To Live and To Love (Black Wolf Agency Book 1) (8 page)

On their way home that evening, they decided to go to Central Park, where they could spend time together under the stars. On the way there, she asked him if later that night, they could replenish the supply of blood for the fridge because it had run out that morning. “Of course,” James said. He hadn’t figured out why she always seemed so shy when asking him about replenishing the blood supply. It was a basic need of hers. He would have to remember to speak with her later about it.

First, they spent an hour just lying under the stars, talking. Then they went running, but this time it wasn’t buildings that were flying by them; it was the stars, the trees, and the lights from the buildings along the edges of the park, a distance away.

They slowed to a walk as they approached a massive oak tree. When they got there, they sat down on the ground beneath it to relax and gazed ahead at the beautiful lake in front of them, the reflection of the moon’s light shimmering on the water’s surface.

“It’s so beautiful here,” she said, smiling as she looked at him.

“Yes, but nothing in this world can compare to your beauty,” he said, kissing her.

“Oh, look what we have here,” said an unfamiliar male voice, startling them. They both set their eyes on the man at the same time. He was dark-haired, tall, and handsome. There was another man with him who looked similar, but was slightly shorter. Kate assumed they were brothers.

“Will you excuse us? We’d like some privacy,” said James politely.

“Such an unlikely couple, don’t you think, Damian?” asked the shorter man.

“Yes, most certainly, Devon,” answered his brother.

“Let’s just go somewhere else, James,” said Kate, not taking her eyes off the two strangers for a second. She knew what they were and why they were there. She had a strong feeling James knew, too.

“Sounds good to me,” said James, taking her hand as they stood up and started to walk away.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Damian, racing over in their direction and blocking their path. His brother followed, standing at his side. “We have unfinished business here.”

“Listen,” said James, a low growl emitting from his throat as he confronted the man. “Neither of us has interfered with your business, so we’re going to leave now, and you are not going to follow us. No further discussion.”

The two men laughed and approached the couple some more.

“Haven’t interfered? Your vampire bitch killed one of us!” snapped Damian. Kate hissed, and James snarled at him.

“He tried to kill her!” James snapped back. “What did you expect her to do? Lie down and let him tear her apart?” James was preparing to have to fight the two hostile strangers.

“That’s not totally true, James, remember?” Kate added. James looked at her as if she was crazy. She gave him a reassuring glance before she continued on with her explanation to the two men. “Your werewolf friend attacked and bit my mate. I’m sorry I killed him, but I had no choice. He attacked a human, therefore, converting him into a werewolf against his will. Your friend violated the werewolf pact. He was the criminal, not I.”

Damian and Devon looked at each other for a moment, contemplating her story.

“Is this true?” Damian asked James. “Was our friend the werewolf who converted you? And did he really do it against your will, like she said?”

“Yes, it’s true,” James, answered with no hesitation. He was still waiting for them to attack. He couldn’t wait to try out his new skills. His only fear was whether Kate got injured or killed in the exchange.

“How do we know you’re not lying?” asked Devon.

“In human form, was your friend an ordinary-looking man dressed in shabby clothing? Did he sort of look like a homeless man?”

“Yeah, that sounds like him,” said Damian, sighing.

“We have no reason to lie about this,” said James, looking at him straight in the eyes. “And if Kate wasn’t the good person that she is, I would have killed her myself by now.”

Kate swallowed hard. What he had just said sent shivers down her spine. She knew he was only saying that to help her, though.

Damian came to the conclusion that perhaps they were telling the truth, after all. “Well, what you’re saying seems accurate. I guess we shall leave you two alone now,” said Damian, but his brother chimed in.

“But she’s a vampire! We’re supposed to eradicate the vampires to protect our kind and the humans!”

“Not once in my entire lifetime have I killed a human, and I never will,” Kate told them truthfully. “Like my mate, I was converted against my will. I wouldn’t have chosen this life if it had been offered to me. And I could never bring myself to kill someone for my own benefit.”

“But how do you survive?” asked Devon.

“I drink donated blood and occasionally animal blood when there is nothing else available,” she answered, half-truthfully this time. She didn’t want to go into detail about how she and James had acquired her last batch of blood or the one they planned to get tonight.

“Amazing,” said Damian, staring at her in wonder. “In my eight-hundred years of life, I have never met a vampire that doesn’t kill humans for food.”

“Me either,” added Devon. “But she could be lying for all we know.”

“Can’t you smell her, Devon?” asked Damian. “She smells different than the other vampires we’ve hunted. Her scent is sweet, not sharp and bitter like theirs. But of course, it’s not enough to stop a werewolf from attacking her if they’re on the hunt. I didn’t know what this meant before, but what she told us is a perfect explanation for her sweeter scent. She probably drinks just enough blood to survive and doesn’t over-indulge like other vampires do. Besides, from what we knew about Mica, he most likely did violate the werewolf pact, like they said. He was one of the newbies, after all. And a troublemaker he was.”

“True,” Devon replied. He remembered that one time a few years ago, he and Damian took Mica out in the country up north to hunt deer and Mica decided he wanted to go kill a couple of cows and torment the family on the farm with wolf howls. Damian and Devon thought it was a terrible idea and told him not to do it, but he did it anyway. A week later, there were reports on the news about a few Coywolves being hunted down and killed because they were thought to be the culprits. Devon hated the fact that innocent Coywolves were killed because of Mica.

“I think we should leave them be, for now,” Damian said. Turning to Kate, he spoke once more, “But if you kill anyone, human or werewolf, you’re next on our list.”

“Sounds reasonable,” she replied.

Just as the two men began to walk away, James said to them, “I have a question for you.” It’s probably a long-shot, but what the hell?

“Yes?” Damian replied.

“Do you know if a vampire can be converted into a werewolf?”

“James,” she interrupted, afraid that if the two men stayed any longer, they might change their minds about killing her.

“I’d like to know, Kate,” he said to her. The desperation in his voice and the look in his eyes were very apparent. She wanted to know, too, but she was afraid of these two men. If anything in this world frightened her, it was being in the presence of werewolves. She trusted her fighting skills, but worrying for James was something different. He was just too new to this life. Sure, he could quickly take down most paranormal creatures out there with the current knowledge and skills he had, but going up two experienced werewolves was something entirely different. She hoped they would avoid saying anything to offend, or set off these two brothers, before they left.

“I heard a legend about that once, actually,” Damian explained. “A long time ago, there was a werewolf man whose best friend, a mere mortal human, was turned into a vampire against his will. The werewolf offered to try to convert his friend into a werewolf. Being an unknowing human, the werewolf’s friend had no idea that such creatures even existed. So the werewolf explained everything to him and told him of the true nature of the werewolf. He promised him that if the conversion was a success, he would have a better life and protection from the other werewolves. His friend gladly accepted the offer and allowed him to try to convert him.

“I heard the conversion was a success, for the most part. He still had some vampire attributes. Though he was able to go out in the sun for as long as he wanted, he still had urges to drink blood, but they were controllable, and eating raw meat was a very good substitute. The creature had all appearances and abilities a werewolf possessed, in both human and wolf forms, and of course, he was immortal. Unfortunately, that’s all I heard, though, and I don’t know how factual the information is. If you want to know for sure, you’ll have to ask the werewolf who converted him. I don’t even know if he’s still alive. If he is, he has to be well over a thousand years old.”

“What’s this werewolf’s name?” asked Kate.

“Lucius.”

A chill went up her spine at the mention of that all too familiar name, and she stood there for a moment, in shock.

“What’s wrong? Do you recognize that name, honey?” James asked her.

“Yes. Yes, I do,” she sighed. “I’ve met him. In fact, I’ve fought him before. Twice.”

The Journey

The next morning when they went to
Black Wolf Agency
, James asked Yvonne if it would be alright if he took a few days off to spend with Kate. They told her that they wanted to do some research in France while she visited relatives. Being the kindhearted woman he always found her to be, she granted his request. Of course, he didn’t tell her that the real reason for their trip was to find and seek out information from an old werewolf who, when Kate met him a couple lifetimes ago, lived in a secluded area on the outskirts of Paris. After all, Kate was fairly certain that Lucius would still be living there. She said he was never one to move around a lot.

When James was on lunch break, he looked up the flight schedules for that evening, and amazingly, there was a straight-through flight available from New York City to Paris, France, taking off at 6pm that evening. He immediately booked the tickets without even caring about the price.

After work, they hurried back to his apartment to get ready to go, packing only the bare essentials in a couple carry-on bags. Kate made sure to wear clothes that concealed her skin as much as possible and a black headscarf, knowing that the plane would land in Paris sometime during daylight hours in the morning.

They rushed to the airport and boarded the plane, and after 10 excruciatingly long hours, the plane finally landed in Paris. The airport had an adjoining hotel, so accommodations could be easily made. At the reception desk, James asked the clerk if they could rent the darkest room they had. He told her that they needed it because his girlfriend had a rare skin disorder and couldn’t be exposed to sunlight. Kate loved how he could manage to tell the truth like that without revealing her vampirism or making anyone suspicious.

When they found their room, James made sure to go in first and close all the curtains and blinds tight before Kate entered. As Kate stared at the blackened windows, he noticed her eyes glaze over with tears.

“What’s wrong, honey?” he asked her.

“I miss the sunlight,” she said, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. She looked up at him and smiled. What else could she say? Three hundred years without the sun was truly depressing.

“Well, hopefully you won’t have to miss out on it much longer.”

“Hopefully,” she said with a longing sigh. “Well, since we’re going to be stuck in here all day, we might as well get some sleep. I’m sure you’re exhausted, too.”

“Yes, definitely,” he replied with a yawn.

Almost immediately after they lay down in bed, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

It was still daylight when Kate started to wake. She could tell by the tiny ray of light streaming in the small gap between the curtains. Otherwise, it was very dark in the hotel room.

Shortly after she woke up, she noticed James beginning to stir. She started to hum softly to him while she placed several soft kisses along his neck. She knew he loved it when she did that.

“Good morning– I mean, good night, honey,” he said to her, moaning lightly in response to her kisses. He was really loving the werewolf libido.

She smiled and whispered in his ear, “Je t’aime, mon amour.”

He turned toward her, smiled, and said, “I love you, too.”

“I’m anxious for the sun to set. I’m looking forward to going outside again, and to tell you the truth, I’m getting a little thirsty.”

“A little, or a lot?” he asked, and she sighed in response. He so hoped they found the information they needed to change Kate in to werewolf, too. This part of being a vampire really seems to bother her. He doesn’t know how she has dealt with it for so long.

“Alright, I’m very thirsty. I’m glad I drank some blood before we left, but apparently it wasn’t enough.” It never seemed to be enough. She so hated this part of her life.

“Well, we can get you some more tonight when we’re out. I’m hoping you won’t be a vampire much longer, though.” Please, please, please, let that come true.

“Don’t get your hopes up. This whole thing is probably only a myth.” Kate just couldn’t let herself believe it was possible, because she was afraid if it wasn’t, she wouldn’t be able to stand it.

“It could be, but so far, how many myths turned out to be true? Let’s see,” he said as he began to count. “Vampires, werewolves, fairies, trolls and the list goes on.”

“Alright, I get the point,” she laughed. “It’s just, well; I don’t want anything to happen. I’m not sure if you’ll be able to bring me back to life if I die from a werewolf bite.” She refused to say she didn’t want to end up where she was before, after she died. She had been so alone.

“That’s why we’re going to find this Lucius guy tonight and ask him all about it.” James prayed this would be true.

“And what if we can’t find him? What if we do find him, and he won’t talk to us? What if he’s dead? What if he’s been dead for years? What if he tries to kill us?” she rambled off the doubts in her head. She knew she was on the verge of being hysterical; she just couldn’t seem to stop herself, until she noticed she was stressing out James. She sealed her lips shut to stop the flow of doubt.

“Don’t worry,” he said, stroking her cheek delicately, the look in his eyes reassuring. “I won’t let anything happen to you. You can trust me on that.” James vowed then to do anything and everything to help her.

“Of course. There’s no one whom I trust more than you.” She smiled and kissed him. He always had a way of making her feel better about everything, even when the odds were against them.

“You know what?” he said. “While it’s still light out, I’d like to go to the grocery store for a few snacks. There’s got to be one nearby. I can take a taxi or walk. It shouldn’t take me too long.” He also could use a little fresh air. So this was the perfect excuse to leave the hotel room without hurting Kate’s feelings. And also, to take care of some personal business.

“Alright, honey, be careful.” Kate knew he was using the excuse to get away for a while. His ears probably needed a break from all of her rambling. Who could blame him?

James got washed, dressed, and left. An hour and a half later, when he finally came back, it was dark outside. She wondered what took him so long, but he told her that he had trouble finding everything he needed and had to wait in a long line at the register. She wanted to believe him; she didn’t like having any doubt in her mind where James was concerned. After chastising herself for it, she would close that part out of her head for another time. She wasn’t going to start to be a nagging girlfriend; they had important business to attend to.

As soon as they put away the groceries in the small hotel fridge, they left the room. When they stepped outside, there were snow flurries falling from the sky, beautifully illuminated by the streetlights and headlights of the cars.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked him.

“Yes, it is,” he said, kissing her cheek lovingly. She grabbed his hand and held it as they walked. “So, where exactly do you think Lucius might be?”

“He had a small home on the outskirts of the city, kind of secluded. I’ll lead the way.” Kate so hoped he still lived there.

A couple of minutes into their journey, James recalled Kate saying she had fought Lucius in the past. With all that was going on before they left, he forgot to ask her about that.

“I remember you said you fought Lucius twice in the past…” said James. He was not totally sure he wanted to hear about it. He was noticing that, since becoming a werewolf, he was feeling more and more protective of Kate, even though all of his werewolf instincts should have been telling him to kill her.

“Yes, the first time was a misunderstanding. I was with my human friend, Abigail when I first encountered Lucius.

“Abigail and I were walking together on the edge of the forest when we noticed a dark hooded man following us. We hurried deeper into the forest, trying to hide from him. We looked back and didn’t see him, and when we turned around again, there he was. He tried to attack me, but I was too fast for him. I grabbed my knife out of my pocket and slashed his leg, just as he tried to strike again. Then, enraged, he charged at me. Abigail jumped between us to try to save me and received a nasty bite from Lucius. He cowered away, ashamed of himself for biting a human.

“Abigail was the friend I told you about before, the one I had saved from the werewolf conversion. However, because of my intervention, she was unconscious for a few days and almost died because of me. Luckily, Abigail didn’t become a vampire, though. I used the same method as I had with you and sucked the venom out through the werewolf bite without having to use my teeth. What a way for her to find out my darkest secret, though. After I explained to her exactly what happened, I could tell she was afraid of me. I never saw her again after that. I’m assuming she left the city to avoid me.” She concluded her story and sighed; she would never wish to relive that part of her life.

“So, what was the second fight with Lucius about?” He could feel himself getting angry; the asshole should have cowered away to begin with. Couldn’t he tell there was a human around? What a jerk. That’s not even taking into account that he attacked his damn girlfriend. He realized he needed to get a hold of himself, thinking, ‘
Whoa boy, I need to get a grip, and fast.
’ He couldn’t let his anger show. He didn’t want to stress out Kate.

Kate, oblivious to his inter-demon thoughts, continues her story. “I was spending time in a vampire coven at the time, doing some research, when Lucius and several other werewolves broke into their lair. They slaughtered all the vampires there, except for one… me. I was faster than the other vampires and was able to escape out of sight before I met the same fate as the others.”

“Wow,” said James. “You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?” James found it amazing that he was able to suppress his werewolf urges so well around Kate. After all, it sure sounded like, when they were in the presence of vampires, werewolves became ruthless killers.

“Yes, I have. That’s what happens when you live over three hundred years.” She thought, ‘
If he only had a clue.
’

They continued to follow the same route that she remembered taking so many years ago. Soon enough, she smelled a musky werewolf odor, though it was very faint. They were at least on the right track.

“I’m glad you don’t smell like that, at least to me, sweetheart,” she said to him, cringing at the smell.

“Me, too. I definitely wouldn’t want to offend you,” he said in a sarcastic, but humorous manner. He could smell the strange werewolf’s scent, too, but it didn’t bother him, as it seemed to bother her.

“I would still love you, though, no matter what.” She knew he was set off a little by her remark, but felt he played it off well.

They kept walking, silently enjoying each other’s company and the beautiful night. They walked in silence, for the time being. It would still be a little while before they reached the edge of the city.

“Are we almost there?” asked James impatiently. It was nearly half an hour later when they finally entered the outskirts of Paris and began their trek through some brush and tree growth. Kate was worried; the path she had remembered from so many years ago had grown in. Either Lucius traveled a different way lately, or he no longer lived there. On the plus side, the werewolf odor was more potent now.

“Yes, in just a moment you’ll be able to see his house.” Kate could sense his impatience, but she couldn’t blame him. She was growing impatient, too. She hadn’t remembered the journey taking this long, and it seemed like the closer they got, the more their anticipation began to overwhelm them.