First Death Pt. 03

She drove fast. I stared out the window, barely able to see the landscape as it flashed by. I recognized none of it, but it didn't matter. My mind was stuck on Mom. I had just met her and now she was gone. I didn't know why it hit me so hard, she had abandoned me but part of me wondered if maybe she had every intention of meeting me at the bar that night to explain everything. That is what hurt the most.

"Whatever happens, don't make any stupid moves and keep your mouth shut," Lily said. We had pulled off of the road and down a wide private drive; the scenery looked vaguely familiar and reminded me of the national park that was a few hours from where I grew up. She stopped of a short metal gate and turned off the car before getting out. I followed suit, trailing behind her.

Out of the darkness on the other side of the gate a man appeared, "Can I help you with something?" His voice was deep, friendly enough but not very inviting.

"I'd like to speak to your Alpha," Lily said, before stopping about five feet from the gate.

The man looked at her quizzically; he sniffed the air as if smelling us. When he caught a whiff, surprise hit his face. He immediately drew a gun, trained on Lily.

"Holy shit," I yelled, raising my hands, taking a few steps back, "he's got a gun!"

She glanced at me sideways before slowly lifting her hands. She smiled almost gently, "I mean you no harm, I just want to speak to your Alpha."

I froze when I felt something hard touch the back of my head; I glanced around and saw we were surrounded by at least a dozen men who appeared out of nowhere, guns drawn and all trained on Lily. Someone kicked the back of my knees and I went crashing down, barely able to throw my hands out before I landed on my face, my stomach pressed into the gravel.

I watched the man behind Lily kick the back of her knees but she gracefully drifted down. He didn't even miss a beat before he shoved her forward onto her stomach. He sat on her ass and grabbed her hands, pulling them behind her back before he locked on a pair of huge, thick, metal shackles. She was facing me and there was just enough light that I could see her looking around. The man leaned forward, pushing her curly hair away from her face.

"What do we have here? Such a pretty one, you are," his voice was deep and thick, "I've never felt a vampire cunt before; maybe we should have a little fun before I end you."

The light was dim but I saw her dark red eyes melt into a deep purple none the less, they almost glowed in the darkness as she spoke, "Mmm I've had a pup or two in my day, though it has always been disappointing, your kind never last long enough, you see? Like a dog with a bone. Why don't you take these cuffs off so we can go somewhere more private?" Her voice was sweet like honey; it even made me shudder.

Entranced, the man reached for his pocket, pulling out a ring of keys. As he fumbled with them, a thick, burly man punched him right across the face, knocking him out cold and onto the ground, before growling to another, "Gag her."

Lily looked mildly disappointed before someone covered her mouth with duck tape. I watched, helpless as they shackled her feet, before the burly man picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. My own hands and feet were zip tied together and I was carried the same way.

It was hard to make out where we were going; all I could focus on was the group of men circling as we walked, guns still drawn and pointed at Lily. We walked into the glow of a yellow floodlight, through a thick steel door and down some concrete stairs into a dim hall. I didn't see much, until we went into a room and I was roughly thrown into a steel chair. Lily was tossed into the one next to me, but they took care to chain her shackles to its frame.

I glanced around frantically; it looked like an interrogation room. The harsh florescent lighting did no favors to the concrete walls, floor and ceiling. There was a thick, shiny steel door and a large mirror that I figured was two way glass to my right, Lily to my left. Aside from a small steel table in front of us, two chairs on the other side and a flat screen TV mounted into the wall, the room was bare.

It wasn't long before the door opened again; an older man walked in and sat down in front of us. The burly man from earlier stood in the corner of the room, his gun drawn but clasped in front of him in a resting position.

I looked at the older man; his face was tan and weathered, salt and pepper hair pulled into a braid down his back. He looked like he was Indian. He stared at Lily.

"The only reason why you aren't dead yet is because your reputation precedes you. We have many who go to college in town and I've heard surprising accounts of how you keep the streets clean. However, I didn't think you were stupid enough to trespass on my land."

Lily raised a brow and tilted her head. When the man nodded, the guard came over and ripped the duct tape off of her face.

She pursed her lips for a moment before speaking, "I slightly take offense to that, Alpha. I simply want a moment of your time, some assistance if you will. I promise I won't hurt anyone and I'll promptly leave when we are done."

He laughs, sincerely, "Oh you're not leaving, at least not until the sun rises and you crumble into a pile of ash. I'm not quite sure why you think I'd be dumb enough to provide you with anything—no wolf would."

A small smile crossed her lips, "If a wolf vouched for me, would you reconsider?"

This time, the guard joins in the laughter too.

She continues, "You've heard of the Alpha of the Outlanders, I take it?"

The old man crosses his arms over his chest, smug, amused smile on his old lips, "The Rogue who can command the stray mercenaries? Sure, I've even met him before."

"Why don't you give him a call," she said pleasantly. When they start laughing again, she adds, "that is, if you have his number? I can give it to you if you like."

He closed his eyes, trying to get a hold of himself and waved a hand at the mirror. A few moments later, a guard walked in with a laptop. The old man stood up, walked to me and growled, "Move."

I quickly got up and almost fell trying to hop out of his way as he sat in my chair next to Lily; he opened the lap top. He looked at the burly guard and as if they carried on a conversation without speaking, the old man nodde; he turned on the laptop and opened a video call before mirroring it on the TV for everyone to see.

It rang several times before someone answered; I watched his large, muscled body lean back in a leather chair, his dark, wavy brown hair had a hint of red in it which was emphasized by his almost red, closely cropped beard. His brown eyes skeptically scanned the screen before him, only able to see the old man sitting in the bleak room. He picked up a short glass and swirled its contents, no doubt full of whiskey as the half empty bottle was visible on the side of his desk.

"Aye?" His voice was deep and masculine.

"Alpha Rogue, I apologize for the unexpected call. I don't know if you remember me, I am Alpha John Maikoh, we met at a conference last year?"

"I recall," the Rogue said flatly, his Irish accent clear, "what do you want?"

John smiled somewhat, "It is a funny thing, I'm sure you will agree. My men have captured an intruder on our pack lands; she claims you will vouch for her." John grinned as he rotated the laptop, framing Lily on the TV screen. She looked smugly irritated, her skin ghastly white in the harsh lighting but her bright red eyes still seemed vicious and her fangs were clear against her plush lips.

The Rogue set his glass down and leaned forward, "Lil? What the fuck are you doing?" He was clearly shocked.

"Hello, love. I'm just having a play date with some pups," she smirked at the surprised faces of our captors.

He leaned back, draining his glass before continuing, "You said you were going out for some whiskey."

She looked a little sheepish, "Oh, well, it seems you have already gotten yourself a bottle."

He set the empty glass down, "Lily, that was nine years ago. There have been many bottles since then." Her expression faded to nothing but a stoic face and she looked away; the man continued, "And now you expect me to vouch for you? You know better than to trespass on a pack's lands." He was clearly angry, though he suppressed it well, "Alpha."

John shifted the laptop, appearing on screen next to Lily; he was still visibly shaken.

The Rogue continued as he poured himself another glass, "She's no threat to you."

John looked surprised, "And how do you know that?"

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Irritation grated in his voice as he sipped more whiskey, "If she was there to kill you, you would have never seen her coming and your entire compound would have been burning to the ground ten minutes ago. Instead, she made herself known and allowed herself to be subdued. The very fact that she hasn't broken out of whatever pathetic attempts at restraints you put her in means she wants your help, so I suggest you cooperate. If, and I mean, this is a big if, you manage to hurt her and live, I'll fly over there and kill you myself." He knocked back the remaining whiskey.

Lily offered him a coy smile, "Thank you darling," her voice was kind and soft.

He grunted and stared at her for several moments before shaking his head and leaning forward. His picture blanked out from the screen as he ended the call.

John sat there in utter disbelief, not moving for a while. Finally, he reached up and closed the window of the video call, his blank desktop mirrored on the TV, "What do you want?"

Lily glanced at him sideways; she wiggled in her chair a little, flexing her arms outwards. I heard a snap when her binds broke. All of us jumped in surprise; she tentatively raised her hands, palms forward as if saying she wasn't going to try anything. She reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone; she flicked her fingers over the screen, sending two pictures to the TV. I looked up, a little shook as I saw the obviously dead faces of a dingy, pink haired punk girl and a large bald man.

"Are these wolves yours?"

John immediately shook his head, "No, I have never seen them before."

"Do you suppose you could look them up and tell me if they're local?"

He leaned back in his chair, "It will take maybe an hour. Where did you leave their bodies? I don't want to run the risk of the humans getting a hold of them."

"Oh, well I suppose they're at the county coroner's office now," she said, shrugging.

"Shit," John replied before he looked up at the guard, "Thomas, figure out how to get those bodies out."

Lily smiled, trying to be friendly but her fangs gave her an almost demonic face. She reached in her back pocked and fished out a card, holding it out to the guard, "Give Detective Moreno a call. Give him this card and he'll lose the paperwork on them. Ask for Jerry at the morgue and tell him I sent you—he won't give you any problems. Just bodies."

Thomas stepped forward and took the card, looking at it before looking at John, then back to her.

"You have a Detective in your pocket? How the fuck did you manage that? We've been trying to get someone on the inside for years," John grumbled, clearly irritated.

Lily turned to him, brow raised, "I...give good head?" A soft smirk crossed her lips.

"I doubt that," Thomas replied; when everyone looked at him, his lips pulled away from his white teeth and he bit at the air a few times, "You have too many teeth."

A genuine smile appeared on Lily's face, followed by a soft chuckle, "Detective Moreno is a firm believer in the justice system but he knows things slip through the cracks from time to time. I clean up the leftovers and he is more than happy to take the credit."

John shook his head as he got up, grabbing the lap top, "Give me an hour." The door slammed shut behind him.

Thomas put the card in his pocket and holstered his weapon; he pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and grabbed Lily's wrist, unlocking the broken shackle cuff, "I am not sure how you managed to break these. They're silver plated iron and have the enchantment spells engraved on them." He tossed a cuff on the table, working on the other one.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, the silver hurts like a bitch but the enchantment spells don't work on me. Sure, a first gen might struggle to get out of them, but second and on down the line aren't strong enough to overpower it."

Dropping the other cuff, he looked at her, "So you're one of Death's Vampires?"

She tilted her head, watching him as he crouched down to unbuckle her feet, "I'm surprised you would know anything about Death, isn't that sacrilegious for wolves?"

"Yes, but the blind faith is dying out with the elders," he said, unlocking the other foot, "I've met many vampires but none of them compare; how many of you are there?"

He was clearly feeling her out; when he stood up, she answered plainly none the less, "Not as many as you'd think; a hundred and fifty? Maybe less? You're more likely to run into a fifth gen or someone even further down the line."

He eyed her, sizing her up. He pulled a pair of clippers out of his pocket, walking to me to cut me free, "What you did to our Beta—I've never seen that before. He's still wound up. He's mated, you know; you're lucky she is out working or she'd probably be in here trying to kill you."

"Slap some silver cuffs on him and lock him up. It will wear off in a few hours." When he continued to stare at her, she offered an explanation, "There are only a few of Death's vampire that can do that, you don't have to worry. The skill has been bred out, so to speak."

He clipped the zip ties around my ankles before rising; Thomas looked at me, as if finally realizing I was there, "Why would you bring a human along with you?"

"To protect him," she replied plainly, "those two wolves were after him."

Thomas nodded, opening the door, "Right. Well, if you need something, knock. I'll be outside."

She watched him go; she stretched her neck for a moment before crossing her legs.

I slumped down into the chair, "They had guns. They had guns pointed at us and now everything is fine because some guy vouched for you?" My voice started to raise, "And you killed those two people who were after me in the park? You lied to me—I half believed it too—what the fuck is going on?" There was a frantic undertone to it.

Slowly, she turned and looked at me, "Honestly, Matthew, it's probably better if you don't know."

"Bullshit," I snapped, "I lost my brother, someone tried to kill me, you kidnapped me, I've had a gun drawn on me and taken prisoner, you'd better start fucking explaining." My face felt hot with anger.

She stared at me blankly for a long time. Finally she stood up and walked to the window, only to sit down below it, her back pressed against the wall. As she tapped on her phone she tilted her head towards the floor next to her, indicating for me to sit beside her.

I came over and sat down, watching her pull up a program on her phone; when it started, she set it on the ground, "This is to scramble any receivers nearby, in case the wolves are trying to listen in, and" she pointed up, "we're down here so they can't read our lips. Now, what do you want to know?"

"Why do you keep calling them wolves?"

She blinked several times, "Because they are. I suppose you know them as werewolves, though the term is archaic and outdated."

"Werewolves," I repeated, "you expect me to believe that?"

"No, Matthew, I don't expect you to believe anything. No offense, but humans are pretty quick to dismiss what doesn't fit perfectly in their nine to five lives." I wasn't sure how to take her jab, so I remained quiet. She drew in a breath and sighed, "All right, I'll try to start from the beginning," she sat still as she considered how much information to tell me. She opened up her hands, palms up; raising her left, she began, "On one hand, you have Good. Good wants peace, justice, tranquility, morality, whatever else," she raised her left hand, "Then you have Evil. Evil feeds off of misery, destruction, fear. These two have been in constant opposition since before life started. When they stumbled upon Earth, they both wanted to claim it as their own and that was the beginning of the struggle for our planet. They each try to sway souls towards their cause, each wanting a victory but neither getting it. When there is too much Good in the world, it causes an imbalance," she raised her left hand, then followed by dropping it and raising her right, "same as if there is too much Evil. Death, however, is a neutral entity. He simply wants the two to compromise and share. His function is to balance out the scale of our planet; if there is too much Evil, he adds more Good; too much Good, and he adds Evil.

Now, I have learned a lot over the span of several lifetimes, but keep in mind that I don't know everything. I do know that shifters were Death's first attempt at balancing out the scales. He cut a deal with primitive man, offering them a second chance at life as a shifter. Back then, at least to my knowledge, there were all kinds—birds of prey, sea beasts, large cats, wolves...these humans were given the ability to change their shape into a specific animal, to aid in their promise of keeping the balance. Death, as ancient and omnipotent as he is, fucked things up though. By using men to help him, he was unable to counteract their freewill. Shifters did as they pleased and it wasn't long before humans grew afraid and started hunting them, killing them off. Many chose to hide in their animal form, living out their lives, breeding and passing on their genes until eventually the knowledge of changing into a human was lost; wolves, however, were the most cunning of the lot and figured out a balance of living as men but hidden, keeping their shifting secrets from public eye. That is why they're the only shifters left.

Now cats, on the other hand, are still as sentient as humans; they never lost their smarts even though they lost the ability to be anything other than a furry, shedding mess. Death struck a deal with them hundreds of years ago and as a result they work for him; they're his eyes and ears, his way of communicating across the entire world, though only with each other and other creatures of Death."

I remembered how Teddy was unnerved when the cat meowed earlier, "Your cat?"

She laughed slightly, "Jinx? One cannot own a cat. One simply provides a cat with housing and food; they still do as they wish."

"So if the wolves work for Death too, why is it that Thomas was surprised to have met you?"

"The wolves no longer work for Death—not for centuries. Like I said, he fucked up; by allowing living, breathing creatures to obtain abilities and freewill, he over looked the fact that they could reproduce. The first generation of shifters worked for death, but these wolves are born descendants of them. With each successive generation, truth was forgotten, folklore replaced it and just like humans so often do, their mythology was altered to give them peace of mind, to make them feel special and meaningful; no longer were they just pawns in a cosmic power struggle, they became ordained by their goddess of the moon. They worship different celestial bodies now, each looking over a different aspect of their existence. It's hard to blame them, really; they live out a single life, perhaps a little longer than humans, but they are born, learn, and die. When you have such a short time to make the most of, it's easier to believe that there is something greater out there, watching over you," she smiles almost bitterly, "knowing the truth, though, is a harder pill to swallow."

I thought on it a bit; I was still struggling to actually believe what she was saying, but I felt like I was discovering a piece of history that was lost and it appealed to me greatly, "So what, exactly, is true about werewolves? I mean, do they change under the full moon, if they bite you do you become one? Obviously," I motioned to the table, "silver affects them."