The barrel of a handgun was pushed into his forehead, and the trigger pulled.

Shepard heaved a great sigh when no bullet came out, and the twins laughed over their prank despite the lack of a reaction. Jacob would live.

He turned away when they kicked the Vampire into the mudd, not watching as he scrambled to keep his head covered with the filthy hood to prevent any sunlight from touching his skin. He was told to wait where he was, in the dirt, not moving, and listen for anything that could be useful. Jacob did as he was told, but not before taking another boot to the back with little more then a grunt of pain. The Shepards were well known for their abilities in killing and making captives cooperate, but not their mercy, something Shepard himself despised greatly.

Shepard checked the clip of his gun a third time, just for something to think about. It was empty, just as he left it. Good. He wanted no mistakes.

"Make sure you have your spare clips before we go," Michael said, ignoring the abuse going on behind him. "Just in case."

Shepard nodded gruffly. Unlike the clip in the gun he held, the others did have bullets in them, but none would be fired. Not that his father or any of his brothers knew that.

Michael squeazed his shoulder and moved on to be sure that everything was in place before the attack. The twins were cleaning the rifles while they suppervised their captive, yet despite the layers of filthy clothing the Vampire wore, trails of smoke still snaked from his heated body. The sun lotion he'd been wearing had come off, and Shepard had to find a way to give him some without anyone noticing before they attacked. It would be who knew how long before he would get back afterwards.

Not able to look at the Vampire with nothing to do for him any longer, Shepard went to stand beside his brother Jimmy, who was knealing in the shrubs and watching the targets across the lake with a pair of black binoculars, his clothes camouflauged to blend in with the leaves and trees, as were everyone elses' apart from Jacob.

"Weird," He was muttering, shaking his head.

"Let me see," Shepard snatched them from his brother and had a look for himself.

"Help yourself." Jimmy muttered, only this time sounding annoyed.

Shepard could see nothing that should look like strange behavious among the creatures they were targeting. Children splashed in the lake under the careful watch of the parents in charge, men stood over barbeques with metal tongs and spatulas in hand, and couples chased each other around the trees, shrieking in laughter.

Shepard had couldn't see her anywhere, and he was wondering what Jimmy was muttering about.

"Makes you forget they're monsters." Jimmy said, answering the unasked question.

Shepard exhaled. "Yeah ..." Then he shook his head. "Just remember that they're killers. They're not people." To forget that was a dangerous thing, it brought down their defences, and even though Jimmy was the oldest of the two of them, he was more prone to forget it.

Jimmy looked up at him and stood. "You alright? You look kind of sick."

"I'm fine." Shepard put the binoculars back to his eyes to have another look. The truth was that he felt sick. Every time they were about to do this he felt sick. It wasn't something he found he could get used to. To kill in self defence was one thing, but to surprise attack them in the middle of the day was another. He always felt better halfway through the fight though, it was then when he had nothing to think about but getting out alive, and the sickness was gone.

Then he found her. A woman with white-blonde hair and barely fitting summer clothes ran out of the cottege followed by a darker haired man. Shepard zoomed in on her and clenched his teeth when the man wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

She suddenly appeared uncomfortable as he spoke in her ear. Shepard wished he knew what was being said, but he wasn't the gifted lip reader in the family, and to ask Jimmy to tell him what was being said would be to invite him into something private. Not that he cared about what two Werewolves said to each other, but if it involved him then he didn't want Jimmy to know it.

What the monsters were saying didn't matter anyway, it was their body language that counted. The Were's didn't know that the Shepards were across the lake, and they were downwind to boot; if the animals suddenly shifted and took to sniffing the air then the mission would be called off until later for safety. Michael would never put any of his sons into unavoidable harm, but they were doing nothing to convey a suspicion of their watchers, and so the Shepards remained at their post.

Shepared continued to watch, cursing himself for not learning the skill Jimmy has volunteered a million times to teach, and when she turned and allowed herself to be kissed, he turned away sharply. His temper nearly gone.

"Let's just get this done."

000000000000

When Kitty felt John wrap his arms around her, her first instinct told her to pull away. 'You're with someone! Are you out of your mind!' Harmless flirting was one thing, but if she didn't move away then she would be giving the impression that she welcomed his touch, which wasn't entirely true.

But then an even deeper area of her conscious spoke up. 'David's not here. He made it perfectly clear what he thinks of you.' and so she stood still when John nuzzled her cheek and spoke into her ear. "I know what happened with that other guy, your father told me."

Kitty closed her eyes and sighed. The his voice wasn't condesending or cruel, but still not what she wanted to hear. Larry was only person brave enough to go against her wishes and tell him.

"Don't be mad, he's only looking out for you. If it'd been me and my daughter I would have hunted down the bastard and killed him."

"That's why you shouldn't reproduce."

"Funny. Don't be mean, it's not my fault either, but you know how I feel, and I was thinking that, since he was gone and all, maybe you and I could spend some more time together?"

Kitty nearly laughed. "Because we worked out so well the last time?" The idea was absurd and he knew it. Why he still tried was beyond her when he had women throwing themselves at him on an almost daily basis. He was tall, lean, intelligent, and dark; the very definition of sexual attraction, but she wasn't attracted him anymore. At least not in the emotional sense.

"That was no one's fault. People grow apart when college starts. It happens, but I never forgot about you." He gave her a gentle squeeze for emphasis, and Kitty could smell his scent wafting over her for comfort. He was being sincere.

She desperately wished her father hadn't said anything about David. If he was willing to tell John then he probably told Elaine, who probably gave him the idea to tell John, not knowing that he would come clean with her within ten seconds of touching her.

She'd been wondering why her father had been talking about him on the drive to the cabin. Out of all the boyrfriends Kitty had brought home, John was the only one Larry had liked. Probably because he was the only one who happened to be a Werewolf like her.

Still, what had happened with David hurt her deeply, and even though she was past the crying on a friendly shoulder stage, she wasn't sure if she was ready to start dating again. It had been barely three weeks.

"Kit, I can't promise that we'll work, but I can definitely promise that I won't do what he did. Give me a chance?"

Should she? They were highschool sweethearts, best friends, what they had was puppy love. Now that they were grown, could they work out?

All he was asking for was a chance. Not a commitment, but just a simple little chance, and if it didn't work out, then it didn't work out. No pressure.

Kitty turned around in his arms. John's gray eyes were hopeful, and they lit up when he sensed the answer in her emotions.

Werewolves can do that.

When he kissed her she didn't pull away, but though she slid her eyes shut, she didn't allow herself to kiss him back.

To Be Continued...

A.N: This is a new story idea of mine, I'll try and update it at least once a week or so, depending on how much I work, but the next chapter will either be out tomorrow or the day after.