To Live and To Love (Black Wolf Agency Book 1) (7 page)

“Oh, no!” said Yvonne, her tone of voice indicating that she was genuinely concerned. “I hope he feels better soon. Tell him to take all the time he needs. He can take tomorrow off also, if he needs to. Kate, you call me if you, or he needs anything, okay?”

“Thank you for being so understanding, Yvonne. Yes, I will call if we need anything. You really are a sweetheart.”

“You are, too. He’s lucky to have someone like you. I’m sure you’re taking excellent care of him.”

“Thank you, and yes, I am,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. Kate really hoped she was doing everything for him that she should be.

“Have a good day, and please tell him I wish him a speedy recovery.”

“I will. You have a good day, too, Yvonne.”

Kate hung up the phone and went back into the bedroom to find James fast asleep, no longer tossing and turning. She decided to lie back down in bed, knowing that he’d want her there by his side. She stayed there for another hour before deciding she could be of more use helping him out with some chores around his apartment for a bit. He really did need help around here. Men just don’t clean as well as women.

“Hello, sleepy,” said Kate’s sweet voice before James even opened his eyes. She must have been nearby and noticed him waking up.

“Hi, beautiful,” he said with a yawn. She reached over and felt his forehead.

“You’re a lot cooler,” she announced with a bright smile. “That’s great! How are you feeling?”

“A lot better, thanks. I’m just a little hungry, that’s all. What time is it?” he asked, sitting up.

“It’s 6 o’clock.”

“I guess I didn’t sleep that long after all.”

“No, honey, it is 6pm. You slept all day.”

“Oh, my! I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. You were really sick. You needed the rest. Besides, I got some things done around here while you were sleeping.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did. I wanted to help out,” she smiled.

“Thank you,” he smiled back.

“Do you remember anything while you were sick?”

“To tell you the truth, I don’t remember much. I just remember you being here with me. That nightmare I had; it was so horrible.” He shook his head and tried to think of something else. “Was Yvonne okay with me taking the day off?”

“Yes, and she said she hopes you feel better soon and to take all the time you need.”

“That’s good, thank you,” he said, smiling as he leaned forward to kiss her. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey. So, what do you feel like eating?”

“A big piece of meat,” he answered honestly. In fact, the thought of a large piece of steak made his mouth water. He realized at that moment that he wasn’t just a little hungry; he was starving. “I think there are a couple of steaks in the fridge.”

“Alright, that sounds good, actually. I’ll go cook them.” Kate’s mouth watered at the thought of eating a rare, juicy steak. Her desire to eat human food was yet another unique feature about her that didn’t apply to most other vampires.

“No, Kate, I can’t have you cooking for me.” He went to stand up, but she gently pushed him back onto the bed.

“I insist.” She gave him a devilish grin and strolled over to the bedroom door. He started to follow her, and she turned around and asked, “How would you like it done?”

“Rare, please.”

“I was afraid you’d say that, wolf man,” she sighed and then headed toward the kitchen. He continued to follow her.

“You know, last night I felt like shit, but now I feel fine, actually better than fine. How can I be a werewolf if I feel completely normal?” he asked with a laugh. In fact, other than the fever he had before, he felt perfectly fine. After he woke up and realized he felt normal again, he tried to put the whole werewolf thing out of his mind. If he were a werewolf, wouldn’t he feel different now?

“That’s just it; you already became one. What you went through last night was only the transformation process. I heard it is normal for someone to go through that and feel fine afterward. I bet that bite wound of yours is healed by now, for one.”

James pushed the bandage down to check on his wound and saw that it was completely gone. He thought, ‘
What the hell?
’ Not believing his eyes, he pulled the bandage back up in place. Then a couple seconds later, he pulled it down again. Nope, it was still the same. The wound was still gone. He wasn’t imagining things. He tore the bandage off and said, “Wow, that just isn’t right. Though it’s totally cool that I can do that.”

“Not right for a human, but perfectly normal for a werewolf. They heal incredibly fast.”

“Amazing! So, how come I had the fever?”

“My guess is that the fever was a reaction to the changes that were occurring in your body. It was probably just your immune system trying to fight it off.”

“Interesting. So, what kinds of strange urges were you referring to a minute ago? Things like, changing during the full moon?”

“No, actually, the legend about changing during the full moon is false, as well as the allergy to silver. So is the half-man, half-wolf legend, but you already know that,” she said in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner as she opened the fridge, grabbed a steak and held it up in front of him. He stared at it longingly for a moment until she laughed and said, “Wow, if only you wanted me that badly.”

He snapped back to reality and said, “Oh, believe me; I want you way more than that steak. The only difference is I don’t want to eat you.” Okay, maybe he did want to eat her, just in a different, non-violent way. Sue him.

“Don’t be so sure you’ll always feel that way,” she said, her tone of voice saddened and worried. “Alexander was wrong about one thing, you know. There is another way for a vampire to die, other than being exposed to sunlight or having a wooden stake plunged through their heart. There’s no coming back once a werewolf has eaten a vampire.” She shuddered just thinking about it.

“Sweetie, I won’t let anything happen to you; I promise,” he said. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her neck softly. “And I promise not to eat you.”

“Well, why is it that werewolves kill vampires? Hmm? It isn’t because they don’t want to eat us,” she said sarcastically.

“I honestly don’t know. This is a whole new world for me. However, my guess is some high up werewolf-dude told all of his werewolf minions that vampires were bad and need to be wiped out.”

“Can you be serious? That’s what I’ve always thought, too. I know that’s what I was always told by other vampires. Some of the older vampires seemed to know a bit about them. I never actually got the chance to ask a werewolf before, of course.” She turned on the stove burners to start cooking the steaks and then turned around to face him again. “But tell me, honestly, since we’re so close right now, and you’re hungry, how does my scent appeal to you? Tell me I don’t smell different to you?”

He sniffed her, sighed impatiently, and then replied, “You smell as lovely as always, sweetie. The only difference is your scent seems to be a lot stronger and sweeter than it used to be. That’s all, though. I have absolutely no desire to attack or eat you. That’s just silly.” What she didn’t know was that, deep down inside; there was a part of him that had an urge to go after her. It wasn’t a strong feeling, though. He was very confident he could suppress it. He couldn’t bear telling her anyway. He never wanted her to have a reason to fear him.

She sighed happily and smiled. “That’s such a relief.” Kate did feel better with his reassurance, but she’d keep watching, just the same.

“I know,” he said, pulling her close. He really was going to have to reign himself in around her. Her scent, along with her cool skin touching his was driving his senses wild.

“And just think; now we can truly be together forever.”

“What?” he asked, shocked and confused. “That part of the legend is true?” Freaking fantastic, he was starting to enjoy this werewolf shit.

“Yes, it’s true. Vampires live forever, why can’t werewolves? One of the werewolves I encountered in the past on two separate occasions was over a thousand years old. His friend was six-hundred.”

“Wow!” James was clearly astounded.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” she asked with a bright smile on her face. He still found it hard to believe that such a brilliantly beautiful, kind-hearted woman like her would never be able to see the light of day again.

“Yes, I couldn’t be happier,” he said, but in his mind, he thought of one thing that would make him happier: to help Kate find a way to be able to go out in the sunlight without dying. However, that would be impossible.

‘
Or is it?
’ he wondered.

An Unlikely Couple

When Kate woke in the morning, she found that the place in bed beside her was empty. She glanced around the room and noticed the bathroom door was open, and the light was on.

She got up and walked over to the bathroom door and cautiously peered in. James was standing in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. Even though Kate had walked over silently, James could still sense her there, as well as smell her. All of his senses were heightened, it seemed, and he couldn’t wait to test them to find out their full potential.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” she asked, approaching him slowly and wrapping her arms around him, also staring at his reflection.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just couldn’t sleep much last night, so I got up a little while ago and took a shower.”

“Well, you look handsome,” she said, caressing his smooth face that he had just shaved. She could smell the pleasant scent of his aftershave on his skin. It was nice to know that he would only have that musky werewolf odor when he was in wolf form.

“Thanks,” he said, looking away from the mirror to face her. “And how is it that you always look so beautiful, even after you just wake up?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m a mess!” she laughed, running her fingers through her hair to straighten it a bit. He laughed, rolled his eyes, and then looked at her like she was crazy. She smiled and said, “But thank you for the compliment. So, how are you feeling today? Do you feel any different at all?”

“Actually, I feel like running.”

“Like running?”

“Yeah, I know it sounds odd. That could be a werewolf side-effect, right?”

“Yes, that’s very likely.”

“I thought so. It’s like I have this massive buildup of energy inside me all of a sudden. If you’re up to it, maybe we can run to work today.”

“That sounds great, actually,” she grinned. She was looking forward to that, as well as another thought that crossed her mind. “I can’t wait until tonight, when we can give some of your other werewolf abilities a test-run.”

“Hmm, that sounds right up my alley.” He grinned back at her.

Kate took a quick shower, got dressed, and put on some makeup to look a little less, well, dead. Then they left the apartment and hit the streets. It was still a long time before the sun would come up. There were very few people out that early, and absolutely no one was on the back streets yet, except for an occasional homeless person. Just to be safe, they decided to take a detour to avoid as many main streets as possible, taking the quiet back streets and dark alleys instead.

“I can see! I can see everything!” he said excitedly, grabbing both of her hands and looking straight at her with a bright smile on his face.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she asked him. She could see him, too, as if it were daytime. She could always see him. She could see everything, except fine details in the darkest shadows.

“It’s strange because I can clearly tell it’s still dark out, but I can see everything!”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“All of my senses are so much clearer now! It’s not only my eyesight. I can also smell everything, hear the slightest noise, and every time I touch something, the feeling is magnified. And when I open my mouth, it’s like I can taste the air. It’s almost as if I’m on some type of super drug, or something. Everything is so intense!”

“That’s kind of the way it is for me, too, except there are a few bad things that go along with being a vampire; mainly, the constant urge to consume blood. Most of the time it’s minimal, but if I don’t drink it on a regular basis, at least once a day, it becomes painfully overwhelming.” She frowned, wrapping her arm around him as they walked together. Even though he was a werewolf, holding him close like this comforted her. He was her light in the dark world where her kind belonged.

James decided to change the subject. He hated that she had to suffer on a daily basis because of what she was, and he wanted to get her mind off of it. Besides, his inner werewolf instincts were urging him to try out his running skills for the first time.

“Want to race?” he asked her.

“Definitely,” she answered, grinning at him. His grin matched hers as he looked at her for a moment. Then they took off.

James felt the energy burst inside him as he took off. At first, he was shocked how fast he was able to run, but Kate had no trouble keeping up with him and was by his side as the buildings flashed past them. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

As he felt his heart beat faster and harder in his chest, he felt a strange feeling come upon him. He felt as if something inside him was rapidly changing, and he embraced it, letting the change happen.

Before he knew it, he was racing far ahead of Kate, now running on all fours. He skidded to a stop on the loose stones in the alleyway, glancing over his new silver wolf form, taking in the sight of his own fur and paws. It was as if he was living in a wild, vivid dream.

Kate stopped and stared at him in amazement. As they slowly approached each other, he wagged his tail to let her know he wasn’t going to harm her, in case she still had any doubt in her mind.

“Amazing,” she said, in awe as she reached out to gently run her hand along the fur on the top of his head. When he playfully licked her arm, she laughed. She bent down a little so she was face-to-face with him, gazing into his big, brown, gentle wolf eyes. At that instant, he changed back to his human form and kissed her.

“Yes, it’s truly amazing,” he replied. “And it’s very convenient how I’m still wearing my clothes when I change back.”

“It would be more for me convenient if you weren’t,” she grinned.

“Well, that would only be appropriate at home,” he laughed and grinned back at her. “But anytime you’d like to duck out of public view, I’d love to take my clothes off, as well as yours.”

“Ooh, I’d like that.”

“Anyways, you’d love being a werewolf.”

“Definitely. It sounds like it’s a whole lot better than being a vampire.”

They both stood up, and he took her hand as they continued on their way to work.

“I bet being a werewolf will help me with my job. Just think of the things I could do! Super speed and strength will really help me. Furthermore, the risk of me getting killed or injured on the job will go way down. And last, but not least, there’s the fact that I’ll be able to kick some serious ass.”

“That’s definitely a positive point.” She smiled.

James leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He was so lucky to have her. He just wished there was some way he could help her. Perhaps, there was.

“Do you know if it’s possible for a vampire to become a werewolf?” Yes, it was a long-shot, but how awesome would that be?

“No, I don’t know, and to tell you the truth; I’m afraid of what might happen if we were to try,” she said, cringing at the thought. Kate was wondering where he was going with all this.

“You’re afraid it will kill you?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any way we can find out from someone? Do you think perhaps another vampire or werewolf would know?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe.” She didn’t sound very hopeful at all. Could things really be this easy? Could the secret to escaping this wretched life be right in front of her, all this time?

“You know, I’m surprised
Black Wolf Agency
doesn’t already know about something like that. It’s shocking how little we know about werewolves, considering how much we’ve discovered about other paranormal creatures out there.”

“Well, werewolves tend to stay out of the spotlight for a reason. The reason you don’t know much about them is because they don’t want you to know. They generally only shape shift while hunting a vampire and cover up their tracks really well afterward. Otherwise, if you’re not a vampire or another werewolf, with the ability to smell their scent, there would be no way to tell the werewolves apart from the humans.”

“I see. Well, I’m very curious if it’s possible to convert a vampire to a werewolf.” This was going to be one of the things he would make a point in finding out about.

“Me, too,” she said, holding him close as they walked.

The day went by very quickly. In addition to spending some quality time with James, Kate also got to know Yvonne a little better and met a couple of James’s co-workers, including a nice, middle-aged man named Charlie, and a chipper, young woman named Lin.

Charlie was very easy going and lovely to have a conversation with. He explained to Kate about how his job was to manage the security at the facility and do research on paranormal creatures, sorting out the myths from reality.

Lin was a Chinese witch who had recently become an American citizen. She had extensive knowledge on ancient Chinese myths and magic, and was responsible for managing paranormal activities in Chinatown, as well as occasionally assisting James in his adventures around other parts of the city.

Everyone at
Black Wolf Agency
was fabulous and shared lots of stories with Kate about the adventures James had in the past. The most intriguing story they told her was when they sent James to track down a succubus. Fortunately, they weren’t very common, but when they made their way into the human population, they were very dangerous.

It was Charlie who had discovered the succubus. One morning, he was reading about a couple of mysterious murders in the newspaper. Seeing that these were no ordinary murders, he collected the clues from the article and did some research to see what kind of creature could be responsible for the crimes, concluding that a succubus only could have caused them.

The succubus that James was assigned to track down was a beautiful redhead named Astrid. She was notorious for hooking up with strange men from random bars and going home with them. Then, once she got them alone in their apartments, she would have sex with them and drain the life out of them in the process.

Charlie worked with Yvonne and Lin to create a potion to give to James to lure the succubus to him and make him immune from her powers long enough so he could stab her in the heart with a silver dagger. That was the only way to vanquish a succubus.

When Charlie, Yvonne, and Lin were finished telling the story, James walked in the room and concluded the story by saying to Kate, “Even the succubus, who is notorious for her beauty, wasn’t nearly as gorgeous as you.” He kissed her on the cheek, and she smiled.

“Nice save,” said Kate, smirking at him. Everyone laughed at the exchange between the two of them.

Kate realized it had been yet another wonderful day for the both of them.