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The Lycanthrope Trilogy: Heart

Chapter 16: Spotted

Well, this is awkward, I thought as I walked through the forest, Marie on one side and Miranda on the other. Misty and Timcanpy played with Kala, Melody, and Riley behind us. I find it amusing the way Kala resembled Miranda, quiet and shy despite being a beautiful tigress. And Riley, the ghost seaweed dragon, kept floating through Misty, which caused the fox to yelp. Timcanpy and Melody fluttered over them, the winged bear cub and golden ball seeming to enjoy the show.

Suddenly, the strong scent of sugar and bloodstone dust fills my nostrils. Marie's ears twitch. Miranda all but hides behind her mate.

"Who's there?" I call.

"It's Road."

Marie mutters, "Riley, come. Air Power―!"

"Wait!" I cut him off. "Don't transform! She's not a threat!"

"She's a vampire!" Miranda squeaks.

I run a hand through my hair and shake my head. "Fine. Just…just don't attack her."

"TRANSFORMATION FOG VISION!"

"TRANSFORMATION ETERNITY CLOCK!"

Marie's blind eyes stare into me. "Why didn't you transform?"

"I trust her."

"It's a killer. What about Klaud? Wasn't it its brother―?"

"Marie, I know you don't trust her," I say. "But please, trust me."

After a moment, he nods. Road appears with her hands up. "I'm not here to fight. Everyone wants to know about Klaud."

"Klaud?" Marie asked.

"She's doing fine. Komui said it should only be a week or two before the baby's born," I reply. Misty slowly walks up to Road, sniffing her feet and legs. "Master Allen, is this a friend of Master Allen?"

"Yes, Misty. Her name is Road."

"Road smells funny."

"She's a vampire."

"Are vampires bad?"

"Not when you're with me."

Misty barked happily and jumped on the girl. Road hit the ground with a thud while Misty licked her face. "Road is Misty's new friend! Master Allen, can Misty play with Misty's new friend?"

"Go ahead."

Road giggled as Misty licked her. "Hello to you, too!"

"Her name is Misty," I say.

Road scratched behind the fox's ear. "That's a good girl!"

Marie's ears twitched again. "Allen, what if it attacks Misty?"

I glare at him. "Her name is Road. She's a girl, not an 'it'."

He doesn't reply. Road looks at him with her golden eyes. "You're Kanda's beta, right? And is she your mate?" She nods to Miranda.

Marie spreads his wings to shield the shy cat-woman. "What of it?"

Road frowns. After a moment, she sighs and gently bops Misty's hind legs. The fox whimpers, but walks towards me, dragging her paws. The vampire says, "I'll be going now. Keep me in touch about the baby?"

"Yeah," I say.

After she disappears, Marie and Miranda deactivate. Misty hops into my arms. "Master Allen, why did Road have to leave? Misty wanted to play with Road."

"Maybe you'll get to play with her some other time."

Marie walked past me. "What was that?"

"They aren't evil like we think they are," I say as I follow. I hear Miranda walking behind me.

"Does Kanda think that?"

"No, but―"

"You can't make decisions by yourself. Kanda is still alpha."

"I know that. Kanda also is so dominate and overpowering when it comes to other opinions that you can't talk to him if you disagree."

"That doesn't matter."

I step in front of him. Despite his blindness and the two foot difference, I glare up at him. "So this is a dictatorship now? I thought we were a family."

"We're a pack. We follow a leader."

"But he doesn't listen to anyone!"

"I know he's stubborn."

I throw my hands up with a growl of frustration. "Life is a game, and I don't want to be a pawn! If I can make him see―"

"See what exactly?"

"It's not the Noah! It's the Earl! Vampires follow the same rules as lycanthropes, and if they don't follow those rules, they die. Think about it!"

"What am I supposed to think about?"

"Would you do anything you had to in order to protect the pack?"

"Of course."

"That's what you think about."

I morph into my lycanthrope form and stalk away.

"Allen!"

I glance over my shoulder at Miranda. "What?"

She quietly said, "Your pelt is…."

"What about my pelt?"

Misty pops up beside me. "Master Allen looks like a snow leopard!"

"What?" I try to twist around. My tail was fluffier and covered in black spots.

Marie morphs as well, a huge black wolf. "Kanda shouldn't be able to smell the vampire on you since you didn't touch her. I won't mention it, but if he asks, I'm not lying."

"Fair enough."

A lithe, black panther appears beside me, her dark eyes on my paws. "Just so you know, I…agree with you. Don't tell Marie I said that. He's open-minded, but he follows Kanda like a puppy. I think you and Klaud are the only ones who ever fight with him."

Miranda darts off to catch up with Marie. I follow more slowly while Misty and Timcanpy ride on my back.

Oo_oO_Oo_oO

As Kanda walked around me for the fifth time, I grumble, "What exactly are you looking for? I have spots. Is it that hard to figure out?"

Alec sits on the back of the couch. "No, but he has a small mind anyways."

I growl at him. He holds his hands up. "Just stating a fact."

"I'll state a fact: if you don't shut up, I'll put my foot so far up your―"

"Kanda!" I scold. The lycanthropes' gazes locked, a spark between them.

"Alec, Kanda, so help me, I will bite both of you!"

Alec smirks, hops off the couch, and waves his black tail in front of my face. "Ooh, is that a promise?"

Kanda barks and tackles the ravenette. While they bark and hiss at each other, I sit down. A yowl rips through the air. It helps to have the loudest cry in the pack. Next to Klaud, that is.

Kanda and Alec continue to wrestle, even as the entire pack watches as they gather around. Klaud rolls her eyes and goes back to her room, as does Winters and Alma. The rest of them simply watch. Normally, the two males would stop if I roared loudly enough.

"I'm serious, guys."

Nothing.

I feel my wings spread behind me. Thunder rolls. The lights flicker.

Nothing.

So I stand and pounce on them. First Alec. I roll him over and bite his tail. He yelps. I turn, eyes shooting silver bullets into my boyfriend. From the look in his eyes, he knew. I pin him easily before I clamp my jaws down on his tail, though harder than I did Alec, but not hard enough to hurt him more than a punch. A howl of pain. Then a hiss. Lastly, the closest thing to a whimper you could ever get out of Kanda Yuu.

"I warned you," I growl as I pull away.

"You didn't have to literally bite me!"

"It was that or electrocution. And mind you, I didn't particularly like that, but you only respond properly to physical pain."

Lavi appeared beside me. "He's right, you know. I would have bitten you, too."

"How comforting," Kanda muttered. His gaze meets Alec's for a moment before they both turn away. Getting smarter, are they?

Lavi glances at me, eyes wide. "Hey, Allen, did you know you have spots?!"

Kanda, Alec, and I sweatdrop anime style. I mutter, "Nope, I had no idea."

I morph into my anthro form. "Kanda, back on topic, do you have any idea what could have caused my pelt to change?"

"No, I don't," he says. "For now, just try to be aware of any changes."

I nod.

Oo_oO_Oo_oO

I watch in fascination as Kanda carefully pulls the iron out of Lenalee's hair, a beautiful curl in its place. She had asked him to curl her hair for tonight, my birthday and Christmas celebration. Nothing like a night at the club to commemorate turning twenty-four!

Of course, Kanda had to curl her hair in the living room due to the fact that most of the pack wanted to watch. Everyone who was going was here except Klaud.

Curiously, I stood and moved to the girls' wing. I knock on one of the doors. "Klaud? Um, I-I mean KlaNii?"

"Come in!"

When I walk in, pink panties and a black bra covered her body. I immediately slap my hand over my eyes, a blush creeping up my neck. "I…um…d-do I need to c-come back l-later?"

"No," she states simply. "You're like Brother, so there's no problem."

How many times has Kanda seen her half-naked? I wonder. I shake my head and change the topic. "I figured you'd be watching Kanda curl Lenalee's hair, though I guess there's an obvious reason you weren't."

I pull my hand away from my eyes just as she pulls a stretchy, lilac dress out of her closet. I notice the long scar that stretched from between her shoulder blades to the back of her right thigh. When she slipped the dress on, the one-strapped garment hid the mark except for a tiny bit poking out at the top.

"Are you going to ask?" Klaud glanced at me over her shoulder.

"If you want to tell me, you'll tell me. I have an idea at least."

She pulled a drawer out of the wall, grabbed a brush, and began to brush her hair in the mirror over the drawers. "Before Brother bit me, I tried to escape once. I didn't get far and I never tried again."

I shift my weight, eyes on the ground. "You certainly aren't scarred very much. Kanda said the bite only did so much…."

"Most faded. Fou taught me how to make a natural lotion that helps them fade more quickly."

"Fou?"

Klaud nods. "She has more scars than I do. Her husband liked to use a whip on her more than his fists."

"What happened to him after Fou was bitten?"

"Fou ran into Kanda after she put a bullet through his head. Good riddance, if you ask me."

Her eyes blazed an ice blue. "You don't know what it's like to be raped! You don't know what it's like to have a monster's child inside of you! To have no power whatsoever!"

"Did she ever…have a baby?" I ask quietly.

Klaud's arm snaked to her bump at the last word. "She miscarried twice. A boy, Labrador, and a girl, Victoria." She pauses, eyes staring into oblivion. After a minute, I ask, "KlaNii? You okay?"

She nods and walks around me. "Yeah. I just decided something."

Before I can ask, she's out the door.

She's too much like Kanda. I can only handle one of him, I think bitterly.

oO_Oo_oO_Oo

"You're not drinking?" Alec asked against the lip of his beer bottle. I shake my head. "I prefer drinking in privacy."

"Kill joy!"

I shrug.

Lavi appeared next to our couch, stumbling and slinging an arm over Alec's shoulder. "Sup, my bowies?"

He reaches for Alec's bottle, but the ravenette holds it away from him. The drunk man slumps onto the couch. "No-ooh! Why-s…?!"

I glance at Alec. "And that's why I don't drink in public. Or in general really."

"I think I'm catching your drift," he says.

"Okay, you've been cut off." Marie lifted Lavi from the couch before the redhead could try to convince the bartender he was sober.

"No! Don't wanna!" Lavi slurred.

Lenalee sat across from me, next to Klaud. "Remind me why I love him?"

"He's better sober," I say.

"He's constantly high on life though," Klaud says, and Alec grunts his agreement. Lenalee asks, "By the way, where's Kanda? I thought I saw him on the floor, but for some reason, I feel like it's more likely that it was a hallucination."

I glance around before I nod towards the bar. "Looks like he talking to Marie."

When everyone looks, Lavi waves and sneaks up behind Marie, but before the redhead had a chance to attack him, Marie turned. Lavi threw a peace sign, walked a few steps…and passed out.

Lenalee rolled her eyes before she asked, "So how has your days been?"

I open my mouth, but movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention. When I turn, a woman with brown, curly hair sat in the chair beside Kanda. My eyes narrow.

I stood and walked toward the two.

"Would you like to drop me off at my house? It's not too far from here, and there's no one there." The woman touched his leg and trailed it upward.

I shove her hand back at her. "Back off."

She laughs. "I doubt he's interested in a pipsqueak like you. Isn't the high school across the street?"

"Back off," I repeat. Glaring at her, I feel my eyes become yellow and pupils narrow. Her eyes widen in fear before she hops off the chair and all but runs out of the club.

I blink and turn to Kanda, his expression amused. I growl, "What was up with that?!"

"What? Are you really surprised that girls hit on me?" he asked in return.

"Arrogant jerk," I mutter. He slides off the bar chair and slips an arm around my waist. I glare at him, but he simply pulls me closer and says, "I prefer men anyways, even if they do look like they belong in high school."

"I'm not that short!" I protest.

"Baka Moyashi." He presses his lips to mine. Despite my jealous anger, I slip my arms around his neck and open my mouth. His tongue slides against mine, and my fingers curl in his hair.

Once we break apart, I pull Kanda towards the dance floor as "Staring at the Sun" by Jason Aldean came on. His arms slip around my waist while mine do the same with his neck. As we step to the slow music, I say, "I never pegged you as the slow dancer type."

"I'm not a dancer type," he says. "But if it makes you happy, then I'm willing to do anything."

"Hm, what a gentleman," I say.

He kisses my crown. "A few years ago, Lenalee wanted the guys to dance for her birthday, so Marie, Lavi, Komui, Bak, Reever, Daisya, and I danced to 'Super Psycho Love' by Simon Curtis."

I laugh at the thought of them being forced to dance to the hip-hop music. "I hate to have missed it."

"Rather unfortunate," he mutters sarcastically. "Besides, I never pegged you as the jealous type."

I protest, "I wasn't jealous!" I lay my head on his chest. "You're my partner. I have the right to claim what's mine."

"Says the one who 'wasn't jealous'."

"Shut up, BaKanda."

"Baka Moyashi."

Once the song ended, I returned to the couch in the back with Lenalee, Alec, and Klaud. Kanda and Marie stood closer to the DJ, watching Lavi…have seizures on the dance floor. Miranda, Bak, Komui, and Reever sat at the bar.

Author Note: Sorry for such a late update! I always told myself I wouldn't be an author that made my readers wait six months for an update. Anyways, please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!