H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (33 page)

“Touching? Just keep your hands above the
waist.”

“Very funny. We will go through the details
about an hour before you turn into a werewolf again. That seemed to
really work last night. We need to go with what’s working. There
isn’t a Taming a Werewolf for Dummies book out there.”

“What we’re doing, Josiah, is pretty fucking
groundbreaking.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You
should get more rest. I’m going to call Lena.” I nodded and went
downstairs and collapsed on the couch. I took my cell phone out of
my pocket and turned it on. I had turned it off last night so I
wouldn’t have any distractions. When my phone turned on; it read
that I had three new voice mails. I pressed the number one on my
keypad and it went straight to my voicemail. The first two messages
were hang ups, but last one was Lena.

She said, “Hey Josiah, what happened last
night? Did it work? I hope it did.” She paused on the message and
then said, “I just was hoping to hear your voice.” She wanted to
hear my voice? I wanted to hear hers, too, and didn’t hesitate to
call her back.

She answered on the first ring. “Hello,” she
said.

“Hey, it’s Josiah.”

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I said again. This was starting out a
bit awkward.

“How’s Tommy?” she interjected quickly.

“He’s great. We made a lot of progress last
night. I think this might just work.”

“That’s awesome!” Lena seemed genuinely
excited. “Josiah?” Lena said, with yearning in her voice.

“Yes,” I said.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m great, Lena.”

“That’s good to hear.” Lena paused.
“Josiah?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I said.

“You do?” she asked with a bit of
vulnerability I hadn’t heard from her before.

“Yes, I miss you more than you know,” I
assured her.

“This is so weird isn’t it?” Lena laughed
sweetly.

“I don’t remember what’s normal
anymore.”

“I know,” Lena said.

I wanted to say more to her. I wanted to
tell her every beautiful thought I felt for her, but I didn’t know
how to cross that line further, so I just said, “I’ll see you in a
couple of days.”

“Okay, be careful, Josiah.”

“I will.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” I waited for her to hang up. I didn’t
hear her hang up. Instead, I could still hear her breathing. I
waited about fifteen seconds and then I said, “Lena?”

“Yes, Josiah.”

“Forever...” I stopped talking. I don’t know
why I said that word out loud. Forever.

Lena was quiet and then said, “... and
Always.” She completed my thought.

We were both quiet. We didn’t need to say
anymore. We were connected by something bigger than this world. I
knew she was my destiny. Eventually, after a minute of very
comfortable, loving silence—we both said goodbye. That was exactly
what I needed to light a fire under my ass.

I leaned back and laid flat on the couch. I
thought about Lena; her amazing brown eyes, her beautiful smile,
her pale skin, her angelic face. I thought about how amazing she
felt the other day in my arms. I closed my eyes and I thought of
nothing but her.

Chapter Thirteen

Night was coming and Tommy had gone into his
cage to chain himself in again. I stood outside the cage and looked
at my friend like a trainer before a big fight. We both knew the
stakes were high tonight, and it was going make or break us. We had
45 minutes until show time.

“Okay, Tommy, I’m going to enter the cage at
some point tonight.” I said from outside the cage. “I’m going to
touch your face. You will need to submit to me first verbally, then
physically.

Tommy smiled. “Just keep it G-rated,
Josiah.”

I smiled. “All right, no more jokes, Tom. We
need to get serious.”

“Yes, sir!” Tommy gave me the military
salute. “Let’s do this Josiah, I’m ready.”

I started to once again give Tommy verbal
commands like I had done the day before. Tommy seemed more eager to
listen and do what I had asked than the day before.

When I finished with the verbal commands I
said, “Let’s move on to the tactile. I am coming into the cage. Do
not attack! Keep your head down!” I knew Tommy wasn’t going to
attack me in his Carni form, but I was paving his sense memory for
tonight.

Tommy nodded.

I opened the gate and entered imagining
Tommy was a werewolf, proceeding cautiously. Each time Tommy tried
to raise his head, I commanded him to put his head down. I inched
my way to Tommy and stood over him in an alpha male stance. I took
my right hand and put it on top of his head. “Keep your head down!”
I commanded him. I then gently touched the top of his head. I
reached in my pocket and pulled out a stick of beef jerky. “Head
up!” I said firmly.

Tommy raised his head; I fed him the beef
jerky.

“Eat!” I said.

Tommy chewed the beef jerky.

I held my position like a boxer. “Good boy,”
I said. “Eyes down.” I slowly knelt down and cupped my left hand
placing it on his head. As I did so, I gently petted Tommy’s human
hair back. “Good boy,” I said.

I spent about ten more minutes petting him
and talking to him softly. When we were done, I left the cage.

“Tommy,” I said.

“Yeah, Josiah.”

“Good job.”

“You, too.”

We both smirked and knew we were walking a
fine line. We were treading in waters that were very
unfamiliar.

“You have about fifteen more minutes,” I
said.

I left the room and decided to wait outside
on this night as Tommy turned into his werewolf state. A few
minutes passed and the sun was completely down. The sounds in the
other room had led me to believe Tommy had turned werewolf—lots of
howling and growling.

Then just like the night before, the poor
wolf began to whimper into the night. I had forgotten to ask him
about that today. His whimpering then became full-blown howling.
Again, it was very heartbreaking to hear. I had no idea what part
of this process was making a werewolf cry out. I wasn’t sure if it
was a Carni deal or a Tommy situation. Nonetheless, it was one of
the worst sounds I’d ever heard.

I stood by the door, while this went on for
about two hours. Tommy had once again exhausted himself from
howling and dropped to the floor and slept.

Tonight, I decided to come in and watch him
sleep. I looked at the spectacular, gray wolf asleep on the ground
of the cage like any ordinary house dog. This wasn’t a house dog.
He was gigantic and very powerful looking. Tommy was six feet in
length and built like a pit bull. This beast looked as if it could
kill a bear in seconds. His teeth were thick and long, and his
claws were the size of no. 2 pencils.

I sat there staring and studying Tommy for
what felt like a long period of time. At times he was restless; at
times he seemed peaceful. I knew I needed to take this bond to the
next level. I hoped we were ready.

* * *

I slipped out of the room as Tommy began to
wake up. I wanted to start the night doing the audible commands
outside the door to hopefully keep Tommy from going as ballistic as
he done the night before at the sight of me. I was counting on him
recognizing my voice, and having a mental connection. It would be
then that I would enter the room.

Tommy was growling and pulling at his
chains. The chains were dragging and scraping on the ground. I took
a deep breath. I called out, “Tommy!”

I heard the werewolf stop in his tracks. No
sound, no snarls, nothing. “Sit boy!” I yelled from outside the
door. I heard him pace for a few seconds. I repeated loudly, “Sit!
Then it happened. I heard a flop sound. He sat. I then proceeded to
give him the same basic verbal commands that I had done the day
before. When I felt he trusted me, I entered the room.

This magnificent, giant werewolf was sitting
and staring at me as if he was a lap dog waiting for a treat. I
rewarded him and threw some beef jerky in the cage. Tommy caught it
in his mouth then dropped it to the ground and sniffed it. He
licked the jerky a couple of times and then decided to devour it
like it was a Twinkie.

When he had finished his snack, I began
running through more verbal commands with him. We did this for
nearly an hour. There was a lot of trust and interaction between
us. I decided to ask Tommy some questions that could lead us to a
tactile situation.

“Tommy, if you trust me, speak!” I called
out. Tommy yelped. Tommy’s yelp did not sound like a typical bark.
It was a high-pitched growl. It was a tone that demonstrated
obedience and dominance in the same melodic tone.

“Tommy,” I said. “Will you attack me if I
came in the cage? Raise your right paw for ‘no’, and your left paw
for ‘yes.”

Tommy stared at me, and calmly raised his
right paw. That was a ‘no.’

“Do you promise, Tommy? Do you promise on
the love you have for my sister that you will not harm me in any
way if I enter the cage?”

Tommy raised his left paw. That meant he
promised.

He was letting me know it was okay to come
in. I didn’t know how smart this creature actually was. Could he
lie and manipulate me? Was he capable of tricking me into entering
the cage and then attacking me? He hadn’t shown any signs of deceit
up till now. He had been 100 percent loyal. I had to trust him.
This was my turn to believe in him.

“Tommy, would you like for me to come and
see you inside the cage?” I asked.

Tommy raised his left paw. Yes.

Okay, this was it. I was going to go in. He
was either going to attack me or allow me to sit with him. I had to
trust my gut instinct. I believed him. I was certain he wouldn’t
hurt me.

I took out the key out of my pocket and
unlocked the gate and opened it. I cautiously stepped in and leaned
my backup against the front of the cage. Tommy was in the back.
There was enough length that he could at the least bite off a toe
if he was aiming to attack.

“Sit! Tommy!” My voice had both command and
love in its delivery.

Tommy panted and then sat. Thank God!

“Tommy,” I said. “May I approach you?”

Tommy panted like a dog happy to see his
master after a long day. He confirmed by raising his left paw.

“Tommy, I am going to walk up to you and I’m
going to pet your head.”

I took a big exhale and looked at this
spectacular creature in his fierce yellow eyes. He didn’t have a
drop of fear or uncertainty. He trusted me, and I couldn’t help but
feel a powerful bond developing between us. It was different than
the connection Tommy and I had in our human form.

I walked up to Tommy and slowly petted his
head. Tommy liked being petted. I petted his back, and his face. I
knelt down and massaged his forehead in a rhythmic motion. Tommy
tilted his head and opened his mouth. His long sharp teeth were
exposed. My first reaction was to jump, but I froze instead.

I stared down at the wolf’s gigantic jaw.
His mouth was wide open and I was unsure what would happen next. I
could see him salivating. I wasn’t sure if he was going to bite,
but I remained calm. Then his long tongue came out of his mouth and
he began licking my hand. Not in a way that he was preparing to
devour it, but in a loving way that told me he was pleased that I
was there.

I knelt down and Tommy licked my face. I
laughed out loud as his long tongue tickled my nose and cheeks. I
hugged him in a way a seven year old would hug his brand-new puppy
on Christmas morning. This wolf, this six-foot-tall, 250-pound
werewolf was loving on me, and I was loving on him.

“Tommy,” I said. “Are you aware that I’m
Josiah?”

The wolf looked at me strangely.

“I’m Josiah,” I repeated. “Do you know
me?”

Tommy once again licked my face.

If he didn’t know me as Josiah, his friend,
he definitely knew me as Josiah, his master. “Are you hungry, boy?”
It was funny calling Tommy boy, but it seemed like the most natural
way to talk to him in this state. I had prepared a couple of steaks
for Tommy earlier in the evening and went out of the cage and
closed the cage door, but didn’t lock it. I mean after all, he was
still chained in. Baby steps, I thought.

I came back and threw both steaks in the
cage. Tommy went to town on them and enjoyed those steaks more than
any human ever could.

The rest of the night Tommy and I played in
his cage. He was still chained in, but at no point did I ever feel
I was in danger. This was once again becoming an extremely
productive night. This just might work.

The sun was about to come up, and I was very
curious to watch Tommy transform back to his Carni form, as I had
slept through it the night before. Tommy had put his head down and
rested. I wasn’t sure if he was asleep, but I decided to unlock his
chains. If he was going to attack me he would had done it by now. I
unlocked all the chains that were tightly placed around his elbow
and ankles and chest.

Tommy didn’t wake up and was completely
still. I walked out of the cage and instinctively locked the door
behind me. I stopped, and decided to unlock the cage. Not only did
I unlock the cage, I left the door open. I was going to trust Tommy
one hundred and ten percent. Tommy the werewolf and Tommy the man
were no longer two separate things and were becoming one. I sat
down outside the cage and rested against the wall. Tommy was
snoring away. What a night! I was exhausted.

The sun was peeking over the horizon, so I
decided to study the werewolf as he slept. Tommy startled himself
awake, within a second, he went from werewolf to man. I almost
didn’t catch it. It was a much quicker transformation than when he
had turned into a werewolf. He laid there in his boxers completely
soaked from head to toe. He looked up at me. “Josiah,” he said, “I
remember everything.”