Chapter 5
The werewolves carried her to the cars parked outside and took her to her apartment. “Where is the key?” asked Tatiana as they got to the door.
“Search her,” said Leo. Marcus ran his hands over her body with a leering expression on his face. Eventually he found the key and gave it to Leo. After he had unlocked the door, they all entered the flat.
“He has been here,” said Marcus, giving the room a sniff.
“Put the lights off,” ordered Leo. “I have a feeling he will be back.”
They sank into the couches and waited patiently in the darkness. After an hour passed, Melody started to think that Rufus was not coming back after all. She was starting to feel some relief when she heard the door knob turning and Rufus entered the room. She was still bound and gagged and unable to say anything. She made a whimpering sound and Rufus, with his keen hearing managed to hear it.
That split second warning saved him. Leo and Tatiana sprang across the room, teeth bared, but Rufus managed to avoid them, ducking and rolling to a side on the floor. They turned, hissing with anger, but Rufus was already on his feet. Marcus leapt at him, snarling, and was met with a powerful blow to the face. Rufus then kicked him violently in the nuts, and he crumpled to the floor whimpering in pain.
Rufus yelled as Tatiana jumped on to him, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. His blood dripped from her jaws as she hissed and prepared to bite him again. Desperately, he seized her by the throat and managed to throw her over his shoulder, sending her crashing into a sofa. He slowly turned to face Leo.
Leo had a cold smile on his face. “So, Rufus, after so many days on the run, the time has come to answer for your crimes.”
Rufus staggered forward. Blood dripped from his shoulder and Melody could see that he was badly injured. “I am not guilty of any crimes!” he said. “Other than wanting to live in dignity and freedom.”
“Coward!” cried Leo angrily. “You killed Northern wolves. You attacked them – from behind – and you took their possessions and their lives. You claim to be a great hero, but you are nothing but a common criminal!”
“All lies.” Rufus bared his teeth. “It is we who were attacked, shamefully, when we came to negotiate in good faith with the Northerners. Of my party, I alone survived.”
Leo gave a low laugh. “Do you hope to prolong your life with deceitful tales? Besides, your kind has sworn to serve us for all time. You are an oath-breaker – a faithless cur!”
“What use is an oath if it only enslaves us?” countered Rufus. “And are we bound by the promises of our ancestors? Are we to condemn ourselves and our progeny to eternal servitude?”
“Servitude?” sneered Leo. “You should be honored to serve us. You lot are nothing but mangy curs.”
“No!” exclaimed Rufus. “There is no honor in slavery and we will fight for our freedom.”
“There will be no freedom for you, oath breaker,” said Leo. “Prepare to face justice!” He leapt upon Rufus and the two exchanged mighty blows. Rufus was a little bigger but Leo was light and faster, dodging his blows and landing punches of his own. The rooms shook as the two mighty werewolves grappled from one end of the room to the other.
At last, Rufus managed to break through his defenses, landing a powerful uppercut on his jaw. Leo reeled back and almost fell but quickly righted himself and kicked Rufus powerfully in the midriff. As he sank to his knees, Leo buried his teeth in his neck. Rufus screamed in pain and, for a moment, it looked like he would deliver a killing bite. But at the last minute, Rufus rallied and punched him in the face. Leo staggered back. Rufus was badly hurt and staggered forward. By this time Tatiana had recovered and was rising to her feet while Marcus was also stirring.
Rufus made up his mind and bounded to the window. The glass shattered as he leapt through it and a moment later he was gone. Leo rushed to the window.
“Is he dead?” asked Tatiana.
“No,” replied Leo. “He got away. Come on!” He rushed out the door and Tatiana and Marcus followed after him. Lying in the darkness, Melody had been struggling with her ropes. At last, she managed to get free. She rushed downstairs and out the door. Rufus and the other werewolves were nowhere in sight. Melody’s flat was on the seventh floor and she was amazed that Rufus had managed to jump from it. Knowing he was injured, she began to desperately searching for him.
Calling his name, she wandered through the streets of London. The cold night air whipped around her body, but Melody didn’t care. As she traversed over the roads and alleyways of the city, she began to fear that she would be too late, that Leo and Tatiana had got to him first.
She was beginning to lose hope when suddenly someone spoke to her. “No luck yet?”
She whirled around to see who had spoken. A figure stepped out of the shadows and Melody realized that it was Marcus. He was regarding her with his familiar leer. “I gather you haven’t found him yourself,” she snapped.
“Oh, we’ll find him soon enough,” Marcus said, walking towards her nonchalantly. “It’s you that I find far more interesting.”
Melody stepped back. “I am afraid there is nothing interesting about me.”
“Oh, but there is.” Marcus leaned forward until his face was inches from hers. “Have you ever wondered why so many werewolves are drawn to you?”
“My … um … smell.”
“You do have a sweet smelling snatch. But there is something more – an affinity for werewolves, a unique bond with our kind. After all, you would have to be extraordinary to get both Leo and Rufus to mate with you. You know, I’m dying to find out what that is.”
“Well, you’re never going to find out,” snapped Melody.
Marcus smiled and his teeth gleamed in the moonlight. “You seem to assume that you have a choice in the matter.”
Melody’s heart was pounding. He couldn’t have made his intentions clearer. She knew that she needed to get away from him as soon as possible. Turning, she ran as fast she could, but it was hopeless. She was no match for the werewolf. With one leap, he was upon her. She screamed as she fell.
“I’m going to kill you,” hissed Marcus. Melody could feel his hot breath upon her neck. “But first, I’m going to fuck you, the way a bitch like you deserves to be fucked.”
He started tearing her clothes and she closed her eyes, expecting the worse. And then suddenly out of the darkness, someone bounded out and cannoned into Marcus. He was thrown off Melody and she looked up to see who her rescuer was. Her heart leapt when she saw that it was Rufus. He had pinned Marcus to the ground and was pounding him with his fist. Blood spurted from Marcus’s face. But Rufus was badly injured and Marcus reached out and dug into his wounds. Rufus cried out in pain as Marcus buried in his fingers in the wounds. Drawing his last ounce of strength, Rufus struck Marcus, who collapsed to the ground. Rufus sank his teeth into Marcus’ neck, and the werewolf cried out a final time and was still.
Rufus slowly rose to his feet, blood dripping from his mouth, and Melody rushed and embraced him. “You’re hurt,” she cried. “Let’s go to my place and get you cleaned up.”
He shook his head. “Your place is unsafe – for both of us.”
“A hospital, then.”
“No. We don’t go to hospitals. That would reveal our identity.”
Melody thought quickly. Where on earth could they go? Then, it dawned on her. There was only one person she could rely on for help.
“You want to bring your werewolf to my place?” Jeremy sounded as incredulous as he was sleepy.
“Please, Jeremy, we have nowhere else to go,” begged Melody.
“Oh, all right,” Jeremy relented.
“Thank you, Jeremy, you’re an angel.”
“I don’t know about that, but I do what I can,” he sniffed.
Melody quickly went back, got her car and drove back to pick Rufus up. The two headed off to Jeremy’s house. He greeted them in a fluffy pink dressing gown.
“So, this is your hunk of a werewolf,” he said, giving Rufus the once over. “I’m beginning to see why you like him so much.” He was less pleased when he found out everything that had happened. “You mean to say, I am in the middle of some kind of werewolf war? Can you imagine, hot, sweaty beasts battling it out in the streets?” He seemed to almost relish the prospect.
“Can we place stay here for a couple of days? My place is not safe. Not to mention, it has been completely totaled.”
“Totaled?” wailed Jeremy. “The same thing could happen here! And I just redecorated.”
“There’s no way they’ll find us here,” Melody hastily reassured him. “Your house will be quite safe.”
Jeremy eventually relented and Melody and Rufus spent the next couple of days holed up at his house. Melody tended to his wounds. Fortunately, werewolves heal quickly and are able to deal with wounds that would kill a human being. Rufus quickly got better under her care. But even as she looked after him, Melody wondered how she would handle the greater threat. Not only was Rufus a fugitive, he had killed one of Leo’s pack. She had no doubt that he would do everything in his power to find him. She had covered their tracks very well, but it was a matter of time before the werewolves, with their superior senses, found out where they were. Of course, Rufus had killed Marcus to save her and Melody felt more responsible than ever for his safety. After days of agonizing, she finally hit on a plan that might just work.
Rufus looked at her with astonishment when she told him. “You want what?”
“Bring him here,” explained Melody patiently. “Explain to him that you’re not a villain.”