Chapter 32.1 – Werewolves in the company – part 2

Aniya frowned when she saw her assistant poking the man’s face to check if he was out or not and asked, “Since when did you have a taser in your purse, Anna?”

“I have had this for years, Miss Aniya, but today was the first time I used it.”

Two men got up after glancing at each other, and they reached for the holsters of their guns that they were carrying at their waists. Aniya took one gun from her purse and pointed it at one man, while Lisa was pointing her gun at the other. They stopped with their hands on the holsters, and Aniya spoke, “I advise you two to not be foolish. You have no idea about the danger lurking in the shadows, so unless you want to start something and get yourselves killed, it’s better if you sit down and shut up.”

One man spoke, his voice full of anger, “That guy is a police officer like us! You are in big trouble, lady!”

“No, I am not. That man and the woman next to him like to eat people because a certain Mister Adrian Gordon made them believe that to change into Werewolves whenever they wanted, they needed to eat Human flesh. Don’t worry about them, because the moment this meeting is over, I will call the Hunters to come and get them, and these two will not threaten or eat anyone ever again. Now if you don’t mind... Sit down!”

Aniya shouted the last words at the same time her light increased, and the men immediately sat on their chairs and curled their bodies, feeling squashed by Aniya’s light. She looked around and searched if anyone dared to lift their heads. She then dispersed her light and explained what she had said in the morning.
While they were all focused on her explanation and her light, Lisa leisurely took the plastic cover from the vase and let the smell of the blue flowers invade the room. The new group frowned or clenched their teeth while Aniya was telling them to calm down and focus on her.

When they all seemed more or less used to the wolf’s bane, Aniya leaned forward and diminished her light. With a smile, she spoke, “Now, if a Hunter tests you with the wolf’s bane, you will no longer lose control and give them proof you are Werewolves. I know my assistant convinced you all to come here with a visit to the building and a job offer. The job offer is still available with extras. On the next full moon, I am expecting everyone to meet me in a secret place that I have, and after the change, I will awaken every single one of you. The next step will teach you how to change whenever you want, with no need for a full moon. Or the next two moons, by the way.”

The woman with dark brown curly hair at Aniya’s right asked with a raised eyebrow, “What’s the catch, lady? Because you don’t expect me to believe that you are going to do all that only by the generosity in your heart! Because I can smell your bullshit from here!”

“I expect nothing. The Hunters have a file with your name and photo in it. They have all your names because someone told them you were Werewolves. I am offering everyone a place near me, but you are free to refuse and live your life without knowing when the Hunters will come for you. At least now you are immune to the wolf’s bane because that’s what they use to test a person.”

A man with a scar over his left eyebrow and a rough air spoke in a hoarse voice, “If they come after me, they will get the greatest beating of their life.”

Aniya grinned. “Yes, the Mixed Martial Arts fighter. In a cage, fighting unarmed men, you would be at an advantage, but when they go after you, they will go with silver bullets. If no one ever told you, Werewolves are weak against silver. You don’t die, except if a vital organ gets hit and you take too long to heal, but it slows you down, leaving them time to fill you out with bullets, pierce your heart, or behead you. If you still don’t believe me and you think you have a shot against Hunters that were trained to kill Werewolves for all their lives, feel free to challenge my friend Lisa here, but be aware that yesterday she beheaded three Werewolves after I slowed them down with a bullet in their heads.”

The muscular man frowned at Lisa, who was clenching her fists and sending him a kiss. “I just need seconds to turn into a Werewolf, so if you move a muscle and try anything weird, I will eat your head for dessert.”

The man tilted his head and asked, “You can change when you want? How do you do that?”

Lisa grinned and answered, “Trade secret. I can perhaps tell you that being in control of my beast is an enormous advantage in accomplishing that. But as Aniya said, no one is forcing you to do anything. I just hope you join us. A trained fighter like you would be an amazing Werewolf to have at our side. So far, we only needed to worry about the Hunters, but we found out there is a strange group of Werewolves that can change when they want to, and they like to eat people. We kind of don’t like that group around us, destroying our reputation.”

While the man remained silent, thinking about Lisa’s words, a woman with long dark hair timidly raised her hand. “I... I am sorry... Miss Aniya, I have never fought in my entire life. My husband works for a big company, and I stay at home, taking care of our baby. I am not sure what use someone like me would have for you.”

“Perhaps no use, perhaps everything. Who knows? I know there are big packs of Werewolves hidden in other countries. I want one big pack like that so that no Hunter or weird cannibal dares to mess with us. Strength lies in numbers, and if we are a lot and we are united, we have nothing to fear. Unless you like to be at home worrying if the next time someone rings your bell, it’s a Hunter to take you with him.”

The woman gulped and slowly nodded. From Aniya’s right, a woman’s voice shouted, “Oh, please, this is getting dumber by the minute! Can I leave now?”

Aniya raised one finger, signalling the angry woman to wait. She then grabbed the phone that Lisa gave her and dialled a number. After two seconds, she spoke. “Hello, Mr. Sellas? Hi, it’s Aniya Rossi. How is everything on your side? Oh, you are waiting for Davis? Very well, listen, I have here one angry woman that is getting on my nerves. I just offered her the best deal of her life, and she is being stubborn and annoying the heck out of me. Do you mind talking with her before I slap her?”

Aniya pushed the phone along the table and the woman grabbed it with a pale face and gulped before placing the phone near her ear. “Yes... sorry, dad... no, I was... Sure, dad... Sorry, dad... I will. Yes, I promise. Sorry dad, I...”

She put the phone on the table again and pushed it to Aniya again while speaking in a low voice, “You didn’t have to call my father...”

Aniya put her right hand behind her ear and leaned forward a bit. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Did you apologise or did you try to annoy me?”

“No! I... I am sorry... My father says that your bodyguard told him to wait and went on foot, but everything is peaceful, you can rest assured.”

Aniya bit her lower lip and explained, “My partner is with that Adrian Gordon guy because he wants to know more about his group of dangerous Werewolves. While he is risking his life there, I am here, doing my best to gather as many Werewolves near us as I possibly can. I am also infiltrated in the Hunters because I want to find out everything I can about our common enemies.”

One of the police officers asked, “Isn’t that dangerous? My parents always told me that Hunters killed some of my ancestors, and if I wasn’t careful, they could one day come for me.”

“I know that very well. My family has a long line of Hunters, and it seems I am the first Werewolf to be born into my family. I also read in my family history book what Hunters do to the daughters and sons of Hunters that turn into Werewolf at sixteen. To them, their parents, and their nearest family. We have here, in this room, photographers, reporters, police officers, firefighters, one MMA fighter, some housewives, and a barista with a bad temper. I want to help you, but I also need your help. You are free to refuse to help me, but I will still help you. I don’t like the way Hunters do things, but I also don’t like Werewolves that, on a full moon, might get free from their restraints and go on a killing rampage. The best I can do that doesn’t involve killing anyone is help you be in control of your beasts.”

The same police officer made a bitter smile. Despite the benefits of being a Werewolf, that has always been one of my greatest fears. If one day I get free from my chains during a full moon and kill everyone near me."

The sound of someone being zapped interrupted the awkward silence that followed. Aniya looked to where the sound was coming from and saw her assistant tasing the woman again. She then looked at Aniya and explained, “They moved, Miss Aniya. We should ask the Hunters to come and get them as soon as possible.”

“Yes, in a moment. I want to finish this, and when everyone leaves, I will make a call.”

The police officer said while looking at the knocked out couple. “I don’t know about the woman, but the moment that police officer is reported missing, many people will look for him.”

“Well, from what I was told, it seems Hunters are very good at making people disappear. These two definitely belong to that group of people that follow Adrian Gordon. I will let the Hunters deal with them. Do any of you have questions?”

Meredith Sellas slowly raised her hand, “Why do we need to wait for the next full moon for you to awaken us? Why don’t you tell us how we can change when we want?”

“Because for you to change whenever you want, you need to get used to the pain and not faint from it. I don’t need to remind any of you how painful the change is, but I noticed that when we are in control, the pain decreases with each change. So far, I woke up four people during the two nights after the full moon. It is safer and more certain if we wait for the next full moon. I will have three nights to awake everyone here, so if you can’t come to see me on the full moon, we have two more nights to do it.”

Meredith slowly nodded, and Lisa completed. “I can also tell that when you get used to the change and you are in control, every time you force the change, the pain decreases. I forced my change this morning as a demonstration to this group that arrived with us, and I only felt a pain comparable to tooth pain. More or less like the pain you are feeling now, because of the wolf’s bane in that vase.”

One firefighter asked with a slight frown, “I don’t want to sound like I don’t believe what you are saying, but how do I even know that you are a Werewolf? Or any of you?”