Haitian Loup Garou Tales

"Oh I knew you were following me, it's a little game I play," I replied nonchalantly and winked at Larisa. The cocky grin on her lovely face told me that she wasn't buying what I told her, but I've always been the kind of dude who presses his luck. I wanted to get to know this cutie a bit better. For starters, I wanted, no, needed to know about our kind out here in Florida.

"You talk a lot of shit, Stephen, watch your back," Larisa said, before walking away. I watched her until she turned a corner and disappeared from view. I followed and saw that she'd gone back to the computer area. This woman's got one hell of a booty, I thought to myself. I was still grinning at the thought of Larisa's ass in them shorts when I sensed something else...

"Hey, hombre, can I help you?" came a masculine voice, and I watched as a tall, muscular dude with dark bronze skin and a shaved head walked up to me. He simply appeared from behind a stack of books and came at me. No need for my ultra-senses to tell that he was a Loup Garou. Dude was angry, and it caused his brown eyes to glow a bit...

"I don't think so," I replied, and as Baldy came near, I seized him up. When you're a male Loup Garou, those dick measuring contests are a fact of life. A lot of us get hurt and killed that way. With an attractive female of breeding age around, lots of Loup Garou males go into rut. They become more aggressive, and try to impress the ladies. Unfortunately, this means taking out potential rival males...

"Yo, I'm Enrique, and Larisa's with me," Baldy said, and he sniffed the air, glaring at me ominously. I looked at the fool, wondering if he was stupid enough to come at me in such a public place. If he attacks me, I'll defend myself and I might morph. Wouldn't that be great? Any Loup Garou who exposes the rest of our species to the humans due to stupidity will get killed. It's that simple...

"I see," I replied, and apparently that wasn't a good enough answer, for Baldy/Enrique lunged at me. I narrowly avoided getting decked in the face, and ducked under the blow. Resisting the urge to morph, I pounced on the overly aggressive bozo remembering a technique that my father Francois Jean taught me...

"Frigging bitch-ass move," Baldy/Enrique yelped, after I kicked him in the groin, and then dropped his ass with a punch to the temple. A Loup Garou's bones are much stronger than those of a human, and our skulls are the hardest parts of our bodies. Without a doubt, Baldy/Enrique felt my head punch but it wasn't half as debilitating as the kick to his nuts. The bozo landed on his ass, and looked at me with murder in his eyes...

"Fighting fair is boring as fuck," I replied, looking down at Baldy. I'll never understand why anyone, human or otherwise, sticks to the idea of fairness in battle. If you want to win, you do whatever it takes. Ask the Greeks and the Trojans. Ask the Cowboys and the Indians. Me? I'm a nerdy/intellectual type. I love my comic books and video games. I'm usually peaceful. Come at me and I'll tear you to pieces without hesitation or mercy.

"Enough," Larisa said angrily, as she surged between us, her eyes blazing with cold fury as she glared at me warningly. This was the look of a Loup Garou female ready to kill and die for her mate. I looked at Larisa, then at Enrique. Whatever, I thought to myself. The females of my species always choose losers over me. First my sister Hannah and my other Helene sided with that fool Mitchell, and now this lovely stranger Larisa apparently has feelings for Enrique...

"I don't want anything to do with either of you," I said with a shrug as I walked away. Larisa helped Enrique to his feet, her eyes never leaving mine. This wasn't over by a long shot. I hurried out of the Miami-Dade Public Library. I didn't know Jack about local Loup Garou politics. One thing for sure, where there are a couple of us, there's bound to be more. I didn't want to stick around and have to fight the rest of whatever Pack these two happened to be part of...

I'm off to a great start, aren't I? I'm new to Miami, Florida, and I'm barely getting by with my job as a security guard. I have plans to go back to school, but like a lot of things in my life, that's up in the air right now. I constantly think of my old life in Quartier Morin, Haiti. I think about my late father Francois Jean, and my mother Helene and my sister Hannah. I still can't believe they're in league with Mitchell. Oh, and I haven't made any friends in my new digs.

After leaving the library, I went to grab a bite at Piman Bouk Restaurant, a Haitian joint located some distance from where I live. Why go so far when I literally live above a restaurant? Oh, it's simple, ladies and gentlemen. I wanted to clear my head. Also, I wanted to put some distance between the Miami-Dade Public Library and myself in case Enrique and Larisa's friends decided to follow me. Loup Garou always function as a Pack, never forget that...

"Why so blue, ayisyen?" said Sandra Antoine, daughter of the owners at Piman Bouk, as I sat down pensively at my usual seat by the window. Sandra is around five-foot-eight, curvy and lovely, with skin of a rich mahogany hue. Decked out in a flowery green and white summer dress, Sandra looked mighty fine. I'd almost forgotten how lovely my Haitian sisters could be...

"La vi ya komplike, life is complicated," I replied, smiling at Sandra. I could tell that Sandra was feeling me. Truth be told, I thought she was fine as hell. I just didn't have room in my life for anyone, especially a mortal. Sandra grabbed the seat opposite me and looked into my eyes, a coy smile on his face.

"Life is always complicated, handsome, just focus on what matters," Sandra said, and I nodded in approval. We bantered for a bit, and then she excused herself to go get my command. When Sandra returned with my plate of white rice, brown bean sauce, Pikliz spice, fried plantain and goat meat, I was all smiles. The lady had clearly outdone herself, to say the least...

"Merci beaucoup, mademoiselle," I told Sandra, and as I ate my meal, I found myself thinking about what the lady said. Sometimes I focus so much on the future, on what I want to get done, that I forget to embrace the present. What's my past? You know it already. What is my future? Nobody knows. What is my present? I make it up as I go along, just like you...

"Sandra, would you like to chill sometime?" I asked her, after finishing my meal. I looked into her eyes as I spoke. Sandra's body language told me all I needed to know. The pupils widened. The body leaned toward me. The lips quivered, then went still. The pulse quickened. The tongue slid out from between the licks, licked them and went back inside, to be replaced by a coy smile...

"Hmm, I'll think about it," Sandra said, and then she told me her digits, which I punched into my beat-up old Blackberry phone. I walked out of the restaurant with a smile on my face. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you close the deal. I could feel Sandra's eyes on me as I left. No need for a Loup Garou's hyper senses to tell that she was feeling me. Like all females, though, Sandra needed to feel like she had the upper hand, and I let her think she had it...

I was still patting myself on the back for that little ditty when they came. Who are they? Oh, just Enrique, and a couple of tall, lanky Latino guys who were definitely more than they seemed. They approached me as I stepped through a side street, on my way out of the restaurant. It's funny how in Miami, the streets can go from loud and crowded to dead silent and empty in a frigging blink...

"Want some more?" I taunted Enrique, who stood between his buddies, a smirk on his face. Given the fact that I was outnumbered, and on someone else's turf, those words of mine were ill-chosen. I didn't give a fuck. The trio looked at me, and their eyes turned yellow even as their teeth elongated and sharpened. Even partially transformed, Loup Garou are vicious and much stronger and faster than anything human. How am I going to get out of this pickle?

"You're gonna die today, you little Haitian dog," Enrique spat, and he and his goons came for me. I really do wish my kind were more civilized, more decent, and less vicious. Unfortunately, we Loup Garou ride the fence between man and wolf, the most vicious species on the planet Earth. There's absolutely no changing the fact that at the end of the day, we're predators through and true...

"Shut up, pendejo," I replied, and that's when Enrique and company pounced on me. Fortunately, I did them one better and transformed all the way. One fully transformed Loup Garou versus three partially transformed enhanced humans. I tore into them with a speed and ferocity that startled them. I was playing for keeps. They wanted to kick my ass, maybe torture me a bit. I wanted to crush them, and so I did...

I don't fight fair, but I also don't kill people needlessly. I left Enrique and his goons alive...but not well. Walking away, I felt a bit winded but great. So far, my journey in Florida is off to a decent start. I kicked some ass, got a cute gal's number, and proved to myself that I can handle whatever life throws my way. Sure, Eurique, Larisa and their goons are going to keep coming but that's alright. I'm here for a reason. I will find a mate, and conquer this harsh but beautiful land. I'll have my own Pack. And I'll take out whoever gets in my way. Peace.