| |
ELIZABETH
––––––––
THE CLOSER I WAS TO Boston, the stronger the feeling of unease was. Odd, since I wasn’t anxious about seeing Brian and breaking the news. Luna was agitated, too. What was going on? Had something happened to Madam Nikolaevna?
My just-emerged blaidd benywaidd was still in the deep background, still latent, and she couldn’t tell me more. Or maybe I didn’t know how to ask. But my mind was sharp, and I knew I could deal with whatever surprise waited for me.
I parked in front of my house and hurried to Madam Nikolaevna’s house. I’d try the back door, I thought. Maybe I would be able to peek inside.
My stomach was tied up in knots. Luna was erratic, jumping in front of me, trying to stop me.
Too late. The moment before the door swung open, I knew who was on the other side. I recognized his scent: ugly, vicious, filled with hate and dangerous craziness.
Dennis Simmons.
“Long time no see, Elizabeth,” he said and moved aside, allowing me to see Madam Nikolaevna, tied up to the kitchen chair, her small, pretty heart-shaped face battered and bruised, and her soft white hair in a mess. A thin line of blood ran from her temple down to her neck, soaking her white blouse.
In his hand, he casually held a long, two-blade hunting knife.
Luna made a low, threatening sound, ready to jump on him on my command. It took some effort on my side to restrain her.
“Run, Yelisaveta! Run!” Madam Nikolaevna yelled. Or tried. The sound coming through her swollen lips was a high-pitched moan.
“Madam Nikolaevna!” I stepped in and walked toward her. The door slammed behind us.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Dennis said, pushing me forward. “She won’t die. At least not of a few slaps. She won’t live long, though. I can’t leave any witnesses behind, now can I?”
I hurried to Madam Nikolaevna and crouched beside her. The cut on her temple didn’t seem deep, and I couldn’t see any other open wound. “We’ll be okay,” I whispered and gently squeezed her shoulder. “Trust me.”
Her answer was a small whimper.
My heart squeezed. Sick bastard. He’d pay for this.
He stayed on the other side of the kitchen table, his mad eyes darting between Madam Nikolaevna and me. He wasn’t sure what to do next.
I glanced at him, assessing the situation. The small table wasn’t a huge barrier, but we were at least out of his immediate reach.
I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes for a moment. Brian was somewhere close to this place, looking for me. I sensed him; I sensed his wolf. I had to keep us unharmed somehow until he arrived.
“Chopin ... Think about Chopin, my love.” I murmured.
“What? Is this some kind of secret message? What are you talking about, you crazy bitch? You’re a whore, you know that. A slut.”
I might not have the luxury of waiting for Brian, I realized.
“Answer me, you slut!”
Maybe it was despair. Maybe bravery born out of fear. Maybe because of that ugly word he liked to hurl at women. The night he’d almost beaten me to death, he’d kept repeating it. It fueled his rage.
Something shifted inside me. I knew I should be scared to death, but I wasn’t. It was as if that part of me stepped back, letting a strong, calm and very pissed off Elizabeth deal with this crazy loon. Once and for all.
“You’re full of shit, Dennis Simmons,” I said in an even voice. “Or should I say Derick Segal?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Ah, my secret’s out. How do you know my name?”
My wolf was inside me, fully present, angry, growling. My big, powerful, clever wolf was ready to burst out and rip Dennis Simmons into shreds.
This was not a battle I was going to lose. I had my child to protect, this innocent woman, my dog and myself.
I chuckled and met his gaze, allowing him a glance into something I still hadn’t seen: the eyes of my wolf.
“What’s your problem, Simmons? Small dick? Or a limp one?”
Through her swollen eyelids, Madam Nikolaevna looked at me as if I were losing my mind. I winked at her. “We’re going to be okay.”
Dennis’s face paled, then turned red. His grip on the knife tightened, but he didn’t try to stop me. I wrapped my arms around my terrified piano teacher and kissed her hair.
“Don’t even try ... to untie her,” he said. “Hear me, slut?”
I smiled at the slight tremble in his voice. The power had shifted; he didn’t know how but he felt it. I shouldn’t have underestimated him, though. He’d try to regain control, and he still had that darn knife.
“Prison life certainly didn’t improve your vocabulary, Simmons. By the way, your ex-wife is looking for you.”
He made an ugly sneer. “Ah. Pretty Lani. I might pay her a visit once I finish with you. Who’d have thought she’d survive?”
“You’ll be surprised how well she survived.” I turned to Madam Nikolaevna “When I tell you, you’ll close your eyes and you won’t open them until I say so. I’m so sorry you got hurt because of me.”
“Don’t talk to her! Step away from her, bitch!”
I looked at him. “Or what? What are you going to do? Kill me? How long do you think you’re going to live after that? My boyfriend and a whole bunch of his friends would hunt you. They’d find you. These are not men you would like to cross. You wouldn’t be able to hide anywhere.”
“Oh, god, don’t make him angry, Yelisaveta,” Madam Nikolaevna whimpered. “He’s going to kill us.”
“No, he won’t. He’s a bully and a coward. And I hate bullies and cowards.” And as if Dennis wasn’t there at all, I walked to the bedroom door and opened it. “Luna, inside!”
My poor, frightened, brave dog! She wouldn’t hesitate a moment to launch herself on Dennis if I gave her a sign, but she obeyed my command, yielding to the authority of my wolf, who was now running the show.
I returned to Madam Nikolaevna. “How did he find me?” I asked, still ignoring Dennis’s presence.
“He came to my door, asking for you,” she said, throwing glances at Dennis. “I told him I didn’t know you, but he’d seen me letting two gas company men into your backyard. They were checking for some leak, but it wasn’t in your house. He followed me to my house and forced me to let him in. He’s been here since yesterday. I didn’t tell him where you were.”
I brushed her cold cheek with my fingers. “Don’t be afraid. Everything will be fine.”
Dennis, who’d listened to our conversation with a wary expression, suddenly found his courage again and exploded. “Nothing will be fine! Nothing! I’ll kill you both! And your dog! Do you understand?”
He took a step toward us, but quickly changed his mind after my eyes lashed over him. He stayed on his side of the table, gripping tightly the handle of his big, ugly knife.
In his madness, he might have lost all his fear. His eyes were dark and murky, his face twisted in hatred and rage. I had to be careful. I’d be able to protect myself, but he still might hurt Madam Nikolaevna.
Well, what had to be done, had to be done. Better to deal with him while he was still afraid of the beast he saw in my eyes.
I closed my eyes.
“Don’t be afraid,” I heard my wolf say. “You’re much stronger, smarter and faster. We’re going to scare the shit out of him. Only you should probably take your clothes off. It could be uncomfortable if you don’t.”
“My baby? Is he going to be okay?”
“They’ll be fine.”
“They?”
“Twins. A boy and a girl. Are you ready?”
“I ... I am. My god, twins ... I’m ready.”
I blinked a few times and looked at Madam Nikolaevna. “Now close your eyes and don’t open them for anything. No matter what you hear.”
“Stop that crap!” Dennis said, with not much confidence. “Game time is over.”
“Game time has just begun,” I said and started taking my clothes off.
Confused by this unexpected twist, he kept his eyes on my body but avoided my eyes. He made a few ugly comments regarding my body, and finding them amusing, laughed. But then all of a sudden, his hysterical giggles, along with his insults, stopped.
My transformation started.
His eyes filled with horror and his jaw dropped.
“I warned you, Simmons, not to fuck with me,” I said in a voice that became deeper with every word. I moved my eyes from him to my feet. A tickling sensation would have had me giggle had the circumstances warranted it. My tiny feet had already turned into not so tiny paws. I felt my bones rearranging as my calves and thighs disappeared, leaving two strong wolf legs in their stead. The transformation continued up, fast, like putting on a costume. It passed my hips, wrapping protectively around my uterus without changing it, up to my stomach, chest and arms. There were small cracking sounds accompanied by more tickling when it reached my neck and finally changed my head.
The room had become small and tight, telling me that my size was formidable.
Before I turned my attention back to Dennis Simmons, I took a moment to savor the feeling of being a blaidd benywaidd.
I felt strong, I-can-lift-a-bus-with-one-hand kind of strong. My vision was perfect, my sense of smell sharp. I could sense many werewolves heading there. My mind was clear.
“Satisfied?” my wolf asked, chuckling.
“Very.”
“Any regrets?”
“Are you kidding?”
“Ha, I thought so. Hey, what about him?”
Ah, him.
In a half-stride, I was beside Dennis, knocking the knife out of his hand with my front paw and pushing him to sit on the chair. He was petrified, frozen in horror. I stood in front of him, huge and terrifying, and let out a long, low, menacing growl. Everything was in it: my fears and pain from two years ago, my nightmares since then, the rage for the abuse Lani had to endure (and god knew how many other women), the bruises, cuts and insults Madam Nikolaevna had suffered.
It would be easy to rip out his throat or break his neck, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted. A small pressure of my jaw on his neck and he’d be gone. But Lani wanted to have a chat with him, and I wouldn’t deny her the pleasure.
Instead, I settled for lifting my paw and slapping him on his face. I thought I hadn’t hit him hard, but he fell on the floor like a rag doll. He was now shaking uncontrollably, moaning and squeaking.
I pressed my paw over him, keeping him pinned to the ground. I turned my head to check on Madam Nikolaevna. Bless her heart, her face was bloodless, but her eyes were tightly closed. Only her lips moved silently. She was praying.
I could feel Brian a few houses down from there, Lani right behind him. The others were coming, too: James, Jack, Christian and Ahmed.
Thirty seconds later the door burst open, and Brian stormed in, only to come to a stop upon seeing me in my alternative form, and everything else under control.
Darn, I thought, as my heart jumped in excitement and relief, I might marry this man if he insisted.
“Hello, Brian.”
“Elizabeth! Are you okay?” I heard his panting voice in my head, and his heart, fast and strong. He came to me, sniffed me and rubbed his muzzle against mine.
“I am. You?”
“I’m fine. Oh, thank god you’re safe. Do you want to change now? I’ll take care of him.”
Dennis had lost consciousness upon seeing another wolf, bigger and even more fierce than me.
“In a bit.” I glanced at Madam Nikolaevna. This time her eyes were wide open and filled with ... amazement. “Meet my piano teacher, Olga Nikolaevna ... You got my message, did you? I asked her to keep her eyes closed but I suppose your arrival was a bit too much of a temptation.”
“Ah. We missed all the fun,” Christian said, as he and Lani entered Madam Nikolaevna’s kitchen. He glanced at the predator turned prey. “So, this is the lunatic that got us all riled up, huh?”
Lani looked at the unconscious man with disgust. “I need a word with him,” she said, then looked at me. “By the way, you look gorgeous.”
Christian turned to the injured woman. “Madam Nikolaevna, I presume,” he said with a charming smile. “My name is Christian Enescu, and,” he made an elegant motion toward Lani, “this is Ms. Blackwell. She’s a nurse. She’ll see to your wounds.”
“Brian,” I said, stepping between Christian and Madam Nikolaevna. “Instead of memory alterations, may we invite my teacher to visit us in Colorado?”
“Of course,” he said and looked at Christian. Tel-Urughs and werewolves couldn’t communicate telepathically between themselves, but somehow Christian understood his message.
He nodded. “No scrubbing then. Gotcha.”
“We owe her that,” Brian said to me. “I’ll talk to Rowena about more permanent arrangements if Madam Nikolaevna likes it there. She doesn’t have a family, does she?”
“No. I have a feeling she will like Copper Ridge. And the music school needs a piano teacher.”
I walked to her and put my head on Madam Nikolaevna’s lap, showing her my gratitude for refusing to tell Simmons where I was.
I didn’t expect her to completely understand my intentions, but to my surprise, she smiled at me and stroked my head with her shaking hands. “I hope I will see you soon, Yelisaveta.”
I blinked and tried my first blaidd benywaidd smile. “You will,” I said, even though she couldn’t hear me.
Christian addressed Madam Nikolaevna once more. “While Ms. Blackwell deals with these cuts and bruises, I’ll tell you a little bit about my friends and myself. How about that?”
“But first, we have to have a believable explanation for the police,” Madam Nikolaevna said. “What do you want me to tell them?”
I smiled to myself. My dear, amazing and practical teacher.
He crouched in front of her. “Here’s what we’ll tell them ...” He continued talking to her in a low, soothing voice. She listened and nodded now and then.
“You two should go to Elizabeth’s house until I say it’s safe to go home,” Lani said, bandaging Madam Nikolaevna’s injured wrist. “This place will soon be swarmed with police.”
“Why can’t we change and go back to Copper Ridge?” I asked.
Brian shook his head. “I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Brian must not change. He’s injured,” Lani said, guessing the course of Brian’s and my conversation. “It’s not serious, but it will heal faster if he stays as he is.”
I froze. “Injured! Where? How?”
“It’s a scratch; Ahmed will take care of it. The police were shooting at us. They probably thought a wolf escaped from the zoo.”
Lani looked at me and Brian. “You should go now. Jack, Ahmed and James are waiting outside to take you to Elizabeth’s house.”
“Brian, are you sure it’s ‘just a scratch’? Are you bleeding?”
“It’s nothing, really, you’ll see.” He tilted his head and looked at me, his incredible turquoise eyes filled with love and admiration. “You’re a hell of a blaidd benywaidd, Elizabeth Chatwin!”