[IC] Of Life, Love, and Death

[ravenhuffle]

Before she became a werewolf, Karen was just a normal human girl. She was promised to a young boy in the village; she had loving parents, and was going to have a wonderful life. Until one full moon, John was dragged away in the dead of night leaving nothing but a trail of blood in the freshly fallen snow. Karen was torn to shreds. Her cries could be heard through the whole village the next morning when his body was found in the town square torn to shreds by wolves.

The people of the village expected her to lock herself in her room for months. However, too much anger flowed through her to just sit in her room and sweep. She grabbed her cloak and stole off in the middle of the night with her father’s sword in hand. It took her several weeks, and honestly she did not know what she was looking for, but she found it, a group of humans sitting around a camp fire. A better description would be a group of humans mixed with wolves. She approached them campfire when she saw him, John. He was laughing with the others with a wolf’s head in his lap.

“John?!?” she cried in horror.

His hand wiped around to stare at her wide eyed. “Karen, you were not supposed to come after me…” he choked.

“You were dead! Killed by a wolf!” she put her hand over her mouth. “I saw you…” the words came out muffled.

“Kiel, I thought you said she wouldn’t come. She would mourn, but not follow you.” A guy called from across the fire.

“Shut up!” John yelled as he approached Karen. “You need to go back. Forget you saw me. Go back and live out your life.”

Karen shook her head. She saw his body. She cried against his cold and bloody body. Another guy got up and walked towards them as well. “Kiel, she can’t leave now. She has seen you alive. She knows too much!”

“She doesn’t know anything!”

“She knows you’re alive!”

“Let her go!”

“I cannot.”

Karen watched the exchange with wide, innocent blue eyes. All she knew was Jake was alive. The wolves from around the circle got up and started walking around her. Jake reached out to her but she jerked away from his comfort.

“What are you going to do?” Jake asked softly, afraid to know the answer.

“Bite her.” The guy’s eyes flashed yellow and before Karen could blink his teeth sank his teeth into her neck. Karen screamed as she fell to the ground. Pain ripped through every part of her body. Her muscles screamed in agony.

The guy who bit her put his hand on Jake’s shoulder as he wiped his mouth of blood. “If it makes you feel any better. She is probably too weak to survive.”
Jake fell to his knees beside her but did not touch her. “I’m sorry, Karen. I am so sorry! I did not want this for you….” A tear slid down his cheek and he stood up want walked away, leaving her in fate’s hands.

___

They had no idea who they had changed or who she would have become. She was not weak and she did not die in her transformation. She became stronger than anyone could have imagined. She became Avina.

[Love Dove]

Devin used to live in small town, it was where he had been born and raised. He had been a fisherman, with a happy life and loving wife. It was peaceful and quiet there, despite the fact that everyone knew one others business. That was until people in town started to go missing in the middle of the night, and the ones who returned would start acting strange. They refused to leave their homes at daylight and forced their guests to leave roughly at sundown. This was when the town went downhill quickly, people were afraid for lives, as they should have been.

It happened right after sundown, he was on the way home when he was attacked. There was no seduction or being mesmerized as there should have been, Devin was attacked from behind with no warning. Fangs biting into his side, and without his mind dazed the turn was both more painful and powerful. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins, before his whole body went cold, and his heart stopped beating. When he awoke, a man looking no older than nineteen explained everything to Devin, claiming to be his elder and the one in control of him.

Though he wasn’t as weak as the others, he fought the urge to listen to the man and visited his wife, when the so called elder found this out, the teenager killed her. And in return Devin killed him, before fleeing the others and running all the way to the states, once he got to the states he was forcibly brought before the dead vampires elder, a woman called Cadence. Instead of killing Devin, like was called for in their laws, the woman claimed him as her changeling, he took the place of the vampire he killed. Causing him to lose what chance of freedom he could have had, now he is on a much shorter leach than before.

[ravenhuffle]

The sky above was full of bright stars lighting the forest floor with a pale white light. The forest floor was alive with the trampling of a dozen wolves foot falls. It was a mad race. Wolves were snapping at each other’s’ legs trying to gain the lead. Others howled at the half full moon as their four paws kept time with those around them. One red wolf pulled from the pack, out running all of those around it. A few others tried to keep up, but with a burst of speed the red wolf left them in the dust.

Just on the outskirts of the town, the red wolf came to a sliding stop. The rest of the pack came to a stop just behind it, as if they were afraid to go past it. The red wolf laid down and started to shift. Bones cracked, skin pulled and stretched, red fur disappeared, and in the place where the red wolf had laid down a red headed woman stood up. Her strawberry hair was wild, her blue eyes held a tint of yellow left over from the change, and her bare skin was flushed pink from head to toe. She turned around to the rest of the pack not at all ashamed of her naked form.

“For too long have I kept you cooped in the forest! Tonight you will run! Remember to stay in a wolf form, try to stay hidden, stay with a partner, do not attract attention to yourself, and do not under any circumstances bit a human! Howl if you need me. Go! Run!” The red head lifted her arms and the wolves charged past her. She turned to watch the wolves run into the city. All except one. A grey wolf came to sit beside her as the forest became quiet once again.

“Hello Kiel.” She said in a dead voice. “You did not have to come tonight.” The grey wolf wined softly. Avina rolled her eyes and walked over to a nearby tree and pulled out some clothes. Once she was dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue tank top she headed into the town.

Ever since she first changed, Kiel had been trying to apologize. He had purposely left her after promising her a life and family. He faked his own death to get away from her. It was not something she wanted to get over anytime soon. Sure, four hundred years was a long time to hold onto it, but he was always bring it back to her attention. He glued himself to her side most of the time, acting as her second when he was far from second rake in the pack.

“Go run, Kiel. I don’t want you by my side tonight.” She told him as he started to follow her into the town. Kiel wined but continued to follow her again. She turned to him kneeling down in front of him so that she could look into his eyes. “Go. Run. Kiel.” Her eyes flashed yellow. Kiel whimpered and took off in a slow trout.

“Finally…” She mumbled as she continued on deeper into the city.

[Love Dove]

The music in the overly crowded bar was loud, it was always too loud as the humans danced around on the dance floor, and talked to their friends as they sipped on their drinks. In the corner at a table by himself, a man with short light brown hair and very pale skin sat quietly, his dark grey eyes watching all the humans, and waiting for someone who would be suitable prey for him. Usually he would put move work in the hunt than he was tonight, but he just didn’t feel like casing someone around town again just to feed from them. Not to mention with the new clubs and bar these humans had, almost all the work of the last four hundred twenty some years, seem useless.

Soon he spotted a raven hair woman staring at him from the bar, and Devin titled his head slightly smirking at the woman, before having a drink sent to her. There was something about able alcohol, the more they drank the weaker and easier they were to seduce. This woman wasn’t really his type, but she would do for the most part. Blood was blood, really who cared what the weak human it came from looked like. He waited until she was clearly inebriated before walking over to the bar where she sat, sitting on the stool beside her, Devin opened his mouth to use one of these foolish pickup lines that humans used.

However before anything came out the woman turned to look at him, and began babbling drunkenly about what her name was. Devin frowned slightly as he listened to the woman’s drunken mumbles and closed his eyes cussing under his breath. He didn’t want to get her wasted, just enough for her not to fight it. He barely even had to work his charms on her or even speak to her, taking her hand he pulled her out of the bar and into the cold outside air.

The woman followed behind him like a love sick puppy, it was sad, it was much too easy, and there was no challenge whatsoever. Devin was almost glad when group of humans walked passed them and started to pull the woman’s attention away from him, if he wasn’t already set on the woman he would let her go. Devin turned wrapping his fingers around her chin forcing her eyes to meet his own as they slowly turned from grey to deep crimson. ”Focus, you are following me, you will follow quietly.” He told her sternly and to any outsider his voice was deep and gravely, though it would sound soft and calming to her.

As the woman nodded he took ahold of her wrist pulling her into the alleyway, Devin’s hands went down to the small of her back, as his teeth sank into her neck, and he started to feed off the raven hair woman she let out a quiet yet pain filled groan, her body sinking down making Devin catch her in his arms.

[ravenhuffle]

Avian quietly strolled through the streets, enjoying the gentle breeze on her skin. It surprised her that it had been an hour since she released her wolves and not a single distress call. Despite it all, she was just glad to have a moment to breath. It was not like she did not love her pack, they were her family. However, these few moments of aloneness allowed her to relax her shoulders a bit and breath. Despite all the times she had proven herself as a strong alpha, there were many in her pack that still challenged her authority. However, in 400 years no one had been able to put her on her back in dominance.

As she passed a dark alley way, a painful moan caught her attention. “Please don’t it let it be one of mine.” She mumbled. She really did not want to spend the rest of the night cleaning up a mess. She ducked into the ally way and bravely turned the corner. What she saw was not one of her wolves. She didn’t even know what she was seeing. A man held a raven-haired woman against his body with his lips against her neck. It almost looked like a lover’s embrace, but the lifeless way she slumped in his hold told her differently. A gasp escaped her mouth and her skinny fingers flew up to touch her mouth. “What are you doing?!” Her gut reaction resembled to the shock of what she was seeing made her appear to be human. Her delicate frame only added to the image of being a weak human girl. The only thing that might give away who true identity would be her smell. “Let her go!” She took a small step forward and pulled her fingers away from her mouth.

[Love Dove]

Had he known that someone, let alone someone like the redhead would be on the street at this time, he would have kept his prey quiet. He was far to entranced of the fact that he was getting blood to even care to listen for anyone to interrupt them. So he didn’t even realize the other woman was there, until her grasp made the raven haired woman he was holding moan a bit more. Devin hold onto her a bit tighter hoping to keep in control, for at least a little bit longer. The words she spoke broke the control slightly, making him have to shift as the woman’s hands pushed at his chest weakly mumbling something about letting her go.

At the other woman’s almost yelling like demand, Devin’s crimson colored eyes opened looking at the red head, causing his control to be broken. The raven haired woman started screaming in the pain he had been trying to keep her from feeling, hands slapping at his chest, trying to pull away. He had no choice but to remove his fangs and looked at the woman’s faded eyes before letting go of the woman and wiping his mouth of her blood. If she continued to panic, she would end up killing herself anyway. Devin’s red eyes watched as the woman took off running in a way that proved she was still quite drunk, he would be lying if he said it wasn’t slightly amusing to watch. After she was gone Devin turned his attention to the red head standing in front of him, he hadn’t noticed her smell just yet, just the sound of her heartbeat. ”Is there really a need to yell so loudly at me lass?" He asked with a smirk as he tried to make eye contact with her for his charms to work on her as well.

It wasn’t often the prey came to him really, let alone one that seemed to be his usual type brave, skinny, and red headed. His eyes looked over her for a moment before taking step closer to her. ”If you wanted my attention, you could have just waited until I was done.” He added smiling widely, before curling his nose in pure disgust finally catching her smell of wet and muddy dog. Devin’s eyes turned their normal dark grey quickly the smell bringing him back to his senses, and he titled his head a bit confused as to the smell. She wasn’t human and clearly not a vampire, he would have known that smell, he didn’t rightly know what she was. Only that she had just scared off his meal.

[ravenhuffle]

The blood on his mouth, the flash of his fangs as he pulled away from the girl, they all started to piece together in her head. He was a vampire. She had heard many stories about such creatures such as the way they drained human after human to survive. It was disgusting. The raven haired woman stumbled pass her after being released. It was obvious that she was drunk by the way she stumbled out of sight. A confused look flashed across her face for a split second before she replaced it with a look of dumb terror. Don’t vampires enjoy the hunt of humans? Why was this one going after a drunken woman who would have followed anyone out of a bar? Where was the hunt in that? These questions whirled in Avina’s head as she turned back to the vampire in front of her.

Without even knowing it, she had stepped into a dangerous situation. It wouldn’t even take a noise to call her pack to her, but she was curious despite the danger she had placed herself in. Her blue eyes lifted to meet his red ones, and his words washed over her. His voice sounded smooth, but wrong. Like there was something missing. When he stepped closer, Avina made herself take a step back as if she was more scared then she was. It was her normal defense to act like the weak female she looked like. “Please don’t hurt me.” She whispered. His second attempt to charm her was more of a fail then the first. She could hear his deep gravelly voice more clearly than his smooth one and her eyes flashed yellow as the wolf inside her repelled the vampires charm.

Deep inside, her resting wolf stirred, its attention called by the vampire’s charm. However, Avina had centuries of practice keeping her wolf in check. With a growl, her wolf settled back to watch, waiting to see if it was needed. She knew her act was over when his eyes turned back to grey. She wasn’t fooling him; if she was he would still be trying to charm her. Dropping the innocent act, Avina took a step forward and crossed her arms over her chest. “A vampire. I was wondering when I would come across one of you.” She said in a mildly curious tone. She leaned in slightly and sniffed the air only to recoil a little bit and wrinkle her nose in disgust. “You small like rotting flesh. It’s disgusting.” She reached up to rub her nose with the back of her hand as if that would get rid of the smell. While doing so, she closed her eyes and hunched her shoulders as if she had let her guard down. Her ears, however, listened to every sound in the ally way, listening for him to move.

[Love Dove]

Devin didn’t react to the woman’s whispers not to hurt her, continuing to try and charm her. Her ask not to hurt her, wasn’t something he hadn’t heard before, in fact he heard something along the lines of those words almost every night. Her sent had caught him off guard and caused his senses to back to a state where he could think straight again. The yellow flash of her eyes and the growl, Devin had of course noticed it even his in feeding site. Once he thought through the two things and he smell he realized just what the red head was. Her weak act didn’t fool him anymore after that, it was a smart act though. A changeling would have easily fell for it, weak little woman in the wrong place at the wrong time? It was like a humans take out being delivered! He was four hundred years smarter than that though.

He watched the werewolf take a step closer to him and crossing her arms, with amusement. Her tone seemed a little curious when she talked to him, and he listened quietly smirking a little. Sure he was curious about her as well, he had never dealt with a werewolf before, let alone actually seen one. She seemed a bit more human than he expected. The elders talked about having seen werewolves before, he knew they were around. The stories he had heard though made them seem like that ran through woods, howling at the moon, and eating flesh. They seemed like a joke to him, and he didn’t want to believe they were that simple.

Devin let out a light laugh when she said he smelt like rotting flesh, funny because to him other vampires smelt sickly sweet. “Oh well you don’t really smell like a bed of roses yourself lass. You smell like a wet and muddy mutt it’s enough to make me not want to breathe.” He said with a disgusted tone, before sucking in a deep breath like it would help. It wasn’t really like he needed to breathe though. Either she was stupid enough to let her guard down around a vampire, or she thought he was stupid enough to fall for it. Still she was making herself such an easy target for him, she had ruined his meal and overall the rest of his night. All he had to go was wrap his arms around her skinny frame and sink his fangs into her neck.

Eyes turning red, he took a step closer to her, before his breathe came out a bit rushed, making himself smell her sent again. No! Devin was in better control of his thirst than that. “What are doing dog?! Closing your eyes in front of me after ruining my meal! If you want me to drain you at least make it interesting for me.” He hissed angrily at her as he quickly moved his body towards the opening of the alley way. What was she thinking? He moved a little closer to her, red eyes looking at hers, until he was close enough he wanted to stop breathing again. He wasn’t trying to charm her only wanting to see if he could scare her away so he could go hunting again, if he was quick enough he could likely get that other woman before she got too far.

[ravenhuffle]

Avian tilted her head, like a dog trying to listen better. His voice was different now than it was a few moments ago. It was normal rather than gravely. It made her wonder why his voice had so dramatically changed. The only possibility that came to mind was a theory that his voice changed when he was a vampire, kind of like how her body changed into a wolf. However, vampires were vampires all the time. They were no longer human in any sense. Or so she thought. She tilted her head back and smiled at his comment. “Than my smell shall keep you from dinking me? Brilliant!” Between her smile and the brightness of her voice it seemed as she was over joyed by his comment. Really though, she was just fascinated and not at all scared or worried.

Even still, she closed her eyes and pretended to let her guard down just to see what he would do. Her ears were on high alert, listening for his slightest movement. She was taught that vampires were knowing for moving with only the slightest of sounds, so rather than listening for footsteps she kept her hears peeled for the sifting of his clothes. It was not his movements but his voice that she heard, and by the sound of it, he had not moved any closer. How interesting. She lifted her head to give him a small smirk. ‘My guard is never down.” She told him simply. He moved over towards the mouth of the ally way, and her smile grew. He was dumb! Did he forget that wolves traveled in packs?

All that she would have to do would be to call for her pack. They would all come running rather they wanted to or not. By standing in the ally way, he was just putting himself in a trap, wolves behind him, and her in front of him. In the same movement of putting himself in the mouth of the ally way, he had moved closer to her. It intrigued her that he would move so close after complaining about her smell. Casually, Avina hooked her thumbs in her pocket and took a step closer to him so that their breath mingled. “Is this interesting enough?” she asked innocently. Every nerve in her body was alive, waiting for his slightest move to attack her.

It was tempting to move closer to see if he would back away. To play a game with him and see when he would back down. “So tell me. Did you put yourself in the mouth of the ally to make a quick get away?” She asked as if they were just in a causal position, talking. Her head tilted to the right as she looked up into his grey eyes. If he was a werewolf, she might have found him appealing. With the blood still drying on his chin though, there was no way she could call him handsome. “It was really stupid to put yourself here.” She told him as her eyes wondered back up to his grey eyes. “Do you know why it was stupid?” It never crossed her mind that he might be trying to scare her. She was alert, yes, but not scared.

[Love Dove]

Devin saw her smile after moving behind her, it might not have been the smartest move in the fact it made him a slightly easier target, but he had his own reasons for doing such a thing. She said her guard was never down and it made him smile, founding it amusing, she thought he would fall for the weak trick again and try to touch her. It was cute, how stupid she thought him to be. It surprised him that moving closer didn’t seem to scare her, instead she retorted by moving closer herself. He raised an eyebrow at her words, his whole body tensing up as he stared at her for a moment. He wasn’t used to being this close to someone with a pulse without having control of them.

“Not quite, you make it too easy this close. Just because you smell, doesn’t mean I can’t just stop breathing altogether.” He said his face going blank, it was a lie though. Being this close to her was interesting he could hear her heart beating blood throughout her body, yet her smell blocked out his thirst, it was enough to make him curious? Would the others in the clan feel the same way around a werewolf? You would think that would have been brought up before, if it did. It might be something that needed to be brought up.

Her question brought Devin from his thoughts, and his body tensed again because of it. He smirked amused by her casualness as he shook his head. “No, if I wanted to leave, I would have while your eyes were shut. The wind was blowing your smell this way. The smell blocks out the sound of your heart beating.” He answered mocking the same casual tone as her. “Besides you don’t want me to leave do you? If you did, you wouldn’t be trying to interest me.” He added in a soft tone. He moved a little closer to where he was almost touching her, he could already feel the warmness of her compared to his icy body. It was a game to him now as well, and how far could he push his closeness before she moved away?

Devin wasn’t foolish he knew that wolves traveled in groups, it seemed they were weak without the others. Vampires mostly hunted by themselves, other than the changelings that would sometimes tag along with older ones that had better control. However they always shared a mental connection with their elders. He smiled cockily at her, turning his head slightly looking behind him from the corner of his eye. “Your clan right?” He asked curiously, but if she was going to call for help, wouldn’t she have done it already? “I don’t know. If you were going to call for your elder, wouldn’t you have done it? You’re enjoying this little game as much as I, why ruin it lass?” He asked her with a serious tone.

“I’ve only heard stories about your kind. Is it true that you have two heartbeats?” He asked as he moved a little bit to touch her arm softly, his eyes keeping their grey color looking into hers, trying to show he was actually asking to touch her. He might have been a cocky vampire, but he had grown up while men still acted respectful towards women. It was the reason he hadn’t touched her with eyes closed, he wasn’t the first to attack or find a prey. The women he drank from always paid attention to him first, it made it easier to keep himself from turning into who changed him.

[ravenhuffle]

A smile lit up her up turned face. How odd it was that both times she had closed her eyes he had not moved. From the stories she heard of vampires she thought them to be wild and uncontrollable creatures. They attacked anything with a pulse. Yet, here he stood. Not even moving an inch, other than to step closer to her, and still he had not attacked. Was this vampire abnormal or were the stories lies? His grey eyes appeared to be so human…. She blinked rapidly trying to shake the thought that was about to follow. Her weight shifted to the left foot and she lifted her eyes back to his.

Her tongue poked out from her lips a little as she looked at him with amusement. “So, you are going to stop breathing because I smell? Nice to know!” She reached up and pushed her red hair back behind her shoulder. In doing so, she exposed her neck and scraped his chest with her elbow. “I take it vampires do not have to breath then?” She put her thumb back in her pocket and shifted her weight to her other foot. What would it be like to not breathe? She took a big breath and then held it. For a good minute she just stood there attempting to hold her breath. Finally she let it out with a heavy sigh. “Wow! That was uncomfortable. How could you do that for a long period of time?” She found herself relaxing in presence without really meaning too. Somehow she knew he wouldn’t attack her.

His comment made her pause. He was intrigued by her? Why? She was not that fascinating. At least what he knew about her was not that fascinating. “You think I am trying to capture you attention? I assure you I am not. If anything, I am captured by you.” She started to walk in a circle around him. “A vampire. I never thought I would meet a blood sucker.” She paused behind him. “By the way, how can my heart beat be cancelled out by my smell? Last I checked, sound and smells were two different senses. Therefore they cannot cancel each other out.” She came back to stand in front of him, just as close as she was before.

I don’t have a clan, she thought. Pulling her eyebrows down in confusion, she looked at him as if he just sprouted wings. “Clan?” she questioned. Then it clicked. Vampires are lone creatures, but they still need each other to survive and stay hidden. Clean up each other’s messes, teach newly changed blood suckers. “You mean pack.” She informed him with a shrug. “But your right, if I wanted my pack’s help I would have called already.” She was careful to avoid mentioning an alpha. As much as she did not want to give away the secret she held close to her chest, she did not want to lie either. “We run together, you know. More than just pairs. We hardly ever go very far on our own.” She told him with a laugh. “Almost exactly the opposite of you, vamp.” She poked him in the chest.

Two hearts. A grin broke out on her face. “Of course not, but feel for yourself.” She grabbed his hand that rested on her arm and boldly placed it on her chest, right above her heart. One heart beat thumped solidly against her rib cage. However, no sound came from him, except a breath or two. It was unnerving how quiet his body was. No sounds of a heart beating, not rush of blood though his veins, and no internal organ sounds. It was like he was an animal that had been killed. But, of course, he was a vampire therefore he was dead. It really shouldn’t surprise her, yet it did in an odd sort of way. “Is it true that vampires have no heart beat?”

A wolf howling in the distance caught her attention. Once again, her eyes flashed yellow. She took a step to the side to peer around him, forgetting about his hand still resting on her chest. Wild eyes returned back to him. “I have to go.” She whispered. Really, she didn’t want to go. What if she never got to see him again? What a silly idea! He was a vampire and she should be repulsed by his very presence… “Maybe I will see you around?” she said a little too hopefully as she edged around him. The howl came again, and she almost broke into a run, but she stopped and looked back at him. What she was waiting for she had no idea. Even still, she paused to look back at him.

[Love Dove]

The fact the werewolf exposed her neck by moving her hair, really wasn’t much help to his thirst. If she hadn’t scraped his chest with her elbow, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it. It gave him the urge to just stop breathing, to lean in and just bite her neck, her actions had seemed like she was trying to tempt him anyway. He shook his head slightly in answer of her question about his kind breathing, though his eyes lingered on her neck. If she had wanted to get his attention, showing her neck was the way to get it. When she told a deep breath he looked back up at her.

He lifted an eyebrow staring at her until she exhaled. He laughed softly, finding himself relaxing in front her as well. “We didn’t need to breath because the thing humans need oxygen for is dead.” He explained smiling widely at her as if it was a foolish question. Even if she didn’t know much about vampires, wasn’t it openly known that they were dead? “The first hundred years it actually hurts to breathe. The need for it is more of a state of mind for us.” He added almost as an afterthought, Devin didn’t think little things like this would hurt to tell her.

Her comment was confusing to him, how in the world was he interesting to capture her attention? He was boring for the most part. He wasn’t even an elder, having no pull whatsoever. The only reason she was captured by him, was the fact he was a vampire? That was likely a better reason than his reason for being interested in her. The fact that a werewolf was circling him, wasn’t quite ideal, he didn’t like having someone behind him. “Let me put it this way, even if you were offered a meal that seemed perfect quality. If it smelled bad would you continue to eat from it?” He answered with a shrug, because it was the best he could come up with to explain. She looked at him like he was crazy with the mention of a clan, and Devin couldn’t understand why. Didn’t she have a clan?

“Pack? So you really do run around howling at the moon?” Devin asked with a grin, finding it funny that part was true. At the words about being right, his smile turned cocky, those words weren’t often said to him, and he was liking the fact he was. As he listened to her talking about her pack, it was interesting that they hunted together. How did they keep from fighting over prey? Vampires were selfish when it came to food, the idea of sharing dying with the rest of them.

She took Devin’s hand and placed it on her heart, it was a complete surprise. He stared at her wide eyed for a few moments. He hadn’t actually felt a heartbeat without making it weaken, for years. After a moment, his body relaxed as he closed his eyes listening and feeling the healthy beating. At her question he sighed softly and nodded. “Yes, it’s the last thing that stops working.” He didn’t get to say anything else before there was a howl in the distance and he opened his eyes frowning as she moved. Moving his hand he nodded at her whisper, still frowning.

He didn’t want her to leave, oddly talking her was amusing. The fact this woman was a werewolf didn’t really matter to him, she had a pulse and looked human, that was enough for him to find the red head appealing. Her tone was so hopeful sounding and it said that he wasn’t the only one that didn’t want her to leave. “Looking forward to it lass.” He said as she moved past him going to leave. He wouldn’t have time to find another meal now; he would just have to do with what he had gotten. If nothing else he could probably drink from one of the watchers as long as he didn’t kill them. Devin was brought from his thoughts when he heard her stop in the edge of the alley way.

Turning he looked at her, before moving beside her quickly, his hand brushed her arm smiling before heading the other way from the howl. On the outside of the city there was a small little town, it looked rather kept up, by people who were far from friendly. This place was where his clan rested, most of the people here were watchers, they kept the humans safe from the vampires during the day and vice versa. If one looked close enough they would be able to see bite marks on them. Devin stopped outside the small house he shared with his elder Cadence, taking a deep breath he hoped she was still hunting as he smelt like dog from touching the werewolf.

[ravenhuffle]

Vampires were confusing. No heartbeat, no breath, no working organs. Yet they could still walk, talk, function, and live for forever. In turn, she placed her hand on his chest to feel the lack of a heartbeat. “Did it hurt when your heart stopped beating?” She asked. It must have been like dying. Who would want to survive dying? The lack of heartbeat under her palm was weird, but the coolness of his skin felt relaxing to the overheated temperature her body put off. After hearing the howl of her pack, she pulled her hand away and moved towards the ally way. It was clear that neither of them wanted to go, but honestly she wanted him to go first. She couldn’t say why, just that she did. In the blink of an eye he was by her side, his had resting lightly on her arm and then he was gone.

A sigh escaped from her lips. “Goodbye.” She whispered to the night air. It just dawn on her that she didn’t even know his name, and she would probably never see him again. A sad laugh escaped from her lips just as another howl filled the air, this time a different wolf calling. What was going on? All thoughts of the vampire temporarily gone, she broke out into a run. Even in human form she was faster than a normal person should have been. Within minutes she was approaching the street she heard the howls coming from.

The sight that awaited her was shocking. “Move.” She ordered as she moved past a handful of her wolves. They were all circled around a dead naked body lying face down in the middle of the street. Hessen, the newest member in her pack, he had only been changed four months ago. He was still new to everything, still confused as to who he was now. A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away, but not before her pack noticed it. A few whimpered around her, sympathizing in her pain. Kneeling down in front of him she turned his body over. A gasp shook her whole body as she stood up and backed away from the sight. Kiel, in human form and dressed in pants, came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. She knocked it away angrily then looked back at the body. Hessen’s jugular had been ripped out completely, but there was no blood. Almost as if his killer had sucked his blood dry. On top of that, there were half circles at each corner of the gap as if someone, or something, with fangs had bit into his neck, drained him of his blood, and then ripped out his neck.

“A vampire. I thought they were just legends.” Keil said kneeling down next to the body and touching the fang like holes.

Anger ran through her every fiber. “Go home.” She said softly. Keil turned his head to look at her in confusion. “I said… GO HOME!” Her eyes flashed red, faded back to blue, and slowly grew read again. “EVERYONE, GO HOME!” Her voice echoed down the street and her trained ears could hear humans stirring and waking up at the sound of her voice. The pack started backing away until the first few had hit the edge of the street then they all took off running. Keil pushed against her alpha orders, and while he was making his way towards the forest it was a very slow walk. “What about the body?” He asked softly. Her eyes snapped up to his blood red and glowing. “Do not make me give my command again.” She told him in a dangerously low tone.

An involuntary whimper sounded from him before he turned and ran after the pack. Avina sank to her knees after Kiel left. She did this to Hassan. It was her fault because she had enjoyed the company of a vampire. If she had been out patrolling the streets like she should have, she could have saved him. Maybe the vampires were working together to take down her pack. Tears slid down her cheeks as lights came on and people came outside to see what was happening. Gasps, curses, cries, and sounds of 911 being called filled the street. Avina continued to kneel by the body, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It was well into the afternoon when she made it back to her pack. Her second in command, Brice, was the only one brave enough to come near her. Avina put her face on his shoulder as soon as his arms were around her. If she could, she would have collapsed in his arms, but she did not dear show such a weakness. Instead she pushed Brice away after a few moments. “Let’s sleep. We will talk at midnight.” She turned away from her pack and went to curl up at the base of her favorite tree. Brice lay down about five feet from her. Soon the rest of the pack formed a circle around her, none of them daring to move any closer then Brice was.

---

Avina pretended to be asleep until her whole pack had fallen asleep, then stood up and started to make her way out of the circle. Just as she started to walk away, a hand on her shoulder stopped her. “Where are you going?” Brice asked.

“I need to walk.” She said without looking back at him.

“Let me come with you.”

“No. Stay here and keep an eye on the pack. While you are at it, figure out who Hassan’s partner was supposed to be. I will be back at midnight and we are going to talk as a pack.” Brice’s hand slipped from her shoulder and she continued walking. The sun had just set making the woods dark, but she should still see everything clearly. How could she have fallen for such a stupid trick? Of course vampires can’t stand werewolves! They just wanted her preoccupied. Would they be picking off her pack one by one now? Thoughts clouded her mind, questions begging to be answered. So unfocused she was, she hardly even knew where she was, other than she was just wondering in the forest.

[Love Dove]

Devin didn’t move when she put her hand on his chest as well, he didn’t open his eyes because if she was going to attack his hand wouldn’t have been placed on her chest. Her body was so hot to the touch, it was almost…peaceful. Just the fact she was touching his chest, seemed to warm his icy body. Dying wasn’t really that bad for the most part, sure you were dead, and the ability to have feelings was dulled. But on the upside was once you had died, it wasn’t like it was easy to die again. The fact that he would live forever by being a leech could be seen as, the bad side. “No, it didn’t hurt too much. If anything it was an end to the pain of changing.” He answered softly before the howl was let out and she was forced to leave.

He left before her, resting his hand on her arm for a moment before running off. The fact that he didn’t know her name didn’t bother him as he truly didn’t think he would ever actually see her again. He was soon at the small house he called a home, after the work of controlling himself around the she wolf, all he wanted to do was fall asleep for the daylight. Of course things never seemed to work so easily for him. As soon as he walked into the basement of the house his eyes fell upon Cadence and another woman who was clearly human as her fangs were sank into the woman’s throat, his eyes flashed red at the sight. Why? Why did she have to bring the human here tonight? It was as if she knew his meal was scared off tonight!

Devin didn’t even realize that he was staring hungrily until his eyes met Cadence’s red ones. She looked him over with narrowed eyes for a moment. Then giving him the same look a mate would, she lifted the woman’s shirt up, where her side and upper chest was showing. Instantly he took a step towards the brunette to share her with Cadence, only to stop as her lips showed a hint of a smile. It was then that he realized what his elder was saying, she was only going to share if he took the changing bite, therefore making him an elder to someone as well. An annoyed sigh escaped his lips as he glared at her and started to walk away, having eyes follow him half way to his room.

“Devin, sooner or later you will have to do it, or I shall command it.” She said her voice smooth yet angry from behind him as her fingers roughly grasped the back of his neck, causing him to stop moving altogether with his hand on the doorknob. Standing still he watched her step in front from him, long black hair in a ponytail. In the moment before she hadn’t been breathing though now that she smelt the wolf, her eyes where itch black as if ready to attack him.

“Why do you smell like mutt?!” She yelled as she pushed him against the wall.

Devin didn’t even have time to answer before the door to the basement opened, a small red haired male changeling stood at the bottom of the stairs staring at the two. “I killed a male werewolf, but lost the other one. It saw me.” He informed them both rather loudly making them both stare away of each other to look at him.

“What!! Are you stupid? If you are going kill someone, make sure no one sees it!” He yelled loudly at the changeling. Truly he didn’t like the real reason he was upset, the fact it was likely that werewolf’s clan…no pack, he had to remember that. Was what had upset him so much, and he was unsure why. Devin took a step towards the boy trying to remember his name, it was something with a R, Richard. He opened his mouth to continue yelling, only to be told to leave. Whirling around to look at his elder, Devin cursed under his breathe having no choice but go to his room, as he left he could hear Cadence praising the boy. Angrily Devin put his fist through the wall before going to sleep.

---

He didn’t know why he was standing here. Earlier he had gotten out of the house as soon as the sun set, for some reason Devin had even felt the need to make sure he wasn’t followed. Now he was standing across the street from the woods at the outskirts of town, and he didn’t know why he felt the need to go in, knowing he may be attacked. Just to look for the werewolf he had met yesterday, and scared his meal off. Why did he feel the need to tell her that he had nothing to do with what happened?

He took a deep sigh reminding himself to breath, not because of his nerves, but the fact he foolishly hadn’t taken the time to hunt. Slowly he started walking up the street until he found a place he could actually enter the woods and started to look for the red head. Hopefully she wasn’t in her home here, as he wouldn’t be able to enter and talk to her. He had no clue were he was going honestly, he had never been near those woods before today.

[ravenhuffle]

This was awful. What the hell had she gotten herself into? She had allowed herself to get distracted by a vampire so that one of its friends could kill her wolf! Avina ran a frustrated hand through her hair. The half full moon shone through the trees and landed on her upturned face. Inside of her, her wolf stirred howling for the moon and the right to run. As if running would solve all of her problems. Thought, it sure couldn’t hurt…. Avina pulled off her clothes quickly and knelt on the ground.

Bones cracked, her skin stretched painfully, and fur began to cover her body. About ten minutes later she stood up on all fours and shook from head to tail, getting rid of the last few pains of the change. Her wolf tilted its head back and howled at the moon. Neither Avina nor her wolf was settled, so they ran. The forest flew by in a blur. Small game ran out of their way, attempting to avoid their predator. Still they ran. For the first time in a very long time, Avina allowed her mind to melt into her wolf’s mind. To become one with her wolf meant giving up her control, her human reasoning, and to rely fully on instinct. Yet, it also allowed her to leave behind her guilt. Sorrow, pain, and instinct were all that was left.

A small rabbit hopped across their path and they couldn’t resist the chase, not that it last long. Soon, the brown rabbit was between their muzzle, its blood dripping from their fangs. Happily, they trotted into a clearing where the moon’s beans could highlight their red fur. With a twist of their neck, they took the first bite, enjoying the taste of raw meat in their mouth. The night was quiet, it was peaceful, it was everything that they were not. The wolf wanted to hunt down the vampires, rip their heads off, revenge the baby pack member.

With Avina’s mind so molded into the wolf’s, she had no full control. Honestly, she didn’t want to care. They stood up and started to walk towards town, leaving their half-eaten rabbit for some other creature’s dinner. Before too long, the four legs started running. The idea of revenge was driving them to go faster. Then it hit them, the smell of rotting flesh. They slowed to a stop and peered between the trees, watching the vampire walk willingly into their territory. Both Avina and her wolf recognized him, even from a distance.

He was the one who did this. With a burst of speed, they ran after him. It only took two seconds to reach him. Back legs sprang them forward, and their front paws landed on the vampire’s chest. The force of the jump caused the vampire to fall backwards, just as they planned. Avina and her wolf stood on him, front paws on his chest and back ways on his thighs, with their head hanging over his. Their lips pulled back in a snarl, showing their fangs just inches from his face. A growl rose up in their throat and their jaw opened up, preparing to take a bit out of his neck.

[Love Dove]

Devin hadn’t planned on actually fighting would he entered the woods, let alone fighting the red head. He had nothing at all to do with what happened to the werewolf last night, in fact before then he thought werewolves were mostly just a joke. The stories he had heard clearly weren’t true. He hadn’t even known what had happened, nor the reason for the whole reason the mutt had been killed. If he had wanted to be the death of someone, he would have just drained her when he had the chance.

The woods were quite peaceful and quiet, it was strange in comparison to the loud overcrowded city that he and his kind were used to. Instead of people there were animals running through the woods, in the long run this was no place for vampires. If they were to live here, it would probably be the death of them. The lack of food would cause them to be weak, and unable to defend themselves. Devin didn’t even notice the smell of wet mutt that was close to him, when the smell hit him it did so literarily.

Just as he caught the smell the large red wolf jumped on top of him, and he was unable to more out of the way in time. It landing with its front paws on his chest and back ones on his thighs, Devin should have been scared to be trapped on the ground under this large animal. However he wasn’t, in fact he was more surprised and annoyed than anything else, and wasn’t the first time a woman had been him on the ground.

The wolf was after all clearly a female, which was even more annoying, he very much preferred to fight males rather than females. Though he had no clue that who he actually had on top of him was the person he was looking for. Has the wolf snarled Devin clutched his teeth letting out a sigh, his own fangs starting to grow against his lips. He really, really didn’t want to fight this she wolf. It wasn’t until the wolf went for his throat that he was forced to react, more for the ability to live than an actually want. His take out a loud hiss, showing his own teeth as his hand went to the fur on the back of the wolf’s throat. Vampires might not be the powerhouses that wolves clearly were, but they had the speed that made their attacks seem stronger. Quickly he threw the wolf off of his body aiming its body at a tree a few feet away. Quickly he stood up dusting himself off, and looked back at the wolf, with pitch black eyes.

He knew that the lack of food the last two days would make him weaker. It seemed smarter to protect himself until the she wolf was wore down. Then…..if it was really needed….he would have to force himself to kill it for attacking him. “I had nothing to do with what happened.” He said loudly with an emotionless and gravely tone, as he waited for the she wolf to come close enough to attack her or protect himself.

[ravenhuffle]

Pain ripped through her body, starting and finishing on her middle back, as it slammed against the tree. Avina laid on the ground small whimpers rolling through her throat. Needless to say, it had been a while since she had been thrown into a solid tree. Being tossed around, bitten, and starched were all pains that were familiar as well as welcomed. However, the feel of her vertebras cracking was far from the pain scale she was used to.

Although she knew he was speaking, it took a moment for her brain to make sense of the words. Both the pain in her body and the wolf being in control slowed down her human side to make sense of the language. Why was he lying? She knew he had to have something to do with it. He had to have helped. The concept of vampires working alone was hard for her to wrap her mind around. All she could remember was working with a pack. Nothing is ever done alone.

Avina stood up slowly, stretching her back as she did. The bones were already almost healed, and her anger was growing at his denial. She turned to face him, pulled back her lips, and snarled at him as if to reject his notion. Every good feeling she might have developed for him twenty four hours ago were buried deep behind the animal instincts and pain of losing a pack member to one of his kind. Avina retreated back behind her wolf once more, allowing her innate animal to fully take over once more. The last of her broken bones melded together, and she started to walk in a circle around him as she would her prey.

Her wolf thought about calling the pack. She could probably handle and eventually destroy one vampire, but one lone vampire was no match for forty-three werewolves. Something inside of her would not allow for the wolf to call for its. Some part of her, deeply hidden in pain and animalistic thoughts and actions, still found him fascinating and wanted to know him. That part of her was rationed out by her wolf; she could kill the vampire on her own, just not with the packs help.

All the while, Avina continued to circle him looking for an opening to attack. There had to be a weakness in him somewhere. At some point he was going to have to put down his defenses. While she waited for her opportunity, she continued to circle him, staying on high alert.

[Love Dove]

Devin listened to the whimpers of the wolf as she lay of the ground, poor mutt, it really shouldn’t have attacked him in the first place. His mind was in a state of pure calm, while his body was only really to protect himself. The wolf stood and snarled at him clearly not believing him, sighing he watched the wolf circle around him. This was ridiculous! Why would he want to kill some silly mutt? What was there to gain from killing it? They smelt nasty, and much likely tasted nasty as well.

He really wasn’t that hungry to drink something that tasted like mutt, very much anymore. “Besides I was talking to someone when it happened” He said loudly, still he deeply wanted to reason with this wolf. Devin wasn’t even lying; he was too busy talking to the red headed woman that he had wanted to see, to go killing the wolf last night. If he had killed the wolf, there wouldn’t be one left alive.

His eyes and body followed the wolf as it circled around him, making start not to turn a back on her and give her a place to attack. “I would really prefer not to have to fight with you lass.” He added in a hiss, as his eyes lightened for a moment before going back to black. Just because it wasn’t preferred, didn’t mean that it wouldn’t happen. He moved sideways slightly and slowly for him smirking, eyes watching closely to gauge the quickness for her reactions. If there was one weakness which was must apparent would likely be the fact that he was rather cocky, it made him more likely to make tiny mistakes that could be used against him.

After a few moments of watching her circle him, Devin started to realize she was waiting for him to be weak. Frowning he quickly moved closer to her, going to throw her into another tree. After all it seemed to work very well. If he could get her down, he could end this quickly.

[ravenhuffle]

He had to have had something to do with it. He was the one that distracted her from being available to help and save her youngest packmate. Being alpha comes with many responsibilities, but the most important responsibility is keeping her pack safe. She had failed that job all because she was so fascinated by a vampire? Could it be possible that it was purely her fault that her pack member had died? Avina took a second to think about the question that popped into her mind. He didn’t come looking her her, she interrupted his meal. He had not kept her from leaving, she choose to stay. He was like a shiny new toy, and she had allowed herself to lose all focus. It was her fault...

Avina sensed more than saw the vampire move towards her. With less than a second to decided what to do, she let the wolf’s instinct guide her actions. She crouched down, waited for him to get close, then lunged for his feet as he reached for her. Her plan was to grab his pant leg as he passed over her and knock him off his feet. Using the momentum from her lunge, she continued to run to the other side of the clearing before she slid to a stop while turning back to him. The wolf growled at him again, but it was not as aggressive as before. Could it be that he truly had nothing to do with her lost pack member.

For someone who did not want to fight her, he was sure doing a good job! Avina closed her eyes for a moment. It was only fair for him to know who he was fighting. When she opened her eyes, they were no longer yellow but rather a soft baby blue. It was clear by his actions, and words, that he did not know who he was talking to. If he did, she had a feeling he would have more to say.

It is my fault…. the accusing thought ran again and again in her head. Her eyes slowly turned back to yellow and she sat down with a huff. The realization that it was her fault left her with no willingness to fight anymore. If it was truly her fault, then she deserved to be killed. Over four hundred years of taking care of her pack, she had never let her guard down so much that she allowed one of them to be killed. A whine escaped her muzzle and she bowed her large head as if to give him permission to kill her. If she died, then she would be unable to let down her pack anymore. Her eyes shifted back to blue as she took back over her wolf. Just do it, she attempted to communicate to him through locking her eyes with his.

[Love Dove]

Having been knocked off of his feet by the wolf wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world, the ground was hard. If he was human he would likely have the air knocked out of him, from the sheer force of his speed meeting the ground underneath him. Devin let out a soft groan laying on the ground for what seemed like a moment for him, though it might have been longer than that. Hearing the wolf growl at him again he quickly got up, glaring at it. The aggressiveness of the growl might not have been as clear as before, but in this state he was sure it was a trick.

He wasn’t fighting because of want, he was protecting himself. She had been the one to attack first, she had been the one to go for the throat first. Devin had already died once sure it was too bad living after dying, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be killed twice. He would have to kill the wolf to need himself alive, he had come let his new found source of amusement that he didn’t kill one of her clan. Now it seemed he would be focused to.

Were all wolves stupid enough to close their eyes in front of him? Was it some sort of species thing? When the wolf opened her blue eyes, his mind started to snap to attention, realizing who it really was he was fighting. The woman bowed her head as if giving up so he could kill her. Why? Why did she have to do that?!

She was making herself easy prey to a hungry vampire, only he didn’t want to kill her, a much stronger want of not killing her. His mind was slower in its state of pure and quiet calmness than his body. Quickly he closed the gap between them, hand going to her throat and roughly pushing her head out of the way to get her neck. At least this way she would only feel the pain for a few moments before feeling bliss as he drained her.

No stop it…he screamed loudly in his mind as his head lowered to her neck, his hand loosening on her throat slightly. He had better control of himself, he hadn't killed a woman in over three hundred years, and he would be damned if his was going to kill this woman you he actually enjoyed being around. Inhaling deeply to control himself, his hand loosened on her neck until it just sat there. “Should I consider it a pleasure to fight you lass? Or be annoyed you attacked me?” He whispered in her ear before pulling away from her completely, he winced as his fangs retracted going back to normal human teeth. “I wouldn’t kill one of your clan lass, let alone a changeling!” He said angrily as he sat down a little ways in front of her, his eyes slowly faded back from black to dark gray, the emotion returning back to his voice.