Story – Playing for Keeps
It was late at night when Anna felt the party beast starting to take over. The cocktail of recreation drugs the young woman had taken were finally having an effect on her. She could feel her heart racing even though her limbs were going through a phase of feeling heavy and light all at the same time. One of her arms slithered up towards the club’s distant ceiling, while the hand of the other pressed against her face. She closed the heavy lids of her pale blue eyes, smiling with dizzy euphoria as her shoulders shimmied to the music. The lyrics were talking about feeling nothing, about never fooling around and about never breaking. All of it felt true to Anna as she swayed and sashayed on the spot, lost in her own little world of MDMA bliss. There was a seductive numbness that had claimed her only moments ago, making her feel like something else was in control of her body. She had come to tease and torment the populace of the dance floor, twisting and turning and flailing in a way that only someone on a significant high could. And no matter how many of these fools around her wanted to dance with her, none of them could keep up. None of them had the stamina or balls to even try, once Anna really got moving.
The evening had started out as always; random tickets bought at the door of some chance club that turned out to be hosting a university night or sports team. That meant the pickings were good, and the men would for the most part be clean, the girls would be stereotypical and no competition for the pixie-like Anna. She didn’t need her ego inflated and wasn’t interested in chasing anyone or even having to try. She knew she was beautiful, sensual and sexual in a way other young women could only dream of being. Try as they might, her look was inimitable, matchless and unique. Other women relied on the size of their tits, the depth of their hips and the tightness of their clothes to get a man’s attention. Anna, on the other hand, was practically boyish in shape. The loose black top she wore was fringed at the bottom, twisting and turning around her navel with every move she made. Her skirt was nothing more than a black tutu covered in sequins and glitter worn over short capri-style leggings that looked like they were made of dark mermaid scales. Her coal-black hair was cut in a bob around her ears, shorter in the back where it exposed the Nordic runes tattoo at the base of her neck. The longer sides of her sleek locks were cut in line with her thin jaw and chin, giving her a precise geometric shape to her perfect little head. She looked like a beautiful goth fairy and she didn’t even have to try.
Tonight Anna had long black fingernails adorning fingers and hands bearing darkly inked tattoos of mandalas and peace symbols. There were similar permanent markings peeking out from under the short edges of her leggings. Her shoes were furry grey Uggs, platform trainers that gave her a little bit of a lift but did nothing to take away from the cuteness of her dark style. As she moved around the dancefloor, she left trails of glitter and sequins from people brushing against her. Anna rubbed off on people. She knew it. And she liked it. Everywhere she went, she left a little something behind, which made a giggle bubble up from her belly and escape her purple painted lips, her mirth lost in the bass beat of the music.
All of a sudden the club lit up and brilliant white spotlights flashed on, drawing everyone’s attention to the DJ on the stage. He was hidden in smoke and mist issuing forth from a machine hidden at his feet. And he stood proudly, arms spread wide, behind a massive fake fallen log covered in moss and mushrooms and hanging fake greenery.
It must have taken some time and muscle to haul that in, Anna thought absent-mindedly as she was drawn towards the stage with the rest of the eager crowd. Despite the intentional sway of her slender hips, her steps looked more like a stumble until she caught herself on the steel railing that kept patrons separate from musicians and live entertainment. She slitted her eyes and looked up at the DJ smiling wide behind dark shades and a fantastic beard. Then the live music started up in earnest at the tap of his hands on his decks, and Anna was lost to the beat again, giving herself over to the thump-thump and wump-wump of the drums and bass.
Ten minutes later, she was shaking her head in confusion as two people stood on either side of her and began to guide her out of the crowd.
“I’m fine. What the hell, I’m good!” she objected, but their hands were firmly tucked under her arms.
The two bouncers led Anna towards a long bench she had seen only in passing when entering the upstairs club. It had the look of a wooden church pew, with a long red upholstered cushion on it that had seen better days, worn in some parts and stitching torn in others. The two men sat Anna down on the cushion and though she didn’t get back up, she glared up at each of them angrily. Then one shoved a bottle of water towards her, shaking it slightly to suggest she take a drink.
So Anna drank deeply, eyes locked onto those of the bouncer that had given it to her. She’d be damned if she was going to let them kick her out. She’d barely just gotten started on her high, and these two were really harshing her trip. She was still sober enough to know not to object too loudly. It was one thing to give dirty looks to annoying bouncers, and it was another thing altogether to start trying to push a point they weren’t paid to hear. Bouncers were like nurses in a hospital. They were a club’s secret police force, and if a patron pushed them too far, the answer would always be ‘out you go’ and that’d be the end of it. And Anna wasn’t done.
“Fine, see? I drank the water, okay?”
“So who are you here with, miss?” one tall bouncer asked, arms folded across his t-shirt covered chest.
“I came alone,” Anna quipped too quickly, realizing that probably wouldn’t help her case. The bouncer shook his head and looked at his partner.
“So listen, you’re clearly under the influence, and we’re not sure you should be on your own tonight, okay?” the other bouncer said, putting his hands on his knees and leaning down so his face was closer to Anna’s.
Oh how she wanted to spit the cool water in her mouth all over his smug pretending-to-care expression. She wisely held back, and swallowed the water instead.
“Uh, she’s not alone.”
A voice came from behind the bouncers, surprising even Anna. All three turned their heads to see who was talking.
The man standing behind the bouncers was taller than both of them and looked like he could knock their heads together and take them both out at once. Anna blinked in surprise, because she had no clue who this guy was. He wasn’t the usual type for an event like this, not that she was used to seeing anyway. He could have been a university student but somehow she doubted it. He certainly was no clean-cut athlete trying to go pro.
The man was shaved bald with heavy facial hair and a thickly tufted beard that made him look like a bushman. He had on a tanned leather vest with a pale fur collar that Anna somehow knew was the real deal. From the look of his bulging bare chest beneath the vest, the Nordic-inspired tattoos on his throat and arms, and the loose black pants he wore, maybe he could have been a forestry student. He definitely wasn’t part of the usual jock crowd that came in to town on the party bus for school morale opportunities like tonight’s fare. Maybe he was a local then. Either way, Anna was sure she’d never seen him before in her life.
“Ya, that’s right,” she said suddenly, holding her hand out to the stranger. “See? I got company, I’m taken care of.”
The bouncers leaned in to whisper to each other suspiciously, then shrugged with defeat and shook their heads with disapproval. They were in charge of making sure people didn’t get too crazy at these events, and they had done their due diligence. Their charge was claiming to be with friends, had drunk water as they had requested, and despite her icy glares at them, she hadn’t fought with them or argued her cause a little too much. There wasn’t anything more they could do at this point. The two men parted like a dark sea and let the stranger take Anna’s hand in his.
The man drew her up from her seat and close to his chest, his red-brown eyes focused only on Anna’s as he pulled her back to the crowded dance floor once more. Their gazes stayed locked on each other as he pushed through the masses with his back, keeping himself facing her, never letting go of her hand. And before Anna knew it, they were back at the railing, basking in the bass-love of the DJ above.
Anna’s hands went high in the air, flying like beautiful birds in the laser beams and tracking lights. Her new partner danced around her aggressively, assertively, his rebellious and almost militaristic dance moves making space for her to sway and swoon side to side like a willow tree caught in a windstorm. The music took her away and renewed her almost-lost high, and she closed her eyes, only vaguely aware of the man’s presence. When she looked at him, when she dared to glance his way, his eyes always met hers, captivating her, assuring her that she was safe to play as much as she liked, wordlessly telling her he had her back and would give her all the space she wanted. And play Anna did, for at least another hour, while all around her people hopped and bounced and gyrated to the dark and brutal rhythms.
And then the night was done. Anna was spent, left panting and leaning against her new companion, staring up into his eyes that were so dark, they were almost black. He leaned down to kiss her just as she lifted up her lips, and their mouths met perfectly, their synchronised embrace soul-penetrating and time-defying. Then the house lights went up and the music went down, and Anna pulled away, breathless. The man still held her hand, as if unwilling to let her escape just yet.
“I…I don’t do one-night stands,” the fae-like girl whispered as she brushed the back of her hand across her tingling lips.
The man smirked and chuckled. “That’s fine,” he replied with an equally quiet voice. “I play for keeps.”
Stunned, unsure of what to do next, Anna stared up at him. He was perfect, he really was. He was sweet, his kiss tasted like Chaga and reishi mushrooms and cacao, and he was so strong, so much bigger than her. It was a shame, really it was, that he was so perfect.
“Then let’s go play,” Anna said playfully, tugging him after her as she bolted for the stairs to the outside streets. “I know a place that’s up all night.”
They made out while waiting for an Uber. Then they made out in the Uber, and the voyeuristic driver didn’t seem to mind one bit, keeping to himself but keeping his rearview mirror turned towards the amorous couple grinding hotly against each other in the back seat. With Anna’s instructions, they drove out to a rave happening in a forest-lined meadow on the outskirts of the city. The fire burned high, the music was loud and more natural sounding than the tunes in the club, and when Anna stepped out of the car, she felt like she was home.
The dark sky was littered with darker clouds that shone with silvery edges every time they tried to hide the full and brilliant moon above. Stars twinkled from far away, and the trees of the forest were like shadowy fingers, tall Ponderosa pines and Gary oaks reaching up to try and scrape the clouds away with the help of the warm night wind. The crowd around the fire was growing, undulating like a blended mob of outsiders and misfits who would never have felt at home in the city, no matter how they dressed or tried to look. But Anna’s eyes kept being drawn away from the orange flames and towards the darkness of the woods. Her body was hiding an inner heat she couldn’t deny for much longer, and the second half of her high was starting to take hold. If she didn’t give in to it soon, she’d miss out on the best part of the whole night.
Without warning, Anna let go of her companion’s hand and ran off into the woods. She wasn’t sure how far she ran, though she knew she was running on borrowed energy. After a few minutes and when she was sure she was deep in the woods, she stopped to look behind her. The man wasn’t there.
Anna blinked, tilting her head and drawing her chin back like a confused puppy. Where had he gone? She was certain he’d been following her at first. She’d heard his footsteps coming. When had they slowed? When had they disappeared? She couldn’t remember. She had gotten lost in the feeling of the wind in her short hair and the sight of the tree branches blocking out the night sky. How far back could he be?
The young woman paused and caught her breath, breathing in the moss-laden scent of the woods and the trees and the natural earth around her and beneath her. It was like being enveloped in a spiritual hug, being out in the woods like this. She wrapped her thin arms around herself and squeezed, as if to help herself sober up just a bit. She did have an obligation to find him, didn’t she? She couldn’t just leave him wandering around out here. He could get lost. Or get hurt. Then where would the fun be?
Anna closed her eyes and breathed in, letting the scents and smells from the woods around her waft up her nostrils. She was sobering up, but it was okay. Maybe it was time to take things a little more seriously. She stood up straighter, arms still tightly tucked around her own body as she tilted her head upwards. She didn’t need to see the fullness of the moon to feel its spellbinding power washing over her. Her tummy tingled. Her guts stirred as if shifting in place. And her skin prickled all over with an unnatural heat that made her grateful her clothes were so very skimpy. Then she dropped her hands to her sides, clenching and unclenching her fists slowly, letting her fingers stretch. Letting them elongate. Letting them curl into claws.
Anna’s bottom jaw started to stretch outwards, her nose following along, her facial bones shifting from angular humanoid to muzzled beast. She felt the drool leaking from her now lipless mouth as her fangs lengthened. And she shook all over as her back curled first forward, then backwards, spine growing and extending. She was going from being all of five foot nothing to well over nine feet tall, or would be when the delicious transformation taking her over was completed.
And that’s when she felt him. He slid up behind her, pressing her twitching spine against his chest. He slipped a big hand into the tousled locks of Anna’s shaggy head hair and pulled her neck back at a harsh angle. He was forcing her feral yellow gaze to look up into his. Then there was an echoing popping sharp blast of sound and Anna felt a glacial shaft of pain dart through her chest, straight to her heart. He looked down at her with no emotion as she started to sink against him, weak, life waning out of her still-transforming physique.
But where had he hidden the gun? Anna wondered as the life left her eyes. Her last coherent thought was that he must have known her hunting ground. He must have come here first, earlier that night. That was the only way he would have gotten hold of a gun with the very necessary silver bullet. Tricky fucker. Such a shame.
The hunter sighed and frowned as he dropped the gun and pulled a very sharp Gerber knife from its sheath at his belt. Not taking his eyes away from those of the she-wolf in his grasp, he cut through the corded muscles of her neck and severed the connections between the vertebrae of her spine. Her heavy body tumbled away, and he stumbled back slightly like a drunk. In his other hand he now held the head of a massive grey werewolf, shortened muzzle, fanged teeth, glaring eyes and all.
“I told you,” he said quietly as he lifted the head up to look deeper into its dead eyes. “I play for keeps.”
Then the hunter stretched his arm out and let the head drain free of as much blood as possible before he bagged it into a thick sack. The bag was still dirty from where he had hidden it in the earth not too far away. It’s where he had stored all the tools he might need for the night’s hunt. And now it held his trophy.
She was just perfect. And now she was his forever.