Happy Days, chapter 2 found its way online much sooner than I expected - the same day. Yay!
I love all comments, reviews and queries, so as always feel free!
Enjoy!
Chapter 2 – Girls Night Out
Serena froze like she'd been turned to stone at the feeling of the dark stranger's tongue tenderly caressing her flesh, licking the bite marks and the blood on her neck. He was licking her like a dog would lick a wound.
And there it was. Finally things had become too weird for her. Unable to stand it anymore – and not because this raw sex on legs of a man was arousing her something drastic – Serena planted her hands on his – tempered-steel hard! – chest and pushed away from him, desperately trying to get him away from her and to get away from him. She needed to be capable of thought again; and not the kind that lead to the closest available bed.
But he was so strong! Serena wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't even noticed her frantic struggles against him.
However, he licked her throat twice more – oh god! That felt so gooooood! – and raised his head, but he made no move to step away from her. Instead he studied her throat for a brief moment and only then did he release her, allowing her to jump back from him as he watched her with the most intense watchful deep blue eyes she'd ever seen. There was something else in those eyes, something so intense that it was freaking her out, but she couldn't for the life of her name it. It was different than any look she had ever seen before.
Damn it! Serena cursed at herself, she had to stop this and pull herself together! This guy was dangerous and to top it off, after licking her neck like that, it was completely clear that he was a nutcase!
But then again, she was seeing vampires, so who was she to judge?
"What is your name, little one?" He asked so softly that his words alone felt like a caress to her ears.
Little one? Who was this guy?!
Serena backed up a step, watching him as he watched her. He seemed to be watching and waiting her for to show any sign that she was going to bolt. It was clear that he wasn't going to let her, not with the way he was attentively watching her.
Serena knew she should be afraid of him, but she wasn't. He'd just killed three vampire thingy's before her eyes in a matter of seconds. He had moved with inhuman speed, strength and agility. And to top it all off, he was nuts!
She should be afraid of him!
Yeah, Serena told herself with a mental eye roll. She just had to keep telling herself that, maybe eventually she'd start believing it. As it was, right now all she wanted to do was rip all their clothes off and jump him like a bitch in heat.
Darien inhaled discreetly; he could see that she was, as the mortals would say, freaked out. Her scent was a combination of blood, fear and arousal. Good, while her mind had no idea what was going on, her body recognised him for what he truly was; her mate.
Darien could not understand this; never in the recorded history of the Immortal races had either the Lycaons or the Anami been mated with a mortal, or outside of their own race. Crossbreeding wasn't possible with between the Immortal races and certainly not with mortals; they died.
Always, there had never been any exceptions.
And yet, Darien didn't doubt that this small mortal creature was his wolfmate. She was his light, his hope. She was light and fair where he was dark; she was soft and gentle where he was hard with lean muscle.
Darien wanted to take her back to his manor, to his pack, where she would be protected with the full might of his pack, but he could smell her fear and he wouldn't – couldn't – put her through anything more tonight. It seemed that this was one situation he would have to handle delicately.
Against every instinct, every fibre of his being, Darien made his decision.
It was easily the hardest thing he had ever had to do, but he did it; he took a small retreating step back from her.
It was for her. It was not about him anymore. From this day on it was about her and what was best for her. He would bow to her every whim, her health and safety would come before all else. What she needed she would always have before she needed it, what she wanted would be laid at her feet. She was his everything, and she gave him everything in return just by being. He would live and die for her, his wolfmate.
Serena didn't understand why the dark stranger had suddenly backed off from her but she was grateful for it, despite the lurch her heart gave at watching him step away from her. She looked up into his soulful intense eyes and found herself lacking understanding. The way he was looking at her was so intense, so primal, so penetrating. It was as if he was trying to see through her, into her. Like he wanted to read what was in her very soul and memorise it.
Serena could say with absolute certainty that no one had ever looked at her like that before. Ever.
"Go home."
His tone and dark hard eyes told her that it wasn't a suggestion.
Serena closed her eyes for a brief moment, needing a moment free of his intense and penetrating gaze.
Whoever he was, he had saved her and he seemed to mean her no harm. Yes, he had licked her neck like a dog cleaning a wound, and that had been really weird, but he hadn't hurt her. He frightened her, he towered over her, intimidating her with all his raw masculine sexuality and his forceful overpowering presence; he made her want to jump him, and be damned with the consequences, but he had done nothing to reveal any intent to harm her. In fact, he seemed to be concerned with her wellbeing. The least she could do was thank him.
No more than a second or two had passed since Serena had closed her eyes. Slowly she opened them, the words to thank him ready on her lips. He had saved her; a thankyou was the least he deserved from her.
But he was gone.
Serena whirled around on the spot, scanning the darkness around her, but there was nothing but silence and darkness. Everything was silent and still, the only evidence that he had existed at all was the fire now at her back, from which the stench to burning flesh stung her eyes and burned her nose.
Where had he gone? Why had he left?
Now that Serena was alone her fear returned in force. She was alone in the middle of the night. She never should have walked through the park alone at night.
Gravely unsettled and more than somewhat rattled, Serena snatched up her backpack and her scarf and beanie from the ground and took off down the footpath. She wanted to get home and shower. She wanted to wash off what had happened and forget that it ever happened.
To forget him.
Unfortunately, Serena knew that the dark stranger would not be so easily forgotten.
Darien watched silently, in his wolf form, from the darkness as the young mortal woman, his wolfmate, closed the door of her dorm complex behind her. He heard the echoing metallic sound of the deadbolt click into place.
She was home. She was safe. Well, as safe as she could be away from him.
Darien had not let her from his sight for a single moment since he had disappeared from her sight. He had followed her closely, without making a single sound, all the way home. She had fled from the site of her attack as he'd known she would, like the hounds of hell were on her tail. He had endured the distinctive trace of fear and arousal mixed in her scent the entire way.
But his wolfmate had never before in her life been safer. Darien had used all his senses to assure that no one and nothing had even come close to her. He had worried for a brief moment when he had caught scent of a Damned who had crossed the path hours before, but he had recognised the scent as belonging to one of the three Damned he had killed scarcely fifteen minutes before.
The Damned who had harmed her, who had tasted her blood, was fortunate that he had died before Darien had discovered that this mortal young woman was his wolfmate, or else the Damned would have faced a far worse fate than death. Even now his beast screamed for a greater vengeance against the one who had dared to harm his mate.
That demand from his beast was nothing however compared to the loudest demand of all and that was to snatch the young mortal woman up, take her home with him and claim her as his wolfmate. To mark her as his so the entire world would know that she was his and that to even look upon her without his consent meant certain death.
But for now Darien would give her time – very little of it – to overcome the trauma that she had endured this night. He would watch over her for every moment of the last of her time in the mortal world. Soon he would bring her into his world, where she belonged. Where she had been born to reside.
This mortal was his wolfmate and he had waited an eternity for her. He was not going to do anything to risk losing her now. She possessed everything he needed to pull away from the madness his beast created within him. Already the mere sight and a single taste of her had eased the burden that was his beast. Already there was new hope sparkling to life within him, the flame was small but it was so much more than the dying ember it had been when the moon had risen this very night's dawning.
His beast would soon be tamed and at peace. His days of restlessness and dark burdens would soon be at an end.
All because of her.
Of course, he was no fool. The moment Darien had realised that his wolfmate was mortal he had known two things. Firstly, unlike the immortal mates of his kind, his time with her would be short-lasting and secondly, if his mate was mortal, then maybe she would be reason for new hope for more than just himself.
Maybe, just maybe, this special mortal who was his mate would bring new hope to all Immortal kind. Hope that had not been known in millennia.
Darien looked up at the second floor, his hearing telling him that his mate had just entered her dorm room and had bolted the door behind her. He watched the two windows that he knew where hers and just as he had almost known that she would, she came to the window and searched the darkness beyond. Fear in her watchful eyes.
'Fear not, my little one.' Darien whispered to her in his mind as he gazed upon her beauty from where his black wolf form sat hidden in the darkness of night. 'I will take away all reason you have to fear. I will keep you safe. You are mine. And soon you will know it.'
Darien kept his eyes fixed on the window even when she retreated back into the safety of her dorm room. The mortal did not know it but her life had changed forever this night.
For the first time in centuries, as Darien lowered onto his hunches and brought his belly down to rest on the cold earth, he knew a sense of peace and hope within him. Nestled and well hidden in the bushes Darien remained, his eyes unmoving from the window, until the dawn brought the retreat of the cloaking cover of night.
While his mate was still sleeping soundly in her bed, Darien cast one last longing glance at the window before he retreated from the bushes, heading to the forest as the first rays of dawn touched the ground.
He had to return to his pack. The sun would cause him no harm, but he needed to rest if he was going to return to watch over her when the sun set once again. His mate would be safe during the daylight hours as it was exceptionally rare for any Damned Immortal to venture out into the sunlight, whether they be Anami or Lycaon.
'Soon, my little one. Soon.'
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, DARIEN?!"
The furious screech of the Lycaon Princess echoed through the manor and the surrounding grounds that the moment before had been silent and peaceful.
Darien winced as he faced his younger sister's fury. As the crowned Lycaon Prince and future king there were only three who could get away with addressing him so insolently, and they were all related to him.
Although Darien sometimes found his sister's worry for him endearing, he more often than not found it annoying. He was not only prince, but he was the Alpha of his pack. He answered to no one. He was the eldest and the strongest in his pack and he could take care of himself. He did as he wished and answered to no one about it.
Darien, in his human form, growled at her in warning as he walked casually passed her, leaving her standing in the main doorway glowering wrathfully at his retreating back.
The sun was well above the horizon. Granted, he usually returned from hunting by sunrise, Darien was not under a curfew. He had left his most trusted warriors here, his Beta's. His pack had been well guarded in his absence.
Although the numbers of his pack were not as they had once been, there were more than enough to defend their den and their immediate territory. A four story mansion on well maintained grounds in the middle of a five hundred hectare estate that was all woods and forestry that teamed with deer and other game was a suitable home for his pack. There were even two large lakes that were plenty with fish. His pack, the second largest pack in the world after his parent's in England, was made up of over forty of his kind. A thousand years ago his pack would have been considered tiny, but now it was one of only three Lycaon packs in the US.
Including Darien's pack, there was no more than one hundred Lycaons in the US. In England, their homeland, there were slightly more than three hundred, and there was less than seven hundred Lycaons spread throughout the rest of the world.
There were even less Anami. The Immortals were a dying people.
"Do you have any idea how worried we've been?!" Rei demanded hotly as she stalked after him like the infuriated Princess she was.
Darien refused to even slow his pace as she stalked after him. By 'we' he assumed that she meant herself and his Beta's.
Normally, Darien would have either growled at her again, warning her to leave him be, or he would have told her that he was fine just to get her off his back, but tonight he did neither. He was in too much of a good mood and too preoccupied to be worried about her nerves that were strained for him.
Tonight Darien chose to ignore his younger sister. He was still as overprotective and caring of her as he had always been, but he had more than the females of his pack to protect now. His sister and the other few females of the pack were Lycaon kind, although they were much physically weaker than male Lycaons, they were still Immortal shape shifters. To a degree they could take care of themselves and if they couldn't then there were plenty other males in his pack to see to them.
Right now, for the sake of all his Lycaon kind, he had to focus on his mate. She was not only his renewed hope, but that for his kind. Maybe even the Anami as well.
If there was one mortal mated to an Immortal, could it be possible that there were more? And if there were, how did he find them?
His mate hadn't tasted any different – other than that she was his mate and her scent was like a drug to him; to which he was completely and utterly addicted – from any other mortal. There had been nothing different about her when it came to her being mortal.
"Are you listening to me, Darien?!"
Darien came free of his thoughts just in time to bring himself to a halt before he walked straight into his sister, who stood with her hands on her hips in front of him, silently fuming and impatiently waiting for an wanted to assure his sister that everything was far better than it had ever been, to share in the joyous news that he had finally found his wolfmate at long last, but he couldn't. Not yet. First he had to somehow convince his wolfmate of who and what she was and her importance and proper place in his world. Then he had to convince her to come back to the manor with him where she would be safe.
He had to worry about his mate now, his pack was more than capable of taking care of it's self for a few days. Darien had three Beta's for a reason, and his sister even tended to a number of duties within the pack herself.
Since Darien had been so long without a mate, Rei had been looked too as the Alpha female Lycaon; she was the princess of the Lycaon kind after all.
Now that he had found his mate, Rei would be stepping down – not that she knew it yet. His mate was the rightful female Alpha of his pack and she would be treated and seen as such. She would be such, mortal or not.
"Not now, Rei." Darien told her dismissively as he smoothly stepped around her and continued on his way to his bed chamber. He needed to sleep and rest so that he was alert and ready for tonight. His plan was to watch over his mate for a few days and find out everything he could about her.
While he waited for the perfect time to approach her once again.
Rei stared after her brother, bewildered and worried.
What had gotten into the Alpha prince?
Serena opened her eyes and bolted up in her bed with a start, scanning the room quickly, expecting to see the dark stranger standing at the foot of the bed, staring down at her with his dark intensely penetrating eyes.
Serena blinked in confusion, feeling numbly detached. She had dreamed of vampires with black eyes and the mysterious handsome dark stranger who'd moved like one of them, but he'd been different from them. He had been her dark saviour.
Had it all been just a dream?
Throwing aside her heavy winter covers, Serena jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom vanity and looked into the mirror. The reflection in the mirror showed a very pale young woman with dishevelled long golden hair in a baby pink pyjama top. She was pale, much paler than she'd been since that dark few months in which she'd lost herself to mourning her parents.
Slowly, hesitantly, afraid of what she was going to find, Serena pulled her hair back from her shoulder and moved her gaze from her pale face to her neck.
There was no bite wound, but then again there hadn't been. She could vaguely remember getting back to her room last night and checking the wound but it hadn't needed any medical attention at all. Everything from the night before was blurry and surreal, as if it had all been a dream.
But even though there was no wound on her neck, there was a red mark in the exact spot where she'd been bitten. Now it looked like a fresh hicky.
Numbly, Serena caressed the pink spot on her neck, relieved when she felt no pain.
Had it been nothing but a dream? She wanted so desperately to believe that it had all just been a nightmare, that vampires didn't exist, as she'd believed since she'd been old enough to realise that there were no monsters hiding under her bed. But at the same time, if it had all been a dream, if the vampires didn't exist, then neither did the dark stranger who had saved her and that bothered her.
Serena could remember him clearer than anything else. She didn't know this man, or anything about him other than that he was so strong and could move so fast that she hadn't been able to actually see him move, but there was been something about the way he had looked at her. There had been sadness and loneliness in his eyes. She had seen it as she knew it herself. For so long she had seen it in her own eyes after she had lost her parents and her life as it had been. There had also been something else in his eyes, something that had almost come to life when he'd looked at her.
Hope, maybe?
Hope for what?
Serena closed her eyes and played the memory of that moment slowly through her mind, seeing it as clearly as if it were just now happening. After he'd killed the three vampires, he'd turned and looked at her. His eyes had widened, and the sad lonely hollowness in his eyes had changed.
Just like that, everything in his eyes had changed.
A spark of light had come into his eyes, the kind that came to the eyes of one who suddenly had reason to hope again, and then there had been confusion, as if her very existence mystified him.
And then the fierce handsome warrior, who'd killed the three vampires that had attacked in a matter of seconds, had morphed into a man who cared for the one he was looking at. He had become gentle, considerate and concerned.
And he had been; he had been concerned that she was hurt. He had licked the wound just as a dog would tend to his own wounds. She could still feel his tongue's gentle caress on her skin, and the reactions her body had had at his touch. She had felt so aware of him – aroused – that she hadn't been able to move or do anything as he had lapped up her blood as a kitten would spilt cream.
And just like that, without any warning, he had released her.
Now that Serena looked back, the way he'd looked at her after he'd raised his head had been like that of a lover sending his woman off for the night. He had withdrawn slightly from her, that had been evident, but he hadn't been able to his the protective possessive concern in his eyes.
Serena opened her eyes and took a step back from her reflection almost in fear, and she slowly sank down to sit on the closed toilet seat, suddenly not having the strength to remain standing.
How the hell was she so attuned to someone she had met for an impossible brief moment? Who the hell was the dark stranger who had saved her from the vampires?!
No. It had to have been a dream. There was no such thing as vampires or dark handsome men who fought impossible battles with impossible ability to save her.
It had just been a dream from all the stress from her upcoming midterms. She was obviously far more worried about them than she thought. What she needed was a stress-free day to relax, to take a break. She had studied hard yesterday and her stress was starting to have an affect her. She needed to get her mind off of things before her stress – and her dreams – started to have serious affects her. She needed her sleep, she needed to be awake and alert for her study and her midterms.
She had worked too hard to lose everything now by failing her midterms.
Serena slowly stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the window that overlooked dense lush green gardens below. The sun was just beginning to peak out from behind the four story building across the dorm.
The dream was over now. She needed to forget about it and take some time to relax. There was no such thing as vampires and dark strangers who leapt in to save damsels in distress like some storybook knight in shining armour.
No matter how much she wished her knight in shining armour was real, just like in books and movie's, he was just too good to be true.
Despite her resolve to forget all about her dream and relax, Serena found that she couldn't let go of her tension or the uneasy feeling in her that was making her edgy and paranoid, jumping at every shadow or unexpected noise.
Serena had tried to get her mind off of things by going shopping. She needed a new pair of runners and she'd decided that today was the day to get them. She'd called the girls, but as she'd known, they'd all been busy with classes, assignments and their studies. They had expressed their genuine reluctance to turn down the invitation to go shopping for the sake of their studies, and Serena had assured them that it was alright. She had assured each and everyone one of her three best friends that they could go shopping when midterms were all over.
Serena loved her friends and so for their sakes, she hadn't let on that anything was wrong, even though each of them had picked up something in her tone. She had dismissed it as a restless night from a bad dream and had laughed it off.
But once Serena hung up from her call to Lita, the last of the three girls she had invited shopping with her, the uneasiness and sense of detachment from her own life had returned and she decided that she really did need to get out. She had gone shopping, had brought her runners, as well as a sweater that had been on sale.
Serena had been done shopping by early afternoon and had found herself left with nothing to do, nothing to distract her from the intolerable nagging inside her that she didn't belong here anymore.
Finally, by four in the afternoon, Serena had found herself standing in the middle of the park, on the footpath where her dream had taken place. If it had been real, then this was where it had happened.
The park was the same as it always was during the day. People walked along the paths, either to get to their destination or for exercise or relaxation; some where in groups as large as seven or eight, and some only in groups of two or three, talking quietly amongst themselves. The larger groups were louder, more excited, while the smaller groups were much more subdued. The groups of two were mostly couples, some even appearing smitten with each other as they walked close together and whispered endearments to each other as they walked leisurely through the park. Some simply held hands while others had arms wrapped around each other so tightly that it liked like they would need a crowbar to get separated again.
The night before had been cold, but it had warmed somewhat during the sunny day, although the wind remained icy, but that hadn't stopped people from venturing out for more than a walk. All around her there were people on picnics, people playing various games and sports. People were laughing and talking just like any other day.
But it felt anything just any normal day to her; in fact it felt so different that it had before that it almost felt as if she didn't belong here in this kind of lifeanymore.
Serena forced the ridiculous thought from her mind. Of course she belonged here. It was the University park and she'd been part of the university life for nearly two years. She hadn't felt as if she didn't belong here since her first week had ended.
Serena pulled her attention from the people around her, despite her feelings of uneasy paranoia that she couldn't shake. She was safe here, at least during the day. There were too many people around; she would be alright as long as she got back to the dorm before nightfall.
Needing to know without doubt that the memory had been exactly what she wanted to believe it was, a dream, Serena scanned the ground around her until she was certain that it was the exact spot she was looking for.
Crouching down, Serena ran her fingers over the unmarred grass, feeling disconnected and really confused.
This was the sight of the attack, or it had been in her dream anyway, and where she crouched was where her dark saviour had piled the three bodies of the slain vampires and set fire to them.
But there were no scorch marks, no seared footpath, no black cinders or ash, no singed grass, not even the lingering smell of burning flesh. There was no evidence that anything at all had happened here.
If three bodies had been burned to cinders here, then there would be some evidence of the fire. It was completely impossible to wipe all evidence away as if it had never been at all. Fire was something that all trace of couldn't easily be removed.
Serena looked up and scanned the park, feeling more uneasy than she had before she had come here.
Something wasn't right. If it had been a dream, then why did she have a mark in the exact place she had been bitten, but if it had been real, then there should have been some evidence here, something left behind.
Had she dreamed it all or not?
2 Days Later . . .
Rei watched silently from the window of her bed chamber on the top floor of the mansion as her brother, in wolf form, lithely leapt clear over the tall stone wall, returning to the manor's inner grounds. For the past three nights her brother had gone out alone and hadn't returned until well after sunrise. It wasn't that his hours were so out of the ordinary, it was that she knew he wasn't hunting, food or the Damned. At least not in the last few nights.
Death and blood were two scents their people knew well, and up until now it had always been the most potent scent around her brother, but the last death near him had been three days ago. So either he was hunting without finding a kill or he wasn't hunting at all.
If it was that their Alpha wasn't finding any Damned then Rei knew her brother well enough to know that he'd be irritable and uneasy as the number of Damned was increasing with each passing year, but her brother was the opposite. Darien almost seemed . . . content.
Rei had wished wholeheartedly for so long for her brother to be so, but she now feared what was making her brother so content.
For centuries Darien had visibly been battling with the beast within him, and now that battle seemed to be no more. There were only two ways his inner battle could have ended, either his beast had finally claimed him and he had descended into madness, into Damnation – but was hiding it extraordinarily well – or he had found his wolfmate.
But for some reason, neither of those options seemed plausible. If his beast had overrun the man within, then he would return carrying the unmistakable scent of fresh human blood on him. If he had found his mate, why had he not brought her back to the safety of the pack? Why had he not shouted it from the rooftops that he had at last found the one who would bring peace to him and soothe the restless beast within?
And what's more, Rei knew every unattached female Lycaon in the United States – and there weren't many – and after a few hours of investigating she had discovered that none of them had been claimed. Hell, she had even gone as far as to find out if any females had entered the territory from another continent, but there had been none.
Every female of their race was accounted for and where she should be. With so few unmated female Lycaons in the world, they were all kept track of with extreme efficiently and vigilance. Loosing even one female could make the difference between extinction and their race holding on for another century.
Rei herself was the female Alpha of the pack, not to mention the princess of their kind, and as such she had certain authorities. Any new female in the area was obliged to answer her call, rogue or not.
And, on top of it all, they would have been able to scent a female of their kind on their Alpha.
It wasn't adding up. Why was her brother being so secretive? He was practically sneaking away from his own pack. He'd even closed his mind to all of them, even her. Something he hadn't done so absolutely for so long all her life.
Rei felt her mate approach her from behind. He made not a single sound, but she knew it as well as she knew she stood there. Jadeite was the packs second in command, the first Beta, and he had been since the previous first Beta had fallen to his beast.
Malachite had been Darien's most trusted and loyal friend and brother. He had been first Beta to Darien's Alpha for over five hundred years before his beast had overpowered him and he'd taken his life by means of a suicide mission rather than feed on human blood, rather than become one of the Damned.
Malachite's last act had been one of loving mercy, for it would have been Darien himself who would have been forced to take his head.
To kill his own brother with his own hands would have been the end of Darien. As it was her brother had never been the same. It had been after Malachite's death that the strains of immortality and the beast within him had begun to truly show.
Rei was no fool. She knew her brother was loosing control of his beast. He had to find his mate soon or it would be too late. Darien was the oldest and the strongest of them in the US, if he fell . . .
Rei closed her eyes and her mind against the very despairing thought. Their people had suffered so much for too long; if they lost their prince then all hope would be forever lost to them. If Darien couldn't endure against his beast, then who could?
'Do not fear, my love.' Jadeite's loving whisper stroked her mind tenderly, offering her the comfort and assurance only a true bonded wolfmate could give. 'Your brother will find his mate. He would rather die than fall to his beast.'
Rei sighed sadly as she opened her eyes in time to see Darien disappear from sight as he slipped silently into the manor and she turned to face her love. "Something's not right. I sense a great change in him even though he won't let me close."
"He hasn't turned." Jadeite assured her, comforting her, as he gently stroked the side of her head. Rei listened to her mate's thoughts as he, for the countless time, marvelled at how soft and silky her hair felt to his touch. "Darien would never let himself fall into Damnation."
Rei stepped into the open arms of her mate, needing the comfort and warmth provided by his loving protective embrace. "His beast is fierce, restless and growing within him. It gains strength with every passing year."
"And as does Darien." Jadeite wrapped his arms around her, holding her close and thanking the Moon Goddess for her, as he did every day. She was what collared and soothed the beast within him; she was his light in the darkness. For her, there was nothing he wouldn't do. It had been dark days that he had endured the torment of the wildness of his beast within him before she'd been born, but the moment she'd hit puberty, he had known that she was his. For it was at the age of becoming that mate's were revealed.
Rei was young, only four hundred and twenty-two years old, but she held a wisdom that matched the eldest of them. She had a way of seeing things, of knowing things that brought her great respect and even reverence. She wasn't the female Alpha of their pack for the sole reason that she was the Lycaon Princess. Only the strongest of them rose to become Alpha, regardless of titles and bloodlines.
If Darien, for example, hadn't become the strong and fierce warrior Lycaon prince that he was today, if he hadn't gained both physical strength and strength of will, then he would have been shunned and rejected as the pack's Alpha and the strongest would have be chosen by means of battle to the downfall.
In times of old, to fight for the right of Alpha was a battle to the death, but in current dire times, it was forbidden to kill one of their own unless it was either in self-defence – which had to be proven – or if one was falling into Damnation.
These days were times of much more civilised living. They were part animals but they weren't wild uncivilised beasts.
"Tonight," Jadeite whispered into the ear of his love, "I'll follow him and I will rest your fears, my precious princess."
Jadeite sensed her worries ease ever so slightly at his promise, and he raised a subtle mental shield that hid his doubt and worry without alerting his mate. Darien was his Alpha and he had a duty to him – not to mention that if Darien discovered him following him he'd lash his ass so badly that he wouldn't be able to sit down for a week, even with the healing abilities of the Lycaon kind – but he had a greater duty to his mate.
As did every Immortal who was gifted with their mate.
The sun had just set and the feeling returned as Serena had known it would. She stood at the window of her dorm room watching the last of the sun set beyond the horizon.
Ever since the night after that night – when the impossible hadn't happened – she'd had this feeling that she was being watched, but it was more than just that simple feeling. That sense that destiny was waiting for her had returned; only this time it was so much stronger than it had ever been.
Serena searched the shadows of night even knowing that she wouldn't see anything. She never did, even though it had only been half a week since that night – whether it had happened or not – but she had spent so many of those night time hours staring out her window, searching the dark shadows for any sign of movement.
There never was any sign of anything. There was nothing to even suggest that someone was watching her, nothing but the feeling of being watched, but it only came during the night. It was almost as if it was the actual darkness of the night that was watching her.
As well as the feeling that she was being watched, there was also this strange yearning in her soul that Serena didn't understand. She'd felt it from the very first moment she'd seen the face of her dark stranger who had saved her that night – if that night had happened, she still wasn't sure; it was hard to be without any evidence – and it was only growing in intensity within her. There had been something about him that had grabbed a hold of her and no matter how hard she fought against it, it refused to let her go. She didn't know what else to do; she was fighting it with everything every ounce of logic she possessed but when there was a part of her that didn't want her to fight it there was only so much she could do.
Especially when her heart felt so heavy and she suddenly felt lonely. She'd been alone for a while now but it was like she'd only just realised just how alone she really was.
Something had changed. Forever. Serena could feel it even though she couldn't explain it. Even her friends were beginning to look at her with concerned puzzlement in their eyes and she didn't know if it was because they were concerned about her sudden distracted state and distance from them or if it was because they too were able to sense that something had changed inside her.
As it always was, the view beyond her dorm window was silent, still and dark with the cover of night. The trees danced in the icy winter winds, corresponding dancing shadows dancing across the ground beneath the silver blue moonlight. There was nothing but the wind stirring in the night, but despite her own eyes, Serena couldn't bring herself to truly believe that.
If she hadn't known better, Serena would have sworn that there was something out there, not just watching her, but also waiting for her. Whether it meant her harm or not, didn't matter. She still feared it. It brought out too much conflicting chaotic emotions and impulses within her for her not too.
Serena froze. There! Something had moved. A shadow. In the bushes of the gardens on the other side of the footpath that lead into the dorms.
Before she could even think about what she was doing, Serena turned and bolted from her room and down the two half flights of stairs. Moving as fast as she could, Serena exploded through the double front doors with a grunt of effort and out into the cold night staring into the shadows that she'd sworn she'd seen move.
The icy night breeze felt harsh against her the bare flesh of her arms and feet, she hadn't stopped to put on a jacket or even something to protect her bare feet; she wore only a pair of jeans and a sleeves pink top. She could feel the breeze picking up her hair where it flowed freely down her back, dancing with the golden strands as it danced gracefully with the leaves of the tree around her.
Nearing the edge of the circle of light from the outside lights of the building, Serena hesitated, remembered the last time she'd stepped into the darkness of night. She hadn't been outside at night since she'd been attacked. She strained her ears for any sign of anyone – or anything – close by as she stared into the dark bushes.
Her skin prickled as her heart pounded rapidly in her chest that felt so tight that it was an effort just to keep breathing.
Someone was watching her. Right now. She could feel it as surely as she felt the cold of the icy winter night. The feeling was stronger than it had ever been. The sun had only just set but already the cold that night brought was beginning to take its place in the night.
"I know you're there." Serena told the figure in the darkness she knew was there even though she couldn't see them. "I can feel you."
The only answer she got was the silence.
"What do you want from me?"
Silence.
Frustrated, Serena found herself yelling into the darkness, "Who are you?!"
Once again there was only silence.
Serena sighed deeply, surrendering to that part of her that said that it was all in her head, as she shook her head in dismay. Maybe she really was losing it. Why would anyone be watching her? And if there was, why would they answer her?
To calm her thoughts, Serena looked up at the half moon high in the night sky of thousands of glittering diamonds, and allowed the soothing pale silver light of the moon to wash over her. She had always felt drawn to the moon in a mystical unexplainable way. Its light always seemed to soothe and comfort her.
And as it had always done, drenched in moonlight, Serena felt her worries and anxieties melt away until she felt almost at peace. Her breathing became even and her racing heartbeat slowed to a steady rhythm as the mental weight she'd carried eased.
Serena opened her eyes, the silver night sun greeting her gaze once again and she found herself giving it a small gentle smile. She knew what she needed now; a night out on the town with the girls. She needed to forget, relax and have some fun. She needed to have a few drinks and dance like she didn't have a care in the world.
She needed to reconnect with her world, her life.
Without giving the shadows another look, Serena turned and re-entered the building. She then pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit the first speed dial knowing all she had to do was mention the three little words, "girls night out".
It had been three days since Darien had found his mate and he had been watching her for every moment of night since. He wanted to watch her every moment of the day, whether it was dark or light, but during the daylight hours Darien knew he would be noticed, no matter which of his two forms he opted for.
At the present Darien was once again in his wolf form, crouching in the bushes in front of the student dorm in which his mate lived.
He knew his mate's name now, Serena. He had finally learned her name when a classmate had come by asking for a copy of her notes from a class they shared together.
It had only been three days – but a mere moment in time for the Immortal kind – but already Darien found himself so completely taken by her, taken by her beauty and her kindness. Light and warmth seemed to radiate from her like light and warmth from the sun; they were just a part of her, as his wolf was part of him. His mate Serena possessed the best of what mankind had left to offer, she was generous, selfless, caring and she loved as easily as a sentient being breathed.
She was made up of everything good in this world, and he couldn't see how he could ever be worthy of one such as her.
Serena was at this very moment getting ready to go out on the town with her three best friends and Darien didn't like the thought one little bit. His mate was mortal, but she was so much tinier and fragile than most, and as a result his protective instincts for his mate had increased by such a large figure that he was being crushed beneath its weight and intensity.
But despite her small size and physical fragility, Serena had courage and a fierce will that he hadn't expected of her.
Darien had been greatly surprised – not taken by surprise as he had known that she had left the safety of her room the moment her delicate hand had turned the doorknob – when Serena had come running out of the safety of her dorm, without so much as a pair of shoes on, and had looked straight at him where he lay hidden in darkness. She hadn't been able to see him of course. No one saw him when he didn't want to be seen, especially mortals. What's more, he was a midnight black wolf hiding in the shadows of the night.
Darien hadn't known how she had known he was there, but he knew that she had sensed something. She had even spoken to him, but in his wolf form as he was he couldn't reply and shifting back into his human form without her seeing with her watching so intently would have been difficult. Not impossible, but if she had even caught a glimpse, it would have terrified her.
Now, however Darien was regretting not doing something when she had all but come to him. It had only taken her three best friends – Mina, Amy and Lita – fifteen short minutes to arrive with their clothes and make-up in hand. It seemed a semi-regular thing. The girls seemed to like getting ready for their night out together, doing each others hair and make-up and giving their advice on each other's appearance.
They also seemed to like sharing clothes.
It had been a long time since Darien had paid such close attention to the mortal world. So much had changed. Yes, he'd kept a semi-interest in local language and customs, which had become so much easier with the invention of television – what it freely revealed helped his people greatly to better blend in and remain unnoticed.
Darien was glad that Serena had friends, that she wasn't alone, but he found himself envious of them. They had her confidence, her trust and so obviously her love where he did not.
And the three girls couldn't have been more different.
Mina was so alike Serena in appearance that they could have easily been blood sisters. In fact they seemed to enjoy joking that they were. Like Serena, Mina had long golden blonde hair – although not as long as Serena's – and simular blue eyes. Mina sparkled with life and joy, she clearly loved to laugh. She was loving and kind and enthusiastic in a way that Darien suspected had to be exhausting. Heaven help the mortal man who was worthy of her affections; he would have his hands full.
Then there was Amy. She was what the mortals would call a bookworm but Darien had seen it in her eyes, she was a genius. She had a sharp intellect and had a passion for learning. With short dark hair with a strange noticeable blue streak and stunning medium blue eyes, she was quiet to the point of bashfulness, but there was something about her that betrayed that she had a hidden strength, a hidden will. She usually had a book in her hand but when she was with the girls it was always set aside as she eagerly joined in on their zealous conversations. A few times he had noticed her reading while simultaneously listening to the other three converse with a quiet fondness and a gentle loving smile on her pale pink lips.
And Lita. Lita actually reminded him a great deal of the warrior females of his race. Built like an Amazon warrior, she towered over the girls. She would never, however, be confused for a male, not with her generous bust size that drew the eyes of most passing males.
Darien had even witnessed one poor sod so distracted by her that he had walked straight into a flag pole.
Lita had blazing forest green eyes and long locks of deep forest brown hair that she wore in a pony tail while locks of loose hair framed her face.
But there was more to Lita than her physical Amazon beauty. She even had the bearing of the women of his race, fiercely loyal and protective of that she loved, while she had a gentle side he had witnessed – other than with Serena and the other two girls – when she had stopped to smell the roses of the gardens out front of Serena's dormitory. She had stroked the petals of the rose so delicately that Darien found himself unable to look away in wonder that one so tough in appearance and will could at the same time be so feminine while still maintain the pretence of a tomboy.
Lita reminded him strongly of a female he'd had in his pack centuries ago who had been killed in the war. She had been a lover – but unfortunately not a mate – of Nephlite, his third in command. She had been a force to be reckoned with, a force that he had not known again until Rei had come into maturity and had found her strength.
Darien was so thankful that Serena had such loving and protective friends in her life. They made her smile and come alive in a way that he hoped one day soon to make her do. When she was with them, the sadness that burdened her heart and soul seemed to ease from her beautiful soulful eyes. Her eyes betrayed that she was still mourning a great loss in her life, although just who she had lost he did not know, but he was beginning to suspect that it had been one or both of her parents. Serena hadn't said a single word about her parents or received any contact for them for as long as he had been watching her. Surely, her parents would be almost as protective of her as he now was.
Watching her for the last few nights had given him a great insight into her life and her herself. She had the most beautiful name – a name descended from the Moon Goddess – to match her outer and inter radiance. Serena. With her endlessly long flowing golden hair, like streams of golden sunlight, and eyes bluer than the sky. She was the most petite and delicate of her friends, she was so small that it clawed at him to take her up in his arms and protect her for all of time.
But it was her inner beauty that truly made her shine, that made her stand out. She had a selfless generous kindness and an endlessly loving noble heart, both of which were unmatched by any Darien had ever known in all his long immortal life. When she laughed, the entire world seemed to come to life and laugh with her, but when she was sad all colour seemed to drain from everything around her. When someone came to her for help, she gave it. When her friends needed her, she was there without being asked and when someone needed to smile she would make them do so so effortlessly.
Serena was so much more than he would ever deserve. He wasn't any of the things that she was. He was darkness where she was light. She was love when he was only hollow dejection. Where she would forgive, he would condemn.
How could he bring her into his world of darkness when she was light itself? Without light, without love, she would wither and die. How was he ever going to bring her into his world to be with him – where she belonged – when she loved the light so?
Darien bowed his head and rested the end of his black muzzle against the cold damp earth he laid upon where he lay hidden in the shadows of the bushes. Breathing in the damp scents of the earth did something to soothe his restless thoughts.
Serena was mortal. He had tasted her flesh and her blood. There was not one ounce of anything of the Immortal races within her. This meant that she would not only age and die like a mortal in less than a century, she would also be as a china doll in his violent and savage world; so helpless against even the weakest of the Immortal races. She would always be in danger, even in his own house with his own pack. It would only take one accident to strip him of her, but at the same time it had already been proven that she wasn't safe in her mortal world either.
A Damned had fed on her and she still carried the scent on her flesh, healed or not; it would take months for the scent to be no longer distinctive to an Immortal nose. Other Damned would know that she was the escaped still living prey of another Damned. This would make her a target as they would want to finish her off either to preserve their secret or to have the prey that had somehow escaped another.
What was he going to do? And what was his own pack going to do when they discovered that his destined mate was mortal?
As he saw it, there were only two ways this could go. Firstly they could reject her because she was mortal, or they could see her as a new reason to hope, which was something that his people needed, but if it turned out that it wasn't so, it would destroy what little hope his people had left.
Why did the situation have to be so complicated? Serena was his mate, it should be that simple. Take her to his pack, claim and mark her, and keep her safe, protected and happy for the rest of their days.
And Darien was no fool. He knew it as surely as his pack would when they discovered her. Serena was mortal and she would die as all mortals did, and when she did he would follow her for now that he had found his mate, he could never be without her.
Not for anything.
His people depended so heavily on him for so many reasons. He was the prince of his entire race, the future king of the Lycaon kind, the next Supreme Alpha. He was also the strongest and most powerful of his race as his father was no longer in his prime. Darien had royal blood coursing through his veins, and this made him stronger and gave him abilities the rest of his race rarely gained. He was also evidence that the beast could be fought and held at bay. He was the symbol of hope for those of his kind who were desperately struggling to hold back their beast, from becoming the Damned.
Darien was no fool and he was not narcissistic. He did not think himself so important that his kind would fall without him, but he loved and cared deeply for his people. It was his duty to protect and guide them. If even one fell because he did . . . .
But Darien could not just turn his back on his mate and leave her either. He needed her as much as she needed him.
For the first time since he had been a young pup, Darien had no idea what to do. He knew what he should do and what he wanted to do, but they contradicted so greatly that he was conflicted.
And he couldn't wait much longer to make a choice either. He hadn't hunted the Damned since he had found her, a duty that lay heavily upon his shoulders. He was what the Damned feared and he was the strongest and most skilled of his people and of those who hunted the Damned. If the Damned discovered that he was preoccupied and wasn't hunting, then so many more innocent mortals would die as the Damned could become more daring.
Maybe even a few of his own pack would fall as a result.
Darien felt so lost. He did not know what the right thing to do was for everyone he was tasked with protecting.
The wind shifted.
Darien's nose twitched and one ear perked high on his head.
That was the only betrayal of his shift of focus. One moment Darien was lying in the bushes closest to Serena's dorm, watching as the girls readied for their night out on the town, and the next he was flying through the air that had been at his back with his pointed teeth bared and his razor sharp thick claws extended to their fullest length. He easily cleared the twenty feet and hit the intruder in his vicinity squarely in his thick furry chest.
Darien was growling so savagely that saliva was spraying from his muzzle, and his eyes blazed with their murderous intent, as he snarled down into the face of his enemy. His entire wolf form was poised, ready for the kill of he who was the threat to his mate. There was no reason or hesitation left within him. His only instinct was to kill the Immortal who had been sneaking up behind him, who was the threat to his mate.
KILL! PROTECT!
That was all that mattered, killing this threat to protect his mate. To protect Serena.
'Darien! It's me!' A familiar voice cried hastily into his murderou s frenzied mind.
Some distant part of him that still knew reason, the part of him that had always been heeded before his mate, seemed to recognise the voice through the ravenous thirst for blood. And then Darien recognised the shade of the pelt of the large wolf that Darien had pinned on the ground, belly up, beneath his enormous paws with claws so strong and sharp that they could tear through solid steel. Next, the familiar scent of his pinned captive reached his nose and his senses were finally able to reach through the animistic instincts and urges that was his beast.
His captive was fortunate that he was so experienced and controlled, for any younger than him would have been beyond reason when it came to protecting his mate. The will and need to protect one's mate when to the very deepest truest instinctive animalistic part of themselves and their beast. When it came to the protection of ones mate, it was the beast that dominated.
And the beast's first instinct was the kill the threat without mercy or hesitation; kill now, ask questions never.
Despite recognising the male wolf he had pinned firmly against the ground, who fortunately for him hadn't resisted in the least when he'd been taken down, who had and still was showing his belly freely in the clear display of submission, Darien did not ease his hold in the slightest.
Darien growled furiously, baring all his teeth threateningly, down into the wolf face and into the eyes of his first Beta. If Darien hadn't been so preoccupied and all-consumed with the thoughts of his mate and his conflicted thoughts of what to do, he would have sensed, heard and smelt the Lycaon before he had even entered the mile perimeter.
'What the hell are you doing here?!' Darien snarled into his first Beta's mind, his eyes still blazing with murderous fury. 'Why are you following me?!'
Jadeite remained perfectly still beneath him, clearly wary of setting him off again with his beast so near the surface. 'Rei fears for you.'
In that answer Darien understood that Jadeite had acted so stupidly – and acted against him – for his mate, for the Lycaon Princess that they both loved and fiercely protected. That was something Darien could forgive more easily now. Now that he could not only understand but could empathize with much better than before.
'I could have killed you!' Darien snapped irritably as he retracted his claws and jumped back off of his Beta.
Jadeite slowly climbed onto all four of his paws and eyed him with cautious bewilderment. 'How was it that I was able to get so close unnoticed? I have never been able to get that close to you unnoticed before, not in near a thousand years.'
Darien turned his back to his first Beta, irritable that his friend was right. Even his first Beta should never have been able to get so close without Darien noticing him much sooner. If he'd been an enemy he would have been take by surprise and maybe even killed him.
Something Darien could not let happen. If he died then Serena would not only be left unprotected but she would be left alone in the world. She needed him as much as he needed her.
'I haven't seen you this tense since before the end of the Anami War when you sought revenge for Malachite.' Jadeite remained behind him, but was watching him closely. 'What has you so on edge? So ready to kill?'
Darien didn't answer him. Firstly, he did not want Jadeite to find out about Serena and secondly, he did not really know how to answer one of his closest and most trusted friends and brothers in arms.
Instead, Darien turned his attention back to Serena's room only to find, with sheer icy dread and panic, that she was no longer there. There wasn't anyone in her room now.
FUCK! She must have left while he'd been distracted with Jadeite! He should never have taken his attention from her for so long! Hell, he shouldn't have taken his eyes from her at all!
If Jadeite hadn't been such a close friend and trusted brother Darien may have killed him, or at the very least gutted him.
'Whoa!' Jadeite gasped from behind him with an involuntary shudder, as Darien felt him back away from him in wary trepidation. 'I haven't felt such malice from you before! What the hell is going on?!'
Darien felt his best friend become wary and take another wary step back as his eyes went wide and horror and gut-wrenching dread filled him.
'Are you turning?'
Darien growled so with frustrated anger, the noise so loud that should any mortals be in the area they would hear him, that Jadeite flinched back from him. Darien didn't have time for this! He had to find Serena before something else found her!
Nothing else mattered. He had to find Serena and keep her safe.
So fast that even Jadeite was alarmed, Darien leapt into the air and whirled his entire body around so that he was now glowering into the eyes of his first Beta, who WOULD obey him without question. 'We have to find her! And you WILL die to protect her if necessary! Do you understand?!'
Jadeite had served Darien for near a thousand years. They had grown up together, they all had, but Jadeite did not know the man snarling viciously at him now. He had never seen him anything like this before.
For one brief moment Jadeite truly feared that his Alpha had fallen into Damnation. There was such malicious and ferocious anger pouring off of him in waves so thick that Jadeite found his shackles raised and his instincts wary and on full alert. He wouldn't have put it passed his Alpha to actually attack him and go for the jugular for the kill! His eyes were so ablaze with fury that they were black.
They looked like the eyes of a Damned.
'Darien-!'
With a murderous ferocious wolf roar, Darien charged passed him and took off at full speed away from him in the direction of the city.
Jadeite's eyes widened in horror as he watched his Alpha and brother fly through the night away from him at such incredible speed. No! He couldn't let Darien kill. He couldn't let him fall fully into Damnation by tasting mortal flesh.
He had to stop him.
Whatever the cost.
With a heavy and fearful heart Jadeite raced after his Alpha, best friend and closest brother. Knowing he'd need help, Jadeite reached for the mind of his wolfmate.
As bonded Immortal mates, they could reach each others minds no matter how far apart they were, even feel each others emotions as clearly as they could feel their own.
In a far corner of his mind, Jadeite was mourning for his people and his pack. If Darien turned then there was no hope left for any of them for there were none stronger than their Prince.
Who – Jadeite would have sacrificed his very soul to change it – they might just have to kill this night.
The music was too loud, the club was too packed and the drinks were outrageously priced, but Serena was having the time of her life. She loved the pop music playing with a joyous uplifting beat that was easy to dance too, she loved the feeling the alcoholic drinks left behind and she loved dancing amongst the crowd like she didn't have a care in the world.
How she loved to dance, almost as much as she loved going out with her friends. None of them currently had a boyfriend so there was no one to divide their attention. They were free to dance with a stranger or just dance together in a tight group in the middle of the dance floor.
Serena felt happy and carefree. There was nothing to weigh her down here in this place of high reckless spirits and fun. There was no sense of destiny or haunting dreams of impossible mythical attackers.
Or the memory of a dark stranger who wouldn't stop haunting her dreams and leaving her with a sense of longing that seemed to reach right down into her soul and squeeze her heart tight with its unshakable grip.
Serena sat at one of the tiny round club tables just to the right of the dance floor, the stool Serena sat on was so high off the floor that she'd had to jump up onto it – Lita had annoyingly just gracefully slid onto hers – with her feet dangling half a foot above the floor.
All around people, mainly between the ages of eighteen and their mid twenties, were dancing, drinking, laughing, flirting and having fun in the dark overcrowded, loud club with disco style techno-coloured lighting. At the table her three best friends in the world sat around her with their different coloured drinks in hand.
Serena personally liked the fruity, or what some called "girly" drinks. She liked the taste of over-flavoured sweetened fruit on her tongue and the feeling the alcohol had on her belly. She didn't drink often and she drank to excess even less. She didn't like getting drunk; tipsy yes, drunk no. There was something within her that just refused to let go of her self-control. She couldn't completely let herself get out of control, even when she was with her friends.
And for the life of her, Serena couldn't figure out what it was that stopped her from letting loose as completely as her friends did. Maybe it had something to do with her parents, maybe not.
Maybe she was just a sensible girl.
To distract herself from the disheartening thoughts of her parents, Serena turned her attention to her friends, each of who was dressed to kill.
Lita was dressed in a pair of skin tight dark blue jeans and a deep green shimmering top. It was one of those tops that looked more like a handkerchief tied around her breasts than an actual shirt. Her back was practically bare except for the thin spaghetti strap of her top at the base of her shoulder blades that was knotted in a neat shoelace bow. She wore a silver rose pendant with glittering pink diamond-like stones around her neck with matching rose stud earring in her ears. Serena envied the brunette; Lita had the "equipment" needed to pull off the outrageously sexy look. Her hair was up in its usual pony tail, only the locks framing her face had been styled in a much neater more-defined set of ringlets, the hair gel in her hair gave the appearance of wet hair.
She looked down right lethal and had over half of the guys in the club – single or not so much – were eying her. She'd already been asked to dance by at least a dozen different guys; she'd only turned them down because she was loyal to the "girl's night out" concept.
Mina was also dressed to kill but not revealing as much skin up top. She wore a simple snug fitting white dress with the skirt ending on her mid-thigh and she had a thick black belt around her narrow waist. Half her hair ran freely down her back while the other half was held at the back of her head with a big red bow. The only jewellery she wore were the large hoop earrings in her ears and a slim silver watch around her left wrist. She looked sexy but there was a hint of sweetness to her look that Lita hadn't gone for.
Amy, as always, had dressed more modestly but she didn't look any less of a knock out, not that she realised that. Whenever they – or anyone for that matter – told her, Amy blushed deep red and shyly looked away. It was sweet and adorable. Unfortunately because she was so shy, she didn't date much. It took a real special guy to really see Amy for what she was and to realise that she really was worth that little bit of extra effort it took to sweep her off her feet.
Amy appeared to be all logic and intelligence, but she really was a romantic underneath. She wanted to fall in love just as much as the next girl. She was dressed in a dark blue sparkly dress with spaghetti straps that ran just short of her knee caps and a lighter blue flower clip in her hair just above her right ear and she wore simple blue stud earrings in her ears.
And, while Serena had wanted to hit the town, she wasn't in the mood so much to have guys hitting on her. However, she still was a girl and her feminine pride hadn't let her leave her dorm without at least dressing up a little bit.
She wore a short white skirt – inches longer than Mina's dress – that she had spiffed up with Mina's white studded belt with a gentle pink sleeveless blouse that was undone enough to reveal a subtle hint of cleavage. After studying for so long, she'd wanted to leave her hair down, literally. She loved her hair but it took a lot of maintenance. While studying she had to keep it up to keep it out of her face, but she let her hair down when she was out with the girls most of the time.
And after her attack – whether it had actually happened or not – Serena had decided to forgo the high heels and had gone for more practical shoes. Her runners weren't sexy, but they were comfortable and practical, and she was able to run in them; somehow though her new white runners seemed to go perfectly with the outfit. Her jewellery consisted of the thin tear drop silver earrings she'd borrowed from Amy, a thick silver bracelet around her left wrist that she'd borrowed from Lita and her own crescent moon pendant around her neck.
It was strange what went together, outfit wise anyway.
Serena turned her attention to Lita, who sat to her left, as she leaned towards her and said loudly enough for her to hear her over the music, "Serena, honey, are you alright? You seemed distracted tonight."
Damn. Serena had tried so hard not to be, but there was a wordless voice at the back of her mind that was refusing to let her completely relax. She didn't know what the voice was trying to tell her, but it almost felt as if something was wrong. Something that was keeping her locked in a constant state of anxious restlessness.
Serena forced a smile to her cherry lip-gloss flavoured lips and lied to one of her best friends in the world, "I'm fine." She raised her drink pointedly. "I just think I'm drinking too many of these."
Mina, who along with Amy, had been listening to their conversation looked at her like she was nuts. "Serena, that's only your second drink of the night."
Is that really all she'd had? Serena looked at the glass she'd only taken two sips out of, realising the girls were right; she hadn't drunk enough to affect her hardly at all. Serena shrugged her shoulders and forced a more relaxed edge into her smile. "I guess I shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach, huh?"
All three girls exchanged concerned glances with each other that they made no attempt to hide from her.
Not liking the fact that she was spoiling her friend's fun, Serena picked up her small white fake leather purse from the table and slid awkwardly off of the stool while making sure that her skirt didn't ride up more than necessary.
"Nachos, anyone?" Serena asked loudly in a way of an excuse for leaving the table alone.
Before they could answer, Serena stepped into the crowd and was out of sight within three steps, but instead of heading towards the bar that smartly did offer snacks and light meals, Serena headed in the opposite direction towards the restrooms. She needed to get away from everyone for a moment, she suddenly felt a little claustrophobic.
The bathrooms weren't the cleanest she'd ever seen in a club, but the ones here were suitably clean. The owner of the club was a very wealthy business woman who understood that other women really didn't like using filthy restrooms. As Serena heard it, the woman took a lot of pride in her club, and her other businesses.
Maybe that was why she was so successful and rich to boot.
Shrugging off the thought, Serena entered the ladies room and touched up her make-up which consisted of a little black mascara and some cheery flavoured lip gloss.
Catching sight of her neck in the huge mirror over the triple sinks, Serena froze as the memory of her attack flashed before her eyes. She could still feel the piercing pain of pointed fangs piercing the flesh of her neck. She could still hear the liquid slurping sounds as he drank her blood greedily. She could still smell the scent of death that had hung around her attacker like an awful cologne that he frequently bathed in.
Tentatively, Serena reached up and pulled the collar of her shirt back to reveal the only piece of evidence there had been of her attack, the only thing that hadn't let her conclusively shrug the attack off as a bad dream.
There on her neck was the almost healed bit mark. Serena couldn't explain it but when she had woken the morning after the attack, the wound was nothing more than an angry red mark. The wound looked weeks old, not four days old. It didn't even hurt, in fact if she hadn't known better she would have thought it was a hicky.
Serena gently creased her hand over the faint pink mark, this time a different memory echoing across her flesh. The dark stranger's musky earthy scent as his tongue gently licked her wound, caressing her torn flesh so tentatively that the action had almost been seductively endearing . . .
Serena closed her eyes against the memory and parted her lips as her breathing picked up, from, what she knew was, lingering arousal that was so much more potent that it ever should have been. Her body was buzzing and tingling with sensitive awareness that bordered on the verge of arousal and she shuddered uncontrollably at the wanting, the need and the hunger; it became difficult to focus on anything but the aching yearning. In her mind she pictured him licking her neck again, except this time it wasn't because she had a wound, and her legs threatened to give out beneath her. She was forced to lean against the sink as the shudder of pleasure and wanting vibrated torturously, deliciously through her.
The dark stranger had been so handsome, so overpowering to her feminine awareness with his raw sexual demeanour. He had radiated lethal power and raw sex like the sun radiated heat. His gaze had been so piercing, so intense and heated, that her soul had felt naked beneath that penetrating soulful stare. There had also been something else in those eyes, a sadness that ran so deep it pulled at her heartstrings so tightly that he could have chocked her with them, and there had been a fleeting trace of hope there too. As if he were drowning in the middle of the ocean and she'd been a tropical paradise island.
Dear, god! She was creaming! She could feel herself growing moist as her entire body buzzed and cried out demandingly for the dark stranger's touch. She wanted to feel the hardness of him buried so deeply inside of her that she felt nothing but him, that she was aware of nothing else but his heat and his strength, as he thrust harder, deeper, into her . . .
Sweet Jesus! Serena opened her eyes, snapping herself out of the wet slash day dream and gasped at her reflection. She was panting like a bitch in heat, her face and neck were flushed with arousal and her eyes were alien to her. Never had she seen such wanton desire in her own eyes! Never had she felt such yearning with burnt hot enough to burn her from the inside out! If the dark stranger had been there she wouldn't have hesitated. She would have jumped him and begged her to take her, that she was his to do with what he pleased.
Realising that her hand was stroking her neck like an intimate lover, Serena slammed both her hands down on the sink so hard that the sound of flesh contacting with a hard surface echoed through the bathroom able to be heard over the blaring muffled music from outside the ladies room door.
Serena stared into her own eyes reflected in the mirror feeling like a stranger in her own flushed heated skin.
What the hell was happening to her?
And who in the hell was the dark stranger who had left his mark on her when he had hardly touched her?
Darien couldn't run fast enough. He could sense – and hear – Jadeite pursuing him, but he was having difficult keeping up with him, already Darien was blocks ahead of his first Beta.
But Darien refused to slow down, even in the slightest. As it was it was all he could do to keep himself in the shadows as he ran to prevent himself from being seem as he sped through the mortal city.
There were advantages to his pelt being pure black; he blended into the shadows so well that he was part of the darkness. A soundless shadow moving through the night, but that didn't mean that he could not be seen by someone who wasn't meant to see him.
However, for the first time in his life, Darien didn't care about being seen, about the secret of the Immortals being discovered by the ignorant mortals.
His only thought was of Serena, his wolfmate. The woman he had been born to protect and have. How he had let her leave his sight galled him. He had to be so much more careful with her! He could lose her forever in a single matter of time, that's all it took for a life to be extinguished.
That he knew all too well. He'd had many friends and brothers throughout his long immortal life lose their mates for various reasons and he'd seen what had become of them as a result. Death had been a mercy for them, a death they had sought quickly after the loss of their mate.
Darien had never heard of a single Immortal, Lycaon or Anami, outliving their mate by more than a day. Once a mate was taken, hope and the will to live were lost. Those who lived longest – by that he meant mere hours – were the ones who sort revenge for their mate's death.
Darien didn't care a single bit for his own life, all that mattered was hers. He could live or die as long as she lived.
He had lived for a long time and Darien had known much, but never had he known a driving force like this. Never had he cared less about his own survival, and never had he moved faster in a highly populated mortal area. His heart was pounding in his ears, which wasn't that hard considering it currently resided in his throat.
And he was praying in every language he knew to the Moon Goddess that his mate was unharmed and far from danger.
Darien knew Serena's scent better than any other and he could have followed it to her, even though they had left the campus in Lita's car, but fortunately he knew the club to which Serena had gone. He had heard the girls talking about it while they'd gotten ready.
It wasn't close to the campus but it was popular with the young mortals who gladly seemed to travel the distance.
Instead of following the route the vehicle had taken, Darien ran in as a straight line as he could towards the location, hardly caring what lay in his way or for his brother in pursuit behind him even now planning, with a heavy heart, the best way to kill him if he had indeed turned.
It didn't even bother Darien, as it should have, that he would even kill his life long friend if he dared to come between him and his wolfmate.
For once in his long immortal life, Darien and his beast within were truly united, as they now shared the same goal, the same driving force, and the same hunger. In their need for her, they were forever more united.
Serena drew a deep breath, trying to find the nerve to open the door she was standing at and return to her friends.
She had slashed some cold water on her heated face and done what she could to collect and calm herself. She had calmed down a little but the flush in her checks had refused to fade in the slightest. She looked like a radioactive tomato. The chance of her friends missing the evidence of her current state, even in the dim nightclub, was akin to the chances of seeing a T-Rex walk into the club and dancing the Macarena.
As much as Serena wanted too, she knew she couldn't stay in the bathroom forever. It would only be a few minutes more at the most before her friends came looking for her. She didn't want to worry them anymore than she already had. She cared about them so much, and she didn't want to spoil their fun anymore than she already had.
Serena started to open the door and froze when she heard a chilling voice utter over the sound of the near-deafening throbbing music, "She has to be around here somewhere. You can smell the fallen Damned on her."
"She's been bitten. You can smell it." Said another equally chilling voice.
Serena's eyes grew wide in horror and she froze, unable to move. She didn't waste time with the denial that they weren't talking about her. She instinctively knew that they were after her and by the way they were talking, they were more than likely exactly like her attackers had been.
It had been real, it had happened. She wasn't dreaming or hallucinating! Four nights ago she had been attacked by three vampires on the way back to her dorm and she had been saved by the handsome dark stranger.
He was real.
Run! She had to get away before they found her. Run! Her instincts screamed it at her, and this time she was going to heed them without hesitating.
Releasing the door, Serena turned and as quietly but as quickly as possible moved for the second door in the bathroom. She knew it was there but she had little idea where it led too, but right now she really didn't care.
Throwing the door open as she ran through it without stopping to even check what was on the other side, Serena was slapped in the face by the icy cool air of the winter night.
She was outside. Looking around Serena realised that she'd stepped out into the dimly lit alley that ran alongside and behind the club. The alley, like most in the city, was filthy littered with trash and debris with a few old dented and rusting dumpsters, and it smelt like vomit, stale alcohol and decaying filth.
She had to get out of there. She needed to make it to the crowded street and then call her friends to tell them that she was leaving. She would warn them to be careful but all she could do was hope that whoever had been talking outside the ladies room was only after her and would leave her friends alone.
Serena made a break for the street, knowing that it would only take her a matter of seconds to get to it and maybe a minute or two to hail a cab on the busy well-lit street. The club was fairly popular, there were always cabs dropping people off or picking them up.
Serena only made it a couple of steps before evil malicious laughter filled the alley, bouncing off the brick walls around her like a deep canyon, and her blood turned to ice in her veins.
The laughter had sounded way too close, as if it had been coming from right behind her.
Screeching to halt, Serena spun around but there was no one there. The alley was just as deserted at it had been when she'd stepped into it.
Something wasn't right. It was just like the other night. She knew that she was being watched, her skin prickled with the awareness of it and she hadn't imagined that laughter.
Serena eyes widened in terror as the realisation that she was being hunted descended down upon her with all the force of an avalanche.
And this time there would be no dark stranger to help her. She was all alone and she was going to die.
No! A rebelling voice cried out fiercely inside her. She wasn't going to die in an alley and she sure as hell wasn't going to die without finding out what this sense of destiny she'd carried with her for as long as she could remember meant!
"You smell so good." A darkly purring voice rumbled from behind her with a wicked chuckle that sounded so alike to the heckling of a hyena.
Serena spun around once again, only this time there was someone – or something – there. He was taller than any of her other attackers had been, bigger too. He seemed to have muscle upon muscle. The muscles on his bare arms rippled every time he moved; she could even see the rippling of his chest muscle through the skin tight black t-shirt he wore. It was cold but all he wore was the thin black t-shirt and a pair of torn and well worn jeans with a black leather belt. His black hard leather boots were the only thing he wore that looked new.
"Oh, smell her fear." Another voice purred behind her with dark anticipation and even darker appreciation. "Like a fine intoxicating wine."
Serena glanced over her shoulder to see three others advancing on her, each dressed in a mixture of dark leather or denim, but two of the four looked different than the one standing in front of her. Only two of the four looked like her attackers from the other night.
Where they had been pale – as if they had never seen the sunlight as vampires were said too – the other two were tanned and smelt like the death, blood and forests. They were different, they looked different, they moved different, and they even dressed different. Unlike the pale ones that wore jackets or coats, they wore sleeveless summer attire and they were bigger, bulkier.
The main similarity between them all that Serena noticed was the black – evil – eyes that watched her as the predators she knew they were; she had witnessed that for herself first hand.
Fear and panic overtaking her, Serena turned and bolted passed the first one to reveal himself even knowing that there was no where for her to go. They had cut her off from her only escape. She knew that the door back into the ladies room would not open from the outside – there wasn't a door handle on the outside of the door – and she knew that the alley on the other side was cut off by the back brick wall of the building behind it. There was no where she could go; all she knew was that she had to try something.
She could at least put up something of a fight.
Serena knew she reached the back wall only because they allowed her too. She ran until she had to stop and she helplessly, frustrated, kicked the wall, not caring that it hurt her; pain shoot through her foot and up her leg but she ignored it.
Knowing there was nothing else for her to do, no where she could run, Serena slowly turned around and faced them knowing that she was trapped and that they were probably going to kill her just as her previous attackers had intended.
"This one's got guts." One of the tanned attackers said to the others. He almost sounded impressed.
The taller of the pale attackers studied her carefully with cold black eyes. He appeared to be . . . thinking, studying her as if he couldn't understand something about her. "You've been tasted before."
It was a statement, not a question.
The second pale attacker looked at her quizzically. He was slightly less pale than the tall one. "How do you still live?"
Suddenly, and without warning or any movement at all, the tall pale one was not a foot's distance in front of her. He stood still and silent, as if he'd been standing there the entire time instead of meters away.
Serena pressed herself back into the icy wall at her back causing a chill to sweep through her, hoping to make herself a smaller target, but she knew it was a futile effort. All she could do was remain perfectly still and keep her eyes on him the best she could as he slowly leaned down towards her neck, the side with the bite mark.
Serena desperately fought to hold back her terrified tears. He was going to bite her, only this time he was going to drain her dry. There was no dark stranger to fight off her attackers. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop them.
They were – the two pale ones at least – were vampires. She couldn't argue that fact anymore. Not when she could see the moonlight reflecting off their sharp pointed fangs.
But, to Serena's utter amazement, no pain came. Instead she realised that he was breathing deeply through his nose. His eyes were closed as if he were focusing on the scent.
And then without warning, he moved again, too fast for her eyes to see. One moment he was scenting her flesh and the next he was standing several feet back from her, even further back that the three others with him.
The other three tensed, battle-ready and wary, at the tall pale's one's sudden alarmed reaction.
"What?" The bulkier of the tanned ones asked, staring at him with fierce black eyes. "What is it?"
The tall pale vampire snarled maliciously, his furious eyes focused on her so intently that she wondered if he was trying to burn her alive with only his dark blazing gaze.
"I know that scent and I know it well." He hissed, tensed as if ready for battle, just like the vampires the other night had been when confronted by the dark stranger. "The Lycaon Prince!" He spat the words as if they were too disgusting for him to even say.
Huh? Serena blinked in bewilderment; the Lycaon Prince? Were they talking about the ones who'd attacked her or the dark stranger who'd saved her?
The other three reacted in union with fury, loathing and more than a noticeable touch of fear. Whoever it was, they were afraid of him just as much as they hated him.
Suddenly four pairs of inhuman furious evil eyes were focused intently on her.
Serena gulped as her terror-fuelled panic threatened to bring her dinner and the one and a half drinks back up. They were going to kill her; that was certain.
"You're going to die, human!" The shorter of the two pale vampires snarled savagely. "But we'll make it quick if you tell us what you know of him and how you know him!"
Fear surged from Serena's heart so forcefully that it was painful, spreading through her like icy poison. She didn't doubt for a moment that they could make her suffer in ways she couldn't even imagine, but her last act upon this earth would not be betraying the one man who'd given her a few extra days of life, a few more days to spend with her friends.
The tall pale one looked at her with a hostile but uncertain gaze. "Why would the Lycaon prince mark you?" He sounded puzzled, dubious. "He's not Anami, so he has no reason to feed from you, but if you were his Damning prey then there is no chance that you'd escape him. So what are you that makes you so special that you are here alive and without harm?"
Serena didn't have it in her to speak, even if she did have the answers to his questions, so she merely stood frozen in silence, allowing her silence to speak her defiance for her. She wouldn't have known what to say anyway, even if she did have enough intellectual capacity left within her to actually know what in the hell he was talking about.
"Fine." The tall vampire spat at her impenitently as he took a threatening step towards her. "You'll tell us one way or another."
Serena wanted to close her eyes, she knew that this was it, but she didn't have the gumption to do so. She was sorry she was going to leave her brother alone and cause her friends pain, friends whom she loved so much, but at least they were safe inside the club.
Serena knew that he was going to bite her, and take her blood, just as the one four night's before had, only this time the dark stranger wasn't there to save her. And even though Serena had no idea what the tall vampire had been talking about, she knew, had guessed, that somehow, even after days had passed, they had been able to smell either her dark protector or those who had bitten her on her.
Had these past three days been borrowed time? Had it been her fate or something to die that night, but the dark stranger had intervened? In any case, it seemed that death had finally caught up with her.
Serena was grateful for the few extra precious hours she'd spent with her friends. She was only sorry that she hadn't spent any of her borrowed time with her brother.
The tall pale one, leaned over her again, but this time Serena knew that he wasn't merely going to sample her scent, this time he meant her harm. He wanted answers, but she had none to give, so whether it came soon or not, she was going to die by the pale one's hand.
Serena closed her eyes waiting for the pain that would end her life, but after agonisingly long and fear-filled moment, without warning, a deafening purely pissed off animalistic roar pierced the night like an audible explosion, blocking out all other sound.
Serena's eyes snapped open, seeing only the black material of the vampire's clothing as he stood scarcely an inch from her, even as he turned as the roar vibrated through the alley.
And then, in the space of a blink of an eye, the tall pale vampire was gone, the space in front and over her he'd been occupying now empty space.
Serena blinked in confusion and forced her eyes to focus on what was happening around her. That was when she found the tall pale vampire; he was crouched on his hands and knees with his three companions several feet away from her. The tall vampire looked unsettled as if he'd been taken by surprise by an enemy that he truly despised.
And then a wolf, the size of a huge male bear that was as black as night, landed with silent lithe agility in front of her, between her and her four attackers. With an enraged deep throated growl, the black wolf looked over his shoulder at her, swiftly scanning her from head to toe with his intense gaze, and then turned his furious deadly gaze back to the four attackers as he made a show of planting himself firmly between them.
It was all Serena could do not to scream.
Darien's blood was boiling from his blinding murderous fury, though it should have been impossible since the heart pumping the blood felt as if it were made of ice, ice forged of heart-shattering terror. He wanted their blood, their lives, but more than that he wanted to inflict agony such as they have never known upon them for daring to not only come near his mate but terrify her and threaten her harm. He wanted to spend days, weeks, taking them apart piece by piece by the most horrific means possible.
He could feel his beast clamouring wrathfully within him, roaring in demand for their life's blood for daring to near what was his! His beast wanted to fight, to main and kill; to destroy. To taste to life's blood of those who had threatened what he valued most. His beast wanted to be let loose upon them.
Darien could smell the putrid scent of his mate's fear and he was sorely tempted to let his beast loose upon his enemy to do as it so murderously craved.
The four Damned – two former Anami and two former Lycaons – shrank back from him; one of the Anami Damned Darien even recognised.
But it was clear that all four recognised him for who and what he was.
Darien had never been so furious, so blood-thirty with such overwhelming ferocity, in all his Immortal life and he had lived for near a thousand years, most of which he had been on the front lines of two wars. He had never wanted to kill, to maim, as badly as he did now.
"Darien." The tallest of the Damned Anami snarled, his way of greeting him.
Darien knew the Damned Anami. He was one of the eldest, longest surviving of the Damned. His name was Sapphire and he'd only been three hundred and change when he'd feasted on mortal lifeblood and become one of the Damned, and a ruthlessly cunning power-hungry Damned he had become.
The Damned across the planet had one leader, the nastiest, eldest and most powerful and cunning of their kind. Nearly one thousand years old they all severed him, the former Anami called Diamond.
Sapphire was Diamond's Beta.
What Darien really hated about Sapphire was how alike they were in appearance – once the tone of their skin was subtracted from the matter. As an Anami, fallen or not, Sapphire was pale where Darien himself was tanned. Darien was a tiny bit taller and bulkier than Sapphire as Lycaon kind did tend to be larger in body than Anami, but it took a moment to really spot the small differences between them. They could have been brothers for how alike they were in appearance.
Sapphire had black hair just as Darien did; only Sapphire possessed the noticeable dark blue tint that was rarely noticed in Darien's own hair. Sapphire had once had blue eyes; however in the long centuries of being a Damned who fed off the life force of others they had turned black.
If Sapphire was in the city, then chances were that Diamond was as well, and the thought brought Darien no comfort. Only a week ago Darien would have been pleased to know that the Damned he'd been hunting for the better part of a thousand years was so close, but now he had his mate to protect, it struck fear into his Immortal heart.
Darien snarled aggressively in greeting to Sapphire in return, flattening his ears tighter against his thickly furred head, and baring every tooth he had in murderous warning. The wolf, the beast, within him screamed in demand for revenge in the form of life's blood for the fear he could smell in his mate's scent. The scent was bitter and overpowering to his wolf nose and it put him into complete overdrive with murderous blood-thirty fury.
This mortal female, this woman, was his wolfmate and he would fight to the death to protect her. He would kill anyone without hesitation if they were in any way a threat to her. He wanted to scream it to the entire world so loud that everyone and everything across the entire planet knew that this woman was his and any who dared to come near her would die an agonizing death by his own hand.
This mortal female was HIS and he would disembowel any who dared to attempt to take her from him or mean her harm.
Darien didn't like the way Sapphire's eyes narrowed on him and his mate in his efforts to understand what was going on. He was no fool, Darien knew that his enemies regarded him as having no weakness, but the moment his enemies learned of his wolfmate, he knew that they would regard her as his one weak spot and she would then become the most sort-after vulnerable creature on the earth.
She would also be the most fiercely protected creature on this earth; he would make sure of it. Nothing else mattered but the safety and well being of his wolfmate.
Sapphire slowly rose to his feet but maintained his defensive stance. "I am as old as you, Endymion. I have witnessed you upon the battlefield more times than I can recall, but never have I seen you so fiercely protective of another. Not even that beautiful sister of yours. What makes this mortal so special that you protect her as fiercely as you would your own mate?"
Darien was very careful not to give any reaction to Sapphire's words; as much as a twitch of his ear could and most likely would betray the truth of just how spot on Sapphire was to the heart of the matter.
Sapphire looked passed Darien at the young female mortal, hiding his frustration and growing suspicion well. He didn't want the Lycaon prince to clue into his thoughts. There was something special about this mortal female, but he couldn't figure it out. There was nothing special about her, yes she was beautiful, but he had seen greater beauty.
He had tasted her scent up close, and other than the telling scent of a Damned feeding on her and the Lycaon Prince's own distinctive scent, there was nothing special about her. She was mortal; Sapphire knew it as sure as he knew his own name.
What was he missing? What importance could this tiny mortal have to the scourge of the Damned Immortals?
Darien could see in Sapphire's eyes that he was trying to work it out, and Darien couldn't allow that. He could not let his second greatest and most powerful enemy discover the truth about Serena, not while he was outnumbered with his mate in the vicinity. He needed to deal with Sapphire now, just as he had wanted to do since he joined Sapphire so long ago.
With only the good fortune that fate's hand could bring, Jadeite lunged into the alley behind them, causing all four of them to turn around in response, realising that they had an enemy at their back.
Darien was not one to let an opportunity pass. Before the four Damned realised that he was taking advantage of their momentary distraction, Darien lunged at the largest of the two Damned Lycaon kind and with a single fatal swing of his large powerful claw, the Damned fell to the ground dead with his throat slit so deeply that barely an inch of flesh kept him from being decapitated. He never even saw Darien's attack coming, but he was not so fortunate with the remaining three now that they realised that they were under attack.
Out of the corner of his eye, Darien saw Jadeite take down the small of the Damned Lycaon kind, swallowing the Damned's neck and upper torso in his giant jaws and shacking him with brutal violent force that would have splintered a mortal's bones like toothpicks. To the Immortal, it would break or at least damage, a couple of bones.
Lycaon kind were strong and fast in human form, but only in their wolf form was their true power and strength revealed. In human form, in a one on one honourable battle against one in wolf form, depending on age and experience, the Lycaon in human form could defend himself for a good while before he'd be forced to either change or flee if he wanted to live.
Trusting Jadeite – as long as he remained on the opposite of him from Serena – to take care of the remaining Lycaon, Darien turned his attention back to the two remaining Damned, both Anami Damned.
Only to find Sapphire was no where in sight – it was true to Sapphire's style to flee if the odds were anything but unfair in his favour – and the second Damned Anami had his back to him, fleeing.
But before the Damned could escape the alley by the obvious means of jumping onto the two story high roof of the nightclub – that was providing loud and convenient noise to cover the racket they were making – Darien lunged into the air, his two front paws landing on the Damned's back and taking him down to the ground beneath his massive bulk and greater weight – a good tonne of enormous muscled wolf – crushing him between his weight and the filthy damp asphalt.
Unfortunately, the remaining Damned refused to go as quickly and as easily as the two Damned Lycaons had.
The Damned Anami twisted beneath him and kicked out with both his feet, that connected hard with Darien's belly and sent him flying over him.
But Darien was not feared by all the Damned for nothing. Twisting his body with catlike agile precision, Darien's four feet landed vertically on the wall and with a powerful spring Darien was flying through the air, back towards the Damned, who had leapt to his feet in time for Darien to come once again crashing into him.
Catching the Damned Anami's right arm between his long razor sharp teeth, Darien extended his razor claws once again, and this time when they landed, Darien's left claw pierced the Damned Anami's ribcage and his heart with a deafening soggy crunch.
Darien could feel the cold pavement beneath the pad of his paw while the wet blood from the Damned's chest soaked his paw and ankle.
Darien let the body of the Damned Anami fall from his mouth, knowing that Sapphire had fled when he'd realised that Darien's cavalry had arrived and he would not reappear tonight. Four against one, that was odds that no one, Immortal or Mortal, wanted to go up against. One on one against any of them, Sapphire would have a fight on his hands but it would be an even one.
Darien sensed his remaining two Beta's enter the alley as he wretched his paw from the dead Damned Anami's crushed ribcage and was able to finally turn his attention fully to his mate. He hadn't caught scent of Serena's blood, which told him that he'd arrived in time to save her from becoming a late night snack, but he still wanted further assurance that she had suffered no harm.
However, before he could take more than a single step towards her, Darien heard three sets of frantic paws steps and suddenly his path to his mate was blocked by three wolves equal to his own size.
Jadeite stood directly in front of him, tensed and battle ready, obviously prepared to take the first attack from their Alpha should he attack them. His other two Beta's flanked him, just as prepared to jump into the fight.
His own Betas, his own brothers, were prepared to fight him to the death because they feared that he'd fallen to his beast, become a Damned, or were about too.
Darien found himself oddly proud of them but more than that he was murderously irritated. His beast cried out for the blood of those who stood between him and his mate, however fortunately – for his brothers – he had more control than that, control that came from all his long centuries of life and battle. He growled at his beast and assured it that Serena was in no danger, after all if he had turned was it not better that his own protect her, even against their own Alpha?
The beast growled within him, the growl carried and released from his muzzle before he could prevent it. It was a sound of deadly warning against his three brothers in wolf form that stood between him and his wolfmate. Had he not been so old, so practised in his patience and control, and had he not loved them as brothers, his beast wouldn't have even given the warning, but instead torn them apart for the unforgivable offence of coming between him and his mate.
'Move.' Darien commanded them, and that's exactly what the word was. As Alpha his word was to be obeyed without question or hesitation.
'We won't let you stain your lips with human lifeblood!' Jadeite's resolved voice thought into his own mind, his resolve set in his tone.
'No matter what, we won't let you turn brother!' Nephlite added with conviction and brotherly promise.
Zoicite looked into his wolf eyes imploringly with him own. 'Please, Dare. You're stronger than this! We know you can beat it! Your beast is yours to master, not the other way around.'
Oh, for crying out loud! Darien had had enough of this! 'I have not nor am I going to fall to my beast! Now, GET OUT OF MY WAY!'
They visibly winced as his loud and weight baring command echoed through their skulls.
Scenting great fear, Darien looked passed Jadeite to see Serena pressed against the back wall of the alley, her eyes wide as saucers and filled with terror as she stared unblinkingly at the four bear sized wolves before her, one of which had just slaughtered two of her attackers in a brutal and bloody battle.
It was like a switch had been flicked within him, the change was that immediate. Serena was no longer in danger and she was here in his sight. A wave of peace and tranquillity, and worry, washed down over him and just like that he was completely in control once again; even his beast settled within him, now calmly urging only that he comfort his mate and to take her someplace safe. He felt his body relax and just like that he was at peace.
The three Beta's gawked as the instant and noticeable change came over their Alpha. One moment he'd been fierce and murderous, the next with only one glance upon the mortal woman cowering at their backs, he had calmed. Both mentally and physically.
The three Beta's had no clue what was going on. What had gotten into their Alpha?
Darien smiled what he knew was a wolf's gentle affectionate smile, his eyes glued to her, as he now knew the true meaning of peace.
'She's my wolfmate.'
Darien heard their collective gasps in complete and utter shock, but he didn't care about them. Calmly, slowly, Darien walked through them and approached his mate, trying to be as less threatening as possible.
Which was not easy for a wolf, especially one the size of a car that had just battled and spilt life's blood before her wide terrified eyes.
Knowing that he had no other choice – and that it was going to freak her for much more than she already was – Darien called upon the essence within him and willed it to turn him back to his human form. Mortals would have called it magic that allowed them to change between the two forms but they didn't think of it that way. It was just part of who and what they were and they were grateful for it.
Mostly.
Serena wasn't sure exactly when she'd lost her mind, but she was now certain that she had as the jet black wolf that had just fought off her attackers was changing into the shape of a man, morphing like something from a science fiction movie. It was like the wolf had just stood up on his hind legs and somewhere along the way had evolved into a man before her eyes.
A naked man. Serena kept her eyes firmly on his face, not even daring a glimpse south.
As the man – who'd a moment before been a wolf the size of a car – raised his head to meet her eyes Serena instantly recognised him, only her eyes physically couldn't possibly widen any further.
"It's you." The words were barely a shocked whisper but when his lips formed into a small careful smile she knew that he'd heard her.
The blissful empty blackness hit her with no warning. The world just went out like a light had been switched off.
As her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she fainted, Darien rushed forward and caught his mate before she could fall anymore than half way to the cold hard ground at their feet.
Knowing she had only fainted – despite the fear and panic that had risen like a tidal wave inside of him – Darien lifted her tenderly into his arms, cradling her against his naked chest like the precious and delicate treasure that she was.
Behind him, his three Betas followed his lead and shifted back to human form, all three staring at her in bewildered wonder.
"How can this be?" Nephlite asked none of them in particular in a mystified tone. "She's mortal. I can smell it."
"I don't know." Zoicite answered in puzzlement. He, who was easily the most intelligent and knowledgeable among them, was stumped and without answers. "It's never happened before in any recorded history."
Jadeite was relieved that his brother hadn't become one of the Damned, but a new fear took its place, one of much graver dread. "Darien-."
"Don't Jadeite." Darien warned him, his tone soft as he refused to look up from the face of his mortal wolfmate. "She's mine. She's my destined mate, I don't give a damn whether she's Immortal or not. And I'll have words with any who contest my right to her."
They all knew what Darien knew by words.
As one, all three Lycaon Betas bowed their heads respectfully in submission to their Alpha and his will.
A moment later, several feet down the alley way, a door of the club opened, drawing their immediate and alert attention.
While being sure to keep the door open, Lita stepped out into the alley and looked it up and down for any sign of Serena who'd gone for food but hadn't came back.
"Serena?" Lita called into the motionless dimly light night.
No answer. Everything was silent and still beneath the dim lights and pale light of the moon above. The alley way was empty and deserted.
With concern building in her heart, Lita stepped back into the ladies room of the club, closing the door behind her, to continue her search for their youngest beloved sister.
Two blocks away, four naked male figures moved through the shadows, one of which carried the smallest fifth figure securely against his naked chest.
Sapphire watched the Prince and his three Betas run off into the night, heading in the direction of their territory, with the mortal female held possessively – almost tenderly – in the prince's arms.
The only evidence of the battle that had occurred a few minutes before was the fire blazing in the dumpster, lit the moment the door had closed behind the dark haired mortal before the Beta had followed after his Alpha after cleaning up what remained of the three bodies of the dead Damned.
Sapphire was no newborn; he knew very well where the Lycaon Prince slumbered. The Prince's manor and surrounding territory was a sanctuary for all Lycaon kind on the continent.
His eyes narrowed in calculation and dark delight.
Sapphire hadn't fled as the Prince had thought he had, instead he had stayed close enough to watch and listen with his supernaturally heightened Anami hearing. In war, information was far more valuable and dangerous than weaponry.
Sapphire had heard every word they'd spoken aloud and he grinned with evil anticipation of their appending victory.
So the Lycaon prince had found his mate at last, and even more superbly, she was mortal, which made her so completely helpless and a vulnerable weakness. What's more was the fact that she was the first of her kind.
A mortal female had been claimed as the mate of an Immortal, something which had always been thought to be impossible in the Immortal World.
Diamond was going to be pleased to hear about this. Finally they not only had a way to the Lycaon Prince, who before now had been untouchable, without weakness, but they had what they had been waiting for.
A way to increase the numbers of their kind other than waiting for the remaining Immortals to fall into Damnation and join them. The Damned were not gifted with mates, they could not breed as the uncursed could, but now there may just be hope for that to change.
Turning and disappearing into the darkness, Sapphire knew that things had changed this night, and he was looking forward to tasting the lifeblood of the Lycaon prince.
At last their time had to conquer and rule had come.
Chapter End Notes:
Chapter 3 is going to be a fortnight or so.