I found out her name. It was Julia. I ordered her another bourbon for her nerves, and she seemed to relax..not much, but a little. I could smell the fear on her. She wasn't afraid o' me, but something had her spooked.

She sipped her bourbon, and the smile was gratifying. "Thank you..for the drink and the gallantry."

"Nothing gallant about me, darlin'. I figured those boys needed a spankin', and 'sides, they were ruining the ambience of this fine establishment."

Julia giggled. Her features were soft and sweet, like the girl next door. "Well, anyway, thank you...umm.."

"You can call me Logan."

"Logan."

"So. What are running from?" Tact never was one of my strong suits.

"R-running? I-I'm not running from anything." A lie. Funny thing, people smell different when they're lying. She was lying because she was scared. I decided to let it go. She would tell me when she was ready.

"Ah, hell. Don't mind me. I talk sometimes, and my brain has a hard time catching up. If I offended you, I'm sorry. I can leave you be." I started to walk back to my stool. She put her hand on my arm.

"No, it's fine. I'd like you to stay. Please." She motioned to the bartender. "The next one is on me, though."

I smiled. "Fair enough. So. Where you from?"

"Columbus, Ohio. I'm attending college at NYU."

"Oh, yeah? What're studying?"

"Oh, um...I really haven't decided a major yet." She seemed a little embarrassed about the revelation.

"Well, it's an important decision. You should let it choose you."

Julia smiled. "You seem to be quite the philosopher."

I laughed. "I don't think anyone has ever called me that. Not sure if it's a valid assumption, but I thank you anyway."

She laughed, and I found myself enjoying the company. Usually when I come to these kinda bars, it's to get away from everyone and everything. My loner thing. But meeting her that night really made me realize I need human contact more and more.

The night was going well. We drank and talked, played pool and darts. She seemed to loosen up a little. Then I caught a scent of something. Something strange.

She noticed how quiet I got. "Logan? What's wrong?" I felt the floor boards vibrate. Something heavy was heading this way.

The door exploded. I covered Julia, and I thought I heard her say something like, "Not now!" The smoke and debris was thick. It cleared and the thing that caused it was standing there.

It was a monster. A huge beast, it looked to have the head of a wolf, the torso of a lion, and arms and legs of some kinda ape. A lizard tail was swinging back and forth, which resembled a stegosaurus tail, with the spikes and all. It was at least 10 feet tall, and its scent was hard to match. Didn't smell human. Didn't smell animal.

It stood and sniffed the air. It spoke. It said, "Julia." It came out Joooo-leeeaaaa. I looked down at the woman in question. She said, "Help me. Please."

The bartender reached for his bat. He screamed and rushed the damn thing. The tail was a blur, and I watched as the bartender hit the ground, belching blood. No more playing around. I stepped away from Julia and unsheathed my claws. Three razor sharp claws jutted out from the back of my hands. All three coated in that magical metal.

I yelled out to the regulars. "Get to the back o' the bar." I turned to Julia. "You too, darlin'. I don't want you seeing this." She was staring at my claws. The beast saw her and turned. "Jooo-leeeaaaa..." I stepped towards it and charged, being mindful of its tail. I roared and swiped. I dodged the tail, and I had a peach of a shot. My claws were closing in on it's throat. It was faster than I thought. Those ape arms came up and swatted me. Hard. I went flying into the bar, the speed and my weight reducing it to rubble.

I jumped up fast and felt the pain. A piece of wood was lodged in my arm. I yanked and howled, the pain and rage building. I started to feel myself becoming detached. The blood in the air was thick, I grunted and growled, ready to feast on my prey.

The girl saved me. She grabbed me and screamed my name. I focused and saw her face. "Julia."

"Logan, we have to get out of here! Please!"

The beast was growling and snapping at the air. The regulars took my advice and got the hell out of the bar. Just two killers and a girl. She grabbed a bottle of booze.

"Little late for a drink, ain't it?"

She shook her head and threw it at the thing. It smashed in his face. The beast howled, and the girl pulled me to my feet. We ran for the door. It didn't even blink in our direction.

I led Julia to my bike. "How the hell did it miss us coming out of there?"

Julia was out of breath. "He- It's blind. It uses scent to track its prey. The booze disabled him for now, but we really need to get going."

I started the bike. I yelled, "How the hell do you know that?"

She wrapped her arms around me, and she buried her face in my back. I could feel the warmth of her tears. Then a whisper, just enough for my enhanced hearing to hear: "He's my father."