Chapter Two

Ryan stared down at the folded paper, hesitating outside the large brick warehouse. What the hell was he doing? He tentatively allowed his fist to pound on the thick metal door, half wishing his knock would go unanswered. With a heavy creak the door swung open, shattering that wish.

"I'm glad you came. Come on in. Would you like a beer?"

"Sure. I almost didn't come," Ryan admitted, shoving his hands nervously into the pockets of his hoodie.

Dylan chuckled, crossing the hard wood floors to the open kitchen and opening the refrigerator. "But you did. A wise choice, too." He turned with two beers in hand and gently nudged the refrigerator door shut with the heel of his boot. "And you don't have to look so terrified."

Ryan accepted the beer offered to him and popped the cap. He took a quick swallow and at Dylan's urging followed him up a long flight of stairs leading out onto the roof. Dylan sat comfortably on the brick stones and glanced up at the darkening sky. "Looks like more snow clouds moving in."

"Yeah, feels like it."

"So, do you want to talk about what happened? What you remember?"

Ryan lowered himself to the ground, his back pressing against the brick. "I was leaving work. I'm just a dishwasher down at Ribs and Steaks. I've only been here about a month. I always walk to the inn down Williams Drive. The Milton Inn. Every night for almost a month, and all I've ever seen were a few bums and joggers."

The beer felt strangely heavy in his hands so Ryan lowered it to the ground beside him and drew his knees to his chest, hugging his arms around them. The air was chilled, but a different cold was settling around him. "Last night was different. I guess the snow kept most people away. It was just dark and cold and empty. I remember just saying to myself how I needed to either find a car or a better jacket if I was gonna make it here. So different from Alabama. We don't get snow and cold like this down there."

"What brought you here to Blairsville, Georgia?" Dylan asked softly, watching the fear setting in Ryan's eyes.

Ryan blinked, thrown off guard. "I had to leave. I felt like my life was going nowhere, and so one day I took my savings and took the first bus I could find. It brought me here. I needed a change, you know? Just a new chance to be someone different. And I pretty much almost got killed for it."

Ryan chugged the beer down and pushed himself to his feet, pacing. "I didn't even see it. I heard a rustling sound, just thought it was the wind, and then I felt this weight slam into me and knock me to the ground. The teeth were in my throat before I could scream. I don't remember how I found the rock, but my hand did and I just kept slamming it into the beast's head until it released me."

He looked down at his hands, eyes wide and racing. "I crawled, and when I could I just ran, but I was so tired, and it was so fast. It just kept coming at me. I grabbed a branch and just hit it and hit it. I think I hurt its eye because it howled and fell back with the last blow, and that's when I finally got far enough from it to escape."

Ryan raised his gaze. "I think it was some kind of wolf but it wasn't like any wolf I've ever seen."

"Because it was a werewolf, part man, part beast," Dylan answered, standing. "He probably stalked you for a while before attacking. Probably one of the bums or joggers you passed every night. Just waited for the right time."

"That's insane. Werewolves don't exist." There seemed to be a weight crushing Ryan's chest. He leaned against the brick wall, one hand pressed to his chest.

"There are things you have to know. I know it seems unreal, but you have to accept what happened if you're going to survive this. You won't have a lot of time to come to terms with the changes that are going to take place inside your body."

"What?" Ryan nearly shrieked, panic filling his body and closing what little airway he had left.

Dylan caught his shoulders as he began choking on air. "Calm down, breathe. You're hyperventilating."

"What do you mean changes?"

"You've been infected. You will turn into a wolf on the next full moon, and then you will be a full fledged werewolf. There's nothing that can stop this from happening. It's way past that point now."

"This is crazy! I'm not a werewolf. I can't be. I'm just some stupid idiot who ran away from home."

Ryan turned sharply, heaving and vomiting up the beer. His throat burned as his stomach emptied itself, the acid filling his mouth. He was glad he had opted not to eat after leaving the hospital. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he turned to face Dylan.

"How do you know? Are you… a werewolf? Is that how you saved me?"

Dylan slowly shook his head. "No, I'm a vampire, and I used my blood to heal you. It was the only way to save your life, but it can't reverse the infection. The bites and scratches put it in your body before I found you."

"You're telling me you're a vampire?" Ryan felt the blood drain from his face, Dylan must have noticed too because he quickly caught Ryan's shoulders and led him over to the brick ledge. Ryan allowed himself to be seated, a numbness sweeping through him.

"You're crazy. This isn't real. I must be in a coma or something. Maybe I got hit by a car."

Dylan knelt in front of Ryan, his sapphire gaze finding Ryan's. Deliberately, his eyes closed, reopening to reveal solid black orbs in place of the blue. He parted his lips, half smile, half snarl, and revealed sharp fangs. "This is what I am. This is happening."

"Why did you save me? Why didn't you let me die?" Ryan whispered.

Dylan stood and gestured over the ledge. "I saved you to give you a choice. I never had one. You do now. If you jump over this building, you will die. Your body is still human enough that it will not survive this fall. If you want to end your life, now is your chance. Once you change, death won't be so easy to find."

Ryan glanced over the ledge, imagining himself leaping into the emptiness and find salvation on the frozen pavement below. So easy, so simple. "What would you do, if it was your choice to make?"

"I'd choose to live, to overcome what's been done. It won't be easy. It will be more painful and harder than anything you have ever had to go through before."

"Will I have to kill…?"

"No, you can survive off any meat. You don't have to take human lives. You can learn to control your beast."

"How long do I have before the next full moon?"

"Ten days."

"And then I'll be a full fledged werewolf, no going back?"

"You will be a werewolf, no going back."

Ryan stood, turning his back on the ground below. "I think I need another beer, if you don't mind?"

"Of course. Come on inside."