To Love a Were Ch. 11

NB: So finally, the story has come to an end! Once again, I thank my readers who have kept through with the characters; given me comments and suggestions. I really really appreciate it.

Also to my editors: angin_berhembus and wildheartedangel, thank you for the great job in editing most of this series. However, in my excitement to post this chapter, I have done the editing myself so any mistakes are mine alone.

I will be writing a sequel to this story if you're interested, so keep checking!

xoxoxo

-ArtForm-

***

The sun was setting; delicate golden rays streaking across the rust- coloured sky. Fiona watched as darkness engulfed the great white star, a second at a time until it was completely dark. Even though there was nothing to see, she stood in front of the window for awhile longer, lost in her own thoughts.

Draven was in the kitchen again with their guests. Although she had lived in the pack for almost a year now, Fiona still found it amazing how often they needed to eat and yet stay so lean and svelte.

"Fiona..."

She almost knocked her head against the window in an attempt to turn around as fast as she could. The low tenor voice startled her and instantly alerted her instincts to fight. Furthermore, her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness and it was as good as being blind.

"Who's there?" she asked. It made her sweat to discover that she couldn't use her abilities without actually seeing the human or Vampire's form. Panic rushed over her as she realized that she had to rely on pure Vampire instincts and Fiona had no clue how to do so. There had been no need to hunt for prey and thus no need to hone her skills in heat and scent detection. Even then, whoever was calling her name had neither scent nor heat radiating from his body.

Fiona considered screaming. That would definitely retrieve help but something inside her kicked with the need to defend herself instead of always running away to Eian.

"Right. Let's do this," she whispered to herself, feeling her talons elongate to knife-like points. She also breathed in deeply to calm herself, feeling the fear wash away and her focus piqued. As soon as she did that, she found her eyes adjusting to the darkness at a faster rate until eventually she could see as clearly as it was day.

"Grandfather?" Fiona relaxed at the sight of the Ancient Pureblood smiling at her. It seemed that he had been leaning against the far wall in the room, observing her for some time.

"Very good, my dear," he commented. "Although I must say that the time it takes you to adjust could have cost you your life." He moved closer towards her and saw her talons retracting. "Don't let your guard down yet! I could be a shape-shifter and at this distance, even a Vampire at ease could get attacked."

Fiona frowned at his words. Why was he talking to her as if they were going for war?

"I'm not going to attack you Grandfather and you know that," she said, tilting her face up to look at him. She watched his lips curl into a smile before he took a few steps back.

"Ah... but I want you to," he said in a stoic voice. He sounded neither pleased nor fearful when he said it... but emotionless. Fiona wasn't sure what to do but her guard was up. She watched as his talons elongate and knew then that he wasn't joking.

"Grandfather?" Her voice wavered for a second. "Are... are you going to attack me?"

"Yes," was all he said before she felt herself thrown on the ground a few metres away from where she was standing before. Fiona growled in pain and was about to attack back when she noticed that he had disappeared; no where to be found.

Then she heard a faint sound of movement but was too slow to react and found herself flung against the wall on the opposite side of the room before landing on her butt. Now she was getting angry. Her furor was intensified by her inability to see him for he was moving too fast. She wanted to scream a command but she knew instinctively that her powers would be ineffective because her brain registers an empty room, not a threat.

"Not a threat..." She acknowledged the fact that he wasn't even attacking her but simply pushing her around. Very slowly, she calmed down; steadying her breath and tried to focus her mind on every single movement, sound and change of temperature in the room. This time, she sensed him moving towards her and although she couldn't see him, she deliberately crashed into his path, causing both of them to fly off in opposite directions.

"Oww..." Fiona massaged the back of her head for it had crashed into another wall, creating a crater in it.

"Here." She saw his hand offering her assistance to get up. Finally! She could see him. How the hell does an old Vampire move with such speed?

"You're really fast," she said, accepting his hand. "But I caught you in the end."

Aramis let out a soft laugh. "Yes, somewhat... and what did you learn from this exercise?"

Fiona raised her eyebrows in surprise. "This was a learning exercise?"

"I heard from Draven about this morning's lesson. I thought I'd give you a hand."

"That was quite a lesson I must say."

"So what did you learn?"

Fiona thought for a moment before answering. "My powers don't work when I don't see my target. And you, my target, move at such blinding speed. It's rather annoying actually."

Aramis let out a loud laugh; his handsome face breaking into lines of laughter, most prominent around his eyes. When he finally sobered down, he looked at her and felt his love for her growing in his heart. She was no longer the fearful child that came into his custody but was now a beautiful grown woman with an exceedingly strong ability, befitting of her Vampire status.

He smiled at her and took her hand in his, "Respect," he said, patting her hand gently. "That is the second key to control."

He watched as her face contorted into a look of bewilderment.

"The only reason why your abilities couldn't work was because you were too focused on finding my weakness. However, the moment you acknowledged my strength, it gave you some sort of control...and that; my child is the essence of respect in the battlefield. You have to respect your opponents' strength and weaknesses and work them both to your advantage. If you focus too much on their weakness then you have no control over their strengths."

Fiona stared, open mouthed at her grandfather. "Wow... I... I never saw it that way before. I only saw myself as being stronger than everyone else... and though I'm ashamed to say it, I did use my powers to do whatever I want. That's... not control at all isn't it?"

Aramis nodded and smiled at his granddaughter. So she has learnt her lesson after all.

"So... are you ready to go at it again?"

She nodded. "Bring it on."

***

The next morning, Fiona wandered back into the drawing room where she had her lesson with Aramis the previous night. In the daylight, she could see with more certainty the damage she and her grandfather had inflicted on the walls and furniture. She stifled a laugh as she examined the room with her eyes, trying to recall exactly how each dent on the wall was created. Then she spotted Draven, sitting on an armchair near the fireplace.

"It's not funny," he said in a voice that told her he was fighting between sounding severe and amused.

"I didn't create the damage alone," she tried to protest and ended up laughing. "Grandfather made some serious holes on the walls too."

She watched as his lips curved up involuntarily. Taking a seat opposite him, she leaned back and relaxed into the soft cushion of the armchair.

"You're doing really well," he said in a way of compliment. "It took me almost half a century to fully perfect my powers. And as you know mine isn't really offence-type ability so it doesn't take long to control."

Fiona raised her eyebrows and looked at him in amusement. "Not an offence-type? It is highly offensive don't you think? To have your mind peered into like that... that's just like a peeping Tom."

His warm laugh filled the room. "Peeping Tom? I don't think so. It's a great burden actually. Imagine hearing everyone's thoughts at the same time. It can drive one insane."

Fiona thought about what he said for a moment. "How'd you get over that?"

"I did what you instinctively did too," he replied, keeping his gaze on her face. "I tried to isolate myself from everyone. But in my case, I wasn't really a danger to them."

"That must have been hard for you."

"I suppose it was, initially. And honestly my dear, isolation is not the real method of control. It just makes you trapped and alone in your own nightmare."

Fiona didn't say anything. She knew what he meant. Hadn't she looked at herself in the mirror so many times and seen the nightmares in them? But she could never rival the haunted look in Alaron's eyes. Wasn't he isolating himself too when they first met? They were probably like two kindred souls seeking solace in each other's presence due to their own personal loss. Fiona looked across her at her uncle's face.

"Draven?" She knew he was looking at her, pretending he wasn't reading her thoughts. His guilty face proved her point.

"Alright... I'll take you to him."

Fiona smiled and moved towards him to plant a kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you outside in ten minutes!" she said as she dashed away towards her room.

When she got to her room, Fiona saw that Eian was still asleep. Even after she got out of the bathroom and changed into new clothes, he still hadn't stirred. She couldn't help smiling to herself. Even in a state of sleep, he was undeniable handsome; his face partly covered by the long sexy strands of his black hair. Fiona kept her eyes on him as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror. Did the man really descend from wolves or from the gods? Or maybe wolf-gods, she mused.

She clipped her hair back neatly before tiptoeing to the side of the bed. A warm curl of lust tugged inside her but she pushed it away. That would have to wait.

Gently pushing his hair away from his face, she pressed a soft kiss on his lips, rousing him awake. She watched as his eyes fluttered open slowly and felt his lazy smile against her lips.

"Are we having a good morning sex?" he asked dreamily, his hands wandering under her blouse. "Why are you wearing a bra?" he murmured and was about to unclasp the hook when she pulled away and slapped his hands.

"Later," she chided. "I'm going out for awhile. I just came to kiss you goodbye."

His eyes widened into alertness. He looked at her for a moment as though he was about to protest but bit his tongue instead. "I'll take you up on your promise for later then," he said instead. Reaching out to touch her hand, he held it firmly. "Just be careful... and be safe. I want you to come home to me."

"I will," she whispered, giving him one last kiss before leaving the room.

***

"Are you sure he will be here?" asked Fiona as they stepped out of Draven's car. She looked up at the laboratory and frowned.

"He is and he's working himself to death."

Through the corner of her eyes, Fiona saw him giving out a sigh.

"That doesn't mean I don't care for him you know. I do. Now come," he said, holding on to her wrist as he walked faster towards the electronic door.

True enough, they found him sprawled on the floor of the lab. He wasn't unconscious or asleep but merely resting. His eyes flicked up towards their faces when they entered the room but he didn't make an attempt to move.

"Al! What are you doing? Get up!" Fiona knelt and tried to turn him on his back.

"I'm resting..." he replied grumpily. "What are the two of you doing here anyway?"

"Such ingratitude. I should have just let you kill yourself," said Draven in an icy voice. He didn't seem as concerned as Fiona that Alaron was on the floor. She saw that he was showing more interest in the computers and lab equipments for he had wandered far away towards them.

"Get up," ordered Fiona. She wasn't really going to stoop down to using her powers on him just to get him to sit. Instead she brought her wrist to her mouth and felt her sharp canines puncture the skin, drawing blood. The scent of her blood caught Alaron's attention and he sat up, much to her pleasure. "Here, drink," she said, thrusting her hand in front of his face. Alaron didn't need to be offered twice for he immediately sank his fangs into the radial and ulnar arteries on her wrist.

True enough, he had worked himself to the point of exhaustion and hunger, she thought. Clearly Draven had thought so too for he was shaking his head in a resigned manner at the sight in front of him. To distract himself, he took a look at what Alaron was working on the computer. Fiona vaguely heard him murmuring something to himself, punctured with gasps every few minutes.

"What's that?" she asked. Draven turned his head to answer her but Alaron beat him to it.

"It's an analysis of my blood sample," he said, licking at the wound on her hand to heal it. "Thank you."

Fiona snapped her head to look at him. Did he just thank her? He never thanked anybody!

"Did you just... say thank you?" she asked in an uncertain tone. Alaron got up and rolled his eyes at her.

"That Werewolf bite has made me into a kind, loving and feeling living creature," he replied with a spat. "Come here. Let me show you."

Fiona was about to protest when Draven silenced her with a steely gaze.

He was bitten? When? By Eian?

Draven shook his head at the question in her mind. Fiona frowned before letting out a gasp.

Amber?!

Draven nodded then pointed to the computer screen. Alaron was showing them the analysis of his blood.

"Remember I told you the other day if you took the drug you'd be able to catalyze the wolf venom?"

Fiona nodded but also gave him a look to remind him of how annoyed she was that he lied to her about the side-effects. Alaron simply grinned before continuing.

"I did not experience any increased sexual desire by the way," he said catching Fiona's annoyed look. "And I think the reason is this." He pointed to a pair of protein chains on his DNA and earned an excited gasp from Draven. Fiona however, simply looked blank.

"No increase in sexual desire!" repeated Draven with his eyes sparkling in delight.

"Uh... what?" asked Fiona, clearly bewildered.

"Oh, sorry my dear," said Draven, apologizingly. "I think... what Alaron is trying to say is that we may have made it possible for you to mate with the Werewolf."

Alaron cleared his throat. "Excuse me...Idiscovered this so it isIwho made it possible for her to mate with that...do... I meananimal."

Fiona was so overwhelmed with shock that she didn't notice that Alaron almost insulted Eian.

"Where, let me see!"

"Here..." said Draven, pointing at the screen. "Let me bring up the original DNA strand and let you see the comparison."

Fiona couldn't believe it. Alaron's new DNA showed that he had two extra protein chains that were not present before.

"But... what does this mean? Is... is he a Werewolf?" she asked, turning to Alaron. "Can you shift or something?"

"No way in hell am I shifting or whatever. I am not a dog!"

Fiona ignored him and looked at Draven instead. Her uncle merely shrug. "I don't know my dear but I don't think so. It just looks to me as though the body is now compatible with a Were."

"But why doesn't he experience a need to have sex? That's so unfair! That side effect almost drove me insane!"

"Ah... Alaron my brother, why don't you explain to Fiona yourself?" said Draven. He could hardly contain his laughter. Alaron was glaring at him, baring his fangs in retaliation.

"Al?"

Alaron retracted his fangs at the sound of Fiona's voice and meekly turned to her.

"That stupid female bitch's bite acts in the same way as a mating bite. Urgh!" he said, covering his face with his palms. "I am contaminated by a fucking dog!"

Draven rolled his eyes and looked at Fiona. "He's just exaggerating. But to be sure, I would need blood sample from a real Were to confirm what this protein chain is actually responsible for." He lifted a hand and ruffled her hair a little. "But, I don't want you getting bitten unnecessarily, understand?"

Fiona understood what he meant. Although she was excited, she knew that she mustn't get ahead of herself.

"Did uh... Amber bite you while you were... uh... I mean..." Fiona was finding it hard to say the word 'sex' in front of the two men. It was one thing to discuss sex with women but another to discuss with the two men who were considered father and uncle to her.

However, Alaron caught her drift and she saw the colour drain from his face.

"No way in fucking hell." He threw himself on the floor and sprawled over it again. "I'm doomed."

Draven shook his head at the sight of his brother's overdramatic display. "I wouldn't really know what a wolf's bite mean but it could be a very powerful sexual act that negates the side effects. I suppose that would mean you need to eat the pill after you get bitten, not before in order for you to have this DNA change."

"But I thought it was supposed to be a blood pill?" asked Fiona.

"Yes it was but the genius on the floor decided to fortify it without consulting me. An idiotic, unethical move but brilliant nevertheless. I guess that would mean I have to spend more time here to help separate the compound he created. He's not really learned enough to do it on his own. Plus he might end up screwing things badly."

A warm smile crept up Fiona's face. She knelt down and then sprawled herself on the floor beside Alaron. When she turned to face him, she saw that he was grinning at her.

"Do I earn redemption points now?" he asked. Fiona narrowed her eyes at him then gave a laugh.

"Okay... that leaves you at a score of minus nine hundred and ninety-nine. That's one point up from minus a thousand."

"You're a meanie but I still love you."

Fiona laughed so hard that she was clutching her stomach. "I love you too, you jerk."

Draven was shaking his head as he looked down at his brother and his niece. "Okay, come on children. It's time to go home."

***

The moment they reached Draven's home, Fiona ran out of the car to find Eian. She was excited to tell him what she had learnt that morning. However, it took her awhile to scent him out for he wasn't anywhere in the house; not in the room or in the kitchen.

She followed his scent and found him in the basement dueling with her grandfather. Those two were serious medieval to the core, she mused. She saw them lowering their swords when they sensed her presence.

"Fighting?" she asked, leaning against the rail of the staircase to watch them. Eian casually wiped his sweaty forehead and grinned at her.

"Old men don't fight," he said.

"Oh please! I'm notthatold!" Aramis said in mock protest. "So, what can we do for you my child?"

Fiona pursed her lips and considered whether she should wait for them to finish their practice. As it turned out, she couldn't contain her excitement any longer. "I'm terribly sorry grandfather... but I must borrow His Highness for a minute... or maybe an hour..." She saw Aramis's raised eyebrow but did not wait to hear his reply. She had grabbed Eian and was out of the basement in a heartbeat.

"What's this all about sweetheart," said Eian, trying to steady his breath as he found himself thrown on her bed. "When you said 'later', surely you didn't mean the moment you reach home did you?"

"Oh Eian! I have the most wonderful news!" she exclaimed and jumped onto the bed beside him. Eian listened intently as she rattled on to him about the incident in the lab earlier. For a moment, his inner wolf bleated happily against his chest at the news but his human mind reined it in knowing that it was still unsafe to bite their mate.