6Fanging the Stray
A/N: Hello readers. Welcome back, or if you're new, hello! I'm Marvelle Petit.
The following is part of my steamy shorts collection. These will only be up for a couple of weeks before I will take them down and put them up for sale on electronic bookstores. These shorts are going to be around 5-10K words at the most and will basically be little bites of the "cute and steamy" romance I like writing. This short is scheduled to be released on June 1st, and I will keep it up until May 23rd.
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment, good or bad. I have thick skin that can't be fanged easily, hehe.
A banging noise echoed in the still kitchen. Emma jumped. No one noticed I'm here after hours, right? It's not my fault they don't lock the kitchens when they leave. She ran her tongue over her fanged tooth in thought. I guess I'll go see who it is. She walked to the entrance and looked out the window. Nothing. She arched an eyebrow. She unlocked the door and opened it.
Something jumped onto her chest, knocking her to the ground. She groaned in pain. A cold nose nudged her cheek. She pushed it away. "Get off me." The creature whined and got off her chest. She sat up and rubbed her shoulder. A wolf with matted hair stared at her. Ugh, it's a lycanthrope.
"What do you want?"
The creature whined a response.
She rubbed her temple. "Look, I can hear you if you speak. I'm a vampire, you know."
"I need food."
"Are you a student?"
"Yes."
"Then you have a meal plan. Go to the cafeteria and eat." She rose and dusted off her knees. "Now I have to sanitize my entire body. Yuck."
"Wait!"
She turned around. "What is it?"
"I haven't eaten in three days. Whatever you're making in there smells amazing. Please give me some."
She crossed her arms. "Why haven't you eaten?"
"I was doing a pledge for my fraternity. They dropped us off in the woods. I just barely made it back."
"Aren't you a lycan? Why didn't you hunt?"
He whined. "I hate killing animals."
She sighed. "Come on."
He yelped in surprise.
"I hate killing animals too."
"But you're a vampire. How do you feed?"
"I'm a dhampir. I only need blood occasionally, and I can get that from the substitutes. Are you coming or are you going to question me?" She walked ahead. His claws clacked on the floor behind her. "Can you change into your human form?"
"One of those."
She whirled around, hands on hips. "Excuse me?"
"You're one of those. The vampires that hate Lycans."
She said nothing in reply and continued to the main kitchen doors. She pushed them open and held it so he could walk by. The smell of sauce filled the air. She breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. It's not burning." Gesturing to the sink, she walked over and began scrubbing her hands clean.
She wiped her hands on a towel and walked back to her pot. The sauce simmered, but still wasn't as thick as she liked. I guess I'll give it five more minutes before I put the meatballs in. She turned around and glared down at the wolf. "You're pretty scruffy. Can you change to your human form and wash up? We're in a kitchen."
"I'll eat in this form."
"I'm not your pack mate. I don't want you to eat at my feet like a pet, either."
He hung his head. "I'll try."
She turned around and focused on stirring the pot. She witnessed a transformation once and it wasn't a pretty process.
He gasped and heaved before she heard a thud. She turned around and saw him face down on the floor, mostly human outside of his ears and tail. She knelt down and turned him over, cradling his head in her lap. "Are you okay?"
He groaned. "I'm fine. It takes a lot of energy to transform. Energy I didn't have."
She cringed. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine." He sat up and stood. "See?" He slapped his bare chest. "Just fine."
His naked body stood in full glory right in front of her face. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She swallowed and took off her apron and handed it to him. "Put this on."
He laughed. "You wanted me to change. Is this your first time seeing one?"
"I saw part of it once," she mumbled. "We're in a kitchen too." She turned around, turned on the burner with a pot of water on top, and started putting the meatballs in the pot of sauce.
"There's nothing wrong with it."
She felt his chest on her back. "Wrong with what?"
"Being nude. It's natural."
"You still have a tail and ears."
He chuckled. "Well, when I'm tired I can feel my limits. I got as far as I could before I had to stop or pass out. And while you seem a more than competent culinary arts major, medicine major you are not."
She pursed her lips. She hated to admit it, but he looked rather cute partially transformed. A little silly, considering all he wore was an apron, but his easy-going smile was infectious.
"Is that an almost smile?" he teased. "You know, this look is really popular online. Usually the cats though. And usually only females. They call them catgirls. But, you know, I mean, I'm taking it for myself. What do you think?" He struck a modeling pose, though it was exaggerated to the point of silliness.
She burst into laughter. He laughed along with her. "There it is. You have a beautiful smile."
"Stop flattering me because I'm going to give you food."
He chuckled. "You got me. What's on the menu?"
"Spaghetti and meatballs."
"Why are you using this kitchen instead of the dorm's?"
"It's crowded in there. People fight for the burners."
"So they let you use these?"
She gave him a strained smile. "Well, the doors aren't locked…"
His eyebrow arched. "So you're saying we're in here illegally."
"Technically. But I am a CA major, so it's not like I don't know how to safely use the equipment in here. And I always leave it the way I found it."
He laughed. "And to think I thought you were a sourpuss with a stick permanently up your bum."
She rolled her eyes. "After you eat will you be able to return back to normal?"
"I don't have fleas, if that's what you're saying." He crossed his arms. "Why is this such a big deal to you?"
"No, I mean, it's…" She cringed. "I grew up with my mom. A human. She wanted me to be normal."
"But you're half. She had to know you would never be human."
"I think she regretted getting involved with my dad. I've never met him, so I don't know. From the vampires I've met here, they're a quirky lot. But, anyway, well, every time I did something vampiric she flipped. I was sent to the hospital a lot as a kid because she never gave me the blood supplements I needed. I can last a lot longer than blue-blooded vamps, but I still need a bit. I could tell she hated it. Hated buying them for me. Hated watching me drink them. Hated everything about vampires. So I was afraid to express it. And even now, when I see people outside of their blending forms, I can't help but feel nervous."
He walked up and put his hands on her shoulders. "You know you're at Karloff, right? We're all the same here. No one is going to scream at you to be normal."
She averted her gaze. "I'm working on it."
He patted her arms and stretched. "Well, I'm working on it too. Don't feel bad."
"What do you have to work on?"
"This may shock you, but I'm a little different. Us Lycans, we have this beast to serve. It's like another being inside me. Or a devil on my shoulder, constantly whispering in my ear. I can ignore it. But the others? They're like a supped up sports team with all the usual politics. Always battling to be the alpha. Always trying to prove our worth. You know, life is different now. We're not roaming packs in forests munching on deer and rabbits." He sighed. "The others don't see it that way. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I feel you. We're both a bit of an outcast."
She turned off the burner of the sauce and dropped the spaghetti into the boiling water. "The smell."
His ears flickered. "The smell?"
"It's not that I don't like Lycans. My sense of smell is sensitive. You always smell like dogs. I guess it makes sense now. You're a giant pack of football players after a game."
He blinked in obvious confusion before laughing. "So you do have a sense of humor in there." He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm Alexander."
She held out her hand. "Emma."
"Emma, huh? Cute name." He took her hand and squeezed.
When their fingers touched a jolt of electricity passed through her. She froze and stared at him.
His stomach made a loud gurgling noise. He released her hand and scratched his ears, cheeks a bright pink. "Is it almost done?"
She lifted up a strand of spaghetti and took a bite. "Yeah." She turned off the burner and strained the noodles before putting them in an ice bath. "There are some plates on the back wall in the corner. Can you get a couple?"
"Sure."
She took out a small frying pan and put the noodles and sauce into the pan, then cooked it. He set the plates beside her. She placed them on the plate, swirling them into a small mountain. Then she added the meatballs. For garnish she added parsley and grated parmesan. "There we go."
She pulled open a drawer and got out two forks. "We don't have a table. I usually sit on this counter to eat."
"I guess I'll warn you now."
"Of?"
"I'm at that point of hunger where my manners are going to be non-existent."
She giggled. "It's okay. You seem tame enough."
He smiled. "Well, thank you for saving this poor pup from starvation." He speared a meatball and ate it in one bite. "This is good!" he exclaimed through a full mouth.
"Thanks." She swirled a bit of spaghetti around her fork and took a bite. Not bad, Emma. Could use a bit more garlic next time. And add a little more pepper. She had barely finished a quarter of her plate before she saw an empty plate in front of her nose.
"Umm, I'm sorry to bother you during your meal, but can I have some more?"
She laughed. "Sure. I'll give you the rest, okay?"
"No, if you're still hungry then you don't have to worry about me."
She shook her head. "I had breakfast and lunch today. You haven't eaten."
His tail swayed. "Thanks, Emma."
She cooked a giant mountain of pasta and served him the plate. While he ate, she put the pots into the first sink and rinsed, then put them into the second for the soak before walking back and finishing her dinner.
Alexander howled. "I think I am going to explode. That was perfect." Alexander patted his belly. "So, do you umm, do this every night?"
"Sneak into the kitchens and make dinner?"
He nodded.
"Not every night. There's a night class twice a week and on weekends."
"So what days are you usually here?"
She smirked. "Are you trying to figure out when I'll be here to cook?"
"Maybe," he replied with a sheepish grin. "Would you mind cooking for two?"
"You'll have to help with the dishes. And wear clothes."
"Aww, come on. You can start something new. Be the naked chef. Good food and a nice ass, what more could a guy want?"
"H-Hey!" she stammered.
He laughed. "Come on, let's go do those dishes."