#but most often she's fighting supernatural creatures that would just as soon eat her for dinner than play fair

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - chapter 11

AO3

Chapter list is getting a bit long, link to all chapters is on my pinned post.

Taglist: @nott-the-best @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite

Cordelia dreamt of a castle in the middle of the forest. She wasn’t sure what was happening, all she knew was she needed to get away, this wasn’t right. There was a woman with empty eyes and long dark hair, something similar to what Thomas had described when he’d seen the washer woman? She was carrying a basket with bloodied clothes and bent over into a stream to wash them. This had to be her, the same woman Thomas had seen.

‘Bearer of cortana,’ she hissed, her voice an awful shriek. ‘Beware the thief of souls.’

Cordelia woke up and when she checked her phone she realized it was noon. Everyone had to be up already, she rarely slept this late. She had gone to bed at eleven yesterday and fallen asleep rather soon, which meant she had slept for thirteen hours. Cordelia wondered why, she rarely slept this long. Yesterday had been a long and exhausting day for sure, but this exhausting? She picked out a simple dress and changed. Dresses were easy in that regard, since it only required her to pick out one item of clothing and she was done, instead of having to match several pieces.

Lucie was eating at the table, and Cordelia wondered if that was her breakfast or lunch. Considering the time, probably lunch.

‘Did you sleep well?’ she asked. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up at all, or if you needed a prince to come kiss you awake. Or princess. Royal figure of indetermined gender.’

‘I did have a weird dream,’ Cordelia said, rubbing her eyes. ‘I only just woke up. Which is weird, because I don’t usually sleep for thirteen hours.’

‘You must be very well rested then,’ Lucie said, getting up from her seat to make Cordelia some toast.

Cordelia yawned. ‘Not really. Any news?’

‘You’re the only one who slept late,’ Lucie said. ‘Thomas and Alastair went to take another walk, they’re not back yet. I’ve been theorizing on what Tatiana is doing, or what Grace is and where she came from, but so far I’m not getting any further than her trying to bring back Jesse.’

‘Alastair is an early riser, always has been,’ Cordelia said. ‘Thomas too, apparently.’

Alastair often had nightmares and with his irregular sleeping pattern, Cordelia sometimes wasn’t sure if he slept at all. And he wondered why he was always tired.

‘Uncle Gideon still thinks he might be able to reach his sister, and went into the village again,’ Lucie added. ‘Dad is with him, he doesn’t trust Tatiana but is willing to give it one more chance. So far, they didn’t find her.’

Cordelia didn’t know Tatiana and didn’t want to judge, but if her intention was to bring back her son, she wasn’t sure Gideon would be able to change her mind.

‘Have you ever heard of the thief of souls?’ Cordelia asked.

Lucie frowned. ‘Maybe… It does sound like something out of a book, maybe. Although that could have been thief of hearts too. No, doesn’t ring any bells.’

‘In my dream someone said “Beware the thief of souls”,’ Cordelia said. ‘It could be just an ordinary dream, but I can’t be sure. It might be important.’

Cordelia tried to connect the term with what Lucie had learnt about Jesse Blackthorn. He’d died, and he’d disappeared somewhere, reappearing recently around the same time a washer woman warned Thomas of unpaid debts.

‘What if Jesse didn’t just die?’ Cordelia suggested. ‘What if this thief of souls is called by that title because it takes people’s souls in exchange for whatever someone asks for, and that’s what happened to Jesse.’

‘And then Tatiana made another deal to get him back, and right now he is a ghost,’ Lucie said. ‘Which might explain why the debt is no longer considered paid even if Jesse is still dead.’

‘But if that’s true, then how can we save Thomas?’ Cordelia asked. ‘We’d have to give back Jesse.’

‘Or we defeat the thief of souls,’ Lucie suggested. ‘That way we can save both Jesse and Thomas. No one deserves to be held as a price by such a being.’

‘Can something called the thief of souls even be killed though,’ Cordelia mused. ‘It sounds like a very powerful, perhaps even immortal being.’

‘They say cortana can kill anything, right?’ Lucie said.

‘You’re right, they say it can even kill immortal beings. But I’m not sure even with cortana I would stand a chance against such a thing, there’s also the matter of fighting it. I’m not giving up on either of them and if it comes down to a fight, I will fight. But perhaps we’re overlooking something and there’s another way to save them both.’

Still, if there was a way to kill such a thing, it was cortana. Cordelia would give it her best. She’d always wanted to be a hero, now she would have to prove she had what it took.

‘I don’t like giving up on Jesse’s soul,’ Lucie said. ‘And we definitely can’t let Thomas die.’

‘Either way, I’m going to practice,’ Cordelia said.

She and Alastair had practiced fighting together in childhood, both carrying wooden swords that had been made to match cortana in weight distribution. Since the real sword was so sharp, practicing with it together was too dangerous, but the wooden swords had worked. Alastair had lost interest in his early teens after cortana had chosen Cordelia, only joining her in practice when she begged him to.

She was used to the sword now, to its weight, the way it felt in her hand, and she knew how to fight with it. She’d never actually fought anything though, and according to her father that was the best way to learn. He’d trained her when she was very young. Their training together had become less and less frequent though, and for a long time Cordelia thought it was because he’d gotten sick.

She practiced her movement with the sword, repeating combinations of both attacks and defenses in one fluid motion. Cordelia had never doubted that someday she would fight evil with cortana. It was her destiny after all, and someone had to carry the sword. She’d always wanted to be a hero, like her father once was.

But now everything was coming much closer than she liked. Now Thomas’ life was in danger and Cordelia had no idea how to save him. Now she realized cortana alone might not be enough. Not when she had no idea what to fight, no idea what was coming to claim Thomas’ life. She wasn’t so sure anymore if this life was going to be what she dreamed it would be. She was scared she would end up like her father. Alastair refused to admit it, but Cordelia suspected he shared that fear, even if he had decided he didn’t want to devote his life to the supernatural.

‘That looks good,’ Lucie said. ‘Could you teach me, how to use a weapon?’

Cordelia frowned. ‘I only have cortana, I don’t have any other swords. Alastair does have daggers though. When he comes back, you could ask him to borrow one. Even if you don’t know how to fight with it, you would have a chance to defend yourself.’

Cordelia continued with some more complicated moves, practicing swift dodges followed by attacks. She had to be ready for anything. Lucie returned inside, and emerged a while later with a glass of water.

‘You need anything to drink?’

Cordelia gratefully took the glass of water and drunk it all as fast as she could, spilling a few drops. When training, Cordelia tended to get lost in herself and forget to drink. Lucie had the same problem when she was writing, but had several daily phone alarms telling her to drink.

‘I looked up that boy in the lake to see if they made any progress in the investigation,’ Lucie said. ‘So far it seems like he drowned, but the parents requested an autopsy because they think it’s unlikely since their son is such a good swimmer.’

Cordelia had expected as much. ‘At least now the parents have some closure. Poor child.’

‘I can’t imagine,’ Lucie said. ‘And the story of being trapped, it’s so similar to what Jesse said. Although the boy didn’t mention seeing any monsters or being stalked by something.’

‘There are vague stories of people getting trapped in places in the wild, but I’ve never seen anything that proves it’s real,’ Cordelia said. ‘Nothing like you described, at least not in the stories I remember from my father.’

‘I imagine most people don’t live to tell the tale,’ Lucie said.

‘I know, but… My father might have survived such a thing, and I don’t think I ever heard about it from him.’

Cordelia suspected that with the many years her father had travelled the world to slay evil creatures, he had told her and Alastair the most exciting stories and there were a few she might not have heard. Though she imagined something trapping people would be considered exciting. Perhaps her father did know more, but Cordelia was terrified to contact him, and she didn’t want to ask anyone else to either.

She still felt betrayed by him. She could sympathize with an addiction, it was an illness and she couldn’t blame him for seeking something that eased his pain. She knew her father had seen things most only saw in horror movies, she understood why he might want to forget. But he’d lied to her about it. She knew why Alastair had wanted to protect her, she didn’t blame him for not telling her the truth. Her father though? He’d gladly gone along with Alastair’s attempts to keep her in the dark, pretending to be overcome with sickness when he was drunk. Pretending the scent of alcohol was really medication for his illness. He’d often asked for her when he was sick, and she’d gone to read him stories, to keep him company while he rested. She hadn’t understood at the time, why Alastair didn’t like her taking care of him, why he’d insisted Father was sick and needed sleep even when her father kept asking for her.

As a dutiful daughter, she’d always gone when her father asked for her. She’d read him stories, kept him company, believing he was sick and not drunk. She had given up other obligations for him. She’d missed school parties she’d been excited about, because she couldn’t bear to leave her sick father after he’d asked her to stay.

Only now did she realize that as a father, he should have encouraged her to go anyway and have fun. That taking care of her father was not her responsibility and he should not have expected her to give up so much for him. Alastair had always tried to convince her that it was fine, that he could take care of Father too and he didn’t need her there. A couple of times he had managed to convince her, Alastair insisting she would regret it for a long time if she missed Lucie’s birthday party. She was still grateful that Alastair had practically dragged her away that day. No one else had shown up for Lucie, all the other children she’d invited thought she was weird and at that age Lucie had been desperate to be liked by her peers. Cordelia had almost abandoned Lucie too.

Now she understood why father had always asked for her, and not Alastair or her mother. She’d always believed it was because she was more like her father, because she was more affectionate whereas Alastair and her mother were rather closed off. Now she understood her father had preferred her because she was the only one who didn’t know he was drunk, because she would be kind and feel sorry for his sickness whereas Alastair resented him for being too drunk to be take care of his children. No, even if he knew the most about the supernatural from all his travels, Cordelia was not ready to call him to ask and she would never ask Alastair to do such a thing. No matter how betrayed she felt, what he’d been through was worse and he should never have to speak to their father again.

‘You alright, Daisy?’ Lucie asked.

‘Just thinking,’ she said. ‘Maybe my father does know more, but I can’t… I really can’t ask him.’

Lucie nodded. ‘I understand. If you really think he knows more, perhaps dad can call him instead to ask. And perhaps uncle Gabriel and aunt Cecily know more as well.’

Cordelia figured she could ask, but she feared her father would make it difficult for them. She’d learnt just how manipulative he could be, and she could easily imagine him refusing to talk to Will unless he’d let him talk to her.

Cordelia decided to practice a little longer, it had been a while with everything that had happened lately, and there wasn’t much space or opportunity at her aunt Risa’s apartment. She couldn’t be unprepared.

Lucie sat down to watch, book in hand, but Cordelia didn’t think she was making any progress reading. Instead, Cordelia caught her staring at her movement. Perhaps Lucie was studying her movements, in an attempt to learn more about fighting herself. Ultimately, it all came down to practice though. You didn’t learn how to fight by watching other people do it.

‘Aren’t Alastair and Thomas taking a little long?’ Lucie wondered. ‘They left early in the morning.’

‘I figured they’d be at the cottage with Sophie,’ Cordelia said. ‘They’re not?’

‘Mom is there with aunt Sophie,’ Lucie said. ‘She just texted me, we could come over for some tea as well. She mentions all four of us, apparently aunt Sophie would like it if Thomas came back for tea as well. So mom must have assumed they returned here after she left.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘What time is it?’

‘Four in the afternoon,’ Lucie said. ‘Dad also texted that he and uncle Gideon couldn’t find Tatiana and are coming back. But I haven’t heard anything from Alastair and Thomas. I’m not sure about Alastair, but it’s not like Thomas to disappear for so long and not let anyone know.’

Alastair could lose track of time on his long walks, but this was extreme even for his standards, and he would have at least texted her by now if he’d changed plans.

‘That is one long walk’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll call Alastair.’

She turned cortana back into her necklace and took her phone out of her pocket, calling her brother. He didn’t answer, which was unlike him. She tried again. Nothing. She texted him instead, asking him if he was alright and when to expect him back. Alastair didn’t receive the message, maybe his phone had died. He rarely forgot to charge it though.

‘He’s not answering,’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll try Thomas.’

Thomas didn’t pick up either, after several tries, and when Cordelia texted him he didn’t receive anything either.

‘Nothing either.’

‘Perhaps they don’t have cell service,’ Lucie said. ‘If you go far enough into the woods, that would happen.’

Cordelia guessed Lucie had a point, but that didn’t explain why they were spending almost a whole day into the woods. They weren’t experienced hikers, they must get tired at some point, right? And they would have at least let someone know if they would be gone for so long, this was worrying even for Alastair.

‘Maybe we should go looking for them.’

‘They could be making out though, maybe they don’t want to be interrupted,’ Lucie suggested.

Cordelia frowned. ‘In the middle of the woods?’

Lucie shrugged. ‘Who am I to judge?’

‘They’ve been gone for long enough that I think we should go looking,’ Cordelia said. ‘They could be in trouble.’

She put on some different shoes that were better suited for the forest and texted Will they were going to look for Alastair and Thomas, warning them to come find them if they took too long.

‘Do you really think they could be in trouble?’ Lucie asked when they walked into the forest, nervous.

Cordelia understood Lucie was scared, but if she was then how had she run after Tatiana into the woods just yesterday evening? If anything, her friend was chaotic.

The forest was a bit darker than she was used to in the bright sun, which was odd. The fog was a little thicker than usual, and Cordelia made sure to stay close to Lucie.

‘I don’t know,’ Cordelia said. ‘But only one way to be sure.’

A howl pierced the air. Cordelia could only tell the general direction it was coming from. It didn’t quite sound like a wolf, but it was similar enough.

‘Stay behind me,’ Cordelia said, removing her necklace and taking cortana into her hand. ‘I don’t know what that is, but I’m not going to let it harm my brother.’

[marshmallow-phd]

Catching Rain

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Minseok x Reader

Summary: You were more than satisfied with your life. You attended a nice college, had nice friends, a nice boyfriend. That’s what your life was: nice. You weren’t looking for anything more, so what were you to do when this seemingly harmless boy walked into your life and turned your nice little world into one much more dangerous?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I Epilogue

**

You parked on the side of an empty back road, careful not to stop in any spot that might be muddy. It hadn’t rained for a few days, but with the weather lately, you couldn’t be too careful. The last thing you needed was to have to call Erik and confess to him that you did indeed go out to the woods to take pictures and were now stuck in the mud and needed his help.

A small part of you felt guilty. His concern wasn’t completely unfounded. If he’d had gotten hurt working on a backdrop by himself, whether by falling off a ladder or being hit by a light, you would be hesitant about him doing it again. But each of you were your own person, right? Independent not codependent?

Okay, it was probably time to lay of the self-help books for a while. You took one modern philosophy class and it had been a downward spiral from there. Perhaps it was time to give the supernatural genre a try.

The trees smelled intoxicating. Mixed with the humidity in the air, it was the kind of scent that could outperform even the most expensive of perfumes. It was an aroma that surrounded you, engulfed you in its arms the further into the woods you went. The peaceful smile that pulled on the corners of your lips were automatic, involuntary. Not that you would fight if you could. Despite the rumors of wolves running around, you were comfortable here.

Deep within the forest, a wide, oval clearing full of browned wildflowers rested. Bits of green here and there tried to break through the foliage that had died during the harsh winter. Their odds of making it through might not have been great, but you admired their tenacity.

These clearings were common in the woods and yet, they were your favorite places to capture. From one angle, it could seem like you were lost in a fast labyrinth of Mother Nature. Another, a prairie that belonged to another region entirely. The possibilities were endless if you really thought about it. And each clearing, you’d discovered, was unique within itself. Its shape, the plants it held, the thickness of the grass. You knew you hadn’t found every one yet, but you were determined to someday. For now, though, you would have stick with this particular clearing that you had visited before, as it was close to the road for a quick getaway, should you need it.

Sliding the bags off your shoulder, you crouched down and dug through until you found your notebook. The pages were unlined, which allowed you to right down your thoughts and ideas at odd angles. To you, it gave the otherwise somewhat boring inside a more artistic aesthetic. The plain leather cover was soft in your hands, worn from the amount of use and abuse you’d put it through. It wasn’t exactly common for photographers to write out their ideas before shooting. Some drew out the scene they wanted to capture, trying out different angles in their imagination. Most didn’t do any sort of prep like this at all. But you preferred to write it out, especially since most of your ideas tended to come at the most inconvenient times. Scribbling down half-coherent words tended to be quicker than a sketch.

After a quick review of your latest ideas, you tossed the notebook down and turned on your camera. You took several test shots, adjusting each settling until you came to the look you were searching for. Long shots and close ups, you photographed nearly every square foot of that clearing in order to get that one picture. That one picture that took everyone’s breath away, that made them stop and tilt their head every which way in order to take the scene in at all possible viewpoints. You wanted to them to see the world the way you did.

So in tuned to what you were doing, you hadn’t noticed the pair of eyes watching you from the shadows. They gave off the faintest glow filled with curiosity as they hovered in the air. You snapped a few photos in their direction, still unaware of their presence, and then lowered the camera to look back on the shots. At first, when you clicked through the pictures, you didn’t notice the tiny amber dots that blended in with the foliage. But by the fourth picture, you stopped.

Never before had you been scared by this place. Then again, the only animals you’d ever encountered before were rabbits and deer and other mostly harmless critters. These did not look like the eyes of a friendly Disney sidekick. Ice ran down your spine. You couldn’t run. If it was a predator, that would only encourage it. So, you tried to remain as still as possible while lifting your eyes to the spot that the animal was hiding. Perhaps there was a chance that it wouldn’t sense your fear and would take your stare down as a reason to walk away.

No such luck.

The leaves under its paws rustled as it stepped forward into the sun.

A tannish wolf with a long black strip down its back revealed itself. But it didn’t look menacing. In fact, though you might have been fooling yourself, it seemed almost… curious? Confused? It was hard to read the expression since you couldn’t fully compare it to a human. With slow, thoughtful steps, it came closer. You tried to remain still, tried not to move. The strain was causing your legs to tremble slightly. Now, you felt tremendously stupid for not listening to Willa’s warning about wolves. Was this considered an ironic moment? You weren’t entirely sure since language arts had never been your strong suit.

Unable to keep you upright anymore, your legs gave out. At least you landed on your butt with your camera hanging safely around your neck. Your fingernails dug into the dirt next to you as the wolf came closer, still at that same cautious pace. Harder and harder, your heart pounded in your ears. The wolf paused for a few seconds before continuing on. Could it hear your terrified pulse? Silently, you said your goodbyes as the wolf erased all space between you. Its muzzle nudged your cheek, coming to a stop near your ear. It sniffed deeply, then jumped back.

Your eyes widened, somewhat relieved that it hadn’t pounced, but also confused. Why wasn’t it attacking? Why did it look spooked?

The wolf sat back, head tilting back and forth as it studied you. It made no threatening moves or sounds. The tips of its ears perked up and it let out a sound that was eerily similar to a scoff.

“I guess you’re not hungry then?” An odd thing to say out loud to an animal that couldn’t talk, but you blamed it on the shock of the whole situation.

The wolf responded with a short puff of air before lowering itself down to its stomach.

This was… surreal. All the other animals you’d ever encountered had either kept their distance or ran away at the slightest sound. And yet, here was this wolf, laying in front of you, not vicious or aggressive. It was almost… cute, in a way.

“You’re a strange creature,” you said out loud. The wolf apparently took that as a sign to come closer. Crawling on its stomach, it took came to the point where it was almost able to rest its head in your lap-

The shrill sound of your current favorite song ripped through the air. You gasped, jumping up to your feet and running to your bag where you desperately searched through the pockets until you found your phone. It was Willa.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you?”

“I, um,” you glanced at the wolf who had jumped up to its feet. “I got bored so I’m just out driving around. Why?”

“Jiyoung called and asked last second to switch shifts at the coffee shop and so I’m free for the evening. And I’m hungry.”

You laughed a little at her not-so-subtle hint. “Alright. Give me twenty minutes to get back to the dorm. How does brick oven pizza sound?”

“Like heaven.”

“Okay, then. See you soon.” You ended the call and looked up, meeting eyes with the wolf. It never broke contact and in turn, gave you a bit more bravery. Lifting up the camera, you snapped a single shot of the wolf. “I’ll be back.” A strange promise to make, but you said it anyway. You wanted another encounter with this mysterious creature. Gathering up your things, you hurried out of the clearing and back through the trees to your car, still sitting on the side of the road.

It took less than twenty minutes to make it back to the university. Back at the dorm, Willa was lying on her bed, scrolling through her phone mindlessly. She sat up as soon as you came through the door.

“Fun drive?” she asked.

You shrugged. “It was fine.”

“No exciting scenes to snap?”

Her tease made you roll your eyes. “No, not really. Now, come on. I thought you said you wanted to eat?”

Not missing a beat, Willa jumped up from the bed, snatched up her purse, and pulled you out of the room, contemplating out loud which signature pizza sounded good.

**

Minseok growled as he ran through the forest. How he could have possibly lost those three was beyond him. Being unable to find them now was even more stupefying. They were loud, how could he not know which direction to take? He had to be careful. This part of the forest was close to the back roads and Junmyeon was worried they were being spotted too often. If the three them weren’t paying attention-

Click. Click. Click.

Minseok brought himself to a halt at the strange sound. There wasn’t any sort of pattern to it, but there was an underlying shuttering that seemed vaguely familiar. Too curious to just ignore it, Minseok headed in the direction e suspected it came from. Once he found the answer, he’d go back to finding the others.

The sound led him to one of the many clearings in the woods. A person wandering around the area taking pictures seemed to be the source, a camera in their hands. You appeared to be alone. Odd since not many ventured out in the forest by themselves. The isolation didn’t seem to bother you, though as you carelessly went about your task.

Staying in the shadows, Minseok watched your back as you continued to photograph the nature around you. Something… something strange was tingling in his shoulders, like the muscle beneath the skin had fallen asleep. Without prompt from him, his paw moved forward. He should be leaving. Be gone before you spotted him. But he couldn’t do it. Something told him to wait.

That’s when you turned around. By the way you kept taking pictures, you hadn’t seen him. It wasn’t until you lowered the camera to review the film did you freeze. And you weren’t the only one.

Something in Minseok’s world snapped when he saw your face. His muscles contracted, shivered and ached.

Go! an inner voice urged. He tried to turn his body in the opposite direction of you, but failed. Not that way! He had no choice but to obey. So he stepped closer to you. Your eyes snapped up, meeting his own. In his chest, his heart accelerated. What was this? What was going on?

Slightly fighting each movement, Minseok broke out from the tree line and into the clearing. It was obvious you were frightened. And he was breaking all the rules by revealing himself. Logic could not win, however. He kept walking. Even after you fell backwards, he was only able to pause for a brief second. Your rapidly beating heart was loud in his own sensitive ears. But he wasn’t so sure that it was completely out of fear. He needed to be closer. So closer he went. The whiskers of his muzzle brushed against your cheek, sending a lightning bolt through his body. He took in your scent and reeled back. 

You smelled human. You were human. But… there’s something different about you and he couldn’t fathom what it might be. 

“I guess you’re not hungry then?” you said oddly. 

Minseok laughed. Well, as much as he could with this ribcage and these vocal cords. Overwhelmed, he adjusted to a more comfortable position. The feeling in his chest was almost all consuming and it weighed him down. He’d seen plenty of humans on his runs, but this had never happened before. Was this something that would only happen because he was in his wolf form? Or would he still feel like this if he saw you on two legs?

With a glimmer in your eye, you sighed, “You’re a strange creature.” 

Taking that as sign, he tested the waters and pulled himself across the grass with his front paws, closing the gap between you. 

A song suddenly cut through the air and forced him to a stop before he could rest his head in your lap - an action that he was itching to try out. You jumped up with a gasp and ran to the bags resting at the bottom of a tree. Frantically, you searched the pockets until you found the source of the noise, answering the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey, where are you?” asked a female voice on the other end. 

“I, um,” you glanced over him, making him jump to his feet. Will you tell your friend the truth?  “I got bored so I’m just out driving around. Why?”

He almost let out a sigh from relief. Talk of an overly friendly wolf would be bad, especially if it spread through town and more people ventured into the woods to try and encounter him. 

“Jiyoung called and asked last second to switch shifts at the coffee shop and so I’m free for the evening. And I’m hungry.”

You laughed. “Alright. Give me twenty minutes to get back to the dorm. How does brick oven pizza sound?”

“Like heaven.”

“Okay, then. See you soon.” You hung up the call and met his eyes again. Impulsively, you took one last picture of him, which he didn’t shy away from. “I’ll be back,” you promised softly. 

Minseok could no longer feel the ground beneath him. He just stood there, watching as you ran through the trees in the direction of the road. When his senses came back to him, he noticed a small brown square hidden among the tan grass. He went closer to inspect what the object was. It was a notebook. 

It must be yours. 

Scooping the leather-bound book in his mouth, he took off after you. Following your scent through the forest was easy – it stood out like a pink flower in a sea of green grass. But he wasn’t quick enough. He caught the sight of your tail lights far down the road. He would have to keep a hold of the notebook until he saw you again. You did say that you would be back. 

Or you could track her down? 

Minseok shook that thought away. How would he ever explain that without giving away his true nature?

Giving up for the time being, he turned around and decided to head back to the house. There was no way he could find the others now. And with you gone, the elated feeling disappeared, leaving him weighted as if he were being dragged down into the earth. Each step was anchored down. It took him much longer to get back to the farm house. 

Several other members were scattered about the house, either working on their studies or clowning around. Your notebook tucked between his clothes and held close to his chest, he headed up to his room. After a quick shower, he got dressed once again and sat on the end of his bed. In his hands, he flipped the notebook over and over. He contemplated opening it. But that would be invading, wouldn’t it? But he wanted to find out about you. 

So he pulled open the cover. 

Inside, in the top right hand corner of the first page was your name. He smiled, saying it softly over and over. It felt… right on his lips. Your face hovered in his mind. It fit you so well, like a jacket tailored with perfection. 

The nature of wolves was an odd kind. There was a constant urge to belong. To belong to a pack and then… to belong to a person. 

Ever since he was young, he was told about how someday he find that special person whose soul was connected to his. Fate predetermined who that person would be and no one could ever fill the void that existed until that person came along. Ordinary humans would never experience that kind of feeling, that kind of love. The type of love for the wolf that could only be given by one person. 

A mate. 

Was that what you were? None of his brothers were mated. They were all free – some taking more advantage of the situation than others. Occasionally, they would joke about who would be first. Some thought it might be Yixing, given his soft heart and the genuine warmth he radiated. Others liked to joke that it would be Baekhyun or Jongin, the big serial daters of the pack. Minseok, though, had his money set on Jongdae. That wolf had barely been able to give in to the call of the pack when he first joined them all. He was verbally against the idea of mating, more so than anyone else. Opening up to people was not a strong suit of the younger wolf and Minseok couldn’t wait to see what kind of journey that would be once he was forced to. 

Minseok would have been the last person on everyone’s mind for the mated list. Not for any malicious reasons, just because he didn’t venture out very much beyond school so the odds of meeting someone new were low. Or so he thought. He liked being out at the house, being home. He was the very definition of “homebody”. Ironic that he ended up meeting you out here. 

Knock, knock, knock. 

He looked up and quickly hid the notebook beneath his pillows, just in time before Junmyeon, the alpha, peaked his head in. “Minseok?”

“Yeah?”

Junmyeon looked back towards the hallway. “Yeah, he’s in here!” he yelled. “Tell Jongdae to stop worrying!” 

Minseok laughed. Naturally, they leave him behind but then they get worried. He was the eldest, always looking after the others. And yet, oftentimes, it didn’t feel like that. 

Where he thought that might be the end of the checkup, Junmyeon, instead, closed the door behind him and sat down on the bed beside him. 

“Everything okay?” he asked. 

Minseok nodded. “Yeah, of course. Why?”

“I saw the look on your face when you came in,” Junmyeon explained. “You looked troubled.”

The two of them weren’t the closet out of the whole pack. In fact, there were times where it was awkward between them, the role of the alpha and the role of eldest clashing at times. But other times, he was the best one to turn to. 

“What do you know about the mating aspect of us?” 

Junmyeon pursed his lips, thinking. “The mating aspect? Only the basics, really. That when you meet that one person, that’s it. And you’re supposed to live happily ever after.” He laughed at the cheesy line, releasing some of the tension. 

Minseok couldn’t help but laugh along. It died out soon, though, as his mind went back to his current dilemma. “They always say you just know after one look. Do you think that’s right?”

“Yes, I do,” the alpha confirmed. “That’s all it takes. You feel it in here.” He tapped his chest, right about his heart. “Minseok? Why are you asking about this?”

He weighed his options. If this wasn’t what he thought it was and the others found out, he would never hear the end of it from them. But having someone validate his theory would ease some of the strain. 

“I think I found her.”

[zahneundklauen-retired]

Brawl Crawl || Dot and Alcher

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @dotdotdottie and @zahneundklauen SUMMARY: Alcher checks out a new bar in town and makes a new friend, who’s just as eager to maim as she is. CONTENT: Violence, Animal (demon, technically) Death, Foul language

The Seven Selkies was an intriguing name for a bar and Alcher liked intriguing things. She’d found-- and met-- a lot of intriguing things in White Crest already, but what was one more? She wanted to get acquainted well with this town, as she had a feeling she’d be here for a while. The air was fresh, the town was full of people like her, and there were plenty of humans and hunters alike to kill. Really, she almost wondered why she hadn’t come here earlier, but for her first foray into America, it was definitely a good one. So she found herself, tonight, at The Seven Selkies thanks to a murmured word she’d overhead in town. A bar just for the supernatural? She could hardly wait. How freeing would it be to be able to just be herself while there? Though, not her true self. Wolves, after all, did not need such paltry things like alcohol and libations. Still, in this form, they were indulgences she would allow herself. Be rigid, her father had said, be fierce. But be kind to your mind. It will lose itself if you are not. 

The bar, she’d noted, was relatively empty tonight. It reminded her of roadside stops and small towns that only had one bar. Not too grimy, not too clean. Neon signs still hung as if it were still a decade ago, and pool tables sat barely used in the corner. Alcher made her way up to the bar and found only one other girl sitting at it as well. She smelled like the sea and alcohol, which, she supposed, was unsurprising for here. “You wouldn’t by any chance know what’s the best drink here, would you?” she asked, sliding into the spot a few chairs down from her. A man at the doors spoke loudly, but she ignored him for now. “I want to make sure I get the right first impression from a bar named ‘Seven Selkies’.” 

Dot liked the Seven Selkies a lot. As she learned more about the supernatural there were in town, the more she wanted to meet them. It had been through some kid in one of her classes that she found herself becoming a regular at the bar. She looked down at the other woman with a grin, “You know I’m a personal fan of the Siren cocktail, but their beers are pretty good too.” She lifted her own beer to show the other woman, “This one is pretty solid if you just want to sip for the night. Any way you go though, Selkies won’t let you down.”

Beer. Now that was something Alcher could get behind. Most hard liquors were too much for her, their tastes overwhelming on her tongue-- but good old fashioned lager was nice. And it reminded her of home. When she waved the bartender down, she motioned to the woman next to her. “What she’s having,” she said, before settling in. There was another shout from the entrance and a few people in the bar glanced over before returning to their nights. “You come here often, then?” she asked, returning her attention to the woman. “I can’t say I’m entirely surprised to find a supernatural bar in this town, but I’m still taking it all in.”

Dot was pretty pleased that this woman decided to order what the siren had. She liked to think she had pretty good taste when it came to drinking now. She shrugged,“Often enough. It’s a good way to make sure I know what’s happening in town.” Ever since that talk about hunters, Dot thought it was a good idea to make sure she kept updated. There was a soft crash from the doorway and Dot looked over before groaning. “This asshole again. You’re in for a show.”

Alcher’s eyes wandered over to the man at the doors. He was making quite the ruckus and her new friend seemed to know him. The bartender set the beer down in front of her and she took it, taking a long sip, before sliding from her chair. “Does he do this often?” she asked, tilting her head curiously, watching him. He was holding something that was squirming in his arms, and it writhed when the man was shoved back by the bouncer. Her head tilted again and concentrated on the smell of the thing. It didn’t have the smell of anything she recognized, no creature. It smelled stale and wet all at once, a musk to it that seemed to encase the man as well. She took another sip of her beer. “What is he holding?”

“Way too often honestly,” Dot replied with a long look at the bartender. At this point, she thought that everyone who worked here wanted to hit the guy at least once. She wished they would. “I’m all for some fun, but at this point I think he just doesn’t fucking get that no one wants him here.” She had told him more than a few times that she wanted to kill him, but he didn’t seem to get why. “It’s fucking demon larva, I think. No one knows how he got it, but he refuses to go anywhere without it and no one wants it here.”

“Really? And no one’s done anything about it?” Alcher asked. Back in Canada, she didn’t frequent bars, but the ones she had gone to were always calm and direct. If you made a fuss, you got kicked out. Her brows furrowed and she picked absently at the paper on the bottle. “Perhaps someone should try another method,” she suggested, eyes narrowing. She could be very persuasive, after all. She turned to look back at the girl next to her. “Demon larva!?” she’d never heard of such a thing. Her father had told them that demons and monsters existed, of course, but never that they were in this world. In their world. Alcher swirled back around. “Well, then-- someone ought to put the poor thing down,” she suggested, standing from her chair, then, and stretching her fingers out before curling them back in. And it wasn’t the demon her eyes honed in on-- it was the nervous looking man, holding the demon as if it were a child. 

But as soon as she started to head over, the man had reeled back and punched the bouncer square in the jaw. Then two other men hopped up, leaping for him-- only to have a bottle smashed over one of their heads. And then, all hell seemed to break loose.

“I tried to but I was told that they didn’t want to end this with violence. Pussies,” Dot complained with a little eye roll. Sometimes violence was needed and this dude wouldn’t get the picture without a little violence. She let out a cackle as the other woman stood, she was sure this was about to be fun and she liked the way this lady was thinking. The bar fight broke out so quickly Dot felt like she had whiplash, but she didn’t stay down for long. She sprung up, bounding after the other woman. She landed a pretty nasty punch on someone who was coming at the other woman’s side. “I got you! You kill the thing and I’ll watch out,” She told Alcher with a giddy laugh.

Alcher’s eyes flicked to the girl before they refocused on the fight. Alcher did not often fight in human form, but she knew how to. She’d taught herself because she’d needed to. And it did come in handy, didn’t it? The younger girl knocked down a man heading to tackle Alcher, and she gave a grin. “I like your spirit,” she said, before leaping between the men who were trying to block the guy with the demon. He was yelling, shouting, his eyes frantic. “Your abomination only demands death,” she said, reaching through. Someone grabbed her arm and she twisted, punching him square in the jaw. “I’ve never been part of a bar fight before,” she admitted, grabbing a beer bottle. Hucked it at another guy heading towards her and watched it smash into his face. “I’m quite enjoying myself.”

“That is one sick line,” Dot laughed as she took in the other lady. The siren really did not get why this dude wanted to keep his weird demon thing alive, it would probably just grow up to eat him. Or sell his soul. The dude would deserve it and she would have been happy to let him have that death, but he just kept bringing it around here. “Bar fights are fun! Just try not to get stabbed! That happened once to me and man, it was not fun.” Dot was a frequent bar fighter, as long as it wasn’t where she worked. Then it was only sometimes. As she got closer to the man, someone stepped in front of her. Really, she knew this move wasn’t a great idea, but she had always wanted to kick someone straight in the chest. “This is Sparta!” She screeched as her foot hit chest. “Oh my god, it worked.”

Alcher grinned-- “Thank you”-- and smashed another bottle across a man’s head. He dropped to the ground like a lump and she stepped over him, finally alone with the cowering man and his demon child. She tilted her head unassumingly, her eyes empty and stern. “Hand it over nicely and I won’t hurt you,” she offered. It was a fair offer, to her. She didn’t want to hurt the man, even if his blood smelled delicious. Behind her, she heard the girl cry out and kick a man square in the chest. The loud crunch of his back hitting wood caused her to glance behind her, and the man took the chance to try and bolt. Alcher turned back to look at him, sticking her prosthetic leg out and hooking his ankle, tripping him. She watched as he face planted, still clinging to his abomination as if his own life depended on it. He begged her to stop, begged her to spare it. Alcher looked back at the younger girl. “Hold him down,” she instructed, “I’ll take care of the creature.”

As the guy went down, Dot watched with glee. The bar was chaos, the bouncers trying to break up the worst of the fights, the bartenders yelling at patrons. No one seemed to be paying too much attention to the two women, caught up with the bigger fights. She pounced on the man, pinning him down. He struggled against her, bucking around wildly, but she held on strong. She was used to prey trying to fight her off anyway. “All you had to do was keep it at home, idiot. Then none of this would be happening.” She looked over at Alcher, “Do it.”

Alcher waited as the other girl held the man down, tilting her head at him. She walked over slowly, in high contrast to the chaos flying around them, and bent down to his eye level. “She has a point, you know,” she said in a low tone, eyes glinting at him, “if you’d just kept it at home, none of this would have happened. I hope you remember this moment,” reached out and pried his arms off the demon easily, yanking it from his grip. She dropped it to the floor and raised her foot, “and remember that this is your fault,” then stomped down hard on the creature. It screeched, cried out, and she stomped her foot again. “There is no mercy in this world,” she told him, lifting her foot once the thing stopped squirming. She picked up the destroyed body, still oozing with what she assumed was blood-- set it in his arms. “Do not forget this.”

In a town like White Crest, Dot had expected to run across more of the merciless, they were far rarer than she had expected. So many people here were bound by some false sense of duty and honor, a sense that probably would have stopped them from killing this creature. As she watched Alcher stomp the demon to death, the siren smiled widely, almost manically,“Anyone ever tell you that you’re cool as fuck?” The fight had since broken up, as if the death of that bug was the finale. The bouncer was barking at them, something about fighting and getting out. Dot looked towards the other woman,“Wanna find another bar with me?”

As Alcher watched the whimpering man retreat in sorrow, she almost pitied him. Whatever that creature was, he had loved it. But it was an abomination, and he’d brought it into this world. Next time, she hoped he’d take better care of his possessions. The girl who had helped her was talking again and Alcher turned to look at her. She gave a pleasant, satisfied smile, even as they were demanded out of the bar. “I have not ever had anyone tell me that, but thank you,” she said as they headed out, “I take it that’s a compliment.” Whoever she was, Alcher liked her. She had something she hadn’t been able to find in anyone else here in White Crest. “And yes-- I would love to find another bar with you.”

[supernaturalteenwolf14]

Cora’s Brother

A/N so I had this stuck in my head for a while and figured I’d put the story to use and actually write out when my head has been trying to tell me so here it is. So basically this is about the pack Cora had stayed with when everyone thought she was dead. It’s in my OC’s POV.

OC x Derek Hale

Words:3430

Might be a series....depends on how it does. Let me know what you guys think, the romance won’t start till a little later I just wanted to build the chemistry first. Plus this is after Jennifer and I don’t think Derek would hop into a relationship that fast. 

I’ve always thought Derek should be with a fellow werewolf instead of a human or something else. 

****************************

****************************

I had heard that Cora was coming back very soon, I’m excited to see her again to say the least. I had been worried about her ever since she went on her own to find her brother of whom we all thought died in the fire like the rest of her family. I remember that day years ago, we were planning to visit the Hale pack because their alpha, Talia wants to know how we ran things so well in our town. When we got to the Hale house there were firefighters putting out the massive fire. I remember my mother calling my name as I got out to see if there were any survivors. She was worried that who’d ever set the fire was still out there. 

“Riley we have to go, who ever did this might still be out here” She had told me. 

“There might be survivors mom, we have to look” I said ignoring her. Traveling into the woods I followed a scent that I had caught. I remember the rate at which my heart sped up as I saw a little girl covered in burns on the woods ground.

“Help” She struggled to get out. I ran up to her and knelt down next to her. 

“Shhhh I’m here to help” I told her. I grabbed her hand and started to take her pain away once she was finally able to pass out I carried her back to the car. Sebastian will be able to treat her better back at home, while I could start the healing on the way, but I’d rather do it when my life won’t be at risk. I was happy to see that my mother was also looking for survivors. 

“Anyone?” I asked her once I got the girl into the car. 

“No firefighter said there was no survivors” She told me. “Come on you can heal her on the way” 

***********************

So I have a ability that most other werewolves don’t have. Regular werewolves have the ability to take away someone’s pain. I can take more. See my grandma is one of the very first werewolves, and she’s still alive, in fact, she’s the alpha of our pack and one of the oldest werewolves. She may not be the strongest anymore but she sure is wise. The very first werewolves had extraordinary abilities that evolution unfortunately got rid of. Healing was one of them, my mother can’t do it but I can. The only down side is the fact that it takes a lot out of me. The amount of burns that covered that little girls body at the time, healing her would put me out of commission for about a week.

That little girls name was Cora Hale. Since then we’ve basically became sisters. I helped teach her control during her shifts and had been somewhat of a mentor to her. About around the time she had left we got word of a newly emerged alpha, when I heard the name Hale I had told Cora right away that someone else from the fire might have survived and she was eager to find them. I went with her to find him but we were ambushed. I was knocked out and when I had woken up I was locked in a cellar of sorts and I couldn’t get out. It took a week for my pack to find me but Cora was missing.

After a couple days of trying to search for her she called me and said she was safe with her brother and she would keep me updated. 

“And you’re safe?” I asked her. 

“Yeah I promise, I’ll call you later okay?” She said. 

“What about the alpha, were we right?” I asked her curiously. 

“Yeah, it was my older brother, he’s alive” She said. “I gotta go”

I couldn’t get much more information out of her. I knew something must have happened, she did call me a couple more times explaining about how the alpha pack had took her and wanted her brother to kill her and his other pack members, of course she told me everything after it had already been dealt with. She said she didn’t tell me because she didn’t want me to get involved, which I would have. Our last phone call she told me her and her brother Derek were coming up. She said he wanted to meet and thank us. 

************************

Today Cora was coming home, whether or not she was staying though wasn’t up to me. As much as I hoped she woulds, her brother is alive now, she may want to live with him. 

I was doing what I normally do. Training. Being the granddaughter of the alpha, and the daughter of the next alpha, training is basically a 24 seven thing. Fighting, shifting, and dealing with town issues is basically second nature to me on top of working at the school where I am a counselor, it’s a nice job, but the only reason I have it is to keep on eye on the young beta’s of the pack. 

I was kicking Joshua’s ass in the fighting ring. “Alright, alright I tap out damn” He told me when I had pinned him to the floor. “So the student becomes the master” He said. I smiled at him and helped him up.

“Is he Riley?” I heard an unfamiliar voice ask. 

“No, Riley is a she and that’s her” I heard Cora answer. I looked up at her voice and smiled. 

“Cora!” I yelled and then grunted when Joshua took my feet out from underneath me. “Cheater” 

I got out of the ring and ran up to her and engulfed her in a hug. “Hey Riley” She whispered. “You stink” She said. I rolled my eyes and stepped away from her. I looked to the man to her right and smiled at him. He had black hair and green eyes. You could tell the two were related. He was handsome I’ll give him that. 

“You must be Derek” I said extending my hand for him to shake. “I’m Riley” 

He took my hand firmly and shook it. “You’re the one who found my sister after the fire?” He asked me. 

“Yeah” I said softly. His eyes softened and he gave me a slight smile, which is something I don’t think he does very often. Realizing our hands were still connected I took it away. “Listen let me clean up and I’ll meet you guys at dinner. My grandmother would love to meet you. Until then you two check the place out” I said walking away. 

************************

I was helping my mother bring the food out to the table. We have probably thirty wolves in the compound but they have their own cooks for those who choose not to cook them selves. We always eat as a family up here, my grandma, my mother, my brother and me along usually with Cora, sometimes we invite guests, like today since Derek is eating with us. I set the rolls down on the table across from my grandma. 

“Hey” She whispers at me signaling for me to come closer. I got close to her and she waved me closer to where my ear was to her mouth. “Did you see the ass on that Hale” 

“Grandma” I shunned and shook my head. This isn’t unusual of my grandmother. “Whispering is pointless we are all wolves here” 

“Oh I know” She told me I chuckled and went to get the last of the food. 

Everyone had their food and we were all eating. “Derek, if we knew about you sooner we would have brought Cora to you as soon as we could. We thought she was the only survivor” 

“It’s no problem, besides it seems like she was in good hands here” He said. 

“Ah yes, Cora wasn’t the first stray we took in and most definitely won’t be the last. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you need” My mother said. 

“Thanks” Derek replied.

“Is Beacon Hills as crazy as it’s always been?” My grandma asked. 

“Worse” Cora replied.

“I swear that town is cursed. When we came to visit your mother wanted to discuss about how to handle it, especially since the nematon still had some juice. Our town here is all supernatural and we all coexist with eachother” My grandma stated. 

“How does that work?” Derek asked. 

“Our town is made up of five different creatures we have wendigos, kitsune’s, werecoyote’s and of course werewolves, then the humans. They all have their own side of the town.” I replied “If one steps out of line we handle it, and if we can’t” I said looking to my mother. 

“We get the hunters involved. We’ve had an agreement with the hunters in our area for hundreds of years, if we can’t handle the situation then they can handle it” My mother finished for me. 

“And they agreed?” Derek asked shocked. 

“After a lot of persuasion yes” My grandma said “Unfortunately not all hunters are as negotiable as ours like the Argents, and the Calaveras, those crazy bastards” My grandma stated. 

“It’s peaceful here” Cora told her brother. “You deserve a break from Beacon Hills, I’m sure Scott can handle it” 

“He’s still just a kid” Derek replied. 

“Must be a special kid” I said taking a bite of my food. “For him to be a true alpha”

“Yeah but he’s still learning” Derek said. “I can still teach him a few things” 

“Our door is always open” My mother told him.

*****************

The next morning my mother had sent someone to say to meet her and my grandma. Once I got up there they had told me that there was a murder in the woods last night. By the photos they showed me it looked to be an animal attack, except we all know it’s not, a werewolf or a werecoyote most likely. 

“I’ll talk to the neighboring packs and see if they have any out of control betas” I stated.

“You should bring someone with you” My mother said.

“It’s fine I can go alone” I stated.

“I’ll go with her” I new voice said, a voice belonging to Cora. We all looked up at her and her brother standing next to her. I smiled remembering how nosy she was. 

“You just got back” I stated. 

“There’s nothing to do anyway” She stated. I shook my head and followed her out. I noticed her brother following too. 

“Okay I don’t need the both of you, In fact I don’t need either of you” I said. 

“Oh come one, we can show Derek the town along the way” She said. I let out a breath and looked up at Derek. 

“Think you can handle an out of control werewolf?” I joked. 

“It’s second nature” He stated. 

**********************

After talking to the surrounding packs no one has recently turned anyone or had anyone missing last night. “It doesn’t even make sense, last night wasn’t even a full moon” I stated. 

“Let me see the picture again” Derek asked. I handed him the picture and he studied it. “It doesn’t look like it was done in a frenzy maybe out of defense” I walked to his side and saw what he was talking about. A werewolf in a frenzy wouldn’t leave just one set of claw marks on their victim, they would be mauled. 

“He’s definitely not a hunter” I stated. “If it wasn’t a werewolf then maybe a werecoyote.” 

“What about an omega, a wolf without a pack?” Cora asked. 

I shook my head. “When an Omega passes through town they usually try and find us, we haven’t taken in anyone new, and we would have seen them by now surely” 

“Maybe try to catch a scent?” Derek asked. 

*****************

We were tracking down the scent in the woods. “Still trying to get used to being a beta again?” I asked Derek seeing as he was visibly struggling with keeping the scent. 

“Yeah, kinda a drastic change” He stated. 

“Well it was brave what you did, not very many people would give up being an alpha, especially when someone is trying to kill you” 

“I did it for her” Derek said looking at Cora who was ahead of us. “She said you have an ability to heal? I’ve never heard of anyone able to do it” 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m the last one. My grandma was one of the very first werewolves, and it was said that they had that ability on top of other things. My mother didn’t have the ability but somehow I did.” 

“How do you do it?” He asked me. 

“Like taking away pain just a little more. Takes a lot out of me, I was out for probably a week after I healed Cora. Even then she still wasn’t a hundred percent. Must be nice, seeing her after all those years” 

“She said I was a disappointment” He stated. 

“Sounds like her” I laughed. “She hated me too, she was honestly kinda scary” 

“I can hear you too” Cora said loudly. “I don’t hate either of you anymore” 

“Good to know” Derek said. 

“This is taking too long the scent in fading. I can track better if I shift” I stated going behind a tree and started to take my clothes off. 

“So shift” Derek said confused. 

“About the ability to heal, the first werewolves had another ability to fully shift into a wolf, I got that too” I said as I felt my back start to shift the cracking and breaking of my bones being heard. “Ah!” I yelled as more of my bones broke and morphed. Once I was fully shifted I followed the now clear scent.

“Pretty cool isn’t she?” I heard Cora say to Derek before I was out of earshot. 

********************

I shifted back and grabbed one of the cheap dresses I keep buried just in case I ever need to shift and I rip my clothes doing so. I’m hoping Cora remembered to bring my outfit I changed out of. 

“Coyote den” I stated as the two caught up with me. “Time to talk to the coyote’s” 

Out of all the creatures in this town the coyote’s are probably our closest ally. They respect our authority unlike the wendigos who are mad at us for not letting them eat living humans, instead they have to settle for the already dead. 

“So are there any humans in this town?” Derek asked. 

“They are all on the other side of town, most the humans kinda know to stay out of this side, call it a gut feeling” I stated. 

“Does this type of thing happen a lot?” He said gesturing to the attack. 

“Rarely, but it happens. Out of control omega, wendigos especially. Never really had a problem with kitsunes” I stated. 

“Aren’t they tricksters?” Cora asked. 

“The dark ones are, it’s their mission to cause all the chaos, strife, and pain they can so that they can get stronger, they can even possess someone, we’ve never dealt with one, and hopefully we don’t” I stated. 

“Kanima’s?” Derek asked. 

“Just one, but we got it under control before it could find a master. Just a kid.” I stated remembering what was done. 

“You couldn’t save him?” Derek asked me. 

“We tried, we couldn’t get to her, the hunters eventually intervened. That’s why I was impressed about Jackson” I stated remembering how Derek talked about the Kanima at dinner.   

********************

After talking to the coyote’s we found out it was a sixteen year old girl who had gone missing about a year ago, ran off with her boyfriend. She had gone along with it but when he had tried to hurt her she defended herself. She was in control, but she was scared so she hid out in the woods until her sister found her. 

“Please don’t send me to the hunters” Charlotte, the kidnapped girl said. 

“Show me your eyes” I told her. When she did they were a golden color, a color that means she didn’t take an innocent life. 

“We’ll talk to them, they are pretty lenient when it comes to self defense, but Charlotte, that wasn’t very smart, especially when you’re still learning control” I stated. 

“I didn’t think he was going to hurt me” She told me. 

“It usually happens when you least expect it” I told her. I looked at her mother “I’ll keep you updated” 

“So what now?” Cora asked as we were walking back. 

“My mother will talk with the hunters” I said. “Try to convince them it was self defense.”

“What if she can’t?” Derek asked. “She’s sixteen” 

“I know! If they don’t agree then I’ll think of something” I stated. 

********************

Derek and I were waiting patiently for my mother to finish talking to the hunters. Cora had decided to go to bed. I let out a sigh of relief when I heard that they will let this one slide but if it happens again then they would have to step in. 

“Thank God” I whispered in relief. 

“That was easy” Derek said both relieved and confused. I looked at his questionably “Something like this in Beacon Hills wouldn’t have ended so soon” 

“Are you gonna go back?” I asked him. 

“I honestly don’t know. I don’t like the idea of leaving Scott alone to be the alpha, with the nematon having it’s power back that town won’t ever be safe” He told me. “I just wish I could ask my mother for advice, she would know what to do” 

“What if you can” I told him. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked curiously. 

“Here follow me” I told him as I lead him into the study, a door that can only be opened by my family. “I know it’s a little morbid, but my father died years ago from a werewolf wanting his power, my father won but the wolf that wanted his power poisoned him in case he lost” I said as I grabbed the jar that held his claws pouring them on the table. “My mother spoke with him with these” 

“Spoke with him?” Derek asked. 

“An alpha’s claws are very powerful and there’s a ritual you can perform to talk with the person of who’s claws they are.” I told him. “But you can only do it once”

“Well there’s one problem” Derek said looking at me “My mother died in the fire”

“Talia from the stories I’ve heard was a very powerful alpha, her claws wouldn’t wouldn’t be something that would just burn away in a fire” I told him. 

“Even if they didn’t I wouldn’t know where they would be” He told me. 

“There’s a hunting family based in mexico called the Calavera’s if your mothers claws survived the fire and were found they would have it.” I told him. 

“How do you know that?” He asked me. 

“Because they had my fathers, it was like they had a collection of powerful alpha claws, and I think your mother might of been one of them” I told him. 

After I had explained how the ritual worked I walked Derek out of the study. We were in the door way. “Thank you” He suddenly said. I looked up at him. “you’re welcome” 

“Not just for this but for Cora too. This is the only place I would feel comfortable leaving her with and she wouldn’t shut up about you on the car ride here” He said. 

“I’m nothing special” I stated. 

“No you are, you can not only heal other’s but you can shift into a full wolf. You’re special” Derek told me. “I understand why she didn’t shut up about you”

I smiled and broke eye contact with him closing the door behind me. “If you do plan on going the Calaveras you shouldn’t go alone. They’re pretty dangerous. I can go with you” I told him. 

“No, you should stay here, plus I have someone in mind who will help me” He said. 

**************************

Derek stayed for about another week then decided to leave to find his mother’s claws. He had said bye to his sister already and walked up to me to say goodbye. 

“Thank you again” He told me. 

“Stay safe out there” I told him. “Will you be coming back?” I asked trying not to sound hopeful. 

Derek let out a breath and looked at me “Maybe” 

“I’ll take care of her” I told him

What Derek did next shocked me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight as I slowly hugged him back. “I know you will” He whispered then let go and walked out into the darkness

[archived-spellslinger-eva]

COMBAT !

REPOST, DON’T REBLOG !

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  — strength ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆  ☆ ☆ — offense ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ — defense ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ — speed ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ — durability ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ — accuracy ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★   — agility ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  — stamina ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆  — teamwork ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  — stealth   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆  — close combat         ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆   — bladed weapons ( swords, dagger/s ) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆  — blunt weapons ( club/s, staff/s )   ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  — ranged weapons ( archery, gun/s ) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  — superpowers / abilities ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆   — traps/setups ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆   — medic

any lasting injuries from combat? ) –

Variety of scars, though they heal very cleanly and well typically. Most are faint, aside from a rather clear claw mark on the left side of her lower back, and one bullet wound in her right thigh.

fighting style?   ( BOLD any that apply. )  —

COMMANDER  /  DUELIST  /  honorable /  dishonorable  / would have others do their fighting / STEALTHY  / LONG-RANGED /  MELEE  /  TECHNOLOGICAL /  sorcery  / SUPERHUMAN ABILITIES /  has fought in a tourney / A LOVER OF FIGHTING  /  a hater of fighting /  cowardly  / RECKLESS  /  strategic  /  uses underhand tricks /  RENOWNED FOR THEIR SKILL / TRAINED /  untrained  / keeps skill secret  /  WON A BATTLE  /  LOST A BATTLE /  ruthless / MERCIFUL

TAGGED BY: @precursors-chosen TAGGING: @ofthestarriders, @ofbooksandmagic, @fallnangelstandingby, @mischiefandnightmares, @fridge-o-mancer, @bewarethewoodsman, @it-all-tasted-like-blood, @shootfrombehind, @tenseigas-wielder

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Anime i’ve Watched

That begin with a A!

Yep this is how i’m going to bring over all the anime and manga i’ve watched and posted about on the old blog. It’s not so detailed but it will have to do. Anything new I watch or read from this point on will have their own posts.

Acchi Kocchi (TV) (Place to Place):

Genres: slice of life, comedy, romance, school

Synopsis: Feelings may come and go, but true love always remains in the heart. Tsumiki Miniwa is in love with her best friend, Io Otonashi. For her, confessing is nearly impossible; but to her friends, they seem to be the perfect match. Cute and petite, Tsumiki comes off more as a friend, and Io's attitude toward her is friendlier than toward others. Despite the constant teasing and obvious hints that his friends have been dropping, Io always seems to miss the signs. Throughout her everyday school life, Tsumiki spends time with her friends and Io. Will she finally muster enough courage to confess her true feelings? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 8/10

Finished airing in 2012 with a total of 12 Episodes.

My Thoughts: It’s been ages since watching this one so I can’t say I remember it well but the rating tells me it was at least partway decent and I imagine I thought the animation/ character design was rather cute (though not to my usual tastes). A feel good sort of anime with cutesy romance? If any of you guys have watched this anime and have anything to share feel free to send it my way so people can make an informed decision before viewing if they so wish! 

Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn):

Genres: action, adventure, comedy, fantasy, romance, shoujo

Synopsis:  Princess Yona lives a life of luxury and ease, completely sheltered from the problems of the seemingly peaceful Kingdom of Kouka; however, the sudden murder of the king and betrayal of her beloved cousin Su-won places Yona's life in mortal peril. Forced to escape only with Son Hak, who is both her childhood friend and bodyguard, the naïve princess soon discovers that Kouka is not the idyllic place she envisioned it to be. Poverty, strife, and corruption run rampant, making reclaiming the throne nothing more than a wishful fantasy given the kingdom's current state. Based on the popular manga of the same name by Mizuho Kusanagi, Akatsuki no Yona follows Princess Yona on a coming-of-age adventure as she faces the harsh realities of her kingdom. With only a mysterious legend to guide her, Yona must discover a way to restore Kouka to its former glory while being pursued relentlessly by the forces of the new King of Kouka. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 7.5/10

Finished airing in 2015 with a total of 24 episodes. 

My Thoughts: I recall having an issue with the pacing in the beginning but an overwhelming love for the sheltered to fierce main character and reverse harem vibes with all those pretty men. The artwork was nothing special most of the time, being rather muted and the themes were hit and miss but overall I recall this being a rather decent series. That being said, I was far more generous with my rating of the manga, which is still ongoing and a great series to read! 

Akiba's Trip The Animation

Genres: action, comedy, supernatural, ecchi

Synopsis:  Otaku siblings Tamotsu and Niwaka Denkigai are shopping in Akihabara when it is overrun by vampiric cosplaying monsters! These creatures, known as "Bugged Ones," can possess anyone they bite and soon they begin causing mayhem across the city. As Tamotsu finds himself at the mercy of one of these creatures, he is rescued by the mysterious baseball bat-wielding Matome Mayonaka. Together, they fight through several more encounters with the Bugged Ones, but before long, Tamotsu is fatally wounded protecting Matome. With no other choice, she revives him as a high level Bugged One—just like her! Tamotsu and Matome, along with excitable otaku cosplayer Arisa Ahokainen, make up the group "The Electric Mayonnaise" and they begin dispatching the Bugged Ones in the only way they know how: by ripping off their clothes and exposing them to sunlight! [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 4/10

Finished airing in 2017 with a total of 13 episodes. 

My Thoughts: That’s a hard no from me. Would not suggest this one. I was drawn in by the art/ animation/ character design and just didn’t know when to quit. Not worth the time it takes to finish the 13 episodes in my personal opinion. 

Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness & Lightning): 

Genres: comedy, slice of life, seinen

Synopsis:  Since the death of his wife, Kouhei Inuzuka has been caring for his young daughter Tsumugi to the best of his abilities. However, with his lack of culinary knowledge and his busy job as a teacher, he is left relying on ready-made meals from convenience stores to feed the little girl. Frustrated at his own incapability to provide a fresh, nutritious meal for his daughter, Kouhei takes up an offer from his student, Kotori Iida, to come have dinner at her family's restaurant. But on their very first visit, the father and daughter discover that the restaurant is often closed due to Kotori's mother being away for work and that Kotori often eats alone. After much pleading from his pupil, Kouhei decides to continue to go to the restaurant with Tsumugi to cook and share delicious homemade food with Kotori. Amaama to Inazuma follows the heartwarming story of a caring father trying his hardest to make his adorable little daughter happy, while exploring the meanings and values behind cooking, family, and the warm meals at home that are often taken for granted. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 9/10

Finished airing in 2016 with a total of 12 episodes. 

My Thoughts: Heartwarming and painfully sweet. A story about family with a culinary twist. Lovely artwork/ animation/ character design which perfectly compliments the characters and story. A great one to watch if you’re looking for something light but capable of tugging at your heartstrings a bit. 

Amagi Brilliant Park:

Genres: comedy, drama, fantasy, magic

Synopsis:  Seiya Kanie, a smart and extremely narcissistic high school student, believes that the beautiful but reserved Isuzu Sento has invited him on a date at an amusement park called Amagi Brilliant Park. Much to his chagrin, not only is the location a run-down facility, the supposed date is merely a recruitment tour where Sento and Princess Latifa Fleuranza, the owner of the theme park, ask him to become the park's new manager. Their cause for desperation? As stipulated in a land-use contract, Amagi has less than three months to meet a quota of 500,000 guests, or the park will be closed for good and the land redeveloped by a greedy real-estate company. Seiya is won over by the revelation that Amagi is no ordinary amusement park; many of its employees are Maple Landers—mysterious magical beings who live in the human world and are nourished by the energy created by people having fun. Entrusted with the hopes and dreams of this far-off enchanted land, Seiya must now use his many skills to bring Amagi back on its feet, or watch it crumble before his eyes. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 7.5/10

Finished airing in 2014 with a total of 13 episodes. (Also has two OVA’s/specials)

My Thoughts: An interesting setting and a cute male lead made even better thanks to the excellent art and character design. A decent comedy with art/ animation/ character design that was right up my alley. 

Amnesia:

Genres: reverse harem, mystery, romance, fantasy, josei

Synopsis: After fainting at work, a young lady awakens in the back room of the café she works at with no memory of her life or those around her. Two of her friends, whom she soon learns are named Shin and Toma, are called to help her get home safely. Once she is alone, she meets a spectral boy named Orion that only she can see and hear. He explains that she lost her memories because of his chance visit to her world, so he vows to help her remember who she is.

However, regaining her departed memories without worrying those around her may be more difficult than she realizes. In addition to the gloomy Shin and the protective Toma, she must be wary of arousing the suspicions of the captivating Ikki, the quick-witted Kent, and a mysterious man who lurks in the distance. As her amnesia entangles her in the lives of each of these men, her fragmented memories return piece by piece, and the mysteries of her circumstances slowly come to light.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

My Rating: 3/10

Finished airing in 2013 with a total of 12 episodes.

My Thoughts: A blank piece of paper for a female lead and cast of potential suitors that range from kind of crappy to the creepiest of creeps. What isn’t there to love? I vaguely recall my reverse harem kick where I consumed each and every reverse Harem I could get my hands on, hoping that at least one of them would be properly satisfying... They never were. Don’t even bother watching this one. You know unless what I described above is your sort of thing.

[thesunnyshow]

Name: Alison O’Brien

Writing Blog URL(s): @httpangelicjimin

What fandom(s) do you write for?: BTS, although I wouldn’t mind writing for other groups. Often, I have other idols that make cameos in my stories.

Age: 21

Nationality: Portuguese + French

Languages: Portuguese + French + English + Spanish

Star Sign: Leo

MBTI: ENFJ

Favorite color: pastel blue

Favorite food: pizza no doubt 

Favorite movie: I’m gonna have to be a sucker and say monster’s inc. bc who doesn’t love Pixar

Favorite ice cream flavor: I’d say coffee, tho I love a good ol’ chocolate ice cream

Favorite animal: wolf, it’s my spirit animal 

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering?: Coffee, for sure. Iced coffee or mocha

Dream job (whether you have a job or not): Ever since I was little I always wanted to be a singer but I guess I’m too shy for that ahah so I’d either say writing or advertising.

Go-to karaoke song: Break My Heart by Dua Lipa

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?: The ability to change shape at will.

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose?: The Victorian Era sounds brilliant to me. I would be a sucker for the dresses. Although, I also would’ve loved to be able to live in the ’20s. Great Gatsby made me dream countless times of all the amazing parties, with jazz playing in the background. The fashion was impeccable, and of course, to be alive at the same time as F. Scott Fitzgerald. I could even run into him at one of those glamorous parties. 

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?: I don’t think I would. Life has taught me some valuable lessons along the way but I was happy. Even when surrounded by those who didn’t have the best intentions in mind. If I had known all that I know now, I wouldn’t have lived as freely and carelessly as I did. I cherish those memories, even if they weren’t the best for me.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken?: Alright so… that’s a weird one. And what makes it weirder is that people have made that same question with me; it was either one horse-sized me, or 100 me-sized horses. Huh… I do have some background with chickens chasing after me, so I’d go with the 100 chicken-sized horses.

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?: I would 100% be the sucker that falls for the bad boy… ah… how I miss the high school bad boys.

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures?: I don’t. Although I have no problem getting lost in those amazing universes where such creatures exist. 

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know?: I absolutely love mango-flavored things but I cannot eat mango. Just the texture of the fruit…. Yuck. 

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why?: I write everything. So far, in the 2 years, I’ve been writing, I have experienced a little bit of everything. I think writing all those genres are important to complement the story. 

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc?: I never wrote anything that was mxm but I am ok with that. Besides, I have two stories out with an OC and the others are mostly with female readers, mostly because I write thinking about me with a member or one of my friends.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr?: I was already using Tumblr to read other people’s work. When the thought of starting my own writing blog came to mind, it seemed the most logical option to use. I have only recently learned about AO3 so… yeah, Tumblr seemed the most “at reach” app.

When did you post your first piece?: The first thing I wrote was called Wonder and was posted on a private blog. I started writing it a couple of days after Euphoria by Jungkook BTS came out.

What inspires you to write?: Everyday situations are always a good base for me. I like to write moments that I have gone through. Besides that, I find inspiration on movies and tv shows and some Pinterest albums. Sometimes it’s just a random thought that comes to mind ehe

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most?: I’d say college/high school aus. I did a collab with another writer from a college au and it was a lot of fun. Additionally, I have some wips I am meaning to work on and will soon be presented on my blog! 

What do you hope your readers take away from your work?: I think that I wanted them to feel okay. Life can get pretty hard and reading, for me, has always been like a getaway. So, whenever I write, I hope that I can distract my readers from whatever is happening in the real world. 

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively?: Whenever I’m struggling in life, it’s almost as if I lose my ability to write. I get really stressed, especially when I set deadlines. I try my hardest to push through. I believe that writing, even if it’s not to our liking, is better than doing nothing. I try to read more, to sleep better, and to seek inspiration. 

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful?: I don’t think I have a “most successful” work. I am pretty recent to Tumblr and am still growing bit by bit. As for my favorite, I’d probably say Dr. Love. It started out as a fun Valentine’s Day fanfic and I have some good stuff outlined.

Who is your favorite person to write about?: As I said, I love to find inspiration in my friends. Getting the feedback and how much they enjoyed reading what I wrote really is a heartwarming feeling. 

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?: I don’t think they are so different. Because when writing fanfiction, you’re not obliged to go 100% with the idol’s personality you’re writing. You have the freedom to marvel around in the worlds you create and make them do whatever you feel like would work best. So sometimes, it can be just like creating a whole new character from scratch. 

What do you think makes a good story?: There’s a lot of things that are needed to make a good story. I mostly value the storyline. I don’t like it when things are rushed and prefer to read something others may find unnecessary but get more context. I love the small little details about characters that make me relate and emphasize with them. Also, a plot twist. I love to read stories that completely blow my mind and catch me off guard. Creativity is everything.

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story?: Why not? I don’t have a problem with giving different names to my characters as long as the story stays the same.

What is your writing process like?: I prefer to write at night. But, as I said before, sometimes there’s just an urge to write and I have to grab my laptop, or even the pull out the notes on my phone and type out some words for the story I’m currently working on. I try to create a coherent storyline as well. Plus, I have an amazing beta reader that always helps me with the plot and hears my ideas and complements them. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand?: I love the typical “good girl falls for bad guy” trope. I don’t care if it’s cliché, I just love it. Although, I hate those where the girl is portraited as weak and as if she would ever be completely happy and fulfilled if the guy is by her side; as if she’s helpless without him. Girl power you know? Aha

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you?: It means A LOT. I think there’s no better feeling than receiving a piece of feedback, despite how small it might be. There’s always room for improvement and just the simple fact to know that someone took the time to read my work and found it interesting enough to send me their thoughts, I really cherish it.

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)?: I believe that my growth for the past months I’ve been on Tumblr could be due to how active I am. I always try to engage with the people I follow and even when I’m not posting my works, I try to be around. I have big dreams for my blog and hope to one day have a large audience to read my stories, but for now, I am happy with the ones by my side already.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged?: Yes. A lot of people think that fanfic writers are mostly horny/crazy teens that are obsessed with some famous wannabe that couldn’t even care less for their existence. I think that’s one of the biggest issues with how society sees us. But I consider those to be amongst older people (perhaps 40+yo). 

Do you think art can be a medium for change?: Of course. Art is one of the most personal ways of showing emotions, I believe. Being brave enough to show with the world your creations takes courage and I admire those who do it proudly. Art can be interpreted in so many ways; it overcomes all the barriers that there might be. 

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself?: The feeling can get to me sometimes but I immediately shut that down. There was a time when I was forcing myself to write things I didn’t appreciate or that didn’t follow my storyline just to make others happy and I had to give up on those projects quickly because it was driving me insane. I strongly believe that if we don’t write what we are passionate about, it will either come out sloppy or we will hate it. Writing what we like, even if some might consider it bad, is what we should do.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times?: I don’t think so. Although, I don’t receive as much feedback as I’d like to, so I’m not certain. 

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr?: Only my boyfriend does and he’s totally cool with it ehe

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers?: A big big thank you! I am so happy to have you here and I hope you can take some time to read over my works ehe I am always open to talk if anyone needs~ 

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there?: Just do it!!! I know there are so many great writers out there and you might feel like you would bring nothing to the game but that’s not true. You don’t need to be scared ok? It will be alright. Just give it a chance. There was a time where I was scared too and now I have made so many great friends and meet so many great people through my writing. You can make it too! 

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr?: No. 

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey?: Yess!! I have made so many friends thanks to Tumblr! I mostly have to thank the amazing people of @bangtan-headquarters for accepting me into their network and making me part of their discord server. I’m not going to be @/ing everyone but I know I have made friends whom I will forever keep in my heart uwu 

Pick a quote to end your interview with: “Life has no limitations, except the ones you make.” - Les Brown 

[elejahfanfic]

The Vampire Files/9

Fanfiction

Part 9

AU story, with characters from tvd/to, featuring Joel Goran from Saving Hope

Nick and Elena are FBI Agents investigating supernatural activities and homocide caused vampires and demons.

Expect witches, demons, vampires. Inspired by X-files, Twin Peaks, and many other shows

Main pairing_Nick Amaro & Elena Gilbert

tag_ @miguelsbrat​

✧˖*✧◝(^▽^)◜✧˖*✧˖*

***

"Conlindam in sanguinem" Elena murmurred sipping the blood slowly down Nick's mouth, repeating it in a manner that resembled a trance- and he, taken by the magic fighting inside of him now rolled his eyes, his whole body trembling in the worst possible fever.

Dita didn't move. She stood just watching nervously rubbing her hands. Now she whispered constantly as if in the same turmoil as Nick. "I never wanted this to happen-I never wanted this"

The little bit of consciousness that lingered made Nick feel like he was walking through the darkest fire of Hell. This was the darkest of magics Elena had not felt since she was a teenager. She as a medium could channel the magic through to the silver knife on Nick's chest making it void. Still in the state of delirium he clenched his teeth as the blood streamed through them somehow. And then he suddenly was calm and relaxed.

Elena stopped chanting removing the knife from his chest. Nick shot his eyes open looking around and as he realized where he was sat up now rubbing his mouth off seeing the blood on his hands. He wiped his mouth and hands off not looking at either Elena or Dita.

Elena walked out of the room speedialing Valerie again.

"Done. What next?" Elena said to the witch. This was the first time Elena asked her for a favour, even though Stefan had told her numerous times that she could trust Valerie entirely.

Flashback A year ago

Jackson and Elena got into the bar, both wishing Stefan a happy birthday.

"Beers and more shots!"Stefan ordered."Tonight we're going to get smashed. These two people here have cracked a biggest case ever. Everything is on me!"

"How many did he have already?" Elena asked Valerie.

"I am not counting. I only know I am driving him home" Valerie said.

It turned out that Jackson drove Stefan home. Valerie was called by an informant and asked Elena to accompany her. That night Elena learnt that Valerie was a witch as the informant was a trap. Elena dealt with the shaman in question as he wanted to strangle Valerie.

"Whenever you need a favour- I owe you one," Valerie said,"Angel heart"

Nick was quiet. Numb. He felt like he was stuck in one of those stories from the  Twilight zone. But this was real. Same as the creatures he read about and now he was something. He was a creature of the darkness. He glanced at Elena and then his eyes met Dita's. Answers,they said. I need answers. Now!

"I will tell you everything" Dita said and sat down on the chair near a window opposite from him.

Elena, having finished talking to Valerie interupted them for a second.

"Ahm- before -well- I need to tell you that you would probably crave blood, so I will have to get you some. Won't be long"

Nick noded slightly like it was the most normal thing. In honest truth, he only cared to hear what Dita had to say.

Elena left them. She remembered so vividly the night her parents told her about her supernatural heritage.

"Why did that woman call me Angel Heart?" Elena asked her father.

"Because of the light you carry in your heart." he explained.

Elena's mind now wondered to a more pragmatic questions. Who knew about him and sent them to New Orleans? Someone in the Bureau did this- was Elena's thought.

Her phone rang and picked up the call.

×××× In Washington, D.C.

Caroline strolled out of the court house with Liv Parker, her fellow colleague,  happily informing Klaus that the cross examination went in their favour.

"I had no doubt you would snare the defence" Klaus remarked.

"We are having a late lunch" she said in an informative way in her heart secretly hoping he would say he would meet them there.

"Take the rest of the day off. I am sending you preliminary details about the Fell case." Klaus said.

"Oh, the Bureau collected enough evidence?" Caroline said surprised as that case dragged on.

"Just received a call from the office,” Klaus said, "got to go. The mayor is expecting me. Good job, Forbes!"

They both hanged up and Caroline shone proudly. It was very rare Klaus had a thrill in his voice. She then commented about Klaus going to the mayor.

"He will run for the mayor" Liv said.

"What? Where did you hear that?" Caroline was stunned.

"It's a rumor," Liv replied,"Mayor's assistant is my friend. She has suggested he would run for the office. There is also a rumor that they are sleeping together"

"Klaus and Genevieve Guerrera?" Caroline was now wide-eyed. Her heart didn't want to hear this. But why should she care? Since she had arrived at the D.A.'s office, all they did was but their heads together and on very seldom occasions did he agree with her. Yes. Till he gave her that look transpiring his heart the other day. And eversince she could not stop thinking about him. Maybe this was what she needed to hear. Now she could stop thinking about him. He is a guy without a heart. She often said it. He is all work, sex and career. Not necessarily in that order.

Caroline got into her car and as if she was closing a case mentally wrapped her thoughts up.

*** In Carencro, LA

Nick waited for Heloise to start talking. The woman took a deep breath starting quite bluntly,"Your mother was a Nephilim. I believe you know what they are."

"Not quite,” Nick said," but as you saw my partner is very knowledgable about the creatures of the night- so she will soon explain. What was her name?"

"Cesaria" Dita said.

"And where is she?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything about her after she had left you here with me, in my care." Dita replied.

"And my father? My real father? Not the one you told me silly stories about"

"All the stories about him were true. He was human. Fiorello. A teacher. You know. He was killed in a car accident when you were nine months old. That is all true."

"Who is Isabella? The name of the woman on the tombstone? Well, she's obviously not my mother! Are you related to me at all?" Nick continued with the questions feeling the blood craving coming on strongly. It was a strange feeling, worse then hunger.

Dita could see his eyes getting yellowish and now took the knife Elena left on the table in her hands.

"I won't hurt you" Nick reassured the woman.

"I don't know that. No one knows how you’ll be. That is why she spelled you and left you behind"

Elena then entered the house and seeing him agitated now pored some of the blood she got from the butcher's into a cup. "Here"

He took it reluctuntly and had a sip. Immediately he felt at ease again.

"Thank you" he slipped as he had some more.

"Sorry to crash like this but just need to tell you that you that you won't need blood once the transformation is over" Elena said.

"Transformation?" Nick looked at her puzzled.

"Like werewolves change with the full moon. Nephilim change as well, but nothing major like that. At least that it what I know." Elena replied.

"And then- what will happen?"

"Can we talk about it later. Here, I also got you a sweater." Elena passed him the bag.

"Yeah- I need a shower" Nick stood up and went to the bathroom.

His talk with Dita was far from over, but he needed a breather. Way too many things happened at once.

The silent glare between Dita and Elena spoke volumes. Elena could see that the woman was going through a personal turmoil. The woman put the knife away on the table sighing.

"I knew this day was coming,” Dita said,"noone ever stays completely away from the darkness. At least not our kind. What are you? Not really a witch, but you can do spells?!"

"Demon hunter" Elena said simply.

"Not just a hunter. They can't do what you have just done"

"I am a bit different- yeah" Elena said. It was clear she didn't want to go into detail of all the aspects she possessed.

Nick now appeared. He seemed all right. The man she had known.

"We can go," he suddenly said,"there is an investigation we need to wrap up?!"

Denial. Elena inhaled deeply But, if he wanted to leave she could not telling him to stay.

Dita got up walking over to a chest of draws taking out a little box. She then silently passed it to Nick."This was your mother's."

He gulped a bit looking at the woman who had been a mother and a father all these years, who schooled him, raised him to be the man he was, a warm, compassionate, clever and generally a good person.

"She had her reasons for having done this. It was not easy for her. She wanted to protect you" Dita said.

Nick nodded a little. He looked at Elena giving her a sign that he was ready to leave.

To break the awkwardness Elena went out first. Nick followed. They each went to their respective cars. Just before he turned the ignition key, Nick turned to have one last look at Dita, who was standing at the front door. Whatever choice she had made he could not keep a grudge. This was not him. Dita put her hand up as if wanting to wave goodbye, but then put it down.

***

Meanwhile in NOLA

Dean sat down to write his report. His heart was heavy. The empitness her death left behind was eating up his soul.

Flashback Some time ago

"I could fall in love with you" Davina said as kissed Dean chuckling a bit then nestling on his shoulder.

Dean brushed up and down her back with his fingers lovingly saying "I thought you already are"

"Wow - you really are a charmer" she put her head up a little facing him.

"I was in love with you the moment I saw you. Maybe you put a spell on me " he said, a charming smirk dancing on his lips.

"Maybe.But real witches din't do that." the witch smiled back.

How could he not see what really was going on with her. Maybe he could have stopped it. Maybe. Maybe- drummed in his head. Now she was no more. It felt like his heart was cut out as well. He now returned to his report.

An hour later, in Algiers

"Drink now"- the witch said to Dean, who now took the bowl filled with the blood of a vampire. The Agent looked at the woman and with blurred vision from the hex he saw Davina in front of him nodding uttering, "Avenge me", he drank up.

"It is done!" the witch then run a stake through the Dean's heart and he screamed as the tip pierced it. She pulled it out murmuring words sipping some of the blood of a witch on the wound that healed immediately.

 "Now we have a real monster. Come, drink from me!" A man now walked in from the side room smiling wickedly, slashing his wrist open putting the hand to Dean, who dug his fangs deep into the wrists sucking the potent blood hungrily into him.

*

At the Old No. 77 Hotel, Elena paid for the room service and wheeled the

“I’m not really hungry”

“You got to eat something.” Elena said.

“I’d rather you answer a few questions like - you knew what I was - why didn’t you tell me?”

"All right- I knew-  but not straight away," Elena sighed,"I get this dream-like preminitions- and then I checked with Jenna."

"And then it was never the right time to tell me" NIck said.

"I should have just come to you and go- by the way, Amaro- you are a Bloodborn, a nephilim- a kind of a demon hunter-ok- are you having a beer or blood?"

"I get it -but still inbetween a pie and a doughnut you could have at least say that you were not just an Agent."

"And you would take that like it's an everyday thing" Elena said.

"I don't know. You could have tried, maybe you would have been surprised. But the trust issue was there from day one" Nick shot back.

"I have already admitted that it was a mistake. Like you never made one. And it's not that I din't trust you. I do. I actually trust you more than anyone I did before” Elena said with sincerest of eyes.

"You have s strange way of showing it," Nick mellowed down a bit,"You saved my life- twice-"

“We are not keeping score - or have you already forgot?!”

"No.” Nick huffed and sat down at the small table by the window,”This is the end. At least for me."

"What?" Elena looked at her partner in disbelief. "You're not going to quit, are you?"

"I can't continue with the work in the Bureau- not being this- whatever I am"

"So, you're going to bail. Leave me to kick their asses on my own?! I didn't think you were the bailing kind!" Elena was miffed.

"How can I go on? Look at me. Inside I fill like my gut will rip open. I feel like millions of wasps are swarming in my body." Nick said playing with the food in front of him. Huffing he got up and sat on the bed.

Elena stood up and walked over to him. She pressed her hand on his forehead. He was burning up. He was still in transition.

“Come on, lay down” she said.

"Stay" he uttered faintly, taking hold of her hand. “Please”

"Sure" Elena said taking his shoes off, and pulled the blanket over.

"Can you lay down- I won't bite" he said inhalind deeply.

She smiled a little at his comment and now taking her shoes off and jacket, she laid next to him.

He looked at her dearly. And Elena reciprocated.

"You're beautiful" he then slipped.

Elena knew that it was now the fever talking and played along a bit.

"Well, thank you for the compliment. Now close your eyes and try to sleep, ok?"

"I don't want to. I want to look at you. Forever" Nick blurted out.

"You can do that tomorrow, but now I am ordering you to sleep. Come on!"

“You promise that you won’t leave.”

“I promise” Elena said.

Taking her hand in his he closed his eyes. Elena rubbed the back of his hand gently with her thumb. She looked at him like he was not the creature from this world. Inhaling softly, she made a mental gulp, her feelings bubbling up inside her, made her wonder into a floaty daydream.

He brushed his fingers tips over her lips and raised her head. Tentatively, his lips grazed across hers, slowly, teasingly. And then his mouth took possession and his lips moved over hers, softly and yet demanding at the same time, filling her with an aching sensation, a desire that rumbled through her, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She slid her tongue to his, savoring the hot velvet flesh, entwining ravenously with hers, pulling her deeper.

Elena inhaled softly, feeling her insides quake with the sudden desire streaming down her veins. Her heart flattered in her chest at the thought of his soft brown eyes opening, turning to her, smiling gently, brimming with feelings unspoken. She fluttered her eyes shut. Denying her feelings. But then, she stretched her arms across his chest, snuggling up to him, listening to his breathing that was getting calmer and more relaxed.

Where do they go from here? Can things get even more complicated? Absolutely.

[stereksecretsanta]

Merry Christmas, @obsessedbutonline!

"This time, I will write something completely funny and lighthearted!" Well, that WAS the plan, I swear, but once I sat and started writing, this happened instead. I do hope you love this story as much I do ♥ Merry Christmas Darling! 

Read on AO3

*****

A safe place

The story starts like this.

(White. That was all Derek could see.

He blinked his eyelids and slowly shapes begun to condense into forms in front of him. He was in an unknown, but cozy room, lying on a comfortable bed.

Outside the open window, he could see branches and hear birds singing, the sun touched his warm skin and he snuggled into the bed, his mind already slipping. You are safe, it said. You can rest here .)

*

Derek woke up with a start, in his room.

Groaning, he reached over the empty side of his bed to search for his phone, grabbing it and realizing he had three missed calls from Stiles. With a sigh, he dialed his best friend, falling back into the sheets. While waiting for Stiles to pick up, he tried to remember what he had been dreaming about but found nothing but a pleasurable feeling left.

“DUDE!” Stiles screamed at his ear, and Derek cringed. “Where are you? Didn’t we plan to meet to buy the gifts?”

“Oh - fuck”, cursed Derek, running a hand through his hair, awareness coming back. “I am sorry Stiles, I don’t - what time is it?”

There was silence on the line, and then Stiles continued more quietly. “You didn’t sleep well last night, did you?”

Derek hadn’t, not really. It took him a long time to fall sleep properly, but Stiles already knew that. He always had trouble relaxing before Christmas. Something about the season unsettled him. “I am sorry, I will meet you wherever you are, I - ”

“No, forget it, we can go later, no problem. I will bring you coffee, alright? Go take a shower, I will be there soon!” Then Stiles hung up, and Derek decided it best not to fight his orders. It never ended well for him anyway.

He felt more human after a shower and met Stiles, who was already in his kitchen. He was arranging their breakfast on the table, still in his deputy uniform, probably coming after a long shift. When their eyes met, Stiles gave him a blinding smile, which helped leave the last traces of anxiety from Derek’s shoulders. It’s alright, the smile said. I am not angry.

Later, bellies full and laughter in the air, there was no trace of remembrance of the dream left.

*

Stiles showing up at his flat was not a unique occurrence.

After finishing college and the FBI training, Stiles decided to come back to Beacon Hills and continue to live with his father. Derek knew of his plans, they talked on the phone regularly since Stiles' high school years, and Derek himself had decided to give the town another chance, renting a different flat, closer to downtown. He didn’t want to be a lone wolf anymore.

In Beacon Hills there was Sheriff Stilinski always inviting him for lunch, there was even Chris Argent, who started accompanying him on his daily runs. There was also Scott, who returned every few months to hold pack meetings.

And, most important of all, there was Stiles. Stiles, who came directly to his flat once returning, full of hugs and promises to hang out more. Stiles, who kept his promises, taking him to the movies, to music concerts, to walks in the park. Stiles, who never made him feel like an outsider, or forgotten, or unloveable.

Stiles, who listened to everything Derek had to say, even his silences. Stiles, who looked at him like he mattered.

Just Stiles.

*

(Derek opened his eyes, and he was back in the white room.

This time he got up, softly, distinctly wondering why he was here again. As a supernatural creature, Derek had long ago stopped asking if things were real or not. They happened in his head, so they were real to him. He only needed to find out the purpose of them in his life, and move on.

Outside the room, he followed the smell of bacon and eggs to a kitchen bright in sunlight and found a familiar silhouette on the stove. He choked on air.

“It was time you woke up” Laura turn back to him, and smiled. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

She finished speaking, but Derek had already crossed the room and pulled her into a tight embrace. His sister hugged him back, but eventually pulled back and touched his cheek. “I am sorry,” she said, “but I am not your sister”.

“Don’t joke”, admonished Derek, a little desperate.

“I am not”, she said. “Take a seat Derek, and eat your eggs. I will explain everything.”

The words You are safe here kept rolling around fiercely in his mind, so he sat and begun eating, finding he was ravenous.

“If you are not Laura, then who are you? Why use her face?” Now that he paid attention, he realized it must be true. Laura’s face had imperfections, just like any other human, but the face staring at him right now had a perfect symmetry, otherworldly in their beauty. It looked like his sister, but it was not his sister’s loved face.

“We haven’t met before. I am not a creature or a thing. You can say I am something closer to energy. I apologize for appearing to you in your sister’s corporation, but she was the safest manifestation from your heart.”

She paused and took his hand between hers. “You are safe here, Derek. No harm will ever come to you. You have been in this place for quite a while if I say so myself. That is why I decided to finally approach you.”

Derek began to shake his head, to deny, but deep inside he couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity he had with this reality. The fact that he was sitting and quietly eating with a stranger in an unknown place told him everything he needed to know. His gut didn’t lie. He often chose not to listen to it, but it never lied.)

*

Agony, pain, and humiliation. When Derek thought about romantic love and the possibility of opening his heart again, he was flooded with those negative feelings, and crippling anxiety overtook him to the point of Stiles having to forbid the pack of touching on the subject.

After those situations, Stiles always took him home, and put something stupid on TV for them to watch, with Derek’s head in his lap and Stiles’s fingers buried in his hair, soothing and calm and caring. Derek was immensely grateful for him in those moments.

There had been so many people in his romantic life, that Derek sometimes felt like he was soiled, passed around from hands to hands, a hand-me-down person. There wasn’t much of him left, he thought. Sometimes, he had to scrub his skin raw on the shower to take the edge, the memories of it and feel clean. Sometimes, it was difficult to breathe.

And it wasn’t just Kate Argent or Jennifer Blake. Sometimes it was a smaller trauma, things from his earlier years, how every partner he had ever had, male or female, always put his beauty in front of everything else. Like he was just a pretty shell, made to shine and not ask questions. An arm candy. How they would always kindly walk away when they saw the raw, unpolished version of him.

For this reason, he had been single for a long time. Ever since he almost died, achieved the ability to shift into a full wolf and stared at Kate’s gruesome form, something changed in his heart, something clicked into place, and he felt colder inside. He never told another soul, but it was like he wasn’t capable of feeling love as intensely as before. So he didn’t even try.

He didn’t dare.

*

Derek and Not-Laura walked around the cottage (it was a cottage, surrounded by the most beautiful garden had ever seen), languidly and just breathing. Derek took in the flowers, felt the sunlight on his skin, and relaxed in a way he hardly ever did.

“Do you know where you are?”, asked the creature beside him. “Can you take a guess?”

Derek tried to think. Even with the corporeal place around him, everything still felt fuzzy, and mostly full of white light. Even his clothes were of neutral colors.

If he had to take a guess, he would say - “Sanctuary”. Now that it was out of his mouth, he felt the finality of those words and looked at the presence beside him. She was smiling proudly at him.

“Yes, very good Derek. Do you know why you happen to be here?”

Derek shook his head. “I am sleeping right now in real life, ain’t I?”

She seems pensive. “Yes, and no. Your mind is indeed sleeping, but your heart has been here for quite a long time, you see.”

Derek stopped walking at that. “What do you mean,” he asked, furrowing his brows.

The creature stood taller but didn't look at him, focusing on a rose bush instead.

“Hopeless. Unloveable. A waste of time. Does that sound familiar to you? The people who end up here all share a few connections with you, Derek, and it is all in the way they see love. Romantic love. On their terrible past experiences, how they mold their presents and make them afraid of taking that leap of faith that loving someone requires.” She finally looked at Derek. ”This is a Sanctuary for the souls that have been so burnt by a love that they need somewhere to heal and be safe for a while. Look around Derek.”

At that, Derek becomes aware of the other forms in the garden, he starts hearing laugher and the footsteps of the other residents of the Sanctuary. At last, he looks past them (they are not paying attention to him anyway) and sees a profile outside the fence protecting the garden, but he can’t see anything beyond it.

His companion sees the shift in his attention, and sighs. “Ah, I see you can spot him now. I thought you were completely blind, I am glad that was not the case”

Not paying attention to her words, he asks. “Who is him?”

“He is your future, but only if you dare to step outside and confront your fears, I am afraid.”

“What,” he states flatly, heart beating wildly in his chest.

“Don’t you recognize him, Derek?”

Before his eyes, the figure starts taking shape, and he would recognize that silhouette anywhere. It’s Stiles, of course.

It has always been Stiles, hasn’t it?

“What are you so afraid of, Derek?! She asks gently, like a mother admonishing her stubborn son.

And Derek… Derek has nothing to say. What is he afraid of? That Stiles will leave him? Stiles has seen Derek on his worst, most unforgiving days and stayed through them. That Stiles will betray him? He, the human boy who would rather die than leave a packmate behind? That Stiles would never be able to love him?

Well. If Stiles didn’t love him, he would have found someone better by now, wouldn’t he?

Derek suddenly remembered all those times people at Beacon Hills made flirt commentaries towards Stiles, or members of foreign packs asked for his company, and Stiles refused each time, and always, always left with Derek by his side.

With the new knowledge, something eased in his chest, and Derek felt years lighter.

“That’s it, boy, here you go. Have a fulfilling life, do you hear me?” Not-Laura hugged him, and Derek enjoyed the contact for a while before thanking her and made his way outside, towards the only person he trusted completely, vulnerabilities and all.

*

Awareness came slowly, and Derek felt the fingers on his hair stilling.

“Hey, sleepyhead. You missed most of the movie, by the way. I actually can’t believe you managed to nap during John Wick! Only you, dude”, Stiles rolled his eyes, but the fondness of his voice betrayed him. “Sleep well?”

Derek stared at him from his spot on his lap, taking in his darling face, and smiled. He raised a hand to touch his cheeks, and Stiles froze a little.

“Uhm - Derek?” He asked, a bit shaken.

“I don’t want to be afraid anymore”, spoke Derek softly.

“Okaaaay”, swallowed Stiles audibly. “And that means….?”

For a second, Derek hesitated. But, inhaling slowly, he sat, nuzzling at Stiles’s cheek. He could hear the other’s agitated heart, and it gave him more courage than anything else, it made him feel powerful to know that he wasn’t the only nervous one.

He stayed close to Stiles’ face, lips almost brushing, sharing a breath. “You are the only person I trust completely, you know that, don’t you? There is no one else I want to spend time with, no one other than you." He licked his lips. "Do you think we could, maybe…”

“Derek”, interrupted Stiles, shaking. “Are you saying what I think you are? I mean, are you sure…?”

“Yeah,” breathed Derek.

“But I am not…” Stiles averted his gaze.

Derek followed the path of his eyes, maintaining their eye contact. “You are not - what?”

“You are not saying this because I am the only option left, right? The safest choice? Because this kind of came out of nowhere, and I don’t want to be a boring choice Derek, I don't.”

Derek couldn’t look into his eyes for this conversation, so he rested his forehead on Stiles’ shoulders, gratified when Stiles hugged him to his chest.

“You are safe, but - Stiles. Do you know what it means to me that I can trust you? That I can believe in what you say? But that is not everything.” Derek swallowed, centering himself on Stiles’s scent, and the hand rubbing his arms back and forth. “I want to spend my life with you. I want to wake up to your voice every day. I realized that I have wanted those things for a long time, but I was too afraid to say anything. I am sick of the past. I want a different future. With you. Do you want that too?”

Stiles sighed, easing the tension around his shoulders, and rearranged Derek so their foreheads were touching. He spoke with a gentle, but determined voice. “More than anything Derek. I want you. I need you. More than anything else. For so long -”

Derek had to kiss him, he had to. So he did.

And when their lips touched, and he felt Stiles so pliant, and wet and soft, he felt another part of him, once forgotten, finally rise and spread its bright wings in his heart.

Smiling into the kiss, Derek felt whole again.

[xladyxfatex]

Chapter One (FMITN Book 1)

**Time skip 4 years**

Jessica had yet to show signs of having inherited either trait, werewolf or witch. That was till Gilbert and Melissa had received a call from the daycare center demanding they get there right away.  More fearfully then anything that Jess had gotten hurt the parents rushed to the center. The daycare was one that specialized in supernatural creatures and beings, so when they got to Jessie's classroom the fact the 3 teachers were freaking out was shocking. Looking around the room the found Jessica practically glowing, with her eyes shifting between her normal jade to sliver color. The realization soon hit both parents as to why everyone was freaking out, and Melissa had in that very moment begun to regret not bringing one of the boys with her.

Melissa focused her sights solely on her daughter while chanting an incantation, soon after Jess fell to the floor asleep, the glow leaving her body. Gilbert and Melissa shared a look. Picking up his daughter's sleeping form, Melissa apologized for the inconvenience, and they left the center. The drive back home was spent in whispered conversation between the two adults.

"Look we knew this was a huge possibility I mean come on Gilbert, you are a full blooded werewolf and I a full blooded witch. At least she didn't transform in the classroom." Melissa was trying to reason but Gilbert was still on edge.

"I know we knew it was possible but geez come on! In our kinds entire history there's only been what…..2 other hybrid werewolf  witches? And those two lived thousands of years ago." He hung his head in his hands. It wasn't that he was upset about this, he was scared. His babygirl, his princess, his daughter was one of the most rare hybrids known in their world. He feared for her safety, and how was he supposed to explain this to his sons? 

"Gilbert it'll be okay." Melissa grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. "We will tell Matt and Jeff together. Their transformation is in a few days isn't? I bet that's part of what set Jessica off her wolf clawing at the surface. In reality we're both to blame we never sat her down to talk to her about her wolf or possible powers." Melissa sighed. This was not something any four year old could fully understand, but they were going to do their best.

"We should stop at the elementary school and grab the boys. I want them there for this." Gilbert said.

"That's actually a really good idea the boys have always been able to get Jessica to calm down so easily." Melissa still couldn't put her finger on why that was but she wasn't going to complain either. Pulling up to the school Gilbert got out and got the boys. He warned them to be quiet because Jess was asleep in the back. The boys nodded each one getting on either side of Jess.

"Dad? What happened to Jessie? Something doesn't smell right. She's hurt." Jeff said causing the two adults to stare at each other.

"What do you mean Jeffery?" Melissa asked, it was true though neither parent bothered to find what lead to what happened. 

"Her ribs, and upper arm, they're hurt. Did she get hurt at school, is that why you picked us up early?" Matt chimed in. Gently he and Jeff stroked Jessica's long hair and back.

"We'll talk about it at home okay boys?" It was all Gilbert could think to say.

Once arriving at home the boys carefully got out of the car and headed to the house. Gilbert followed behind while Melissa took Jessica to the backyard where her supplies where. Gathering supplies and bringing Jessica into the her room, Melissa carefully stripped her daughter's shirt off. And sure the hell enough her upper arms and ribs were bruised. She'd have to wait till the sleeping spell wore off to get answers oh but she would.

Several hours pass, and dinner is ready by the time Jessica awakens. Not knowing how she got home the young four year old gets up, puts on a clean shirt and walks downstairs. The smell of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans fills the air, and Jess cannot wait to eat. Slipping into the kitchen she's met by her older brothers who both have questioning looks on their faces.  Unbeknownst to Jessica, her parents had told the boys what had happened at the daycare center, well at least what they walked in on and how they handled it. Jeff steps forward grabbing his sister's tiny hand and forcing her to look into his eyes. Jessica whimpers at this as he allows his wolf to the surface. Growling he demands answers.

"Jessica! What happened at school today?" The young hybrid has never seen her brother this upset, she thinks for a moment to tell a lie, but Jeff always knew when Jess lied. "Jessica I want the truth now!" Flinching she pulls her tiny hands away, hanging her low she speaks barely above a whisper.

In the background Gilbert, Melissa and Matt all watch and listen. The parents were not fond of this idea, but they knew Matt was right when he suggested it. Weather it was the fact the two were close in age or the fact that Jeff was showing alpha tendencies at a young age no one in the house knew, but Jess always obeyed him. The three waited with bated breath for the youngest to answer.

Jeff's green eyes flashed gold as his wolf came more to.the surface another growl leaving his chest. "I know you were hurt, mama healed you up. I know you glowed today and your eyes flashed silver. Now answer my question! WHAT. HAPPENED. TODAY?"

Sucking in a breathe Jessica bared her neck in reflex to the alpha commanding her. Something every omega instinctively does. Though to Jessica right she had no idea why she was doing this, the four year old trembled as she finally spoke.

"Andy, Kyle, and Max…..they were saying bad things about you and our family. This wasn't the first time and the teachers weren't making them stop." Jess looked down feeling useless, her whole family was powerful but she wasn't, or so she thought. "When I didn't fight back with my words, they began hitting me, punching and kicking me. That's when everything happened. My skin glowed and things in the classroom floated. I was scared I didn't know what was happening. Then I growled and I could hear a voice in my head telling me to 'protect my family' as it grew louder my body shook and my eyes changed, then I fell asleep." Jessica began to sob, she just wanted to protect her family. Jeff brought her close and held her tight, followed by Matt. Each trying to soothe the crying girl.

When her sons stopped, Gilbert and Melissa told the boys to go sit and eat, both parents hugged their daughter tight before sending her to eat as well.

"I want to keep her home tomorrow, we only have 3 nights til you all shift, and most likely she will as well. I want to help her to understand better both sides of herself. The witch and the wolf. She deserves that. So from now till after the shift, she'll stay home with me." Melissa gazed into her husband's eyes, she knew Jess needed to be in classes but if the teachers allowed that to happen to her today who knew what else could happen. Soon after the pair settled at the dinner table to commence family dinner. 

After dinner each child helped with clean up, then each bathed and got ready for bed. Melissa explained that Jessica would be staying home for awhile. She told the boys what Jessica was and how it was extremely important to never tell another soul what she fully was unless they completely trusted the person, in fact they shouldn't say anything about it without their dad or her there. Jeff didn't really understand why it was such a big secret, but Matt did, in his classes they were being taught hybrids currently and what his sister was would to record only make her third of her kind in the last few thousand years. Jeff wouldn't start learning about that till the following school year though.

Kissing the boys good night, Melissa walked downstairs and into the living room. She wanted to get as much information as she could from her husband about wolves, the abilities, and their transformations. She had general knowledge about these things but since she was going to be explaining it to a child she wanted as much information as she could gather. Couple hours passes when Melissa stands to go to what so referred to as her 'work shop'. She wanted to check her books see if maybe there was a spell to help with the pain of the transformation. To her luck there was a spell for for pain in large doses, she gathered needed items to prepare her spell. 

---------------

The next morning, Jessica woke up, brushed her hair and teeth, and got dressed. She went downstairs for breakfast and smiled brightly at her family. "Good morning everyone!" Jessica began to eat her oatmeal and fresh fruit.  The boys got up and kissed their sister on the forehead, a typical goodbye and left for their school. Jessica finished her breakfast put her dishes in the sink and then went to find her mama so they could leave too. When her mother wasn't in the living room, garden or bathroom, Jess got worried. Her mother was always around. Jessica then remembered her mother's work shop, it was a place she herself didn't go often but maybe mama was there.

Getting to the workshop Jessica let out  breath, opening the door she found her mama, but she wasn't awake. Jessica shook her mother praying she'd wake up, when she finally did she coughed up blood. Jessica took a deep breath her mother always smelled of Lavender and vanilla, but today there was also an oddly sweet smell. Jessica didn't recognize the smell and that scared her.

"Mama, are you okay? You were sleeping on your workshop floor and smell different, there's a sweeter smell." Jessica didn't often tell people what they smelled like unlike her two brothers, but when she did those around her definitely listened. Melissa hung her head before speaking. 

"Yes little one, I'm okay, must have just fallen asleep down here working on  spell for you. Don't you worry I'll be okay." Melissa's voice faltered towards the end but Jessica smiled brightly and held on her mama.

"Okay mama! Let's hurry I have to get to school." Jessica jumped up off the floor and held a tiny hand down to her mother, she offered it as a means of helping her mama off the floor and at that Melissa smiled. Once off the floor Melissa told Jessica how today and the next several days she wouldn't be going to daycare. She was going to learn about what she was 

After leaving the workshop Melissa asked Jessica to stay in the living room for a bit she told her daughter she was going to shower and change her clothes. Jessica nodded and obeyed at least for the first 10 minutes or so, getting bored with nothing to do Jess went to her room to grab a toy when she overheard her mama on the phone.

"No I need an appointment as soon as possible. No something is very wrong, I passed out in my workshop only to be woken by my youngest and coughed up blood. Please I need to see the healer!" Melissa was trying to keep quiet but was frantic, she couldn't mention her daughter saying she had a sweet smell, Jessica being a rare hybrid it would endanger her especially since she'd had no training yet. "Tonight at 8pm? Yes yes I can be there thank you." 

Jessica walked quietly and quickly away from her parents' room. She wasn't sure what she just heard but she knew it wasn't good. Sitting back on the couch she awaited her mother. Another 10 minutes had passed when finally she came with a notebook and a few other things. Melissa sat down and began.

"Jessica, you know that your papa and your brothers are-"

"Werewolves! I know mama, and you mama are a full blooded witch." Once again Jess smiled brightly. 

"That's right hunny, but do you know what that makes you?" Melissa looked at her daughter's face to see it all scrunched up in confusion. Jesse simply shook her head 'no' and awaited her mother to continue. "Well my darling daughter, after yesterday it would appear your a hybrid of both. Half witch half werewolf." 

"Mama, are there others like me?" Confusion laced the small child's voice. Up till this point she had meet witches, a vampire, a few fairies, and of course werewolves. But none of them were hybrids they were all pure bloods, well maybe not the vampire she had mentioned something about once being only human.  Melissa sighed and shook her head.

"No baby to our knowledge your the first of your kind in a very very long time. But it's very important that you not tell a soul your hybrid Jessica, its very dangerous. Only tell those whom you absolutely trust, or your alpha when and IF you join a pack." 

"But mama don't daddy and my brothers know, am I in trouble because they do?" The young girl began to tremble and thank the Gods for the protection spells around the house that prevent her scent from escaping. There were too many alphas and betas here that would have come running. Melissa had a charm she would enchant one that would prevent she scent from spilling forth when upset or in danger. She'd have to teach Jesse the spell since it only lasts a few months at a time.

"No sweet child…" Melissa held Jessica tight and stroked her hair "...your papa and brothers are the kind of people you should tell, and since they already know everything is okay."

Once calmed down, Melissa opened the notebook with all the notes she had taken from Gilbert. She explained how Jessica's inner wolf would make itself known in her head, such as it did the other day at daycare. It would speak to her telling her different things, and maybe even one day tell her when she's found her mate. The idea made Melissa giggle true mates were no longer something most supernatural creatures and begins believed in. But just then a single thought hit Melissa 'hybrid my daughter is a rare hybrid, maybe just maybe there is a true mate for her in this world.'  

Melissa continued to explain about how even in human form, Jessica would have heightened senses of hearing, smelling, and even taste. She explained about reflexes becoming quicker to which Jessica asked about taking classes like dance and gymnastics. agreed but wanted to asked Gilbert first before signing her up. Next came the part she was scared to tell Jessica. 

"Little one? You know how once a month we go with your daddy and brothers deep in the woods and they turn into their wolves?" Melissa swallowed passed the lump that her formed in her throat.

"Yes mama I know.  Papa is a beautiful wolf with salt and pepper colored fur, Matty has beautiful black fur, and Jeffy has pretty blonde fur." Jessica smiled she loved seeing their wolf forms.

"Well hunny, your going to turn into a wolf yourself most likely this Friday night with the boys and your papa. But you see little one ...its-"

"It is going to hurt, badly. I know mama I was only 2 when Jeffy first turned, but I remember how much he cried in pain. I know it'll hurt but I'll be okay." Jessica looked up in her mother's eye and smiled. "Besides my wolf says it only hurts badly the first time, and that if I drink enough water, everything should be okay. She says she can't wait to be seen by the rest of the family and that once I'm done turning it won't hurt anymore." Melissa just smiled, her wolf told her the hardest part and reassured her it would be okay. 

"Well then little one, let us go to the workshop. Now that you know about your wolf side I say it's time I teach you some magic. Would you like that?" The smile on Melissa's face could rival the suns, she was beyond excited to teach her daughter. Jessica jumped to her feet and hugged her mother. 

"Really mama? You'll teach me magic?" Jessica's skin was already glowing, Melissa made a mental note that they'd have to work on control before any real spell work could begin.

"What kind of magic would you want to learn?" Jessica thought for no more then a moment. 

"Healing! Matty and Jeffy are always getting hurt trying to wrestle, I want to help heal them and anyone else who might need it " The truth was because of her brothers she wanted to heal, hell even her wolf wanted her to, but her wolf kept calling out that mama was sick and it was more important to learn as much healing magic as possible to maybe even help mama.

Melissa knew it was likely that Jesse's inner wolf was telling her she was sick, it was possibly for that reason that Melissa wanted nothing more than to teach her healing magic and tonics and potions. With a simple smile and outstretched hand Melissa brought Jessica to the workshop. They spent the first few hours going over basics, what tool was called what and how to use them, then moved on to simple gem stones best for healing charms, along with runes, then plants which brought them outside to the garden. As Melissa explained everything she also made sure to write notes so Jessica could study them, along with spells, incantations, tonics, and potions. All of which varied in degree of difficulty and what they would help with. She wrote down (though prayed they never be used) several incantations for resetting and healing bones, muscles, and tendons. As well as tonics and potions for sore muscles, bruises, fevers, and the like. In short she put together a healing book for just about every and anything and all the steps, ingredients, and what not needed. She included pictures of hand motions for those incantations that needed them as well.

[mythicallore]

Weird Encounters with humanoids in Texas

There are a lot of strange cases of creatures and entities out there, scattered all across the world. Often these accounts have no clear origin or logical answer to explain what people are seeing, and they seem doomed to flutter about in the periphery of the odd. Strikingly, many of such reports describe entities that are humanoid in nature, and which serve to defy all attempts to truly classify them. The U.S. state of Texas has more than its share of accounts of bizarre humanoid creatures, and here we will look at a selection of some of the stranger.

The first report we will look at here is about as bizarre as they come. Paranormal researcher Albert S. Rosales wrote a series of books called Humanoid Encounters, which focused on alleged sighting of various strange entities corresponding to certain years. In the 1970-1974 edition there is a very odd report from the town of Amarillo, Texas, which supposedly took place in 1970. In the account, the witness claims that he moved into a ranch with his family surrounded by a desolate landscape of sand dunes and very little vegetation. For the first few days at their new home nothing particularly strange happened, but it took a deep right turn into Bizarreville rather quickly.

It started when the grandmother allegedly discovered a den of wolf cubs near the house, but when she brought the grandfather there the next day to show him her discovery it was found that the adult wolves were dead and the cubs were nowhere to be seen. When the wolf carcasses were examined, it seemed as if they had been torn apart by something very large with formidable claws, and this understandably made them a bit wary as to what was roaming around out there in the wilds.

The next evening, the grandfather had a nightmare in which he had a premonition of intense foreboding, and a warning in his head to move away immediately. When he awoke in a cold sweat he went out to the outhouse and as he did so he claimed to have seen a hulking humanoid figure with glowing red eyes, which seemed to be surveying the house from the dark. Interestingly, the witness’ great-grandmother also had a premonition that night, and he would say of what happened next thus:

Earlier in that very night, my great grandmother had a terrible feeling and sent my granduncle, Ray, with his family to check up on his brother. Ray was almost to the house when the car ran out of water. He remembered there was a well nearby and went to get some water. He didn’t get too far when the thing with red eyes came in front of him. He ran back to the car and told his family to run to his brother’s house. He grab his shotgun and Bowie knife so he could buy his family time to get away. Ray made sure the car was between him and creature. The creature charged him quickly. He shot the creature nearly point-blank range several times with no effect. He tried to stab it but almost got slashed by it’s claws. Then, he ran fast as he could to the house. The creature followed but, suddenly stop short of the hill. By then, the entire family was awake and saw it on the hill staring at them. Grandfather told all the girls to get in the bed of the truck and covered them with lots of blankets and other stuff to make a barrier in case the creature jumped into the bed. The men were in the cab of the truck staring at the hulking being. They drove past it praying it didn’t attack them. It’s gaze was on the house. Suddenly it jumped off the hill and began to chase them. It stopped short of the line where the sand ended and grass began.

After this harrowing encounter, they went back the following day to get their things from the house, only to find the ranch owner and numerous police and “military looking” people all over the area. On top of this, it appeared as if the entire first floor of the home had been completely wrecked by something. This was all strange enough, but what really makes it even more surreal and off-the-wall is what happened when a police K-9 unit was released, and the report says of what transpired thus:

A K-9 unit went in to investigate. The first floor was totally destroyed . The second floor was the same as well. The dogs got a scent of something and started to bark at the attic door. The officers opened the door and let the dogs up it. Everybody heard the dogs fighting with something. Suddenly the dogs were thrown out the attic window like rag dolls. They were both skinned alive! The two officers inside went into attic to see what the hell it was. Everybody outside heard lots of gunfire and then saw one the officers being thrown out the window. He was dead before he hit the ground. When everybody looked back up toward the window, they saw the creature clear as day. It looked like a big bald blue-skinned man with big red eyes and sharp claws. The high ranking military man ordered its’ destruction. Everybody opened fire on it and the house. Two guys threw grenades into the attic and it exploded. The house was then set on fire! Grandfather and the family left but later heard that the only body found was that of the other officer. Footprints were found leading away from the house! Nothing of it was ever heard again to their knowledge.

It is all completely and insanely bonkers, and it leaves one wondering just what truth any of it has, and if it does, then what it was they encountered. The problem is that the account has no real sources listed, so it is unverifiable and could very well be fake. Who knows? Speaking of hulking, terrifyingly beastly humanoids, there is another report covered on the site True Horror Stories of Texas, and it involves a witness known only as “Jacqueline.” She claims that she was on her way back to the town of Coldspring, Texas, after visiting her father in Houston, and that as she was passing by Lake Livingston Dam at around 10 PM when some decidedly weird events would unfold, of which she would say:

I was past that light in total darkness with only my headlights shining. I saw something up ahead and slowed down. It was a furry creature on all fours crossing the road. I’ll never forget the way it felt, the hair on my arms are standing up and I get goosebumps just remembering. It looked like the boy from the jungle book crossing the road with the hind part of the body higher than the front.

It stopped just on the other side of my truck passing a few feet in front of my truck. It was dark grey and black and it didn’t seem to have a face or maybe it just had too much hair. It was too big to be a dog or any animal. I still don’t know what it was, all I know is that I drove off speeding away looking back into my rear view mirror hoping it wasn’t following me home. I locked up and stayed close to my rifle the whole night. And to this day driving through that stretch of road I hope I never see that creature again.

What was this thing? Was it, as has been suggested, some kind of werewolf? If it was, then it would not be alone out in the Lone Star State. One of the most well-known of such supposed werewolf reports comes from the town of Converse, Texas, where during the 1800s a rancher moved onto a modest plot of land in the area along with his son. One day the rancher apparently sent his son off on a deer hunting trip, determined to toughen him up, as he was described as a rather frail and nerdy boy who liked to study and read all day rather than go out into the great outdoors.

The boy found himself at a heavily forested area called Skull Crossing, and he disappeared into the woods for several hours. When he returned he was without any kill, and his father was deeply disappointed with him. For his part, the boy claimed that he had been stalked through the woods by some sort of “werewolf,” and that this was one of the reasons he had not been able to hunt, but the father did not believe him. He instead made his son turn right back around and go back to finish the job he had started, despite the boys pleas to not make him go. The young man once again ventured out into the wilderness and his father stood there waiting.

The hours passed and the sun began to set, bathing the woods in darkness, but the boy would not appear from the trees. The father purportedly grew worried, and he decided to call upon some other locals to go out and look for his son, fearful that something may have happened to him out there. As they fanned out into the increasingly murky forest they probably thought that they would find the inexperienced lad out wandering about without a clue, but they would soon find out that something altogether more sinister had transpired.

According to the tale, the search party came upon a monstrous, hairy beast measuring 8 feet tall, which was described as looking like a cross between wolf and man, and which was more disturbingly still crouched down and in the process of eating the dead son of the rancher. The party apparently shot at and chased off the monstrosity, which dispersed with supernatural speed, but the boy was dead, torn to shreds. After this the story becomes a bit hazy, with some versions saying that the rancher went insane and others saying that he locked himself away to wither and die, or that he killed himself. What was this thing, if anything? Was it a real werewolf, a misidentified bear, or something more like a Sasquatch? We will probably never know, and the Converse Werewolf remains little more than a perplexing historical oddity.

Joining werewolves in the wilds of Texas is what has been described as basically a cross between a man and a goat, and which supposedly haunts the picturesque locale of White Rock Lake. For years there have been accounts from the area of being terrorized by a humanoid entity that has a body mostly like that of a man, but with hoofed feet, a horned head, and long fingers with twisted, claw-like fingernails. Whatever it is, the Goatman of White rock Lake has been seen far and wide, and has become entrenched in the local lore. Interestingly, Texas seems to be crawling with Goat Men, as there is another said to haunt the Old Alton Bridge in Denton County, and yet another said to prowl the wilds of Lake Worth. Cryptids, ghosts, interdimensional beings? What in the world are the Goat Men?

Less identifiable is a story shared by Week in Weird, of some sort of creature with glowing eyes that was seen and even photographed at a cemetery in North Houston. In 2013, a paramedic claims that he had been at the Mueschke Cemetery in order to take a rest along with his partner at around 2 AM. As they drifted off to sleep, there was apparently heard something roaming about through the underbrush, and when the pair peered into the dark they were met with the sight of two glowing eyes peering right back at them. The partner apparently had the presence of mind to snap a picture of whatever it was, and this was soon posted to the Internet. The picture is indistinct and pretty mundane mostly, but there are indeed two glowing orbs in the upper left hand corner that look like they could be the eyes of something lurking in the woods. What do you think?

A very surreal, and most certainly paranormal entity reported from Texas and covered by Glenn Harrison, and posted at True Texas Horror Stories, is that of a strange creature known as La Malacosa, or, rather ominously, “The Bad Thing.” The entity was first mentioned in Adventures in the Unknown Interior of America, published in 1542, and begins with the arrival of conquistador Cabeza de Vaca, who during their many adventures came across a Native tribe in the Ozark mountains, who told the Spaniards that they had long been visited by a mysterious bearded stranger, who always appeared as rather indistinct and blurry, as if maintaining jst a tennous hold on reality.

This stranger was said to carry with him some sort of blindingly bright light, a lantern or wand, which he would wave about in front of him and in some cases cause people to faint in fright or under the influence of some arcane force. The appearance of this wandering figure was often accompanied by the discovery of the dead bodies of both animals and humans who appeared to have been surgically operated upon, some of their organs removed, and then the whole thing stitched back together again. Other tribesmen showed scars or disfigurations that they claimed had been inflicted by La Malacosa in the night.

This stranger was also said to appear at tribal feasts or celebrations, lurking in the shadows of the sidelines to merely watch, never partaking in the opulent meals laid out at such events. According to legend he would never talk to anyone, except to say that he was from a place “from the regions below.” The conquistadors mostly scoffed at such stories, but used it all as a way to try to convert the Natives to Christianity. It is uncertain just what La Malacosa was supposed to be, an ancient spirit, a demon, or even an alien going about performing mutilations, but it is a creepy historical account to be sure.

Perhaps even weirder still are creatures not stalking abut on the land, but rather through the skies above. Another report was covered on the site True Horror Stories of Texas, this time from near Three Rivers, Texas. In 2000, the witness claims that he had been driving along the highway IH37 between San Antonio and Corpus Christi at around 1 AM. He was heading along the interstate, the nighttime scenery flashing by past his headlights, when something odd apparently flew up right out of the night and up over his car. He would describe the weird encounter thus:

A large white humanoid figure with wings. Not a crane, or goose, or swan, or bird of prey…but a humanoid figure with skin wings. I remember doing about 65 mph and it came from the right rear and crossed my driving line at about 45 degrees… overtaking me in speed by maybe 5-10 mph. As it crossed over me it was only 10 or so feet above the roof of my vehicle. Wingspan was probably 6-8 feet and the skin was white. The wings looked to be constructed/shaped more like you would expect to see on a bat or pterodactyl but with a solidly defined human arms on the leading edge. There were definitely human legs trailing behind it and the torso was built like a human. Because it came from behind, I did not see a face. But, looking back I’m glad I didn’t.

Another flying humanoid creature that has had plenty of coverage in Texas is the so-called “Houston Batman.” Sightings began back in the 1950s, when a bat-like humanoid was seen all over the area by numerous witnesses. The first official sighting happened in June of 1953, when three neighbors at the Houston Heights apartment complex saw what they would describe as a “very tall man or manlike figure standing about six and a half feet tall but with bat-like wings attached to his back.” Making it all even stranger was that the entity seemed to be surrounded by an ethereal glow. Ever since then the “Batman” has been seen across the city, often causing witnesses to freeze for no discernible reason, and has never entirely been explained.

What lies out there in the badlands of the state of Texas? What strange creatures and entities call this place home? We are not likely to find any concrete answers any time soon, but such accounts serve to get the imagination going. Are these ghosts, specters, demons, or some sort of interdimensional entities, so called “ultra terrestrials”? The very isolated nature of these reports leaves us scratching our heads. In the end we can only guess at the nature of such beasts, and hope that we do not run across them if we are ever traveling along a dark road in Texas.

[lovetnaomi]

Secrets of the Dusk Chapter 14

Chapter 14

               When Uraraka woke up in the morning, she least expected to find an unfamiliar woman, standing in a towel, making herself breakfast. 

The woman smiled, glancing at her, “Almost done, be a dear and hand me some plates?” She paused, seeming to realize that no one had told Uraraka she was in the house.

               “Sorry, I was invited over last night, Shouto-dear needed a favor.” Her lips twitched into what she could almost call a smile. She was being teased. This woman was teasing her. Her now-blonde hair swished to the other side of her shoulder, “Do you know where he keeps the spare clothes? I haven’t been able to make it back to my cabin in a couple of days-oh, right, my old ones got burned. Took the liberty of taking a shower while I was at it. I’m sure you know the drill.” She smiled, her hand twirling in the air as she dragged plates steadily towards her.

               A small burst of warmth ran through Uraraka’s chest, anyone else less rational wouldn’t have bothered to think the words over. Likely, each excuses. Uraraka swallowed, she didn’t have time for jealousy, it wasn’t as though they were an item either. “I’ll get you some of mine.” She whispered moving back to her room quickly. She didn’t have time for jealousy. That was the witch of the forest, only the fog of sleep clouding her memory. The witch of the forest had looked a lot younger the night that they had met, but now she looked mature, older, calmer. But Uraraka knew she would have to remember that in what constituted what they could call their backyard she kept her ex-boyfriend. Sure, she had her reasonings, but that didn’t mean she could ignore the vast amount of power this woman was capable of. Uraraka rummaged through her drawers, pulling out what she finally thought would suit the witch before returning to the kitchen, where an argument between the witch and Katsuki was steadily unveiling.

               “Who told you, you could touch those?” Katsuki snapped.

               “And who forgot that I own this place?” The witch of the forest snapped at him, dragging the dishes back through the air.

               The clothes lowered in Uraraka’s arms watching the witch steadily and fluidly control the motions of the cutlery through the air, temptation to take the bracelet off buzzing around her wrist. Oh, how she wanted to drag the cutlery around the house with little to no thought, the dishes swinging in the air as a form of a dance. Her eyes moving to Katuski, “Am I a witch? Can I do that?” The target of the jealousy swirling around in her chest.

               The witch of the forest laughed, “Typically, witches don’t get sick from their own magic. But I rely on the moon. Unfortunately, the new moon is really soon, so I’m hoping y’all will let me kick it at the home I own tonight.”  

               Katsuki scoffed, “Scared witch?”

               “I’m just hoping you don’t think of making a blood mess in the home you live in.” The witch laughed.

               Katsuki caught the pot that flew back at him, “Don’t make a blood mess in my home and we’ll be even.” He snapped, annoyance already raging in his eyes. The rubies shifting to Uraraka in the doorway, “Uraraka, meet the witch of the forest, last night’s stowaway.”

               The witch scoffed, “Typically, when you ask someone for a favor you at least offer them a place to stay.”

               Uraraka nodded moving closer to her, “I brought you back some clothes, they’ll probably fit you.”

               “My name is Seraphina, at your leisure, thanks for the clothes, I’ll be right back.” She smiled before disappearing into the other room. Uraraka found herself at the table seated across from Katsuki, plates in front of both of them and two spare plates on the table.

               “She seems pleasant.”

               Katsuki scoffed, staring down at the food sitting in front of him, “Pleasant people don’t trap serial killers in our backyard.”

               Soft feet padded behind her, Todoroki sliding in the chair between them, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the pancake on the plate, “Thanks.” A soft mumble rumbled from him as he shuffled around for the fork that wasn’t on the table.

               “Don’t eat anything yet.”

               Uraraka glanced between the two, waiting for someone to say something about Seraphina. Or why she was in the household.

               “Oh, y’all haven’t started without me, how polite.” Seraphina dragged the chair, placing the utensils onto the table, before glancing towards Uraraka, “I won’t be around often, but you know, just for the full moon. Let’s work on your magic when I am here.”

               Uraraka smiled, someone was actually offering her to work on her magic instead of stuffing it away and acting like it didn’t exist. She glanced at her bracelet, a tinge of guilt. There was a reason for it. They were protecting her. She attempted to keep her eyes from sliding towards Todoroki. It was protecting her from Todoroki’s aura suffocating her. But-her mind was going through the pros and cons, she wanted to be able to protect herself. She needed to know what she could do with it. This was a part of her.

               “She’s gotten sick from using her powers.”

               “Yeah, that’s cuz she doesn’t have anything to rely on to manifest those powers. She’s using her brain. And let me tell you, that hurts. Surprised you two didn’t try to take her to the hospital the first time she used her powers.”

               Katsuki opened his mouth only to receive an eye roll from the witch of the forest.

               “You know I’m one of the most powerful witches of my generation. I don���t need to explain that to you, but that’s because I rely on the moon for power. She is an entity of magic.”

               Uraraka glanced towards her, “Why not the sun?”

               Seraphina shrugged, “aesthetic?”

               “It’s too much power for a mortal body, essentially a witch’s body is still human,” Todoroki explained as Uraraka nodded, waiting for them to explain what she was doing there other than she owned the house. His eyes darted down to the table, likely recognizing that she was now wearing Uraraka’s clothes. “I asked her for a favor,” Todoroki whispered, his head seeming as if it was the heaviest thing in the world.

               Seraphina nodded, “You actually might be able to get away from not wearing the bracelet for now, I used a lot of his own power to fix the problem.”

               Uraraka nodded. That made sense. They were hiding what she was doing there because it was her fault in the first place. “Ah, that makes sense. So, the clothes. Yeah.” Uraraka shuffled, pushing the remnants of food into a Tupperware container and washing the dish. “I have classes,” She glanced towards Todoroki, seeming as though a college student on finals week. Exhausted. “I’ll walk myself home tonight.”

               Katsuki glanced towards her, “I-“

               “It’s okay. Work on what you need to.” She smiled before returning to her room. No one had dared to even approach them since the mall incident. And that seemed as though it was forever ago. Uraraka moved shuffling her books into her bag, hoping that her partners had gotten essentially the same amount she had gotten done on the weekend. She charged down the stairs and out the door before anyone was able to stop her, she had managed to make it down the mountain. Uraraka let out a breath, hopefully the most she could do for Todoroki was relieve the amount of demons swirling around the atmosphere in his territory.

               Uraraka glanced at the crowd as she approached the sidewalk nearing the city, it was unusual for so many people to be gathered so close to Todoroki’s territory, and on top of that they were still pretty far from where other hordes of people were supposed to start appearing. She glanced towards the ruckus of what was the surrounding, police beginning to dart in to shoo on-lookers away. Uraraka took a breath, holding her tongue hoping the scent wouldn’t follow her back to Todoroki’s place. Dried blood caked the walls, blood laid across the ground like a freshly cut carpet in a new home. Uraraka swallowed, turning and rushing from the scene. Whoever was around was likely still looking over the evidence, watching the police destroy their idea of “artwork” from the distance. And she wasn’t going to find out who they were. One murderer at a time.

               It didn’t take long before Uraraka slid herself into her seat still panting as Tsuyu gave her a questioning look, sliding into her chair next to her. She shrugged, “Got up late, didn’t want to be late.”

               Tsuyu shuffled pulling books and utensils out of her bag, “You know if you asked Todoroki, I’m sure he would’ve been more than willing to bring you here. Especially since they never caught that mall thief.”  

               Uraraka nodded, “I actually….I don’t think the mall thief will be a problem anymore.”

               Tsuyu raised an eyebrow.

               “So, Todoroki’s family is in charge of you know-“ Emily slid into her desk across from Tsuyu, “that section, and he was a bit…like Katsuki. But not. Worse. So, I think the problems been taken care of. But they’ll never tell me. You know how they like their confidentiality.”

               Tsuyu’s hand tightened around her notebook before she flipped the pages open, “I see.” Her eyes lingering down towards the notebooks. As far as she knew that meant she was living with two serial killers. But vigilante serial killers with a purpose. And Tsuyu wanted to be a cop instead of following her parents’ trail of supernatural killers. Tsuyu was pure, she was sure she was already working on a plan to get legal rights for supernatural creatures and protections and laws, even with beginning to understand.  Even though she knew it was going to be a nearly impossible task in her lifetime.

               Emily shuffled, sliding her laptop onto the desk, “So how are we all doing on this project?”

               Tsuyu glanced towards her, reaching for a folder, “I managed to secure a couple of forensic files and the information from the last time the project was assigned, the last group struggled hardcore with this assignment.  But one was a hoarder, so we at least have a starting point of where the murder started. After that, they narrowed down the time and I narrowed it down further. One would assume that the murder was quick, but I think it was a dragged-out fight that I eventually turned into the murderer realizing they couldn’t drag it out anymore. The murder was in more than one place.”

               Emily nodded, “what does that mean?”

               “We see if we can get two blood samples from the fight. There’s no way he produced that much blood on his own.” Tsuyu glanced down, glancing towards Uraraka, “he was definitely a fighter.”

               Uraraka nodded, “I’ve secured an interview with the officer who handled the investigation, hopefully, they’ll give me permission to handle the files for this case. It shouldn’t be too bad since the case is considered closed.”

               Emily sighed glancing towards the table, “Jasper knew a guy who was able to get him some evidence collections so he could sample near the scene and was working on getting a couple interviews gathered on who knew our victim. He was planning on doing leg work near the location of the murder after, but I haven’t heard from him since yesterday. He’s probably just still asleep,” She ran a hand through her hair, “I’m sorry, I know he’ll help out soon. You two are the best partners in a group project we’ve ever had so far.”

               Uraraka smiled, “It’ll be okay, besides he’s probably tired from doing all that leg work yesterday while the rest of us were enjoying our break.”

               Emily smiled, an appreciation for the understanding in her eyes, she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear before spinning the laptop, “So, I was thinking to start our presentation we can give a rough explanation and a warning, then there’s how we got to that information, our back-up evidence, and then any other similar murder circumstances we can list than pinpoint that if the murderers still in the area a general location or hunting ground.”

               They spent the rest of the class chattering over how the project would go down, finishing the deviation of who was going to do what, as they each glanced up most of the class gone by now due to the lacking of their professor the class nearly over as the professor slid his way in, shoulder bag still over his arm as though he hadn’t had a chance to run to his office yet. “I apologize for those waiting for me and praise those who began their projects. We will not have class for the next two days as I’m in the middle of a murder investigation as of this morning,” a hushed wave and small whispers echoed through the class, “Do not panic, it was not necessarily close to here, but the school has decided to keep most of this under wraps. Please be wary about altering your peers and walk home carefully tonight. The college has decided to also continue classes. That is all. Miss Emily? Please come to my office with me.”

               They glanced towards her as Emily heated shuffling to pack up her things, “I-“

               The professor gave her a soft look before beckoning her to follow him quickly. Emily sent a quick look of apology of her shoulder before hurrying behind the professor. Uraraka glanced towards Tsuyu, her phone already blowing up, Tusyu glanced towards Uraraka, “They want me to help with the latest case.” Her hand tightened on the phone, “They’ve been so nice to you, I don’t think…if they asked…that I could kill someone like them.”

               Uraraka took a breath, landing on Tsuyu’s shoulder, “You’re not killing them. Also, they would be mad if you didn’t fight to survive for yourself. Just don’t hunt someone like prey.” The words were unnecessary she knew that Tsuyu would never do that to anyone.  She nodded. Tsuyu slid her phone back into her pocket, a frown still on her face, “Is Todoroki coming to get you later?”

               A hand slid to her arm, “I-he’s weak right now. It’s my fault. My parents didn’t take well to him being a half-demon.”

               Tsuyu raised an eyebrow, her mouth slightly agape, “You told them?”

               “They just knew?” Uraraka shrugged, still not ready to call her parents and ask them how they knew. Or what they hadn’t told her yet. Or if they knew about her too. Clearly, they didn’t know exactly what to do in the supernatural community. But they knew what Todoroki was. And who to call that did enough damage that they needed to call a witch in to save his life.

               Tsuyu nodded, “Take this opportunity and just go home.”

               “I’ll be fine. Go join your parents.” Uraraka smiled, before Tsuyu left her side, a berating of the fact that she better call her later to make sure she made it home safely. And that the college’s expense would never equal out the cost of her life. Or the disaster those two would make of the town if anything were to happen to her, a slight teasing smile playing on Tsuyu’s lips before she was gone.

               Uraraka sighed, knowing full well that Tsuyu would be mad that she had ignored the advice. But this place was expensive. Uraraka had full-well known the dangers of the city before she came and had decided to live on the streets. It wasn’t any more dangerous now that she knew the truths that she hadn’t known before. The danger level was the same, she just knew more about the city now. The classes passed quickly, even her favorite classes buzzed in her ears. She wanted to go to space, but her mind found itself preoccupied wandering through the filed of supernatural questions and murders. Maybe it wasn’t space she wanted, but adventure. The amount her mind was buzzing on this investigation was enough to make her consider changing majors. Her eyes slid to the astronomy window as the teacher dragged the lesson on as though they couldn’t fathom why students would want to take their class.

               A familiar green outfit catching her eyes. In the parking lot stood Emily, surrounded by family, from the distance the only clue that tears were pouring down was that she kept wiping her face with her sleeve.  Something had gone wrong. Uraraka swallowed, feeling herself pulse. The murder she had run by this morning. The buzzing in her fingertips that had told her to stop. Emily being called out of class. The professor attempting to hide the sadness lingering in his eyes and ushering the students to safely get home even though the college had told them to keep it under wraps. Jasper. Jasper was dead. Uraraka screeched her seat backward.

               “Is there something wrong?” The professor sighed, clearly exasperated with even being there.

               “I’m sorry I’m not feeling too hot.” She mumbled, shuffling her things away quickly and quietly as she could. If it wasn’t for the professor’s attention, she would’ve been able to quietly move out of the classroom without the entire class staring at her as though they were in junior high. Her face heating would at least hopefully make some of them assume that she was coming down with a rapid fever. The shoes of her feet clicked down the halls, throwing the doors open, Uraraka darted out to the parking lot. She needed to know. She couldn’t-Emily and her family were already gone. Uraraka swallowed watching the sunset, the professor’s words lingering in her head. She swallowed; the sun would be long set by the time she got halfway there. The metal of the knife felt hot against the cool air, clinging just under her pant leg. Her bracelet jangled in the air.

               She couldn’t rely on them for everything, but maybe just this once. Uraraka glanced towards the sky, Todoroki was too weak tonight, but the new moon. Her grip tightened on her phone, dialing Katsuki’s number in trying not to feel guilty about it. Jasper had been murdered in the same way that he had been, would it be cruel to ask him to come get her? As she began sliding the phone back, Katsuki’s number lit up the screen.

               “Hey,-“

               “Did you want me to come get you?”

               She was quiet, pondering it over, she didn’t want to bother him on his day off.

               “If you want something, just say it.”

               “Please. I’ll meet you half-way.” Uraraka smiled, as much as they yelled at each other it was clear that they cared more than they were capable of verbally admitting to each other. It shouldn’t have felt like a long trip to the halfway point, but it felt as though Uraraka found herself walking forever, the walk seemed to continue, only getting darker with each passing minute. And her thoughts along with it. How Jasper was out doing the legwork by himself the day before, he was looking for Katsuki’s murderer. And he had found him. Her eyes lingered towards the alley. Her eyes lingering up towards the metal balcony that the unfortunate tenant that had to live near a serial killers’ hunting ground. She sighed, pushing forwards it was already cruel that she was asking Katsuki to meet her near here. She couldn’t have him meet her any closer. She was sure the reason he was still here was between Todoroki trying to find a way to help, he was still hunting his murderer down.

               Uraraka swallowed, glancing towards where Jasper had likely perished this morning, she hadn’t known him well, but the tears were starting to build as she considered the alley. He was so close. If Todoroki wasn’t injured, he might’ve heard him and been able to save him. At the end of this, it was her fault again, if either of them had heard the problem, Jasper fighting for his life they wouldn’t have been able to stop her from running to him. Even before she knew who he was. Her brain was wracking with ways that she should’ve been able to help him. Uraraka took a breath, moving passed the alley Jasper died in, it would be cruel to ask Katsuki to meet her here, where Jasper had died in such similar circumstances. He was a warning. And she knew what that warning was. There was a reason their professor had been called out to investigate. And there was a reason she needed to rush past this alley, but her feet drew her to the alley. Luring her, it was calling her. The same way Todoroki’s house radiated on the first day. Pulsing through her panic. But in the reverse. She didn’t feel comfort as she was drawn this way, she felt panic, but her feet drew her into the alley. She turned feeling her eyes glaze over as she began walking towards the alley.

               In the center of the alley stood a man. Curling and uncurling his hand, not bothering to glance towards her as he stood in the middle of a blood puddle. Jasper’s blood puddle. The bracelet jangled at her wrist as Uraraka took a breath. Uraraka took several steps back from the officer. It was Officer Jenkins. Who she was supposed to be interviewing in two days. Who was standing in the spot where Jasper’s body was removed this morning. Uraraka swallowed, hoping he wouldn’t notice her, at least not while she was alone. He had lured her down this alley for a reason. Officer Jenkins was a supernatural. And not the kind anyone wanted to bump into in a dark alley. Uraraka’s hand moved to the bracelet, hand hooking through it. She’d break it if she had to, she would be ashamed giving it to Todoroki to fix. But at least she’d be able to give it to Todoroki.

He had the presence of a murderer. His eyes glanced towards her, the afterglow of red charging towards her before it was sent flying back, “Oi, watch where you’re aiming.” Katsuki shouted, pushing his way up from the ground, glaring back at what had charged towards her.

“Give me the girl.”

“Don’t fricken’ touch her.”

A smile spread through the officer’s face the way a predator found it’s new toy’s smile. Uraraka swallowed, reaching to unclasp the bracelet, Katsuki’s hand around her wrist. “I’ve got it.” He growled, softly to her, pushing both of them out of the alley.

“Trying to play the hero?” Jenkins moved to the wall, leaning against it, “How many times? How many times do you leave tasty morsels before me and expect to play the hero before you realize you’re just going to lose?” Jenkins laughed.

Within moments Uraraka found herself at the other end of the alley, held up by her neck, her feet kicking to find the ground once again as her hands grabbed for the man’s hands, the other attempting lessen the pressure by pushing pressure onto the joint near the elbow. A sparkle in Jenkins’ eyes-he loved to kill, this was a game. His hair followed his movement glancing towards Katsuki. He was teasing him. “Didn’t you ever wonder what happened to the last one the little green-haired one you tried protecting?” He scoffed, “I honestly, thought about grabbing that green-haired girl off the streets, I thought it’d be fun to do it all over again with similar circumstances. You know do the whole nine yards again since you haven’t come begging to me for help yet. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out you were alive?”

Katsuki’s eyes shifted between her and Jenkins, his foot moving closer slightly.

“Maybe, we’ll do something a little different since the circumstances are different this time. Jenkins glanced towards her, “I’m surprised that you’ve gotten so close to the answers, killed little Jasper this morning. Had to sit there with him to make sure he was actually dead. Oof, big mess making sure he was in little pieces, but you? You’re smart.” Jenkins paused, “What do you think about her joining us?”

Before Katsuki move, Jenkins was pulling at her collar, his breath on her neck. The bracelet snapped, as she pushed him back against the other wall, Katsuki between the two of them, wearing a smirk of pride on his face and concern pushed back in his eyes. Katsuki spit at his feet, “You’re on lousy vampire-maker, do everyone a favor and never bother with it again.”

Uraraka glanced towards the bracelet, already in pieces. Katsuki was already at the officer’s throat, “And one last thing, the fuck did you do to me?”

The officer shrugged, almost seeming proud that his game of cat and mouse had gone to an end in such a way, “The fuck did you manage to survive?”

Rage bloomed in Katsuki’s eyes, before it quelled and he threw the officer aside, glancing over his shoulder, a hiss escaping his teeth, “If I ever see you again, I’ll rip your heart out.”

Jenkins struggled, pushing himself to his feet, secrets hidden in his eyes that only Katsuki could understand at this point, “I can’t wait to see the day.”

Katsuki moved to her side, pulling them back towards the sidewalk as he pressed ever-so-slightly against her, “I can defend myself” she whispered, slightly half-assed, but she wasn’t doing so bad for herself.

Katsuki looked down a brief second of a soft look, something that one wouldn’t notice unless they were really paying attention, “I know….but he murdered me. I-I just….just let me feel your warmth for a while.” His grip tightened before letting go. Uraraka knew as much as it was for the show of protecting her, it was for him. She wrapped her arm around him. It wasn’t easy for him to say he needed a friend to lean on, but she would be there when he needed someone.

“Katsuki?”

Uraraka glanced back towards her professor’s bewildered expression as he glanced at the scene, Officer Jenkins long gone, but mostly his eyes were wide looking at Katsuki as though he would disappear if he dared to blink.

Katsuki’s voice cracked, “Hi, dad”

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

Sehun was overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the pull, overwhelmed by his circumstances, and most of all, overwhelmed by you. He’d sworn that he would just ignore it for now, but that was proving to be impossible. Each time he came close, he was consumed by your scent, egged on by it to just give and taste you, drink you in until he was finally satisfied. But he couldn’t. He was still holding back. Still resistant to the idea of being tied to someone forever. There was nothing wrong with you. Hell, he was even beginning to think that you were nearly perfect for him. However, the idea of being mated… it didn’t scare him necessarily, but he couldn’t give in to it. Not yet. 

There was no answer as to why. It was simply part of being a wolf, something that he’d known would happen eventually. But he still held back. Even as he came so close to falling apart. 

The garage had been the first time that Sehun had almost lost the grip on his wolf he’d worked so hard on to control. Talking to you - hearing your voice - was something that he enjoyed more than he’d expected. Then you mentioned seeing a white wolf in your vision and his heart began to fight to be free from its cage. Before he knew it, his muscles were pushing him up to his feet and eliminating the space between the two of you. It was only when he could feel your breath and body heat against his skin that he came back to his senses. He pulled away and went about his business like it had never occurred in the first place. A scoff left your lips, but Sehun didn’t even flinch. He’d once again regained the upper hand on his own actions and that was all that mattered. 

However, that upperhand was slowly crumbling away again. For the past few months, whenever a group made up of mates and wolves had mentioned going to town or grabbing something to eat, Sehun had declined, preferring not to be in the middle of that kind of atmosphere. When Dana and Kyungsoo had stopped by Kris’ garage where he was helping out for the day, they’d wanted to invite Sehun along with them. He was ready to say no once again. Until Dana got a text and said out loud that you and Harper were to be joining as well. The word “yes” was out of Sehun’s mouth before he could even think it over. 

Keeping an attitude of disinterest - as per his usual method of keeping control - Sehun was both relieved and irritated when you weren’t sitting in his direct eyeline at the restaurant. The empty seat across the table taunted him, mocked him. His eyes drifted back and forth between the chair and you on the end. Occasionally, your eyes would meet and Sehun would feel his heart rate rise. You quickly looked away, the focus on the chips and salsa in front of you a bit too obvious, a bit too forced. When Dana’s friend Mina finally showed up, things took a turn that he hadn’t expected. Certainly one he didn’t want. 

All the flirtation and attention was making Sehun uncomfortable. Mina didn’t seem to pick up on the lack of response and that grated on Sehun’s nerves. He was starting to wish he’d stayed back at the shop. Only the glass of water spilling all over her lap seemed to stop her attempts at securing a date from him. It was relief, one that was making him consider an escape before the food would arrive. 

While everyone else fussed over Mina’s wet lap, Sehun looked to you, wanting to know if he could sense how you felt about the whole thing. As soon as he met your eyes, he knew. How you were able to do something like that he only just learned a few minutes ago. To be honest, he was impressed. The fact that his mate could do something like that….

He shook his head. You weren’t entirely his mate, not completely. The pull was there, that couldn’t be argued. But you weren’t his. Not in that sense, at least. Not on the level that he could call you his. Should he- 

Sehun picked up a handful of dead leaves and threw them at the river to stop that thought before it could finish. The leaves landed softly on the water’s surface and slowly drifted along with the current. A few, too full of holes, filled up with water, causing the leaves to be pulled down into the river where they were caught on the rocks resting at the bottom. Dirt stuck to his palms and clung to the space underneath his fingernails. For several minutes, he stared at the black specs that covered his hand. A painful ache was developing behind his eyes for how hard he was furrowing his brows. But the tension didn’t ease up. He had too much on his mind. 

The sounds of the crunching forest floor as you ran back to the house were still echoing in his ears. He wanted to go after, apologize for making you leave in the first place. Maybe even tell you the truth. He wondered how you would react when he finally told you - and, yes, it was a matter of “when” not if. The rope that he was holding onto was unraveling. Soon he would fall. The only question left was this: would you be waiting for him at the bottom or would he land on the concrete, broken and bruised?

**

You were back in the living room, staring at nothing, bored once again. The forest was no longer an option to you since you knew your feet would probably go searching for Sehun. You wanted to give him a piece of your mind, but you had a feeling that the words wouldn’t come out in quite that way. Groaning, you fell back onto the couch, a wish to have something to occupy your mind. At this point, you would even accept a new vision just to have something to do. You’d given up trying to put together the ones you’d already received. They were simply fragments that would never fit together in their current state. 

“Hey.”

Blinking, you sat up to see who’d joined your lonely existence. Harper stood off to the side, arms crossed over her chest. 

She certainly looked the part of someone who had spent years training, learning to kill creatures of the supernatural kind. The sleeves of her gray-green bomber jacket were pushed up to her elbows, exposing tiny scars on her otherwise perfect skin, and her tight pants looked like they had enough give to let her run or jump or perform any other movements that might be necessary. From her posture to her stance, she gave off an air that whispered the kind of confidence that didn’t need to be constantly shoved in anyone’s face. It was there, end of story. 

“Hey,” you greeted back with a quiet voice. 

She pointed to the open space next to you on the couch. “Mind if I sit there?”

You shrugged. “Sure.”

With a soft nod, Harper sat next you, pulling her feet up and under her. She didn’t say anything for a while, her eyes wandering around the living room. You tried to find something to say. It was uncomfortable, the air suffocating you. It would be rude to just get up and walk out after she’d asked to sit with you so escape wasn’t exactly an option. Besides, you didn’t mind Harper, in fact you liked her from the small time you’d spent with her. It was just the awkwardness hanging between you.  

“Can I ask you something?” Harper finally spoke up. Once again, you picked at your cubicles, fairly certain of what she wanted to know. But you nodded anyway. “Why did you make the glass tip over?”

The phrasing of the question took you by surprise. You looked at Harper with wide eyes. Over and over, you opened your mouth just to close it again in an instance. 

“It wasn’t that hard to put together,” Harper chuckled. “But you don’t have to worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”

It wasn’t, really, since Sehun knew as well, but you had a small amount of faith that he wasn’t going to say anything to anyone. “I didn’t mean to do it. Things like that just sort of... happen.” You didn’t really want to go into detail about your powers and your life for the second time that day. It was exhausting to explain and the others didn’t give you the same open feeling that Sehun did. “I was just annoyed, so....” You mimed the glass tipping over. 

Harper made a face. “Yeah, Mina was kind of… a lot. It was a nice change of pace after that happened.”

You laughed. “That’s an understatement.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure how those two are friends. Dana is so sweet.”

“Maybe there’s something there that we don’t see?” you offered up. You weren’t sure why you were giving Mina a defense, but out it came anyway. Maybe it was because you were used to others judging you so quickly. 

“True,” Harper agreed with a nod. “Then again, we all have different sides to us, don’t we?”

“Some of us more than others,” you agreed. Taking a deep breath, you took a risk. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

“How do you survive here?” You wanted to slap your own forehead for how you phrased it. Too blunt, too forward. 

“It’s hard,” she admitted. “Some still don’t trust me. But having people on your side helps.”

“Like Luhan?”

Harper smiled. It softened everything about her face, making the hunter melt away and bringing the loving mate to the surface. “Yes, like Luhan. But Hae In and Lottie have helped, too. Friends are just as important.”

“So, basically, you’re saying make friends?” It made sense. Only having one person to rely on when you felt so alone was draining. And Soomi was often off doing her own research with Junmyeon and Kita. She couldn’t be by your side twenty-four-seven and you certainly didn’t want that either. 

“If you want one.” 

The offer was right there on the table. And you were eager to take it. 

At the smile broadening across your face, Harper jumped up from the couch. “Come on,” she urged. “I don’t think you spent enough time in town today. Luhan’s working tonight and I think we can score a few drinks. What do you say?”

What did you say? Yes. Yes, yes, yes! It sounded exactly like the kind of night you needed. A night spent not thinking about Sehun or your powers or whatever the hell was supposed to be coming for you or the pack was surely an answer to your prayer. 

Pushing yourself up from the couch, you said, “Let’s go.”

Harper threw an arm around your shoulders and the two of you walked out of that house as if you’d been friends for years. Part of you thought for a second that you should tell Soomi where you were going, but you decided not to. You were with Harper so you would be more than fine. 

**

When you came back from the bar it was about two in the morning. Luhan had driven the two of you home since neither you nor Harper were in any condition to drive. 

Soomi was furious. Luhan had texted the others almost as soon as you arrived at the bar so they knew where you were, but that didn’t mean she was okay with your decision to leave without saying something to her first. She lectured behind you all the way up the stairs. You were sleepy thanks to the drinks you and Harper had bonded over and really just wanted to go to bed. Hardly any of her words were actively storing in your mind. Too much was going on in there to really focus on her, anyway. Down in the living room, Sehun had been leaning up against the wall, frowning at you in a disapproving manner. What did he care what you did with your own time?

Thankfully, your tipsy brain didn’t allow you to think about this since almost as soon as you hit the bed, you were out. But it wasn’t a peaceful rest. 

You were back in the forest that you’ve visited before in your previous visions. The trees that surrounded you were all too familiar even if the clearing that you stood in wasn’t. A pale hand gently gripped your shoulder, urging you on. You weren’t sure how you could tell what the person behind you was trying to make you do, but you did. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the wisps of blonde strands blowing in the wind. You didn’t turn around to see the face that the hair and the hand belonged to. Instead, your focus was honed in on the fallen logs and trees that were scattered around the clearing. 

The hand squeezed your shoulder in a way to signal to you. You raised your arm, your own hand stretched out, fingers taunt and stiff. 

“Think of hate,” the voice behind you commanded. “Think of your pain.”

You obeyed. You could feel the ache in your chest rising up as if it were real, happening to you in that moment. Your eyes swelled with tears as you remembered all the times that you were ostracized, judged, ridiculed. All of that manifested itself in your powers. You could feel the surge building up in your hand, begging to be released. 

“Good,” came the whisper. “Now let it go. You are so full of potential. Don’t hold back and see what you can do.”

The wood in front of you burst into flames. They weren’t tiny flickers or small, dancing fires dotted here and there. They were the kind that roared dangerously, on the verge of raging out of control. You could feel the heat even though you thought you were a safe distance away. Beads of sweat grew on your face. They slid down your cheeks and dripped from your jaw to land on your shirt and exposed collarbone. You flinched back as little sparks of ash jumped out from the glowing logs, rising into the air before dying out. 

Laughing erupted behind you. It was maniacal, like from a madwoman who’d spent years in an asylum and had finally broken free. 

“(y/n)!”

You jumped forward in your bed, pulled from the dream by the new voice crying out for you. That was when you saw what you had done. 

Fire surrounded your bed, trapping you within its circle. It grew in ferocity. Inching in closer and closer, the flames licked at the blanket that covered your legs and the frame that held up the mattress. Soomi stood on the other side of the room, terrified. Your own panic was rising. What had you done?

Crash! 

The door to the room slammed open to reveal Sehun, a look of horror on his face as he took in the sight that he’d discovered. You tried to call out to him, but the smoke coated your throat, allowing you to do nothing besides cough to try and keep breathing. The fire was well over four feet high now. You had no chance of escape as they continued to grow. 

Something in Sehun snapped into action. He ran to the other bed, ripping off the blanket before running back over to you. With the blanket held out in front of him, he jumped and wrapped you in the blanket as he tackled you over the flames and down to the floor. As soon as you were out of danger, he turned back around and smothered the fire with the blanket as quickly as he could. 

More pack members arrived. They crowded the doorway with dropped jaws and wide eyes. Junmyeon and Kris pushed through them with buckets of water, extinguishing the fire for good. 

In heavy breaths, Kris straightened up and looked around the room before his eyes settled on you down on the floor. “What the hell just happened?”

[soyforramen]

Fall AU - In a world where Jason never died and Riverdale never fell into chaos, Jughead and Betty come across a palm-reading who will change their perspectives on life and bring them closer than they ever were before, or ever wanted to be. 

Cross posted on AO3.

xxxxx

Jughead was irritated and out of place once more.  Only this time it wasn’t at school. No, today he was irritable at Riverdale’s traditional Fall Faire, a place full of screaming school children, carts filled with aromatic foods he couldn’t afford, and rides guaranteed to make a PI lawyer salivate.  With his dark clothes and scowl he was the rain on the otherwise brightly colored parade around him.

Archie elbowed him, dropping kettle corn on the ground.  “Cheer up, Jug. At least we’re not in math.”

Reggie ran through them, almost knocking Jughead down, as he and Moose threw around a stuffed Tweety bird the football players had collectively won for Midge.  (They’d been trying for a stuffed animal for their own girlfriends, but Moose being Moose had gotten his way in the end.)

“I’d rather be in math than here,” Jughead muttered.  He grabbed a handful of kettle corn from Archie, saving it from it’s miserable fate on the leaf littered ground.  “At least there I can get a nap in.”

“Hey boys,” Veronica called to them from the booth they were passing.  Archie’s head whipped around, a goofy grin on his face at the sound of her voice.

“Down boy, the succubus isn’t going anywhere,” Jughead said.  

Archie ignored him and went to Veronica, a moth to the proverbial flame.  Having nothing better to do, Jughead followed Archie over to the construction paper covered booth.  The sign on top proclaimed ‘Kissing Booth: Help send the Vixens to Finals!’. Crude cut outs were strewn across the booth.  Jughead figured they were supposed to be lips, but to him they looked like slugs locked in a battle to the death. Then again, that’s also what he imagined kissing to be like.

Veronica perched on a stool behind the booth, dressed in orange and brown plaids for the season.  She grinned at him, a new little grin she’d perfected in the Hampton’s over the summer. It screamed ‘I don’t care enough to tell anyone all your secrets, but we both know that I know them.’  “Care to buy a kiss, Juggie? Or would you rather wait until Betty comes along for the second shift?”

Archie’s brows furrowed as he glanced between Veronica and Jughead.  “You and Betty are -

“There is no Betty and I,” Jughead said flatly.  In lieu of blushing (a Jones was never soft enough to blush) he glared at the dark-haired vixen.  

Veronica’s grin slipped into a sly smile.  “C’mon Juggie, I’ve seen the way you look at her.  Isn’t there something nice you can say about her?”

He narrowed his eyes and glanced behind him to make sure the blonde in question wasn’t walking up behind him.  One didn’t hover around Veronica Lodge’s inner circle without becoming wise to her machinations. “There’s lots of nice things I could say about Betty.  And Archie and Ethel and Toni. And there’s lots of things I could say about you.”

Veronica’s smile settled back into her usual Cheshire smile.  “You flatter me,” she shot back with a flutter of her eyelashes.  “Now, Archie, about that kiss?” Archie smoothed his hair and tugged at his jacket.  “One ticket, one kiss,” she reminded him.

Archie held out a ticket and Veronica slipped it somewhere under the counter.  She presented her cheek, and Archie gave it a quick peck.

“Aren’t you supposed to kiss him?” Jughead asked.

“If that’s the way it worked we’d all get mono, Creature from the Bowels of Hot Topic,” Cheryl said as she came to take her turn at the kissing booth.  “Now shoo, you’re in the way of paying customers.”

Jughead looked around and found no one else near the booth.  He was tempted to stand around to irritate Cheryl further, but it was soon apparent that the Kissing Booth would quickly become the Cat Fight booth if Cheryl kept asking Archie if he’d like a kiss on the house.  He saw the dark look in Veronica’s eye and knew from experience it was best to let his old pal Archie figure out his own female troubles.

As Jughead walked away, his eyes landed on a bright orange ticket laying on the dirt in front of him.  He picked it up and looked around. The closest Faire attendee was over at the duck fishing pond, and no one appeared to be looking for a spare ticket.  His civic duty attempted, Jughead curled his fingers around the ticket. The last time he’d had a ticket at the Fall Faire was in elementary school, when life was happier and simpler.  

Jughead shook that thought off.  After all, it was a faire to celebrate the bounty of the harvest, a time to eat, drink, and be merry.  With this ticket he’d be able to accomplish one of those things. He spent the next ten minutes wandering through the booths as he tried to decide what he wanted to spend his one ticket on.  The smell of kettle corn was tempting, but he’d already eaten most of Archie’s and he had a taste for something different. Something sweeter.

He wandered through the fairgrounds, watching people mill about in groups and making mental notes about how they moved and spoke on the off chance he might remember the next time he was struck by the writing bug.  If he was ever struck by the writing bug again.

It wasn’t until he spotted the caramel apple stand tucked away on the edge of the festivities that he knew what the ticket was meant for.  The gloomy fall clouds above him opened to allow a bit of sunshine to fall on the apple stand. The bright reds and browns of the sign were a neon sign to his hungry stomach.  Drawn like a jock to a cheerleader, a nerd to Gryphons & Gargoyles, Jughead made a beeline towards the stand. As he drew closer he could make out a dancing apple, eerily happy despite the large bite that had been taken out of it.  The words ‘1 Apple = 1 Ticket were written on the side. A happy coincidence indeed.

The fate of his ticket, though, wasn’t so easily sorted.  As he passed by the line of booths, a voice called out to him, crooked with age and rough with experience.

“Palm reading.  Know your true self.”

Jughead barely spared a glance at the old woman and her threadbare tent.  But that small gesture proved to be his undoing. He’d broken the number one rule of all fairs and carnivals: never make eye contact with people trying to take your hard-earned money.  

“You there.  Boy with the hat.  You look like you need some guidance in this world.”  

He stopped and squinted to get a good a good look at the woman standing in the tent’s shadow.  She was an old crone, or dressed as one, complete with the crooked back and wonky eye. He’d always held a healthy suspicion of adults, particularly of those who sold the type of things no one really needed, and this woman was the most suspicious on the fairgrounds.  The woman squinted back, waiting for his response. There was an unspoken social contract to these types of things. Once you’d acknowledged someone’s existence there was an expectation that you’d respond. It was a social contract Jughead despised, and it was the one he most often broke.

So instead of responding, he continued his trek towards the apple booth, his mouth already salivating at the memory of the sharp crispness of the apple mixing with the sticky sweet caramel.  His back teeth were sticking together in anticipation as he stepped in line.

“They say to write what you know, but if you don’t know yourself, what can you write?” The old woman’s voice held a note of amusement.  

His stomach told him the old women was only trying to get one more ticket, one more payout.  His inner voice, the one Toni called his super-ego, was intrigued by her promises. He’d been stuck on his novel for weeks, chasing down red-herrings into dead-ends of his own creation.  The investigation by the noir detective Monica Posh had long since fizzled into nothing more than another tragic accident. At this rate, the murder of the town’s Golden Boy would never be solved.

For what might be the first time in his life, Jughead listened to something other than his stomach.  It was an event that Fangs might even label ‘Growth’. Only Fangs would make sure it was accompanied by at least three memes and four gifs.  

Against his own nature, Jughead walked to the front of the tent.  In the coming days, he’d wonder why he’d ever gone over to the old woman.  He didn’t recall leaving the line, didn’t recall walking towards the woman.  It was almost as if some supernatural draw had pulled him to this place and to this woman.  

“I don’t believe in this kind of thing,” Jughead said.

The woman laughed.  “You’d be surprised how many people tell me that.  Come, come.” She beckoned him inside with a finger crooked with arthritis.

Jughead followed her inside and found it just as bare as the outside.  The only light came from a weak Coleman lantern set on the corner of a table. A faint smell of lavender hung in the air.  Jughead took a seat at the card table, the woman already seated on the side. They sat there, looking at one another, until the woman barked, “Hand.”

Too startled to do anything else, Jughead put his hand on the table.  The woman took his hand and peered at it. Her face came close enough to his hand he could have reached out and touched her cheek.

“Mmm,” the woman intoned.  

Jughead quashed his desire to crane his neck to look at his own hand.  He’d had it since birth and it was a pretty good hand, even if the fingers were long enough to get caught in the occasional door.  The old woman seemed to disagree.

“You are independent.  You follow your brain and ignore all matters of the heart,” she said.  The woman clicked her tongue. “Too independent, it seems. You are suspicious of everyone around you, and that makes you miss everything important in life.”

The way she said it reminded Jughead of his father haggling over ‘used’ parts at Mustang’s auto shop.  ‘Never buy at a mark-up,’ his father would tell them on the way over. ‘If you hem and haw a little, if you make them feel like their parts are inferior, that’s how you get a deal.’  At this moment, Jughead felt as if he were a mostly-new carburetor with all of it’s dents and dings on display.

“Your love life,” the old woman croaked, “is very sad.  Tragic!”

This was what he’d spent a ticket for?  Commentary he received every day, entirely unsolicited, from Reggie Mantle? The only ticket he had, the ticket that could have gotten him a candied apple, sure to last at least until they had to board the buses home.  And he’s wasted it on this?

“I want a refund,” he said in a flat tone.

The old woman looked up at him, and in the same flat tone, said “No refunds.”  She pointed over his shoulder and he turned to find a sign above the tent flap that said in bright red letters, “No Refunds, No Exceptions.”  She yanked his hand closer and peered at it in the dim light.

“You live in your head.  That’s what this line here means.”  She jabbed at the line under his fingers and he winced.  “Live in the moment. Learn to listen with your heart, boy.”

“And if I don’t?” he challenged.

The woman threw up her hands.  “Fine. Be a miserable old man by the time you're twenty-three.  But don’t come complaining to me when things drastically change for you.”

Jughead stared at her.  “Aren’t you supposed to tell me how to avoid that?  That next week the stars will align and things will look up if I only I wear pink?”

“I’m not a fortune cookie.  I read palms. Palms only show me who you are.  What you were raised to be.”

He scoffed, disappointed with her response.  He knew he was acting the petulant child, refused a toy he didn’t want in the first place only to throw a fit when it was taken away.

“Fine.  Thanks, I guess,” he muttered.  He stood and walked out of the tent.  It wasn’t until he’d rounded the corner that he realized the woman had never asked for his ticket.  In a surge of happiness, he checked his jacket pocket where he’d put it for safe-keeping. He came up empty.  Checking all the other pockets, he came up empty again.

With a scowl, he shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and stalked off to find Archie. 

On the other side of the fair, Betty just finished her turn at the kissing both.  Today had been a big blow to her ego, especially when she saw how many tickets Veronica and Cheryl had received.

“At least you didn’t have to kiss Creepy Chris,” Toni said in her own attempt at consolation.

Betty stared at the toes of her shoes. “I hid behind the booth every time he came by.

Toni stored and sat on the stool to take her turn.  “I wouldn’t worry about it. The only reason Cheryl and Veronica got any tickets is because they’re the biggest flirts in school and bullied every boy into stopping by.”

Betty knew this was true, but it didn’t help the sting of knowing that once again she was in second place.  She glanced to where Archie stood, Veronica on one arm, Cheryl on the other. Both vied for his attention between preening and sniping at each other. 

Toni put a hand on Betty’s arm.  “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.

Her smile was pained and pitiful.  Betty was used to that kind of pity.  After all, Betty had pined for Archie for years, always desperate to catch a minute of his time.  When they were younger, it was a game to see if she could finally pull Archie’s attention away from the other girls in town.  But as they grew up, and Betty grew into real feelings for him, she didn’t want to play the game any longer. She wanted to be the only one.

So she left Archie to the girls who weren’t so careless with their hearts, the girls who knew how to be a hear tbreaker.  And Betty tried to move on.

“I don’t know if it helps any, but I don’t think either of them want him.”  She leaned on her arms and openly watched the pair bicker.

“Oh?  Why’s that?”

Toni pointed to Cheryl, then to Veronica.  “See how all their attention is focused on each other?  The only time they focus on Archie is when the other one has lost interest.  They’ve been like this all the time I’ve known them.”

It was only a year ago that Southside High had closed and reintegrated with Riverdale, bringing with it Toni and Fangs and Jughead, but Toni was right. She had always been an avid people watcher, able to draw information about a person after two minutes that Betty hadn’t been able to figure out in a lifetime. 

Betty watched her best friend and cousin snap at each other through a different lens.  Their bodies were facing each other, not Archie, and they didn’t allow the poor boy to get more than a few words in.

“Maybe they should talk about it?”  she said thoughtfully.

Toni snorted.  “They’re both so in denial I doubt they’d let you get two words out.”  Realizing Betty was content to stand around, Toni gave her a gentle push.  “Go on, enjoy the rest of the fair. I think I can hold down the fort for the next hour.”

“Thanks, Toni.  Hope you have better luck than I did,” Betty said with a genuine smile.

Toni winked.  “I do have the advantage.  You only wanted to play with half the potential customers.”  She slipped a hand into the mason jar Ginger had brought for the tickets and pulled out three.  “Go have fun for me.”

“I can’t take those.”  Betty shook her head and back up.  “They’re for -”

Toni grabbed her wrist and put the tickets in her hand.  “For the new uniforms Cheryl’s been salivating over all year.  We both know the Vixens will never make it to finals. Think of it as hazard pay for having to kiss so many frogs.  And for staying up all night to make this booth happen.”

She hadn’t stayed up all night.  But Toni had a point. Betty had been the only one to show up yesterday, and she’d spent hours cutting out the letters and lips.  And it wasn’t her fault her mother refused to send her with any money for the fair. (It was a surprise Alice had even left her go after hearing that the Vixens were doing a kissing booth as a fundraiser.)

The kettle corn did look really good.  And if she still felt bad about it later she could always pay the cost of the tickets at the next fundraiser.

“Thanks, Toni.”  Betty placed the tickets in the front pocket of her purse.

“Bring me back some funnel cake, Cooper,” Toni said as Betty walked away.

Having the tickets was a minor thrill, a small rebellion against the iron-grip of societal expectations her mother had hammered into her head growing up.  This was the sort of thing that would keep her up at night, that would wind her stomach into a Gordian knot not even Alka Seltzer could cure. But she was hungry and the idea of funnel cake smelled too good to pass up. 

With her step lightened by her reasoning, Betty wandered through the Faire.  Most people, if asked, would say Betty Cooper was a spring girl, the kind who loved the budding flowers and baby animals, the promises of a new beginning wrapped in May showers.  But those who knew her, knew that she had always been a fall girl. There was something about the cooler air, the cozy sweaters, the hot chocolate. Her day was brightened by carved pumpkins and changing leaves.  It made her feel alive to be surrounded by so much color and activity. Fall meant the return of school and her friends, the return of football games and pep rallies, the return of another year in Riverdale.

“Such a beautiful smile,” a woman’s voice said to her right.  “I’m sure your palm is just as lovely.”

Confused, Betty turned to find a young woman with chestnut curls and deep grey eyes smiling at her.  “Palm reading. Only one ticket,” the woman told her.

Betty paused.  It had always been something she’d want to try, along with tarot readings and crystal balls. It was the type of thing her mother always warned her about.  Snake-oil salesmen and con-men who made their money by preying on people’s insecurities. Rationally Betty knew it only meant what you wanted it to mean, but the idea of doing something her mother would hate intrigued her, so Betty followed the palm reader into the tent.

Inside, the walls were draped with thick maroon cloth trimmed with gold.  The decor matched the palm reader’s outfit. Fairy lights illuminated the tent, and a diffuser in the corner threw the comforting scent of lavender into the air. 

The palm reader held out her hand to one of the cushions littering the ground, and Betty choose a deep purple pillow.  She held out her hand and the woman took it.

“Do you see this line here?” the palm reader asked after a few minutes.  “Do you see how long it is?”

Betty peered at her hand and nodded.  It ran the width of her hand. “Does that mean something?”

“You overthink.  And this line here, where that breaks?  It means you put others’ needs in front of your own.  You should learn how to say no every now and then.”

The woman hummed, and Betty sat up a bit straighter.  She craned her neck, trying to figure out what it was that had caught the woman’s eye.  “What? What is it?”

“Here.”  The palm reader pointed to a gap in one of the lines that crossed Betty’s palm.  “It is very odd. Do you see how it jumps? How the lines break between your second and first finger?  That means that an important love has passed through your life, from childhood until now. That break means that the love has left your life.  It is not longer the center of it. But,” the woman peered closer. There was a dramatic pause that that pulled a shiver of tension down Betty’s spine.  “Here. Something important will happen to you, much sooner than you think. Something life changing.”

Betty took in a deep breath.  The woman probably told every client the same thing, but to Betty it felt real.  She’d been waiting for important and life-changing for a while. “Do you have any advice for when it happens?”

The woman smiled.  “Think with your heart.  Don’t let your anxiety and fear get the better of you.  And put yourself first.”

Betty thanked her and handed over the ticket.  A grin stretched her face as she walked out into the cool fall air.  When she turned around to get her bearings, the tent was dark and the woman was nowhere to be found. \  As odd as that was, Riverdale had long since been a place of oddity, and the encounter didn’t sound out too her. 

With the other two tickets, Betty bought two funnel cakes and returned to the booth to keep Toni company.

To both Betty and Jughead, the palm reading was nothing more than a carnival game, another sentence in the novel of their lives.  Nothing was amiss that day, nothing had changed. They both went to sleep in their respective beds, the fair already forgotten.

[thetourguidebarbie]

6 + 99 please!

Bookshop au + Magical accidents (+ mermaid/siren + werewolf + Only One Bed™) for one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Definitely positively absolutely not safe for work. I’m self-fiving at it not breaking 10k words. It was a struggle.

Thank you to @garglyswoof for tolerating my constant idea bouncing and ‘can you look at this real quick pleeeeeease’ harassment, and to @chica-cherry-lola for helping me get started and @goldcaught and @candycolamorgan for letting me creepily watch them like a hawk in a hotel room while they read the first draft and listening to me complain about how many words this was.

I hope you like it Laine

Caroline tried her best not to give Werewolf With Dimples the evil eye as he walked through the front entrance of the bookshop, the bell letting out a shrill clang.

To be fair, she wasn’t ten thousand percent sure he was a werewolf, but every time he entered Mystic Books her skin would get all prickly, letting her know that another supernatural non-witchy type was around, and there were only a few choices that came out in daylight and could pass for human.

She didn’t know Werewolf With Dimples’s name, nor had she ever had any direct interaction with him. Occasionally she caught him glancing at her when she was shelving new releases—the section he frequented—but other than that, no communication whatsoever.

Anyway, she kind of hated him, mostly on principle.

She’d been working at the magical bookstore on the edge of Mystic Falls for most of the year while she took night classes towards her degree in Economics. The owner, Sheila, taught part-time as a visiting professor in the Religious Studies department, and Caroline had really loved her History of Paganism and Witchcraft in Literature class when she took it for a gen ed credit. She’d quickly pinned on a minor in Religious Studies and asked Sheila to be her advisor. After a few enthusiastic office-hour conversations about the books she was assigned and a side-mention of how she was looking for a part-time gig for the summer, Sheila had offered her a job.

She wished the customer she was ringing up a good day and as soon as they were out the door she glanced around the bookshop to re-locate Werewolf With Dimples with the intent of trying to convey her displeasure through murder eyes as she aggressively shelved books in his immediate vicinity. She was seriously tempted to unclasp her necklace and let her fangs out in the hopes that she’d spook him and he’d take his own ass out the door without any extra effort. Unfortunately, all he did was glance up and meet her eyes with a small smirk before returning to his reading.

She took a moment to remind herself that Sheila would get mad if she ate customers. She was lucky that the owner had trusted her enough to give her a chance. It had been terrifying to admit her secret, the confession leaving her in a low, shaky voice after her fangs had broken through her gums and scared one of the teenage boys that unsubtly eyed her legs while she reshelved books. Sirens had to feed on blood to walk on land and were often mistaken for vampires due to their similar diet, but Sheila knew better and thankfully understood. She made her a necklace to dampen her cravings, imbuing it with enough magic that she could feed from it instead of humans, letting her keep her legs without having to hurt anyone.

Combined with the free access to all the books she could want and the steady air conditioning, if you ignored Werewolf With Dimples ruining her day it had so far been the most stress-free summer she’d had. She glanced up at him again to give him a good stink eye and was absolutely not at all distracted by the shape of his forearms revealed by the henley rolled up to his elbows or the way his long fingers wrapped around the cover of whatever book he was flagrantly consuming without a thought at all to the ‘NO BROWSING WITHOUT BUYING’ sign she’d made the week before and thoughtfully thumbtacked to the shelf by the armchair he always sat in.

The demand for printed grimoires, their best-selling section, was waning because you could find most of the common ones online. They were struggling to stay open as it was, had even opened a magical pastry counter in an attempt to gain more revenue, and she was infuriated that Werewolf With Dimples just came in, read books, and left without buying anything.

Not even from the pastry counter.

Frankly, Caroline thought it was more than a bit rude. This wasn’t a library. You weren’t supposed to be able to just walk in and read whatever you wanted without buying anything. It was a respectable capitalist establishment. She’d taken to mentally ringing up the price of all the books he’d read and then reshelved, and he’d already hit over $500 of stolen knowledge.

He sometimes also reshelved things wrong, watching her with a small smile on his lips when she went to fix it after he got up. She was 99% sure he was doing it on purpose.

Honestly, he was lucky that she didn’t eat customers.

The only good thing about Werewolf With Dimples was that he was cute. She suspected that it was how he’d gotten away with being a flagrant thief for so long. The Halo Effect was a real thing. It was just science.

She swore to herself every time he left that next time she’d tell him that they had the right to refuse service to anyone and to please see himself out unless he was going to purchase something, but for some reason she’d never been able to go through with it.

Until now.

She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath before walking over, trying not to look too aggressive. He was lounging on a plush chair in the corner of their rare grimoire section, reading a leather-bound tome that looked like one of the newer releases.

“Hi,” she said with her best customer service smile, waiting until he looked up at her to continue. “So, I’ve noticed that you’ve been coming here a lot lately.”

He smirked, and she immediately realized that her opening could be taken in a much different way than she’d meant it. She cleared her throat and jabbed her finger at the sign a foot away from his ear and continued. “We have a policy here about browsing.”

“Do you?” he asked, his voice low and smooth. She hadn’t been expecting the accent, but she shook it off like a champ and nodded.

“Yeah. You can’t just like, read the books without buying things. No browsing without a purchase. This is a bookshop, with the emphasis on shop.”

“Consider me informed,” he said, clearly trying not to laugh, and she glared at him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Okay, great! I am. So, you going to buy that?”

“I must admit that I wasn’t planning on it, no.”

“Great!” she said with forced cheer, tugging it out of his hands. “I’ll reshelve it then.”

He watched with clear amusement as she inspected the cover, trying to find the title, and she figured out why when she saw it, stamped in gold on the front of the leather cover. Maybe in her first month she would have blushed and been more than a little flustered at ripping a book clearly about sex spells and potions from an attractive man’s hands, but at this point she felt like she’d seen everything.

“Can I help you find anything else?” she asked, grabbing a stepstool and carrying it over to reshelve the book.

He didn’t answer, and when she turned around after sliding the book into its proper place he was gone.

As she’d said. Fucking rude.

He still showed up every day after that (except the three days around the full moon, which totally confirmed her werewolf theory), but he now bought a pastry from the counter before he settled down to read. He’d apparently taken the ‘no browsing without a purchase’ rule to mean that any purchase was sufficient, which was so not the case, yet despite her annoyance she sometimes found herself irritatingly distracted by his tongue darting over his lips to catch the flakes of the buttery croissants, or by the look on his face as he read.  

After hours she sometimes stuck around to read books in the back room, and she’d started to ��pick up whatever he was reading out of curiosity. His choices were good, she was loathe to admit. They seemed to have a lot in common in terms of their favorite subjects. However, it didn’t stop him from being a total ass.

She didn’t have much time to confront him even if she’d wanted to, anyway. Katherine had decided to move back to Bulgaria and Sheila was out of town for winter break. That left Caroline completely alone to do all of the stocking herself. She was pulling multiple shifts, and though the overtime pay was nice, it was still a lot of work.

Caroline was busy sorting the books that were too old for new arrivals but hadn’t been sold yet when she felt someone come up behind her, nearly dropping the newest edition of the magical creature encyclopedia and barely catching it before it tumbled down to what would have been a painful fall onto her toes. She whirled around to have some serious words with whoever had snuck up on her, leveling her glare at none other than Werewolf With Dimples.

Of fucking course.

She pushed a slightly damp curl out of her face, the air conditioning having inconveniently broken just after Sheila had left, trying to calm her racing heart. She didn’t like being startled, her fight-or-flight instincts tending to scream “swim before you become siren sushi,” and it was even worse when she was on land when she just looked jumpy.

“Can you not sneak up on me like that?” she asked, abandoning all semblance of her normally stellar customer service attitude.

“Sorry, love. I was just going to ask if you needed help.”

“You don’t work here,” she said shortly, placing the book she’d been holding on the pile for magical creature research and turning to the next one.

“I’m here enough to know my way ‘round,” he pointed out.

“That’s weird, since you somehow don’t reshelve books correctly when you’re done browsing without a purchase.”

He didn’t even try to deny it, and she huffed at the knowing smirk on his stupid smug face.

“I’d be more of a help than a hindrance, I think. And you look like you’re a bit overwhelmed.”

“I’m not overwhelmed,” she said, her tone a bit sharper than she’d meant it to be, but Werewolf With Dimples didn’t seem to mind, his lips twitching before he nodded.

“Well, suit yourself, then.”

She huffed, the temptation of an extra hand outweighing both her pride and her common sense for one crucial moment that she was sure she’d regret. “Wait,” she said, and he turned around, his eyebrows raised. She kind of hated that he looked so smug that she was clearly about to let him help, but she didn’t really want to be stuck in the shop too late.

“Yes, love?”

“If you can just sort the books into piles according to their sections while I shelve them, that would be a huge help.”

“Of course,” he said easily, walking over and standing beside her, leaning over the table. He smelled really good, even with her necklace dulling her hunger. She had to resist the urge to linger, instead clearing her throat and gesturing to the large bucket of unsorted tomes before picking up a pile for the Rituals section.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, and he shot her a dimpled smile, his eyes sparkling as though he knew what she’d been thinking, and she hoped that she’d turned around before he could see her blush, her tongue running over her teeth just to make sure she hadn’t accidentally let her fangs appear.

What was wrong with her?

He was attractive, and she wasn’t above admitting that she’d totally go home with him if they had met in a bar. If he hadn’t been such a dick about the browsing thing, she might have even considered indulging in a little flirting at the store, maybe even a fling if he’d been a decent person, but she couldn’t justify it now that he’d shown himself to be the actual worst. To be fair, he had offered to help, though she doubted he had pure intentions from the way he watched her. What was the harm in taking advantage of his willingness to make her job easier? She totally deserved it for putting up with him.

As much as she told herself that he was a means to an end--her being able to go home at the end of her shift and bingewatch some Real Housewives--she found herself distracted from her work wondering how his long fingers would feel curled inside of her as he breathed filthy things in her ear, whether his eyes would flash wolfgold with want when he looked at her. She would never go through with it obviously. Purely a physical attraction.

But it was still annoying.

Ugh. He was just a really hot thorn in her side. He’d help out and she’d send him on his way, their totally unfriendly antagonism continuing to run its course. She shelved the books much too slowly, trying to get her heart rate back to normal, and when she returned he was already halfway through the bin, methodically sorting them into the piles she’d created.

“Thanks for helping,” she said, trying to keep her voice neutral.

“It’s my pleasure.”

That smile should be illegal. Like, a federal crime. It made her feel like he wanted to eat her, but in a good way.

She swallowed, snatching up the next pile and speed-walking away to shelve it without another word. She was highly aware of his eyes on her every time she climbed the ladder to slide the books into their proper places one-by-one. She was surprised that she wasn’t more nervous, centuries of her kind being hunted out of existence by humans making her wary of anyone who watched her so intently, and when he drank her in his eyes were hungry. Though she’d long noticed the shivers he sent down her spine, the nervousness that werewolves tended to bring out in her, it suddenly hit her that she’d never actually felt unsafe. They were only wolves for one night per month, it was true, but that didn’t make them powerless in human form; their accelerated healing and enhanced strength were still a definite threat to her if they weren’t friendly. A siren could tempt a wolf to give chase, could draw them in with the same heated looks and magnetic draw that they used to trap their human prey, but only at the risk of becoming a meal themselves once they were caught.

The heated glances he sent her made her blood rush, her heart thumping in her chest from the intoxicating high of being hunted,  but in an entirely different way than she’d expected. He was hungry for her, and since she obviously didn’t want to give in, not one bit, it was deeply irritating.

When she turned back he seemed absorbed in his task, and she saw that he was almost done sorting the entire pile. Clearly she’d been procrastinating on each section for too long. She picked up the next set of books, looking up at him when he spoke.

“I’m Klaus,” he said softly. The low tone felt odd to her after the heated glances and wicked taunting smirks she’d come to expect from him, the abrupt shift throwing her off.

“Caroline,” she said, putting down the book pile to shake his hand, her breath catching at the heat of his touch, the way the energy seemed to crackle between them. Like witches, sirens could sense magic by touch, could read a baseline of intent, but she’d never felt a charge so strong before. She met his eyes and found that she couldn’t look away. He seemed as surprised as she was by their weird magic-y connection, his gaze finally darting down to where their hands were still clasped, the feel of his calloused palm pressed against hers somehow throwing her off-balance even more.

“Caroline,” he repeated, as though testing how her name rolled off his tongue, and she felt a totally unwanted flush creep up her cheeks at his tone. “Is there anything else I can do?”

She swallowed, desperately looking for a way to diffuse the tension. “Um... Yeah. Reshelve these and then I have some other stuff you can help with. If you want, I mean. Come with me.”

She walked just a bit too fast in the direction of the stockroom, hoping she’d managed to turn quickly enough that he hadn’t seen her blush.

Klaus, as it turned out after a few hours voluntarily trapped in his presence, was annoyingly charming. He had a dry sense of humor that made her laugh before she could think to suppress it, and they ended up in the back stockroom close to midnight, still doing inventory that she probably could have finished up herself by ten.

It was weirdly worth it, though.

She didn’t have many people to talk to other than her roommate, who honestly was kind of a killjoy, and her friends from high school. Even from just snooping on the books he’d read she’d been able to have a real conversation with him about magical theory and history that was much more engaging than any she’d had in university classes. He really listened to her when she talked instead of planning his next point during her debates, and she kind of hated that she liked him for achieving the basic low bar of being attentive when she said words.

Maybe it was more than that, she admitted to herself when she glanced at the clipboard for the last aisle, highly aware of him just behind her. Maybe it was that she hadn’t had this much fun in a really long time. Maybe it was that he seemed to get her. Earlier she’d attributed the heated intense looks to physical chemistry, a primal sort of hunger that had everything to do with how he thought she’d look tangled in his sheets with his mark between her thighs, but she abruptly realized as he laughed at one of her jokes in their first ten minutes in the stockroom that it was more than that. He looked at her like she was fascinating.

They were approaching one in the morning when he’d said it, and honestly he’d chosen what was most likely the worst possible time. She’d been insisting that she could shelve a grimoire that looked like it weighed more than your average ten year old, mostly out of principle when he’d offered. The book was too valuable to keep out front and totally not something for a non-employee to mess with if she didn’t want to face Sheila’s wrath.

He hadn’t argued, just given her an exasperated look that she found more endearing than patronizing, and stood back as she climbed the ladder, subtly trying to spot her. She used a burst of her magic to boost it to the top shelf, slightly off balance from the toll it took on her. Her necklace must need a bit of a refresher spell, she noted. “What are you?” he’d asked, blurted really. It was clearly impulsive, but he didn’t move to apologize, apparently choosing to stand by asking her such a personal question.

She bristled at his rudeness, the distraction making her weight shift unexpectedly. Her arms flapped as she tried to regain her balance, and she managed to hold onto a shelf and steady herself on the ladder before glaring at him. “Excuse me?” she asked, her voice high pitched and defensive. “Seriously? You don’t just ask people what they are.”

“I’m a werewolf,” he said bluntly, and she huffed.

“I know.”

He didn’t seem surprised that she’d figured it out, though to be fair he hadn’t tried to hide it—a lot of the books he borrowed were about werewolves—and as a certified snoop herself she couldn’t exactly blame him for being nosey. Still, she didn’t owe him an explanation, especially since most stereotypes about sirens weren’t all that flattering.

“Well then it’s only fair to enlighten me as well.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think that’s how that works.”

“What are you afraid of?” he asked, and she gritted her teeth.

She doubted he’d attack her, especially in his human form, and she’d seen that he’d read a book or two with content about sirens that was accurate. It wasn’t like she was going to eat him. Her self-control was excellent, and he had no idea how weak she currently was. If he reacted badly she’d ask Sheila to add him to the barrier spell on the door. Not only did it emit an electric shock to anyone who was on the list--usually thieves or rude customers--but Katherine had fended off her boredom during an unusually slow afternoon enchanting it to scream creative insults at the unwanted guest.

What was he going to do, write his congressman?

“I’m a siren,” she said reluctantly, fingering her shell necklace nervously out of habit. “But I don’t like, eat people.”

“Isn’t that how you keep your powers?” he asked, and she was relieved that he didn’t seem at all on edge or nervous. Just curious.

“My necklace is enchanted so that I don’t have to feed. Eating people is kind of rude.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”

She snorted, hopping down from the ladder and taking the next book he handed her. “Well, humans are fragile, you know? I don’t want to accidentally give them anemia or something.”

“Fair. Does the necklace also give you enough power to keep your legs?”

She slotted the book into its proper place and made a mark on the clipboard, nodding. “Yep! My powers with my necklace are basically limited to some basic magic and being kickass at karaoke, but that’s only useful at parties. No tail unless the necklace comes off.”

Klaus looked intrigued more than anything, and she resisted the urge to go into more detail as she moved the ladder down a bit and plucked the next book out of his hands, climbing up to shelve it. She was so determined to look normal after revealing such a huge secret that she accidentally knocked one of the artifacts down with her elbow, and it fell to the ground with a clang followed by a shattering of glass.

“Oh, shit,” she breathed, looking around with wide eyes.

She wasn’t sure what she’d knocked over, and she frantically tried to find the label on the shelf she’d knocked it from before sighing in relief. It wasn’t anything important, just some empty vials.

The sigh was short-lived, her panic over the vials upending her balance, and she fell off the ladder with a thump, her arms aching, vaguely recognizing the sharp high note of something shattering against the concrete floor. She stared at the ceiling unseeingly, too distracted by how her hips suddenly felt like they were on fire. It took about half a second to realize what the familiar sensation was, the itchy bubbling of scales already tingling on her lower abdomen as her skin tightened and shifted.

“Caroline?” Klaus asked, sounding worried, and she winced as she heard the rip of cloth, her fusing legs ripping her jeans and thong in half as the spell crept down her thighs.

“My necklace,” she said frantically, clumsily rolling over on her elbows and reaching for the shell and cord that lay a foot away, trying to crawl toward it. She knew that it was most likely shattered and therefore stripped of its magic, but her tiny flame of hope that it had just become unfastened was extinguished when Klaus followed her line of vision and immediately bent down to pick it up, handing her the leather cord with only a fragment of the shell still clinging to it. “It’s broken,” she said unnecessarily, staring down at it.

“Where can you get another?” Klaus asked, and Caroline sighed.

“Well, Sheila can enchant one for me, but she’s out of town.”

He winced, clearly trying not to stare at the shimmering scales that had replaced her legs, the transformation only just finishing with her feet elongating into the end of her tail as she tried to sit up. She swore, and as soon as Klaus noticed what she was doing he bent to help her, his hand warm against her arm as he helped her regain her balance.

“Can I help in the meantime?”

“You’ve already done me like, fifty favors today,” Caroline pointed out, knowing that any decent person would help her get home instead of leaving her to lay on the stockroom floor unable to walk, but feeling like she had to say it out of principle.

He seemed to agree, giving her a disbelieving look before turning to her jeans and the red lace scrap that had previously been her thong. She probably would have been embarrassed if she wasn’t so stressed from her predicament. “You can leave those there,” she said. “Just grab my phone out of my pocket.”

He did as she directed, checking both back pockets and pulling out her phone. “Your purse is by the front desk?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, returning moments later with her purse over one shoulder and bending down to pick her up. “My car is the only one in the lot, but if you’d prefer I can get something to hide the tail.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s dark anyway,” she said, distracted by how warm he was and how good he smelled. She hated how even though she felt completely helpless in her current form, she felt oddly safe cradled against his chest.

“Your apartment?” he offered, and she shook her head.

“I live with a roommate. She doesn’t know. I don’t want to give her a heart attack.”

“I live alone?” he offered. “I even have a bathtub, if you’d prefer.”

She resisted the urge to snort, not wanting to be rude him when he was being nice (and she’d heard dumber questions before by far).

“Your place would be great, but don’t worry, I won’t need to take over your bathtub for anything other than bathing.”

She could have sworn she heard an off-beat thump of his heart, the hitch of his breath. Her words replayed in her mind and she tried to keep her composure while fighting the image of him walking in on her in the bath out of her mind. She wondered how entranced he’d be by the glistening of her scales, whether his gaze would trace the beads of water... She caught his eyes, noticed they were darker than they had been just a moment before. Had his thoughts been wandering in the same direction?

A few days ago she might have found the idea of him thinking of her naked creepy and irritating, but now she had to internally admit it was kind of hot...

She felt the light pierce of her teeth against her gums and shook herself, trying to push down the sudden bite of hunger she’d felt. He smelled even better now that her powers weren’t suppressed, his heartbeat temptingly strong and his jugular just inches away from her watering mouth. She was highly tempted to ask him whether he’d let her have a little taste so that she could get her legs back and they could both pretend this never happened, but feeding from someone was intimate, gave her a rush of adrenaline and pleasure and was as potent an aphrodisiac for whoever she was taking blood from as it was for herself. It would be taking advantage of him to ask, especially considering that he was clearly into her, and if she connected with him like that, things could get messy.

It would be better to wait for Sheila to come back and solve this without any unnecessary complications.

The night air was cool against her skin as they exited the shop, Klaus scanning the parking lot as though looking for threats before he brought her to what must have been his car, clumsily poking at the lever with his foot to move the chair back so that she could rest in the passenger seat comfortably. “Thanks so much, Klaus. Really,” she said, needing to break the silence somehow as she strapped herself in.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

Her heart fluttered and she swallowed audibly, staring determinedly at a streetlamp out the window, listening to the driver’s side door slam and the car start up, not wanting to meet his eyes. Maybe it was more than lust, she realized, chewing her lower lip. Maybe she liked him. Just a little.

Ugh.

Had she seriously managed to catch feelings for this guy she’d been annoyed with for literal months? Seriously?

She was too exhausted to give it any real thought, she decided, determinedly leaning against the cool glass of the window and trying to ignore Klaus’s glances at her whenever they stopped at a light. She managed to doze off against the window as they drove, and it felt like just a moment had passed when he gently touched her shoulder to wake her. They’d arrived at a brick apartment building that she’d noticed before when she was downtown, and she unbuckled her seatbelt as he got out, a bit embarrassed at how helpless she was in her current state but deciding it was better not to draw attention. She took deep calming breaths as he carried her up the stairs in silence, doing her best to avoid catching his scent.

She hadn’t really thought this plan through, she realized once Klaus got the door to his studio open. It was a small space, which made sense given this housing market and that he couldn’t have been more than a year or two older than her, but it also meant that the one bed took up a good third of the non-kitchen living space.

It was late and she was exhausted. She could tell Klaus was getting tired too, but werewolves were natural night people, and considering that he barely ever came into the bookshop until afternoon she’d assumed that he either slept late every day or had a morning job.

“It’s a recliner,” he said as he set her down on a chair in the tiny living room. “The lever is on the side.”

She quickly figured out how to operate it, the footrest popping up to support her tail, and she sighed in relief as she leaned back against the cushions. It wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, and she’d have a nasty backache the next day, but hopefully she could borrow Klaus’s computer and get a hotel until Sheila got back from London. “Thanks.”

“Of course, love. The remote is in the side drawer and I can get the wi-fi password for you in a moment. I just need to start the laundry for fresh sheets. I hadn’t expected guests.”

“Laundry?”

He gave her an exasperated look. “For the bed. You can’t possibly think I’d make you sleep on that?”

“Klaus, I’m the one intruding on your space. I don’t want to make you go out of your way—“

“Honestly, Caroline, it’s not a problem. If you’d feel more comfortable with me in the chair that’s all right, but my mother would roll in her grave if she knew I’d let a young lady sleep on my apartment’s equivalent of a couch.”

She eyed him for a few seconds gauging his sincerity before deciding that sleeping in a chair instead of a bed was not a hill she wanted to die on. At all. Especially since she wouldn’t be able to get out of the chair.

She was putting her trust in him and it was scary, but her instincts told her that he wouldn’t hurt her. He was dangerous, but so was she and it wasn’t like she wasn’t a perfectly functioning member of polite society. As long as she didn’t give into the temptation to take just a taste of him, everything would be fine.

“We can use the bed, but I’m too tired to wait for laundry,” she said, fighting back an unwelcome yawn even as she spoke, and he smiled slightly.

“All right, love. Shall I get you something to sleep in?”

“Just a shirt is fine. Thanks.”

He nodded and went to the dresser in the corner, opening a drawer and bringing a henley back to her, murmuring that he was going to use the restroom. She changed quickly, wrapping her bra in her shirt and throwing it in the general direction of her purse, satisfied when it landed just behind it.

The fabric of the shirt was soft against her skin, and it was comfortable enough that she knew she wouldn’t mind sleeping in it. She yawned again, stretching, and she vaguely heard the door open and saw Klaus come out shirtless in just a pair of boxer-briefs. She tried her best not to let her eyes wander, but she couldn’t seem to manage it, absorbing his abs and the tattoo inked across his shoulder, barely stopping herself from licking her lips, wondering what his skin would taste like. “I live alone so I don’t keep anything to sleep in as a general rule. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll take the chair.”

She hoped that he couldn’t see her flush at how loaded his tone was. He clearly knew that the only discomfort she had was with their chemistry, and she was hoping he didn’t comment on it. He had a mirror after all, and she didn’t want to get into a conversation about whether she found him attractive or not. It was too much effort, and she was practically falling asleep in the recliner.

“It’s fine,” she said, thankful that she could keep her voice even. “Can you move me?”

He nodded, picking her up easily and setting her down on the mattress, making himself busy plugging his phone in and offering her an extra charger, which she accepted. While he pawed through her purse for her phone she managed to wriggle to the other side of the bed, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible while soaked in his scent and craving a taste. She felt herself sink bonelessly into the mattress, her eyes closing, and it wasn’t long before she fell asleep.

Caroline stirred slowly, instinctively turning to blindly fumble for her phone from where her side table usually was and coming into contact with Klaus’s chest instead, her eyes flying open when he grumbled softly, stirring but not waking.

It was then that she realized she was in a bit of a quandary.

She was half underneath him, her face level with his shoulder, and she suspected that she’s slept with her face tucked into it (whoops), pressed against him comfortably with his arms tight around her, the heat and scent of him cloaking her. The beat of his pulse thumped insistently next to her ear and her mouth watered at the prospect of just a taste. The magic in the necklace had only been enough to keep her from being uncomfortably hungry, and now that she didn’t have that safety net, she was fucking starving.

“Klaus,” she hissed, poking him lightly in the chest, feeling slightly bad for waking him up but figuring he’d be happier being awake and not breakfast rather than the alternative. He shifted, and her breath hitched when she felt his morning erection pressed against the sensitive skin where her scales met skin.

“What, sweetheart?” he asked, his voice low and rough from sleep.

“You need to get up.”

“What time is it?”

“I don’t know but I’m hungry,” she said, unable to resist taking a deep inhale of his neck before he pulled away, looking at her with bleary, sleep-glazed eyes.

“I can do a coffee run in a bit if you—“

“No, like, hungry,” she emphasized. “Like hungry as in for you.”

He suddenly looked much more awake, his eyebrow quirking as he clearly fought not to laugh. “Is that so?”

She huffed, knowing that a flush was creeping up her cheeks to show her embarrassment at her poor choice of words. “Like, for your blood.”

“Do you want to eat?” he asked, his tone loaded with innuendo as he moved to brush her hair out of her face in a surprisingly tender gesture that made her heart flutter and her pulse race. “I don’t mind.”

She bit her lip, part of her wondering whether he knew what he was signing up for and the rest of her tempted beyond belief.

“Feeding on a person is intimate,” she said slowly, shifting underneath him, just the prospect of the rush of his blood on her tongue making her nipples pebble. She doubted the flush in her cheeks was just from embarrassment now.  “I don’t want you to do it because you feel like you have to. Like, I can stop myself from—“

“I want to,” he interrupted. “I’ll heal, Caroline.”

“I know,” she said, trying to keep her voice from growing thick with lust. “It’s not just intimacy though. It’s also kind of sexual.”

“You can’t possibly think that I would say no to the prospect of spending the morning satisfying all facets of your hunger for me,” he murmured, the goosebumps bubbling up on her skin and the quiver of her tail against his leg betraying how much she wanted to give into him. She took a deep shaking breath, licking her lips and trying to muster her very best glare.

“This is a one-time semi-hate fuck,” she said as though it was an announcement, one they both knew was most likely completely false.

He snorted. “Is that what your plan is?”

“Once,” she repeated, and he smirked, bending down to nip her ear.  

“I’ll try to change your mind then, shall I? I’d like nothing more than to coax you into my bed again, Caroline,” he whispered, his hand skimming down her scaled hip up to her side, sneaking under the henley she’d borrowed to stroke her soft skin. “Are you open to being convinced?”

“You can try,” she said, too stubborn to admit that she was most definitely open to it. Wanted it, even.

“I’ll do more than try, sweetheart,” he said, bending down so that his lips hovered over hers, stopping just short of brushing them together.

He was waiting for her, the ball definitively in her court, and she was too impatient to feign stubbornness anymore. She brushed her nose against his, catching his lips in a soft kiss, the swipe of tongue against her lower lip making her moan softly, her back arching at the sensation of his hand gliding down her spine, the brush of his calloused palm over her sensitive skin making her gasp. She let her finger trace the tattoo on his shoulder as she bent to kiss the other side his neck, her tongue tracing the dip of his jugular, her fangs splitting through her gums just from the anticipation. “You sure?” she asked, pulling away to look at him. He was watching her with parted lips and dark eyes, a finger reaching out to trace the line of her lip before he cupped her cheek, brushing the pad of his thumb against her fang, slicing into the skin. She moaned at the scent of it, her eyes closing as she lightly sucked a bit of blood from the wound, unable to tear her eyes away from his, enjoying the way he swallowed audibly, the low rumble in his throat when she flicked his skin with her tongue as she withdrew.

“I’m sure,” he said, and she grinned at the obvious lust in his voice, pulling off the borrowed henley so that she could feel his skin on hers as she bent to nip his shoulder, his cock hard and hot against her hip through his boxerbriefs. She flicked her tongue to catch the blood that welled up, grinning at his answering groan. “Take more,” he said, his tone rough and demanding and full of need.

She bent to sink her fangs into his neck, moaning loudly as she sucked gently, his blood rich and thick against her tongue. She felt her skin begin to relax, her scales melting away to reveal pliant flesh, and Klaus wasted no time sliding his hand under her thigh to part her legs, settling himself in between them as she fed, his cock pressed against her inner thigh, the fabric separating them giving her a delicious sort of friction just inches from where she really wanted it..

She reached beneath the waistband of his boxerbriefs to wrap her fingers around his length, stroking him firmly and ghosting her thumb across the tip, and it was immensely satisfying to hear the way he swore out her name, how his hips moved automatically, chasing her touch. She lazily explored the skin of his abs with her fingertips as she stroked him slowly, pulling back to look at him with dazed, blooddrunk eyes.

His gaze was focused on her tongue as she licked his blood from her lips, and he reached down to wrap his fingers around her wrist, stopping her from stroking him. “Fuck, Caroline...”

“If you didn’t I’d be really disappointed,” she muttered, shifting to try to get friction against his covered cock, needing to soothe the persistent ache between her thighs.

He chuckled, bending down to catch her mouth with his and tugging her lower lip roughly between his teeth as he slipped two fingers inside of her, his lips parting slightly with a groan when he found how wet she was, fingers curling against her walls with a practiced motion that made her muscles tighten as she rolled her hips for more, her moan almost embarrassingly loud. The blood high had gotten her most of the way there, and when he brushed her clit with his thumb she dug her nails into his back and chased his touch, panting out his name and falling back bonelessly from her release.

“Disappointed?” he asked lightly, a wicked smirk playing on his lips that turned her on even more.

“It was pretty fast. Was that all?” she teased, knowing that it was completely impossible for him not to know how good it had been, her breathing still shallow and quick.

“Oh, that was just the beginning,” he murmured, drinking her in with dark eyes that flashed gold for just a moment when she reached to trace the already healed wound her bite had left on his shoulder. “I’m not nearly done with you, sweetheart. The full moon is close, and you’re not the only monster here.”

“I’ve had wolf sex,” she breathed, still shallow from coming down from her high but turned on enough that she didn’t stop him when he lazily slipped two fingers back inside of her, hooking them against her walls as he watched her face intently. “My ex was one.”

His eyes flashed again for just a moment, his thumb pressing down on her clit as he dragged his nails just shy of her g-spot, and she bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, trying to stifle what would have been an embarrassingly loud moan.

“So you know about what the moon does to me, then?”

“Yeah.”

“And you don’t mind?”

“Do I really seem like a ‘please fuck me gently’ type of girl after that?” she asked, her eyebrows raised, though she was barely able to get the words out evenly when he brushed his thumb against her clit again, his other hand pressed against her hip to keep her from getting too much friction. He clearly wanted to draw it out, and she wasn’t opposed.

“Then what do you want, sweetheart?” he asked, a slow, pleased smirk spreading across his face, and she felt her breath catch as Klaus found her g-spot again, pressing in a way that made her legs turn to jelly. “Tell me.”

“I want to come again,” she said. “From your cock this time.”

His smirk grew into a full smile, one that was almost feral, that showed all of his teeth. “I’ll fuck  you from behind then, shall I? I’ll fill you with my cock while while you feed from my wrist. Do you like it rough, sweetheart? Do you want me to take you hard and fast? To claim you?”

“Yes,” she breathed, spreading her legs for him as he continued to fuck her with his fingers, and he withdrew, making her whimper, squirming for the touch he’d taken from her.

He leaned down to nip her ear, his breath hot on her neck as he spoke. “I’ve wanted you for months, Caroline. My wolf has wanted you, to claim you. I’ve spent hours wondering what pretty sounds you would make if you bent over the counter for me with your legs spread. I imagined you wet and panting, begging for my cock as you held the skirt of your sundress around your waist, craving the feel of my hands as I mapped every inch of your skin.”

She gasped softly at the visual he painted for her, her pussy clenching around nothing, craving to be filled.

“Get on your knees for me, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low and rough as he pulled back to let her flip over, his hands returning to her hips to steady her before they slid down to encourage her to part her thighs. His palms lingered on her skin for a moment as though he couldn’t get enough of the feel of her, and she tensed as his hands moved up slowly to settle on her hips, somehow knowing that if she complained he’d make a point to go even slower. He let out a pleased hum that made her flush as he dragged his finger gently along the flesh of her ass before bending to kiss her shoulder and toy with her nipple. Her heart was pounding with anticipation, and she bit her lip hard when she heard the rustle of fabric and some movement behind her before she felt the tip of him at her entrance, teasing her.

“Klaus,” she breathed impatiently, looking behind her to see him looking down at her with want and something that resembled affection. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she took in a sharp breath as he bent to press his chest against her back, his voice low as he pressed open-mouthed kisses to her shoulder blades, speaking between each one.

“You’re so fucking beautiful like this, sweetheart. Bent over with your pretty arse in the air...”

She pressed back against him to try to get him to speed up and push inside of her, and he groaned, his hands pressing into her hips to hold her in place. “So impatient,” he murmured, and she huffed, curling her fingers into the sheets.

“I was promised rough,” she reminded, and he chuckled, pressing one last kiss to her spine before filling her with one thrust of his hips.

He definitely didn’t disappoint, fucking her hard and fast, his fingers rubbing her clit as he spoke to her, beginning to outline some of the fantasies he’d had of her while he was watching her shelve books, his voice growing thicker with lust as he spoke and listened for her reaction.

“I wanted to watch you drape your legs over the armrests of one of the chairs, watch you touch yourself,” he said, his voice a low growl, pinching her ass lightly when she moaned, the sharp pain a delicious contrast to the way his cock felt inside of her that it made her whimper out his name, her high building steadily, every part of her achingly sensitive for his touch. “Even more now, I want you to show me how you like it, what you do when you come around your own fingers wishing it was my cock. I must admit I’m not sure if I could let you finish without the chance to touch you. Perhaps you’d let me watch up close. Would you like that, Caroline? For me to kneel between your thighs and watch you touch yourself until I grow impatient and convince you to let me replace your hands with my tongue?”

“Yes,” she hissed, nodding. She heard him chuckle, felt his hands wrap around her thighs to adjust her position to get deeper, and she swore when he started to move faster.

“I’d love to taste you,” he said, his breathing harsher now, tone rough with lust. “Perhaps during the day, sneaking you off to a back section where people hardly ever wander. Watching you struggle to stifle your moans of my name would be as much a pleasure as making you come on my tongue.”

She was more than a little turned on by the idea of someone walking in on them having sex in the back of the shop, a soft gasp escaping her as he finished speaking, and he chuckled quietly. “Does that appeal to you, then? Spreading your legs for me in secret, knowing that at any moment someone could walk in and see you with your legs wrapped around me, moaning my name? Or perhaps on your knees? I’ve often wondered what your lips would look like wrapped around my cock...”

She moaned softly, clenching around him as he spoke. He was into the dirty talk thing, clearly, and the filthy words that were coming out of his mouth in his rough growl through gritted teeth were definitely the hottest thing she’d ever heard in her life. His breathing was heavier between words now, thick with want, and she could tell from how tightly he was gripping her hips and the strain in his voice that he was trying to hold himself back from coming, clearly wanting her to fall apart first. She was so close...

“Keep talking,” she panted out, and he chuckled.

“You make the most beautiful sounds, Caroline. It would almost be a pity to stifle them, but I think it would be just as sweet to watch you lick my come from your lips.”

She felt her muscles grow tight, her toes curling as he brought her to the edge, her breathing shallow and fast. He pinched her clit and dragged his teeth along her shoulder, and she licked her lips when he offered her his wrist, holding it in front of her mouth as an invitation. She could feel her gums break as her fangs pushed through, hear the rush of the blood in his veins even as the sound of skin against skin filled the room. Klaus’s encouraging groan when she ran her tongue along his wrist was all she needed to hear before she pierced his skin, moaning at his taste and tipping over the edge, taking just a few gulps before withdrawing and running the tip of her tongue along the closing wound to get every last drop. She felt him come inside her as she nipped his wrist with her blunt teeth, his body a comfortably heavy weight on hers before he rolled off of her. She shifted to face him, breathing hard, and she moaned when his hand moved between her thighs to build her up again.

He looked at her, reaching to wipe blood from her lips with his other hand and groaning softly when she licked it from his thumb before laying back so that he could climb on top of her, spreading her legs for his fingers, needing more.

His nails dug into her hip as he bent to press kisses to her neck, his cock hardening against her thigh when she tangled her fingers in his hair and traced his spine, breath hot on her neck. She took a sharp breath when he lazily circled her clit with a slick finger, her eyes widening when he spoke. His tone was smoother now, more seductive than rough and heated, and it only took a few words for her to realize that if she thought that he’d be satisfied with just one day with her, and she with him, she was sorely mistaken.

“We’re not so different, you and I, Caroline. We’re predators. I love the thrill of the chase, the anticipation, the catch. You’re a different sort of monster. You’re a temptress, luring your prey to you with just a simple look and finishing them before they realized that the pretty girl they thought they’d chased so easily had teeth when they got too close. I’m not fool enough to think that you’re mine already. We’ve only just begun. But tell me, Caroline, have you ever considered letting anyone close enough to catch you?”

She took a deep shaky breath, moaning as he began to press inside of her again, her walls stretching deliciously to accommodate him. She tried to gather every shred of annoyance she’d felt for him over the last month and a half to channel it into a stubborn glare, barely managing to keep her voice from being too breathless. “Not yet.”

He pushed himself on his elbows as he moved, the pace slower than it had been before but just as pleasurable, and her breath caught when she saw the way he was looking at her, drinking in every slight shift of her expression as though memorizing it.

“Perhaps one day you’ll let me.”

[faithbred-blog]

JEROME VELES ( CIS MALE & HE/HIM )? oh, aren’t they the FIFTY year old HUNTER ( VAMPIRE ) who works as the MANAGER at DÉGAGÉ? word on the streets is that they are FAITHFUL & INNOVATIVE, but they can also be ILL-TEMPERED & CALLOUS. by the way, they look eerily similar to KEANU REEVES, don’t they? ( admin karin / 20 / aest / she/fae )

FULL NAME: jerome veles. AGE: fifty. PRONOUNS / GENDER: he/him / cis male. SPECIES: vampire. jerome is only very recently turned, with not many knowing of his vampirism yet. formerly, he was a human of a hunter, and still does operate within the hunters. HOUSING: halkirk, in a two bedroom house with his daughter. FAMILY: his parents long gone and dead, the only family that jerome has now is his adoptive daughter meredith grant. she’s the daughter of a friend who passed away a while ago, and he had taken her in when she was thirteen. he adores her like a father would a daughter even if meredith only became his daughter in her later years.

BACKSTORY

his mother left when he was young. too young for jerome to even remember, even. said that she wasn’t ready to raise a son, that she wanted to do it the right way and get married before being a mother, and had upped and ran in the middle of the night, leaving jerome under the care of only his father. they didn’t talk about his mother.

heart attack tw / he was sixteen when his father died of a heart attack. the only parent jerome had ever known, gone. they weren’t thick as thieves, but he had loved his old man. losing him was a huge loss to jerome. only two years before he hit adulthood, his aunt and uncle had taken him in and provided the support he needed. they never became parent-like figures, but despite the loneliness he felt after his father was gone, jerome was grateful of them.

he had chosen to forge his own path when he entered adulthood. a year after high school and now in college, he rented a one bedroom apartment in the frenchtown quarters of town. over the years, he’d slowly move himself up.

almost in his thirties and struggling to make a steady income that could properly support him, jerome finally stumbled into an opportunity. he’d been acquainted with the now mrs. vanderbilt in his childhood, although they didn’t run in the same circle. the offer had came from her side of the family — the hunters side of it. they had notice of his affinity for defending himself, and had offered him money — good money — in exchange for becoming a hunter. 

he doesn’t hunt blindly. while he is wary of most supernatural creatures, the only ones he outright hunts are the ones he’s assigned to hunt. the ones that pay good money. his targets are usually big too, as he sees no point in hunting the lesser of the supernaturals. doing that won’t change anything.

death tw / eight years ago a long time friend of his died, leaving behind a thirteen year old girl called meredith grant. while jerome was never exactly her godfather, he had liked her, and her mother was one of the few real friends he had before she passed away. the girl grew up without a father, and a mother who died when she was still a teenager. it was almost a mirror image of what happened to him. not wanting her to grow up completely and utterly alone, jerome had taken her in. a favor to the girl’s mother, perhaps, since he’d been fond of her too.

adopting meredith drove him to further his hunting career. he needed that money more than ever now that he had a daughter. and he’s a good one at it too. he’s come across quite a few of fairview’s more popular supernaturals, either as a warning or as a failed attempt on their lives. jerome isn’t an infamous hunter the way jeremiah baines and his family are amongst the hunters’ community, but he does his job well when he needs to. ( sidenote: the fact that he’s a good hunter was also what led him to convince victoria vanderbilt to manage her restaurant. the pay wasn’t as good as he wanted it to, but he had managed to secure it in exchange to becoming a good hunter who was affiliated with her family, even if victoria herself wasn’t an active hunter. )

the two of them make do pretty well. jerome taught his daughter how to hunt and defend herself if it ever came down to it, and she was well aware of what he did for a living. she didn’t know the extents he would go to when he hunted, but after all, a daughter didn’t need to know that about her father.

and things went well. until recently, when jerome crossed paths with a vampire who had, in an attempt of revenge for hunting him, bitten jerome and left him almost for dead in the woods. and perhaps death would’ve been better too, for that bite had changed his life when he woke and realized what he is now. the very thing that he hates the most. out of all the supernaturals, jerome resents vampires and faeries most, because he views them as invulnerable creatures who can get away with any crime while still living a long life. the fact that they faced no consequences unless they were killed unnerved him, and they were the two creatures that he would stop at nothing to hunt when it calls for it. now? he was exactly the creature that he hated.

it’s only been a few weeks since jerome’s transformations, and he has managed to conceal himself pretty well. most older vampires in town could tell who he was from their honed enhanced senses, but jerome cuts back on the blood bags and still attempts to eat like a normal human would to hide his identity — especially from meredith.

PERSONALITY

no matter what people say about jerome, he is a passionate man. he’s passionate, he’s loving, and he’s very much driven by the loyalty he feels towards meredith. there are few that he lets in, but if he does let you in and cares about you, he is very much loyal.

jerome is as morally grey as they go. he’s the epitome of the ends justify the means.

he’s also very ill-tempered, and while he’s not a grim man who is always seen scowling or frowning, — he does offer smiles — most of degage’s employees know better than to set him off.

it may not seem like it at first glance, but he’s cunning. he has a very high sense of self-preservation and always had since he was a kid. jerome’s good at thinking things up on the spot and weaselling his ways out of terrible situations, although the means for doing so aren’t always so great.

he’s also deeply resentful. he’s quick to anger, but he’s not quick to forgive. if you’ve hurt him or the people who are close to him, the chances of him forgiving you is very low. after all, he still hates his sire with his entire heart and never will stop in all the immortal years to come.

at the end of the day, he’s on the verge of being a broken man. not that that excuses any of his actions, — because he often takes it too far — but he’s lonely and the only light in his life is meredith. his resentment doesn’t exclude the one he has towards himself too, and he feels like he hasn’t done enough for her and never will. but if it weren’t for her, he would’ve lost all his shreds of humanity and become the monster that he hates the most.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Does your character have any nicknames? a few close friends can probably get away with calling him jer, but that’s the only nickname he’s ever gone by.

Does your character have any distinguishing features such as tattoos, scars, piercings, etc? n/a.

What kind of things does your character like? What do they dislike? jerome’s fond of heights. while it’s a fear that many people have, he enjoys being on higher grounds and looking at the skyline and the city beneath him. it relaxes him.

Where does your character go when they are angry? he takes walks, or he goes up on the roof and stares at the skyline to calm himself down.

What is your character’s biggest fear? Who have they told this to? Who would they never tell this to? Why? there are many, but his ultimate biggest fear is being alone. other than hating vampires, it’s the biggest reason why he hates his vampirism. being immortal means having to watch people come and go, and he feels sick thinking about being alone after meredith finally grows old and dies. it’s not a fear that he shares, especially not know when there is so much at stakes and he’s an adult with many responsibilities, but it’s a fear that’s never gone away since the day his dad left him.

Does your character have a secret? If so, what is it? yes, his vampirism is currently a secret. not one that no one knows of, but it is something that he keeps concealed from most others.

Has your character ever been in love? Have they ever had a broken heart? he’s never been in love, but he thinks if meredith’s mother had stayed alive he might’ve fallen in love with her one day.

WANTED CONNECTIONS / PLOTS

sire. give me the person who turned him!!! jerome would’ve attacked them as soon as he realized that he was turned, probably almost killing them now that he had these newly acquired strength and speed that he didn’t know how to control in addition to his hunting abilities. the details of this can be ironed out when we plot it out, but i imagine jerome would have either very nearly killed them before they escaped or he thought they were dead but they didn’t die.

vampires. while it isn’t common knowledge that he’s been turned, i imagine that most vampires in town — especially the older ones — would be able to sniff out his vampirism due to their heightened senses. jerome takes care to not smell too much like blood, but it’d be interesting to have a few vampires knowing what he is now.

targets. he’s hunted supernaturals for over 20 years now. i’m sure he’s run into a lot of the supernaturals in fairview and has gotten into fights with them. whether or not he’s actively hunted them before, some supernaturals jerome just outright don’t like.

dark witch. obviously, he needed a daylight ring as soon as he was turned into a vampire. i’m open with two directions with this: a dark witch who had blackmailed him by giving him a daylight ring and promised to keep his secret as long as they do his binding ( or vice versa, him blackmailing them into it ), or a witch that he trusts with his secrets and is friends with.