The Raven's Saga

by Kessryll

Based on The world of darkness, Werewolf the apocalypse, a lone werewolf is sent into a city controlled by vampires by his elders with very specific orders but once he meets a vampire, he finds himself in a fight with his conscience and begins to question everything he has done in his life.

This story is Rated MA.

Chapter 1

This chapter is dedicated to my precious Ry. Thank you for being in my life my love.

Fatal Attractions

Din of iniquity. That's what the elder Garou of his tribe had called it. It was a haven for the wyrm to spread its disease. The discussion at the tribal moot was heated with ranting from the old Wendigo shaman calling it neutral ground and warning that killing inside that place could bring the humans into harm's way and compromise the veil that they had kept holy since time immemorial. Though all the tribal leaders from the Wendigo to the Red Talons to the Get of Fenris themselves agreed that something must be done to stem the tide of the vampire curse seeming to thrive in that place, they could not argue the truth in the shaman's words. Killing in that neutral ground would mean war and there was no greater fear to the Garou or the vampires than to be found out by the humans. It was decided then. Ravens night club was not to be bloodied but they would send one of their own within its walls to seek out and follow the vampires, so they could be destroyed when opportunity presented itself. But whom would they send?

The debates went on and on but a decision was finally made. Kessryll was summoned before the tribal leaders that very night. As he walked into the clearing, several of the younger and less experienced Garou made a simple gesture to him but as simple as it was, it was extremely significant. A slight turn of the head and a tilt of the neck to offer him their throat was a sign of submission to an alpha. As Kessryll approached the elders, He took a knee and offered them his throat. With his homage paid, he then stood and pronounced himself to those in attendance as was tradition among the Garou.

"I am Kessryll, Arden of the Fenrir. My moon is Ahroun and I am here at the bidding of my fathers. Now why am I here?" Kessryll stood by the firelight almost in defiance to those around him. This was no place to show any sign of weakness and he knew damn well that to have all the tribal elders in one place meant something catastrophic was about to take place and for some reason he had been summoned.

Thorgaard, the Get of Fenris elder, stood and approached Kessryll. Kessryll stood and looked the larger man in the eye. Thorgaard circled Kessryll then sniffed at him and burst into a hearty laugh. "You see?! Do you all see now why it must be one of my Fenrir?! This one shows no scent of fear even in my presence. Yes…he will do." There was murmuring between the elders but Kessryll could see many of them shaking their heads in agreement with Thorgaard. All except for the Black Fury elder. She and her tribe had always had great disdain for the Get and believed them to be pampas blowhards who drank far too much.

Thorgaard regarded Taniya and shook his head. "You do not agree with our decision Taniya of the honored Black Fury? If it displeases her grace then let her speak her mind to this council." Taniya stood as tall as Thorgaard and walked forward to Kessryll and circled him in much the same manner as Thorgaard. "Tis true enough he has no fear and I doubt not his courage in battle. He is after all born under the Ahroun moon and is a mighty Get but this is not a battle Thorgaard! It requires subtlety and I have seen never a Get with that quality." Thorgaard looked at Taniya and furrowed his bushy eyebrows. 'I will submit that you have a valid point but you are sending him to certain death. Who among you, save the Get, want to die in battle? Who among you have the courage to walk into that place? We send him into the pit itself and even the mighty White Howlers who's prowess in battle rivaled even the mighty Get are now but a memory for sending their entire tribe to slaughter. That is why it must be him! He can mask his fear. And if he is discovered, he is the only one that stands a chance of getting out alive. And if he is captured, then he knows nothing that can harm the tribes. And if he is killed, then we will honor him with drink and songs of glory." Thorgaard stood there looking at Taniya waiting for her response.

She stood in silence for a moment considering Thorgaard's argument. Taniya looked Kessryll up and down. "Remember the Litany boy. Do not let yourself be discovered by the humans under any circumstances. You are forbidden to change forms in their presence. Is that understood? If you are seen, you must kill the human that saw you change. No exceptions." Kessryll nodded. "Now, will someone tell me just what the hell I am doing?"

He stood outside of the Raven's nightclub staring at the sign. There were patrons coming and going from the main doors and by all accounts, it must have been a very popular place. For the most part they appeared to be human but Kessryll's keen sense of smell could detect the distinct odor of death… or perhaps it would be better described as un-death. Kessryll had killed vampires before and had no remorse but this mission was unlike those he had gone on before. He wasn't supposed to kill. He was supposed to watch them. The thought disgusted him. He was a Fenrir. The most feared tribe among the Garou. Humans called them werewolves but humans were ignorant of the truth and saw monsters in anything they couldn't explain or control. What the humans didn't understand was that the Garou were created by Gaia herself to protect the humans and the balance of nature. Humans were food for the wyrm taint. Vampires and the fallen Garou tribes fed on their flesh and blood but Garou were forbidden to taste human flesh.

It was the Litany. The laws that guided the hand of the Garou. Humans didn't understand the difference between a Garou and a Black Spiral Dancer. The dancers were the twisted remnants of what was once the greatest tribe among the Garou. They were once called the White Howlers and even the Get of Fenris respected them. Some say the Get even feared them. And now, they were the enemy and treacherous. For they knew the secrets of the Garou and could be anywhere. It was the fall of the White Howlers that tipped the balance to the wyrm's side. Kessryll shuddered and sighed deeply. He looked back at the neon sign then opened the door and entered the club for the first time. That act would change him forever.

The music was loud and there were at least 40 people in the club dancing, talking, and making out in a corner booth. That was at least the part that he could see from the foyer. The women in the place were dressed to kill and the smell of sex was almost overpowering to his keen senses. It was not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination but it was distracting as hell. Kessryll made note of the exits and also the security. A few bouncers and by the looks of them, off duty cops moonlighting to make ends meet. They would no doubt be armed. Kessryll chuckled. As he stood there surveying the room, he stopped his eyes on a beautiful woman standing near the entrance to the dance floor. She appeared to me sizing him up but there were so many people in the room that he couldn't be sure. He watched as another girl whispered something in her ear which bought out a burst of laughter from both of them. He made his way through the crowd and stopped short of the dance floor. The woman stood there staring at him with a finely sculpted raised eyebrow. "You are new here." She raised her voice over the music as Kessryll turned and looked at her. "Are you talking to me?" He replied. The woman grinned at him. "I can tell these things. Besides…I know most everyone who comes and goes from here and I have never seen you here." She reached out a hand tipped with perfectly manicured nails that were painted with a black glossy polish. "I'm Ryosuke, but you can call me Ry." Kessryll took her hand and kissed it. "Kess." Ry nodded approval at the old school greeting. "You are different. I like different. Come dance with me!" She didn't wait for an answer, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out on the floor and put her arms around his neck as a slower song started playing.

"So…Kess, what brings you to Ravens?" Her dark eyes almost burned right through him and she smelled wonderful. He had walked into this club and in less than a minute had one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid his eyes on in his arms. No wonder this place was so damn popular. "I heard it was a nice place and finally got around to checking it out for myself." Ry grinned wickedly. Ravens has been called many things but nice isn't one of them. Wicked, sinful, naughty, sexy, those I have heard but never nice. So is it?" She grinned again knowing full well she was having the desired effect on this guy. "What? Is it nice? Yeah… I uhh, I got no complaints so far." He was off balance by her behavior. She was blunt and sensual as hell and it was really starting to affect him. It was more than sensory overload. It was pure erotic. What the fuck were the elders thinking sending him here with this kind of temptation?

As they danced, she let go of him and circled him like a predatory cat circling a unwary gazelle yet her hands never left his body. He wasn't a big guy in his human form. Perhaps he would be best described as average build but then he didn't need to look muscular like some of the steroid freaks he saw hitting of every woman in the club. She stopped and started into his blue eyes and reached up and ran a nail across his throat. She turned around and put that finger up to her lips and licked it. "You taste good. And there's no taste of a woman on you. I think maybe we should do something about that." That had to have been one of the most erotic things he had ever seen. He got a glimpse of her tongue and it appeared that it was pierced. "So? You wanna go somewhere?" Kessryll was almost speechless. This was not why he was here but what the fuck was he supposed to do. He was sent here to blend in right? And he has this incredible sensual woman asking him to go with her. What the fuck was he supposed to do? He looked at Ry and grinned. "Do I have stupid stamped on my forehead or something? Of course I wanna go somewhere!" She reached up and grabbed him by the hair and pulled him into a kiss that very quickly confirmed his suspicions that her tongue was pierced. As their tongues intertwined, he was mesmerized by just how good she tasted. He pulled her closer pressing himself against her body feeling her breast against his chest. She was excited if her breathing was any indication and he could feel her nipples pushing against the thin layer of cloth that held them in check. He pulled away as she rose onto her toes to make the kiss last just a moment longer as their tongues and lips parted with a wet little smack. "You taste pretty damn good your self darling" Kessryll's eyes were almost glowing a golden brown as he stared into her dark eyes. Ry tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. "I could have sworn your eyes were blue just a second ago." Kessryll hadn't been in this place twenty minutes and had already fucked up. "They are contacts. They change colors with heat. Found them on ebay." Ry narrowed her brow for a moment then smiled. "Cool, I like them! Let's get out of here!"

As he followed her out he thought how amazingly lame that excuse was. Ebay for god's sake. That was just fuckin stupid and there is no way in hell she believed him. Yep. He would be dead by morning at this rate. "Fuck you very much Thorgaard!" Kessryl followed her towards the exit and she stopped briefly to talk to her friend who was also smoking hot in his humble opinion. She reached over and kissed the woman on the lips and grinned as she nodded towards Kessryll. "Jammer! I found a boy toy! If we aren't back in 3 hours, call the paramedics….for him!" Ry laughed and Kess thought that even her laugh was erotic as hell. The other girl, Jammer, commented, "I expect her to be fucked senseless before you bring her back to me!" Kessryll laughed. "Yes maam! I'll keep that in mind!" With those words, they hurried out into the night air.

Ryosuke lead him down several streets to what appeared to be an abandoned wearehouse. Ryosuke grinned back over her shoulder at Kessryll. "This has possibilities." Kessryll gave her a concerned look. "Oh come on you big baby. Are you afraid of the dark?" She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the door. They entered the building that appeared to have been some type of Rave. It was musty and the air was chilly but there were still lights in some places. As he surveyed the room, He noticed shackles on the walls and what appeared to be torture racks and there was an upper level as well that appeared to have

more of the same. "What is this place?" Kessryll was still standing in the center of the room looking up and when Ry didn't answer, he looked around the room and she was gone. "Ry?" He raised his voice a little concerned. He heard movement upstairs and moved to investigate it. As he topped the stairs, He found her standing there with nothing on except a pair of stilettos and in her hand was a piece of rope. He looked at her in awe. She was exquisite. Almost flawless. Her milky skin almost glowed in the darkness and the nipples now fully erect with small gold rings piercing them were like flames to a moth. She was shaved save for a small patch of neatly groomed pubic hair that seemed to point the way to his prize. He wanted her and he wanted her now.

Kessryll moved toward Ryosuke with an obvious look of lust gleaming in his golden eyes and as he got closerer she put her hand up and backed out of his reach. "Not so fast boy. Get those clothes off right this instant. Kessryll did not even think of protesting. He stripped out of his tshirt and jeans and stooed there with a hard on that he could have chiseled a statue out of marble. She walked around him with the rope and ran her hands across his body and down his back stopping finally on his ass. She squeezed his ass and grinned in approval. She then smacked his ass playfully and pushed him onto the bed. "Im going to do things to you boy that either you have dreamed about all your life, or you have had nightmares about. Either way…I will have you." She grabbed his wrist and located a shacle attached to the bed and placed the cuff on him and wrenched it down tight. She leaned over him dragging her nipples across his chest and secured his other hand. She moved like a cat to the foot of the bed and wiggled her ass teasingly as she did. Kessryll could see her pussy peeking out from between her thighs and it was already glistening with her honey. She shackled him to where he had little room ro move then stepped off of the bed. She stood over him and picked up a small leather whip. As she looked down at him and surveyed her handy work, she looked at his body and only in this light did she notice several scars that were obviously not accidental. "Remind me when I am done with you to explain those scars…right now, I want to be pleased. You will please me wont you Kess?" The words poured out of her like the purring of a cat and Kessryll could see the lust in her eyes. "Anything you want darling." Ry stopped and looked at him. "Anything?" Kessryll nodded. "I will hold you to your word." She leaned down and took his cock in her soft hands and slowly stroked it slowly staring at it as if it were her favorite toy. She waste no time tasting him. As she lowered her mouth to take him in he shuddered. She stopped just as she was about to engulf the head and smiled evilly. The sight of those glossy blood red lips that close to his cock was definitely something out of a dream. She stuck her tongue out and barely touched the tip which was already forming precum. She withdrew her tongue slowly leaving a little spider web like tendril from her tongue to his cock. She was an absolute expert in teasing him. His cock was now filled with blood and very thick. She looked at him again then engulfed him to the hilt. Her tongue moved in ways he didn't know was possible. She began a rhythm with her tongue as she sucked him in again and again. He could barely stand to lay there as her magic had him nearly ready to burst.

But she was more than aware of this and took her lips away from him. "Now, You will please me. She turned and straddled him and leaned down and bit his lip. "You must not move Kessryll. Do you understand me?" Kessryll thought about speaking but decided that his silence would serve as the answer. If he spoke, he would have to move. "You are a smart boy aren't you." When reached beyween her legs and ran a single finger between the lips of her pussy and then tasted herself. "Hmmmm, you know what? I taste better than you." She did it again except this time the put the finger to his lips and left a gloss on his lips. "You may not lick your lips until I am done with you. If you do, I will get dressed and leave you here all alone. And I will take the key with me." With that she grabbed his shaft and positioned it between her lips and lowered herself down so agonizingly slow that Kessryll almost lost it then and there. "It must be hard to be a man and have such a demanding task. We tease you to the point of ecstasy then tell you you shouldn't cum too fast." With every other word she raised herself off of him then back down. She continued her dance until she began feeling her own juices beginning to boil. She reached between her legs and rubbed her clit as she rode him. Faster and faster she rocked on him until finally she felt the waves of her orgasm crashing over her like small jolts of electricity traveling though her. Kessryll lay there with tears in his eyes and his face was beat red. When Ry opened her eyes and looked down, it was the most pitiful sight she had ever seen. With a wicked little grin she pulled him out and said, "Ok Kessryll, you were a good boy you can cum now and by all means lick your lips." He did both almost simultaneous. His cum went everywhere. They were both a stick mess. Ry stood up and grabbed Kessryll's t-shirt and wiped her juices on it and tossed it on the bed. "You did well this time. I might have to keep you.."

Kessryll lay there unable to move as the door burst open and several people moved quickly into the room. Ryosuke spun around and hissed. "Morgan! I did not invite you to my little party! what are you doing here?!" Morgan Zander walked casually across the room and up the flight of stairs with several others in tow. To his left was a beautiful woman dressed in a black low cut dress and a slit up the side that moved like silk as she sauntered next to him. She was beautiful in her own right and had a mischievous smirk on her face. "Hello Ry my sweet. Playing with your food again?" Ryosuke looked at the helpless Kessryll laying spread eagle on the bed and grinned. "He was not my dinner KC...he was desert. Now tell me why you have disturbed my play time!"

Morgan stopped at the foot of the bed and looked down at Kessryll. "You know Ry, for the primogen of the Toreador, you sure have bad taste in men." Ryosuke raised an eyebrow. "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean. Stop with the riddles and tell me why the prince of the city is so interested in who I am fucking. You have KC...Stay out of my business." Morgan turned and slapped Ryosuke across the face. Kessryll struggled against the chains but they held tight. Ry snarled with glowing red eyes and bared a set of ivory fangs. "Your little toy here is a fucking Garou! Your toy IS my affair! You have put us all in danger and you didn't even know what he was." Ry furrowed her brow and looked back at Kessryll as a trickle of blood formed on her cheek. "That's preposterous! there is no way I would miss that. You never even met him! How the fuck would you know what he is?"

"Oh, I have my ways and if he had found out about what you are...I would have been mopping up pieces of one of my primogen for a month. You just fucked a werewolf. How do you intend to explain that to your clan?" Again Ryosuke looked back at kessryll. "Is it true? If you are Garou...why can I not sense it? I should be able to smell it on you." she turned back to Morgan. "You have to be wrong about him Morgan...I would know." Morgan looked at Kessryll and smiled evilly. "there is a simple way to find out for certain. He has done well to hide it I grant you but my sources are quite reliable. Morgan reached into his jacket and handed Ry a silver bladed dagger. She looked at it for a moment then back and Morgan questioningly. "Must I spell it out for you? If he is Garou, they are allergic to silver. If he isn't, he gets a knife wound and you get to finish your meal." Ry looked at the dagger again and turned to Kessryll. "Im sorry love but I have to know." Ryosuke slammed the dagger unto Kessryll's thigh. Kessryll screamed out in pain but laid there helpless. Blood oozed from his wound but nothing more. Morgan stood there for a moment and waited for the silver to take effect but still nothing. "That was interesting." Morgan looked at KC and frowned. "So now what my love? He is human...This will certainly bring us unwanted attention. We don't need cops sniffing around Ravens." Morgan looked at Ryosuke. "I am sorry Ry. I can assure you that my...informant will be punished but now...you must kill him." Ryosuke looked at Morgan defiantly. "Fuck you Morgan! I will not kill him. He did nothing wrong and there are many humans that frequent Ravens! Why should this one have to die for your stupidity?!"

"Because now he knows what we are and you just stabbed him in the leg! The police will certainly want to talk to you about that!" Morgan was getting very impatient. "Because I am the fucking prince of this city and you will do as I commanded you to do!" That was a mistake of monumental proportions on Morgan's part. Ryosuke gathered herself up and walked up face to face with Morgan. "Well prince of the city, I will not kill him and if you wish to remain prince, you will leave him alone. You are prince as long as you keep the clans at peace and you are about to go to war. I will take my Toreador and walk right out of your city and without my clan, you have no night clubs, no art galleries, no business is bad business. Explain to your precious stock holders why your entertainment businesses went belly up." She turned back to Kessryll and pulled the dagger from his leg. "And one more thing my prince. "Your little lover there is toreador. She will also be leaving with me if I go. And that is a guarentee." KC started to disagree but Ry looked her in the eyes. "You are my blood and you will obey me. Not another word. If you want to be with him, you had better change his mind. I will not allow the human to die because of his fuck up!" Morgan knew well that Ryosuke was dead serious and could in fact do everything she threatened. Ry Looked at Morgan. "And... if the Bruha should find out what happened here, they will not hesitate to move on that knowledge. Think carefully prince. Is one human worth all that to you?" Morgan shook his head. "Alright Ry...Your other option is to embrace him. If he is one of us, then you can have him. That's the best I can do. You know as well as I do we can not let him leave now." Ryosuke put her hands on her hips. She looked over her shoulder at the defenseless man. "Done. Now if you don't mind, I would like some privacy."

Thus ends Chapter one

Chapet 2

Into the Darkness

Ryosuke escorted her uninvited guests to the door and saw them out. She stood there for a moment and leaned her head against the door and sighed heavily. It was not her way to embrace anyone against their will. That kind of thing was normally forbidden and had caused the vampire race years of turmoil. Hundreds of years of being hunted for the sins of her predecessors had lead to mass executions of not only vampires but countless innocent humans during the crusades, the inquisition and the Salem witch hunts. What made this different was that she knew if she did not embrace Kessryll and make him a vampire, it was a death sentence for him. He was sweet and good looking, and well built. Perhaps he was no Adonis but he had a wild edge and would make a fabulous addition to the Toreador clan but something in her told her that he would not consent to being embraced and he would certainly hate her if she did.

She began ascending the stairs with a heavy heart. She liked this one a lot and even his human spirit was fiery. Now she would change that forever. As a toreador, his spirit would be even brighter. He would develop artistic skills he never dreamed of or even know he possessed. Maybe he would come to enjoy his new freedom.

As she got the top of the stairs she looked at Kessryll. Her dark eyes surveyed him closely. She looked at his body and she realized something was different. He stared back at her with contempt showing in his beautiful golden eyes. That saddened her. If that bastard prince and his cronies had just left them alone, she could have worked with him. Perhaps in time...he would have asked for her dark embrace. Now it would be ugly and she detested the thought of his futile struggle. She stepped towards him with a slow saunter. As she did she smiled at him. "Kess...I have to do something now that is going to make you...different. I have no choice. You must look into my eyes." As she moved closer her eyes turned a brilliant violet and her movement became almost snakelike. As she got to the edge of the bed she looked down at Kessryll's thigh and her eyes went wide with shock. "What the fuck!?" Kessryll flexed hes arms and twisted and the shackles shattered like broken glass sending fragments of high tensile steel flying into the walls. His movements were so imperceptible that even this vampire didn't have a chance to react and Kessryll's hand grasped her by the throat and slammed her into the wall holding here there with eyes wide. She grabbed at his wrists and dug her nails in deep as his hand tightened its grip. As he squeezed tighter, she forgot all her centurys of vampire experiance and reverted to basic human survival and kicked Kessryll as hard as she could in the groin. Kessryll released her and doubled over. Though she was free from his grasp, she was cornered and he wasn't dead.

Kessryll stood slowly shaking his head. His eyes were now glowing bright red. He shuddered and stood erect regarding her, "You should not have done that." Ry was now completely terrified. This man had just overpowered her and that was fucking impossible. There was no way a human would have done what he did to those shackles much less survived that soccer kick to his nuts. "She bared her fangs and hissed at him like a pissed off cat. "Who the fuck are you!? What the fuck are you!?" Kessryll was not unaffected by the blow to his groin and he was struggling to regain his breath.

I am Kessryll!...I am Fenrir!...Arden of the Get of Fenris and my moon is Ahroun! I...am the thing your nightmares are made of! I am the thing your kind fears most and I am now very pissed at you!" As Kessrll's words trailed off, he began to shimmer. As she stood there crouching and poised for his next attack she watched him growing before her eyes. His body seemed to fade away and where he had been was now the most monstrous thing she had ever bore witness too. What had been a man was now a huge werewolf standing over 12 feet tall covered in a coat of glossy black fur. His massive maw housed razor sharp teeth with huge k9s and from his fur covered fingers were huge curved talons that looked like they were capable of ripping her to shreds. His eyes were now golden again as he stood on two feet staring down at her. His howl could be heard for miles. His ears stood erect and pivoted back and forth as he listened for an answer to his howl but it never came. Though she was now actually shaking, she couldnt help but be in awe of this creature. He was beautiful in a way. Frightening indeed but majestic as well. Not at all the way they were portrayed in movies and books.

Something else caught her attention. Around his massive midriff was a belt that held what appeared to be a giant knife if some sort. That wasn't there before. Even in her state of shock she couldn't help but muse where it came from. Kessryl looked at the obviously frightened vampire and almost felt pitty for her. She was a thing of beauty and it was a shame to destroy her. He knew full well she was not a fighter and was no match for his fury. He would gut her with a swipe of his claws and decapitate her. It would be over quickly.

Ry looked at him and spoke. "Kess, I don't know if you can even understand me but I was trying to save you. They would have killed you on the spot if I hadn't stopped them. I can not fight you. I know I wont win and I don't want to die." Ry stood there with a bloody tear trickling down her cheek. Kessryll stepped forward and extended his claws as he raised a massive hand to strike her down. She closed her eyes and stood there shaking but still defiant. She was no coward by any stretch of the imagination. Kess couldn't stop looking at her. This was no vampire trick. He just couldn't do it. What the fuck is wrong with me? I should have already ended this and moved on. She had tried to save his life when she thought he was human and even defied the vampire who was obviously important to them all. Probably even the leader. Yet she defied him to save Kess. Why?

He lowered his hand and stood there awkwardly. "He spoke with a deeper voice but his own human voice was still apparent. "Why did you save me?" Ry slowly opened her eyes and saw the beast still there yet the blow had not fallen. "You...you speak?" Kessryll shifted his feet, irritated by her answering his question with a question. "That is the problem with your kind. You believe my race to be mindless beasts. Now answer my fucking question." He flexed his taloned hand to stress his impatience. "I stopped him because...I liked you. You were sweet to me and I just couldn't bare watching you die." Kessryll's mind was in overdrive now. He had in all his years never killed an innocent. She was a vampire on one hand but she had done no wrong. It was the Garou's duty to keep the balance. But what did that mean? Killing indiscriminately just because they were different did not seem right or just. Surely that was not why he had been created. But he had orders and now she knew what he was. "How can I let you live now? If I were to left you go, you would have the entire city on me. I heard his orders to you. He said you were to embrace me. What does that mean?" Ry saw a glimmer of hope and did not want to anger him again. "It meant I was to make you like me...of my blood." Kessrylls hackles went up. "You were going to bite me?" Ry knew she was treading on very dangerous ground now. "Yes...but that is only part of the process. I would have fed you my own blood and made you my chylde. When we embrace someone, we are required by vampire law to care for them and teach them our ways. To give you the skills to survive. We don't embrace humans without their consent but this was different. We feared that you would bring the humans down on us but if you were one of us, you wouldn't." Kessryll stood there now very off balance. His own orders were to kill any human that even witnessed his change and yet they would not have killed him. Changed him yes. But not kill. The Garou had no other means to deal with it. He couldn't change a human into Garou, That was a human myth.

Humans invented the term lycanthropy to explain how a human can turn into a wolf. They claimed anyone bitten my a werewolf would become one. They called it a disease. The truth was something altogether different. The gene was there from birth. You were born Garou, or you would never be Garou. It was a dormant gene and one could go their entire life without changing. It was normally a traumatic incident in ones life that woke up the gene. When the first change came, that was the day of their birth to the Garou. That awakening was felt by any Garou in the area and they would seek out the cub and bring him into a tribe. Kessryll thought about Ry's words. Their traditions were similar in that respect.

He growled in frustration. "I am supposed to kill you. You know that Ry. I can not walk back into that club as I am and I can not go home in disgrace." Ry stood there thinking desperately for a way out of this situation. She was a toreador which meant she had the gifts of the muses. "What if I could give you a way to go back and I did not tell them the truth about you?" Kessryll looked around the room trying not to focus on her. He knew he was running out of time and he must strike her down or let her go and did not want to see her if he had to kill her. "I am listening." Ry stepped forward and placed a hand on his massive arm briefly feeling his fur before he pulled away. "I have contacts. Many in my employ that could help me. I can go back and tell them you are a cop. They would never think of harming you then. I can tell them you will keep quiet, for a price. They will assume you are on the take and deal. I will talk to the Bruja primogen first to arrange things. He owes me a favor and he will do anything to be a thorn in Morgan's side. We can get you fake credentials...a gun...everything and all you have to do is play along. You will have safe passage anywhere in the city. They will not harm you as long as you are taking money. They wont suspect a thing. I'll tell them I didn't embrace you because you came up with the idea of hush money and I figured we could you as a human." Kessryll stood there for a moment. "It will never work...what if they want me to do something inside the police department? I got no connections here. It wont work." Ry stepped forward again and put her hand back on his arm. "Kess I have connections in every walk of life. There are kindred everywhere. We walk among the humans everywhere. This CAN work. Please trust me."

Kessryll turned and walked to the edge of the landing and looked down into the room below. He stepped off the edge and landed on the ground below effortlessly. He paced back and forth absently dragging is talons across the walls leaving deep marks in them. "So be it. But be warned girl. If you betray me, I will rip you to pieces before I am killed." He was about to change back to his human form as the door opened and closed behind a man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Kessryll immediately smelled that familiar odor. Un-death. Kessryll leaped the distance of the room before the vampire even realized what he was walking into. He began ripping at the vampire who was frantically trying to fend off his attack. Ry began screaming for him to stop as he ripped into the vampire.

Ry leaped into Kessryll with all her strength knocking him to the floor. Kessryll jumped back and was about to finish the vampire off but Ry shielded him with her own body and screamed at Kess to stop. Kessryll stood there snarling. "MOVE!" Ry stood between to two protectively over the badly injured vampire. "He is my friend and he did not come here for you! FUCK!" Ry looked down at Austin laying on the ground gasping. His body was badly shredded and blood pooled on the floor around him. "Ry looked up and kess with fire burning in her eyes. "Now look what you have done! He needs blood right now or he will die! If he dies, you and I are both dead!" Kessryll stood there. "Did you fuckin hear me!? He needs blood right now!" Now get the fuck over here!"

Ry was done reasoning with this ape. Ry shook her head exasperated with kessryll. "We need to get blood for him. Bring him and come with me! Oh, and change back will you? You can do that cant you? We don't need a 20 foot hairy monster seen carrying one of our Gangrels around. It wouldn't look good." Her fear was gone and that sexy swagger was now back in her step as she headed for the door. She looked back over her shoulder with a tilt of her head. Oh and Kessryll? Kess had started to shimmer again. "What Ry?" With a gleem n her eye she pursed her beautiful soft lips and smirked. "Don't eat him." With that Kessryll changed back to his human form and picked Austin up over his shoulder and followed Ry outside, into the darkness.

The Raven's Story Chapter 3

Beauty and the Beast

Her place was about as elegant as the Ritz Carlton. It was one of those places you see featured in home and garden magazine or something. It was so nice in fact that Kessryll almost didn't want to go inside for fear he might knock something over and break it only to find out it was a 5th dynasty Ming vase or some such worth billions of dollars. He didn't have that kind of money. He had no money in fact now and found himself getting very hungry. Ry placed her keys down on a counter and pointed to the bedroom. Put him down in there on bed Kess. I'll be right in."

Kessryll walked into the bedroom and laid Austin down gently on the bed. He still couldn't believe he was helping a vampire instead of killing it. His mixed emotions combined with an empty stomach were starting to take a heavy toll. He was tried and needed rest but there was no way in hell he was closing his eyes now. In fact, he was pretty sure he would never be able to close his eyes again. Ry walked into the room carrying a tray with a bowl of water and towels and a plastic bag of what was obviously blood. She attached tubing and an IV catheter to Austin's wrist then set out to clean the blood and gore off of him caused by Kessryl's assault. "You really fucked him up Kess. This is going to take some time to heal." Kessryll looked down to see Ry removing Austin's blood soaked t-shirt. The claw wounds were deep. So deep in fact that he could see bare ribs bone and entrails. Kessryll had never in his life actually looked at his handy work. He was normally moving to quick and getting the fuck out of dodge to survey the damage.

Ry finished cleaning Austin and then lead Kessryll out of the bedroom to the kitchen and dining area. His stomach growled so loud in the quiet room that Ry turned to see if he was changing again. She looked at him curiously. "Oh my fucking god! Was that your stomach?" Kessryll nodded a bit embarrassed." She looked him up and down. "When was the last time you ate?" Kessryll shrugged. "I don't remember. Maybe three days ago. I have been on the road for a while. Ran out of money to buy a part for my bike. Fuckin Harleys are expensive to keep up but you can't beat the feeling of riding one so I suck it up." Ry got a little twinkle in her eye. "I didn't figure you for a biker." She studied him closely. "Well we can't have you walking around sounding like a broken garbage disposal. How does Cornish game hens and Spanish rice sound?" Kessryll's stomach answered for him and he found his mouth watering. Ry smiled and set out making the meal.

The smells from the kitchen were heavenly and Kessryll sat at the table drinking a cold beer Ry had provided from the refrigerator. Ry joined him at the table after placing the birds in the oven. She opened a beer and took a sip and sighed heavily. "Sooooo, what a day huh?" Kessryll chuckled at her comment. "Ry, we are so gonna get killed with this hair brained scheme. I think all we are doing is prolonging the inevitable." Ry shook her head adamantly. "Kess, you don't understand Kindred. We follow a strict set of laws and if they are broken, the violator will almost assuredly face final death. I know the laws and I know how to manipulate them to serve my purpose here. All you have to do is go with it and we will make it through this." Kessryll shrugged. "Final death?" Ry nodded. That's what we call it. Kindred are immortal…to a point. We can be killed obviously but without an outside influence to kill us, we are immortal." Kessryll considered that as he looked upon her flawless face. "So how old…?" Ry raised an eyebrow. "I may be Kindred Kessryll, but I am a woman first and there are two things you never ask a woman." Kessryll laughed. "Yeah yeah…Age and weight. Sorry. Just kinda intrigued. I have been killing your kind for so long…I never had a chance to get to know one." Ry smirked. "Let's just say I saw the battle of Agincourt; From a distance of course. To many damn arrows to get any closer." His eyes went wide and he sat back in the chair. So you see love, your concern with breaking something in my house might not be far off the mark. Most of it is quite irreplaceable. Kess looked at her and narrowed his eyes. How did you know I was thinking…" Ry stood up to stir the rice and as she walked into the kitchen, she looked back over her shoulder and gave an evil grin. "It's a gift."

They sat there eating and talking for quite some time. Ry could see the meal please him especially when he began chewing on the bare bones of the hen. "Damn boy! Do I need to order a pizza or something? Stop chewing on the bones." Kessryll looked at her confused until he realized he had actually eaten half of the tiny drum stick bone." Sorry Ry, I wasn't really paying attention. The meal was delicious and even the bones taste good. It's good for my teeth." Kessryll grinned sheepishly at her. "I don't suppose you have any milk bones? I left my tooth brush in my saddle bags." Ry looked at him stunned. Kessryll saw the look on her face and burst out laughing. "Oh my god! You actually believed that!" Ry reached across the table and smacked his shoulder. "That was not funny!" Kess nodded. "Yes it was!"

Ry laughed but then her expression turned more serious. "May I ask a couple questions about you Kess. I too am curious about your people. Nothing nefarious. Just little things I noticed. "If I can reveal the answer I will, but keep in mind that we have laws to that can not be broken." Ry nodded. "I noticed when you were in the ..I don't know what to call it, you wolf-man form…" Kess chuckled at the term she used. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Kessryl raised a hand to hush her apology. "We call the form Crinos. It is our battle form." Ry nodded. "When you were in Crinos, I saw a huge knife? Why would you need a knife?" Kessryll smiled. "It is called a klaive and it is made of silver. You must remember that no matter how big and bad you might be, there is always someone or something out there bigger and bad-er than you. The klaive serves as an equalizer." He reached behind him and withdrew the large blade from somewhere behind him and handed it to her. Ry took the blade from him and examined it. It was exquisitely crafted and well balanced and surprisingly light. She handed the blade back to him butt before he re-sheathed it, he cut his hand with it. Ry looked at him in astonishment. "Why in the world did you do that?" Kessryll shrugged. "It is just a tradition. If the blade is draw, it must taste blood. That's all." Ry shook her head. She reached across the table and took his hand and placed it to her lips. "No sense in letting it go to waste now is there." She licked his hand and smiled evilly.

Kessryll watched her ask she cleaned the blood from his hand with her tongue. I was a sensual act to say the least and she knew it. Her eyes rose to meet his as she sealed her lips around the wound and began sucking. It was a strange sensation but as he watcher her, he couldn't help but become aroused. Those dark eyes were penetration and as she drank his blood her eyes changed to a beautiful violet and her skin took on a warmer hue. She was a work of art. The thing great battles were fought over.

A sound in the distant night broke the mood of the moment. Somewhere in the night breeze, Kessryll heard the distinct sound of a howl. Ry's keen ears had also heard the mournful sound. Kessryll stood slowly and walked to the window. Ry followed and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and leaned her head against his back. "It is such a sad, lonesome sound. Don't you think?" Kess shook his head. "No Ry. It's a warning for me. She lifted her head from his back. "A warning? What do you mean?" Kess turned around to face her but she kept her arms around him. He looked down at her. "The Garou speak to each other in the howl. This one warns me of a new threat and if she was correct, we are in the middle of a shit storm and even I won't be able to do this alone. She says that there are Black Spiral Dancers in the area and if that is true, they are probably looking for me. One spiral is bad enough and several means this is going to get really ugly, in a hurry. How soon will Austin be strong enough to be of use?" Ry looked at him seriously. "Maybe a day and a half. No sooner." I must go and meet them before they get here. If I fail, they will find you and I have no idea what they will do then." He turned and leaped right out of the window and onto the street below. Ry leaned out of the window and yelled down. "what should I look for?" Kessryll began to shimmer and change as he looked back up at her.

"They will be big, hairy, black and very pissed off. Oh…and they will smell bad."

Juliette had been hit on by practically every guy in the club and several of the women as well. She was tired and her feet hurt and all she could thing about was getting out of these shoes and into a nice hot tub. She had been bartending for about a week now and Cowboys and the tips were pretty good but these late nights were going to take some getting use to. She was gorgeous from hear to toe and with working at a bar, it was expected of her to be nice to the customers even if some of them were pigs. She only lived a few blocks away but she was exhausted and really wished a taxi would come along so she didn't have to walk. Her friend lisa who lived just down the hall had shown her a short cut through a side street and up until tonight she hadn't considered using it.

She stared her way down the side street against her better judgment hoping to get home to that bath. As she walked along the street, her mind wandered and she didn't notice the street lights ahead of her were not working. She realized only when she heard the hair raising cackle from the shadows that it had gotten very dark and she was all alone. She quickened her pack hoping to make it to the lit area she could see dawn the street but stopped in her tracks as she noticed two large shapes blocking her path. Again the noise came and her heartbeat began to race. Juliette turned around and began walking back towards the main street but saw another shape blocking her path to the rear. Fear gripped her now and she stood there wringing her hands together. The lone shape began moving towards her at a steady pace. As it got closer she realized it had been a great distance away because the closer it got, the bigger it got. She turned again and started running towards the 2 shapes ahead of her hoping that they were friendly as the thing coming toward her started moving quicker. She looked over her shoulder and could see an occasionally shining glint and believed it was a weapon. Panic had her now as she began screaming for help and running as fast as she could towards the two shapes ahead. As she got closer she realized she had made a horrible mistake.

There was a howl from behind her just as she reached the two figures to the front. They were horrific. They were enormous and covered in matted greasy black fur with glowing red eyes and a huge gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth. As the howl came from behind, the two creatures look up to see what was behind her. It leaped directly over her head and crashed into them with a full body block knocking both of the creatures off of their feet. They were faster than anything she had ever seen. Their movements were almost imperceptible. It was a savage fight and the one that had leapt over her didn't seem concerned with her at all but was clawing and slashing at the other two with what appeared to be a huge knife. She could hear flesh ripping and saw fur flying as they clashed. The larger lone creature made an arcing swing with the knife and Juliette watched as it sliced the belly of the other open spilling its entrails onto the paved street with a sickening splat. The creature shrieked in agony and doubled over holding its massive arms tightly to its stomach at which tome the knife wielding creature slammed the blade strait down into the top of the others head with a bone crunching thud.

The other creature circled the one with the knife and hissed . As the larger one turned to face it, she realized that she was undoubtedly looking at what could only be described as a werewolf. It was enormous but still it have unmistakable wolf like features. It even had a tail though it was walking fully erect. She looked at the other one and realized that it too had wolf like features but it was different. It seemed twisted and deformed. It was grotesque. The larger black werewolf glanced at her for only a second. "GO! NOW!" He yelled at her. He was not there to harm her. Her hearted raced as she turned and ran past the corpse of the slain one. There was more fighting behind her but she did not turn to see what was happening. Juliette was no fool. It said go and she was going to do exactly that as fast as she could. She had reached the safety of the main street and could see her apartment building ahead. From the alley she heard a howl and then it was quiet.

Juliette ran into her building and scrambled for the keys to her apartment just as the elevator door opened she rushed into the elevator car and pushed the button for her floor. Just as the doors began to close Kessryll entered the elevator. Juliette thought of telling him what she had just seen but there was no way this guy was going to believe she saw a werewolf much less three of them. He was cute and the last thing she needed was to have some cute guy thinking she was some sort of nut job. As the doors closed and the elevator started moving, she glanced at Kessryll. He leaned heavily against the side of the Elevator and appeared to be holding his side. "Are you ok?" Juliette asked out of concern as she could see beads o sweat on his forehead and he was growing pale. Kessryll looked up at her with glowing golden eyes and then slumped to the ground. As the doors opened on her floor, She looked outside to see if anyone was there to help. The hallway was empty.

Juliette pulled the car stop button on the elevator and ran down the hall and pounded on the door of her neighbor, Lisa. "Come on, come on! Be home!" Lisa looked out of the peep hole then opened the door. "Juliette…What are you?..." Juliette grabbed her hand and pulled her to the elevator. Lisa looked inside and laughed. "Honey you are built like a brick house and beautiful! You don't have to drug them to get them to come home with you! Juliette gave Lisa a scolding look. "Just help me get him to my place. He is hurt and I am pretty sure he got that way saving my ass." Lisa's eyes went wide and she helped drag Kessryll down the hall to Yanim's apartment door. "What do you mean saved your ass?

What happened?" Juliette unlocked her door the continued to drag Kessryl inside. I was…I think I was about to be attacked when he jumped in and stopped them." Juliette and Lisa struggled to get Kessryll onto the couch as he was now completely unconscious. "Im telling you Lisa I have never seen anything like this. He was an animal." Lisa looked at Juliette and grinned. "An animal huh? Mmmmm …sounds like something out of a fairytale babe." Juliette looked at Lisa and put her hands on her hips. Lisa smirked. "Aww come on…Beauty and the beast?" Juliette laughed and grabbed Lisa's arm and ushered her towards the door. "Thank you for your help now get out!" Lisa stopped just outside the door. "But I wanna watch! Beauty and the beast!" Juliette slowly closed the door grinning. "Good night Lisa." From outside the door, Juliette heard Lisa yell, "You better tell me how he was in the morning! I want details!"

The Raven Chapter 4 Shit Happens

Juliette paced back and forth in her living room glancing back at Kessryll who was passed out on her couch. She knew what he was but even if she called the cops, who would believe her? She walked over closer to him and looked at him closely. He was completely normal looking. No trace of what she had seen in that ally. His eyes had been the thing that gave him away. Why had he been there to begin with? What the fuck were the other two things and more importantly, what the fuck did they want with her? Since he was here on her couch, she assumed he must have won the fight. Now however, he was injured somehow and unconscious on her couch. What was he going to do when he woke up? All she wanted was a damn hot bath and now she was afraid to take one for fear he might wake up. She considered calling 911 at least thirty times but each time, she remembered that whatever or whoever he was, he had most likely just saved her life.

"Fuck it wolf boy. I'm taking my bath and you better not move." Kessryll laid there oblivious to her order. Juliette walked back into her bedroom and grabbed a towel, panties and her favorite sleeping shirt. She went into the bathroom and ran the water in the tub nice and hot. She sat on the side of the tub as the water ran and swirled the rising water around with her hand making sure the bubble bath solution she put in the water made lots of bubbles. It was lavender scented and the smell was already making her feel much more relaxed. She stood up and walked across the bathroom to the sink and drew a glass of water then took a few Motrin to help with the muscle aches. Juliette shimmied out of her miniskirt and panties then removed her shirt and bra allowing her breasts their freedom. She glanced in the mirror and smiled. Her nipple rings were a stark contrast to her dark large nipples and she loved how they looked. Now all she needed was to find someone she liked enough to let them play with them. Being new in town, she didn't know very many people yet and she was too busy at the bar to give anyone much attention. She giggles at the though that since she had gotten to town, she only had one guy in her apartment and he ended up being a freak of nature, not to mention unconscious.

She lowered herself into the hot sudsy water and sighed happily. It felt good and she was damn near exhausted. She needed to get this guy out of her apartment so she could sleep in peace. She shook her head thinking how ironic it was that she wanted him gone. He was cute and had a very nice body and from what she could tell he had some nice tattoos. She liked tattoos. They were a wonderful way to express one's self without having to say a word. Much like her nipple rings. They said, play with me. She grinned to herself and did exactly that. She enjoyed her nipples immensely. She just wanted someone else to enjoy them. She unconsciously flipped them up and down and occasionally pulled on them

stretching her nipples. She soaked in the tub until the water had lost most of it's heat and her fingers were starting to shrivel. She stood up and stretched her arms over her head at the exact moment that Kessryll stepped into the room. Though he had been very out of it, he quickly realized he had walked in on a naked woman and his eyes went directly where any other guys eyes would have wandered. He watched a bead of water run down her beautiful tits and slowly dripped off the peak of her nipple. Kess stood there in silence marveling at her beauty. She was simply flawless. Kess thought about that for a moment how since he had arrived, he couldn't remember where he had seen so many beautiful women. Perhaps when this shit was over and done with he might come back to visit if it was going to be like this. If nothing else, he sure did appreciate the scenery. Juliette had turned and was now facing him as he stared. He was completely lost in her beauty and didn't even realize she was now watching him stare at her.

Juliette cleared her throat. –Ahem- "I can probably find a picture for you…it would last long. Do you mind?" Juliette pointed at the towel hanging on the sink. Kess looked to where she was pointing and reached out and reluctantly handed her the towel. "I'm sorry miss. I didn't realize you were in here. I'm a little disoriented. How did I get here?" Juliette did not cover her body with the towel. Instead, she began using it to dry her hair. Kess stood there a bit embarrassed but watched her tits jiggle as she scrubbed the towel vigorously on her wet hair. His eyes wandered down her body and fixed on a tattoo just above her mound that looked like a phoenix. "Do you like my ink?" Kess actually licked his lips but did not reply. "I'll take that as a yes." Juliette smirked as she wrapped her hair up in the towel. She certainly didn't appear to by shy. The truth was though she was enjoying tormenting him; her heart was beating like a hummingbird's wings. She was exhilarated and suddenly realized that any fatigue she had from work was gone and had been replaced by excitement.

"A friend of mine and I carried you in. You passed out in my elevator. What were you doing here to begin with?" Kess tried to lie. "I got a little drunk at the club and don't remember much after that." Juliette turned and looked at him sternly. "You will either tell me the truth or I call the cops and let you explain the ally. I know that was you. You may look different but I saw your eyes. Now, I have one very simple question and you can tell me the truth or I swear you just became a burglar and I will call the cops and let you deal with them. What the fuck are you?" Kessryll was thinking back to Ry noticing his eyes. He never ever realized his eyes were different. He never changed forms in front of a mirror. Kess sighed. "You don't understand miss. I am not supposed to tell you what I am. In fact, I am supposed to kill you now that you have seen what you saw." Yanim's eyes narrowed. "Supposed to kill me? You just fucking saved my ass and now you are supposed to kill me?" Kess nodded and he saw Yanim's expression change from one of confidence to one of obvious fear. He did not like seeing her afraid of him.

He considered the fact that she had ample opportunity to call the cops while he was unconscious and didn't. "Relax. I am not going to hurt you. Gaia knows I have already broken that rule twice tonight alone so a third time can't be any worse. Besides, I got to kill two Black Spiral Dancers thanks to you finding them for me. Juliette raised an eyebrow. "You got to kill and whodi tooda whatzits?" Kess chuckled at her joke. "If you want to know what I am, then at least offer me a beer or something. Is this how you treat all the guys you drag in here?" Kess grinned at her to put her at ease. She was too damn beautiful to be scared and he had no intention of following that Bitch's orders anyhow. The Fenrir didn't take oderes from any other tribe and considered anything they said to be offered advice even if was from the tribes leaders.

Juliette lead Kess back into the living room and then waked to the adjoining kitchen. She was still start naked and he watched as she bent over to reach into the bottom shelf of the fridge to get the beers. As she bent over he marveled and her perfect as and as she shifted her stand, he go a peek at her lips peeking out from the below. He smiled and sighed happily. Hell, he figured if she was going to put on a show, he might as well enjoy it. She walked back over and handed him the beer and a bottle opener then sat down in the char next to him. "Okay, we have beer now spill it." She leaned forward and pulled a cigarette from the pack on the table and lit it as she waited for Kess to speak. "I am Kessryll of the mighty Fenrir, Arden of the Get of Fenris and I am born of the Ahroun. I am Garou." Juliette stare at him and took a drag off of her cigarette. "You are a what?" Kessryll shook his head in frustration. "I just used my best introduction and I still don't know your name. She didn't even blink. "Juliette…now what the fuck are you?" Kessryll thought that had to have been the rudest introduction he had ever heard and if it weren't for the fact that she was still sans clothes, he might have been insulted. He reached down and stole one of her cigarettes and lit it. I am what your people call a werewolf. We call ourselves Garou.

Kessryll sat there with her for hours smoking and drinking and explaining where he came from. "So you don't need like a full moon to change?" Juliette was now leaned forward hugging her knees and listening intently to his story. It was very distracting and at times he wished she would get a robe or something on the immediately dismissed the idea as utter stupidity. "No. I am strongest under the Ahroun…the full moon because I was born during a full moon. If I had been born under the half moon, then I would be strongest during the half moon. Each Garou is different. We all have different gifts. My tribe are warriors but we have other tribes with other functions. We are not mindless beasts like you see in the movies. We have laws and traditions spanning back to earths creation. We were here before your race. But our numbers dwindle because of the wyrm."

Juliette leaned forward and took another sip of her beer then lit another cigarette. "Wait…What is the wyrm? Is that like a dragon?" Kessryll chuckled. "No…no. There are three forces which control the universe. The wyrm, the weaver and the wyld. The weaver is the force that holds all things together. It represents harmony in the universe. The Wyld is its opposite and tares all things apart. It represents chaos. The wyrm is the force which was supposed to keep the balance between the weaver and the wyld. But somehow, the wyrm became corrupted and now instead of keeping the balance it corrupts. It is now what you would call the origin of all the evil in the world. That is why my kind was created by Gaia."

Juliette interrupted. "Who is Gaia?" Kessryll nodded. "I figured you were going to ask that. Gaia is the spirit of the earth. Look Juliette, Garou have been around forever. We have been fighting this war forever. But we have been hunted and destroyed over thousands of years to the point that we are severely outnumbered by evil. There are things out there bent on destroying us, you and the earth itself. Those things I fought tonight were once my kinfolk. Now they are but twisted reminders that even the mightiest Garou can fall into the clutches of the wyrm. Fuck, I aint even sure I haven't fallen now. As I said, I was supposed to kill you. We can not have humans knowing we exist. Humans always hunt down and destroy what they don't understand and can't control. If I am to let you live, you must remain silent about us. If you ever speak of us to another human, I would have no choice but to kill you and anyone else you told. My entire races survival depends on your silence. I spared your life because your only crime is knowing about us. You must swear you will keep this knowledge to yourself." Juliette nodded. "No one would believe me anyhow."

There was a knock on the door that startled both of them. Kessryll looked at Juliette questioningly. "Don't ask me? I've been here with you the entire time." Juliette stood and grabbed a robe that was folded over the back of a chair. She walked over to the door and opened it just enough to see who was outside. Kessryll watched the robe she was wearing fall to the foor and she stepped away from the door allowing it to open. There in the hallway stood Ryosuke and two wolves. Kess stood and walked over to Juliette and looked at her. She had a blank stare on her face. He looked back at Ry. "What the fuck did you do to her?" Ry smiled sheepishly. Let's just say she likes girls as much as men and I was able to mesmerize her. Oh she will be fine and think she just had the best orgasm of her life when she snaps out of it. Now what the hell are you doing here?" Kessryl looked at the beautiful vampire and shrugged. "I found the Spirals. They were going to kill her. I killed them." Ry raised an eyebrow. "So you decided to stop off for a piece of pussy before heading back and letting me know you were ok and we didn't have stohowwoirnrgyuapboauttmthyepmlace is that it?" Kess grinned. "I didn't fuck her although….uhh… never mind. I got hurt during the fight and needed to regenerate. I passed out on her couch." Ry looked past him at the beer bottles littering the table. She leaned forward and sniffed him. Yes…my smell is still on you. But you've been smoking love. Don't you know that is bad for your health?" Kessryll chuckled. "I'm more worried about you being bad for my health right now. How did you find me anyhow?" Ry smiled brightly. "Oh, You've already met Austin. This is Austin's primogen, Jammer…say hello to Kess."

Both the wolves beside Ry shape shifted into their human form and before him stood the younger vampire, Austin and a beautiful woman wearing a tight leather outfit. She had long flowing hair and a wicked grin. "Charmed im sure. I am Jammer, Primogen of the Gangrel clan. A friend of Ry's. Plus, she pays well. She has told me all about you." Jammer reached out and took Kessryll's hand to shake it. When he took her hand in return she jerked him forward and brought her knee up sharply between his legs dropping him like a bad habit. Kessryll lay on the floor groaning and gasping for breath. "What the fuck was that for?!" Jammer turned around and looked down at him. "That wolf boy was for hurting one of my Gangrel. If you ever harm another, I will fuck someone on your fur pelt only you won't be in it." Her expression was blunt and very dangerous and most of all, Kessryll believed she would do her very best to keep her word. Ry looked at Jammer angrily. "God damn it Jam! We need him alive!" Jammer shrugged. "No Ry, you need him alive. I don't need him at all. You got yourself into this and got Austin damn near killed." Ry looked at Jammer. "Yes, Jam you may be right but it wasn't our fault. All we were doing was hanging out and having a little fun.." Jammer put her hands on her hips and turned back to Ry. "Hanging out huh? Well Ry, didn't you know? Shit happens when you hang out with assholes!"

Ravens Story Chapter 5

This chapter is dedicated to the newest member of my pack with love

Happy Birthday Pagan

Ry stood there shaking her head and smiling down at Kess. "You are getting slow in your old age Garou." Kessryl laid there looking up at her. "Why do women always have to go for the nuts?" Kessryll grimaced as he slowly made his way back to his feet. As he stood his senses all went haywire. He became very disoriented and dizzy. He stared around the room blankly and began growling. Ry turned and looked at him and noticed his eyes had changed to that familiar glowing golden color. He almost looked as if he were in a trance. He was sniffing the air as if searching for something yet his eyes seemed to be distant, almost glazed over. Kessryll involuntarily shifted to crinos and stood there with his ears erct breathing heavily. The vampires in the room had now begun to worry looking up at the 13 foot mass of fur and muscle and claws and teeth. Austin immediately moved towards the doorway so fast the human eye couldnt detect him. Kessryll didn't notice his movement either. His focus seemed far away. Ry moved towards him slowly with her had extended. "Kess? It's ok. No one here means you harm. Kess? Talk to me. What's going on." Austin whispered to Ry. "Get the fuck away from him Ry! He can't understand you when he is like that. He is a beast. He cant talk. Back up Ry!" Both Ry and Juliette looked at Austin and spoke in unison. "Yes he can."

Kessryll's brow lowered as his eyes narrowed. His ears twitched and his tail thrashed about behind him wildly. Just as Ry got close to him he whirled and looked down at her stopping her pensively in her tracks. "Kess...don't." Kessryll looked at her confused before he realized everyone in the room was as far away from him as they could get. He held his hand up and realized he had shifted to crinos. Their fear of him gave him a small satisfaction. They were wise to fear him. He admitted he didn't like Ry's apprehension toward him but he knew it was earned and no fault of her own. He looked her in the eyes. "I'll not harm you Ry. Ever." He looked back over his shoulder and stated definitively, "this one is under my protection. Harm her and I will find you and rip you apart slowly. I will find the one that sired you and kill him next. When I return, she better be happy and well." Ry nodded to him. "Where are you going now? We have business to attend to Kess." Kessryll looked back down at her. "There is a child being born this night. I must find it before the spirals do. Trust me, our business is far less important if I don't get there first." Kessryll turned to Juliette. "Go with this lady Juliette. She will ensure you are safe until I return. You must trust me." Juliette looked around the room and the at Ry. Ry smiled brightly at her melting away all her inhibitions with a single glance. "Yes Kess." Kessryll walked across the room and opened the french doors leading to the balcony and looked out to the street below. He Howled and leaped to the rooftop across the street and disappeared into the night.

Kessryll moved silently along the rooftops sniffing the air desperately trying to pick up the child's scent. It was difficult for even the best trackers doing it way above the street. Winds and buildings confused things. This was not a fear scent which was much easier to track. It was like a whisper on the night air, fleeting and intangible. Kessryll was no tracker to begin with. He was a berserker. His skills were better served in battle. Still his senses lead him closer to his target. As he came to a rooftop overlooking a small house, he narrowed his eyes looking at the house carefully. There was something wrong. He looked at the street light surrounding the house. They were out. None of them were working. The house lights were on and he could see movement within. Kessryll dropped from the roof top to the ground below.

He moved quickly to the street light and looked up. There was a tiny hole in the light. He moved to the next street light and discovered the same thing. This was not an accident nor was it the work of spirals. Humans did this. He heard a faint sound from inside the house and moved to investigate. He peered through the window and saw two human men moving about the livingroom. One of the men held a sawed off shotgun and the other was coiling a length of rope. Kessryll listened in on their conversation. "The bitch wasn't sposed to be here Manny. I been casing this house for a week. She works nights.

Always off on Monday and Tuesday...its fuckin Friaday! She wasn;t sposed to be here!" The man with the rope seemed very nervous. "Berry, all you had to do was make sure this places was gonna be empty...thats all you had to do...and you fucked that up. The bitch saw us. And I aint going back to prison for your stupidity so you go in there and take care of her or I swear to Christ, im going to blow a hole in you that I could drive a fuckin truck through!" The nervous man moved into the other room as he pulled a knife out of his pocket. Kessryll moved to the side of the house quietly peering through a crack in the Venetian blinds and could clearly see a young woman ties to the bed and her mouth was closed with what appeared to be duct tape. Her eyes were wide with fear and her face was wet with tears. She was a beautiful young woman and these men were about to do something very bad to her.

Kessryll scraped his claws against the bricks on the side of the house. This was a gift that caused his talons to become razor sharp. He watched as the man walked up to the bed and looked down at the helpless young woman. The man looked over his shoulder towards the door too see if the other one was behind him then looked back down at her and unzipped his pant. The young woman could see clearly his intentions and began struggling frantically. Kessryll had seen enough and was about to rip open the wal when he heard the noise. It was a ferocious guttural growl. This was not a noise that a human was capable of. He looked back into the window and saw the man stop dead in his tracks and the young woman began to shimmer. She was shifting. She was being born. The nervous man stood there with a look of utter horror on his face as this beautiful young girl changed into a beautiful specimen of Garou. He crinos form was flawless. Silky long black fur covered her body and the ropes and take that bound her popped like a rubber band that was stretched too tight. She howled at the man. It was an absolutely beautiful sound and Kessryll smiled inwardly and having had the privilege of seeing her birth. She raised herself off the bed which had been crushed under her new weight and she stood a full three feet taller than the six foot man. H was frozen with fear and she stepped towards him swinging her talons into his flesh wildly. Three seconds was all it took. The man was eviscerated and his blood and gore spattered the walls of her room. She was not done with him. She continued swinging her claws into him as if she were digging a hole in the sand. She dismembered him effortlessly and ripped his genitals from his body and help them above her head in victory. Even Kessryll flinched when she did this. The room was a bloody piece of art.

Kessryll's ears picked up the sound of the second man walking toward her room and he remembered the shotgun. As the man entered the room, his finger pulled the trigger and the buckshot found her chest. She howled in pain and fell backwards with the blast as the man pumped another shell into the chamber. He raised the gun to fire again as kessryll crashed through the wall and was on him. The shot rang out and Kess could feel the burning in his thigh. With a single swipe of his talons, the man was decapitated and his body remained standing for a moment after his head made a sickening thud on the carpeted floor. Kess looked at the other werewolf who was now cowering in the corner. She was bleeding but he could see she was already starting to heal. At this moment, she was the strongest she had ever been and would ever be. The moment of her birth. Her eyes were wild as she stared at him.

She was looking at the most horrific and imposing creature she had ever seen or even dreamed of. It was huge and had just cut the man down without effort and she knew she could not fight it off if it attacked her. "You did well little one." She looked at him in shock. It spoke to her. She could understand him. Kessryll stood there motionless for a moment to allow reality to set in. His leg was also healing albeit not as quickly as the newborn. He could see her expression of fear changing to one of curiosity. He sighed heavily. "My name is Kessryll, I am Arden of the fenrir and a mighty Get of Fenris. My moon is the Ahroun." Though she was a newborn, Kessryll gave her the formal greeting know to all Garou. She looked at him in amazement. Kessryll shook his head. "This is where you tell me your name little one." She nearvously stood up. "I ...I'm Pagan." Kessryll nodded. I am going to tell you something now. I need you to listen carefully." He could already see her getting distracted by the damage and blood in the room. "Did you kill these men?" Kessryll looked at her and shook his head. "I killed one of them. You took care of the one that was going to kill you." She looked at him in disbelief. "I couldnt have. He had me tied and gagged. I saw the fur. I saw you rip him apart." Kessryll shook his head again.

"No Pagan. You saw yourself. Listen to me now and be quiet. You have been given a very special gift. You see me here before you and I have not harmed you. I will not harm you. Do you understand?" Pagan nodded pensively. Kessryll nodded and continued. "You were born differently. All your life you have been different. You have know this all your life but you never knew why. Now I am going to tell you that which you have been searching the answer for. It will seem impossible but I am going to show you the truth. You must now trust your eyes and your heart. You have absolutely nothing to fear from what I will tell you." Pagan nodded again. "You were born a Garou. That is a gift from out mother Gaia. The earth spirit. You have know about magic all your life. You know it exist. You even believe your powers come from the earth. You are right about this. There is magic. And you my sweet are a magical creature."

Pagan looked at him and thought back over her life. How could this thing...this wolf thing know so much about her. Kessryll paused only a moment. "I came her because I knew you were going to be born tonight. I didn't know the circumstances which would cause your birth but I knew tonight you would change. You are now what the humans call a werewolf. They are ignorant to what you really are." Pagan started to argue and Kess raised his giant hand to silence her. "In a moment I am going to prove everything I am saying is a simple fact. I am talking to you and I am not a mindless beast. This means that you too are not mindless. We can control the beast because we are the beast first. I have much to teach you but for now I am going to show you something. Once I do, you must come with me. We are in great danger here. If I know of your birth, so do those who want to stop you from being born." Kessrylls eyes began glowing bright gold and he shimmered into his human form. Pagan stood there staring at him in astonishment. Kessryll smiled at her. "Now that you have seen my wolf form, or at least one of them, you can see my human form. We can shift at will and there is no pain involved. Now... I am going to show you something. I am going to tell you that you are a magnificent and beautiful creature. Do not fear what you have become. You will be able to do what you sw me do effortlessly. Do you understand?" Pagan shook her head. Kessryll looked around and saw a mirror on the wall and pulled it down. He walked over and held it up for Pagan to look into. As she gazed into the mirror, she jumped back. That was not her in the mirror. It was a wolf. A huge wolf. Kessryll smiled as he saw her expression go from shock to curious awe. "It is beautiful is it not? You are quite perfect Pagan. A perfect being made by Gaia herself. You must embrace what I have told you as the truth and if you search your heart, you know I am telling you the truth.

Kessryll looked around the room. "We haven't much time. The spirals are looking for you and I do not have time to explain that right now. You must come with me." Pagan held her massive taloned hand up and turned it this way and that marveling at it. "Pagan! I need you to focus. You have the rest of your life to enjoy your new gifts but if we don't move soon, the rest of your life may be very short. I need you to close your eyes now and concentrate on your human form. Close them now and do as I say." Pagan did as she was told and thought about what she looked like as a human. As she did her body began to shimmer and glow. She shifted without understanding how or why. She now stood before him completely naked. "You can open your eyes now." Pagan did as she was told. She felt different and cold. She looked down and the sight of her naked breasts startled her and she immediately covered them with her arms. She reached for the covers on the bed then realized they were covered in blood and entrails. Kessryll grinned. "Grab some clothes and hurry up about it. We must leave right now." Pagan moved quickly gabbing clothes from her dresser and putting them on as fast as she could. Kessryll didn't bother averting his eyes. She was after all a very beautiful woman in either form. She looked at him. "Where are we going?" Kessryll shook his head. "I don't have time to explain and you wouldn't be able to believe it right now anyhow. Im taking you some place safe until I can teach you to survive. Lets go." Kessryll took her hand and lead her out into the night away from the horrific scene. As he lead her away he turned and looked her in the eyes and kissed her soundly. "Happy birthday Pagan." She stared at him only for a moment and then they moved off into the night.

Ravens story

Chapter 6 A Wolf in sheep's clothing

Kessryll leaned against the doorway of the bedroom in Ry's apartment staring at the small woman curled up fast sleep under the blankets in the bed. –What the fuck have I gotten myself into? A human and a newborn Garou have no business in my company right now. At the rate I'm fuckin up, we will probable all be dead by this time tomorrow. I've got vampires in front of me and spirals behind me and no trustworthy allies. I cant go back to my tribe with this. I sure as hell ain't stupid enough to step foot back inside that club. What now?- He was so deep in thought he didn't notice Ry's standing beside him. "So, she is like you. Garou. I can smell it on her." Kessryll startled at the sound of her silky voice. "Fucking make some noise or something when you approach me! I could have killed you." An evil little smirk crossed her beautiful full lips. "No Kess, I really don't think you could have. Relax already. I'm not going to bite you.." She raised an eyebrow and smiled letting him see her fangs as she licked her lips. "Unless you want me to."

Kessryll looked back at the tiny woman on the bed and sighed heavily. "Yes…she is Garou. Now that I have her, I have to teach her. She did well back at that house but it was pure survival instincts. If I don't teach her to control her race, she will not survive and she will definitely loose control and more than likely do some very nasty damage before I can stop her." Kessryll looked down at Ry. Her features were elegant and flawless. She could have been on the cover of El or with the slightest change of her expression, the centerfold of Penthouse. She exuded sensuality and Kessryll couldn't help but be attracted to her. He was certain that she had the ability to mesmerize anyone she wished but as he studied her, he knew full well that it wasn't necessary. "About the warehouse…I'm sorry if I hurt you. I was.." Ry reached her tiny hand up and gently placed it against his lips to quite him. "Kess, I am not a stupid woman. I've been with men and women and I can read them like a book. I knew there was something different about you. I just had no idea what. But I never sensed you had any ill intentions.

You acted out of fear and the will to survive and I can not fault you for that. I am fine." Ry looked him in the eyes and smiled. "You know…I grew up hearing the horror stories about werewolves just as you probably did before you knew you were one. Just as I am sure you heard the horror stories about Vampires. But would you think it fair to say, after what you have witnessed with your own eyes, that not everything is as simple as it is in the stories?" Kess couldn't argue her point. "Aye. I suppose your kind has had just as much nonsense written about you as I have. But where does that leave us Ry? Your kind will never accept me among them and my kind are certain that you are evil and should be eradicated.

That is the reason I am here after all. If I were to go back and try to explain this to my elders, they would just say I became corrupted and slaughter me. Frankly, I am kind of partial to my hide right where it is." Ry grinned. "I must say, when you aren't snarling and trying to kill me, you were a magnificent looking creature. I may be the only vampire alive that has seen a were….Garou that close and lived to tell the tale." Kessryll grinned. "Yeah, well keep that between us won't you? I have a reputation to uphold you know."

He was exhausted and save for the short period of unconsciousness that he spent on Yanim's couch, he had not slept in days. He stood there for a moment and then looked at the large chair by the window. He walked over to the chair and sat down. His stomach growled loudly and he sighed heavily. He leaved back in the chair and closed his eyes. H was so tired now that he didn't even care if the vampires or spirals killed him. At least he would get to sleep. Still, he knew they had a healthy respect for his ability to dispatch them and was fairly certain that they wouldn't be that stupid.

Pagan sat up with a start and was disoriented in the unfamiliar surroundings og Ry's huge bed room. Unlike when she was human, she could see perfectly in the dark room and what's more was that she could smell and hear everything around her. She looked to the window where Kess slouched in the huge chair sleeping. She tossed the covers off and swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

Pagan quietly walked over and looked down at Kess and watched him as he slept. He had come for her at the most horrible moment of her life and it was impossibly for her to understand why. She never really felt like she belonged and yet this stranger had put himself in harms way for her. He was a handsome man to boot and she was completely confused about this whole thing. There was no denying what he had shown her. If he had not been here now, she might have believed it was a dream. But his presence proved that it was real. She was a werewolf. He called it Garou. She remembered there was a French word or something. loup garou. Pagan couldn't remember what the whole word meant but it had something to do with wolves. He was a big guy in his human form but when he was in his wolf form, he was enormous. He filled up the room in her house. She absently reached out and moved a stray lock of hair from his face but he didn't move.

"Beautiful isn't he?" Pagan jumped at the sound of Ry's silky voice from just behind her ear. Ry had appeared from nowhere and without a sound. Pagan turned around and looked into Ry's beautiful eyes and fell immediately in love. Her heart melted at the sight of this beautiful woman. Ry smiled softly and kissed Pagan on the lips. "Careful little one. My eyes have a way of...going strait to ones soul." Ry smiled a wicked little grin knowing she could do anything she wanted and Pagan was completely helpless to refuse her. Ry released Pagan from her trance and smiled brightly. "So, you are a Garou then? Kess told me about your little incident with the humans. I would have loved to see what you did to those pricks. It serves them right. How does it feel to be immortal?" Pagan stood there speechless at Ry's bluntness. Ry circled Pagan like a predatory cat looking her up and down as if she would be the next meal. She licked her lips and smiled at Pagan. "I'll say this much for the wolf boy. He has excellent taste in women." Ry took Pagan by the hand and lead her out of the bedroom and through the doorway into the kitchen. "Sit down love and I will get you something to eat. You must be hungry." Pagan lowered her eyes and nodded."

Ry looked at the young woman and felt a pang of sympathy for her. Though it was an eternity ago, Ry remembered what it had been like to loose her own normal life and enter into the life of a vampire. Though they were different, she felt an instant kinship to the young woman for having had her world turned upside down. Ry rummaged through her refrigerator and removed a Tupperware container and placed it on the counter and opened it. "Do you like Lasagna love?" Pagan's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly and nodded her head. Ry smiled and motioned to the refrigerator. There is milk, juice, sodas and tea or if you prefer wine or ale, I have that as well. The glasses are in the cupboard just there and the ice maker is in the door of the fridge. Help yourself while I heat this for you." Pagan got herself a glass of milk and sat back down. Suddenly she felt very embarrassed that she did not offer to get anything for Ry. "Um…I don't know what to call you." Ry turned and looked at Pagan and smiled. "Please, call me Ry." Pagan nodded and smiled. "My name is Pagan and thank you for everything Ry.

Could I get you something to drink as well?" An evil little smirk crossed Ry's lips for a moment. "No love…I think my dear Kess would be very upset with me if you did that." The microwave beep went off and Ry removed the container from it and placed a large portion on a plate. She set the plate infront of Pagan along with silverware then sat down in a chair opposite of Pagan. "Bon Appétit love." Pagan smiled and thanked Ry and began eating. With the very first bite, her eyes lit up. "My god Ry this is delicious! Where did you ever learn to cook like this?" Ry blushed at the compliment. "I just picked it up over the years love. I am much better at baking. I love to bake."

They talked for hours as if they had known each other for years. Ry marveled at how open the young woman was. Once Pagan started speaking Ry was enthralled. Ry listened to the story of how then men broke into her house and tied her up. "It must have been terrible for you." Pagan lowered her head and tears trickled down her cheeks. "I was certain they were going to kill me. I don't really remember breaking free or …" Pagan's voice broke and she began openly sobbing. Ry stood and walked around the table and took Pagan in her arms and hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head allowing her to cry. "It will pass love. You are quite safe now and it appears that you probably always were. Now you have a very special guardian as well." Pagan looked up at her tears still streaming down her face. "What do you mean Ry?" Ry look at her seriously. "While I admit I have not known him very long, I feel as though I have known him all my life. Kessryll said he had to watch over you and teach you things. Things that you needed to know to survive as a new Garou. I have no doubt that he will take very good care of you my sweet." Ry took a cloth napkin from the table and dabbed the tears from Pagan's cheeks. Pagan smiled. How did you meet him? Kessryl I mean." Without a moments hesitation Ry smiled wickedly. "I picked him up at club Ravens and took him to a little place I know and fucked his brains out." Pagan burst out laughing so hard she actually snorted then covered her face embarrassed by the noise she made. Ry grinned and blushed a little at Pagans response. "Well, I am a woman after all love and just look at him." Ry stretched like a cat. "If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend fucking him. I am certain you won't be disappointed." Pagan turned bright red. "I don't thinks so. I don't think he could see me that way." Ry laughed out loud. You have got to be shitting me. You are so hot I would fuck you. And if you had seen the way he was looking at you while you slept…Lets just say I am positive he wants you."

Ry sighed sadly. Pagan noticed a sudden change in her mood and took her hand. "What is wrong hun?" Ry looked at Pagan and tilted her head to the side slightly. "Shakespeare is what's wrong love. That's all. Just Shakespeare. " Pagan shook her head at Ry's cryptic reply. "I don't understand what you mean hon. Please tell me and maybe I can help. I'm a very good listener if nothing else." Ry looked at Pagan for a moment then took a deep breath and exhaled. "It seems my life is a Shakespearean tragedy hon. This particular chapter in my life is right out of Romeo and Juliette. I fell for Kess but our families, Like the Montague and Capulet families, don't get along and they would never allow us to be together. I don't even know if he really felt anything for me to be honest. Not that it matters. So. Now you know. But please Pagan, don't say anything to Kess. He has enough to worry about." Pagan nodded. "My lips are sealed hon. But if you really care that much about him, you should tell him."

Ry looked at Pagan for a moment then sighed. "Perhaps I should princess I should but I am afraid that this man is meant for something greater than any of us could imagine. There is something about him; something noble inside him. He could have killed me and he didn't. He is more than he seems and I do not think it would be wise to distract him right now." Ry looked deep in thought. She looked up at a

huge painting that hung on the wall and as Pagan looked at her she knew Ry was someplace else in her mind. Pagan looked up at the painting and was shocked at what she saw. It was a painting of a Garou standing atop a hill holding a woman in a flowing white dress in his arms. The Garou appeared to be howling. There was something about the painting that haunted her though she didn't know what it was. Ry finally turned slowly back to Pagan with a faint wistful smile. "Excuse me for a bit little one. I need to freshen up."

Pagan turned away from the painting and walked over to the window and peered out at the sky. Dawn was coming soon and she wondered what the day would bring. Her life had been completely turned around in a single night and she had no idea where to go or what to do from this point on. It looked as if her life was now in the hands of these strangers. They seemed nice enough and Kess and Ry had taken good care of her. Not to mention Kess was like her, a Garou. She wondered about Ry. She was beautiful and elegant and yet she had an edge to her. Pagan was almost intimidated by her openness and sensuality. She didn't see herself like that at all. She has always known she was different and had always been at a loss as to why she felt that way, until now. The whole werewolf thing, as odd as it may seem, explained a lot. But the knowing didn't really make her feel better about being one. She was scared inside. Her uncertain future terrified her. She walked over to the large sofa , sat down and put her face in her hands and sobbed.

"Why the tears Pagan? You should be celebrating. It's your birthday." Pagan looked up at the sound of Kessryll's voice. Pagan pulled the sleeves of her shirt up and whipped her face. She looked up and Kess like a lost child and Kess knew how she felt. He had been there at some point and he remembered the confusion and fear. He sat next to her and took her in his arms and held her. She buried her face against his chest and cried harder than she had ever cried in her life. Kess did not speak. He just held her tight against him. After the tears subsided to intermittent crying spells, Pagan sighed heavily. "Was it like this for you…I mean…when you changed the first time?" Kessryll grinned at her and wiped the tears from her face. Then she saw the expression on his face change. His brow furrowed and he swallowed hard suppressing something painful. "I lived in Europe on a small farm with my wife and children. My father was a Norwegian and had settled in Ireland after he retired so to speak. I never knew him. One day we were out tending our flocks. We raised sheep you see. We were out with flocks and a group of roman soldiers rode up to us. I walked out to meet them. As I approached I saw the leader draw his sword and he and the others rode in on us and started hacking my wife and children and myself to pieces. They murdered my family. I was mortally wounded but it seemed they wanted to make sure I lived long enough to see my wife and little ones be slaughtered. Then they took 2 sheep and rode off laughing." Kessryll's voice broke and he had to look away from Pagan. "At some point I passed out and when I woke, I was standing in the middle of a roman garrison. There was blood and gore and body parts strewn throughout the entire camp. To this day I don't know just how many there were in that camp.

I had no idea what happened. I felt strangely alive even though I should have died from the wounds I sustained." Pagan put her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently. "Kess, Why did you walk out the meet the soldiers?" Kess looked down and tears pooled in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. "His voice cracked as he answered. "I was going to offer them five of my fattest sheep. I was going to give the five and instead they killed my family and only took two." Pagan's heart felt like it was in her throat. She could hear the anguish in his voice but what's more was that she could actually feel it. She could feel and even smell his anger. "I didn't mean to dredge up such a horrid memory Kess. I Just…" Kess raised his hands to her lips shushing her. "I thought I had died Pagan and came back as some beast from the bowls of hell because no one was there to meet me at my birth. No one was there to explain things to me. In fact there was no one for three years. I moved across Ireland like a plague and I killed them all. I killed every single roman garrison that was stationed in Ireland. Do you understand what I am saying?

Every single one. " Kess lowered his eyes. Kess opened his mouth several times to speak and then closed it again. Pagan could see the anguish on his face. "It's ok Kess, you don't have to talk about it.

Kess looked her in the eyes. "When the Garou did finally find me, I was living in a cave and had lost most of my humanity. I had been in crinos too long and never knew that I had the ability to change. The Garou tribe that found me had not come to welcome me, but to destroy me. It was the Get of Fenris that found me. They had been sent to hunt me down and kill me because they were certain that I was too far lost to rage. The leader of the Fenrir that found me was a man named Just. He was an Arden at the time, like I am now. He is now a tribal elder but disappeared many years ago. There were rumors and such but no one knew what really happened to him. Just had orders from the tribal elders to destroy me. When they found me in that cave, they cornered me and were about the rip me apart. Just stepped forward and raised his hand to stop the others from attacking me." Pagan heard the whisper of a movement from the doorway and looked up to see Ry standing there listening. She raised her finger to her lips the tell Pagan not to interrupt Kess. Pagan nodded slightly to her and Ry smiled softly. "Just spoke to me. He asked me if I could understand him. It had been many years since I had hear the language but I recognized most of what he said but I could not answer him with words and so I nodded. I was not going down without a fight but no fight came. Just began explaining things to me as best he could. He stayed with me for weeks trying to show me what I had become. When I was finally able to change back to my human form, which we call homid, Just took me under his wing and called me his baby brother. He was the closest thing to blood I had.

"We rode for months across Ireland to England then boarded boats and went to Norway. On the voyage, Just came up to me one night and told me a story of how on their quest to find me, it seems I had missed one of the soldiers on my killing spree. They found him in a pub and he had been drinking and telling the same story over and over to anyone who would listen." Kess picked at the fabric of his pants and sighed heavily. "Anyways…he told me the soldier was telling a story of how they came across a sheep herder and killed him and his family and later that night, a man wearing sheep skins walked into their camp and changed into a monstrous wolf man and slaughtered the entire camp except for him. He had run away and deserted his post when he saw the first few soldiers get ripped to pieces. Just said that was the very first time he had ever heard the term you have heard many times I'll wager."

Pagan narrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly. "What term is that?" From the door way, Ry stood looking at Kess with compassion. "So….It was you after all." Kessryll nodded and lowered his eyes again and Pagan looked over to Ry and asked again. "What term Ry? What does he mean?" Ry smiled and lowered her eyes briefly then answered. "He is the wolf in sheep's clothing."

Raven's story Chapter 7

"Such a fucking man"

Ry sat in a high backed chair listening to Kess as he explained the laws the Garou lived by to Pagan. He was meticulous in explaining the reasons for the laws and gave his opinion on several of them. There were two in particular that he struggled to explain his disdain for. The first law was that Garou were not allowed to mate with Garou. He made a point of saying that this particular law was broken frequently. Ry grinned at his discontent inwardly thinking if she were Garou, this was definitely one law she would have had trouble with as well. After all, Pagan and Kess were fine specimens of their kind and what a waste it would be not to be able to have them. Kess admitted that he understood the reason for the law but said that some things were more important. The other he had great difficulty accepting was that a Garou will not suffer his pack to care for him in sickness. Kess was adamant that he would never just leave his wounded friends to die alone. He said that even if this is the way of wolves, that Garou were not wolves. They were more. Pagan listened intently to his instruction and asked very intelligent questions which Kess answered with great patience. Ry occasionally interjected a question here and there showing her own interest in the Garou's ways. After the lessons on Garou law he spent time teaching Pagan how to change into her different forms. Ry marveled at their ability to shift at will. She admitted being ignorant to this ability. She giggled at the idea of having watched too many late night horror movies on "Shock Theater" and "Creature Feature."

Kess thought about asking Ry to leave for his next lesson but dismissed the idea. While she may have been considered an enemy to the Garou, she was not his enemy. She had probably saved his life and he could not see her using the knowledge he was about to pass on to harm Pagan or himself. She was after all, in a very precarious situation with her own kind now because of him. He would not insult this woman. He looked at her and just could not see an evil side to her. She was dangerous and perhaps devious and cunning, but she was not evil. Kess had a hard time not staring at this timeless beauty. She was a woman who took very good care of herself. She smelled wonderful. Her make up was flawless and not a hair out of place. She was a huge distraction. Kess looked back to Pagan and studied her. She was very different from Ry however her own beauty was striking. She seemed so young and innocent though her eyes told a different story. She had knowledge beyond her years and that was obvious when he looked in her eyes. Kessryll smiled openly without realizing he was staring at her. "What are you on about?" Pagan tilted her head and narrowed her beautiful eyes at him. "Kess looked back confused. "First you were staring and now you have that little Cheshire cat grin. What is that about?" Kess began blushing. Ry sat smiling at how the great wolf had slipped up and cornered himself and was taking great pleasure in watching him squirm. "I was um…just noticing that I was in the company of two of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Gaia must have terrible plans for me." He looked at the fireplace to prevent himself from staring again. Ry watched as a very faint smile creased Pagan's lips at Kess' compliment.

Kess looked at Ry again. "Ry…I have to teach Pagan something very important and you having this knowledge could endanger you. I would not ask you to leave but I need you to understand that I am placing ultimate trust in you by telling these secrets in front of someone who is supposed to be my enemy. Ry looked down for a moment then back to Kess. "I think you know in your heart I am not you enemy Kess." Kess nodded and looked a bit embarrassed then regarded her. "I am sorry. I had to give you the choice." He turned to Pagan and his expression was deadly serious. "Pagan, as I have taken you as my charge, that makes you part of my tribe. We are known as the Get of Fenris among the Garou, or the Fenrir. We are the warrior cast and will always lead the Garou into battle. Our ancestors were the most feared fighters in history. We were the Norsemen. We were the Spartans. We have always been among the greatest warriors throughout man's history. We are the best because we do not fear death. While there are some non warriors among the Fenrir, even they are known to be better fighters than the best warriors of some of the other tribes. There are those among us, like you and I that were born under the Ahroun auspice. That means you were born under the full moon. We are the strongest of the Fenrir. While we gain great power from Luna, there is a toll…a price we pay for this power. For each time we enter crinos, especially during the full moon, there is a chance that we loose ourselves to the same rage that gives us our fighting power. It is very important that you remember this." Kess reached out and took Pagan's hand and stood her up. I am going to pass now to you three gifts handed down to me by Luna. I will pass the knowledge of berserker's fury, razor talons and one other gift that a shaman of the Children of Gaia blessed me with. We are all normally very allergic to something in silver. I will teach you to…ignore this flaw in our make up.

Kess stood on the balcony over looking the street below deep in thought. He stared up at the full moon and inwardly questioned his own sanity. Soon the Garou would be coming in force to eradicate what they considered the scourge of Gaia's earth. Soon they would come to destroy the vampires that lived in this city down to the last one. Kessryll knew deep down that he could not allow anyone to harm Ry. He didn't understand why but he had come to the conclusion that it was an undeniable fact. He was in love with her. He could not understand why he felt so strongly about this woman. She was a vampire and everything about him fought against his prejudice. He was so confused that he was hardly able to form a cohearant thought. He had slept for a short time but the stress and fatigue had finally taken their toll on him. The Garou would come. That was a certainty. The vampires would eventually come for Ry. That too was inevitable and if she could not give them proof that she had turned him, he knew they would kill her and him and Pagan as well. He was now surrounded by his enemies.

Even those he had fought along side in countless battles would seek to destroy him. That made them his enemy. As a warrior, he would show them no remorse. He knew that the end would be the same no matter how many he was able to kill, there were simply too many of them. He was certain he would fall to either the Garou or the vampires. It was simply a matter of time.

Both Pagan and Ry stood at the sliding glass doors entrance watching Kess's inward struggle. They watched his facial expressions changing andlooked at each other. Pagan looked at Ry confused . "What has him so vexed Ry? Did I do something to upset him?" Ry looked back at the beautiful young woman and ran her soft, tiny hand across Pagan's cheek and kisses her lips softly. "No little one. I suspect Kess knows that we are in for a fight we can not win. Why in the world would you think you have done something wrong.' Pagan looked down. "I seem to always get blamed when things go wrong so I guess I have just started believing that it's always my fault." Ry's expression turned to one of concern for Pagan. She pulled Pagan into a warm hug and kissed her forehead. "Rest assured princess, this has nothing to do with anything you did, or didn't do. It was simply inevitable. Kessryll is struggling with his inner demon. He was taught that my kind is his enemy yet he knows now this is not true. He knows his own kind will be coming to kill us. He will have to choose a side." Ry smiled softly and sighed as she rested her forehead against Pagan's. "I think perhaps he has chosen to defend me….and you but in making that choice…He dooms himself." Pagan looked up startled and looked Ry in the eyes. "What the fuck do you mean he dooms himself?" Ry looked out at Kess compassionately. "I mean that either my kind or his will kill him and then they will kill me. You too have to make a choice Pagan. The Garou will probably expect you to fight on their side and if you do not…they will destroy you too. Either way, we are all between a rock and a hard place." Pagan looked down and sighed. "I could never hurt you or Kess. I just couldn't. Pagan looked up to Ry with a pleading look on her face. "Ry maybe we could just leave? You know…get away where they can't find us." Ry smiled warmly and caressed her face. "Pagan I would leave in a heartbeat to protect the both of you." Ry turned and nodded toward Kessryll. "But there is no way in hell that he will ever run from a fight. He will die to protect us."

The day wore on and Kessryll spent the vast majority of it in the seclusion of the balcony. As the sun began to set Ry walked out and wrapped her arms around him from behind. Kess sighed heavily and reached down holding her arms tightly to him. He did not look at her bot looked out on the sunset. "I wonder if they knew?" Ry tilted her head. "If who knew what love?" Kessryll looked over his shoulder. "If the elders knew what I would find when I got here…If they knew they were putting me in this position. If they know that it's no more the vampire race that's evil any more than the entire human race." Ry leaned her head against his back. "Would you have preferred to spend the rest of your life being ignorant of that fact Kess? Kess slowly shook his head. "No. I only wish my mission had been one of seeking out the wyrm's minions and not concentrated on the vampires. There is evil to be dealt with here. But it is not your whole race." Ry kissed his shoulder and leaned her chin against him. "What will you do Kess?"

Kess turned and looked down at her for a long moment and then looked to pagan who was napping on the couch inside. "You will take her and go somewhere safe. I will meet the tribes as they enter the city and attempt to explain the situation." Ry's dark eyes narrowed. "And if they will not listen?" Kess shrugged. "Then I will take as many of them to Valhalla as I can." Ry shook her head defiantly. "That's stupid Kess and you know it. You may be this great beast and a valiant warrior but there is only one of you and from what you have told me, there are thousands of them. You wouldn't even make a dent in their numbers and lets face it, the ones you did manage to kill would be warriors like yourself who were only doing what they were told and believed to be right." Kess looked at her serious expression and grimaced. "Oh I'd dent their num…" Ry stomped her foot and her expression became one of anger. "KESSRYLL!" Kess actually flinched when she yelled at him. "Ok…Ok…I'm sorry Ry. But the truth is I have no idea what I should do. All I know is I wont let them harm you or Pagan without a fight. They don't know about you or Pagan yet so right now you can safely leave the city and go somewhere safe and they won't follow. If I were to go with you, they would follow me and in finding me they would find you. I can't allow that to happen. I wont." Ry looked at him still angry. "Well my love.

Then we seem to be at an impasse because I am not going to leave you here to die needlessly. All this talk of Valhalla as horse shit and you know it. There is no glory in dying here. There is only death. If you will not leave with us, then we will not go. Period." Kess looked at her helplessly. "What the fuck do you want me to do Ry?" Ry turned around and began walking back into the house and threw her hand up. "Stop being such a fucking man!"

Chapter 8 Raven's story

"Home sweet home."

Ry called Pagan into her room as Kessryll stood on the balcony stunned by her words. He knew she didn't understand the scope of what he was dealing with internally. He struggled with the loss of his home among the Garou and his love for this woman and his new responsibility to the new Garou. After a bit, Ry and Pagan emerged from the bed room dressed to the nines. Ry gathered her purse and picked up the phone and called front desk and ordered her driver to bring the car around. She walked out onto the balcony and looked Kess in the eyes. "You need some time to relax and get all of this sadness and stress off of your shoulders even if just for a couple hours. We are going out and you dear wolfie are coming with us." Kessryll was about to protest when Ry grabbed his hand and shot him a dangerous look. "It's not open for negotiation Kess. Let's go. My driver is waiting." Kess sighed heavily and followed her. As he entered the apartment, He got a good look at both women. They looked fantastic. It was obvious that Ry had Pagan raid her closet and they were undoubtedly the two sexiest women he had ever seen. It was now that Kessryll began feeling very self conscious about his own appearance. He had been living out of the saddle bags on his bike and had nothing to wear that would even look dignified in the company of these women. He looked at Ry pleadingly. "I can't go anywhere looking like this. You

both look so damn…beautiful and I look like hammered shit." Pagan blushed at his compliment and Ry turned and looked him up and down. "Kess, we are going to my club and you look fine. Besides, everyone will be looking at Pagan anyhow so don't worry about it. I'll get you some clothes tomorrow but tonight we need to dring and eat and dance and have a good time." Pagan blushed more but smiled brightly at Ry's words.

As they pulled up to the front of the club, Kess surveyed the area. The club had a very elegant medieval look almost as if it had been a castle at some point in history. He smiled thinking back on the castles he had seen over the years. Ry noticed the smile and looked at him. "It reminded me of home. That's why I decided to buy it. "Kess nodded. "I was thinking the same thing." Ry grins wickedly. "I know." The driver opened the door and they all stepped out of the car and walked towards the entrance where a large well dressed doorman stood. As they approached the door, the doorman looked at and recognized Ry and bowed deeply to her then opened the door for her. She smiled briefly at him then took Pagan by the hand and lead them inside. As they entered the beautiful old building Kessryll looked more closely at the architecture and realized that this had indeed been a castle and had probably been moved hear by the previous owners. Ry lead them down the dimly lit entry hall to an open courtyard with a dance floor surrounded by rose covered trellises behind which were several comfortable chairs. There was an overlooking balcony area with alcoves and more seating areas. At the far end of the dance floor was a large rose covered fountain and a booth above it where a DJ played music. The dance floor was filled with people dancing and having a good time. Kessryll looked around and realized there was only one way in and one way out . He leaned down to Ry and frowned. "You need more exits here." Ry looked back at him shaking her head." "Will you please stop being a warrior for just 2 hours and relax? Besides, things aren't always what they appear."

Ry grabbed Pagan and Kess by the hand and lead them onto the dance floor where she wrapped her arms around them both and pulled them close to her and nodded to the DJ who immediately stopped the song that was playing and started a slow one. Though Kess found it hard to let his guard down, he marveled at this woman's ability to seemingly dismiss her worries and simply find something to entertain herself. Every eye in the club was on them and he no longer felt so self conscious since he was the meat in the most beautiful sandwich he had ever seen. It was also quite obvious that Pagan was also enjoying herself immensely. She seemed lost in the music and was dancing with her eyes closed and a huge smile on her lips. Ry leaned over and Kissed Pagan fully on the lips. Pagan didn't open her eyes but reached up and pulled Ry closer against her and returned the kiss deeply. Kess watched as these two heated up the already scorching scene unfolding on the dance floor as their lips parted and tongues intermingled.

Kess was aroused to the point of being very uncomfortable when her felt a hand moving down his abdomen and begin skillfully undoing the buttons on the fly of his jeans. He briefly considered protesting this public display but only briefly as his cock was released from its prison into Ry's soft hand. Ry broke the kiss with Pagan who then turned and found Kess's lips and kissed him hungrily as Ry found his neck. A few feet away, there was a pair of gorgeous women dancing slowly cheek to cheek. Both women were watching the show and from the glazed look in their eyes, they were enjoying it very much. The little red head was literally licking her lips at the sight before her, her own hands moving all over her partner's body.

Kessryll could smell the sex in the room so strongly that it was almost intoxicating. His mind was spinning as his hands explored Pagan's body. His hands moved over her ass and breasts causing her to beging breathing quite heavily. There, in the middle of the darkened dance floor Ry knelt down and took him into her mouth. Kess could not believe this was happening to him at all much less in front of the crowd of people. He was beyond caring about the audience and his own hands moved over Paga's body as they kissed and bit at each other. He slid a hand under her very short skirt to discover there were no panties to deal with and she had become so aroused that her juices had already began running down her inner thigh. He slid his finger between her soft lips as she gasped and smiled against his mouth and began grinding herself over his fingers. Ry's lips moved over his cock with a skill he had never encountered causing him to groan loudly there on the dance floor. He felt Rys hand join his between Pagan's thighs and she began skillfully fingering Pagan's pussy. Pagan squirmed and moaned loudly at their touch. Kess was now very lost in the deed and didn't give a shit who was watching.

Ry grabbed Kess' cock and pulled him toward Pagan and his body followed. She placed his cock against Pagan's soft lips and without hesitation Pagan raised her leg and pushed herself down on his shaft with a loud sigh. Somewhere in the crowd a man actually tripped his female companion while he watched the unfolding scene. They fucked like animals there in the middle of the floor as Ry moved around and took turns kissing and caressing them both. The entire room had stopped moving save for the trio in the middle of the dance floor. Tier bodies slamming into each other with a heated urgency until the both came in a duet of moans and groans. It was if Ry were conducting a symphony. As the crescendo of orgasmic noises subsided, Ry leaned in and kissed Pagan deeply and whispered something in her ear which brought on a beautiful glowing smile. She then turned to Kessryll and gave a sexy little mischievous grin. She reached down and ran a finger down the shaft of his cock which was covered in both his and Pagan's juices and brought it to her lips and licked it clean. From a few feet away came a second set of orgasmic moans from the two girls who had been so enthralled in the spectacle. Ry looked over and smiled sweetly at them as they both stood there with quivering bodies. Suddenly the entire club broke out in loud applause and cheers and even a few people yelling for encores. Over the crowd, Ry looked back at Kess and asked, "So my love, what do you think of my new club?" Kess looked at her and grinned wickedly and said, "Home sweet home."