SevenMarkPackAttackMobi (9 page)

I asked, “Where were you when Bark needed back up? That night he disappeared?”

That was something I should have asked him first thing when I arrived back at Wolf E.. I mean, I knew him and Bark were tight. But I didn’t know why he hadn’t been doing the firm’s books before. It seemed like a good time to ask--since he wasn’t answering the first question.

“How come you weren’t doing the books?”

“I had other things to do.”

I made a mental note to check into that. What was more important to Frank than the company that fed his family? As far as I knew, he had schooling in two areas: accounting and psychology. What else could he do?

“
What
other things?” I thought I’d spare myself the effort of looking into it.

Frank watched me in the mirror. “Your wolf is showing. Suck it up.”

The reflection of my face in lupine jumped out at me. My eyes were blank, glassy. I reached up and touched the side of my muzzle. It wasn’t slipping back to place--to face.

“That bitch.” I closed my eyes and said quietly, “Go find Amber before I kill everything looking for her.”

Frank didn’t move, though. Mesmerized by the image--me growing out of my clothing, shredding everything, crinosing. He said, “Get a grip!”

I panicked, though. I had no grip. No control of my brain. “Fuck, Frank--help me!”

His body rolled along the lavatory, as he scooted away from me, and his head swung around after his torso faced me--and I saw horror in his expression. “Holy shit!”

What clothes hadn’t fallen from me, I pulled loose. The confinement was too much. Again, I said, “I’m not in control of my--help me.”

Frank was frozen in place, his eyes as wide as they could be.

One more glance into the mirror, and I could see why. I had horribly contorted--a terrible monster of the man, crinos and true wolf. Crinos body, totally wolf facial features, human ears, hands, and feet. I touched myself all over, watching in the mirror.

Finally, Frank managed, “What the hell did she give you?”

Chapter Five

“A mind talk blocker--I thought.”

Frank’s handkerchief came out and he wiped the sweat that poured from every pore of his body. He said, “Okay. Okay. Just stay calm.”

I was doing anything but that. I was getting more and more furious by the moment. The stiff crinos hair on the back of my neck and on my thighs began to stand up.

“Relax, Mark. Just try and focus on relaxing.”

“You fucking relax!” I headed for the door. “I’m gonna kill something.”

He leaped me from behind, slipping crinos in the air. Not that he could bring me down. But he knocked me off balance, and I slammed him into the wall. He hit with a horrible thud and a groan.

I reached down to get a hold of him before he could spring back up. Lifting him off the ground, I asked, “Are you fucking nuts?” I looked down at his body. “What did you do? Go crinos on my ass?”

Frank’s talons wrapped around my big human paws, but he didn’t draw blood. He said quietly, “You can’t let anybody see you like this. Not here.”

It took a minute for it to sink in. Remember what I said about L.I. and Wolf E. having a Hitlerish agenda? A werewolf that morphs like a freak would be put down on the spot. It happens all the time, but secrets are kept, if you get my drift. We were working to eradicate the freakish genes.

This was the first time it had happened to me, and I know sure as shit that it was the pill that had done it to me. The fact that most of my head was still human, the brain and back part at least--and I was in control of my faculties like a man would be--just a little tipped toward the wolf thinking--I had to work through it all. Poor Frank, I had him off the ground by a foot, staring into his face while I did it.

He must’ve felt me relaxing, because he repeated, softly, “Put me down.”

When I didn’t, he flashed fangs and squeezed his fingers into my hand, letting me feel the sharpness. He had ugly nails in crinos, gray, long and rounded, but then--he was a gray wolf.

I dropped him abruptly, asking, “You think they heard us?”

“I’m sure.”

“Think he’s got cameras in here?” I glanced around.

“Giselle says the men’s room is about the only place he doesn’t.”

There’s a reason for a double-take. Frank and Giselle are on some pretty tight terms? Enough so for her to tell him that? I looked him over again, wondering if he’d ever availed himself of her services, and if Bark had known. There was a helluva lot more sneaky shit going on than I could see, I knew that.

I accused him. “You and she slept together?”

He didn’t look me in the eye.

“Bark know?”

Frank tucked his shirt in. I guess I pulled it out when I lifted him in the air. “Yeah. He knows.”

“That why he dumped her?”

“She dumped him.”

“That’s not how I heard it.”

“Yeah, well. Then you heard wrong.”

I watched Frank morph back to human. He scooped up my clothes. They were dust. He said, “What the fuck are you gonna wear?”

I didn’t care. “Tell me what the hell happened between that bitch and my brother. You do realize that the jacket she gave him is the one at that murder scene, right?”

“Yeah. I saw it.”

“Did you talk to her about it?”

“She doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“Bullshit.”

The door started to open. I slapped a hand to it before it moved more than an inch, slamming it shut. “We’re busy.”

To my surprise, the door popped open anyway. Amber was in, and pushing the door shut, and looking me up and down with an odd expression.

Without thinking, I shoved her against the door, and said, “What the fuck did you give me?”

“Relax.”

There was no relaxing in that state, not really. My muscles bunched. The veins in my neck pulsed.

I put my muzzle to the skin at her throat. Her jugular throbbed. I licked. I smelled juices coming from between her legs.

Before I could decide if I was gonna fuck her or rip her neck open--she flipped out. From the force of her shove, I went through Frank, and together, we went through a stall door, taking down the partitions. Let me tell you something, when Amber throws a crinos, you never know what hit you. A minute later, she had us by the balls--literally--yanking us up off the floor.

Giselle came through the door, asking, “What the hell--?” Then she shut the door behind her, too, saying, “Shit. You gave him one of those--”

“Just shut the fuck up and help me.” Amber tossed Frank like a rag doll.

Frank kept his cool, or maybe he’d lost any he had. He remained human. In fact, if you couldn’t smell the wolf on him, you’d have sworn he was nothing but human, and taking the whole thing remarkably well. I expected him to piss his pants any minute, but Frank was surprising the hell out of me--all day long.

Giselle went to him. “Are you all right, Frank?”

Amber asked, “Where
the fuck
is Hood?”

I winced at the pressure she was putting to my nuts. I started to say something, but she squeezed more. That hold was the only thing that kept me from friggin’ killing her.

But I’m such a dog. I felt my cock rising between us, rubbing against her forearm.

Giselle said, “You know where.”

“I’m gonna tell you one last time, Giselle, you better fuck his brains out tonight or I’ll slit your pretty little bitch throat myself. He’s only doing it to piss you off.”

“What?” Frank asked, which was good. I couldn’t get a word out edgewise, and we both wanted to know.

“She’s got him tied up, screwing every bitch he can, trying to prove something. And he’s proved it, all right. Hood’s a total asshole. He can fuck until we’re all sore.”

Giselle helped Frank up, smoothed his clothes for him. Extremely solicitous.

Amber looked at me. “What
the hell
are we gonna do with you?”

“I wanna know what the hell you already did.”

She tipped her head. “Would you relax a little? That’s what’s wrong.”

“I can’t,” I managed to squeak, “You’ve got me by the balls.”

We both looked down. She let go of me instantly.

I ouched a little monkey dance, grabbing myself. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Damn.”

Frank noted with a bit of a smile, “This is the first time I ever saw
you
lose your cool.”

“Well...you fucking morph into shit at L.I., and see how well you do.”

Amber said, “Giselle, get out there and keep an eye out.”

“You gotta help him to relax or we’re all dead.” Giselle’s words spooked me and Frank both. We knew it already, though. She said, “You can’t say anything about that pill.” To Amber, she said, “I can’t believe you gave him one! He’s a Gaia-damned natural and you know it!”

“Shut up and get out of here.”

“Give him another pill,” Frank suggested. “Surely you’ve got a muscle relaxer.”

Amber shook her head. “No. He’s gotta get a grip.”

She moved toward me, while Giselle went to the door, dragging Frank, “You, come with me.”

“But--” Frank didn’t want to leave me again, I could tell that. Not with Amber, anyway.

“Go.” Amber turned her head toward them. In the mirror, I saw her eyes flash red. I could’ve sworn I saw light beams come from them, but that was just too...Hollywood. I must’ve been imagining it.

Giselle trembled, and Frank scrambled backward. I remember thinking...what the hell? Frank pushed Giselle out the door, and followed her.

I’ve seen a hundred bitches crinos. I’ve seen more than I can count shift in various ways. I’ve seen eyes flash. I swear, though, when Amber’s eyes go laser, you see death’s grim reaper. You know you’re one inch from dying.

You gotta respect that.

I asked, “What are you?”

I could see she was a black wolf--a beautiful one at that, with the smoothest, sleekest coat. Her hair had fallen from the clip and spread out over her shoulders, blending with the rest. In crinos, she was covered in fur. The buttons on her coat had popped with the shift, and now that I looked, I saw the garter winking from the pelt of fur on her belly. The hosiery had stretched, and the hair was coming through the holes. Her breasts were still covered by the coat.

She asked, “What do I look like?”

“That’s not what I mean.” I sniffed. She smelled natural, but I had the distinct feeling that something unnatural was going on there.

Now, I never expected to come across a dilemma like that at Lobos. I told myself that I was making things up. She’d shifted like a natural. Her fur coat was good, like a natural’s would be. So, what was wrong? I couldn’t put a finger on it. Or paw. Whatever.

Remember I said I worked on the P.R. end of things? Well, that wasn’t exactly honest. I sniff out unnaturals and put them down. You could say I had a nose for them.