The Vampire and the Goth Ch. 20

I wasn't sure where I was when I woke up, but I felt warm and safe and I knew that Elizabeth was there. I soon realized that I was lying on Father Clem's couch and Elizabeth was on top of me, brushing her lips against my neck and chest.

"Hey sleepy!" she said, looking at me with soft eyes. "Did you miss me?"

I kissed her deeply, and although her mouth tasted as she'd freshly brushed her teeth, there was still a faint taste of Scotch, enough that I had to wonder how much she'd been drinking while I was away. I decided I didn't care because she was still Elizabeth. I buried my hands in her hair as she leaned into me, and I could feel her soft breasts against my chest.

"I missed you so much," I said.

I heard Angus laugh from across the room. He and David were sitting across the room, sharing an armchair.

"Hello, young lovers!" Angus said, in his thick Scottish accent, as he nibbled on David's neck.

Elizabeth tried to sit up, but I squeezed her waist and held her to me. She smiled and said, "We should get up," and I said, "Not yet," as I kissed her forehead.

Elizabeth laughed and said, "Okay, we'll do it your way," and she winked at me.

I sighed deeply. "When did you guys get here?"

"A few hours ago. You missed Honoria, William, and Skye. They're going up to where DJ said he left Janek and your sister, to try to pick up their scents." David said.

I nodded as David continued, "Alex told me when they'd arrived, and I ran upstairs." Then he kissed Angus again.

"Where's Alex? Is he watching Carlos?" I asked.

David smiled. "Yes, he's on babysitting duty. It's not quite sunset, so the kids will be down for another hour or so."

Elizabeth gave me a questioning look. "New vampires need a lot of sleep," I said. "We need less sleep the older we get."

"Okay that makes sense," she said. "Marcia and Dmitri went back to the den with Dmitri's mate. Her name is Helen, I think?"

"Yeah, her name is Helen."

David said, "Laura is in the kitchen with Father Clem."

"Laura's here too?" I asked.

Elizabeth smiled. "She wanted to come as soon as she heard Dmitri's mate is human."

"She's already been a big help, too," Angus said.

"I knew she would be. She's got that 'big sister' thing down cold," I said, and Elizabeth laughed.

Elizabeth's sister, Laura, was mated to a werewolf, so I wasn't surprised to hear that Laura wanted to meet Dmitri's human mate. I was sure that Laura would be eager to help her learn about and understand werewolves.

"It makes sense that she wanted to come," I said. "But why didn't she go back to the den with the others?"

Elizabeth turned around on my lap and looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, then she said, "We're going to wait here for you and Skye to come back with your sister." Then she kissed me again.

David said, "Once she's back, Jadwiga can reconnect with Carlos and they can go straight to Mateo's house while he finishes his transition to becoming a vampire."

"And you and I can be together, uninterrupted," Angus said, leering at David.

"Looks like someone figured out my evil plan," David laughed as he kissed Angus.

Laura and Patrick came into the living room and she handed me a cup of coffee.

"You take it black, right?" she said with a smile.

I smiled back at her. "I do. Thank you."

Elizabeth pulled me into a sitting position so Laura could sit on the couch while Patrick took a seat in the other chair.

Laura said, "What I don't understand is why Carlos can't come back to the den with us.

I squeezed Elizabeth's waist. "Vampires don't get along with werewolves very well."

"You seem to do okay. And David and Angus seem happy," Laura said.

Angus barked out a laugh.

David shot Angus a dirty look, and said, "We're the exception that proves the rule."

"So, what's the rule?"

"Werewolves are obnoxious brats that make everything all about them. OOOF!" David said as Angus elbowed him. We all laughed.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're complaining about. Werewolves are awesome."

Patrick smiled at her. "We are awesome, aren't we?"

I ignored Patrick's comment, and said, "David is overstating the problem, but spending time with werewolves can be exhausting, especially for newly sired vampires. And when vampires are tired, they have much less control over themselves and, well... accidents can happen." I turned to Elizabeth, and said, "Once you become a vampire, we won't be able to spend much time at the den. At least, not for a few years."

"Well, that sucks," Elizabeth muttered in a frustrated tone.

Laura said, "I don't see what the big deal is. If you never start drinking werewolf blood, you won't get a taste for it. So what's the problem?"

I arched my eyebrows. "It's not just their blood that's a problem. New vampires are extremely vulnerable to strong emotions. They have to learn emotional control because when a vampire loses control, things go bad. Werewolves are emotional people who wear their hearts on their sleeves, so for newly sired vampires, being around them is hard."

Suddenly, understanding lit up Laura's face. "And the more werewolves a new vampire is around at one time..."

"The bigger the potential for disaster. That's why we're not letting Carlos go back to the pack," David said.

I nodded. "For a vampire, spending time with a pack is like drinking from a hormone firehose. No offense, Patrick."

Patrick laughed. "No offense taken. Wolves aren't shy about their feelings, and I know that's uncomfortable for most vampires. It must have been difficult for you when you lived with the pack in Denmark."

"It was, but they were good about leaving me alone when I needed it. I think they were kind of scared of me. To them, I probably seemed like a grumpy old man," I smiled.

Angus laughed. "That's exactly how Dima described you!"

Elizabeth was still frowning, and Laura said, "No one is going to keep us apart, Bitsy. At least not for very long. If you can't go up to the den, then we'll come to you. Skye and I will be over a lot, and I'm sure you'll see Angus when David comes over."

"Being around one or two werewolves shouldn't be too difficult, especially if they're older and in a stable relationship, right?" Patrick said.

I nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm thinking. Mated pairs are much easier to take."

Elizabeth sighed deeply and smiled sadly at Laura. "Okay. As long as I can still see you often, it won't be so bad."

A message notification came over for both Patrick and Angus on their cell phones.

Patrick looked at his phone screen. "That's Honoria. It looks like they've got something, and they want us to meet them in the main parking lot for the caverns."

David and Angus stood up. "That's our signal. Are you ready to go, gentlemen?"

"Patrick, are you coming with us?" I asked.

"Sure. I have to go to make sure Angus, David, and Skye are okay," Patrick said. "And Laura's car, of course."

"Laura's car?" I asked.

"We're taking Laura's station wagon," Patrick said. "It's got a lot of room AND it's got a sunroof!" He winked at David, who groaned, "Oh my god, no."

"What, are you afraid you'll sparkle or something?" Patrick asked.

Angus rolled his eyes. "We're not going to open the sunroof, David."

I ignored David and said to Patrick, "You don't have to come with us."

Patrick nodded, with a half-smile. "I know I don't have to go, but I should be there. Janek killed one of our young and he threatened two of my pack. And anyway, this trip seems like a good road trip!"

David scoffed. "You just want to be there to kick some vampire ass."

Patrick chuckled. "Guilty as charged!"

As we walked to the door, Laura held her keys out. Then, before she handed them to Patrick, she narrowed her eyes and said, "You are going to be careful with my car, right?"

Patrick laughed. "Yes, ma'am. I'll bring it back without a scratch on it."

"No dents or blood either," Laura said.

Patrick winked at her. "I'll treat it very gently. No scratches, no dents, and no blood."

"Run it through a car wash if it gets dirty. Please."

Patrick rolled his eyes. "Should I get the oil changed too? Maybe have the tires rotated?"

"Only if you have time," she deadpanned.

We all chuckled at that.

When we stepped outside, David slipped on his sunglasses and Elizabeth held my hand. She pulled me to her once we reached the car. She hugged me tightly as she buried her face in my chest and said, "I wish I could go with you." Then, she looked up at me with unshed tears in her eyes. I sighed deeply and said, "I don't want to be away from you, but if you came with us, I'd be too worried about you to think about anything else."

Elizabeth looked up and gave me a weak, half-smile. "Skye said the same thing to Laura, and I know she's right. I don't have to like it though."

I put my hand in her hair, leaned down, and kissed her. „Kocham cię po angielsku, Elżbietą."

Elizabeth smiled up at me. „Kocham cię po polsku, Stanislav."

"What does that mean?" Laura whispered to David.

"He said, 'I love you in English,' and she said, 'I love you in Polish,'. It's some kind of romantic joke between those two," David said.

We ignored them, as I kissed her again and said, "Your pronunciation has gotten better."

Angus chuckled. "Ach! Straight people are so cute when they're in love!"

David scoffed. "I don't like it when the breeders try to impose their lifestyle on us normal people. Hey, perverts, we don't want to see that kind of thing!" David said, with a pretend scowl.

"Yeah, keep it in the bedroom, normies," Patrick said with a laugh.

Laura rolled her eyes. "God, Patrick, you're such a dork."

"Yeah, well, in a couple of weeks, I'll be your alpha. Enjoy mocking me while you still can," he laughed, as he got in the car.

As we pulled out, Father Clem joined Elizabeth and Laura to watch us drive away. I sighed again, as the distance grew between us.

"She's safer there, Stosh. Alex and Mateo won't let anything happen to her," David said.

"I know."

We drove on in silence for a few miles, then Angus said, "We should do something nice for Father Clem. He's been pure barry through all of this."

Although Patrick was driving, he turned his head for a moment and looked at Angus strangely.

David laughed and said, "He doesnae kin whit ye said, Angus!" Then, he said, "He said that Father Clem has been wonderful through all of this."

Patrick smiled and nodded. "Thanks, David." Then he announced, "I'm going to put Father Clem under pack protection. I want to do the same for you and Elizabeth, Stosh. You'll be friends of the pack, you can come and go as you please, and you can call on us for help if you need it."

I was stunned by Patrick's announcement. "Wow. That's just... wow..."

I could see Patrick smile in the rearview mirror. "You've been a great friend to us. Pure barry, I think," he said, smiling at Angus, who nodded in agreement. "And, in a way, you brought our pack a doctor, so we owe you one."

David winked at me and stage-whispered, "You're a credit to your race!"

I shook my head and scoffed. "That's not what he's saying, David."

Patrick spoke up, "That's exactly what I'm saying. You're the first, and so far the only, vampire I've ever heard of who treats us as equals. That's a big fucking deal, Stosh."

I sat for a moment, at a loss for words. "Thank you, Patrick. This means a lot to me, and I know it will mean a lot to Elizabeth, too."

It was dark when we arrived at the Higley Caverns. The park was closed, but the gate had been left open and unsecured. As we pulled into the main parking lot, Skye, in wolf form, stepped out of the woods. She shifted back to human while we parked the car and got out.

"What's going on?" Patrick asked.

"We caught their scent on a deer trail just off the main path, about five miles down. We think they stayed in an old trapper's cabin near a creek, but we haven't explored it yet."

"Why not?" Angus asked.

"Well, it was getting dark, and we figured we should probably get some backup, in case we needed it."

"Good call," Patrick said, as he and Angus began to disrobe.

"So is that where we're going first?" David asked.

"There's a clearing about two miles, downwind from the cabin. We'll meet William and Honoria there."

Patrick nodded. "Sounds good. Once we get there, we can evaluate the situation and come up with a plan."

After Patrick and Angus disrobed, Patrick gave me Laura's car keys to put in my pocket. They shifted into their wolves along with Skye, who began to lead us down a dirt trail. There were interpretive signs and a trash can, but otherwise, the area was wilderness.

"I wore the wrong shoes for this," David complained. Angus' wolf chuffed.

"We're in their element now, David. The wolves know what they're doing better than us, so let's just let them..."

The wolves stopped suddenly and scented the air. Their hackles raised and their ears shifted, as Skye began to growl. She looked at the other wolves, whined softly, and then trotted further down the trail. Angus and Patrick turned to look at us. We caught a strong whiff of wolf's blood on the breeze.

"Uh-oh," said David.

Patrick stepped delicately off the trail and stood still for a moment, as Angus trotted on, another 100 feet or so. Then he looked back at us, and chuffed.

"You follow Patrick, and I'll follow Angus, okay?" David said. Patrick and Angus both wagged their tails, and I nodded.

I followed Patrick through the woods, amazed at how quietly he moved, despite the thick undergrowth. Then, we heard barking and Patrick broke into a flat-out run, weaving through the trees so quickly I struggled to keep up with him.

We arrived at the clearing at nearly the same time that Angus and David did. William, in his wolf form, was licking Honoria, who had shifted back to her human form. There was a dead vampire a few feet away, and Honoria sat up, leaning against a tree, with a severe wound on her leg. David leaped toward Honoria and opened his wrist to put against her mouth. Patrick and William immediately shifted back to human as Honoria drank David's blood while Angus remained in wolf form and began to scout the area.

"What happened?" Patrick asked.

William had a black eye and a fat lip, as well as abrasions on his face and arms. His breathing was labored and shaky. "There are vampires in the woods, more than just Janek and Stosh's sister. We were ambushed."

"You fought them," Patrick said.

William nodded. "I did. Skye chased one vampire off and I stayed with Honoria, but it should have been the other way around," he said, his voice cracking as tears began to fall. Patrick clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Don't second guess yourself too much. You did right by your grandma."

William laughed. "She'll kick your ass for calling her grandma!"

Honoria drank from David's wrist, but she still smiled at William. David ran his other hand over her hair, soothing her.

"You're a tough one. Don't take any of their shit," he said.

"Did you see anyone else?" I asked.

"No-"

William stopped as we heard someone running toward us. Angus began to growl as Skye, in her wolf form, ran into the clearing with a vampire hot on her trail. William and Patrick immediately shifted back to their wolves.

"Come here, you rotten mutt!" the vampire shouted, bursting through the trees. Angus jumped on his back, knocking the wind out of him as Patrick ripped out his throat. My claws shot out and I snapped his head off. Skye shifted back to human. "Good work, guys," she said, sounding out of breath.

As we checked ourselves to make sure we didn't have any cuts or scrapes, Honoria gently pushed David's hand away from her mouth. "Thank you, kind sir."

"Anytime, dear lady," he said, with a gentle look on his face.

Patrick asked, "What's the situation?"

Skye said, "I chased off the vampire who was fighting William, but I smelled at least one more still in the woods."

David walked over and looked at the faces of the dead vampires.

"I know these fucks. They're from here."

"Are they part of Alex's coven?" I asked.

David tossed the head of the vampire we'd just killed at my feet. "That one was. The other, I've just seen around. They're kids, barely a few decades old," he said. "Hopefully, the others will be younglings, too."

The older a vampire is, the stronger they are. Older vampires can recover from injury faster and we're less susceptible to irritants like sunlight and silver, but most vampires don't get to be old - it's rare to meet one that's lived for much longer than a century.

"Is it possible your brother has been recruiting vampires for his bullshit war at the same time he's been provoking wolves?" Patrick asked.

We knew that Janek had been trying to reignite a war between vampires and werewolves to cover up Brother Humble's religious scamming. It made perfect sense that he would try to rope some vampires in with him.

I shrugged. "There's no telling. I wouldn't put anything past that miserable prick."

David sighed. "God fucking damn it. We're not ready for a war tonight. Let's focus on getting your sister back, Stosh, and killing Janek. Then we can worry about the damage he's done to vampire and werewolf relations."

Patrick nodded in agreement. "Right. How far are we from the cabin that Janek had her in?"

"It's maybe a couple of miles down this trail. Her scent is still fresh, so if he's moved her, it wasn't long ago," William said.

"Well, that cabin is our best clue. Let's go there first and see what we're dealing with," Patrick said.

Honoria tried to stand up and immediately sat down again.

"Guys, I don't think Honoria's ready to move yet," Skye said, crouching down and carefully examining her leg.

Honoria said through gritted teeth, "I'll be fine,"

"Yeah, you'll be fine once you've recovered, but you're not there yet," David responded.

Patrick chewed on his lip for a moment. "Honoria, stay here until you feel better. David, do you need blood?"

David shook his head. "I'm feeling a little dizzy, but I'll be okay, once I've recovered a little."

"Okay. Stay here with Honoria. The rest of us are going to fan out and head to the cabin. Fifty yards, gentlemen, I want to stay close but not on top of each other. Once we get to the cabin, we'll surround it and find out what we can."

"What about me, Alpha?" Skye asked.

"We don't know what we're up against. I'd like you to stay here, in case we have any more wounded."

Skye nodded. "Okay."

"If anyone needs help, give a bark or a howl. Or a shout," Patrick said, before shifting back to his wolf.

We carefully picked our way through the undergrowth and the trees. Everyone else was in wolf form, but I was at a distinct disadvantage because of my height. I seemed to get smacked in the face by branches and limbs with every step. Because of this, I moved slower than the others, and I was able to see Patrick transform back into a human just as a vampire managed to snag a silver chain around his neck and pulled him into the trees. I moved as quickly as I could and caught up to him.

"It's funny. You guys are so big and scary, but all it takes is a little bit of silver to bring you to your knees. Don't you think that's funny, dog?" the vampire said.

Patrick made a strangling noise as the vampire tightened the chain. He kicked weakly and writhed a little, but he wasn't able to move very much or talk at all. The chain seemed small, but it cut deeply into his skin.

The vampire grinned down at him. "Well, okay, maybe you don't think it's funny. But I think it's hilarious!"

The vampire bent over and stuck his finger in the raw wound around Patrick's neck.

"Mmm... it's true, werewolf blood is really fucking tasty!"