Ghosts

The fog rolled in off the lake, creating a world that was white, close, and eerily silent. As the sun set, the world grew smaller, shrinking to the puddles of feeble light cast by street lights. A pair of high heels clicked sharply on the pavement, giving voice to the authoritative stride of someone who knew where she was going.

Lena paused, sharp blue eyes prying into foggy shadows, alert for any movement. She thought someone was there, and usually she trusted her instincts, but this damned fog clouded her senses, creating threatening shadows where there were none and hiding the true dangers.

At least the rain has stopped, she thought, shifting her grip on her old-fashioned black umbrella. The patter of the rain was maddening and worse than the fog about hiding what she had to be most wary of. Strange to think she had loved both kinds of weather as a child; that was before she had so many things to fear, she supposed.

It was a whisper of sound, a hint of motion, that alerted her. She whipped to her left, bringing her umbrella up and around to crack sharply across a canine head. The beast was up in a moment, yellow eyes glowing as it snapped at her. It backed up, muscles bunching and coiling; it leaped.

Her umbrella came up again, and its sharp finial met with the creature's breast bone. It kicked, muscles spasming in death. Its momentum carried it forward, bringing Lena crashing to the ground.

She heaved the wolf off of her, picking herself up and wrenching her umbrella from its chest.

She brushed herself off, glad that the black trench didn't show blood. There was a gash down one long, pale leg, however, bad enough that it might require stitches. She raked her thick, dark brown hair back off her face, trying to compose herself.

The scent of blood filled the air, and she hurried onward, fearing the predators that might be attracted to it. She was perfectly capable of warding off most beasts, but she was unarmed - at least with conventional weapons - and the skirt and heels hampered her movements.

A figure ghosted out from an alley between two buildings, and Lena had her umbrella up before she even saw who it was. She didn't lower it when she recognized the tall, slender man dressed all in black.

"What are you doing here, Seth?" she asked flatly.

A smirk flitted across his pale, exquisitely chiseled face, and he stepped closer to her. Lena took a reflexive step back, and then inwardly cursed herself for doing so. Can't show fear, she reminded herself, but she couldn't keep from tightening her grip on the umbrella.

"You look lovely this evening, Lena," he said, ignoring her demand. "Returning from somewhere special?" he asked with feigned nonchalance.

Lena looked away, infuriated by the cool jealously that flared in his eyes. He still thinks I belong to him, she thought. He stripped me of everything - my friends, my family, my very identity - and then he left me, and now he thinks that he can just slip back into my life as if he'd never left. Well, she thought, fuck him.

She lifted her chin, meeting his eyes levelly. "Yes, actually. I was on a date with a very nice man, if you must know."

Though she could read the anger smoldering in his eyes and see the tension in his clenched jaw, he merely smiled again. "A very nice man who isn't bothering to take a beautiful woman home? Not much of a gentleman, is he?"

"He had to leave unexpectedly," she snapped, knowing that he had just scored a mark against her. She lowered her umbrella and walked defiantly past him, determined that this would be the end of the conversation.

Seth snagged her wrist and pulled her toward him. Instinctively she rotated it, breaking his grip, and whipped the elbow of her other arm up, connecting solidly with his face and knocking him to the ground.

Seth got slowly to his feet, his eyes glued to her face. He took a step toward her, but Lena raised her umbrella once more, its pointed finial looking wicked and deadly. "I don't want to see you anymore," she said quietly and seriously. "And you of all people should know that I'm perfectly capable of enforcing that. Don't try to speak with me again, or you will find out just how good I've gotten. You may have taught me some of what I know, but I've learned a lot since you left."

Lena turned and quickly walked away, her heart pounding and her stomach roiling. This was the third time she'd seen Seth in the past month, and each time had been harder on her. She had told him before that she didn't want him back in her life, and she could only hope that he would finally get the point. Underneath her fury, however, she was conflicted. He had been such a huge part of her life, and not entirely in a bad way. Her first love, and her first lover; her savior, and her teacher. When he left, she had been broken, so utterly devastated that suicide had seemed her only recourse from the pain. She still bore the scars, faded now, of her slit wrists. But after that failed attempt, things had changed. Anger replaced sadness, and she grew determined that she would never be that dependent, that helplessly in love, ever again.

This date, a casual thing over appetizers and cocktails, had been her first in 6 years, and it hadn't gone well. Her date, a businessman with more money than intelligence, had bored her stiff. Her blank gaze and short answers had made him more and more frustrated; as soon as they had finished eating, the man did them both a favor and announced that he had an important meeting to prepare for the next day, and had hustled out of the restaurant.

A low growl, barely loud enough to register in her consciousness, snapped Lena out of her reverie. A wolf prowled out of the damp darkness... and another... and another. She took a step back, pressing herself against a building and kicking off the high heels. The umbrella went up again, but she knew it was probably useless. Armed as she was, she didn't have a good chance against three of the monsters, and unlike natural wolves, she wouldn't be able to frighten them off with a good show. Werewolves were too smart for that, or perhaps too stupid; she would take as many of them with her as she could.

Two leaped at once. She lashed out, hitting one solidly with the umbrella, but the other hit her full force, knocking her hard against the wall and making her drop the umbrella, her only weapon. She forced herself back up. If she lost her feet she was gone for sure, and despite the odds maybe she could still get out of this alive. She clamped her hands around the wolf's muzzle, trying desperately to keep it's jaws closed, but the third wolf chose that moment to attack. She kicked out, but she only landed a glancing blow to it's shoulder, enough to throw it off balance but not enough to keep it down for long. The other wolf was recovering as well, shaking its head and getting unsteadily to its feet.

Switching her grip, Lena twisted savagely, jerking the head of the wolf in her arms around as far as it would go. Though the hold was awkward, the move worked - the neck snapped, and the wolf went still. She flung the carcass at the wolf she had hit, knocking it down once more. She reached down, not daring to take her eyes of the third wolf, who was cautiously stalking her, head down, teeth bared. One of her shoes came to hand just as it leaped.

The stiletto heel sank into one of the monster's malicious yellow eyes, which gave an audible pop. She yanked it out as the creature fell to the ground, whimpering. She brought it down again as hard as she could, impaling its skull.

The other wolf was back up, and before she could turn to it it sprang. A gunshot cracked, and it's chest exploded in gore.

Lena turned and saw Seth standing not 15 feet away, lowering the semi-automatic in his hand. Her first emotion was relief, and gratitude, but it was quickly overwhelmed by anger. She didn't need rescuing, and certainly not from him!

He quickly closed the distance though, and was dragging her down the street before she had a chance to say anything. "What the fuck did you do?" he asked, rage thickening his voice. "Four dead wolves in a two block radius. Are you trying to bring the entire pack down on us, or are you just too stupid to care?"

"I was attacked, you fucking bastard, and I defended myself." She stopped, jerking her arm free. He spun, grabbing hold of her again and continuing on his way without a pause.

"You have to get off the street before any of the others catch your scent. If they do, they'll hunt you across the world to avenge their pack mates, which you should damn well know."

Lena fell silent, no less furious but knowing full well that he was right. The wolves were becoming a bigger problem every year, and here in the city there were places where the streets were their own personal kingdoms. This block wasn't supposed to be one of them, but what had just happened suggested that things were changing.

Seth pulled her into a building, a run-down looking three-story house. They climbed to the top story, and Seth let her into his apartment.

Lena collapsed onto his couch, surveying the apartment as he left the room. If nothing else, she noted, he had become less of a slob in the past six years. The place was fairly neat and surprisingly well furnished given the exterior of the house. The shabby carpeting was mostly covered by an ornate, gray scale Persian rug; the couch on which she sat was also gray. The coffee table and kitchen table were stainless steel and glass, sleek and modern, fitting with his taste, she thought.

The rush of adrenaline had left her knees weak, and she scrubbed a hand over her eyes. Fuck the wolves, she thought, and fuck Seth. She'd be out of here as soon as she could, back in her own apartment where she could get well and truly drunk and not think about Seth.

He walked back into the room carrying a large white towel. He threw it across her lap, and for a moment she could only look at him, perplexed.

"Take a shower," he said shortly.

"No," she said, getting to her feet and dropping the towel on the sofa. "I'm getting out of here as soon as possible."

"Well, as soon as possible is going to be tomorrow morning," he said, raking a hand through his shaggy, dark hair. "You know as well as I do that the second you leave this house, they'll be on you. Your only chance is to wait for morning, and I doubt you want to stay covered in blood the entire time."

Damnit, he was right. She didn't want him to be, but he was. Lena picked up the towel, compressing her lips. "Fine," she said.

"The bathroom's off the bedroom, through that door," he said, indicating which room he meant.

Lena went in, locking the door behind her. Three times she'd told Seth that she didn't want anything to do with him, and now she was not only in his debt, she was forced to spend the night with him.

She let out a deep sigh, sitting gingerly on the edge of the tub as she turned on the taps. Adjusting the temperature, she closed the curtain and switched on the shower.

She shed her clothes slowly, dropping her ruined trench on the floor, along with her blouse, her ripped skirt, and her underwear. Her bare legs had gotten the worst of it, their slender length covered with bruises and scrapes. The rest of her body was relatively untouched, just a few bruises on her arms and some abrasions. She regretted having to leave her shoes behind; the barefoot walk to Seth's apartment hadn't been fun, and she didn't know what she would do the next morning without them.

Climbing into the shower, Lena winced as the hot water hit her. Soon, though, she sighed with enjoyment; the heat and steam made her feel clean and much more herself.

Just as she was finishing, the door opened. Lena snatched the shower curtain around her, glaring at Seth. "What the fuck are you doing?" she asked.

He held up the shirt and boxer shorts in his hand. "I thought you might appreciate a change of clothes," he said.

"Fine. How did you get in here?"

"It's my apartment, Lena. I have a key." His smirking amusement infuriated her, robbing her of all the calm she had regained during the shower.

He left, closing the door behind him, and she stepped out. She toweled off her body before ringing out her hip length hair, then squeezing most of the moisture out of it with the towel. She dressed quickly, then carried her clothes and the towel back out into the living room.

Seth looked up appreciatively as she walked in. The tank clung to her slightly damp body, silhouetting her small, high breasts and narrow frame. Her long legs were mostly bare in the boxer shorts, and the too-baggy clothes made her look even more fragile and feminine.

She blushed furiously, standing awkwardly in the middle of his living room, the clothes and towel in her arms. Seth took the towel from her and got her a bag for her clothes, mercifully silent as he went about it.

That taken care of, he offered her something to eat. "Or maybe you want a drink?" he asked.

She had eaten barely an hour ago and wasn't hungry, but she said yes to the drink.

"Still like screwdrivers?" he asked, getting a glass from the cabinet.

Lena sighed, knowing she shouldn't drink, but she said yes anyway. She could use it; it would help settle her nerves.

He mixed the drink, making it just as she liked them. She sat down across from him at his kitchen table, sipping the drink and avoiding his eyes.

"Lena," he said, softly, tenderly. She looked up, but quickly jerked her gaze away from his face. He got up and came to stand behind her, gently massaging her shoulders. She went rigid, but he continued kneading. "Lena, I know that I wasn't good to you. I was so stupid back then, such an idiot. And I know that I'm still not... not a very good person. But God, I love you so much. I never forgot about you. I just hope I can convince you to forgive me."

Lena nearly laughed. He was so contrived, so scripted. It was as if he was reading from a bad romance novel. But despite his cliched words, she felt herself weakening. It would be so easy to give in... She had loved him so much, and for so long after he had left she had dreamed of something like this. Him coming to her rescue, him telling her he loved her, he still wanted her, he'd been so wrong.

She forced the emotions away and stood, shaking his hands off her shoulders. "You fucking asshole. Do you have any idea what it was like for me after you left? I wanted to die. I tried to kill myself, do you know that? But I got through it, and I'm not going to let you fuck with me anymore!"

Seth grabbed her, pulling her to him, but she shoved him away. He stumbled back against the wall, but he stepped up again, a determined expression on his face.

Lena delivered a solid right hook to his jaw, and when he came up this time, it was anger in his face. She tried to punch him again, but he grabbed both her wrists, shoving her against the wall and knocking the breath out of her. His knee went between her legs, forcing them apart, keeping her off balance and unable to kick. She struggled furiously against him, but she had forgotten how strong he was. She bit at him, twisting in his grip, trying vainly to find purchase. Finally, he had her down on the floor on her stomach, her body pinned under his, her arms wrenched painfully behind her back.

She gave up, panting from her struggles, tears on her face. "I don't want to hurt you," he growled, "but I'm not going to let you beat me up."

"So just leave me alone," she whispered.

He was silent for a moment, but finally he replied. "I can't."

As his lips and teeth began to work skillfully at the curve of her neck, she resumed her struggle, fruitless as it may be. She didn't want this, she told herself. She didn't want him, not after what he had done to her. But with his body pinning her to the floor, she could barely move, and soon she felt her body responding, despite her desperate wish that it wouldn't. His hands slid inside the boxers, running teasingly over her ass and between her thighs, and she had to bite her lip to keep from moaning as one calloused finger teased her clit.

"You're wet," he whispered, nipping at her neck again. Tears of shame slid down her face as he began to lightly rub her clit, knowing just how to touch her to get her going. His torment continued for several minutes, and she was teetering on the edge of orgasm when he rolled her onto her back.

She took the opportunity to try and push him away, but her efforts were too little. Soon he had the tank top up and was pinching her small, sensitive nipples, tightening them and sending lighting bolts of pleasure straight to her pussy. As his mouth latched onto one of the rosy buds, one of his hands slid down her stomach, returning to her aching pussy. He slid a finger in, his thumb rubbing across her clit, moving faster and faster as a second finger joined the first inside her. She was so tight that even with just that inside her she felt stretched.

Seth put a hand to her throat and raised his head from her breast. "Come," he murmured in her ear.

Her body responded to his command, her back arching and her fingers pressing into the floor as she orgasmed. Her pussy spasmed around his fingers, and his thumb kept working across her clit until she cried out in near pain.

He pulled his fingers out of her and slowly licked them clean. His hand still at her throat, he bent down and kissed her hard, forcing her to open her mouth for his tongue. She couldn't help herself; she found herself responding in kind, her arms coming up around him.

Seth pulled the shorts down completely and kneed her legs apart. He unzipped his own fly and positioned his hard cock at her wet pussy. "Tell me you want this," he said, his dark eyes gazing fiercely into her blue ones. She turned her head to the side, unwilling to give him so much. He teased her still-throbbing clit with the head of his cock, pulling an unwilling gasp from her lips.

"Say it," he repeated. "I know you do."

"I want it," she finally cried. "I want you to fuck me."

After six years without sex, her body was unused to any intrusion, and he had to work himself into her pussy despite how wet she was. "Oh God," he moaned, "you're so tight."

Lena shuddered, overwhelmed by sensations. As he began to thrust, working himself in and out with slow, even strokes, she couldn't stop the gasps and moans that were coming from her. She she began to loosen up, he started to thrust harder and faster, and she raised her hips to meet him. Her breasts jiggled with every thrust, and he pulled and twisted her nipples as he fucked her. The dual sensations racked Lena with pleasure, and soon she orgasmed again, fingernails digging into his back as she cried out.

Feeling Lena's pussy clench around him drove Seth over the edge, and he spilled himself inside of her with a hoarse moan. He collapsed on top of her, burying his face in the curve of her neck.

Lena spent a sleepless night beside him, feeling humiliated and depressed, and angry at her body's betrayal. As dawn broke, she dressed quietly, leaving his apartment in silence.

If she saw him again, she would kill him. It was as simple as that.