Alpha Girl (18 page)

He was gone for several minutes, and for a moment I feared that he had left me in the forest. Thankfully, I heard him traipsing towards me a few minutes later.

He appeared through the trees wearing a pair of grey jeans, and holding a bundle of fabric in his arms.

‘I keep a spare change of clothes in the car for this event,’ he smiled. ‘Unfortunately, only one shirt, but you can wear it.’

He covered his eyes as he approached me and held out the shirt, accompanied by a blanket. I quickly took them both in my freezing hands and slipped the paisley shirt over my head. It was far too large, but it covered all of my private parts. I wrapped the blanket around myself, thankful for some warmth.

‘Thank you,’ I said, stepping out from the bushes.

Mr. Stone opened his eyes and looked me up and down.

‘It’s like a dress,’ he smiled at me. ‘It suits you.’

There was something strangely satisfying about wearing his shirt.

‘Let’s go,’ he nodded towards the clearing. ‘We need to get cleaned up, I think.’

Cleaned up
was an understatement. We needed a
scrubbing
as both of us were covered in mud, leaves, twigs, and blood.

‘Which of us killed the deer?’ I asked as we walked to the forest’s edge. I could see the road now, and Mr. Stone’s old car.

He shrugged. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve found a dead animal near me.’

‘Maybe we caught it together,’ I said, sheepishly.

‘As a pack,’ he gave me a wink.

I was glad when I got into Mr. Stone’s car and he turned the heater on as high as it would go. I kept my hands in front of the vent, trying to defrost myself.

‘Are you feeling okay?’ he asked, doing a U-turn on the road and heading towards Halfway.

I nodded. ‘I feel … relaxed.’

He laughed. ‘Maybe because you were able to run free instead of being chained up.’

‘It’s dangerous to run free,’ I said. ‘People can get hurt.’

Mr. Stone glanced sideways at me before focusing on the road ahead. ‘I know. That’s how we became what we are, I guess.’

I nodded. ‘I was hiking at sundown with my family,’ I said. ‘The creature … it jumped out of the bushes.’ I shuddered as I recalled the attack.

‘It must have been terrifying for a young girl,’ he said.

‘I remember its yellow eyes, and blood-stained teeth … the putrid breath on my face as it tackled me to the ground.’

Mr. Stone reached over and placed his dirt-encrusted hand over my own.

I took a deep breath and continued. ‘I tried to crawl away, but it dug its claws into my leg and dragged me back.’ I hitched up the long shirt to reveal the scars on my thigh.

Mr. Stone glanced at them. Slowly, he released my hand and gently trailed his fingers along the raised scars, sending goose bumps erupting over my skin. No one had ever seen them before, let alone touched them. I found the scars repulsive, but the way he caressed them was strangely intimate. Warmth erupted from his touch and spread like wildfire through my body.

‘What happened next?’ he asked, keeping his eyes on the road, his hand never leaving my thigh.

‘Its jaws closed around my ribs,’ I said, ‘breaking two of them. I’ve still got the teeth marks. I believe it would have killed me had I been alone. My father grabbed a fallen branch and clubbed it over the head. It ran away after that.’

‘You’re lucky to be alive,’ Mr. Stone said. ‘Not many people are attacked by a w–’

‘Don’t say it,’ I said, closing my eyes.

‘A … monster,’ he said purposefully, ‘and live to tell the tale.’

‘I know,’ I said. ‘But sometimes I wish I’d died, rather than live with this affliction.’

He sighed. ‘Don’t say that. It’s not so bad, really. I mean … it’s only once a month.’

‘My parents call it my
time of the month
.’

He chuckled and threw me a dazzling smile. He was still handsome despite the filth.

‘I’m glad you were there when I woke up,’ I said softly. ‘I wouldn’t have known what to do otherwise. I probably would have walked downhill until I found a road, and flagged down a motorist.’

‘Naked?’ he asked with raised eyebrows. 

‘What choice would I have?’ I asked.

‘That’s a quick way to get molested,’ Mr. Stone said, his brow creased. ‘I’m glad I was there too.’

‘Do you think we found each other whilst we were … changed?’ I asked.

‘I’m sure of it,’ he smiled. ‘I suppose we were drawn together.’

Suddenly, a horrible possibility dawned upon me.

‘You don’t think we … you know…’ I said, my eyes wide.

‘What?’ He frowned, seeing my panicked expression.

‘You don’t think we behaved as animals would in nature?’ I implied. ‘You know, animal instinct and all that?’

‘Oh … OH!’ Mr. Stone swerved the car a little, before collecting himself. ‘No … I don’t think so.’

‘How can you be sure?’ I asked.

Mr. Stone inhaled deeply, and I knew he was testing my scent, which made me uncomfortable. ‘I just know.’

‘You mean I’m not
on heat
?’ I said, my tone mocking.

‘Don’t say it like that,’ he sighed. ‘You know what I mean.’

I chuckled. Of course I wasn’t offended. I was glad I finally had someone to talk to about my illness.

We drove for half an hour until we were back in Halfway. The dashboard indicated that it was six o’clock in the morning.

‘Wow,’ I muttered. ‘I traveled a long way.’

‘We can run faster when in our alternate form,’ he said. The way Mr. Stone spoke of his affliction seemed as though he had come to terms with the monthly events that plagued his life. I, on the other hand tried my best not to think about it, and completely disconnected myself from the
thing
that I became once a month. I suppose that was the difference between us; he had embraced it. Perhaps he’d been dealing with it a lot longer than I.

‘My muscles ache,’ I said.

‘I usually have a nice soak in the bath after a full moon,’ he replied. ‘I suppose you want me to drop you off at home so you can clean up?’

I shook my head quickly. ‘No!’

Mr. Stone stared. I didn’t want to say it out loud, but I was ecstatic that we shared this secret together. Our monthly affliction would be my ticket to Mr. Stone’s affections. How could he deny me when we were so clearly meant to be together? As a pack.

‘It’s just … there’s so much I want to talk about. Can we go to your place? Please?’ I asked. Any excuse to be with him would do.

Mr. Stone nodded. ‘All right. But … won’t your parents wonder where you are?’

I scoffed and folded my arms across my chest. ‘They probably haven’t even noticed I’m gone. After all, they didn’t even remember what day it was.’

‘I’m sure they have a good reason,’ he said.

‘You don’t know them,’ I looked out of my window.

‘I wish I could do something to help,’ he said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

‘You already have.’

As we pulled into Mr. Stone’s driveway I had a great feeling of anticipation bubbling away in the depths of my stomach.

I followed him to the front door, still wrapped in my blanket, and Mr. Stone was still wearing his jeans. If anyone saw us, we’d look quite the pair. Anyone would think we’d spent the night together, which, I reminded myself; we probably had.

Once the door was open I stepped over the threshold, trying my best not to drop mud over the carpet. I turned back to Mr. Stone, feeling rather anxious as I shrugged the blanket from around my shoulders. He took it from me and threw it into a corner to be washed.

I stared at his chest as he did this, my mind fuzzy. He wasn’t a hairy man by any means; the curls on his chest were light and trailed towards his navel. He was pale, but fit.

Mr. Stone must have noticed my lingering gaze, because he crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly self-conscious.

‘Erm … would you like to take a shower?’ he asked.

‘Together?’ I said, without thinking. I cringed internally.

‘As much as I’d like-’ Mr. Stone cleared his throat nervously, ‘Uh, no. By yourself.’

‘Right, yeah,’ I gave my head a little shake. ‘Good.’

‘There are towels in the bathroom,’ he said, leading me down the hall.

The bathroom was extremely dated; it felt like I’d stepped into the seventies. Locking the door behind myself, I stripped off Mr. Stone’s shirt and stepped into the shower.

I turned the water on so it was extremely hot, but it felt amazing. I looked at my feet as the dirt made the water turn brown. Leaves fell out of my hair and clogged the drain.

A razor sat in the soap dish so I grabbed it and quickly shaved under my arms, and legs.

Once I was squeaky clean I turned off the faucet and stepped out, wrapping a fluffy white towel around my body, and another one around my head. Steam issued off my skin from the heat of the shower.

A knock came on the door.

‘Yes?’

‘Rose, I’ve left some clean clothes outside the bathroom door,’ Mr. Stone called. ‘I think they will fit you. They’re too small for me, anyway.’

I reached for the door handle and unlocked it, pulling it open. Instinctively, Mr. Stone averted his eyes for my own benefit.

I chuckled. ‘It’s fine,’ I said. ‘I’m covered.’

He turned to look at me, his eyes traveling over my wet skin. Chewing on his lip, he thrust the clothes into my arms.

‘There,’ he said, taking a step back. ‘You can get dressed in my room if you want.’

‘Thank you, Mr. Stone,’ I said, stepping around him.

‘I think we’re beyond formalities, Rose,’ he said.

I grinned at him over my shoulder. ‘Tom,’ I corrected myself.

Once I was inside Mr. Stone’s bedroom I closed the door and listened to the sound of him showering. Positive that I wouldn’t be caught, I began to walk around his bedroom, inspecting the items on his dresser.

I sniffed his cologne but I didn’t like it. I much preferred his natural scent. Other items on the surface included an old silver-plated fob watch with someone else’s initials graved into the back, and his wallet.

Checking to make sure the shower was still running, I opened the top drawer of his dresser and peered inside. I wasn’t usually one to snoop, but I wanted to know everything about Tom.

There was n
othing out of the ordinary here: socks and boxer-briefs. I moved some of the socks aside to find an unopened box of condoms, but that wasn’t what caught my eye. A small velvet ring-box was stowed at the back of the drawer. I reached in, picked it up and opened it without hesitation. A petite diamond engagement ring was nestled inside. Hadn’t he mentioned before that he’d been engaged once? I’d never found out what had happened. Perhaps his fiancé had discovered his secret.

I heard the shower turn off in the bathroom so I quickly stuffed the ring-box back inside and closed the drawer.

I sat on the edge of Tom’s bed and rubbed my hair dry with the towel, watching myself in the full-length mirror opposite while Mr. Stone was in the bathroom.

Part of me considered shedding the towel and staying naked until he walked into the room. Would he stare at me like he had in the forest? Or would he ask me to cover up and leave? I was conflicted, and knew he would be too.

Mr. Stone was attracted to me; he’d confessed it. But he was still in two minds about it. His logical mind reminded him that he was my teacher, and had to respect the boundaries. On the other hand, however, we were drawn to one another because of animal instinct. Who else could be perfect for him, if not another of the same species? By the sounds of it, I was the only female of my kind within miles.

I heard Mr. Stone exit the bathroom and walk across the hall. He rapped his knuckles on the bedroom door quietly.

‘Are you decent?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ I lied.

Mr. Stone opened the door wearing nothing but a towel, which was wrapped loosely around his waist, showing his pelvis. I stared at his perfection; his dusty brown hair was combed back, and water glistened on his chest. I could even see the thicket of curls above his pubic region. If the towel was a few inches lower …

He paused in the doorway. ‘You’re not dressed yet.’

I shook my head. ‘No, I’m not.’

‘Didn’t the clothes fit?’

I shrugged. ‘I haven’t tried them yet.’

He rested his weight on the door handle, looking out of place in his own home.

‘You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘Aren’t you?’

‘What?’

I nodded towards the loose towel, and he quickly grabbed the hem and pulled it higher. I smiled.

‘You’re still fighting it,’ I said.

He stared at me, and I expected Mr. Stone to deny it. To my surprise, however, he nodded.