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February 2015-Polis
It was three am when Clarke entered her apartment building. It was located on the east side of town, and the building was old, having been built in the early 1940’s. It was still kept in good condition though, unlike a lot of the older buildings on the outskirts of Polis. Those were all rundown, rat infested buildings that squatters lived and died in.
Exhausted, she took the elevator to the top floor and walked down the short hallway to her door. Room 501. It was more of a loft than an apartment. The whole top floor of the building was Clarke’s, having bought all the apartments when she decided to move in. She had all the walls of the separate rooms knocked out, making it spacious and able to have a large open floor plan. There were only four rooms that had doors. The master bedroom, the two guest bedrooms, a slightly larger studio where she painted and one empty, heavily padded room that had no windows and a two feet thick steel door, locked with a heavy padlock. Each room had its own bathroom, except the windowless padded room. The rest of the loft was open and spacious. From the kitchen you could see the living room, which was decorated with a giant flat screen TV, a couple of bookshelves, a three person couch and a variety of armchairs.
It had been a long night for Clarke, she had a date with Lexa, a vampire she hadn’t seen for about five years with the exception of one or two Christmas’. She took her out for a bite to eat at one of Clarke’s favorite places, Ark Diner. They talked and laughed the whole evening and called it quits at about midnight. After her date with Lexa, she took to the woods surrounding Polis to drink in the night and let her wolf loose. She hadn’t had a chance to run in what felt like forever since moving to Polis a couple of week ago. She ran on four legs and hunted rabbits and deer until she was sure her wolf was content.
Now, as she walked into her apartment, her sole purpose was to taking a long, hot relaxing bath to wash off the dirt and blood she had accumulated on her run.
Alas, that was obviously not meant to be at the moment. “So, how’d it go? Tell me everything and don’t spare the gory details. Did you kiss her? Ooh, did she kiss you? You obviously didn’t get lucky since you’re back here and it’s only… 3am. Wait. It’s 3am, did you get some? Cuz lord knows it’s been ages since you got laid…”
“Raven! Oh my god, please stop.” Raven was laid out on Clarke’s couch, head on one armrest and feet on the other. Her hair was in a ponytail hanging over the side of the couch, remote in her left hand, her right buried in a bag of Hot Cheetos. The TV was turned to reruns of The Vampire Diaries. “What are you doing here anyway? Don’t you have your own house?” She does, in fact, have her own apartment on the other side of town, closer to her garage, ZeroG Mechanics, where she makes a living.
“Hey, I’m just looking out for you. You’ve been kinda tense lately and getting a lil somethin’ somethin’ might relax you a bit. And since when do I need an excuse to visit my old pack mate. Sure you’ve only been here a week, but it’s just like old times. When you ran with the pack and everyone used to be at your house, no matter what time of day.” Raven sat up and patted the seat beside her, inviting Clarke to sit. “Seriously though, sit and tell me all about your date with a certain tall, dark and broody vampire.”
Clarke just sighed and tried, in vain, to avoid the coming conversation, “Can we do this in the morning please, I just got back from a run and I’m exhausted right now. I want to just take a nice bath…”
“No, sit.” Instead of sitting, Clarke walked past the couch and towards her bedroom. Raven called out, “I will body slam you on the bed and sit on your head until you tell me how your date went. Don’t make me do it!”
Clarke sighed again, redirected her body and took a seat on the couch reluctantly, knowing Raven was always true to her word, “What do you want to know?”
Raven squealed, turning to face her with a wide smile on her face, “So, what was she wearing? Where did you two go? How was it? Was it awkward? Why are you covered in dirt?”
“Raven! One question at a time please.”
“Ok, ok. Where did you two meet up then?”
“We met at the Ark Diner. You know the one owned by Kane and Callie? It was nice, we sat in the back and talked about the last 200 years and what we’ve been up to. Just catching up. We didn’t talk about vampire and werewolf politics.” Clarke smiled slightly when she thought about how nervous Lexa was to be meeting up at a diner owned by two werewolves, even though she tried to hide it. She could never really hide anything from Clarke.
“You took her to a werewolf diner? Nice I bet she was hella nervous. So what was she wearing? Does she still dress like Dracula or what?”
“You know, she never really found that joke funny… She was wearing black skinny jeans, grey fitted t-shirt under a black leather jacket, and black combat boots. If you must know.”
“Right so, dark, broody and gay, hmm sounds like exactly like…”
“Don’t say it Raven, don’t do it.” Clarke growled, shifting slightly, preparing to pounce on the other wolf.
“Carmilla…” She said, giggling slightly as she jumped up from the couch making a break for the bedroom door.
“Oh no you don’t!” Clarke jumped up and tackled her. They wrestled on the ground for a minute before Raven threw her hands in the air giving up quickly.
“Ok, ok I’m sorry. Get off me girl.” Raven said pushing Clarke off of her.
“She hated when you called her that.” Clarke told the brunette, glaring playfully at her as she sat up. The first day they met she called her Carmilla and Lexa almost ripped her head off.
Chuckling slightly, Clarke stood slowly and headed down the hall to her bedroom, “Make yourself comfortable if you’re staying.” Clarke made her way to her bathroom, turning on the water for a bath. The tub filling, she walks back into her bedroom and to the door, “And turn the volume down on the TV, don’t want the neighbors downstairs to file a noise complaint.” She called out while closing the door. Not that they wouldn’t have for all the wrestling.
Just before the door closed she heard the volume on the TV turn up. She shook her head at her friend’s antics and set about undressing. Finally naked, she stepped into the warm bath and let out a relieved sigh.
Oh god, this feels so good, she thought to herself as she turned off the water and sank into the warmth. Yes it’s three a.m. and yes I should probably sleep but it’s not like I have anything to do tomorrow…
Raven’s Carmilla comment has her thinking back to her first run in with Lexa and her family. Two hundred odd years ago.
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1800-Spring
Chasing a mad werewolf up and down the east coast was not the way Clarke wanted to spend her month. In fact, she would have preferred to be running the woods surrounding Camp Jaha. The camp was located north of the United States, deep in the Canadian wilderness. There were no humans for miles and miles, and you could run in any direction for days and still not come upon any civilization. Clarke loved it because of its endless beauty, no matter where she found herself she could always find inspiration in the vast whiteness that surrounds her. When she went home she never failed to draw or paint what she had seen.
One of the downsides of living at Camp Jaha was her mother. Her mother, Abigale Griffin, was the current second in the pack, with Clarke, herself, following close behind as the third. In actuality, Clarke is more of a second, and as a result the two Griffin’s butted heads almost constantly. It was one of the reasons Clarke stayed out in the wilderness. One of her favorite past times was sitting on a cliff watching the sunset.
When she wasn’t out hunting insane werewolves that is. Clarke was one of the five or so Enforcers in the werewolf community. She was the one who was sent when a wolf threatens to expose them to humans, she is the one who has to cover it up when they do. By killing or turning the human or humans. She hated to do it, but it was necessary. Her people come first. As an enforcer she was able to take anywhere from two to five wolves with her on her, she usually sticks to two, the bare minimum, when the threat is small. The only reason she wasn’t allowed to go herself was the threat the vampires present. The tension between the two communities was reaching higher and higher levels as humans were starting to believe in superstition more and more. The vampires and werewolves both wanted control of towns in case the humans did find out about them so they would be in a position to protect themselves. The problem was that both vampires and werewolves wanted control of the same towns and they were not keen on sharing. Hence the high tension.
Her alpha, Thelonious Jaha, had sent her and two others to hunt down a rogue wolf. The wolf in question had no pack or loyalty to anyone. A lone wolf. He had been running up and down the east coast for a month, killing and exposing their existence to the humans, before Jaha sent her to deal with him as a favor to another Alpha, Luna, who was unavailable to take care of the matter herself. Her second was also indisposed, doing what, Clarke didn’t know. All Clarke knew was; she was to find him and to kill him if necessary. The good of their kind was at stake.
A month after tracking him down through various cities and woods, both in human form and in wolf form the small group managed to catch up to him outside a small town called Caster. He was roaming through the outskirts of the town as a human and when he caught their sent he took off into the woods, immediately changing into his wolf once he was far enough in. Clarke and the other two changed and charged off after him.
Two hours of chasing him down they were finally gaining on him. Dawn was approaching, lighting up the woods as they ran. They could see him weaving in and out of the trees only a few meters ahead. Clarke, the fastest out of the three, put on a little extra speed. When she was only a foot away from him she leapt, landing directly in front of the lone wolf she spun to face him. Still in a flat out sprint, the wolf ran directly at Clarke, just before he rammed into her she surged forward and grabbed his front leg in a vicious bite.
The wolf let out painful howl and tumbled over Clarke and onto the ground. Clarke placed her powerful jaws around his neck and gave a low, warning growl.
‘Stay down’, the growl said and when Clarke pulled back he didn’t move, understanding the command. Moving back towards her two companions, she gave a soft yip at both of them, ‘Change.’ They both backed away slightly as their bones start cracking, breaking and rearranging itself back into the human form.
The change doesn’t hurt as most wolf pups think, evolution has insured that the change both quick and painless.
Clarke, still in wolf form, turned back to the lone wolf and gave a soft growl ‘Change, now.’
Lying on his belly he just stared at Clarke, ignoring the clear order in her voice. He is not part of her pack, she is not his Alpha or his Second, and he refused to be ordered.
Lone wolves are known for their independence and high status among other wolves. Generally, a lone wolf will be seconds and thirds if they ever decided to join a pack, and, less often, they are Alphas themselves. They have to be able to hold their own in a fight to the death against other lone wolves. Only the strong survive, that strength is used to dominate other wolves.
Clarke growled again this time harsher, ‘Change or I will force you to change.’ The only way Clarke could force him to change is by having him accept that she is more dominant than him. In order to do that, she would have to hurt him to the point where he could not fight back. However, she needed him conscious and able to talk. So hopefully the threat would be enough.
Her two companions finished changing and stood on either side of Clarke facing the lone wolf. They may have been their human selves but they are still faster and stronger than a normal human. Both were completely naked, but comfortable.
Clothes don’t pop in and out of existence when werewolves change and after the first few years learning to control the wolf, you stop being body conscious. New wolves lose control of their wolf when they are angry and no matter where they are they can’t stop themselves from changing. Not even to take off their clothes.
To Clarke’s left was a tall brunette Latina named Raven Reyes. Born in Spain in the early 1700s, she was bitten by a Spanish Warlord who also happened to be a Werewolf. The Warlord had amassed a huge army of barbarians and was planning to turn every last one of them into wolves. His plan after that, Clarke doesn’t know, Jaha had gotten wind of a wolf who was planning to turn an army and sent Clarke and five others to take care of the problem. The warlord escaped the compound and fled into a nearby village. By the time Clarke and the others arrived everyone in the village was dead, save for the blacksmiths 20 year old daughter. Unlike the other wolf pups the Warlord turned, she wasn’t given a choice and so they took her back to Camp Jaha and helped her control the wolf until she could do it herself.
To Clarke’s left was Finn Collins, taller than both Clarke and Raven. When they ran across him in the mid-1700s he was already a wolf. He was a part of the Roanoke Colony that went missing back in the late-1500s. He says he doesn’t remember how he was turned and he refuses to tell them what happened in the Colony and why it went missing. Although he has said that it wasn’t werewolves that took everyone.
There was a pause, where the lone wolf refused to change, until Raven speaks, “Just change, we will not hurt you.”
“We only want to resolve this as peacefully as we can. We want to know what happened.” Finn tacked on, hands raised in supplication as the wolf shifted to stand.
He growled at both Raven and Finn before lunging forward and biting Clarke’s flank. Not hard, but enough for her to let out a surprised yip. The wolf spun around and darted deeper into the woods, Clarke following swiftly behind, with Raven and Finn taking off after them still human but just barely keeping up with the two wolves.
“I am getting too old for this.” Raven said, pretending to grab her back while still running full tilt after Clarke.
“You have not aged a day in one hundred years, you’re in perfect health.” Finn replied.
“That is beside the point…”
“Um, no I don’t- uh oh.” Clarke heard Finn start but he stopped just as quickly as his eyes took in the scene before him. Raven and Finn skidded to a stop, flanking Clarke.
Clarke stilled as four vampires ghost out of the shadows to stand protectively in front of the lone wolf.
The first vampire was a beautiful green-eyed brunette with soft full lips. She was around 5 feet 6 inches, wearing a black dress shirt and grey vest under a long, black leather coat. Black leather trouser and black boots completed her look. A smaller, brown-haired vampire with hazel eyes stood at her side with a small hand on her hip. She wore a long green dress and small black heels. On their left was a blonde female vampire, taller than both, with angular features. She was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black boots. On the far right was a giant grizzly vampire, he was bald and had markings on his face. He was also wearing a black suit with a white shirt and light gray vest.
Clarke blinked at them for a moment before giving a soft huff. Well isn’t this great, she thought to herself.
“That is our wolf, vampire. Hand him over now.” Raven practically growled at them and Finn shot her a look.
The vampires shifted their attention to look at her, their expressions all different. The blonde looked angry, the grizzly looked hostile, the smaller vampire looked curious, and the green eyed vampire was expressionless though her eyes were wary.
“I think not, mongrel.” The blonde spat at Raven and she bristled.
“What did you call me, parasite?” She glared at the blonde, taking a small step toward her, “You want to say that to my face?” She took another step forward as Finn walked up to Raven’s side and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Raven calm down, this will get us nowhere.” He soothed, trying to get her to back down, a futile effort.
Clarke decided that it might be best if she changed and talked to them herself as she sees the blonde’s face morph from anger to outrage. She gave Raven a low warning growl as she let the change take over her body. She bowed her head as she felt the tingle of the change that started at the base her back and traveled up her spine. She felt her muscles clench and unclench as her bones broke and resituated themselves into human form.
When the transformation is finished she’s crouched on the ground taking deep breaths, changing may not be painful but it is unpleasant. Standing, her blonde hair falling around her shoulder, she opens her blue eyes and they immediately connected with the green ones staring impassively back at her. Raven and the blonde were still trading insults and the smaller vampire was staring at Clarke in open curiosity, running her eyes up and down Clarke’s naked body like she could not believe a 200 pound wolf could fit in a slim 5 foot 5 body.
“Raven,” she called at the same time green eyes stated calmly “Anya.” Causing both of them to immediately shut their mouths mid-insult. Raven steps back into her place on Clarke’s right side as Finn moves to her left.
Once they were in place, Clarke looked back at the green eyed vampire in front of her, “My name is Clarke Griffin and as Raven here was saying, that wo-“
“You cannot have him.” The green eyed vampire interrupted.
Raven gave a low snarl and Clarke raises her hand, “That is not for you to decide. He is a werewolf and he will come with me. You have no say in how we govern our own.”
“This is my territory and I will govern those here.” She replied with barely an inflection in her voice.
“No.” Every one of the vampires bristled except green eyes. “You have not been tracking him for a month. He is not a danger of exposing your species. Werewolves are ours to govern as vampires are yours to govern.”
Green eyes cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side slowly, “I do not understand. What has he done?”
“He has been attacking humans in towns and cities up and down the east coast for the last two months.”
“I see,” she paused and looked at the wolf behind her. She turned back to Clarke and took a step forward, extending her hand, “My name is Alexandra. Would you and your pack accompany us to our manor so we can speak more?” She looked Clarke up and down mouth twitching, “And we can provide you with clothes.”
“Yeah right.” Raven snorted, “You mean lead us right into your vampire nest where you can pick us off in your home. No need to leave your house ever again right. Full blood supply that is just as long living as you are.”
“You are in no position to argue.” With that she turned and walked away. Her vampires following behind her silently and the wolf silently loping next to her.
“Also,” the blonde, Anya, turned back and looked Raven in the eyes, “werewolf blood is disgusting.”
Raven glowered, “Say that to my face, bloodsucker.”
“Let’s go.” Clarke stated and started following their retreating figures.
//
They ran through the dense woods together, the werewolves opting to remain in human form. The lone werewolf leading the group with the vampires running behind him and the wolves bringing up the rear. Clarke in the lead with Raven and Finn flanking her.
Even running in human form werewolves were still way faster than your typical human, able to just keep up with the vampire’s preternatural speed with ease. Of course, that may have to do with the vampires slightly backing off their usual gait in order to lead the wolves to their home.
After a few minutes of running through the woods they finally reached the edge of the woods and the group slowed down. As they walked out of the last of the trees they found themselves in the backyard of a huge estate. Anya and the grizzly separated from the group and moved towards the manor that stood in the center of an impressive estate.
Clarke took in her surroundings while she waited for Alexandra to speak. The grounds of the estate were huge and, from where they exit the woods, Clarke could see a giant greenhouse, a large sparing area that held all sorts of weapons and two vampires sparring with each other while a third looked on, and a picnic area surrounded by an assortment of tulips and other smaller colorful flowers.
Alexandra lowered her head and whispered into the ear of the smaller vampire, who had moved closer to her with a hand on her lower back when the group had stopped. Alexandra turned back to Clarke, still expressionless, “Costia, will go and fetch the other vampires on the estate while I take you inside to the meeting room.” She explained as the smaller vampire, Costia, flitted away toward the greenhouse on the far left side of the estate.
Alexandra turned and led Clarke and her pack down a small dirt path to the manor. The path was lined with daisies of different colors spaced out in groups between the hundred foot walk to the manor.
Reaching the back door Alexandra turned around and faced Clarke, “Do not touch anything and do not wander.” Turning back around, she opened the door and stepped inside, Clarke, Finn and Raven following closely behind.
“I still think they’re going to string us up and keep us as their own personally blood supply.” Raven muttered even as she closed the door behind her and looked around.
“Raven,” Finn warned, voice as low as hers. He shot her a look that clearly said, ‘stop’, before he turned back towards the vampire, who was standing in the middle of the room, and smiled apologetically, “Sorry about her, she’s a bit dramatic sometimes.”
Alexandra said nothing, but tilted her head up in acknowledgment.
Clarke walked into the room behind Alexandra and took a look around. The only entrance to the room was the door they just entered in that leads to the back yard. The room was large, to the far left of the room was a long mahogany meeting table that could sit up to 12 people running parallel to the wall. Situated in the far right corner was an unlit fire place, the lone wolf was lying on the floor next to it, looking, for all the world, like a large dog. He definitely didn’t look like he spent the last two months wreaking havoc in towns along the east coast.
On the wall next to the fireplace was a light brown wooden wardrobe. Alexandra gestured to it, “There are clothes in there if you wish to dress.”
Clarke raised her eyebrows as Raven and Finn mad their way towards the wardrobe, she had forgotten that she was naked. Making her way toward the wardrobe after her wolves had picked out their clothes, trousers and tunics for the both of them, she picked out black trousers and a dark blue shirt and throws them on before turning back to their vampire host.
“Please have a seat,” the vampire said, staring at Clarke with her penetrating green eyes while extending an arm toward the meeting table. “We will wait for the others to join us before you explain to me why you are here.”
“We’re here for the wolf. So how about you just give him to us and we can be on our way.” Raven growled out as they moved toward the table.
Clarke paused in taking a seat at the table. She looked over at the vampire, “Can you give us a minute, please?”
The vampire just nodded and looked back at the lone wolf, “Come, we will give them some privacy.” They make their way to the door and just before they step out Alexandra turns, looks at Raven and says, “And do not worry wolf, I will not hide him from you.”
Once the door is closed Clarke takes a seat at the end of the long table. Gesturing to the seats on either side of her she looked at both of her wolves and motioned for them to sit. Finn immediately took a seat on her left but Raven continued to stand on Clarkes left, glaring down at the table.
“Raven,” Clarke commanded. Raven huffed and slid the chair out slowly, plopping down into it and crossing her arms. “Raven, what is the problem. Ever since we got here you’ve been unnecessarily hostile. You want to tell me what’s going on?”
Raven looked away a moment before turning back and mumbling something under her breath. Taking a deep breath she said, “They outnumber us. There are three of us and who knows how many of them.”
Clarke looked at Raven and understanding flashed across her face. Raven had only been a werewolf for a century, most of that time she had been in Camp Jaha. This was the longest she’d been out of camp since she became a werewolf and she’d only ever seen vampires alone or in groups of at most three. Add that to the fact that vampires and werewolves were not on the friendliest of terms and Raven’s feelings were clear.
She was scared.
“I see.” Is all Clarke said, she was quiet for a moment thinking about what best to say to Raven before continuing, “I understand Raven, I do, but they are not going to kill us. She just wants to know what we want with the lone wolf. We’ll tell her what’s been going on and we take him, simple as that. And… maybe we can part on good terms with them, make a truce. There has been unrest between our two groups and I think we can settle it right here right now.”
“And what makes you think they will listen?” Raven questioned.
“Well, for one, they didn’t kill us in the woods.”
“How reassuring.”
“It’s a valid reason.” Finn jumped in, “You haven’t been around vampires as long as we have. They attack anyone they perceive as a threat or, in the case of werewolves, whenever they want. I cannot tell you how many fights I’ve been in involving vampires, they attack first and question later. My first few years as a werewolf is a haze of vampire attacks.”
Clarke looked between Finn and Raven, “She will be open to it. We need it. Traveling will be much better on both sides if the danger we present to each other is nullified.”
Finn looked convinced that they could negotiate a truce but Raven didn’t, she just shook her head, still glaring down at the table.
Clarke sighed, “Can you at least behave while I talk to her? We are still on her territory and I would rather not make her angry when we’re outnumbered.”
When Raven gave a jerky nod, Clarke stood and opened the door. The lone wolf and Alexandra were the first through the door followed Anya, Costia and at least four more vampires, one of them being the grizzly that met them in the woods. Clarke took a seat back at the end of the table and Alexandra took the seat opposite her. Anya to her left and Costia on her right, the other vampires stood around the room even though there was plenty of room at the table. The wolf went back to his place by the fireplace, watching them.
The two groups stared at each other for a moment before the green eyed vampire spoke. Gesturing to either side of her she says, “This is Anya and Costia as I am sure you are aware.” Pointing to the grizzly over her left shoulder, “This is Quint,” pointing over her right shoulder to a man bigger than Quint who also had markings on his face but that differed from Quint’s, “Gustus,” she nodded to a woman with dirty blonde hair standing in the middle of the room, “Echo and Fox, my youngest,” she gestures to a dark brown haired vampire sitting by the wolf, softly stroking his snout and telling him it was nice to meet him.
Clarke motioned to Finn and Raven in turn saying, “This is Finn and Raven.”
“So, Clarke, tell me what do you want with this wolf?”
“As I said before, he has attacked several towns up and down the east coast for the last two months. He has become a threat and we have been given orders to stop him by any means necessary. We also need to know why he has decided to do so.”
“By eliminating the threat you mean kill him?” She asked expressionless.
“What would you do if one of your vampires went on a murder spree? If they were a danger of exposing your kind?”
“He is not attacking anyone now. He is calm. Why not leave him with us. I will make sure he does not attack anyone.”
“For how long? You can’t watch him all the time and there is no guarantee that he won’t start attacking again. What if he suddenly gets the urge to kill, wanders into this town of yours and starts killing the people there? What then? People will know werewolves exist and will hunt us into extinction. How long after that will they realize we are not the only ‘ungodly’ thing out there? What happens when they find out vampires exist? I cannot take that chance.”
Clarke looked around the room taking in the expressions around them. Anya, Quint and Gustus looked angry and like they would like to kill them all and be done with this meeting. Fox and Costia look interested and confused at the same time. Echo looked indifferent, like she didn’t care what happened either way.
Its Alexandra’s expression that caught her attention though, her face is still an expressionless mask of practiced indifference but her eyes were burning with determination and, much deeper, pain.
Clarke wondered what the expression in her eyes meant as the vampire starts to speak again, in a much slower voice almost hesitant, “Do you have to kill him? He is not attacking anyone now. Maybe it was just a fluke.”
Clarke took her time answering, it was obvious the vampire had some sort of feelings for the wolf but Clarke could not fathom why. “Let us speak to him.” She said finally, “Alone,” she adds.
“You may speak to him, but I will not leave you three alone with him. Anya, Costia and I will stay with you.” She waved her hand and all the vampires filed out of the room quickly and quietly. In moments Clarke, Raven and Finn were left alone with Anya, Costia, Alexandra and the wolf.
The vampires stood on one side of the wolf while Finn and Raven stood on the other. Clarke crouched down in front of the wolf and looked him in the eyes. Letting her voice take on the tone of an alpha, a tone she rarely uses, Clarke says, “Change.”
Unable to resist the command he stands as the change comes over him. By the time he’s human again his chest is heaving and he’s panting. Once he’s done he stands to his full height and Clarke rises with him. He was over six feet tall, his stomach and arms were rippling with muscles and his skin is glistening. He had markings across his chest and arms. He was mostly bald with just a stripe of hair in the middle of his head. His eyes were a bright yellow and feral. Ah his in a Blood Rage, she thinks to herself.
“Well hello there tall, dark and handsome.” Raven said appreciatively. “It’s too bad you’ve been killing humans up and down the coast, otherwise I’d love to take you home and-”
“Raven-,” Finn started looking over at the vampires who were looking at her with growing anger, except Costia, who still had curiosity on her face.
“Shut your mouth Mongrel that is my brother you are talking about.” Anya growled, taking a step closer to Raven.
“That is the last time I’m going to let you call me mongrel, parasite.” Raven snarled back stepping into the blonde vampires face. “The next time, I’m going to rip the tongue out of your mouth.”
“Raven!” The alpha still evident in her tone drove Raven to back away from the vampire and stand with her back to the wall, head tilted and eyes averted from Clarke’s.
Clarke, on the other hand, had not stopped staring at the wolf. His eyes too were averted from her but he had not submitted to her. She did not force him to though, he is not her wolf after all. She was slightly confused as to why he hadn’t attacked her and everybody in this room yet. Especially with the aggression that saturated the room, making it hard for even Clarke not to snap and bite someone.
“Anya,” Alexandra said to the blonde vampire who was practically vibrating with rage.
She growled at Raven taking a step toward her. Raven growled back with equal hostility, her body never leaving the submissive pose she had.
“Anya,” Alexandra said again, this time with more force, and Anya stops growling and takes a few steps back.
Taking a few deep breaths she turned toward the tall wolf moving to embrace him. “Lincoln,” she says softly taking another step forward.
His body tensed slightly, not enough for anyone to notice unless they were standing right next to him, and he gives off a scent of anger and, less prominent, warning. Clarke noticed and let out a low rumble in warning at Anya, moving forward to intercept her.
Anya stopped before touching Clarke and snarled lowly at the wolf, “Move, you will not keep me from him.”
“If you touch him he will attack you, sister or not. They didn’t send me to find him for fun and games. They sent me because he is a danger. He is in a Blood Rage and he will attack you.” Even though he hasn’t made a move, she thought to herself, even though he’s relatively calm. Finn and Raven’s expression turned to understanding. Costia looked confused, but Alexandra and Anya nodded in understanding.
“I do not believe that.” This time it was Alexandra who speaks up walking forward to stand beside Anya. “He came to us after all.”
“What do you mean?” Finn asked speaking for the first time. He was standing by the fireplace with Costia, both looking interestingly at what had been taking place before them.
“He smelled us, his sisters, and came directly to us. You said he has been running up and down the coast for the last two months,” That was more of a statement than a question, but Clarke still nodded in affirmation. “I have been travelling up and down the east coast rounding up some of my brethren and making sure they are staying in line and out of the humans’ sight. He was most likely following my scent looking for me.”
Clarke looked pensive for a moment. Looking back and forth between the vampire and the wolf, before nodding and stepping back. “It is possible.” She replied after a moment.
When werewolves are in a Blood Rage the only things that can bring them back from the edge is a family member or a wolf stronger than them. During a rampage the logical human part of the mind is taken over by the wolf and the wolf often wants nothing more than to hunt and kill. While the human mind is suppressed by the wolf persona and cannot take back control of themselves, they can give the wolf an instinct to find a stronger wolf to tame him. Or, in this case, once they smelled family they can make the wolf seek them out. It’s only a temporary fix though.
Both vampires stepped forward their scents calm and non-threatening. “Lincoln,” Anya said, “It is us Lincoln, we are here.” She laid a hand on his forearm and he tensed again before taking in her scent and relaxing slightly. His eyes flicker and a hint of brown overtakes the yellow in his eyes and he takes a deeper breath pulling in the scents of both the Anya and Alexandra.
After taking a few deep breaths the yellow receded completely from his eyes allowing his natural brown to take over though they were still glowing. “Alex, Anya.” He said, with a smile.
//
“Ask your questions so we can be done with this and you can leave.” They were sitting back at the table five minutes later. Alexandra back at the head with Costia on her left and Anya on her right. Clarke was sitting at the opposite end of the table, directly across from Alexandra, Finn on her right and Raven on her left. Lincoln was sitting in the middle between them, looking between the two groups.
Clarke looked at Anya and didn’t bother to respond. Clarke knew it wouldn’t be as easy as asking questions then going on her merry way. No it wasn’t that simple.
Alexandra just stared at them, waiting for Clarke to get on with the show.
Clarke cleared her throat, then looked directly at Lincoln, “What do you remember?”
He looked back at Clarke his face shifting into a frown, “The very first thing I remember is waking up in the woods. I did not know where I was, but my wolf was restless. It felt like my skin was crawling, burning, so I changed. Once I did I was no longer in control of my wolf, he was in control of me. He ran around the woods killing and eating every animal he saw until he came upon a small town.” He paused, his gaze fell to his hands, folded on the table. Taking a deep breath he looked back up at Clarke, “There was a farmer,” he spoke slowly, “he was in the field, checking his produce when the wolf caught his scent. He chased the farmer into the woods and… killed him and partially ate him. He did not like the taste of him.”
There was silence save for the heaving breathing of Lincoln as he relieved what his wolf had done. The werewolves looked at him with something akin to sympathy. No one likes to be a slave to their wolf. It happens a lot to wolf pups, before the wolf and the human find a balance between each other.
“Y-you a-ate him? Partially? Why would you do that?” Costia looked horrified and like she might throw up at any minute.
Lincoln just sat there looking down at his hands, breathing deeply. “He wouldn’t.” Alexandra stated simply and Costia jerked her head toward her so fast Clarke was surprised it didn’t spin off her neck.
“He just said-” Costia started.
“His wolf. His wolf killed and ate the farmer.” Clarke corrected, pinning the small vampire with a glare.
“What is the difference?”
“The wolf and the human are different personas. The wolf is the beast that lives inside of all werewolves, when a new wolf pup is first bitten the wolf and the human are at war with each other, both fighting for dominance. Usually it takes either a fight or a hunt to get both of them to work together and create a balance between the two. When a werewolf goes into a Blood Rage the wolf takes complete control and goes on a killing spree if not stopped in time. Lincoln was not in control of what his wolf did.”
“I see.” Costia levelled an apologetic at the lone wolf, “I am sorry.”
“It is ok.” Lincoln replied, “You could not have known.”
“What happened next, wolf?” Raven asked.
He turned toward Raven briefly before, continuing his story, “My wolf left him at the edge of the woods, not concerned about concealing the body, and found a cave to rest in. He was full and tired. He woke up couple of days later, still in control. I tried to take back control, I swear I did, but he was still so angry.” He paused there, swallowing thickly, “They were outside the cave, they had guns and torches and were shouting at each other… There were fifteen of them all together. Fifteen men. He killed them all and retreated deeper into the woods. They shot him a couple of time and he was hurt and spooked. He stayed there for two weeks, killing deer, wolves, rabbits and anything that moved near him. After the second week he wandered closer to a town. I picked up a scent,” He looked over at Alexandra and smiled, “it was yours Alex. I suggested to the wolf that he should go investigate the scent. It traveled up and down the coast and the wolf could only get so close. It settled here a couple of days ago so he decided to try and get close again. That’s when he caught your scent, other wolves one more dominant than him so he ran. Then you found us… and now we’re here.” He finished his story and looked around the room, gaze settling on Clarke’s.
There was silence for a few minutes while they took in Lincoln’s story. Clarke, Raven and Finn looked understanding, Anya looked concerned, Alexandra was expressionless, except her eyes which are tender and Costia still looked simultaneously afraid and curious.
“You didn’t kill all of the men.” All eyes went to Finn as he broke the silence. “One made it back to the town and went straight to a pub. Where he proceeded to get drunk and tell the story of a ‘beast who tore through 15 men like they weren’t made of flesh and bone’. A pack overheard him and sent for us. Luckily no one believed him and we were able to stop the threat before it started.”
“How do you feel now Lincoln?” Clarke asked, looking at him.
“Still restless,” he replied. “My skin is still crawling but it is not burning anymore. I feel more in control of myself, but my wolf is still there growling and waiting.”
“You recognize me as more dominant, yes?” When he nodded Clarke stood and moved to stand next to him. He was almost as tall as Clarke while sitting, she looked straight in his slightly glowing brown eyes and let her wolf shine in hers. Her eyes glowed a bright blue as she stared a silent command and challenge in them. His eyes flicked down then back up as his head tilted to the side in submission. His eyes were no longer glowing but were still bright.
“Thank you,” he said. “I am not restless anymore and my skin is not crawling. The wolf is still growling but lowly now. Thank you.”
She moved back to her chair and sat down, “You’re welcome. Can you remember anything before you woke up in the woods?” When he shook his head silently she sighed, “Ok.”
“Are you done with your questions now?” Anya asked impatient.
“Yes.”
“Good, can you leave now?”
The three wolves looked at each other. “Lincoln cannot stay with you. He needs to come back with us.”
“Like hell he does!” Anya stood and moved toward the wolves, “I will not have my brother leave with a pack of wild Mutts!”
Raven jumps up and growls low in her throat as she takes a step forward, “Look here Leech, you don’t get a say in this. He’s coming with us and there is nothing you can do about it.” Raven and Anya kept moving forward until they were standing toe to toe, nostrils flaring but not touching.
“Can we all just relax and talk this out like mature supernaturals please? Raven, Anya can you two please sit down? You two have been at each other’s throats nonstop, all day. Anya can we just explain. Raven can you not jump down her throat please.” Finn asked, staring between the two. He took a deep breath when both stepped away from each other and sat back down. “Thank you.”
“So explain why he cannot stay.” Anya huffed.
“Even though he is calm now and his Blood Rage seems to be under control, it is not.” Clarke began, her tone slow and even. “This state is temporary, he needs to come back with us to Camp Jaha. Usually when a werewolf is in a Blood Rage it’s because the wolf and the human have fallen out of balance. If he sustains this Blood Rage for another week he will have to be put down, I’m actually surprised that he lasted this long. More often than not, a wolf in the grips of the Rage goes crazy within two months, the fastest it’s happened was in two weeks.”
“So how do you get him out of the Blood Rage then?” Alexandra asks speaking up for the first time since Lincoln finished his story.
“Fighting is the go to method of bringing a wolf and human together and also for getting wolves out of the Rage. Having the wolf in a series of fights with several different opponents forces the wolf to accept the human’s help if he wants to win. We try to keep it nonlethal and have the wolf fight only those who are either more dominant or around the same dominance as him. It doesn’t matter if the wolf wins or loses, all that matters is the human and wolf working together. It also helps determine where the wolf falls in the case of dominance.”
“You said fighting is the ‘go to method’, is there another way to put the human and wolf back in balance?” Costia asked hesitantly.
“Yes, hunting is also a good way to do it. However it doesn’t always work in the case of the Rages. We mostly use that for wolf pups who are learning control over their wolves.”
“So you want to take Lincoln back to your Camp to do this. Is it possible to do it here? With the three of you?” Alexandra questioned.
“No Alex, Clarke is the only one more dominant than I am. Though Raven is certainly fiery, she would not be able to take me in a fight and I would most likely kill her…” answered Lincoln.
“That is fine with me…” Anya mumbled and Raven snarled at her.
“… and Finn is… too kind.” The wolf shrugged his shoulders and casted an apologetic smile at Finn, who just smiled back.
“What if you fought some of the vampires?” Costia shifted in her seat her gaze roving back and forth between Clarke and Lincoln waiting for their answer.
They looked at each other a moment before Clarke shakes her head, “It’s not safe for them. He needs to come with us. Not only for the Blood Rage… but my mother, the packs second, and Jaha, the alpha, will want to talk with him about what happened. I know you don’t remember but they’ll still want to talk.” Lincoln just nodded.
Alexandra nodded her head as well, “I knew you would have to take him. Can I just ask a few questions?”
“Of course.” Clarke replies readily.
“Will he be free to come back, once his Blood Rage passes?”
“Yes, we would not force him to stay.”
“Where is Camp Jaha?”
“Deep in the Canadian wilderness. There is no human civilization for miles and miles. Just vast stretches of endless white snow.” Clarke stated easily.
“How many wolves are in your pack?”
Clarke chewed on her lip for a moment thinking. “The pack is large,” she says slowly, “it can, in actuality claim to be three separate packs and a few lone wolves. Jaha founded the Camp back when werewolves where first rediscovered and were being hunted. The werewolves needed a safe haven and he supplied it. He is considered Alpha by all because of this, make no mistake though, he is very, very dominant. But there are those who are more dominant than him. Loyalty is what is holding the pack together.”
Alexandra chewed on that for a minute and nods once more. “Will he be safe there?” The question is timid, almost silent. If it weren’t for the enhanced hearing everyone in the room possessed it wouldn’t have been heard at all.
“I will make sure of it personally.” Clarke promised solemnly and with as much sincerity as she could.
“Ok,” Alexandra breathed.
“I have one more thing I would like to discuss with you before we go.” Clarke stated, sitting up straighter. At Alexandra’s nod she continued, “The vampire and werewolf attacks.”
The mood in the room shifted slightly. Both groups suddenly sat up straighter and eyed each other. Clarke and Alexandra only looked at each other, mostly ignoring the others as the tension in the room suddenly rose.
“What of them?” Alexandra’s voice was controlled. None of the tension Clarke saw in her eyes evident in her voice.
“I think we need to come to some sort of agreement. Vampires don’t randomly attack werewolves and werewolves don’t randomly attack vampires.”
“You propose a peace treaty? Why?”
“I understand that we are all scared of being discovered again. I was there when the humans started hunting down the werewolves 300 years ago. I was there when they found out about the vampires not a decade later. I remember how much chaos there was and I know how desperate we all are for it not to happen again. But this fighting that we’re doing now is not helping anyone. If this keeps up they will discover us again. They have better weapons now, it would be wiser to join together and ensure all of our safety.”
Alexandra looked to Anya, then Costia, and finally Lincoln, all of whom who nodded their agreement. Anya’s was a little reluctant though. “I am inclined to agree with you. Just last week there was a skirmish between a pack and a seethe. It was… bloody and both sides ended up dead.” Clarke nodded, remembering as Alexandra continued, “I will spread the word that the fighting must stop.”
“I will do the same. This will be good for us, Alexandra.” They nodded at each other.
“Can I ask a question?” Raven asked in the sudden silence. She ignored Clarke’s exasperated “Raven!” and continued regardless, “You and you are sisters to Mr. Tall, dark, and lovely,” she pointed at Anya and Alexandra in turn, “Who are you to him?” She asked looking pointedly at Costia.
“Me,” Costia points to herself, “oh nothing! I was turned only 200 years ago. After he left.”
“So why are you here?”
“Um, Alexa is mine. As much as I am hers.” Costia beamed and looked toward the green-eyed vampire who offered a small smile to the smaller vampire.
“Really Alex!” Lincoln exclaimed looking excited, “How long have you two been together?”
“Since she was turned 200 years ago, give or take a decade.” Alexandra smiles a full sincere smile at the large ecstatic werewolf.
“I’m so happy for you Alex.”
“Oh is that why you’ve been looking at him with incredible interest since he showed up?” Finn asked, “Have you ever even met a werewolf before?”
“Yes that is why he was interesting, I have heard so much about you Lincoln.” Lincoln blushed at this revelation. “And no, I have never seen a werewolf before today. I must say, it’s all terribly exciting.”
“Wait a minute,” Raven’s outburst made everyone turn to her expectation on their faces. Terror on Finn and Clarke’s. “So what you’re telling me,” She made eye contact with Alexandra and continued, “is that you are a broody, dark clothes wearing, lady loving vampire…” At the vampire’s hesitant nod Raven continued, “So you’re a regular Carmilla then.”
There was nothing but silence following Raven’s words as Alexandra’s expression finally morphed into sudden rage and a low growl worked its way out of her throat. In a blink she was out of her chair, lifting Raven by the neck and slamming her down on the table in front of Clarke.
“You will never call me by that name again. Nor will you ever mention it in my presence. Do you understand?” Her voice was barely more than a throaty growl and the menace and rage in it made Clarke blink and want to take a step back.
“She has strong feelings about this. I suggest you apologize… or do not. I, for one, would love to see your throat torn out.” Anya grinned eagerly. While Costia looked on in mild concern.
Clarke stood up and walked around the table toward Alexandra who was still pinning Raven to the table by the neck. “Alexandra, she is sorry. Please, let her go.” Still snarling down at her the vampire didn’t seem to be listening. Not thinking Clarke placed a hand on the arm holding Raven down and lowered her voice a bit, “Please let her go.” The arm under her hand tensed for a moment before green eyes looked up into Clarke’s blue ones. The vampire relaxed and removed her hand. Raven shot up and away from the vampire, holding her neck and coughing.
“So close,” Anya pouted and crossed her arms.
“I apologize,” Alexandra said, moving back to her side of the table at a much slower rate than before.
“No, I must apologize for Raven’s behavior. She’s not normally like this.” At Finn’s snort Clarke amended, “Well she’s not always like this.”
“Regardless, I should not have lost my temper. I would ask you to rest here for the remainder of the day and night and you can start on your journey back in the morning. Will Lincoln last that long?”
Moving away from Raven, still slouched against the wall, Clarke stood in front of Lincoln and peered into his eyes. “Yes he should be fine as long as I’m here. You can use the time to catch up.”
Standing the vampires moved to the door with Lincoln following behind. Alexandra’s coat billowing around her as she moved.
Letting out one more cough Raven’s voice paused the vampires before they could slide out the door, “Should have went with, Dracula with the way you wear that coat.” That only earned a low snarl and growl rather than a bodily attack from the green-eyed vampire as she breezed out of room.
Finn shook his head and muttered “Do you have a death wish?” Clarke only gave her an exasperated sigh and a shake of her head.
*************************************************************************************
February 2015-Polis
Clarke sighed as she shifted in tub, the water was now cold, but she made no move to get out of it, she was too tired. She turned her head to look at the clock hanging on one of the walls in the bathroom; 4:15. Stretching, Clarke stood up, wrapped herself in a big fluffy blue towel and stepped out of the tub. She let the water out of the tub, then moved to the counter and started brushing out her wet hair, her mind still in the past.
Clarke, Finn and Raven left Lexa’s estate the next morning and made their way back to Camp Jaha. They ran on foot instead of as wolves, they didn’t want to risk Lincoln losing what little control he had over his wolf. There were no incidents along the way and they only stopped to talk to the local werewolf packs telling them about the new peace they had with the vampires letting them know that attacks on them would not be tolerated. Clarke was well known to be an enforcer and no one wanted to get on her bad side, they agreed to pass the message along to any werewolves they came across. Less than a week of traveling, they finally made it back to Camp Jaha, with Lincoln barely holding onto the last of his sanity. The fights lasted for days, finally ending when Clarke stepped into the ring herself, beating him with sheer force of will. He left and went back to his sisters shortly after Jaha and her mother were sure he was back to normal and his wolf was content. They were still unsure why he lost control, but they could only hope it wouldn’t happen again. Three months later Lincoln came back the Camp and stayed for over ten years, finding a mate with a wolf named Octavia, much to her brother’s dismay.
After brushing her hair, Clarke threw on a large t-shirt and boy shorts and walked out of her room and into the living room. Raven was passed out on the couch, bag of Hot Cheetos on the floor along with the remote. Clarke walked over and turned the TV off and covered Raven with the blanket over the back of the couch, before returning to her room and retiring for the morning.
She didn’t have anything to do later today. But maybe she’d text Lexa and see if she wanted to hang out later. Maybe they could go see a movie. Or they could Netflix and chill.
Clarke fell asleep that morning with a content smile on her face.