Taylor padded through her doorway, phasing out of her wolf skin as she closed the front door. She slipped into the shower, grateful for the hot water falling over her. It was so welcome after running through the wind and the rain. The werewolf pack she belonged to had been chasing down the sickly sweet smell of vampires. When the trail dwindled off and they felt certain they had scared the vamps far enough away, they all headed back. Taylor was wary though; she knew it'd only be a matter of time before the vampires came back. The vamps were all young-- two male, one female-- they could tell that much from their scents. If the werewolf pack was unlucky, there were more where those 3 vamps came from.
Taylor's temperature as a werewolf was higher than more humans'- about 108.9- so it prevented her from getting cold easily, but she still didn't like the cold air that greeted her when she stepped out of the shower. She quickly dried, and wrapped herself in a towel to get away from the unpleasant cold. She stole a glance in the miror at herself before heading out of the bathroom. Werewolf genes had made her taller than average, about 6'1". Not super tall, but tall for a girl. The werewolf genes had also made her muscles toned, giving her a lean, pretty figure. She was Native American, as were all the werewolves, so her skin was perpetually tan. Her brown eyes matched her dark hair, which was cropped close to her ears to make it less shaggy when she phased.
No point in dressing uncomfortably when no one's around to impress, she thought, and so decided on an old but comfy t-shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants. She put on her slippers and headed to the kitchen in her small house. She shared the place with her brother, who was the Alpha in the pack. He was out still taking care of the bloodsucker business, assigning wolves to run patrol, answering questions from fearful civilians, and organizing safe places for them to go. His position put Taylor as 2nd in command. This was because their dad (and grandpa, and great-grandpa, etc) used to be the Alpha. Being in command of the pack was in their blood; it was natural for them.
Taylor made herself a frozen pizza and sat down to eat and watch a movie on TV. Halfway through her pizza, she was interrupted by the sharp rap of a knock on the door. She sighed in annoyance, but got up and opened the door. There in the doorway stood a young boy. The rain outside had stopped, but the boy was still wet, and looked winded, like he had run to her house.
"Ben-- your brother-- he needs you to bring a bunch of the pack with," the boy gasped, breathless. "He said to tell you that--" He stopped to recover his breath.
"Ben told you to tell me…" Taylor prompted.
"--that… they're back. And there's more," the boy finished.
"More," Taylor repeated bleakly. She hadn't expected them to come back so soon. The boy was referring to the vampires, of course. Mostly all of the tribe knew about the werewolves and vampires, and most were perfectly fine with the fact that their next door neighbors could morph into giant wolves. Many of them, however, were terrified of vampires. Apparently, this boy standing in front of Taylor was one of them. He was practically shaking in his boots as he relayed the information to her.
"Thank you for telling me. You are brave to help," Taylor assured the boy. She was trying to put him at ease, but her mind was on the vampire problem, and her pack mates. "How 'bout you come in and help yourself to something to eat, something hot to drink, and keep an eye on my house while I'm gone." The boy looked more than happy to do so.
Taylor didn't bother to phase when she stepped out into the chilled air; it wasn't the fastest way to contact the pack if they were in human form. She dug in her pocket for her cellphone, making a frustrated growl when it wasn't there. She headed off at a jog towards another pack member, her friend Tiffany's house. She let herself in the door without ringing the doorbell. Tiffany was sitting on her couch; her lanky body half on, half off. She looked up from the book she was reading when she heard Taylor come in.
"Get your cell phone, call the pack. I'm heading out right away. The vamps are back. I'm not sure how many there are, but get the whole pack just in case."
"But Taylor, by yourself…"
"My brother's there, with Zach and Eleanor," Taylor reassured her friend, referring to 2 of the other pack members. She headed out the back door into the woods behind the house, pausing momentarily to strip and tie her pants and sports bra to her leg. She cursed herself silently for bringing bulky sweatpants instead of her usual shorts. The clumsy pants made it impossible to tie her shirt on as well, without hindering her running or fighting. Well this'll be awkward, she thought to herself as she exploded into her wolf self and took off running. She was the only female wolf in the pack who didn't adopt the practical uniform of shorts and a sports bra. She was the only one who didn't feel comfortable in just that, so she always brought a t-shirt as well. Except for this time. She mentally kicked herself for not wearing something less bulky. Her mind joined the other 3 who were in their wolf form. They weren't confronting the vamps; they were a good distance away from them, keeping the leeches from getting closer to the town. The reason they weren't attacking was because of numbers: there were 5 leeches, and only 3 wolves. Well, counting Taylor, there were 4, and if the rest of the pack showed up, there would be 8 in all. With 3 more than their enemy, it would be a pretty easy fight. The blood boiled in Taylor's body, and she was fueled by adrenaline thinking of the fight before her.
She joined her brother and pack members. She was grateful that it was a fight they were facing instead of regular patrols: if it were the latter, her packmates would tease her mercilessly about her outfit. She was thankful it was the former, and they just chuckled at her.
The rest of the pack showed up, and her brother took on his leader role, mentally shouting out orders. They split up, into 4 groups of 2, to surround the vampires. Distractions were one of the best weapons against vamps, so one group would come at them from the front, capturing their attention, and another group would be able to attack. Tiffany, Taylor's friend and one of the wolves, was part of the front group, along with another guy, Adam. They were quick, small, and agile, perfect for the task. Taylor's brother, Ben, was in the first attacking group, along with Zach, another pack mate. The remaining 4 wolves were in 2 other attacking groups, Taylor included.
The fight started without any problems. One leech was brought down right at the start by Ben and Zach. The bloodsuckers, realizing that they were down one fighter, organized themselves and readied for more attacks. Taylor positind herself to attack a young male. His scent was different from the ones they smelled that moring. If she could move a little closer without him noticing… His head whipped in her direction, sensing her approach. His blood red eyes met her own and suddenly became all she could think about. Past those eyes, past all his vampire features, was someone she had met before. But she hadn't actually met him. She had yearned for, dreamed about, and passionately loved this man, but had not met him. Taylor fought a wave of nausea and dizziness and she recognized his scent, underneath the painful smell of leech. She heard a sharp intke of breath, and recognized it as her own as her legs buckled, letting her fall onto the dirt. The nausea and dizziness consumed her, enveloping her in darkness. And she remembered.
A/N: flashback up next!!! review please! ^^