Beautiful Creatures Series

Tyler clocked out and started his way out of the building. He was done for the night and was looking forward to getting a good solid eight hours of sleep. As he was passing through the department, he spotted Aster… on the wrong side of the handcuffs. They were getting ready to fingerprint her.

Tyler walked over and patted Roggers, the officer processing her, on the back. “Hey Roggers, what is she in for?”

“Driving drunk.”

“Do me a favour. Process her, but don’t put her in holding.”

“What am I supposed to do with her?”

“I’m heading over to post her bail right now. I’ll be back to get her by the time you are done processing her.” He quickly glanced at her file number then headed down to the cashier in the bail office. He said hello to the officer behind the desk and gave her the number he had remembered. They looked up Aster’s case. “She’s still in processing.”

“I know, but we can bend the rules and let me pay her bail out right now, right?”

“Well, for you.” She smiled, accepting his credit card. When he was done, he collected the recipe and headed back to processing. By the time he got back, she was finished and sitting handcuffed to a wooden bench.

Tyler unlocked her handcuffs, and Aster stood up. “Well, now you must be happy to see me. Had we not run into one another, you would be spending the night with hookers and meth heads.”

“Congratulations, you’re finally the white knight.”

“You should be nicer to me. I just paid fifteen hundred dollars to get you out.”

She gave him a sheepish look. “Ok, thank you.”

“I’m taking you home. Where do you live?”

“It’s easier if I just give you directions.” She said as they made their way out of the building, with Tyler frequently grabbing her elbow to help her stay on her feet.

Tyler walked Aster to his car and opened the passenger door, helping her in, so she did not hit her head on the roof. Once she was settled, he got in behind the wheel and pulled out of the parking garage. She started telling him to head toward Feral. Tyler was asking her how she had ended up in the police station when she stopped responding. Glancing over, he saw Aster had passed out. He still didn’t know where she lived. He pulled over and searched her purse for some form of ID that had her address on it. Finding a government ID, he memorized the address and headed for her home.

Her place was a good five minutes west of Feral. When he pulled into the driveway, Tyler got out and looked around. It was a nice place. It wasn’t very big and only one story. He walked around to the passenger door. Opening the door, he leaned in and searched Aster’s purse for a house key. When he found one, he walked up to the front door, unlocked it and left it open so he would not have to fight with it with Aster in his arms.

He scooped Aster up into his arms. Tyler lifted Aster out of the passenger seat and kicked the car door closed. Carrying her inside, he did the same with the front door, then headed down the hall to his left until he found the bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed and brushed her hair out of her face. He reached for her shoes, removing one then the other and placing them on the floor by her closet. One of the heels was snapped off. He walked back to the bed and watched her. She was wearing a fitted pair of jeans which showed off her delectable curves. What a girl. He supposed jeans were uncomfortable to sleep in. Then again, she was so drunk she could have probably slept soundly in an iron maiden. Deciding undressing her would be crossing boundaries, Tyler pulled the blankets which were tossed in a heap at the foot of the bed and covered Aster up, trying to make her more comfortable.

Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, Tyler decided he would stay the night. Someone had to take her to the impound to retrieve her car in the morning. Tyler grabbed the other pillow on the bed and went out into the hall. He opened doors until he found a linin closet with spare blankets. He made his way to the living room and kicked off his shoes. Tyler dropped down on the sofa. He stuffed the pillow under his head and draped the blanket over himself as he got comfortable. Tyler closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***

Someone calling her name startled Aster awake. She sat up in her bed and looked around the room. It was night and dark, but she could see fine without the lights. She sat there silently listening. She heard her name again. It was a woman’s voice, and it was distant. She had no idea where it was coming from. Aster walked to the window and pulled back the drapes. She saw a figure dressed in white outside amount the tree line in her back yard.

“Mom?” It could not be her mother was dead. The figure called her name once more. Aster left her bedroom and walked down the hall toward the back door in the kitchen. She walked through the living room on her way to the kitchen. Everything felt strange. There was an intense sense of fear that was making her anxious. Reaching the kitchen, she opened the back door and walked out onto the porch.

She could see the woman in white at the tree line still. Strange, but the sky was filled with black clouds blocking out the moonlight. The air was chilly for this time of year, and fog rolled at her feet.

The woman called her name, but it still sounded a million miles away. “Mom?” She started walking toward the woman. The closer she got to her, Aster noticed the woman’s back was turned to Aster. Aster walked slower the closer she got. “Mom?” She spoke again as she stood behind the woman. She reached out and touched the woman’s shoulder. “Mom?”

The woman turned, and she was faced with her mother, whose eyes were glowing, and her fangs descended as she attacked. Aster screamed and did her best to fight her off.

***

The sounds of footsteps drew Tyler from his sleep. He opened his eyes and lifted his head, and watched as Aster walked slowly through the living room with a vacant look on her face. Tyler sat up. “Aster?” He called to her, but she did not respond. She simply kept walking past him and into the kitchen. Tyler rose to his feet and followed her. “Aster, what are you doing?” He asked, following her to the door. Tyler stood beside her while she opened the door. He looked at her face and her eyes. He waved his hand in front of her, but she did not respond.

She was sleepwalking.

it would be nice if it rained to break up the heatwave. Aster kept walking toward the trees. Where was she going? He should stop her and get her back to bed. He rushed

to fight him off. She was hitting and scratching, and then something happened. Something he would have never expected. Her amazing eyes began to glow

hard on his left forearms,

from her mouth. It took her a moment to realize where she was, who he was, and what had happened. Her fingers touched her lips, and she looked down at his blood on her fingertips. She looked around confused and then looked at the wound on his arm, which he was now cradling. She looked normal once more. Tyler had no idea what had just happened, but his arm

was confused. “Where did she

There is no one out here but us. You were

“I bit you?”

You turned into… I don’t know what, and

for him, and Tyler backed away out of her reach. “Let me

going to bite me again,

your wound. I’m not going to hurt you unless you

“What are you?”

wounds, and I’ll

Tyler agreed and followed Aster back into the house. She turned on the kitchen light, and Tyler took a seat at the kitchen table. Aster opened the cupboard beneath the sink and took out a steel first aid box that happened to look like a World War Two army footlocker. She walked over and placed it on the table, then lifted

first aid supplies to IV bags and other things one

swiped them over and around the wound site to clean the area. It stung, and Tyler

didn’t hear that.” He said as he watched her take out a

the stitching would hurt.” She said, injecting

nurse

He was not so sure he wanted her to stitch him up

need

with medical suture thread. She took a seat next to him and bulled his arm toward her. “Do you feel numb yet?” She said, tapping the needle against the skin. He nodded yes. Whatever she had given him was great. He could not feel a thing. Aster proceeded to stitch. As Tyler watched her technique, he realized she had some talent at

in on

like she could not decide what to tell him. “Can I trust you?” She asked, looking him in the eye. “I mean, really

what just happened because no one would

I would have to kill

just threatened the life of an officer. Is your secret really worth ending

“Yes.”

say. Whatever she was about to tell him was going to be huge.

But people will

“Ok, I’m listening.”

me

“Yeah.”

“I’m not human.”

was not human? How did he

“I’m a Lycanthrope?”

absurdity of

I am. You

She released him and returned to the stitches. The numbing agent was not as good as he thought because he had felt those claws

stitch those

at his wounds and began to panic. “You bit me.

into a Lycanthrope. I was born just like you. You either are or aren’t.”

for you to

young. I have not had an episode in eight years. I have no idea why it has started up again.” She tied off the thread and cut it, then picked up a needle to give his arm some more freezing so she could stick up the five new holes

realize I was waking

“Wolf?”

“What?”