Claudia was floating in a darkness. Wolf and human, human and wolf. She had no idea what form she was in. Just that she was floating. Up is down, down is up. No foot holds, her hand/paw touched nothing but air. She wasn't falling nor flying. Just simply there. Floating. She opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything. Just a simple black space. She lifted her hand to her face. A human hand, a wolf's paw. Her mind was foggy.

"Where am I?"

In the distance, she heard a wolf howl.

"Caius?" Her voice sounded raspy.

The wolf howled again. The howl sounded like Caius' but at the same time it wasn't. She realized that it wasn't him. It was her. Her howl.

"Claudia."

"Caius?" she asked again, this time her voice was stronger. She sounded more like herself.

"Claudia" A voice whispered. A deeper voice.

That voice. It pulled at her heart. She felt it beat a little faster. Slowly, she remembered a wedding. The full moon. The freedom of running. The smell of the forest.

"Come on baby, don't leave me!" The same voice whispered again, this time a little urgently. She felt herself spin in her little black space. Slowly, slowly.

Her heart thudded against her chest. The wolves. Feral eyes stared at her. They were tearing at her. Her eyes widened and her hand flew to her body, to the parts where she had been injured. But there was no pain, no wounds. Just darkness. "Alex..." Relaxing darkness. Her eyes fluttered close again. Just a few minutes of sleep. And then she'll figure out where she was. She'll figure out how to find Alex. She stopped spinning.

"I love you, Claudia." His voice repeated the words over and over again.

---

It took Claudia the whole night to regenerate her wounds. Most had healed but the deeper ones were still there, still in the process of healing. She slowly opened her eyes. She felt tired and weak but Alex's arms were wrapped securely around her. Despite being naked, his arms around her made her feel safe and protected. His eyes were closed even though he didn't sleep. Blood stained his cheeks. She figured he had been crying and immediately felt bad that she had worried him. She lifted her hand and laid it on his cheek. "Alex..." she whispered softly.

---

---

Alex felt her hand on his face and her soft voice in his ears. His eyes slowly opened to see the most beautiful sight. Claudia was okay. He reached down and kissed her softly. "You had me so worried. I was afraid you weren't going to make it. Are you fully healed now?" Alex stopped and said "Claudia, will you marry me?"

"I don't ever want to be without you again." His kisses were deep and loving. "I spoke with the guy who married Lucinda and Andrew. We can get married with the binding spell on the new moon and you won't be forced to change."

He kissed her again and murmured to her, "Besides, if being my wife doesn't put the fear of Satan hurting you into them nothing will." He pulled the blanket off of her and inspected her wounds for himself. His hungry eyes feasted on her body. It only took a second for him to strip and get back into bed with her. He pulled her tenderly against him practicing restraint, until she made that impossible. He refused to bite her since she had only just healed. He made love to her slowly and tenderly for hours.

---

---

---

A smile lifted up the edges of Claudia's lips when Alex opened his eyes. She reached out and wiped away the blood smudges on his cheeks. "I think I've healed most of the injuries but not completely. I'm sorry if I worried you, baby. I--" The words died on her lips and her eyes widened at the his proposal. "You want to... I..." Her smile widened and the question finally sank into her. She threw her arms around his neck. "Yes. Yes, of course I will!" When he came back into the bed with her, there were no longer any need for words as she lost herself in his embrace.

Alex let Claudia sleep he cuddled with her all night when they were not engaged in their private celebration of their engagement. While she was sleeping he got up and went to the safe that was hidden behind a picture and opened it. He pulled out a very old and precious ring. He had had it redone right after he met her. It was perfect and he hoped that she would love it as much as he did. When she woke up she would find the ring on her finger.

He couldn't wait for her to awake on her own so he made a little noise knowing that she slept light sometimes. He smiled and lifted her hand up so she could see it. He smiled.

"Do you like it?"

Claudia blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She smiled and looked at Alex and then at the ring that was now wrapped snugly around her finger. For the second time since Alex proposed, she found herself at a lost for words. "Alex... this is... perfect. Thank you," she said in a quiet voice that was trembling with emotions. She reached out and hugged her to him.

Alex accepted her hugs and kisses. He was thrilled that she loved it so much. He looked at her delicate features and her inner strength and she moved against him, taunting him to take her again. He realized that his appetite for her would never be fully sated and he would never tire of being with her. Some time later he emerged from the adjoining shower and wrote his sleeping beauty a note and left it on the table by the bed. It simply read. Gone to the bar to check on things. Be back later. I love you.

Alex went to the bar but not long after he got there he just couldn't stand not hearing her voice so he called her to quell his worry that something else was wrong.

Claudia had just decided to go to the bar after reading Alex's note when her phone rang. She picked it up and smiled when she saw Alex's name on the screen. "I was just on my way to you." she said.

"I would prefer you stay at the house today. I need to go see Xavier in a little bit. I have some words for his pack about being on Prescott property and about attacking you." He watched the guy start unloading his liquor shipment and he said, "Please stay there and visit with the family. I would feel much better if you did." Alex said still feeling something uneasy. His spidey senses told him that something was going to happen. He just didn't know what.

Claudia would have insisted on going to the bar but feeling slightly guilty that he had been so worried the night before, she simply agreed. "Alright. But hurry back home when you can, okay?" she said. She really didn't want to be away from him too long. "Oh, I might go for a run later. Maybe go find Caius so I can bring him back for our wedding."

"Wait for me and I'll go with you, ok? I don't want to take a chance on last night happening again." It took everything in him not to go kill every one of Xavier's wolves. He hung up and tended to the bar and it's employees, He had a new bartender since Caius left and Andrew was rarely at the bar these days. He needed to hire another one and he had interviews to do.

---

---

Athos huffed as he cleaned a mug shirtless. "Toni I swear" there was a loud laugh from the kitchen and Athos grumbled. The fingerless gloves were absent today exposing the thin lines of scarring on his palms. He looked up as Xavier made his way in. "You seem rather...unsettled" Xavier made his way to a stool and perched on it.

The werewolf finally noticed the witch was shirtless. He raised a brow and Athos sighed. "Never be cocky about a bet." more laughter echoed from the kitchen. Athos put the mug down and crossed his arms. He studied the werewolf. "So what do you need" Xavier tilted his head. "One of your beers" Athos filled up a mug with the amber colored liquid and placed it in front of him.

"My pack did something incredibly stupid and I had to put them in their place" Athos tilted his head. "And now you're here because if a vampire runs in here they cannot harm you...clever wolf" Xavier huffed and worked on drinking his beer.

Athos scratched the feathers of his crows and wondered exactly when he became so popular. Well...at least that meant more business.

@BlackPanther

Alex walked in and saw who he was looking for. His smile did not meet his eyes. His attitude was dripping with need to imprint a message on the wolf leader. Taking the seat leaving one bar stool between them empty. Alex sat down and glared at him for a moment. "I'm sure you know what happened to the wolves that crossed into Prescott territory and not just our territory but on our private property. Other than go where they aren't allowed they also attacked three Prescott Wolves. This would be bad enough if it had been just my sister and brother in law. However, the third wolf they attacked when she was alone and guess who that happened to be?" Alex dropped his pretense and his eyes flashed but he stayed calm. "That was my fiance. I have already been to see your pack today. You are missing a few more because most of them are dumb as bricks." He took another breath.

"Hey Athos." He said seeing the bartender. Turning back to Xavier.

"Your wolves nearly killed her. So here is what is going to happen. Claudia and I are getting married next week there will be a binding spell that will tell me everything I need to know if one hair on her head is touched wrong. I would hate to have to kill you and yours because you didn't heed my warning." Alex got up and walked out of the pub.

Annika was sitting in the living room when Claudia walked out of Alex's room. She had her eyes closed and looked as though she was sleeping. She didn't move and unlike most of the other vampires she spent her time with, this one didn't bother with the pretense of breathing. With her delicate features, she looked like a doll. Claudia walked over to her, watching her warily. Another Prescott. Another original. She wasn't sure if she was a friend or someone she should be careful around. Lately she had been getting used to being around vampires. Trusting them too much might prove hazardous to her health. Or at least those that didn't belong to the household.

"Claudia, was it?" Annika slowly opened her eyes. She turned her head slightly towards the couch and nodded her head at it. "Sit. I am not someone you should be wary of. I have no intentions of harming you."

Claudia stared at her for a few moments before she decided to accept the vampire's invitation to sit. There was no sense in being hostile. The Prescotts will soon be her family. This one was a Prescott too. But not being hostile didn't mean that she should be lax. Practicing caution would be wise.

As soon as Claudia took a seat, Annika gave her a small smile. "My name is Annika. Ani, if you will," she introduced herself graciously. Her green eyes studied Claudia carefully. "I was afraid you would not make it with the amount of injuries you had last night. It would have been a shame if you had not survived. I would have missed this chance to talk and see why Alex would want to marry a wolf."

Annika's straightforward way of speaking would have irritated Claudia. But there was something about her, a sense of serenity and sadness that was relaxing and automatically put her at ease. "I would have been happy just to stay by his side. Even without marriage. But...I'm beyond happy that he would want to be with me the way I want to be with him." Her words earned her an approving smile from the vampire.

"You have imprinted on Alex, have you not? It is such a rare thing to see between two so very different species. I am... intrigued. Will you allow me to attend your wedding?"

Claudia's eyes widened at the question. It was unexpectedly respectful. "Of course. The Prescotts are Alex's family. And soon to be mine."

Annika paused for a moment. "Where is your brother?"

Claudia blinked. She was sure that she nor Caius had never encountered the vampire before. "How do you---"

Annika smiled. "It does not take a mind reader to see that you are missing something. While Alex is no doubt your other half, there is still something missing. A sibling is the most plausible guess."

Claudia sighed. The vampire was terribly insightful and she was right. "He belongs with his mate and has followed after her."

Annika gave her another gentle smile. "Do not worry. He will come if you ask him to."

Claudia smiled back and decided that she actually liked the vampire. "Thank you," she murmured and then belatedly realizing that she looked familiar, she tilted her head. "Ani... Annika... you don't happen to be Annika Luminova, are you?"

Annika raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I did not think anyone in America would recognize who I am." She chuckled. "But yes, I am she that you speak of."

---

---

Xavier watched Alex leave and rolled his eyes. He looked at Athos. "Do you think he realizes I don't give a shit" Athos shrugged. "To think he even said your wolves are dimbasses but didn't realize you didn't order that...by the way how's clean up going" Xavier sighed. "Apparently there's more to add. You got anything to make that easier" "I have fire."

Xavier huffed. "To think all it took was some dumbass wolves to wreck my plans" Athos shrugged. "To be fair those plans did have a very low chance of working" Xavier looked unamused. "Hey I paid for quite a lot of your products....you can at least pretend to be supportive" "Still neutral. So no"

Another huff from Xavier before he stood and paused. "I may require one of those products soon" "Okay. Just try not to die. You still owe me half" Xavier rolled his eyes paid for the beer and left the pub.

Athos shot a look in the direction of his chef. "Can I put on a shirt now?" Nope. One full day. Still hilarious that that vampire didn't attack him like you thought. So I'm milking every drop of this Athos groaned. "I hate it when you win."

Piper looked at Lukas and he already knew what she was going to go do. "Piper, you can't just go pick a fight with the entire pack." She looked at him and squinted her eyes at him. "Why not? If Alex can do it so can I?" Lukas smiled and wrapped his arms around his lovely wife. He kissed each side of her neck alternating every time he stopped to speak. "Because my love... you aren't... 850...years old. The pack would tear you apart and you know it." He held her into his embrace and he could feel her frustration. Lukas moved her hair as it fell in her eyes. "Even if you could handle getting killed that way, I couldn't stand there and watch it so we would both die. Could you really be okay with that?" Piper shook her head slowly. "I guess not but...." Lukas picked her up and carried her into their bedroom and proceeded to remind his wife how much he loves her.

---

"Andrew?" Lucinda had lost track of her husband already. "Barely married and I already misplaced him." She mused to herself. The rest of the family was all over the house depending on what they were doing but it was getting close to daylight and she was wondering where her husband had run off to. She went into their room and she closed the door putting on a gorgeous blue nightgown that was sheer and lacey in all the right ways. The color complimented her glorious red locks to perfection. She decided to read until Andrew showed up. She curled up on the bed and waited for him while reading the last of the Harry Potter books.

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@venku

Due to the issues and then the holidays and the lack of interest. I am declaring this rp done and am hereby closing it.