The Curse

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"A public place, huh?" Manic muttered past her thumb, her tongue flitting out to lap the blood from her fingers. "No weapons then. Looks like I'll have to rip their heads from their shoulders...Oh, I do love the feel of fresh blood on my hands, the give of tendons, the cracking of bones..." as she spoke, her smile grew wider and wider until she was practically giggling with joy. Sighing, she stood up, saluting Alec before grabbing Kaleb's arm and pulling the oaf from his chair.

"Come on big guy, we've got some work to do," she purred, running her hand up his arm to squeeze at the muscles he so loved to show before winking her crooked eye and skipping into the elevator. As it began to desend, Manic stripped herself of all her knifes, a pretty impressive collection gathering in the corner of the elevator. Straightening her black tank top and cargo pants, she stuffed her hands into her pockets and grabbed one of the hanging car keys from the wall of the garage, clicking fob on it a few times as she located the flashing car.

Pulling Kaleb over to it, she tossed the man the keys before planting herself in the front passengers, propping her feet on the dashboard as her tattered thumb placed itself back in her mouth.

"Come on, Kaleb, hurry up! You know when the last time I watched someone die was? Weeks ago! I need to see it again! The way the light leaves their eyes in their final moments....Kaleb, I don't give a shit about the cops, we're speeding." Giggling, Manic ran the tip of her tongue over her protuding fangs, her smile overly wide.

"Come out and play, little doggies. We're in for a fun night."

[Rose]

Logan was quiet for a long time, pondering. There was only one guy standing by the door at the moment, likely because the club was closed to anyone who didn’t have special privileges. But Logan knew that as soon as they stepped inside they’d be treated to the sight of many more guards. He shook his head slowly.

“No….no we’re going to have to get inside together. But the second the door closes behind us, I want you to Change, ok? You are faster. Go straight for anyone with a gun. Gavin, you turn and take the gun from the guard as he closes the door. I’ll go for anyone else. They’ll be expecting foul play. We have a second, maybe two, for this to go right. No hesitation.”

Logan looked back to his friends, giving them a confident smile. To some, a nest of vampires was a frightening thought. But they knew what they were doing. The vampires were at a place of leisure. They were likely all stupid, fed, and lazy. Being content made them forgetful. Being vampires made them confident. Being confident made them stupid. Logan wasn’t worried at all.

“You know the drill. If anyone gets the jump on you and you feel you can’t fight anymore, get the hell out. This place isn’t worth your life. We can always come back,” Logan finished, nodding to them as he got up and went around the corner, hands in his pockets. The expression he dawned and the cocky way he suddenly walked made him look like a common street thug. It was exactly what he wanted. Gavin quickly mouthed “good luck” to Lance as he hurried to Logan’s side, changing his stride to match his leader’s without being told to. As they boldly approached the front door the guard looked up, raising an eyebrow. His hand went to the gun at his side.

“Hey. We’re here to talk to Mikal,” Logan said confidently, saying exactly what his contact had told him to say if he wanted to get inside. The guard raised his eyebrows, staring at Logan’s mouth and looking for fangs. Gavin took over, flashing a literally pointed smile, and the guard nodded cautiously. He looked over at Lance, the only one who hadn’t said a word and didn’t look quite so formidable.

“Is that the new delivery?” The guard asked gruffly, and Logan, the seasoned professional that he was, didn’t let the confusing question change the look on his face. He merely nodded and the guard opened the door, following after them.

The club should have been closed. It should have been quiet. There should have been a few vampires loitering around, sipping cocktails and talking about how crazy the night had been before going to bed. That’s how it should have been, but that wasn’t how it was.

The three men were hit with the sound of thumping music, even at the odd hour of the morning. The place was not so near empty as Logan had expected. Instead, five women were tied to tables that had been brought onto the dance floor. Bent over each of them were two vampires feeding away, lost in the taste of blood. The women looked pale and thin, their bodies covered with various bite marks. They were also dead.

Logan had said before not to hesitate, but they all did, staring at the sight. Logan’s blood boiled, rage clear in his eyes now. They’d stumbled upon a blood ring of some sort. The women had likely volunteered, lured to the club and enticed with the promise of wild pleasure beyond their imagination. It was amazing what women would do when faced with a real vampire. Humans needed excitement. Even if it killed them.

Gavin swayed, suddenly dizzy from the scent of blood everywhere. On the dancefloor, one of the vampires raised his head, showing a mouth stained red, blood dripping down his bare chest. He looked over the three of them and then to the guard sharply, adopting a defensive stance.

“What the fuck are they?” he growled, and the nine other vampires lifted their heads, their glassy, hungry eyes fixing on the new sacks of blood before them.

“They said they want-” The guard began, but Gavin finally snapped out of the trance the blood left him in. He turned around in a flash and the gun went off as he wrestled with the guard. Logan tore off his shirt and dove for the other vampires, his body twisting, bones crunching, muscle tearing and weaving into new shapes as he roared.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance's jaw dropped at the site of the woman tied up, their heads tilted back, Vampires suckling at their necks and various places on the body where arteries were close to the surface. Staggering, he fell back against the door they'd just walked in through, his hand clasped to his mouth and his eyes open in horror. Lance was naive, and he'd never in his wildest dreams expected something like this.

"How...how am I-" he stammered quietly, the clogging smell of blood already inside him, winding around his senses and making his stomach churn. As a Lycan, his senses were extra sensitive, but Lance was known for his nose. How was he supposed to track anyone through this? Speaking of which, if it was this strong whilst he was human, then how bad would it be in wolf form?

Lance barely registered Logan leaping forward with a roar, losing his shirt as he began to Shift, the sound of his bones cracking and re-setting as he flew towards a vampire. Trembling, Lance averted his eyes; none of these vampires would get it, but Changing was a private thing. If one of them grabbed Logan while he was half-transformed, there was a chance he would get stuck, unable to complete his transformation into wolf and unable to go back into human.

Luckily, their leader was more experienced than that, and was already nearing completion when he landed on the vampire, his arms shortening as they became front legs. Shaking his head, Lance stood and clamped a hand around Gavin's wrist, tugging him down to his level briefly.

"Concentrate!" he shouted quickly, his hand pulling the scarf from his neck as he let go of the vampire and bolted from the main room, losing his waistcoat and shirt as he ran. Lance wasn't like Logan; he couldn't transform in a matter of seconds. He needed minutes, and he wouldn't get them if there were vampires around.

Flinging himself into a bathroom stall, he rid himself of his jeans and knelt on his hands and knees, breathing deeply and focusing on the Change.

He knew it had started instantly; the prickling feeling of his skin feeling too small, the flashes of pain that coursed down his legs and arms, his head banging as if someone was taking a mallet to it. Swallowing his screams, Lance lowered his head between his shoulder-blades, his back arching as it cracked. Whimpering, tears coursed down his cheeks as his body began to re-build itself. A tail grew, his legs and arms shortened, his eyes moved to the sides of his head as a snout grew from the centre of his face...

Logan, Logan, how do you do this?! came his last lucid terrified thought as fur sprang from his skin and he slumped forward, his hind and front legs spreading as he panted, his tongue lolling from his jaws. Growling, Lance pushed himself onto his paws, nosing the stall open and staggering from the bathroom, catching his reflection in a mirror, more fox than wolf. He snorted before galloping down a corridor, his speed growing as he control over his four legs did.

Skidding into the main room, his head swam at the heavy sent of blood, but he ignored it as he looked around for Gavin. His bright green eyes, filled with human intelligence, scanned the room, finally locating the vampire grappling with another. Letting out a short bark to let Logan know he'd transformed safely, he bolted across the room, skidding under a table as a vampire attempted to grab him before leaping over a tied-up woman and sinking his teeth into the shoulder of the vampire that was fighting Gavin, his momentum enough to knock it to the floor. Shaking wildly as the vampire screamed, Lance loosened his hold on the man's shoulder before grabbing the back of his neck, snapping it.

Snorting, he let the body drop before looking up at Gavin, his head cocked as his mind tried to peice together the fact that he knew this man. As a wolf, his thoughts were slower, more primal; if Gavin spoke fast, Lance wouldn't be able to recognise his speech. Finally making the conection, he licked Gavin's fingers quickly before turning tail and weaving through vampires towards Logan, bumping his hind-quarters with his snout quickly before leaping over the huge brown wolf and sinking his teeth into the thigh of a vampire, the blood spurting across his face and into his jaws.

[Rose]

Kaleb pulled up the car, finally shutting off the screeching rock music that he’d been blaring for the entire ride over. He jumped out, going to the passenger’s side to help manic out as if he was any sort of gentleman.

“Your meal awaits, madam,” The Lycan said, chuckling, though that was barely a joke. He was known for taking a few bites out of his victims even after the battle was over. As they made their way to the door together, the sounds of thumping music greeted them. That’s all anyone one would hear, should they happen to walk by.

“Good, we can really make ‘em scream,” Kaleb said, mostly to himself, and threw open the door. As it slowly slid closed, sealing out the daylight once more, the big man surveyed the bloody scene before him. His stomach growled and he laughed, watching as three vampires grabbed a wolf he knew all too well. Kaleb counted, seeing which vampires were attacking who.

“Ahh…there he is. We got Logan, and there’s Gavin. Ohh…that little one looks tasty. Dibs.”

And he started to Change.


Gavin’s eyes darted around the dancefloor. The whole scene was chaos. The tables holding the women were knocked over, dumping the bodies onto the ground. He watched as Logan’s hulking form struggled against two vampires at once, Lance fighting just behind him with another as more closed in. They were losing their footing, the ground slick with blood. Gavin cursed, raising the gun he’d wrestled from the guard. He expertly fired, taking out four vampires as they approached, taking their numbers down to four. That was it, just the ones his friends were fighting and one more. Three against four. They had this easy.

Gavin raised the gun, ready to take out one other, when he heard a growling off toward the entrance of the club. Confused, he slowly turned, letting out a strong of curses as he did. Kaleb and Manic. The only thing that could have made this situation worse was if Alec himself had come along. This wasn’t good, not at all.

Kaleb, in the form of a sandy blond wolf nearly the size of Logan, took off at top speed, preparing to slam into his opponent. Gavin looked across the room quickly to see who he was going for. There was Lance, tackling down a vampire and tearing at his throat. His nose was stained with blood. Gavin doubted he could smell the oncoming wolf, let alone hear him through the music.

“No!” Gavin fired wildly, pulling the trigger four times, though only two bullets came out followed by empty clicks. Kaleb yelped, tripping as a bullet caught his shoulder. Triumphant, Gavin threw aside the gun and flew toward the wolf, ready to tear him to shreds, but something slammed into his side- Manic- and he was sent crashing to the ground.

Logan sank his fangs into the throat of his opponent, seemingly unaffected by the desperate hands that clawed at his face and bashed against his nose. He bit down tighter and heard a gurgle as the vampire finally choked on its own blood. The huge brown wolf let the body drop with a thud and looked up, sharp yellow eyes filled with a primal hunger. And there was Kaleb, struggling to his feet as bright red stained his light fur. He barely seemed affected by the bullet in his side. He looked up at Logan and his maw fell open into a wolf’s grin, his breath panting quickly with adrenaline. Kaleb lost all semblance of humanity when he Changed. He was a beast in every sense of the word. The two had fought together on more than one occasions, and it was always a gruesome meeting. Logan wouldn’t let him get to Lance. He knew all too well how that battle would end.

With some unspoken challenge initiated, both Logan and Kaleb started charging for one another, tongues lolling and teeth barred as they crashed into each other. The sound of their bodies meeting was a huge crack and then the skidding of claws as they struggled to pin one another. The dark and light fur blurred together, fangs snapping with curt barks. Kaleb turned in a flash, getting a nip to Logan’s neck while the dark wolf got a bit of his leg. The two became aware of only each other, a writhing mass of blood, fur, and fangs.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"Hmmm..." Manic hummed, cocking her head to the side as she watched Kaleb walk ahead, her good eye focused on him and the other down the alleyway. "Whatever you say, handsome. At least you know how to treat a lady." Grinning, her teeth gleaming in the dim light, the short woman trotted after him, slapping his ass as she pushed past him and into the club, music blaring and lights flashing. Despite her overall appearance, Manic wasn't stupid, and knew a lot more about werewolves than she let on.

Heavy music. They won't be able to hear. Flashing lights. They won't be able to see. Blood. They won't be able to smell. All of this ran through Manic's mind seconds after entering the room, Kalebs chuckle as he called out the small orange wolf a small tickle at the back of her mind.

"You're welcome to him," she grumbled. "He's easy prey. I want Gavin."

Without another word, Manic stomped into the room, her hands balled at her sides as she swang her head back and forth, searching for the tall, black-haired vampire as she kicked aside her dying fellows. "Ma-Ma-" A voice croaked at her foot, and she looked down into the face of a vampire older than herself, his fingers clutching at her leg. It was someone she knew well.

Kicking at his face, Manic pryed his hands from her as she crushed his fingers, smiling as the tiny bones gave in her fist.

"Shut up, dickhead, you're ruining the game!" she sang, skipping away from the bleeding vampire. A deep growl caught her attention, and she watched as a blond wolf scrambled across the room, heading straight for the red.

"No!" a voice cried to her left, and Manic had to hold in a scream of delight as she finally spotted Gavin, standing tall and lit from behind by flashing strobe-lights. She immediately headed for him, jumping onto a table and using her flying momentum to barrel into his side and knocking the pair of them to the ground. Manic wasted no time in pushing Gavin onto his front, straddling his back as she grabbed his arms and pushed them up, panting as she leaned over to his ear.

"Awwwh," she breathed, panting heavily in a mixture of excitement, adrenaline and lust. "Did big bad Kaleb go after your fuck? Is he yours? I bet you own him, the little thing. So cute, Gavin...you always did know how to pick'em," she purred, running her tongue along his face as she pushed his arms higher up his back, grinning in satifaction as he squirmed with disgust beneath her. "Hmmm, your pain...so delicious..."

Pulling hard, Lance managed to rip the throat of the vampire he'd been grapping with, a line of scratches across his snout where the woman had frantically clawed him. Sneezing to clear his nostrils of the blood, Lance looked over to Logan, his hide-quarters raised as he prepared to leap into the fray and aid his friend.

Just as he was about to jump, a deep growl made he freeze, his head wirling to the source of the noise. A huge wolf, light in colour, was barreling at him, his jaws open in a snarl, his shoulders rippling with muscle. Lance's eyes dilated in fear, a whine twisting up out of this throat as his tail retreated between his legs. If he were human, he'd have flushed with shame at his cowardice, but he couldn't help it; that fucker was huge!

One eye closed in preperation for inpact, Logan catapulted himself at the newcomer, growling and snarling as he snapped at the wolf, his teeth sinking into the others fur as they grappled, Lance watching in fear as he slowly rose to his feet, prancing in place as he tried to leap in and lend a paw, but not wanting to hurt his boss. Circling the fight, whining and barking at Logan to let him help, he saw a vampire try to stab at Logan, a peice of glass in her hand. She was one of the last, and damned if Lance was going to let her interfere.

Growling, he jumped at her, closing his jaws around her wrist as he clawed at her belly, trying to get to her drop the glass. The woman screamed in pain, punching at his head but he refused to let go. Somehow, she managed to transfer the glass shard from her left hand to her right, and drawing it back with another scream, she plunged it into the scruff of Lance's neck.

Yelping, the red wolf let go, his legs splaying as he fell. Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes before leaping at her once more, snapping at her heels before slipping through her legs and launching himself at her back, closing his jaws around her neck. Her dying screams echoed in his ears as he wretched, blood streaming from the stab wound on his back, not as deep as it could've been thanks to his thick fur.

[Rose]

Gavin clenched his teeth together, the muscles in his arms taunt with pain and rage. He struggled to wrench himself free from the wicked woman’s grasp, but she was just as strong as he was, and fueled by much more blood.

“Nhg…He’s better than you ever were…” Gavin taunted breathlessly, distracting her as he squirmed beneath her. “He certainly tastes better. He’s…got a lot less ‘crazy bitch’ in him…”

Gavin quickly pushed against his knee, using his size over her to his advantage. He flipped himself around and slammed his head against her temple, knocking her back. With a triumphant smile he climbed to his feet, facing off the woman as she climbed to hers. They slowly circled, their gaze never leaving each other. The minute either made any sort of move, they knew, the other would attack.

“You’re looking great, Manic,” Gavin said with a tight smile. “And your eye is still looking everywhere fucking else, I see.”

As manic growled, Gavin reached over and grabbed a chair at his side. The woman was already diving at him the second he showed any signs of movement, but Gavin was fast. He swung the chair around with all his strength, breaking it over the side of her head and shoulder. The wood splintered, one of the broken legs falling to the ground. Gavin scrambled for it as the enraged, laughing woman jumped onto his back. He grabbed the sharp wood and jabbed it backwards, catching the woman’s shoulder. He rolled, frantic to dislodge her, but he felt a sharp pain in his neck and knew she’d latched on with her fangs. Gavin dropped the wood with a yelp and reached back, seizing Manic by the hair and neck. He ripped her away, throwing her over his shoulder and into a wall, knocking over another table. Gavin was panting, but manic only smiled.

“Yummy,” She teased, licking her lips. Gavin picked up the spear of wood and ran at her with a roar again.

Logan and Kaleb’s fight didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The two wrestled around, one pinning the other and sinking in his fangs before the tables would turn and they’d be the one struggling on the ground. Logan started to get distracted, however, his eyes darting to Lance in worry. The kid wasn’t as used to fighting as they were. Logan was starting to regret bringing the younger wolf on what was supposed to be an easy mission. Now they were outnumbered, two good fighters and one weaker against two good fighters and three random vampires. It wasn’t looking good, and Logan finally realized that he’d been set up.

From behind them, the second of the remaining vampires rose up from where they had been hiding at the bar. It was a larger man, his face twisted with rage and fear. His day hadn’t gone as planned, either. The vampire pulled his hand from beneath the counter, and within it was a shining blade. With a flash of speed, he jumped on top of the counter, arm raised, eyes locked on Lance. Logan had Kaleb’s head between his jaws, nearly crushing the bone, but he quickly let go and barked loudly in warning and panic. Lance whirled around just in time to avoid having a knife plunged into his back, but the blade grazed through his side, leaving a thick wound that instantly dripped blood. The vampire didn’t hesitate, jumping at the wolf again, and neither did Kaleb. He seized the opportunity to squirm his head from beneath Logan and sink his fangs deep within the top of the wolf’s leg, making him fall with a yelp.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Sucking on a lollypop, Callum watched the club below him, his blue eyes glazed and disinterested at the fight. He didn't care who lived and who died; they were all the same in the end. Lost souls with no-where to go, nothing to do but kill eachother as they strove to end their own hurting.

He's come to terms with his immortality centuriesa ago, and even if there was a cure, he would crumble to dust the moment he reseived it, his body cycling through the years a second until he just rotted away. But niether did he want to live forever; his days were spent drifting from place to place, no goals and no reason for being.

Scared to die, but hating being alive....such a conundrum. Cracking the sugar-candy between his teeth, he chewed thoughtfully as he watched a vampire drive a knife into Lance's side, the wolf's shrill howls doing little to Callum's composure. It didn't matter to him whether Lance lived or died... the man's lust for him was of little importance to Callum.

However... no-one damaged his toys and got away with it. Standing up, the blond boy walked along the suspending rafter, not wobbling in the slightest. He jumped from one runner to the next, positioning himself til he was right over the knife-weilding vampire. He dropped silently, landing on the vampire's shoulders and pushing him to the ground, grabbing his head roughly between his small palms and twisting his neck, his eyes remaining dead at the delicate bones gave and cracked.

Standing, Callum dusted himself off before turning to leave the club. As he tried to walk away, he was held back by Lance, gripping the cuff of his jacket in in teeth, his ears flat against his head and a pained whine coming out of his throat. The vampire-boy could see the shining hope in the dog's eyes even past the pain.

Pulling his jacket from the Lycan, Callum stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"I don't take sides, Lance," he said softly before turning on his heel, pushing a side-door open and exiting the main club. As he turned a corner, he saw one or two of Alec's vampire lackeys, followed by a mud-coloured wolf.

"Hey, kid, you seen Logan's boys?"

"....back there."

"Thanks." The group ran past him as Callum continued onwards, not a feeling of guilt inside him, his face deadpanned as it always was.

Like I said, Lance. I don't take sides.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance watched the blond vampire leave in disbelieve, the pain in his side ignored as he watched Callum walk out, his wolfish mind unable to conprehend what he considered a pack member walking out on a fight. What made it even worse was that more enemies came in through the door he just left through, meaning he hadn't fought them to protect his pack.

Lowering his head between his shoulders, Lance growled, sounding more submissive than violent even to himself when he saw wolf that was still bigger than him approaching, it's tongue lolling out in a grin.

Manic laughed, a high-pitched screaming sound as Gavin came at her with a make-shift stake, ducking down as she linked her fingers together and swung her connected hands up, clubbing the vampire beneath his jaw and sending him flying backwards. Giggling, she wiped his blood from her lips before standing over him, her hands on her hips and her mouth open to speak.

Just as she was about to make words, she caught sight of more of Alec's men entering the room, converging on the ginger wolf who was bleeding heavily, his shackles raised as he backed into a corner. Manic shrieked before running at them, shoving tables and bodies aside in her hast.

"No! Don't you dare! He's my kill! I want to see the light leave his eyes! I need to see it!" she screamed, leaping at a vampire and sinking her teeth into his jugular, tearing the vein wide open before using his back as a springboard and alighting on the other as he raised he gun to shoot her. "You're ruining my game!" she screamed at him, sinking her fingersnails into his face and eyes as he tried to dislodge her, howling in pain. Pulling backwards, she sent them both tumbling to the floor before grabbing the vampires head and smacking it into a protuding corner of a concrete step, over and over until his face was unrecognisable.

Crawling to the gun, she lifted it and aimed it at the new Lycan, pulling the trigger and sending a wave of bullets into the wolf, fur and gore flying as it crumpled to the ground, it's human eyes showing betrayal until they went dull. Panting, she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, pulling the leg she's twisted behind her as she closed in on Lance, grinning at him manically. "Come here, little doggy," she cooed, beckoning him with a finger, grinning the whole while even as blood dripped down her face. "It's alright...Manic's gunna take care of you, yes she is....I wished you'd change back... I'll never see your pretty face if you die as a wolf, will I?" Pushing herself to her knees, Manic raised the rifle, aiming it at the terrified wolf who'd pushed himself as far into the corner as he would go, a low whine sounding like music to her ears; the sound of a dying dog.

"A shame, huh cutie?" she muttered, her eye sighting down the barrel as she placed her finger on the trigger.

[Rose]

Gavin cried out in fear as the gun was raised toward Lance. With speed he barely knew he had, Gavin flew to the wolf’s side, crouching in front of him with his arms against the wall like he was trapping the boy there. Their eyes met, Gavin’s showing a fear he’d never shown before, and then they widened as the shot rang out. It all happened in the blink of an eye, barely a second. Gavin gasped, blood dripping from a hole in his side. But it was better than a hole in Lance’s head.

Whatever happened, Gavin knew that Manic wouldn’t fire again. Well, she might shoot him a few times, but she wouldn’t kill him. Manic would never kill someone she wanted to hurt with something like a gun. There was no sport in that, no entertainment. So Gavin stayed kneeling before Lance, his arms shaking where they supported his body against the wall.

“Look at me. Kid, it’s gonna be alright. You’re alright. Hey, you listening? Its fine. I’m getting you out of here,” Gavin soothing, going on and on, saying whatever came to mind. His eyes held Lance’s, refusing to look away or let the boy do so. He heard Manic’s curse behind him, then her footsteps coming closer. Logan was grappling with Kaleb still, but he was weakening, unable to stand on his left forearm. Things were looking grim despite Gavin’s frantic soothing, but he didn’t want Lance to realize that. If they were going to die here, he wasn’t going to let the kid die afraid and alone in a corner.

“Put the gun down!” A new voice shouted, and a stroke of hope graced their hearts. Lillian stood at the entrance to the club, a pistol in each of her hands. “You’re outnumbered now. Let us go and you’ll go.”

The beautiful young woman had never looked so commanding in her life. And Gavin knew what Manic and Kaleb did not, and that was Lillian’s inability to shoot a gun. The woman was far too kind, too religious to ever actually hurt anyone. But she was doing a good job of hiding that now. Waving one gun at Kaleb, she nodded her head toward the back door.

“Let Logan go. Now.” Kaleb slowly let go of Logan, growling in rage. He backed away slowly, heading for the door. He was sure Manic wouldn’t put down the gun, and he didn’t want to be around if she didn’t. Lillian had the sense to point both of her guns at Manic as the lycan disappeared out the back door. “Go. You lost this round.”

Gavin didn’t waste any time. He stuck his arms under the small wolf and lifted him from the ground, shouldering the door open behind Lillian. The woman had parked the car right in front of the club. Behind it was Alec’s car, the tires slashed. Gavin had to smile with a bit of triumph. Lillian sure had saved the day. Ignoring the confused human couple walking by for a morning date, Gavin loaded his bloody lover into the back of the truck, sliding in next to him. Logan soon limped out, back as a human with his jeans on. Lillian was the last to exit, her guns pointed at the door before jumping in the truck with Logan. She instantly dropped the guns in the seat next to her like they were diseased and drove off.

“Just keep driving,” Logan said in a tight, pained voice as he leaned back against the seat. There were missing chunks of skin and scratches and bite marks all over him, his arm looking the worst. He took a moment to gaze back at the battered young wolf and grimaced. “…he needs help. We all do. Just….we’re going to visit an old friend of mine. Just keep driving, Lillian. I’ll tell you where to go.”

Gavin didn’t notice the look on Logan’s face as he said where they needed to go. He was eyeing his wounds, but when the older lycan proved to be ok he quickly turned his attention on Lance. He grabbed the clothes from the front seat and set the bundle between them.

“H-hey buddy….you ok…? Come on….that’s not too bad…” He muttered, moving away some blood-soaked fur so he could inspect his friend’s wound. He felt his own midsection burning and slipped off his shirt, peering down. He gave Lance a smile that he hoped would make everything alright.

“Just…just a scratch. But you owe me now, eh?”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

His eyes scrunched closed, Lance prepared himself for the shot, his whole body trembling. He didn't want to die, not like this! Not in this body! Wolves who died as wolves didn't change back into humans because they'd died, it was all or nothing. Not like this, not like this, not like this!

There was a scuffling, and Lance cracked an eye open before they both flew open in terror at the sight of Gavin crouched over him, his blue eyes intense as they met the wolf's terrified ones. Letting out a strangled whine, Lance prodded at Gavin with his snout, trying in vain to get the vampire to move.

Please, Gavin! Please move, please! Gavin, don't do this, please! Lance screamed in his head, the words garbled even to himself as he kicked frantically at the vampire until the shot rang out, Gavin gasping as Lance yelped, looking up at man, his eyes wide. He causiously nosed the wound, licking at it gently before Gavin started talking and he payed complete attention so he could understand the words.

“Look at me. Kid, it’s gonna be alright. You’re alright. Hey, you listening? Its fine. I’m getting you out of here,” Gavin muttered slowly, the wolf before him cocking his head in confusion. Whining, Lance nosed along the vampire's jaw, licking his cheek as Gavin continued to whisper to him. Lance longed to Change back, to hold Gavin in his arms, just once before the end...

“Put the gun down! You’re outnumbered now. Let us go and you’ll go.” Lance pricked his ears up, looking over Gavin's shoulder at the newcomer, not realising it was Lillian until he was zooming past her in Gavin's arms. The black-haired man threw open a door to the truck and pushed the wolf inside, Lance's claws skitting over the leather seats as Gavin slid in beside him. Lance huddled into his side, shaking as he stared out of the window, watching for Logan and Lily.



"Fuck you bitch! Who do you think you are, stealing my fun and ruining my game?!" Manic spat at Lillian, the rifle in her hand pointed at the womans head just as her two pistols were zoned onto the cock-eyed vampire. What Lillian didn't know what that Manic's rifle was empty; the last round now sat in the back of Gavin. "You've got some nerve!"

Manic watched her as Lillian back out of the club, Logan limping after her as they slammed the door and locked it. Sighing, Manic dropped the gun and stood, pushing her hands into the small of her back, the vertebre popping. Grinning, she excited through a different door which led to the club's private garage, whistling as she did so.

You may have won the battle, Gavin, but you'll lose the war. You may not see it, but I know you're weakness now...



Lance eyed the bundle of clothes causiously as Gavin poked at his stab wound, making the wolf yelp as he did so. Gavin was talking, but with the rumbling of the car and the pain in his side, Lance couldn't make heads nor tails of his words. Time to Change back. Prodding Gavin's face with his nose, Lance scrambled over the seats and into the boot, wanting to change in private. Growling at Logan, the man nodded before turning the radio up high to mask the sound.

A few minutes later, Lance poked his head up, four scratches run across his nose and left cheek from a female vampire earlier on. He grabbed the jeans on the back seat, slipping them on before clambering back next to Gavin, grabbing the spare t-shirt and pulling it on, the item of clothing swamping him and making him look younger than his eighteen years.

"Um, what did you say before?" he asked timidly, looking up at Gavin before looking back down at his hands. Chuckling, Gavin lent down to whisper into Lance's ear over the radio, making him shiver. "Oh...yeah, I do." Equally as timid as before, Lance slid his hand into Gavin's, threading his fingers through the vampires before leaning his head against the man's shoulder. "You shouldn't have done that. What if you died? I couldn't have- I mean, I-" Lance stammered, his cheeks pinking as he tripped over his words. His body ached, he was bleeding from places he'd never even seen before, his friend had taken a fucking bullet for him and he still couldn't tell him how much he mattered to him?

"...Thanks," Lance finally whispered, feeling every bit the coward he knew he was.

[Rose]

Gavin snorted and shook his head, his shoulders bouncing with his low chuckle.

“Manic would never kill me. Not like that. Not until she made me suffer first. I knew she wouldn’t shoot me again. I knew everything would be alright.” Gavin ruffled Lance’s hair a bit as if what he was saying was at all soothing. He smirked, chuckling a bit louder. “Besides, I couldn’t miss out on having you owe me. You know in some cultures if you save someone’s life, you are responsible for them forever.”

Gavin leaned back against the seat with a smirk, his free hand pressed firmly against his midsection. His voice was so cocky, so self-assured, but he couldn’t pretend to be indestructible, not for long. With every drop of blood he lost, he craved it that much more. The vampire became hyper-aware of Lance’s body beside him, leaking blood, and Logan’s broad chest in the front seat split with bites. Gavin reached a hand up to his own neck and shivered at the raised skin where Manic had bitten him. Taking blood from a vampire was something erotic, passionate. It wasn’t meant for Manic.

The truck turned down a quiet, empty road, much like the one they lived on. When it turned again a few minutes later it was down a long alleyway. It leads them to a long, seemingly deserted warehouse close by a river’s edge. Logan climbed out of the truck and Gavin followed, throwing Lance’s arm over his shoulders to help the boy walk. Logan knocked on the giant double iron doors a few times, calling out for a man named Demitri. One of the doors creaked open and Logan gestured the injured inside, though he hinted that Lillian wouldn’t want to enter, so she nodded and went back to rest in the truck with curtains on the windows to hide her from the sun.

For the second time that day, Gavin was hit with the strong smell of blood and the sight of bodies on tables. Only, this was a far less menacing place. Gavin and Logan had come here many times before, but this was Lance’s first. The vampire hefted the boy’s weight and continued in, nodding to the guards at the entrance. Inside was a wide open place lined with tables and beds. It was a makeshift hospital for the Diseased. A vampire dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt curried by with a tray of cleaned medical tools, bringing them over to a lycan hunched over a crying boy with deep scratches down his front. Another woman came over, smiling wide at Gavin and Logan but frowning at their wounds.

“Oh, boys!” the blonde nurse said, covering her mouth. “You look dreadful. The two of you, come with me. Logan, Demitri is in the back if you’d like to see him.”

Logan nodded and parted, leaving the boys with a reassuring smile. Gavin tugged Lance down through the familiar building until they stopped at a pair of empty beds, a tray of scalpels and tweezers and other supplies between them. He dumped Lance in one before climbing into the other. The blond nurse gestured for some men to go over to Gavin as she bent over Lance, inspecting him. She shook her head, clicking her tongue at him.

“Logan sure knows how to get his boys into some trouble. And so young. You just hang in there sweety, I’m going to take care of you.” Holding some surgical thread and a needle in her hand, the nurse smiled up at him, all sweetness and joy. “I’m Linda. And you are…? What is your Disease, hm?”

Linda kept firing questions at lance to keep him distracted as she cleaned his smaller wounds and got to stitching up his bigger one right way. On the table next to him, two male doctors hovered over Gavin, who had removed his shirt and gotten onto his stomach. One man pressed his hands down on the vampire’s shoulders to hold him as the other took a long pair of tweezers to the wound in his back, fishing for the bullet. Gavin let out a cry and buried his face into the pillow, his hands ripping at the sheets as he gripped for them. The muscles in his back and shoulders went tense and arched up, making the doctor growl in concentration and push him back down. Obviously they had done this before, because they were muttering to Gavin about how this hadn’t been the worst, and didn’t he remember the first time he came in? None of the stories seemed to be very distracting to Gavin. The vampire struggled to hold back a roar as the bullet fragments were finally located and fished out. The second doctor let him go and moved to mopping up the blood. Linda kept on working, stepping into Lance’s line of sight to Gavin, smiling all the while. Another nurse joined her side to help, holding the boy’s shoulder as she touched his stab wound.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Lance allowed Gavin to half-carry him into the building, the boy's green eyes wide as he looked around at the injured people, huddling closer to the vampire as the clogging smell of blood clogged his nose. A nurse bustled over to them, taking Gavin and Lance away to a free corner of the room whilst Logan followed after a different person. Lance watched him over his shoulder as he walked away, biting his lip in nervousness.

Gavin lowered him to a gurny, smiling at the young man before staggering over to the one next to him as the blond nurse from before smiled kindly down at Lance, blocking his view of Gavin as two nurses approached him. He attempted to look around the blond so he could keep watching Gavin to make sure he was safe, but the nurse began touching his wounds, asking him questions as she did so.

"Uh, Lance," he answered when she asked him his name, trying once more to look around her as she placed her hand on his shoulder gently to hold him steady. "I'm a Lycan..." Linda smiled at him as Gavin cried out, the ginger's face falling as he attempted to stand up. Linda placed her two hands on his shoulders and forcibly pushed him back down, her sparkling eyes becoming slightly harder. She nodded to her left and another nurse approached, taking over holding Lance still as Linda touched the inflamed flesh around his stab wound, causing the youth to yelp in pain, his forest eyes snapping to the woman with a glare.

"I'm sorry sweety, but I need to fix you up, right? Don't worry about your friend, he's in safe hands," she promised, her kind smile back on her face as she searched the medical bag beside her for disinfectants, stitching and gauze. Lance lay perfectly still, now having a clear view of Gavin, the vampire's face paler than usual as a nurse held hin down while the other digged around in his side, fishing out all the peices of the bullet. Lance swallowed uncomfortabley, wishing he could get closer. He wanted to give whatever comfort he could; it was his fault that Gavin was suffering after all.

[Rose]

The nurses finally stepped from the boy’s sides, leaving them alone to rest with kind words and assurances that they could leave or stay whenever they desired, and that the hospital would always be open to them. Gavin was tossed a bag of blood as the nurses disappeared. As if Lance wasn’t even there, Gavin grabbed the bag and tore it open with his teeth, pouring the contents into his mouth with four huge gulps. Some started to spill out the sides of his mouth but the vampire greedily swiped his tongue over it, catching the rest with a finger and popping the wayward droplets into his mouth. His hands clenched around the empty bag as he brought it to his crimson lips again, lapping at the edges of the thin plastic for more when his eyes finally glanced up, taking in Lance. Gavin stared at him for a long time, his eyes masked over with that empty hunger until he blinked it away. The vampire looked down at the bag in his hands and actually blushed, embarrassed at his weakness. He threw it to the side, trying to smile. He hastily grabbed the sheet of the bed and wiped his mouth with it.

“I.. uh…” But Gavin found he had no excuses. He shook his head and forced the smile now. “How do you feel, kid? You ok? Maybe we should go home…”



“What do you mean Luke is dead?” Logan asked, looking like he might be sick. He gripped the front of the desk, one of the only things in the tiny room at the back of the warehouse. His knuckles turned white from the force, cracking the wood.

“Logan….I thought someone had told you….It was about a month ago,” Demitri said. He was a tall, thin lycan dressed in old scrubs. He grimaced as he looked over Logan, who had halted being fixed the second he heard the news. “I know you two were friends-”

“He was like a father to me,” Logan choked out, pained. “He was my mentor, my Alpha. He taught me everything.”

“I know, Logan… but he didn’t go out violently…He had a brain tumor. He just died suddenly. No one saw it coming, not even him.”

“And…his niece?” Logan asked, suddenly looking up. Demitri frowned at the panic that spread over his face. “What about her? The girl who lived with him, where is she now?”

Logan seemed frantic, but Demitri had no answers for him. He merely shrugged, looking remorseful. Logan hastily finished up the conversation, waving off the hands that tried to hold on to him to fix him up. He charged out of the room, going up to Lance and Gavin where they lay.

“I’ve gotta go. I’ll meet you guys back home tonight. Stay here for as long as you need. Linda will take good care of you.” And then he was gone, marching away again. Gavin swallowed hard, biting his lips. He’d never seen such emotion, such pain in his leader’s eyes. But something had him rattled near tears. Something was definitely very, very wrong.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"Uh, I'm fine," Lance said softly, looking at the floor as Gavin stood before him. He'd watched the vampire inhale the blood he'd been given as if he were a man dying of thirst, and it frightened him. He'd let Gavin feed off him more than once; what if one day he couldn't bring himself to stop? Lance would never tell him he couldn't drink from him, but he hated the animalistic look in Gavin's eye when he released him.... that preditorial gleam that screamed at him to run, because Gavin would go for his neck again...

Clearing his throat, Lance finally looked up, carefully standing from the gurney and reaching up to Gavin's face, cupping his face as he wiped away a large speck of blood on the vampire's cheek. "You missed a bit," he whispered, bringing his finger away, holding it between the two of them, looking at it and back to Gavin. The vampire's hand twitched at his side as if he was going to grab the Lycan's hand and shove it in his mouth, before he gave the tiniest shake of his head. Lance smiled slightly before rubbing the blood on the leg of his jeans.

"Can....can we go home now?" he asked, wanting to hold Gavin's hand again but refraining. He'd already proven himself a worthless fighter and a coward, he didn't want his friend thinking he was clingy and pathetic as well. Lance had always thought he was a confident character, able to face anything...now he knew that all he'd previously thought was wrong, leaving only a terrified boy behind.

Before Gavin could reply, Logan burst from the office he'd entered before, looking distracted and upset. Lance watched him from behind Gavin as their leader told them he had to be somewhere and left before the vampire could question him. Glancing up, Lance's heart flinched at the look of longing on Gavin's face as he watched his friend walk away. Lance quickly weighed out his options before sighing softly and touching Gavin's arm.

"If we're quick..." he started, swallowing. "...We can catch up with him. If- If you want to."



It had only been a month since he'd gone, but to Alice it seemed longer. Clutching the framed photo in her long-fingered hands, she squeezed it so hard that the cords in her wrists stood out. Taking a shuddering breath, she set the photo on her bedside table, pushing a lock of her light brown hair behind her ear, her normally warm honey-coloured eyes were dark as well as red from crying.

As tempting as it was to stay in bed all day again, she couldn't let Luke's house fall into dissrepair. Pushing herself from her bed, she headed for the bedroom door, hugging her arms to her chest as she went down the hall and down the stairs into the main room, the warmth and light that was once spread through the house had left the same time her guardian did, leaving her cold and lonely.

[Rose]

Gavin watched after their leader, wanting nothing more than to run after, following on his heels like always. He felt a sudden wave of abandonment, of something like betrayal at being left behind. Logan had said before that he and Gavin were a pack. They never went anywhere without the other. They’d been through the best and worst situations together. The vampire took in a deep breath, reminding himself that Logan was upset.

“No…..No we do what he says. If Logan wants to go off on his own, let him. He knows what he’s doing.” Gavin slid out of the bed, his wounds already beginning their healing process. He and Lance would be as good as new by the end of the week, if not sooner. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, its that you can’t do a thing to change Logan’s mind once he’s made it up. So let’s just keep our hides and go home.”

Gavin and Lance bid the nurses goodbye as they left before meeting a sleeping Lillian in the truck. The entire ride home was uneventful, with Gavin sitting in the front now to stare contemplatively out the window alone, music blaring to keep away the silence until Lilly couldn’t take it anymore and switched the channel to some quiet orchestra. As the pulled into the back of the broken apartments, Gavin slipped out of the car and headed inside alone, giving a half-hearted smile to the pack of rowdy lycans as they ruffled his hair and congratulated him on his new scar and victory before moving on to flirting with Lillian, making her tell the story of her heroic save. Gavin just slipped by quietly, grabbing a beer from the fridge. As he settled into a chair, his hand went again to the bite marks seared against his skin like brands. Somehow he knew this wasn’t over.