Wild Life Page 6

  Whilst it was Paris that needed the shape shift to gain a sense of control and calm again, Addison never passed up the opportunity to shape shift when it presented itself to him. It was how he was able to keep the werewolf within him so at bay. Addison’s reasoning was the more you allowed the shape shift to happen, the more you had calm in your everyday life. Addison pulled off his jeans and threw them on top of his shoes.

  He looked over at Paris. “You right to do this?”

  Paris stood naked amongst the deeper fauna of the Greenbelt. Tall and taunt muscles, his hands on his hips, looking directly ahead, at nothing.

  Shape shifting to an alpha werewolf was usually a very easy task to perform at will. But the wrong emotions could cause problems with shifting. Addison suspected Paris was trying to center himself, calm himself down slightly. Because if he went into a shape shift, with his very human emotions of rage, it would transfer through to the wolf inside. And the werewolf, in it’s tribal form, would come through the shift, ready to hunt and tear things apart with a vicious velocity.

  Problems tended to occur when the werewolf in question, was either injured, traumatized or stressed. Those sensations could hold a shift at bay or make the process far more painful on the human body, than it needed to be.

  “Big dog?” Addison called out to Paris.

  Paris’s shoulders moved heavily up and down. He was really worked up. Paris looked over at Addison and jerked his head at him as he held out an arm towards him, indicating to Addison that he needed assistance with his shape shift.

  Both males faced each other and crouched down, taking a knee on the ground. Paris’s arm was held straight out at Addison, who in return, grabbed Paris’s forearm with his own. They both gripped each other’s arm tightly and stared at one another’s eyes.

  Addison did a partial shape shift, within a blink of an eyelid, his eyes becoming those of his werewolf, while the rest of the man, remained remarkably human.

  The technique was done to give Paris an animal to focus on, whilst concentrating on calling forth his werewolf’s instinct. A small tingle across the hairs on their arms, was the only indicator that Addison was offering Paris his calm, to help with the shape shift.

  Addison whilst concentrating on the familiarity of feeling of his own wolf, concentrated on passing his calm and wolf’s aura to Paris, to help his werewolf take the bait and begin the shape shift his friend, needed.

  The loud crack of a bone re-aligning, and Paris’s jaw moving with it, indicated the shift was going to come, but it was going to be painful. Paris would get through the pain, they always did. He’d been handling it his whole life.

  Addison tightened his grip on Paris’s arm. It was important to keep physical contact between them. Werewolves understood touch and worked better when they were around other wolves, than in solitude.

  The sense of pack and familiarity helped ease shifts on. Paris’s neck muscles strained as he dug his fingers into Addison’s arm. His skin tightening and shimmering.

  Addison let out a low whine at him. Trying to give Paris as much sensory bait as his wolf needed to continue the shape shift. It was possible to get stuck between shifts. And it was more likely to happen when in the frame of mind Paris was in and trying to leave behind.

  The overhead sun shone down through the tress and warmed Addison’s skin as he began to dig, absently with one hand, through the soft dirt under his fingers. He cleared his mind enough to allow the beginning of the anxiousness of his wolf to come out. To want to come out in it’s natural surroundings.

  He inhaled the scent of earth, dried leaves and tree bark. Another whine escaped his throat. His eyes never leaving Paris’s as the other man’s skin, started to shimmer, and his shoulders started to buck upwards, attempting to lift him off the ground, as his shape shift began.

  A small groan escaped Paris’s clench teeth as his body jerked and his skin shimmered greatly, the shape shift taking full hold. His head dropped down and Addison’s wolf eyes watched as his arms went lip, the sound of bones breaking, cracked loudly around him. He let go of Paris as he shape shifted and Addison finally allowed his wolf to come roaring to the front of his mind.

  Addison’s shape shift was seamless by comparison to Paris’s. His body jerked, and snapped and shifted, from one to another within two minutes, there was no longer a sign of Addison the male, just Addison the werewolf.

  He stood up off the ground, dropping his nose to the ground and sniffing. Lifting his head when Paris’s large grey wolf growled threateningly, snapping up to his legs and staring at Addison’s werewolf.

  Addison growled back at Paris. He was an alpha werewolf he wouldn’t back down from anyone or anything. Even another alpha male wolf. Especially his pissed friend. Paris lunged at Addison snapping his teeth in a growl.

  Addison’s paws darted him to the side, so Paris slide past him on the soft dirt around them, as Addison circled back around to face the other wolf quickly, his snarl, constant. If the grey werewolf wanted a fight, then a damn fight was what he’d get. Addison dug his talons into the earth, bracing his fore legs, and softening his hind legs, ready to spring him at the other wolf. His head dipped low, his eyes never leaving the other werewolf.

  Paris’s growl grew more menacing as he seemed to size up his four legged furry rival. Just as Addison was about to cut short the suspense, they both stilled. The wind stirred, tree tops moved, branches creaked and swayed around them and leaves rustled up and along the ground. And the scent of prey came into their direction. Both wolves lifted their noses to the air and sniffed before looking off to the right of them into the surrounding shrubbery.

  Paris broke first and ran towards the scent, Addison not wanting to be left behind, quickly followed suit. Both werewolves running faster and faster through the undergrowth, occasionally dropping their nose to the ground to pick up the scent of their prey.

  It smelled like rabbit to Addison. He wagged his tail as he trotted through the wooded area and continued on the trail of the rabbit. Lifting his head, Addison looked around and realized, he’d lost sight of his competitor. He sniffed the ground around him quickly and changed direction towards the left, in pursuit of the rabbit. The scent was getting stronger, which had to mean he was closer to the rabbit.

  Sliding to a stop, Addison looked at the small furry animal unaware of the wolf staring it down for it’s camouflage of surrounding fauna. Addison hunkered down low and crept sideways, towards the closest area to the rabbit. He watched as his small prey stilled momentarily, lifting its head.

  Addison decided to catch the rabbit unawares, whilst it looked the wrong way for what was surely coming for it. He pushed off from the ground his paws sliding slightly amongst the leaves and twigs on the ground.

  He was air borne when the rabbit realized it was being hunted by a wolf. He was mid way through sailing through the air when Paris’s grey werewolf slammed into the side of him, barreling him off course with a ferocious growl, before knocking Addison completely to the ground. Addison tumbled over himself twice with the impact as Paris and landed on all four paws and took off after the rabbit again.

  By the time Addison had gotten to his feet and sprinted into the direction Paris had taken off, he’d already lost much of his advantage to the other werewolf. As he hastily sniffed the surrounding area and picked up the two scents, he picked up his pace and headed back into the hunt.

  It’d been awhile since he’d had a true hunt. One where he could track and claim something as his own. The idea of capturing the rabbit made him run faster till his feet flew from the ground in binding leaps, barely touching the surface.

  But it need not have mattered. Addison slowed down when he caught sight of the Paris, tearing apart, what looked like bloodied fur, no longer a rabbit. The grey wolf’s head shook bits of what had once been an animal wildly.

  Addison walked over towards the other alpha werewolf. He’d gotten enough of an advantage to get what he’d wanted all along, a kill with bloodshed.


  8

  It was late when they returned back to Manhattan in the evening. The drive back being done in absence of talk, as the radio played on. Addison knew Paris well enough to know, the shape shift had helped him calm down, but not lost his anger at the insulting interference, and all new threat of the Tri-state council, attempting to break him and Bg up. Paris dropped him back off at his apartment. “Dinner tonight with me and Bg?” Paris asked him.

  “No tonight, think you guys probably need some time together after today.” Addison declined.

  “Is this because I won the hunt?”

  “You’re ego knows no bounds.” Addison replied. He wasn’t sour over losing the hunt they’d been on. He knew his pack leader needed it and why. He also knew his friend would need the warmth and touch of his pack mate to get through the emotional turmoil he was in the midst of.

  Addison didn’t really feel like playing the good Samaritan and letting the two of them get away with their usual play of antics around him, whilst he did nothing but let them get near naked with each other.

  Paris chuckled and drove in to his underground parking lot as Addison unlocked his car and slid into the driver side seat and slammed the door closed. He didn’t want to play the good Samaritan at all. He didn’t want to be alone either. He might not be as tortured with anger as Paris was, but he was not in a mood to be alone. He pressed a speed dial number on his phone and waited for the call to connect.

  “Hey you,” Cassidy greeted him with happily. Addison rested his head back on the car seat and smiled despite himself.

  “Hey, I was wondering what you were doing for dinner tonight and wether you’d like to have some with me?”

  “Oh, I would like to, but I’m working tonight, I got called in last minute to cover a shift for someone.” Cassidy said apologetically

  Addison nodded his head tiredly. “What time do you finish work?”

  “Midnight.”

  “What about if I pick you up after your shift is over and we grab a bite to eat then?” Addison persisted.

  “I’d like that.” Cassidy said.

  “Midnight then, quickly becoming my favourite time of night. Where do you work?” Addison asked putting the key in the ignition of his car.

  “Provocation. You know it?” Cassidy asked him. Addison frowned deeply. Of course he knew of Provocation. Every single male in Manhattan knew the name of every strip club in town, he was fairly sure.

  “You work at Provocation? That’s down near Broadway right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Addison was certain Provocation wasn’t a werewolf owned strip club, which would explain why he’d never been there. He’d never stepped foot inside Provocation. But he’d heard things about it, once or twice, a long time ago. Like when it had opened a few years ago. What the hell was Cassidy doing working at a strip club? Stripping? She was a stripper? The werewolf in him was screaming hell no to that idea.

  “Do you need directions?” She asked him, ignorant of his inner male torment.

  Addison had been to many strip clubs in his lifetime, he rather liked them. But he had only two particular haunts in Manhattan and Provocation wasn’t one of them. He tended to frequent the werewolf clubs the most.

  “Zac, you still there?”

  Addison glanced at his phone and realised his hand was going white from gripping the phone far too tightly.

  “Uh yeah, just crashing a little, need some more sleep.” He said lamely in quick attempt to cover up his shock. “I’m good. I’ll pick you up at midnight at Provocation.” He’d pick her up and take her the hell away from Provocation and ask her if she needed a damn job somewhere else, that’s what he’d do, his mind told him sternly.

  “Come to the back entrance, okay? I’ll wait out back in the car park.” Cassidy went on.

  “Right.” Addison answered her tightly. “Back entrance.” A stripper. He ended the call then.

  Well that had to explain a fair bit about the attraction to her then. Some part of him must have known she was a stripper. Not that she’d looked it at the pack party the other night. She’d looked lost and out of place. A little awkward, which he liked far more than the thought of her being a stripper. Stripper. The word kept circling his brain as he started his car up and drove off towards his house. Cassidy was a stripper.

  “Get a grip Addison.” He muttered to himself pulling out into traffic. It wasn’t an alpha werewolf tendency to want to share what he perceived as his. Cassidy.

  9

  Cassidy was leaning against the back doorway entrance under the soft glow of a light above the doorway. Talking to the doorman beside her. She looked damn sexy, again from head to toe.

  She was wearing a halter neck white shirt and leopard print pair of booty shorts, black fishnet stockings and patent red high heels. Addison began to wonder about those high heels walking across his back. He parked the car and got out quickly.

  Cassidy stilled and glanced across at him. A smile spreading across her face. Her hair tied back in a ponytail behind it. Glitter on her eyelids, long black lashes framed her brown eyes. A crisp white shirt front, covered her breasts, buttoned up to the neck. Bare, but golden tanned arms were exposed with white shirt cuffs on her wrists, a gleaming diamante cufflink sparkling in the night light. Addison eyes ran over the hotpants, that sat tight across her flat stomach and emphasized the top curve of her hips. She had a bowler hat in her hands.

  “Hey,” Cassidy said pushing off the doorframe before turning around and waving goodbye to the bouncer as she grabbed her handbag.

  “Hey dandelion.” Addison greeted her with. “You look stunning.” Cassidy flashed a smile at him. “We get to design our own uniform as long as it fits the theme of the club.” She said as he walked her around to the passenger side of his car.

  Addison noting the back of her white shirt, was in fact, backless for the most part. It was a halter necked style shirt with the back pretty much cut out and low, he put his hand on the lower part of her back. Her skin was warm to the touch.

  “Well you did a stunning job.” Addison opened the passenger side door for her. “You’re ass looks delectable as ever in those scraps of material.” He muttered walking around to the driver side of the car.

  “You seem to have developed an obsession with my ass Zac.” He slid in and grinned at her.

  “I love that ass.” He said starting the car up and grinning at her like a naughty boy.

  Cassidy laughed at him and put her hat in her lap. “Well, it fits with the uniform bill for the club -Provocation, burlesque, sexy but cool.” Addison glanced across at her as he pulled out of the car parking lot.

  “Are you trying to make me crash this car?” He teased with a hint of a smile. He drove out into the night time traffic quickly. “It’s hard to believe that’s what you would call a uniform dandelion.”

  “Are you that easy to provoke?” Cassidy said with a big grin. “How many bar attendants do you know serve drinks looking like this?” She asked raising an eyebrow at him. Addison felt relief sweep through him that he hadn’t been aware he was carrying. She tended bar.

  “Not telling.” Addison stated back at her. “So how long have you been working at Provocation?” He asked watching the traffic.

  “Three months now.” Cassidy said flipping the bowler hat around in her hands as they manoeuvred slowly through the night time rhythm.

  “And you like working there?”

  “Yeah, it’s the best place I’ve worked in so far. I guess cause the staff there make it more like a home than a workplace you know?” She said softly causing Addison to look over at her half shadowed face.

  “Do you get homesick often?” He asked her.

  “Not really.”

  “But you miss your family?” Addison changed lanes smoothly and glanced across at her.

  “A little. I don’t think I’ve been gone long enough to miss them a lot. I’ve only been over here for four months so far. Kind of still feels new, like I’m exploring
things, discovering too many new things to keep my attention on, to get distracted by thoughts of family back home.”

  Addison slowed to a stop at a traffic light. “Discovering new things, now that does sound like fun.” He looked at her side on to him.

  The white shirt she wore, gaped a little at the side, just above her breast, but it wasn’t big enough to give him a proper view of the skin underneath of to show him anything but a tiny bit of flesh.

  “Well I discovered you and so far, you’ve been fun to know.” She stated suddenly, bitting her bottom lip.

  Addison chuckled and held her look. “I do not think anyone in my entire life, has ever called me fun, as such.” He looked back out at the front window as the light when green.

  “Well maybe they don’t see what I do, or maybe you just underestimate your fun value.”

  “My fun value?” Addison repeated back at her curiously. Cassidy shrugged her bare shoulders quickly and looked out the passenger window.

  “I dunno, I’m not very good at this kind of stuff.” She mumbled out quickly apologetic. He saw the blow in her confidence as he glanced over at her.

  “What stuff?”

  She looked back at him then and away quickly, as if about to share a thought and then thinking better of it. “Um you know, talking to guys….dating.” She said the last word softly. Addison chuckled back at her. “Not my specialty.”

  Awkward Cassidy was back, the lost and bewildered woman he’d found at the pack party. How had he thought she was a stripper? “What is your speciality?” Addison teased.

  Cassidy blushed, scratching suddenly at her neck as heat flushed her skin quickly. “Latin.” She replied at some attempted humour. “So where are we going for dinner?” She asked sticking to a safe topic of conversation as they drove on.

  “My place.”

  Cassidy’s head snapped around to look at his profile suddenly. “Your place?”