Another challenge story. I guess I should have broke this one up because it's super long but I didn't. lol Hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!
Part one:
The Gift
Saturday, October 24
There was a damp chill in the air that somehow seemed to creep through the leather of his jacket. The bonfire was huge and offered the promise of warmth but there were so many people surrounding it that he hung back. He was cloaked in shadows, watching the people around him anxiously as he held on to the red solo cup his brother had handed him earlier.
Merle was nowhere to be seen now, however. Daryl had expected it. The man had just got out of jail and, of course, that meant he needed to drag Daryl out of the house to some stupid Halloween party out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't know anyone here so it wasn't like he could just go off and hang out with one of the groups that were huddled together. He definitely wasn't going near the ones that were dancing in front of the speakers at the other side of the field. No, he would just do what he always did. He'd keep his mouth shut, his eyes open and wait for his brother to get it out of his system.
A lot of the party goers were dressed up in ridiculous costumes but he wasn't one of them. He was nineteen years old, not ten. He agreed to come out here but he sure as hell wasn't agreeing to dress up. Merle only came because most of the women were dressed like prostitutes despite the cold. A slutty bunny here. A whore kitty there. He watched as a hooker mouse walked by, twirling her tail and smiling at him.
He rolled his eyes and killed the beer, already ready for another one. He was winding his way towards the kegs when someone stepped right into his path and he nearly slammed right into them. Reflexively he steadied the person and then he opened his mouth to rip them a new one for not watching where the fuck they were going, but he didn't.
The girl's wide blue eyes met his and she apologized, taking a step away from him. He frowned, a strange feeling winding up his vertebrae as he held her gaze. She wasn't wearing a costume. Not really. She was clad in a long black dress with a plunging neckline that finally had his gaze slipping from her eyes. A dizzying array of necklaces adorned her neck. She looked barely legal. She couldn't have been a day over eighteen.
"Do I know you?" He heard himself ask and then he winced. Oldest pick up line in the book. Now she was gonna think-
"I don't think so," she shook her head but she looked troubled, "But it certainly feels like I should."
It would have been a weird thing for a girl to say if he didn't feel the exact same way. Her nostrils flared delicately and he could have sworn she was smelling him. She took another step back, flashed him a smile and then disappeared into the crowd. He glanced around, trying to spot her but it was like she had vanished.
He found the keg and lingered there for a long time, refilling his cup until he was comfortably numb. The encounter with the girl, however, was still sharp in his mind, no matter how hard he tried to dull it. It wasn't like him to get his head all mixed up because of a girl. But there was something about this particular girl that called to him. He wished he knew what it was.
He finally left the keg, deciding to head back to the outskirts of the party. There were too many people here and he still hadn't seen his brother. There was a thick fog rolling in from the woods and it was so cliché that he rolled his eyes and shook his head. Maybe one of the losers here had a fog machine. It wouldn't surprise him. At least now he was drunk enough to at least find the people interesting. They danced and laughed and he wondered to himself how people could be like that. Just put themselves out there like that without a care in the world. He had never been like that. He probably never would.
He tried to pretend that he wasn't looking for the girl that had ran into him but he wasn't fooling himself. After a while he gave up.
He was nearing the spot where he had been standing before when he realized that there was someone else standing there. She looked up sharply, somehow sensing he was making his way towards her. A sharp feeling of anticipation had his pulse quickening and he didn't even know why. He wasn't sure what he was going to say to her or why he felt so fucking compelled to say anything at all, but suddenly the only thing that seemed to matter was that he was close to her.
He stopped when there was about a foot separating them, his eyes roaming over her shamelessly.
"You again?" She smiled.
He nodded. "Guess so."
"You don't want to be here." It was statement, not a question.
He shook his head, watching her curiously.
She smiled wryly and indicated the woods behind her with a tilt of her head. "You wanna walk?"
He glanced over his shoulder at the loud crowd and the fire that still burned at the center of them. He didn't know why he agreed. He didn't know this girl but the urge to follow her was too great to ignore. He was intrigued to say the least. She seemed as out of place as he felt and he found himself wondering why she was there at all. It didn't appear that she knew anyone but there were a lot of people so he couldn't be positive. She could have very well thought the same thing about him since his brother had abandoned him as soon as they had gotten there.
He expected her to head towards the road. Instead she turned and started walking into the woods without a backwards glance. He hesitated for only a second before he finally shrugged and caught up with her easily.
"Ain't you worried about wild animals out here?" He asked, genuinely curious. He didn't know many women that would just take off into the woods at night. Especially a night that was flat out fucking creepy.
She glanced over her shoulder and he could still make out enough of her features from the firelight to see that she was grinning at him. "You have no idea."
~H~
She hadn't gone out tonight searching for this. It hadn't crossed her mind at all. As a matter of fact it hadn't crossed her mind in over a century. But then she had caught his scent and it was all she could do to back away from him when she had stepped right there in his way, forcing him to run right into her. He was meant for this. He was hers and she wouldn't feel bad for what she was about to do. There was already a beast inside him. She could almost hear it calling out to her and it was time that he let that beast awaken. She wanted him and she had ignored her needs for far too long.
She could feel his eyes on her. She knew he was having a harder time following the narrow path that she could easily make out in the dark so she slowed down, turning to face him. His eyes flicked from her to the woods surrounding them and she could hear the telltale thrum of his pulse quickening. He rolled his shoulders before his eyes came back to her and the movement seemed more sensuous than it should have. Her mouth started watering.
She was hungry. No, it was more than that. She was absolutely ravenous.
"You got a destination in mind or do you usually just take strolls through the woods with strange guys when it's pitch black outside?" He asked after she didn't say anything for a few moments.
She could hear the uncertainty in his voice and it confirmed that he was feeling something too. She smiled.
~H~
It must have been the moonlight. Or maybe just a trick of his mind but suddenly he could have sworn that he saw a strange light pass through her eyes. And then she smiled. He wasn't sure what the hell was going on anymore. He felt like he was being scrutinized. Like she was sizing him up as her eyes roamed over him.
"What's your name?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Daryl," he said, his brows pulling together in a frown. There was something off about her voice now.
"Daryl," she stated, like she was tasting his name on her tongue and enjoying the flavor.
He nodded stiffly and found himself taking a cautious step away from her and he wasn't even sure why. Suddenly he had the overwhelming sense of being in the presence of a predator. But surely this girl couldn't cause any harm. He was bigger than her. He was stronger than her.
"Don't be nervous," she said, that smile faltering. "I wouldn't hurt you."
He stared at her. That was an odd thing to say. "I ain't nervous," he lied. He was nervous but he didn't know why. It wasn't just him being him and not knowing what the fuck to say to women. This was something different. There was something inside of him that was telling him to tread lightly with this girl. He was starting to regret agreeing to this little walk.
She was wearing a black cardigan over the dress and suddenly she was letting it slide off her shoulders. He watched her, curiosity once again overriding his nervousness. "You're at home in the woods," she said as her slender fingers played over one of the necklaces adorning her neck.
He nodded, his eyes widening as she stepped closer and gripped the zipper on his leather jacket. Her eyes didn't leave his as she pulled the zipper down. He swallowed hard but he didn't make a move to get away from her. Even when she pushed the jacket away. Her hands ran down his arms, her eyes following suit. Her hands were warm. Too warm, considering it was a pretty cold night for this time of year. "What the hell do you want?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He hadn't meant to voice the question.
She looked up and suddenly the blue of her eyes shifted to a strange golden hue that seemed to glow. She smiled then. "You."
He felt the first stirring of fear in his chest, until she took one more step away from him. She reached behind her and for a moment he wasn't sure what she was doing. Then it became clear when the dress fell away as quickly as his jacket had. The moonlight filtering through the trees caused her pale skin to almost glow. He was too stunned to even move. And, despite the eerie shit going on, there was a naked woman standing there right in front of him. He was freaked out, sure, but he was a fucking guy and she looked even better with her clothes off.
She stepped into him then, her fingers going to work on the buttons of his shirt. She worked slowly. "This will be a lot different for you than it was for me," she said quietly.
"What?"
She shook her head and shoved his shirt away, her eyes moving over him quickly. "I'm going to give you something. Something I think you were meant to have."
What the fuck was this woman talking about? He was about to ask her that when he winced. Looking down he could see that her hands were pressed flat against his chest, her fingers flexed so her nails were actually piercing his flesh.
Only, they weren't nails anymore. They were longer now. Thinner and much sharper. So sharp, in fact, that he barely felt the sting as she dragged them down, leaving the flesh cut cleanly. He told himself to shove her away. He told himself to get the fuck back to the party. He told himself that but when she looked up and those strange golden eyes blinked up at him coyly, he didn't take his own advice. Instead, he stood still until she leaned in and kissed him.
It wasn't a chaste kiss either. It was a demanding kiss, full of possession. He returned it with fervor, a flash of hunger shooting through him like nothing he had ever felt before. His hands went to her hips, the smoothness of her hot skin causing him to groan. Her hands were trying to get his belt off and he found himself shoving her hands away and doing it himself.
She smiled against his lips before pulling away. Her eyes were like embers setting fire to his blood. He couldn't look away from them. She grinned as he tore the button clean off his pants. Her voice was low when she finally spoke. "I knew that beast was in there."
He had no fucking idea what she was talking about and his mind was too far gone to even try to contemplate it. He cried out in surprise when she shoved him hard enough to knock him right on his ass but before he could even blink she was straddling his hips. He tried to touch her but she gripped his wrists and shoved his hands above his head. She was strong. Much much stronger than he imagined she would be. He was preoccupied with her breasts, since they were hovering right over his face, so he didn't realize what she was doing to him until she quickly sat up, grinning down at him.
He craned his head and cursed. She'd bound his wrists with his own belt and now he was tethered to a small tree. He jerked but there was no give. He looked up at her, his eyes wide as she grinned down at him, her fingers trailing through the blood on his chest. "Okay, lady. It's kinda obvious that I'm all in but I ain't into no bondage shit, alright. Let me go," he said, his voice strained.
She shook her head slowly and dropped down quickly, her arms hitting the dirt on either side of his head. He yanked at his bonds once more but with no success. Her mouth was on his and even though he didn't like the situation he'd found himself in, he couldn't not kiss her back. Her lips left his, moving towards his ear. "It's for your own good," she whispered.
"What the fuck are you talk-" His voice trailed off when she started working his pants down and his head came up. Sure, he was tied to a tree and some freaky ass girl was stripping him but... well, he was tied to a tree and a fucking naked freaky ass girl was stripping him. His body responded accordingly.
"My my," she muttered, her eyes traveling from his over eager dick back up to meet his. She licked her lips and his head fell back. "I'm definitely not disappointed," she muttered and then he felt her hand running over the length of him.
He groaned when she moved over him again, except now he was just as naked as she was and he could feel every part of her pressed against every part of him and suddenly, being tied up wasn't really bothering him. Not really. The only thing bothering him now was what she said about it being for his own good. He opened his mouth to ask her what the hell she had meant but then her lips were next to his ear again.
"This might sting a little," she whispered.
He moved his head away, meeting her strange eyes and then she moved over him, coming up on her knees and then dropping her weight, burying him deep inside of her. He choked back a strangled gasp. He didn't know what the fuck she could have been talking about because this sure as fuck didn't sting. This was beyond words.
Her eyes seemed to refocus and then she looked down at him as her hands ran over the scratches she had left on his skin earlier. "Are you ready?" she asked breathlessly, rolling her hips in a way that had his breath stuttering out of him.
He nodded, assuming she was talking about the sex. Instead she threw her head back and opened her mouth. From his vintage point, he couldn't see very well but then her head snapped back down and she grinned. Her eyes glowed and her teeth were now sharp and glistening. He opened his mouth, maybe to scream, he wasn't sure, but before he could do anything at all she leaned down and he felt those razor sharp teeth sink into the crook of his neck, right where his shoulder met.
He fought the bonds that held him there but it was no use. He growled and tried to buck her off of him but that only caused her to moan because, oh yeah, he was still inside of her and still very much erect despite the fact that some girl was about to have him for dinner.
The pain was sharp and excruciating, but surprisingly brief. There was a strange warmth radiating from the spot where she had her teeth buried and oddly, it felt good. It felt... right. That heat spread quickly and finally her mouth moved back up to his and she was moving. Goddamn, was the girl moving. He could taste his blood on her tongue, feel the way her body was gripping his tighter and every move she made seemed to heighten all of his senses. He should have been afraid of what was happening, and he had been at first, but he wasn't anymore.
She raised up, bracing her hands on his chest and he could feel the sting as her claws dug into him but he reveled in the pain, lifting his hips into her hard. Her body was on full display and he had an overwhelming need to touch her. He strained against the belt that held him and he was surprised when he felt it give. Before he could think about it he gave another pull and he was free.
He pulled her back down so her body was flush with his and then he rolled until she was under him. She didn't seem as strong as she had been before because he overpowered her easily when she tried to push him so he was on his back again. He pinned her hands above her head and growled into her throat before succumbing to the urge to return the favor. His teeth bit into her hard and then he growled when her back arched off the ground.
He let go of her wrists so he could brace himself on the ground. The force of her orgasm startled him, the feel of her claws ripping into his back spurring him on until every thrust was jarring her frame. There wasn't any holding back then. Her frantic eyes met his and he let go with an animalistic sound that tore from his throat almost painfully. The pleasure that pulsed through him was strange. Every wave of sensation brought with it a vision that was too real. Flames licked at his blood as he saw himself running through the woods, chasing the scent of fear. But he wasn't just running. He was on all fours, he was flying.
He blinked and then the vision was gone. He moved so he could roll off of the panting woman trapped under him. As soon as his back hit the ground he had another vision. A vision of ripping into something with his bare teeth. Ripping and tearing, searching for something. The taste of blood was sweet on his tongue and he licked his muzzle...
He sat up but a sudden wave of pain shot through his spine, pinning him to the forest floor as easily as a lead weight would have. His vision blurred and his flesh felt as though acid had been poured over him. He couldn't even panic, the pain was so intense, his blood running so hot as his heart pounded hard and fast. There was something happening to him but he couldn't focus on that. All he could focus on now was the pain. What had she done to him? He should...
Suddenly he felt something cool touch his overheated skin. When he opened his eyes her hand was smoothing over his forehead and then she was leaning down. "This part doesn't last very long," she whispered.
"What the fuck is this? What'd you do to me?" He wheezed.
She shushed him and continued stroking his head. It was actually soothing in a strange way so he didn't try to move away from her, though he knew that she was the reason this was happening to him in the first place. "I gave you a gift," she muttered.
He shook his head. "This ain't no gift lady."
She hummed, a small smile playing around the corners of her mouth. "It's Carol."
"What?"
"My name. You never asked me my name."
With that, he blacked out.
~H~
She felt guilty but she expected to. Just because she had never passed this on to anyone else didn't mean she didn't know how it was going to be for him. It wasn't pleasant. Once he was unconscious she got dressed and then folded his own clothes, stacking them neatly a few feet away from him. She tossed his jacket over him so when his brother came he wouldn't find him completely nude.
She hadn't lied to him. The pain wouldn't last too long. By the time he woke up the worst of it would be over. The sun was just coming up as she made her way back to the party. She knew the party was pretty much over but she also knew that Daryl's brother wouldn't have left him there. She knew enough about them both now to know that.
She knew everything there was to know about Daryl Dixon. His memories. His darkest secrets and deepest desires, there was nothing she didn't know about the boy. Soon he would know her own. Her whole bloody story would be embedded into his mind as if it all had happened to him.
When she finally broke through the trees she wasn't surprised to find Merle passed out in the bed of his truck. She shook his leg roughly.
He raised his head, blinking at her with narrowed eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
She smiled, glad she remembered to wipe the blood from her face. "Your brother is in the woods," she pointed. "I believe you won't have any trouble following our trail since both of you are such great trackers and all. He's naked and it's cold so you might want to hurry."
He raised up on his elbows and studied her. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"
She offered him one more smile and then walked away, heading to her car before Merle could even process her words. She would come back, of course. In three days she would come back.
Part Two:
The Hunger
Daryl woke up to Merle nudging his foot with his own. He raised up on his elbows, blinking in the watery morning light. He felt like he'd been chewed up and spit back out. His limbs ached and his muscles ached and he was sure that his head was about to explode. Then he looked down, saw the blood covering his torso, saw that other than his jacket thrown haphazardly over his lap, he was naked.
"Where the fuck is she?" He asked, sitting up all the way and glancing around.
"Who? The redhead that told me where I'd find you? She's long gone. What in the name of God did the two of you do out here? Why the fuck are you covered in blood? And why are you sleepin' naked in the woods?"
Daryl snatched his jeans from the neat stack of clothes next to him and jerked them on quickly. He ignored the pain, shoving his feet into his boots and standing up. He braced himself against the tree for a second because the world started spinning. He watched as Merle bent down and retrieved something from the ground.
Merle glanced up, his eyebrows raised in question as he held out the pieces of what used to be Daryl's belt. Somehow, he had manged to break the leather. But there was no way. No way in hell a man could do something like that.
"Let's get you the fuck home so you can wash off whatever the hell's all over you," Merle said, watching him button the shirt back up. "Looks like you got mixed up in some kinda goddamn blood orgy. I'd say good for you but you're covered in the evidence. Who'd you and your girlfriend kill anyway?"
Daryl shook his head and followed him towards the truck. He realized that there was blood on him, but no cuts. Not one mark marred his flesh. He reached up, gingerly touching the spot where the girl had sank her teeth into him but there wasn't a wound there.
He dodged Merle's questions and took a shower, washing the blood away and then examining himself in the mirror over the sink. Just like he knew, there wasn't a mark on him. He wasn't in pain anymore. Actually he felt better than he ever had, other than the mind numbing terror that filled him every time he thought about what had happened out there in the woods.
He'd been attacked. He'd been attacked by a fucking monster. Sure, she'd been hot as fuck and she'd climbed all over his junk, but she was still a monster. She had claws and she had fangs and her eyes glowed. He wasn't sure what kind of monster but that's what she was. And he had fucked her. He had put his dick into something that wasn't even human.
He shook his head and went to his room, pushing the windows up so it wasn't so stuffy. It was too hot in the house. His room was stifling. He fell face down onto his bed and then he slept for twenty four hours. Merle came in several times to wake him but he just couldn't bring himself to get up. When he finally did Merle was sitting at the table.
"You gonna tell me what the fuck happened to you out there?" He asked, trying to put just enough gruff in his voice but only managing to cover up the worry a little.
Daryl opened the fridge and shrugged, feeling more indifferent over the situation than anything else. His eyes scanned the contents and he pulled out a package of hot dogs, ripping them open right there where he stood. "Nothin' happened. I went out to the woods with the witchy chick and then I ended up naked and passed out," he said around a mouth full of hot dog. "Ain't like you've never woke up after a night out, naked and not sure where you are."
"What about all that blood?" Merle asked, scowling as Daryl shoved his third hot dog into his mouth.
Another shrug. "Probably some of that fake shit. Half the people at that party was covered in it. I tell you what though, somebody spiked my beer with the brown acid or somethin'. That was some trippy shit." Jesus, he was fucking starving. He finished off the last of the dogs and scanned the other shelves. "Goddamn, Merle. Don't you ever go to the store?"
Merle watched him, that scowl still on his face.
Daryl reached for a package of ham and tore into that next. When it was all gone his stomach still rumbled.
"You sure you feel alright, little brother?" He asked.
Daryl nodded. "Feel fine," he said as he sat down with a half gallon of orange juice. He started drinking it from the jug and didn't come up for air for a while. "I feel damn good actually." He stuffed the empty jug into the trash can and grabbed his jacket.
"Where you goin'?" Merle called after him.
Daryl glanced over his shoulder. "The woods," he said, slipping out the door. The house felt too small. It seemed like the walls were closing in on him and he had to get away. As soon as the cool air hit his face he took a deep breath and then froze on the top step. He tilted his head and breathed in again. He could smell the woods but that was normal. What wasn't normal was now, he could smell the things in the woods. He could smell the animals, each one giving off a distinct scent.
He made his way down the steps slowly, his eyes scanning the tree line. That was when he realized that it wasn't just his sense of smell that was working overtime. It was his vision as well. If he focused he could make out the individual veins on the leaves on a tree that was at least thirty yards away. He blinked and then everything was normal again. He felt his pulse quicken and then turned at the sound of Merle's voice.
But Merle wasn't behind him like he thought. Merle was still inside, grumbling to himself about Daryl being a freak. The door was closed. Merle was all the way in the kitchen, at the back of the house, so how could he hear him? He heard the water turn on in the kitchen sink and then the clink of a mug hitting another dish as he sat it in the drainer.
"What the fuck?" he whispered to himself.
He took a few more steps towards the woods but then stopped in his tracks once more. He breathed deeply and then heard himself growl low in his throat. He cut off the sound. He could smell her. She wasn't too far. She was somewhere in the woods and he knew that if he just followed his nose it would lead him right to her. To her and to answers.
He was running before he could even tell his feet to move. He didn't know why he was running either. He just knew that there was something extremely fucked up going on and the only answers he was going to find were the ones only she could provide. He would ask her what the hell had happened. He kept telling himself that he'd been drunk and had imagined most of what had happened. He told himself that he'd been drugged or something. But now he was starting to believe that the weird shit, that was just a peek of what was to come.
As the woods flew past him in a blur as he ran he was as sure of that fact as he ever had been about anything in his life.
~H~
He was coming. She could hear him racing towards her. She could smell him on the breeze. He was impatient. She frowned. It wasn't time to talk to him just yet. She would come to him soon enough and she would coach him through that first change.
She hurriedly undressed, folding her clothes and leaving them on an overturned log so she could come for them later. It wouldn't do him any good to look for her right now. What he would find would likely give him a heart attack. He would find out soon enough.
The change didn't hurt anymore. She was in complete control of it now. It had taken many years to perfect it but now it was easy. When the moon was full, that control was lost, but any other time, she owned this curse. She was in tune with the monster she had become all those years ago. She had fought it for a long time but now she embraced it.
She ran, knowing that he would never catch up with her. Not in his state. He was growing stronger. He was faster than he was just a day ago and his senses would be far sharper than any human's could be. But she had one hundred and sixty years on him. He didn't stand a chance. She knew he was following her scent but he'd have no choice but to give up eventually.
She would come to him when he needed her.
~H~
He found her clothes. That was it. Just her clothes and the scent of something that had him ready to tuck tail and run. She had been here, he was sure of it, and not just because he found her clothes stacked neatly on a log either. Her scent was strong here but the other one, the stronger one, was more powerful. Whatever he was smelling was danger. He knew that much. This was a predator. This was walking death. But he didn't feel like he should be afraid of it.
He grabbed the stack of clothes and turned. If she was playing some kind of game with him then that was fine. She could do it naked. If she was this close to his house that could only mean that she knew where he lived and she was fucking with him. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to... no, he needed to see her.
When he got back home it was nearly dark. He found a note from Merle telling him he wouldn't be around for a few days. He didn't leave an explanation and Daryl hadn't expected one. Hell, it was rare for his older brother to leave a note at all so he considered himself lucky. He raided the fridge again but no matter what, the strange hunger wouldn't go away. He tried watching TV but he couldn't focus on anything. His eyes kept drifting to the windows and the darkness that pressed against them. He felt a strange longing to go out there into the dark and begin searching for her again but he wouldn't. Instead he went to his room, sure that he wouldn't be able to sleep since he had slept an entire day away but as soon as his head hit the pillow he was out like a light.
His dreams were strange, waking him several times throughout the night. Screaming voices pounded against his ears and distorted faces leaning into his, accusing, frantic. They were dragging him off through an unfamiliar forest and he tried to fight them but it was no use. He found himself thrown to the ground and when he raised up onto his knees he was met with three pairs of glowing gold eyes. It was too dark to see what those eyes belonged to but they were coming closer. They were coming for him.
He scrambled to his feet, eyes scanning the ground for a weapon, anything he could use to defend himself, but the clearing was bare. And then they were close enough to see. They resembled wolves but that wasn't what these things were. Their bodies were proportioned all wrong. Their fur was too long and their bodies too big, bulky. On first glance there was no beauty to be seen in these monstrous things but as he watched them move he had no choice but to appreciate their predatory grace. Even as their grotesque mouths opened, displaying rows of wicked teeth, the canines longer than his middle finger, he could still appreciate them for what they were.
Death stalking towards him.
Right before the first one pounced, he could hear a strange chanting in the distance and knew that whatever was happening, it was the work of the angry mob that had brought him here. It was their voices that filled his ears before he was knocked to the ground...
He woke up covered in sweat and fighting his blankets off of him. He leaped from the bed, crouching in the dark, breathing heavily as his eyes scanned the room, looking for the threat. The thin curtains fluttered in the breeze. The night had a smell of it's own and he felt his nostrils flare as he took in a deep breath.
He licked his lips and felt his eyes widen in the dark when he felt his tongue slide against his teeth. They didn't feel like his teeth anymore. They were sharp. He stood up, his heart pounding painfully hard as he groped for the light switch. It was out of habit because he hadn't needed the light at all. Everything stood out in his room as though it was bathed in sunlight.
He turned leaning against the dresser and met his own eyes in the mirror. Only, they weren't his eyes. The whites of his eyes were no longer visible and the color was a familiar glowing gold that he remembered seeing when he had been with the girl. Carol. She said her name was Carol. Dread filled him as he stared at those strange eyes and then, slowly, he peeled his lips back in a macabre grimace, confirming what he already knew. His canines were long, ending in a dangerous points, glistening in the lamplight.
He backed away from his reflection then and sat down heavily on the bed. He looked down at his hands and made a strange sound in the back of his throat. His hands looked normal for the most part, but where earlier they ended in square blunt fingernails, now he had... claws.
He closed his eyes, forcing his breathing to slow, willing his heart to stop pounding out of his chest. He took slow even breaths as he blocked out the sounds of the night outside his window. When he finally felt calm again he opened his eyes and looked down.
The claws were gone now. He stood up, hurrying to the mirror and looking at his reflection. Steady blue eyes, his eyes, stared back at him. He opened his mouth but his teeth were the same ones he'd always had.
A sound at the window had him spinning around and his mouth fell open at the site in front of him. She smiled as she slid easily through the window. Her frame was lithe, just as graceful as the beasts in his dream as she stood up, her hands going to her hips. She grinned.
And she was completely naked.
She tilted her head and sighed. "This is happening much faster than I thought. I expected you to call me tomorrow evening."
He shook his head, his eyes roaming over her on their own volition. "I didn't call you," he said.
Her grin widened and he was amazed at how, other than the fact that she was as naked as the day she was born, she looked so... normal. But he knew that wasn't true. She was a threat. She sighed and then sat down right on his bed, leaning back on her elbows. "Oh, but you did call me. Something caused you to wolf out. I felt it and came running." She shrugged delicately. "Couldn't have you killing anyone around here."
He watched her carefully. "What the hell are you talkin' about? What's happening to me?"
She pulled her legs up onto the bed and then shifted so she was sitting up on her knees. "Have you ever felt like you fit in? Ever?" She asked, her face growing serious.
He held her gaze for a long time and then finally looked away, choosing to be honest. "No."
He heard her footsteps then and looked up. She stopped a few feet away from him. "You weren't meant for the life you were handed, Daryl Dixon."
His fingers flexed, the need to touch her almost all consuming. For some reason her presence had him feeling calmer, despite the fact that this was completely fucked up. He fisted his hands at his sides. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means," she said, stepping closer until she was pressed right against him, "that you were meant for something... bigger."
He shook his head and tried hard to ignore the fact that his body was screaming for hers. "Bigger?"
She smiled, biting her lip and then he jerked when her hand slid into his. "Bigger. You're meant to run," she said, leaning in so her lips were right next to his ear, "to hunt. You were meant to be free. So I freed you."
"What the hell does that mean?" He asked swallowing hard because her breath was fanning over his throat now.
"You already know what that means. You've seen it. You've felt it. It's why you came after me today. You're a monster now. Tomorrow night you're going to turn into something straight out of a nightmare and you're going to kill and you're going to maim. You've gotten a glimpse of it already but that's nothing. Nothing at all."
He took a step back, shaking his head. "The fuck are you goin' on about? I ain't a fuckin' murderer."
She shrugged and reached around him, grabbing the clothes that he had sat on his dresser. "You weren't a murderer. Now... Well, you don't have much choice. You think you're hungry? Wait till you change. As a matter of fact, I think we should leave. Go to the city. It isn't so bad if we kill bad people. You can live with yourself when you come back down. I don't want you eating your brother and then blaming it on me."
"You're fuckin' schizophrenic!" He yelled, throwing his arms up.
She sighed heavily and smiled. "Will you come with me?"
He glared at her because he didn't want to believe any of this but he really didn't have any choice. "Where? When?"
"Maybe in a few hours. We can't linger in small towns when the moon is full. When people turn up missing in places like this, it gets attention. A lot of attention. We don't need it. But say, some drug pusher or pedophile in the city gets gutted in an alley, not very many people care."
"We don't hunt in the woods?" He couldn't believe he was actually asking her about this shit. It was crazy. It couldn't be real because it didn't make any sense.
"We always come back to the woods," she said with a smile. "It's home."
He raised one eyebrow at her. "You live in the woods?"
She shrugged and then slipped into the dress. "I live where I want to live."
He watched her walk back to the window, glancing over her shoulder. "You leavin'?" He asked.
She smiled. "I'll come for you in a bit."
"Right," he muttered sarcastically, "So we can go to the city to have ourselves a killin' spree?"
She rolled her eyes and straddled the window sill. "Don't knock it, Daryl. By this time tomorrow you're gonna be ravenous." With that she slipped into the night like she'd never been there at all. When he leaned his head out, glancing one way and then the next, she was already out of site.
She had mentioned being ravenous and it had him momentarily forgetting about her and the insane tale she was trying to weave. He stumbled to the kitchen and without thinking about what he was doing, only thinking about the gnawing hunger in his gut, he started tearing off chunks of the frozen venison steaks Merle had stashed in the freezer, chewing them easily.
Part Three:
Monsters Becoming
She didn't come back until the next evening. Being around him wasn't very easy to begin with but being around him while he was fighting to turn was even worse. The animal was strong in him, just like she knew it would be, struggling to take over even though the moon hadn't been full, and it called to hers. She would help him learn to control it once this cycle was over but until then, she was sure he would be that monster for three days. He wouldn't turn back into the boy from the party until the full moon abated. She was almost afraid, knowing how strong the wolf in him was, knowing that there may be some pent up anger towards her. It wasn't unheard of for a potential mate to actually have the strength to nearly kill their maker. And it wasn't like she could blame him if he did.
She had prepared a place for him already. A den of sorts in the hills outside the city. He hadn't said much since she picked him up from his house. She drove, he watched the scenery as it flew past. There was a quarry close to the city and they were almost there. The silence had stretched on for long enough. She cleared her throat and glanced at him. The setting sun threw an orange glow over the sky and the dying light reflected in his eyes. "You know, I thought you'd have more questions for me. This is all kind of a big deal," she said, quickly focusing back on the road.
He shrugged. "Askin' a bunch of questions ain't gonna help me none. The sun goes down, I turn into some kind of slobberin' mutt, I kill people, then it's over right?" He hadn't looked at her as he spoke and his voice didn't betray any emotion.
She frowned. "Are you angry?"
He snorted. "Why? Cause you tied me up and turned me into some kind of monster? Cause I'm gonna live with this shit for the rest of my life and I didn't have a damn say about any of it?"
She glanced at him because his tone was still level. He actually didn't sound very upset at all. "It wasn't right for me to do that, I'll admit that. But I don't regret it."
Without looking at her he nodded. "Neither do I. And I think that's the part that bothers me the most."
She hadn't realized how concerned she actually was until he said it. "You know, there are a few perks. It isn't all slobbering and blood." She pulled off of the main road, onto a bumpy trail leading higher up.
"Yeah? What's that?"
"You won't get old. You've been catapulted to the top of the food chain. There isn't much out there that can kill us."
"Silver bullets?"
She shook her head and smiled. "They sting more than the regular ones but they won't kill us."
"You said there isn't much that can kill us though, right?" He asked, finally looking over.
She parked the stolen truck in a clearing and turned so she was facing him. "Vampires can kill us. Witches can kill us. Not those new age pagan wannabe's either. I'm talking the ugly ones. The old ones. Also, Voodoo. And we can kill each other but it isn't easy."
He stared at her like she had grown a third eyeball in the center of her forehead. "You're fuckin' serious..." It wasn't a question.
She nodded. "Very fucking serious. And look, I know that I should apologize for what I did. I know that it was wrong. But I'm not sorry I did it. I've been running alone for too long. Longer than you could probably guess, and when I saw you..." She shook her head, "No, when I felt you, I knew what I had to do. Was it right? Definitely not. But I don't regret it. I won't regret it."
He blew out a breath and turned his head, looking out the side window for a moment before he opened the door and silently stepped out. She followed suit, meeting him in front of the truck. The sun was already sinking behind the hills and shadows pooled around them. She was finally starting to feel afraid. Afraid that he would hate her for what she had done and the thought made the wolf inside of her lash out angrily. She clamped her teeth together and fought it back. If ever there was a time for her to maintain control, it was now.
He cracked his neck and then whipped his shirt off. "Why?" He asked suddenly, balling up the shirt and tossing it onto the hood of the truck. His fingers went to work on his belt. He was already feeling it. She could tell by the slight shine in his eyes. "Why me?"
She reached behind her and unzipped the dress, letting it fall to the ground. She stepped out of it, the cool air rushing over her bare skin, cooling the heat that was radiating through her already. "Because I could tell you were the one," she said with a smile. She pushed his hands away, unzipping his fly and pressing her lips to his shoulder. "I could feel it. You needed this."
"I ain't to fond of the idea of hurtin' people," he said, his voice growing lower.
Her lips followed the path of his shoulder and she let her canines press against his collar bone. "I won't let you hurt anyone that doesn't deserve to be hurt," she whispered, pushing his pants further down his hips. She felt his hands go to her waist and then he dipped his head, catching her lips with his. She had wanted to kiss him in his room but he had been having so much trouble that she was afraid that she would make it worse by getting too close. Now it wouldn't matter so she pressed against him, running her nails down his sides as the sun sank deeper behind the hills.
She wanted to be closer to him. She had wanted to be closer to him since the moment she left him in the woods. Everything inside of her seemed to call to him. The kiss grew deeper, more frantic. The tips of his fingers pressed into her waist harder. When she heard a low growl rumble deep in his chest she pulled away from him enough so she could turn around, bracing her arms on the hood of the truck.
He needed no more coaxing than that. His hands gripped her hips hard and he kicked the side of her foot lightly, urging her legs further apart. With his teeth pressing into the back of her neck he moved into her quickly. He kept her back flush against his torso and let his hands roam over her freely.
Once the sun was down the change would wreak havoc on his body, his mind, and his emotions. It wouldn't necessarily be a painful experience but it was certainly a terrifying one until you got used to it. She was purposely using sex as a way to ease the process for him. The act of mating was different for them. Humans didn't always have to feel any sort of connection to indulge in the act but paired wolves were different.
He gripped her harder and she felt her body respond, pushing against him as his hand slid over her stomach, to the juncture of her thighs. Her breath rushed out of her and she looked down as her claws punctured the hood of the truck. The sun hadn't set just yet so she wasn't turning but she was quickly losing control. His thrusts became punishing and a strangled sound tore from her throat when she came, literally ripping the hood as her fingers flexed deeper into the metal.
Her body was wound tightly already since it was already dusk and the sensations that wracked her were shockingly intense. With a feral snarl in her ear he joined her, one hand shooting out to the ruined truck hood next to her own. His hands were still very human but now the points of his teeth were breaking the skin of her shoulder as he lost himself onside of her.
When it was over he removed his teeth from her shoulder. She could feel the trail of warm blood that slid down from the wound. It was already healing. He moved, giving her just enough room to turn around before his body was pressed against hers again, his forehead going to her shoulder as his arms caged her in. It felt good to be so close to someone after spending over a century being alone. And that was why she'd never regret what she'd done to him, no matter how selfish it was.
"How am I gonna hide this from my brother?" He asked, not raising his head.
"It gets easier," she said, trying to hide the rough quality of her voice.
He finally lifted his head and met her eyes. As soon as their gaze locked the last rays of the sun slipped behind the hills. This was it.
She pushed gently at his chest as his eyes widened and his jaws clenched against the unsettling sensation she knew he was feeling. He took a few steps back and then she urged him to his knees. She probably shouldn't have stayed so close but there was no way she was leaving him alone. She ran her hand down his spine and felt the vertebrae shift under touch.
He wasn't in pain. She knew that. The pain was over once her venom had ran its course the other night. No, he wasn't in pain, but he was probably terrified. She wasn't sure how long he would be this way, trapped between two bodies, between two versions of himself. Her first time had taken most of the night but that was probably because she hadn't known what was happening to her. He knew. The night before he had already started the process.
His body bucked sharply under her hands and she moved away as a tortured howl tore from his throat, part man, part animal. He seemed to shimmer before her eyes and then he... exploded.
She fell backwards, crab walking away from the massive black beast in front of her. Her mouth opened with an audible pop and his head swung around, nostrils flaring as wide yellow eyes raked over her, his body trembling with every labored breath. He didn't look like someone would expect. He didn't look like the wolf man. He didn't look like one of the creatures from the howling. But he was no less terrifying than either of them. He also didn't look like an average wolf. No fluffy oversized pup that looked like something that you would ever want to pet. No, he was nothing like that either. He was large. Much larger than she thought he would be. Though he resembled a wolf more than he did a monster, it was obvious that a monster was what he was. His fur was thick and black, and when he finally climbed to his feet his lips curled back, exposing his teeth.
She waited for him to make a move, sat up on her knees, and shifted much easier than he had. Practice gave her the ability to maintain a certain grip on her humanity that he probably didn't posses just yet so she watched him warily as he circled her. He shook out his fur and lowered his head, stalking towards her, his teeth still bared. She growled low in her throat, flashing her own as she joined in the dance, countering him, not letting him get too close. Her hackles went up, her muscles tensing the closer he got.
He stopped suddenly, his head going up as he sniffed at the air. He shook himself again and then his eyes met hers, his head tilting to the side almost questioningly. She grinned and walked towards him, no longer leery. She bumped his chest with her head, letting him know she wasn't afraid. He licked his chops, nipped her shoulder and then turned, shooting into the trees like a shot, heading straight towards the city.
~H~
The trees flew past him in a blur but he wasn't concerned that he would ram his head into one. His senses were sharp. His vision was clear. He could feel her next to him. Not just physically either. It was as though a part of her was nestled somewhere deep inside of him and the closer she was physically, the bigger than small part grew. He felt her teeth sink into his flank and he spun around sharply, catching her off guard and rolling her until she was pinned under his heavier weight. She snapped up at his face but he dodged her easily, growling low instead of laughing like he wanted to do.
She huffed out a breath and grew still, letting him know that he won. As soon as he moved off of her she jumped up and took off, leaving him sitting there on his haunches, panting like some pussy terrier. The thought had him snorting as he took off after her.
He groaned as a sharp pain twisted his stomach. He was starving. A hunger like none he had ever experienced was causing him to fumbled. He followed her out of the trees and onto a lonely back road. He could see the lights from the city and blinked, his eyes adjusting to the brightness. He could smell it too and the odor caused him to stop and sneeze several times.
She looked back at him, the moonlight glinting off her silver fur. She looked back towards the city and then took off running again, veering off and heading towards some train tracks that ran parallel to the road for a while. He let her stay ahead of him. Even though the tracks led them into a quieter section of the city that mostly consisted of run down warehouses and dark empty factories, the sounds and smells were still overwhelming to him.
He knew what they were here to do but the part of him that felt bad about killing earlier was drowned out by the hunger that was almost crippling. She glanced back once and then left the tracks, slipping silently between two buildings. He could feel the vibrations of some kind of music under his paws. There was some kind of club here and he could only guess what kind of people frequented a place on this dreary side of town.
She veered off, stopping behind a dumpster that normally would have caused him to gag but now just peeked his curiosity. There had been a lot of people here. He could smell each individual one, his brain conjuring up strange images of who they could have been. His stomach rumbled loudly. She glanced over her shoulder and then stiffened, slowly turning her head towards the mouth of the alley.
At first he didn't hear anything but eventually he was able to tune out the other sounds and focus on what must have caught her attention. He could hear a man speaking in a low dangerous voice. He also heard a woman's voice, small and afraid. The words were a blur but it was clear that the woman was scared of the man. He really didn't care about that. He would gladly rip into both of them if it would ease the painful hunger.
The voices were getting louder as the couple slipped into the alley and he was surprised to hear three sets of footsteps instead of just two and then he heard the sound of another man's low laughter.
"You wanted out of suburbia little girl. Now you're gonna give this man what he paid for, or you're gonna be the one to pay." Daryl's ears pricked. Now he understood what she had meant. This mother fucker must have been this girls pimp.
He heard Carol growl low in her throat as the steps came closer. He moved until he was next to her. She was trembling with tension and he found himself pressing against her, letting her know that he felt the same anger. He wanted to launch out from behind the dumpster and grab the guy right then but if she was waiting, there was a reason.
His head snapped up when he heard the girl cry out in pain. He hadn't heard either man hit her but he could hear the fear in her voice. Carol nudged him in his side with her head, pushing him slightly. He met her eyes and knew that it was time. She was letting him go first. He didn't hesitate. He slipped out from behind the dumpster and wasn't surprised to see that the girl had been shoved to her knees. That was the reason she'd cried out like she had. She was knelt in front of one man while another was behind her, twisting her hair. The man in front of her was working his belt open.
The surprising thing was how small they seemed. He was on all fours and he was at eye level with the taller man that was standing behind the girl. His stomach twisted again and he could almost hear the blood pumping through the bigger man's veins, warm and sweet. He growled, the sound loud in the narrow space of the alley, bouncing off the brick walls.
Both men looked up in surprise and the tough guy behind the girl, the one that had threatened her, cried out, backing away slowly. The girl screamed, but it wasn't the girl Daryl was focused on. He kept his eyes on the bigger man as the girl crawled away, trying to hide behind another dumpster. Out of nowhere, Carol was air born. She launched herself at the man that had been about to receive whatever it was he had paid the girl to do. The girl that didn't look much older than fifteen, if she was even that.
Daryl, and the man he was stalking, watched in morbid fascination, as the silver wolf twisted in the air, her jaws snapping in a calculated fashion. Just as her paws hit the cement, the man's head was rolling towards the dumpster, and the girl that was hiding there. The body fell and Carol was on it quickly, tearing away the clothes until she could reach the soft flesh.
The other man finally broke through his shock and turned to run but it was no use. Daryl lunged at him, gripped one leg in his massive jaws and gave it a swift jerk. Under the mans pained scream there was another strange sound, a pop and a crack and a wet tearing. Daryl paused and then shook his head, tossing the man's leg aside and pouncing onto his back as he tried to drag his broken body away.
The girl behind the dumpster was making strange mewling sounds as the wolves devoured their first kill of the night.
Part Four:
Puppy Love
Daryl woke up in his own bed three days later, his muscles sore and his head aching slightly. He would have bet everything he owned that all of it had been a dream but then a warm hand slid down his stomach and a very feminine voice mumbled something next to his ear. He turned his head and blinked, his eyes protesting against the sun that poured in through the open window.
He was burning up but he was also completely naked so he pushed the blanket down to his hips, exposing her back to anyone that happened past the open door to his bedroom. He wasn't sure if Merle was back yet and he didn't particularly care. Maybe it was because he still felt that animal in his veins but for some reason, modesty wasn't a concern of his anymore. Now he knew why it was so easy for her to just strip on a whim. The air felt good against his skin.
Carol moved her hand back up his stomach and then raised her head, squinting at him with a sleepy smile. "Morning," she muttered.
He glanced towards the windows and shook his head. "I don't think it's mornin' anymore," he said.
She craned her neck to take a look herself and then shrugged. Before he had a chance to say anything else to her she slid on top of him, her lips meeting his fiercely. Memories tumbled through his mind as he kissed her back, hands roaming over her hips as her tongue fought to dominate his. He remembered everything. Every kill. Every second being with her out there, completely free. No inhibitions. For a guy that had lived most of his life closed off, it was an exhilarating thing.
She had been right. He was built for this. He was still him for the most part, but now he felt better. And the loneliness that he had lived his whole life with was gone. She was there and he was whole. And from now on, this would be his life. She broke the kiss and sat up, a brilliant smile on her face. "I think I'm gonna like it here," she said suddenly.
He raised a brow at her. "You make a habit of just movin' right in with a guy when you feel the urge?"
She shook her head, biting her lip and rolling her hips over him. He groaned. "You want me to leave?"
He thought about it. He let himself wonder what it would be like to not be around her and he felt his pulse quicken in panic. He shook his head quickly, surprised at the onslaught of emotion he felt at just the idea of her being away from him.
Her features sobered and she nodded. "Frighteningly intense, huh? I didn't know it would feel like this."
He swallowed thickly and then she leaned down, her lips grazing his softly before she sighed and sat back up. His eyes raked over her and the corner of his mouth turned up. "You're gonna have to get used to clothes if you're gonna stay here. Merle's easily distracted. You walk around like that and you're liable to give the man a stroke."
On cue the front door slammed and they both turned their heads towards the door at the sound of Merle's booming voice. "Where the hell you at, little brother? You wouldn't believe the crazy shit that happened in the city the last..." He stopped in the doorway and his words fell away as his eyes grew impossibly wide. He righted himself quickly and grinned. "Oh damn. Didn't know you were entertaining company."
Carol didn't bother to try to cover herself. The only thing Merle could see was her back, which wasn't so bad. It was obvious the man thought she would scrambled off of his brother and try to hide. She did move off of him, but to Merle's surprise, Carol wasn't shy. At all. She slid off of Daryl, who fought to keep the blanket so Merle didn't get an eye full of his dick. "Hi, Merle," she beamed and then stood up, glancing back at Daryl with a grin.
All Daryl could do was fold his arms behind his head and watch as Merle struggled to pick his chin up. Merle's eyes flicked from the naked woman in front of him to Daryl but Daryl could only shrug. Merle couldn't help it, when he looked at her again, his eyes roamed over her. Daryl didn't blame him.
"You gonna put on some clothes, girl?" Merle finally asked as Daryl sat up, reaching for a pair of jeans hanging off the end of his bed.
Carol stepped right past him into the hallway. "I don't feel like it. You hungry?"
Merle stood there, open mouthed, for a few more seconds. Finally Daryl stood up and buttoned his jeans, shaking his head as he shoved his arms through a shirt. "She's movin' in," he said, unsure what Merle would have to say about it but positive he didn't care one way or another.
Merle stared at him and then poked his head through the doorway to look down the hallway before staring at Daryl again. "She ain't got any clothes on!"
Daryl's brows shot up. "You feel scandalized or somethin'?"
Merle still looked to be in shock. "Well no, but don't that bother you?"
Daryl shook his head. "She's hot. Why the hell would that bother me?"
Merle seemed to mull this over. "Well, I'm gonna look at her if she's gonna be naked."
"I don't think she'll mind very much," Daryl said, keeping his voice as nonchalant as he could just because it seemed to be causing Merle some discomfort. Hell, if it was a week ago and he had a girl that liked to walk around in the nude he'd have a problem with it. Now all he felt was a little envy because he wanted to be naked too.
"What if she hits on me or somethin'?" Merle asked, following Daryl down the hall.
Daryl laughed. "She won't."
"You don't know that. I have a way with women."
Daryl turned then, his eyes meeting Merle's in the dim hallway. "She's mine," he stated flatly. "She ain't gonna hit on you. Matter of fact if you tried hittin' on her instead she'd probably rip your fool head off. She's tougher than she looks."
Merle scowled at him. "What the hell happened to you? You ain't been right since you met that girl."
Daryl grinned and headed back down the hall, leaving a stunned Merle standing there. "Don't worry about it Merle. I feel fine."
After a few silent moments he heard Merle call after him. "Alright then, but hey! Does she got a sister?"