Soul Stalkers - 04
Soul Stalkers - 04
By Arthur Griffin & Little Red Wolf
Lunch is a good time to sit and watch. I think of my thralls, they're usefulness is reaching an end. The third will replace them both. Angela is getting better, now that her big-sister is so focused on her training. The third will top them both. The third always does.
The door opens and in walks a pair of wild eyes. Her parents sit at the table with her, a bear for a father and a smoking victim for a mother. Little brother sits across from her and laughs at a joke he heard at school. Her hair is long and not straitened, flowing down to the center of her back. Her smile stretches in a wide grin, showing all of her gleaming teeth.
A thousand freckles cascade down a lithe body, stretched tight across a muscular frame. Bright blue eyes dance with laughter and the freedom of spirit that has brought her here. Delight is easily found in the world. Such a rare treasure dancing in a sea of laughter and friends.
I will watch her... she may be the one...
*****
"What in the hell is your issue?" They had all seen the possible third, but Angela and Tammy were confused. Master had not been right sense the incident but this crossed the line. "She is not one of us," Tammy complained. "She is NOT one of us!"
"She will be," he said in a calm tone of certainty. His eyes had a far away look that told her he was already planning the hunt.
"Not that type of... that's not what I mean!" Tammy was fighting the beast, fighting the wolf that wanted to dominate and have her way. She needed to think through her reasoning. Screaming would not get her her way. "She's not damaged, Master. She does not need your help."
"That is why we need her," Master said calmly. "She will be a fine third."
"How do you know that she will give up her past?" Master finally looked Tammy in the eye. She struggled not to look away. "She has a wonderful life, a bright future. She has no reason to leave."
"Angela had no reason to leave."
"Of course she did." She stopped to breath for a moment. "We both did."
"I am sure this one has a reason to leave too," Master said dismissively.
"You can't, it's not right."
"Taking you was not right, but you are grateful for it."
"That's because I was empty inside. She is not empty! You can see it in her eyes! She is full, so full of this life it hurts to look at her. You can't take her away from it."
"Why not?" Master asked with a coldness that made Tammy take a step away. "If taking her furthers our cause then why not? She will make a fine alpha-female and a fine mother to my pups. That is why I need her. That is why you do not want her here. Admit it, Tammy, you are jealous!"
He almost never used her real name or raised his voice. To do two at once was almost unbearable. A moment of reason caused her to nod in agreement. "Why shouldn't I be? The girl has no scars of wickedness, no need for the glory we seek. The world treats her well enough without her running on all fours and howling at the moon. Suffering is needed to appreciate such a fate."
"What else," he said coldly.
"This girl has had everything go right for her. She has a wild spirit, bright eyes, and a tight sexy body. People fall all over themselves to be her friend and help her out. Her family is caring and her grades are fantastic. She has not suffered like we have. She is not broken and in need of fixing. She is... is..."
"Balanced," Angela's quiet voice came from where she had been hiding. Timidly she stepped forward. She took a deep breath, and with her eyes unable to rise from their feet, she spoke again. "Her world is in balance, Master. Please let us find someone for you to fix."
"I don't want someone to fix," Master said in what almost sounded like a pout. "I'm tired..." The girls did not say anything, the idea of him being tired was not something they were prepared for. "I have taken dozens into my care and fixed them all. Some move onto a better path and others fall into the pit of their own destruction. But they leave... they all leave."
Master seemed so weak and frail. His aura of power and ruthlessness faded and he looked like an old man. His age was suddenly apparent. He had been rescuing girls and rebuilding them into great women for decades. The strain of so much emotional turmoil was wearing him down.
"Master," Tammy said as she laid her hand on his arm, "I'll stay with you... if you'll let me."
"No," he said sadly before walking away, "no you won't."
*****
"I... I don't understand," Angela was crying... always crying. "W-what did we d-do? Why won't he stay?"
"I'll tell you why!" Tammy snapped at her with fangs she could not hide. "Men's lives are like their orgasms! They plot, and plan, and hunt, and EXPLODE... and then they go to sleep. Once they have what they want they get bored and move on. There's no place for us in his world. Once he's gotten his use from us he'll piss us away!"
"But that... is what I was like." Angela could not look up, so Tammy put her hand under the girl's chin and forced eye-contact.
"Was that why he chose you?" she said bitterly. Angela nodded. "He made me his bitch because I was a bitch to everyone. I clawed and bit and scorned the world. I appreciated nothing. I lived only for myself! Now... I'm different... at least... I think I am."
"You are," Angela said as her big-sister suddenly showed weakness and looked away. "You are stronger than you know. You just need to believe it!"
"You should take that into your own heart too," Tammy said to her little-sister.
"I... I know."
They smiled and held each other for a time. There in each other's arms they found comfort. The comfort to find another way. The comfort that granted them the strength to move on.
"Little-sister," Tammy said to the slightly smaller woman in her arms, "would you like to go hunting with me?"
"What are we hunting for?" Angela said as she sniffed back her tears.
"The third," Tammy said with a smile. "We will find the third he could never find on his own."
*****
Night brought the animals out of their lairs, into the cold hunting grounds. Hot breath misted across the campus as bi-pedal creatures puffed, like trains, to bars, clubs, and party houses. The wolves traveled the concrete trails, watching the humans with their matting plumage displayed for all to see. Scent and cold raised goosebumps across the skin of the hunters, drawn to the waterholes where prey gathered in mass.
Tammy looked upon the faces of the teenage and twenty-something crowd. Strange sensations reminded her that this was her less than a year prior. She too had come to these places, dressed like these lambs, and shaken her tail at the rams who strutted and postured with all their booze fueled might. The predator she had become smelled fresh meat, but her human mind struggled against the sensations. A mission was holding her to a course of action and she would hold herself to it.
"Angela," Tammy said to her pack mate who looked hungrily upon the lambs who gathered at a Greek fraternity house, "we'll start here. Don't go far." Angela nodded but Tammy was certain her little-sister had only half heard her. This bothered her, but her attention would need to focus on her goal.
Ears strained, listening to words, meanings, and accents. The third would need to be strong, smart, but pained. "Like, oh my God! I can't believe she said that!" The valley girl twang bristled the hair on her neck, and angry reminder of her past and the thing she used to be. A snotty blond girl turned her nose up at a less popular boy then turned her interest to a muscle bound douche-bag. Preppy posturing attracted preppy attention in a jungle of vanity used to cover insecurities.
Tammy began to wonder if she could look past the mask and see to the hearts of these idiots. Thoughts drifted back to her master and what he must have seen when he had hunted her down. A warmth gathered around her heart and caused her embarrassment. She too had been a fool... selfish, fake, angry, afraid, eager to impress the alphas and show she was a grown-up. Now she was different, and yet, she was still trying to prove herself an adult. Was she really so different?
The drink table was surrounded by beer-pong players who emitted sounds like braying mules. Tammy took a pre-poured drink, glanced at the onlookers, then began to mingle. Scent told her much, but there was an inner sense of energy somewhere in this place. The football players lacked real life and the girls who cheered at the games had no heart. The pot smokers were also vacant, but a single strobe of energy was pulling her forth.
Something accelerated her heart... pulling her to a break in the crowd where a single presence lurked. A loner, with her arms crossed, surveyed the crowd with a look of terrible loathing on her features. A pale face surrounded dark eyes and was framed in raven black hair. A black sweater covered a lithe frame as leather pants were pulled tight by straps. Tall, steel-toe, boots completed the outfit of tough, sexy defiance that stirred a very real attraction from the hunter.
It took resolve to step within a few feet, and for a moment she just stood there and sipped her flat beer. "Hey," Tammy finally said, drawing a glance from the girl's penetrating gaze. "Nice outfit." The goth-girl gave only the slightest nod of response. "You look board." The girl gave only a slight grunt but Tammy could smell her fear. The tough goth persona stripped away all appearance of emotion but the core still burned.
The wall supported them both for a slightly awkward moment. Tammy tried to focus on her predatory side, slowly emitting pheromones in an effort to draw attention from only this one person. It was difficult letting only a little sexy creep to the surface, and she afraid of drawing the entire room to her. Just a little... that was all she needed. Just... enough...
"This place sucks," the goth-girl said, breaking Tammy's concentration.
"Yeah," Tammy replied, as she stopped the flow, trying to act natural, "but at least the beer's free."
"The beer sucks too."
"That's why it's free."
A half-smile appeared on the goth-girl's face as she emitted a sound that was almost the start of an unpleasant laugh. Tammy felt the energy that had drawn her here increase. Smells of bodies and booze interfered with attempts to focus on this one person, forcing her to rely on older instincts.
"Is there a reason you came all the way over here to talk to me?" the goth-girl asked, her intentions still masked.
"You looked more interesting than this lot," Tammy said as she motioned to the crowd.
"Interesting? So, you were hoping I would amuse you?"
"I was hoping you wouldn't be tragically stupid."
"And?" the goth-girl asked as she twitched one eye and almost turned her head.
"Well," Tammy said as she turned a little more toward her, "you've yet to say dude, or oh my god, so I'd say you're doing alright so far." The goth-girl gave a two ha laugh and allowed a small smile to stay on her face.
"Good to know, so, you here with friends?"
Angela was talking to a pair of boys on the other side of the room. Tammy felt a pang of jealously that she stomped out when one of the boys brushed her little-sister's butt.
"Just one," Tammy replied, "she's shy until we actually get here."
"Let me guess," the goth-girl said, "as soon as you get here, the boys flock and you're out in the cold."
"Pretty much," Tammy nodded, "same game as always."
"So... you wanna fuck or something?" The girl's eyes conveyed the hunger Tammy had been trying to inflict upon her, and was momentarily concerned at the controlled reaction. A quick glance said the rest of the room was preoccupied, but a light buzzing sensation seemed to hover just under her skin.
"Might be fun," Tammy admitted, as she tried to hide her nerves under a smile. "You wanna cause a scene or get out of here?"
"Let's cause a scene," the goth-girl said as she leaned closer. A sudden shiver passed between them, as the pale skinned girl wrapped her arms around Tammy's waist and settled delicate hands upon her butt. "Ohhh... were you hunting too?" A warning went off and a shot of adrenalin struggled through her veins, but she was frozen, held fast by the darkest eyes she had ever seen.
Black lipstick refused to smear as a pink tongue wet what they covered. Warm breath blew up Tammy's nostrils, just as she had done to Angela, and she felt her mouth open in anticipation. Less than an inch away, the goth-girl stopped.
"Oh," the girl whispered through a breathy smile, as Tammy took a wanting breath, "you thought it was only you? Just a thrall... out for a little bite while master isn't watching? You should know better." Muscles burned with heat, straining but not moving, bringing sweat to the skin. "You can't even shield yourself? Master, shattered your will and left you open? Oh, what a silly old wolf."
"Y... you..." Tammy breathed hard but could only form a whisper, "wha..."
"You're not the only creature of the night out stalking souls," the goth-girl whispered in her ear. "I'd take you upstairs but we'd make too much noise. You know... I could free you from him. Break his curse, let you hunt under your own power without him drawing the life from your body. Did you know that about him? Did you know he is killing you... slowly... drawing your life away with each orgasm you feel from his touch? No? Of course not. But still... I think I like you. Yes... I shall give you a gift, something to take with you... when you go home... and dream... of me."
Black painted lips finally pressed against their mark, igniting a dark fire inside Tammy's body that flashed forth like a fire, welled up, and boiled over in an orgasmic shutter that forced her to brace against the wall. When the at last the kiss broke, an aftershock caused the wolf to emit a tiny whimper.
When her senses returned, she found that, somehow, no one had noticed the exchange. The goth-girl was gone, but Tammy discovered a crushed scrap of paper in her hand. Upon it she found a name, Abigail, and a phone number. A quick turn found the words, "call me when you want to break your chains" written in red on the back.
For a several minutes, Tammy just stood in her corner and did not move. The tingle of the goth-girl rang through her whole system and she felt a powerful need to pounce the nearest boy. But she could not... she shook her head... knowing that would make another werewolf... knowing she needed to maintain control. But that girl... that kiss...
A splash woke her as her beer hit the floor. "Awe! Alcohol abuse!" one of the fraternity guys shouted and several people laughed. Tammy crushed the scrap of paper into her pocket, retrieved Angela from the disappointed boys, and slipped back out into the night. Whatever had just happened, she did not want to spend another moment outside of her comfort zone.