Page 2 of Paying The Vampire

Wolves were not meant to be solitary people. From a pup we were taught that the pack was everything and we were only as strong as the wolves around us. I guess that’s why they wanted me gone, because I made them weaker. I had learned to enjoy my time alone though. As I advanced from childhood to maturity it became clear that I had less and less in common with my friends. Slowly they began to drift away, preferring to speak with other people who knew what it was like to shift into wolves. I was then forced to come to terms with spending time by myself. It was never something I particularly wanted. I yearned to feel the nestled security of companionship, but when that was deprived from me I had no choice, otherwise I would end up living my life in misery.

But now as I lay in the lake thinking about all the dreams that were never going to come to be, I stared up at the stars. I opened my mouth, but no words came out because I knew it was going to be useless to utter anything to the goddess that had closed her ears to me. Was she angry with me? Was she punishing me? Was this some strange lesson that I needed to learn? I simply could not understand it, and that led me to wonder if the Moon was even watching over us at all, as we had been taught. If she was really there to guide us then why wasn’t she there to speak to me when I needed her? I couldn’t imagine there was another wolf who was experiencing so much anguish, not that I could even call myself a wolf. I was just a girl, a girl who was waiting for something that was never going to come.

I finished bathing, but I wasn’t yet ready to emerge from the water. I played with it, allowing my fingers to dance among the water, before I took to swimming around the lake, feeling the water caressing my body. I knew that when I emerged from the water I was going to have to make a decision. It was time that I decided whether I was going to stay with the pack or move on elsewhere. I wanted to make this last for as long as possible, wanting to entertain the notion that I still had two paths ahead of me.

Eventually, though, I had to leave. I swam to the bank of the lake and pulled myself up. Water trickled down the curves of my body. My body was facing away from the trees. I gathered up my clothes, simple garments that were rough against my skin. I pulled them on, enjoying the warmth they offered me. They would also serve to soak up the moisture that lingered on my body.

Then I felt something. Another presence. I may not have had the instinct of wolves, but my senses were still keen. I turned to see the glowing eyes of a wolf gleaming at me. I took a deep breath and watched as the wolf came forward on its long legs. Its fur was dark grey, its mouth spread into a savage smile. As it walked forward it shifted. The air shimmered and the image of the wolf seemed to melt and blend in with its surroundings. The features of its face blurred and it raised itself onto its hind legs. The forelimbs changed into arms, and the fur receded, changing into the muscular form of Brandon. Locks of curled hair drooped down his forehead, while he quickly arranged the cloth he carried in a pack with him to cover his more intimate areas, not that he was ever ashamed of anything. He then leaned against a tree, extending his torso to show off his toned muscles. I remembered him as the lanky, gawky boy who used to shy away from climbing a tree because he was afraid of falling. Now he was a man in every sense of the word, acting as though the world was his to command.

“I thought I smelled you here. Seems like I came just a few moments too late,” he said with a slanted smile, his gaze drifting down my body. There was a time when I would have welcomed this, but now the way he looked at me… it was with disdain as much as desire.

“I’m just trying to bathe Brandon,” I sighed, pressing my lips together, holding myself rigid. There was never any telling what Brandon might do.

“Seems like you succeeded. How about you try something else?”

“Such as?”

“Well, I’d say shifting, but we all know you’re incapable of that,” he said, grinning at his blunt words. He had never been able to tell the difference between being cruel and being clever, and by this point whatever insults he could have thrown at me had lost their sharpness.

“Brandon, I’m sure that you have better things to do than insult me. I certainly have better things than to stand here and be insulted, so how about we just accept that you’re going to get a few insulting remarks off and I’m going to be upset to save us the trouble?”

“You have no idea what I’m going to say to you.”

I rubbed my forehead, already feeling a band of tension that wrapped around my skull like a tight crown. “I think I know exactly what you’re going to say, but you know what? It doesn’t matter. Actually I’m going to let you in on a secret Brandon. I’m going to tell you something that nobody else knows; I’m leaving.”

Seeing him like this had just confirmed that my instincts were correct. I couldn’t stay, not with him seeking to goad me at every opportunity. I knew I was supposed to stay with the pack, but what kind of life would I have if I had to subject myself to this all the time?

Brandon frowned and stepped towards me. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”

“It kind of explains itself Brandon. I’m going elsewhere. I’m not going to be around any longer. You won’t have to worry about me sullying the good reputation of the pack.”

“Where are you going?”

“I haven’t got that figured out yet.”

“So you’re going to head out there with no idea where you’re going. How are you going to protect yourself? It’s not as though you can change into a wolf.”

“I know that,” I said acidly. “But there are other ways to deal with things than just attacking them you know.” It was clear from his expression that he didn’t know at all. Wolves were supposed to be wily creatures, but from my perspective their imaginations were narrowed as they got older, seeing things through the lens of hunter and prey. Perhaps it was just Brandon though. There was no room for nuance in his world.

“You can’t leave.”

I wasn’t sure if that was an order or a threat. “Why not? It’s not like I have a reason to stay.”

“This is your pack.”

I laughed. “It hasn’t been my pack for a long time. You’ve made certain of that. I’m not a wolf, so I don’t belong here. That’s the end of it. I’m never going to be accepted here. I’m always going to be reminded that I’m not one of you, so why should I bother staying?”

Brandon took yet another stride towards me. His wide stance ate up the ground between us and now he was within reach of me. “Because you’re mine,” he spoke in a low growl and the look in his eyes was intense.

I was stunned. I let out a choking sigh as I tilted my head to the side, looking askance at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’ve been mine from the very beginning Willow. It was written in the stars.”

“The stars lie. And why are you talking like this now? For the past few years you’ve been nothing but unkind to me. And what about Naomi?”

“Naomi is my mate and she will one day be my wife, but as Alpha I have the right to have anyone I choose, and the more I think about it the more I want you to stick around so that I can have you too. What better honor could there be than to be named as the Alpha’s concubine?”

For a moment I thought he was joking. It soon became clear that he wasn’t. “Brandon… have you lost your mind?”