a beginning... ?

"what was that?" she hissed, her eyes were large and round, her short curly hair waving softly in the night breeze.

he hadn't heard it. "what was what?" he asked, his voice carrying out through the trees, the last crunch of leaves under his shoe as he stopped when she'd grabbed his arm. he looked back and saw her face and realized something had spooked her, he chuckled a little, but quietly.

"i heard soemthing, like a growl... and footsteps... you didn't hear it?" she was whispering, almost so quietly that he couldn't hear her, the autumn wind rustling the wind all around them.

"it was only the wind," he said, the humor draining from his face.

she didn't move, until he finally grabbed her hand off his arm, and held it, looking her right in the eyes and said, "just the wind."

her shoulders fell, the fight or flight reflexes relaxing slighty, as she let herself exhale slowly, following it with a deep inhalation. he was probably right she though, but it had sounded so real.

she nodded, and he turned, still holding her hand, and started again leading her back to the s.u.v. still parked on the road only about a hundered yards ahead of them. they'd stopped driving because the night was beautiful, and she'd wanted a walk in the woods, she loved the fall, and the leaves, and they knew the river was only a short distance off the road. what was the harm, he thought, they were in the middle of nowhere, and they'd been driving for hours already. a short break before he continued their drive home would be fine. they had changed out of their formal wear for the reception and were dressed warmly enough.

it was dark as midnight, but that was only the time of year, it was about 8 o'clock now. the moon was bright, but out here, it didn't help that much, not in these trees. it was beautfiul and bright on the river, the water sparkling, you could even make out many of the colors in the trees along the bank. they stood together, hand in hand, enjoying the beauty together. it had been a good night all around, the wedding had been fun, even if it was so far away, and he was glad she came with him to see one of his best friends get married.

he still couldn't believe how fortunate he was to have found her, she was the most beautiful women he'd ever known. she had a rare beauty, a quality in her eyes, and her smile, she was the only person who could melt his normally stoney heart. she felt small and fragile next to his muscular physique, and he liked how powerful he felt when he was around her. he liked the way that he felt like he was her protection from the rest of the world. her eyes were the richest brown, like her hair, which was chin length and curly, and he could stare at her for hours. he was in love, and she was the first person he'd ever said it too.

she loved the way he held her close, and tight, the way he made her feel safe. she loved how much he adored her, and in turn, she adored him. she didn't normally find herself attracted to the big muscle type, but for some reason, his persistance had softened her, and when she'd finally realized that he wasn't just some stupid jock, but a sweet and intelligent man, she gave in to him. their first real date was merely a walk in the park, and she knew then that she loved him. her demure hand buried in his burly mitt as they walked on a warm saturday afternoon. she loved the idea of them.

tonight, she was glad he was there, because, if there was something out there, she knew he'd protect them. and he was right, she thought, it probably was just the wind, or maybe an animal spooked by their being in it's domain, either way, soon they'd be back in his car heading home. she was tired, and longed to fall asleep in the passenger seat, her hand resting on his.

the wind blew again, and again she thought she heard a deep growl somehwere behind them. this time, however, he stopped, his head snapping around, scanning the trees they'd just passed through. she closed what little distance between them there'd been, and put her hands up on his wide shoulders, "you heard it too, didn't you," she whispered behind him.

"yes," he said, now he was whispering too. they stood like this for a longer than she'd wanted, but he wasn't running, so, she wasn't too worried yet.

"what do you think it is," she asked him, her voice trembled slightly.

he just shook his head and kept scanning the trees, looking for something. she thought she saw something yellow flash between two large oaks, but it was gone just as quickly. you're just scared, she told herself. you're afraid of the unknown.

"i don't know for sure," he was finally answered.

still, he watched, he was tense, she could feel the muscles in his back tightening, and now she was starting to get scared, "i'm scared."

"it's okay," his voice was low, but very matter of fact. he was trying to calm her down, and she knew it, it didn't help.

"ok, start walking, straight the way we'd been going, i'm going to be right behind you," he said it, and she knew something didn't sound right about it. he was definitely scared. she felt him reaching in his pocket, and he pulled out his keys and handed them to her.

"ok," was all she could say, she didn't know how else to respond. she took her first timid step foward, the crunching of leaves resuming, even though she was trying to walk as quietly as possible. she glanced over her shoulder, to see if he was following, he was, watching over his shoulder as he went.

they walked, in near silence, another twenty paces, before another breeze brought another sound but this time, off to their left, maybe a little further than the last.

"keep going," he said, he touched the small of her back, coaxing her to go.

the next growl came from behind them again, and they quickened their step a little bit, and walked, the crunching under their feet more pronounced than before. the wind rustling what little leaves left in the trees over their heads.

they continued forward, one step after the other, keeping a steady cadence going in her mind, she forced herself on, trying to ignore the fear, the urge to run headlong through the darkness. he stayed right behind her, his hand on her shoulder now for support, he squeezed it softly. another wind came up, and the growls now seemed to come from all around them, accompanied by a foul odor, not unlike the rotting flesh of an animal on the side of the road.

"stop," he hissed under his breath, "they're boxing us in"

"they?" she asked, not sure she'd heard him right, he didn't respond, but stood there, breathing, and she could feel the heartbeat throbbing just behind her ears. she swalloed hard.

the air suddenly went calm, and there wasn't anything to be heard but her short, panicy breaths, her heart pounding out a quick rhythm in her chest.

then there was a roar, deafening, unearthly, a voice rasied in clear and ferocious anger, joined quickly by many other voices all roaring and screaming into the night, it was like the lion at the zoo, but louder, more violent. she swung her head around left and right, and this time she saw the eyes, glowing yellow things, catlike, looming a few feet off in blackness all around them, there were at least 10 pairs of them. she locked her eyes forward again, and saw that there was a silhouette, a massive shape, with the same evil glowing eyes, right in front of them, right where they needed to go.

then another growl, different than the others, more gutteral, right behind her, so close, that she screamed as she spun on heel. but, instead of her powerful, protective boyfriend, there stood a creature of pure black, shining in what little light there was. she looked up at it's head, it stood at least 8 feet tall, it had eyes that glowed blood red, the same cat like quality remained. it's skin was covered in long spike-like protrutions ending in sharp points like shoots of onyx, and it's head seemed to have a mane of them, that came down it's neck and stuck out from it's back. it looked down at her.

it spoke, it's voice as deep as it's growl, gutteral, powerful, "honey, get down!"

then the attack came, there was pounding on the ground, and she fell immediately down, the earth shaking beneath her belly as she covered her head. there was a sound like scraping metal, and she felt the air all around her moving in different directions. growling, roaring, and whincing like a dog being struck, and only a few minutes, that felt like hours, it was over, and she lay on a now still ground, sobbing nearly hysterically.

"it's over dear, you can get up..." his voice was normal, not the grating animal sounds she'd just heard him make moments before, "i'm going to need to explain a few things," was all he said, as he stared at her.

she looked up, he was completely naked, but he was himself again, he was the man she knew. a numbness washed over her, as she stared at him in sheer disbelief.

"you're bleeding," she said, noticing a huge gash he was covering on his arm, from which was pouring blood through his fingers like water out of a pitcher. he winced when he took his hand off and he looked down at it; a massive tear in the flesh hung open.

"it'll be fine in a few minutes," he stood up and offered her his hand, but recinded it, realizing that it was soaked with blood. "we, need to get to the car, they won't stay away, i merely scared them by taking down the alpha." he jerked his head back a little bit, and she saw, lying in a small heap, the evicerated remains of a woman with long black hair, also completely nude.

she vomited, violently ejecting wedding cake, bloody mary, and the chicken, not the fish. he bent down and picked her up in his powerful arms, and began carrying her, her legs becoming soaked in the blood flowing from his upper arm. the numbness was still there. comprehension was beyond her.

"i'm going to have to tell you a story," he said, "a story of why those people tried to kill us tonight, it's a very long story, a story that spans many hundereds of years, and when i'm done..." he paused, not breaking stride, he wasn't even out of breath, she looked at his face and saw there were tears welling up in his eyes, "when i'm done, you're going to have to make a very difficult decision."