Reagan

Gabriel’s mouth lets out a cloud of vapour. My body sways in rhythm with his strides. Evelyn is walking beside him while Coyote is walking beside her.

“She’s not your possession, you know,” Evelyn says. “You can’t just—“

“She’s my wife,” Gabriel growls.

“Alright,” Evelyn says.

Twigs scrunch under Gabriel’s feet and leaves rustle.

“Why is that wolf going with us?” Evelyn says as she picks up the pace.

I watch her back as Coyote follows her and nudges her ass with his mouth.

Evelyn stops and turns around. “My God, what’s going on here?”

Coyote wags his tail and walks off.

Evelyn exhales as if with relief as we pass her, and then she catches up with us. We walk out of the forest and I see a car parked on the side of the cobblestone road. Gabriel opens the door and puts me into the back seat. He sits beside me as the smell of leather settles in my nostrils.

Evelyn settles herself behind the steering wheel.

“To the Salvation Ghosts’ clubhouse,” Gabriel says as he kisses my head. “So, you won’t escape like this again. There’ll be too many bodyguards to watch your every step, Reagan.”

“Reagan is not a little girl.”

“You don’t understand anything, Evelyn, so you’d better be quiet,” Gabriel says.

Evelyn is nice and Gabriel is rude. I shake his arm even though his anger is almost tangible and every molecule of my body can sense it.

“Yes, you’re right,” Evelyn says. “I don’t understand anything. And in all honesty, it’s all very weird.”

“Evelyn helped you,” I say, but Gabriel ignores me.

Evelyn starts the engine as Gabriel takes a deep breath. His forehead wrinkles, and I see a few lines under his eyes like he’s a human deprived of sleep.

“Thank you, Evelyn,” Gabriel says, interrupting the silence among us.

“You’re welcome,” she responds.

The passenger door swings open, and Coyote tumbles in. He is in human form. Naked. Evelyn lets out a sharp scream.

“Fuck,” she yells. “What’s going on here? I mean it. Gabriel, what the fuck?”

“Calm down, officer,” Coyote says. His voice has an intriguing raspy tinge. “I thought I could visit my brothers, that’s all.”

Evelyn turns to us. “You know him?”

“He’s okay,” Gabriel says.

“He’s naked,” Evelyn says. “And his dick… My God.”

“He’s okay, Evelyn,” Gabriel says with an inkling of irritation.

Coyote combs his short brown hair with his fingers. “You’re Evelyn, right?” He leans towards her and sniffs at her head. “You’re really pretty, Evelyn. Really pretty.”

“My God,” Evelyn shrieks.

“Drive,” Gabriel says.

“With that young caveman beside me?” Evelyn’s voice rises to a dramatic peak.

Coyote is a hairy beast, but he’s very nice. I think he’s very handsome.

“Drive,” Gabriel growls, and she shudders.

The car pulls forward in a few jumps like it’s a leaping frog. Gabriel plants me on his lap and wraps his arms around me. The car moves slowly, and it’s more smooth now. I see Evelyn take a few deep breaths.

I see that Coyote can’t tear his eyes off her. He wants to eat her. He wants to do dirty things with her.

“So, Evelyn.” Coyote combs his hair again as his neck muscles twitch. “Are you single?”

Evelyn lets out a groan.

Gabriel removes his cut and then his t-shirt that he throws at Coyote.

I peer at him, but Gabriel pulls me closer to him and covers my eyes with his palm. I’ve seen Gabriel’s cock, and apparently it was okay, but watching Coyote’s cock is not okay, I guess.

“So, Evelyn,” Coyote says. “You want to get married or something? If you’re single of course?”

“Be quiet, young caveman,” she hisses. “I’m trying to focus on driving.”

“I am single,” Coyote says.

“My God,” Evelyn groans.

“I like real women with real curves,” Coyote says and howls. “I could give your curves a lot of attention, Evelyn.”

“Gabriel,” Evelyn says, “I’ll slap him, I swear. Do something.”

“He’s okay,” Gabriel says. “No need to be nervous.”

I pull Gabriel’s hand off my face. I see Evelyn’s eyes in the rear-view mirror. Her irises flicker with yellow similar to Coyote’s. She doesn’t notice that. Gabriel’s eyebrows rise, but he says nothing. I decide to keep quiet too.

Coyote turns his face to us. “She loves me.” He winks at me.

“Brother,” Gabriel barks a warning.

Evelyn mumbles something to herself.

The drive takes us about half an hour. Evelyn parks in front of the Salvation Ghosts’ clubhouse, and I see the others waiting outside.

Gabriel is the first to get out. He pulls me into his arms and carries me over to the clubhouse and then upstairs to his bedroom. He lays me on the bed.

“How are you feeling?” He asks as he perches on the mattress.

“I’m fine.” I sit, cross-legged.

“Like hell. Talk to me.” He rises to his feet and grabs a bottle of spring water from the side table.

I think he wants me to tell him about my emotions. “I think I was jealous.”

“I noticed.” His forehead wrinkles as he takes a deep breath and shoves the bottle in my hand. “Reagan, Evelyn is just a friend. We used to work together and sometimes… It doesn’t matter, never mattered.” He kicks off his boots and sits on his heels opposite me.

“I know.” I nod several times. “She’s nice. And now, I like her. I just wish I hadn’t remembered. Everything would be easier. But, it’s fading, so I think I’m fine.”

“Good. And don’t ever do this again.” He sounds like there’s no life inside him.

I can sense how much I’ve hurt him and it breaks my heart. I thought it was anger, but no, it was his fear about me.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel. I still don’t know so many things about myself, my emotions. Nobody has taught me to deal with emotions.”

“I understand. It’s just that… Not like this.” His voice halts.

I move closer to him and wrap my arms around his neck. “I will never leave you.”

He nods, his eyes glassy. “Talk to me, okay? Talk to me when you’re struggling with something.”

“I will.”

“Don’t vanish again.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

He strokes my head. “There were other women before you, Reagan. I had fun with them, that’s all.”

“But you have fun with me too.”

“Yes, a lot of fun.” His lips slide down my temple as he sweeps a few wisps of my hair away from my face. “It’s the kind of fun you can have only with your beloved wife. Do you understand? There’s only you.” He kisses my lips. “And our baby.” He kisses me harder, and my lips sting. “The past is gone, baby. There’s only the present and future. Our present and future.”

“I didn’t want to go back to her, Gabriel. I just wanted to be alone for a moment.”

He puts his hands on my head. “Promise me, you’ll never ever go to the forest again.”

“I won’t go there, I promise.”

I don’t want him to be worried again. He doesn’t like the forest anymore, so I shouldn’t like it either.

“I’ll get you something to eat,” he says.

“I want to take a shower first.” I stroke his head. “With you.”

I kiss his lips because I feel I should kiss him a lot now. He wraps his arms around me and grunts.

“You’re my life, Reagan. I can’t live without you.”

He has such beautifully human needs now. I’m going to accommodate all those needs. I love being a human as much as he does.

I pull him into the bathroom and strip. I let him crush me in his embrace in the shower cabin. I whisper my love to him over and over again. We go to our bed, and I spread my legs for him. He needs it desperately. I need it so I can show him that I’m his for eternity.