The Lycanthrope Club - Indiscretion, Part III (Patreon)

The coil slowly rotated behind the dust-speckled glass with a high-pitched mechanical whirr. The candy bar tilted to the left and the right - carried along by the coil - before dropping to the bottom of the vending machine. Melinda bent down and grabbed the bar through the flap cover. She peeled the upper half of the colorful wrapper apart and took a bite of the bar. As she chewed, she looked around at the motel parking lot. Around half the parking spots were occupied by vehicles of various makes and models. A cleaning cart draped with towels and sheets stood next to an open room to her left; Melinda saw no sign of any cleaning staff. The motel reception office was a few doors down to her right, beyond which stood a tall chain link fence separating the parking lot from a thick hedge of brambles. The sound of not-so-distant traffic hummed in the air; the freeway wasn't far away.

Melinda swallowed and then took another bite. The intense sugary tingle of chocolate, nougat and caramel contrasted pleasantly with the salty crunch of the peanuts. She would have preferred something more savory but the machine was out of jerky (and in any case, the seasonings used in most jerky made her nauseous). Also, she needed to eat something - not so much out of hunger but nervous habit; it was something to do other than obsess over their predicament.

A minute or so later Melinda crumpled up the chocolate-smeared rapper and tossed it in a nearby garbage can. She looked around one last time and turned, walked towards one of the rooms and knocked on its door.

A few seconds passed.

"Yeah?" intoned a feminine voice from within.

"It's me."

A few more seconds passed. There was a soft click. The door tilted inward. Melinda slipped inside and shut the door behind her. She locked the door.

The curtains were drawn and the lights were off but Melinda had no trouble seeing inside. It was a typical, generic motel room, featuring a single queen-sized bed with an adjoining nightstand opposite a wooden cabinet housing an oversized CRT TV, a single table and chair in the corner near the door and inoffensive pastel landscape paintings hanging on dull beige walls. To Melinda's preternaturally keen nose the place stank of cigarettes, astringent cleaning solvents and a few other smells that were worryingly organic.

Lily was standing next to the door gazing at a figure lying on the bed.

"No trouble?" asked Melinda, glancing at Lily.

"You were only gone a couple minutes," said Lily, shrugging.

Melinda nodded and then turned towards the bed and its occupant.

He wore a thick white bathrobe with the logo of the hotel chain embroidered in the hem of the garment. The half-ruined clothes he had worn when they had caught him lay in a pile next to him. There was a slight pall to his skin and his chest visibly rose and fell as he breathed. Nevertheless, his gaze was sharp and attentive. His hazel eyes darted to Lily and then to Melinda.

"Ya'll know this is kidnapping, right?" he said.

Melinda regarded him with a deadpan expression. She walked over to the table and picked up a worn brown wallet. She opened it and examined the driver's license in the front flap.

"Kyle Graves," she said, reading it. "This expires in two months," she added.

"Funny," said Kyle.

Melinda put the wallet down.

"Okay, Kyle, why did you run?" she asked.

Kyle's nostrils flared and his face reddened. He tried to sit up in the bed but then gasped and lay back down.

"My goddamn heart is racing like a motherfu-..." he trailed off, wincing.

"Easy," said Lily. "I told you the dose was a little higher than usual. You should be fine in an hour or so and be able to transform in a day or two. Three tops."

"I guess I should add poisoning to the list of charges," he murmured. "And assault. Christ, that's one hell of a kick you got, girl."

"Y'know," began Melinda, taking a step closer. "This all could have been avoided if you, say, hadn't run off the second I started talking."

"Hey, keep yer goddamn distance," said Kyle, his country accent growing thicker.

"No, I won't," said Melinda sharply. "We tried doing this the nice way." Her tone grew even harsher. "Did I threaten you? Was I hostile in any way? All I tried to do was engage you in a conversation and then you ran off and transformed in the middle of the day in the middle of the town where one inconvenient person with a phone or camera could make the situation even worse than it already is." She paused. "Please don't tell me you make a habit of transforming in the middle of town."

"What? No?"

"Then you're not a complete idiot," said Melinda. "I'll ask you again. Why did you run?"

"I-I'm sorry, alright?" blurted the man, half-apologetically half-angrily. "I should have called you as soon as I figured it out."

"Called us?" said Melinda, nonplussed.

"It would have been just, well, really awkward and it's not like you would have believed me until after the fact," he continued. "I don't know what else I can tell you. I mean, I've only been a werewolf for a couple of months."

Melinda and Lily stared at him.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" said Kyle. Then, he cocked his head. "Wait a sec. Just how old are you gals?"

"Senior and junior in high school," said Melinda.

Kyle's eyes widened in horror. Then, his expression slowly changed to a perplexed frown.

"Hang on...unless you slipped past Micah you shouldn't have been able to get into the bar," he said. "And I know I didn't meet you gals at the gym."

"We don't even live here," said Melinda, bewildered. "What the hell are you talking ab..." She trailed as she considered what he had said. She silently mouthed his words. Then, dire realization dawned.

"Oh, no," she groaned, cupping her mouth as the implications of what he had done became clear. "No, no, no...you didn't!"

"It's not what you think!" said Kyle hurriedly.

"You goddamn moron!"

"Okay, I'm totally lost here," said Lily uncomfortably.

"Isn't it obvious?" growled Melinda. "He's been going around converting women into werewolves!"

"What?" gasped Lily.

"I wasn't doing it on purpose!" shouted Kyle. "Hell, if I had known I would have definitely worn a rubber!"

Almost ten seconds of awkward, stilted silence followed, broken only by the muffled sound of a vacuum cleaner being used in a neighboring room.

"A...rubber," said Lily slowly.

Kyle nodded.

"You weren't biting anybody," said Melinda.

"Wha? Why the hell would I..." Kyle looked somewhat offended. "Look, sometimes I get a little rough, 'specially after I went all furry and stuff, but I nev-"

"You were having sex with women and it changed them into werewolves?" breathed Lily.

Kyle didn't say anything.

"Well, did y-"

"I did, alright?" he snapped. "And I guess it did!"

There was a pause. Then, Lily chuckled. There was no humor behind it.

"Are you sure you didn't bite them at any point?" probed Melinda, almost desperately. "Even a nip? A claw?"

"I am one-hundred-per-cent sure," said Kyle, pronouncing every syllable. "You don't think I didn't take that into consideration? Hell, I've heard the stories so I took precautions. I didn't even go dow-"

"But you didn't think fucking them would have the same effect?" growled Melinda in a deep voice, eyes flaring yellow.

"H-Hold on, Melinda," said Lily. "To be fair, we didn't actually know that...you know, it would transform someone." She paused. "I mean, yeah, some of us have done it, but it's always been werewolf-on-werewolf."

"Yeah, but we've always suspected it would," said Melinda, glaring back at her. "That's why we made that rule." She paused. "Jesus, I can't believe we're talking about this," she said, some of the anger leaving her voice.

"You gals didn't know either?" said Kyle, surprised. He sneered. "Your werewolf momma and poppa never teach you about the birds and bees?"

Melinda turned back to Kyle. Her lips tightened. Her nostrils flared. Suddenly, she smiled.

"You know," she began. "I'd drop that attitude if I were you." Melinda walked around to the side of the bed. Kyle watched her warily. "Thing is...you aren't a member of our clan - any clan." She paused. "You're a...stray. A mistake. Clanless. And you've gone around converting people into lycanthropes without permission. That's a big no-no for any werewolf, let alone a clanless. Ignorance isn't a defense, by the way."

"What?" said Kyle.

"Huh?" said Lily.

"It's nothing personal, really," continued Melinda, leaning closer to Kyle, who was looking increasingly uncomfortable. "But it's the only way we've been able to stay hidden all these centuries. You weren't raised as one of us. You'll never truly be able to control your powers. You don't know our laws, our customs...you never took the Moonlight Oath. You're a danger to us and humanity."

"W-What are you going on about?" croaked Kyle.

"Oh...oh! Uh, Melinda, maybe we should take him to the...Clan Elders," said Lily, finally catching on.

"Why bother?" said Melinda, shrugging. "We both know what they'll do to him. Might as well take care of it ourselves, here and now. Hell, it's almost more merciful this way."

"Ya'll talking about killing me?" cried Kyle.

"Sorry," said Melinda, shaking her head. "Like I said - it's nothing personal. Rules are rules." She stepped back and folded her arms. "So, what'll be? Wolf's Bane overdose? Silver spike through the heart?"

"No no no!" said Kyle frantically. "You can't just...I got rights! You can't-"

"Seriously?" said Melinda, rolling her eyes. "You think human laws apply here? A lot of cops work for us. How else did you think we heard about all the sightings around here? We'll put in a few words and any investigation into your disappearance will be buried."

Kyle opened his mouth.

"Unless..." said Melinda before he could speak "You can give us something - the names and contact information of every person you've slept with since becoming a lycanthrope, for one thing. We don't have to bring this to the Elders and, well, to tell the truth, the rules are more...guidelines."

"Sure, sure!" said Kyle eagerly. Then, he hesitated. "You...you ain't going to do anything to 'em, are you?"

"Oh, now you're worried about them," said Melinda icily. "We also want to know who converted you while we're at it."

"Converted me?"

"As in converted you into a werewolf," said Melinda impatiently. "As in whoever bit, scratched or, well, banged you and turned you into a werewolf."

Kyle looked nonplussed. "Uh, nobody. Nobody converted me."

Melinda rolled her eyes and made a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a snarl.

"Yeah, that's a lie, Kyle," she said. "I'm getting tired of this shit and you really, really don't want to piss me off any more than you already have."

"I ain't lying! Nobody bit me or scratched me or...or banged me," protested Kyle.

"So, what, you just changed into a werewolf one full moon night?" said Melinda. "No midnight encounter with a wild animal, no illicit liaison with some strange woman with more body hair than usual? You just became a werewolf - no reason, no explanation?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened," said Kyle resentfully.

Melinda scowled and stared into his eyes, searching his expression for some hint of deception or malfeasance. He met her gaze, albeit with a twitch of fear. Seconds ticked by. Then, Melinda backed away.

"That's...impossible," she said, her tone shifting from that of anger to uncertainty.

Lily cleared her throat.

"Kyle, why don't you go over everything leading up to your first transformation? Anything weird happen? Anything at all?"

Kyle's brow furrowed in the effort of recollection.

"Uh, yeah," he said. "I felt a little sick and...I dunno, testy a few days leading up to it. But I figured I was still recovering from the accident."

"Well, that's pretty standard," said Lily.

"Hang on...accident?" said Melinda.

"Yeah, some asshole rammed into me when I was on my bike," snorted Kyle. "They turned right without checking their blind spot. Busted my ribs and gave me a nasty cut on my right leg when the chain wheel came off." He shook his head. "Sonuvabitch drove off and the cops never caught him."

"But nothing ever bit or scratched you?" asked Melinda.

"Uh, nope," said Kyle. "I mean, I was out of it for a few hours and they put me on some wicked strong painkillers at the hospital so my memory's kind of fuzzy. Maybe something chomped me when I was asleep? Guess it's possible."

"How long were you in the hospital?" asked Lily.

"Uh, not too long," said Kyle. "The doctors said I bounced back pretty quick. They wanted me to stay a few days longer but I needed to get back to work. Felt fine after a day or two, really."

"What do you do?"

"I work at a bike shop - repairs, upgrades, sales, that kind of thing."

Melinda and Lily exchanged looks.

"What are you thinking, Melinda?" said Lily eventually, addressing Melinda.

"If I had to guess, someone did bite him while he was unconscious," said Melinda slowly. "Maybe at the hospital? Maybe at the scene of the accident." She wagged a finger. "Yeah, maybe that's it. The accident was actually a lot worse and someone turned him into a werewolf to save his life." She looked at Kyle. "You said it was a hit-and-run? Maybe the driver was the werewolf."

"No," said Kyle, shaking his head. "I remember the asshole driving off."

"Well, someone changed you," said Melinda. "It's not...hereditary or anything. You don't go through a second puberty and turn werewolf. Nearly a hundred percent sure on that."

"Maybe it was someone working at the hospital," suggested Lily.

"Jeez, I hope not," muttered Melinda. "Some worker or doctor or nurse there, changing patients at random..."

"They might be doing it to save lives," pointed out Lily. "You said so yourself. It...kinda makes sense."

"Yeah but..." Melinda sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You know what? It's just speculation at this point. Let's deal with the immediate problem - the women this sleaze-bag slept with since changing." She nodded at Kyle. "Alright. For starters, how many are we talking about?"

Kyle hesitated.

"Uh, three....no, four. Maybe four."

"Maybe four?"

"Well, you know what it's like," said Kyle, grinning sheepishly.

"No, I don't," said Melinda coldly. "And don't take that as an invitation to tell me." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "Who was the first?"

"Uhhhh...some blonde chick at the Stationhouse...I wanna say Cindy? I uh, I was there after hitting the gym, we got to talking and, well," he grinned. "Things got pretty hot and heavy. We ducked out and headed over to her place and, well, you kno-...we did the deed."

"Since you aren't entirely sure what her name is I'm guessing you don't have her number," said Melinda.

"Yeah. Wait. No! I got her number," said Kyle. "I even gave her a call, texted her. She just never called back. Went dark. I figured she figured it was just a hook-up and I was fine with that."

"Great," said Melinda. "That's not ominous or anything. You're saying she went missing?"

"No! I mean, I haven't seen her at the bar again and, well..." Kyle stopped. "I suppose she...well, I haven't heard anything on the news, so-"

"Nice," said Melinda sardonically. "At least you have her number and address. We have somewhere to start. Lily?"

"Yeah, I know," said Lily, taking a pen and small notebook out of her denim jacket. "Okay, so, possibly Cindy is girl number one. Number? Address?"

Kyle recited both.

"Seriously though," he added. "What are ya'll going to do to those girls?"

Lily glanced at Melinda, who hesitated for a second or two before responding.

"It...depends," she said. "If they haven't committed any crimes after transforming we'll...look into having a local clan adopting them. Now, who was girl number two?"

"Siya," replied Kyle. "College girl. I actually knew her from grade school. She goes to UM but still lives in town - looking after grandparents or something. Indian chick. As in, her parents came from India," he clarified.

"Siya with an 's?'" said Lily, writing this down.

"Yeah. We met at the same bar. Got to talking. Her roommate wanted to go home with another guy, she invited me over, one thing lead to another and..." he shrugged.

"Have you heard from her since?" asked Melinda as Lily continued writing.

"I called her back a few days after," said Kyle. "Wanted to see if she wanted to go on a date or something but she blew me off. Seemed kinda moody. Haven't heard a peep from her since."

"Fun fact," said Melinda. "A person tends to be very...emotionally unstable before their first transformation. Give Lily her number and address."

"Oh, uh, it's on my phone," he said, motioning down at his torn pants.

Lily knelt, dug through the pockets and eventually retrieved a worn, slim phone with a long crack running along the side. She rose and gestured at the image of a lock on the screen.

"The password is 1, 2, 3 and 8," said Kyle.

"Okay, that's girl number two," said Melinda as Lily tapped away on the phone. "Girl number three?"

"Now, this gal I met at the gym" said Kyle. He had shifted to an almost conversational tone. "Sweet gal. We went out to Huskers on a date. Fooled around a bit but nothing serious. Couple nights later on our second date she, uh," he chuckled. "Man, let's just say the quiet ones are the wildest in bed."

"Jesus, you sure you didn't transform into a were-pig?" said Melinda, shaking her head. "Please tell me you know her name."

"Of course," said Kyle. "Kasmira. Number's on the phone along with Sira's."

"Found it," said Lily, raising his phone.

"So, that's three girls," said Melinda. She narrowed her eyes. "You said you changed into a werewolf a few months back?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you give us an exact date?"

"Uh, January 15th...no, January 16th."

"That makes it just under three months," said Melinda after a quick mental calculation. "So, at least three girls in just under the same number of months." She whistled. "You're quite the player, Kyle."

"Hey, nothing wrong with it," said Kyle, sounding mildly offended. "I never mistreated those gals or lied to them. They knew what they were getting into."

"Except they didn't," said Melinda furiously. She turned around and took a few steps away from Kyle. Her hands had curled into fists.  Lily watched her warily.

"There's one thing I don't get," said Melinda, still facing the door. "A werewolf instinctively knows when another person is a werewolf by scent. Even if you've never met another werewolf before, you'd at least suspect something." She turned back around. "So unless you literally left the morning after and there's a delay before the transformation starts after sex, the women you slept with should have smelled like werewolves." She paused. "You never saw this Cindy or Siya afterwards but what about Kasmira?"

Kyle said nothing. He was gazing down at the bed.

"Kyle..." growled Melinda.

"We went on a third date," he said quietly. "I, uh, she smelled kinda funny and, well, I thought it was just my imagination-"

"No, you knew," said Melinda angrily, marching back into the bedroom. "Stop trying to lie to us when we already know the truth. You basically admitted you knew what was happening when I chased you down outside the butcher shop."

"Okay, fine!" snapped Kyle, sitting up in bed. He winced from the pain but continued in a strained voice. "That's when I figured it out. I got scared, alright? I had no idea how to tell her or any of the other gals. I mean...what was I going to say? 'I slept with you and now you're a werewolf?' I sort of...cut things off with her afterwards. Maybe that makes me a bad person." He shrank a little under Melinda and Lily's accusing stares but pressed on. "Listen, it ain't like this is AIDS or the clap. Turning into a werewolf has been the best goddamn thing that's ever happened to me. I'm stronger, tougher, better looking, hell, I feelbetter. I was this close to losing my job before the accident. Now I'm pretty sure my boss is giving me a raise next month."

"Your boss gave you a raise because you're a werewolf?" said Melinda dryly.

"He gave me a raise because I started busting my ass for him and finally got the confidence to ask him for one," said Kyle. "The point is I wouldn't be surprised if their lives are suddenly kicking ass too."

"That's a selfish answer, Kyle," said Melinda through gritted teeth. "And for the record, no, becoming a werewolf doesn't always fix your life. Sometimes it makes it worse. Trust me, I know. And the fact you didn't even make an effort to contact these women...no, avoided them, it makes you a coward."

Kyle's lips tightened. He swallowed and looked away. Melinda's gaze did not waiver. Then, Lily quietly placed the phone down and nodded at Melinda.

"I got their information," she said. "I think we're good."

"Except for the possible fourth girl," said Melinda. "Well Kyle? Is three or four? Or possibly more? Given your record on telling the truth I wouldn't be surprised."

"I'm honestly not sure, okay?" said Kyle in a cracked voice. "I did stop seeing gals after I figured out I was changing 'em." He frowned. "It's just...one night - not too long ago in fact - I go to the Stationhouse. I'm feeling kinda antsy 'cause the full moon is coming up. I tie a few down - I know it doesn't give me much of a buzz anymore but I still like the taste - and this girl starts coming onto me. I mean, I try to push back but, well, she's pretty damn thirsty and I'm pretty damn horny too. We start making out in an alley behind the bar and things start happening..." he hesitated. "Without going into any of the gory details...I didn't make it to home but, well, I was way past third base. Then the back door to the bar opens up all of a sudden and spooks us. I sort of come to my senses and tell her we gotta stop." He paused. "She freaked out afterwards - like she was coming to her senses too. And no, I didn't catch her name or get her number. She was tall - almost as tall as me - brunette, bit on the skinny side but had a great as-..." he stopped, seeing the look in Melinda's eyes. "She had...nice curves," he finished glumly.

"Fantastic," said Melinda in a tone that indicated she felt it was anything but. "You got all that, Lily?"

"Yeah," said Lily. She shut the notebook and pocketed it. "Though, uh, maybe we should get all the gory details," she grinned.

Melinda stared at her.

"I'm serious, Melinda," said Lily earnestly. "Every detail could be important."

"Fair enough," said Melinda with a sigh.

* * *

"I feel like I need a chemical shower," groaned Melinda as she and Lily made their way along the motel walkway.

"Lighten up, Melinda," said Lily. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yes, it was."

"Oh God, you're such a prude," said Lily, shaking her head.

"I'm no prude," said Melinda irritably. "I just don't like sleazebags who treat women like disposable sex toys."

"Yeah, he's a sleazebag," agreed Lily. "Y'know, he's not too bad looking, but unless he's a lot more charming when he's trying to pick up women I wouldn't rate him too highly in the personality department."

"Yet he's picked up at least one woman per month," said Melinda. "His life after being converted reads like a bad porno."

"What are we really going to do about him?" asked Lily, suddenly serious. "He's not some high schooler. He doesn't even live in Pinebrook."

"One probably unsolvable problem at a time," said Melinda wearily. "Let's focus on containing the damage first by tracking down these women. With any luck they had better sense than our friend back there and haven't converted anyone else."

"Who should we talk to first?"