Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

Patricia couldn’t sleep. The dark shadows of the bedroom rose and scurried across the ceiling, danced in the moonlight, and waved at her from the various folds of the curtains.

Ever since she was a child she’d had trouble sleeping in new places. Days would be spent tossing and turning, rolling and rumbling until she finally got used to the atmosphere of the building.

But would she get used to him?

She got out of bed, and walked onto the balcony outside her room. The view of the garden was exceptional in the flood lit walk ways. Well manicured lawns swept into the distance, surrounded by flowers and plants from several solar systems. She’d heard they’d lost a few gardeners because of this.

A vision of a man being devoured by a daisy flashed across her mind.

Suddenly a large crashing noise shocked her back to the garden. Men with what looked like large cattle prods were chasing a large bovine like creature. It stopped and started to eat what looked like a particularly rare species of Orchid, its blue hide in extreme contrast to the red flowers it was casually devouring. One man walked forward and shot it using an elephant gun, while the others brought out a floating trolly and helped load it on top.

“Short and sweet” she thought. Warm as a smack in the teeth, and calculating as a 12 year old in a penny sweet shop. This sort had little time for romance and pleasantries. She’d better take up a hobby.

There was the Library.

Here there were books from everywhere, and then there was the history of the Onigion people.

She’d always thought they were just a Star Trek story line, but in the last few days she’d found them very real.

The attack on Earth had stared slowly. Infiltrating the various industries over a few days so as not to arouse suspicion, until finally announcing their arrival on Earth. By then everyone was under their control.

She still didn’t know why the women had been taken, but then he spoke very little of plans to anyone except his right hand man Anubis.

She walked along the dusty shelves trying to find some light reading, and noticed that many of her books had been placed among an extensive romantic novels section. These books pages appeared far more worn than even her well thumbed copies, and she wondered was this his softer side. Was the man who commanded vast armies a romantic at heart? Or was this some sick reminder of the other women who had entered his life, their dreams trapped on the endless shelves in a dusty prison, never to fly free again.

She moved around the shelves fingering the lettering, hoping the translation glasses he’d given her really worked. She didn’t have to look far for the history volumes, all 13 volumes as thick as War and peace. She hoped they were in large print, but then she had all the time in the world.

The snuffling noise made her jump, and as her eyes became accustomed to the dark a large man shape clambering around the shelves stood out on the shelving. He appeared to have a soft fur like covering over him, and as he got closer she realised that she was facing a large, heavily armed, werewolf.

“I’m dead!” she gasped.

Its silky palomino coloured fur rippled over the solid animal muscle beneath. She wanted to stroke it, but felt she’d loose a hand in the process.

It jumped down and stood in front of her, lowering its face to meet hers.

“Do you like reading?” he said

The shock of his talking made her stutter “Yyy..yes I do” she looked into a pair of the clearest blue eyes she had ever seen since…

Oscaris had eyes that blue. It couldn’t be. She had to be dreaming.

The large animal moved closer and handed her a book “Could you read this for me. My eyes are okay for hunting, but fail me with the written page. I’ll understand if you don’t want to” he looked at her pleadingly.

A polite and well educated werewolf she thought. What did Oscaris put in that food she had earlier?

He went to walk away, but she pulled him back by a furry arm and smiled at him “I’d love to read it to you. But where can we sit?”

His face brightened. Looking like a playful pup he lifted her up with one arm and jumped over the library's balcony. There in front of the fireplace was a large high backed chair. “A story telling chair” she thought “More and more romance”

“This is the reading chair and you must sit here” he patted the seat with his free paw, and dropped her unceremoniously in it.

She wondered how much of this was Oscaris? Then shook herself. She flipped over the book and saw the title “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austin “This is one of mine”

“You don’t mind do you?. Its just I haven’t heard any Earth stories before” he looked expectantly at her, and she laughed.

“Of course. You’re used to all the other stories of your people. I guess you don’t have many romances on your planet?” she smiled.

“There are only so many stories you can tell about humans and werewolves. They usually end the same way” his face darkened “But let’s get on before the boring one comes back”

“The boring one?” she asked.

“The one you met before” he said

“Oh him” she laughed and settled in the chair. He made his head comfortable on her lap and she began to read

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife…