“I knew you weren’t in any danger.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter Two)

 

Wearily, I rubbed my face as my husband wouldn’t shut up.  The deep breathing wasn’t working and I could feel my previous anger begin to boil up again. 

“Thanks for your concern, B.  Thanks for just leaving me like that.  Thanks for not asking me how I got home or if I was OK or if the Asian Werewolves came back to have another go -”

But I cut him off, “I knew you weren’t in any danger.” 

“Oh right, because you had one of your all-knowing feelings as a Circulator?  Well how about acting loyal like a Lokoti Werewolf for a change!”

I shouted back well and truly enraged now; “I yelled out the dirty little secret that the wife of Declan Sabre can’t conceive to a bunch of Asian Werewolves; to break off their pursuit for the safety of my mate and tribe!  Then I get called a frickin’ prostitute for doing it?!”

Declan tossed my mobile phone down onto the couch as he seethed, “I did NOT call you that word!  I would NEVER use that word in relation to my wife! What I nearly said was, ‘you shouted out to your possible rapists that they shouldn’t want you because you were barren like you were some  broken test tube, which they couldn’t use to grow their frickin’ spawn’!” 

This angered me further as I looked away… I think I preferred it when I thought I was being called a prostitute. 

My mate looked on in disbelief, “You honestly thought I would use the word ‘prostitute’ when referring to you?!”

“Next time frickin’ finish your sentences so stupid misunderstandings wouldn’t be created!”  I fumed.

“Then I frickin’ WILL!”  He snapped back. “And if you EVER put yourself down again because you think you’re protecting me?  I will sling you over my shoulder and drop you into the frickin’ river!”

“You’ve already done that, now how about a new threat?!”

“Fine.”  Suddenly he picked up my laptop and started to walk towards the front door.  “Instead I’ll throw your laptop, with all of your precious diary entries, essays and presentations, into the river.” 

“DON’T YOU DARE DECLAN SABRE!”  I leapt to my feet.  Then moving in light speed, I stood in front of the door.  I looked on murderously whilst holding out my hand, “The laptop or your life, because I won’t just drop you into the river; I’ll frickin’ drop you into the middle of the Pacific Ocean!”

“Go for it.”  He trained his steely-cold gaze my way.  “I’ll survive and what’s worse is I’ll take your precious laptop with me before I let go of it.  It’d sink to the bottom of the sea.”

Next, I tried to snatch it out of his hands, but he whipped it away.  I shouted in frustration at his dominating behaviour, “Give it back!”

“No.”

“GIVE…IT…BACK!”  I roared out in my thunderous Werewolf voice as my eyes flashed glowing turquoise.

“Not…until…you…promise.”  He growled back as his eyes flashed glowing green.

“Promise what?!”

“That you will NEVER again do what you did in China!  That you will NEVER put yourself down like that just to make a sub-standard male not want you!  I mean come off it B, if you heard of another woman telling a possible rapist that he didn’t want her because there was something wrong with her?  You’d hit the roof!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“My wife instantaneously phased home and left me by a broken down car in the middle of nowhere.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter Two)

 

I stayed up until dawn because I knew if I went to bed, I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep.  So I busied myself by doing laundry and cleaning out my backpack before storing it away in the attic.

For comfort food, I cracked open a jar of Nutella.  I curled up on the couch, spooning out the delicious chocolate hazelnut spread as I ate it straight.  Heart-aching moments like these made it a bitch not being able to drink alcohol so over the years I found replacements; like eating or hot scented bubble baths or loud music to temporarily deafen my sorrows. 

Tonight called for all three.  After I ate the whole jar of Nutella, I turned the music up even louder then I headed upstairs for the hot scented bubble bath.

By 4 AM as the sun came up, I finally felt tired enough to go to bed. Sleeping in daylight has never bothered me since hunting the night of a full moon, it was the custom for the tribe’s Werewolves to sleep in late.  When my eyes opened again, Declan’s digital clock read as 11.34 AM.

I didn’t bother to brush my hair after putting on some old ‘around the house’ clothes.  Instead, I traipsed downstairs and into the kitchen to make some scrambled eggs on toast.  Once the dirty dishes were stowed inside the dishwasher, I set up shop at the coffee table in the lounge room.  I turned on my laptop as I began to organize my next presentation on the topic of, ‘Female Deities in Ancient Mythology: Early Expectations On Women’. 

At 4 PM as I was writing up the section on ‘Goddesses of Fertility’, suddenly my front door swung open with the appearance of my husband.

I was sitting calmly on a cushion on the floor with my un-brushed hair, doing work.  Declan stormed into the lounge area and glared my way in fury.  I could tell he was expecting an apology or something with his demanding eyes, but I ignored him by returning to work. 

He dropped his backpack loudly onto the wooden floor as he stood over my position.  Still I ignored him, as I picked up my glass of root beer and drank from it.  Then casually, I continued typing up comparisons between Demeter, Isis and the Virgin Mary.

“Hi Declan, you’re home early from your six week holiday aren’t you?”  He cried out sarcastically as he began to have a two-way conversation with himself.  “Yeah, I was left stranded in China.  Oh really, why was that?  My wife instantaneously phased home and left me by a broken down car in the middle of nowhere.  Declan, that’s terrible!  Tell me about it!  I had to wait an hour by myself until the mechanic in his repair vehicle appeared and then I had to help him replace ALL of the frickin’ tyres when his motorized jack broke!  Then I had to drive to Leshan instead of to Yushu which was another long drive so I could catch the first available flight to Juneau.  From Juneau, I flew to Fairbanks, where I had to get another frickin’ rental car.  I RUSHED here so I wouldn’t be away from my mate for 24 hours, who ABANDONED me in a frickin’ foreign country!” 

I didn’t look up nor did I pause with my typing.  The enraged European Werewolf turned around to stalk upstairs.  I listened to him go into our bedroom when I overheard further furious snarling.  Then he stomped back down the staircase whilst holding up my mobile phone which was still switched off.

“B, I would like to introduce you to the 23^rd Century mobile phone.  It was advertised when we bought it, ‘that the self-recharging battery in this model of phone means that you never run out of power and with our world-wide coverage, you’re never out of range’.”  He continued sarcastically.  “Now let’s just get this clear so we’re both on the same page here; you’re supposed to leave your phone switched on let alone on you at all times, so you don’t give your husband a frickin’ heart attack when he tries to call you over thirty times after you ABANDONED in a frickin’ foreign country!”

I closed my eyes as I inhaled and exhaled loudly, whilst trying to keep my cool.

He continued to rant; “And it’s nice to see you sulking with your bed-hair showing that you at least got some sleep in the last twelve hours as for me, it’s been two days since I slept a wink!  If I’m not staying up all night in our hotel keeping watch in case we’re attacked by Asian Werewolves; it’s me being ABANDONED in a frickin’ foreign country!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was so angry that I noticed my hands were shaking.

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

Abruptly, I disappeared in a flash of light before I reappeared in another, inside my bedroom for a second time that night.

I dropped my backpack onto our Queen-sized bed then I carried my sword over to its sheath which was lying on the floor.  Once it was encased, I returned the two together to my wardrobe.  The master bedroom was dark, but the familiar smells were welcoming.

Our two-bedroom home was a small, two-story, dark brown painted, wooden house with a stone chimney and a front veranda.  We had a European style garden with a gravel driveway and a separate garage.  Inside the house, our furniture was predominantly constructed of pine in country style, except for our sleigh bed or the red, over-stuffed, suede couches in the living room.

I was so angry that I noticed my hands were shaking.  But to get my mind off things, I turned on my bedside lamp and then the Internet Radio feature in Declan’s digital clock.  I blasted my ears with loud music whilst I unpacked. 

Alanis Morissette played, as I separated my clothes into the clean and dirty.  I put away the clean clothes but the dirty clothes I dropped into my laundry basket.  Lastly, I picked up the basket to take down to the laundry, when my mobile phone started to ring. 

Whilst carrying the basket on one arm, I fished my phone out of my pocket with my other.   Declan’s name appeared on my screen and in a temper, I switched it off and slammed it down on top of the tallboy!  It almost broke but I continued on with what was doing.

He can go to hell… or remain in China alone for all I care.  I didn’t even mind that we’d be apart for longer than twelve hours.  It’s not like I was leaving him in danger.  I had seen to his safety, which was what really pissed me off about his behaviour tonight. 

Declan’s always shaking his head and telling me that I behave too much like a ‘Light Person’.  When I thought I heard the voice of the Lokoti Wolf, my people’s spirit guide, talk through me again tonight?   I thought that was what I did do, behave like a Lokoti Werewolf to ensure my mate’s safety.  I didn’t care if a foreign breed now knew that I couldn’t have kids!  It certainly wasn’t a secret around here.

I saw the quiet pity in my tribe’s eyes whenever they looked my way.  But that was nothing to what I heard instead.  Once with my supernatural hearing, I picked up whilst shopping in the supermarket in Alma, two women whisper behind my back.  They weren’t Lokoti but they were used to seeing me around.

“She’s definitely had work done, how else does she stay looking like that?”  Bitch One hissed.

“She may be pretty but I heard from Shana that she can’t have kids. I guess looks aren’t everything after all.”  Bitch Two gloated.

Afterwards, I refused to go grocery shopping off tribal lands for twelve months, although I didn’t tell Declan why.  Usually I enjoyed the experience of visiting the supermarket in Alma.  The huge shelves and the wide range of choice they offered, seemed like a special treat to one who has memories of when food was a precious commodity after the War.   My husband knew this, which is why he couldn’t understand when I either refused to shop with him or I started ordering our groceries online, to be delivered instead.

I sensed that the Asian Werewolves who were low on females, wouldn’t want one who couldn’t breed for them.  So what was sharing this fact with a bunch of sniffing strangers, for the safety of my mate and tribe?  And Declan has the gall to act like HE was the one who was insulted tonight…?  Screw that for a joke!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This disturbed me, I didn’t want my mate to be known in the supernatural world as a cannibal.

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

I walked over to our rental car and opened the boot to put my sword inside.  While I was there, I opened up my backpack and took out a towel and a bottle of water.   Next, I opened the passenger’s side door and sat down on the seat to put my shoes and socks on again.  Lastly, I pulled on my zip-up sweater over my torn t-shirt.

When I stood up again, I noticed that Declan hadn’t moved.   He was still standing in front of the car and his huge, hulking, hairless form looked intimidating in the headlights.  He was growling hungrily at the night, like he was hoping that the Asian Werewolves would return.  This disturbed me, as I didn’t want my mate to be known in the supernatural world as a cannibal. 

I approached him with the towel which I began to dampen with my bottle of water.   I held out the wet material, “here.”   My husband turned his beastly head my way, as his glowing green eyes narrowed.  I said casually to hide my knotting stomach, “to wash the blood off.” 

Declan shrunk back into his naked human body, to use his hands to take the towel and wipe himself clean. 

As I walked a little away, I looked about at the sliced open or half-eaten bodies of the Asian Werewolves which were lying around. 

To my surprise, they simply looked like a bunch of dead wolves on the ground.  They didn’t revert to their human bodies when they died, like the other breeds did.  Oh well, at least we wouldn’t have to explain the carcasses of dead humans to the mechanic, when they show up in their repair vehicle.

My mate walked past as he went over to the car for his clothes.  He didn’t look my way nor did he speak, as he dressed.  Then he moved to sit inside the vehicle to use the rear-view mirror to check his mouth and face and make sure that he had removed all traces of blood.

I sensed he was angry about something, actually he was infuriated about it!  So much so, it kept his bloodlust burning inside.  What was he angry about?  Was he pissed off that he didn’t get to eat the other thirty Asian Werewolves?  I watched him through the windscreen, as he wiped off the last of the blood on his hands and especially around his nails.  I sensed he was deliberately not looking in my direction. 

Oh, was he angry with me?  Why?  What did I do?  I just removed a vendetta against us by a breed of Werewolf which was known to never give up! 

Next, he shut the car door as he sat back into the driver’s seat.  He switched off the internal light and I watched him close his eyes and take several deep breaths to calm himself.  Warily, I walked over to the passenger’s door to climb in.  Once I was seated, I shut the door again to keep out the cold night air.

The silence in the car was palpable as Declan opened his eyes to stare angrily out the windscreen.  The road before us was littered with our fallen enemy, whose silvery-grey coats almost shined in the car’s headlights.  I caught him growl again under his breath, as he looked on the carcasses.  After two minutes, I couldn’t stand it anymore.

“OK Declan, what is it?”  I looked on demandingly. 

Silence… He kept his lips pursed together whilst sitting in a tense manner as he refused to look my way.

“What’s wrong?”  I asked, annoyed.  “Are you angry that I interrupted your feeding frenzy?  Well guess what, I don’t know how many of them there were, but we were fighting more than one clan tonight.  If we had beaten that thirty then they would have come back with forty, then fifty and maybe even sixty as they pulled in the other clans.  We were becoming a vendetta to these people and they DON’T give up!”

“Don’t you think that I KNOW all of this, B?!”  He shouted, which made me look on in surprise.  “Don’t you frickin’ get it?  I was fighting for YOU tonight!  I was fighting for my mate!  I was fighting for your honour!” 

My stomach sank as I stared at my husband in shock.  He was truly upset that I had put a stop to his ‘defending’.  I thought his primitive bloodlust was so behind the times, it didn’t appreciate that his female stopped their attackers rather than him. 

Then I caught him glance my way in disgust before he vehemently bit out, “If a male yelled out what you said about yourself tonight, I would have shoved my claw down his throat and ripped out his still-beating heart!  You shouted out to your possible rapists that they shouldn’t want you because you’re barren like you were some common -”

But he stopped himself here as he looked away whilst blinking hard.

Like I was a common what…?  A common prostitute?  Hang on, prostitutes aren’t barren, or not that I’d heard anyways.  Why, was it a common trait for women who couldn’t have children, to become prostitutes?  Maybe I’ve been hidden away in my nice, little, safe world on tribal lands for too long…

“Like a common prostitute?”  I bit out.  “You think I yelled out that I was barren like I was a common prostitute or something?  Why do you think prostitutes are barren?”

Before I gave him the chance to answer, I swung open my door and hopped out.  I slammed it shut and walked around to the back of the car.  I popped open the boot so I could pull out my backpack and sword.  Then I slammed the boot closed, slung the backpack over my shoulder and carried the sword in my left hand.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”  Declan was quick to jump out.

“Excuse me, I think there’s a barren prostitute’s convention in Las Vegas that I’m due to make an appearance at.”  I said coolly.

I had to blink fast to try to hide my watering eyes, coupled with the sensation of my heart splitting into two.

“Don’t be stupid B -”

But I didn’t give him the chance to finish his sentence, when I instantaneously phased home to Alaska. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Through the darkness, I saw with my glowing turquoise eyes, the arrival of thirty more male Asian Werewolves.

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

I sensed Declan was battling to retain his control on the bloodlust, which made me stand a safe distance.  I wasn’t afraid of him turning on me, but I was wary of being knocked aside as soon as our enemy resurfaced.  After five minutes of standing there, I realized that my mate wasn’t trying to calm himself; instead he was waiting for them to come back.  I even caught his stomach rumble.

Frickin’ hell, was this fight going to go on ALL night?  How many Asian Werewolves were there in this part of China anyways?!  I just had to ask that, because I soon got my answer…

Through the darkness, I saw with my glowing turquoise eyes the arrival of thirty more male Asian Werewolves. 

What is this, tit-for-tat?  At first we beat off ten, then we fought twenty and now they’re coming back with thirty…?  Where the hell are they all coming from?!

Then my sense of smell detected some slight differences about these new Asian Werewolves - that they didn’t all smell alike.  I realized we were dealing with more than one clan here.  But they didn’t smell like Hsu’s clan, which was one small relief.  If they had, then we’d have thought that this whole thing had been a set up.

Declan roared threateningly at the new arrivals, who looked on with their glowing white eyes and tiny black pupils.  Next, they started to spread out to encircle us again.  Maybe that’s their plan, to keep fighting with their greater speed and numbers until they’ve exhausted us?

This made me remember something in the SSIT Report on our foe;  There are stories of human victims being unable to escape a vendetta placed against them by an Asian Werewolf, even if the human moved to the other side of the world.

Has my status as one of the few remaining female Werewolves left, become the males’ vendetta?  Not to kill but to capture? 

*Yes little wolf* I heard the familiar deep, rumbling inside my being.  This voice often seemed to pop up when I was fighting for my life.  *There is a reason why you as the first female Lokoti Werewolf are unable to breed*

Unable to breed… unable to conceive… unable to bear children…that’s it! 

Next, I whipped out my mobile phone from my pocket with my claw-like hand.  I opened it and quickly spoke to the small computer; “Access translation program.  Translate from English to Mandarin the words: I am barren. If you’re good trackers then track this, can’t you smell my womb has never been used?  Don’t you wonder why?”

“Processing your request.”  My computerized phone responded and within a second the words appeared on the lit-up screen.

Declan overheard what I was doing which made him snarl unhappily.  He was angry about what I was about to do and he roared furiously at the Asian Werewolves for making me do it.

In my thunderous voice I called out the message in Mandarin.  I hope I got the pronunciation right and I wasn’t telling them instead I wanted to become pregnant?  But whatever I said was met with silence…

The Asian Werewolves stood still as they looked on, with their glowing white eyes.  Standing here in the dark countryside which had turned so quiet, I held my breath in fear I might miss something.   The only thing that was audible in the night air was the sound of the Asian Werewolves sniffing; they were sniffing me.  

Declan flexed his two front claws, waiting for them to come closer.  However, one of the Asian Werewolves whom looked slightly bigger than the others, turned away.  Casually, it trotted away into the night and next the others turned to follow the one who must have been the leader. 

They all slipped quietly into the darkness as their glowing white eyes and silvery-grey fur disappeared from sight.   This time my all-knowing feelings as a Circulator, said that it was for the last.  After a minute, I reverted to my human body whilst lowering my sword.

“That’s it.”  I said.  “They’re not coming back.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Not only do I want you out of harms way, but I don’t want you to see what I do tonight.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

Just then his head snapped around as his human blue eyes turned glowing green again.  I heard it too, the approach of more predators heading in our direction.

“Please B,” he looked on pleadingly with his glowing green eyes.  “Not only do I want you out of harms way, but I don’t want you to see what I do tonight.”

My heart pounded as I was touched by my husband’s honesty.  But the Lokoti Werewolf inside blindly refused to leave my mate in a time of danger.

“I have a confession too…” I laughed weakly, “…I’ve been holding out on you as well.  With my speed and strength – albeit it’s not as great as yours – there’s nothing that I can’t fight.  This is why I’m coming back for you after I’ve done this.”

Then I surprised him when abruptly I disappeared in a bright flash of light!  I instantaneously phased from the middle of the Chinese countryside, into my bedroom inside of my house in Alaska. 

I rushed over to my wardrobe and threw open the doors.  I went straight for my Katana, which was hidden behind a long, black, woollen overcoat.  I pulled the polished, silver sword from its sheath before I instantaneously phased back to China. 

By the time I re-appeared beside Declan in another bright flash of light, he had expanded back into his huge, hulking, hairless European Werewolf form.  It was just in time too, as twenty Asian Werewolves closed in on our position.

I changed into my stronger Lokoti Werewolf body before I growled at my mate, “I won’t hold back if you don’t.  Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.”

I think I caught him smirk with his razor sharp teeth, before he turned towards our attackers.   But this time Declan didn’t wait for the larger group of Asian Werewolves to make their first move… he made his. 

On all-fours, the European Werewolf barrelled his way into the circle of smaller and weaker creatures!   His hungry roars almost deafened.  I didn’t have time to stand back and feel horrified by the view of my mate not just fighting, but EATING his way through our enemy.  Ten of our attackers engaged him as I fought off the other ten.

An Asian Werewolf tried to use its supernatural speed to leap onto my arm which was holding the sword.  But using my time manipulation as a Circulator, I saw him come towards me in slow motion.  This enabled me to move my arm away as I next spun around.  Then using my greater strength, I didn’t just slice my sword through the Asian Werewolf…I cut him in half. 

Two bloodied halves which once belonged to a whole, landed in the dirt.  The remaining nine paused in their attack, long enough to see a member of their pack fall to the ground in pieces. 

At that moment, my attackers and I were momentarily distracted from the blood-curdling whines, yelps and squealing. It was coming from the faltering seven who were fighting my mate.  I saw three Asian Werewolves already dead on the ground with either their heads, throats or their chests eaten out, thanks to his larger jaws.

The Asian Werewolves may have been faster than the European Werewolf, but their speed was showing no effect with his greater strength and size.  Watching Declan let loose his bloodlust, was like watching a Great White Shark be unleashed into an Olympic sized pool during a swimming event.  The victims saw their attacker coming but other than trying to escape, there was little they could do.  However, they didn’t try to run, instead they fought on to claim dominance over the strangers on their territory.

The remaining nine I was dealing with, returned their attention my way, which made me hold up my sword higher. 

One tried to leap onto my right side as another attempted to jump my left.  Moving in the speed of light, I was able to duck backwards.  I continued to fight as such, which made my movements look like a series of bright flashes with me suddenly changing positions. 

Whilst moving around, I swung my sword with my supernatural strength.  Another two Asian Werewolves fell to the ground, either missing a head or the bottom half of their body.  Their flesh which had come into contact with the silver, looked singed with small wisps of red smoke, snaking into the air. 

After I polished off my fourth attacker, I slowed down to real time when I realized the other six were now absent.  I looked over at Declan who was mangling his seventh enemy – slash – meal, where I saw my six were battling alongside his remaining three. 

My mate almost paused with his mouthful when I appeared beside him in another bright flash of light.  I swung around my sword and chopped the head off one of his opponents!  He dropped his half-eaten meal and together we faced off the remaining eight.

It was here we saw the Asian Werewolves begin to back away.  For a second time this evening, the enemy retreated due to the loss of numbers.  But this time I didn’t buy it.  Who’s to say that they’re not going to come back AGAIN? 

When one of the pack stopped to pick up its dead, it yelped in fright when Declan charged at it!  The supernatural creature bolted away and only just escaped by its’ greater speed.  Once more, we were left standing alone on the road, with our broken down car, panting with our bloodlust ignited. 

Asian Werewolf blood dripped from my sword as the same blood covered the European Werewolf’s jaws. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The Asian Werewolves who attacked us, I think they’re the Hsin clan we were warned about.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

My eyes widened in alarm.  I sensed he was right since he’s been proven correct before about other supernatural beings.  He was right about the European Vampires, just as he was right about the European Werewolves.  I guess being a predator, he recognized dangerous behaviour in others like us.

“I’m going home to get my sword.”  I announced.

“No, wait!”  He grabbed hold again before I instantaneously phased away.  Then my husband surprised me by what he next said, “I want you to go to Alaska but I want you to stay there until I call you.”

“Huh?” I asked puzzled.

“I want you to go back to Alaska and stay there.”  He repeated.  “I’ll be fine, I have to do this alone.”

“What the…?!”  I looked on as if he had lost his marbles.

“B, this isn’t up for debate!”  He barked out.  “I need to fight them alone, do you understand me?”

“No!”

Declan took a deep breath as he tried to put it another way, “The Asian Werewolves who attacked us, I think they’re the Hsin clan we were warned about.  Somehow they got wind of us and they’ve come for you.”

“But why me?  I can’t frickin’ breed for them!”  I cried indignantly.

“You know that and I know that, but because of your pheromones THEY don’t know that.  They think you’re fertile because of how you smell.” 

I tried to pull away as my objection, but he held me firmly by the shoulders as he looked on demandingly.

“Now listen to me, B…” he said seriously, “…I have to declare my dominance. I have to fight them for you because if I don’t, they’re liable to track us back to Alaska and that would put the tribe at risk.”

“I know that Dec which is why I’m gonna fight with you -”  I tried but he interrupted.

“No you can’t!  What Leo and Marcus told me about the Asian Werewolves?  It was mostly a lie but a small part of it’s true.  Sure, there’s more than one female left but they are small in number.  The Hsin clan doesn’t appear to have any which is why they’re so interested in you.  Females of any breed of Werewolf including the Asian kind, are becoming rare in this world.  Think about it B, why were Hsu’s family afraid of letting their women near the Hsin clan?” 

I pushed his hands off, “How the hell do you know THAT much?!”

“Because I can smell it!”  He snapped.  “I can’t explain it, but I can smell it just as I can sense it.  My instincts are telling me since the Third World War, not many female Werewolves are created which is why they’re so rare.  The other breed’s females are dying out from old age with hardly any new ones created.  I don’t know why exactly, maybe it’s because of the underlying effects of the fallout?  Humans may have been able to cure the radiation sickness in the natural world, but what about the supernatural world?”

“But -” I tried to interject but he interrupted again.

“You’re unique, B.”  My mate cupped my face in his larger hands.  “You’re the first and only female in the pack of Lokoti Werewolves.  With your pheromones, you’re like a winning lottery ticket blowing down a street in the Depression era.”

I believed him but my stubborn Lokoti Werewolf protective instinct refused to abandon my mate in a time of danger. “Then I’ll fight with you.”

“No.”  He released his hold.

“No? What do you mean, no?”

“I’d fight better without you by my side.”  He said to my surprise.

“What?!”  I cried out, offended.

“B, when I fought those Asian Werewolves just then, I was holding myself back.”

“You were holding yourself back?”

“Yeah.”

“What do you mean you were holding yourself back?”  I put my hands on my hips demandingly. 

My husband said guilty, “I’ve always been holding myself back around you and the other Lokoti Werewolves, B.  I’ve been doing it ever since I was 5 years old and I first realized I was a different to the rest of the pack.”

My eyes widened as this new truth began to dawn on me, “You mean even on a hunt you hold yourself back?”

“Of course I hold myself back!”  He said incredulous. “You think that by hunting one or two animals a month placates my bloodlust?”

“Well…” I faltered.

“Remember when Derik died?”  He brought up the memory of his little brother passing away from old age.  “Do you remember when I came back from a spontaneous hunt and you smelled the blood of at least ten different animals on me?  I almost lost control over the bloodlust.  But that’s what it’s like for me, B.  Always.   I’m insatiable!  I want to hunt human and since I can’t eat them, then I eat animal.  My bloodlust would happily eat something supernatural instead, like these Asian Werewolves… which is why I was told never to return because Hsu’s clan can smell it.”

My heart raced with anxiety as I almost felt afraid of him.  I swallowed hard, “Does that mean that – that you want to – to eat me too?”

“NO!” he was quick to pull me closely against him.  Declan gently banged his forehead into mine as he inhaled deeply.  “You’re part of every fibre of my being and my bloodlust knows this.  You’re more part of me than Derik’s progeny is.  As I said once, if anything ever happened to you? Then I’d be the first European Werewolf to die of a broken heart than to have it pierced by silver.” 

I turned quiet as his words reassured and so did his body language.  We both momentarily closed our eyes as we enjoyed the feel of our hot, strong bodies pressed together.  I felt his fingers dig into my waist possessively. 

“Which is why I’m asking this of you now,” his eyes met mine again. “Return to Alaska and I’ll fight the Asian Werewolves and I won’t hold back.  And I’ll win because of this.”

The picture of my husband going on an insane, murdering rampage as he indulged his supernatural hunger for one night to embark on a vengeful feeding frenzy; ran through my mind.  It was like, ‘sniff at my wife like that and you’ll pay.’  The bloodlust in his breed was far more primitive than I gave it credit for.

 

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“I don’t think that was all of them, I think they’ve gone for reinforcements.”

(Excerpt of Sororate Chapter One)

 

As soon as the Asian Werewolves discovered half of their pack had fallen from fighting, they began to back off. 

They released their sharp jaws from the European Werewolf’s hardened hide, to slowly back away.  Declan continued to growl threateningly, as he stood tall on his hind legs with his front claws ready.  His glowing green eyes with the black slits for pupils, didn’t leave our retreating enemy.

We watched the five remaining members of the pack, pick up their wounded and sling them across their backs.  After throwing us a parting growl, they slunk off defeated into the night.  But Declan and I didn’t move, not for the first couple of minutes anyway.

We stood with our sharp claws and teeth ready, as we listened to the Asian Werewolves paw-steps fade away into the darkness.  Their scent gradually grew fainter the further away they went.  After five minutes of sniffing the air continuously and watching the surrounding landscape in case they made a reappearance; I deemed it safe and looked away.

I gazed upon my enlarged mate, standing tall on his hind legs.  I saw the multiple bite marks in his hide were bleeding.  They weren’t deep thanks to his bulky muscle, so the Asian Werewolves couldn’t dig their teeth in, but still I hated to see him hurt.

My Lokoti Werewolf instinct guided me on what to do.  I placed my mouth over one of his wounds and ran my tongue over it, to use my saliva to speed up his regeneration process.  Declan whined softly in affection as he remained still and allowed me to treat several of the worst bite marks on his upper body.  When I stood back, I saw that he was no longer bleeding and new skin was there instead.

Next, my husband growled quietly and I think he was ordering me to stand still.  He put his heavy front claws on my shoulders before he too ducked his head.  I closed my eyes and accidentally giggled because his large, hot tongue tickled. The sensation became so distracting, it accidentally made me revert back to human which was too soon.  There was still a long claw mark going down my back.

“Oow! Frickin’ hell!”  I swore in pain.  My injuries felt a lot worse in my weaker body. 

Declan rolled his glowing green eyes and shook his head as if to say, ‘well that was a smart thing to do, change while you’re still wounded’.  Then he turned me around to begin to lick at the deep scratches in my back.  His saliva thankfully turned the stinging wound numb, as it began to heal.

After the husband had seen to his wife’s injuries, he began to shrink as he too reverted to his human form.  As soon as the reversal was complete, we hugged and kissed each other in relief.

“Are you OK?”  We asked each other at the same time.

“I’m OK.” I nodded.

He held me closely as he warily looked into the night, “That was too easy.”

I said incredulous, “What do you mean THAT was too easy?”

“They backed off too soon.”  He frowned.  “I don’t think that was all of them, I think they’ve gone for reinforcements.”

 

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