Werepanther: Paranormal Hunter 2 Chapter 3

“Okay, guys,” I said as I held out my paws. “I’ll try to explain everything to you, but I’m not even sure I know everything that’s going on right now.”

“Well, I just found out my new boss is really a giant man-panther,” Paul said with a shrug. “And I almost got torn apart by a giant silver dog and a buncha dudes who shot moonlight outta their hands. I think I’m ready to believe just about anything right now.”

“Let me just change back first,” I said as I lightly touched my broken snout, which sent a wave of pain all the way through my face. “I kinda took a lot of damage in the fight.”

“Oh, shit, boss…” Tony gasped. “Do-- do we need to call an ambulance or something?”

“He will be fine,” Ada said in one of her purring tones. “Though it would be lovely if somebody could go and find him a pair of fresh clothes. I bought him some and left them in Neiman Marcus bags in the main office…”

“Uh, sure,” Tony said, and then he ran off to grab them.

My fur had been matted by both my own blood and the blood of my enemies, and I could feel the warm liquid as it continued to ooze out of my wounds. I needed to turn back soon, mainly because I didn’t know how long I had before I’d bleed out.

“Easy there, Carter…” Janine said as she stepped forward and placed her hand on my chest. “It’s safe now. There aren’t any more OLG members or crazy monsters around to hurt us.”

The woman’s gentle touch seemed to quell the beast inside of me, and I felt my heart rate slow down to a snail’s pace. Then, as I looked deeply into the silky, chocolate eyes behind her brimmed glasses, I realized she was telling the truth. Janine and the rest of my friends were safe, and the werepanther inside of me was no longer needed.

Soon, I felt the fur on my body start to thin out, and my arms and legs began to shrink back to their normal proportions. My teeth dulled themselves out as my ears and nose returned to their original size, all while the open wounds on my body sutured themselves shut. Within seconds, I was in my human form again. Every wound on my body had been healed, and I didn’t even feel a lick of pain from the beating I’d taken.

“Sorry about the underwear,” I chuckled as I looked down at the skin-tight spandex shorts I wore. “Trust me, it’s better than the alternative.”

“I don’t know about that,” Ada purred. “I’m loving what I see. Then again, I’ve seen it all before. Janine has, too. Right Janine? You love seeing the sight of Carter’s giant, girthy manhood through his shorts, don’t you? It makes you alllll hot and bothered.”

“N-No,” Janine argued as her cheeks flared red. “I mean… Yes, it is nice to look at. But now’s not the time to say that out loud! You really need to work on your social skills, Ada.”

“I’m the owner of one of the hottest nightclubs in town, love,” Ada said. “My social skills are surely top-notch.”

“Is this how you kids talk these days?” Paul scoffed. “Ya know, when I was younger, you’d get your ass fined by the FCC for even saying the word ‘sex’ on TV, and you could get fired for your job for talking about shit like that. Now, you guys are all just walking around, flaunting your stuff for everyone to see.”

“Come now, Paul.” Ada rolled her eyes. “You know you’d have loved it if the women of your day all walked around in these sorts of clothes.”

“Well, duh,” the old man snorted. “I’m just bitter I’m not thirty years younger. I ain’t the hot commodity I once was.”

“So, there’s no Missus Paul, then?” Janine asked.

“Not for a long time, sweetie,” Paul said. “Not since, oh… Nineteen ninety-six?”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said with a somber frown.

“I ain’t.” Paul grinned. “That’s the whole reason we got divorced!”

Just then, Tony returned with a garment bag slung over his shoulder.

“Is this the one, Ada?” the bouncer asked as he held it out for the succubus to see.

“That would be it!” Ada clapped her hands together. “Try it on, Carter.”

I snatched the black garment bag from Tony and then held it up with one hand while I unzipped it with the other. As soon as I saw what was inside, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“Seriously, Ada?” I asked. “This seems like it might be a little much…”

“I’m dead serious,” the succubus said with a sly grin.

“What is it?” Janine asked. “Another oversized hockey jersey?”

“It’s a gray three-piece suit,” I sighed. “Complete with a black tie and a white button-up dress shirt.”

The curious look on Janine’s face instantly faded, and her cheeks turned a deep maroon color. This was the same type of outfit Ada told me I wore in her little fantasy of me being a businessman in a three-piece suit, the same fantasy where I banged Janine and Ada at the same time. Ada was all for making it become a reality, though Janine was so shy she just seemed embarrassed by the whole thing.

“Putitonputitonputiton!” Ada demanded with a joyous chirp.

I really didn’t have much of a choice, so I obliged and pulled out the pants first, which were made out of a sleek, shiny fabric that felt as soft as cotton to the touch. The pants slid on without much effort, and they fit me perfectly around the waist and with their length.

Next, I tossed on the soft, white dress shirt. It fell over my body like a cool blanket, with a bit of snuggness around the shoulders and my muscles. Otherwise, it buttoned up perfectly, and I quickly shrugged on the gray suit coat to finish out the look.

“Not bad,” I admitted. “Does it come with shoes, though?”

“Of course it does,” Ada giggled. “Look down in the bottom.”

Down at the very bottom of the garment bag was an even smaller, square canvas bag with a zipper. I pulled out the fabric shoe box, unzipped it, and pulled out a pair of pristine black oxford-style shoes that were so shiny, I could see my own reflection in them.

I placed them on the floor, bent over, and slid them onto my feet one-by-one.

“There,” I said as I tossed out my hands. “Do I look like a real business man now?”

“You look like a real somethin,’” Paul chuckled under his breath.

“Carter…” Janine gulped, and her brown eyes were wide behind her glasses. “You look fantastic.”

“Somebody’s getting all hot under the collar,” Ada purred as she touched Janine on the small of the back. “Are you rethinking my offer from a few weeks ago, love?”

“No!” Janine said as she pulled away from the succubus and looked down at the ground.

Even though the archaeology student was adamant about not wanting the three-way fantasy to come true, my heightened senses could pick up her sweet vanilla smelling arousal in the air.

Now wasn’t the time to think about that, though. Tony and Paul needed an explanation, and the longer I waited, the more confused they were going to be.

“So, guys,” I said as I cleared my throat and looked between the two men. “Now that I’m dressed and all these guys are taken care of, I suppose I should explain what’s going on here.”

Paul had shot people for people, so I thought he and Tony at least deserved to know the truth.

“What’s there to explain?” Paul chuckled. “You turn into a giant panther sometimes, and strange magic men are trying to kill you. Seems pretty self-explanatory to me.”

“There’s… much more to it than that,” I said, but I was impressed by how well this old dude rolled with the punches. “You might wanna sit down for this. And Ada? Go lock the door. We really don’t need anybody else accidentally wandering in and seeing this mess.”

“Awwww, why not?” the succubus asked. “It’d drum up some major social media buzz… I can see it now. ‘The killer club that’s become a real ‘jewel’ of the city!’”

I gave her a deadpan look, and she sighed.

“Fine, fine,” she said as she turned and walked toward the entrance.

Once Ada went over and made sure the door was secure, I started on my story. I told Paul and Tony about the first time I transformed, as well as the first time I met Ada and our fight against Div. Of course, Janine was very helpful at filling in all the minute details, such as the history of the Order of the Lunar God and the time we spent researching the origins of my condition, and Ada jumped in with the more “gritty details,” like the killing blow I’d landed on Div. The story took nearly a full hour to tell all the way through, and the two men simply stood there with their jaws on the floor.

“And that’s where we are now,” I said as I finished up. “Those men we just killed were members of the Ordo Lunae Deus, AKA the ones who worship Khonsu, well, religiously.”

“AKA the ones who hate Baast, and any of her creations,” Janine added. “Which would be Carter.”

“This is insane.” Tony shook his head and held up his hands. “You’re telling me I signed a contract to work for a freaking werepanther? One who’s got a buncha crazy monsters trying to kill him?”

“To be fair, Div was a demon, and you also had a contract with him,” I chuckled before I cleared my throat. “But I know how crazy all this shit is. If you wish to break our contract, I’ll gladly let you out of it without any sort of legal repercussions. I’ll even pay the remainder of the year’s salary.”

“No way!” Tony grinned. “I may not have done well in my high school business classes, but I’d have to be a total idiot to reject the kinda dough you’re giving me to do this job.”

“So… You don’t care that I’m a deadly apex predator that can literally smash people’s skulls with my bare hands?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms across my chest.

“Look, bossman,” the bald man continued. “When you treat me as good as you’ve been treating me, you can be whatever the hell you wanna be. I mean, I would like it if you could tell me a little bit more about potential future paranormal threats, since I’m the Chief of Security and all that, but otherwise, I don’t give a shit. Er, excuse my language and no disrespect, of course.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” I smiled at the man with the goatee, and then I looked over at Paul. “What about you, Paul? How are you feeling about this whole thing?”

“Honestly?” The old man shrugged. “People my age tend to think they’ve done everything in life they could do. I don’t think any of them could say they’ve fought cult members and worked for a murderous human kitty cat, though.”

“Soooo…?” I asked as I trailed off. “Is that a ‘yes?’”

“Look, kid,” Paul said, and half a smile twitched across his wrinkled face. “I have no idea what I’m actually getting myself into here, but at least it’ll keep my golden years interesting. Plus, I’m with Tony. If you keep paying me like you do and let me do my sudoku puzzles in the booth, I don’t really give a shit.”

“As long as you keep your Desert Eagle loaded,” I retorted with a smirk. “It might come in handy if any other baddies come looking for me.”

“They surely will,” Ada said, and then she placed her right hand on her hip. “As you kill more and more paranormal creatures and grow your empire, the word will get out. Right now, your reputation is only known to the greater Cincinnati area… Or perhaps the general state of Ohio. Eventually, though, you will see entities coming in from all around the world. Entities who wish to challenge you for the title of ‘most powerful being.’”

“That sounds like a blast,” I sighed.

“Sounds like job security,” Paul said as he rubbed his hands together.

“It is,” Ada purred. “Because, just like Tiangou here, Carter will kill every single one that comes our way. With our help, of course.”

“Of course,” Tony agreed, and he punched a fist into the palm of his hand. “We totally kicked these guys’ asses.”

“We?” Paul asked as he shot the bald man a dirty look. “You were ‘knocked out’ the whole time.”

“I was with you in spirit,” Tony said. “And I promise next time, I’ll be more helpful than I was here. But that’s all gonna come down to how much information you guys can give me about these weirdo creepy-crawlers, and how many resources I get for security purposes.”

“You can have all the resources you need.” Ada shrugged and glanced at her fingernails nonchalantly. “I’m footing the bill, after all.”

“You sure about that?” I asked as I motioned to the destruction around us. “This place was already a money pit before, and now we’re gonna have to spend extra to fix the floors, redo the carpets, patch up the ceiling… And the bar! That fucking hound destroyed our entire bar area.”

“I’ve never been more sure about anything my entire life,” Ada said with a nod. “You may look around and see a rotting, crumbling shithole of a lounge, but I see something completely different.”

“Oh, god,” Janine mumbled. “Is there black mold in here our human eyes can’t see? Is the place cursed by some ancient voodoo witch?”

“Potential, love.” Ada frowned. “I look around and see potential. Because, as shitty as this place looks and as cheap as Div was… Cincy’s Jewel was always a hopping place to be. I don’t mind spending a lot right up front, because I know you’re going to make it all back and then some!”

“Let’s hope so,” I said. “I’ve never run a business before. Hell, I’ve never even been a manager at any of my wage-slave jobs. This is all new to me.”

“Don’t worry, Carter.” Ada patted me on the shoulder. “I think an untrained monkey could make money running this place, as long as he wasn’t actively trying to sabotage it. And that’s without the renovations. Just wait until you see what I’ve got in store for your lounge…”

“Just use your best judgement,” I said as I shook my head. “You know what looks good.”

“I sure do,” the dark-haired succubus purred as she patted my suit jacket. “You look pretty damn dapper in these clothes.”

“Speaking of redesigning,” Paul interjected. “What the fuck are we gonna do with these bodies? I don’t think there’s any contractors out there who would come in and dispose of a buncha corpses. Not without asking a bunch of questions, anyway.”

“Don’t worry about those, Paul,” Ada chuckled. “I’ve got a ‘cleaner’ on speed dial who can handle it.”

“A paranormal lawyer and a body clean-up service?” I whistled.

“What can I say?” The succubus shrugged. “When you’ve been around for as long as I have, you meet a lot of people.”

“Wait…” Tony trailed off as his eyes grew wide, and then he pointed at Ada. “The rumors are true, aren’t they? You’re a succubus! That’s why you have wings and are horny all the time.”

“Sure am!” Ada puffed out her chest proudly and then shot me a wink. “And I’m not horny all the time… Only when I want to get railed by a sexy man wearing a three-piece suit.”

“Huh.” Paul reached up and scratched his shiny head. “Whattya know? Div was always calling you a succubus behind your back, but I figured it was his way of calling you a slut. Not that you were literally a sex-crazed demon.”

“Come on, man,” Tony said with a scoff. “Everybody says Ada is a succubus. That’s like, the worst kept secret in the city.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Tony,” Paul grumbled. “How would anybody know that?”

“Other than the fact she’s been alive since before newspapers were a thing?” Tony mused. “Yet she doesn’t look a day over thirty? Plus the fact Div was always calling her a ‘soul-sucking succubus?’”

“Why the hell would I take that literally?” Paul shrugged. “Fuck me for using my rational thoughts, I guess.”

“If we’re all throwing out our dirty little secrets, then I should share mine, as well,” Janine spoke up. “I’m a Changeling. The unwanted child of two fae parents.”

“Fae?” Tony asked as he scrunched his eyebrows. “What does the woman from Saturday Night Live have to do with any of this?”

“Not Tina Fey.” Paul rolled his eyes. “Fae as in ‘fairies.’ You know, the people with wings that live in the forest and love nature?”

“That’s… actually a major stereotype,” Janine said, and her eyebrows furrowed over her chocolate-colored eyes. “Like, a majorly offensive one.”

“Shit.” Paul gulped. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the redhead said as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’m just surprised you know what a fae is.”

“You shouldn’t be.” The old man smirked. “I think I’ve ready every single fantasy book out there. That’s what happens when you get old and have a job like mine… You start reading shit your younger self never even woulda touched.”

“If you’re a fairy, why don’t you have wings?” Tony asked.

“Because I’m a deformed fairy,” Janine sighed. “Hence why my parents didn’t want me. I just disguise myself as a human so I can fit in with this world.”

“Please,” I said as I ran my fingers through Janine’s hair from behind. “There’s nobody in the world dumb enough to conside you ‘deformed.’”

“Thanks, Carter,” the redhead muttered. “But it’s true. I don’t have wings, nor do I have the beautiful big eyes that most fae have.”

“Your eyes are fine the way they are,” I reassured Janine. “They were one of the first things I noticed about you, actually.”

“Now you’re just trying to suck up to me,” the redhead giggled.

“Sucking up so he can get sucked up,” Ada joked with a wink, and Janine’s face turned red again.

“Come on, Ada,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Can’t you think of anything else for like, two seconds?”

“I don’t think about sex when I’m killing,” the succubus admitted. “That’s about it, though.”

“Why don’t you think about calling your cleaner?” I asked as I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to the dark-haired woman. “That’ll take your mind off the topic for a few minutes, at least.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Ada purred as she took the phone. “When you’re talking to the cleaner, there’s lots of mention of tying up with ropes… Dragging across the floor… Pounding them into a bloody pulp… Yeah, I’m going to call them right now, actually.”

The succubus began to tap away at the keypad on the screen as she walked away, and then she held the phone up to her ear and disappeared around the corner, which left me alone with Janine, Tony, and Paul.

“Not gonna lie,” Tony said with a wide grin. “I think it’s totally badass, working for an alpha predator like you, boss. I mean, sure, I don’t think I’d seek out a werepanther for a boss or anything, but I feel way better than I did working for a sorry ass, low-level, nobody like Div.”

“I feel a lot safer with you in charge.” Paul shrugged. “You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, kid. I don’t think you’ll have as much riff-raff coming through these doors as the last schmuck did. Barring crazy days like this, of course.”

“I’m hoping that won’t be a common occurrence,” I sighed.

“It won’t be, boss,” Tony promised as he tapped his temple with his finger. “Not as long as I’m around. Once you guys fill my brain with all that sweet knowledge of the paranormal? There won’t be a single creature that can get within five hundred feet of the door. Except for you, of course.”

“Janine?” I asked the redhead. “You’re the expert on all this stuff. Would you be willing to help Tony out?”

“Of course,” Janine said with a nod. “But it’s not going to be easy. Do you know how many hours of studying I put into learning everything I know about the paranormal?”

“I don’t care how long it takes, ma’am.” Tony shook his bald head. “As the Chief Security Officer of Cincy’s Jewel, I’ll do whatever I can to make sure this place is safe.”

“Now that’s what I like to hear.” I smiled at the goateed man. “You can start on all that tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” Tony repeated with a frown. “I wanted to start now, boss.”

“No way, no how,” I retorted. “I was going to give you the rest of the day off, remember? Now that you’ve survived your first OLG attack, I think you need it more than ever.”

“Don’t you want any help with the bodies?” Paul raised an eyebrow in my direction. “It’s gonna take some work to get ‘em outta here before they start smelling up the place.”

“We’ll let Ada’s guy take care of it,” I reassured them both with a wave of my hand. “You guys just get home and get some rest.”

“And maybe stop by a hospital on the way?” Janine suggested. “You both took a moon beam straight to the chest. I wouldn’t be surprised if something inside you was broken.”

“I feel fine,” Tony admitted. “There’s a little bit of soreness on my chest, and I’m sure I have a bruise, but I don’t think there was any internal damage. Besides, I took way worse hits when I was in prison.”

“What about you, Paul?” I asked the elderly man. “You probably should get looked at by someone.”

“Nah,” Paul scoffed. “I’ll just pop a few Tylenol and call it an evening.”

God damn. I hoped I was half as tough as Paul was when I got to his age.

“Well, then,” I said as I looked between my employees. “You two are free to go, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Just make sure you go out the back door. We don’t need anybody slipping in the front and seeing all these bodies.”

“Sure thing, boss.” Tony nodded, and then he turned on his heels and walked to the “backstage” area of the lounge.

Paul was right behind him, and soon the two men disappeared out of sight.

“I hope Tony’s serious about letting me teach him,” Janine said as her voice became more bubbly. “I could talk about the paranormal for hours and hours and hours on end.”

“I know you can,” I said with a warm smile. “That’s why I love you so much.”

“Love me?” The redhead’s eyes opened wide, and it looked like they were starting to tear up. Then her bottom lip began to quiver, even though her mouth was twisted into a smile.

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked as my mouth went dry, and my heart skipped a beat.

“N-No,” Janine sputtered. “Not at all. It’s just… No man has ever told me they loved me before.”

“Never?” I frowned. “I don’t believe that. How the fuck could anyone have an amazing, beautiful woman like you and not tell you they love you every second of every day?”

“I told you I haven’t dated in awhile,” Janine continued as she dropped her brown eyes. “And before I went on my long hiatus, I mostly dated self-centered jerks. People who didn’t care about my research or my studies, and who honestly didn’t care too much for me.”

“Idiots,” I growled before I reached out and drew the redhead to me. “You’re fucking amazing, Janine, and those guys didn’t know what they were missing. Although, I am glad they acted like that, because if they didn’t, we never would have met.”

“Maybe not.” Janine shrugged and smiled up at me. “But I bet we would have. I was stalking you so I could have some material for my thesis paper, after all.”

“Oh, yeah,” I teased the redhead. “That was creepy as fuck. You weirdo.”

“Not as weird as the guy who apparently gawked over me in every class we shared together, yet didn’t ever talk to me?” Janine winked.

“I didn’t think I had a shot,” I said with a smirk. “Little did I know…”

“There!” Ada announced as she strutted back into the room and glanced down at the watch on her left arm. “The cleaner is on his way and should be here in about two hours.”

“When did you get a watch?” Janine raised an eyebrow as she tried, and failed, to stifle a giggle.

“What’s so funny, love?” Ada retorted as her face turned into a scowl. “It’s just a Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso. Nothing fancy.”

“Nothing fancy?” I said as I nearly swallowed my tongue. “Aren’t those things like, ten-thousand dollars?”

“That’s small beans compared to the big boys.” Ada shrugged. “Have you seen the new Chopard two-oh-one carat? It’s worth twenty-five million dollars on its own, and that’s not even the most expensive one!”

“Wow,” I mused as a smile crept up my lips. “I never would have thought you were so into watches, Ada.”

“And why not?” the succubus asked as she placed her hands on her hips. “Because it’s not a ‘woman’s hobby?’”

“That’s not what I--” I cleared my throat as my cheeks warmed.

“I’m fucking with you, love,” Ada purred as she gently punched my shoulder. “I’ll admit it’s a strange hobby to have, but I just love the craftsmanship that goes into a good watch.”

“So… Is that the only watch you have, then?” Janine asked Ada.

Ada let out a comical snort as she tilted her head to the side and then whipped it back to toss her bangs out of her eyes.

“You know me well enough by now, my dear,” Ada said. “When I want something, I go allllll in. I’ve got an entire closet full of watches back at my club, complete with custom holders and high-definition lights that let them sparkle like the bulbs on a Christmas tree.”

“Which closet?” Janine pushed her glasses up her nose. “We share a room together, and I’ve never once seen any watches.”

“Because they’re hidden inside a false wall,” Ada chuckled. “Do you really think I’d just let anybody waltz in and discover my ticking babies?”

“That’s a cool hobby.” I whistled. “Why didn’t you tell us about it sooner?”

“I didn’t think it would be something you were interested in,” the succubus explained. “Most people just look at me like I have three eyes when I start babbling on about regulators and ratched wheels and pivots… Then their eyes glaze over once I go into the history of clockwork. I don’t know why, though. It’s a fucking fantastic topic, and I lived through its invention.”

“Damn,” I said. “So, does that mean you have watches going back to the Middle Ages? That’s when they were invented, right?”

“The fifteenth century.” Ada nodded. “Close enough. But no, I’ve yet to snag one of those. They are my white whale, I’m afraid.”

“But you just said you lived through its invention,” Janine said with a frown.

“Well, I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time!” the succubus retorted. “I figured it’d be a fad that went away in a hundred years or so. Little did I know…”

“So what’s the oldest watch you’ve ever found?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

I didn’t really know much about watches or clockwork in general, but the former historian in me couldn’t help but be interested in the topic. Plus, I’d never seen Ada so excited in my life, and I wanted her to keep going on about this thing she was obviously interested in.

“I have a Silver Champleve Dial Quarter Repeater from the seventeen-hundreds,” the succubus said, and her green eyes glittered with her enthusiasm. “That set me back a pretty penny, but it was so worth it, especially when I look over all the beautiful engravings. Still, it tells time just as well as it did back in seventeen thirty. I’ll show you when we get back to my place.”

“Speaking of time,” Janine interjected. “Two hours is a mighty long time to let a bunch of corpses lay around the nightclub.”

“Why does it matter?” Ada asked. “I’m going to have some cleaners come in here after everything is remodelled and do a full, head-to-toe deep clean. If there’s a stench or some stains left over from this little shindig, they’ll get them out.”

“I’m more worried about somebody stopping by,” I admitted. “Should we, like, at least cover them with a tarp or something?”

“There aren’t any windows.” The succubus shrugged. “As long as nobody actually physically walks into this place, they’ll be completely oblivious to the whole situation.”

“It still gives me the creeps.” Janine shuddered. “Being around all these dead bodies.”

“We should go someplace more cozy, then,” Ada suggested. “The office, perhaps?”

“Anywhere that’s not here,” Janine said as she threw her arms around me and nuzzled against my chest. “I just want to get out of this room.”

“The office it is,” I said with a nod. “There’s probably some paperwork or computer tasks we can be working on while we wait.”

“I’m sure there is, love,” Ada cooed, and then she turned her back to us and began to walk toward the double doors at the back of the lounge.

Janine and I followed her arm-in-arm, but as we walked, my superhuman senses caught a whiff of something I was all too familiar with.

A hint of Ada’s arousal.

Wait a minute. She had me dressed up in a three-piece suit, and she was now bringing Janine and I to the office that was supposed to be mine.

Was this all part of her fantasy?

I supposed I was about to find out.