Beautiful Creatures Series

Aurora sat in the passenger seat of Stanton’s SUV as he drove her out of town. It was a twenty-minute drive. They blew through a small little community, and Aurora noticed the few people on the street were watching them drive by with amber eyes. Every one of them had amber eyes. Until a few days ago, she had believed she had unique eyes, and now she saw many others with the same trait. Were they all like her?

They left town quickly, but they didn’t go far, maybe a mile or two, and they pulled into a little mountain cabin. Stanton pulled into the driveway and put the SUV in park, then removed his keys. “Come on it,” he said, getting out of the vehicle.

Aurora followed, and as she headed for the door right behind Stanton, she noted that the cabin and the land it was on were surrounded by trees and completely blocked from the main road’s view. He opened the door, and Aurora followed Stanton inside. It was bigger than it looked from the outside. It was all one big open space with the exception of the washroom. There was a fireplace constructed of stone. It looked hand made not with those fake stone tiles either but real masonry stones. Around the fireplace were two long four-person couches facing each other with an old wooden coffee table between them cluttered with a tv remote and some men’s nudie magazines.

Stanton rushed over and snatched up the stack of porn and hit it behind his back as he walked toward the trash in the kitchen to throw them out. He was blushing. It was funny to see a man like him blush. “That’s nothing,” he said, tossing them into the bin and stuffing it under the sink and out of sight.

Aurora chuckled. She had a feeling looking the way he did that solo was probably the only loving he usually got. Maybe if a woman was really drunk, he might get lucky, but she couldn’t picture what kind of woman would want him sober. It was strange that he would be embarrassed about something sexual in front of a prostitute. Really, she was in absolutely no position to judge. On the opposite wall of the fireplace and still within view of the angled couches was a plasma TV.

There was a kitchenette just off the living space with a small wooden table and four chairs. The appliances were on the older side. There was a log wall between the kitchen and the large bed, which divided the bedroom space. It was a huge bed, even bigger than a king. It touched all three walls. She’d never seen one like it. It was wider and longer than normal beds. It had to be custom made, and given his size, she could understand why. She pictured him in a regular-sized bed and giggled to herself as she pictured his head cockeyed against the headboard and his big feet poking out of the bottom of his blanket while they hung over the footboard by a foot and a half.

There were shelves around the cabin with the typical male stuff. As well as two wooden sliding doors. One was most likely the washroom and the other probably a closet, but with both doors closed, there was no knowing which was which. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?” He offered.

She was hungry. She hadn’t eaten since she had seen him less. She hadn’t been working. She had needed some time to think and deal with the bomb he had dropped on her that day. So dirty, tired, and hungry, she nodded. “I would love something to eat.”

“I can cook you something, or I have cereal and milk.”

“Cereal will be fine,” she preferred something fast. Aurora took a seat on the couch while Stanton fixed them two bowls of Frootloops and brought her the other bowl. She thanked him as she accepted it, and then Stanton sat down on the couch across from hers. She found it odd that Stanton always gave her a lot of space. Most men were usually pawing her. “So, you said if I came home with you that you would show me what I am,” she prompted between bites.

“You are a Lycanthrope,” he told her and inhaled deeply, “Judging from the smell of you, I’d say you are a Bata,” she felt a little anxious. It had been a while since her last shower, but she had hoped he couldn’t smell her from across the room. “Don’t worry,” he said with that corner mouth twitch of amusement. “You don’t smell that bad,” she smiled; he had somehow read her mind. He took one more bite and placed the still full bowl onto the coffee table. “Ok, let’s get down to it. You want to know what we are; Let's start with what you already know.”

Stanton held his hug, mitt out between them.

“Since you were raised by humans, no one taught you to control your powers. Just like a toddler has to be taught to read, Lycan children need to be taught control.

Aurora watched his hand as he was, and her eyes widened with awe as his fingers grew longer and became like claws. “Holy hell,” Aurora muttered as she watched it change back to a normal hand. Stanton lowered his hands and drew her attention to his face. Aurora stared into Stanton’s eyes and was stunned when they began to glow. His face began to change shape, becoming monstrous. He snarled, and Aurora could see his fangs. Quickly his features were restored, and a man was looking back at her.

“I trust you can do that much,” she could but not a will as he had just done. She was convinced they were the same. She was… what did he call them again… Lycan? She was a Lycan. She didn’t think things could get any weirder. “You ready to see the full transformation?”

“There is more?” She asked, genuinely surprised.

“Oh yeah. That was just the transition phase.”

“Transition? Into what?” He stood up and pushed the couch he had been sitting out back a few feet, then his hands went to his zipper, and he proceeded to remove his jeans. “Oh!” She gasped, putting her bands up to stop him. “You said no funny business,” she snapped in anger.

I have a few hundred to replace my wardrobe, the clothes have to come off. I’m not making a pass at you, I promise,” then he laughed again. “I would think you were comfortable with nudity. Trust me, no Lycan in existence has ever been a prude

her questions. She watched as Stanton kicked off his boots. He yanked off his shirt and then shed his jeans. A little smirk curved her lips, actually with all those work clothes out of the way, Stanton had a pretty awesome body. He was all ripped muscle. He had one of those bodies

it. She heard him clear his throat, and Aurora turned her head up to look him in the face. Now that evil look on his

on all fours and let out a blood curtailing growl as his face elongated into a snout. A thick reddish-brown fur began to form over his skin. That is when something amazing happened, and the monster softly faded into a majestic giant wolf sat

it was real. It certainly felt real. “This is… I’m… speechless,” she looked into the animal’s eyes. “Can you understand me?” The wolf said nothing, but the look in its eyes told her

are a fully developed adult, so I’m sure you can. You just got to learn how. I can teach

have so

happy to answer them,” he said, putting his jeans back on. He pulled the couch back and sat down. Picking up his

that I can do what you just did?”

to control it, it’s one of

What are

part animal. So, we have some animal attributes. For example, our senses are heightened well beyond human standards. I’m sure you must have noticed that you can see in the dark, hear things far away, smell things others can’t,” she had noticed that, but she had never considered it anything but normal. “We are also extremely strong and fast. When we are in wolf form, we can keep pace with a car going fifty miles an hour. Our

Stanton was right. She had never been ill, not even mild nasal congestion from

Like ridiculously quickly. Bruises and minor cuts healed in seconds. You see, our cells divide and reproduce at an exponential rate, which gives us the ability to regenerate and repair our wounds quickly. More severe wounds might

you saying we

we most certainly die. It’s just not that easy to kill us. We also have an amazingly fast metabolism. We can eat everything in sight, but you will

sat back as she thought. “So, if we

“Lycans,” he corrected her.

much of what we see in movies

where we turn into

won’t

“Nope.”

“So, no silver bullets?”

the chest, we’ll be fine, a bullet to the head, and we

could only change

are not above killing people. See, Lycan hunters have been tracking and killing our kind for all of history. Because of that, we are almost extinct. So, when a hunter threatens the safety of the pack, we will end them without a second thought. At the end of the day,

Was I bitten as a child?” She couldn’t remember being bitten.

not bitten. That’s not

“How does it work?”

everybody else. You can’t become a Lycan, you either are,