The Werewolf

Raphael Santiago hadn't been planning on coming so close to werewolf territory, but when a vampire says he smells blood, even if he is the most idiotic vampire in New York, you listen.

So now Raphael was following Stephan across the rooftops (because the street was apparently too 'boring') attempting to scent the blood that Stephan said was from a fighting mundie.

Raphael was not thrilled.

If they walked in on two humans trying to kill each other he was fully prepared to pick them up and drag them to the nearest hospital.

Or just out onto the street.

Then he and Stephan could get back to what they were supposed to be doing. Hunting.

Not for humans, the Clave was already on high alert and one good thing you could say about Stephan was he wasn't one to break the Law.

Stephan was the newest addition to the Manhattan vampire clan, but he had been a vampire for over fifty years. Not that time had improved him much as a vampire. He knew he was a vampire but on occasion he still acted as though he was a human.

Not now when he was jumping from roof to roof but other times.

Every morning he walked out into the sun, which had caused more than one drop- and- roll accident with some of the other vampires.

Some nights he worked at an electronics store in Brooklyn.

He acted like more of a human then the Daylighter for goodness sakes!

But he was still a vampire, so if he said he smelled blood then he wasn't lying.

They crossed the roofs in silence. Then Stephan whispered, "We're close."

Raphael breathed in and he now smelled the blood. Thick, as if the street below was coated in it. Then he heard growls from an alley. The two vampires looked at each other and quickly leaped off the roof into the shadows of the alleyway.

The full moon illuminated a grisly scene, even by Downworlder standards.

The walls of the alley were spattered with blood, most of it (Raphael was surprised to note) werewolf blood. The rest was the blood of a mundane, a girl by the looks of it. A werewolf had her pinned to the pavement, shaking its head and growling. A messenger bag, a bloody Swiss Army knife and an even bloodier broken bottle lay a few feet away from them.

The vampires looked to each other again and sprang into action.

Stephan took a running leap and knocked the werewolf into a dumpster. The wolf growled and attempted to bite. However, the girl had somehow managed to shove a large chunk of concrete into its mouth that made it impossible for the wolf to shut its jaws.

Stephan laughed at the attack and threw the werewolf into the wall, several times.

When he was done the wolf was knocked out and Stephan himself only had a few scratches.

Raphael ran to the girl when it became apparent that Stephan needed no help. She might have been pretty by human standards except she was covered in blood and claw marks.

Her ribcage appeared to be crushed and her left arm was bent at several unnatural angles. Most of her torso had been shredded by the claws of the werewolf. There were, however, no bite marks; something that she would be glad about if she survived.

Which wasn't likely.

"Boss," Stephan said, it hadn't taken him long to finish with the werewolf, "I don't think she's gonna make it."

Then he stared at her face. "I know her." He decided.

"What? From where?" Raphael asked.

"Her picture was on TV, with less blood of course. I think she was missing. Anyway, I took care of big ugly. We can leave her at a hospital if you want."

Raphael looked down at the girl. For some reason it didn't seem right to let her die.

He knelt beside her and brushed blood off her face. She opened her eyes which were dark and filled with pain.

Stephan gasped, "I'm gonna be over here boss." He darted away in a blur.

Poor Stephan wasn't good with girls, even dying ones.

"Who are you?" Raphael muttered to himself.

"…" The girl tried to speak but wasn't able to make a sound. "Shhhh…." Raphael murmured.

Unconsciously he raised his arm and using his fangs punctured his skin. Unnaturally red blood dripped from the cuts into the girl's mouth. She swallowed in shock.

"Good." He soothed. "Now sleep, when you wake you will feel better."

The girl's eyes closed and, as ordered, she slept.

Then he bent to her neck and drained what blood she had left. When he finished Stephan walked over.

"So…we have to find a graveyard then boss." He stated.

"Yes, Stephan." Raphael replied. "And don't call me boss."

Stephan nodded, "Yes b…um, Mr. Santiago. Uh, you might want to know, I found a student card." He held it up.

"Her name is Jennifer, with a 'g' and a 'y' so… it's Gennyfer. Gennyfer Cox. She's sixteen and she lives in Brooklyn."

Raphael nodded, not really listening after hearing her name.

"Get her bag. Someone must have called the police by now. We have to go."

He picked up Gennyfer, and then he turned to Stephan.

"And call the Daylighter. She'll need blood and I doubt the others will want to share."

"Yes, sir." Stephan looked at the messenger bag. "Uh, boss. How am I supposed to bring that with us?"

Raphael sighed. "Put in in your backpack Stephan, and don't call me boss."

"Yes sir."