It was raining outside. The rain beats hard on the windows. Below, the grounds of the mansions were glistening in the hard white light of the security lamps.
Caesar paced the room restlessly, a cigarette in his mouth. Since the day after the fight, his mind was crawling with thoughts. He hated puzzles. Who was the man that had warned him about the werewolves? He hated to admit it but the call had paid dividends. Though they paid some price but still, the call had come in handy.
Firstly, two Fur Hunters with a car had been reportedly missing. Also, regretfully, the town’s priest was murdered. A search for the lost Fur Hunters was already in motion, and another thing was that because of the unpleasant nature that surrounds the death of the priest, he had been buried hastily and another priest had been sent to replace him. Everything must move like the normal usual routine.
Caesar switched his mind back to the unknown caller. Even though the Fur Hunters were already trained to be prepared for any attack, the warning call made them have an edge over the supposed attack of the werewolves, which begs the question who made the call? Was it someone from the town? Or a snitch in the Blood Rebel pack? Frustrated, he blew out a stream of smoke and glanced at the wall clock. It was just past midnight. His eyes were heavy, and his face drawn. He stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. The Fur Hunters including Dvorak Zimmerman who had replaced Jess were on the grounds, patrolling.
The whole house was quiet. Caesar went upstairs and headed towards Marianna’s room. He opened her room. She was in bed, sleeping. He stared at her for a long moment, standing there, not thinking anything, just looking. Then he closed the door softly. He headed to his room and opened the door.
The room was pitch black.
He reached for the room light and snapped it on. You know that kind of shock that you get when you touch a naked wire, and getting 200 volts up your arm, the one that leaves you white as chalk, turning your body cold, then hot, and then cold again, and you find out you couldn’t breathe easily for a long moment, that was the kind of shock that happened to Caesar when he saw Safiya on his bed.
Of course, He didn’t know her! He had never seen her before. But seeing her there on his big bed, with her black hair streaked with white, falling to her shoulders in a cascade, her big blue eyes staring hard at him, her white skin making a sharp contrast to the noir-matte of his bedsheets unsettled his nerves violently. He stood there, his eyes like two big holes in a sheet, staring hard at her, his breath whistling through his opened mouth which had jerked wide open from shock. He really thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, then he realized they were actually not.
After some moments, he got over his shock and now that his mind was beginning to work, he regarded her thoughtfully. He could see she was naked under the sheet she had drawn across her.
“You’ve come,” she said in her soft voice, her eyes sparkling. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life,” she held out her arms to him. “Come, darling,”
Caesar thought she was demented or something, he barked at her; “if you don’t tell me who the fuck you are, I’m gonna fix you,”
There was something about his voice that told her he really meant what he said. Grinning, she threw aside the sheet and slid out of the bed.
He watched her just the way you would watch a snake as she walked butt naked to where she had left her clothes. He watched her dress quickly and without no hurry. It was as if she was in her own bedroom doing her shit. She then went to a chair, sat in it, and crossed her legs. She dipped her hand into her pockets and brought out a cigarette and gas lighter. Her cold, blue eyes regarded him thoughtfully as she fed the cigarette into her mouth and lit it with cool, steady hands.
“Are you okay? You look sick or something,” she said.
Caesar was confounded by her complete lack of fear, despite the fury that was already smoldering in him.
“How did you get in here?” He growled.
“How did water get into a coconut?”she replied, revealing her small, even teeth which were sharply white against her scarlet lips. A dark scowl came over Caesar’s face. “What you should be concerned about is why the Luna of the Blood Rebel pack is in your bedroom?”
Caesar’s face instantly tightened with hostility.
“You Jack’s bride?”
She inclined her head, and a slow, evil grin spread across her face,“I’m Safiya, it’s a nice name isn’t it?” she was watching him closely, her blue eyes jeering.
Caesar cursed under his breath.
“If you are Jack’s bride, then I should kill you too,” he seethed out. “To me, you are dead!” Safiya was aware of a movement but it was too quick to follow. A long bladed knife appeared in Caesar’s hand as if he had plucked it out of the air. He flashed it at her. “I’m very good with this bad boy right here, wolf girl. If you don’t tell me what you are doing here, I will carve your pretty face off your skull,” The knife looked big and lethal in his hand, and slowly, he began to edge towards her, his face hideous with a dark cruelty.
The sexy light went out of her eyes. Now, her mouth tightened and her face became a hard mask. She no longer looked beautiful.
“You shouldn’t do what you will be sorry for, Hunter! Keep that knife away! ” she said in a low, furious tone. She got to her feet and brazenly began to walk towards him.
Caesar skipped back, holding out the knife viciously.
“One step from you, and I will give you this in your guts! Just one step!” His eyes were glittering like wet stones.
She hesitated seeing the deadpan expression in his eyes. Then she laughed, a hard humorless sound that sent a tingle up his spine. She walked gracefully back to her chair, waving her hips at him.
“Caesar! For Pete’s sake don’t be a bitch,” she said in a cold flat voice. “I’ve been around spineless, foolish men for almost all my whole life. I don’t see you as one and I don’t want to. If you want me to leave, I will. But I’ll tell you something, you are making a big mistake,”
“Who told you I will let you go?” Caesar snarled. “You ain’t going nowhere, wolf girl”
She laughed at him, but her eyes were not amused.
“I came here on my own, remember? And I will leave just the same way and no one will stop me!” She arches an eyebrow, regarding him lazily. “Would you like me to go Hunter?”
“You’ve forgotten my Fur Hunters! They would fix you! The Wolf Stoppers will fix you dead,” he growled.
Safiya threw back her head and gave a hard, barking laugh, and her dark hair fell away from her face, exposing her neck, showing him the white column of her throat. Damn! She was extraordinarily beautiful, he had to give her that. But the fact that she was a werewolf simmered down any sexual feelings he might have for her.
“Your Fur Hunters?” She scornfully jeered at him. “So why didn't they alert you when I got here? How come they didn’t sense I was here? How come no one of them alerted you?”
Caesar, despite the warning in his head, knew she was right. The girl had a point. He dropped his hand, sheathing the knife.
“Okay, okay, what the hell do you want? Why are you here?”
“Would you like to hear my story?” she said and ran her lips over her red tongue.
Caesar turned his face away. There was something sensual in that little, simple act that seemed to reach out and hit him. It made him uneasy.
“Just talk, woman! I’m sick of this game you are playing,” he said stiffly.
“Come on, big guy, don't you already know why I’m here?”
Caesar pointed a finger at her.
“I don’t alright! I don’t! Quit playing around and tell me what the fuck you are doing here,” he exploded.
“Are you so fucking narrow minded you can’t put two and two together!” She said angrily, “The call, idiot! The fucking, warning call!”
Caesar’s jaw dropped, his face went a dirty white.
“You made the call? Bullshit! I heard a man’s voice! You didn’t made that call,”
“Okay! Since you didn’t deny knowing about the call, If I didn’t make the call, how come I knew about it?” She pointed out.
He looked at her, cold shocked with surprise. She was right. If she hadn’t known about the call, why did she mention it to him? Their conversation the whole time wasn’t even related to the call and yet she knew about it.
“Okay! You get me again!” He said stiffly. “But I heard a man’s voice. And looking at you wolfgirl, you ain’t no man,”
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“When I say I made the call, I don’t necessarily mean I called you myself. What I meant was I made it happen. You get that hunter?” She was stabbing at her chest with a finger, “I, Safiya made it happen!
Caesar drew in a long, slow breath. He folded his arms across his massive chest.
“Why? Why did you do it?”
“You are so full of questions tonight,” she said tightly. “Can’t you just accept things the way they were?”
A mad anger exploded inside Caesar . He bounded to where she sat, grabbed her by the arms, his nails sinking into her flesh, she let out a scream of shock as he pulled her up, and stared coldly into her face.
“I’m tired of your hide and seek! Give! Now!” He screamed.
The coldness of his green eyes sent fear into her. She nodded stiffly, and ran her tongue over her lips, but this time it didn’t give him any buzz. She hastily began;
“It all started this way. A year ago, one, dark night, when we were all hunting in the woods and you saw us, did you remember that night? You were also hunting too, and Jack had recognized you and warned you about invading Fur Rivers and taking it back from you humans, do you remember now?”
“Yes, Yes I do,” he replied. Of course, he remembered that night as clearly as daytime. The first time he had seen Jack, Helldog and Conan, and the rest of the pack. The whole meeting has all been a coincidence. “Yeah? What’s that got to do with me?”
“Everything,” she said fiercely. “I was also amongst the pack that night. We were all hunting together.” her voice took a soft yielding tone. “It was the night I fell in love with you, Caesar. And you, why do you have to be so damned gorgeous? I’ve always been a sucker for muscular blondes,”
Caesar curled his lip. “Yeah?” He said. “Well, that’s bullshit,”
“It’s the truth,” she replied, her eyes like two sparks. “I needn’t lie about such things. I fell in love with you, Caesar. Everything about you excited me. I’ve never felt like that in my entire life.” Her voice was unsteady. “And when you talked, when you told Jack you are going to be ready for we wolves, that you weren’t going to give up this town without a fight, the courage in you, the confidence you displayed in front of us all made me wet myself,” she had stopped now, was looking at him, her eyes filled with hungry lust.
Caesar had a feeling she wasn’t fooling, but he needed more.
“Well, don’t shut up now,” he said, tightening his grip on her arms. “Talk, damn you,”
“Well, ever since then I’ve been looking for ways to have you to myself,” she said tersely. “But I’ve got to be careful around Jack. He mustn’t know of this. So I bided my time. The only way to leave Jack is if he’s dead. He’s so madly in love with me he can’t even leave me, even when I cheated on him with Victor,”
At the mention of Victor’s name, Caesar stiffened. The past few days events had completely blurted the wolf man from his mind.
“You fucked Victor?” He said hoarsely.
“Why yes,” she laughed sardonically. “Poor thing, that boy. I used him at one time as a play thing.” There was a jeering glitter in her eyes now. “I wanted to have a different experience from Jack’s but the fool fell in love with me. As if I could care for a fool like him. He couldn’t hide his feelings, the dumb fuck. All I did was give him a little love and good sex, and the fool was all over the place like white on rice. Everyone knew we were fucking just by looking at us. The info got to Jack later and he banished him from the pack,”
Caesar thought about this.
“Do you know he’s back here, in Fur Rivers?” He asked.
“That’s stale news. He’s been around in some of our meetings. He even showed up this night to pay his last respect to Jack.” Then she narrowed her eyes at him. “Victor told us all about the fight in the church on your wedding day, and how he clobbered you, is that true?”
“Forget about that!” He snapped at her. “Give your story!”
She grinned mischievously at him.
“Later, you'll fill me in about Victor, okay?" His grip tightened on her arm, she continued, "Alright, alright! So, I waited for my chance to escape from Jack. Well, one day, while we were having a meeting, there was a fight between Helldog and another pack member named Razor. Helldog is a Delta, Razor a Beta. While they fought, Helldog nearly killed Razor, and Jack took forever to stop it. Razor believed Helldog could have killed him that night and he was mad at Jack for not intervening sooner, but Jack didn't know this. I saw it all and comforted Razor, making us friends. One drunken night, Razor stupidly confessed his desire for revenge on Jack. That's when I knew Razor was my ticket to kill Jack. I waited for the right moment. When we discussed the next fight, I convinced Jack to lead it. He agreed, and that's when I knew it was time. All I did was to tell Razor to find a way to call you and tell you about the attack and he did it perfectly. Now, Jack's gone, Helldog's the new Alpha, and I'm here for you," she concluded, touching his sleeve.
Caesar turned his face from her, slowly nodding his head, his mind busy with thoughts. Her story sounded valid and sound. The puzzle had been solved. It was Razor who made the call. How the man found his residence number he did not know, but yet he had made the call. He had been right along. He turned his mind to Helldog. So Helldog was now the new Alpha? He had thought he had killed him, so he was still alive? Well, we shall meet again! He told himself, bringing his thoughts back to Safiya. So there was actually a snitch in the Blood Rebel pack, and not one but two snitches; Safiya and Razor.
He turned to look at Safiya now, she was staring at him now, her blue eyes weary with expectation and sexual desire. Honestly to him, she looked like a very expensive hooker. Her eyes which were beautiful blue to him were cold, calculating and vicious. He had a feeling, or perhaps an impression that she was utterly corrupt and deadly, and there was nothing she would hesitate to do to satisfy her selfish needs. He said to her;
“I should kill you,” he said crossly. “How the hell did you know I wouldn’t kill you?”
She stared at him with a painful intensity.
“You can’t harm me, Caesar. No matter how pissed you are with me, you can’t. Well, no man could, you see? men have always fawned over me all my life. They’ve always wanted me around them. I’m used to it. No man is too big for me to handle, no man!” She touched his face with her fingertips. “I left my pack to be with you. Now that I am here, we both know I can’t go back there again. The only person holding me down there before is a dead man.” She ran her lips over tongue. “Caesar, I killed my Alpha to be with you……just to be with you. Can any woman do that for you? Kill her man for you?”
Caesar scowled. Yet again, she had scored another cheap point with him. He mulled the whole thing over. Personally, he would have preferred if she was still with the pack. That way she would be useful to him. He would use her as a mole to sabotage the pack and wiped them off. But here with him, she seemed kind of useless. Also, she would be relying on the protection he was offering. If the people in the town got to know he was harboring a werewolf in his house, it would spark a lot of trouble. Well he would fix that. Right now, he has to get used to the idea of having a relationship with him. He said to her coldly;
“Listen to me! No one must know you are here. My Fur Hunters would kill you if they got a whiff of you. Also, I’ve got a nosy sister. If she knows about you, there will be trouble. Not that she can start anything, but I don’t want her to know about you for now. So you are safe here in this room and you can sleep here too. Your food will be brought to you here. I will personally handle that part. You are not allowed to come out, you hear me! You are not allowed to,”
“Where would you sleep?” She asked abruptly.
“I would find another room,”
She arches an eyebrow.
“You are not thinking this well, darling. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you’ve been staying in this room for quite a long time now. If you’ve got a nosy sister, won’t she begin to wonder why you’ve suddenly switched rooms?”
Caesar grimaced. Yet again she was right. Marianna would definitely sense something was off if he switched rooms and she might begin to ask stupid questions. This wolf girl was incredible. Her brain was working too fast for him. He had to be careful with her.
“Alright, I will sleep here. But don’t go monkeying around with me. I would fix you if you tried anything foolish,” he let go of her arms and moved away. “You know, I’m still puzzled about how you got in here. But we’ll trash that out later. Anyways, please let’s get some sleep. I’m dead tired,” Not bothering to see if she heard him, he moved to bed, sat on it and began to undress. He tossed his clothes to a chair, got into bed and snapped off the light at the side. “Come on, don’t stand there like a rock. Get in bed.”
Safiya undressed slowly, while regarding Caesar’s body the whole time. Then she got on the bed. She waited for a few moments, then reached for him.
“Caesar ……….” She began but he jerked around, cutting her off.
“If that hand touches me again, I will break your jaw,” he bawled. “I know what’s going on in that wolf head of yours,so better keep those paws off me, I want you to understand something; I don’t do wolf girls! It’s an abomination! Understand?”
She gave a funny, little strangled gulp.
“So you won’t touch me?” She said keeping her voice steady with an effort.
“What the hell do you mean by that?” He yelled.
“Are you saying you don’t understand what I’m talking about? I fixed my Alpha just to be with you. I believe I deserve to be taken proper care of! Give me my queen treatment, Hunter” she snarled.
Caesar’s face hardened. He sat up on his elbow.
“Why you fixed your Alpha is your business. Why you decided to be here is still your business. I didn’t ask for all this and I don’t want to be caught up in your games. Now shut up and get some sleep,”
“You fucking bastard! I killed Jack for you! I betrayed him for you! Is this how you gonna treat me, you godforsaken piss of shit!” She shrieked with a harsh rage that startled him.
Caesar pulled back the bed clothes and swung his feet to the floor. He snapped the lamp light on. Then he reached out and grabbed her throat. She gripped his hand, exerting pressure so as to pry it off her. Even as Caesar held her, there was a fearless contempt in her eyes that jolted him, and he could feel the super, violent strength in her hands, and with the way she was holding onto him, she would definitely take his hands off. This wasn’t just an ordinary woman. He had totally forgotten he was dealing with the Luna of a werewolf pack. He shoved her away, so that she rolled off the bed and fell to the floor.
“If you ever curse at me again, I’m gonna fix you with that WolfStopper! Just the way I did Jack! And just the way I’m gonna do all of your breeds! Better get that into your thick skull, and you see this stupid thing between you and I, that thing you’ve cooked up in that brain of yours, It’s not ever happening,”
He got into bed and pulled the bedclothes over him. Safiya remained on the floor, her breasts rising and falling with rage and agitation. Before Caesar slept off that night, he had decided he was going to kill her when she outlived her use to him.