Chapter 21

I'd never understand why men decided to be so damned competitive over games.
The room was filled to the brim with them, mostly werewolves, but Bram had brought along a few of ours. It went without saying that the ones that had showed up were single; no sane vampire was going to let their other half walk into a room of dogs that we hardly knew and barely trusted. The entire institution of sport was lost on me to begin with, but apparently a lot of them were trying to make sure it wasn't lost upon our men.

"See, isn't this fun?" Draculaura asked as her boyfriend leaned over to explain what they were doing.

"No," I replied honestly. She raised a brow and passed her veggie plate over. I just stared down at it. Finally, she got up just before the entire room erupted in howls. Bram winced, glancing to me. I shook my head and blew him a kiss before slipping out into the backyard, massaging my temples. I got it, the alphas were friends and in bringing Draculaura into the circle, we'd need to accept her choice in companions. They were loud, they were obnoxious, and if I heard one more howl I was going to slap someone.

She followed, dipping a carrot in dressing, "Why do you dislike Clawd so much?"

I walked out to the tree, smoothed my skirt and sat at its base, "I don't dislike Clawd. In fact, he's probably the most tolerable of the bunch. I dislike that he hurt you and I dislike even more that you took him back afterward, but I highly doubt that I could hold it against you very long."

She sat and sighed, "Don't blame Romulus. He was just looking out for him. He had his reasons, just like you have yours."

"I have one reason for not attempting to give him a nice replay of events, and that's the instability of our friendship. Maybe if we become close for a while, I'll hold a grudge long enough to repay him later," I mused out loud. She rolled her eyes, offering again. It didn't take long for Bram to follow us out, the look of utter frustration and exasperation on his features mirroring my own. He sunk into the grass at our side and I smiled, his arm wrapping around my torso to cushion my back from the bark, "I can't take much more of this."

Draculaura's face fell. I patted her knee, "It's not you or them, 'Laura. It's the fact that we're just too..." I wanted to say mature, intellectual and literate, but I settled on something less offensive, "old for this." If it was anything but sports, we'd have been all for it. Bram's eyes flickered to me, his thoughts overlapping my own, More along the lines of barely being able to tolerate that asinine alpha. Her boyfriend isn't all unappealing.

I tried not to smile as I rested my hand over his, Please tell me that's only in the sense of personality and I don't have to worry about you leaving me for a dog.

He chuckled, leaning in to feather a kiss to my unbeating pulse. I did smile then, squeezing his hand while a darker part of me delighted in the anguished look that crossed behind Draculaura's eyes. If she could see people for who they were instead of what, she'd understand. Sixteen centuries old and she hardly had a head on her shoulders, it was a wonder of its own that she hadn't been hunted down and killed during the wars.

"Do you guys wanna go?" she asked, almost hopelessly.

I glanced to Bram. He shrugged in return, "It's not an altogether unpleasant gathering, it's just not our kind of party, Draculaura."

"But you're a casketball player," she replied. His lips twitched, eyes burning into mine. I tried not to blush.
"And?" he replied, running his fingertips over my hip, "It looks nice on a transcript, that doesn't mean I have to be invested in it." Fearleading was to me what casketball was to him, an amusement at best, a waste of time at the worst. Poor, innocent Draculaura had no idea what sides of the spectrum she was on.

She eventually rose and started back for the house, glancing to us, "I'm glad you showed up and tried."

I shrugged out of respect. She slipped inside and shut the door, bringing a smile to Bram's face. He rose and pulled me with him. I giggled, slipping my arms around his neck and allowing him to press as close to me as he could in an embrace. His lips gracefully descended on mine, our eyes locking in a look of complete and utter adoration. I caressed his jaw and sighed, breaking away for a forced breath, "Should we take the longer route?"

He kissed me again, gently and gingerly, taking his time to answer. I melted, linking our fingers together at our sides. After a moment, he murmured, "Of course."
Forgoing flight for foot travel, we wandered down the darkened streets, dashing from puddle of shadow to puddle of shadow with our fingers interlaced. His eyes burned with open emotion. I released his hand and dashed down the sidewalk, flashing him a childish grin. He shifted into a bat and landed steps in front of me, ensuring that I ran directly into his arms. There, under the light of the street light, we laughed breathlessly and clung to each other. Our weekend had just dawned and I already didn't want it to end. Running my fingers up his chest to the top button of his shirt, he caught my hand and rested it there without a word.

The snap of a twig nearby roused my senses from their usual lovelorn haze. He stepped off the curb, a singular twitch of a nod signifying that whatever it was had come from the direction we had just left. My eyes scanned the trees slowly before settling on a pair of dark, gold eyes. He grasped my hand, "Time to go."

I bared my fangs and took off at his side. We ran a few paces before evaporating mid-leap, reforming as bats and taking to the skies. Howls pierced the night. He flew higher, urging me to join him. It was cowardly to run, but we didn't have much else of an option; we were outnumbered and certainly outgunned, and creatures like them didn't care a wit for other peoples' lives.

Gory, his mental voice was reverberating like bells inside my mind. As far as both of us knew, Draculaura couldn't communicate telepathically, leaving the both of us on our own. Go, I'll catch up to you.

No, I replied, following him relentlessly, where you go, I go.

Stubborn girl.

Your stubborn girl.

At the very least, hang back.

He descended on the house, leaving me to settle at the belfry. Most of our friends had taken up residence in the newly assembled dormitories. Once again...we were on our own. That reason alone was terrifying enough to make me watch him like an owl. There were no howls, no eyes, but the scent of dog wafted up on a breeze. It was enough to put my half-transformed feet into motion. He caught sight of them when I did, hissing in territorial protest. I sprang off the rooftop, landing on the still grass with an open snarl. A few of their ears bristled.

"Gory," he said firmly. I felt his hand near my arm and took a step back, allowing him to pull me up to his side and chivalrously step in front of me. You're not taking care of this alone, I reminded him in resting a hand on his back.

If I tell you to run, you're going to listen to me this time. His eyes flickered backward. There was a flash of irritation when I didn't meet his gaze, remaining focused on the wolves on our lawn. His tone was strong and elegant, promising violence at any given moment, "What do you want?"

The big one directly across from us growled like an animal. The faint scent of liquor carried on the air, depriving them of their senses and putting together the last puzzle piece in our minds.

"Maybe if we get some meat they'll go away," I muttered, attempting optimism.

Bram didn't move; it was safe to assume that as it was, we were the meat. "Please go inside," he whispered, "Slowly." It was a chivalrous thought, but I wasn't about to let him be left to them. He stepped away, just a singular step, and everything happened at once. There were four of them, we established that quickly, the one big one and three of his normal-sized friends. The distribution was uneven, but they charged us. A flicker of panic clenched my chest at the thought of going through with the fight we'd planned on having, but it subsided before it had time to hinder me any. The big one went for me, his friends for Bram. He reacted like lightning, throwing aside the first like a toy. My attention was forced away as a large paw came down toward my torso, slicing the air in front of me. He barely missed. Instinct made these half-dogs smarter, I could tell. Slamming a heel into his ribs and darting out of the way of another hit, I let him charge. He sprang back just slightly, attacking again.
The ones around Bram were restless, ruthless and unshakable. He glanced over, breaking their circle to grasp my arm. I swung around, using the momentum of his grab to slam my foot into one of their chests without realizing what I'd done. His back was open to the big one and the opportunity was seized as soon as it was presented. They bared down on us quickly and he shielded me as best as he could, no matter how much I wanted to shield him. I let out a roar of fury and anguish. Wetness coated my fingers, sweetly scented; his blood. I snapped, letting go and pushing away from his chest. I surfaced like a drowning man and attacked the remaining two on their feet. Their friend was down, whining in pain, gripping his rib cage. One fell under a sharp blow, the other wavering. The big one roared, his claws finding purchase against my side. I didn't miss a beat, returning the sound and the fury. He dark, fearsome eyes closed and he crumpled, leaving Bram standing behind him. A dark river of blood oozed from each cut, his eyes infinitely dark with hatred and rage. Stepping over the fallen wolf, I watched them soften as he pulled me closer, examining the wounds.

"I'm okay," I whispered, cupping his jaw. He blinked twice before nodding, resting a hand over mine and crumpling to the ground. In my shock, he took me down with him. My hands pressed to the bleeding wounds, trying to calm them. His fangs bared in pain, "Well...we certainly got what we wished for."

I brushed my hair aside, lowering to his level, "Hush."

Wordlessly, he sunk his fangs into my neck and provided himself with my blood to heal. A greater part of my mind offered to split open one of the wolves and use them for sustenance, but the logic in it was lost. A disease-carrying dog was hardly what either of us needed. He grasped my shoulder firmly, accepting my aid in getting to his feet. With a final glance at the downed beasts, we started for the house.

"Are you just going to leave them there?" he asked gently, as if encouraging me.

"They're not worth the effort of removing them."