The old lady at the stove mumbled another insult as she slammed a pancake onto a plate with all the strength her mottled arms could muster.

I pretended not to hear.

Jeremy, who sat next to me with his wheelchair scooted close to the dining table, didn’t pretend quite as well. His jaw clenched, his skin growing darker as he flushed. Just like he’d done at the diner the night before. It was still cute.

A plate dropped in front of me with a clatter, jerking my focus back in time to see bits of scrambled egg bounce off my plate.

“Gramma!” Jeremy hissed through his teeth. “Please!”

Gramma shot him a withering look before returning to her abuse of breakfast.

Jeremy flashed me a smile. His eyes spoke of apology, even if he didn’t dare voice it. It didn’t matter to me.

As a wanderer, I was used to the disdain of others. As a woman, I was used to the attention of men, most of it attention I’d rather not have. So, while I was more than used to Gramma’s brand of treatment, I remained surprised at having followed Jeremy home. Even if he’d assured me he had little feeling below his waist, or that he lived with his grandmother, mother, father, and brother. I’d run into stranger lies, and amazing liars. Maybe I’d finally been alone too long.

The rest of the family appeared from a hallway, taking their places at the table and taking their turns judging me in my low-cut halter top and shredded jeans. Jeremy’s father, sitting at the head, scowled in my direction. His mother, sitting to his father’s right, settled between a welcoming grin and a snarl. His younger brother, obviously still new to the idea of puberty, sat across from me and gave me his best debonair smile.

I beamed back. His mother’s face went pale, her lips twisting like she’d just ate a sour grape. I coughed to cover a chuckle. The kid was a good ten years too young for my tastes, but the chance to mess with haters wasn’t something I could let slip by.

Gramma plonked down more plates in front of the new arrivals, mumbling her criticisms the whole way. “Bringing a tramp,” plonk, “into this house,” plonk. She shuffled back for two more plates. “Thought we raised that boy better.” Plonk, plonk.

She eased herself into her chair, which so happened to be directly across from Jeremy’s father, and to my left. Lucky me.

Her eyes shot venom.

I returned to ignoring her, staring at my plate as if I hadn’t eaten in weeks. They probably believed that, anyway. The savory-sweet smell of pancakes and eggs settled in, causing my stomach to growl loudly. Illusion complete. Hell, even I believed it.

I inhaled the food, only after thinking about how easy it would be for hateful Gramma to put strychnine in it. I really was slipping.

“Wow, you were hungry. Need some more?” Scraping punctuated Jeremy’s question as three chairs pushed away from the table and three uneaten breakfasts. Jeremy looked at his family and frowned. “Hey, wait a minute. I haven’t introduced anyone.”

“Sorry, son,” his father said. “I’ve got work to get to, and so does your Mom. Theo, get ready for school.”

Younger brother Theo, who had been grinning at me between bites, smacked the table with one hand. “But, Dad, I’m not done eating!”

His father saw his defiance and raised it two table smacks and a glare. More eggs jumped off plates. “Theodore, you’ll get up and get ready, or so help me…”

Theo shoved away from the table and stomped off, muttering under his breath. The family certainly had issues.

Their mother sighed and gave Jeremy what I assumed was a pleading look. “Don’t you have work today, too? Finish up.” Her eyes darted toward me, then returned to Jeremy. I got the hint. “I’ll help you get ready when I’m done.”

Just like that, Jeremy and I were alone. Gramma hadn’t bothered saying what she had to do. Probably get away from me before she vomited, same as the other two. Kudos to her for not coming up with an excuse.

Jeremy sighed, pushing his surviving eggs around his plate. “I’m sorry. They’re not usually like this. I’m not sure what’s up with them.”

I had a few ideas, but I was smart enough to keep them to myself. “So, you have work today?”

His face lit up as he smiled. “Well, you know how spring goes. Illnesses flying around, little brothers bringing home who knows what. Why, I think I feel a fever coming on. Wouldn’t want to spread that around, now would I?”

I laughed, a tug in my chest reminding me why I followed him home in the first place. “Oooh, daring, aren’t we?”

He leaned over, his breath on my ear making my breath hitch in my throat. “I’ll need you to help me out, though,” he whispered. “Leave for a bit. I’ll text you when everyone’s gone, and we’ll have the place to ourselves for a couple of hours.”

Hmm. I guess Gramma did have somewhere to be.

I brushed my hand up his arm on impulse. “Sounds fun.”

He blushed and sat back up.

My face grew warm in response. I quickly pushed away from the table and turned away. What the hell was wrong with me? I walked out of his house, slamming the door for good measure before stomping down the block. Only some of it was an act. As my confusion built, so did my anger.

This was all so stupid. I didn’t do things like this. I’d known Jeremy for what, a whole day? Now I was sleeping in his house, dealing with his cold-ass family, and going back to him alone in an unfamiliar place. Red flags and alarm bells all around.

Finished stomping around the residential area, I leaned against a red brick wall. I couldn’t decide if the empty serenity of the early morning streets was a good or bad thing. I felt so tense, I’d probably snap the head off someone trying to have a conversation with me, anyway.

I ground my teeth. I should leave. Get the hell out of dodge. My gut had served me well for years, so why was I waiting here like an obedient dog? Oh yeah, because my gut was just as confused as the rest of me. It wanted to cut and run, and run back to Jeremy in equal amounts.

Maybe he had drugged me. No, I felt too clear-headed for that, didn’t I?

I continued to argue with myself, the heat of the sun soaking into my skin as it climbed higher in the sky, warm and comforting. I didn’t realize I’d dozed off until a buzzing in my jeans nearly made my heart stop.

I scrambled for my phone and checked my texts.

They’re gone, was all he’d typed. Not ominous at all. Yet, ominous or not, off I went, trudging back to his door with an odd mix of trepidation and excitement roiling in my stomach.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

I’d barely touched the door before Jeremy pulled it open. “Hey, you came!”

“I... uh... yeah.” The surprise in his voice threw me further off guard and made me want to give him a hug. Weird.

He moved back to let me in, a shy smile playing on his lips. “I picked out a movie for us to watch.” He motioned toward the couch. “It’s one of my…” he paused, grimacing. “You know, if you don’t like it, we can watch something else.”

I laughed, further making him squirm. His awkwardness was endearing. “Is it that bad?” I plopped down on the couch and grabbed the movie case from the coffee table. “Oh.” It was an action movie. Guns, explosions, a girl. The kind of stuff you’d expect on a twenty-something man’s shelf. The way he was acting, I’d expected something else. “This is fine.”

I scooted back, patting the cushion beside me. “You going to watch it with me, or just watch me?” I cringed inwardly. Yikes. I really had been alone for too long.

Jeremy laughed, some of the tension bleeding from his face. I grinned back as he maneuvered his wheelchair over to the side of the couch and swung himself up beside me. I stared at the flexing muscles in his arms. He had a lot of definition.

“Now who’s watching who?”

I shrugged. “I guess it’s mutual.” Something tickled the back of my nose. Something familiar, yet not. Something I wanted more of.

I leaned into Jeremy’s shoulder. The tickle grew stronger, deep, musky. My hands grew minds of their own, tracing patterns across his arms, up his face, and down his chest.

“Tala….” My name died on his lips as he gave in to my touch.

By the end of our two hours, I’d learned a couple of things. First, little feeling didn’t mean no reaction. Second, whether because of gentlemanly self-control, or simple anxiety, he couldn’t bring himself to touch me back, despite his obvious interest.

I couldn’t say I was disappointed. On the contrary, when he told me he’d leave his bedroom window open when he went to bed, I found myself counting down the seconds. My confusion and trepidation had vanished, replaced by an eagerness I never knew I needed, but never wanted to let go.

*****

The smell hit me before I reached Jeremy’s window. Blood. Lots of it.

Jeremy!

I hit his bedroom floor faster than my intelligent side could tell me what a dumbass I was.

Jeremy’s room looked like a hurricane had hit it. Pillow stuffing, bits of wood that were once furniture, shredded blankets. Even his wheelchair lay overturned in one corner, one wheel twisted beyond recognition. Scratch the hurricane. It was more like a bomb. An angry one.

I crouched low, the tickle in the back of my nose returning full force. I sucked in a breath and held it, my head spinning. The smell wasn’t so mild anymore.

A voice cut through the silence, sharp and tinny. “Hello, hello, are you still there?”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention as I crawled toward the bedroom door. I stuck my head out around the frame. I’d wanted to see who it was. What I saw instead jumped my pulse into overdrive.

Red splashed the hallway as if a macabre artist had thrown paint on the walls. Thick, crimson paint that ran and dripped, smelling like copper and death.

“The police are almost at your location, ma’am.”

My gaze slingshot back toward the voice.

“If you’re still there, hold on.”

A bit of panic seeped into the words, but not enough for what I saw.

The phone!

I hissed, shooting around the corner and into the living room.

The landline phone I’d forgotten about dangled from its cord. Gramma lay on the floor within arm’s reach, her curled gray hair strangely immaculate in the pool of blood and bodily fluids around her. Two more bodies lay on the couch I’d shared with Jeremy. I had a good guess who they were, although what was left of them gave me no clues.

Sirens screamed from the distance, getting louder by the second. This wasn’t good.

I was out the door quick, but not quick enough.

A police car squealed in, an officer out of his car with his gun trained on me before it stopped.

Impressive training.

“Arms up where I can see them!”

I obliged, mentally kicking myself. Why hadn’t I gone back out the window? One day with a guy, and I’d lost all my brain cells. But not just any guy, my less intelligent side whispered.

Mr. Well-Trained closed in as more police cars skid to a stop. He never reached me.

Something huge smashed into him. Loud cracks and crunches announced his quick, if not painless, death.

I froze. My heart leaped against my ribs as my limbs shook.

In front of me stood a creature covered in dark fur. A wolven head snarled atop a gorilla-like body as wide as the front of the cars. It caught my eye, rising from its crouched position into a hunched-over perversion of a human on two legs. It was easily nine-feet tall.

My breath stopped as a chill ran up my spine. Thick musk rolled over me, the same I’d been smelling all day. “Jeremy?” I whispered. No answer came. I didn’t need one.

My feet moved of their own accord, rushing me into the soft fur of his stomach. I clutched at him, breathing in his scent. Tingles covered my body, driving my heartbeat to new heights.

More shouts. The police were closing in. Perhaps they’d decided to come save me. Idiots.

Jeremy’s arms wrapped me in a vice grip, swinging me off my feet.

Gunfire exploded, hitting Jeremy with dull thuds. I smiled as he roared. Mere bullets couldn’t kill him. Oh no, even now I could hear the plink as the wasted ammunition hit the concrete. They’d only made him mad.

“To the woods,” I told him.

Jeremy cradled me. He spun toward the police, barreling through the flimsy humans and vehicles. Both flew away like paper, crumpled and a mess.

Jeremy hit the street, breaking into an awkward lope. His form, his true form, was incredible in many ways, but it wasn’t meant for fleeing.

I stroked his fur as he continued his flight, doing my best to ignore the growing electricity in my core. “I can hold on myself. Let me go, I can help.”

Jeremy growled, clutching me tighter.

“Trust me.” I spoke with honey, slow and sweet.

His grip loosened.

I scrambled up to his shoulder, swinging myself over to his back while keeping my arms wrapped around his neck. I leaned into his ear and whispered ancient words. Words of power. Words with no meaning in human tongues.

Jeremy’s limbs stretched, thinned. Their broad, razor-tipped hands and feet slipping into the oversized paws of a canine. His frame likewise shifted, until I was astride a creature indistinguishable from a wolf, save that he was the size of a horse.

Jeremy never lost momentum. His blood remembered, his blood knew, just as mine did.

I ran my hands through his fur and gulped in his musk. Tingles turned to prickles.

No, not here. I pushed it back down. It pushed back. “The forest. We must get to the forest.”

Desperation leeched the sweetness from my words, yet put a fire in Jeremy. His stride lengthened to its max, his lungs bellowing hot air into the night.

Sirens sounded in the distance. I locked my eyes on the horizon in front of us. Did I see green?

One more turn, a leap between buildings, and we hit the undergrowth with a crash.

Relief flooded through me, quickly replaced by overwhelming need. I gasped out more ancient words. The surrounding air bent and warped, pulling us in as my arms sprouted pale fur.

I rolled from his back, hitting familiar grass and familiar scents. Home.

I gave into the call, my frail human body giving way to my true self. I turned in time to meet Jeremy, his own form returned to truth.

We collided, melded. I rode the storm, gaining height until I catapulted into the heavens.

The world of man stretched before me. Metal, plastic, parasitic. Once, they’d hunted our kind to near extinction, but in the end we were smarter. Screams echoed up from the cities. A vision. A promise, one I drifted down on.

Mankind had grown lazy, careless, bloated. They’d forgotten about Mother Earth’s hunters.

A toothy grin split my muzzle as I nuzzled Jeremy’s neck. Our children would feed well on the human herds, our future assured by the seeds of predators planted in the blood of prey and hidden from sight.

Mother had suffered the parasites for far too long.

Time to clear them out.