Before Cliff could say anything else, she shifted back into her wolf form and ran for her life.
Chapter Seven
“Let’s go back to the house,” Cliff said to Taylor. “It’s not safe out here for you yet.”
His ominous words echoed in her head as they trudged back through the woods in silence.
When they got back to the house, James shot Cliff a significant glance and murmured, “Please remember what I said. It’s your only chance of success.”
Cliff responded with a wolf-like growl, and James sighed and left as Cliff led Taylor over to an outdoor grouping of a table and wicker chairs with blue-and-white flowered cushions. She sank onto one of the chairs and Cliff sat next in the chair next to her.
“I imagine that you have questions,” he said.
“And apparently you have questions for me as well. I suppose that’s better than being interrogated by your Elders, whatever or whoever an Elder is.”
He looked at her with interest. “You heard us through the door. The shift is already happening.”
“How could I not hear you? You spoke as clear as day.”
“That door is solid oak and we were twenty feet away. So one of your talents is going to be enhanced hearing.” At her confused look, he explained, “Werewolves have enhanced senses, and some of them have more enhanced senses than others. There’s a lot that I need to explain to you.”
“Oh, you think?” she scoffed. “Yes, I might have a question or two. Million.”
He nodded. “I’ll answer all that I can right now. First of all, I need to apologize for how I approached things earlier. I assumed you’d been a werewolf all your life. I didn’t realize that you’d just been turned. Even so, I was rude about it and should have approached the entire issue better.”
“Assuming that I believe you, and that I’m really a werewolf, how did you know?”
“Sense of smell. We can all scent each other. Most werewolves – like Shelley – might not be able to scent you until after you first turn, which will happen at the next full moon. But I come from a particular strain of werewolves called the Dominus strain. We have enhanced senses, and some psychic powers.”
“Psychic powers. Okay.” Her voice was laced with skepticism.
“You saw what James did with Shelley. A lot of our pack members have them. We call werewolves like him Truth-Makers. His wife is a healer; she can pull a wolf or a human back from the brink of death.”
“How could I have become a werewolf?” she protested. “Wouldn’t I have to have been bitten by one? I can assure you, nobody’s bitten me. Not a person, not a dog, not a wolf. Unless the myths are false?”
“No, the myths get some things wrong, but that part’s true. The only way for you to become a werewolf is for our saliva to enter your bloodstream.” Cliff frowned. “Truman mentioned that you told him you had an ex-boyfriend who was a crazy stalker.”
“Yes, but he didn’t bite me.” She thought hard. “I broke up with him before the last full moon. And we never even had sex. We did kiss…”
Cliff let out a growl, and claws shot out of his fingertips, causing Taylor to start.
With a visible effort, he regained control of himself, and his claws retracted. “Even then,” he said, his voice thick with anger, “he would have to have bitten you while kissing you. And if the full moon came and went after that, then he didn’t turn you.”
“If I’d ever handled product samples, would that infect me?”
“No. Otherwise all the products we sell would turn people.”
“Good point.” Then she looked at him skeptically. “What is in the products that you sell?”
He smiled wryly. “You can’t guess? Werewolf blood. Incredibly diluted. The Platinum line is from wolves with the Dominus gene, like me. The Dominus gene makes us stronger, faster, we have enhanced senses, we’re fiercer fighters.” At that he frowned.
“What’s wrong with being fierce?”
“The problem is…I’m afraid I’ll be too much for you. All male wolves are pretty dominant, especially sexually, but with the Dominus gene…when we see what we want, we claim it. Pretty aggressively. Like I did in the forest before. It’s a werewolf thing. It’s part of our animal nature; we’re role playing. We chase the woman, and she’s expected to give us a hard time, make us work for it. But I know that not all humans are into that kind of thing.”
“I didn’t…hate it.” She blushed.
At that, he gave her an amused glance. “I know you didn’t. I can scent arousal. If a wolf with the Dominus gene went after a woman and she genuinely didn’t want him, he’d sense it and back off. Well, most of us would.” His expression darkened again. “We’re up against an Alpha who wouldn’t.”
