Look At Your Future (8 page)

She settled down to continue the manuscript she had started
earlier today, this story was about vampires and she thought it would make an
excellent series.  She wanted to be able to pitch it at their meeting next
week.  If she could get two winning authors in a row, she would really be
pumped.

It was a little after six, she took her shoes off and let
her hair down.  She knew now that everyone else would be gone.  She idly
stroked the bracelet and thought of Max’s note.  She imagined his hands as they
roamed over her skin and couldn’t help the rush of moisture that dampened her
panties.  She picked up the manuscript and forced herself to read. At least she
only had a few chapters left, and then she could work on her notes for her
other projects for the next day’s meeting.

When she finally finished her notes she moved her chair back
behind her desk and closed the window.  It had finally cooled off in her
office, and then suddenly a strong gust of wind blew through the window before
she could close it.  It threatened to send her notes across the room, but she
caught them.

Her office door suddenly slammed open startling her.  Luke
stood in the door way and caught the door as it bounced off the wall.  She
could swear his eyes were glowing and he was breathing hard and he somehow
seemed larger than he had before.

“Lily, you’ve been a bad girl haven’t you?” He gave her a
nasty smile as he gestured toward her neck and he prowled into her office.  He
could smell her from down the hall.  Her scent was stronger in this room.  It
had been faint a little while ago, but he had gotten it full blast when the
wind had blown over her body.  He saw the bite marks on her neck, he had gotten
her scent the other night in the woods, but it had been masked quickly, him and
his friends had searched for her, but were unable to find her.  Today was his
lucky day.

“Luke, what the hell, you scared me half to death,” Lily
quickly grabbed her sweater trying to pull it on as he stalked her around the
room.  “What the hell are you doing here? Get out of my office!” She pointed
with her finger and then struggled with the opening of the arm of her sweater;
blast it was inside out, what the hell.  She didn’t need this.  He cornered her
and then leaned down to sniff her neck.  She pushed him back, “Luke I’d like
you to leave now,” she started shaking, he was so big, he towered over her
petite frame, he wasn’t as big as Max, she thought vaguely, but there was no
way she could fight him if he tried to do something.

“I have something for you Lily”, he gave her another smile
as he grabbed her and placed a cloth over her mouth, she screamed, but not
before he had a hold of her.  She struggled mightily against him and he felt
his body harden, she would be a fighter, and he couldn’t wait.  He watched her
face as she hit his chest and arms.  “Your feisty Lily, that pleases me, I
enjoy a challenge.” He watched her eyes as they fluttered closed and then
picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.  He made his way through the
abandoned offices and pulled his cell phone from his pocket to call his friend
Sam.

“Hey man, get the guys together for me; you’ll never guess
what I found.” He chuckled as he listened to his friend’s voice.  “Remember the
delicious bitch we searched for the other night? Yep, I found her, right here
in my fucking office…yeah I’ll meet you there.”

Max stood outside Lily’s apartment building, it was about
twenty minutes after eight and she wasn’t here yet.  He had called her twice,
but it went straight to voicemail.  He remembered his father’s warning today
about keeping her safe.  Had something happened to her?  He knew deep down that
something was wrong.  He climbed back into his car and the tires squealed as he
put the gas pedal to the floor.  It took him less than ten minutes to arrive at
her building.  He jumped out of the car and approached the security guard,
after talking to him for a few minutes; he acknowledged that he hadn’t seen
her.

Max looked at him and used every one of his influences to
get the guard to cooperate with him.  “We need to go check on her, she was
supposed to meet me and she isn’t answering her phone.  She worked late
tonight, but she promised to call if she would be later than eight.”

The guard was nodding and let him by as he talked to him. 
He told him he would take him up to her floor right away.  When they got there
everything was eerily quiet and the lights were still on in her office.  Her
purse was by her desk and there were papers scattered all over the floor.

Max knew something was seriously wrong, he could smell her
scent and also the man that took her.  He could smell his lust lingering in the
air, and he felt his wolf come to the surface when he smelled her fear mixed
in.  He turned back to the guard who was standing in the doorway, not quite
understanding what was going on.  “Is there another way out of this building?”

“There is another way down to the parking garage that isn’t
on camera, but she never goes down that way.”

“Show me,” Max said gesturing to the guard and making his
tone harsh so he would comply quickly.

He showed him the other way down to the garage.  Max walked
around and found a very dark area in the corner that still held her scent, it
was faint, but at least he knew she had been there.  “Someone took her, do you
know of anyone else that was still in the building?”

“I think Mr. Wilson was here late, but he left about a half
hour ago.”

“Luke Wilson?” Max asked angrily.

“Yes, do you know him?”

“Not well, but I’ve heard of him before.” Max shook his
head; he had a feeling he knew where they were going.  He ran to his car, and
he jammed the gears into reverse, his tires sliding as they tried to find
purchase as he cut the wheel hard to turn around. He was glad he had left the sedan
at home today and taken the
Ferrari
instead.  He needed speed; he just
hoped that he wasn’t too late.

Lily opened her eyes and saw only darkness; she realized
that she had something over her eyes.  She tried to move her hands, but they
were bound in front of her and her ankles were bound together too.  She felt a
rush of goose bumps rise on her arm when a harsh wind howled past her.  She
remembered only getting the sweater on one arm, leaving the other arm and
shoulder bare.  She took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to register the
noises around her.  She could hear voices arguing, they were all men, she
didn’t know how many.  She felt bile rise in her throat when she finally understood
that they were fighting over who would rape her first.

How could she fight them? If Max could find her, he would
keep her safe, but how could she think like that? There were too many of them,
she couldn’t bear the thought of him getting hurt because of her. She knew for
sure now that she loved him, even though she had only known him for a few
days.  She knew deep down she fell for him that first night she had met him,
before he had even touched her.  Just looking into his grey eyes had been all
it took.

She reached her hands up and was able to pull the blind fold
from her eyes, the tie in the back had a few hairs in it, but she bit her lip
and pulled it off.  She looked around and noticed the woods around her.  The
men were still too busy arguing to notice that she was moving around.  Her
ankles were tied too tightly for her to crawl away, not that it would do her
much good.  She bent a little and tried to untie her ankles, if she could run,
she might have a chance to hide from them.

Luke turned towards her when he saw her moving around. “Well
hello Lily, you are finally awake, I’m so happy you could join us.” His comment
was followed by a nasty smile and laughter from his friends.  He gave her a
dark look as he moved closer to her.  “We smelled you the other night, but we
couldn’t find you. Imagine my surprise when I realized yesterday that you were
the one we had been looking for.  We don’t usually fight over bitches, but for
some reason you’ve got us all riled up.  Do you have any idea why that is?”

Lily frowned as she looked up at him, smelled her, what the
hell was he talking about? She cringed as he knelt down beside her and he stuck
his nose in her hair.  Then he nuzzled her neck slowly moving down her chest,
like he was sucking her scent off her skin.  Revulsion shuddered through her
body.

“Please don’t do this.”

“Its basic animal instinct Lily, the way of the pack, I can
honestly say that you are the best thing I’ve ever smelled before.  Why I just
want to eat you up.” More laughter came from behind him, as well as more
fighting, bone meeting flesh and loud cursing. “Knock it off you guys, I’m
going first, I found her, but you’ll all have to wait your turn.  I’m the alpha
in our little pack.”

Lily frowned again as she tried to understand what he was
talking about.  Alpha, the way of the pack, he talked like they were a wild
dogs or something.  Luke suddenly stood up and the others tilted their noses in
the air, becoming very alert.  Then she heard a menacing growl from the
darkness behind her.  She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.  Oh
dear Lord, what now?

“I don’t believe it, no fucking way.” Luke said as he backed
away from Lily.  He watched, horrified as a huge white wolf steadily stepped
into the clearing, baring its sharp teeth.  Its glowing silver eyes tracking
them all, “go now,” he yelled as he turned toward the others.

Lily watched, paralyzed as they scattered in different
directions, like they were being chased by demons.  She couldn’t even begin to
imagine the animal that was behind her.  Max, she thought, I think I’m going to
die, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I love you, she thought.  Lily whimpered
as she felt soft fur brush past her legs.  She squeezed her eyes shut and tried
to stay as still as possible.  She had no idea what kind of animal had just
shown up.  She took a deep breath and hesitantly opened her eyes to peak up at
the beast.  Her mouth hung open in shock as she looked up at a huge pure white
wolf, its gaze sharp and intelligent.

She watched with awe as he moved closer to her, then his
massive head leaned down and sniffed her hair and stuck his cold nose into her
neck. She shivered as he blew his warm breath in and out against her skin.  She
held as still as possible as he continued to sniff her.  His white head slowly
moved down her chest to her belly, and then he moved lower, sticking his nose
between her legs.  She’d had a friend’s dog sniff her before, but never like
this.  He finally finished and he sat back on its haunches.  He looked down at
her with glowing gray eyes, funny the first thing she thought was how Max’s eyes
looked like that sometimes.

The wolf came closer once more and opened his mouth, baring
sharp white teeth, she closed her eyes again.  It would do no good to scream.  He
could kill her instantly if he wanted to, was he just playing with her?  Her
eyes popped open in shock when she felt his teeth on the ropes binding her
hands, starting to gnaw on them.  Lily held as still as she could, she watched
the sharp teeth work at her bindings.  This had to be the strangest thing that
had ever happened to her.  She knew now that he wouldn’t hurt her, was in fact
trying to help her somehow.  He had already saved her from a crazy man and his
friends.  Was she dreaming right now?  This was all so surreal.  Suddenly the
wolf’s sharp teeth punctured her tender skin, she gasped, ouch that had hurt,
so much for thinking she was dreaming.  The wolf stopped when she gasped as if
knowing that he had hurt her.  When she made no further protests he continued
to work on the rope.  Once her hands were free, he moved back so she could
tackle the ropes at her feet.  After she was free she looked around noticing
how dark it had gotten and she had no idea where she was.  She shivered and
tugged her sweater over her bare shoulder, smearing blood on it, but she didn’t
care, she shivered again as she buttoned it up to her throat.

Lily sighed, she would probably end up with hypothermia from
being outside all night.  She had absolutely no survival skills and it would
easily get down into the fifties tonight.  She tucked her legs up and put her
head on her knees, her dress didn’t offer much warmth, and her teeth started to
chatter. She scooted back against a large tree that was nearby, it wouldn’t give
her much warmth either, but at least she would be shielded from the wind by its
huge trunk. The wolf moved around a bit, he would stop every so many feet and
look at her.  Then as if he was satisfied that there was no danger he came back
beside her.  Lily looked into his eyes; she felt so safe right now.  She soon
couldn’t control the shivers that wracked her body.  She lay down and curled
into a ball at the base of the tree, she tried to make herself as small as
possible.  The wolf lowered his large body down beside her, he moved closer
until he covered the front of her body, wedging her in between him and the
tree.  He let out a low rumble as he offered her his warmth.  She reached out
one hand and stuck her chilled fingers into his thick coat.  Slowly stroking
his sensitive ears, amazed at how soft his fur was.  He let out another rumble,
almost in appreciation of her petting, and then he laid his head against her
chest.

Lily felt like she was either dreaming or going crazy, here
she was in the middle of a dark forest cuddling with a wild animal.  She heard
words begin to form inside her mind telling her to close her eyes and sleep. 
She tried to stay awake as long as she could, she knew the voice she was
hearing, it was Max talking to her, but how could that be?  Fatigue finally set
in and with a heavy sigh she relaxed into the warmth of the wolf and dreamed of
Max.

Lily walked through the forest without fear, it was day
time, but the area she was in was so dark.  The canopy of leaves blocked out
the sunlight, but it still filtered in from time to time as she walked.  She
finally came to a spot that looked familiar to her.  Where had she seen it
before? She glanced around and saw several pairs of eyes glowing from the
darkness around her.  She wasn’t frightened though, everything just felt so
right.

She looked up from a small clearing to an area where the
ground rose suddenly; it was a steep bank that led to a cliff.  As she watched
a pure white wolf came to the edge.  It was huge and powerful, with glowing
silver eyes.  Eerily its head raised back and it howled long and steady,
answered by many other howls around her. Was she supposed to answer him? She
felt like she was, somehow.  Then he looked down at her, meeting her gaze, and
the wolf transformed into a man as she watched.  Max stood where the wolf had
been, his gaze on her fierce and possessive; she shivered with arousal as he
smiled at her. She heard his voice inside her head, telling her that she
belonged to him.  He wouldn’t get any arguments from her about that, she wanted
to belong to him, needed to be his.  He said something, very softly, too quietly
for her to hear.  She tried to speak, but was unable to make any sounds.  She
tried to move towards him, but her limbs refused to move.  He turned away from
her and she cried out to him, but he couldn’t hear her silent sobs, begging him
not to leave her.

Max put another cool cloth on Lily’s forehead; she had slept
for so long already.  He could feel her body calling to him.  She thrashed her
head as she had another dream.  He saw what she saw in her dream, it was the
same dream she kept having over and over. He tried to call out to her, but for
some reason she couldn’t hear everything that he said. He pulled her close to
him again as sobs wracked her body. He just prayed that she would wake up, he
needed her, he loved her.

Lily woke up suddenly and sat up in bed and looked around,
the last thing she could remember was being in the forest with the white wolf.
She was in Max’s bed, but he wasn’t here with her. How did she get her?  She
looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it was close to nine pm. 
What day was it?

She slowly got out of the bed and went into the bathroom. 
She splashed some cool water on her face, hoping to clear away the last dregs
of sleep.  She brushed her teeth and found her robe on the door; she was still
wearing her chemise and panties from earlier.  She slipped the robe on as she
walked into the bedroom.

“Lily.” She heard a voice call her name, but she didn’t see
anyone.  Her brow creased as she tried to understand where the sound came
from.  It was more like it was in her head, rather than hearing it with her
ears.

She went to the sliding doors that led to the private deck. 
She put her hand to her throat when she saw the white wolf loping across the
grass from the woods. He stopped at the steps to the deck, waiting patiently
for her.

‘Lily,’ she heard it again, maybe it was coming from the
wolf, his mouth didn’t move, but how could she hear him unless he was talking
in her head.  She must still be dreaming none of this made any sense.  She
looked into the grey eyes staring back at her and somehow she knew he was
calling to her.  She felt no fear as she opened the door and stepped out
barefoot onto the deck.