Felis Nigorakxe Ch. 04

I'm so sorry about the wait, my computer got killed and it took AGES to fix!

Ok people, I tried to make the last one longer, but it wasn't long enough for my tastes. Keep the comments coming though; I love to hear from you!

Hopefully Ch.5 will be coming soon, quicker than this one, most likely...

And there are some Latin names in this one, Infernus is one. It's Vampire Colony and the name means Hellfire.

There's also Erant, the name of a Pack. It literally means Were.

Bye!

k_k

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Caleb

'I can hear the van.' She said. A shiver ran down her back.

'Which van? The one from the alley?' I asked. She nodded to confirm.

'I hate that van.' She muttered. I could hear the loathing in her voice.

'Why?' She shook her head.

'I can't tell you now.'

'Why? Don't you trust me?' She paused.

'I trust you more that I trust our safety right now.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means we're not safe, because even though I can hear the van, I can't see it. And that freaks me out.'

'Then let's go.' She looked at me, sceptical.

'Go where?' Taking her arm, I pulled her around the side of the building to where I knew she'd have parked her bike.

'I'll tell you how to get there. Now drive!'

*

Darley

I ran to my bike and leapt on. Caleb followed me and sat behind, forcing me to be uncomfortably aware of his...maleness. "Mon Dieu." I thought. I turned the key and revved up, kicking the rest up. 'Hold on!' I yelled to Caleb and opened up the throttle, racing out of the car park.

I followed Caleb's instructions, much to my own chagrin, and found myself outside a modern-looking apartment. 'Is this it?' I asked Caleb, slightly disappointed. He grinned, and my stomach gave a few back-flips when I saw he had dimples. "Get a grip, Darley!" I told myself.

'This is it.' He said. We walked in. It was nicely furnished, but minimalistic, with a cold-colour scheme of white and gold. It was slightly messy but it suited Caleb to a 'T'. I didn't let that show, of course.

'Doesn't look like much.' I sniffed. 'And it smells like wet dog and sex.'

'Damn, I forgot that Kaen and his friends came over...'

'Kaen?' I shivered. Where had I heard that name before?

'Yeah, Kaen is one of my best friends, and a fabulous Beta.'

'But not as good as you, obviously.'

'Holy shit. Was that a complement?'

'No.'

'It sounded like one.'

'You need your ears cleaned out. I'll do it with a scalpel...'

'No thanks.' He walked to what I assumed was a kitchen. 'You want something to eat?' I arched one eyebrow.

'What'cha cooking?'

'Ok...you can have...fish? I'm joking, I'm joking!' He added hastily, seeing the scowl on my face. 'Ok... how about a jacket with butter and cheese?'

I bit my lip, unaware of his eyes following my movement. 'Ok. But can you add beans?'

'If you want.'

'Thanks, that'll be fine.' I worried my lip with my teeth, unsure of how he was going to take my next request. 'Umm, can I just-'

'Do you want a shower?' He interrupted. My eyes widened.

'What the- how did you know I was going to ask?' He looked slightly chagrined.

'Well, I-'

'You know what,' I said, strolling to the bathroom. 'I don't wanna know.' And with that, I closed the door and slipped into the most heavenly shower of my life.

¬¬¬*

Caleb

I watched as she slid through the door and shook my head slightly. What was it about the girl that made me want to both strangle her and kiss her senseless? "Wait, kiss her senseless?! Where did that come from?" I thought. "That's impossible. She can't be. I don't have a mate. She can't be my mate!" I growled and ran to my basement, where my personal gym was. I needed to get my head straight and the best way to do that was to decapitate a dummy.

Fifteen minutes and twelve dummies later, I headed upstairs to get the food on, figuring that she'd still be in the shower. The door was slightly ajar, and through it, I could see Mencal. "Holy hell." I thought. There she was, standing in the shower, completely naked. I flushed and my work trousers started to become uncomfortably tight. I needed to get away from Mencal and her fucking gorgeous body, so I escaped to my room. I changed my clothes to a more casual jeans and a t-shirt, whilst tying my long hair back with a leather band. After taking a moment to compose myself, I walked into my living room just as Mencal came in from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel. "Hot damn." I thought. She eyed me over and blushed slightly, while I could only imagine what thoughts were occupying her mind.

I made my way over to the grill, starting it up, while Mencal shut herself in my bedroom to get changed. I was just pulling the beans out of the microwave when Mencal opened the door. She didn't look half bad. The borrowed top clinged to her damp skin, highlighting her curves and her denims rode low on her hips. She walked over while I was giving her the eye and sniffed appreciatively. 'That smells nice!' She said smiling, and turned to find me looking away from her with a strained expression. She frowned. 'What's wrong?' I looked pointedly down at her shirt then back up and away again. Her shirt was wet through and her breasts were perfectly outlined. She looked down and promptly crossed her arms over her chest, cheeks flaming. I coughed awkwardly and started to dish out the beans onto two jacket potatoes that had been cooking in the oven.

After we had eaten, we sat on my sofa in comfortable silence. I sighed and leaned back, watching as Mencal stretched then did the same. 'Caleb?' I felt a warm rush over me as my name slipped from her lips.

'Yes, Mencal?'

She frowned. 'For some reason, I don't like you calling me that.'

'I have no other name for you.'

'You're being awfully polite.'

'Would you rather me be awfully rude?'

'No.'

'Well then.'

'I wanted to ask you something...'

'Ask away, Mencal.'

'How long?'

It was my turn to frown. 'How long what?'

'How long did you spend in that hellhole?'

'Ah. So you did notice.'

She snorted. 'I've seen enough vampire bites to know what one looks like.' She paused. 'Do you... aagh. Never mind.'

'No, what were you going to say?'

'Umm...you know what? It doesn't actually matter...'

'Tell me.' Mencal flinched then glared at me.

'Don't tell me what to do.'

'Fine. Will you please tell me?'

She sighed. 'My name.'

'What?'

'I was going to ask if...you still wanted to know my name. But it honestly doesn't matter now-'

'No, wait. Tell me, Mencal. I still really want to know. Please?'

'Will you tell me how you ended up getting bitten by a vampire?'

'...Yes.'

'Fine then. Don't tell anyone, or I will hunt you down and kill you in your sleep. And I'll enjoy it.'

'Ok...'

'My name...Oh god! Okay deep breaths...in...out...in...out...' She sighed again. 'My name is Darleinaska.' There was a pause.

'Holy Shit.' I said, astounded. That was the name of-

*

Darley

He knew. I could tell. "Oh God, what have you done?!" I thought desperately. "Why did you tell him, you idiot! -No-one shall know, and no-one shall ever know- Why couldn't I keep my damn promise?" He stared at me, completely unblinking. 'Darleinaska?' I shivered at the sound of my name. 'Yes?' He blinked.

'You're not...by any chance...The Darleinaska, are you?' I swallowed hard. He knew.

'Depends on who you mean by "The".'

'Umm... The last full Were-cat?' And with that sentence, my temper sky-rocketed. How dare they!

'Is that what they call us now?' I raged, jumping up and striding around Caleb's apartment. 'Full Were-cats? This is so typical of Weres! Making even other species conform to their standards. We are not, and never have been Were. I never want to be. I am not the "last full Were-cat" because there never was such thing as a "full Were-cat"! I am Felis Nigorakxe.

The prime Cat; descendant of the Goddesses. And I am the Last Felis, The Alpha Princess Darleinaska.' I halted, suddenly realising something. 'Oh no,' I groaned. 'That's how they keep finding me! That's how Damien keeps finding me...' I held my head in my hands and stared down at the floor, abruptly lost in thought. However, my portion of nostalgia time was rather rudely interrupted by a growl emanating from Caleb. I arched an eyebrow. 'Caleb? Are you alright?' He stopped growling, but his face remained stony.

'Who is this Damien?' He rumbled.

'A very pissed off vampire prince, and my ex-captor. Why?' I was confused. Why did he care? His face relaxed.

'I just...don't really like the idea of you knowing another male by first name.'

I was shocked. 'Why the fuck do you care?'

'Does it really matter?'

'Hell Yes!'

'Well... as far as I know... I mean, I could be wrong, but-'

'Spit it out, dammit.'

'I think that you're my mate!' He snapped, and then froze in alarm. My eyes went wide.

'Your...mate?! But...that's not... Shit! For fuck's sake...'

'I know. I'm not even supposed to have a mate, never mind a fucking princess...' I flinched. I hadn't been addressed as a princess for a long time. Then the rest of his statement sunk in.

'What do you mean you're not supposed to have a mate?'

He groaned. 'I-It's to do with my time with a vampire colony...do you really want to know?'

'Yes!'

'Ok then. I'll tell you. Just... don't judge me' I was slightly excited. He took a deep breath and began to talk.

*

I was in my home when I got the news."No way." I thought. "They're not going to send me to live with blood-suckers for 3 fucking years!" But sure enough, 2 months later I was travelling to a vampire colony, to be an ambassador for a new alliance between my Pack and the Infernus Colony.

The Infernus Vampires were notorious for their change. The entire colony had stopped draining their victims. But even then I didn't trust Vampires. I didn't want to work there, not even as a peace keeper. But I had no choice, Alpha's orders must be obeyed. When I got there, it wasn't that bad. The Vampires were...welcoming. Not hostile or even withdrawn, they were happy. I realised that these Vampires were free now. And I began to feel free with them. I made friends; a female Vampire was particularly interested in me, but even if I liked a few Vamps as friends, it doesn't mean I wanted to get... involved with one. I told her so, and she shut down. She became withdrawn and depressed, so I thought. Turned out she was just plotting. That was nearly a year in.

A while later, she came up to me, said she was sorry, and asked if we could still be friends. 'I don't see why not!' I said. So we continued to see each other, strictly superficial, but I don't think it was ever enough for her. No matter how happy she seemed. After about 18 months I was... content. I missed my pack, but I had to take reports to my Alpha every four or five months, so I got to see my fiends and their mates sometimes. And living with Vampires wasn't awful. Yet.

The vampire that had asked my out, everyone called her Mona, but her full name was Desdemona. It literally means "from the Devil". I wish I'd have known that then. Maybe, it would have warned me, warned me to stay away from that bitch. One day, she invited me for dinner at her place. We were still superficial, but about as close as two "superficial" friends could get. So I went, and they attacked. They beat me up and tied me to the floor. They fed off me for days on end, I didn't know what time or day it was, or when they were going to stop. Mona was insane; she tried to get me to love her for what she was doing to me. I never did, and that's why she got so mad. That's how I've got the marks on my neck. I was there for two months.

When they found me, I was a wreck. It turned out that one of the newly-turned Vamps in Infernus was also rather enamoured with me, and when she hadn't seen me for a month, she contacted my pack to see if I'd gone back. Between them it took a little over three weeks to find where I was. Mona got decapitated and set alight, her two partner-in-crimes got defanged. They died around seven months later. I had therapy for a year, and then I joined the police. My alpha's never made me do anything to do with vampires again.

*

Darley

I was shocked. How could the man in front of me, a normal werewolf, go through all that and still remain so...intact? He still looked, sounded and acted normal. Or, as normal as a Were can get. "Not like me". I thought. "My experience with Vamps messed me up big time."

I stared. He stared back. After a while, he began to look uncomfortable, fidgety. I was still sitting, staring off into space, thinking about what I'd just heard and if it was similar enough to my own past to keep him from bolting if I told it to him.

'Say something...' I heard quietly. I shook my head slightly, and focused back on Caleb.

'Sorry?' I said. He gave a short, hoarse laugh, and I jumped slightly.

'It's fine. I'm almost over it now. But apparently, I was so severely scarred, mentally, that it would be impossible for me to have a mate.'

'Until, you met me.'

'Yes.'

'Because, you believe I'm your mate.' "I wonder if he's only annoying half the time?" I thought.

'...Yes.'

'Are there anymore jacket potatoes left?'

'What?!' He nearly chocked at the sudden conversation change.

'I can't help it if I'm still hungry, Aesop.'

'Aesop? Oh right, the storyteller...'

'Yeah. So, potatoes?'

'Yeah, right, there should be. Hang on, I'll just grab them for you.'

'Thanks.'

'Wow, was that a thank you?' His annoyingness had just returned full-throttle.

'Yes, it was. So shut up and get my food.' I turned away huffily. 'And step on it!' I added, mimicking his voice perfectly. He jumped as he was pulling the tray from the oven.

'How do you do that?' He asked, setting it on the counter.

'Do what? This?' I asked innocently, this time mimicking the current Prime Minister's voice. He roared with laughter at that, and I could help but notice his dimples, and the way his eyes lit up as he laughed. "Fuck that sounds cliché." I thought.

'Ha ha! David Cameron! God, that was a good one.' He set the plate down in front of me. 'Do another, and I'll see if I can guess.'

'Ok then. How about... this? "Hey, what's up doc?" ' It was a perfect Bugs Bunny.

'Ah, my favourite wappit. Okay, another!' And we continued playing this new found game, progressing onto animals when we had run out a famous people. I could help but admire his quick-thinking and wit on some of my impressions. His laugh was deep and rich, and it was worth making a total fool out of myself just to hear it. At quarter-to-seven, I looked at the clock, suddenly realising how late it was. We had arrived at his apartment at half-past ten.

'Mon Dieu! Nous avons été ici pendant environ sept heures! Merde, j'ai vraiment besoin de rentrer à la maison, j'ai ... choses à faire, et ... J'ai juste besoin de rentrer à la maison!'

'Calm down, Darleinaska! You can sleep here, and in the morning, I will take you home. I promise!'

'Right, désolé. Thank you for your offer, but I really should get going...'

'It's winter, Darleinaska. The skies were dark two hours ago, and I refuse to go out now. I'm sorry, but I really don't want you getting mugged... or worse.'

'That's good, because I hate the cold.' He laughed again, loud and rich. 'Désolé encore, but with my past, I find it very hard to trust people, especially men or police officers. And since you're both...'

'It's ok. When I was in therapy, I could hardly talk to a girl, and I never made eye contact. It was like being sixteen again.'

I laughed loudly, for the first time in ages, and I could see how pleased he was at my reaction. 'Thank you for gracing me with your laugh, Darleinaska. You are most gracious.'

'Don't push it, Caleb. And please, no more of the "Darleinaska", it makes me feel old. Just call me Darley.'

'Very well, Darley.' I suddenly felt an unbidden rush of tingling pleasure at my name coming from his lips. "God, he made it sound like a hidden promise! How can a name sound that erotic?!" I thought, my mind suddenly being battered with images of him calling my name as I took him in my mouth... "God, Darley! Obtenir une poignée de vous-même! Tu agis comme un adolescent putain excitée!"

'Darley? Hello?' God, I hadn't even realised that he was talking to me!

'Désolé! I... zoned out for a second there. Yes, I'll stay.'

'Yes!' My eyebrow arched.

'But...'

He groaned. 'Why must there always be a "but"? Why must there always be one to ruin a perfectly good sentence?'

I laughed. 'Hey, it's only a small, yet still extremely important, "but". And it is this, I do tend to have nightmares, but do not, for the life of you try to wake me from one. I

Hopefully, I won't have one tonight, but the Fates aren't usually that kind to me, so be prepared.'

'Ok. Fair enough.'

'And one more thing... Please can I sleep on the sofa?'

'Do you really want to? I mean, you can have the bed, I'm not saying join me or anything-' My mind flooded with pictures of us entangled together. '-But I'll sleep on the sofa, if you want!'

'No, no, I definetly want the sofa. Besides, I'ts probably more comfortable than what I sleep on at the moment!'

'And what's that?'

'A large, rather old cat bed.'

'Oh. I can guarantee it's more comfy that that.' I laughed again. It was going to be an interesting night.