"You're late." Maddie pointed out as I finally ran up to her at the mall. Her arms were crossed but I knew she wasn't really mad at me.

"I know." I handed her the apology muffin I picked up on the way over. "I'm sorry."

"Who is he?" Maddie picked a chocolate chip out of the muffin and popped it in her mouth, nudging me as we walked to a store.

"Who's who?" I asked innocently, checking the price of a deep purple sweater.

"The guy who marked you with the love bites." She countered. "Is it the waiter with the lazy eye? I thought you were over him."

"It's just someone who's in town for a few days." I shrugged and held a yellow dress to her frame, glancing up for her approval. "It'd look good on you."

"Yellow with blonde hair?" Maddie raised an eyebrow and returned the dress to the rack. "I don't think so. Tell me about this guy."

"Nothing special. He's a one night stand." I turned to face Maddie and realized I was talking to myself when I saw her chatting up what appeared to be a single father. I had to admire her technique though because most people don't work that fast. She accepted his phone number with a mega watt smile and sauntered back over to me.

"Guess who's got a date." She giggled and slipped her phone back in her pocket. Maddie checked her watch and said, "Do you need help moving anything at the bar? I've got some free time."

"We're good. I've got Steve as a bouncer tonight so if I need anything, I'll ask him." A baby cried and Maddie used her telekinetic abilities to levitate the child's pacifier to his mouth and silence his cries. A quick glance around the store told us that nobody saw her use her mutation but we left just to be safe. In a town as small as this one, it wasn't exactly a good thing to be a mutant. Personally, I had no problem with mutants. As long as they were nice to me, I'd be nice to them. That was my take on most people, actually. In the town of Cedar Ridge with a population of less than two thousand, it was best to blend in. Maddie was one of the nicest people I had ever met and was a nurse at our local hospital. She had been my best friend since we were kids. She also took it upon herself to help keep me safe or give me a hand around the bar if needed, despite my protests that I could take care of myself.

We parted ways after lunch and I was certain Victor wouldn't be at my house when I arrived. I was not disappointed to find him gone but I was definitely pissed off when I found the sheets torn to shreds and my pillows weren't much more than piles of feathers. With a sigh, I turned on my heel and went to buy new sheets and pillows.

-0-

Victor returned to the vixen's house to find it empty but crisp new sheets and fluffy new pillows occupying the bed. He was less than thrilled about Charlie being gone because she was surprisingly agile for a human and he was bored. It might be worth considering to take her with him when he left town as long as she wasn't too much of a pain in the ass. He licked blood off his claws and decided he needed a drink. And he knew exactly where to get it.

-0-

"Can we get the drink orders to the tables, please?" I asked the waitress, Lyndsay, as she rolled her eyes at me. "We make tips by delivering drinks."

"We make tips by flirting with the customers." Lyndsay retorted but took the tray of drinks I had made and went to serve them. If the way she was throwing herself at the table with two very attractive men, she was going to do well tonight.

"Glenn McKenna." Victor's voice made me roll my eyes as I turned to him. He smirked at me when I gave him the drink.

"What are you doing here?"

"Not real bright, are you?" He narrowed his eyes at me and downed his drink in a gulp. Victor gestured for me to refill it, which I did with a huff.

"You destroyed my bedroom."

"Do you ever quit bitching?"

"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms and glared at him. "Where do you get off talking to me like that?"

"As I recall, your bedroom." Victor chuckled and I had to clench my fists to keep myself from smacking him. "And the bathroom and kitchen."

Lucky for Victor, Lyndsay came back with another drink order and I was distracted. It only took a minute to fix the drinks and then my energy was spent ignoring Victor. I could feel him glare at me but I pushed it away and went to the stockroom to find more pretzels and peanuts.

"I don't like being ignored." His voice made me jump and I shivered involuntarily.

"You should get used to disappointment." I remarked as I turned around. "I don't belong to you and I don't owe you my attention."

"You're wrong." Victor snarled and the sound was animalistic. He had my wrists pinned above my head and my body shoved against the shelves before the pretzels hit the floor. His claws dug into my skin and I felt blood run down my forearm. He leaned forward and his tongue licked up the blood, an action that should have repulsed me but I am ashamed to say that it turned me on. "You'd do well to remember that if you don't give me what I want, I will take it."

Victor's head snapped around before he said, "Stay."

Glass breaking made me ignore his command and I ventured out to find a bar fight going on. Victor had his claws buried deep into a man's shoulder and the poor man was howling. I grabbed the baseball bat and shouted, "Hey! Break it up!"

A gunshot was deafening and the world seemed to stop as pain registered in my stomach. Warmth spread down my shirt and I touched my fingers to it, raising them to my line of sight to see them soaked in crimson. A squeak passed my lips and I heard Victor growl as I dropped to the ground. The world drained away and I fell into silence.

A/N: Leave a review to let me know what you think. I don't bruise easily and all reviews are used to make my writing better.