Lupus Femina
CURSED
It's hard to run from a werewolf. M/F (Adult)

Chapter Two: On the Run



Beside her, Jimmy was snoring in the seat.

Ellie drummed her nails restlessly on the steering wheel, watching the road reel out in front of them, dim but familiar. Comforting, even. She could have turned on the radio, but she didn't want to wake her brother; it was a moment of uncommon and wholly welcome peace between them.

She felt like she was still reeling, still in shock. How did you get over the guy you--your boyfriend trying to kill you? Being a monster? Putting an animal in your heart, in your veins, making you a monster too, right along with him?

Jake had been so much that he never should have been. That she never should have allowed. A friend, for one. A confidante. A partner. She'd joked with him over late night B movies, with popcorn and beers, kissed him in his big bed, let him rub her shoulders after a long day at work, murmuring out her worries into the curve of his shoulder. He'd given her the best sex of her life, for another. And if the little sound he made when he came, a vibrating rumble close to a suppressed growl, made sense in retrospect, just remembering it also still made her press her thighs together and bite her lip, hard.

So stupid. Of all the people--of all the things--to fall in love with, she had to go head over heels for a murderous animal. Brilliant, Ellie. Just stacking up the bright choices here.

She rubbed at her eyes, tired beyond measure. She really wanted to reach the next town before they crashed in a motel; they'd hit two before this, sleeping brief uneasy nights. Jimmy was tired and edgy, and she was scared and pissed off at once, and they'd barely talked since they left town the first time, in borrowed clothes.

Ellie wondered what the cops had thought of their house. She wondered if they had--pipe dreams--found Jake still there and apprehended him. If he was tucked away in jail, unable to pursue them. The truth being that if the cops grabbed Jake, he'd have no qualms about killing them to get free.

The signal for the turnoff approached and she let out a gusty sigh of relief. "Jimmy," she said softly, jostling him. "Jimmy, up. We're going to have to check in soon."

He stirred, groaning, and she resolutely kept her eyes on the road. She didn't want to see his flash with the light, the way they did at night now--for both of them.



Ellie picked her way across the parking lot, jingling the keys in her palm. The groceries they'd picked up rustled as they bumped against her leg, and it took two tries for her to figure out the key, her mind was so sleep fogged.

"Awesome," Jimmy mumbled when he saw the bed. Ellie bit her lip, the little sting of pain giving her some measure of awareness, and pointed toward the kitchenette.

"Fridge," she said, voice husky. He gave a companionable moan and staggered off toward it. She tossed his toothbrush on the bed, dumped her bag of bread and toiletries on the counter, and went off into the bathroom.


When she came out, Jimmy was flopped out on one of the bed, snoring faintly, and the only lights were streetlights peeking slyly through the half-drawn curtains. She tugged them fully closed after a long, empty look into the rain slicked night, and changed into a nightgown, pushing back the covers.

She felt awkward, full of aches, her whole body yearning for the softness of the mattress. Sliding between the sheets was a blessing, and she finally let herself relax, closing her eyes.

Miles and miles away. Miles and miles ahead of Jake, she hoped. Surely a little revenge wasn't that important...



She dreamed of running.

Running, putting everything into it, the joy of motion flowing through her long body; legs and spine and vibrating throat one long eagerly trembling aria of exhilaration. She moved between the trees like a ghost, like the wind; she ran ahead of the breath of the air, and nothing could stop her.

She flickered through trunks, cleared fallen trees as though flying, felt the earth give beneath her enough to send her springing forward again. The moon hung above her, full and indulgent, singing her on. The very air was beautiful.

And then she cleared the line of trees, opening out into a full run at the clear ground, and then she was leaping, and the hunger leapt within her, and she landed on the forequarters of her prey.

Paws scrabbling off of powerful, churning haunches; her jaws snapped closed like a steel trap over the spine, unbreakable, anchoring her whole body. The animal gave a shrill scream of pain and fear and reared, shaking itself frantically. The antlers could gore her, the hooves could crush her, the frantic motion could snap her spine; she hung on, elated and starving.

And then the animal folded beneath her, dropped, and when she hit the ground she shifted her grip enough to snap the neck and end the animal's frightened cries.

When she looked up, her breath steaming in the air, a massive dark wolf looked back, dropping the broken leg from his teeth. His eyes shone flat in the darkness, the absolute midnight of his fur stirred softly in the faint breeze, and the power in him as he rose slowly was incredible.

"I knew you'd be beautiful," Jake's voice said, rough and rumbling-low in her ear.

Ellie gave a short, sharp scream and scrambled back as the wolf leapt, but the impact was controlled and suddenly she was sprawled back over their prey, fur and hot blood against her back and shoulders, and black fur was brushed her breasts. The wolf's eyes swallowed the moon, and her heart leapt.



Ellie jolted upright, gasping for breath in panicked heaves. "We have to go," she said, lips numb, fumbling at the covers. The sun was peeking at dawn, at least. They'd got a decent nights sleep. "Jimmy! Up! We've got to keep moving."

She ran for the bathroom, desperate to wash the taste of blood from her mouth.