Chapter Three - Confronting the Wolf

Emmons Lake was a decently sized lake, surrounded by a lush forest and houses on the opposite bank. Children could play on a small play ground while parents talked and ate lunch at picnic tables in front of the lake. During the day it had a peaceful atmosphere, and around the time when school ended it was usually crowded with Elementary and Middle School kids on field trips. But during the night, it was an active hunting ground for vampires. It was easy enough to get prey, as many people snuck out at night to play on the kiddy swings while they were empty and to vandalize the place. Once you'd gotten to know each other and had started to get touchy - feely, lead them to the back of the bathrooms, or deep into the woods, and bite them. Quick and easy meal right? Unfortunately so.

Since it was six, I knew the park wouldn't be crowded, unless a few younger girls decided to come down to look out for guys. I arrived about fifteen minutes early, and leaned against a thick tree, closing my eyes for a moment. Beside me, I could feel something drop down onto the ground, a soft thud following after. My eyes instantly shot open, only to be greeted with the image of the same boy I'd seen earlier today. Once again, his deep blue eyes captured my own, but I looked away, examining him. He was tall, a good four to five inches taller than myself, and lean, although you could tell that he wasn't someone to mess with. He was dressed in a pair of black pants and a grey, sleeveless shirt. On his feet was a pair of black, buckle up combat boots.

I blushed as I saw that he was checking me out, much like I had been doing, and shifted uncomfortably. He brought his eyes back to my face, smiling as his eyes met mine.

"You look so much like your father." He said softly, stepping closer to me. Instinctively I took a few steps back, pulling out a dagger from my bag and pointing it at him. My hand was shaking, and I noticed that I also was.

"Who are you?" I demanded, fighting to steady my hand. Why did this affect me so? He chuckled softly, "Please, forgive me. My name is Sean. I... Well, I knew your father, very well in fact. I'm a pleasure to see you here, in good health and all." He smiled. I couldn't smile back, letting the information sink in. Okay, so pretty-stalker boy was a friend of dads. Okay, I can deal with this... yeah, right, just about as well as I could deal with a pack of rabid wolves (which, let me tell you, isn't very well).

I lowered the dagger slowly, placing it back in my purse and crossed my arms across my chest, waiting for some further explanation. He kept his gaze on me, it never wavered, and I shifted self-consciously. He inhaled deeply, and dropped his gaze, before starting to speak, "Kasandra-"

"Kasey," I corrected. He nodded, "Kasey. Do you believe in werewolves?" He looked back up at me, serious. I felt my eyebrows rise, "Do I believe in what?"

"Werewolves." He said it again, so serious you would have thought someone had died. I couldn't help it, and started laughing softly.

"Well, I don't know. Know any who could give us a demonstration?" I asked, joking with him, wishing he'd stop looking so serious and laugh already. When he didn't, I sobered up.

"You're serious aren't you?" I asked, and he nodded, walking towards me.

"Let me show you," he whispered, though I could hear it as if he had spoken normally. In an instant, his lips were pressed against mine, and I felt my eyes subconsciously close, images washing over me and flitting in front of me, as if they were real and were happening.

A small girl, only about the age of seven, grinned up at me, pointed fangs visible among the rest of her perfectly white teeth. However, as I looked down, I saw that her hands were stained with blood, as was her white dress.

A young boy cried out in pain, his chest cavity being ripped open viciously by someone - something - huge. Blood sprayed everywhere, and I caught a glimpse of dark, violet eyes, burning brightly, almost like Sean's.

A single, white lily dripped blood onto the ground, while the water in the stream next to it ran crimson. Lying beside it, were the carcasses of two dead dogs, and a dead, black wolf, bleeding from the throat, green eyes that, from what I could guess, would have normally been like a pair of emeralds were dulled.

An inverted pentagram spray painted in black on the front of a burning barn. Animals were crying out in pain, and a horse ran out through a broken part of the barn, its mane and tail on fire, whinnying in pain as it was burned alive.

A group of angry people, almost all supporting signs that read "DEVIL WORSHIPERS BE GONE" and "BACK TO HELL WITH YOU" stood in front of a large house. One of the teenagers in the group threw a torch upon the house, the wood instantly catching. The people around were crying their approval, and one of them ran up to the front door and, using his sign, barred the door so that they couldn't escape. From inside there were screams of shock, pain and anger, but they were lost almost instantly in the loud cries from the mob.

Then, as soon as the visions had started, I felt myself rip away from Sean, and fall back. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel the hard impact of earth, but felt nothing. Within an instant, I had passed out.

My eyes fluttered open and I found myself staring into Sean's amazing blue ones. I rolled away from Sean and sat up, my head spinning. He looked over at me, concerned, "Are you gonna be okay?" I nodded, "Just give me a minute," and closed my eyes; hoping things would stop whirling around when they opened again.

I opened them again and slowly looked around, trying to get myself together. I wasn't at my house, nor was I at Emmons, so where was I? It was someone's room, clothes cluttered over the floor and posters hanging on the walls and ceiling. From a window facing the bed I could see the sky begin to turn dark. I looked away, but stopped as something caught my eye. It was a picture of me. Sean turned his attention to where I was looking and quickly walked over and ripped the picture down, crinkling it up in his hand and throwing it away. I narrowed my eyes, my hand flying for my purse, but it was no longer there. Frantically I looked around for it, but couldn't find it anywhere. I turned back to Sean, glaring.

"Where the hell did you put my purse?" I demanded, a low, feral growl rising in my throat.

"Don't worry about it." He reassured me, taking a seat beside me, his eyes scanning my own. I found that I once again couldn't pull myself away. They were impossibly blue, almost as if they were contacts, but I couldn't see any of the signs that would show that they weren't real. His hand came up to my face, gently tracing my cheek. His hand was warm, but not clammy, and I felt a small pull to hold onto it as if it was familiar somehow. He pulled it away and I felt a small pang of sorrow wash over me, before I quickly pushed it down.

"Kasey," he started, not breaking the connection, "What did you see?" His voice was soft, but I could still hear him. I inhaled slowly, before starting to describe the images, the little girl, the boy being torn apart, the lily and water, everything. I was silent once I was done, and forced myself to look away. I could hear the smile in his voice when he started talking.

"Is that it?" I nodded and he exhaled shakily.

"I was hoping that'd happen, hoping this day would come for years..." He cupped my chin and brought it up so I was staring at him in the face, "Kasey, you're one of us. You're a werewolf."

Wait, pause this moment, something isn't right here.

"Come again?" I asked, confused. He just continued smiling, "You're a werewolf, and part of one of the most powerful packs in the state, and, let me tell you, that's saying something."

"Right." I said skeptically, looking around the room, "I'm a werewolf. Uh-huh..." I got off the bed, heading for the door. I had twisted the doorknob before I was violently wrenched away.

Sean glared at me, "Will you listen to me, Kasey?" I shook my head, "Nope, sorry. You must have the wrong person. I'm a vampire hunter, Sean, not a werewolf. It's been great, but I really must be going now. You know people to see, places to be, vampires to kill, the whole deal." I flashed him a fake smile before shrugging his hand off my shoulder and walking towards the door.

"Look, Sean," I started, "I had a nice time, and it was nice to meet you, but I've really gotta go." I started walking out of the room, but ran into another man, posed to knock. He was tall, maybe an inch or two taller than Sean, and was slightly more muscular. His hair was roughly the same length as Sean's, but was a bright white - blonde. One thing that he shared with Sean was the eyes. I stumbled to my feet, brushing myself off and mumbled a small "sorry", looking at the ground. He didn't reply, just continued looking at me. I pushed past him and walked down the stairs across from Sean's room. As soon as I was far away, I heard Michael ask, "Was that her?"

"Yeah, that was Kasandra. Now, if you don't mind Sean, I'd like to go catch up with her before I have to go find her all over again."

"Very well, but once you're done I want a word with you Sean."

Sean must have done something to signify that he had understood, for I couldn't hear anything after it.

'I've gotta get out of here,' I thought to myself, and started walking down the many hallways that made up the house (although, as big as it was, you might as well call it a mansion). It didn't take long for me to realize that I was completely and hopelessly lost. I sighed heavily

'Of course, I'm inside a stranger/stalker's house, and I'm lost. Not to mention his friend, or whoever that other guy was, knows about me. Can this get any worse?' I thought to myself. I continued walking, passing multiple doors, when suddenly I stopped. Someone inside a room was crying, their sobs almost inaudible. I frowned, and prepared to walk in when I felt a hand on my shoulder turn me around. Once again, I was face to face with Sean.

"C'mon," he said softly and led me away from the room. I turned back for a moment only to hear that the crying stopped. The person must have realized that there were people in front of the door. Sean brought me outside, and handed me my purse. Checking it, I found both my knives and phone missing, but my money was still there. That was weird, why would he leave the money? As if he had read my mind, he answered, "I had no reason to take your money, as you can tell, I don't really need it, but I couldn't leave you your knives lest you try and kill me." He grinned.

"And my phone?" I inquired, bristling at the money comment. He pulled it out of his pocked and dialed a number. He started talking and I realized that he had called the taxi service and was giving them the directions to wherever we were. Once he had finished he handed it back to me. I mumbled a small, "thanks" before putting it back in its purse.

I looked up at the house, and hoped that my mouth didn't fall open in surprise. The "house" in question, had to be at least three stories tall, with balconies added on. It was brick, and windows were strategically placed so that you couldn't see inside, but the people in the rooms could see out. It was huge, taking up at least an acre of land itself and was surrounded by trees.

"Kasandra - Kasey, sorry," he corrected himself, "I want you to meet me at Emmons Lake tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Just trust me, you'll regret it later in the day if you don't, believe me." I looked at him skeptically, "Is that a threat Sean?"

He smirked, "Just trust me. Don't forget about it." His eyes followed something behind me and I turned around. The taxi pulled up at the driveway, stopping in front of us. I could almost imagine the driver's eyes bulging at the size of Sean's house. Getting in on the passengers side in the back, I saw Sean walk over to the driver's side. The driver rolled down the window. Sean pulled a wallet out of his back pocket, pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill, and handed it to the driver.

"Take her wherever she needs to go." He instructed. The driver looked up at Sean, grinned and nodded, took the money, and backed out. From my window I watched him turn around and head back into the house. Turning back, I gave the driver the directions to my house. We sat in silence the whole way there as I watched the scenery fly by. The sky had darkened by the time we got there. I thanked the driver as I got out and headed to my door, unlocking it as he was driving away.

By the looks of it, Mom had already left, and I didn't feel up to vampire hunting tonight. Sean's words rang through my mind, over and over again. "You'll regret it later in the day if you don't" I scoffed softly, yeah right; he was just trying to intimidate me. But something in the back of my mind told me to trust him and meet him tomorrow at Emmons. I walked down the hallway to my room, which seemed so small now compared to Sean's. I quickly undressed and got into my pajamas, a black tank top with a white star on the front and a pair of dark grey shorts, climbed into bed and fell asleep.