Wild Side (Dark Side Series: Book 2)

One

IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THEM YET, READ DARK SIDE  chapters 1-32 AND INTERLUDE I&II. Especially II. Seriously. I didn't just give you that scene for show. *ahem* Trust me, if I wrote it for fun, it'd be an entirely different type of scene. ;)

This is book two. I hope you love reading it as much as I love writing it! <3

In the passenger seat beside me lay curled inky, green-eyed darkness. The fur of its long tail brushed my arm as I drove. Caelan's blood on the leather steering wheel served as a reminder of what I'd done.

What you had to do, purred the darkness. You had no choice, my sundown sweetheart.

The truck's headlights followed the curves of the mountain road, winding up through black trees and stark moonlight. I didn't dare look at that thing in the seat, that thing with a feline frame that called itself words like 'Familiar' and 'Husband.'

Did you wonder, as you twisted that knife of mine into his gut, did you wonder if he  would have killed you?  Or would he have made like a proper huntsman and spared your life, my newly made queen? The cat, a lean, small creature with a feral profile, stretched languidly then took on a seated position. Its tone was masculine, a smooth shot of aged whiskey and caramel, filled with the whispered promises of a lawless tryst. 

"Shut up," I snapped. Caelan was a werewolf. He'd survived worse and I'd been careful, so careful. Beside me sat a monster, a creature preying on my emotions for the simple reason that he could. So far I'd done a fair job of ignoring him, but for every minute he haunted me, I felt ready to grab the cat by the scruff of its neck and fling it out the window. I might've even done it, if it weren't for the fact that I'd often witnessed him smoking out of existence like a demented Cheshire cat.

I for one am curious, the demon continued cheerily. We'll never know for sure though, will we? 

He'd been gloating since I'd put the key in the ignition, but in the past fifteen minutes his mood had lifted into a sinister, upbeat nature. My foot lifted off the gas pedal. The truck glided slowly through the night, coming to a halt in the dirt off the road. Branches of young saplings pushed into the window behind the dark feline. 

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, turning my eyes onto his patient green gaze.

Dearest Mirelle! The cat exclaimed in an emphatic gasp. Surely you knew the sheriff's brother would find you. One round ear twitched back. White fangs flashed in a wry smile. Oh, I suppose I should put that in past tense now, seeing what's happened.

After rolling down a window, I pulled the key from the truck, plunging us into true night. The engine purred much like the cat, and then that sound ebbed and the subtle sounds of nature slipped into the mechanical vacancy. Frogs, crickets, the occasional crash of a small animal through brush: all indicated that there was no car behind mine, nor any wolf in the woods. Nature was as it should be, as it used to be before my life went to hell.

"Zakar," I began, feeling my pulse climb into my throat. I gripped the wheel tighter, staring down at my stained fingers. "What do you know?"

Green eyes closed with a pleasurable sigh. My name on your lips is a blessing indeed.

"What happened to Caelan?" I asked.

What do you think happened to the wolfman? he replied, neatly wrapping his tail around his haunches. You stuck him like a pig with a silver dagger and left him alone to fend off a brute like Augustin La Motte.