Blood and Fur - Part One

Chapter 24 - Sam

Sam’s POV

The four of us are standing in a straight line, in front of the woods. We vampires listen closely for any animals nearby. I hear a heavy heartbeat not so far away from me. It sounds like a lion or something closer to it. I breathe in, only to smell werewolves and other animals.

From the corner of my eyes, I can see Jacques and Isabeau wrinkling their noses at Marcy’s strong werewolf smell. Her smell doesn’t affect me, however. Interesting…

“Are we just going to stand here all day or we’re going in?” Marcy asks with heavy sarcasm.

Jacques growls in irritation at her where as Isabeau and I roll our eyes at Marcy’s question.

“We usually have to use our senses to detect for any vampires nearby. You see, most of us don’t want to share our… hunt so it would be easier if we keep distance from other vampires,” I explain.

Marcy rolls her eyes. “You do know that werewolves conquer this place.”

This time, Jacques, Isabeau and I glare at her.

Marcy shifts to her other foot uncomfortably. “Um… I’ll just shift behind-” she points at a random tree “-that tree while you three keep going with your ‘meditating’.”

Before I can say anything, she walks slowly towards the tree. I hear her bones cracking and reshaping, making me wince at the sound. I wonder whether it hurts to shift into a wolf. To me, shifting a bat does not feel a thing. I just feel like I’m shrinking and I always have this desire to fly all the time.

Marcy comes out as a small red wolf with my clothes in her jaws. I grab my clothes and stash it in a bush nearby. I can’t help but kneel down so I’m the same height as her and scratch behind her ear lightly. The smile on my face becomes bigger when she starts to purr softly.

I can almost see her smiling a wolfy smile.

Isabeau is by my side in a second, looking as if she wants to pat Marcy. I take her hand softly and put it on Marcy’s scruff. Marcy lowers herself down so I can put Isabeau on her back.

Jacques looks at Isabeau worriedly. He puts an arm around my waist, almost protectively. Marcy’s grey eyes are on his hands with questions in her eyes.

“If Isabeau is hurt, you’re going to run with three legs. Do you understand that, mutt?” he threatens.

Marcy nods. I can tell that she wants to stick her tongue out at him or something.

Jacques and I take the lead, his arms still around my waist. I’m getting annoyed with his behavior lately but considering his sister is riding on a werewolf’s back, a traitor in our coven, a Retelli asking for our deaths and war, I decide to let him be.

Jacques lets go of me when his eyes land on a mountain lion nearby. His stance changes immediately and he looks more like a vampire, more dangerous. His fangs extend till the very limit. He glances at me before he goes to full hunting mode. Jacques keeps his eyes on the mountain lion, creeping closer towards it. The lion is facing the opposite direction so it doesn’t know what’s coming.

Jacques stops in his tracks when the lion’s ears twitch. When the lion is a little relaxed, Jacques pounces, landing on it’s back and pins the cat to the ground.

The cat lets out a shrill shriek and tries to claw Jacques. Luckily, we vampires have hard skin so the cat is not able to leave a mark on Jacques.

Without wasting anymore time, Jacques plants his fangs into the lion’s neck, making sure its not anywhere near the throat. He doesn’t want to kill it, just drink it’s blood and let it go.