Fangs and Fur

Chapter 28 - Scott

The night of November 8th:

Night had hardly fallen for two minutes when Scott heard the screams.

Without thinking, he changed direction instantly and sprinted towards the road, at some point transitioning smoothly from man to wolf so that he could move even faster. And then, when he had reached the road, Scott swiftly turned human again in time to grab a tree branch and stop himself from running into the midst of the scene before him.

Vampires swarmed everywhere, streaming from their side of the woods and crossing the road to fall in turns upon the humans Scott'd met just that day: Kevin and Esther. A tent was pitched just within the woods on the werewolf side, but both humans were lying unconscious in the road.

Scott's eyes immediately landed on Mitch. He shuddered when he saw that the brunette's fangs were buried in Kevin's neck. Scott's mind flashed back to when Kirstie had slipped up and said something about Mitch - that he didn't want to drink human blood. Then what was Mitch doing? Why was he drinking blood?

Just then, Mitch looked up, and Scott actually shivered at the look in his eyes. It was somewhere between dead and crazed, and it was so unlike the Mitch Scott knew that it tore at Scott deep within. Without thinking over what he was doing, Scott started to walk forward, towards the grotesque scene unfolding around the humans. He pushed his way through the hovering vampires until he reached Mitch, and then he hooked his arms under the brunette's armpits and pulled him away.

There was something wrong with Mitch. His pupils were unnaturally dilated, and his mouth hung open, his fangs clearly visible. He was unresponsive and shaking so violently he looked like a mini earthquake. It quickly became clear that he wasn't walking anywhere, so Scott scooped him up in his arms and tried to put some distance between him and the humans, jogging lightly along the road before diving into the vampire side of the forest. (It's not as if the vampires would care; they were all sucking neck.)

To Scott's relief, Mitch seemed to be shaking less the farther they got from the scene on the road. His strangely wide eyes shrank and eventually closed, until Scott realized he had fallen asleep. Scott kept on walking. As he put more and more distance between Mitch and the humans, Scott sent up a silent prayer that none of the werewolves - especially Chief Alex - had seen him carrying a vampire. Scott surely would've been punished for consorting with the 'enemy.'

Scott wasn't sure how long he'd been walking, but he'd reached the edge of the woods. It seemed strange to think that only a few days ago, the pack had been camped out in the valley below where he now stood.

Sighing, Scott laid Mitch gently down on the blanket of newly-fallen leaves coating the ground and leaned up against a tree next to him. Mitch groaned as he was put down, but besides the sound he showed no sign of life. Scott wondered if he was not just asleep, but unconscious.

Many minutes passed in silence as Mitch remained comatose, the patterns of moonlight shifting across his serene face. Unable to stop himself, Scott took one of the vampire's hands in his own and held it in his lap, his thumb absentmindedly stroking the smooth skin on the back of Mitch's hand.

Scott quietly reeled in confusion. The events from the day were still playing through his head: his conversation with Kevin and Esther, the vampires falling on Kevin and Esther. And then there was the mystery surrounding Mitch: the Volkswagen, the refusal to drink blood, the fact that Kevin and Esther were looking for him. Since when did humans seek out vampires?

Suddenly, Mitch bolted upright beside Scott, causing him to jump in surprise and release his hand. The vampire shot to his feet and started to pace. He didn't seem to notice Scott until he cleared his throat loudly. Mitch startled and turned around faster than Scott could blink.

"What's happening?" Mitch blurted. "Jesus, I am filled with energy." He held out his hands and stared at them. They were practically buzzing with energy. And then Scott saw a dark look pass over Mitch's face. "Oh, shit," the vampire said, and dropped to the ground, his hands flying up to his head in distress. "Oh, crap, I've really done it. I bit him." He looked up, his brown eyes wild and devastated. "Scott, I bit him."

A question formed on the tip of Scott's tongue: How do you know Kevin? But when he opened his mouth, the words "come here" came out instead. Mitch obediently moved over and leaned against the same tree as Scott, still freaking out and swearing under his breath.

"Calm down and please don't tear your hair out," Scott said. "I'm sure Kevin will be fine."

Mitch looked at Scott in alarm. "How do you know Kevin?"

Scott found himself smiling, despite Mitch's panic. "I could ask you the same question."

"Right, well..." Mitch stared at the ground, still shaking with both energy and distress. "Do you have any family or friends?"

Scott tilted his head back against the tree. "No family, no," he said. "The pack raised me; I never knew any definite parents or siblings. As for friends, I talk to most of the others in the pack, but Avi is probably my only real friend."

Mitch leaned his head against Scott's shoulder; he was still vibrating. Scott felt a jolt at the touch that sent shivers of energy running down his own spine. "Kevin is both friend and family to me. Not really family, but still family. I've known him pretty much my whole life. We were in a music group together, 'The Duo.' We were basically sisters."

Scott was still trying to add two and two and was getting three. "Okay, so...Kevin isn't a vampire, is he?"

"No..."

"So how can you have known each other your whole lives?"

"To be perfectly honest, this has not been a great week," Mitch began. "I guess it's finally time I told you. The truth is...I haven't always been a vampire. Just a few days ago, I was an ordinary human on my way to visit my parents. And then I got lost, and bitten by a vampire, and suddenly here I am, living off of energy bars in the woods. And now I've gone and bitten my best friend."

"Does that mean he's going to turn into a vampire?"

"Actually, no." Mitch thought for a moment. "That only happens on the full moon."

"So there's no harm done," Scott said.

"Yeah, except I just bit my best friend! That kind of crosses a line, don't you think?" Mitch shuddered. His cheek on Scott's shoulder was cold enough that Scott could feel it through his shirt.

They lapsed into silence for several minutes. Scott wondered what had happened back on the road by now. No doubt the pack had discovered the vampires and some sort of throw-down was happening. Mitch finally broke the silence, a smile on his face.

"So, how do you know Kevin?" Mitch asked, narrowing his eyes playfully. Without breaking his contact with Scott's shoulder, the vampire twisted his head to look up at Scott.

Their faces were so close. Mitch's breath tickled Scott's chin, and the werewolf felt his mind go blank and a blush rise to his cheeks. "Oh, we met today. Talked for a bit," Scott said lamely.

Mitch snorted and they shared a sideways glance that only lasted a second before both burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Mitch doubled over, his eyes streaming. He laughed so hard that Scott couldn't stop either, just because it was contagious.

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A/N: I apologize that this update took forever - I've been trying really hard to write when I have time, but honestly there is only one word to describe my life rn:

AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH