WOLF LOYALTY

Please Don’t Tell

Amelia.

**

He’s fiddling with his pants, but before he can get them undone, the man has suddenly ripped them away from me.

I spin around in time to see something huge and furry atop him. It looks like a wolf, but wolves don’t get that big.

The wolf’s long teeth sink into his skin, tearing his throat out.

I realize I’m screaming hysterically, pressed against the car. The wolf looks at me and hesitates. Probably wondering if I’ll make a good meal.

It seems to decide that I’m not worth the trouble. It starts walking away.

I’m sobbing, and I can’t seem to stop.

The wolf turns back to me.

No, please, leave me alone. Eat the guy you killed, surely he’s enough to fill your belly?

I don’t see what happens, even though I’m staring right at the wolf. Its shape seems to shift. The fur vanishes and it steps upright, shrinking as it does so.

The wolf is gone. Rogers is in its place.

“Lia, it’s ok.” He takes a hesitant step toward me.

I stumble into his arms, clutching at his shirt.

“Shh, you’re alright. Here, let me help you.”

Rogers reaches down and pulls my panties back up. I flinch, but he calmly smooths my dress, then pulls me into a hug.

“Come on, let’s get you home.”

I nod, but I don’t let go of him. I peek at the dead man, my attempted rapist. “What about h-him?”

“I’ll tell Derek. He can sort it out.”

I have no idea how Derek is going to ‘sort out a dead body, but that’s the least of my concerns right now.

Rogers ushers me into the car. I wrap my arms around myself, going over what just happened in my mind as Rogers starts driving.

There was a wolf. Then there was Rogers. It… it turned into him.

Pieces start falling together in my mind. Everything makes sense the full moon, the chains, the strange authority Derek has over Rogers.

Everything except one thing.

Werewolves don’t exist.

My breath is coming in short gasps. I’m going mad. I can’t possibly have seen what I thought I saw.

Amelia? You need to slow your breathing down or you’re going to pass out.”

There’s no air in the car. I can’t breathe in here!

“Stop the car, Rogers!”

He does it at once, pulling over to the sidewalk. I stagger out, gasping great breaths of air.

Rogers follows me. He tries to reach out to me, but I jerk away from him.

He turned into a wolf. He ripped a man’s throat out.

I’m not particularly unhappy about the death of a rapist, It’s the Rogers-turning-into-a-wolf part that has terror leaping in my throat.

Stay away from me!”

“Lia, it’s me. You know I’d never hurt you,”

I do know that, but that doesn’t mean I’m not seriously freaked out. “Amanda.”

Rogers understands at once. “I’ll call her I don’t listen to Rogers’s quick conversation with Amanda. I’m too busy watching Rogers for any sign of sudden movement. Is he going to turn into a wolf again?

When he hangs up, I gesture to my car. Go,” I whisper. “Take the car – Amanda will pick me up.”

There’s no way I’m leaving you alone after what just happened.”

He’s right, of course. I’m not thinking clearly. I may be terrified of what I’ve learned about Rogers, but not so terrified that I’d risk myself out hereafter one person has already attacked me.

The minute’s snail by. I think Rogers tries to talk to me, but I can’t hear him over the buzzing in my ears.

Finally, Amanda arrives. She leaps out of her car and rushes to embrace me. I cling to her as I clung to Rogers when he first rescued me.

Are you ok?”

I shake my head, my face pressed into her shoulder.

Don’t worry, we’ll go to the police. We’ll catch this maniac.”

“No police,” Rogers says sharply. “The man who attacked her has been taken care of.”

They talk for a few minutes. I assume Rogers is trying to convince Amanda not to call the police. I can’t focus on their words.

Then Amanda is ushering me into the car.

Seemingly moments later, she takes my hand, leading me out. We’re at her house.

Amanda pushes me onto the couch. A few minutes later, she brings a cup of tea that seems like it’s got more sugar than tea.

I drink at a stern look from her. Amanda wraps me in a blanket, then puts an arm around me.

My phone beeps in my bag. I dig it out, unsurprised to see a message from Rogers.

“Lia, please don’t tell. No one can know about what I am. I promise I’ll explain it all to you later. He sent.

I don’t reply. I don’t know what to say.

What happened?” Amanda asks quietly.

I focus on her question, using it as a lifeline to drag my mind out of the fog that shrouds it.

Rogers and I had a fight. I was upset and went to Raymond. We had sex and I left. As I was getting into the car, a man attacked me. He got my panties down but didn’t have time to do more than that. Rogers… Rogers must have followed me, I guess. He pulled the man away from me and killed him.”

Amanda is white as she pulls me into another hug. “I’m so sorry, Amanda. Thank God

Rogers was there. I see why he doesn’t want the police involved. It’s probably best. It I’ll be difficult to prove you were attacked since you aren’t injured.”

He said someone will get rid of the body. What kind of people is he involved with, who will dispose of dead bodies for him?”

I shrug, even though I now know the truth.

As distraught as I am, though, I can’t bring myself to tell Amanda Rogers’s secret. I always thought that when I found out, she’d be the first one I’d tell.

This secret is too big, though. I’m still not entirely sure I’m not going mad.

Do you have sleeping pills? I think I just want to go to bed – forget this ever happened. At least for tonight.”

Of course.” Amanda carefully hands me two sleeping pills, keeping the bottle in her hand. It’s not necessary. I’ll certainly be traumatized by the experience for some time to come, but I still don’t want to overdose.

Amanda tucks me into bed, and minutes later, I’m asleep.

I wake to scream my lungs out. In my dream, there is no Rogers, no wolf, and the man does much more than get my panties down.

The light turns on and Hannah crouches down by my bedside. “It’s ok, Amelia. You just had a nightmare.”

I nod, gulping down my tears. A dream, it was just a dream.

“Sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Amanda hugs me again, and I soak up her comfort. It’s easy to be here with her and not think about Rogers.

Amanda only knows half of what’s bothering me.

I manage to drift off again. I woke up several more times that night, but at least the dream stays away.

When the sun finally rises, I jerk out of a fitful doze. I’m still exhausted, but trying to sleep seems even more tiring than starting the day.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Amanda hears me moving around and hurries to join me. She quickly gets coffee going

“I call Roland and told him what happened – not about Rogers, obviously, but that you were attacked. He said to take as much time as you need.”

Thanks,” I mumble, sipping my coffee so fast that it burns my tongue.

“Do you want to talk some more?”

I shake my head. Amanda accepts this easily enough. “I can take the day off work to stay with you.”

No, that’s ok. You go to work. I think I need some time to think.”

Of course. I’ll keep my phone on me. Call if you need me, alright?”

“I will.”

Amanda kisses the top of my head before heading off to work.

I wonder if Derek has gotten rid of the body yet.

The thought of Derek just makes me think of Rogers.

I don’t know what to do with his secret. For so long, I’ve ached to know everything about him, but now that I do, I rather wish I’d never found out about it.

No wonder he didn’t tell me. He was protecting me.

I go back to my room and check my phone. As I expected, there’s another message from Rogers.

“Lia, we need to talk. Please call me when you get this.” He sent

I know we need to talk, but I’m afraid of what will happen when we do.

How will Derek react to my knowledge? He may not be as tolerant as Rogers is of someone knowing his secret.

Have I just been saved from the frying pan only to be catapulted into the fire?