Gabriel floated along the perimeter of her home, swiping at the blood running down his cheeks. He knew he had no right to be upset at seeing the man holding her while she slept, of smelling the sex that tinted the air around her window. He knew he had no claim on her and that she had no interest in allowing him to be the man that held her while she slept. But all of those thoughts couldn't quell the swelling rage and self loathing that ravaged his soul.
He knew the sun was going to rise very soon, he could see the once inky black sky begin to lighten slightly with purples and grays. In that moment he decided he'd meet the sun and let himself be damned, but the thought was fleeting as the fear and regret loomed over him. He stood in the front of the house and he berated his own cowardice as blood tears streaked his white face.
-o-
Faolan stared at the ceiling fully awake and shockingly aware of the nude girl curled next to him emitting the deep rhythmic breathing of sleep. He rose from the bed and crawled over her and hopped off the bed in an easy and graceful motion. He secured his boxers as he scoured the floor for his t-shirt. After locating the rest of his clothing and quickly tugging them on he walked over to her vanity and picked up her lipstick and scrawled his number across the mirror there. He decided against kissing her goodbye and grabbed up his boots and crept down the staircase in socked feet.
"Hello there boy." Faolan heard the tired and weak male voice behind him as he reached for the knob of the front door. He turned to see a short squat man in scrubs eyeing him wearily.
"Sir." Faolan answered back, raising to his full height to communicate that he wasn't going to show shame for leaving his daughter's room. He saw the man sigh and rub his face with his pudgy little hands and Faolan almost felt pity for him. "Sir, I am sorry to be prowling around your home at such an early hour, but I have to get to work, otherwise I would have stayed and introduced myself better. My name is Faolan Haven."
"Adelphus' boy?" the man perked from his dismal disappointment to now scrutinize the large man in front of him. "I don't see much of resemblance, aside from height and build I guess. But anyway, he is a good man, I see him often at the hospital." Adelphus must have gotten a contract for the surveying and landscape of the hospital, Faolan thought to himself.
"Yes, well, nice to meet you." Faolan swung the door open and closed it quickly behind him and leaned over to yank his boots on allowing his jeans to stay tucked carelessly in them as he dug through his pocket for his keys.
He froze on the porch, if he hadn't been mentally preoccupied he would have picked up the sweet yet nauseating scent of the undead instantly. His head snapped up and he met its eyes from across the lawn.
-o-
He would have to go to ground any minute he knew, the sun was about to make its début and although miserable, Gabriel wasn't yet ready to meet his final death. He turned to head to the cemetery when he heard voices near the front door, and he stopped. The curiosity of the tormented never has good intentions, he thought to himself with a bitter grin, and he glided eerily to the sidewalk across the lawn from the front porch.
The werewolf left the house, and rage filled Gabriel. If he'd known that was what was inside he would have flung the door open and put the filthy animal down. He bared his fangs as he watched the dog put on his boots. Then he noticed Gabriel.
They stared at one another for what could have been an eternity, trying to gauge and size up the other one. It would have been an easy fight, due to Gabriel's age and strength, and the fact that this one was alone, but the sun was coming soon so he knew if there were going to be any actions made it needed to happen in the next second.
-o-
Faolan saw the changing of the sky, and knew the sun was rising, he knew that if he could manage to evade the demon for a few minutes he would have the upper hand. He allowed for the change to crack his spine and roll the muscles in his shoulders. He could smack himself for putting on his shoes as his claws began to grow, straining the old worn leather. His jaw slacked and then tightened as his teeth grew and his face elongated. He could hear the beating of paws hitting packed dirt in his mind, and he sent every mental signal to his already changed brethren he could muster.
He felt the alarm register in the other mind, and he smiled in triumph, knowing aid was on the way.
-o-
Gabriel watched the man make a change, packing on more muscle and adding sharp claws and teeth to his natural arson of weaponry. Gabriel let his fangs unsheathe to their full potential and his feet left the ground. He was a fraction of a second from launching himself onto the animal, when he heard company in the crop of trees that separated Eve's home from the neighbors. He knew he was out manned and the sun was going to rise, he sighed audibly and shot himself into the atmosphere, disappearing on the wind as he did so.
"Stay away from her dog, I know you are looking for me now."
-o-
Faolan watched the dead thing leave, and regret stung at him when he realized he'd missed the perfect opportunity to bring him down. He cracked back to his human form and stretched his tense muscles as his brother emerged from the outcrop of trees.
Bertolf walked over to the passenger side of Mustang and dropped into the seat naked and dirty. "Well, here's hoping no one wakes up early in this neighborhood."
"Shut the fuck up." Faolan growled in anger as the engine roared to life and he peeled down the street.
-o-
Eve looked at her bedside clock and saw it glared an angry 11:00am at her. She couldn't understand why she was up this early and groaned as she held her spinning head and sat up. She dropped her feet over the bed and was suddenly aware she was alone, she shuddered at alcohol infused memories and knew she needed to get to the bathroom. She saw a man's tank top crammed in the corner between the mattress and the wall and tugged it out and slipped it on. He seemed to have left that along with the number on her mirror. She almost gagged at her own stupidity as she realized she hadn't known his number or his last name but could draw his penis from memory. She was feeling even more classy as she stumbled to the upstairs bathroom and puked her hangover into the sink.
After she was done getting sick she took a shower and made herself a cup of hot tea. She took the mug and started to make her way back to bed when she saw a post it on the freezer door written by her Father. "We need to talk." she rubbed her eyes in aggravation when she realized her Father must have run into Faolan at some point in the night. There was no point on dwelling on the fact and she just made her way back to bed.
She flopped from side to side restlessly and knew she was never going to get back to sleep, she picked up her cell phone from its vantage point by her clock and punched in the number that was smeared on her mirror.
-o-
Faolan and Bertolf got to the den as the sun rose and Faolan nearly kicked the door in his anger. Bertolf walked into his room to pull on some shorts as Faolan threw the other doors open down the hall and awoke the other boys. He saw Adelphus come from the backyard holding a coffee cup, a quizzical look on his face. When he noted Faolan's anger the question diminished quickly.
"What's going on? Did you see it?"
"Yes, let me address the pack as a whole, its serious news." Faolan ushered the half sleeping wolves into the large Den.
Bertolf took a defensive stance by the door, his arms folded and a look of seriousness plastered on his face, and Faolan stood in front of the large cherry entertainment center, pacing slightly. Zeff, and Ulric looked red eyed and exhausted as they plopped in lazy heaps on the large leather couch directly in front of Faolan. Adelphus took a seat with his mug in the overstuffed matching leather chair near the glass doors Bertolf was standing in front of. Ingolfr was the last to enter the room, drying his long white blond hair with a hand towel, donning loose track pants and a scowl over having his shower interrupted. He stood behind the couch Zeff and Ulric were lounging in, squeezing the water from his thick locks.
"Okay, now that we are all together, me and Bertolf spotted the Vampire."
Shock and tension vibrated among all the wolves. Zeff and Ulric were upright and alert, having snapped quickly from their sleep induced stupor. Ingolfr quit drying his hair in annoyance and looked almost excited.
"Did you confront him?" Zeff asked, eager for details.
"No, I was unable to. I saw him right before dawn, outside the home of our lead. I didn't notice his closeness instantly and when I saw him he already had seen me and was producing fang, which leads me to believe he watches the house." Faolan explained.
"Wait, you were fucking our lead last night?" Ulric said, changing the subject to the annoyance of everyone else.
"How the-" Faolan began but Ulric cut him off.
"Ingolfr was in pelt last night and got a boner, we figured you were fucking one of the lone bitches in town and that's why you were able to be in pelt, or half way."
"Not important Ulric, and Ingolfr, please refrain from telling Ulric anything about sex. It fogs his tiny brain." Adelphus said in all seriousness, and Zeff feigned coughing to cover up his chuckle. Ulric sat back and crossed his arms over his chest peevishly.
"Yes, Father." Ingolfr responded in his heavy accent and with a toothy grin.
"Right, well, yes I spent the night with the girl. I took her out to smell her closely and she doesn't seem to have been officially marked my the demon, because I smell no traces of it in her blood or skin. Which she may have had him in the past but if it did happen it has been months. Taking the sketch I saw in her room and now knowing what he looks like I have no doubt she'd seen him and knows what he is, but I don't think she is involved with him any longer. However, it obviously still pines for her if the thing is watching her house. Which means the demon knows we are hunting him. Or now after this morning he knows I know he is there and that I am part of a pack, he left when he saw Bertolf in the trees."
"Do you think now that he knows we have seen him he will keep stalking her?" asked Zeff.
Faolan thought about it for a quick moment. "Yes, I think he will. He obviously hasn't had any sort of physical connection with her either ever or in a long time, and yet she knows him. I have a feeling he may either harbor some kind of fanatical love for her or perhaps he takes a thrill in the stalk. I do think that means our lead is in mortal danger."
"They cannot love." Ingolfr scoffed.
"Anything can love, it is the intention behind that love that is either pure or dangerous. You can love something to death, that may be evil but it doesn't mean you didn't love." Adelphus said. "Anyway, I think we should keep running the stalk on her. Right now this human is the only thing we have that links us to the demon and makes our search easier. I think that his apparent hostility means the vampire will keep close to our human to keep his eye on her. So, now that Faolan has an in with the girl," Ulric, Zeff, and Ingolfr snickered at the word choice. "It offers a simple alibi for proximity, however whenever Faolan is with her I want two of you in the area so he can call you when the vampire shows up. Remember, when we spot him be cautious not to change in front of her or any other humans. The last thing we need is to kill the humans for them seeing us, when our entire mission is to protect the lives of humans." Adelphus stood and walked into his office shutting the door behind him, thus ending the meeting.
"You're an asshole Faolan." Ulric said as he got up from his seat and scratched himself nonchalantly.
"How so, Ulric?" Faolan asked uninterested.
"If you shared with everyone else here that fucking her to get close to her was an option one of us would have jumped on that shit like, three weeks ago, but no. Instead you had to brood on that for a month and let the rest of us bore ourselves to death in fucking classes."
Zeff clasped Faolan on his shoulder following him into the kitchen. "He sort of has a point there Beta Boy."
"I didn't really think of it as an option. It sort of just became one, and we didn't have sex." Faolan opened the fridge and took out a hotdog and ate it cold in two bites while he rummaged around for more food.
"Yes you did, I felt it." Ingolfr walked in and over to the coffee pot pouring himself a mug.
"Dude, pour me some too." Ulric chimed in motioning "gimme" with his hands like a two year old.
"I didn't have sex, sorry." Faolan smirked and then chugged from the milk carton.
"No I mean, like I really felt it. Thank you by the way. It is not often I find myself in a field with an instant climax. It was like masturbation without the work." Ingolfr snickered and drank his coffee leaning gracefully against the counter.
"Well, hopefully you were alone, and no I am not saying she didn't get me off I am just saying that didn't happen through sex." Faolan added and shrugged.
"Hey Golfy, don't you know how I take my coffee? I am mildly insulted you didn't gay this up for me. You should know me broski." Ulric held his hand over his heart looking wounded as he took the sugar bowl and dumped its entire contents into the mug of black coffee. Ingolfr made a disgusted face.
"Virgin, huh?" Zeff offered at his comfortable perch in the breakfast nook. "muffins are in the pantry by the way. Hand the box here." Faolan grabbed the blueberry muffin box and sat at the table with Zeff, followed by Ulric, Ingolfr kept his distance by the coffee pot.
"Yes. How did you guess?" Faolan smirked.
"She smelt like one. I sit behind her in Art History, she has never smelt of man. Well, I guess until now." He punched Faolan playfully on the shoulder and downed a muffin at record speed.
Ulric finished his coffee and stood up. "I'm going back to bed, this shit never works." he left the mug on the table and walked to his room.
"Well, I don't want to hear him snoring so I am going for a run, anyone want to flank me?" Zeff asked pulling his shirt over his head and tossed it behind him as he stood.
"I will brother." Ingolfr replied with his Finnish accent as he put his coffee mug in the sink and eyed Zeff's tossed clothing with annoyance. "I felt like rabbit for breakfast any how." he added with a sharp and frightful grin, his lavender eyes taking on a red hue for a flicker of an instant.
"Well, let's go get you some breakfast bud." Zeff made his way to the back door and Ingolfr followed.
Faolan stood and grabbed Zeff's New Orleans Saints t-shirt from off the floor and made his way back to his and Bertolf's shared room. He tossed the shirt in Zeff's room on his way down the hall and heard Bertolf singing in the shower and he banged on the door as he passed, in an attempt to shut up the god awful sound. He landed on his bed and fell into a deep sleep almost instantly. Instead of having dreams of Eve naked and writhing underneath him , he had fitful nightmares about his racial enemy getting away from him.
-o-
Faolan awoke with a start, and realized that it was the ringing of his cell phone next to his bed. He answered it without looking to see who it was. "Hello?" he rumbled into the phone, sounding half asleep.
"Did I wake you? I'm sorry, I can call later. If you want."
Eve. It was Eve, he tried not to notice the twinge in his loins at the sound of her voice.
"No, its okay, I am sure I should be up anyhow. What is going on?"
"Nothing much, feel awful. Hangover, you know." she laughed. He didn't. "I actually wanted to know if you ran into my Dad as you were leaving my house?"
"Uh, yeah, I actually forgot about that. But yeah I did, he pretty pissed about seeing me at 6am?" Faolan rolled onto his back and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"I don't know, he left a note in the kitchen leading me to think you may have run into him. Well, that sucks. I have no clue how I am going to explain that without it getting awkward." she sounded nervous.
"Just say we are friends from school and that we went to a concert and I got trashed and you drove my car back to your place so I could sleep it off. I mean, I don't know how you feel about lying to your Dad but I would think it better than telling him what really happened."
Eve could hear the smile in his voice at the last bit of that. "Yeah, that actually might work. Better than the truth in this case anyway." she laughed.
"Hey, I don't know if you will feel up to it later, but would you want to do something?" Faolan asked.
"Yeah, I would like that." she smiled. "I guess call me with the when and where later."
"Will do, Babe." he hung up and rolled back over to his belly with a groan.
"Oh yeah, Baby smooch smooch, oh yeah!" Ulric made sex noises by the door of Faolan's bedroom. He didn't honor the display with a response but instead chucked a pillow at top speed in his direction.
Faolan found himself smiling into his remaining pillow as he drifted back to sleep, this time much less fitful, and much more hot.