S. Yule: Lycan It

One day, while Sherry had sat munching on one of Janine’s latest creations, she’d said, “Janine, you could make a fortune selling these. These are the most heavenly cupcakes I’ve ever eaten.”

That one simple statement had given birth to an idea that had led her to her dream job. She’d made a small menu and began taking orders for cupcakes on the weekends. Within a year, Janine had retained so many loyal customers, she’d been able to quit her word processing job and work from home full time. She’d hired Sherry to help her out with orders and deliveries, and she’d never been so happy in her life. That was until two years ago when the accident had happened.

Janine, Sherry and their parents had been driving to a family dinner one evening when a tired trucker had fallen asleep behind the wheel and hit them head on. Her mother and father had been killed instantly. Sherry had been lucky and had only sustained a few cracked bones, cuts, and bruises. Janine hadn’t been as lucky as Sherry. Her leg had been crushed, and the doctors had thought she might even lose it for a long time. It had taken her months of physical therapy to get back on her feet, and now she had a pronounced limp that, every day, served as a much hated reminder of that night.

She’d never be able to forget something like that even if she didn’t have a limp, but at least if she didn’t, at the very least, the memories could fade to the back of her mind. The damned limp was a nuisance, and she was certain it caused Sherry to think about that night more often than she might, as well.

She’d seen Sherry staring at her with that vacant, haunted look as she’d hobbled around the kitchen on more than one occasion.

“Hi, Janine!”

Janine jumped a little, so deep in her thoughts that Sherry startled her.

Janine greeted her sister with a smile. “Hi, squirt. We’ve got several deliveries today. You up for it?”

“Of course. When haven’t I been?” Sherry hopped up on a stool sitting at the long granite counter where most of the baking preparation took place.

“Hey, I need to talk to you.”

Sherry frowned. “Uh oh. That sounds serious.”

Sherry was always bubbly and full of energy, but she was also six years younger than Janine’s thirty-one. Janine had no delusions in thinking thirty-one was old by any means, but at times, thirty-one felt old in comparison to twenty-five.

“No. Nothing serious. I was just thinking of taking a vacation and closing up shop for a few weeks.” Janine held her breath waiting for Sherry’s reaction.

Sherry’s pretty brown eyes widened, and a huge grin broke over her lovely face. “Oh! That is wonderful!” Sherry jumped off the stool and tackled Janine with a huge hug. “You’ve been talking about going on a trip for years.

You deserve it.”

Janine hugged her sister back. She hadn’t actually thought Sherry would be upset about her decision to take a vacation, but Sherry had had problems being alone since the accident. As selfish as it might make her sound, she’d needed to take this trip on her own. She hadn’t had time to herself for ages, and she wanted to reconnect with herself, so to speak. It was time to do so, and time to come to terms with the accident and move on with her life once and for all.

“Thanks, Sher.”

“Where are you going?” Sherry asked as she danced on the balls of her feet. “I’m so excited.”

Janine had a feeling her sister wouldn’t be as excited if she hadn’t recently acquired a new boyfriend. Mark was a nice guy, but Janine wasn’t sure he was a keeper, not that there was anything wrong with him. He just seemed to lack the same level of enthusiasm Sherry had for, well, just about everything.

“I’m renting a cabin up north. It has nature trails, a lake I can swim in, and is close to a small town that has specialty shops.” She figured Sherry wouldn’t think much of such a simple trip. If Sherry ever took a trip, it would probably be to some far-off, exotic place.

Janine was much plainer than Sherry. She didn’t want to go to flashy parties or concerts and hang with hundreds of strange people she didn’t know. She liked people well enough, but she liked being alone. She liked sitting outside, snuggled under a blanket on a crisp evening while reading a book or gazing at the twinkling stars. She loved nature, always had. That was the only downfall to her business. She was indoors way too much.

Sherry wrinkled her nose. “Well, that definitely wouldn’t be for me, but sounds perfect for you, sis. When do you go?”

“Saturday. I’ll be gone for three weeks. I know it’s a long time to close up shop, but . . .”

“No. You deserve it, Janine. You’ve worked your tail off since the accident, and haven’t had one single minute to yourself. Everyone will understand.”

Janine frowned at Sherry. “You really think so?”

“Definitely.”

Will you be okay?” Janine watched Sherry for any sign of discomfort at her quickly approaching, somewhat lengthy absence.

“Of course, silly. Mark will keep me company.” Sherry smiled reassuringly.

“I’ll have my cell if you need me.” She was glad Sherry wasn’t upset about her being away for so long.

“Don’t worry about me, Janine. I’ll be fine. You want me to do anything here?”

“No. I want you to enjoy the time off, and be ready to work your tail off when I get back.” She’d never closed up for more than a couple of days for holidays here and there, and orders had been backed up on those occasions.

She could only imagine the backlog of orders she’d walk into after three weeks. It would be so worth it though.

“Yeah, everyone is going to go crazy without your cupcakes for three weeks. We’re going to be swamped when you get back.”

Janine nodded. “I know, but that’s good. You know, job security and all.

Speaking of which, we need to get going so we can get all of today’s orders done.”

“Yes, boss.” Sherry gave Janine a mock salute and both the girls laughed before getting to work.

Raze had been chained to the wall for a week. He’d barely been given enough food and water to sustain him, he was naked and in bad need of a shower. The den consisted of a conglomeration of cabins scattered throughout the hundreds of acres of wooded land located in a remote part of northern Wisconsin. The cave where he was being held, secluded from the rest of the pack, was only one of many.

He hadn’t been unhappy about the seclusion, but the longer he’d sat, chained and alone with his thoughts, the stronger his urge became to kill Damon. He had completely healed from the injuries inflicted upon him by the pack, but he was weak from dehydration and hunger. A lycan needed a lot of calories to sustain an unusually high metabolism that was a result, in part, by a body temperature that constantly ran on the hot side.

Raze tensed when he heard footsteps, and Damon appeared in the mouth of the cave. “You’re punishment takes place tonight. I will send four of the pack soon to take you to bathe. I would suggest that you give them no trouble, or things can, and will, be made worse for all involved later.”

Raze had nothing to say to the fucker and curled his lip in reply. His muscles had tensed instinctively, ready for fight, and only when he could no longer hear Damon’s retreating footsteps did he allow them to relax. What the hell had he meant by all involved ? He felt as if he’d swallowed a brick and it had lodged in the pit of his gut. The sickening lump told him that tonight was going to be much worse than he had expected.

Janine had gotten up bright and early, thrown her bags in her Jeep, and hit the road. It would take her six hours to get to the cabin she’d be vacationing at, and she’d been eager to get on her way. But five hours of driving later had zapped a bit of that eagerness from her, and her leg had begun aching, which wasn’t unusual when she’d been sitting for so long.