Jennifer Brian
LEA
âAnother gin and tonic!â Liam slurred, hiccuping as he slapped his hand against the bar.
I knew I shouldâve cut him off, but he was clearly going through something, and it wasnât my place to judge.
I made him another, heavy on the tonic water, and passed it across the bar.
Hector had knocked off about thirty minutes ago, and now it was just Liam and me.
I glanced at my phone. Almost 3 oâclock in the morningâŠ
Iâd be closing up soon, but I didnât have the heart to kick Liam out just yet.
Despite his increasing drunkenness, I was actually enjoying his company.
Weâd been talking for the past couple hours, and Iâd found that we shared a lot in common.
Although, one thing we vehemently disagreed on was my veganism.
Liamâs motto was: âif itâs not bleeding, itâs not worth eating.â
We found common ground in the obvious stuff like art, music, and movies, but what I really connected with him on was boxing.
Iâd been fascinated with it ever since I was a little girl. Maybe because my father had formerly been a boxer, and it was just about the only detail I knew about him.
Mom wasnât exactly forthcoming about the man who she claimed had âruinedâ her life.
Though she seemed to do a pretty good job of that on her own these daysâŠ
As for Liam, heâd told me that he had a high-pressure career in investment, and he used boxing as a way of relieving stress.
My eyes widened as he finished his drink in one monstrous gulp.
Apparently, he used drinking for that too.
âFuck,â he muttered under his breath. âWhat am I going to do?â
I wasnât sure if he was asking me or just talking to himself.
âListen, I donât know what youâre going through, but Iâm hitting the gym tomorrow,â I said, leaning my elbows on the bar. âIf you want to spar a few roundsâŠâ
Liam looked up at me and gave me a half-smile. He placed his hand on top of mine. âYouâre a really nice person, Lea. Truly. Iâm sorry Iâm such a mess. I realize this isnât the greatest first impression.â
âDonât worry about it,â I replied, very aware that his hand was on mine. âWe all go through a rough time now and then.â
âI walked in on my ex giving a blowjob to my best friend,â Liam said abruptly.
âOhâŠshit.â
No wonder he was drinking the barâs entire supply of gin.
His ex-girlfriend mustâve been the worldâs biggest bitch.
I poured a shot and, as Liam reached for it, I downed it myself.
âIâm taking that one for you,â I said.
Liam laughed. âThanks. A true friend.â
Truthfully, he didnât need any more. I glanced at my phone again. ~3:05 a.m.~
âWell, I hate to say this, LiamâŠyou donât have to go home, but you canât stay heââ
âI canât go home,â he said suddenly, his expression growing somber.
Right, the cheating ex.
I sighed, knowing what I was about to do was against my better judgment.
âCome on, my place is just around the corner.â
***
Three steps into my apartment and Liam had collapsed face-first onto my couch and passed out.
It was probably for the best.
I was feeling pretty drunk myself and, as much as I had tried to force a sexual connection with Liam tonight, it felt more friendly.
Not like GraceâŠ
There was nothing friendly about what I was feeling when sheâd touched me.
I shivered just thinking about it as I walked into my bedroom and pulled off my jeans and T-shirt.
Those honey-colored eyes haunted me.
As I crawled into bed, odd scratching and grunting sounds carried in from the living room.
Was that Liam?
I cautiously crept over to my door and placed my ear against it.
He was panting heavily, almostâŠgrowling.
What the hell?
The scratching noise increased as I heard him thrashing around.
I glanced at my boxing gloves, hanging from the hook on my door.
I could defend myself if I needed to, butâŠhopefully it didnât come to that.
I cautiously opened my door and peered out into the living room. âLiam?â
He was flailing wildly on the couch, groaning in his sleep.
âNoâŠI donât want to turnâŠâ
He was having a nightmare. I rushed to his side and placed my hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him.
âLiam, itâs okay. Youâre justââ
âNO!â he roared. His fingers swiped my arm, and I cried out in pain.
I backed away and retreated to my room, closing the door and locking it.
Iâd always heard that you shouldnât try to wake someone up when theyâre sleepwalking. It turned out that applied to sleep-thrashing too.
My arm stung like a bitch, and when I looked down at it, I gasped.
There were three long red marks running down my forearm.
They looked almost likeâŠclaw marks?
Liamâs fingernails were short and manicuredâŠbut somehow theyâd broken my skin.
As I washed my arm off in the sink and the red water swirled down the drain, I wonderedâŠ
Liam had muttered that he didnât want to turnâŠ
âŠBut turn into what?
***
Iâd woken up with a killer headache.
Damn, why did I take so many shots last night?
My head wasnât the only thing that was hurting this morning, thoughâŠ
I looked down to see the red scratches lining my arm.
I still wasnât quite sure how that had happened.
I got out of bed and hastily pulled some clothes on before nervously peering into the living room.
Liam was already gone. But heâd left behind a nice little surprise.
âMy couch!â I shouted, my eyes widening.
The leather was torn to shreds. Scratches and gashes in every cushion.
This was what I got for bringing a drunk and distraught stranger home for the night.
Next time, Iâd just mind my own damn business.
I slumped down onto the ruined sofa and sighed.
My couch had gotten more action last night than ~I~ had.
Liamâs emerald-green eyes and Graceâs honey-colored ones flashed through my mind. I felt a tingling between my legsâespecially as I thought of Grace.
I think I just needed to admit itâŠ
I was sexually frustrated.
I walked into my room and grabbed the boxing gloves from the back of the door.
And I know just the cure.
LIAM
I sat in a diner, sipping a cappuccino and hoping that all the bad decisions Iâd made last night werenât going to come back and bite me in the ass.
I canât believe I almost shifted.
Iâd treated Leaâs couch like a scratching post in my sleep.
When I woke up and saw my couch cushion massacre, I knew I couldnât stick around to try and explain.
I felt bad because I actually liked her, and sheâd put me up for the night when I was too wasted to even walk.
But if she found out what I really wasâŠ
A werewolf.
The consequences wouldâve been dire.
It was forbidden for our kind to reveal ourselves to humans.
Normally, I had better control over my shifting, but my breakup with Jeff mixed with too much alcohol was a lethal combination.
I should never have let myself be that vulnerable!
With LeaâŠ
Or with Jeff.
My phone began to buzz in my pocket, and I pulled it out.
Speak of the devilâŠ
I was so pissed that I couldâve crushed my phone in my hand.
That asshole was trying to play the victim now?
As my fingernails started to shift into claws, I knew I needed to get control of my aggression.
Or better yetâŠ
I needed to release it.
LEA
WHACK!
I punched the bag as hard as I could, trying to release my pent-up frustration.
I was finally starting to feel a bit better. Boxing always did the trick.
The gym was mostly empty this early in the morning, but that was how I liked it.
I punched the bag over and over as I drowned out the background noise of the news anchor on the TV in the corner.
It was better than therapy and, honestlyâŠcheaper.
âHey, I owe you an apology,â a familiar voice suddenly said from behind me.
I whipped around to see Liam approaching. Despite how drunk he was last night, he still looked like he had just stepped out of a Calvin Klein ad.
âYou owe me a new couch,â I replied, crossing my arms.
âFair enough,â he said sheepishly. âMy nightmares can be a littleâŠintense.â
No fucking kidding.
âDown to go a couple rounds?â he asked, nodding to the boxing ring in the center of the gym.
âSure, but I should warn youâŠâ I said, giving him a sly look. âIâm going to treat you the same way you treated my couch.â
His emerald eyes widened, and I couldnât help but laugh.
Liam was about to find out just what it meant to go toe-to-toe with me.
I mightâve made a mean gin and tonic with an extra kick, butâŠ
My punch was what he really needed to watch out for.
***
Liamâs technique wasnât terrible, but I still wiped the floor with him.
I probably shouldâve taken it easier on him, given that he was dealing with both a breakup and a hangover, but it was too fun to spar with someone twice my size and have the advantage.
When Liam left to hit the showers, I pulled my boxing gloves off and ran my fingers across the scratch marks on my arm. They were still tender.
An intense musical cue on the television suddenly demanded my attention.
âBreaking news,â an anchor said as he read from a teleprompter. âSara Jones, the twenty-four-year-old woman whoâs been missing since Friday, has been linked to an animal attack at Schmitz Preserve Park. Police say it appears sheâd been hiking alone.â
My stomach twisted as a photo of a campsite appeared onscreen.
The ground was covered in blood, and her tent was torn to shreds.
âAuthorities say theyâre still searching for her body.â
The next image that appeared onscreen was a paw printâfrom a paw the size of a baseball glove.
âLarge prints were found in the mud surrounding Ms. Jonesâ campsite. The police have issued a warning to all potential hikers visiting the areaâŠâ
I looked down at my scratches again, and my heart raced as the reporter continued.
ââŠBe on the lookout for wolves.â