3

"This can't be true!" Ianto shouted.

"It is, I'm afraid. All of it."

Ianto stood up and started pacing. he felt like he was about to explode out of his skin. What he'd just heard was nearly as bizarre as what he'd seen less than an hour ago. "And why should I take your word for it? I don't even know you."

"I've told you who I am."

A minute after the wolf ran off into the night, neighbours started pouring out to of their houses to investigate the noises they'd heard. Even though he was still in shock, Ianto was able to lead the stranger to his house before anyone got a good look at either of them. For the past hour, the stranger had been telling him a lot of crazy things. And as much as he wanted to ignore all of it, after what he'd seen, deep down, he knew it had to be true.

He told him that his name was Jack Harkness. He was a werewolf hunter. he'd asked him to repeat himself twice. A werewolf hunter?

"Yes, that giant beast you saw tonight was a werewolf, a lycanthrope if you'd prefer" Jack said pulling a flask from the inside pocket of his coat. He took a swig and put it back.

"This doesn't make any sense," Ianto said.

"How else would you explain it? Of course, it doesn't make sense. That's not what's important. There are a lot of things in this world that don't make sense that people study and eventually try to make sense out of. Except for this; no one has ever wanted this to be real."

"How could that thing just run away? You shot it at close range with a shotgun!" Ianto asked.

"Because I missed its heart. The only way to kill an alpha werewolf is to destroy its heart with silver."

"An alpha werewolf?"

"Yes," Jack replied. "The wolf that attacked you is named Connor. He was the leader of a werewolf pack. I say 'was' because he killed the pack's alpha and when the others refused to heed his rule, because of his ruthless bloodlust, he killed all of them too."

"My God…" Ianto said swallowing had. He sat down and took a deep breath. "How many werewolves are there?"

"Not many," Jack said. "Most are in small packs of less than five members. They keep their numbers small to avoid discovery of their kind and most live at peace with the human world. They don't kill or need to feed on people at all. But of course, there are those few who use the curse as a weapon."

"Where did they come from? What you're telling me goes against every law of nature I've ever heard."

"No one truly knows. It's mostly all myth and legends." Jack said.

"How many have you killed?"

"Eighteen," Jack said.

"I thought you said that most of them live in peace with us?"

"They do, but as I said there are those who are bad. Some are born bad, some were bad as people and continue to do horrible things after they become werewolves, and some become bad over time. The curse rots the core of who they are. They will never die of any natural cause; they will never age. Their lives just continue on and on in total monotony. People they love die and they are still here. Believe me when I tell you it is a curse."

"So, how did you happen to be there tonight? Were you tracking this thing?" Ianto asked.

"Actually, I was following you," Jack said.

Ianto looked up from his cup of tea warming his hands and locked eyes with Jack's. His face was softer than he'd seen it thus far. For the first time he could see compassion in him.

"Why?" Ianto asked.

"I was at the coffee shop and I saw you sitting alone. I thought you were attractive. You seemed smart and interesting. When you left I followed you. I wanted to make sure you got home safely."

Ianto blushed. It had been a long time since a man had said anything flattering about him, at least in a respectful way.

"You should have come over and introduced yourself at the coffee shop," Ianto said. "I could have used the company."

"It's not really my thing. Truth is, with the lifestyle I lead I'm hardly ever in one spot long enough to get to know anyone, let alone anything normal. Besides if I ever became involved with anyone I'd just be putting them in danger. Don't think that these creatures don't know about me. They're hunting me every bit as hard as I'm hunting them."

"Why did you start hunting them? How did you even learn they exist?" Ianto asked. Jack took a deep breath. He raised his steely eyed gaze from the floor and locked into his. Ianto's breath caught in his chest. Jack's ability to go from warm to cold with the flip of a switch intrigued Ianto. The air in the room felt dense and close.

"My wife was killed by one several years ago," Jack said quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"She was attacked outside of our home one night as she arrived from work. I was inside and I heard her scream. I rushed out of the house to see some hideous creature attacking her. I yelled and when it saw me it took off, just as fast as you saw tonight. The thing was a blur. It just disappeared."

"I'm surprised it didn't just attack you too. You weren't armed and it could have overpowered both of you, right?" Ianto asked.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Jack said. "I only understood later why it didn't."

"What happened?"

Jack dropped his gaze and took another breath. He walked into the kitchen and helped himself to a beer from the fridge. Under normal circumstances Ianto might have considered it rude, but since he'd just saved his life and all he let it go. Ianto found it sexy, the way he took charge of things, even little things. As he sauntered back from the kitchen he could not help his eyes glancing at his rock-hard ass through his tight jeans. When he turned around. closing the refrigerator door, Ianto's line of sight was perfectly placed to zero in on his crotch.

He quickly glanced away but not before noticing the bulge… Stop it! What is wrong with me? He'd just nearly been killed and then told, by far, the most outlandish story he'd ever heard - and his sex drive was on hyper speed. He was starting to think he had some real issues. Ianto took a sip of his drink and tried to calm down, praying that Jack didn't notice him checking him out.

"I rushed her to the hospital but by the time we got there none of the scratches or defensive wounds on her arms were even visible anymore. But there was blood on her torn shirt and jeans. Of course, the doctors were perplexed by this — we were all flabbergasted — but with nothing visibly wrong, they sent her home. We just tried to get back to our lives and forget about it." Jack sat down on the other side of the sofa, draped his arm over the back, and turned his body towards Ianto. God, he looked good.

"I thought you said this thing killed her?" Ianto asked.

"Well, she was… in a way." Ianto wanted to press him to continue, but he held onto his patience and waited for him. "I guess it was about two days later when she started to feel the effects of the change. It started with nightmares. Then she started to have appetite changes, mood changes, and the voice started to invade her thoughts."

"What voice?"

"His voice," Jack said. "Connor's."

Ianto felt a sickness slide over his body. "You mean the one who attacked me?"

"Yes. The attack on my wife was not random. He wasn't going to kill her just to satisfy his bloodlust and increase his power as he usually did. No, he wanted to make her his mate. And that's the same reason he attacked you tonight."

Ianto swallowed hard. He stood up and paced back and forth. His mind raced frantically.

"Wait a minute," Ianto finally said. "You're telling me that this Connor expects me to be his mate? What does that even mean? I'm a man for Godsake!"

"Relax. I'll explain," Jack said.

"How the hell can I relax?" Ianto's voice began to rise. Jack held his hand up and gestured for him to sit. Ianto stopped pacing and he raised his head to look at Jack; the determination and confidence in his eyes calmed him and he took a seat across from him.

"He could have killed you tonight and he didn't. He was relishing your fear. He'd already marked you as his, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to you in time. He could have ripped you apart in a second if he'd wanted to. He discovered you somewhere and decided that you would be his. Just like my wife. He likes pretty things, the sexual orientation does not matter to him, not like he can breed. No, he finds you pretty and your fear of him… thrilling."

"So, she became a werewolf?" Ianto asked.

"Yes. Small changes started happening to her. She became moody and irritable. Elizabeth was the sweetest woman I've ever met, but she wasn't acting like herself most of the time. She developed a violent temper and the smallest things would set her off. She couldn't sleep, and when she did she'd wake up screaming from the nightmares and the voices. Her eyes would start glowing red when she became upset. Her fangs dropped once and she even tried to bite me. I had to hold her down until she calmed down, sobbing in my arms, screaming for me to help her. And I vowed to do just that."

"What did you do?"

"I researched everything I could and I found out that an alpha wolf's mate is psychically linked with him. He can get in her head and make her do whatever he wants. When the next full moon came close enough he planned to summon Elizabeth to him. They would mate for the first time and complete their bond just before her first real transformation into a wolf."

"So, you followed her?"

"No, I had to find the alpha and kill him before the full moon, or else she'd be a werewolf forever. I searched all I could, but there wasn't time. It was too much for her. The night before the full moon, Elizabeth took her own life. I went down the road to pick-up some dinner, and when I came back I found her body on the floor of the living room. She'd impaled herself with a silver knife to her heart."

"Oh, my God!" Ianto exclaimed. "I'm so sorry."

Jack nodded as he took a big swig of his beer. A single solitary tear rolled down his face.

"Thanks," Jack said. "I've been chasing this bastard ever since."

Ianto waited before speaking again. Even though he was dying to ask a question, he wanted to let Jack have a moment.

"So, what happens to me now?" Ianto asked after a while.

Jack sat his beer down on the coffee table and leaned back. "I kill that bastard, once and for all."

"How?"

"You're going to lead the way."