The Royal Lycan

Hey all :)

I wrote this about a year ago. I am always writing, so these stories just accumulate on my laptop. Because my recent works are slowed by plot-driven motives, I may release other things, such as this, for general reading.

As for this one, consider it an introductory chapter. I have a plotline in mind, but I can't say when the rest will spill to the screen.

Thanks for reading, commenting or voting.

***

Tessa bundled her apron into her locker and slammed the door with a tired exhale.

"That guy from this morning's back." Sara poked her head around the lockers edge. "Check him out."

"I'm fucking exhausted, Sara."

Moving into public view, Sara spoke discreetly from the corner of her mouth. "Well, since neither of us are getting laid, I thought you might appreciate the sight of a fine man. He's a babe."

Tessa pulled a face. 'Babe' made her think 'college pretty-boy'; not the glowering mountain of muscle staring their direction. "I see his type all the time. On the news for 'most wanted'."

"I bet he's wanted." Sara licked her lips as admired the man's chiselled jaw, athletic physique and steady grey eyes that gave her shivers when they turned her way. "I sure want him."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Go for it. See you tomorrow."

Sara grinned. "Bye, girl." She paused to watch her colleague depart, wondering why an educated, rich chick chose to work at a low-end establishment.

Tessa was a mystery. They knew she was 24, single, lived alone and had more than enough money to be blissfully unemployed. Her financial status seemed to add a spark of resentment rather than happiness. She didn't talk about her family, and no one asked. Someone from her economics class who also happened to work at the diner managed to determine she was an orphan, and she never talked about it.

Tessa's parents were butchered when she was four. All she remembered of the event were vague unpleasantries of sheer terror, screaming and the smell of blood. The maniac who committed the offence wanted her alive, but she managed to hide until the beast gave up and she was subsequently whisked away into a life of humble secrecy.

Having to come to terms with such bewildering grief as an infant, this arrangement suited her. As Tessa grew into a woman she strived not to dwell on past horrors; there was no appeal in being pitied. The past was the past. She left it behind.

With long, dark-blonde hair and pale green eyes, Tessa was uniquely pretty, but not a stunner. She was tall with a slender, lanky build and tendency to hunch from pure laziness.

At that time of night, her posture was perfectly straight with an alertness that came with caution. But no one accosted her, and she reached her car and drove home without incident.

Tessa's apartment was tastefully decorated, with a large, open-plan setting and lots of natural light during the day. At night, the curtains were drawn and after dinner she lit several large candles to illuminate the living area in a pale-white glow.

Stepping from the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy towel, her dreamy sigh dissolved into a choking gasp when she saw the man on her white lounge.

It's him.

She immediately recognised those broad shoulders, now tensed to give chase, the grey eyes fixed piercingly on her startled face. Though respectably dressed in a pale-green shirt, black blazer and blue jeans, there was nothing civil about the man.

Perhaps his shining black hair was tidily short, but he still looked, as she first assessed, like a well-dressed criminal. The fact he was handsome made him no less threatening, and his intense expression did little to alleviate her concerns. It wasn't so much his features, but the wildness in his eyes.

"What do you want?" Tessa managed an icy drawl, inwardly reminding herself not to panic despite having every reason to freak out. Squashing all signs of fear, she haughtily raised her chin as though finding a strange man on her couch post-shower was an everyday occurrence.

"You." The man leaned forward slightly. "You have three minutes to pack. Go."

"You're in the wrong apartment." Tessa maintained her cool façade, hoping it was all a mistake. She'd heard of girls with strange fantasies, who employed men to carry them out in seemingly spontaneous attacks. The man seemed frighteningly genuine, but then again, he could be a very good actor. "I wasn't expecting you. But I do expect you to leave."

"Giving orders comes naturally, doesn't it?"

He stood and Tessa's heart quivered with good reason. He'd appeared deceivingly shorter sitting at the diner and on her couch, but the man was enormous on his feet; she had no chance against him.

"I am trying to be polite," she bit out, glaring with attitude that was mere surface value.

"Pack. Now." He pointed to her bedroom. "Or I'll pack for you, and you won't like it."

"I didn't book a holiday."

The man's grin chilled to the bone; his eyes lethally bright. "Are you sure you want to be like this?"

"I don't want to go anywhere with you!" Tessa said with shrill honesty; her voice cracked with fear as the tough exterior quickly unravelled.

Her fright, or visible weakness, seemed to appease the man, as his ferocity was softened by a smile and he crossed his arms. "Relax, Tessa. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here for your safety."

"The only danger I perceive is standing in my living room."

He chuckled; the derisive sound grated on Tessa's ears.

"Red!" she declared, feeling extremely stupid when the man narrowed his eyes with amused disbelief.

"Is that a fucking safe word?"

Oh, God. This is real.

"I thought..." she muttered, cheeks pink with humiliation as the man threw back his head with a rough laugh.

"That's a first," he grinned, his smile sexy despite the circumstances. Again, he pointed to the bedroom. "Humour me, Tessa. Pack. We're in a hurry."

"Am I in danger?"

"Not with me. We'll chat on the way."

Tessa didn't know how to fight fully-clothed, let alone in nothing but a towel. It was fucking unfair she was being harassed by the same man her lustful colleague would welcome with spread legs. If he weren't obviously dangerous, she might have suggested he go back to the diner to fuck Sara.

"I think you're mistaken," she tried again.

"You're Tessa Evans, right?"

"Yeah?" she warily confirmed, wondering how that could mean anything.

The man snorted. "Evans. Right." Muscled arm taut with impatience, he pointed to her bedroom. "Pack."

"Is it money you want? I can pay you."

Still pointing, the man's eyes flared warningly.

"Alright." Tessa took two easy steps the direction of his unwavering finger, then fled for the front door.

There was a brief sound at her back, and Tessa couldn't resist a terrified backward glance to see if he'd gained on her. But he wasn't behind; she barrelled into his solid chest, like smacking into an unmovable wall.

"H-How?" she huffed, pointlessly struggling.

"Enough!" he growled, catching both her wrists in one giant hand.

"HEL-!" Tessa screamed; the sound cut off by the man's mouth, their faces a hairsbreadth apart. His teeth warningly pinched her lower lip, as though he might rip it clear of her face. She was right, he was wild as a rabid dog.

"Calm. The fuck. Down." His words sharply reverberated into her mouth, across her anxiously twitching tongue.

Tessa stared into terrifying eyes. They were grey at first glance, but now they looked like flashing ice, with tones of yellow she clearly hallucinated from pure terror. She had never been so afraid in her life. How could Sara think this guy was hot? He was dangerous. He was nuts.

You thought he was hot, when you poured his coffee.

The moment he released her mouth, Tessa angrily shook her head to dispel all thoughts of attraction. The fact she was terrified for her safety, being attacked by a stranger in her home and now finding the man compelling in a sexual way was downright backward. Then again, she was a virgin. Maybe it was a normal biological chemistry, despite a very abnormal situation.

"I don't want to hurt you." Despite the threatening hold on her, he seemed sincere. There was nothing lecherous about him, zero response to her stark nudity.

Jett stared into petrified, light-green eyes and sensed she was done fighting. He managed to conceal his reaction to her nudity, so long as she didn't feel the enormous hard-on that swelled to life the second that he laid hands on her. The response surprised him; sure, the girl was enticingly naked. But there was something else about her...

Don't even think it.

Tessa was his job, and he always got a job done. No hot piece of ass was going to tarnish his track record. It was the reason he was chosen -- he was reliable. He was an asset.

Tessa Evans.

Jett wanted to laugh. She said it like she believed it; like she was surprised someone had come for her. No discreet education and quiet upbringing could ever hide who she was. It didn't matter her guardians gladly chose to be beaten to death rather than reveal her whereabouts. The past always caught up, even if it took him almost a year of strenuous searching. His client paid well.

Admittedly, Jett was shocked to find her working at a diner to the point a second visit was necessary to determine he had the right girl. Watching her from afar, she seemed so normal. Up close, she was perfectly nice. The way she interacted with her colleagues, her

inferiors,

was outright down-to-Earth. He wondered what her game was.

Jett shook his head. Tessa was a job. He wasn't going to wonder anything about her.

"P-Please, don't!" Tessa begged, as she was dragged naked to her bedroom and roughly shoved onto the bed. Curling up and waiting for his immense bulk to crush her, she dared open her eyes to see him yanking clothes from her cupboard.

"It's a three-day journey, depending on who comes after you," he grunted, crushing an ironed black jumpsuit into her favourite beige duffle bag.

Tessa fearfully swallowed. "Why would anyone come after me?"

The man turned on her, his lip curled with contempt. "You gonna play dumb the whole way?"

Tessa shook her head pleadingly. "This is a huge mistake. I'm not who you think I am."

With a foreboding expression, the man dropped the bag and Tessa cowered into the bed.

"Would you prefer I call you Theresa Sinclair?" he asked menacingly.

Tessa's bewilderment didn't alter. "What?"

Jett watched intently, discerning her confusion was real.

She doesn't know.

"No fucking way." He threw a sky-blue dress at her. "Put this on. Now."

When she didn't move, the dress was clumsily forced over her head, and she was hauled to her feet. The brusque activity retrieved a buried childhood memory of being hurriedly dressed by strangers after her parents' death.

"I don't have any underwear," she awkwardly mumbled, feeling completely overwhelmed. The man wasn't a rapist. He was taking her somewhere for a reason that appeared important.

"I gave you a chance to pack. Put these on."

Tessa blinked stupidly at the white sneakers he held out. Bizarrely they complimented the blue dress, and she wondered whether it was coincidence or if the man had an inkling of fashion sense.

"Do I have to dress all of you?" he barked, and Tessa quickly accepted the shoes.

Jett watched her lace the sneakers with shaking hands. He considered surprising her with a gun, but it seemed heavy-handed. Thankfully, she responded to the threat of his presence. A quick ambush followed by threats with a hint of reassurance often resulted in the target falling into cooperative shock.

Sometimes it didn't work, and he had to resort to more forceful measures. But in this case, he couldn't afford to use violence. Not the kind that would mark her, anyway.

Jett's brow furrowed as he considered she was completely ignorant of her identity. It seemed a ploy to start, but by now it was obvious the girl was truly baffled by his sudden emergence complicating her life. It was going to be a tough few days for both of them.

"I don't understand. I'm really scared," she admitted in a frightened whisper, her eyes on her shoes.

Jett stepped forward and pressed her hand in a reassuring gesture, but she still didn't look at him. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

"Why are you doing this? It's money, isn't it?"

Jett's handsome mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "You're not the one paying me."

"Then who? What do you want me for, if not money?"

Or sex?

Tessa gulped, not daring to voice the last part in case it gave him ideas. None of it made sense, except for her money. Even sex traffickers had monetary interests, and she wasn't a spontaneous target. He'd been watching her at the diner. He knew where she lived.

The man looked at her, his strange eyes unreadable. "I'll answer questions later."

"What's your name?" she faltered. It seemed when he wasn't glaring with those penetrating eyes, he avoided looking at her entirely. Oddly, in the space of five minutes of his bullying, she felt she could trust him.

"Jett. Let's go."

Hauling the duffle over his shoulder, he draped an arm around Tessa and walked the shell-shocked girl out of her apartment. She felt frail, timid, innocent.

The door clicked ominously behind them, and they continued down the plush hallway. Jett felt Tessa draw deep breaths, probably sick with fear and wondering what was in store for her, not knowing if it'd be a mistake to cooperate or stay behind. Not knowing what to do. After all, she had hardly any real friends and no family. With her invisible protectors dead, she had no one to look out for her. Such a lonely existence.

Stop.

The elevator ride was slow agony, and Jett ignored her nervous glances and stared stonily at their mirrored reflection. They looked like a hot couple who'd had a disastrous fight over dinner. But they looked good together. Tessa's lower lip was slightly swollen from his bite. He knew she was a virgin. She'd probably never been kissed. Jett silently mused she had a sweet mouth that needed kissing.

Stop.

"I can pay you," Tessa whispered, though by her tone it was clear she knew the offer was pointless.

Jett stared at his reflection and saw glowing flecks of amber brighten the pale grey of his eyes.

No fucking way!

The lift doors opened to the garage, and they walked in brisk silence, the padding of their feet lightly echoed through the dark. Stopping by a black 4WD, he opened the back and dropped her bag into it. Tessa's eyes widened at the assortment of weaponry layered across the base.

Before she could become hysterical, Jett opened the back-passenger door and lifted her inside. In the blink of an eye, he aptly cuffed her wrists to the metal stems of the headrest in front and shut the door on her. The windows were black-tint, darker than legally permitted, but no one ever pulled him up on it.

Walking around to the driver's side, he drew a deep breath. His eyes yellowed. That was one fucking worry. But there was something else nagging at him. He was upset. Why?

Because she'll be sorry for trusting you.

Straining forward, Tessa watched Jett through the driver's window. He looked furious. Then he shook his head and the car bounced to accommodate his weight in the driver's seat.

"You're cuffed for my protection," he said tersely, the words meaningless. He didn't need protection from a hapless girl, they both knew it. "I'll answer your questions when we reach our first stop-point."

Tessa nodded but Jett saw the regret on her face; rightfully suspecting her compliance was a mistake. With a clenched jaw Jett forced his attention from the defenceless girl to the road ahead. She didn't know better.

He always finished a job.

You're going to Hell for this one.

****

Tessa felt strange, surreal. Her life was unique but nonetheless unremarkable. This man whom she'd rightly judged as dangerous from the beginning had kidnapped her, for neither money nor sex. She was uncomfortably conscious of finding him attractive. Maybe she was sick. Maybe she developed some weird psychosis when her parents were slaughtered.

They were on a freeway, a droning engine as they sped across gravel. There was no other traffic. It was like being on a plane. Where was everyone?

"My shoulders hurt."

Jett jumped, lost in his thoughts. "What?"

"I've been hugging the seat for over an hour."

"It hasn't been an hour."

"I can see the clock."

Sassy, now

. "I can cuff your hands behind your back, and lay you across the seat?"

"Any change would be appreciated."

Jett sighed angrily. She was so fucking cordial. Since when did manners make a job harder for him?

"Right." He pulled over and opened the door. Pausing a moment when their eyes locked.

"What's wrong with your eyes?" she asked, as though that weren't the least of her worries.

"Nothing. You're in shock," he said shortly, breaking gaze to unlock her cuffs from the front.

Guiding her hands behind her back Jett felt skin that was insanely soft, taut, made for his fingers. His breath caught, imagining what it might feel like if they were both fully naked, entwined. Buried inside her.

Fuck.

Tessa huffed when she was shoved down on the seat with brute force. Her ankles were cuffed like her wrists, the centre belt was drawn across her mid-section and clicked in to secure her. Jett paused a moment, hovering over her body splayed across the back seat.

The dress hem was precariously high up those smooth thighs. Only then did he recognise he'd chosen that dress, not for convenience. Certainly not practicality. It was subconscious instinct. He wanted to see her in it, and the sight staggered him with all kinds of hot thoughts.

No panties.

The moment passed, and Jett slammed the door. Clearly annoyed, he yanked the belt across his body and clicked in one swift moment. In the back, Tessa stared at the car ceiling, wondering about her future, and why she liked it when he touched her. Those crazy eyes he had. Everything was upside down.

Jett heard her breath hitch. She wouldn't know he could hear it. The girl was softly crying against the backseat of his car. It wasn't a pity ploy -- she deliberately stifled it, not wanting him to hear. But he heard.

The sound was so wrong. It was pain to Jett's ears and though he forced himself to ignore it, the wheel groaned in his ferocious grip, close to snapping. He didn't know what was wrong with him. He didn't even like blondes.

When they finally arrived at a seemingly abandoned small block of units, Jett waited in the front seat. He sniffed the air.

What the fuck?

Jerking around in his seat, he stared disbelievingly at Tessa. Green eyes blinked right back at him, glistening with tears he should kiss away. Jett turned back and ran a hand through his hair. No threats outside. The trouble was in his backseat.

He silently carried her from the car into the building. There was no light. To Tessa it was terrifying, and she sat rigidly in his firm hold as they moved through pitch-black corridors.

Finally, a soft surface met her behind, and Jett kindly hit the lights. It was a musty apartment, well-kept, but clearly unoccupied. The cream couch she sat on had a small layer of dust coating.

"Is this a 'safe-house'?" Tessa asked, her eyes moved cautiously around the room before settling on Jett.

"Sort of," he answered, dropping her duffle bag by the door. He crouched by the couch to unlock the cuffs on her wrists and ankles.

"Can I ask questions now?" Tessa murmured, and saw the look on his face. For some reason, the query aggravated him, but it wasn't unreasonable. After all, he did say he'd answer her questions, and that she should trust him.