AN: As always thank you, rianna34, for your help. This story wouldn't be the same without you… it would be far worse.

Tyrell is a character that I introduced in Beasties.

Zanshin - a state of awareness, of relaxed alertness. Eliot used this term for situational awareness in S4E9

Boguet is pronounced Bow-gay

Jura is a region in France that boarders Switzerland. It is pronounced zsur-wah.

Joli Fruit is French for Lovely Fruit and is pronounced zso-lee fwree

Saignée is French for 'to bleed' and is pronounced sohn-yay.

Perrine Ganteaume is pronounced pear-een gahn-towm

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Hunted

~~o0o~~

Prologue

Jura region of France 1598

She was slowly turning the meat on the spit over the fire. Pierre and George were out hunting for more. The last two they brought home were very tender but just too small. Antoinette used her apron to wipe the tears from her face. She tried to tell herself that she wasn't crying over the recent loss of her mother, that it was the smoke from the hearth stinging her eyes.

Something crashed against the door. On the second impact the bar across the door creaked and started to splinter. On the third impact the wooden bar broke and fell to the floor. A hole had been punched through the beams of the door and through it Antoinette could see the battering ram as it was thrust a final time. The door, or what was left of it, fell into the room. Several men marched into the small room. Antoinette recognized a few of them from the village but it was the man that was leading the group that held her attention. She had seen drawings of him. He was one of the lead jurist for the ecclesiastical court in Switzerland. The drawings had held a certain likeness to him but nothing had prepared her for the fires of hell burning behind his eyes.

"Antoinette Gandillon you are hereby accused of witchcraft and having congress with the devil." Henri Boguet, jurist for the ecclesiastical court, pointed at Antoinette.

"No! No! …Mercy, please mercy!" Antoinette curled herself into the corner by the hearth. She closed her eyes and hid her face in her apron but that didn't stop the hands that grabbed her and hauled her from her home.

The trial was short and painful. Pierre and George arrived before it was over and were put on trial as well. It didn't take long before all three had confessed to black magic, meetings with the devil and his demons, and to being werewolves. Henri used Antoinette's screams and her own sobbed confession to wring a confession from Pierre and George.

The witnesses and ecclesiastical examiners worked together to build the pyre with the stake in the middle. The only mercy shown that day was for George. Because of his young age Henri allowed one of the examiners to strangle George to death before he was strapped to the stake between his parents. The fire was lit and the smoke began to rise. The old priest from the village stepped toward the pyre to offer last rights but Henri put a hand on the old man's arm.

"Not today Father. Today they will burn in hell." Henri watched the flames spring up and while he felt some satisfaction from it, he felt like he was missing something. Finding all the members of this pack of werewolves was too easy. He didn't want easy. He wanted vengeance.

CHAPTER 1

Lovely

It started after a lunch with Tyrell. Eliot had invited Tyrell to lunch at the pub the next time he was in town for his one week a month hospital rotation. Tyrell had returned the favor and invited Eliot and the team up to Olympia. Eliot had taken the doctor up on his invitation but Parker and Hardison had already made plans for some convention. Eliot couldn't remember if it was for video-games, or comic books, or maybe it was that doctor somebody TV show that Hardison liked. Regardless he knew that they would have a great time and he was relieved to have a great reason not to go. Not that he would have gone regardless but it saved him from the puppy dog eyes, pouting, and the wheedling. But looking back on things Eliot would be able to pin point the start of events as lunch in Olympia with Tyrell.

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From the outside the Bistro & Wine Bar looked like the kind of place that would be more suited to serving fish and chips in plastic baskets or maybe industrially produced pizza by the slice. Shabby grey lapboard siding that needed a fresh coat of paint, no trim, no décor, not even a nice sign. No real charm to the place at all, grey painted cinderblock couldn't have been any worse. Tyrell had sent Eliot the address but Eliot double checked it to be sure he had the right place. Eliot checked his watch and he was only ten minutes early so he decided to head inside before the lack of curbside appeal of the bistro gave him second thoughts. When Tyrell had said they'd go to a bistro in the historic district Eliot had pictured something red brick with a little age and a lot of charm. He certainly hadn't pictured something that could have passed for a fast food fish shack. He could practically hear Hardison teasing him about being a food snob and trying to convince him there was nothing wrong with over salted and empty-carb loaded fast food.

The bistro was right on the docks and it did have great view of West Bay. As he walked to the front of the restaurant where it faced the bay Eliot saw the outside seating area and spotted Tyrell. The doctor smiled and gave him a small wave. Eliot opened the main door and was…impressed. The inside was all, hardwood floors, tall table seating, and small wood barrels with local wineries' logos painted on them. The place was elegant but masculine and ultimately fancier than he would have pictured a bistro on the docks in Olympia.

Eliot joined Tyrell at the small table outside and the waitress was by in no time to bring them menus and water.

"I was sorry to hear that Hardison and Parker couldn't join today." Tyrell commented from behind his menu.

"If it makes you feel any better I think you actually made them pause for a moment of indecision in their preparations for this… whatever this convention is." Eliot almost said 'geek fest' but he didn't want to disparage his friends in front of Tyrell.

"Well I'm glad you could make the time. I hope the drive was uneventful?" Tyrell set his menu to the side.

Eliot thought of some of the warzones he driven through under live fire. "Yes it was very uneventful. I talked to your mother last night. She said to send you her regards."

"Yes. She must have called me directly after hanging up with you." Tyrell chuckled and shook his head.

"Let me guess. She told you to play nice and mind your manners?" Eliot quirked and eyebrow and set his menu to the side as well.

Tyrell laughed and leaned back in his chair.

"At least that's what she told me to do." Eliot snorted.

The waitress arrived to take their orders.

"House salad and dressing with a white wine. Oh, and can I get an onion blossom as a starter?" Tyrell handed the waitress his menu.

"Top sirloin, mixed veg, and thick cut fries. What reds do you have on offer?" Eliot handed her his menu as well.

The waitress listed several wine categories and mentioned local wines in each. Eliot settled on a Malbec from Washington State that he hadn't tried before. Eliot had started offering a very small wine selection on the pubs menu but he hadn't found a Malbec that he liked enough yet to include.

Eliot looked out at the calm waters of the bay and took in the light and smell of the water and the sound of the gulls crying. The first lunch in Portland had been very brief. Parker and Hardison had spent more time with Tyrell than Eliot had since it had been the lunch rush and the kitchen couldn't seem to function without him that day. Tyrell had booked surgeries all day that day and couldn't spare more time before he had to get back to the hospital. Today they each had the day off so there was time.

"I'm sure it won't come as a surprise but your mama is very proud of you." Eliot smiled a little as he reached for his water glass.

"I'm more interested in your backstory." Tyrell tapped his glass on the table a couple of times. "Oh, I know there'll be plenty you can't tell and plenty that's not my business but I'd like to know about you and my mama. She doesn't cotton to most folks like she has you, and your people."

"She hasn't told you the story?" Eliot grinned and steepled his fingers. He was guessing that the outdoor seating and the early hour for lunch hadn't been an accident if this was the direction that Tyrell wanted to take this conversation. Eliot's zanshin was excellent and he knew there was no one nearby to overhear. "She saved my life. I got caught by a nest of vampires and I'd almost fought my way free but if she hadn't shown up when she did… well that would have been the end."

"How long ago was this?" Tyrell couldn't help looking over Eliot's general appearance even though he knew that the man wouldn't have aged since he'd become a wolf.

"Oh, I don't know ten years maybe. I've lost track. We've kept in touch since then and a year or so ago she helped me and my team out of jam. They've become just as attached to her as I have. I think Parker kinda views her as a grandmother."

"Pretty sure my mother thinks of Parker as daughter or granddaughter. It's been nice to hear about it from her. Now that the 'wolf's outta the bag', she's been telling me more. My sister and her daughter live on the other side of the state from my mom so they get to see her more often than I do but that's still pretty far away. And I know you guys live here so you're not really any closer than I am but it feels like there's more folks checking in on her."

Eliot thought of some of the security measures that Hardison had put up in Ms. Teo's house to keep tabs on her, the same as he did for his nana. Eliot knew that Hardison didn't see it as an invasion of privacy and it was his way of caring for the people he loved that weren't close by, but he wasn't sure anyone else would see it that way. "I think we all check in on her from time to time."

"So she just happen to come through some back alley where you were fighting off a vampire and that's how you met?" Tyrell brought them back to the story he was most interested in.

Eliot sipped at his water. "It was three vampires and your mother didn't just happen by. She was hunting. My first thought was 'that's a damn big crossbow!' and my next thought was that I needed to get out of there. She killed those vampires and dissolved the corpses like most people would haul out their trash. Just down to business, ya know? I'd been cut to ribbons by then and I was pretty sure she could have handled me just the same as she had those vamps." Eliot smiled fondly as he remembered that first meeting.

~~o0o~~

Eliot rolled to the side and saw an old black woman with an improbably large crossbow. Her skirt had been girded up and tucked through her belt revealing legs that were well muscled for a woman of her years. She had leather gauntlets on her forearms and leather sleeves that laced onto her leather vest at the shoulders. The black head scarf tied into some kind of turban arrangement on top of her head was fastened into place with a large silver broach. Normally Eliot wouldn't be afraid of an old woman with a stick but he was so torn and so tired he wasn't sure what his chances might be against her right now. The old woman paused to assess him for a moment and shook her head at him.

Eliot rolled to his belly and pushed to hands and knees. He tried to bring a foot forward so that he could start to stand, but couldn't quite seem to manage it.

"I wouldn' try it couyon. You gon' fall over and wit' da shape you in tha' just might kill you."

~~o0o~~

"Instead she took me home and put a godawful salve on my wounds and generally just took care of me. It was …nice." Eliot rubbed a knuckle over the scar on his lip as he remembered the sting and burn of the salve.

"So that was it?" Tyrell knew that there had to be more. His mother had rescued a few others over the years but most lost contact after a time.

"Well I did help her engineer a battle against the vampires a few nights later. We nearly won too. She said that the nest of vampires I'd gotten mixed up with was the one responsible for her husband… your daddy's death." Eliot paused for a moment. He hadn't really meant to bring up that part but it was too late now. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up something painful." He held up a finger just before the waitress backed through the door with a tray.

She set a pitcher of water on the table, two appetizer plates, and the onion blossom that Tyrell had ordered. "Your orders should be right out. Is there anything I can get you in the mean time?"

"No, but thanks for checking." Eliot smiled at her and she couldn't seem to help the brief smile in return before she hurried back inside.

Tyrell looked like he was mulling things over. He shook himself out of his reverie and pulled a large piece of the onion onto his plate. He slid the plate a little closer to Eliot in invitation. "So what happened?"

"I had been hired by another werewolf to retrieve an artifact. That's how I got tangled up with the vampires. The vampires had the artifact but I didn't know that until they drugged me and took me to their seethe. I had the artifact in my pocket by the time your mama found me. The vampires really wanted it back so your mama and I used it as bait to draw the chief blood sucker out." Eliot also pulled a large piece of onion onto his plate. "Kinda worked but even with the extra wolves we'd brought along there were just too many vamps and Julian McCune slipped away." Eliot dipped a piece of onion in the dressing that had been brought out with it. "Your mother is someone very special. She talks about you and your sister all the time. I've never met your sister but I did get to meet your niece. She's a handful, but very sweet."

Before long the waitress was back with their lunch orders. Eliot admired the food's presentation and took a moment to enjoy the smells as well. He swirled the wine in his glass for a moment admiring the deep inky red color, releasing the fruity bouquet with its delicate notes of citrus. He took a sip and appreciated the bold flavor. Setting the glass to the side he cut into his steak. He'd ordered it medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. The wine paired beautifully with the steak and Eliot thought that this might be something he could offer on his own menu.

"This wine is fantastic. I've been looking for a good Malbec for a while and I think this might be it. I hope they aren't exclusive." Eliot had occasionally found a few local vintners that only sold their product to a few restaurants or stores and he hadn't been able to get a contract.

Conversation moved on to local wineries and other foodie attractions near Olympia. Tyrell recommended a winery event center that offered rock climbing, hiking, and horseback riding along with their wine tastings. Eliot doubted that they had the kind of rock climbing that would entertain Parker. And while she found horses 'much less murderous' than she'd previously believed, he doubted that she'd want to go horseback riding either. Hardison might go for the wine tasting so the thought wasn't all bad. Maybe he could convince Parker to go for the rock climbing if he promised to let her jump off of Sutro Tower next.

While Eliot was lost in thoughts of how to make a day trip to the winery fun for his team as well as for Tyrell; Tyrell had pulled out his phone to do a quick search. "That Malbec was from Joli Fruit right?"

Eliot noticed Tyrells perfect French pronunciation of the winery's name. "Yes it is. Why?"

"They've got an open tour and tasting this afternoon. We should have enough time to get there if you want." Tyrell had noticed Eliot's appreciation of the wine and the food. He had thought that his mother's recommendation to go to a restaurant that served really good food was because it was good manners or because she knew that wolves had heightened senses. Now he thought it was because of Eliot himself. His mother knew that Eliot really appreciated good food.

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Eliot and Tyrell had taken separate cars to the winery so that Eliot wouldn't have to back track to Olympia on his way home. As they got closer to the winery the hills suddenly got steeper and the road had a lot more twists and turns as it climbed up the hill side. As he rounded a bend in the road he was treated with a view of the ordered rows of grape vines on the other side of the narrow valley. Soon more and more of the hill side was dedicated to row upon row of grape vines. The road began to descend to the bottom of the valley where there was a stone block bridge. There was a large metal oval sign above the gate where the road turned off and crossed over a large creek or a small river. On the other side of the bridge the road was well maintained and as they got closer to the winery there were ornamental plantings bordering the drive.

As they crested the hill the French style châteaux at the end of the drive was perfectly displayed. The grey mansard roof with its many dormer windows capped a two story pale yellow edifice that displayed the perfect symmetry of the eighteenth century. The white quoin stone corners complimented the white trim around the windows and the stone used in the basket handle main entry. The parking along the edge of the circular drive in front of the châteaux was neat and orderly and didn't take away from the grand effect of the building.

Eliot parked his truck and waited for Tyrell. They walked up the stairs together and were greeted by an employee that was waiting on the balustraded terrace for new visitors.

"Are you here for the tasting?" Her name tag said her name was Cindy.

"Yes, Cindy, we are. I hope we aren't late." Eliot smiled at her.

"Paying together or separately?" She smiled a very professional smile back.

Eliot turned a little toward Tyrell. "You got lunch. Let me get this." Eliot pulled a credit card for the brew pub out of his wallet. Hardison would be able to write this off as a company expense later.

They were directed through the entry way and into the back gardens. The perfect symmetry and obsessive order of a French garden was on display as they crossed to the winery proper. This building had been designed to look like stables that would have been a part of an eighteenth century châteaux. The stone archways enclosed the dusty red doors and high windows under the hipped grey roof with the cresting at the top. There was a square tower that stood out in the center as the main entrance and Eliot and Tyrell made their way in.

Wood floors with cordoned walkways between giant French Oak barrels greeted them as they entered. There were already a handful of people waiting for the start of the tour and the tasting. Eliot took in the smells and froze for a moment.

"Wow. I never knew this place was here." Tyrell commented as he looked up at the beams supporting the roof. "I moved here twenty years ago and I had no idea."

"Probably wasn't here ten years ago. Everything smells too new." Eliot replied while he tried to attach the scents in the air to the people in the room with them.

"Something wrong?" Tyrell ask quietly with his back to the others.

"Maybe, maybe not." Eliot took another deep breath gathering more scents. "I may have to leave."

"What's going on?" Tyrell cast a suspicious glance at the people behind him.

"Someone here is a wolf." Eliot said quietly from behind his fist.

"Didn't you get permission from Rebecca before you came?" Tyrell whispered back. He wasn't a werewolf but he was very aware of werewolf politics since his father had been a werewolf.

"Her territory doesn't extend this far south but I checked in with her anyway. This isn't one of her wolves. Doesn't smell like her." Eliot said quietly as he looked around at the small group of people. He was pretty sure none of the tourists were wolves so that meant an employee must be.

"May I have your attention please. If you will all gather over here we'll start our tour." A petite woman, with a French accent and chestnut hair pulled back in a chignon, addressed the small group.

"She's the wolf." Eliot relaxed the muscles in his shoulders and channeled the happy energy he was getting from Parker through their bond. It would help boost his own serotonin levels and help mask the scent of stress that occurred at being surprised by the presence of an unexpected werewolf.

"Do we need to go?" Tyrell asked, looking at the diminutive woman standing on the other side of the small group.

"No. I'm sure everything will be fine. This is a public place and if she had a problem with other wolves she wouldn't work in a place like this." Eliot stepped closer to the group so that they could start the tour.

Their guide stopped them near several large oak vats. On a table that was partially blocking a rear exit there was a large basket full of small dark purple grapes.

"Everything starts with harvesting the grapes." Their guide held up a bunch of grapes and encouraged people to taste them if they wanted. "Here at Joli Fruit we only make two kinds of wine. We make a very full bodied Malbec and a bold but delicate Saignée Rosé. Our Malbec has won several awards and you will have a chance to taste it at the end of this tour. How many of you are familiar with Saignée Rosé?" A few hands were raised here and there, and although Eliot knew what it was, he didn't raise his hand. "How about you sir?" The guide smiled as she pointed Eliot out.

"Saignée means 'to bleed.' A Rosé made by bleeding off a portion of the red wine juice after it's been in contact with the skins and seeds for a short amount of time is called a Saignée Rosé." Eliot returned a polite smile.

After explaining what the wooden vats were for and explaining a little more of the process their guide moved them on to the next part of the process. The tour wound its way through the entire length of the building. While everything they were shown was a functional part of the process it had definitely been set up with an eye for aesthetic appeal. Eliot couldn't completely relax with the unknown wolf around but he had to admit that he was enjoying himself.

Tyrell noticed their guide's appreciative glances in Eliot's direction whenever she thought that Eliot wasn't looking. He thought that if things kept going in that direction he might head home early. "I would say that you don't have anything to worry about from her except maybe where you're going to get dinner at." He whispered as he pretended to look at something behind Eliot.

"You know she can hear you right?" Eliot whispered back. He smiled at the guide who smiled at him.

"You think there's anybody here that hasn't noticed?" Tyrell rolled his eyes in a way that reminded Eliot of Hardison.

Eventually they ended up in a far corner of the garden where several employees were waiting with samples of wine and menu options for those that were planning on staying for dinner. Tyrell purchased a bottle of the Rosé and the Malbec without sampling ither one. With a squeeze to Eliot's shoulder on the way past he said, "Call me when you want to do lunch again."

Eliot wanted to roll his eyes at the situation. The guide was cute but he hadn't needed Tyrell to hurry off in such an obvious fashion. He did want to find out about her and not just because she was cute but because she could be a part of a pack that he didn't know about. A pack that was in easy distance of his own territory. It hadn't been that long since their run in with Griswold and he didn't want any more trouble from the freaky side of life.

Eliot watched Tyrell leave through the same entry way that they had come in. He smelled her perfume, and the scent of werewolf, at the same time that he heard the quiet tread of footsteps behind him. She cleared her throat to make sure he knew that she was there. Eliot turned to look at her.

"I'm Perrine Ganteaume." Her voice was softer and more melodious that when she had been herding a bunch of tourists around.

"Eliot Spencer." Eliot put his hand out and she grasped it gently. She held his hand for a moment while she smiled up at him. In the sunlight he noticed that her chestnut hair seemed to be sprinkled in little sparks of fire where the natural reds in her hair stood out. Her eyes were a bright light brown and she had freckles. She was lovely.