Sheep & Wolves

Chapter Eleven

His smile was gone now and Dana was relieved that their exchange had started to feel distant once again. "I've never been to your apartment."

She rolled her eyes and he raised his eyebrows, as if he found the expression rude. "So there's another Lucas sending me flowers?" Dana asked rhetorically.

He cocked his head to the side in a gesture that would have been attractive had she known him any less. "You think that I hand-picked roses and left them on your doorstep? That's cute." His tone was condescending, his green eyes sardonic. "I had them delivered. You see, there's this thing called a florist, and-."

Dana slapped him. She wasn't sure where the boldness of the move originated from, but she didn't have time to reflect on it. In a movement which was almost too quick to perceive, Lucas had her on Nick's desk, one hand trapping her hands together in her lap and the other covering her mouth before she could let out a scream. The movement had been too quick to fathom, his hand were too strong. He wasn't hurting her, but she was effectively afraid once again. His face was close to hers, his eyes seemed to glow with rage.

"That," he said slowly. "Was a huge mistake." Dana tried to kick him in the groin, but he anticipated her movement and he shoved himself in between her legs, trapping hers on either side of him. She gasped as she felt him against her. There was something boiling within her, a rage and animalistic drive that made her blood heat and her heartrate sound in her ears. All she could focus on were his eyes, and she was more certain now than ever that they were not the eyes of a human being. She moved her face closer to his and he dropped his hand, surprised by her decision to get nearer. She again felt that innate desire to read him, to understand him. Her fear dwindled and curiosity took hold.

"What are you?" she asked in a whisper. He stared at her in wonder, at a loss for words. He was trying to read her too, she realized. She could barely feel her lips move as she spoke. "What am I?"

He shook his head softly. "I don't know," he whispered back. Then, he drew back and looked at the entrance of the room, as if he had heard a knock that Dana hadn't.

Before Dana could question him, the door to Nick's office burst open. Dana's instinct was to hide, but Lucas' hands fastened on her waist to hold her in place.

"I'm calling a meeting," Nick said as he entered the room, mockery laced in his voice. He had tossed Marissa over his shoulder and seemed to barely notice her struggling against him as he slammed the door behind him and locked it with a key from his pocket. They were effectively trapped.

"Marissa, are you okay?" Dana called out. She tried to push at Lucas but he held her tighter. He was focused on Nick now too. He looked surprised, as if he hadn't been let in on this part of the plan.

"Fucking asshole," Marissa hissed, punctuating each word with a knee to Nick's chest. Nick didn't seem to even feel her kicks.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Dana warned. The room grew abruptly silent. Lucas and Nick looked at her. Even Marissa turned her head to stare at her. Dana had said the words automatically, but the threat behind them had seemed extraordinarily sincere. And, she couldn't tell if she was imagining this, but Nick looked a little wary as he examined her. "Put her down now," Dana commanded.

Nick rolled his eyes, any influence she had over him collapsed. He put the key to his office in his pocket and sat Marissa down on a corner chair carelessly. "Clearly," he said, strolling to the center of the room casually. "There have been some missteps amongst my staff members." Lucas guided Dana off Nick's desk and turned her so that she was also facing the center of the room. Nick gave her and then Marissa a long, pointed glance. Marissa looked like she was almost frozen to her seat, as if she were a deer in the headlights. "I suppose it was wrong of me to have not already established the power dynamics around here." He pointed to himself. "I am the boss. You don't play cute tricks on me." He glanced over at Dana. "You especially don't underestimate me." He took several steps forward until he was standing across the desk from Lucas and Dana. He stared at Dana for a few long seconds. "You, specifically, will serve him. As you would a husband." Dana could feel her breath coming out in short exhales. Her eyes were blurring out of frustration and fear. Nick simply stared at her, cruelly enjoying how he was effecting her. Then, she felt Lucas' fingers stroke her hand in an uncharacteristically comforting gesture. She could hear him make a sound behind her, a very soft growl. Nick heard it too, but he just smiled a bit apologetically and refocused his attention on Dana. "Obviously he cares for you."

"If you don't let her go, I'm going to call the police." Marissa's voice came from beside Dana. She stood a few feet away from them, her phone in her hand already open to the call screen with "911" dialed in. She had her thumb hovered over the call button. "You are sick. You don't own her, she's a human being."

Nick laughed and it was the first time Dana had heard anything genuine coming from him. "Actually, she's not a human being. And you won't call the cops." He stepped closer to Marissa and her thumb inched nearer to the call button, her eyebrows raised in a challenge. "Because I'm not a human being either, sweetheart." He was on her in the next second, he had moved too quickly for either Marissa or Dana to clearly see him advancing. He had thrown Marissa's cellphone across the room and seized her shoulder. Dana wasn't sure if Lucas released her or if she had moved too quickly for him, but she found herself next to Marissa, reaching out to shove Nic's arm so that he wasn't touching her friend. Before Dana's hand could make contact with him, he moved back a whole foot, letting go of Marissa entirely. "You won't touch me!" he shouted, pointing at Dana.

"You won't touch either of us!" Marissa yelled back. She grabbed Dana's hand in an act of solidarity and beneath the fear and panic Dana was feeling, she could sense her deep love for her friend. "We're quitting. Effective immediately." Nick glared at Marissa, but Marissa held a strong front.

"I do wish I didn't have to bring threats into this," Nick said lowly, clearly not minding that he was threatening them at all. "But if you don't know my strength, you will come to know it." He moved closer to them now.

"Nick," Lucas said, his tone a warning. Nick ignored him.

"If you run, I will find you. If you fight me, I will win. You girls don't just work for me, I own you. And if you so much as-"

Nick wasn't able to finish his last sentence because a huge, black blur had broken through his office door and was on him, snarling. It was a wolf, Dana realized in shock. A too-large, unnaturally strong wolf. She felt a sense of calmness overcome her as the wolf fought his way on top of Nick and pinned him to the ground. Through their clasped hands, Dana could feel Marissa's pulse hike to a dangerous level.

Nick stared up at the wolf with smugness. Then, in a blur, his clothes were shredded and instead of Nick, there was another wolf in the room. Marissa jerked Dana back and she let her as she stared at the scene in horror. The new wolf bit the darker wolf's leg and the two were fighting on more even ground. Dana could hear a snarl and then the lighter wolf had managed to free himself and charged at the other.

Lucas moved in front of Dana's line of sight. "We need to leave. Now." He said to her and Marissa. She just stared at him, not understanding how he was reacting so calmly. "It isn't safe here, love," he told her, pleading.

"You're one, too. Aren't you?" she whispered. Her voice was shaking.

Lucas looked over his shoulder at the fight. Then he turned back towards Dana and Marissa. "I'm sorry about this," he said and picked one girl up in either arm. Dana could see the fight over his shoulder now. Caught up in the combat, neither wolf seemed to notice that the three of them were leaving the room. Lucas kicked the door and it collapsed completely. He strode away from the fight at a quick pace. Dana could hear snarls and growls resounding from Nick's office as they exited the club through the back entrance.

Want to meet Dana and Marissa? Here are the links to their character promo videos!

Dana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoY7Tz3DEDs

Marissa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPiMk5L4mSM

I'm making videos for the rest of the characters soon, let me know what you think about the casting choice and if you have any suggestions for the other characters!

Thanks, as always for reading <3