Logan

January 28

1:53 AM

Despite all of his experience, I don't think even Quinn had had this one. I couldn't be sure, but I doubted he had ever picked his girlfriend up from the cave she lived in. I doubted even he had tried to convince said girlfriend that a normal date could be just as fun as practicing killing each other. I don't know why everyone called him the charmer of the family, when he had never had to convince his hound girlfriend to see a human movie at two- thirty in the morning.

"Get in the car, Isabaue." I ordered. "It'll be fun."

"I don't much like humans, and I think their "movies" are dumb." Isabaue protested, still pacing around the car. "Wouldn't you rather be training?"

"No I would not rather be training, you like Lucy just fine and you haven't even seen a movie so you cant exactly knock it." I leaned over the seat and opened the door. "So get in."

She did, but still looked vaguely worried. "Magda said-"

"I don't care what Magda said. Magda strongly dislikes me and I don't doubt she would say whatever she could to stop you from dating me. We can go back to our regular training schedule tomorrow, but for tonight, I want to enjoy a normal date."

"Alright." She agreed, but didn't exactly sound over enthused. I sighed, I had hoped this would go better than it was.

When we reached the theatre I bought tickets from a pimply boy who had seemed half asleep until he saw Isabaue, then he perked up. I didn't really blame him; she looked stunning in the navy sweater she had stolen from me and tight jeans. I honestly didn't think she knew just how beautiful she was.

She turned her head and caught me staring at her. "What is it, Logan?" she asked, head cocked to the side.

I smiled and wrapped a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You are beautiful." Her smile in response was small, but it held secret delight.

We found seats in the back of the theatre. She noted the exits and examined the other viewers. There weren't all that many. A few college students passing around a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag, an older gentleman who smelled of sorrow and a sleepy group of fifteen year olds out past curfew.

The movie was black and white and featured Paris in the fall, it was French, subtitled in English. Isabaue was instantly enraptured, and I preferred watching her watch the movie to actually watch it myself.

We watched everyone leave after the movie, caught in our own thoughts. The teenage girls stumbled out sleepily; the college students downed energy shots and began discussing a paper they still had to write. We followed them slowly back to the car, fingers linked and swinging between us. It had taken me ages to convince Isabaue that holding hands wasn't a "tactical disadvantage" when we weren't about to be in a fight.

"That was… surprisingly nice." Isabaue said as we got in the car. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Logan." She squeezed my hand and smiled at me softly.

"We aren't going home yet." I told her, shooting her a slanted look.

She looked at me, "What are we doing now?"

"That's for me to know…" I told her with a smirk, unwilling to divulge my secrets just yet.

I parked at my house and we ran through the woods playing tag and racing each other as we darted around trees. It was an exhilarating feeling that only vampires shared, exciting and freeing and it released the predator in us.

After a few miles I readjusted our direction and headed toward the hill that rose slightly above the tree line.

The grass was soft and long enough to create a cushion above the hard dirt. I anxiously watched Isabaue's face as we entered the clearing. She released a shocked gasp as she took in the scene before turning to look at me with her heart in her eyes. "Logan… it's beautiful."

A red-checkered blanket rested on the top of the hill, illuminated by the full moon and a lit candle, which sent flickering shadows against the woven basket that contained a decanter of fresh blood and two champagne flutes.

I would never tell Isabaue this but Quinn had suggested this whole evening when I told him I wanted to give her a night more meaningful than what we usually did. He and Nicholas had actually set the picnic up.

I smiled and grabbed her hand, leading her up to the blanket. I opened the basket and retrieved the crystal and warmed blood. A line of plastic squares caught my eye, damn you, Quinn and I hissed, shutting the basket with more force than I had intended.

Isabaue looked at me with raised eyebrows, but didn't ask for an explanation. "My brother's an idiot," I told her, "But you knew that. Shall we?" I raised my glass as a toast. "To us!"

"To us!" she echoed, swallowing a mouthful of blood. After I drained my glass I lay down and looked at the stars. "How has the sky changed from when you were a child?" I asked Isabaue.

She leaned on her hands and kicked off her shoes before crossing her legs. I moved my head so it was pillowed in her lap, looking up at the sky. Her accent was soft as she pointed out the differences. "But I don't know whether that is time, or distance." She said after a moment.

I turned my head slightly to look at her. "But haven't you been back to France since you were turned?"

Isabaue's face turned wistful, "No, I haven't had the chance. But one day, I would like to go home."

"You will," I promised and could suddenly picture her on the streets of Paris, at little street corner cafés and small expensive boutiques. I could also picture us running through twisting alleys and climbing the Eifel Tower. In that moment I promised myself I was going to take her there sometime soon.

"Do you know the story of Shanon, the first Hound?" Isabaue asked. I shook my head and she pointed to the sky.

As I watched, the stars seemed to take the shape of a woman with hound by her side. Isaubaue's magic swept me away as I grew lost in the story she narrated for me in her soft, lyrical voice of unrequited love, betrayal and rebirth. I relaxed into her lap as she let her hand fall back to my hair after her story minutes- or hours- later.

A familiar odor drifted on the wind, and I felt Isabuae tense under me as she recognized it. "Hel-Blar," I hissed, rising slowly to my feet. Isabaue produced her sword form nowhere and blew out the candle.

I reached into the basket and withdrew the mini crossbow one of my brothers had placed inside.

"Let's try to get to the car." I told Isabuae, kissing her hard on her mouth before we ran into the woods.

They hit us hard from both sides, and we were instantly separated. One came at me, fangs snapping as I released the crossbows trigger directly into its chest. I swung into the powder in the same movement to retrieve my stake, which I plunged into the body behind me and continued running, shooting another stake into the mass behind me.

I heard Isabaue's victorious shout as she broke away from the pack. We sprinted back to the car, breathless with exhilaration. I laughed and swung her around before kissing her again, this time taking my time.

When we could hear the Hel- Blar behind us, we got in the car and drove away. I tossed Isabaue my phone. "Call my brothers, we need to let them know about this group." I hated that the Hel-Blar had attacked, I hated that I couldn't even give her a normal date without something going wrong. I hated that this was always going to be our life.

I pulled up at the road by the caves and gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make it squeak. "I'm sorry this didn't turn out the way it was supposed to." I said, staying focused on a particular tree outside the window.

Her small hand, callused from her sword caressed my cheek and turned my head so she could press her lips to mine sweetly. "I love you." She told me, gazing at me seriously.

"Love you more," I replied, caressing her cheek as Magda rapped on the window, peering into the car with the scowl I had never seen leave her face.

I pulled Isabaue into a long kiss before releasing her, laughing, into Magda's care.

I rolled away feeling much happier than I had for a long, long time, even though I was going to help clean out the Hel-Blar infestation before too much longer.