Emily McLean paused inside the door of her apartment and eyed the two suitcases and duffel bags; she flicked her eyes to the light spilling in from the open archway that lead to the kitchen. Closing the door as quietly as possible and with movements' equally as quiet and deliberate, she removed her rain coat and laid it, along with her keys and briefcase on the side table by the door.

"Edward?" she called out, her voice reflecting her nerves. The elation at finding out she had landed the job of her dreams, working as an expert in the most prestigious department of Zoology, with the most renowned doctors in that field, gradually dissipated in the wake of sudden overwhelming apprehension. Emily peeked slowly around the wall and saw her long term boyfriend Edward Leech, looking through the cupboards.

"Edward? Baby, what's going on?"

For reasons beyond her explanation, Emily always felt a fissure of unease go up her spine just before something was about to hit the fan. She had that ominous feeling for weeks now whilst around Edward, but had determinedly ignored it; she had promised herself that Edward would be the one she would spend her life with. He was to be her future husband, there was no way she would allow her spidey senses to ruin that.

Edward turned from the cupboard and faced Emily, his nondescript brown hair and waspishly, upper middle class handsome face looked serious and Emily's heart dropped. He was leaving her.

Emily blanked out slightly, the feeling was so surreal. He stood there in his Ralph Lauren beige slacks and Dior shirt, which even in that horrible moment Emily felt didn't look quite right together. He waffled out excuse after excuse, to which Emily could not quite muster the restraint to listen to quietly.

"I can't commit to someone with expectations as high as yours!" He whined. Emily felt her brows snap down in a dark frown before she could stop herself.

"When have I ever given you any indication that you aren't good enough? Hmm?" Emily snapped back, and Edward looked as if he were searching for an answer. "Name me one time that I have told you that you don't meet my expectations? Expectations, by the way, that I don't have! Try again, Edward!"

"I can't handle coming second place to your career, Emzie!" Edward snapped back and Emily had the urge to throw something at him and not only because he'd used a nickname she despised. She'd never realised Edward had such a selfish side

"We've been together for four years and just because the last three months I've come home late, you're leaving?" Emily said in disbelief. "This was only temporary, you knew that! But as soon as I don't pay you as much attention anymore you run!"

Edward had the grace to flush, he sighed and shrugged.

"It's taken until now to realise I … I just don't want you anymore, Emz."

Emily felt as if the wind had been kicked out of her, the wound it tore into her heart was a deep one and as much as she loathed it, a tear slid down her cheek and was seen before she could hasten it away with the back of her hand.

"Are you - Have you been seeing someone else?" Emily had to ask and it burned at it that she did. To be dumped was one thing but to be dumped for another woman! That really blows. Edward could not meet her eyes as he nodded and this time Emily could not stop herself, she blindly picked up the first thing at hand, which happened to be a cheese grater and threw it at Edward's head. He ducked with a very wimpy cry.

"See! This is what I'm talking about!" Edward yelled, bracing himself in case he had to dodge anything else. "You have to fight; you have to answer back all the god damn time! Why can't you just -"

"What? Be one of your pathetic submissive whores?" Emily screamed back and looked around for something else to throw, she still had enough of her wits about her not to reach for the knife block, but it was a near thing.

Later that night Emily sat by her window in her apartment, all alone. She sat by the window and looked down into the busy New York streets, the large glass of red wine held in her limp hand was forgotten, while her tears dried streaks on her face. Four years of her life had been wasted on what she realised was one of the most selfish men she'd ever met, how could she have been so blind to it? Edward had known that these three months were going to be full of hard work, her time and attention would have been temporarily centred on her job, in a way that they had never been before. He'd never voiced any objection to it, never indicated that the nights she had come home late were a bother to him.

Of course he wouldn't, Emily thought bitterly, he was probably banging one of his bitches in their bed while she had been working to secure a future for them and the potential family they would have eventually created.

Emily had briefly entertained the notion that perhaps it was all her fault, that if she phoned Edward and promised him to give her job up he would come back and they could play happy families again. But it was soon squashed, not only would her pride not allow her to crawl and beg for him to return, but she did not want to give up everything she had worked so hard for. Something she loved. If he had ever loved her he would not ask her to choose, he would have borne out the irritation of not having her to himself for a few months so they could have a wonderfully comfortable life together in the long run. God knew if it had been left to him and his ambitions of becoming an actor they would have been eating scraps from the back of the cupboard every night.

A movement near the window caught her eye; a peregrine falcon had landed on her sill, his beady eye watching her intently. Emily's brain began cataloguing and processing his size and shape and colouring, the way she did whenever she came across an animal. As a zoologist it was her job and also her passion. Emily smiled sadly, it was only Gruff. The falcons seemed to be attracted the architecture in New York and consequently nested among the buildings, Gruff had been a long time companion of Emily's on nights when she couldn't rest. Of late she had found her hormones rather too erratic though, not that throwing a cheese grater at Edward was totally out of the ordinary, but lots of things felt different. Physically she felt itchy, restless and sometimes achy; also her sex drive had taken a sudden increase. Emily gave a twisted smile; Edward was definitely going to miss that. Gruff took flight and soared into the night leaving Emily once again alone, and feeling lonelier then ever. She hummed a sad 'happy birthday' to herself and looked up at the clock, she had been twenty five for three hours and eleven minutes, she took another overly large gulp of wine and it trickled down her chin. Emily sighed and rose to go to bed but abruptly doubled over as if in pain, Emily clutched her rib where she felt as if she had a searing, stitch from having run a marathon. Her bones in her legs, especially her shins were aching, her mouth too. Her gums and teeth … Places that could not be held and rubbed better ached and pained along with the rest of her body, Emily whimpered, wondering what on earth was wrong with her.

She threw a malevolent glare at the wine bottle, which, incidentally, was Edward's; she had just refused to give it back to him. The bastard had probably known she would have been vindictive about being dumped and poisoned it.

Emily felt like she was having a seizure and convulsed so violently that she was thrown on to her back, she let out a inhuman scream that sounded more like the screech of a bird as a sharp pain shot down her spine and passed out. A few hours later, Emily opened her eyes, stood up and spread her wings, strangely calmer then anyone would think themselves at finding out they had transformed into a hawk.

*******************************************

Jasyn opened his eyes and stretched his wings, he ignored the window and the dying light shining through, his body clock was more accurate then any other kind. It told him dusk was upon him and his shift downstairs in the Sanctuary bar was going to start. Unfolding himself from his positioned, Jasyn swooped down from his spot on the rafters and transformed in mid air, changing from hawk to a lethal looking man, who's masculine beauty was enough to make most women, and men, pant for mercy. Jasyn made his way to the shower, though he spurned all things human, he reluctantly admitted that showering always felt good on his human flesh.

Once done, he made his way down into the bar. He ignored Margie who was working the bar, nodded to Dev who was playing bouncer at the doors of Sanctuary. He registered some of the looks he got from a few of the human women at the bar, gave a one or two himself, he turned his back on the bar with a cruel twist on his lips that should have been a smile if it wasn't so menacing. He had enough male ego to relish the hormonal devastation he wreaked on a woman's body, the way they would stare blindly in love at their boyfriend one minute and the next be making obscene sexual gestures to him behind the poor saps back the next. He didn't trust women and he detested humans. How he had stayed so long at Sanctuary was anyone's guess.

Jasyn took up his position guarding the doors that led through to the Peltier house at the back of the bar, where the family of Were bears and all their lodgers resided. Jasyn was just settling down in his seat, knowing he would be there most of the night when a woman began approaching him, he'd spotted her in the crowd as he had first walked in, not because she was particularly nice looking, though he would do her if he were in dire need of a release, but because Jasyn saw everybody. He spotted everything; he sensed movements and motions that were happening behind just as well as he could see those in front. He watched everything like a hawk. Smirking at the pun, Jasyn eyed the girl who stopped in front of him and nervously handed him a long feather, Jasyn went completely still, he flicked his cold gaze on the woman, who flinched.

"Who gave you this?"

"A guy at the door," she muttered nervously. "But he is gone now."

Jasyn nodded and looked down at the feather and he shook his head with mild exasperation, Arion was back in town and the uppity Arcadian was calling him out. Jasyn felt a real grin spread across his lips making him look so sinister that the woman turned on her heel and ran.