admit, surprised that Meryl can be so perceptive. “I have an announcement to make.” I shrug away from her, heading back to my rich, adoring fans with increasing terror. Doom is upon me.
“EverybĀ©dy, gather round!” I quic-kly call, causing the crowd to thicken. Meryl f0rƧĀ£s herself to the front, watching me suspiciously. Wes gives me a thumbs up as I speak. “I am retiring from the bachelor auctions today,” I emit the dre-aded words, causing anger to ripple within the group. Shouts erupt throu-gh the room, every person staring at me with sad, and somewhat furious eyes. Meryl is starting to cry, tears flooding like crystals down her porcelain cheeks.
“Why, Xavier?” she asks, flinging herself onto me. With carefully hidden disgust, I pluck her off of me and put her back with the rest of them.
“Because…” I look to the sky, tinted with dark purple hues. There, hidden in the shadows of the night, is a perfect full moon, shining like the sun. It is so beautiful, ma-king me try to remember the last time we had such a spectacular moon. Why would Ray want to miss out on a wonderful night like this?
Suddenly, the pieces come together in my head, ma-king a whole. Fear fills my thoughts, blocking all else.
Tonight is the perfect night for an Awakening.
Everything is forgotten as I scrunch my nose slightly, wanting the slightest bit of a scent. Just to let me know how she is doing.
“Xavier?” the clamoring of voices, seemingly faraway even though they are truly very close, reaches my ear. I ignore them completely; finally snatching the bit of fragrance I have de-sired so.
Tinged with fear and distraught, the one scent eliminates my doubts once and for all. Mona has disobeyed me. Ray has betrayed me. She has, or will be Awakened.
Anger pollutes my blood, fury in my features. “I have to go,” I nearly snarl, trying to race away from them before I morph. Wes and Yi see the beast in my eyes with fright, trying to hold the girls back. However, one girl breaks from the crowd, running in her red sequins over to me as I push the elevator bu-tton. I tap my shoe impatiently. Elevators are another thing I hate.
“Xavier?!” Meryl calls, clinging to me like glue. I impatiently try to push her away.
“Not now, Meryl.” I can’t hold back much longer. The anger is changing me, working throu-gh my system, eliminating all.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she demands, staring at me angrily.
“You want to know?” I ask sarcastically, completely lost now to the devil boiling inside. “Fine then.”
Knowing how crazy I am, I morph into a werewolf directly in front of her, knowing exactly what is going to happen next.
There is a blood curdling scream as I race into the stairwell. Elevators are cra-p. They never get you where you want to be on time.
I zoom, my figure a blur, down the stairs, out the door, and into the street. My legs are pounding so ha-rd that I can ba-rely breathe. It is only a matter of seconds before I’m out of the city, and into our territory. I am traveling unbelievably fast, fas-ter than I ever thought I could run.
Just a few more seconds, the scent growing irresistibly stronger and repugnant from the terror, and I am in the bushes right before a small hill. Two figures are standing at the tĀ©p, one short, and the other majestically tall. The moon is hvge behind them, clear as can be, casting pure white light upon them.
“What I just gave you was an injection of Spier blood,” Ray informs the short girl as she stands awkwardly beside him. Traces of red in her hair can be plainly seen, her frown faintly evident.
“Ray, I don’t feel so good,” her relaxing voice, tinged with pain and anguish, speaks as she falls onto the ground. Ray immediately bends to be by her side, concern in his movements.
“There will be two hours of this, and then it will be all better. Don’t worry, I’m here for you,” he practically begs, taking her hand and holding it close. I feel a spike of jealousy at the way he is pu-lling it so near to his heart.
When the first scream rips throu-gh the night, Mona writhing on the green gras-s, I jump up from my hiding place, anger forgotten. “Mona!” I yell, racing over to her. I almost trip over the rocks and stones, introducing a quality most unlike me. I am never clumsy.
Ray stares at me, horrified, as I check her pulse. She is screaming almost constantly now, bent in horrific pain. “Is this normal, Ray?!” I demand, my voice uncannily high. All my anger begins to focus on the man that coerced her into agreeing to do this.
She stĀ©ps yelling as quic-kly as she started, now convulsing as if she is having a seizure. Her face betrays pain, tears running down her face in rivers. My tears soon join hers, ma-king a puddle in the ground.
“We will know soon,” Ray speaks finally, and I look up as if noticing him for the first time. Pure hate is in my features, and combined with a deadly inward beast to match. He is a walking corpse.
I pu-ll back my fist and punch him in the stomach with a mild version of my Earthquake Punch, causing him to stagger back. Soon he will probably be coughing up blood… one of the aftereffects of my hate-filled hits.
“I hate you!” I say angrily, tears flowing profusely. I feel like a mess. Everything is falling ap@rt. I know her movements are normal for a Seer being converted, but I am still afraid. She can still die.
I stagger back by her side as another scream rips throu-gh the air, wanting desperately to snatch her into my arms. Whispers of agony are in the air, enough so I can s-en-se it, just beyond my abilities to change the hurt. The tears are coating her face now like a mask, running down her nĀ£Ā¢k, her cheeks soa-ked.
I wrinkle my nose as her smell turns black, repelling even. Ray staggers back a little also, noticing the skunk-like stench she now carries.
Suddenly, her eyes glaze over, and she is completely still. My blood runs cold.
“You know you have killed her,” I look steely into his large green eyes, “she’s going to be gone forever.” I turn away and hold my head close to her heart. Only the faintest whisper of a heartbeat remains.
The soft forest air turns cold, causing goose bu-mps to rise on my skin. What can I do? I have never felt so helpless.
My mate soon will be dead.
I could tell from the minute that I met Mona that she was special, so the reality of her imminent death hits me a lot ha-rder than it originally would. She had a past with Shifters. Although she tried to hide it, she also possessed a caring heart and de-sired to help others however she could. In a small corner of my mind, I thought Mona would never fail. That there was no chance of her dying throu-gh an Awakening. I’m sure Ray believed this about her as well.
And here she is, before me, taking her last breaths.
I know it is truly too late for anything now, but I cannot help myself from trying to think of a way to save her. I try to think of any healing properties, such as plants or medicine, that we possessed at the mansion.
“Is there anything we can do?” I ask Ray desperately. I gr-ab Mona’s hand as I ask him, and alarm enters me when I realize her f!ngersare as cold as ice. It feels as if I am tou-ching a corpse.
“We can wait.” Ray looks away, obviously torn by the sight before him and the possibility of having Mona arise as a Spier, no matter how little the chances.
“Don’t lie to me, Ray. Her Awakening is failing! It is obvious to us both.”
“It’s not over yet,” he protests shakily. It is easy to tell that he is starting to think otherwise.
“I’m not kidding Ray. Tell me what I can do. We nee-d to save her.” My voice turns deadly, and Ray grows pale. A few minutes pas-s, filled with silence and anxiety.
“Xavier, I’m so… I’m so sorry.”
True despair takes over, leaving nothing to tame my insanity.
I must do something. I have to do something… it can’t end like this.
I take my pocket knife and slice my f!nger slightly. I can’t bring myself to cut her, so I just hold it over her mouth, which is slightly open. When the first drop of my blood tĀ©uƧhes herl-ips, she shivers, almost gagging.
Ray just stares at her and then me, dumbfounded. “You idiot!” He b!tt!gly whispers, his words like poison.
“Is she going to live, Ray?” I ask bitterly, “have you ever heard of something like this before?”
I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I can’t live without her. Somehow, I must keep her with me.
His words rip throu-gh the silence, condemning her. “Never.”
It is only my tears now, racing down my skin like liquid fire, burning where it tĀ©uƧhes. Mona is still unmoving, her eyes closed. Her skin is like an as-sortment of bruises, fading in and out. Her hair is thickening, growing straighter past her back at an alarming speed. Somehow, she is growing taller, her legs lengthening. Why is this happening? Werewolf blood is what enhances the person’s looks, not the Spier blood.
Does this mean that this crazy scheme is working?
We watch her in silence as she starts mild convulsions again, all the while her appearance changing ra-pidly. How can she have both symptoms? She can’t convert into both a werewolf and a Spier. That will surely destroy her.
I lean back in the gras-s next to her, tou-ching her f!ngers. Mona’s f!ngernails are sprouting from short stubs into a perfect size, and then stĀ©pping abruptly. I haven’t cut my f!ngernails in thirty-seven years.
I can’t bear much more of this. It is eating at me, tearing me ap@rt. The ground is we-t behind my headā¦ not that I care. It is probably just my tears, dancing across my face like an unnecessary amount of sweat. Ray just stands there, frozen. He is clueless, I can tell. No words amount to how angry I am at him.
I am reduced to nothing because of her, and indirectly, Ray himself.
She is finally still, after about twenty more agonizing minutes of these convulsions and morphing. Her che-st is moving, breathing. It is a little bit different from the first time, for this time she is only slee-ping. It is a wonder she has made it this far. My mate is strong.
I wait endlessly for anything from her… for a response, a tĀ©uƧh, or even a glance.
Still there is nothing.
It has been around an hour and a half of pure and utter torture for us both, and the clock ticks towards the eventual two. It might take longer because of the effect of the werewolf blood. I don’t know anything, and that is what’s killing me.
The minutes tick by as I bend my head into the gras-s, utterly defeated. I was stupid to think I could change anything with a few drops of werewolf blood. The result… is still unknown, and leaning precariously towards the outcome I desperately do not want. I probably guaranteed her death, adding some blood like that… why am I so stupid? Why couldn’t these doubts have occurred BEFORE I applied the blood?
“Xavier,” Rayās voice, soft and smooth, lingers over me. I ba-rely notice as a soft, delicate hand deposits itself on my head, smoothing my azure hair.
And then suddenly I realize whose hand that actually is.
I lift my head, catching Mona’s hand as it falls towards the ground. squee-zing it ti-ghtly, I use my hearing to listen to her heartbeats, starting back weakly, and then turning stronger with surprising f0rƧĀ£. Her eyes are still unopened, but a little smile is on the corner of her mouth. It is then that I give myself away to peace and the as-surance she is so graciously giving me. Everything will be just fine.
No matter what happens, Mona will be with me.
T B C