A New Year's Eve To Remember

It was almost time....just another hour to go until the evening started. She ran a hot bubble bath in the hotel bathroom, marveling that they actually had a deep tub instead of the standard shallow one most motels she had been in had installed. She slipped into the hot fragrant water, laid back and closed her eyes. The water had a soothing effect on her nerves. She had never been this nervous before a party. Of course, this was not a standard party. She had met a wonderful man a month before, he was gorgeous, generous to a fault and claimed to be totally in love with her after their second date.

He knew someone, who knew someone, who knew the person that got them into this New Year’s Eve party. The guest list was very exclusive and she could only imagine how much Steve had paid for the two of them to get into this shindig. She was scared that she wasn’t sophisticated enough for the people she knew were going to be there tonight. They were the creme of society...they would have beautiful clothes and only the best manners. What does a country girl have a chance at with people like that? She was just a waitress from a backwater town that got lucky enough to bag a rich guy from New Orleans.

They had separate rooms tonight. He, ever the gentleman, said that it wasn’t proper to shack up together, that they must keep up appearances for the sake of her honor. Ha! She was a tart and everyone who knew her knew it to be true. HE even knew it....he knew she was only in love with his money. But he also knew that as long as he had it, she would stay with him.

He had been acting funny all day, but she just knew that he was going to ask her to marry him tonight. He had kept making references to the full moon and taking a long walk down the river front before the party. She wanted to make herself as beautiful and alluring as possible...she wanted to wear his ring...she wanted to marry into his world...she wanted all the beautiful things that those people possessed. She would teach herself good manners and how to act all uppity like his friends did around her. Who cares how she got him...as long as she got him and his money she was happy.

She felt his presence in the room before she heard his hand dipping into the water and felt the wash cloth rubbing up and down her leg. She opened her eyes, looked at him, and gave him her best, sexiest smile. He grinned back at her, reached down and picked her up out of the tub. She ran her fingers through his hair...was it thicker than it had been before? Nah, must just be her imagination working overtime tonight. She had heard the full moon played tricks on the mind, it must be true because she could swear that his body was more muscular and his hands griped more firmly than last night. His grunts were more animalistic to her ears, which turned her on like never before. She was shocked to discover that tonight she did not have to fake it with him, that she wanted and responded to him freely and openly. She felt like she had never felt before, she tingled wherever he touched her and burned for his kisses and caresses. She vaguely wondered if he hadn’t had a voodoo woman put a spell on her, then dropped the line of thought and just enjoyed herself for the first time in years.

She awoke alone in the bed. Sleepily she looked around and couldn’t find him in the room. She slowly got up and took a quick shower. Putting on her robe, she wandered out to the “living room” of the hotel room hoping he would be there. The door to the patio was opened. She looked outside and saw him sitting on the balcony. She walked out and knelt beside him, laying her head on his thigh. They didn’t say anything, only sat in silence, him running his strong fingers through her hair. She had never felt this peaceful before. It was like the maelstrom in her head had taken the night off. It was a nice feeling. She felt she could sit here with him forever.

Feeling him shift, she looked up at him, smiling softly. Was it her imagination or did he seem more masculine tonight? His face seemed more chiseled. His eyes looked hungry and restless. He seemed more taunt than usual. Like he was ready to pounce at any minute. He was looking at her greedily, and she liked it. She had never liked possessive men...until now, until tonight. It made her feel special...it made her feel.....loved. And she liked it, she liked it a lot.

She got up and went back to the bedroom to get dressed. She was vaguely disappointed that he didn’t follow her, but knew it was for the best because they were now behind schedule. And Steve liked his schedules. So she quickly dried her hair, applied a little makeup (she didn’t want to wear too much and embarrass him) and put on her new red dress, stockings and high heels. It took her a half an hour, and when she walked out of the bedroom he was waiting for her on the couch.

He stood up and walked over to her, never saying a word, but she could tell he was pleased from the glint in his eyes. He kissed her passionately, wrapped her shaw around her and guided her to the door. It was time for their walk along the water. She was very nervous about it suddenly, but not for the same reasons as before. She was feeling lightheaded from the feel of his hand on her back. She walked close to him, so she could feel the heat that radiated off of his body. Once outside the hotel, walking down to the waterfront, she put her arm around his waist and laid her head against him.

She felt sheltered and protected. It was a drastic change for her, always being a user and never letting her guard down for someone to hurt her again. She was always out for whatever she could get, always looking out for herself, never caring about who she was with, or how they felt when she ended the relationship. If she had to sleep with him to get what she wanted, then that’s what she did. But tonight it just felt different to her...maybe it was just the moon. They say the moon can do things to people. Sometimes it makes them different....

They walked a long the streets, hearing the sounds of Bourbon Street off in the distance. The sun had just set, the moon was coming up. It was the most beautiful site she had ever seen, the moon coming up over the river, the big paddleboats slowly moving along the golden-colored water. She looked up at him and smiled contentedly. She wished they could walk like this forever, not even bother going to that uppity party. When he bent down and kissed her, she felt her legs give out beneath her. His moan sounded more like a growl to her ears as he pulled her closer to him, lifting her up slightly. She looked him in the eyes, running her fingers through his hair.

“I want to share something with you,” he said, putting her down and leading her farther down the waterfront.

They walked down the sidewalk, toward the aquarium. The sounds of people fading off into the distance. She felt like the world was just the two of them. Shaking her head, wondering where all these thoughts were coming from, then giving into them. She snuggled into his side as they walked on, then noticed a group of people gathered together. They were all dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos. A little farther down there was a gang of rough looking teenage boys leering and jeering at them from a levee wall. The snotty group was talking quietly to themselves, looking over at her and Steve and smiling. This didn’t appear to surprise him at all, as if he had been expecting to run into them during their walk together.

The were only about 100 paces from the group of well-dressed people when the kids jumped off the wall and decided to get physical in their harassment of the party-goers. One boy stabbed the largest male in the group, a large red stain appearing on the front of his tux as the large blade went through his body from behind. Then the others took the other men down as well. The women in the group only stood there. She thought they must be in shock and their feet not willing to move. She saw the boys look upon the women with the lust that only a teenage boy can display. She saw then take the women down to the ground and rip their dresses. This was too much for her to take, too close to home for her to watch. She turned in Steve’s embrace and hide her head in his chest, sobbing. She heard a growl come from deep inside him, then heard answering growls coming from behind. She looked up at him, backed away at what she saw on his face, turned around and stopped dead in her tracts at the sight in front of her.

Turning around, she saw the most amazing sight she had ever seen in her 25 years of living. She felt and saw the earth shift around her. The colors had gone away and world became flat. Seeing the boys raping the innocent women of that group made her see red and she pounced after them. She suddenly found her self running on four paws instead of two feet, her breath came out in a guttural growl as she came upon the boys in just a matter of seconds. She felt her sharp fangs sinking into the delicate skin of a boy’s neck, heard his terrified death scream with clarity in her pointed, furry ears. Hearing a sound beside her, she whipped her angular head to the side and saw a huge grey wolf attacking the boys as well.

When the five boys were dispatched she nuzzled a few of the women to their feet. They reached down and stroked her soft fur in appreciation of her protection. Then another amazing thing happened. The men that had been stabbed stood up, then the whole group transformed into wolves as well. She looked back at where Steve had been standing, in his place was a black wolf with silver streaks through his fur. The pack nuzzled her face and neck, and for the first time in fifteen years she felt part of a family again. She felt loved. And as her mate padded up to her side she knew she was where she belonged. No explanation of what had happened was needed. Steve had found her, knew her for what she was, even though she hadn’t had a clue, and had brought her home to his family. She had been tested and had passed with flying colors. She had been accepted into the pack. They were her family now and they would look out for each other for the rest of all time. She and her mate and her pack. Money meant nothing to her any longer, only the feeling of being loved and belonging mattered now. She loved for the first time and knew without a doubt that she was loved in return.

The pack leader, the large grey, transformed back into the largest male of the group, his tux still stained with blood. He walked over to her and told her to stand. She felt the world shift back to color and dimension as she obeyed him. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

“Welcome to the family, my wild child,” he smiled and said, as the rest of the pack turned human again and hugged and kissed her.

She turned to Steve, who was also human again. She ran into his arms, tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to lovingly wipe the blood from her face.

“You have a lot to learn about yourself. And we are all here for you for the rest of our unnatural lives. We will be married tonight and you will bear our children and we will raise them in our ways. We will teach them the true ways of the werewolf, not the blood-drenched horror stories human tell about us. Come, we must be gone before the police are alerted. We will pick up our things from the hotel and meet up with the rest. From there, we will go home,” he said.

“Home,” she said, smiling. The word felt right. She was finally where she belonged.