AN - I have no excuse good enough to explain my absence, so I'm not even going to try... Everyone has my heartfelt apoligies for taking so long. Hopefully this won't happen again, but I've given up on predicting what my muse and my life are going to do to me next. Let's just say that I've come to the conclusion that spring and summer are not going to be good times for me to write... so come on winter!

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Virtual Season Two – Episode #26

"Can't Have Just One"

Part Two of Three

Sophia rinsed her cereal bowl out in the kitchen sink and placed it in the dish washer before eyeing the clock hanging above her.

It was early yet. The sun barely risen, but Luke had already been gone off to who knew where before she had even made it down to the kitchen. Attempts to get him alone to try and work out what had happened between them a week ago had proven to be futile. He obviously didn't want to talk to her about anything at the moment, even though she had woken up late last night to find him watching her from the doorway.

Her heart had leapt in her chest at the impact of his eyes upon hers in the darkness of her room. For a moment she had thought he would come to her. Take her back into his arms and sink himself back into her waiting body the way he had so many times in the past. But he didn't come to her. He turned around and left as silently as he had entered once he realized that she had awoke. Leaving her feeling bereft without his presence.

She was trying to be cool about all of this, but the truth was, this sudden indifference of his stung and stung sharply. She still wasn't exactly sure what this game of his was all about, but she wasn't going to capitulate to whatever conditions he thought he had the right to set.

If he thought that simply denying her sex was going to get him anywhere, then he was in for a nasty surprise. If he wanted to play his little game of nonchalant behavior towards her, then he could go right on ahead. Her views on the subject of a public mating ceremony had had time to concrete over the past week, and were not going to change. All she could do was hope that he snapped out of the stupidity soon so they could go back to the way things had been.

"Morning, sweetie." Her dad greeted as he came in. Already dressed for work. Badge glinting in the early morning sun streaming in through the kitchen windows. It was a surprise in and of itself that he still maintained his Sheriff of Wolf Lake status. It had taken encouragement from, well, just about everybody to keep him from quitting shortly after becoming Alpha. Even so, Sophia knew it was only a matter of time before his conscience ate away at him with the fear of his view of human law becoming blurred with the desire to do whatever he had to, to keep the Pack safe. The moment good material for a replacement presented itself, he'd be stepping aside. Him staying in only long enough for such a person to present himself was the best they all could expect. Just because he was Alpha didn't mean her father had changed… or that he was particularly proud of the role. But he did what needed to be done, and he had finally owned up to almost twenty years of running from destiny. It was enough.

"Morning, dad." She replied. Leaning back against the edge of the countertop. "What's work going to be like today?"

Matt grunted, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Busy. I'm meeting John in an hour to go over that double homicide case. See if there are any potential leads we missed."

"Are you sure its one of our own that's responsible?"

Matt nodded. "Absolutely. Nothing human is capable of that particular type of killing. The wounds inflicted are typical of a feeding Skinwalker." He took a sip from the steaming mug in his hands. "I'm afraid that if we don't figure out who's responsible, we'll have another dead body on our hands soon."

Sophia cocked her head to the side. Frowning as she did so. "What makes you say that?"

"This couple was harmless. No threat to the Pack, and no ties to an unscrupulous operation. They were randomly chosen, and half eaten. Which means we have a rogue on our hands that has become addicted to the taste of human meat. It's not going to be able to stop now, and it knows it. It knows that death is the only true cure… Which is why it's covering its tracks so beautifully. It could be anyone. Even someone we'd all least expect."

Sophia quirked a brow. "Like Nancy?"

A shadow passed over Matt's eyes. A shadow full of sadness and guilt. "Yes. Like Nancy."

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"What am I supposed to do, Sherman? I never expected her to be this stubborn. How can I make her understand?"

Sherman sat on the couch opposite of Luke. The amused quirk to his lips flicking on and off as he listened to the agitated words of the young man who had come to vent.

"Well, here's a shocking suggestion for your young ears, but have you ever considered telling her the truth? All of it?"

Luke dragged a hand through his hair restlessly. "I know her, Sherman. If I tell her everything, it'll only make her more determined to do things her way. And right now, more hesitation on her part is the last thing I need to deal with right now with the threat of so many challenges beginning to pop up. Besides, this is stuff I've talked to her about before. She didn't listen then, and she's not listening now."

"Challenges? What challenges?"

"Nothing serious enough to warrant any attention. At least not yet. But it's only a matter of time. Members of the Clan are already becoming suspicious because there hasn't been a claiming ceremony yet. It won't be long before the older males of the Pack begin to question our bond."

Sherman tilted his head to the side, grinning. "Are you afraid you won't measure up?"

Luke glared at him. "I'm afraid that if Sophia doesn't agree to consent to the ceremony, that the decision may be taken out of her hands entirely by another male strong enough to capture her. It's always been like this when a white female was of age. Why the hell do you think my sister took off when she did?"

"And you can't tell Sophia at least that much? She is the female in question, after all. She deserves to know."

"If I tell her that, she'll think I'm only pressuring the union because of her pelt color. I could less about that, but I know that there will always be a part of her that will wonder about my true motivations. I don't want that kind of doubt between us. Not after everything we've already been through."

"Well, Luke. In that case, this is something that is between you and her. I can't get involved in this, you know that."

Luke dropped his head back into his hands and groaned. "Come on, Sherman. I'm running on empty here. Can't you give me anything to work with? Any advice that might help?" He could feel Sherman's amused gaze on him even though he didn't bother to pick his head up. Sometimes it was just better to ignore the fact that the Keeper got some sort of sadistic enjoyment out of tormenting the Clan members. The old guy really needed to come up with some nicer hobbies.

"Sophia is still trying to adjust. Give her some time. She'll soon get used to the idea."

"And if she doesn't?" Luke asked pointedly. Listing his head far enough to peer out at Sherman from under his lashes. Eyes a brilliant slash of pale green against the shadows of his brow.

Sherman grinned his trademark Cheshire cat grin. "You're a Skinwalker male, Luke. Horny, healthy and in love. I'm sure you can come up with some unique way of convincing her."

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"Victim number one, male, Caucasian, mid-twenties. Deep lacerations to back and legs. Throat crushed and heart removed. Lower abdomen shredded. Victim number two, female, also mid-twenties. Deep gouges to the face and neck. Left forearm snapped in two different places. Both legs heavily mutilated and lower abdomen also shredded."

Matt closed the file he was holding in his hands and tossed it back on the desk in front of him disgustedly. Rocking back in his chair to turn to look over at John. "No matter how many times I read that damn report, or go over the crime scene yet again with a fine tooth comb, I never discover any type of clue that might help us. As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think we're going to be able to catch this guy in time before he strikes again. There's just nothing here to work with."

John looked over his shoulder from where he stood by the drawing board, studying the other bits of information posted there about the double murders. "Aren't we supposed to be able to just… smell him out?"

Matt rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I've told you before. Whoever it is, is shielding himself like a son of a bitch. Just like Nancy could. Besides, the couple had been wandering all over the town throughout that entire day. They were covered with way too many scent spores from members of the Pack to be able to filter through them all.

John turned around and leaned his back up against the wall. Black long sleeved cotton shirt stretching tightly over his upper body as he assumed a position to relax in, hooking his thumbs in the pocket openings of his dark blue denim jeans.

"Back when I first started working for you, you told me about the serial killer you once had on the loose, named the 'Fear'. You told me that he disappeared, but what really happened?"

"I honestly don't know. We knew it was a Skinwalker, but we just didn't know who. Although there was some speculation that he was a member of the Old Guard. If that's the case, then he either ran far enough away that he could continue to carry out his killings without the Clan's interference, or he was killed by someone in the Pack while still in Wolf Lake."

John's brow rose speculatively. "And you wouldn't have any idea as to who that might have been?"

Matt shook his head. "If anyone in the Pack did kill that monster, then it was a member of the Old Guard. They don't talk about their dead, and they have the tendency to keep to themselves in almost all things. They don't get the rest of the Pack involved in their problems if they can help it. It's one of the reasons why they can be both a blessing and a curse to this town. You never know what it is that they're doing, but most of the Pack members, when they go home to see their children tucked safely into their beds, prefer it to stay that way."

Just then the door to the Precinct opened, and a young man strode in. "Oh, come now, Sheriff. We're not all that bad."

Matt's gaze narrowed and he came to his feet before he even turned to look at the source of that voice. Carefully watching the uninvited visitor as he strode in the rest of the way. Continuing to speak. "We do handle all of the Pack's dirty work, after all. Where would you all be if it wasn't for the Old Guard's… sacrifices, hmm?"

"Julian." Matt greeted the young blonde man coolly. "I see you've settled back into your life in Wolf Lake. Are you having any problems with your men?"

The pale blonde smirked sardonically. "As you've already graciously pointed out, Matthew… We keep our personal problems to ourselves."

"Then why are you here if there's not a problem?" John asked from clear across the room, but his chill tone was unmistakably distrustful. It was a tone of voice that had made countless other very uncomfortable in its day. A seasoned cop's voice in every sense of the word, but one wouldn't have known it to look at Julian's expression.

"Oh, there's a problem. But it's not mine. I have come here to give you information about your latest case, even though I know most in my position within the Old Guard would not." He paused a moment for effect before continued. Eyes glittering as if humored by something, and the firm lines of his full mouth twisted upwards mockingly. "Consider it my belated coronation gift for the new King of the Pack."

Matt's jaw tightened. Just what he needed. Another smartass. "What is it?"

"I know who your killer is, and where he's been living. If you would like to see for yourself and put an end to all your speculation, then follow me." And without further acknowledgement, he slid back inside through the glass doors of the office.

Matt and John shared one look of perfect understanding before grudgingly following suite. Both of them instinctively wondering if this was some sort of trap.

It wouldn't have been the most dangerous thing to have happened to them in the last six months.

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Smokey Mountains

There are moments in one's life where their paths change dramatically. Forever altering the course that they had once thought their lives were destined to follow.

For Tyler Creed, that moment came with the sound of a gunshot blast and in the shape of a bullet.

He wasn't sure just what exactly happened. One minute he was running through the mountain forest's underbrush, and the next he was off his feet and sent flying through the air from the force of the impact. Landing hard on his side with his head smacking hard against an outcropping of rock.

The world around him viewed through the eyes of his wolven form spun violently as mind-numbing shock set in. He wasn't even aware of the pain as his blood began to pour from his body. He didn't even have a chance to so much as absorb what had happened to him or deal with his current life threatening situation.

He was pulled under by that black swirling vortex of unconsciousness before he even had so much as a chance to fight back.

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