The Curse

[Rose]

Logan woke early, long before the sun had risen. And yet, there was Lillian, her back turned to him, her long crimson hair covering the length of it. She was making breakfast for the group, the whole stove covered in pans that brought the smell of eggs and sizzling meat into the air. She hummed softly to herself as she worked, hearing Logan coming long before he reached her side. She held a piece of bacon over her shoulder for him without a word, and he took it with a small smile. She returned it, showing long white fangs behind ruby lips. There was no reason for her to hide who she was here.

Logan settled down at the small, creaky table. The floor beneath his bare feet was freezing, but the elevated warmth of his body made him more comfortable than a human might have been. He looked around the room with a frown. Everything was dusty, broken, old and outdated. They were lucky the stove or the tv in the corner worked, one with gas and the other with near-dead batteries. The walls had gray, peeling wallpaper showing concrete beneath. Most of the floor was concrete as well, save for the chipped tile in the kitchen or the musty section of carpet in the corner that served as their living room.

The home of Logan’s Cursed was an abandoned apartment building in the poorest district in the city. The area was popular for runaways, homeless humans, lycans, and vampires escaping the rest of the world. Here, they were safe from the ever-seeing eyes of the wealthy vampire Alec, Logan’s greatest rival. It was a shitty little place that they lived in, sure, with all the walls on the floor knocked out to make more room, but Logan looked at it all with a sense of warm familiarity. He’d lived there for years now, and the group had called this place home for a year themselves.

Footsteps came down the stairs outside from the stairwell, descending from the floor above, whose rooms, walls still intact, were used as a sleeping area for the twenty or so people living there. Some were fighters like Logan himself, and some were just homeless, wayward kids he’d picked up. Logan had a way of doing that, of saving everyone he came in contact with. One of the two doors of the apartment opened and Gavin stepped through, eyes all dark from not sleeping. He was Logan’s favorite rescue, a lost vampire with a dark past who he’d found wandering the streets. He was also Logan’s first, and had helped recruit others since day one. The two were nearly inseparable now.

“Lillian, sweetheart, you really are an angel,” The black-haired boy said in his charming voice with an equally flooring smile. His sharp blue eyes looked her over hungrily, but it was all in jest. Everyone was fond of Lillian. She was like a mother to them all. “You’re the Wendy to our Lost Boys.”

He settled into a cold, creaky chair beside Logan, smiling cheekily.

“You look like you haven’t slept at all. You work too hard. But that I'm-a-dead-inside-insomniac look is really great on you, fearless leader.”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"Please, Gavin; what look doesn't look good on him?" came a voice behind the vampire as a pair of arms slid around his neck. Resting his chin on Gavin's shoulder, Lance grinned at Logan, his bright ginger hair tussled from sleep and falling around his face and eyes. The stubble on his otherwise boyish face was slightly darker, but no-one really noticed the small colour change, not when he gave you a full on grin; a grin that promised excitement, and he was going to make sure personally that you were happy.

Tilting his head, Lance looked at Logan critically, making their leader squirm slightly with his stare. "Your hair's getting long again," he said suddenly. "Not that you don't look like the sexy man-beast you are, because you do, but you might wanna think about a trim. What you reckon, love?" Turning, Lance placed an over-exhaggerated kiss on the Vampire's cheek before removing his arms from around him and skipping away, all too knowledgable on the punch he'd recieve from Gavin. Lance acted that way with everyone, man or woman, but he did feel a little something more for the taller Vampire. Not that he'd ever say anything out loud; it ruined the fun.

Proving his point, Lance wound an arm around Lillian's waist, watching her as she cooked.
"You treat us too well, Lily," Lance purred, nuzzling her neck slightly before sliding a cooling pancake off the plate beside her while she wasn't looking. "We'd be lost without you, you know that?"

"Yeah yeah, Lance, I know," she said in a tired voice, but she smiled at the red-headed Lycan anyway. "Get off me now, or you'll get burnt again."
"A burn is a price I'd willingly pay to be close to you, my darling," Lance sighed dramatically, squeezing her briefly before grabbing a small apple from a bowl and backing away. As he headed from the room, Logan caught his eye. "Just a bathroom break, Logan. I'll be back in a sec," he promised, smiling before disappearing through the main living area door into one of the few corridors Logan had left.

Just as he'd expected, the small figure he'd left there before was stood in exactly the same spot. Callum had his arms crossed, his golden blond curls still perfect, his bright blue eyes focused on the Lycan before him. Lance felt a stupid smile break out over his face as he walked to the boy and knelt before him, handing him the food he'd pilfered.

"Here you go, baby," he muttered quietly, watching as Callum raised the apple to his pink lips and sank his teeth into it, his small fangs glinting before they disappeared into the fruit's flesh. Despite his appearance, Callum was old; older than a lot of the other Vampire's and Lycan's Lance had met. He didn't know how he knew that; maybe it was the blond's eyes, which were the clearest blue he'd ever seen, but did they ever look dead. No-one, not even someone who had thier impressive life-span, didn't look that dead inside.

Because of this, Lance didn't feel that it was a bad thing that he was smitten with the boy-like Vampire. Callum was perfection; a beautiful vase with cracks and chips missing, but a marvel nonetheless. It was people like him that egnored the imperfections and focused on the overall big picture that were in danger of losing themselves to Callum.

"Thank you, Lance," Callum muttered quietly, his voice high and boyish due to his turning before he reached adolescence. Unable to help himself, Lance reached out and ran his thumb along the boy's bottom lip, wiping some apple juice away.

"It's fine, babe, anytime..." Lance muttered, his eyes on the boys lips. The boy's eyes remained corpse-like, even as he placed a peice of the pancake into his mouth. "Why don't you come in with the rest of us-"

"You know I can't do that," he said softly, fingers gripping the apple so hard the flesh dented. "I'll be gone by the time your meeting is over."

"Callum, baby, you don't have to leave," Lance said frantically, his voice rising in volume. Callum shushed him, looking up with those eyes and reaching out a pale hand to cup his face.

"I'll be back," was all he said before dragging a thumb across Lance's cheekbone and heading for the apartment door, opening and closing it behind him with hardly a sound. Lance watched him go, the same feeling of disappointment and shame that he felt every time he interacted with the strange boy. Sighing, Lance gathered himself before going back into the main room, his smile slightly strained now.

"Sorry about that, my darlings!" he trilled, collasping into a chair beside Gavin as he propped his chin into his hand. "What did you handsome men talk about while I was gone?"

[Rose]

Logan’s sharp yellow eyes flicked up to Lance as he stepped through the door once more. Those eyes, they were nearly beastly themselves, even when Logan seemed as human as could be. There was something dark in them, but not evil. It was determination, the blind kind that made you do anything to win. Even his sightless eye seemed to stare into you when Logan looked at you.

He knew there was someone in his territory, there always was when Lance stepped out. But Logan said nothing. Everyone had their secrets. Lance meant well, always. He’d do nothing to harm any of them, so Logan would never accuse him of foul play. He simply ducked his head down to his plate of food as Lillian brought it out, her little white sundress fluttering around her legs when she moved. Logan’s plate was stacked with food, but that still wasn’t enough to completely fill the lycan. Wolves seemed to have an endless appetite, anyone would attest to that. Gavin, however, merely picked at his food. Even now, he was having trouble getting himself used to real food again. He’d had a rough time before Logan came along, and it showed through some of the things he did in the midst of his usual banter. Logan frowned over at him, nudging him slightly before finally answering Lance’s question.

“I was just telling everyone that I was tipped by a vampire I know. He told me the location of a nest, one of hunters, he claims,” Logan said in his deep, gruff voice between bites of food. Hunters were vampires who tracked down people to feed on. They were the main fodder of Logan’s gang.

“They operate out of a nightclub,” Gavin continued for Logan, shaking his head. “Its like shit you’d see in a bad movie, but that’s the point. Kids these days….they hear about some goth vampire club and they flock to it. The vampires don’t even have to hide who they are. Girls just want to get laid by some skinny guy with fangs.”

Gavin chucked knowingly at the last part. He looked up to Lance and winked playfully. They’d spent a few nights here and there together, usually celebrating a good kill with some alcohol in them or during a cold, lonely night when the time needed to be passed, but Gavin never stuck around with Lance for more than a night. There was always something else on Gavin’s mind, and everyone but him knew it- Logan. Gavin followed his best friend around like a puppy, acting on every word without hesitation. The vampire would never be with anyone before he got over Logan, and Lance seemed to have other things on his mind lately anyway. So Gavin just winked, and then he turned away, looking toward Logan to finish the story.

“I want to get into their nest before nightfall. The club will open then and it would be too much of a mess. We need to do this as discretely as possible. You boys think you’re up for it?”

Logan didn’t bother asking Lillian. She’d help them in every way she could, but she was really just one of his strays that he had picked up. Lillian was born to a religious family and held on to their values even now, detesting any sort of killing. She’d stay behind and watch the house while they were gone.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance looked slightly flustered at Gavin's blatent mention of their 'getting togethers,' but he managed to flip the vampire off with a small smile of his own and make sure that his lightly-toned skin didn't flush too badly.

Despite being thrown off-balance, not only by Gavin but by Callum not that long before, Lance nodded at Logan, leaning back into his chair with a thoughtful look on his face. "A club huh? That means no weaponry; it'll be taken at the doors. We going Au Naturale then, Logan?" he said slyly, a smile that could only be described as wolfish blossoming on his good-natured face. Cracking his fingers, Lance shook his arms before standing up, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't the strongest wolf when Transformed; being reasonably muscled meant he wasn't completely weak, but he was nowhere near the terrifying powerhouse that Logan was when Changed. He was a huge, hulking beast, a wolf much bigger than any one found in the wild, with a pelt dark enough to make him invisible.

As a wolf, Lance was a lot thinner and smaller, with longer legs and thin body. Gavin had once joked that he looked more like a fox than a wolf, and when he caught a glimpse of himself in a car-door, with his red pelt and darker snout, Lance could help but (grudgingly) agree with him. Still, if the target ran, Lance would be the one to catch them. He always was.

"Lemme just get changed into something a little more befitting for a club, and I'm ready to go when you are, boss," Lance yawned as he stretched, scratching his belly as he walked from the room, towards his bedroom this time.

As soon as he entered the room, he waited for the tell-tale steps of Gavin, which were lighter and more planned out that Logan's heavy and powerful step. When he felt the Vampire on the other side of the door, he whiped it open and pulled the black-haired Vampire inside, shutting the door and pushing him against the wood.

"Hey," he said cheekily, grinning before letting the man go, standing a few steps away from him with a hand pressed at the side of his head, stopping him from moving away. He'd done this more than once, using his extra-sensory hearing to grab Gavin, but this time he wanted to talk. Looking up at him, Lance put on a face of mock concentration.

"No weapons, huh? I dunno about you, but my 'something is gunna go so fucking wrong' senses are tingling." Seeing the look on his friend's face, Lance raised his other hand. "I'm not saying Logan's not thought this though; he would never put us in danger. It's just... I dunno." Stepping away from Gavin, Lance wandered to the centre of his room, his back to the vampire while he hugged his arms to his chest. "Promise me you'll be careful? Logan and I can take care of ourselves, and I'm not saying that you can't, but our weapon's are built in you won't have one..." stopping his babbling, Lance hugged himself tighter. Gavin always managed to make him fluff his words, even without realising it. Looking over his shoulder, he raised his forest-green eyes to Gavin's, almost begging him to promise.

[Rose]

Gavin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. His heart had started beating excitedly as he was yanked into the room, expecting something different to happen when he was pushed against the wall, but now he was just insulted. He’d gone through countless battles with Logan, from dealing with rabid lycans to fledgling vampires, and on more occasions than one, Alec’s gang. He didn’t plan on letting a few dancing vampires get the best of him, not today. Especially not now that Lance had shown doubt in him. He’d prove that he and his leader knew what they were doing and could take care of themselves.

“I’m sure Logan thought of all that. He’ll have a plan by the time we get there if he doesn’t have one already,” Gavin said a little hotly. “Just trust him, ok? We’ve been through worse. This will be nothing.”

Gavin wiped the impatient, insulted look off of his face and replaced it with his usual cheeky grin. He shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking over to Lance slowly, chuckling mischievously at the worried look he got for shrugging off the lycan’s caution.

“Don’t write me off so quickly, kid,” the vampire said, still chuckling. He opened his mouth, letting his fangs slide out fully, grazing them over his lips. “I have my own weapons, too, even if I have to put my mouth on people to use them…”

Gavin slid in front of Lance and took his hands from his pockets, putting them to the lycan’s waist and drawing him closer. His grin was so confident it was almost infuriating. He looked over Lance, his grin only widening at the slightly flustered look he got. It was hard to ever tell what Gavin was going to do or say, and that always threw people off. The vampire traced a finger over Lance’s cheek, leaning in to kiss him softly, teasingly, his fanged smile never wavering.

“Its really adorable that you’re so worried, though. The big bad wolf concerned for the blood-sucker…Cute.” Gavin leaned in again, this time trailing his mouth down from Lance’s ear and over his neck, a hand snaking around the lycan to hold him close. His breath went over his skin and Gavin shivered as his lips touched, feeling the pulse beneath. His breath dropped to a heavy whisper and he was no longer laughing. “….can I have some?”

Lance knew what he meant. He knew that Gavin craved living blood, though Logan tried to wean him from it. Gavin was still weak to its pull, and he knew he could make others weak to give it to him.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

His mouth falling open, Lance allowed himself to be pulled forward. Gavin smiled down at him, his lips descending to Lance's own. The lycan sighed before kissing back, his hands gripping Gavin's upper arms as he clung to him. Why did Gavin do this to him? Make his heart trip over itself and his thoughts muddle when he knew that Gavin didn't feel the same? A

And more importantly, why didn't Lance push him away when he knew how much it hurt?

“Its really adorable that you’re so worried, though. The big bad wolf concerned for the blood-sucker…Cute,” Gavin muttered as he pulling away, kissing Lance's ear and neck. The lycan panted slightly, his grip on Gavin's arms bruising as he struggled to make words.
"I-I always...worry about you..." he whispered, shivering as he felt Gavin's lips ghost over the vein in his neck. He knew what Gavin was going to ask, and what was worse was that he knew he was going to let him.
"...can I have some?" the vampire muttered huskily, one of his arms wrapped around Lance's middle and the other at the back of his head, holding him in place. Sighing again, Lance closed his eyes before nodding.

Damn you, Gavin....

[Rose]

Gavin shivered in anticipation. Lance barley nodded his head a second time before the vampire sank his fangs in deep, moaning softly in satisfaction as the blood blossomed in his mouth and trickled past his throat. Only a little, he’d told himself, but he should have known from experience that having the frantic beating of a pulse beneath his lips would only make his cravings worse. His fingers tightened their grip on the back of Lance’s neck, his touch now showing signs of aggression.

The bite would hurt for a second, like two small knives diving into the skin. But the feeling would pass as numbness crept over the victim, leaving them placid and accepting of their fate. It was like the venom of a spider slowly weakening its prey to be devoured, only Lance had agreed to this. The blood awoke the deeper hunger inside of Gavin and he growled, his nails biting Lance’s skin now. His mind clouded, he might have kept drinking whether the lycan wanted him to or not. There was something about the taste of lycan’s blood that was far less appealing than a human’s, but Gavin didn’t seem to care. He’d take what he could get.

Until heavy footsteps sounded outside, stopping suddenly just before the door.

“….Lance?” Logan’s worried voice called out, and he gripped the doorknob. The lycan smelled the blood as he crossed by the room. Gavin instantly jumped back from the other man like he was a disease, his mouth stained red. He quickly ripped off his shirt and pressed it firmly against the other’s neck, stopping the bleeding and masking the scent. He looked to Lance, pleading.

“I’m fine….just cut myself….I’ll be out in a minute…” Lance muttered, nearly breathless, and Logan muttered something before walking off again. Gavin just sat there panting heavily, his hand on the shirt bundled against the wound. He stared at it almost sadly, but there was still hunger in his eyes like he was contemplating having more.

“I….uh…t-thanks…” Gavin muttered, clenching his hands into fists. “I don’t want him to….he’d be disappointed….”

Gavin stepped away, letting the shirt fall. He didn’t dare look at the wound, but he could still hear Lance’s heartbeat loudly in his ears, even if he was just imagining it. He swallowed hard and turned away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I really needed that. Thanks,” he muttered again.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance has less than a moment to prepare himself before Gavin plunged his teeth into his neck. The young Lycan whimpered, his own teeth biting his lip as he fought not to push him away, but the sound of Gavin moaning as the blood entered his mouth was enough to keep Lance in place. Gavin's hold on his became tighter, and Lance whimpered again as Gavin's fingers pressed into his neck.

Depite allowing Gavin to feed off him, Lance felt his knees beginning to buckle as the numbing that came with a vampire bite began to consume him, making his brain slow and his heart quicken. Panting, he raised his hands, carding them through Gavin's hair as he began to mutter; stupid, mis-formed words that didn't mean anything to anyone, other than him. His head became lighter and lighter as he lost more and more blood, Gavin's grip still tight, the small moans he was making festering in Lance's mind, telling him it was alright, that it was for Gavin, and if it was for Gavin then it didn't matter because at least he was paying attention to him...

Suddenly, Gavin's mouth and hands left him, leaving Lance feeling cold and light-headed. He staggered on his feet and nearly fell to the floor before Gavin grabbed him under the arms and pushed him to the bed before whipping his shirt off and pressing against the fang punctures on his neck.
"...Lance?" the man in question's eyes widened, and he looked to Gavin in fear, his mouth hanging open, his green eyes slightly unfocused and glassy. Gavin stared back at him, a pleading look on his face. Lance couldn't let him get caught.

"I'm fine...just cut myself...I'll be out in a minute..." Lance muttered, his voice sounding weaker than he liked. He watched as the sounds of Logan walking down the corridor. Sighing, he turned to smile at Gavin when the vampire stood up, walking to the centre of the room as the shirt fell from Lance's neck. Ah, here was the hurt he knew would come; the feeling of being used, of not being cared for. Even though he knew it was coming, he'd still agreed. He couldn't blame Gavin, not when it was in his nature.

"I...uh, t-thanks," Gavin muttered, refusing to meet Lance's eyes. "I don't want him to...he'd be disappointed..."

"It's fine," Lance whispered, hugging himself again, his slightly sweaty fringe sticking to his pink face. "I won't t-tell him..."

Lance watched as Gavin wipe his mouth on the back of his hand, the simple movement like a cut to his heart. "I really needed that. Thanks," Gavin said again. Staggering, Lance stumbled up from the bed, tripping forward and colliding with Gavin's back, putting his arms around his chest and clinging to him almost desperately.

"I said it's fine," he said in a stronger voice, squeezing the vampire tightly. "Just...please let me have this." Hating the pitiful note in his voice, he gripped Gavin tighter, his eyes closed as he rested his cheek to the taller vampire's back.

"I need to get ready for the mission. Will....will you come back tonight?" he asked in a small voice, almost scared to hear the answer.

[Rose]

Gavin hesitated, his mind distant. There was always a certain look in a vampire’s eyes after they fed, as if they were made of as much a beast as the wolves were. He tried to blink it away, but there was nothing he could do about his fangs, which stayed long and sharp, begging for more of what they only got a taste of. Swallowing hard, he brought his thoughts back to Lance, finally registering the feeling of arms around him and a warm cheek pressed to his cooler back. He closed his eyes.

“Heh, yeah sure, whatever you want babe,” Gavin said coolly, but his hand was raised, the back of it smeared with blood, and he was staring at it with something like shame. “Let’s make it through the nest first.”

Gavin slowly detached from Lance, patting his shoulder and then his cheek quickly before slipping out of the room. He went straight for one of the showers, which was small and the water was almost always cold. He washed the scent of blood from his body, but the taste would linger, as would the ghost of a pulse on his lips and in his head. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Gavin slipped out of the shower and pushed past a few of the others who were waking up, tossing them half-hearted smiles. He felt like everyone knew what he’d done.

Gavin’s room, like most of the others, was a sad little thing, his bed nothing more than a single mattress on the floor with some sheets and a thin pillow, which was better than some of the others. Raising money just wasn’t one of their specialties. The vampire made his way to the only other notable thing in the room, a wide box filled with all the clothes he owned. His guns were off in the corner, but he had to leave those today. Gavin grumbled about that fact as he pulled on a pair of loose black jeans, a red t-shirt with Transformers on it, and a thick black hoodie. He wasn’t dealing with the sun today, not when he had shit to do. Stepping back out, he walked slowly down the stairs in thought and found Logan back on the main floor, where most of the others were awake and eating now. Logan looked gruff and thoughtful, wearing ripped jeans and his head down. His face was unshaved and his hair was back in a loose ponytail.

“How the hell are we getting in there? You look every bit the wolf you are. And it’s not like this is prime club time. I hope you have a plan.” Gavin raised an eyebrow and stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked over.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance smiled into Gavin's back although the vampire couldn't see it. He felt him detach Lance's arms from around him before patting his shoulder and cupping his cheek before turning on his heel and leaving, once again not seeing the look on the Lycan's face, a look that said he was giving it everything he had not to bolt after Gavin and pull him back.

Sighing, he raised his fingertips to his neck and touched the bites lightly. They felt raised against his usually fair skin, and slightly tender. Scrounging down the side of his bed (which was only slightly raised off the floor by the broken timber frame that had been left behind from the previous tenant), he extracted a broken mirror and looked at himself, biting his lip nervously.

His eyes were beginning to clear, looking shiney and distant even to himself as he looked into their green depths. The weak blush on his face was going down, but there was no way the bites wouldn't be noticable; they were inflamed and still bleeding slightly.

"Dammit, Gavin," he muttered to himself, tossing the mirror on top of the bed and going over to the wardrobe where he'd piled all his belongings on the floor. He pulled out a clean black fitted shirt and pale grey waistcoat, slipping the baggy t-shirt he'd been previously wearing off over his head and balling it along with Gavin's shirt before throwing them both into the far corner of his room. He struggled into a pair of skinny jeans whilst he bent over, searching his clothes for something to hide his neck. Smiling faintly, he grabbed a neck-scarf from the jumble of clothes and knotted it around his neck, making sure that the bites were covered before leaving his room to find Logan and Gavin.

Fiddling with it as he entered the main room, he waved to the pair at the table before collapsing into the seat next to his leader. Logan looked him up and down, an eyebrow raised.

"What? We're going to a club, aren't we?" Lance answered, sounding a little defensive.

"But you'll be in wolf-form for most of it..." Logan retorted slowly, his eyes lingering on the scarf. Shrugging, Lance waved a hand to dismiss the comment before setting his arms on the table.

"It's not important. So, what's the plan?"

[Rose]

From the top of one of the highest buildings in the city, a vampire’s sharp eyes looked out at the world. The city, he found, was a poor sight to look at. The millions of multicolored lights that clung around the business buildings were beautiful, of course, but it was beyond the riches the he was gazing at. The concrete gray jungle that bordered the bustling shopping region was a storm cloud forever haunting the horizon. It threatened to spill the scum of the earth down over the oblivious humans that he ruled over. Alec, one of the richest men city. He gazed at the rocks he knew pests were hiding in, those skeletal buildings harboring Logan and his gang. And even worse, out there were the vampires who killed, the lycans who hunted. Out there were the unthinking creatures that gave them all a bad name.

Alec had plans to put a stop to them. But nothing could be done before Logan was gone. Logan knew far too much for his own good. With him out of the way, any threatening knowledge of the Cure would disappear. The vampire sighed, and there was true sorrow in it. Logan was not a bad man. In fact, Alec respected him more than anyone else in this miserable world. But they had met on opposite sides of a war much bigger than they were. And they had each chosen to wage that war.

Alec turned away from the gray city as the sun started to rise, throwing beautiful colors into the smog around the buildings. Slowly, deliberately, he walked over to his desk. It was littered with papers he severely had to deal with. Business was its own war, filled with murderers and liars and cheaters. The vampire wished he could just have some honest work.

“Layla, send in Manic and Kaleb,” Alec said, holding down a button on his desk, addressing his very informed secretary. “I have a job for them.”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

No sooner had Alec removed his finger from the intercom button that the two mahogany doors to his office flew open.

"About time! Do you know how long we've been waiting for you?! I need to kill something, Alec," came a grating voice, the whine in it heavy. The light of the city lit up the young woman; her short, layered hair, dyed white aside from a bright red fringe, her small yet curvy stature, and the countless knifes that hung on her body. Stomping across the room, her black combat boots leaving prints in the plush carpet, she collapsed into the chair before Alec's desk, propping said booted feet on the edge of the table.

"You better have something good this time, sweetheart," she muttered angrily, one of her dark brown eyes on Alec's face, the other unfocused and looking to the left. She hooked a thumbnail into her mouth and chewed it, her sharp teeth nipping at the skin and tearing it, though she didn't seem to notice the crimson liquid dripping down her wrist.

[Rose]

Gavin stared at the scarf as Lance sat down at the table, but as soon as he realized his eyes were glued to it he looked away sharply, careful not to look in the lycan’s direction again. He stared instead at his leader, drumming his long fingers against the wooden table that was now littered with discarded plates. A young female vampire looking barely over 17 say beside them, talking quietly to another vampire boy who she’d run away with. In the living room, a rowdy group of lycan friends were huddled together on and around the couch, watching a movie on tv that they’d seen a hundred times already. They had the volume turned down and were making up words for it. The place was really starting to look like home as everyone livened up.

“My friend told me the vampires run out of the club, as I said. But if you go through the back door, an alleyway should lead to another building,” Logan explained over the babble of the waking house. “Its small on the outside but there’s a basement, too. If what he says is right, we’ll be able to take out a few vampires who are staying in the club, then finish off the rest in the next room.”

Gavin stroked his chin as if he had a beard, but he always seemed to be clean shaven. He ran the plan through his mind, trying to figure out how he would act if he were one of the vampires.

“We won’t get much of a jump on them. The most we can hope for is to get inside,” Gavin mused, not sounding very hopeful. “They’ll know something’s wrong. Two wolves walking into their place this early in the morning? Yeah, they’ll know. It sounds like a bad joke. They’ll know.”

“That’s fine. I have no doubt that they will let us in. They’ll try to take us there. But there aren’t many of them in there. We have the upper hand,” Logan assured them, standing from the table. He waved the boys up and lead them outside around the back of the building. Two cars and a truck were parked in broken garages, looking dusty and unused, but they knew them to be reliable. The truck pulled out before them, Lillian sitting in the front seat. She waved, smiling softly as if taking them out to lunch, not a bloodbath.

“She wanted to watch over us, so she volunteered to drive,” Logan said, climbing in the front as the two boys slid into the back cab. He flicked on some music and Lily drove off.

In the back seat, Gavin looked over at lance and gave him a small smile. With blood in him and the excitement of a hunt coursing through his veins, the vampire suddenly looked much better. His fingers kept tapping away on his knee, which he bounced, unable to hold still.

“You ready for this?”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance returned Gavin's easy smile, his heart fluttering slightly at the sight. "With you and Logan at my side, I can face anything!" he said dramatically, fluttering his eyelids and clasping his hands in front of his chest. He grinned wider as Logan laughed from the front seat. "In all seriousness, I'm ready. Logan, you've got that plan so worked you know it ass-backwards. You're buying beer tonight though, right?"

"Heh, if you say so, Lance," their leader replied, fiddling with the radio till a song he seemed to like came on and he turned it up, drowning out all possible conversation. Nodding his head slightly, Lance looked across at Gavin, noting his drumming fingers. Shyly, Lance covered the vampire's hand with his own before leaning forward so he was able to speak Gavin's ear. "Stop tapping like that, you're making me antsy."

Gavin opened his mouth to retort back but Lance grinned, shaking his head as he removed his hand and sat back in his seat, pearing out the window as they tore through the city, lights and cars and buildings flashing past.

It didn't seem like much later when Lily turned off the main road and into a side one, killing the engine as the three boys piled out. "Drive around for an hour, then come back. If we aren't here, circle a few blocks. If we still aren't here when you've done that a few times, head on home, okay?" Logan instructed Lily. She nodded and watched as the three men went round the side of the brightly lit club to a small door. Grabbing Logan's arm, Lance pulled him back slightly.

"D'you want me to Change now? You've got more power than me but my nose is better," he muttered quickly, his eyes fixed on the door, darting to the end of the alley and back a few times whilst he waited for Logan's answer.

[Rose]

Alec grimaced as he sat at his desk in front of Manic, a look of barely-concealed disgust on his face. He reached forward and pushed her booted foot from the polished wood, rubbing at the slight scuff with a sigh. This woman represented what he hated. She represented the unbridled urge to kill, the joy of life slipping between your fingertips at your own doing. She was the bane of all that he worked for. And yet, she was driving force of his attacks. He needed her. What she didn’t know was that once it was all through, she would be the first to go.

“It will be worth your time, my darling, I promise you,” Alec said in a cool, mild-mannered voice despite how he felt. He was an elegant man who kept up appearances at the worst of times. No one had better control of their temper than Alec.

“I managed to track down one of Logan’s contacts,” Alec went on, pausing as the doors opened and Kaleb stepped through, a big man with a small brain. He was another pawn to Alec. He was another disposable killer. And he was very good at what he did.

“Mornin’ boss,” Kaleb said, settling down in the chair beside Manic. His dirty-blond hair fell around his shoulders, shaggy and unkempt just the way he liked it. His muscled skin was riddled with scars beneath the t-shirt he wore, the sleeves ripped off to show how good he thought he looked. “Go on, go on. “

“Yes, anyway…After some…bribing, I convinced the man to set Logan up,” Alec said, and surprisingly his voice held no joy. If anything, his demeanor was somber. For a man who killed so much, he certainly didn’t seem to enjoy it. “I’m having him directed to a little vampire club. It’s a small place and the vampires there are all show. Logan will no doubt dispose of them quickly. That is where you come in.”

Alec leaned back in his chair, combing a hand through his beautiful long blonde hair that never seemed to lose his luster. There was an old-fashioned look about him, no matter what he wore. His sharply angled face commanded power and respect and would have even if he were a lowly beggar. There seemed to be a stereotype that all vampires were think and lanky, as if the disease rendered them unable to grow any sort of muscle. Alec’s body defied this, nothing overly stunning, but he was in good shape, lean and healthy. He was always ready to fight, however new his pressed business suit was.

The vampire looked over his two lackeys distantly. If he was lucky, Logan would have enough time to kill all of the vampires in the club, doing them both a favor. If he was luckier, Manic and Kaleb would reach the club in time to finish off the weak lycan and any of his friends.

“Go there. Kill anyone you find but Logan. He’s mine. You know that. Bring him to me.” Even as he said it, he had no faith in the two of them coming back with Logan. And on such short notice, there weren’t any others he could call up yet. No, he could only hope Manic and Kaleb killed off whoever was with Logan. The rest was wishful thinking.

“Go. Take any of my cars that you would like. The club is Last Light. I’m sure you know where that is.”