Beautiful Creatures Series

When Mackenzie woke, she was stiff and sore from sleeping on the floor. Judging from the light coming through the window, it was morning. She had spent the whole night on the floor. Mackenzie picked herself up and used the washroom connected to her room. She wondered if Gordon was still in the outer room. She supposed if Gordon was dangerous, he would have killed her by now, but he had not. She decided the time had come for the “Get to know you” conversation they had been avoiding. It seemed Gordon had a bigger secret than she did, and Mackenzie needed answers.

She pushed the dresser back into its rightful place, and then she unlocked the door. She stepped out into the living room to see Gordon had slept on the couch. When he heard the door, he sat up and looked at her making no attempt to come near her. Mackenzie slid along the wall keeping her distance from him. She was still nervous. He certainly looked human this morning. “You feeling better?” He asked. She nodded. “You ready to talk?” She nodded again. “You want to come to sit with me?” She shook her head, no. She did not want to get close to him; she was still seriously freaked out. “I imagine you have questions.”

“How did this happen to you?”

“Nothing happened to me. I was born a Lycanthrope.”

“I thought werewolves became werewolves because they were bitten.”

“That’s not true. That is Hollywood propaganda. You can’t turn into a Lycanthrope. You either are or aren’t.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Not many. Over the centuries, human hunters have hunted us to near extinction. There is no telling how many of us are left in this world, but here in Colorado, there is a pack of fifty men, women, and children. We are the largest pack in over four hundred years.”

“Pack?”

“Yes, pack.”

“So, your wife and daughter…?”

“Lycanthropes.”

“Your friends…?”

“Lycanthropes.”

“Your foster kids? Aurora? Charlotte? Stanton? Darrell?”

“All Lycanthropes.”

“Katelyn?”

“Well, now she is human. She’s more of an honourary pack member.”

“What are you in this pack?”

He smiled with pride. “I’m the Alpha… I’m the head of the pack.”

“What is growing inside me?”

She shrugged, looking baffled. “I wish I knew. This has literally never happened before. I didn’t even think it was possible,” he stood up and slowly walked toward her. “All I know for sure is whatever it is. It isn’t human, and it isn’t Lycanthrope. This is as baffling to me as it is to you.”

What she was carrying could very well be some type of musted monster. “I need to have an abortion.”

“No!” He rejected the idea quickly. “No doctors of any kind. If they take that baby out and see it isn’t human, you will become a prisoner and a test subject. Not to mention, it is proof of Lycanthrope's existence. Hunters will come from all over, and my pack will be exterminated. My species may be completely wiped out of existence. No, you can’t have an abortion, and you sure as hell cannot go to any doctor.”

“Well, what exactly am I supposed to do? Have the… whatever this is in the bathtub at home alone?”

“God damn it,” he growled with frustration. “The pack has a midwife. She helps the ladies birth their cubs. She can help.”

Mackenzie felt like he was not telling her something. “What is it?”

“The midwife is Melissa,” he confessed.

Mackenzie laughed. “Your wife?”

“Yeah.”

you have another

“Nope. She’s it.”

she is going to be stoked to

If I thought this was possible, I would have just worn

“You lied to me.”

didn’t tell

you had

“Yeah, ok, that was a

didn’t you tell me

have had to kill you. We kill humans who find out about us. To protect

God,” she panicked,

not going to kill you,

“Why not?”

you are pregnant with… something. Things are slightly more complicated than

information. “You said Katelyn was human. You also said you killed humans that

have killed her, but she proved herself by sacrificing everything to protect the pack. She

until I give birth, keep whatever this is,

like you

would be pissed off and send you packing, but since I have no idea what to do in this situation, I’m going to keep you around,” he smiled and came toward her, but she placed her hand on his

said. “So… are

want to know that

want to

right now. I’m angry and

me now?” His tone was sad. She could see he did not want her to fear him, but after

she said. He looked up and smiled at her. “On the couch,” his smile

“Oh, alright.”

us to get to know

“Agreed.”

going to take a shower,” she said, turning to go back into

me to make you some

“Why?”

are growing a life.

was a little

***

telling what they were in store for. What he did recall from when Melissa had been pregnant, the child sucked all the strength and nourishment out of the mother. The more it grew, the worse the hunger would get. Mackenzie’s metabolism was going to go through the roof. She would be burning thousands of calories a day. If she and the baby were to remain healthy, she would have to eat enough to shame a sumo wrestler just to keep

salad. When Mackenzie came out of the shower feeling clean and refreshed, she was shocked by the amount

as he put the last plate on the table and pulled out a chair for her. “Trust me; you’re going to eat it. Lycanthrope babies require a lot of nourishment to grow. It’s going to suck

and it all looks so good.’ She said, grabbing some sausage

be keeping the weight on. I mean, you will grow a baby bump, but besides that, if you don’t eat enough, you will be

taking

time I know yours. You can start off by telling me what has you so unsettled lately besides the obvious,” he had noticed that she tossed and turned at night more than she usually did. He could sense something had been bothering her, but he never asked about it. He had not wanted

her fork down. She seemed anxious again. “Next week is the anniversary of my

been the answer Gordon had been expecting. He did not know how to react. “How did they

I went to school in the morning, as usual. My parents were supposed to go to work afterwards. They were lawyers. They should have walked out the door right after me. I waited until I was sure they would be at the office. Then I ditched school and headed home. It was foolproof. They shouldn’t be home until after dinner. I went through the back door so the neighbours wouldn’t see me and

only a few feet away. He looked at me, and I couldn’t look away. He got up; he was going to kill me too. I ran away. I got to a police station and told them what I saw. They investigated and found parents. I spent two days in the police station with a forensic artist trying to get a drawing of what

told me that the man I saw was the son of a mob boss. My parents had been causing trouble for them. So they had them killed. I saw his face. He went into hiding, and his father vowed to silence me. The FBI put me in witness protection. I was moved out here to be hidden. As far as I know, the mob boss and his son are still looking for me. I couldn’t tell you; I would have had to tell you the lie the police made up

you can’t