Sinful Instincts (Woodland Creek) Read online

  Fast-forward this story to the present and here I am, still in Woodland Creek, scratching off the days until my lease is up so I can run back to Arizona with my tail between my legs, in hopes I can get my old job back.

  Melanie, my coworker at Fibber McGee’s, spends half of our shifts complaining about her dates and the other half complaining about my lack thereof. I couldn’t care less about the male species. I personally fear that the second I find one, I’ll have a flashback of how much I want to take a sharp knife to Scott’s junk and become violent with my date. I’m sure it might be safer to stick to this love hiatus thing until I calm down. Which may be never.

  I make it to the corner and as I step into the street I dodge a car speeding down the road. I almost fall backwards, trying to catch my balance. “Slow down, asshole!” I yell to the back of the blurry rear lights. Woodland Creek is nothing like a metropolis. Nothing like Arizona. More like a town hidden between forests and more forests. Not sure how Scott even knew about this place. I cringe thinking about how much longer I have to spend here. The town which consists of your basics: one main street, the main library, the main car place, and the main bar. Blah blah blah. You know those towns. Everyone knows everyone, and as everyone knows, I’m the girl who was ditched.

  And since people in small towns like to talk, while I sat there in the dingy seat at Vider’s, every question was the same. “So, I hear you’re alone.” “I’m sorry to hear what happened to you.” And my favorite, “Are you looking for some comfort tonight, darling?” That’s when I tossed back my final drink and called it quits. Do I look like I’m looking for some comfort? No! Okay, well, a part of me might be... maybe just a little. Okay, fine! Yes, I am. It’s been three weeks since Scott left me, and it’s not like we were all that active before he left. He was acting so strange the first few days we were here, and then he was gone. Probably guilt for knowing he was planning on robbing and ditching me. Prick.

  Anywho, could I use a big bang? Duh, who couldn’t? It’s just too bad I’m so done with worthless men. They’re all the same. Useless. If I want an orgasm, I’ll use my shower head. I make a mental note to visit my shower when I get home and also to send a text to Melanie thanking her for nothing, because this night sucked. Like a good girl, I look left and right before I cross the street, making sure I don’t get froggered by a moving vehicle. Just as I take my first step, a hand latches around my neck and pulls me violently into the alley between two brick buildings.

  I make an attempt to scream just as a set of filthy hands covers my mouth. I only manage to scream into the palms as I’m dragged farther into the alley, where we’re more hidden in the darkness. I’m kicking and struggling against the strong arms, but it seems useless because my attacker is gigantic compared to my small frame. I hear a male voice laugh sickly as he throws me against the brick wall. My head bangs against the hard surface, causing my brain to rattle.

  “You smell amazing, pet.” My attacker purrs, bringing his face closer to mine. Starting from my collarbone, he drags his nose along my skin, smelling me all the way up into my hairline. He slowly releases his hand over my mouth. “What are you, hmmm? You smell so sweet.” His horrible breath hits my cheeks, his face hidden by the darkness of the night. His eyes, though. His eyes resemble glowing orbs.

  “Please. Please, don’t hurt me,” I beg. I really do not want to die tonight, especially not, God forbid, in this damn town. That would just be the final straw. Like, literally.

  “Oh, pet, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to devour you,” he replies with a sick smile. His free hand reaches into his back pocket, I assume for a weapon, since I’ve seen this bad movie before. I begin to panic because no matter how much I hate my life right now, I really don’t want to die. I need to calm down. Mainly sober up, because in my drunken state I swear his eyes are seriously glowing.

  Think... think... What would Wonder Woman or Black Widow do at a time like this?

  I take the opportunity while my attacker is fiddling in his pocket and bring my knee up quickly, hitting home with a solid crunch to the balls. He flinches, but not as much as I’d hoped.

  “Fuck!” My attacker hisses, releasing his hold on me while the sound of metal clanks on the ground. Recovering quickly, he grabs my hair and pulls me backwards as I scream and throw my hands into my hair, fighting to free myself. His grip only tightens and he drags me farther into the alley, tossing me into a pile of garbage bags at the back of the coffee shop. I cover my face to protect my head from further injury. Not that it matters, since it seems I’m going to meet my doom quite soon. I make an attempt to flee, but before I have a chance, my attacker is on me again. I scream at the top of my lungs for help, but it’s pointless since his hand quickly clasps around my mouth.

  “No one will hear you, pet. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. I asked what you were. Your smell, it’s not pure human.”

  Well, yeah buddy, maybe that’s because my scent of fear is overriding my dollar-store strawberry body wash. I try to struggle under his captive hold. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, mister. Please, don’t hurt me. My purse… it has some money in it. You can have it,” I offer, my voice shaky.

  “I don’t want your money, sweet girl.” He takes his hand and brushes it through my auburn hair. “I want what is inside of you.”

  ”WH—WHAT?” I stutter, totally freaking out. This guy apparently has had way more to drink than I have tonight. He slides his monstrous hand down my neck, dragging his long fingernail across my throat, indicating a slice line along my jugular. Oh, shit, that can’t be a good sign for my future. I struggle harder, not accepting this is the end of the road for me.

  “I look forward to such a sweet dessert, my pet.” He reaches forward, allowing some of the flickering street light to hit his face, and the image before me sends a wave of bile up my throat. The man holding me down is far from a man, but part beast. Some sort of animalistic creature. His eyes glow fiercely at me, while his teeth—oh, shit are those fucking fangs? And they’re dripping with slimy—oh, God, I'm going to vomit. But first, I inhale as much air as I can and begin to scream my bloody head off.

  My body erupts beneath him, convulsing to be free, but I fail miserably; I only end up expelling all my energy fighting his violent grip. “What the fuck are you? Please, don’t kill me!” I beg.

  His hold becomes more painful as something sharp—what I can only describe as claws—digs into my sides. I yelp in agony, trying to free myself. He grabs for my face and forces my chin up. I open my eyes—which I didn’t realize I’d been squeezing shut—but once I see the vision before me, I realize this might not be a bad side effect of the overindulging of booze. My throat locks with fright as I freeze, his teeth continuing to grow out of his rotten gums. He is panting heavily and saliva is starting to drip from his sneer.

  “This can’t be happening to me. This is a bad dream. I’m dreaming,” I wheeze to myself. I squeeze my eyes shut again.

  “Now, try and be quiet, my pet. I don’t want anyone to disturb me while I enjoy every little piece of you.”

  The real voice of the monster before me registers. This is all fucking real. Holy shit. Eyes back open, I fight to move my face to avoid the acid drip coming from his mouth as he descends toward my neck.

  Sin

  I’m getting close; I can feel it. The hairs on my arm begin to stand, my animal on edge, ready to rip through my flesh and attack. I’m heading down the quiet street, my keen hearing on alert. He’s even closer now. I can feel his power, and I know he is almost complete in his quest, to obtain the seven items I learned he was after that would offer him immortal power. The knowledge of what he is capable of now enrages me. I saw what the first artifact offered him—the ability to steal the souls from humans. To be so far in his pursuit, he is almost unstoppable. Soon, he will be. My jaw tightens, fearing I might snap a canine. I hear screaming in the distance. He has a victim again, and he is about to kill. I speed up my pace, knowing he’s within a h
undred yards. With every step, the air grows thicker. I make it past the closed tattoo shop and hear more screams of a female voice just ahead of me. A strange rippling inside my chest throws my body off-balance, the sound gutting me.

  He will not take another life.

  I take off running, my skin beginning to tighten. Turning the corner into a darkened alley, a huge blow of sensations strikes me, throwing me back. It’s then that I spot him. And he has a female against the concrete wall. His monstrous tongue is slithering up the girl’s neck, and I can smell the overwhelming sense of fear pouring off her in waves.

  “Zander!” I shout his name, and he flinches at my presence. The muscles constrict throughout his face as the sick smile I have grown to hate spreads upon his face. He grips the neck of the girl tighter, and it’s apparent she’s now struggling to breathe.

  He turns to face me. “Ahh... Roxsin. I see you have finally caught up to me. But as you can tell, I’m a bit busy right now, so if you can fuck off, I would like to get back to my dessert.” His eyes glow the deep shade of amber.

  Easily brushing me off, he turns his attention back to the girl. His dismissal of me sets my inner animal on fire, the beast inside me threatening to explode. This will be the last victim he will take; I will finally destroy him.

  “Let the girl go, Zander. It’s over.” I tread closer to him and his victim. The girl, her face covered by Zander’s large form, is shaking like a leaf under his secure hold.

  I begin to feel the unbearable tightness of my skin again. As my leopard hungers to release, Zander swiftly turns, taking the girl by the throat and launching her at me. My quickness allows me to catch her, bringing her quivering body into my arms.

  When her flesh connects with mine, an electric current blasts up my body, detonating an inferno inside me. My skin is scorching from the pull of this strange girl. What the fuck is happening? Becoming angrier at the unfamiliar sensations, I force myself to glance down just as she looks up, and the vision almost stops my heart.

  “It can’t be,” I utter gravelly. My intake of breath is loud, my gaze boring into hers. Eyes wide, I stare into a face the spitting image of Gabriella. It can’t be. How is this possible?

  “Ahh, so you see the resemblance, as well,” Zander taunts me, his voice dripping with malicious intent. He takes advantage of my distraction and lunges at me. I jerk into action and toss the girl into the nearby pile of garbage bags, hoping to lessen the painful fall. We both explode into our animals, and I pounce up and swing my hefty paw at his snout. I succeed in knocking Zander off-balance and take the opportunity to wrestle him to the ground. We roll into a ball, both trying to claw our way to each other’s jugular.

  We tear at one another until Zander easily gains the upper hand and tosses me, flipping from under me. I stumble backwards on my hind legs and immediately spring back into action. I make contact with his side, taking him back down to the ground, the hiss that expels from his throat telling me the blow hurt. I swing my head back, ready to sink my teeth into his side when his right paw raises, striking my flank. I feel his razor-sharp claws slicing through my fur, breaking skin. The full length of his claws disappear inside my flesh, as I feel the intense pain. I howl, trying to extract myself from his grip, but the weakness allows him to pin me to the ground.

  With his head swinging back, ready to attack, a scream from the side draws his attention. In a blink, a heavy board is smashing into his face, momentarily knocking him off-balance. I take the opportunity and jump up, my canines extended and ready. Zander doesn’t seem fazed by the blow and has taken his eyes off me, focusing solely on the girl. No. I won’t let him hurt her!

  My animal rages. I lunge forward with fierceness, but the gash in my side has me slowing down. Before I can make it to the girl, Zander reaches her first, surging at full speed. I watch as she lifts something she’s holding in her hand and a mist releases from the container, causing Zander to bellow and fall back. The girl tries to escape but as she runs past him, Zander swipes at her feet, tripping her. I watch in horror as she falls to the ground, banging her head on the solid concrete, losing consciousness.

  The madness inside me explodes and I dive forward, losing my stance as the pain in my side ripples through me, causing me to fall hard. I lift my head to see Zander taking off down the alley in escape. I start to run after him, but then I hear the moaning sounds. The girl. I struggle, wanting to take off after him. My mind is telling me to fight and kill, but my body is ordering me to go to the girl. I roar in anger at this force and watch as Zander turns the corner and disappears from my sights. Not again, my beast wails, the sick feeling of déjà vu hitting me. I turn to head toward the girl but before I make it, I collapse to the ground in another fit of pain.

  Emma

  I come to on the ground, my head feeling like it may explode. I sit up, placing my shaking hands over my scalp, feeling at the lump that’s quickly forming.

  “Holy mother fuckin’ shit,” I heave. I'm brushing my body for missing body parts or open wounds. When I find gashes on my side, I flinch. Bending forward to inspect the area, I see that my shirt is darkened and soaked. “Oh, shit.” I wince as my fingers brush over the claw marks down my torso. I battle to catch my breath and look around at the once again darkened space.

  What the hell just happened?

  What I just witnessed cannot be real. Humans, who—who just changed into animals. I shake my head. Okay, so maybe I do have more than just the one injury. And it’s a concussion. But I swear what I just saw was real. Two humans viciously transformed into beast-like animals. I know I’m not crazy, but they had spots. As in leopard spots. Okay—so, yes, I am completely bat-shit crazy.

  I’m searching the area for my purse, which seems pointless since I can’t see a thing. Clutching my throbbing side, I survey the darkness when I hear a groan coming from the corner, behind the dumpster. I jump three feet backwards, almost losing my balance. I grab for my heart which is about to beat out of my chest, looking back and forth for a weapon of some sort in fear one of those things might still be close.

  There it goes again. The groaning. My brain yells at me to run like hell. My curiosity pokes at me to see what’s behind the dumpster. My eyes search the ground for a weapon and I see an object by my feet. I bend down and grab it, lifting it to my eyes. A half-eaten corn cob. “Gross,” I mutter and toss it to the side.

  Again, I hear groaning. “Oh, fuck it,” I croak and set my stance to get ready to run like hell. The second I have one foot off the ground toward the opposite direction, my waist is gripped by a strong force and I’m thrown back onto the ground, a heavy body on top of me.

  “Oh, not again!” I yelp. I fight to break free from my attacker’s hold, but his body has me pinned so tightly it’s useless. I open my eyes to beg once more for my life, but I am stunned into silence by the face so close to mine. I can feel his breath—his human breath. He’s human? “What the...” I pause.

  “Who are you?” The silky dark voice rolls past the plump lips of this beastly man. He doesn’t move away or give me room to breathe. His eyes stay connected to mine, burning a hole of beauty and anger into my vision.

  “I asked you a question. Who are you?” He repeats himself with more fury etched into his voice.

  “I’m... I’m Emma… My name is Emma,” I stutter.

  He looks at me, still angry but semi-confused. “Emma what? What are you, Emma?”

  “Umm… just Emma,” I reply. Seriously, enough with this ‘what am I’ crap. His head dips even closer. He replays the same act as my attacker, placing his nose to my neck and inhaling my scent.

  “Umm… Please—please, don’t hurt me,” I beg. I don’t think he will since he did just save me, but this also hasn’t been the most conventional night either.

  “I’m not going to hurt you.” His response is low, followed by a painful groan.

  I tense, remembering he was injured in the fight. “Oh, God, you’re hurt. We should call the police and get you to
a hospital,” I exclaim. I lift my head to inspect his injuries, and then I realize he’s not wearing any clothes. As in naked—as in, “Oh, my God, why don’t you have clothes on?” I blurt out. I look back down at his form and notice what could be confused as a large weapon of some sort. “Oh, my God, you’re like super naked.” I fight to pull my eyes away from his package. Size does matter.

  “No police.” His deep voice brings my eyes back to his.

  “Why not? We were both attacked, and you’re hurt. We need to report what just happened,” I argue.

  “And what will you tell them, Emma?” He recites my name almost like a purr.

  “Um… That I was attacked by a—by a—shit.” How the hell am I to walk into a police station and tell an officer that I was basically attacked by a half-human, half-critter? That before trying to slice open my neck and drink my blood, he turned into a vicious cat-like beast. I wonder if I will even get to the part where I bring in my savior, who also shifted into a cat-like creature and fought him off, saving my life. I wonder at what point they’ll throw me in the slammer for possible intoxication, stating I just need to ‘sleep it off’.

  “Shit,” I repeat, to myself.

  “How far is your place?” he demands.

  My place?

  “Oh, no, no, nope! You can’t come home with me,” I state emphatically. That’s just crazy talk. “I’m thankful you came to my rescue, but nope, no way. Not happening.” If no police then I need to go home and take a cold shower, slap some Band-Aids on my side and sleep this bad acid trip off. Oh, and I have officially decided I was slipped some sort of drug during the speed dating. There is no other explanation for this fu—

  “I’m not going to ask you twice. I just saved your life and allowed my enemy to go free. Why, I’m not sure, so now you’re going to help me. Where is your place?” His voice is smooth yet chilling.

  What doesn’t bypass me is who the hero is here. “Um, excuse me?” I bite out, pressing my palms against his masculine chest. “For starters, I do believe I also saved you! And like I said, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I mean, you need a hospital,” I retort.