The movers had arrived 2 hours ago, around 8, and I had finally finished unpacking the essentials and setting up my TV. I sat down and turned it on, flipping to the news.

"And here we are with the latest story. A few days ago, a university student, Sylvia Oster, went for a run on the trail near her dorm. She was found later that morning torn to pieces. Boot prints were found at the scene and anyone who might have seen or heard something that morning should call the police immediately." The news woman droned on and I turned off the TV.

I hated when this happened. Normal people saw this as and animal attack. While people like me saw this as a hunt. Some carnivorous Wesen got hungry and BAM. This happened. I sighed shaking my head. I had moved to Portland to get away from this. And many other things, but mostly this. They would never find the killer unless they have a Wesen on the police force and from my experiences, that didn't happen often. I closed my eyes, clenching my fists. I let out a frustrated gust of air. "Let it go Emma." I grabbed my iPod, scrolling through my reminders. Grocery shopping, appliance shopping, paint shopping, art supplies shopping. Yuck. Oh well, but if I was going shopping I had better look presentable.

(*)(*)(*)

An hour later, I was ready to go. I had showered, shaved, curled my hair, and put on some makeup. I was dressed in my Uggs, a pair of black leggings, and a white shoulderless, long-sleeved shirt. I flipped the TV on.

"Our next story is a sad one. A woman named Marie Kessler and her nephew detective Nicholas Burkhart of the Portland police were walking near his home and were attacked by a man with an unknown identity. He was shot and killed by Nicholas in self-defense. Marie is in the hospital and her condition unknown."

I shut off the TV and headed out the door. I walked outside, to my car. My next door neighbor was walking out to their mailbox as I climbed into the car.

(*)(*)(*)

It was after dark when I got home. I hadn't bought half of the things I was planning on buying but I did get all my appliances and a ton of fruit. I fixed a small fruit salad and sat down on the couch. I turned the TV on, still set on the news.

"A girl named Robin Howl went missing on her way to her grandfather's house from school this afternoon. She was last seen wearing a red sweatshirt and purple leggings. Her book bag was found in Berkeley park with more boot prints. The odd thing is, both the university student Sylvia Oster and the missing girl were last seen wearing red sweatshirts and the same type of boot prints found at each scene. If you have any information-"

I changed the channel. I had a pretty good idea of what was responsible for the kidnapping and the murder. Blutbad. I had dealt with one before. Not a very pleasant experience. The cops didn't have a chance. I changed the channel again and heard a huge crash from outside that sounded like glass breaking. Out of habit, I closed my eyes and mentally searched for any Wesen. It took me a while to concentrate with the banging going on outside. There were two strange 'blips' in my Wesen radar that I had never seen before. They weren't really Wesen, and they were both different. Oh, well. It was none of my business if my neighbors decided to jump through their window...Wait, what if they were being robbed!? I sat my empty bowl on the floor and bolted to the door, threw on some shoes, and practically fled outside.

The cold wind hit me like a tidal wave and almost knocked the air out of me. It was silent now, and the house next-door had a few lights on. I hesitated. Maybe it was nothing. But just to check, I softly knocked on the door. It had stained glass above it with what appeared to be howling wolf. It was cute and unique. A slightly disheveled man opened the door a short while later. His shirt was crumpled and bits of grass clung to him. He had wild, curly brown hair but a neatly trimmed beard. His dark eyes were beautiful, and I was starting to get lost in them. He was tall, too. Maybe over six-foot?

"Hello?" he asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Hi!" I said, trying to cover my long legs with the hem of my shirt. I was only wearing an oversized splattered tee and underwear because I was planning on going to bed before I heard the crash. Thankfully it wasn't windy so I had retained some of my dignity.

"Umm..." I started, "I heard a really big crash from over here-ish..." I was probably blushing, but the cold had turned my cheeks numb, so I couldn't tell. "…and I wanted to make sure you weren't getting robbed or something." I finished with an uncharacteristically shy smile.

"Oh, yeah. It's all okey-dokey over here. Just talking to...my...new...friend. Umm, are you okay, dude? Your lips are turning blue. Not that I was looking at your lips. Or thinking about your lip color or...So, you look cold." He flinched a bit at his own words.

"Umm, yeah a little." That was a lie. I was freezing. My teeth were chattering like crazy, and I felt like a human popsicle. Or Wesen popsicle.

"Do you want to come in? I could get you a blanket and some coffee."

"That would be great!" I replied, but then thought better of it and said, "But I kinda live next door-"

"That's okay, I insist," he said as he ushered me into his house. Wow, this was smart, go into a stranger's house and drink something they give to you. But this guy had a sincerity about him, and I didn't think he would hurt a fly. I still didn't know what had caused the crash.

"What's your name?" I asked as I followed him through his house. It was cozy and obviously lived in. Some walls were completely covered in clocks. I spied a cello and smiled slightly. Looks like I wasn't the only artsy one around here.

"Monroe."

"Nice to meet you, Monroe." I liked the way his name sounded when I said it. "I'm Emma."

I was instructed to sit on the couch and get warmed up with the comforter he had handed me. It was kind of cold in here, my eyes strayed to a large window. Oh I see. I snuggled into the blanket until all anyone could see was my eyes. I heard whispers coming from another room.

"Well, maybe you ought to go. She might find this, you know, awkward," I heard Monroe say.

"But what about the guy?" a second voice responded.

Big sigh."I'll meet you outside in say, 15 minutes."

"Fine just don't..." It was silent for a moment.

Monroe muttered something unintelligible, even to my sensitive ears. But it sounded like woge. Had he just said woge? I my eyes widened. Shit.

"Yeah that on me again okay? We're all civilized. I think."

I turned my 'Wesen radar' on again and felt for the blips. They were definitely Monroe and his friend. Monroe's blip was a soft, yellow color. I'd never seen that before but I was drawn to it. I could actually feel myself blush this time. Based on what I was seeing, Monroe wasn't Wesen. He was just a normal human. But why could I sense him? When I shook off my ability, I still wasn't sure what he was. His friend's blip was black and hard to concentrate on, it gave me the mental image of a lock-box. But it was almost like an absence of a presence. It was so hard to describe because it flitted around, never giving me an exact location and was like a shadow in the dark. If I hadn't know there was somebody else in the house I probably wouldn't have even noticed it. It chilled me to the bone but I found that it almost...reflected some of my power. I could actually feel what it was like to have your prescience analyzed.

Monroe led his friend to the front door. He was a few inches shorter than Monroe but around the same age. He had black hair and eyes that were grey with blue and green flecks around the iris. He had pale skin and a shaven face, and his leather jacket clung to his muscles. Very attractive. Lock-box flashed me a big grin as he walked out and I rolled my eyes, in spite of my condition.

Monroe walked out of the room and then returned with coffee. He handed me a steaming mug, and I sniffed the air. The wonderful scent wound around me and I took a small sip. I sighed in pleasure. It was so good.

"Glad you like it," Monroe said with a pleased smile. He paused then said, "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Well, I just moved to Portland from Ohio," I said. That was the only thing that came to mind.

"Did you fly?" he inquired, taking a sip of his own coffee.

"No," I said slowly. "I drove the 36 hours here, but it was worth it."

Helen and Selena had called me every hour to make sure 'I hadn't died,' and traffic was bad in some places, but it really was worth it. With all the information I had to digest, it took every hour and mile to decide what I was going to do about my predicament and let everything soak in.

"Do you play the cello?" I asked. "I noticed one in the corner."

"Yeah," Monroe said sheepishly, a cute smile on his face. "But I'm not very good."

I had a hard time believing that.

"I'm sure you're wonderful," I said truthfully.

"From your shirt, I'd say you're a painter," Monroe said. The comforter had opened slightly and my leg stuck out from the bottom, my shirt barely visible. His eyes dropped to the floor and he softly added, "Or your boyfriend is."

If I wasn't Wesen, I doubt I would have heard his comment. "Yes, I'm a painter, and no, I don't have a boyfriend."

He looked up, surprised I heard him. "Umm... I just... Well." He stopped and furrowed his eyebrows and looked intently at the floor again. "Well, you're very attractive. I thought you were probably taken."

"Thank you!" I flashed him a small grin. I looked around at his house. "You have quite a collection of clocks."

"Oh, yeah. I'm a clock repairman," he said. "I have over 20. My favorite is this one," He said pointing to a beautiful cuckoo on the wall. " It was a gift from my great-great-great-great uncle to a family friend that did some work on his house and after the guy died his wife gave it back to him, my great-great-great-great uncle, and he gave it to my great-great-great-great grandfather and its been passed down through the family for generations. And this one..." Monroe rambled on about his clocks for quite a while longer. but I wasn't board. His vivid hand gestures and expressive faces kept it interesting. It was really endearing. He paused and looked at me after he finished another story. "I'm rambling aren't I?"

"Not at all! I think it's interesting."

"Really?" He asked with silly grin plastered on his face.

We talked for a bit more, but then I glanced at one of the many time pieces. I think we had passed his 15 minute time limit. "Well, I better get going," I said. Time flies when you're having fun, and I was in need of some sleep, despite the java. "Thank you so much for everything. Sorry I just kinda barged in here."

"No, it's okay," he insisted. "But you're going to freeze walking back to your house."

"It's all right. I made it here, didn't I?" I put on a faux smile. I was not looking forward to the cold again.

"Well, why don't I walk you to your door and let you take the blanket?"

"I couldn't d-"

"Yes you can." His voice had taken on an authoritative lit, though it remained soft, and I complied.

When we got outside I started shaking, even with the blanket, so Monroe put an arm around my waist. He was warm and I leaned into him subconsciously. We reached my porch far too soon.

"Thanks for everything," I said once I had unlocked my front door. "I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it," Monroe said, waving away my thanks with some unique hand gestures. I smiled in spite of myself. "Well, goodnight, Emma."

I wasn't about to let him leave without a little flirting. I stood on tip-toe and gave him a feathery-light kiss near the corner of his mouth. I felt for his Wesen part but didn't find one. I felt something, but it wasn't Wesen.

"Goodnight, Monroe." I purred in his ear. I gave him a little wink and grinned as the tips of his ears turned pink, and he blushed under his beard. I gave him a small wave, then went inside and walked to my bedroom. Good thing I had already brushed my teeth and taken a shower. I was so tired that I just collapsed into bed, Monroe's comforter still wrapped around me.

A/N

Whew! Second chapter! Thank you guys so much for reading. Please review, favorite, and follow! I'll be updating soon (hopefully.) If you have any thoughts please share, I'd love to hear them!

P.S.
I will be continuously editing old chapters, rewording, adding things, etc. So if you feel lost check back to see what I've changed.