The Beloved Beast

Part 8-A Bloody Sight

 By the time the movie came to an end, she felt her eyes closing with sleepiness. Within a few moments, she was fast asleep with her head on Neil's chest and with his arms around her. He lay her down gently and then lay down beside her, covering both of them with a duvet. With a moan of satisfaction, she burrowed her face into his chest. Sometime, late at night, she came awake to find that Neil was not beside her. Worried, she was thinking where he was when she heard a noise coming from the direction of the bathroom. A sickly sweet smell had permeated the whole room. Curious, Tanya got up slowly, walking with hesitant steps toward the bathroom. The door was wide open and Neil was standing below the light, covered in blood. Tanya rushed forward in panic. "Neil, are you alright? What happened? Was there an accident?" her voice shook with anxiety. Was he hurt? There were no clothes on his body. Strange, she thought.

Neil looked at her with eyes that were disoriented and unfocused as if he did not recognize her for a moment. Walking up to him, she shook him, "The....blood....are you hurt?" He shook his head, indicating her to leave. She backed out, her legs shaking, till she sank onto the bed. About ten minutes later, Neil came out. Clearly, he had showered and worn some shorts and a tee shirt. Seeing her puzzled look he remarked, "I was unable to sleep and had gone for a walk and a smoke. I saw a young man on a bike have an accident and took him to the hospital. Sadly, he did not survive." "Oh, my poor darling. How upsetting for you!" She drew him in a comforting embrace. They lay down, their lips meeting, merging, till they were lost to the world until Neil broke the spell which had enchanted her. He turned her into his arms, spooning her, and the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

The week passed in a similar manner with Tanya attending her classes in the day and then spending the evenings with Neil or Monica. Her relationship with Neil was getting stronger day by day. She was now totally and absolutely in love with him and it seemed that he too had feelings for her. What lay in store for her in the future, Tanya wondered. It had reached a point where she could not contemplate a life without him. The one thing which still troubled her though, was that he had not told her anything about his family. Though Ray had told her to ask him about that but she wanted Neil to offer the information himself.

Ronnie was wiping the kitchen counter after preparing dinner for his master. Alpha Neil was a good employer, though Ronnie was a bit scared of him. He was a poor omega and it was his good fortune that he had been selected to serve the Alpha, but he knew about the curse. It was the most dreadful thing that could happen to one, and Ronnie understood his master's sudden urges for blood. At such times he made it a point to stay away from sight. What he could not understand was why his master had developed such closeness to that human girl. It was downright dangerous for the girl to be in such close proximity to the Alpha. Also, most of them did not like humans. Humans were weak and no self-respecting werewolf would like to associate with them. He was wondering along these lines when the girl walked into the kitchen. "Good evening Ronnie. Can you help me with something?" she asked. "What is it that you need my help with, Miss?" Ronnie looked at her suspiciously. "I wish to cook for Neil. Maybe dinner tomorrow night. Can you tell me what his favorite is?" she smilingly cajoled him.

Tanya had come to the kitchen because she had an inkling, a suspicion at the back of her mind that Neil was going to propose to her. If it was the case, she wanted to make it a special occasion, a memorable evening for him. He had been dropping hints to this effect the past week and Tanya was ready to take her relationship to him that one step further where they would belong to each other. She would have liked to invite him to her place but that wasn't possible. Instead, she would make all efforts to please him with her culinary skills at his own place. She sidled over to the enormous refrigerator placed in the kitchen, opening the door to look inside to check whether it had everything she wanted. Tanya stepped back in shock. She had not expected it to be crammed full of fresh meat, even bloodied pieces. Averting her eyes from the sight, she tried to curb the wave of nausea that hit her.

Ronnie looked at the dismay on her face with amusement. Served her right, he mused. Nosing around in his kitchen. What did she expect in a werewolf's kitchen, for god's sake, carrots, and cabbages? In the wild, where their territory was situated, they would hunt the occasional elk or deer, or even a mountain goat, to satisfy the craving for game. The hunt was important for a predator and werewolves were predators par excellence. Few could match their speed and prowess while hunting. Unfortunately, here in the city, the only prey available was the human. He had to stock the refrigerator with fresh meat to satisfy any late-night cravings of his master. "The boss is a meat and potatoes man," he explained to the stupefied girl, making it up just to get her out of his hair. She nodded, her face still pale from the shock.

Tanya looked down at her pale pink knee-length dress as she leaned back in the car and closed her eyes. The silk dress was the only luxury she had allowed herself for the wedding. That morning she and Neil had been married at the registrar's office in the presence of her parents, Monica and Ray. Her father had been sober for once, happy that she had snared him a rich son-in-law. She let him think that rather than convince him that she would have still married Neil, had he been a penniless beggar. Later, after the unassuming ceremony had taken place, they had all gone to a restaurant where a table was already booked. Amidst the cake cutting and the Champaign chugging, Neil kissed her to the delight of her parents and Monica. Only Ray had seemed morose, worried even, though for what she did not understand. When she had asked Neil if his parents would have liked to attend the wedding, he just said that since his mother's death, his father had become a recluse. Now, she stole a glance at his beloved face, his profile sharp and sculpted, dark glasses on his eyes. In his dark suit and white shirt, he looked breathtakingly handsome. They were going to spend the month at Neil's ancestral home, deep into the Northern Mountains. Then, he had promised to come back so that they could take up their end-of-semester examinations. Her lips curved into a smile as she recalled their whirlwind courtship, Neil's romantic proposal, and her breathless acceptance.

Under the cover of his dark glasses, Neil glanced at his bride of a few hours. She had a beatific smile pasted on her lips. Clearly, she was happy with the events of the morning. He wondered at the foolishness of the humans. Was she really so naive as to believe that a man like him would fall for a little weakling like her, a mere human and a nobody at that? The she-wolves in his pack, each one beautiful in their own right, had been ready to warm his bed and bear his cubs at the drop of a hat. It was another matter that he had eyes only for Renee. She was ravishing, in her human as well as her wolf form. Her pure white wolf with its deep violet eyes was in striking contrast to his pitch-black one. They would really have the most adorable cubs, Neil smiled to himself. His gaze again traveled to the woman by his side. She had fallen asleep, snuggled into the rug he had thrown across her knees.

They had been driving for the last three hours and had left the city behind. He could see the woodlands on both sides of the road, which he knew, gave way to the dense forests on the foothills of the Northern Mountains. The slopes of the mountains themselves were covered with forests of pine, spruce, and fir, as well as other high-altitude vegetation. They had traveled far from the civilized world. They were in his territory now. He felt free as the wind and his blood sang in his veins. Dusk was falling and as the darkness crept through the trees, somewhere a jackal howled. He could see the mist rising from the damp ground, spreading its fingers around the car, almost shrouding it, lending an eerie quality to the whole surroundings. Neil inhaled deeply, getting a scent of her blood along with that of the verdant grounds. His lips twisted into a smile. Let her enjoy her sleep for now. Very soon she would find out the real reason behind this marriage and then he doubted whether she would ever sleep again.