Katie

It was calling her. It was drawing her to whatever lie behind the thousands of trees that held her captive from the world. She could feel it, in every inch of her body. She needed to go in there.

She glanced around quickly, but she was alone. No one was there to stop her now, and she didn't have the willpower to resist it. The temptation was all too strong for her to handle. She had to be sure, she had to see.

She could feel her legs wandering toward the woods, as if they were controlled by some higher power. She was moving in the direction she knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't stop. She looked for somebody, anybody, but the town was deserted. Night had crept upon the small town of Charleston and everyone had hidden in their homes. Not her. She had to see it for herself.

Branches scraped at her arms and legs as she felt herself being carried by her own feet into the dark that lay before her. She winced at the sight of a small trickle of blood that ran down her forearm, before shaking herself out of it.

She had to know, she had to be sure. She wouldn't believe a word of it until she saw it with her own eyes. She panted tiredly before falling to the ground in exhaustion. The trees around her clashed and whipped her in the heat of the storm. Somewhere nearby a bright light of lightning struck the ground, a loud clash of thunder following right behind it.

She blinked against the rain and stared up through a small opening in the top of the trees. The only light she had was that of the moon, the full moon. It seeped down through the trees, but not nearly enough to light her path.

She breathed in as deeply as her pained lungs would allow, before blinking against the dark. She strained her eyes to try and uncover what was before her, but all she could see was the darkness.

"Katie."

She jumped at the whisper of her name against her neck. She twisted her head as quickly as she could, but her body was stuck in slow motion. She blinked slowly, turning her head in rythym with her numbed body. Her eyes widened when she saw him standing above her, looking down at her with saddened eyes.

She turned her body to him, gasping in relief when he looked just as she remembered. He held out a hand slowly, offering her legs to stand upon. She licked her lips nervously, hoping to quench the dryness of her mouth. But it was no use.

She lifted her hand and slipped it into his. His skin was so hot, painful almost. But she squeezed his hand as he brought her to her feet.

"Katie, what are you doing here?" His voice was no more than a whisper, as if he was as in just as much shock as she. His eyes bore down into hers with a sadness that she didn't have the ability to understand.

She felt the warmth of his hand caress her cheek slowly and she couldn't stop the smile that crept onto her face.

"You're...you." She breathed a sigh of relief before grabbing his face and pulling his lips down to hers. She closed her eyes slowly, letting her lips move against his. She gasped, snapping her head back until his lips parted hers. She held a hand to her lips in pain. They were on fire. His skin, his kiss, he was scalding hot.

He closed his eyes regretfully, shaking his head. "Run." He whispered, pushing her away from him with both of his hands.

She watched in fear when his eyes snapped back open, falling backwards against a tree. His eyes had changed, they were no longer beautiful. She was staring into the black emptiness of a killer.

"N-no," she choked, shaking her head in delusion. It wasn't real, everything that Devon had told her was a story, it was make believe. He had told her all of that to scare her. It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

"Tay," she whispered, reaching a hand out to him. But he didn't touch her, he didn't move. His head fell back to the sky, and she followed his gaze to the moon. She couldn't speak, she couldn't move.

She was helplesss. She couldn't run, he would outrun her. She couldn't hide, he would smell her. She felt tears run down her face and to her neck, soaking the collar of her shirt.

She closed her eyes as reality set in. She was going to die. She sank to the ground, squeezing her eyes closed as tightly as she could. She couldn't bear to look at him, she knew what was happening. He was crying out in pain, in instinct, and she couldn't watch. All she could do was sit there and let him kill her...

Katie jumped up with a jolt, banging her head on the desk beside her. But her eyes remained open only long enough for her to fall into another deep, terrifying, sleep.

"Hundreds, over a thousand, years ago something magnificent," Devon layed his hands out before him, shaking his head as he paced before her in the deserted store, "terrifying, yet magnificent thing happened right here in the middle of nowhere. In our town."

He stopped pacing for a moment and looked her dead in the eye with a crazy little smile. "But why here? Of all places?"

Katie licked her lips nervously, rubbing her clammy hands together. Devon wasn't acting like himself, but like a crazy person. He was pacing back in forth before her with the most fascinated, perplexed look in his eyes that had gone from sweet to psychotic with one question. What is it?

She didn't dare speak, not when he finally decided to start speaking. She had to know, she had a feeling her life depended on it. She looked up when he pulled out a crate and sat before her, rubbing his temples with a pained look on his face.

"I don't-I don't understand," she blurted at his painful silence, "What changed? What happened?"

He met her eyes with a quick glance before turning his back to her to stare out at the dark sky. "He did." His voice was low, deadly. Every nerve in her body sent shivers through her at that moment and she gasped, pressing her fingers to her eyes. "He changed it all, Katie, he did this." He motioned to the wall of missing people before tucking his hands deep into his pockets. "He did all of this."

She looked up at the wall that made her cringe everytime she laid eyes on it. Innocent faces stared back at her, as if it were obvious. But it wasn't, not to her.

She crinkled her brows before before standing and walking over to the wall. She grabbed a peice of paper before frowning down at it. Melissa Kennedy. Born 10/17/200a, disappeared 12/12/2009. Last seen on her school playground. If you have any information, please call the police. Her reward is 200,000, the sum of everything her parents own.

She felt tears welling behind her eyes before they drifted down to the picture of a little girl in a yellow sundress, wrapped up in her mother's arms. "She was only a baby." She felt herself whisper before sticking the tac back into the wall. She shook her head sadly before crossing her arms over her chest protectively. "All these people hope they'll see their family again. But they never will, will they Devon?"

She rounded on him angrily although it wasn't his fault. He sat, depressed in a way she had never seen, tossing a jar of peanut butter lazily between his hands. He shook his head slowly, and that was answer enough. A shiver crawled up her spine, then crept down to her fingers and toes. There was something more, something he wasn't telling her. She looked back at the wall, shoving her hands deeply into her pockets in hopes of taking off the chill, but with no use.

"What is it Devon? A serial killer?" She bit her lip, not turning to look at him. They all looked back at her, some smiling, some with a careless look on their faces.

"You could say that." His voice was low, emotionless.

"W-who?" She had the sick feeling that he knew more than anyone else.

"You mean...what." The last word struck her numb before another shiver, this one sharper, shook her entire body. Katie turned slowly, looking down at the scared boy with his face in his hands. "It's not one of us."

She shook her head quickly. "Not one of us?" Her words were low, shaken. She wasn't prepared for whatever he was about to tell her. She didn't know if she could handle the truth.

He looked up at her slowly, his sickened eyes meeting hers before staring at them silently for a second. "Not human."

She backed up against the window behind her before sitting on the ledge. She shook her head quickly again before gripping her pants tightly. "I don't-what?" She grimaced, closing her eyes. "What-what?"

"A monster. A wolf. Whatever you want to call it, Katie." He spoke so quickly that she couldn't comprehend.

"I don't understand," she whispered, jumping when he stood up quickly before punching the wall before him and resting his head upon it.

"Thousands of years ago a boy was called away from his mother and into the woods. And he never returned. At least that's what everyone thinks." His voice was nothing but a whisper as he breathed in and out loudly. "But he did. He came back as something much worse. Not human. Something so much greater than us. His senses are made to kill."

He wasn't her Devon right now. He wasn't the guy who had wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her. His eyes had changed, and his voice was deadly. As if he had no soul.

He flashed her a look of terror before his face softened at her mortified expression. "And when it marks us, it doesn't stop hunting until we're dead."

'It's made it's mark. You're dead.' Tay's words rang in her mind before she felt her legs collapse to the floor. She blinked slowly before squeezing her eyes shut when a strong pair of arms grabbed her and yanked her next to him. She could feel him watching her out of the corner of his eyes, but she didn't spare him a glance. If this was true, if this whole legend was true....

She was dead.

'That wasn't my blood,' his deep voice rang in her head as a small pain shot through her stomache. Nasea overwhelmed her body and she leaned over to puke. She'd let him inside her, she'd let that monster inside her.

"Tay," she whispered, in horrific realization. She could feel every hair on her body stand at attention at the sound of his name. Goosebumps exploded over her arms when her hands began to shake. "Tay," she repeated, looking for confirmation. But Devon's silence was enough. "How?"

She heard him sigh loudly next to her before grunting. "The thing that had bitten the little boy disappeared. We never saw it again. But the boy...he turned into something horrible. A beast." He shot her a terrified look before his eyes shot to the ground. "Thirsty for blood, our blood. He scoured the town for a year, stalking his prey before murdering them. Nobody got away from him...except one."

"Another boy," she breathed, pressing her fingers into her eyes.

"No. Two."

"Two?" She whispered, arms shaking nervously. She didn't understand...who else?

"They were only fifteen. The three of them were driving home from the biggest party of the year and their car broke down right outside of town. They were there for hours waiting on someone to drive by, but no one came. So Jimmy took off down the road to find someone, and the other two waited." He rubbed his hands together, but she didn't move to comfort him. "They were just sitting there, on the hood of their car, when Tay heard it. Something rumbling in the woods beside him." He shook his head quickly. "They were only kids, y'know. They didn't deserve for it to happen to them."

She licked her lips before clearing her throat quietly. "What happened to them, Devon?" she asked shakily, her hands clenching aound each other.

"Jack and Tay thought it would be funny to fuck with Jimmy so they hid inside the woods and waited for him to come back. And then they heard the scratching and clawing. Tay thought someone was screwing with him, so he took off after it. A couple minutes later Jack heard a scream from somewhere in the woods." He looked over at her with a serious look in his eyes. His brows crinkled together and he cleared his throat. "It bit him, Katie, and if it wasn't for Jack, it would have killed him. He distracted it long enough for Tay to escape, and the transformation to begin." He shook his head slowly. "He couldn't control the hunger he felt, he needed to feed. And Jack was there. He lunged at him, but it had gotten to him first."

"It?" She asked shakily, not prepared for the answer.

He breathed in deeply before letting it all out in one drawn out exhale. "Wolves. Twice our height, ten times our strength. Quicker, smarter, deadlier than we could ever have imagined. They can hear and see everything from miles away. They can smell us, it could smell us from right here."

She wrapped her arms around her now shaken body. She glanced out of the window nervously, but the lot was clear. Was it stalking her? Was it after her? She shook her head quickly. No, not her. She was new in town, there was no reason it would want her...

"And Jimmy?" She asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

"He didn't make it," he whispered quietly.

"Stop," she pleaded, holding her hand up to his face, "no more."

She jumped again, falling onto the floor with a loud thump.

"Fuck," she cursed, holding her hand to her head in pain. She looked up at the open window with a sigh. The cold breeze blew onto her face as the rain slapped against the house. She wanted to get away, she wanted to go home. She didn't belong there, not anymore. It wasn't safe for her. She needed a way out.

Tay........five hours earlier

He could smell her. The smell of her skin was all over him.

He scrubbed at his body, digging his skin with his nails. She was taking control over his senses. He screamed as loudly as he could before punching the tile of his shower. But he didn't feel the ache of bruised knuckles, or the crawl of his skin as the ice cold water fell over his body like anybody else would have. The only thing he felt was the ache in his teeth, the urge to have her throat. He could taste her now, her sweet blood on his lips. He licked his lips hopefully before groaning loudly.

He knew how bad the beast wanted him, because he felt every desire of the prey it marked in his own being. He let his eyes drift close slowly with a sigh. As long as he was away from her, she would be safe.

He shook his head before sitting up. No, if he didn't protect her she was dead. He frowned at the sickly feeling that made him shiver in disgust. She was dead because of him, he had stepped up to protect her and now it wanted her. He only felt a mere sliver of the want the thing had for her, yet it was enough to take over his very being.

He gasped for air before standing up and walking nakedly into his room. Her scent still lingered from days before. She was his, though it pained him to think about it. She was more than the body she allowed him to take when he pleased. She was his possession, his pet.

He fell onto his bed with a loud thump. Or he could let her die. He could let her die like the rest of them and continue his hunt. He would soon forget her, and the guilt of not being able to stop the death of another person would quickly pass as it usually did.

Who was he kidding? He laughed lightly to himself. He would never forget her, if not for her innocence, but the desire he had for her. He wanted her in every way a savage could want. He wanted her flesh at his will, but her naked body on his. He wanted to murder her, but to protect her from her hunter. He wasn't going to let her be killed, not if he could prevent it.

He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He had to tell her, even if he spared her some of the details. A girl like her wouldn't let him hang around her every night. She was fiesty in a way no other woman had ever shown him. She wouldn't let him have her in every way, and maybe that was why he enjoyed her presence as much as he did.

But now, now it was different. It hadn't hit him until the complete darkness of night fell upon him, and the hunger only grew as the moonlight hit him. He bit his lip before standing to throw on an old pair of jeans. If he needed he would seduce her every night and stay while she slept. But maybe, it would be easier if he told her a version of the truth.

He licked his lips quickly before walking out the door and down the hallway. Julia was snuggled up next to Jack on the couch with a smile that made his stomache turn. Pathetic.

"Where are you going?" He stopped at the concern in his friend's voice before glancing quickly over his shoulder and grabbing his keys off the hook.

"For a ride." He opened the door before slamming it shut. He was only worried about him, but he was in control of his desires now. He would never hurt anybody again. But Katie...the beast wanted her more than he had ever wanted anyone. And he felt the desire within himself.

He threw a leg over his bike before peeling off into the night. The cold air bit his face, but he ignored it as he maxed out the speed. He needed to get to her, if only to see that she was safe.

He screeched to halt beside her house, inhaling the air around him before letting his bike fall to the ground. She wasn't there. He breathed in the night air before running in the direction of her smell. She was so close, she was right under his nose.

He stopped outside the mini-mart when he saw her standing there alone outside the doors, looking quietly up at the starless sky. She was so innocent, too innocent to be involved in his life. He stayed back in the darkness, watching as she looked around her as if she felt his presence. His eyes shot to the door of the store as Devon Conners himself walked out.

His jaw tightened, but he remained still. He didn't want to draw attention to himself. Every muscle in his body tightened when Devon wrapped his arms around her. He gritted his teeth together when he kissed her cheek before she slipped her hand into his and they began their way toward her house.

He followed them from across the street, out of sight from anyone passing by. He didn't like him that close to her. His hands didn't deserve to touch her. She was his, and only his.

His stomache turned when he leaned up and kissed her again before she walked into her home and shut the door safely behind her. He licked his lips quickly when Devon crossed the street toward him, rubbing his face with his hands.

Tay stepped in front of him before shoving him to the ground with one light push on his shoulder. He laughed lowly when he grabbed his arm and yelped in pain. He was one person to whom he enjoyed hurting.

Tay looked down at the dislocated arm before stepping on his shoulder. He smiled when he cried out in pain. He deserved every bit of it. He stepped harder, only laughing sadistically when tears began to fall from his eyes.

"Stay away from her," he growled, looking lethally into his eyes. He laughed loudly again before releasing his foot and turning his back to him. Devon Connors wasn't worth his time, he had more important things on his mind. On his stomache.

"She told me everything!"

He stopped in his tracks when the voice on the ground suddenly called out to him. He licked his lips nervously before turning to face him. There was no way, no way he crossed the line. He wouldn't risk his own life for her, not for anybody. Connors was a selfish little fuck.

"Everything," he watched as the lanky kid stood to his feet shakily, grabbing his arm with a loud yell. "I know you shifted today. I know she's marked."

Tay felt his eyelids close suddenly as the wind blew over his face, enveloping his stomache in the hungry ache once again. It was stronger this time. Devon still carried her scent. He shook his head, bending to hold his stomache in pain.

"It's begun, hasn't it? You want her already."

The ache in his stomache drowned out the words of the worthless person before him as he fell to the ground, gasping for air that didn't smell of her. He needed to go, he needed to get as far away from her as he could until daylight.

"I told her everything, James. I told her about you, about Jack. About the thing. It's over."

He pushed himself up off the ground, holding onto a tree beside him for stability. His legs were weak, as if his body was failing. He'd never been so close, it had never wanted anything like it wanted her. And it was his fault. The beast's enemy had protected her and now it was ready for blood. For revenge.

"She needs protection," he hissed, closing his eyes against the night. Every muscle in his body wanted to change, to transform into the animal he was and fufill his desire.

"And your gonna provide that? You can't tell me you don't want to go into her bedroom right now and rip her throat out." He said cockily.

Tay shivered in disgust. "Stay the fuck away from her." He threatened, turning his back to him, but glancing back threateningly. "Or I'll kill you."

Ok, so sorry I haven't written in like forever. I've had A LOT going on...but I promise to write more now. Hope you liked it! Please R&R! Peace.