Red Riding Hood

Raze stopped pacing hours ago. Instead he was just staring. His gaze was locked onto the form in the bed. The bed frame was nothing more then metal pipes welded together with a worn out mattress on it. The sheets and blankets were stolen and did little to give warmth.

But the figure on the bed; that was what held him. Three days ago he had found in her an alley. Not five feet from a vampire den. At first it seemed like a trap. But the girl had been too badly hurt for that. And it had been too near dawn. The vampires would have wanted him to come sooner. No, the girl was not a trap.

Raze finally sat with a heavy sound. The small chair barely held him, but it managed. Who was she? He asked himself. There had been no ID. She was young, perhaps twenty-three. Her clothes said she was a backpacker; perhaps a tourist?

He frowned harder at the lack of answers. The cynic in him screamed that she was a trap. But the rest of him wasn't sure.

Dare struggled to surface in her own mind. It was like swimming in the dark and not knowing which way was up. She felt lost and confused. Perhaps if she moved that would help? It took tremendous effort to move her left hand. The fingers barely twitched.

The girl moved; it was a whisper of motion. Raze tensed as his werewolf eyes caught it. He saw the tension settle in her face as she struggled. Without realizing it he was standing.

Dare forced herself to move again, she pushed her awareness into her body. She was hurt and sick, that she knew instantly. But she also sensed a presence. A large shape was looming near her. For an instant she wondered what it would be. Perhaps it was dangerous to her? Then all at once her mind opened and she was thrown into consciousness.

Raze was leaning over her when her eyes snapped open. He gasped at their color. They were the color of moonlight! Silver with white and just enough blue to make you notice the first two. Her hair was black like the night sky and framed her eerie eyes. He stepped away from her as she breathed in with a loud sound.

She knew someone had been watching. The man was large like a bear with a stunning upper body. His dark eyes had widened in surprise as she breathed in. He was bald but it suited him. There was something strange about him. It was subtle and just below the surface, but Dare knew it to be dangerous. She sat up and her body didn't like her. She wavered on the edge of the bed for a moment. Finally everything stopped swirling; her eyes looked around.

The room was an empty, vacant place, nothing more then a hole in a wall. The bed was makeshift with metal pipes for the frames.

"The wonders of Europe never cease," She muttered. It struck her as odd that she would have a sense of humor. Why wasn't she scared out of her mind?

Raze kept staring at her, she was beautiful! He'd never seen anyone like her before. He shoved the thoughts away with anger. There was nothing about her he liked. She was nothing more then food.

Dare pulled in another deep breath and felt pain at her neck. Her right hand brushed a thick bandage. For a minute she tried to think of how she got hurt there. She only came up with fragments: Bright lights, crowded dance floor, glittering eyes.

She stood up and had to grab the nearest thing to stay upright. It just happened to be a massive arm. She held onto his mocha colored arm and was amazed at the whiteness of her own. Against him she seemed to shine.

Raze jumped when she touched him. It wasn't intentional, she'd been about to fall. But had he moved closer? Had he wanted to help her? No! He told himself; that was crazy. He pulled his arm away from her ignoring the thought that she was lovely. The girl wobbled and sat back on the bed. He moved away from her.

Both of them jumped at the sound of a knocking hand. The door opened, it was Hans.

"Raze, we found something." He glanced at Dare and backed out of the room.

Raze left the room and slammed the door shut. His arm wouldn't stop tingling where she had grabbed him. He vaguely remembered Lucian telling him a story about a similar feeling. The large werewolf shrugged it off as he followed Hans.