Tired Of Wasting My Breath

Yes, I am updating quickly! However, I am afraid I will need to take a week or two hiatus from writing after this chapter. However fear not, - the story shall finish, and ya'all will like the ending.

Dwayne had beaten the shit out of him. Even an hour later, when they were all still sitting in Paul's room and he had gone over the whole story with them, he still felt like utter hell. He was sitting groggily on the floor with Cate in the chair behind him, allowing her to rub his scalp through his hair. He ordinarily wouldn't have allowed such a display in front of the guys but…his head was killing him. And it felt good. And he was damn set on getting a sympathy lay out of this. Rita had let them alone for the moment, needing to sleep off the effects of the ritual. If she had been there, he would have been sure to give her pointed looks. See? I'm not going anywhere…

Marko still seemed like a baby bird that had been rudely thrown from the nest and into the Amazon jungle. His eyes were focused on Paul, wide and blinking with doe-like simplicity. "So…we're alive."

"Yeah, like before."

"Ok…and we're going to stay this way?"

"Far as I know."

Dwayne was a bit more accepting and seemed to take the entire event in stride, almost as if he had been expecting it. He had quietly thanked Rita almost as soon as he had come to, which immediately put him in her good graces. "How long do we have until Lath comes back?"

"Chomping at the bit aren't we." David murmured.

"Well, I want to get back home as soon as possible. Don't you?" Dwayne raised one dark eyebrow. Although he had settled with the fact that he had been brought back, he was still instinctively distrustful of being surrounded by new people.

David leaned back more against Cate's knees and let out a soft, contented growl as she moved her hands to his temples. "Hmmm. I do. You still don't trust me, Dwayne?"

"I never trusted you. And I trust her, and everyone else here, minus Dumb and Dumber over there, even less."

Paul and Marko let out a combined and therefore doubly indignant "Hey!"

Cate lifted her hands from David's head and snapped her fingers. All four turned to look at her, and she slowly stood up from the chair, her eyes locked on Dwayne. She had immediately sensed him as a challenge and was about to put her foot down. "I don't care if you don't trust me. Because if you want to get out of here," she drew one of her knives and began to pick her fingernails offhandedly, "you're going to have to."

Dwayne studied her. Dwayne was certainly not stupid, but he did not like change, because change distorted the carefully managed hierarchy that had once been their pack. Especially change that involved a female in the group. And even more especially, a female whom he could tell acted a lot like David. The last thing he wanted around was another fat-heated, trigger-happy vampire with a God complex trying to tell him what to do. Over the years he had finally convinced David that he was never going to be able to truly boss him around, and he wasn't about the spend time now convincing this new one that he couldn't be, either. Cate walked up to him, still picking her fingernails with the knife, and tilted her head slightly to the side. The corner of her lip curled in something halfway in between a smile and a sneer.

David remembered his thoughts of a month ago. This was quite possibly the most important meeting of the entire experience.

She was a predator. A ruthless predator.

There was no mercy in those eyes; their beauty was overpowered by their fierceness. David had met few people, vampire or human, who he considered to be true killers. He fancied himself one, but secretly knew he couldn't ever quite reach the depths of cruelty and sadism that they did. Dwayne had been one. That was why David had convinced Max to pick him. Dwayne, with his quiet ferocity, only rarely letting the animal that lurked underneath his cool exterior out of its cage.

Cate's smile widened.

Marko whispered to Paul "Is she crazy?"

"Oh yeah. You had better believe it man. Trust me. Craaaaazy as the moon"

Dwayne's expression remained stony, and David stood, not liking the tension that was building in the room. If anything went down between Cate and Dwayne, for any reason…Dwayne had better say goodbye to his short time back on earth. But suddenly, it was as if something clicked between the two pairs of dark eyes that were locked together. An understanding, a realization….and Dwayne smiled. He nodded. Marko and Paul looked at each other incredulously, and David's muscles relaxed.

"I can see why David likes you." Dwayne spoke softly.

Cate winked at him slyly. "And what about you?"

"I like you too."

David bristled slightly but Dwayne nodded his head towards him, as if to mollify his packmate's jealousy. "No worries."

"I wasn't worried."

"We just understand each other."

"We do." Cate replied, the strange smile still on her face, and David had to restrain himself from stepping up and giving Dwayne what he was asking for. This was why there had never been a girl in their gang. Jealousy. No girls, ever….well, except Star, but Star didn't count. Star wasn't a bloodthirsty, smolderingly sexy fox. But Cate turned and walked back towards David, lowering her head slightly and looking up at him out from under her eyelashes. Don't think giving me bedroom eyes is going to keep me quiet he growled inwardly. But he had barely completed the thought before he realized she had pushed him down into the chair and slid sideways into his lap, and her fangs were gently, teasingly tickling his ear. The words 'bedroom' and 'quiet' don't exactly go together with us, he heard her reply. I'll make it up to you….that is, if you're in good enough shape here in a while

Her head moved down and she pressed her lips against his, forcing him to open his mouth slightly, so hard that he had trouble keeping his head forward. He could tell she was smiling around the kiss, and as she pulled back away she playfully licked the tip of his nose where a bit of half-dried blood still remained. He realized she was essentially marking him as territory in front of the guys…but he didn't exactly mind.

Nope…nope, didn't mind at all.

Paul hooted and clapped, and Cate shot him a wink and a grin while crossing her legs expertly one over the other and placing and arm around the back of David's neck.

"All right, boys. Now that we're all acquainted, let's talk business. If you want to get home, well, you're going to have to help us. Because if you don't, we're all dead. Quite simple."

"Paul, couldn't you…I don't know, talk to Lath or something? You said he was your packmate once."

"Marko, don't be retarded."

"I'm not being retarded, are you afraid of him or something?"

"Afraid of that little weasel? You really are retarded."

"Hello? Boys?" Cate raised her voice. "Are we clear?"

Dwayne dipped his head once in response. "Understood. And then we can all go back to Santa Carla, and your clan will leave us alone?"

"Agreed."

"All of us?"

"You're coming back to Santa Carla with us, aren't you Dave?"

"David?"

Three sets of eyes looked at David expectantly. Cate turned and made it an icy fourth. Refusing to squirm under scrutiny, David shifted in the chair nonchalantly and gave Cate a light nip on the chin. "Of course I'm coming back to Santa Carla. It's mine, isn't it?"

Dwayne rolled his eyes and Paul broke into smile, happy to finally hear people talk as if they would all be going home. "Sweet, man. We'll be runnin the streets again in no time. They couldn't get rid of us, could they Marko?"

"Nope" Marko returned the grin. He was finally settling in to the reality that he was alive again….but the need to get back to normal surroundings was pretty strong. "Can't wait."

Cate's eyes flickered momentarily, but that was the only reaction she gave away.

"Hey…" a small, weak voice at the doorway made them all jump. It was Adrian. Pale and unsteady, with dark circles under both eyes, but standing. He tried a smile and a step forward, but had to steady himself against the wall "What does a guy have to do to get some food around here?"

Cate was up and off David in a second flat and quickly put her shoulder in Adrian's armpit to support him. "Ade, what the hell are you doing up?"

"Eh…thought I'd go for a walk…"

"Who is that?"

Cate helped walk Adrian over to the bed and he sat down, almost falling over again. It was almost painful to see him. He looked like he had lost twenty pounds and a few gallons of blood overnight, and his eyes were still gray and glassy. His topline was matted down against his skin, shaved off in a few areas to allow some gaping cuts to breathe.

"It's the fuzzball." David grunted. He had a sneaking suspicion that Adrian had only gotten himself up as a sympathy ploy to get some attention from Cate.

Adrian raised a hand weakly and saluted the group. "At your service."

"Werewolf…?" Dwayne said quietly, halfway in between asking a question and making a statement.

"Yeah."

"What line?"

"He's a werewolf? Werewolves have lines? Why is he all beaten up?" Marko tried to ask all of his questions at once.

"Species make lines, lines make breeds, breeds make several varieties…"

"What are you now, Dwayne, an encyclopedia on weird furry shit?"

"Just more traveled and cultured than you, David."

"Eastern Europe originally…but my breed comes more out of Denmark."

"Denmark? That's a very new breed."

"Yeah…we're upstarts…" Adrian laughed wheezily. "Glad you've heard of us."

"A Romanian breed mentioned your line to me once. You aren't popular."

"Aw…jeez….oh well. Too bad."

Cate whistled to quite them down. "Boys, this is Adrian. Adrian, this is Dwayne and Marko. They're friends of David and Paul."

"Pleasure." Adrian exhaled slowly and Cate had to yet again steady his shoulders to prevent a collapse.

"You need to get back into bed, Ade."

"Eh…I can sleep when I'm dead."

"Trust me man, I'm dead and I haven't been sleepin that well lately." Paul replied.

Adrian shook his head briefly and his topline rose and fell like a little wave moving down his back. It was his own odd way of shivering. "I just heard some news…figured I'd bring it down since you guys have been cooped up here all day."

"News?'

"Yeah. Lath is back. Well, sort of. He's not attacking, he's just…waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Dwayne's answer was slow and calculating. He didn't like enemies that waited. It was always a bad sign.

"Waiting for me to come kick his skinny ass, that's what."

"Believe me, I wish that was it, David. But he's not just waiting. No one has been able to come in or out of the house so far. We've set all the defenses up, and he hasn't tested them…he's just preventing anyone from leaving. Anyone who even peeks out is shot at. He's got people and hounds covering every exit and entrance…even the hidden ones. He's done his homework."

"So there's no way out, as of now, unless we throw a Hail Mary and get half or all of us killed in the process of getting out?" The concern in Dwayne's voice was now bordering on distinct unease.

"Lath thinks he's going to put us under siege? Is he seriously that stupid?" Cate shook her head. "We have enough supplies to last us until judgement day, not to mention well water and enough food to feed an army, let alone the dozen or so of us. He's nuts. "

"I have a feeling he's not trying to starve us out." Adrian's voice became even quieter, and his light blue eyes roamed from David to Paul to the newcomers.

"What ?"

"He's trying to starve you out."

Silence.

"Oh…..BALLS…." Paul shouted and banged his fists on the floor violently. "The sonofabitch!"

"He probably figures that you guys will go crazy from lack of…of food….eventually, and you'll tear the rest of us apart. I'd say it's a pretty good plan, unfortunately."

Marko's stomach grumbled at the worst possible moment and he looked around, extremely embarrassed. "Er…sorry…."

"We have a few flasks of blood left over from hunting the past few days. Mostly wildlife but I guess you guys need something after your…your…trip." Cate sounded composed, but her mind was racing. She was already seeing the chain of events unfold in her mind.

Adrian would be the first to go. He was the weakest one. They would take him easily, like a pack of starving dogs bringing down the wounded antelope at the back of the herd. Then Rita would be next…old, powerful, but weakened, perhaps permanently, from the strain of bringing Dwayne and Marko back. The rest of the clan would soon follow, and then they would begin to turn on each other. She was pretty sure she could take Marko and Paul. Paul was inexperienced and Marko, bless his heart, looked like he just didn't have the brutality or skill in him. She was quicker than David, she knew that, but she couldn't match his strength. When he really let fly it was like his arms were made of steel cords. She had been on the receiving end of his strength only once, when they had been surprised by a gang in Arizona, and he literally picked her up by one shoulder and hurled her behind him, out of the alleyway so she could get a chance to load her crossbow. She had been so surprised she had dropped the first arrow. Dwayne was also another matter. When the understanding had passed between them, it was different than the understanding that she had with David. There was no attraction, no intellectual matching, no personality mesh. This was a recognizance of nature, pure and simple. They were both capable of things, murderous things, cruel things, ruthless things, that most people, even most vampires, were not. She loved David because he was a killer, but she feared Dwayne because he was both a killer and merciless. And if it came down to it, and she somehow managed to kill David, a fight between her and Dwayne would end up with neither of them making it out alive. Even if someone managed to survive, they would either slowly starve, or go mad and fling themselves out of the house, only to be shot down by Lath's pack or ripped to shreds by the hellhounds. Lath's plan was absolutely brilliant. So simple. Like watching animals go mad in traps until they chewed off their own legs. She couldn't imagine being hungry enough to kill Rita, or Paul, or even David…but then again, she hadn't gone without feeding for more than a few days. What would a week do to them? Two weeks? A month? Could they last even remotely that long? She stood up from the bed and walked back over to David, who was evidently thinking the same think, his dark blue eyes locked on the floor.

Cate, I wouldn't kill you. I'd put a bullet through my own head before I killed you.

"A silver one, I hope." She spoke out loud quietly, and he looked up.

"What do you take me for?" he tried to sound playfully annoyed, but she could tell that the thoughts broiling behind his eyes were driving him mad.

I swear by the blood in my veins I will. I swear to you by all the devils in hell, all the dead in the ground as well as on earth, everything living and everything immortal that I won't kill you.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

A meeting had been called in the main room, and Cate immediately didn't like how it was set up. She and the Boys (she had noticed recently that she had unwittingly began thinking of them as a group with a capital B) were on one side, and everyone else, about a dozen young men and women, plus Adrian and Rita, were on the other. Everyone had been informed of Lath's plan, and now with the addition of two additional vampires, the clan was growing extremely restless and distrustful. The oldest of the men, a twenty-something, strong one named Baer, had taken it upon himself to be leader in Daniel's stead. He and Cate were involved in a blazing argument that had been underway for the past half hour, with barely anyone else having a chance to get a word in.

"Cate, you're loyalties are misplaced right now. We need to make an attempt to get out, or else we're all going to sit here and wait to die."

"If you try to leave now, without a plan, you're going to get everyone killed, you moron."

"Just because you've somehow developed a soft spot for these things, it doesn't mean that they have the right to be included in our decision making. Right now, my first and foremost concern is the humans of this clan."

Adrian narrowed his eyes at Baer, but the look went unnoticed. Baer was something of a zealot, having been dying at a chance to showcase his supposed leadership capabilities almost as soon as he could fire a bow. He was well-intentioned…but Cate could tell that he was relishing the thought of playing the part of the hero.

"These 'things' saved my life, and are here to help us save our own skin. We've made an agreement."

"Not an agreement with me. I say we're leaving. Within the hour."

"Baer, he has hounds on every exit as well as vamps. You'll be slaughtered."

"Better than waiting her to get sucked dry."

If looks could kill, David and Dwayne would have taken Baer down on the spot.

"Who's with me. Now or never. Your either with me, or you're with them. They're no better than the ones outside, believe me. Our only chance is to leave, now."

His voice held such finality that Cate knew the argument was over, and she had gotten nowhere. No one on Baer's side moved, and her heart sank. So this was it, the final standoff. It had been inevitable, but she hadn't expected it to come so quickly.

However, after a minute or two, Adrian wordlessly padded across the room, his feet barely making a sound. "I'm with them."

Paul grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. The lycanthrope winced, not expecting the friendly, yet rather hard, blow.

"Figures." Baer snorted, and shouldered his shotgun. "Guess you can never trust the things that follow you home. Come on. Get your weapons and whatever you can carry and still move quickly. We're going."

The rest of the group turned to leave, casting angry glances at the small, stubborn sect across the room. Rita stayed behind. Cate's voice took on an almost pleading tone. "Please, Rita, don't go with them. You know what's going to happen to them."

Rita sighed and looked from one person to the next, eventually coming back around to Cate. "Catherine…you know as well as I do that it's you who is in the wrong here. Come back to us, please."

"No."

"Cate, they aren't your family. We are."

Cate snapped her teeth. "They are my family. They're my kind now."

Rita took one last look at the girl who had been almnsot her daughter for so many years, and then turned to leave. David put a hand on Cate's shoulder. "Leave her. It doesn't matter now."

"Cate?"

Cate turned to see Marko looking at her. She hadn't really spoken to this one much yet, and had pretty much written him off as the group puppy. David was the leader, Dwayne the second-in-command, Paul the entertainment…..but now, there was something deeper in his eyes, and she understood.

"Cate, it'll be all right. We'll…we'll take care of you. Don't worry." He smiled a lopsided smile and Cate felt her heart melt just a little bit.

"Thanks, Marko." she felt a genuine smile cross her lips, and Marko smiled back.

"So, Ade, you 're with us, huh?"

Adrian turned and saw David facing him, arms crossed. "Well, unless you're just going to throw me over the wall first chance you get."

"Hmm. Well. Truce? For the moment." David offered a gloved hand, half-reluctantly. He still really, really didn't like this guy….but, he had to give him some respect for choosing them over Baer and his idiots.

Adrian smiled and took David's hand. "Sounds good. No more furball jokes, though."

"Deal, mutt."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was only about an hour later when, all of them holed up in Paul's room, they heard commotion outside. Screaming, howling, the explosion of guns and whine of arrows. Paul and Marko went to go see, but Cate didn't even want to know about it. Of course she hoped that somehow, some of them would make it through. But she doubted it. They were desperate, without leadership, and threatened from ones within the clan. Of course they were going to band together and follow the first coherent plan, no matter how foolhardy it seemed. In the space of a few days, what had been one of the most powerful clan of hunters in the west had been summarily dispatched by a single vampire.

Days! Only days!

Her head spun. It was almost incomprehensible, losing everyone this fast. Her family was being stripped away from her as if they were tied to speeding freight trains, and she could only try and run to catch up. The noise outside had slowed to a murmur, and Paul and Marko both came back with ashen faces. She didn't want to go outside and see the bodies. She didn't want to go outside and smell the blood, the entrails. The scene was already well-imagined in her head, and the sense of grief had come as soon as Baer had turned his back on them. There were no more tears to cry at this point. They were all alone now.