Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf

Innocent Devil's Harem | Chapter 12-3: Urgent Problem

“Or maybe I’m overreacting?” Gabriella wondered hesitantly, referring to her disclosure about her feelings for my housemate.

I shrugged. “I mean, I guess it’s just because the whole idea doesn’t seem realistic, so my mind automatically wants to write it off as an impossibility.” I paused. “And honestly, I don’t want you to be scared, so I have no problem with that, if you want to sleep in her room, instead of alone in mine.” I was then pensive. “Granted, if you do that, then I’ll probably sleep in my room, just in case I do start getting weird ideas.” I frowned. “I’d rather be behind a locked door if I’m going to be transformed. And of course my friend won’t try unlocking it if you’re not with me.”

Gabriella nodded slowly. “Okay, then that’s what I’ll do then. Hopefully she’ll be okay with that, because I really don’t want to sleep alone.”

I ran my fingers through my hair. “I’m sure she’d prefer that over us sleeping together. Or at least, over the possibility of it happening.” I glanced at her. “Obviously, if you’re in the room with her, then she knows where you’re at.”

She nodded, only to unexpectedly grin. “See?” she said excitedly. “You really are getting more used to me! You couldn’t even talk about this stuff before, and here you are looking completely normal.”

“Huh,” I commented, realizing she was right. “I guess I am.” I then frowned. “But please still be careful, especially around Serenity tonight.”

Gabriella nodded confidently. “I will. I made a promise to keep your secret, and I fully intend on keeping that promise.” She then did a salute at chest level. “Scout’s honor.”

I scoffed, shaking my head. “What in the heck was that?”

She grinned. “I don’t know, but it was cute, wasn’t it?” she said playfully.

“Sure,” I offered, grinning when she pouted and stuck her tongue out at me. “Okay, now let’s be serious though. You’re making my chest start to gray.”

“Oh, okay,” she said with mock disappointment. She then frowned for real. “Sorry, by the way. About admitting at dinner that we had slept together. I just wanted to get him off your trail, and couldn’t think of anything else that would be believable.”

“It’s okay,” I replied. “It was really awkward, but it was a smart decision, since he was convinced we were hiding something.”

“Sorry about that too,” she replied quietly. “I felt like I really screwed up when he pointed it out.”

I shook my head. “No, I think you did fine. More than fine, I thought you were pretty amazing. He was the problem, not you. I don’t think a normal person would read so much into our glances and other nonverbal body language. Serenity certainly didn’t seem to notice, and she’s a pretty observant person.” I sighed. “And, at the very least, you handled yourself a lot better than I did.”

Gabriella nodded slowly. “Thanks. And you did fine too, but I think you’re right. He was just really observant. Plus, based on what he told you when you went outside, it sounded like he already thought it might be you to begin with.”

“Right,” I agreed. “So nothing to be sorry about.”

She smiled warmly at me, and then focused straight ahead again.

“Also,” I continued, prompting her to return her gaze to me. “Now that I think about it, I think he was testing me from the moment we met. When he was helping with the deer, he stopped pulling less and less, until I was pretty sure he wasn’t helping at all. He was probably trying to see if it would get harder for me, and of course I didn’t even seriously consider acting like it did.” I sighed. “And he noticed there wasn’t a blood trail either, meaning a hunter would have shot the deer right in our front yard. Granted, I gave him an excuse, but all those little things added up, I’m sure. Not to mention, how the deer died.” I scratched the back of my head briefly. “It would be a great shot for a hunter, but also probably wasn’t the best choice, given that it apparently is my MO.”

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She nodded. “Yeah, but you were doing all that for Serenity to see, not him. We had no idea he was going to be coming over. And if he hadn’t, then no one would have thought anything different about the deer, or how it died.”

“Yeah, but then I didn’t think about the water temperature either, when I was washing my hands. Extreme temperatures don’t bother me, and I didn’t consider that it was hot enough to almost scald a person.” I sighed. “Just a lot of stupid mistakes.”

She reached out like she was going to rest her hand on my arm, only to just pat me once instead. “Well, I think it’ll be alright. If he really just wanted to thank you, then we shouldn’t have to worry about it becoming a problem.”

“Yeah,” I agreed simply, sliding down in my seat a little.

“Don’t beat yourself up too hard,” she continued. “But thanks for making me feel better,” she added with a grin. “Clearly, I was perfect in comparison.”

I scoffed playfully. “Jeez, thanks.”

She laughed then, only to grow more serious. “Let’s just hope he really meant what he said, about only wanting to thank the Impaler. It’s good you didn’t admit it, or else we may have discovered that he was trying to bait you.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” I agreed. “But I wouldn’t have admitted it either way.”

She smiled. “It really does make me feel special, you know – knowing your secret. Like, the fact that you haven’t even told Serenity is kind of a big deal. Granted, I know you might have avoided telling me too, if possible, but I’m still happy to be the only one who knows.”

I gave her a warm smile. “Well, I’m glad. You are special.” I reached over and intertwined my fingers in hers, since we were driving down the backroads now.

Gabriella kissed the back of my hand briefly, before rubbing it along her face. She then kissed it again and sighed in contentment, pulling my hand into her lap. I didn’t take it back until we were turning onto our road, a little gray underneath my clothes, and wanting to be fully normal and controlled when we arrived.

However, as I pulled into the driveway, the hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood on end, an uneasiness settling over me as my senses became focused.

Superficially, everything looked fine, with Serenity’s car parked in its usual spot, and yet my instincts were suddenly on high alert, an itch appearing in the back of my mind even before I fully understood why I felt like something was wrong.

Gabriella must have noticed the abrupt shift in my demeaner, because she spoke up right away.

“What’s wrong?” she asked urgently, her gaze quickly following mine to the house. But there was nothing to see.

I hit the gas, speeding up for a second, before slamming on the brakes next to my housemate’s car.

“Something’s not right,” I hissed urgently, popping open the door. “Stay here and lock it, understand?”

I didn’t wait for a response, slamming it shut even as I smelt her panic escalate.

Gray was already creeping up my neck as I bolted for the front door, finally registering that I couldn’t hear a heartbeat.

Not in the house, not in the surrounding trees.

There were no humans in the vicinity, other than Gabriella back in the car, and yet Serenity’s vehicle was in the driveway, untouched as if she were home.

And then the other smells – unfamiliar smells.

Another person had been by recently, someone I’d never smelt before, along with a faint trace of something with a chemical scent lingering in the air.

When I reached for the door, it was unlocked.

Shoving it open, the chemical aroma strengthened just slightly, the additional smells and sounds further confirming that no one was home.

Nothing was amiss, everything completely untouched, minus the fact that my best friend wasn’t present, who Gabriella just talked to not even fifteen or twenty minutes ago.

Dammit!

Rushing to the kitchen, desperately hoping for some sign of where she might be – possibly hoping to find some scent that I could follow, beyond her own, prior to me looking for her by air – I froze solid when I laid eyes on the table.

A note was lying on it, being unfamiliar paper, with unfamiliar scents.

I dashed over to read it.

I have Serenity. I know WHAT you are. You have one hour to find her alive. After that I’ll leave you a trail of pieces to collect for her funeral. Have fun looking.

Instantly, my body fully shifted, my fist slamming downward in rage before I even knew what I was doing. An earsplitting CRACK filled the room as the whole thing split in two, erupting in half and smashing into the floor with another boisterous crash.

The motion sent a tiny black object clattering against the floor as well, appearing to have come from underneath.

Reaching down to snag it, I realized immediately what it was – a microphone, and it had Nick’s scent all over it, looking like it was placed underneath the table right where he’d been sitting.

Bastard!

Enraged, I crushed the object in my hand just as I heard a vehicle on the main road swerve wildly into our driveway, sliding into the grass before getting on the gravel again, racing down the long path. Rushing to the window, I saw it was Nick in the driver’s seat, my sharp eyes being able to see him even despite the blinding headlights aimed at the house.

I didn’t even care anymore, not in this moment, when my best friend’s life was at risk!

Damn it all!

In a flash, I bolted for the door, the floorboards cracking under my abrupt movement as I abandoned all concern for restraint. The only thing that mattered now was getting to Serenity as fast as possible – and murdering whoever the hell took her.

Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf