Chapter one Thug Smackin and Covert Ops

Chapter 1

Thug Smackin' and Covert Ops

    The alarm shrilled at me to start the day, my heavy eyelids barely cracked a peek at the ominous glow of red overlord numbers amid the half lit room. I threw a groggy arm in the direction of the malicious noise, smashing the snooze button with more force than necessary. Countless other snooze-button smashes had rendered the accessory to malfunctioning at best so the shrill continued to assault my sensitive werewolf hearing. I finally picked up the ill mannered machine, ripped it from the wall, and hurled it across the room. The machine made a crashing smash against the wall, and I turned over in bed. Now it was my subconsciousness's turn to prod me from my linen haven. Damn, can't go back to sleep now. Stupid college, does furthering my education and bettering my life have to start so damn early in the morning?

    I rolled over again and squinted at the sun, its yellow arms reaching through the curtains, pulling me from my bed as well. Maybe it wasn't as early as I thought. Still, when you spend the wee morning hours carousing the local forest, any AM hour is too early to rise. Des didn't help either, for when we got back to the bedroom we did a little more than carousing.

    Vaguely I remember her getting up this morning, only awoke long enough to feel her moving the bed as she rose , bent over and kissed me, said something my tired ears couldn't make out and headed off to her early morning class.

    Snailing my way out of the sheets, my sight finally adjusted to the dimly lit bedroom. As I made my slow way into the living room/kitchen area of our cozy house, I saw little note on the counter with Des's thin tiny chicken scratch on it. It read:

    "Xavy,
        Don't forget to go to that 9:00 class on massage therapy, I really want you to know that stuff!! I'll call you after my first class, if I've got the time.

                                                                              I love you baby doll!"

    Oh shit. My gaze darted to the clock above the kitchen sink. 8:45. It took me at least a half hour to get across campus to that class, and the prof closed the door at the start of class, not letting anyone in after it began. There was only one way I was going to make it.

    I dropped to my knees and got on all fours, concentrating on my wolf. I had only Changed about six hours ago so my body groaned in protest, my stomach demanding attention before my body tried anything that strenuous. I ignored its cry and instead thought of missing that class and how disappointed Des would be... Stupid alarm, why hadn't it gone off at 7:30 like I wanted? Only then did I realize that in our night of carousing after the wolf run, I had gone to sleep and completely forgot about setting the alarm, leaving it to go off at 8:45, its normal time. Plenty of time to make it to my 10:00 class. But today...Dammit!

    My anger spurred my Change. Yes! I have a chance! No! The pain! I bit back a scream as my legs started shrinking, the bones feeling as if they were in a wood chipper. My joints popped and cracked, the thick human ankle joints, made for supporting all the weight of walking, shrunk to the thinner, more elegant wolf ankle, made for supporting only half. My feet thinned and elongated, the toes and balls the only part touching the floor now, the arch and heel rising with my ankle. The pain shot up to my hips as they began to shrink rearrange too, my ribs next, growing thinner but longer; my organs all rearranging inside. The end of my spine started to extend forming a tail, the vertebrae materializing in agonizing bubbles of pain. Next my shoulders, compressing and flattening against my body, my shoulder blades coming up above my spine forming hunches. My arms shrunk, the fingers sucking into my palms and then budding out into paws, my nails growing thicker and narrower on one end, forming claws. The skin underneath my hands and feet blackened and hardened into the all terrain pads. Next, my head, always the part that made me never want to Change again.

    My head is the absolute worse, each time I suffer through such a tremendous pressure, it feels like it's about to explode. My nose and mouth elongated into a muzzle, ears grew and pointed, head squashing into the more oval head of a wolf.

    I was now a very bald wolf, head drooped between my shoulders, tail also equally limp. I hadn't gained feeling in that avenue yet, so for now it was just a wet sock hanging off my butt. I was also slightly larger than normal wolves, this being because there is no creating or destroying matter during Change. If I start the Change as a 140 pound male human, I will end up being a 140 pound male wolf. Add the extra poof my fur gives me and I look like a very large wolf, coming up to most human waists.

    Finally as the last of my organs shifted and joints ceased their wrenching and popping, fur sprouted just behind my wet black nose.The wave of fur traveled over my head and down my back and sides, reaching the end of my tail before my stomach, finally traveling down my limbs and covering my paws. I collapsed, the pain having weakened my already weary body. I have been told that the more times you Change, the more natural and pain free it becomes. Des, after ten years of Changing, could do it in a few minutes, with only minor aches and strains. This being only my third werewolf year, I summoned all the strength I had left after all the pain and just to lift my head.

    My gaze again shot to the clock as the second hand ticked, grabbing my wolf brain's attention. Another perk about wolf sight, besides the night vision. While wolf, the sight wasn't much different than human, slightly duller colors, as there were more rods than cones in my retina, more light detection than color now. The only difference was I noticed motion a lot more. The quick jerk of the second hand couldn't have gotten my attention better if it had reached out and slapped me

    Suddenly I realized why the clock was so important, bolting to a stand. Straining the now less dominate human brain, I struggled to recognize clocks and what the numbers meant. While in wolf, human languages and numbers are like looking at a complex math equation. You have to study it before coming to the answer; the understanding doesn't just pop into your head.

    8:53. Damn. I'm gonna have to run full out the whole way. Not that it mattered, wolves are built for endurance and I am no exception, but running about 55 miles an hour got tricky in the woods. I'd have to run the roads and alleys.

    I tromped into the bedroom, snaked my head through the straps of my knapsack, hefting the weight onto my neck. Crap, I nearly forgot clothes! Dropping the sack, very aware of the time, I grabbed a shirt, some jeans, and a pair of shoes and stuffed them into the knapsack as best I could with a muzzle, getting everything salivated and and very wrinkly. Then I donned the knapsack again and bolted for the door. Des and I kept the house very canine friendly, with ways to open doors with just teeth, big spaces between furniture and such. Our tiny three room home was cozy for two feet, but with four it was a bit cramped, so we didn't spend much time indoors in wolf.

    The sliding door had a little rope dangled from both sides, frayed from canine teeth being the only attention it ever got. I pulled open the door and stepped out, cold air sparking me fully awake, the odors of the forest calling my super sensitive sniffer. After closing the door I shot around the house and down the gravel road. I bore right, into the  snow filled grass, traveling next to the main asphalt road headed towards campus. The tall grass jumped out of my way, slapping my eyes and nose for being so rude, and the snow underneath reminded me to keep my claws into the ground, lest I loose my footing on the ice. Above me birds flew up in a wave but I barely noticed at 55 miles an hour. An intersection jumped up from the never ending grass assault, but with it, another car blocking my way. I jumped, vaulted off the hood, ignoring the shouts of the driver and dove into the grass again, the weighty knapsack tugging on my neck. The race continued downtown where I would have to be more cautious. While a large wolf running along the road might raise an eyebrow, in downtown, it seems that large loose canines are sharply frowned upon

* * *
DES

    Stupid breakfasts. Made for the modest woman of the twenty-first century, not one who needed at least three times as much for all the energy she expelled. After over ten years as a werewolf, you'd think I'd learn to bring extra food with me, but when a girl finishes off two double-decker sandwiches and her regular meal, she gets a little more then curious glances. Stupid humans, always got their nose in someone else's den. Bah.

    I picked up my very empty  tray from the outside table for two, still feeling the twinges of hunger, and carried it to the trash bin, its stink overpowering everything around it in a ten foot radius. The strap of my knapsack now heavy with the laptop, books, and extra food, despite the peculiar stares I might receive, was beginning to cut into my shoulders. I searched for a secluded area to unload my treats and wolf them down (pardon the pun), and as I made my way across the human laden courtyard, I caught a small whiff of a familiar scent in the cold breeze. Did I just...? Nah, not in broad daylight. But I've been wrong before. I stopped and inhaled again, taking in the foreign scents of the city. Grease, human stink, salt, concrete, grass clippings, bird droppings, car fumes, Xavior, rotting food, burnt oil...wait, Xavior? In wolf? Oh great.

    Another deep inhalation, this time I was searching for a specific scent. Werewolf smells stick out amongst human ones, like a salty hot dog smell would stick out in an ice cream parlor. You just can't miss it. There is was again, Xavior's scent as familiar as my own, and in wolf. What was he doing? And why was he in wolf? Damn it! I wish I was in wolf to join him, wherever he was, the bonds of this society suddenly very restraining. Then he came, just as I was beginning to hope he had simply been watching me from the forest, as he often did. I liked to have him there, I felt safe and not so alone with his eyes on me, but at the same time it was annoying being followed and watched sometimes. He was pretty good at noticing when he was pushing the latter and would drop off into the forest back to where he was supposed to be at the time. Not today.

    He burst from the forest to the left, running across the field around me, but not toward me. Both relief and annoyance washed over me again. Then I noticed the backpack dangling from his neck and I knew humans would figure out this was no ordinary wolf.

    I braced for the panic, bound to come from the crowd behind me and I spun to see if anyone had noticed the too large, too fast wolf racing across the field. No screams, no trampling, no fear scents knocking at my nose. No one even looked, too busy concerning themselves with their own lives to bother. Typical humans, when their not sticking noses in other's business, they're busy leading self-centered lives, concerned with their own self satisfaction and little else. But a few pointed out to their breakfast mates, gawked and wondered out loud. Damn you Xavior! Why here? Why in wolf? Gah!

    As he tore across the field, his thought-speech came to me, and with his words came the emotions associated with them. He felt distracted and a little embarrassed, but still happy at the sight of me. I suppressed a laugh at the knapsack hanging off his neck. He looked comical.

    <Sorry love, gotta use four legs to make it to class. Why didn't you wake me when you left?>

    At this distance he could hear my low voice barely audible against the background noise of the city to human ears.

    "What the hell are you thinking? These people are staring! I tried to wake you up as I left but you rolled over and went back to sleep again! Now you are running full wolf through the city?!"

    <Better than last time, at least this time I'm all the way wolf.--->

    "Do you want animal control again? Was the bear mace not enough for you??" I struggled to keep my voice down. Sometimes he could be so irresponsible!!

    <Look love,  I said sorry, you know people, they only see what they want to see. I gotta make it to that massage class, didn't want to disappoint you.>

    "I swear when you get to our computer tech class, I will kill you."

    <For the millions right? Uh, I've gotta tell you something...I don't have any millions. Sorry to put a damper on your plans.>

    As mad as I was, Xavior always found a way to charm my humor, making feel a little less hot headed. A little.

    <Don't you trust me?>

    "Of course I do, I just worry about you is all."

    <Starting to get out of range, talk to you in comp-tech. Love ya!>

    "Love you," The thought-speak went for a couple hundred yards, and he was already nearing those last few. At that range he wouldn't hear my barely above whisper love you, especially with the wind rushing in his ears. The humans behind me started talking again, about things other than the wolf with a backpack hanging from his neck. Some were saying something about how they should keep trash out of the forest so animals don't get it caught around their necks. As if a wolf would not know how to get his head out of a few loops of fabric. I hate the simple minded logic of humans.

* * *
XAVIOR

    I chuckled to myself at Des's surprise, and congratulated myself for finding her, not that I veered off course to purposefully give her a shout, but I could have easily avoided that restaurant and still made it to class.

    Des was a lot more cautious about our secret than I was. People only see what they want to see, and they're quick to explain the unexplained to feel more comfortable with their surroundings. I suppose taking comfort in familiarity is better than the unknown void of ignorance. But I digress

    The last trek through the city was a blur of diving down back alleys and avoiding people when they stopped. When I came to the campus, the building that housed my class loomed ahead, staring back at me with a stern glare at my tardiness. I frantically searched for a place to Change to human and change to fully clothed. There was a private bathroom next to the lower parking lot of the brick building that caught my attention. As I strode up to the door I checked my surroundings for any sign of life, my ears swiveling front and side, my nose testing the air for fresh tracks. None, good. I made way to the bathroom door, the smell of cleaning product and human waste punching my nose, and I saw that I had an obstacle. A doorknob. As much as I didn't want to put my mouth over that doorknob, I had too. Wrapping my teeth firmly around it I gave a push with my shoulder.

    "Ahh!" The woman's scream flattened my ears against my skull and instinctively I dropped my head between my shoulders and bared my teeth, a snarl escaping my lips. Suddenly I remembered I was the intruder and checked my aggression. While I didn't make it a habit to play lost puppy with people, this woman didn't deserve to be attacked by a random wolf, and I certainly didn't need the extra attention. I would never hear the end of it from a certain someone who just scolded me for being full wolf in the city.

    I whined the lost puppy whine and gave her the corresponding look.

    "Aww, are you lost little guy?" she cooed, reaching her hand out to me. I'm hardly a "little guy" and I smelled  a faint lick of fear, her eyes backing up my suspicion. Her body language told me she was reserved, a bit on edge even, but not in the fight or flight stage yet.

    "Why have you got that backpack stuck around your neck?" Oh. Yea. I completely forgot about my knapsack. Then I saw my opportunity. I raised a paw to the sack and whimpered, making a show of struggling to get it off. It worked.

    "Oh you poor thing. Here, let me get that off you," she said as she reached for the bag. As she pulled it off my head, patting my forehead and telling me I'm a "good boy", she started to open it so I skirted around behind her. Crouching first I sprang against her rump, her shout of surprise echoing off the concrete walls, and sent her tumbling out the door. I then jumped against the door, slamming it shut. Now down to businesses.

    Again, Changing back isn't like a reverse process of Changing to wolf. Every Change is different and completely random. This time, my arms and legs Changed quickly, next my spine forming to bipedal standards, leaving me able to stand. Next came my head, shrinking back into a human skull, ears flattening and changing shape, my nose the last part to squash back in. My feet and hands formed next as my tail sucked back into my body. The fur change had been more fluid this time, disappearing back under my skin with each human part of my body. Now I  was naked and exhausted from the pain of Change.

    Careful to check out the window to see if anyone was coming, I put my clothes on, and in my hurried wolf thought, I forgot socks and boxers, leaving my feet, and other areas of my body, very uncomfortable. I hate chaffing.

    Gathering my pack I opened the door, bright morning sunshine beating my cheeks up into my eyes, the cold winter morning making me wish I stuffed a sweater into my pack rather than the nearest t-shirt I found. I checked the time on a large clock on the building and immediately kicked myself.

    9:03. Damn! After all my effort I was still late! Not fair! Des is gonna kill me. Unless...I had a plan.

    The classroom I had to get into was a large gym, the prof apparently having us take turns practicing our lesson plan on fellow classmates. Des was seriously the jealous type, so I wouldn't include massaging other women in my recount of the day. Problem was, I really wanted to be in that class, and my chance had come and gone. Now I had two choices: I could  go to my next class early to prevent this from happening again, and simply tell Des I couldn't make it; or I could spice up my life a bit.

* * *
DES

    Sometimes I don't understand why Xavior is so careless with his werewolfry. I was bitten when I was ten, forcing me to hide my secret from my family ever since. Living with your family with such a secret makes you cautious, guarded, reserved. Xavior has only been a werewolf for about three years, and only had to hide it from general society, never humans he lived with. Sometimes he really gets on my nerves. But then again, I love him more than anything for what he did those three years ago.

    I had finished the sandwiches I brought along and was now headed for my next class. As anyone might guess I don't much like crowds of humans. Hell, I plain just don't like humans. So I was headed to my next class through the back alleys and streets. I kind of looked out of place, young white college girl walking through the slums.

    The putrid smell of trash was only second to the smell of sickness, the downtrodden humans here living in the poorest of abodes. The occasional rat skirted out of my way, the only living being not wondering why I was here. Children played in the greasy streets as sirens wailed in the background, oblivious to their surroundings, or used to them. I caught the eye of nearly every guy dressed in street clothes, and nearly every woman with a babe in her arms. The women without were most likely into a different profession, casting warning territorial glances my way from their street corners as well.

    One guy in particular was staring longingly at my body, both making me uncomfortable and furious that he dare intrude on my comfort. His gaze slid up from my legs and lingered at my ass, then continued to my chest. Oh great. Do I even have time for this? I really didn't want to settle the matter so I picked up my pace, not out of fear but my next class was not one I liked to be late too. I mentally slapped myself at my blunder. When the prey runs, the predator must give chase, and sure enough he got up from his porch step and began to follow me. Now I would have to settle the matter.

    My gawker rounded the corner after me, not even trying to hide the fact that he was staring at me, and actively pursuing whatever fantasy banged around in that thick head of his. I probably didn't even want to know. I could let him get away from his haven, following the helpless rich white girl, thinking he had the advantage.

    As I continued down the street, my pursuer twenty feet behind me, I mentally prepared myself for how to handle him, and where to hide the body if I killed him. Human life is valued by me only in the sense that innocence must be protected, and this guy was far from innocent. I slowed, letting him catch up, and prepared to attack him on a spin.
 
    Before he caught up though, two thugs jumped out in front of me, and reflexively, I bared my teeth, crouching slightly as I took a fighting stance. Their knuckles bore red marks and their clothes were ripped and very much covered in the same filth they were surrounded by. They reeked of alcohol and another type of smoke, from another plant than tobacco. The skinnier one smiled at me, his gaze sliding over my body like the previous stalker. So I punched him right in those half rotted teeth of his.

    He stumbled back, clearly surprised at the strength of the 130 pound woman who seemed so helpless, and equally surprised at my audacity. The other thug, not so taken aback, but starting to smell like fear, jumped at me. His overweight body loomed over me, arms outstretched in a tackle. I reached a knee forward and connected with his solar plex, his breath whooshing out and his eyes growing wide with pain and shock. As he crashed to the ground, my original bad guy caught my attention, having picked up a two-by-four somewhere and came at me with it.

    Not smelling any fear on him, apparently having found reassurance with the two-by-four, he swung at me. I caught the plank as easily as if it were just tossed to me, snapped it in half, and hit him square in the temple with one half, not caring if he didn't get up again. His eyes grew wide, unseeing, as his head made a sickening thud against the wall, body crumpling in a heap with his arm at an unnatural angle. With the other half of the board, I turned and swung upward into the bloody teeth of the first guy I hit, his body coming up off the ground as his head flew back onto the pavement again.

    "You guys have made me late for my class, so I don't have time to kill you and hide your bodies. Feel good that you have been so fortunate to escape with your lives." I said as I stepped on the fat guy's solar plex again, heading toward my lesson. They wriggled and groaned, clutching whatever body part had received my attack. I left them there, disgusted with the nature of humans all over again.

    A few minutes later I arrived at the building housing my class, history, bleh. As if humans weren't boring enough, now I have to study their past? Almost unbearable. As I entered the the auditorium, I caught a few stares, most just an answer to the noise of the entering, a few telling me I looked a little flustered from the tussle with the thugs. I took a seat in the back, returning any lingering stares. No one held my gaze.
 
The professor came in and stated his monotonous monologue, too absorbed in his lesson to notice anyone else. I dug in my heels and prepared to be bored to death.

* * *
XAVIOR

    A noise to my right. My keen werewolf hearing wasn't needed to hear small things in the reverberating aluminum walls. Even the faintest of noises caught me attention. Probably a rat or a bug. I continued without further investigation.

    The ventilation system of the building was a maze of silver and ghosts. I reached it by vaulting up to the eight foot roof from the top parking lot. The cover came off easily enough with werewolf strength, however putting it back on would be another matter. Oh well. At least I wasn't crawling through sewage. Don't ask.

    My class was somewhere in the southeast corner. My wolf brain always had a bearing in the poles, not because it was instinct to know compass heading, but If I started the day knowing which way was north, my wolf had a good sense of direction. Taking the proper route through the narrow airways was easy enough. Finding my way into the classroom was gonna be the hard part, my guess being the prof wouldn't look kindly on a student falling from the vents.

    Hot air blew all around me, filling my nose with smells of heat and metal pipes. But when all was quiet, I could smell a masquerade of other things in the building. I came to a T in the shafts and took a sniff. Oils, lotions, and the stink of workout machines flowed  from my left. I headed that way.

    As I came upon the first opening to the class, I peered though, searching for an ideal entry point. People were milling around machines, the prof busy organizing notes and getting things ready. Perfect, now to find a corner to slip into and quietly make my entrance. Through the tight screen I saw three other openings in the large room. One near the back, surrounded by large machines caught my attention and I started to make my way there, careful to not make any noise in the echoing aluminum halls.

    Coming to the opening, I quietly snapped the bolts of the screen and lifted it up into the shaft. Peering through the opening to see if anyone was looking my way first, I dropped silently onto the floor and pretended to just be curious about the machines around me. I could hardly contain my joy at mission accomplished. Yet I had a bad feeling, something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but as the prof began to call for attention and order in her classroom, it became evident this wasn't my class.

    "Uh, professor...?" I stammered, clearly confused and doubtful.

    "Judemsig," she replied, irritated at the interruption, and clearly unafraid to show it.

    "Professor Judemsig, pardon my ignorance, but what class is this?"

    Now very frustrated she snapped "Yoga basics, 101, why?"

    I nearly smacked my self for misjudging which direction to take.

    "Ah crap, I came to the wrong class, I'll be leaving now," I said with a tip of my head as I touched a hand to an imaginary brim. Snickers danced behind me, and the prof, blatantly unimpressed by my show of charisma, shooed me away with all the attention and annoyance of shooing a fly. Charming.

    Once I got out into the hallway, I went back to the lobby and very normally asked the clerk for directions. Boring. She pointed to my left with all the grace of the professor, even though this was her job and I sheepishly knocked on the door to the real massage class and told the TA my story, omitting the ventilation excursion. He glanced at the prof who gladly waved me in and I took a seat amongst the snickers and stares. So much for my stealthy entrance.

* * *
DES

    "You did what?" My voice pierced the quiet hum of the computer-technicians class, staring in disbelief at Xavior who just told me about his ventilation adventure. "I can't believe you could be so careless! What if someone saw you jump up onto the roof?!" I constantly have to remind him that the threat of exposure is very real and very dangerous. Imagine human reaction upon learning that their son or daughter is getting an education along with their local werewolf population. Sometimes I can't help but think he thinks being a werewolf is a game to him. But then I remember all he has sacrificed for me and I remember how much I love him. I was still furious though.

    "Love, I was careful! Gimmi a break I didn't want to miss that class and disappoint you!" While the fact that he did all that on my behalf was very sweet, I wouldn't let him know I thought so, lest I encourage him.

    "You have got to be the most thick-headed, irresponsible---"

    "Ok, I get it, I'll keep my ventilation treks to a minimum. If you want I can also cut down on building vaulting too, though I can't guarantee bar-hopping and hooker carousing will be on the omitted list as well," he said with that carefree smile of his. His charm, while appreciated any other time was just all the more annoying right now.

    "It's not a joke Xavior, you need to be more---"

    "Careful I know, ok mom," after a sigh he said, "I'm sorry love, you're right. I'll be more careful."

    I smiled a forgiving smile at him and leaned back in my computer chair. The sprawl of wires and cables played out among the desks, computer monitors casting light on the students faces as they ran various troubleshoots for their lesson. I really loved technology and so did Xavy, so when we landed this class together, we couldn't believe our luck. Right after this class we had lunch together and Xavior always walked me to a casual restaurant, sharing our meal, sharing our day, and sharing our love. The sun peered through the tiny windows at the far corner, jealous that our light and heat were coming from another source. It did its best to creep into the room, reminding us that it was still very daytime.

    Xavior caught my attention again.

    "So what did you do after you saw me running across the field?"

    "Told everyone that was NOT my fiance and that if they felt up to the task of taking care of another child, they could have him."

    "Oh ha-ha," he had a glimmer of hurt in his eye, but quickly regained his cool composure.

    "Oh I'm just kidding, you're mine and if any other bitch tries to make a move I'm gonna have to find more places to stash bodies," I chuckled, "Some thugs jumped me on Forty-Second street."

    "Ah, I trust you didn't kill anybody?"

    "Might have, It's not my fault if humans pick a fight with me. They want to take the risk that's their death wish."

    "I understand that love, but they don't know what risk they're taking. With all this talk about laying low and not drawing attention to ourselves, it really doesn't do well to go around killing people."

    "I didn't kill anyone so don't worry," he was right but there was no way I'd let him know that.

    "Well ok. Just be cautious. I love you too much to see you locked up."

    "I will, as long as you quit being a ham."

    He laughed "Guess I won't get any caution from you then huh? Speaking of ham, I am making dinner tonight since you have that late class."

    "Ok, looking forward to it," Xavior was an excellent cook, but he was too lazy most of the time to do it. So anytime he offered to cook meant he was planning on something a little more than dinner and a show.

    At the end of class we gathered our belongings and headed for lunch. We enjoyed a wonderful meal at a casual restaurant, reminiscing the details of our adventures and telling good stories of others. I soon had to part ways with my mate and head for the next class.

    ""See you at home," he said with a hug and a deep kiss,"Love you"

    "Love you," I returned, smiling. We headed in opposite directions, bound for another boring class humans thought necessary to be deemed "general education." Useless and a waste of time and effort. Humans. Bah.

* * *
XAVIOR

    The rest of the day went by without incident. The equivalent of a normal werewolf day. The only other problem was when I was heading home.

    I had entered a grocery store to pick up goods for the special dinner I planned for Des. All went well, but on the way out I caught a whiff that froze me in my tracks mid step. Werewolf. Not Des.

    The only other werewolf I knew was Des. Don't get me wrong, I knew there were other werewolves out there, Des often told me stories of the worst ones, I just never met one in person. From what I've heard from Des, they don't seem to be the type to invite to a dinner party anyway, and on top of that, most of them were on the run from the law too.

    My heart started pumping, and I checked the air again, my nostrils flaring, filling with the familiar, yet unfamiliar scents of the city. Nothing out of the ordinary. But I was sure I smelled it, werewolves are very distinct from humans in scent. It's hard to explain, maybe Des could explain better. They are just very different.

    I walked around the grocery store, bending to sniff the ground, playing it as if I were checking my groceries against my receipt to avoid stares. Nothing. Maybe I was mistaken.

    Another scout around revealed nothing so I began home, chalking it up to my overeager brain to see my mate this evening. As I rounded a corner I saw red and blue flashing lights, and the telltale yellow tape keeping the crowds back. I saw police everywhere, coroners, CSI's and even more people who just wanted the first chance to spread some juicy gossip. I decided to be more than a curious onlooker.

Picking up any decipherable smell here was impossible, with all the people milling about, the many automobiles, on top of the regular filth the city was coated in. I found my way around the crowd to the crime scene, slipping into the alley to get a better look. The victim was a woman, early twenties, dressed in regular clothes for a student of campus. She had deep abrasions on her arms and had apparently bled out through them. The blood pooled around her wrists and arms, coagulating against the pavement. Her face was relaxed and eyes closed, as if she received the wounds and was to weak to crawl for help, so had just died there with her head propped up against the curb of the sidewalk.

A cop strode over to me, deciding that I was getting too close to the tape.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to step away sir," he motioned back to the onlookers with only minimal concern.

"What happened to her?" I asked,with all the nonchalance of asking where the bathroom was. Now getting irritated at my insubordination, he laid a hand on his weapon belt.

"Sir, please step away from the tape and return to the street."

"Ok, ok," I said, not dropping my gaze but looking him straight in the eye,"I'm gone."

There were too many people around for me to pick out a killer's scent, and the thought of a loose killer, preying on women, made me want to hold Des and never let go. But I had no choice. Sometimes my inner obligation to help the innocent and avenge the victimized made me wish I had chosen a career in law enforcement, using my werewolf skills to bring in the bad guys. Des would have none of it, not wanting to loose me to some punk with a shotgun who didn't want a traffic ticket. What can I say? I'm whipped, and loving every minute of it

I checked the clock on the building above me and decided to wait for the evening news to fill me in. Murder could wait, right now, I had a dinner date.

* * *
DES

"Did you hear about that poor girl Des?" My classmates voice snapped me out of my daydreams about Xavior's dinner plans.

"Huh?"

"A girl was murdered! Just outside of FarmFresh grocery store."

"Oh?" I said with feigned interest, "Did they catch the guy?"

"No they think an animal bit her forearms and she bled to death, the police have animal control looking."

Animal control? Better tell Xavy to seriously stop with the city Changes. I couldn't care less about what humans did to each other, but when it came to my Xavior, I was a bit overzealous to say the least.

"You better be careful when you go home tonight Des, I can give you a ride if you want, I know you walk to school every day,"  the professor glanced her way and she cut short her offer. I returned a smile and a mouthed no thank you. Thankfully she didn't continue after the professor looked away, Another loose killer wasn't gonna be any more trouble than those pesky thugs. I was more anxious about my evening plans than some psycho with intent and was going to make it home faster than any car anyway.

* * *
XAVIOR

Later on I was at home cooking a meal for Des. I prepared everything to perfection, setting out the plates and dishing out the servings of ham, veggies, and noodles, each plate held enough for three grown men to eat. I patiently waited for my love's arrival as I lounged on the couch and started to doze.

Suddenly my heart began racing, even though I was sitting down and not particularly thinking of anything exciting. My heart throbbed, beating my chest so hard I thought I was going to crack a rib. Immediately I started to feel warm, and I opened a window to compensate, the cool winter night soothing my sweat gleaming face. Why was this happening? My heart continued to thud and instantly I thought of Des. I had images of her racing through my mind, unable to control them, and I felt a presence, like someone right behind me. I spun but no one was there, but it felt as if the person was looking right at me, whatever this presence was. I began to feel an aching in my hip on the right side, like I had slept wrong on it. Now I was really worried.

I tried to call Des's phone but I got her voice mail. I just knew something was wrong. My side ached and I still felt extremely hot, though my heart had calmed a bit. The "presence" had left me, if there even was someone or something here. When I phoned her again and got the voice box, I decided to head out after her. I grabbed a jacket and threw it over my bare chest, and flew out the door, the winter air now fully consuming me, but I felt strangely warm still. I got to the end of the drive and glanced down the road towards campus, the dark country asphalt daring me to travel down it in the dead of this night. I began jogging down the road, still unsure whether or not any of this was necessary. When I saw the first intersection coming up I smelled her, Des was close. I started thinking this was another one of her games she liked to play, ambushing me when I went looking for her late at night. She would shut off her phone so it wouldn't give her away, but tonight I sensed something was not right.

As I came to the intersection I glanced all around, looking for a camouflaged Des, ready to pounce and this whole mess would be over, my fears laid to rest. Then I saw a brownish lump laying on its side in the ditch and my blood froze, my heart skipping a beat.

"Des!" I choked out, nearly paralyzed with worry. I ran to her and knelt to see her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling in quick jerks, her breath coming out of her muzzle in short gasps, making tiny foggy clouds in the cold of night.

        "Des what happened?" I tried to roll her over, but as my hand touched her right hip, she let out a yelp and began whining, looking all around. Her eyes caught mine, a quick flare of recognition, and her brow furrowed as she struggled to form words in thought-speech.

        <It...It was...I got....>

        "Shhh, it's ok love, I'm here, I'm taking you home."

        As I picked her up from the snow, I noticed she was shivering uncontrollably, having spent a good amount of time on the icy ground, and lacking the strength to make her own body heat. I hefted her gingerly, careful of her hip, and held her close to my chest inside my coat, her chilled paws making me gasp as they touched my bare skin. She simply snuggled closer, putting her muzzle in the crook of my neck, cold breath dancing down my back, and and even colder wet nose giving me goosebumps.

        I walked back to the house and she began to come around as I neared the door. As she looked up at me, tears in her eyes, she began to Change back to human. I carried her changing body, no small feat I might add, into the bedroom and laid her down on the bed, covering her with the blankets and crawling in beside her. I saw her bruised side, vivid against her light complexion, and I started to rise to get her some medicine to treat her wounds when she cut me off, rolling over quickly and grabbing my arm.

        "Never let go." Her eyes burnt with an intensity I was glued to the floor, unable to walk away. The urgency in her voice was spine tingling.

        Let go? I was just getting some medicine, I wasn't holding her anyway.

        "Hon? Let go? I'm not...what happened to you? Did you get attacked?" my thoughts went to the killer and I began to feel anger and revenge brewing."Des, you are home now, safe. I'm here and I'm not leaving. I'm going to---"

        Her voice edged higher and her eyes grew wide. "Never let go!"

        "Ok, Des, I won't let go. But your side needs attention, you're probably in shock." Her wide eyes willed me to slide into the bed beside her, hugging her close and not letting go. In her delirious state it was pointless to argue with her.

        "I love you Des," I whispered as she began to fall back asleep. After a while my fears gave way to my own exhaustion, and I drifted off.