Dark Places 3

Summary:

"Son of a bitch, I'm moving into a crack house," Jenn moaned, resting her head on the steering wheel of her shitty old Neon and turning to cast her eyes to the cat in the soft carrier on the passenger seat beside her. She looked at the animal through a curtain of her wavy blonde hair, and puffed a breath out, trying to move the strands aside and clear her vision.

"Well Kylie, we're in the shit for real now, babe," she said ruefully, and the tortoiseshell and white cat peered up at her with wide eyes, letting out a mournful 'meow' as if in solemn agreement.

=+=

Jenn's been sent - via witness protection - to a remote cabin deep in the mountains of Northern California. Hopeful to escape a past full of fear and pain, she finds herself caught by surprise when she discovers that she isn't the only one living on the lonely peak - and her new neighbor isn't very thrilled with her arrival.

What exactly is he hiding?

Notes:

This is the first piece of writing I've published online since roughly 2012.

I decided to "go big or go home" with my return apparently, because this piece is turning out to be enormous. It's already over 1000 pages in OpenOffice unedited with a long, long way to go. In all honesty, this will probably end up being multiple separate "books", but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Please note that this is a story about a romance between a human woman and a man who is a werewolf. This story does not include any of the "Omegaverse" stuff, no alpha/beta/omega, etc. It doesn't deal with "pack life" or any of those particular "werewolf" story tropes. Yes, there is at least one instance of sex between a human and a transformed werewolf, but this is not a "main feature", and 99% of the intimacy in this story is between two normal humans.

I am not following any one particular set of "rules" for my werewolf, more making my own way. You'll learn the basic parameters through the story. Show, not tell, amirite?

Also, please mind the tags. If there are any you think I should add please let me know. I last published writing on ff.net back when it was still... ff.net, so things have changed a lot since then. I'm learning!

This is also uploaded on my Wattpad, AO3 and Inkitt accounts under the same username.

This is the first 22 chapters of the story. I have it set up as a series, and it will be updated going forward with three-five chapters at a time.

CHAPTER ONE

Today had been the worst day, truly. Although if Jenn was being really honest, the past month had been the worst month of her life.

Everything that went down back home in Wisconsin aside - Jenn would just as soon not think about all of

that

right now - the logistics of such a hasty move across the country on a basically non-existent budget had been hell. Absolutely a stress-fueled frenzy full of sleepless nights (or the ever-present night terrors if she did manage to fall asleep), little food (that non-existent budget hurt everywhere), and an ever-present terror that she wouldn't make it out in time.

And now, after two days of driving, trying to sleep in the backseat of her car at a rest stop when she was too exhausted to keep going, she had reached her new home - the only option she'd been given that was far enough away and remote enough. The U-Haul had beat her there - and she was glad that the court-hired (and paid for) movers had been professional and courteous to her, and then she saw the state of her new home.

Ugh.

Jenn was really, really not having a good day. Or year. Life, if she was being honest. She looked at the overgrown yard, the grass faded with autumn's arrival. Half-dead shrubbery and other plant life reached clawing limbs out of the uneven ground as if desperately clinging to life despite the coming winter. A stepping-stone walkway up to the cabin was sunken in, overgrown, and covered in moss and grime.

But the disrepair of the yard was the least of her concerns because the cabin that she intended to call home was looking more like a...

"Son of a bitch, I'm moving into a crack house," Jenn moaned, resting her head on the steering wheel of her shitty old Neon and turning to cast her eyes to the cat in the soft carrier on the passenger seat beside her. She looked at the animal through a curtain of her wavy blonde hair, and puffed a breath out, trying to move the strands aside and clear her vision.

"Well Kylie, we're in the shit for real now, babe," she said ruefully, and the tortoiseshell cat peered up at her with wide eyes, letting out a mournful 'meow' as if in solemn agreement.

Jenn sighed, turning off her car and with it the high-pitched whining noise (more of a scream, really) that had been coming from her engine - shrill and frankly, super embarrassing in the cold mountain air.

She slipped out of her seat belt and climbed out of the car with a groan, standing up for the first time in at least six hours.

As she stretched, hands on her hips and leaning back with a moan, she took in the cabin with wary blue eyes. It didn't look any better from this angle, that was for sure.

The place was tiny, only about 700 sq feet, and that was fine - she had accepted the place sight unseen, but she'd been given the details. And the photos from about 30 years ago, when it had last been in regular use. Apparently, the cabin had been abandoned since and had only failed to be condemned because it still had running water (in the form of a well, the point driven deep into the aquifer inside the mountain). Sure, the provided information hadn't inspired much

confidence

in the residence, but honestly...

The front porch was probably still technically considered usable, although the wood looked brittle and unstable in several places, covered in slick moss. The rusty screen door hung crooked, off of one hinge, the screen just absent entirely, and the roof was covered in moss, the shingles peeling at the edges away from the eaves that were clearly falling apart, either rotted through or eaten by termites.

The paint looked, by the small spots of it still remaining on the wooden plank siding, to have once been white, but the prevailing color of the monstrosity of a cabin was gray. Just gray, weathered, and

dirty

.

She hadn't even gone inside yet and she already knew that whatever the government had ended up paying for this place, it was too much. Way, way too much. They'd told her that someone could come to fix the place up in the spring, "free of charge", but with the timing so close to winter, in a location so remote... it was the best they could do. And Jenn didn't have the luxury of waiting, so... here she was.

She cast her eyes past the horror show of her new home, taking in the dense trees surrounding the large, roughly circular area that had been cut into the huge forest here on the mountain range. In the distance, large snow-covered peaks reached towards the heavens, nearly forming a basin of sorts between them, where she now stood. Save for the thin dirt road that had led to the long, winding drive to the lot, there was no other sign of civilization as far as the eye could see - the closest people, the closest man-made touch, was the small town nearly 70 miles south.

She spun in place, looking past the large cluster of trees on either side of her bumpy, overgrown driveway. The ground rose in a rocky outcropping, and just beyond, on the higher elevation of the plateau before her, she could see the peak of another roof - one that looked much more well-maintained than hers.

She could hear - beyond the idling motor of the moving truck - the sound of birds, of insects, of the

forest

, and she felt an overwhelming urge to just walk into the trees, forget everything that she'd escaped, everything that was to come, and just-

She froze, the hair on the back of her neck standing up suddenly. Jenn had learned long ago how to be attuned to her body's reactions, trusting her gut above all else in a life where one wrong move could lead to severe consequences. And she could feel it - she was being watched.

Her head snapped around, eyes wide and lips parted as she drew quick breaths through her mouth, heartbeat thundering in her chest as adrenaline surged throughout her body.

They couldn't have found her, not here, not already, the FBI sent her here - witness protection isn't a joke, it can't be them, it can't be

him

-

She finally found her observer - a man was standing just down the long dirt drive from her, barely visible from behind the edge of the rocky ledge that separated their properties.

He stood with his hands in his pockets, chin angled slightly down as he stared at her. Even at the distance between them, she could feel his eyes boring into her, and her breath stuttered at the intensity of his gaze.

She brought a hand to her chest for a moment, tearing her eyes away from the stranger and walking to the other side of the car. She opened the passenger door and pulled the soft carrier out, slipping the strap over her shoulder before reaching into the backseat for her duffle bag.

Bumping the door shut with her hip, Jenn began walking toward the dilapidated front porch of her new home, resolutely not looking back at the strange man who had been staring. The way he'd looked at her had been too unnerving, and she couldn't handle any of it right now.

She had not been told that there would be anyone else around when the agents had told her about the new home they'd found for her. They had told her all about how it was roughly an hour's drive to the next people in the small town of Redding and had even sent her to some wilderness survival camp for a weekend to learn how to live in the remote cabin alone through the winter, in case of emergencies.

Either this guy was here from the agency to make sure she settled in okay, or they had deliberately not told her that she'd have a neighbor. There was no other explanation.

And that guy did not look like any agent she'd ever seen.

He was huge. She could tell that even being so far away. He must be tall, his shoulders were broad and muscular, and the raw strength of him was not hidden at all even by his heavy flannel jacket.

His hair was cut short on the sides, with a natural volume on top in the way of slight curls, and the dark color had taken on a very slight amber glow at the tips in the fall sunlight.

Thick stubble, quickly turning to a true beard graced his strong jawline and above his lips, decently well groomed and dark.

And clear as day across the left side of his face, crossing over his eye were two scars, parallel lines gouged across his flesh. Well-healed, but still visible there against his sun-tanned skin.

Jenn pushed the door open, hearing it squeak in protest-it probably hadn't been opened in years, and she cringed.

Stepping inside, the house smelled musty, the air stale. Thankfully, the place didn't look nearly as terrible inside as she had feared. The walls were wide planks, with no drywall to be seen. Painted white, it cracked and peeled in several spots throughout. The popcorn ceiling was almost definitely asbestos, she figured, but it was all intact, so that was a plus.

The floors were hardwood and while they had certainly seen

much

better days, she had a feeling that a good scrubbing and polishing would actually have them looking almost halfway decent. They seemed solid, in any case.

The movers had been putting her furniture in roughly the right areas, and in such an incredibly small space, it was truly hard for them to get much wrong. She put Kylie's carrier down on the coffee table and began to move things into place, falling into the routine of moving in, the stranger outside soon forgotten in favor of trying to rebuild her life.

CHAPTER TWO

Hours later, the movers were long gone, and Jenn spent the afternoon arranging her modest furniture and unpacking her few possessions. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and she reached over to turn on the lights so she could unpack the last few boxes of books and put them away on the large shelf in the living room.

A click as her fingers flipped the nearest switch, but nothing happened.

Okay, maybe the bulb is burnt out. She crossed the room, trying the switch for the kitchen.

A click followed by a distinct lack of light.

"For fuck's sake," she groaned, hands balling into fists. She took several deep breaths, willing the anxiety down. This was not a big deal, right? Sometimes you had to flip switches in those breaker boxes to get the lights working. Fuses and stuff like that. Right?

She hadn't been 'in charge' of that kind of stuff when she was with-

"

We aren't thinking about him

." She hissed to herself, eyes wild before she snapped them shut tight.

Several deep breaths later, she opened them again, and wet her lips.

There had to be a basement. She remembered reading that there was a cellar in the property information.

She headed to the small kitchen, opening one mysterious door and finding a small pantry, dusty and

bare. Another door next to the refrigerator was the next obvious choice, and when Jenn pulled it open, her nose was immediately assaulted with the odor of dirt and wet rot.

"Ughhh... that's gonna be a huge 'fuck no'..." she groaned, peering down the ancient wooden stairs of questionable integrity and into the darkness beyond as she felt her stomach drop. She closed the door again firmly, dusting her hands off on her pants with a scowl.

A sudden sharp knocking at the front door made her jump, nearly squealing in surprise, and she shook out her hands, swallowing hard and moving to the door quickly.

She opened it a small crack, peeking one wide bright blue eye out, and sagged with a small degree of relief.

It was just the intimidating staring guy. Better him than-

"Hi," she said shyly, opening the door a bit more and peeking her top half out from behind it, unsure.

"Hey," he returned, equally verbose, those intense, dark brown eyes still drilling into her.

"Your car sounds like shit. I could hear it all the way in my cabin," he rumbled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder to point towards the roof peak she'd seen earlier. "I live out here for peace and quiet, not to listen to your junker wheeze its last breaths outside my window."

"Oh! Um, yeah, that started about halfway through my two-day drive to get here," she said, rubbing her upper arm nervously and avoiding his gaze. "Sorry, I sort of just started to tune it out after about hour seven, and I um... didn't expect to have any neighbors, so... I didn't know it would be disturbing anyone. I'll definitely try not to be any more of a bother," she offered, heart racing with anxiety.

She'd been right, he was enormous. He had to be what, six and a half feet tall at least? Seeing him so close to her, the way she had to crane her head back to look into his eyes...

The irritation was visible in his features, his stance, and she could feel her chest tightening, fear tickling the corners of her mind. Large angry men... she'd traveled a long way to escape some of them, and she didn't want to find any here.

The man's jaw clenched at the sound of apology in Jenn's voice, an unfamiliar surge of guilt sparking somewhere in the pit of his stomach. He hadn't really been angry about the noise, he supposed - more the fact that she was here at all. That

anyone

was here. This shit-hole cabin had been abandoned since before he'd arrived, why the

fuck

was some tiny little girl moving in, by all appearances,

alone

?

"I'm Karl," he offered, not moving to shake her hand, still staring at her with a focused gaze. "Look, I just..." he sighed, reaching up to rub a hand on the back of his neck, cutting his sharp eyes from hers and looking out across the hopeless mess of her yard. "People come and go out here, living in the mountains like this. Rarely stick around long enough for it to matter. And when they do, it ends badly. You really shouldn't be here."

He fell silent, lost for a moment in the ghosts of his past. He blinked rapidly, dispelling the images and focusing on Jenn with renewed intensity.

Better she leaves now, before she finds out. Before she's in danger.

"The mountains don't care about us, or our problems. They'll take us without mercy, and they're more effective than any enemy I've faced."

The confession slipped from his lips before he could catch it, baring a piece of his identity in a way he'd sworn he wouldn't allow. He straightened abruptly, retreating further into himself like a turtle pulling into its shell.

"If you decide to stay, make sure you know what you're getting into."

She frowned, meeting his gaze for a moment before looking away, trying to get a read on his angle.

"I'm Jenn," she murmured, opening the door further to reveal herself fully as she spoke.

She was fully aware of how ridiculous the two of them must look standing here together - this giant, flannel-clad man, dark and imposing, standing in front of this tiny woman in acid wash jeggings and an over-sized green fuzzy knit sweater, miss-matched neon blue and fluorescent pink socks on her feet.

Hell, her head barely came up to his chest.

"Is it... really so bad, living up here?" she asked, concerned despite herself. "I don't really have any choice in the matter. I don't have anywhere else to go," she said simply.

Her words put a finality to her situation that she didn't much like at all. She really did have nothing other than this, nowhere else safe.

The subtle shift in Jenn's expression caught Karl's attention immediately. His enhanced senses picked up on her elevated pulse, the slight tremble in her lip. She was hiding something.

Why was she here

?

He leaned forward, his posture somehow threatening in its stillness. His gaze drilled into hers, dark and intense, searching for any sign of deceit or evasion. When he spoke, his voice was a low rumble that resonated in the depths of his chest.

"Why? What's chasing you?"

Jenn faltered, shocked by the question. She hadn't expected to interact with anyone when she came here, that was kind of the whole point. Even so, she

really

hadn't expected anyone to immediately land so close to her situation, especially after knowing them for all of ten minutes.

She remembered the agent's warning - this was only going to work if she kept everything quiet.

Introducing herself by her real name was bad enough, but she couldn't bring herself to go by the one they'd given her (honestly, she was

not

a Sarah). She figured this place was remote enough, as long as she didn't give too much away to this guy, she should stay safe. She couldn't answer him, not in any way that was going to satisfy, and the intensity in his gaze was overwhelming.

"I-" her eyes darted around, trying to figure out what to even say. "I can't-"

Great, the panic was coming back, her chest felt like it was being crushed and she sucked in a shuddering breath, body flushing and breaking out in a cold sweat.

"I can't say," she finally said, eyes downcast, voice broken. "I'm here to start over. That's all."

Her eyes met his, begging him to understand what she couldn't say out loud.

Karl searched Jenn's face intently, noting the telltale signs of fear and desperation. Her pulse raced like a hummingbird's wings, and her pupils dilated, betraying the fight-or-flight response raging inside her.

She was terrified. Of him? What did she know? What had she been

told

? He stepped closer, crowding into her space, using his height and bulk to assert dominance.

"You're not fooling anyone," Karl growled, his words dripping with skepticism. "People don't just show up out of nowhere, claiming to start over. Not

out here

."