Warnings: Slash, nonrelated, Moderate Violence, Minor Character Deaths, Implied Child Abuse & Rape
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I do own the characters Alex and Crevan though.
Note: Very AU storyline. Damon and Stefani are still brothers in this universe but Stefan is actually the older one instead of Damon. Damon and Tyler are both werewolves.
Open Your Heart to Us
Part One
I see it in every glance, hear it in every whisper, taste it in the air, and feel it in how they avoid associating with me whenever I venture outside. No matter what I do or how hard I fight to fit in, isolation trails after me, inescapable knowledge that I'll never gain their acceptance. To them, I'm human, branded as a permanent outsider.
Quickening my steps, I hurry down the gravel path leading towards a white with brown trimming, two story, Shakespearean house enclosed on either side by a cluster of trees. As I climb the steps and dig into my pocket for my keys, I try to ignore the glares of mistrust. It's not my fault that I'm here. I insert the key into the lock and twist my wrist to right before shoving the door open. I didn't ask for this.
The door clicks shut behind me.
With a sigh, I head into the kitchen, grab a cup from the cupboard, and pour myself a glass of water. For several minutes, I stand at the window, sipping my drink and watching as a group of werewolf children tackle each other into the dirt; their playful yelps of laughter fill the air as they shift from human to werewolf form; as I continue to watch, I recall Tyler explaining that because werewolf pups can't control when their change happens, they are forbidden from leaving the camp or socializing with humans. Once they enter the adolescence years, they settle into their human skins. On the eve young werewolves' sixteenth birthdays, however, they gain the ability to change at will. After that they join the pack as full-fledged, adult members. For some the first change is too much and they go mad from the pain. It's those types of werewolves that dominate Hollywood movies. In reality werewolves aren't the blood thirty lot intent of wrecking damage wherever they go. Instead they are quite peaceful creatures but if provoked they will defend their family and territory. Off to the right, the alpha male stands in the center of a group of the six newest pack members. Though they were initiated into the group during last night's ceremony, I couldn't attend because I was human; humans are forbidden from taking part in any and all werewolf activities. I shake my head again and turn away from the window. In the six weeks that have passed since my arrival, practically everyone still regards me with outright animosity. I don't even know how Tyler and Damon managed to convince the alpha to grant me permission to stay. I close my eyes and rub my forehead, hoping Tyler and Damon are home because I really need to talk to them. They made a mistake rescuing me that night; they should've left me to die.
An unfamiliar sound distracts me.
Slowly I set my cup on the counter and pause. Not too far away there's a soft scuffle followed by the sound of a body hitting the wall and then soft laughter. Frowning, I inch towards the door and peer around the corner. At the sight of Damon trapping Tyler against the wall, I can't help smiling at the playful smirk mirrored between the two. This isn't an unusual occurrence, especially given Tyler and Damon's friendship. However, my back stiffens and I freeze in mid-step, my mouth dropping in shock when Damon swoops down and captures Tyler's lips in a kiss—that's definitely not normal.
Tyler's eyes slip closed as he kisses back, whimpering in the back of his throat and wiggling his wrists, which Damon still has imprisoned above their heads. Damon, not releasing his younger friend, tightens his grip and presses closer.
Tearing my eyes away, I fight the uncomfortable churning in my stomach and the burning in my throat. No wonder they didn't tell me everything that had happened last night. Even though I've only lived here for a short while, I've learned about the various ceremonies that take place and one where the pack initiates six new werewolves doesn't take over three hours. As I continue to watch, I tense. Last night had also been the Copulation Ceremony. During the next week, the werewolves would find and join with their mate. I swallow the urge to whimper. What did I expect? To them I was just some measly human—a vampire pet—they had rescued. Of course neither of them would ever view me as a potential partner. Besides, I'd kept my feelings to myself so they didn't know about those either.
I'm human.
Quietly, I slip out the backdoor; the resounding creaking of the screen door swinging back and forth echoes behind me. With no reason to stay, I keep walking. Overhead thin rays of sunlight penetrate the leaves and speckle the ground with leafy shadows. The comforting sounds of birds chirping coupled with the soft, gurgling of a nearby lake surround me. The distinct smell of pine fills my nose. Closing my eyes, I enjoy the quiet and calming stillness.
I'm not sure how long I've walked but if the aching in my legs muscles is anything to judge by, I'd say several miles. Lying down on a mossy patch of grass, I trail my fingers through the water, drawing invisible shapes and staring at my distorted, watery image.
Since a child, I've always been drawn to the forest, whereas my older brother preferred the loud and unpredictability of the ocean. Mom once told me it was almost like I shared a connection with nature. Back then I brushed aside her comments but now I can only wonder.
A sharp pain tears through me as thoughts of my family invade my mind and I shove them away. They, however, refuse to obey and I feel the familiar stab of loss wrapping its fingers around me.
My life wasn't always like this. Cliché I know but it's true. Ten years ago I considered myself a normal six year-old excited about the prospect of starting kindergarten. My older brother, Alex, used to shake his head at me. "I guarantee you won't be this excited by the end of the week," he told me over and over, his lips pinched in a firm line and his eyes betraying a darkness that no eleven year-old should possess. I didn't like that. Alex wasn't a dark person; where was my goofy, funny, and playful older brother, the one who would carry me on his shoulders, tickle my stomach, and roll his eyes whenever he took me to the video store and I insisted on renting movies that I'd seen countless times? Whenever I asked, he shook his head and patted my head of curls, much like his own but mine were tighter. "It's nothing for you to worry about, Jere," he'd say.
That was his first lie.
Looking back, I know everything he did, he did to protect me. I shake my head and swipe at the tears clinging to my cheeks but as I close my eyes, I can't stop myself from remembering.
In only one short week, I came to dread school. No matter where I went, whispered conversations and pointed fingers followed me. No one wanted to sit beside me in the classroom and I often found myself playing alone, banished to the farthest corner of the room where I watched the other kids laughing and playing together: an outsider. None of the teachers said anything either.
Outside of school it wasn't much better. I didn't understand why everyone avoided me or why Alex lied to me. At the end of my first week of school, I remember climbing out of bed and hurrying towards my parents' room, desperate for their comfort. Instead, they were too excited about something else to notice my distress and kept claiming that they'd found the evidence they needed to prove to the world that they weren't crazy. Confused I crouched outside their bedroom door and peered into the room, careful not to give myself away as I listened. Daddy was showing something to Mommy and she was nodding, her eyes bright with excitement.
A floorboard creaked behind me.
Tensing, I spun around only to have a hand pressed over my mouth. At the sight of Alex with a finger pressed against his lips, I relaxed. Together we listened to Mommy and Daddy's conversation in low tones. I didn't catch very much. Alex did though and when he took me back to his room sometime later, he explained it to me.
Vampires.
Our parents have been trying to prove vampires' existence to the world and people believed they were crazy. I didn't quite understand but accepted Alex's explanation anyway. After that, the year seemed to drag by and by the end I was shunned from everyone in our class; no one even looked at me. I couldn't wait for summer vacation. That afternoon when Mommy and Daddy came to pick us up, the entire car was packed with most of our stuff. Alex and I exchanged uneasy looks as we climbed into the car. Mommy said we were going away on a family summer vacation and we might be gone for the next three months.
I don't remember a lot of our "family trip" but in August, we drove to Seattle, Washington where we stayed. While Mommy and Daddy spent their time "researching," Alex and I became overly familiar with our hotel room. I didn't like being cooped up, especially not in a stuffy, hot hotel room during the summer. However, when Mommy and Daddy left the room, they left Alex in charge with strict instructions to "watch over Jeremy" and "neither of you are to leave this hotel room without one of us." Alex and I watched a lot of cartoons during those days.
Two weeks later, Mommy and Daddy, taking a break from their nightly "hunts," took Alex and me across town for the grand opening of the fair. I can't remember the last time we had more fun as a family. Throughout the afternoon and well into the evening hours, Alex and I went on roller coast after roller coast, both of us laughing and screaming whenever the cars whooshed down the tracks so fast that I clutched my stomach to make sure it was still inside me. The wind stung my eyes and my body slammed against the side of the car whenever we roared around a corner or flew into the air for a cork screw but I wasn't afraid. I loved roller coasters. Even Alex was happy and looked more like himself as he shared some of his Cotton Candy with me.
Unfortunately it all shattered when I pointed out a man in a black trench coat, whom I'd seen once before outside my hotel window late at night when I'd gotten up for a drink of water; there were a few other times I spotted him again throughout the night too. Daddy tensed and gripped Mommy's shoulder, jerking his head in the direction of Black Trench Coat. Paling, Mommy shoved me into Alex's arms and ordered us to run and not to look back, no matter what we heard. Without a word, Alex tore off with the crowds, my hand clutched tight in his. I stumbled after him while reaching back towards our parents. Why weren't they coming with us? Tears rolled down my cheeks but Alex kept running, dodging in and out between the crowds of swaying bodies; I bumped into several people and knocked them over but had no time to apologize.
Ducking into a nearby alley, Alex crouched and pressed me against his chest, his hand covering my mouth. Wide-eyed, I stared at the unsuspecting people milling about not too far away. Behind us, a can bounced against the ground. I jumped. Nearby voices drew closer to us. Alex's grip tightened. Several seconds later, a group of teenagers passed by, all of them laughing and pushing each other playfully. Alex still didn't release me and after a while I tried to wiggle free. He wouldn't budge. Didn't he understand? Mommy and Daddy were out there. What if they were in trouble? I struggled even harder.
A shadow fell over us.
Alex shoved me forward and shouted, "Run, Jere!" However, a pair of arms seized mine and lifted me up. I cried out and fought hard to escape. Across from me, Alex stood trapped between two adults, but they were mostly in the shadows. All I could see were their almost white hands holding my brother's arms captive. Cruel laughter rang in the air. Too frighten to look away, I watched as another arm encircled Alex's waist, raising him higher and higher. "Look away, Jere. Don't watch!" Alex's pained voice came from so far away. I tried but all I could see was Black Trench Coat, holding my brother in the air before there was a sickening sound of a snarl. I blinked and gasped when Black Trench Coat's face contorted into the face of a monster. Even Alex's eyes widened in horror as Black Trench Coat held him against his chest before bending his head down towards Alex's neck. I couldn't understand Alex's violent struggle until a pair of fangs sank into his skin.
I screamed in protest. Alex's body jerked a few times before falling limp, his lifeless eyes staring at mine. Whimpering, I fought even harder to escape as Black Trench Coat approached me, my brother's blood staining his mouth.
He didn't kill me though.
Instead, he gripped my chin, turning my face this way and that before nodding and exchanging looks of satisfaction with his companions.
"I have the one I wanted; we're done here."
My eyes fly open and I bolt upright, panting hard; images from dream clinging to my consciousness. Crawling over to the water, I cup my hands and splash water onto my face. I hiss at the coldness as it drips down my face. I spent ten years as Black Trench Coat or Crevan's vampire pet; he'd heard about my parents and decided to lure them to Washington with anonymous tips. He'd been at the airport the morning my family arrived and that's when he saw me; my human purity only made him crave me more. After leaving my brother's drained body and probably my parents' on the fair ground, he took me back to his lair. Once inside, he strapped me down to his bed before ripping off our clothes. There was nothing gentle about my first time and he didn't prep me either. He just shoved inside until my body had no choice but to accept his presence. Screams of pain spilled from my mouth but he ignored them. He just kept pounding me over and over while recounting the times when he'd seen me and how much he enjoyed killing my family. I lost track of how long he lasted but because he said he'd waited long enough for me, he wasn't going to rush. Absently I trace my fingertip over two thin scar lines encircling my neck: reminders; after that first time, he had collared me and bound me to him as his pet.
Ten years I lived with that monster before Tyler and several others ambushed them and rescued me. At first I believed they were vampires too but Tyler shook his head; they were werewolves: the number one enemy of vampires. Even though Tyler claimed he knew my parents, I didn't trust him. After suffering through every type of sexual torture imaginable, I didn't trust anyone. No matter, he was still patient with me, treating me like an abused puppy whose trust needed to be earned. Tyler along with his best friend, Damon, invited me into their home, into their family. Both their parents had been murdered by Crevan, but even that shared information impacted me little. During those first several months, I came to understand what happened to Alex and why his personality hardened; knowing what he did, he lost his childlike innocence and now so had I.
About two months after I joined their pack, I left the safety of their camp, lured away by the forest calling me. Unfortunately, that was just what Crevan wanted. Somehow he escaped the werewolf ambush and had bided his time, watching and waiting for me to separate myself from the pack. If Damon hadn't been tracking me, I would've died that day. But Damon, after calling Tyler through some werewolf telepathy, saved my life. Afterwards, I relaxed my guard and before I knew it, the three of us became friends. Not too long after that I fell for both of them.
Shaking my head, I stand up, stripping off my clothes, diving into the water, and welcoming the shocking coldness shooting through my body. Now that they're mated there's really no place for me there anymore. With a gasp, I break the surface and dread water, forcing my body to relax and not fight the icy feeling seeping into my skin. Besides, this is nothing I haven't previously experienced.
Lying on my back, I stare up at the sky and then close my eyes. Although leaving the werewolf camp, which more or less became my home within the last year, I realize it's time. I'm grateful to Tyler and Damon for everything they've done but I don't really have a place among them.
Sometime later I climb back onto the grassy bank and stretch out on my bank, closing my eyes and allowing the sun and wind to dry my body before redressing. As I pull my shirt over my head and run my fingers through my hair, I frown at the sudden stillness.
It's too quiet.
I cast a quick glance over my shoulder before forcing myself to start walking and acting natural while training my ears to pick up any sounds. However, once again I'm reminded of only being human and my ability to hear isn't as good as Tyler's or Damon's. Still something's not right. Even the birds aren't chirping. I struggle not to break out into a run because that's actually what most predators crave.
Beads of sweat prickle my forehead and drip down the back of my neck and that's when I hear it: a footstep not too far away. I frown. Tyler or Damon? Listening harder, I tense. I've only heard footsteps like that once in my life: the night of Alex's death.
Unable to stop, I run.
A familiar chuckling echoes in my mind as I hear him following, his pace at ease as he tracks my frantic movements. I dive between two tree trunks, pain shooting through my chest and stomach when I trip over a hidden root. With a grunt, I shove myself up and push my muscles harder. I can almost feel him gaining, his breath tickling my throat.
I fly off my feet, yanked backwards by an unexpected force, and lie sprawled on my back. Crevan stands over me, backlit by sunlight but there's no mistaking the taunting humor in his voice or how his lips peel back, revealing a row of fangs, gleaming white and sharp.
"Hello, Jeremy. Did you miss me?"
Author's Note: Yes, I do realize this is a very AU storyline and some of the characters (Damon) are probably very OOC, but this storyline wouldn't leave me alone. While I love the pairing Jyler, I've recently become attracted to Jeremy/Damon so I'm playing with a Jeremy/Tyler/Damon pairing. Hope you guys enjoy this story.
Please read and review and let me know if this story is worth continuing.
Until next time,
emeyers