And her name is…

I’m licking the blood off my fingers when I hear a gasp coming from the front door. More people are coming outside, but upon seeing me they stop.Friend or foe?The thought barely registers as I stalked the edge of the cleared area. I could kill them from here, of course I could, but their fear would change the flavour of the energy deliciously. I keep to the shadows away from the door, moving around to the closest point to them while remaining under the cover of the trees. All the while they watch me, and I keep my mouth closed while I grin to hide the white of my teeth.

“Cernunnos,” one of the people mutters.

A strange, eerie high laugh escapes me as I tilt my head to the side. Yea, like my grandfather would have let them live even this long.How do I know that?One of them moves to the front, pushing the others back behind them almost protectively. I start thinking how like a pack they look in that moment, and I wonder if the one in front is a leader or sacrifice. It’s speaking but it doesn’t make any sense, a mix of sounds and gestures that only make my mouth water. As I pull my lips back into a grin my bottom lip snags on my fresh, sharp teeth and blood seeps into the drool dribbling over my chin.

The one in front changes expressions suddenly and seems to calm with an understanding, then their sounds start to make sense.

“Take a deep breath Theo, calm yourself. Don’t give in to the animal,” he says softly.

I shake my head, confused at the language I understand but find it difficult to return. My head gets another shake as I look at him, my head tilting to the other side, before I give another of those strange laughs and rise to my full height, standing several feet over them. Then another of the people come forward and say something jumbled and ignorable.

The main one smacks him in the chest. “Say it for her!” He yells.

“This is never going to work!” The second says. “She’s lost herself to it, and she’s going to kill us.”

I give another laugh, but it’s smaller. That is what I would like to do. They are easy pickings and I’m feeling greedy after consuming the others. The main one is pushing the others back slowly into the house and I hear one of them whimpering.

“Theo, you’re in there. Please, find yourself little mouse,” the main one begs.

This time I don’t laugh. I close my mouth at the strange name but it brings back so many.... thoughts. Last night. The library. The dinner.The dinner. I’m not hungry anymore, despite remembering how I didn’t eat anything. The energy I’ve consumed has satiated me somewhat for now, though I know the hunger will return when the exhilaration wears down.

The man stops backing up, observing me closely. “Little mouse?” I turn my head to the side and hiss at him, blood streaked spit flying from my mouth. “If you prefer another name you’ll have to tell me what it is.”

I make a grunting sound. It’s more articulate than the laugh, but still not a word. I try again but it’s no better. My frustration in not being able to complete what should be a simple task creeps up on me. I growl again.

“Come on little mouse, surely you can handle this much,” the man prods at me and I snarl. “Ooo little mouse thinks she’s tough.”

I grunt and step toward him again. He continues to antagonize me, calling me such a stupid name, that is in no way a reflexion of my stature, and I continue to try and return his dim witted retorts with the limited speaking skills of my throat. I blindly follow him, ready to tear him in half at the moment that will provide me with the most satisfaction.

I growl particularly loudly at him at a disgusting joke he’s made and when he laughs I swipe and yell, “I’m Theo!”

My eyes blow wide and I look at my clawed hand in his stomach. A quick shake of my head confirms that the antlers are gone. My arms aren’t covered in fur any longer, and the pigment has returned to natural. My clothes hadn’t torn away but were now covered in blood. The stretchy material had had enough allowance for what girth I put on, but much of my change was in height and length. I turn back to the man, Wulfric. He’s smirking with a lot of satisfaction now and as I look over his face I realize my nails are still in his skin.

“Oh my deity, I’ve stabbed you again,” I mutter, pulling my claws free with a grunt from him.

He pulls his shirt up over the damage to survey it. “Just a scratch,” he assures but I’m less convinced.

“You need blood,” I nearly gasp, seeing his shirt redden as I look at my bloody hands. “Or Nyx,” I add.

At that he takes my chin in his hand and holds my face still while he takes my lips. The kiss is firm, full of attraction and wanting, but also something likerespectorpride. The kiss last longer than I hoped for and I want to wrap my arms around him but I’m covered in probably close to a dozen different flavours of blood. Still his tongue plays with mine and I know he tastes my own blood that lingers in my mouth. When he’s finally done he pulls back and smiles at me with a look that confirms it was pride.

“No need for Nyx,” he returns jovially. “You’re all I need.”

I find myself blushing. A piece of his hair is standing up and I move to tug it down but look at my hands again. That moves me to looking at my whole body and I am streaked with blood. I turn to look out into the yard where the bodies remain. I hadn’t turned a single one to dust, and I can remember enjoying the carnage… but I can’t bring myself to feel bad.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he says softly, taking my hand covered in blood.

I start to follow him but glance toward the dining room. “What about Ignacio and Helion?”

“Apparently Ealdian’s affinity involves memory alterations. He’s taking care of that,” Wulfric says very casually.

I stop and his hand slips off mine with the blood. “They saw me,” I say suddenly.

He nods. “It’s a problem for later,” he assures.

He reaches to pull me along again but I take a step back. “I just killed…”

“I don’t care about them, I care about you!” He snaps and then takes a deep breath. “They were trying to put you in that trunk, you were justified.”

“But…”

Before I can argue that some begged for their lives and I didn’t give a shit, he tosses me over his shoulder. I yelp in surprise and catch a tentative look out of the dining room from Nyx on our way up the stairs. She doesn’t meet my eyes, though I can’t tell if it’s from fear or just not looking my way before we were out of direct sight line.

I can feel the blood against my skin now as Wulfric’s body presses the soaked material of my clothes firmly against me.So much red.The emotion I should have in seeing it up my arms should be a negative one, but I find myself looking at the different hues and wondering how many different people are represented in their DNA there.

We pass my room but I don’t have it in me to argue that I at least need clothes. A quick thought to where my thigh rests against Wulfric confirms I don’t have my key in my pocket anyway. The only explanation is that it fell out in the yard, and I wonder if I’ll be able to find it in the morning. What would the purpose of trying even be? I’ve killed half the working force for this property, surely I won’t still be welcome here later, despite what Wulfric believes. Ealdian might be able to erase me ever being here from Ignacio and Helion’s minds, but if I stick around seeing me will pull those memories back to the surface. They would be like a ticking time bomb around me until they remember and I’m back to this.

He opens the door to his own room and takes me straight to the bathroom, sitting me on a bench beside his shower while he turns the water on. He tests it a few times, making minor adjustments before leaving it and coming back to me. At first he looks like he wants to just strip my clothes off and get me cleaned, but his thoughts seem to win a sort of battle he was having internally. He sinks down onto the floor in front of me like he’s done several times before and sighs, rubbing the tops of my thighs with his hands.

I know what he wants to ask. He’s seen me now, and despite me never shifting before today I know the form I took is telling. Any questions he may have still had before about my background are gone with that particular transformation. Still, he looks like he needs some assurance, as if he has one lingering question that he needs me to flat out admit to. With him still beside me, treating me exactly the same as before, after what I’ve just done… how can I deny him.

He sighs again before speaking. “Theo, you are one-hundred and thirty one, and raised in secret… Who..?”

I’m not going to drag this out. I know he’ll still keep my secret from the others after I tell him, so my eyes move to lock with his and I smile, athimthis time. My hands grip his firmly and I hold him in place as I part my lips over my smile to put my fangs on full display.

“I am Theodosine Abigia. My mother was supposed to be the Queen of our people.”

I’m still grinning when his fingers dig into my legs and my nails dig into his hands. His breathing has turned ragged and I am ready to siphon everything he has in an instance. One wrong move and no one will find much more than a pile of dust where his bones should have been. Technically, running away made my mom a traitor and I don’t know how much he knows about everything.

He rises off his heals, rolls one of his wrists to twist my nails free, and slides his hand into my hair to pull me in a for a kiss. The kiss is long and passionate, and I don’t understand it for the life of me but I’ll be damned if I’m the first to pull away. He takes my mouth like it’s all he’s wanted to do for a long time, and he moans like it provides some release. I reciprocate the sound, tentatively parting my lips to swipe his with my tongue and he let’s me in gingerly.

When his lips leave mine he doesn’t go far, resting his forehead against mine with his eyes closed. He is nodding gently against my head and it makes me angry. Iknowhe’s figured something out and he’s not planning on telling me.Iam entitled to my secrets. I have been nothing but honest in everything I’ve said, but my distrust is warranted.Hehas no reason to keep things from me.

I dig my nails deeper into his remaining hand and with the other tilt his chin up so when he opens his eyes they will meet mine. He does and he’s shocked by my change in emotion. Taking advantage of this shock is in my best interest.

“I am not a little mouse, I am an Abigia. Tell me what you’re thinking.” It’s as much of a demand as it can be, but he’s never seen me like this.

I watch his pupils dilate and his chest heave with desire as he smiles. “I was raised for Kheliq, but I wasbornfor you. We share a birthday, that’s the real reason I was gone that month, and so many of the others, I went home for my birthday. I don’t know how your mom escaped, we all thought she was dead,but if you had been born here, I would have been raised alongsideyou, to protect and support you in every way you need.”

He’s being genuine but after that kiss I just want him to devour me. He watches my face for a moment like he’s trying to decipher what I’m thinking. I already have the half of the story he’s missing, so with his piece to the puzzle I’ve already filled in the gaps.

My father wanted a son, said he was destined to only have sons, but I bet he didn’t tell themwhy. When my mom took off he told them she died during childbirth, but they just replaced her without my aunt with telling anyone, apparently. My mom knew that would happen when she left, and so did my aunt, but my aunt couldn’t have children and did it to save us. If my mom was to be discovered to be carrying a girl he would have encouraged a miscarriage or killed me at birth. Everyone who knew she ran probably assumed my momwasdead when no one ever found her, and as the years passed with no signs of her, they only got more comfortable in that belief.

In this time Wulfric was given to Kheliq. If his father worked in the forge, chances are strong that his mother is one of the elite fighters.That all was to make up for the loss of the son Kheliq claimed to have buried and the wife he lost. With Kheliq’s affinity, he must have been seen as quite the threat for Wulfric to be given up so easily, but he clearly wasn’t invested in him if he had been allowed to travel home as often as he had.

At least he had managed a fairly normal childhood because of that.

I start to smile.Everything is coming up red.