Page 62 of Fighting Furry

I shrugged. “I guess I'll just have to find a different pack.”

I could see the wheels turning in his brain. I'm sure it would be easier for him to let me go, but I was too good a bargaining chip. He thought he could use me to get that mountain territory.

“I'll handle her.” I heard the voice before I saw him and I smelled him before I heard him. He smelled like blood, cold blood, with a mix of that smell that fills the air right before the first snowflakes fall. He didn't smell like a wolf.

The man stepped around the back of the house and smiled at me. Even from several feet away, I could see his fangs glinting in the sunlight. A vampire. My own blood turned to ice as I realized my mistake. I could control Alpha, he was no threat to me, but a vampire…I should have run when I had the chance.

The man wasn't particularly tall or muscular, but strength and power flowed from him with every decisive step he took. He wasn't attractive, his eyes too close together, his mouth a bit small and pinched, but I had a feeling that every woman, and probably every man, who saw him believed him to be gorgeous, because he exuded confidence and charisma. He smiled, like he knew what I was thinking, like he knew he had me right where he wanted me. He didn't look me up and down like Alpha had, he kept his eyes on my face and yet, somehow, he expressed more sexual interest than Alpha's brazen ogling had.

I could feel myself falling under the man's spell, but I knew it wasn't real, because I'd had real. I'd had Axel. I'd had his warmth and his genuine concern, his blazing lust and his laughter. I didn't fall under the vampire's spell, but I let him think I had. Smiled at him like I didn't understand him as a threat.

“Finally,” I said. “Someone with real power.”

“Fuck you,” Alpha said. He grabbed his crotch. “I'll show you real power.”

I didn't bother to look at Alpha and neither did the vampire. He just kept walking toward me like we were the only two people on that lawn.

My inner wolf and every bit of my good sense was telling me to run. I knew a chief manipulator when I saw one. If I didn't run, I'd never get away from him. But there was nowhere for me to go, I was between armed werewolves and a vampire.

It went against every instinct I had to hold my ground, including those of my wolf, who was growling and pawing to be let free. She wanted to fight and so did I, but I wasn't dumb enough to fight an opponent of whom I knew nothing.

I broke the vampire's gaze for just an instant, looking for an escape, looking for a way out. I wasn't a martyr and I wasn't an idiot. The yard was fenced with a ten-foot tall privacy fence and Alpha still had a gun pointed at me.

“Alpha,” I said in my alpha voice. “Put down the—”

Cold arms wrapped around me and a hand clamped over my mouth. “No, no, no,” the vampire tsked. “I'm going to have to ask you to be quiet.”

Struggling in his grip, I used every move I'd learned in my UFC career, but it was like fighting steel bars, I couldn't get any traction, couldn't break free.

He shoved me back into the dark room and I heard the door close behind us. My heart rate sped until I felt like I was going to choke on it. I'd promised myself I'd never be in this situation again, never be weak and vulnerable, but I couldn't get free, couldn't do anything to stop this.

He shoved me back on the bed and my heart tried to pound its way out of my chest. No, no, no, no. I couldn't let this happen.

“Calm yourself, wolf,” he said. “There's no reason to panic. I'm not going to rape you. I'm just going to have a taste, make sure you're more docile.”

I wasn't interested in becoming a vampire buffet, and I put every bit of superhuman strength I had into fighting him. I twisted and kicked and scraped my teeth against his hand, but he held tight. He did move a bit, like maybe he was getting a better grip. Slamming my right knee up hard, I aimed for his balls, but got him in the thigh.

He roared and loosened his grip enough that I was able to flip him over and pin him to the bed. He struggled against me and I knew I wouldn't be able to hold him long. He was stronger than me and, if vampires in real life were anything like in the movies, I'd be at his mercy if he bit me. Of course, he had walked around outside in daylight, so maybe he couldn't control me. I was sure I didn't want to find out the hard way.

I pressed hard against him and shifted to wolf while he struggled against me. The shift was enough of a distraction, that he got his arms free. He lifted me and tossed me against the wall.

The hit stunned me and he got to his feet and stalked toward me while I lay on the floor, struggling to catch my breath. “You like it rough? I can oblige.” He smiled, a sickly-sweet expression that sent my wolf into a panic. Wolf-Julie and human-Julie were in complete agreement that this vampire was a threat and nothing good could come of letting him bite us. He stalked closer. “I think I may have changed my mind. You and I might be quite compatible in every way. My name is Jeremiah, you're going to be screaming it very soon. I'll be the best you've ever had.”

I'd already had the best and I sure as fuck wasn't going to let him touch me. As he stalked closer, I growled to warn him off, but he was undaunted. He thought he could beat me, even in my wolf form, and I had a feeling he had enough experiences with wolves to back that theory up.

I needed an ace in my pocket, I needed some way to surprise him. To take him off his guard.

Pushing down my panic and my disgust, I pressed my chin and chest to the floor, like I was kneeling in wolf form, like I was begging for mercy.

He laughed. “Oh, my little wolf. I know you aren't the submissive type, so don't try to fool me. I'm going to have far too much fun breaking you.”

I whined, deep in my throat, and backed up until I felt the wall against my hind quarters. He wouldn't believe complete submission, but maybe he'd believe fear. It wasn't hard for me to fake, considering I was terrified. Not that he would hurt me, but that he would control me, that my will would cease to be my own.

He lifted his chin and sniffed the air. “There is nothing quite like that smell. Fear is like the most potent drug, an aphrodisiac with no comparison.” He dropped his gaze back to me. “I've lived an exceedingly long life and my tastes have become more and more difficult to satiate. This pack has been fun, but they are far too easy to manipulate. You. You are exquisite. A fighter.” He stepped back and studied me. “Maybe I'll wait to bite you. Maybe I'll cultivate that fear of yours before I force you into submission.” He stepped forward. “You, Julie Jacobs, are going to be the most fun I've had in a century.” He bent until we were eye-to-eye. “But I'm going to need you to shift back to human. I can force you to do it, but this will all go so much better if you choose to shift. I'll be more willing to be gentle with you, Julie Jacobs.”

Something was happening to me. His eyes were a glassy, marbled gray and I couldn't look away. I could feel myself getting drawn into his gaze, wanting to do what he was asking. He didn't need to bite me, not really, he could exert power over me with his gaze.

I would not allow him to control me. I kept my eyes on his, chanting in my mind that I wouldn't give in, that I wouldn't shift, fighting the compulsion with every bit of strength I had. Despite my fight, I could feel the shift beginning, could feel my fur receding. Jeremiah's smile widened and he leaned back. “That's right, my girl, shift for me. Show me what a strong, beautiful woman you are.”

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