Isabel and the Wolf: (Part 4) by Ariana Hawkes

because he’d blindfolded me while we were having sex, as usual, but it slipped down and I saw him. I was so scared that I screamed my head off. And he ran out of my house, leaving all his clothes and his motorbike behind.” Marianna nodded.
    “It makes sense,” she said. “And this is what I mean. Werewolves from foreign packs have a responsibility to make sure that they’re not discovered like that.”
    “Peter’s pretty wild,” Isabel said. “I guess he doesn’t have an easy time hiding his true nature. When we first met, he insisted on having sex outdoors, in the forest, all the time. I thought he was some wild man of the woods.” She grinned, recalling, against her will, some of the times they’d had together.
    “They make good sex mates, don’t they?” Marianna said.
    “The best,” Isabel conceded.
    “I dated a couple of them in my youth, and we had the most ridiculous, crazy sex. They were totally insatiable,” Marianna said, and a sparkle came to her eye. “But then I didn’t want the drama of their monthly cycles, and I settled down with a nice, normal human.”
    “And have other women in Silver City done the same, I mean, been with werewolves?” Marianna laughed.
    “I’d say, of my graduating class, pretty much all the girls had. The male weres were in demand. They were so strong and athletic, and all devastatingly good looking. In our late teens, the human guys didn’t get a look in. Things were hard for them! It continued like this until people went off to college, and the girls started to look for husbands. Werewolves, by and large, aren’t marriage material, and we all put security over an insane sex life. That’s not to say I don’t have a great time with Bill, though; just not three times a day,” she finished, grinning. She gazed at Isabel, assessing her feelings, and her expression became serious again. “You’re feeling disturbed, maybe even repulsed, at the realization that you’ve had sex with two werewolves?” Isabel nodded, staring into her teacup.
    “That’s understandable, seeing as you had no prior knowledge of them. It must be a huge shock to you.” Isabel nodded again.
    “Maybe try to see it from my perspective. It’s always been something that’s normal, and desirable to me. It hasn’t done me any damage. When they’re in their human forms, they’re just – human. Except that they’re a little more attractive than the rest of us. I have no regrets about my experiences with werewolves, and, if I had my time again, I’d do exactly the same.”
    “And does Bill know about your experiences?”
    “Sure. He was one of the poor guys who had to spend their teens reading porn mags while all of the girls were out having hot sex with weres! We knew each other growing up, but he was a couple of years older than me, so it took us a little bit of time to find each other.”
    Marianna went into the kitchen and came back with slices of cake. Isabel accepted one and ate it hungrily.
    “It always makes me laugh when I see depiction of werewolves in movies,” Marianna continued. “They’re always represented as horrific, shaggy beasts. But in real life, they’re not like that at all. They’re actually a harmonious combination of man and wolf.”
    “Bill said that all cultures have transformation myths, and wolves are the most common animals to feature in them.”
    “Absolutely. Werewolves have a long, and secret, history, that goes back as far as written records,” Marianna said, with a touch of dreaminess. Isabel realized that she loved talking about werewolves, and that she was full of nostalgia for her teenage experiences.
    Isabel finished her cake and tea.
    “Marianna, thank you so much for the conversation. It’s made me feel a lot better.” She stood up. “Now, there’s something I’ve got to do.” Marianna stood up too and enveloped her in a soft hug.
    “If that something involves going to talk to that young werewolf, I’m pretty sure you