It was her turn to watch, she had the keys to the cage and a front row seat, to watch a man, her man, turn into a beast for the night. "This won't be pretty. It's not like the other times we change, the three days around the moon we are truly the wolf, in payment for the immortality and the freedom, we accepted the curse."

"Is that why I'm different I didn't accept it."

"Probably my mysterious-" The luna effect took it's toll, it's price for immortality and power, his mind.

Alexa was mesmerised he was the same wolf as before, but as he caught her eye his eyes bore a new pathway into her, no laughing challenge, no arrogance, no intelligence, just pure hunger. And it was impossible to tell which sort, he, it, looked as if it would slice through the bars and eat her alive, or rape her. Tristan was a beautiful man body and soul but this beast within him truly scared her, had she ever been scared of a creature like this before? She had faced so many vampires and creatures from the depths of hell that wanted to kill, wanted her dead, but not in this cold impassive way and she had never been able to have a conversation with them before, trust them. Could he, hurt her, she couldn't ever bring herself to kill him if her attacked her like this, could she? She had to blink, the animal snarled, never taking its eyes way, deciding to pad across the perimeter of its confines. Never looking away. It would watch her all night, not the other way around.

Tristan shook himself. Alexa and earth, black and white. She was pale, in front of him, tired. He was tired, exhausted even. "What happened?" The man-wolf became a man, sitting in front of a woman, he didn't need supernatural senses to see her shaking, see the pallor of pure fear, and distrust. Was this how she viewed a vampire? He waited patiently, trying to send compassion and trust through his eyes, but she didn't see 'him' yet, "Alexa?"

"That thing wanted to eat me." the woman once a warrior croaked.

"It is not a thing, it was me. It is part of me. And I would never try harm you."

"You were truly hungry, I could see it in its wolf eyes, it wanted to eat me, exactly like a vampire, ready to kill anything for it's own satisfaction. That's why I have to kill them. I have to protect people from them, from creatures like us?" The teenager looked like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. He could see all of her internal pain in the sorrow of her face, she hadn't just needed to relax and find her wolf she had to find the joy of living again. "Aren't I lucky you know me then. Alexa can you please let me out, or are are we going to repeat yesterday?" he spoke slow and calmly, reminding her gently of happier thoughts. "No." She ganged the keys, slowly raising herself up, padding gingerly towards the cage door. As soon as she opened it, Tristans fluffy arms encompassed her, cradling her tight. "We're the monster's too?"

"Did I hurt anyone last night?"

"No."

"Did you yesterday?"

"No."

"We are just us, and we have chosen to protect others not harm them."

"Are you asking me to join the force?"

"That would be a scary notion. You'd spend all day distracting the other officers."

"Shut up, I'd do a better job than you, mr runaway to the woods once a month and doesn't rase any suspicions."

He nuzzled her a little more. "Werewolves don't 'exist' remember." He joked, stroking her hair, and squeeing our her worries, both content in being only there, in each others arms, in the moment. After a long while, Alexa's heart rate slowed and a she took a deep breath, letting out a sweet whisper. "Thank you."

Tristan patted her forehead lightly, and unwrapped his arms slowly. "You're welcome. We should probably get you home, where did you tell you parents you'd gone for the last few days?" He lead her out of the basement for what felt like the last time. He listened out for a while for an answer, he could hear nothing from her bar her soft footsteps and slow heartbeat. He shouldn't push it, but he will make sure she gave him the right address and left her safe and sound before he had to head to work tomorrow.

Alexa had claimed a pair of Tristan's uniform combat trousers, and brought along her scraps of other clothing in a plastic bag, looking like some sort of mad homeless woman, what did he think she looked like? When she had her real clothes she may eventually get him to take her seriously. Leading her through the forrest in a clothed, but tight enough to appreciate everything. Tristan stoped before a terribly shaped "bush". "That's a range rover." Alexa stated, almost facepalming at his lack of camouflage skill. He just looked at her with his wide boyish grin, opening the passengers door. "Mil-lady."

Tristan mockingly bowed and opened the door watching Alexa as she climbed in, with easy grace, she really did remind him of a brown tomb raider, in his combats, kinda muddy but super hot.

Alexa was enjoying how different it was to be in a car when she wasn't wounded and being rescued, she may need a personal ambulance service at some point soon. "Okay were are we going?" Tristan asked her, since they had been driving and chatting for over an hour, making their way to the main roads. Alexa sighed at the question, she didn't really want to get back to her life, "An odd little village called Bitton, then I'll direct you to my drive, I can walk to the house."

"No I'm going to drive you right up there an apologise to your parents."

"Will you stop with the parents talk, please."

"Alexa you aren't living alone are you?"

"No. But, but my father is missing. I should have spent this time looking for him." Tristan slammed on the breaks.

"You're the girl that didn't give me any information, what happened? Wolf to wolf, tell me everything!"

"Woahh, even I could drive better than that." She avoided his concerned gaze, unsure wether she should trust him with the information. "Will you still take me to the location I choose. Do you still think I'm a defenceless child that needs a requires you to call social services?" She looked at him, plainly, leaving emotions out of the conversation.

Tristan took her lead and went to work, even driving as he would his police car. "Do you have a job?"

"Not as such, but nether did D."

"He never had a job, how did you eat?"

"People just give us stuff."

"Alexa I would have never guessed you were a beggar."

"We weren't often given food, I mean things like paintings, the last thing D was gifted and bothered to sell was a ming vase, porcelain, depicting two great dragons fighting from the reign of the Jiajing I believe. What I can't forgive is that he sold it when we have plenty of Song pieces he could have put out."

"Pet, if he was a criminal I will still find him for you."

"He's not a criminal, we help people. Tristan, don't 'pet' one me, I save more lives in a night than you spot crimes."

"You're a vigilante too?"

"Too? It's down to me to destroy all vampires."

"Will you just trust me Alexa, what happened."

"I-I was severely wounded by a vampire, so D went to the shop, when I say the shop you'll see there is literally only one shop in our village, and then he never came home."

"But you're not alone in the house? Please don't tell me you have younger siblings?"

"No his weird niece tuned up, gave me a message from him and has been trying to 'parent' me in his stead. Tristan, she's barely older than me."

"And you have no none of his personal information?" Out of the corner of his eye he caught a small sad shake of her head. "Would it be okay for me to come and walk through the last places he was?"

"I'd like that."

"We'll be able to find him."

"Thank you." She whispered, barely auditable to the naked ear, but Tristan's caught it. He smiled softly as he watched her fall asleep.

Alexa guided him around Bitton Village, and they pulled up to the barn, and she jumped out letting the monster of a car park inside. Her bike sat there, sorely unused, and Paul's swanky car next to it. The sports car caught the police man's attention, stopping in his tracks. "Alexa is that a…?"

"We have a… lodger." She stated. Watching Tristan's nose flair as he started to sniff our the car's owner. Is that what she looked like when she was tracking? She needed to be more self aware."A vampire lodger?"

Tristan twitted slightly as he took in the sent of the vampire's car, and general stench around the barn. "Oh just follow me." She look him by the hand dragging him down to a small back door. They slipped into the house undetected, Alexa unhooked her hand from his briefly, when she marched into a small room, retuning with many vegetables, he caught her unreadable big black eyes. "It's not even lunchtime yet."

"I'll need these now so it can be ready for lunchtime, I know you've killed your tastebuds but I would like some proper food. She shuffled him to the kitchen, "Sit." she barked, "Sit please." He took a seat at the expertly carved table, unmistakably arts and craft if not a William Morris original, as Alexa fluttered about with cooking, yet again mesmerising. She floated over wooden spoon in hand. "Try this." He did, it was spectacular, and she was adorable. "Now turn it down if it boils, it shouldn't but it would be ruined. I'll have your trousers back in a few." Tristan watched her shapely behind walk out, and couldn't tell if he would have liked to have had her hand them to him there and then. Mind, gutter, this table has a beautiful finish too, why would anyone make any dents in it?

She was skipping up the stairs, Alexa caught herself skipping and almost missed a step, there was a cute boy, no a drop dead gorgeous man, waiting for her to get ready, this must be an alternate universe? Her wannabe guardian ran out at her poised to shoot a fake looking toy gun, she easily swatted it away, "Alexa, thank the universe you're safe!" The short blonde tried to embrace her, which she also avoided smoothly. "Ah Diana, do you have any girl clothes I'd fit?" She stabbed in the dark, plenty aware they were different shapes and Diana had never worn anything particularly feminine in her vicinity. "N-No…" Her cousin stammered, completely caught off guard, watching her in shock, as if she'd seen hell split oven and Martin Luther King Jr. tap-dance the demons back down. "Okay." Alexa sang, hoping there had been a disguise that could pass as sexy at least. The police uniform she had should probably be hidden for the time being.
Alexa felt herself caught by something, a feeling, the sent of nostalgia… Of D. Her hopes of his return would have been raised however it was his old cologne, Diana had probably found some and done some dumb experiment with it. If she knew she had a werewolf's olfactory senses she would hopefully be less cruel in the future.

Paul stalked through the house, something in the house was amiss, there was an extra heartbeat, crept towards it, he was thankful Lex was home and alive enough to cook but, he walked into the kitchen, and saw it a brazen hazel eyed werewolf siting at the head of the table. "You must be the lodger? I'm Tristan Sandulf. " The man rose to his full height, at least half a foot taller than himself and so much broader. "I brought Alexa home, and since she seems to be fine with you I'm thinking we forget our species' wars for a bit? At least until we've eaten whatever wonderful thing she's cooking up." Paul wasn't usually intimidated but he'd never met a calm werewolf. The girl with the face that could launch a hundred spaceships charged into the back of Paul, he could just tell she was beaming at this point, probably far to eager to investigate, he had half a mind to stand in-between them forever, but she wouldn't forgive him for getting in the way of scientific exploration. "Who are you?"

"Tristan Sandulf, I brought your cousin home?"

"Thank you so much we are eternally in your debt. Where did you find her? We tried everywhere! I was so worried, there was no way to track her, zero signals, like she wasn't even on this planet. I would have understood if I'd found a body but." Diana abruptly stopped rambling her heartfelt thanks, because Paul put his hand on her shoulder and grasped her away from the stranger and under his arm. "Wolf she's been with you over the full moon, did you do anything to her?"

"Wolf?"

"Diana he's a werewolf."

"Fascinating! I've not encountered one in this century. No wonder he's emanating heat, power perhaps? Tristan was it, do you mind if I take a blood sample?"

Alexa cleared her throat. "Why are you all in the doorway." She had hoped for a grand entrance, but alas she'd have to settle for barging through bickering to save lunch, no movement. She stabbed Paul in the thigh with one of her 10" stakes, she could feel all of their eyes watching her, it wasn't that rare that she'd wear a dress. She'd worn this one a few months ago when she'd had to take out a vampire in the hold of an airplane parked in Dubai International Airport. On to the Chnéffléné, she put on a pan of water to boil. "Here I was concerned about you!" Paul was bent over in pain, she had angled it in such a way it had been embedded all the way downwards into his kneecap. Pulling it out would be a real struggle, Diana patted him on the shoulder sympathetically, as she stepped out from under his protection, hurting out and probably up to her workshop. "I'm alive aren't I, no thanks to your sister and a vampire like beast. It's sent was neither vampire nor any discernible animal." Alexa broke away from her dumpling dropping for a moment, pleased to see the scientist had returned and started laying the table and her man-wolf had sat back down. She didn't like how he was watching the exchange but she couldn't very well shout at Paul, 'he's a cop, don't say anything incriminating'. The stake was unfortunately removed. "That'd be Renfield. Why didn't I torture the thing, I keep on forgetting it has a mind." The young vampire swooped his leather coat under him and took a seat opposite Tristan, gearing at the werewolf intruder. Alexa poured on the sauce and served up, pulling out a block of parmesan, small holed grater, olive oil, and bread. She dared not take a bite yet, waiting for Tristan's reaction. It wasn't what she wanted, "Let me get this straight, a monster under the command of his sister who is also a vampire, buried you alive and left you to hang yourself? And this isn't an act of vampire on werewolf war?"

"If he didn't know I was a wolf, then she didn't, it was because I impaled her on a fence."
Paul could see something was up with his hunter friend, she was acting different, he couldn't pin-point why. It must be! "Lex you let him turn you into a werewolf?" He accused, remembering to full caps text Zoe later, it was a bate move. The new werewolf flinged a dumpling at his nose, "I was already one, that's how he sniffed me out!"
"Well I didn't smell you."
"I know, I smell of tea-tree and mango. Sometimes mint but never anything else!"

Diana had already tuned out of the teenage bickering, the idea of studying a werewolf was too intriguing to her. Her daughter was back safe and everything was right in the world, onto discovery. "There's a werewolf vs. vampire war on?"

"Yes for thousands of years. Are they always like this?" Tristan was kind enough to reply.

"Yes." Diana shrugged, before leaning in closer to the werewolf. "So about that blood sample, could I get it in the next 20 minuets, before your insulin spike after this meal that would be perfect?"

Tristan was aware he was being a tad rude by not withdrawing his eyes from Alexa in her bright red dress that hugged her so well, to talk to the blonde girl. "I haven't said yes yet." His stated flatly. He could see Alexa was glowing, she was in her element, fighting… with food, he chuckled to himself. "Darling what is this new creation, it's delicious?" Alexa's little cousin cooed over her lunch, he an the vampire nodded in agreement. The vampire eats, and is shut up by the pup's cooking. Had he ever seen a vampire eat before?
Alexa noted Tristan watching the vampire eat a little too closely "Chnéffléné with shiitake mushrooms in a umami bomb vegetable demi-glace."

"Fantastic. I think I'm going to go nap, bye." Diana uncharacteristically left without another word, wolf blood forgotten.
I hit Paul. "Hang back Lex, you're a werewolf, since when?"

"That's another mystery we have to work out." Lex's made her eye's go wide as she caught the wolf's eye, with an expression Paul had never thought would cross her face. "Are you two?" He let that hang.

"Paul since I cooked, you wash up, I've got a few things to show Tristan?" The hunter, reached over to pat his hand 'affectionately' hard crushing his pinky, and lead the werewolf intruder away.