CHAPTER 8
They soon found themselves sitting in a hotel room, a rather posh hotel room. Obviously immortality did nothing to diminish this woman's sense of taste. Amaranta was lounging on a chaise while the other four occupied two couches, all sitting on the edge of their seats, not as relaxed as Amaranta was.
"So tell us about these werewolves." John finally spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
Amaranta smiled at him, once again seeming to appraise him. "Tell me Jaden, did you choose him for his good looks?"
Jaden bristled.
"No… I see now, out of love…"
"Come on Am, get to the story." Isis said, shooting a warning glance at Jaden, who looked like she was about to spring and rip someone a new hole.
Amaranta blinked in surprise at the shortening of her name but did. "Generally, a vampire is made by draining a mortal's body dry of blood and then the vampire replenishing it with their own blood. A vampire's blood restores and perfects the mortal, turning the mortal into something entirely new. Vampires," She said slowly, looking at each of them in turn. "Are not dead things, look at us as a type of mutation if you will. We function as human beings, needing to be sustained, which only live blood will do. If you've ever tried to eat normal food, you'll know this already, opur bodies simply cannot handle it and we will become violently sick."
They all nodded though John coughed, having tried to eat a hamburger on his second night.
"Everything on us becomes improved; our senses, we heal rapidly and almost nothing can hurt or kill us. Though there are ways, obviously…"Her gaze strayed first to Isis, then Mark and finally Jaden. "But you three know that."
John, having heard the story, remained silent, just waiting patiently, leaning back against the couch and pulling Jaden with him.
"Our hearts pump the blood through our bodies, our brains still send signals…" Amaranta halted when she seen Isis frown. "Yes?"
"I can never feel my heart."
"It's there nonetheless. As I was saying, our brains still send signals. And we all develop new abilities, some sooner than others."
Mark and Isis exchanged looks.
"Obviously, the stronger the one who made you, the stronger you will be. Like Isis, she was made by Gabriel, who was older than even I am."
"How old are you?" Mark interrupted curiously.
"A lady never tells."
"Oil of Olay does wonders, can't even see her wrinkles… much." Jaden whispered to Isis.
Isis snorted.
"Anyway," Amaranta shot Jaden a dirty look, her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "Sometimes, a person's body doesn't accept the blood, their body rejects it." She stood up, walking over to the window and staring out at the city down below her. "In every human, there is dormant animal DNA, when a mortal rejects the vampire's blood, the body activates this animal DNA, like it does our white blood cells. Only this triggers another type of mutation in which the end result is a werewolf instead of a vampire."
"So basically all the werewolf myths we can discard." Mark said thoughtfully, rubbing his goatee.
"Yes. Silver bullets do not work, they can come out every night and not just the ones where a full moon is present. Werewolves are every bit like us, except they are one hundred percent animal. They sleep during the day, sunlight will kill them, like us and they roam in packs. Which generally, we don't."
"Wait a minute," Isis said frowning. "I wasn't made like the rest of these guys," She gestured to her companions. "I just became."
"You were made over time, an routine exchange of blood, with Gabriel I'm assuming. You're body adapted over time until eventually there was enough vampire blood in you to start the change. If I recall rightly, you probably had to feed to finalize it."
Isis nodded, shooting Mark a look because she and Glen had jumped on him like he was a three course dinner.
Mark grinned back.
"So what do you think about what the old hag said?" Jaden asked Isis as they walked home, not minding that it was a seriously long walk.
"I don't know, the werewolf thing is kind of freaky, makes ya want to steer clear of mortals, just incase."
"Not me, I'm still hungry."
"You're always hungry."
"I know."
Mark and John were walking ahead of the girls, both on the look out for more werewolves.
Amaranta had told them before they left that the werewolves would seek them instinctively, looking to kill them. After arming them with all the information she thought they would need, she had left, seeking new hunting grounds though reassuring the four that they would someday meet again.
Not exactly a comforting thought.
"So what now?" Jaden asked once they had reached the ranch, all having fed on the way.
"I think we rest, rise as soon as sun sets and hunt these fuckers down." John said instantly.
Mark looked at him, nodding. "I agree. We need to mark this as our territory, that and I personally don't want a bunch of giant dogs running around scaring the populace, that'd blow our cover too."
"Can you imagine if the mortals knew bout us?" Isis shivered. "We'd be like… like lab rats."
Silence fell among them as they all thought about that one.
Finally John picked Jaden up and slung her over his shoulder. "All right then, we're off. See you in the evening." He was whistling as he carried her to their bedroom.
Isis shook her head. "Kids."
Mark took her hand and led her towards their own room. "I think he has the right idea."
"How can you think of sex after what happened tonight?"
"Very easily darlin."
Isis screamed with laughter when he practically dragged her into the room.
"Mmm…" John surveyed the woman laying in front of him, dropping onto the bed besides her. "You look wonderful."
Jaden frowned, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her elbow. "You don't think Amaranta is… nice looking do you?"
"She looks like marble, kinda freaky." John shivered at the mention of the strange vampire. "Why do you ask?"
"She was eyeballing you like you were candy."
"You're a jealous thing aren't you?" John laughed, moving her so she was laying flat on her back, resting his body on top of hers.
"Very." Jaden ran her hands down his bare back, loving the feel of his muscles flexing under her palms.
John smiled, pulling back to study her. "You look quite edible tonight."
Jaden returned the smile with a sultry one of her own. "So eat me then."
"How loud can you be?" Isis joked the following night, she and Jaden in the bathroom together pulling their hair back.
"I don't know, how many decibels did we reach?" Jaden replied, winking at her friend in the mirror.
"Hmm… I'd say at least a nine."
"Then I must be out of practice." Jaden stepped away and looked herself over. "Great, now we look like Buffy."
"Huh?" Isis frowned.
"You mean to tell me you never heard of Buffy the vampire slayer?"
"No."
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm a hick, remember?"
"Oh yeah…"
"How long does it take to get dressed?" John asked, glancing at the clock.
Mark shrugged, deftly braiding his hair with long, nimble fingers. "They're women."
"They've been in there for over thirty minutes! We're just going hunting, what the…" The words died on John's lips when Isis and Jaden emerged from the bathroom.
They wore matching black leather suits that zipped up the front, black boots and had coiled their long hair on top of their heads.
"You were saying?" Mark murmured, walking over to nuzzle Isis' neck.
John shook his head. "It was worth the wait. I stand corrected."
[What's he going on about?] Isis asked.
Mark grinned and shook his head. [Just guy stuff.]
"Mmm hmm…" She said aloud, giving him a skeptical look. "So we ready to go kill some wolves?"
"Yeah, but first…" Mark headed into the kitchen.
Isis and Jaden both groaned, knowing what was coming.
John, who had the luxury of feeding from something alive every night since being made, had no clue what was going on and looked slightly puzzled when Mark returned with four bottles. He took his quietly, noticing it was cold and gave Jaden a quizzical look.
Smiling innocently she gestured for him to drink it.
Isis and Mark watched, both knowing that smile only to well, both chuckling when John started sputtering, blood tricking down his chin.
"What the hell is that stuff?" He demanded, staring at the bottle suspiciously.
"Cold blood."
"Wait… it's not alive?"
"Well…" Mark drawled. "Depends on how you want to look at it, it'll keep you going for tonight so drink up."
Isis and Jaden had already finished theirs, minus the mess, both looking innocent.
"Could've warned me." John grumbled, finishing his quickly.