The pounding echo of rushing blood and adrenaline rebounded off the stark hallway walls and into the gaping maw of the black depths of Wolf's apartment entrance. The man in question could not be seen in the intense darkness and shadow, and though Virginia's eyes strained against the absence of light, she could not make out the threatening world beyond the threshold. Tentatively, and with Richard's calloused hand wrapped protectively around her own, she stepped forward, into the lair of the beast.
A flicker in the shadows; a muffled thump from the beyond; clues, vague hints of a presence with the darkness crept across her vision, and she breathlessly spoke his name again.
"Wolf?" A low rumbling, a growl—a laugh? wafted from the abyss into her ears. Behind them, the apartment door creaked, and from an unseen source of initiation, eased into a closed position. Utter dark. Virginia didn't bother to turn around; she knew he wouldn't be there. Filtered moonlight softly illuminated a back wall, and if Virginia squinted just so, she could make her mind believe that the moon cast one too many shadows against the unsightly beige backdrop. If she listened closely, she could will her ears to accept that faint, barely there breath that made her twitch in sinful anticipation.
A sloppy, moist gurgle dribbled saliva down the back of her neck, and only then did she realize that Richard had stopped holding her hand. Slowly, so as not to startle any feral beasts, she turned, eyes jumping faster than her heart beat. There, outlined in faint lunar light, she could see her husband's face, the dim beams of gentle radiance playing against eyes that rolled skyward and bulged grotesquely; lips that puckered and gaped like a dying fish; cheeks, normally taught against lightly stubbled, sculptured bones, now inflating, distorting his handsome face. His chin tilted towards the ceiling, supported by the tight grip of a claw-like hand, razor sharp nails pressed against the delicate flesh of his neck. Over the tall man's shoulder glinted an eye, reflecting off the moonlight, and to her horrified dismay, radiating with a brilliant white sheen, and flush against Richard's jugular, shone a tooth, a fang, poised on a pin, yearning for an excuse to bite.
"Make one move, Virginia," came that voice, like silk dragged across wet velvet, "and I'll rip it out." Out of habit, she jerked forward, pulled by the unwavering need to protect the ones she loved. The mass of darkness and body twitched backward, pulling Richard from the light of the moon just enough, so that she couldn't see the tears of pain beginning to drip down his bloating cheeks. Not enough, however, to prevent her from seeing the lone tooth prick into the fragile skin at the nape of his neck: not a substantial wound, but deep enough to draw blood.
"Don't try that again," the phantom voice warned. "There's a baby in the back room, I have your husband by the throat, and if you make one move that I don't approve of, they'll both be dead before you have the chance to react."
For a brief moment, trapped in a world of suspended perversity, an onslaught of sobs wracked her body, the recent adrenal spike having left her emotionally drained. But she composed herself quickly, and though salted droplets of fear caked her cheeks, Virginia faced her monster head on.
"Please…" her voice, barely loud enough to dent the bustle of the city below them, drifted mutely until they reached the ears of their intended receiver. The body in the shadows twitched briefly, whether in grief or mirth she couldn't tell. Richard now hung limply in Wolf's grasp, knees buckling towards the ground, supported only by the suffocating grip of the creature's on his windpipe. In an arbitrary act of mercy, Wolf released his hold on the unconscious man, letting him collapse in an ungainly heap on the floor. And then he stepped into the light.
The moon glinted evilly off his morbid, abysmal, feral grin, and with his feet hidden in the shadows, his body seemed to glide over to hers, his movements smooth, fluid, and confidant. "Please," he sneered. "Please. I think we've moved beyond 'please'." Now he stood practically on top of her, this course being silhouetted in the mellow luminescence of the moon. Her breath came in short, shallow pants, and beneath the terror and fear she could make out the faint odor of pepper and sweat.
Wolf's heavily lidded eyes drooped, closing completely, and he inhaled deeply. "You smell wonderful, Virginia," he soothed, leaning in close to her face, nuzzling her ear. "You smell like Wednesdays and sunsets and fear." Fingers began to wander, some brushing against the small of her back, some to play with the fabric of her sleeve. "You smell like hope and hate and the thousands of reasons to wake up in the morning." His warmth radiated between the two of them; his chapped lips brushed against the hollow of her neck, and though her skin flinched and writhed at his touch, she stood rigid, frozen in fear of the multitude of things he could do to her.
Wolf's mouth hovered near her ear, his heated breath hanging wetly on her skin. "You smell like eternity." Pinned against him by his sheer will, Virginia clenched her eyes, fast and hard, banishing the darkness in an explosion of yellow, purple, and abstract patters. She could hear his breaths, some swift and dry, brief inhalations of scents, others wet and heavy, a slow, sensual aroused pattern. The fingers returned, counting her vertebrae, traveling slowly up the curve of her spine; a few lingered, tracing the contour of her jeans. Quivering silence hung, broken only by the faint shuddering of her breath.
Without pretense, the fingers stopped. Hands withdrew from her trembling form, and the mass before her inched away, not so far that she was beyond reaching distance, but enough to allow her to move away if she wished. "I could kill you in three seconds if I really wanted to." A strangled sob escaped her lips, and Virginia shuddered, eyes still tightly shut. Instead of receiving the painful blow she expected, the faint metallic click of a cocked pistol graced her ears. Daring to open her eyes, subtle darkness assaulted her, and she could just make out the glint of moonlight on metal.
Richard stood behind Wolf, dangerously close, pressing his handgun against a throbbing vein in the beast's neck. "Could you?" he asked, voice belabored by strangled breaths. "Are you really that fast?"
"Yes."
"Want to test the theory?" Wolf said nothing, merely glaring at a point in the wall just above Virginia's head. That was all the proof Richard needed. Letting his eyes flicker from the back the man's head to those of his wife, Richard addressed the shaken girl. "Get. Timothy. NOW."
Can't.
The reply was unspoken, but through the fear relayed in those precious eyes, Richard could see the truth. But now was not the time to be gentle.
"Move." A hitch of the breath, a choked sob, and somehow Virginia reconnected with the world around her, turning quickly and disappearing around a corner. Man and beast were left to their own devices.
"I can smell your fear," taunted Wolf, pressing back into his captor's chest. To his muted surprise, Richard didn't push back, and he didn't back away, either.
"Really?" came the reply, coupled with a jab to the jugular. "Then smell this: stay away from my family. I don't know what your history is with my wife, and I don't want to know, but what ever happened, you messed it up, and now you have to live with the fact that she isn't yours anymore. She's mine, and she doesn't love you anymore. Deal with it."
Like Aphrodite rising from the sea, Virginia emerged from the black depths of the hallway a new woman, clutching a sleep-stricken, but nonetheless unharmed, Timothy to her chest. Whatever part of her had snapped mere seconds before released a confidence she never felt before. She faced her monster, and, more importantly, she survived.
Wolf stared at her. In his eyes, the lustful ferocity gave way to the pleading desire, to his want to not lose the one woman who ever brought light to his world. "Don't go, Virginia," he whispered as she stalked past him, looking through him, never at him. "Please-"
"Please?" came the taunting response. "I think we've moved beyond please." Wolf cursed inwardly, and, from the recesses of him mind, unearthed his trump.
"I know where to find Tony." Her faint footsteps stopped, replaced by a tiny, startled gasp.
"Bastard." She didn't turn to look at him, though he could sense the want, and the anger that edged her voice. He had touched a nerve; a tender one, but one that made her stop nonetheless.
"Just keep walking, Virginia," murmured Richard uncertainly, feeling as though he had treaded into dangerous territory without taking a single step.
"I still have connections with the 9 Kingdoms; I know how you can find him."
"Stop."
"Keep moving, babe."
"I'm your only way to find him, buy you have to stay-"
"Keep moving, Virginia!"
"SHUT UP!"
Still refusing to turn, eyes rooted firmly on the doorway before her, Virginia slowly opened her mouth, and spoke in cold, biting tones. "How dare you?" she sneered. "How dare you use his name like that? How dare you use him like that? To manipulate me through my father is a new approach for you. It's a new low.
"If I ever thought that the love we once shared could be rebuilt, I would burn the foundation regardless. I loved you, once, but that love has withered, died, and been replaced by a stronger flame. I have my storybook ending." And here she turned, cold eyes searing into the back of Wolf's head. "But monsters don't get a Happily Ever After." Those last three words echoed mournfully in the emptiness of Wolf's heart, and Virginia Greyson walked out of the latest chapter of his life. As she left, cool metal left his skin, and he listed and the heavy footsteps of Richard Greyson followed her exit.
"You think about what I said," intoned the voice from behind. Wolf listened, listened to the faint click of his door swinging into place, listened to footsteps and sighs of relief sauntered down the hall, listened as fate laughed cruelly at his misfortune. And through it all, Wolf thought.
In his den, the beast plots.
Fin
Author's Notes:
Fwuagh! It's finally done! First and foremost, I am deeply, DEEPLY sorry that this last chapter took so dang long to finish. I'd claim writer's block, but come on. Who's going to buy that?
Mini tanks to all my glorious reviewers, who seem to think I have some sort of talent running around, and that's always nice to hear. Even better, not one reviewer made a "Dingo ate my baby," crack. Hats off to you! I am also exceedingly glad that no one cried "Blasphemy!" when they realized that Wolf and Virginia didn't get their Happy Ending because really, I'm not an athletic person, and I'd only be able to manage about a three minute run from the mob, at a slow pace, and probably only three feet ahead of them, so it's not like you couldn't just prod me with the pitchfork and have it done with.
(Side note: Lady- I wasn't 100% positive on the 'wolves eat the babies' thing either. I had heard from a friend of a friend of a bio teacher that wild animals will do that sometimes, seemingly for no reason at all, just because they think they're protecting it. I had no factual basis to apply this theory to wolves in general, but I thought it would make a good, if not interesting, story. Maybe it's not a wolf thing; maybe it's just a crazy thing. He was crazy, after all."
As for the future of this arc, this is, obviously the end of this chapter in the story. I had planned to write a follow up, but given my skill at getting things written and posted in a timely manner, who knows when this will happen. Be advised that the future for these characters is grim grimmey grim, and will most likely be rated 'R', so just keep a watch out for that. I do have a couple of other fandom things that I'm working on at the moment, coupled with school, work, and original writings (see my work [singular, at the moment L] at Fictionpress.com!), so really, who knows how long the first chapter is going to take.
Again, thanks to the many habitual supporters of this wee little fic, and even to those who dropped by every once in a while to add "Oooh. Creepy." I wuv you all. Smiles!