Grimm Wolf by Julie Steimle (top 10 novels to read .TXT) đ
- Author: Julie Steimle
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Jordan had been listening to Rhettâs commentary the entire hike about the land and what they were going to do after Germany, but this was a tangent. Jordan had pondered the same question during the past two days and finally felt it was safe to voice his opinion since it was just those three there. âWhat I really think?â
âWell, yeah,â Rhett said with a chuckle. âYouâve been his roomie since forever.â
Nodding, Jordan sighed. âAlright⊠Um, Rick is from a really superstitious town. Almost backward. I donât know if you have ever tried to find it on a map, but the place isnât even there. Rick had to draw it on for me.â
âAre you sure he is not lying about the place?â Emory snickered. âI mean the guyâs got penthouses in New York and LA andââ
âNo. Itâs there,â Jordan said. âIâve met people from that town. His bestie is from there. Born and raised. So are most of his friends, whom he calls âthe Sevenâ, like some kind of code name.â
âOr that girl Silvia,â Rhett chimed in. âYou know Rick said she was a witch.â
Emory choked on a laugh, halting where he was on the path. âYouâre kidding? That hair salon chick? Like a Wiccan?â
Rhett nodded, continuing his march over the path. âYep. He told me she was leaving her covenâthough I am no sure she is Wiccan, per se. More like pagan-ish and claims to do black magic and stuff. I do know he doesnât entirely trust her.â He then chuckled, shaking his head. âBut man⊠I wonder if all he says about witches in his town is real, or just superstition?â
Jordan shrugged as Emory picked up the pace again to keep up with them. âI dunno. I donât really believe in that kind of creepy stuff. But Rick for some crazy reason seems to. He doesnât admit it, not openlyâbut Iâve seen him mark the full moons on a calendar, and he does not just write âdinner with Dadâ on it. Itâs different. Itâs like⊠itâs like⊠he feels hunted.â
âWell, he is hunted,â Emory put in, carefully placing his feet as he descended down the slope. âJust by freaks.â
ââŠWho think he is a werewolf,â Rhett chimed in, laughing.
âDid Rick ever explain why people think that to you?â Emory called ahead to Jordan.
Nodding weakly, Jordan then shook his head. âYeah. It is a rumor the âwitches of the townâ spread. Thatâs what he says anyway. His familyâs fondness for wolves and their weird allergies donât help any.â
âHe has a lot of allergies,â Emory muttered.
âDo you know them all?â Rhett asked Jordan.
Jordan listed them on one hand. âGarlic, honey, silver, and this plant called aconiteâwhich consequently is also called wolfsbane.â
Rhett laughed at the list, shaking his head. âYeah⊠I guess that would make him sound like a werewolf.â
âHeâs got a supersensitive nose in general,â Jordan explained. âHe hates strong perfume and most scented detergents and colognes. The guy sneezes at almost anything.â
âOk, ok⊠that aside,â Emory said. âIâve been dying to knowâŠ. You know that rumor about Rick being on drugs or something before coming to college and his dad having people watch him all the time because of an addiction? Is any of that true?â
âI thought the story was that he had fallen in with a cult one summer and he had gotten a girl pregnant,â Rhett said, halting on the path. He lifted his eyebrows in doubt as he gazed over the landscape, thinking that such a straight laced guy like Rick would not have done such a thing. Rick hardly drank, even at parties. He chuckled deeply at the incredulity of it.
Jordan colored. He even peeked over his shoulder, just to make sure no other hikers were around to overhear. He even lowered his voice as he said, âOk. Guys, Iâm gonna tell you a secret that I had sworn not to divulge⊠as yeah, I have seen some pretty weird stuff with Rick as my roomie. But you two gotta know.â He looked to Rhett. âThere is more truth to that story you heard than the other rumor.â
Both of his friends gasped. They couldnât believe it. And worse, they wondered which part was true.
Jordan led the way, explaining, âHis dad was worried about him that first year, and so he confided in me that his son had been manipulated by a cult group he just called âthe packâ. And yeah, he got a girl pregnant.â
They stared more, genuinely surprised. It seemed impossible as Rick was also circumspect when it came to the ladies. In fact, they thought he was a bit prudish about it all. He hardly dated, though he did flirt. But he was more of a buddy to the women he hung out with than seeking physical company. And the only crushing they knew of that he engaged in, was of ladies who were already taken⊠like his best friendâs girlfriend now wife, and some surfer chick in California who also had a med student boyfriend.
âAnd Rick had finally confided in me about it three years after the fact,â Jordan said, âCalling it the biggest mistake of his life.â
âNo way,â Emory muttered, going quicker down the path to get closer so he could to hear more.
âHe called her his addiction,â Jordan added with a nod.
âHis addiction?â Rhett exclaimed, really interested now. âIn what way is a woman an addiction?â
âDid she have his kid?â Emory asked, thinking already of the headlines that would make the news if this information got out.
Jordan shook his head. âNope. She miscarried four months in. And after that, his father made sure he never had contact with her ever again.â
Both guys pulled back skeptically. How was that possible? Rick traveled freely all the time without bodyguards.
âSo how can she be an addiction?â Emory asked, huffing.
Jordan shrugged his shoulders a smidgeon as he said, âWell⊠he dreams about her practically every nightâand I mean intense dreamsâand heâs constantly fighting the urge to go back to her. At least, thatâs what he says.â
âThat sounds like love to me,â Rhett remarked, thinking on it. A girl he dreamed about every night?
Emory nodded, agreeing.
But Jordan shook his head, explaining, âBut Rick says it isnât. He was tricked into having sex with her, and his addiction for her is uh⊠entirely physical.â
His pals exchanged looks, still of the same mind. And honestly if he was dreaming about her every night that must have been some amazing sex. It didnât make any sense.
Sighing, Jordan added, âLook, his pastor had him write up a list naming all the things he is looking for a wife. I saw it. He showed it to me. And next to that list, he made Rick list all the reasons why he was attracted to Daisy.â
âHer name is Daisy?â Rhett perked up. He wondered what kind of girl she was.
âShhh!â Jordan hissed, looking around.
âNo one is going to hear us!â Rhett waved his arms around at the German forest terrain. âWeâre not even speaking German, for pityâs sake.â
But Jordan shook his head. âAlright, but donât spread the word, ok? Rick entrusted this secret to me. Besides, I told you, I saw the list. Heâs really not interested in her.â
They raised their eyebrows in tandem. They wondered why Jordan was so sure.
âI mean, yeah, heâs sexually attracted in a maddening way, butâand these are his wordsâthat wasnât love.â
Both Rhett and Emory sighed. That sounded like Rick. The words at least. Rick seemed a bit like a romantic. He could have his pick of womenâhe was handsome and rich enoughâbut he seemed to be looking for an impossible âsoul mateâ.
âSo then why isnât he dating other girls?â Emory asked, annoyed.
Jordan shrugged and marched on. âCome on. You guys know the guyâs damn picky. Besides, Rickâs grandma got murdered for being married to his grandpaâby a freak seeking a werewolfâand his mother divorced his father. I think he is scared to death for the girl he dates.â
They marched after him, not exactly sure they heard him right. âWhat?â
Nodding, sighing more, and they continued down into the valley, Jordan explained, âRick told me, he has no desire to bring an innocent woman into a relationship without her knowing exactly what she was getting into. Somebody strong who can fight back against all the⊠I dunno craziness that haunts him. And I think heâs afraid no such woman exists.â
âSo he wants to marry Wonder Woman,â Rhett said dryly, thinking Rick could afford to.
Emory laughed, âOr Electricityâthat comic book heroine he likes so much.â
Jordan chuckled, nodding. âYeah, I guess so.â
It was a long way, but eventually they reached Burgruine Winneburg. They picked their way through the remnants of the outer bailey, the ring walls and the circular keep. It was amazing. They imagined what had happened here in the medieval days, took pictures and posted what they could online, hoping Rick would see it and know what he was missing out on.
It was cool, great for their travelogue, perfect for the stories to share when they got home, but eventually they continued on.
There was a hotel down in the valley where they decided to catch some lunch before continuing on their hike back to Cochem. They ordered lots of waterâtheir bottles long empty. But also they got a hearty meal to fill their stomachs. As they were eating, they overheard a conversation coming from a couple of bearded men walking into the establishment looking like disheveled professors in the midst of a heated conversation. They were speaking with a British-like accent, though they were not sure if it was. They didnât want to label their nationality quite yet because they could have also been New Zealanders. They had that Jurassic Park professor look about themâwhatever that actorâs name was. The conversation seemed to resonate in the room around them in a cloud of oblivious preoccupation at the effect they were having on everyone else.
ââŠand I am telling you, supernatural things do exist. They are not all legend. I mean have you hear the local stories that surround Cochem, the ones that are whispered rather than openly shared?â
âWhat are you saying? The Morbac monster is real? It is a folk tale. An urban legend at best.â
âNever dismiss a local legend,â the first man said gravely, the one the three of them mentally nicknamed the professor. âThey have roots in historical truth.â
Several eyes and ears turned besides their own. Those that knew English were curious. Rhett glanced at the locals, wondering what Cochem urban legends were being whispered. And what was the Morbac monster?
âSo, you are saying that back in Wittlich there really was a man who was cursed to be a wolf?â
âPossibly. You know the legend really spread due to the military base in Morbac. That part might just be urban legend. But the story is that the town of Wittlich is the last place in Germany where a werewolf had been killed. But the shrine in the Morbac monster story is actually in Wenigerath.â
âYou know, though, most werewolf tales are just stories about serial killers, or people who lived to excess.â
âIndeed, though that does not discount the possibility that there are real werewolves about,â the professor said.
Jordan rolled his eyes. Emory snorted and Rhett chuckled.
The Britsâ heads turned. They gave dry looks, but did not argue when they saw the three young Americans eating there.
âAnyway,â the one man said to the other, âWhat proof do you have that such supernatural things are real. You keep claiming that they are, but narratives are not enough.â
âWhat about personal testimonials?â the professor asked.
âLies and rumors.â
Jordan nodded, looking to his friends. All they had ever heard about the Deacons as werewolves were just that.
âWhy is it that people are so willing to discount a personal account as a lie or a rumor when they themselves say they have experienced such things?â
âThey could be delusional.â
âAnother rationalization. My friend, I have seen things. If I could tell you all the things I have witnessed
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