Chapter 17: Red Sky at Morning…

The roll top door of the small U-Haul trailer clacked and clattered as Joe opened the storage device in his parents' driveway the morning after his brother's wedding. Riona Magee had shown up at his mother's door bright and early at dawn, ready to utilize her witchy ways to make sure all the gifts weren't tainted with some sort of malevolent spells. Joe was not pleased that his mother had called him at seven thirty to come over to her house for this. He and Vanessa had already taken the time after the wedding to have the gifts X-rayed and cataloged on a memo pad at the police department the night before, cutting in to their precious night to themselves without an infant to attend to.

Nothing suspicious could be found via X-ray, and Joe was able to relax and enjoy what remained of the night with his wife, without interruptions like dead of night feedings and diaper changes. Joe felt like he had just gone to sleep when the phone rang and he realized that the pinkish hues of daylight were flooding through their sheer curtains.

"Seriously Mom? This can't wait until lunchtime?" Joe had whined childishly, silently praying his mother would see to reason. Vanessa nuzzled closer so she could hear the conversation and gave her husband a sympathetic look.

"Riona has been here since daybreak! I've gone through two pots of coffee and I'm still dead on my feet from last night. Ree keeps insisting on brewing some of her special tea to perk me up, but I'm not touching the stuff! The sooner you get over here with that U-Haul and we get this over with, the sooner the both of us can get some rest and recover from last night." Rest? Recover? That's a laugh, Joe thought. While he was gone Vanessa was probably going to pick up Ashleigh from Andrea's house. He suspected their baby would be beyond spoiled and off her routine by the time she got home. Joe had a sinking feeling there would be no rest and recovery for them this day.

Joe had backed the trailer up to his parents' two car garage and one by one, he and Riona went to work as he passed each gift through her hands. She would shake her head if she found nothing and pass it off to Laura. This went on for an hour until Joe picked up a small box. It was about the size of a jewelry case, like for a bracelet or necklace. Riona's eyes went wide, and she began to show symptoms like she had last night.

"Do you remember what was in this box when you had it X-rayed?" She asked, her hands began to tremble and she placed the little box gently on the concrete driveway. She leaned against the back bumper of Laura's car for support.

"Um, yeah…" Joe picked up the memo pad he cataloged the gifts on, he had discreetly written a tiny number on the bottom of each box to correlate to a number on the list. He hoped Frank and Phil wouldn't catch on when they finally got to open their presents. But if they did, well, what the Hell could Frank do about it at that point?

"It's a mezzuzah case, and I'm guessing a mezzuzah inside." Joe answered, but Riona still looked cross.

"I've felt spiritual and religious magic before, and a house blessing shouldn't feel like this. There is something very strange about this one, who's it from?" Joe sighed and opened the little card that was loosely stuck under the bow.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ira Goldberg."

"I remember meeting Dan and Gail Goldberg, Rachel's parents. But not an Ira, or anyone else." Laura added.

"I think Phil told me Rachel's grandparents weren't coming to the wedding. They must have sent their gift along with Rachel."

"I need to read up on this. I'm getting a sense of dread and danger from this. I've touched mezzuzah's before, and although they're meant to protect and bless, I should also sense welcome and safety." Riona said. "I think the rest of the gifts are safe to take over to the boys' house and leave there for when they get back. But Joe, hang on to that thing until I know a little more. Don't bring it into your house though…"

"Well if it spooks you that bad, I don't want to be toting it around with me in the car either!"

"Do you have a safe, or a safety deposit box somewhere?"

"There's a safe at the office."

"Good! Lock it up and keep it out of the boys' hands until I know more about what has been done to this."

"Done!" Joe gladly shut the back of the U-Haul and fished his keys out of his pocket. "First stop, the office, then Frank and Phil's, then home to my babies."

"See Joe? This wasn't so bad, now was it?" Joe rolled his eyes and kissed his mother good-bye.

ooOOoo

His body ached. Correction. His body throbbed. Frank didn't think he'd been in this much pain since… well, take a pick. The car wreck back in college, that hurt pretty damn bad and he was in a coma for days. The first time he was ever shot during a case, that was a real eye opener. How about the time he was nearly beaten to a bloody pulp by those drug smugglers? That had only cost him his spleen. Oh, and the vampire Magnus and the werewolf Emile, they had permanently left their marks on his body, he had the splendid scars on his leg and body to show for that.

But right now the pain wracking his body rivaled those times. What had happened? The memories weren't coming to him. All Frank could come up with were faint whispers of "You're safe now, child. We've got you." before he actually came to full wakefulness. Frank slowly opened his eyes. He looked around, things were blurry at first, but as his vision cleared he tried to take in his surroundings. Things were semi dark, the only light came from the crackling fireplace before him, and a small, round window on the other side of the room. He was lying on a sofa, of sorts, maybe a daybed? None of the furniture in the room looked like anything from the last century and a half. It was rustic, but foreign. Clusters of herbs were bundled and hanging to dry from the beams of the low ceiling. Daylight filtered through the colorful panes of glass in the window.

Frank raised a hand to his face and stopped short when he noticed his wedding band was on his right hand, so was his engagement bracelet. He raised his left hand and saw that his wrist was red, the skin angry and raw, as if he'd come in contact with iron… Shackles?

The sound of soft footsteps drew his curiosity and he slowly turned his head. A woman in a long skirt and laced up shirt entered his field of vision. She smiled softly, her wavy auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders. She set the tray of food on a low table in front of the daybed and beamed at Frank.

"Thank the ancients! You're awake!" She spoke in that tongue that Frank was barely familiar with. The language of his childhood lullabies. "We were wondering when you would open your eyes. You've been sleeping for days." She leant over to pick up a bowl of soup from the tray. The woman's hair moved as she reached over and Frank caught the sight of her ear. It was pointed, like an Elf's! Frank gasped and the woman sat up quickly.

"What is it child?" She tucked her hair behind her ear nonchalantly. Frank found it hard to form words with his parched mouth.

"Are… are you an Elf?" Frank rasped. The woman suddenly looked disappointed and Frank suddenly knew why. The words coming from him were nothing like the woman's. Frank was trying to communicate in English. The woman shook her head.

"You've yet to learn how to speak in your mother's tongue. At least you seem to be able to understand me. Wait until your kinsman gets in here, I think he can speak your Ing Glish."

"Kinsman?" Frank muttered, but the woman was up and moving before he could make sense of it. Heavier footsteps followed the woman's return and Frank's eyes widened as the man entering the room stood by the fireplace.

"Joe?" Frank tried to raise up with the support of one elbow, but the woman shushes him and encouraged him to lie back down. "Joe, what's going on? Where are we? And… why are you dressed like that?" But it was slowly becoming apparent to Frank that the man standing before him was not his brother. At first glance the man was a dead ringer for the younger Hardy brother. However, Joe's hair was not wavy and nearly down to his shoulders. And this man's complexion was a light magenta color, not the purple hue of the Dark Elves, but not the peachy flesh tone Frank shared with the woman Elf who was attending to him. And the ears! Joe hadn't been born with the Elfin ears as Frank had, but this man had them.

The blonde man wore an intricately embroidered tunic, navy blue with light grey and silver stitching. His trousers clung to his legs and rich leather boots that laced up to his knees finished out the look. This man seemed to be studying Frank as well, and if Frank didn't know any better, he seemed to be disappointed with what he found. The man grabbed the back of a wooden chair and pulled it closer to the daybed.

"You're not Joe… But why do you look like my brother? Who are you and where am I? Why am I here, what's happened? Where's Phil? Is Phil safe?" The man raised a hand to halt the onslaught of questions.

"Please, please Frank… One question. Not fast. My Ing Glish not as good as my nan-, eh, mother's." He turned to the auburn haired woman and she curtsied and left the room.

"No Frank, I am not your brother, Joe. I am Daerdir, a prince of the Svartal and Alfheim. Princes Delebon and Dolon are my older brothers. And I… I am your uncle…"

ooOOoo

Frank's head snapped up and for several seconds he was very disoriented until he heard a bell chime overhead. A muffled voice was announcing over the P.A. that passengers should turn their devices off and put their seats into an upright position for landing. Frank took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

"Good nap, sleepyhead?" Frank turned to his right and saw Phil smiling at him. The material of the shirt on his left shoulder was rumpled where Frank's head must have been resting. Phil looked slightly dazed himself as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Frank?"

"I… I was having some weird dreams. I hope they were dreams." Frank said quietly. Phil took his right hand, which Frank hand not realized he was clutching the arm rest of his seat so tightly, and kissed the back of his knuckles.

"You always have weird dreams when you're overly tired. But hey, check this out." Phil pointed to the window where Frank could see Mexico's lush Pacific coastline coming into view. "This is us, for a whole week."

Their plane touched down safely onto the tarmac and after customs, hailing a cab, and stepping into the cool, clean, ultra modern styled lobby of the Mayan Adonis, Frank and Phil had finally, officially, reached their honeymoon destination. The focal point of their room was the grand view of the Pacific Ocean, and the clean lines and white color of the room's décor emphasized this. They were several stories above the ocean-side pool-scape, and the high stucco walls on either side of their balcony were meant to ensure the privacy to enjoy their outdoor Jacuzzi.

Frank leaned over the balcony wall to view the pool-scape below. If you loved the water, you were in luck here. There were at least three pools, one had a bar you could swim up to, the other two were infinity pools. There were a couple of over-sized hot tubs for more communal enjoyment. The beach was relatively private, with a few bright blue umbrellas popping up here and there…

Then suddenly it dawned on Frank. He must have died and gone to Gay Heaven. Everywhere he looked couples held hands, hugged, kissed, walked with their arms wrapped around each other. There was no nervous laughter, but outright guffaws. In front of one of the pools, a gay couple was kicked back in lounge chairs, hands linked between the chairs, and paying no mind to their neighbors, two lesbians on lounge chairs that were pushed together to make their make out session more comfortable. Where the poolside met the beach, a male couple stood under a shower head, helping each other rinse the sand off their bodies before they entered the pool-scape.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving. There's supposed to be a poolside grill down there. Why don't we change into our swim trunks and head down. I think a Piñ a Colada is calling my name." Phil reached around Frank and hooked his chin over Frank's shoulder. But that was when it dawned on Frank… At home, almost half of Bayport knew he'd gone through some recent physical trauma. He was comfortable wearing his swim trunks in his hometown. But down below… They didn't call this place the Mayan Adonis for nothing. A sense of insecurity gripped Frank. He turned in Phil's arms, trying to think of some way to delay the inevitable, but the giddy look on his husband's face foiled that plan.

They changed clothes and slathered on sun-block. Frank made sure to pull out his board-style swim trunks, so that only an inch of the scar on his leg showed at the bottom. He slipped on a white T-shirt as Phil picked up their room's key card.

"Frank, baby you're going to burn up down there in that shirt."

"I'll be fine."

"You can't wear that in the pool."

"I said I'll…" Frank protested as Phil came forward and peeled the T-shirt off his mate. Frank huffed in frustration and wrapped his arms around this middle. Phil was befuddled. Frank had a great body, lean muscle and gorgeous abs and… Oh.

"Baby, I don't think anyone will pay any mind to your scars. Look at some of those guys down there, some of them have more tattoos than I thought humanly possible to put on a person." Phil gently tugged at Frank's wrists to expose the scars that ran diagonally across his left side. He ran his fingers lightly over the long pink marks.

"You're a fighter Frank. Every scar on your body is proof that you may have been knocked down, but you survived, and rose up again. So don't you dare be self conscious. I love you, and am proud of every part of you. Even the battle scars."

"Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that I married you?" Frank said, cupping Phil's cheek with his hand.

"Not in the last few hours, no." Phil gave Frank a goofy smile and squeezed his hand. "Now c'mon, I'm about to starve."

ooOOoo

Hours later Frank and Phil returned to their suite. The first thing they noticed was that a dozen red roses and an ice bucket chilling a bottle of champagne were sitting on the coffee table before the sleek white sofa. There was also a shoebox sized Styrofoam container with a note on the top.

"Consider this a late wedding gift and a bit of an insurance policy incase you chaps run into trouble on your honeymoon. We all contributed, so you are in possession of some of the finest vampire blood the proud state of Louisiana has to offer. We were stunned to learn you had once again provided life-saving aid to our dear Amy, so it was an honor to provide additional security for your nuptials. We hope you are now enjoying your honeymoon, and as you are reading this, we should be with Amy on a hunt in Buffalo. I understand the crime rate there is phenomenal.

Congratulations and Cheers!

The New Orleans Gang"

Frank opened the box to find over a dozen vials of the vampires' serum.

"If I was a betting man I'd say Amy put them up to this."

"I wonder how they got this over the border?"

"Seriously Phil? Amy's pretty resourceful, she probably got one of her vampire buddies to sneak it over in the dark of night and then shipped it via a local courier."

"Help me to remember to get them a nice souvenir from the market when we go sightseeing tomorrow." Phil asked as he took the box from Frank and placed it in the suite's mini fridge.

"So what do you want to do now? I hear the club scene down here is pretty awesome." Frank tried to stifle a yawn, but the late night before and time zone difference were starting to catch up to him. Yet there was so much to do in Puerto Vallarta and there were so many hours until bedtime. Phil chuckled and shot Frank a surprised look.

"Frank Hardy-Cohen wants to go clubbing? That's a new one."

"Well, you know what they say? When in Rome…"

Phil sauntered over to Frank and wrapped his arms around the other man's body just as Frank tried to hide another yawn.

"I think that can wait until tomorrow night. We're both a little jet lagged. Why don't we take advantage of that chilled champagne and the hot tub. Let's just relax this evening?" Phil leaned in and nipped at the skin on Frank's shoulder, inhaling coconut-y smell of his sunblock, the slight saltiness of his skin where they had bathed in the azure ocean and dried in the warm Mexican sun. Phil's fingers lightly traced lines along Frank's back, feeling his husband's body relax under his touch.

"So…" Frank's voice cracked just a little as Phil hit a pleasurable spot along his neck. "Do you suppose we're enough floors up that no one will see us having sex in the Jacuzzi?"

"Just the seagulls. And the walls on either side of the terrace are pretty damn high." Phil pulled away from Frank's neck and placed a soft kiss on the brunet's lips. "You grab the bucket of champagne, I'll get the glasses and something else."

"What else?"

"You'll see." Phil winked and turned away to rummage through his toiletry bag.

Frank picked up the chilled bucket and set it on the low patio table on the terrace. He dipped his hand in the water to see if the temperature was alright, and it felt heavenly, he couldn't wait to slide in.

"Grab a couple of towels too, Hon." He called into the suite, and Phil came out of the bathroom with said towels, the champagne flutes and a black and white plastic bottle.

"What's that stuff?" Frank eyed the bottle suspiciously.

"Silicone based lubricant with just a touch of anesthetic in it to help with the burn and stretching. It's supposed to hold up pretty well in water, unlike the lubricants we usually use. I'm still a little sore from last night." Phil said as he set down the armful he'd brought in from the suite.

"I'm sor-" Frank began as he was peeling the foil from the top of the champagne bottle.

"Uh, uh! It's that good kind of sore. Last night was amazing! You're amazing." Phil stepped closer to Frank and kissed him. "I can't wait to have you inside me again. Maybe the water will make it easier on your leg too."

Frank's face flushed and he looked away for a moment.

"I, um, I was kind of toying with the idea of switching it up tonight." He didn't meet Phil's eyes and concentrated on unwinding the wire that held the cork in place.

"Babe, are you su-" The bottle of champagne popped loudly as the cork flew off and over the front of the terrace wall. The newlyweds locked eyes and then started laughing.

"Four!" Phil called out, hoping no one got beamed in the head by the wayward cork. They heard a few whoops and cat calls from the pool area below as the cork apparently made it's way to the ground, and that sent the boys into a fit of giggles. Phil scooped up the two champagne flutes and let Frank pour the bubbly drink for them. He put the bottle back in the ice bucket and raised the glass.

"To us!" He smiled, pulling Phil closer with his free hand.

"To us." Phil clinked his glass with Frank's and took a sip of the drink. "Well, if you're sure you want to bottom, why don't you grab one of the vials?"

"No. Not tonight."

"But…" The last thing Phil wanted was to hurt Frank, have his first time being penetrated in months to be uncomfortable in the least. But Frank was setting his glass on the table and stripping off his board shorts. He slipped into the frothing hot tub gingerly, finally settling back and relaxing into the warm water. The force of the jets eased his aches and he took another sip of his champagne.

"C'mon in the water's fine." Frank smirked and gave Phil a wink. Phil made haste to divest himself of his swim trunks and joined Frank in the Jacuzzi.

"Woo who who…" Phil gasped as he adjusted to the heat. Frank handed him his glass of champagne.

"It takes a little getting used to, but look over there." Frank tilted his head toward the west. The sun had began it's descent into the horizon, the colorful hues of the sunset were dancing on the ocean's waves. "Not a sight we get to see back in Bayport is it?" Frank whispered in Phil's ear. Frank used the tip of his tongue to trace the outer shell of his ear. Phil shivered despite the hot water he was soaking in. When Frank had glided over to his side of the Jacuzzi he didn't know, but the water and Frank's own natural buoyancy were allowing him to hover over Phil's body.

Phil looked over Frank's shoulders and could see the globes of his buttocks just peaking above the bubbling water. He leaned his head back to give Frank better access to his neck and he stretched body out so that more of Frank was over him. This allowed him better access to that pert ass, he ran his fingers over it. Kneading and massaging, occasionally bucking his hips so that his erection would glance against Frank's, Phil's eyelids began to droop as he lost himself in the heat and sensations.

"Touch me Phil, I know you want to… It's okay, I know I'm safe with you. You love me, you could never hurt me… Please." Frank whispered huskily. He pulled his body closer to Phil's, wrapping his legs around his husband's waist with ease.

"Oh fuck Frank! If a hot tub can limber you up this well and makes you talk like that, I say we save up and get one of these for our anniversary next year."

"I say you need to hush and work those magic fingers of your's a little further south…"

"G-d! How do you manage to be so damn sexy without trying?" Phil asked. But he did let his fingers creep further down Frank's ass, feather light strokes down his crevice and circling his hole.

Frank rested his forehead against Phil's shoulder, ran his hands over Phil's chest and teased at his nipples. Where they'd relaxed from the warm water, they budded tightly at his touch and Frank brought his mouth down to suck and lick at the dusky skin. Phil groaned and swore softly as he continued to explore and tease Frank's nether region. One hand massaged and stroked Frank's cock, balls, and perineum, the other rubbed and glanced over Frank's entrance, his movements getting bolder as Frank gasped, shuddered, and pulled Phil closer to him. Phil let go of Frank for just a moment to grab the water resistant lube and coated his fingers. He quickly submerged his hand to apply the lubricant to Frank's sensitive skin.

The brunet wound his fingers in Phil's damp, wavy hair and attacked the raven haired boy's mouth with a desperate and sloppy kiss. The clack of teeth and probing tongue spurred Phil to gently breach Frank's body for the first time since last summer. By G-d it did hurt, considering he hadn't had penetrative sex in almost a year. But Frank wrapped his arms around Phil's neck and squeezed his eyes shut, thinking back to the first time they'd made love and Phil had taught him to breathe through the penetration.

"Okay Babe?" Phil whispered and placed a light kiss to his shoulder. Frank finished blowing out a breath and nodded. "Want me to go on?" Another nod. Phil grabbed Frank's waist and swirled them around in the tub, so that Frank's bottom was resting on the Jacuzzi's ergonomically molded seat in the corner. This gave Phil better access as he spread Frank's legs and rested his feet on the seats to either side. Phil rested on his knees in front of Frank and laved kisses to that wonderfully sensitive spot a the juncture of his neck and shoulder. He applied more of the silicone lube to his fingers and hands and slowly began his reintroduction into Frank's body. He held Frank's cock with the other hand and pumped in tandem with his finger's back and forward rhythm. Thank goodness for the benzocaine in the lube, although his own fingers were beginning to tingle, he could feel Frank relaxing under his touch.

"Another… please." Frank nearly sobbed. Phil obeyed and when those first two fingers were fully inserted, he tilted his hand and ran his fingers over Frank's prostate. "Ah! Phi-! Fuck me! Fuck me now!"

"Shh… You're not ready yet baby. I will NOT hurt you. Lemme scissor you a little more, get a third finger in there. You take that… get good and stretched and I will give it to you. 'Kay, baby?" From that point on Phil made sure to avoid that bundle of nerves until the time was right.

Frank moaned, pleaded, mewled. What Phil was doing to him was sweet, sweet torture. Finally Phil met his eyes and smiled, his eyes were blown dark with lust.

"Three fingers baby, you're doing it."

"Damn it Phillip! Fuck me now!" Frank whined and bucked his hips upwards. He grabbed his own shaft and pulled few times.

"So love it when you get bossy." Phil kissed him as he aligned himself with Frank, his neglected and swollen head slipped in easily. He saw Frank screw his eyes up at the intrusion, but soldiered on, ever so slowly. He felt Frank's heels press into his lower back, egging on his entry.

"Tiiiight…" Phil moaned. "Ah!" He pulled out a little and pushed back in a little more this time. Frank continued his controlled breathing with each centimeter. Phil was in Frank as far as he could go at last. Their harsh breathing was drowned out by the distant crashing of ocean waves, the occasional squawk of a seagull, and the music playing from the outdoor bar below.

"Move, move in me Phil." Frank begged. Phil rolled his hips experimentally, feeling Frank's tight heat clinching down around him. "I'd almost forgotten how good it feels when you're inside me. So full, Ah!" Frank gasped as Phil hit his prostate.

"Mmm…So worth the wait… you feel so damn good." Phil panted as he moved in and out of Frank. The water prevented him from moving as fast as he would have liked, but that was for the best. Frank sought out his mouth again and kissed him deeply, his fingers dug into Phil's back. A white hot fire was burning low in his belly, Frank could feel his body tensing up in anticipation of release. He was getting light-headed, but it was so good. To be with Phil like this again after so long, and Phil had been so patient, letting Frank set the pace for their return to intimacy.

"Love you… love you s-so… ah! So much!" Frank ground out.

"I love you too… always have…"

"Always will?" Frank tried to finish for him.

"Yes." Phil said softly. Phil's body was aflame with love and desire and with a final push, his body quaked and shook with his orgasm. Frank arched is back and nearly yelped as his orgasm hit. He wrapped his legs tighter around Phil's waist and held on for dear life as the swirling water around them swished his ejaculation away.

Phil's head rested on Frank's chest, just above the water line. He felt Frank's fingers running through his unruly hair. He tried to look up without raising his head. Frank had a weary grin on his face, he eyes were drooping and he sunk a little lower into the water. Phil heard Frank hiss as he pulled out, but soon maneuvered them so that Phil was resting in the seat and Frank was leaning back against him, cradled in his arms.

"You okay?" Phil asked, as he noticed Frank hadn't said a word since they'd finished.

"Mm hmm."

"Hurt?"

"A little, but we both knew it would." Frank reached up and ran his warm hands over the forearms that were draped over his chest. "Feels like this protective wall I'd built up around myself has finally tumbled down. Thank you Phil. You don't know what it means to me, you being so patient until I got my head straight."

"I'd wait another year if that's what you needed, married or not." He kissed Frank's temple just as Frank let out another yawn.

"Whatcha say we get out of this thing, take a nice, luke-warm shower and hit the hay?" Phil asked after he took another sip of his champagne.

"I'd say that's the second best idea you've had all day."

ooOOoo

"Zeke." The girl hissed as she broke from their lip-lock.

"Mmm." The teenaged vampire just moved from his "gaming buddy's" mouth to her pale neck with light pecks, not allowing himself to kiss her neck the way he would have loved too. Losing control was too much of a possibility.

"Ezekiel!" The girl poked a finger roughly between the vampire's ribs. Had Nell Woods been any other girl, the poke would have felt like no more than a tickle, but the lupine blood that ran through her veins gave the young woman a slight edge.

"Ouch! What?" Nell clapped her hand over Ezekiel's mouth and pressed a finger to her own lips. Slowly she removed her hand from Ezekiel's mouth and mouthed the words "I hear something outside."

Ezekiel sobered instantly and swiftly moved from his place on Frank and Phil's living room couch to the French door. The teenager silently berated himself for not having heard anything, but sure enough, he could hear a slight commotion in the brush just outside of the protective perimeter of the Hardy-Cohen's back yard. He reached into his jean's pocket and tossed his cell phone to Nell, who caught it with one hand.

"Go upstairs and call Amy. I'll go outside and check it out." He barely whispered, but Nell's sharp ears heard him and with light feet she sprinted upstairs to make the call. Ezekiel tiptoed to the French doors and peered out. Just beyond the border of enchanted protection he could see movement in the shrubbery among the trees that separated Frank and Phil's property from their neighbor's backyard. Using a painstaking amount of caution, the young vampire opened the door without a sound, and padded softly out onto the back deck. He closed his eyes and opened up his keen senses, taking in the sounds and smells around him. His eyes snapped open and his head turned in the direction of the small crack of a twig, several meters beyond the protection of the home and back garden. He looked back, Nell would be safe so long as she stayed inside the yard and the house. No one and nothing with ill intent could get past the white picket fence.

He could smell the gamey stench of Were, one in full wolf mode at that. From his months of spending time with the Woods' pack, this was not a werewolf from the local area. Ezekiel nimbly leapt over the fence and silently crept through the woods, hoping to get a look and maybe scare off this intruder. The smell of the werewolf was becoming stronger the deeper he ventured into the woods. On the ground he could make out the fresh tracks of the Were, but just when the smell became it's strongest, the tracks ended.

Two thoughts entered the computer-savvy vampire's brain in tandem: "You just walked into a trap." and "Amy's going to be so pissed!"

Before he could get the words "Oh shi-" out of his mouth, he began to dart away, but not quite fast enough for his attacker as the large beast pounced on him. Ezekiel turned lithely under the werewolf's enormous paws and rammed his fist into the creature's jaw. The Were yowled in pain and released it's hold on Ezekiel just enough for the teen to start to scramble away. However, the werewolf recovered quickly and sank it's razor-sharp teeth into the boy's right bicep. Ezekiel could not withhold the scream of pain as he felt those teeth penetrate his rock-hard skin. The Were shook his head back and fourth like a dog wrestling a chew toy before slinging his head and releasing Ezekiel with such force that when the vampire's body collided with a nearby pine tree, the wood splintered and cracked, felling the tree as the boy's body bounced and rolled several times before coming to a halt.

The werewolf had no desire to check on the boy or finish him off, incurring the wrath of his "mother" would complicate matters. However, solely based on the young vampire's presence at the house confirmed what his cohorts needed to know. Hardy wasn't home. He and his, ugh, husband, must have gone on a honeymoon. That had to explain why "it" hadn't happened yet. They'd have to wait a little longer, lie low, and be patient. Their reward would be well worth it.

ooOOoo

Author's Note:

Yeah, RL biting me in the butt again. Sorry for taking forever with the update, but I hope it was well worth it.

Enjoy, R&R, and thank you for your patience! Hugs to you all - Hollyboo