Between Beasts

Chapter 7. Out of Line

With a reassuring smile, Mary left Jodie sitting in one of the booths and headed through to the kitchen. She knew she should wait to be called, it was one of Teo’s rules; she had to check in with him each evening but needed permission to go into the back areas of the cafe, at least until he deemed her to no longer be just a pup. Teo had laid down strict rules when he had taken Mary in, and they had imprinted themselves deeply into the core of her being. Or at least, they had tried to.

It had been almost five years since Mary had been attacked by what she had thought at the time to be some kind of large, rabid dogs. She had only been seventeen and shouldn’t have been out so late by herself, but she had been angry at her parents for something, precisely what, she couldn’t remember now.

They had told her to be home by six PM, but she had intentionally missed her bus and ended up wandering around the city in defiance until after dark. She couldn’t remember much of that night, just that at some point there had been a hungry growl from behind her a moment before she was thrown to the ground, searing pain coursing through her left shoulder as teeth sank in, ripping at her flesh.

The next thing Mary remembered was opening her eyes and looking up into the beautiful, soulful eyes of a muscular, bare chested man covered in large, bleeding wounds. He was carrying her.

“You’re going to be alright.”

Even then, barely conscious, it had felt more like an instruction than an attempt to comfort her. She knew she had been attacked by something, the pain was unbearable, and she was on the brink of unconsciousness from blood loss, but she also knew that she would live, because he had told her to.

Teo took Mary to the hospital, saying that a pack of feral dogs had attacked her and that he had chased them off. After a couple of days of barely clinging to life, a burning fever set in and she had to be heavily sedated. The next morning however, the doctors were amazed at how quickly she started recovering.

Teo had come to visit her several times while she was there, and shortly after that feverish night he had known for certain that she had been turned and he explained to her what had really happened. That she had been attacked by werewolves and had been infected. That soon, she too would become a wolf.

Mary didn’t believe him at first of course. She was extremely grateful for him saving her life, but it was too surreal. They had just been wild dogs. He had taken his shirt off to show her the scars where the deep, open wounds she had seen on him just days before had all but completely healed, assuring her that in time, she would heal just as quickly.

Still uncertain but compelled to find any excuse to spend more time with her rugged, yet handsome saviour, Mary agreed to come to the cafe as soon as she was allowed to leave the hospital. He had put any doubts she still had to rest that evening, showing her what he was, what she now was, and introduced her to his pack.

Teo told her the most important thing was self-control. When bitten, some people turn, some don’t, most simply die. Of those who survive the change, many succumb to the hunger and the feeling of power, losing themselves to the beast within, which was the reason for one of his rules – it is forbidden to turn a human, regardless the reasons.

Teo explained how he had founded the cafe as a home for his pack, originally as a trading post and inn before the city grew up around it. That he had been taking in strays for the last three centuries, offering safety to those who others had turned, and that if she wished it, she could become part of his pack. She could have a home and a family.

This was where the catch was. She was sixteen and would now age as a wolf. She would essentially be sixteen for the next several years. Originally, she had thought this was incredible, but as Teo explained that she would have to stop seeing her family and her friends for fear that over time, as they aged and she seemingly did not, that her true nature and the pack would be discovered.

Entry to the pack was conditional on accepting a number of rules, but Mary had begged Teo to bend just that one. Reluctantly, given how young she was, he had agreed. Mary would be allowed to see her friends and family for five years, after which she would move out of her family’s home and cut ties with her friends.

The moment Mary had accepted Teo as her alpha and given her word to obey his rules it had felt like they had been branded into her soul. She felt compelled to obey. However, although Mary was young, and small, there was something very powerful growing inside of her which increasingly seemed to let her resist the compulsion to obedience. And right now, she needed it to give her the strength to help Jodie.

Jodie. Mary’s time with Jodie was almost up and she needed her help. Mary steeled herself against the urge to obey the rules and headed through to find Teo.

The eyes of the kitchen staff followed Mary as she entered the kitchen and made her way through to Teo’s back office. They knew she had not been called through, and so she should not be there. Mary was one of them though, and clearly not a threat to Teo, so they just watched. She resisted an almost tangible pull on her to back away from the office, opened the door and slipped inside.

“Teo, I need to do something to help her!”

Teo sat at his desk looking over a stack of paperwork, silent and unflinching. Mary’s inner strength had pushed her to be able to get there and say what she had, but it didn’t know what to do in the face of this silence.

 “Your friend is safe at the moment; I can smell her in the cafe. Has it threatened her?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s that creep, Mark! He grabbed her, molested her! Kevin’s worse than useless and told her Mark’s moving in when they get back in two weeks! You’ve got to let me do something to help her!” Teo put down the paper he was holding and stood, rising to his full height and turned to look down at Mary.

“Are they demons? Ghouls? Touched in any way?” Teo seemed to be half interrogating Mary and half looking for a valid reason to help.

“Well, no… they’re just men, but…”

“No.” Teo ended the discussion and began to turn back to his desk.

“Can I at least threaten them, scare them a bit?” Mary desperately pleaded.

“I said no!!!” Teo roared, partially shifting, his muscles tearing his shirt to shreds as he smashed his fists through the thick wooden desk, turning it into a large, expensive pile of kindling. Mary should have been terrified, she should have left quickly and quietly before Teo decided to punish her for her challenge, but her friend needed her.

“Please… I can’t just watch her be hurt and not do anything… and I know… I know you care about her as well… he told her he was going to do things to her when he was back…”

Teo softened, shrinking back to his normal, giant size and turned back to face Mary with a pained, but determined look in his eyes.

Mary was small, more like the pack mascot than a full member, he knew Mary wasn’t challenging him and was impressed that she hadn’t fled, but he was also very glad they were in the privacy of his office were the pack couldn’t see, otherwise he would have had to make an example of her.

It was true as well, he hadn’t wanted Mary continuing her attachment to a human, never mind bringing her into his cafe so often, but Jodie was sweet, she reminded him of a woman he had loved some time ago in another, simpler life. He hated the thought of someone hurting her, but he couldn’t break his own rules.

“It is forbidden to interfere with or harm humans.” Teo said quietly, more to himself than to Mary.

“I’m sorry Teo.” Mary replied, desperately wanting him to help but knowing she had already pushed more than she dared hope he would have allowed. “Thank you for watching over her last night.”

Teo’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean?”

“Jodie said there was an oddly dark shadow on a balcony that felt like it was watching her, I thought you’d maybe stayed to guard her after you walked her home.”

“No, I patrolled the grounds for a while then returned to the city centre. It must have been there!” Teo snarled, clenching his fists, turning away from Mary and instinctively going to lean on his desk before remembering he had just obliterated it.

“If it was there, watching her… surely it would be our duty then… we don’t know why it’s stalking her.”

“Speak to your friend, she will stay here under my protection until we have dealt with the demon. Tell her to be ready by tomorrow. I, and a few of the others will watch over her building tonight. You will stay inside, with her.”

Teo expected that to be taken as a dismissal and for Mary to leave, but she didn’t. He turned back to her, and she gave him a knowing smile. Although they now suspected the demon was involved, she knew he had pounced on it as a justification to help. He could have easily just watched her building, he hadn’t had to offer to take her in. Teo could see what Mary was thinking through that smile.

“Go, before I change my mind.” Mary happily complied, slipping back through to the cafe front.