Madame Aveline was not what I expected. The way Brakha had described her, he made it sound like she and her clan had become feral. He painted the picture of a woman who had lost her humanity and given into the life of the Black Panther regardless of her form. When I encountered her in the trap I had laid, I found myself face-to-face with someone very different.
Even in human form, my eyes had become adapted to darkness. When she shifted back into a human, I felt emotions and sensations that had long been dormant. My eyes immediately took in her soft features and fiery eyes. My gaze wandered down her dark skin as it glistened with sweat. I followed the ample curvature of her breasts and slid down her flat stomach. Her legs were tucked together, offering but a glimpse of what lies between them.
There was no questioning it; she was beautiful, gorgeous even. It had been over a hundred years since I was able to feast on the site of the female form. She was an exquisite example. My lust, however, was quickly replaced with guilt as thoughts of Svetlana flooded my mind. She had been gone for so long, and yet the thought of even touching another woman still made me cringe.
I took control of myself; I had a job to do. She fetched her clothing and we departed the ship. Brakha and several of his clan members stood waiting for us as we emerged. I could feel the tension in the air between him and Madame Aveline. It grew into a powerful force that hung stagnant between us until Brakha spoke and cut the tension.
“You fell right into our trap, Aveline. I knew you would,” Brakha said.
“I see you couldn’t do the job yourself, had to send someone else?” Aveline asked.
“I didn’t want things to get messy. I prefer not to let our conflict of interest get in the way of what needs to be done,” Brakha said.
I looked between them and felt lost in the conversation. There was something Brakha hadn’t told me.
“What are you talking about, how do you know her?” I asked.
Brakha remained silent. Aveline laughed.
“You didn’t tell him?”
“Aveline, don’t.”
She looked over to me. “This pitiful excuse for a lion is my brother. Same mother, different fathers.”
I looked back to Brakha. “Is this true? You didn’t want your sister’s blood on your hands, so you bring me into this feud?”
“I promised our mother that I would never harm her. I cannot break that vow.”
“Of course, but your conscience is clear now because you found someone else to do the job for you? I’m leaving; consider yourself fortunate you still draw breath!”
“You leave and he dies wolf! Or have you forgotten? One call and they will cut him to pieces and feed him to the wolves!”
I reached over and grabbed Aveline by the arm and pulled her over to me.
“Fine, but I’m taking her with me. If he dies, she dies, or is that what you wanted?”
Brakha stood coldly at us. “She is my sister, but she is also my enemy. I wish death on my enemies, but I wouldn’t wish to see my sister suffer. You shall decide wolf, I wash my hands of this. Do with her what you will, but Aveline, if I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“Don’t worry brother, you won’t.”
“Go home, wolf. When my men see her with you in the hall of your castle, they will let your son go. I’ll be back in a month for my Instinct. You better have it, and she better be gone when I get there!”
We parted ways. Aveline broke free of my grasp.
“I’ll go quietly; you don’t need to pull me around like your dog. There’s nothing left for me here anyway,” she said.
I pulled out my phone and typed in a text message to one of my local contacts. I chartered a private flight back to Russia and asked him to send a car to pick us up. I slid the phone into my pocket.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you?” I asked.
“Something tells me you won’t,” she said.
“You don’t know me.”
I stopped at the edge of the dock. “A car is coming to pick us up, wait here.”
I reached into my coat and pulled out a hand wrapped cigarillo. It was a concoction of various herbs that calmed my nerves and dulled the wolf senses. Smoking this recipe was the only time I felt human.
I lit the far end and took a long draw. The pungent smoke rolled down my throat, leaving a trail of fire into my lungs. I blew out the white smoke into the night air.
“Would you like some?” I asked, holding it out to her.
“You should know better than to offer someone like me Instinct,” she said.
I smiled as I took another draw. “This isn’t Instinct that only comes in a liquid form.”
“Then what is it?”
“When you’ve learned to create your own medicine, you pick up some techniques. Try some; it will calm your nerves.”
Aveline took it and took a short draw from it. She immediately started coughing. I let loose a chuckle as I took it back from her.
“That tastes like the ass of a swamp!” She shouted.
“I don’t smoke it for the taste. The car’s here.”
As the black SUV pulled up to us, I snuffed out the lit end and placed it into my coat pocket. I couldn’t risk having any of my recipes being revealed.
We climbed inside and the driver locked the doors.
“Feel free to sleep, it’s going to be a long way back,” I said.
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” Aveline replied.
“Very well.”
We didn’t speak again for the rest of the trip.