Around mid-morning, Elena opened the door to the motel room curiously when she heard the knock, The she-kat was clearly surprised and confused to see Chance and Jake both standing there. And even more-so when the tabby looked at her with cold eyes. "We have to talk, Elena."

"Chance? What's wrong? What is this all about?"

"Werewolves..."

She put her ears back. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Chance. Now please leave before..."

"Let them in, Elena."

The chocolate-furred she-kat turned to look curiously at Star, who was walking out of the small bathroom with a bandage over her left arm and shoulder. The same place where Jake had seen her, in her werewolf form, take a deep wound from the massive beast in the subway tunnels the night nods slowly and steps back, letting the two mechanics inside, then closed and locked the door again behind them.

Star walked back over to her bed and sat down, leaning back against the headboard and folding her knees up, wearing only a small red halter top and dark red shorts. The small table had been moved back to it's orriginal place near the front window, now having been cleared of all the spell components and chalk. Elena, in her black sleeveless shirt and denim jeans, leaned against the wall opposite Star's bed with her arms folded over her chest. Both of the toms stood a bit in front of and between them, still near the door.

"So, care to explain just what's going on around here?"

The red-eyed female nodded slowly. "Apparently you've already figured out what we are."

"Werewolves."

"Basically, yes. We're immortal shape-changers who can take the form of massive wolf-like beasts, as well as larger versions of real wolves."

"And what are those other things that the Pastmaster summoned up?"

"Demons."

Both of the guys looked slightly surprised at that. "Demons?"

"Yes. Lesser demons."

"What about the bigger ones?"

"Also lesser demons."

"Didn't seem so 'lesser' to me."

"They were. What the evil little gnome is trying to summon forth is much larger and far more powerful."

"And how exactly do you know this?"

"Because we're here to stop him."

"Uh huh. And how do you plan to do that?"

"The same way we did a thousand years ago."

Both of the toms jaws dropped in surprise. "Just how old ARE you?!"

Elena's face was completely expressionless. Star just gave a faint smirk. "I've seen over two thousand years. Elena here has been what she is for about twelve hundred years now."

Jake and Chance were both completely taken aback by that news. That meant that both of the she-kats were older even than the Pastmaster himself, Star more than twice as much. Jake shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. "Okay, so if you are... immortal... how did you stop the Pastmaster from calling this demon up a thousand years ago?"

Star sighed, looking down as she spoke, her eyes distant and unfocused. "Every one thousand years, a portal tries to open from the realm known as Malfeas."

Chance raised one eyebrow curiously. "Malfeas?"

Now Elena spoke, her tone toneless, almost cold. "Also known as Hades, Duat, the Underworld, or Hell... among other things."

Star nodded. "The land of demons and of lost souls, where the spirits of the damned remain in eternal torment for their sins."

The tabby sighed and ran a paw down his face. "Great..."

"Demons pass through it into our world. It has already begun, as you've seen. In two more days, there will be a complete solar eclipse. You won't see it because of the dark clouds, but you will see the sky turn red and everything grow as dark as midnight save for the Hellish glow. When that happens, we must be in the temple of Awawn, and I must perform the ritual to close the gate for another thousand years, before the Demon Lord can come through."

"Who's Arawn?"

"An ancient God of death, terror, revenge, and war. Long forgotten in modern times, he is said to be the ruler of Malfeas."

"So, basically he's the Devil?"

"In a sence."

"Okay, so where is this temple and how do we do this ritual?"

Star looked up with her crimson eyes narrowed and her ears pinned back. " 'We' don't, Only I can find the temple, and only I can perform the ritual. You two will stay out of it."

Chance shook his head. "No way. We've faced and defeated that little troll before, along with various other major threats to this city. Even a Volcano God once."

"Perhaps, but nothing of this world could possibly equal the power of the Demon Lord that he plans to summon, using an ancient artifact not even of this world that he believes he can use to control it."

"So we take and/or destroy this artifact. Been there, done that."

"It's not that simple. First off, it can't be destroyed. Second, if it's taken, then no-one can control any of the demons, and they will be free to wreak destruction upon this world."

"Great... So then how do we stop it?"

"As I said, the only way to stop it is to close the portal before Arawn can come through."

Jake sighed and shook his head. "Okay, so if you're the only one who can do this ritual, what about Elena?"

"Elena doesn't have the magic required to perform the ritual. So she fights the lesser demons that come through first to try and stop me."

"Doesn't have the magic?"

"Right. She wasn't born as we are now. She was actually born a mortal kat." Star sighed and glanced over at her friend, who was still leaning against the wall, her arms folded and ears back, looking down. When Elena gave no sign of not wanting to hear the story again, Star continued.

Twelve hundred years ago, Elena gave her own life to save mine, even though she didn't even know me then. Rather than letting her die, I turned her instead. It was the only way to save her life, though it also meant she now has to share my curse. We've been together ever since."

Jake's ears went back as he realized something. "Wait a minute... Exactly how does one get turned into a werewolf? Because..."

Star couldn't help but laugh softly at the look on his face, knowing just what it was he was referring to. "Don't worry. Simply being bitten isn't enough to cause someone to change. That's just for kitten's stories. No, the actual ritual is more involved."

Jake sighed in a bit of relief, since he still had multiple bite and claw marks on his body from two nights ago when he and Chance had spent time with the girls in the back room of the club. Elena though now spoke up, her voice still soft and somewhat cold.

"But it does carry a curse as well, as Star mentioned. We're not exactly 'immortal', because we can be killed. We simply do not age, nor do we die of old age. Despite the fact that many would claim immortality to be the ultimate 'gift', it's a curse rather than a blessing to have to watch everyone around you slowly grow old and die while you remain young and unchanged. Were it not for Star's constant companionship, I would have ended my own life long ago."

The two toms glanced at each other, then back to the girls. Jake looked from Elena to Star. "So if you turned Elena, then how did you become a werewolf?"

"I was born this way. But I'm not a true werewolf, either."

"Then what are you?"

She sighed and looked back down sadly. "My mother was a werewolf, but my sire was a demon, much like the one that the Pastmaster hopes to summon forth from the portal. That's how I gained my magic, as well as my knowledge of the ritual needed to close the portal, and the power to do so."

Both the guys gasped in shock. "You're half demon?!"

"Yes. It's why those creatures are drawn to me. Because of my mixed blood. And why the portal drew me here as well. I can feel it calling to me."

Chance shook his head. "Okay... But this is our city, and we are NOT going to let a bunch of demons run rampant in it. Maybe we can't help you with the ritual, but we can at least help to get rid of these lesser demons."

"I told you, it's too dangerous for mortals."

"Look wolfy, in case you haven't noticed, we've already toasted far more of those things than you two did. We have a lot more 'toys' than most mortals do, and the experience to deal with stuff like this. As I said, we've defeated the Pastmaster several times before. We know how to deal with that little troll."

Star looked up at him with her ears pinned, but she could see that there was no way she was going to be able to talk them out of this. She also had to admit, they did to one Hell of a job taking out the lesser demons the past few nights.

"Alright. But when the portal starts to open, it is literally going to be Hell on Earth. Most of the lesser demons will be coming from the portal in the sky overhead where the Pastmaster will be trying to summon the Demon Lord. You two can deal with that, while we handle the real gate in the temple itself."

The guys could also see that there was no way they were going to convince the two female werewolves to reveal the location of the supposed temple, but they also agrees that dealing with the demons attacking the city itself and it's populace might be the more important job for them anyway.

After that, no-one said anything for several more long moments. Chance finally came out and asked the other question that had been on his mind. He asked the girls why they had originally taken such an interest in him and Jake in the first place. To this, Elena finally allowed herself a soft smirk, her voice softening a bit.

"Well, to be honest, that was my idea. I found you to be quite attractive from the start."

Chance gave her a wry smile, then walked up to her and put an arm around her waist, pulling her against him and kissing her. Elena's eyes went wide in surprise and she instinctivly tried to pull away, but then quickly relented and returned the kiss deeply, putting her own arms around him as well.

As if they had completely forgotten about the other two in the room, it took barely even a minute for the two kats to fully undress each other and end up on Elena's bed, the she-kat laying on her back with Chance on top of her, trailing passionate kisses and licks over her lips, chin, neck, and shoulders. Elena then gasped as she felt the tom enter her, moving gently but firmly against her while she ran her own clawed fingertips slowly over his shoulders and back, tracing thin lines in his golden fur.

Jake watched them for a moment then just shook his head, looking back at Star. The red-eyed female was still just sitting on her bed, her arms folded over her knees which were pulled up against her chest, and her eyes turned downward, not really paying attention to anything. It was clear to the smaller tom that night now, her focus was simply on what was to come, and a dark knowledge that only she seemed to possess.

The cinnamon tom sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, removing his boots and setting them aside before moving further up to sit net to her against the headboard. A single ear flick was the only acknowledgment she gave to his presence. However, the scent and sounds of the other pair on the second bed just a few feet away from them were already strong in the room. And though Star didn't even seem to notice, Jake could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, the combination of his partner making love to the other she-kat nearby, and the strange but enticing scent of the beautiful kat-form werewolf beside him stirring his own desire and arousal.

Remembering the dreams he had of her, as well as the first time he had actually been with her, and the way that she was so dominant and aggressive, Jake can't help but feel a strong pull toward the female. Knowing what she really was seemed to make it even worse, as he was already so used to taking risks so being so close to her seemed to give him yet another adrenaline rush from the threat of danger.

He reached over and gently but firmly lifted her chin, making her face him. Star's crimson eyes went wide in surprise when the kat, whom's she'd originally seen as shy and somewhat withdrawn, then deeply and roughly kissed her. She returned it, a bit reluctant at first, but then just as strongly, only to receive another surprise when he bit her lip, the female noticing the odd metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth.

The taste of blood, even her own, triggered something in the female werewolf, and she found that her own hunger for him was now even stronger as she quickly and roughly began to undress him, pressing her lithe body against his. This time though, Jake was ready, knowing more of what to expect of her, and turned the tables on the dominant female. He allowed her to remove his clothing, but then roughly did the same to her, before shoving her down onto the bed and flipping her onto her stomach. At first, Star didn't know what to think, but before she could react again the lean male pressed his athletic body down against her back, gripping onto her hips with his claws digging into her flesh and biting down onto her scruff as he forcefully mounted her.

After being so used to always being the dominant one, Jake's sudden aggressiveness with Star both surprised and exited her. The pain of where his claws dug into her hips and the feel of his teeth in the scruff of her neck both added to the pleasure of his roughly taking her. She hissed and moaned loudly in both pleasure and pain, fully enjoying every moment of it.

Jake and Star both wore out much faster than Chance and Elena, who were being far more gentle and passionate with each other. Panting heavily, Star laid on her stomach, folding her arms under her head as she took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a sigh of contentment, her own wounds from where Jake had repeatedly bit and clawed her already healing over.

Jake smiled as he laid down somewhat on top of her, panting hard and soaked in sweat, with some tinges of red from Star's blood smeared against his own pelt, noting the strange taste of the werewolf's blood in his mouth. Ke kissed her neck gently, then closed his eyes and slowly passed out, enjoying the feel of her firm warm body beneath him.