The Vampire and the Goth Ch. 14

After listening to Carlos talk about how Janek had beaten my sister so badly, it was hard to care about him being carried off by an angry werewolf. But for some reason, David thought I should give a shit.

"What do you want to do?" David asked.

I drew my hands through my hair.

"What do I want to do? Janek attacked my sister and her boyfriend. 600 years before that, he stood by and watched me get tortured and didn't help me. Instead, he killed my sire for stopping my torture and saving me. So pardon me if I don't feel too worried that he may have been carried off by a rogue werewolf."

David raised an eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"Really. I couldn't give a shit if he dies, just so long as it's slow and painful," I said coldly.

Jadwiga stood up.

"He's my twin," she said angrily. "And he's your brother too."

"No, he's not my brother. Not anymore," I said, with so much emotion I surprised myself.

Jadwiga looked like I'd slapped her. The pain of Janek's betrayal was written across her face, and yet she didn't want to hear any angry words about him. I tried to understand, but I couldn't because he had betrayed me, too.

"You don't understand, Stosh. He's my twin. He's half of my soul. He's -- " then she broke down, sobbing. "He's my twin brother! How could he do that to me, Stosh? How?"

I didn't know what to say to her, I just held her and started to tear up myself.

Everyone was silent for a time, then David spoke up.

"He's the man who betrayed your sacred bond because he thought you'd betrayed him. He didn't give you a chance to speak for yourself. He didn't even ask you what was going on before beating you half to death. The fact that he's your twin makes what he did worse, but it would have been horrible anyway," David said.

Jadwiga looked at him, startled that he'd intruded on our conversation.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jadwiga said angrily.

David smiled gently at her and spoke in a soft tone. "I do know what I'm talking about. I saw what your brother did to you. Stosh and I both had to give you blood because of how he treated you. If you had been human, he would have killed you. So, I'm going to give you my opinion, whether you like it or not. I've earned that right, at least."

We were quiet for a moment, and Carlos looked at Elizabeth. "What's happening? Can you understand what they're saying?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't know. David?"

David smiled. "Jadwiga and Stosh are having a disagreement about their brother. And I'm giving my opinion because I'm a nosey nelly and I don't know when to shut up."

Jadwiga and I both chuckled uncomfortably, and Angus muttered, "That's for damn sure."

Carlos seemed to absorb David's words for a moment. Then he stood up and pulled Jadwiga into a strong embrace. "Baby, I agree with your brother, and with David, I think. If Yanet ever touches you again, I'll kill him myself."

"You're a good man, Carlos," Angus said.

Jadwiga smiled. "His name is JANEK, with a K, and I doubt you could kill a vampire."

Carlos smiled and locked eyes with me. "No, but I think I can get Sta -- no, STOSH, to help me."

I smiled at Carlos. "Absolutely."

"And you got his nickname right!" Elizabeth said.

"Oh. That's a nickname? You mean there's more to your name?" he said, a look of panic crossing his face.

"Oh my, yes," David said. "His full name is Zdzisław Wawryniec Szymanski."

The color left Carlos's face as David gave the least pronounceable name he could come up with. I had to turn my head to keep from laughing, while David continued with a straight face. Carlos sat back down with a thud.

"It's spelled just like it sounds, Z d z I s ł a w W a w r y n i e c S z y m a n s k i."

While he was spelling it out, my eyes caught Jadwiga's and we both collapsed in laughter.

Elizabeth smiled at Carlos. "You know he's fucking with you, right?"

Carlos caught his breath and started to laugh as well.

"Okay, okay, so that's not really your name."

Jadwiga kissed him. "God, you're so cute!"

"No, that's not my name, my full name is Stanislav Szymanski. And our names really aren't that complicated. For instance, Wawryniec is just Polish for 'Lawrence,'" I said, trying to be helpful.

His eyebrows shot up. "Oh shit! You're Polish! All this time I thought you were Russian!"

For some reason, that made all of us laugh even harder.

David had tears coming out of his eyes as he said, "And for the record, Angus is Scottish, not Irish."

"Well I knew that," Carlos said.

Angus, still chuckling, said, "And how did you know that, laddie?"

"Because you sound like Shrek," Carlos said.

Everybody collapsed into gales of laughter again.

After we finished laughing, Angus' face grew serious.

"To be blunt, your brother may be a right bellend, but a rogue werewolf is a danger to everybody, and we need to take action."

I sighed, knowing he was right.

"We should call Alpha Collier, the head of the local pack. He needs to know what's going on in his territory and he may be able to help us." Laura said from the dining room, where she had sat down with the plate Elizabeth made for her.

Angus turned toward Laura. "How well do you know Alpha Collier?"

"I've only met him a couple of times, but I have his phone number. I'm sure that I can arrange a meeting, once I tell him that there may be a rogue werewolf in the area," Laura said.

Angus nodded. "That's a good idea. He may even be able to help us find him."

I looked at Angus. "Us?"

Angus stiffened. "Yeah, us. All of us. You're not going to let David deal with this alone, are you?"

David turned toward Angus with an incredulous look on his face.

"David? You mean me? You expect me to find and stop a rogue werewolf?"

Angus nodded with a smile. "Yes, you."

"Oh, I don't think so, skirt boy."

Angus smiled at David and didn't say anything. David tightened his jaw, closed his fists, and said, "No. What makes you think I'm going to do it?"

I laughed, watching David's internal struggle play out on his face. No one who is mated to a werewolf can refuse their mate once they've set their mind to something -- the connection is just too strong, even for people who aren't werewolves themselves.

Angus continued to smile at David without saying anything. I could see the tension in David's shoulders as his jaws tightened. "I'm not doing shit," he said roughly. Angus's smile never changed and he never said a word. Finally, David's shoulders slumped. "Fuck. Fine. Let's go hunt a rogue. Goddamn it."

I laughed, and David shot me a dirty look. "You know I'm dragging you along for the ride, right?"

I shook my head. "He's my brother. It's kind of my fault he's a vampire in the first place. I've been on this ride since the very beginning."

"How are you feeling, Sis?" Elizabeth asked Laura.

Laura smiled. "I'm feeling much better, especially after Alex gave me some blood. I don't feel like I smoked a pack of old cigarettes anymore. Would you mind if I took a shower after I eat? My hair still smells like smoke."

"No problem. There should be fresh towels in the hall closet," I smiled.

Laura nodded and went back to eating.

"Czy to kobieta, która próbowała śledzić mnie w barze?" Jadwiga said, asking me if Laura was the woman who tried to follow her out of the club before the fire.

"Tak, jest siostrą Elżbieta," David said. Elizabeth frowned when she heard her name. Immediately, I felt bad for her.

"Guys, it's rude to speak Polish in front of people who don't speak the language. Elizabeth, Jadwiga asked if Laura is the woman who tried to follow her out of the club, and David confirmed that she's your sister."

Elizabeth kissed me sweetly on the cheek. "Thank you."

I smiled at her as Jadwiga said, "I don't mean to be rude, but I hope you can understand that sometimes it's just nice to speak with my brother in our native language."

Elizabeth smiled back. "I get it, and I don't mind. In fact, I'm hoping you can help me learn to speak Polish. Maybe Carlos and I can learn together."

Carlos raised his eyebrows. "I suck at languages."

Jadwiga laughed. "Vampires are patient. We'll teach you."

I smiled, and then I had a realization. "Jadwiga and I are native Polish speakers, but David learned Polish as a second language. I'll bet he can help us teach you Polish even faster."

"There you go with the 'us' again," David said, in mock exasperation. "First you expect me to help you find a rogue werewolf, then you expect me to help teach someone Polish. What next?"

"That's pretty much it," I said. "For now."

David rolled his eyes.

Jadwiga smiled. "You're the one who wanted to be involved in our family drama."

David rolled his eyes again as Angus cleared his throat and said, "Speaking of rogue werewolves, we should talk about how we're going to approach the local alpha. Werewolves don't trust vampires, to put it mildly. So, since Carlos and Jadwiga are going to be doing most of the talking, Stosh should be there to act as a buffer."

Jadwiga smiled, and said, "You're a werewolf celebrity, aren't you?"

Angus nodded. "He's the vampire that killed his own to save some of ours, and who lived with a pack for almost 100 years. Everybody's heard of him."

"Actually, it was closer to 50 years," I said, trying to not sound like I was humble bragging.

"It's amazing, no matter how long it was. Every other bloodsucker thinks we're stupid dogs who are nothing but prey. But you stood up for us and you stood with us. That's really remarkable," he said. Then he turned to David. "I'm sorry to use that kind of language."

David laughed. "It's true, though. Most vampires are bigoted against werewolves, including me, or at least I was. Stosh is different, so it's no wonder you guys love him."

Elizabeth put her arm around my neck. "Plus, he's just a lovable guy," she said, as she kissed me on the cheek.

It was late afternoon when Elizabeth reached across the bed for me. The light coming in from the windows was just beginning to darken as she stroked my shoulders gently and moved her hands to run through my chest hair. She rolled me over and began to lightly nibble my jawline and throat, softly waking me up and turning me on at the same time. I didn't open my eyes to look at her, but I'm sure she could see my smile as she climbed on top of me. I could feel her naked breasts pressing up against my chest and she was kissing me in earnest now, trailing her lips from my hairline down my face, kissing my eyelids and cheeks, and brushing against my mouth.

I cupped her face in my hands and held her to me, exploring her lips with my tongue and lightly teasing her mouth open. She began to moan softly and move her hips over my cock, which was now stiff and needed attention. I moved my hands to her head and combed them through her hair as I moved my pelvis to better work my cock inside her. Smiling, she realized what I was doing and sat up while I pulled her off me slightly and positioned myself. I was so hard it was almost painful, and as she sank onto my cock, I felt her velvet pussy open up to me, like a flower blossoming.

Elizabeth anchored her knees on either side of my hips and sat up, arching her back, and began to move onto me with a firm, steady rhythm. I cupped her breasts and tweaked her nipples as I felt her body squeeze and massage my cock.

She smiled down at me. "I want more."

I grabbed Elizabeth's shoulders and flipped her over until I was on top of her. I put my teeth on her throat lightly and I swallowed her blood as I began to thrust in and out of her moist heat.

Elizabeth's hips moved up to meet mine as we shared a throbbing rhythm that made it impossible for me to think of anything but the hot, wet squeeze of Elizabeth's body. My slow, relaxed strokes began to speed up and became more forceful until her body tightened and convulsed around me and I exploded into her. Her moans and cries made everything so much more intense. I remained deep inside of her until my throbbing subsided into light twitches. I rolled over and pulled her onto my chest.

"God how I've missed this, piękna dziewczyna," I said, softly kissing the top of her head as she giggled.

"It's only been two days," she said.

"Two days is too long. What is it Angus says? Oh yeah," I said, putting on a broad Scottish accent. "She's mah mate. Ye cannae expect me tae sleep wi'oot mah mate."

Elizabeth laughed. "I love you, but that was the worst Scottish accent I've ever heard!"

"Well, it's the sentiment that counts," I said, laughing with her.

Laura had gone home and taken David and Angus with her. My apartment felt less crowded even though Carlos and Jadwiga were still there. As we stepped out of my bedroom and into the hall, the apartment was quiet except for the sound of what had to be a Polish lesson.

"Kocham Cię," a male voice said.

"Koh...ham chey yad-Wee-guh," Carlos said.

I smiled. It was nice to hear him trying to learn our language, but the older brother in me wanted to mess with him. Elizabeth seemed to read my mind and she grabbed my hand.

"Don't give him too much crap. He's trying."

I sighed. She had a point. "Okay."

I walked into the living room.

"Kocham cię za duży facet!" I said, with a big smile.

Carlos rolled his eyes at me. "What does that mean?"

I laughed. "It means 'I love you too, big guy!'"

"Please don't mess with me. I'm trying to impress your sister, Yad-wee-guh,"

I had to hand it to the guy. It's hard to learn a language over the internet, but he was trying.

"I can appreciate that. You've got the 'I love you' part pretty close, but the 'w' should sound more like a very soft 'v'. And don't pronounce the 'g' so hard. It should sound like 'yad-VEEH-jha'."

"yahd-VEE-juh," he said, smiling at me.

I nodded. "That's closer. It's going to take time, but you'll get there."

"Your sister's worth the effort," he said.

I put my hands over my heart and fell on the couch in a fake faint. "Boyfriend... too good! Can't handle... the worthiness!"

Carlos and Elizabeth laughed as she pulled me up and handed me some coffee.

"Thanks, babe," I said, kissing her.

She smiled. "You should be thanking Carlos, he's the one who made a fresh pot."

Jadwiga came into the living room, sat on the arm of Carlos' chair, leaned over and kissed him. "Kocham Cię Karol," she said.

Elizabeth looked at me, "Karol?"

"It's Polish for Charles," I said.

"Kocham Cię, Jadwiga," he said, and she smiled in delight, and looked at me, "He is getting so good!"

"He really is," I said out loud, and kissed Elizabeth's cheek while whispering into her ear, "...but you're better." She blushed and smiled at me.

When we arrived at Laura's house, I found that Laura and Angus had really gone out of their way for the Alpha's visit. The grill on the deck was full, there were fresh flowers and plenty of beer. The house was full of the wonderful scents of baking bread and grilled meat.

Elizabeth was impressed. "Wow! This is amazing!"

Laura smiled proudly. "We decided to really turn it out tonight because Angus wants to make a good impression."

Angus said, "I've decided to move here to be with David, so I'll need to join Alpha Collier's pack."

Werewolves are social creatures. Although werewolf packs don't usually share a den anymore, they still live close together and try to spend as much time with each other as they possibly can. The werewolf way of life is almost the exact opposite of how vampires live. The urge to be so close together seems uncomfortable to me, but if it makes them happy, who am I to judge?

"Congratulations!" Elizabeth said with a happy smile and hugged both Angus and David. "But why are you joining this pack? Why isn't David joining your pack?"

Angus said, "David wants to stay in the United States. And werewolves can't live solitary lives. We need to be close to one another, and even if we don't share a den, we still spend a lot of time together socially. So I need to be accepted by the pack, and to be accepted by the pack, I have to be accepted by the alpha. If he accepts me, everyone else will fall in line."

"And apparently, having a vampire for a mate is considered something of a drawback. I can't imagine why," David said sarcastically. "So, bring on the prime rib."

I was confused. "You know that David doesn't really live here here, right? That's why he's been staying in my apartment."

Angus laughed. "Marriage is full of compromises. There isn't a pack near me and werewolves are very social creatures, so if I can't live with a pack I at least have to be able to hunt and socialize with them often."

"Also, Angus isn't the only one who hunts. It turns out that David is something of a manwhore and already went through the male population of his city. He's moving so Angus doesn't have to deal with his conquests!" Laura said, with a wink.

David smiled sheepishly, but Angus laughed.

Elizabeth asked, "Why would that bother Angus? Aren't werewolves kind of promiscuous before they find their mates?"

Angus said, "We are, and I'm not worried about running into one of his old fuck buddies. He's the one who's worried about it, and embarrassed by it."

David sounded almost shy as he said, "I'm a changed man, but I've had a checkered past, and I'm ready to leave it all behind. I could use a fresh start. And why not move closer to my best friend while I'm at it?"

"Are you going to move up to the pack lands? Or to the apartment building they own in town?" Laura asked.

Angus and I started to laugh, and David said, "Oh no. Oh, God no. We're looking at a condo in midtown, near the park."

"Stosh, are they any openings in your building?" Elizabeth asked.

Angus laughed. "We're going to need a little more space for visitors, and I need a place to run, even if I can't run as my wolf very often. We're looking for a place that's right off the park."

David made a loud, exasperated sigh, but I could see the peace in his eyes. It made me happy knowing that he'd found someone that was good for him.

Plus, I felt pretty sure I wouldn't have to help kill this boyfriend.

Angus pricked up his ears. "Alpha Collier just pulled up."

"Well, that's our cue. Bitsy, why don't you and David go downstairs? I've got some chick flicks we can watch. I'm going to act like a hostess for a minute, then I'll be down as soon as I can," she said, smoothing her cardigan as David and Elizabeth stood up to head downstairs.

Jadwiga said, "I get why David's leaving, but why are Elizabeth and Laura going too?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Werewolves kind of freak me out. And Laura just broke up with a member of their pack, so..."

"So I'm not going to make it any harder for Angus than it already is!" Laura smiled.

Laura opened the door and let in Alpha Collier and his Beta, Caleb Parker. Alpha Patrick Collier was a large man. He was nearly 7 feet tall and everything about him seemed designed to intimidate, except his face, which was so soft it was almost feminine. Patrick seemed to have a permanent half-smile, like the Mona Lisa. Other men would have grown a beard or cultivated a scowl, something to make themselves look tough, but it didn't seem to bother Patrick. I guess when a man is that big, he doesn't have to worry about people thinking he's weak.

Caleb Parker, on the other hand, seemed to have a permanent frown. Like most werewolves, he was a large man, not as large as his alpha, but he still had a considerable size. He had piercing blue eyes and blonde hair that didn't seem to suit him at all -- he had the face of a brooding, borderline angry man, but his hair and eyes made him look more cute than scary.

Angus greeted Patrick and Caleb by hugging each man and scenting their necks, a typical werewolf gesture that I was sure would have made David jealous.