Author: catstark

Hello again! Here’s more of Charlie and Natalia. There are a total of six chapters. Yes, I’m sharing them all!

From Charlie and Natalia:

Natalia had just taken off her shoes when she heard the doorbell. Thinking that Zechariah somehow eluded the police again, she grabbed the sharpened samurai sword off the wall and went to the door. Looking out the peephole, she saw the back of a man with shaggy brown hair. He was wearing a white t-shirt. She ripped the door open and gave him a nasty look as he turned around. She didn’t bother hiding the sword. He gave her a huge grin.

“Hi!”

“What do you want, Charlie?” She was using the sword as a cane.

He sobered and ran his hand through his hair. “You owe me an explanation.” She blinked twice and started to close the door. His hand stopped it. “Can’t we just talk?”

She stopped trying to close the door. “Why?”

“Ten years ago, when I turned sixteen, I found out I was a werewolf. I didn’t have anyone to talk to about it for the first five years. Do you have anyone to talk to Natalie?” His voice was calm, and soothing with a tinge of pain.

Natalia sagged as her free hand went to her face. “No.” It was a whisper. “But what would a werewolf know about my pain?”

He placed a hand on her arm and pulled the hand away from her face. His eyes and voice were kind. “Why don’t we find out?”

She invited him inside and brought him to the living room, where he sat on the couch and she sat at the window seat. She placed the sword on the seat next to her, within reach. Natalia sat staring at him, arms crossed. He lounged on the couch, getting as comfortable as if he were at home. She gave him a dirty look as he slouched and laid one arm across the back of the couch. He was really cute. She scowled, and he grinned.

“Nice place.”

“This is ridiculous. There’s no point to you being here.”

He shrugged. “Why don’t you talk to me? Let’s find out if there’s a point.”

“Fine. Where should I start?”

“Why didn’t you try and forget what happened?”

She started visibly shaking. “Forget? And how was I supposed to do that? How exactly am I supposed to erase the memory of a Blitzkreig shaped werewolf with his snout buried in a man’s stomach? How about alcohol? Does that work? And what about when you’re so messed up you don’t notice a vampire has fed on you and all your friends, what then? More alcohol?” She had gotten up and walked over to Charlie. She was now leaning over him, one hand on the armrest and one on the back of the sofa. Her face was inches from his.

“And what about when he killed my mom and tried to rape me? How I am supposed to erase the memory of his teeth sinking into her neck and taking her life. Huh Charlie? Got any good ways to erase THAT day from my memory? Because if you do, I’D LIKE TO KNOW!”

Tears were streaming down her face. Her teeth were clenched and her lips were pulled back in a snarl. Charlie, floored beyond words, reached up and wiped her tears away. She threw herself back from the couch, as if his touch hurt her. Her legs bumped the coffee table and she fell to the ground. He was by her side instantly, holding her. She screamed into his shoulder, frustration, rage and pain flooding her mind and body. Charlie held onto her for a long time, rocking her back and forth, whispering soothing words into her hair.

It reminded Natalia of when Matt had held her trying to comfort her. She preferred Charlie’s touch. It was sincere; it was real. She melted into him and let her pain show. She cried for a long time, mourning her mother; mourning herself, wishing she didn’t know the truth, glad to finally have someone who understood.

Charlie took it all in. He knew where she was coming from. The first time he had told anyone who understood, he cried for three hours straight. Natalia cried for an hour. She shuddered a few times, but didn’t let him go. By the time the tears subsided, Charlie was leaning against the couch, and she had her head on his chest. He rubbed his lips on her hair and tried not to think about how wonderful she smelled, and how wonderful she felt against him. He held her closer and kissed the top of her head.

Natalia could hear his heart pounding in his chest. It had been a long time since she had been with a man, and Charlie was definitely a man. He had strong muscular arms and a wonderful musky odor. Her breath caught when she felt his kiss, and she pulled away. He almost didn’t let her. She persisted. “We can’t do this Charlie.”

“Why not?” His hand was on her cheek caressing her skin softly with his thumb. He swallowed hard, trying to stop his feelings. Her hand was high on his thigh; it was exceedingly hard to concentrate.

“Not today.” She hung her head. “This is a bad day.”

He grinned mischievously, letting his hand trail down to her shoulder. “I could help release whatever other feelings you’ve been holding in, make this a better day.”

Natalia did not want to have sex with this man tonight. It was still the anniversary of her mother’s death. Not a good day to sleep with a near stranger who was also a werewolf. She gently extracted herself from him and the floor and stood up. He followed suit. “Please leave now, Charlie.”

He stood and went to her, placing his hands on her cheeks. “Did I help?”

She leaned into the gentle touch and her eyes closed. She answered almost reluctantly. “Yes.”

He pulled her to him. “Will you let me come back?”

She almost said no, but it had felt wonderful to talk to someone and not have to change the story or pretend it didn’t hurt. “All right.”

He continued caressing her cheek, fighting the temptation to kiss her. “I’ll see you in a couple days.”

He pulled away, this time taking two steps back. She led him to the front door and let him out. Natalia locked the door and leaned against it. She heard him walk away then turned from the door and went to bed.

                                                            *****

Natalia’s landline woke her, but for an instant she just laid in bed with a smile on her face. She wasn’t sure why the smile was there and couldn’t remember the last time that had happened. The answering machine kicked in before she moved, but the familiar voice on the machine grabbed her attention.

Needing to talk to the person on the other end, Natalia grabbed the phone on the bedside table, and sat up. “Detective Langley? It’s Natalia, what’s going on?”

She first met Detective Langley when the lady officer questioned her about Zechariah and why he locked her in his closet. The detective gave Natalia her card, asking her to call if she saw Zechariah again, promising to contact her if they found him without her help. This morning she was calling to tell Natalia that last night an anonymous tip led to Zechariah’s capture. There were some things they needed to talk to her about, so she agreed to go to the station house later in the day. Natalia got up slowly almost surprised he hadn’t gotten away. She felt the worry float away and sagged with relief. She took a long shower, letting the water slowly wash away her stress.

It wasn’t until she was eating a quick breakfast that she realized why she had been smiling when she woke up. It wasn’t because of Zechariah being caught. Last night’s simple dream slowly drifted back to her, making Natalia smile. Charlie had been waiting for her at her door when she came home one day. He was leaning against the door, one knee bent with the foot resting on the door. He had his hands in his jeans pockets and he was looking at her, giving her a huge grin. His brown eyes were reflecting kindness and something else she hadn’t been able to identify.

The dream ended before anything had actually happened, but the small glimpse of him made her feel good. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying not to grind her teeth. The last thing she needed was to get involved with a werewolf. She had learned through her research that werewolves were unpredictable and often mean, especially around the full moon. Werewolves were prone to killing sprees at their worst and had short, quick tempers at their best. She didn’t need that kind of impulsiveness around her. Natalia finished her breakfast and got going. She wanted to get the Zechariah problem over and done with.

                                                            *****

Three hours later Natalia was sitting on the beach in Aquatic Park listening to the steel drums behind her, staring out at the bay, watching the ships slowly coming and going. Zechariah Haynes had been turned over to another law enforcement agency. Detective Langley hadn’t been clear on which one. Zachariah was wanted for a myriad of crimes, but was also wanted as a witness. Drugging her, locking her in a closet and killing a cop meant nothing next to whatever it was he had seen. She was pissed beyond words. Her good mood from this morning was gone. She wanted a drink badly, and didn’t want to talk about it with Vanessa. She wanted to talk to Charlie.

Natalia had never told Vanessa anything close to the truth about anything that had occurred in her life. She kept everything rather normal; stress from work and family and friends. She didn’t want to lie anymore. She needed to talk to someone who would understand, but he left without exchanging numbers. She had no idea how to get a hold of him.

“Crap.” It was barely a whisper. In a way, she wished she had never told Charlie anything. Facing the world on her own was easier then wanting to depend on someone she couldn’t even get a hold of.

“Screw this!” Her voice was louder. She grabbed a small piece of driftwood and threw it as the ocean. She stood up, brushed the sand off her jeans, grabbed her sandals and left the beach. She had code to write for the new game TechnoArt was putting out. They expected her to have her part done in less than two weeks. She had barely started it. If she worked every day, she would get it done in time. She wouldn’t get her work done sitting around wishing she could talk to a cute guy.

I’ve had trouble sleeping this week, which makes me forgetful, well, more than usual. This means I forgot that I was going to share more of Charlie and Natalia’s past this week. Well, it’s still the same week! Here is more of the odd couple. Enjoy!
ps: this is not heavily edited. There will be mistakes and references to things that are no longer in the book.

Cut scenes from The Grey House:

As the months progressed after the Zechariah incident, Natalia found herself calling Vanessa, her sponsor more and more, until she was calling her every day. She had not needed to call her in a long time, but the Zechariah situation was bad. The police could not locate him, but kept assuring Natalia that he would be found. Natalia knew better. People like Zechariah were found when they wanted to be found. She was feeling restless and paranoid. Vanessa suggested a part time job dealing with the public to reconnect with the better world. Natalia was skeptical at first but relented after a week of pacing her house like a caged tiger.

Natalia knew she could call up TechnoArt and start commuting the two hours to work each day, to sit in a cubicle and stare at a computer screen for right hours. Working on site at her full-time job meant she wouldn’t have time for research. Natalia wanted a part time job that didn’t take up too much of her time. She applied for and got a job as a waitress in a gourmet diner not too far from her house. The Silver Spoon was family run, and located in North Beach, not far from the financial district and China Town. The owners were friendly and for the most part, so were the customers. She enjoyed the job: it made her feel normal.

A few months after starting, her boss called her in the early morning, pleading for her to come in. Normally Natalia didn’t mind going in on a day off, but today was the anniversary of her mother’s death. She had told the owner, Susan why she needed the day off, and it was Susan that called her pleading that if there was anyone else to call, she would have. Natalia went. She had been contemplating a neighborhood bar when Susan called; so figured going into work was probably a good deterrent.

It was a horrible idea. It was halfway to the end of her shift, and all she wanted to do was cry. It had been a harder day then usual: customers were crabby, the coffee makers were turning coffee into sludge, and the usual cook was out sick. And she couldn’t leave when Susan originally told her because two more people called off. In total she would be working an eight-hour shift when Susan had promised to have her out in three.

Natalia crept out the back door on a ten-minute break. The kitchen door was propped open, so she could still hear the chaos. Looking down the alley she could just see the park across the street and the church beyond. Maybe she should go pray for her mom after work. Churches were peaceful, and in the middle of the week, not usually crowded. Something fell in the kitchen and Susan started yelling. Natalia looked down the alley again and wondered why she was so damned responsible. She didn’t need the job; she could just walk away. But she couldn’t do that to Susan. She took a deep breath and walked back inside, being careful of the spillage.

                                                            *****

The end of the day did not come quick enough. An hour ago, a regular asked her out for drinks, and that sounded rather nice to Natalia. She declined quickly and stayed away from him. She did not want to give in to temptation. When her shift was over she changed from her pseudo uniform of black skirt and white shirt to jeans and baby tee in the bathroom and walked out the kitchen door, into the fading sun. It was six o’clock and had been a very long day.

Once outside, she headed for the church. She needed peace, and didn’t want to go home. Crossing the well-lit park, she looked around, out of paranoia, for Zechariah. Halfway through the park, she noticed someone watching her. He was leaning against a tree, hands in his jean pockets. His shirt was stark white and fit tight on his chest. His hair was shaggy brown and hung down over his ears. He was watching her intently. She hoped it wasn’t one of Zechariah’s buddies.

Natalia continued on to the church and hurried inside. She sat in one of the benches along the back wall of the narthex. There was a basin for holy water, which made for great cover. She waited ten minutes and when her watcher didn’t come in she calmed down and went to one of the front pews. She knelt and repeated the prayer that Pastor Martin had said the night Marnia died. Natalia had committed it to memory almost accidentally. Once done, she sat in the pew and listened to the soft echoes of the nuns praying close to her. Feeling out of place she got up, lit a candle and left.

The world outside had gotten darker. She breathed deep and looked around for her watcher. No one was around. Feeling silly, Natalia decided to walk home. It wasn’t that far, but it was almost all up hill, so it was great exercise. She had walked a block when she heard some suspicious noise coming from an alley. Unzipping her backpack Natalia pulled out the garlic coated silver dagger Judith had given her. She pulled both straps of the backpack onto her shoulders and crept closer, spying two men further down the alley. One had his back to her and was dressed in a suit. He was spouting scripture. The voice was a dead give away. She quietly and quickly called 911, telling them where to find Zechariah Haynes. She hung up then looked at the other man. The other man was her watcher: same hair, same outfit. And this time, she recognized him. She tried not to gasp as she looked around for a blunt object.

                                                *****

The man had ambushed Charlie while he was watching the waitress cross the park. He started in on the holiness of the Word of God and Charlie humored him. After two minutes, it dawned on the Man of God that he was talking to a Hellspawn, and things took a turn for the worse. Giving up on the waitress, Charlie headed for Union Street, knowing there was an alley or two he could lead the Slayer down and take care of the situation.

The woman still held most of his attention though. He had seen her in the restaurant. His boss had suggested it, saying it had the best steak in San Francisco. Daniel was right. Had he not seen the waitress on the other side of the restaurant, his meal would have been perfect. He was not in her area, so he couldn’t start up a conversation with her. And when he asked his waitress for the woman’s name, it did not trigger any better memories. Natalie looked very familiar, but he had no idea where from.

Charlie waited for her in the park, wanting to follow her home. He needed to know who she was. But now the Slayer had him trapped in an alley. He was supposed to trap the Slayer, not the other way around, but the waitress still captured his thoughts. The guy was still spouting off about the devil and cleansing the world of sin.

“I will send you back to your Hell! I will not allow you to live another moment! You are responsible for the evil in this world and must pay for it! GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND PRA-AY FOR FORGIVNESS, DEMON SPAWN!” He was gesturing with one hand and the other was behind his back. Charlie didn’t like when crazies hid one hand. It usually meant trouble.

It was nighttime, so he could get away with changing and gutting the man. Only problem, he was too far from home with no change of clothing. He could lie.

“Look, I don’t know who you think I am, and I don’t care. Why don’t you just go back to the church and leave me alone. I may not be a pillar of the community, but I’m not a demon spawn or whatever it is you think I am.”

“I can smell the devil in you, boy! It is a sin to lie in the face of Go-od! Kneel down and PRA-AY for forgive- ugh.”

The Slayer fell forward. There was a loud clatter on the ground as a revolver hit the concrete. Standing behind the Slayer was the waitress. She was standing like a baseball player after a successful hit, except for the dagger in her mouth. Looking him dead in the eye, she dropped the piece of board she had used as a bat, took the dagger out of her mouth with her right hand and held it at the ready by her left side. The blade was facing toward him. He had no doubt she knew how to use the silver dagger.

“Hello, Charlie. Haven’t seen you in a while.” Her voice was dead cold.

Charlie looked from the Slayer on the ground to the knife to the deadly beautiful woman holding it. “Who are you?”

 “You spend three weeks in a silver cage and you forget the woman who saved your life?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “I’m heartbroken Charlie, simply heartbroken.”

Charlie’s jaw dropped. The woman in front of him was not the girl who saved his life. He stared at her, wondering how much someone had to go through in two years in order to become that hardened in that short a span of time.

Natalia assessed Charlie; trying to determine how much danger she was in. Was he a threat? He had not been the first time they met and she just saved him again. She looked him up and down, realizing that she did not fear him, mostly due to his smile and kind eyes.

“I called the police Charlie. They’re on their way.” Her voice had gotten softer.

What she was saying finally sunk in. “Why did you call the police?”

“Long story.” The sirens echoed in the background. “Are you going to stick around and talk to them?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He did not answer. “You’re not going to kill me, are you?”

She sighed heavily, exasperated. Her guard came down for a second. “I’m not the Slayer, Charlie. He is. I have no reason to kill you.”

He stepped closer, very curious now. “So what are you?”

Natalia stared at him for a moment. “I’m me.”

The sirens were getting closer. Charlie narrowed his eyes at Natalia. “Are you going to be here when the police arrive?”

Natalia grabbed her backpack and put the knife away. “Not if I can help it. Are you?”

“Nope.” He gave her a wolf’s grin, waiting for her to leave.

She looked at him, “What are you waiting for?”

The grin got larger. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what the deal is between you and my late night snack.”

She gave him a dead look, then allowed her features to soften. “Fine, get arrested. Not my problem.”

Natalia turned and left the alley. Charlie looked at her retreating form unbelievingly. He shook his head then followed her out, not wanting to be found in an alley with a passed-out Slayer.

At the head of the alley, he slunk low, trying not to be seen by the fast approaching squad car. He saw Natalia as she ran up the hill, and decided to follow.

The werewolf followed her home, being careful not to be seen. She did look around a little, but seemed to mostly ignore her surroundings. After a mile or maybe two, she went into a one-story house on Green St. He waited to hear the front door slam and jumped the fence. It was full on dark and there wasn’t much in the way of streetlights. He strolled up the walkway wondering what he was doing. Taking a deep breath, Charlie rang the doorbell.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“No word from your spies?” He aimed the question at Anthony’s reflection.

“No sir.” Anthony told him about having her followed when she did not return after the second day. Vincent was angry, but not surprised. He took the information in stride and asked for any information. Unfortunately, Wayne had not reported for four days.

“Still don’t understand why you had her followed.” Mierka was aggravated, which was rare for her. It showed the men in the room how angry and worried she really was about the situation.

“Calm yourself Mierka, he was only doing his job.” Vincent turned from the window, regarded the only silent one in the room. As always, Joseph kept his opinions to himself, until he had Vincent’s ear only. Since he wondered at his loyal friend’s thoughts, he caught Mierka and Anthony’s gazes. “Leave us. Go train. We’ll join you shortly.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia hadn’t expected to be launched across the room into Lorraine’s group, but she was. She didn’t expect to feel what she had under Rowland’s jacket, but she did. By the time Rowland stood and Vincent turned Alexandra’s attention on her, Natalia had Rowland’s gun in her hand. She didn’t know why the vampire carried a gun and didn’t care. It wasn’t important. There were no other weapons in the room. She had to improvise and use whatever she could get her hands on.

The handgun was a semi-auto, built to hold about 15 rounds in the clip. Natalia noticed all this in the seconds it took to pull the simple black gun out of Rowland’s shoulder holster, turn and point it at Alexandra. She had been trained to use guns too, years ago in Montana. It was simply better to use weapons that left less obvious traces. She sighted the vampire aimed high on the woman’s chest and fired. Enough conventional bullets might blow the woman’s head off.

The bullet hit the woman’s chest, and the vampire started to scream as her skin sizzled into life.

“Phosphorous rounds,” thought Natalia. “The damn vampire was carrying a gun with phosphorous rounds. What an ingenious idea.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

“I like to know the name of the people I kill. Makes it easier to pray for their souls.” She mocked him.

He visibly grew more righteous. “You will beg for mercy before the end comes.”

A seductive look came over her features. “That would be a great way to go.”

The father took a cross out of his suit and flashed it before her. He started frothing scripture. The words ran together and became unknowable. Natalia simply yawned and watched as her people got into position. The werewolves were still human, but Rebecca grinned with anticipation, yellow eyes blazing. Charlie looked ready to launch himself at the priest, and two of the humans had stepped up behind Natalia to guard her rear. Their guns were not yet visible, but their hands were at the ready. Natalia did not want to risk a fight in such small of a space, therefore turned her attention to Ashley.

Charlie is my favorite character in this trilogy. He and Natalia have a huge history, which due to reasons, I decided to cut out. I’ve realized that I will most probably never share their full history. The story isn’t in me, or rather, hasn’t show itself to me fully, yet. And I’m moving on to other things. Therefore, I decided to share how they met the second time here. I might continue to add their story until all of it is out. Maybe that’s what I’ll do all week (or the next few days). Haven’t full decided.

Natalia and Charlie:

The end of the day did not come quick enough. An hour ago, a regular asked her out for drinks, and that sounded rather nice to Natalia. She declined quickly and stayed away from him. She did not want to give in to temptation. When her shift was over she changed from her pseudo uniform of black skirt and white shirt to jeans and baby tee in the bathroom and walked out the kitchen door, into the fading sun. It was six o’clock and had been a very long day.

Once outside, she headed for the church. She needed peace, and didn’t want to go home. Crossing the well-lit park, she looked around, out of paranoia, for Zechariah. Halfway through the park, she noticed someone watching her. He was leaning against a tree, hands in his jean pockets. His shirt was stark white and fit tight on his chest. His hair was shaggy brown and hung down over his ears. He was watching her intently. She hoped it wasn’t one of Zechariah’s buddies.

Natalia continued on to the church and hurried inside. She sat in one of the benches along the back wall of the narthex. There was a basin for holy water, which made for great cover. She waited ten minutes and when her watcher didn’t come in she calmed down and went to one of the front pews. She knelt and repeated the prayer that Pastor Martin had said the night Marnia died. Natalia had committed it to memory almost accidentally. Once done, she sat in the pew and listened to the soft echoes of the nuns praying close to her. Feeling out of place she got up, lit a candle and left.

The world outside had gotten darker. She breathed deep and looked around for her watcher. No one was around. Feeling silly, Natalia decided to walk home. It wasn’t that far, but it was almost all up hill, so it was great exercise. She had walked a block when she heard some suspicious noise coming from an alley. Unzipping her backpack Natalia pulled out the garlic coated silver dagger Judith had given her. She pulled both straps of the backpack onto her shoulders and crept closer, spying two men further down the alley. One had his back to her and was dressed in a suit. He was spouting scripture. The voice was a dead give away. She quietly and quickly called 911, telling them where to find Zechariah Haynes. She hung up then looked at the other man. The other man was her watcher: same hair, same outfit. And this time, she recognized him. She tried not to gasp as she looked around for a blunt object.

                                                *****

The man had ambushed Charlie while he was watching the waitress cross the park. He started in on the holiness of the Word of God and Charlie humored him. After two minutes it dawned on the Man of God that he was talking to a Hellspawn, and things took a turn for the worse. Giving up on the waitress, Charlie headed for Union Street, knowing there was an alley or two he could lead the Slayer down and take care of the situation.

The woman still held most of his attention though. He had seen her in the restaurant. His boss had suggested it, saying it had the best steak in San Francisco. Daniel was right. Had he not seen the waitress on the other side of the restaurant, his meal would have been perfect. He was not in her area, so he couldn’t start up a conversation with her. And when he asked his waitress for the woman’s name, it did not trigger any better memories. Natalie looked very familiar, but he had no idea where from.

Charlie waited for her in the park, wanting to follow her home. He needed to know who she was. But now the Slayer had him trapped in an alley. He was supposed to trap the Slayer, not the other way around, but the waitress still captured his thoughts. The guy was still spouting off about the devil and cleansing the world of sin.

“I will send you back to your Hell! I will not allow you to live another moment! You are responsible for the evil in this world and must pay for it! GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES AND PRA-AY FOR FORGIVNESS, DEMON SPAWN!” He was gesturing with one hand and the other was behind his back. Charlie didn’t like when crazies hid one hand. It usually meant trouble.

It was nighttime, so he could get away with changing and gutting the man. Only problem, he was too far from home with no change of clothing. He could lie.

“Look, I don’t know who you think I am, and I don’t care. Why don’t you just go back to the church and leave me alone. I may not be a pillar of the community, but I’m not a demon spawn or whatever it is you think I am.”

“I can smell the devil in you, boy! It is a sin to lie in the face of Go-od! Kneel down and PRA-AY for forgive- ugh.”

The Slayer fell forward. There was a loud clatter on the ground as a revolver hit the concrete. Standing behind the Slayer was the waitress. She was standing like a baseball player after a successful hit, except for the dagger in her mouth. Looking him dead in the eye, she dropped the piece of board she had used as a bat, took the dagger out of her mouth with her right hand and held it at the ready by her left side. The blade was facing toward him. He had no doubt she knew how to use the silver dagger.

“Hello, Charlie. Haven’t seen you in a while.” Her voice was dead cold.

Charlie looked from the Slayer on the ground to the knife to the deadly beautiful woman holding it. “Who are you?”

 “You spend three weeks in a silver cage and you forget the woman who saved your life?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “I’m heartbroken Charlie, simply heartbroken.”

Charlie’s jaw dropped. The woman in front of him was not the girl who saved his life. He stared at her, wondering how much someone had to go through in two years in order to become that hardened in that short a span of time.

Natalia assessed Charlie; trying to determine how much danger she was in. Was he a threat? He had not been the first time they met and she just saved him again. She looked him up and down, realizing that she did not fear him, mostly due to his smile and kind eyes.

“I called the police Charlie. They’re on their way.” Her voice had gotten softer.

What she was saying finally sunk in. “Why did you call the police?”

“Long story.” The sirens echoed in the background. “Are you going to stick around and talk to them?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He did not answer. “You’re not going to kill me are you?”

She sighed heavily, exasperated. Her guard came down for a second. “I’m not the Slayer, Charlie. He is. I have no reason to kill you.”

He stepped closer, very curious now. “So what are you?”

Natalia stared at him for a moment. “I am what I am.”

The sirens were getting closer. Charlie narrowed his eyes at Natalia. “Are you going to be here when the police arrive?”

Natalia grabbed her backpack and put the knife away. “Not if I can help it. Are you?”

“Nope.” He gave her a wolf’s grin, waiting for her to leave.

She looked at him, “What are you waiting for?”

The grin got larger. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what the deal is between you and my late night snack.”

She gave him a dead look, then allowed her features to soften. “Fine, get arrested. Not my problem.”

Natalia turned and left the alley. Charlie looked at her retreating form unbelievingly. He shook his head then followed her out, not wanting to be found in an alley with a passed out Slayer.

At the head of the alley, he slunk low, trying not to be seen by the fast approaching squad car. He saw Natalia as she ran up the hill, and decided to follow.

The werewolf followed her home, being careful not to be seen. She did look around a little, but seemed to mostly ignore her surroundings. After a mile or maybe two, she went into a one-story house on Green St. He waited to hear the front door slam and jumped the fence. It was full on dark and there wasn’t much in the way of streetlights. He strolled up the walkway wondering what he was doing. Taking a deep breath, Charlie rang the doorbell.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent opened his eyes and listened to the sounds of the room. When silence greeted him, he turned his head left then right. Mierka still slept to his right, her back to him. His eyes narrowed. Though she woke him earlier to talk, he was still angry that she staked him. His eyes narrowed further: twice. He elongated his fangs and growled. She heard the growl, stretched, then took her time to turn to him. The lazy smile on her face spoke volumes.

Mierka reached out and placed her hand on his chest. “And how are you this evening?”

He batted her hand away. She smirked and he growled again.

“Are you angry with me?”

“Twice.”

She rolled her eyes then rolled onto her back. “We went over this. There is precedence.”

He growled and moved on top of her in the blink of an eye. His legs straddled her waist and his hands rested next to her shoulders. His face hovered no more than an inch or two above hers. He bared his fangs again growled his utter displeasure at the situation and her detachment.

Mierka smirked. “What will you do? Do you wish to fight me? Will that make you feel better?” She ran her hand down his bare chest. “Fighting you is always such a pleasure.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Now, with no trace of Natalia in the two-room cabin, Charlie was faced with an impassable door. He growled, turned Blitzkrieg and attacked the wall. The plywood gave away easily to his large form and he slammed through the other side, into a shelf full of canned goods. Full of mindless rage, he attacked the cans, and nearly broke teeth on the heavy aluminum. He changed back when he understood that all was well, and the French cut green beans weren’t trying to keep him from Natalia.

Charlie stumbled into the kitchen, and nearly tripped over downed cans. He heard the others coming down the steps after him and looked around. At the entryway to the living room stood a girl. There was dried blood all over her and she looked frightened beyond reckoning. She shook like the last leaf on an otherwise barren tree. She sank to her knees as Charlie approached her.

“Please don’t hurt me.” Her voice was too quiet to hear. Charlie watched as she shaped the words.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia’s sigh turned into a slight sob. It would be so easy to lay her troubles at Vincent’s feet. Someone else could go after Donald while Vincent sucked the blood out of her willing body. Vincent, sensing her thoughts, lowered his lips to her neck and growled against her skin. He knew she wouldn’t allow him to change her this day, but she seemed to consider it more and more. Soon, she would say yes, and he would have what he wanted.

She sighed as his teeth scraped her skin and he pulled back. Vincent wanted to undress her, wanted to enjoy his woman, but the sigh and the look in her eyes showed how tired she truly was. If he wanted, he could easily seduce her, easily convince her she was able to take him on, but what good would that do her? She was in a dangerous situation and needed to be on her toes. Vincent gave his own sigh and brought Natalia closer to him. She leaned her head on his chest, and curled up close to him.

Vincent brushed his hand through her hair softly. He kissed the top of her head, then helped her to move to a better position.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Charlie nodded and headed out of the room. On the screens, Natalia walked through each of her rooms, but locked the doors as she passed through them. The wolf frowned. Natalia never locked the doors. As Rebecca watched she realized Natalia did seem off. Her movements weren’t as decisive as they usually were. She seemed to hesitate a lot, as if dazed. Rebecca narrowed her eyes as Natalia went into the bathroom, lit a few candles, then turned off the overheads.

Rebecca slammed her hands on the counter. “Charlie!”

“Right here.”

She turned and saw Charlie and Angie. Rebecca nodded, turned back to the monitors, and typed in a few commands. Though Natalia’s sitting room came into view, the other rooms remained black. “If she comes back into the sitting room, or leaves those rooms at all, you come get me. Angie, you, and I need to wake Joseph up. Are you well?”

“Yes.”