The alpha wolf lifted its head to the full autumn moon and let out a long sorrowful howl. It was answered in turn by the other members of the pack as they converged on the alphas position, ready to chase the unwanted visitor from their hunting grounds.

The pack moved silently through the trees, silver grey ghosts among the towering pines, their eyes flat green disks illuminated by the light of the moon.

The alpha moved ahead of the others into a small clearing, to assess the risk presented by the newcomer. The remainder of the pack circled the intruder, outflanking it and cutting off any avenues of escape.

The newcomer was large and strong. A huge black beast with embers for eyes. It stood proud on the raised area of ground, baring its teeth in challenge to the approaching wolf.

The pack leader however was clever and experienced. He had faced the challenge before, from other males much younger and stronger than he and had always triumphed. The many scars across his body where fur no longer grew were testament to just how many of these battles he had survived.

He approached the newcomer cautiously. There was something different about its scent, reminiscent of man but entirely wolf at the same time. The scent caused fear to surge in the pack leader’s belly but it was ruthless suppressed. Baring his teeth, he growled a warning at the intruder and began to move in to meet the challenge.

The larger wolf snarled and sprang forward, its great mass and speed overbearing the alpha before he had a chance to avoid its attack and assault the exposed flanks of the challenger. Its teeth closed around the pack leader’s neck and with a single fluid movement the powerful jaws sliced through fur and flesh and bone. The pack leader fell to the ground dead and the victorious wolf raised its head to the sky and howled in triumph.

Slowly the rest of the pack entered the clearing. The new wolf had bested their leader and had taken his place at the head of the pack. Their heads lowered in submission and their ears flat, they approached their new leader.

Accepting their deference, the black wolf sniffed the air, a myriad of scents filling its mind. The warm musky odour of the rest of the pack, the acrid stench of the human settlement below in the valley, the sweet tang of a family of deer, bunched together for warmth and protection against the chill autumn night and the predators lurking in its shadows.

The black male howled at the night, its cry taken up by the other wolves in the pack until the forest was filled with their cries. The new alpha started out of the clearing, with the rest of the pack spreading out into the darkness of the forest, ready for the hunt.

The family of deer consisted of a female and two fawns. They were huddled together in an area where the vegetation was deepest. The pack broke off into small groups when they were still a considerable distance from their prey and formed a loose circle around the deer. Once the pack was in position they began to advance, their bellies low to the ground, silently moving in for the kill.

The pack was almost upon the deer when a change in the wind brought the scent of the predators to the female. The deer exploded from their hiding place and fled into the forest.

The black wolf launched itself at the female deer, missing its target as it rapidly changed direction. Snarling it lashed out at one of the fawns as it attempted to follow its mother. The attack opened a gash on its hindquarters, the force of the blow sending it off balance. As the fawn struggled to regain its feet, the alpha wolf slammed into it, knocking it to the ground.

The massive predator pinned the struggling deer with its forepaws and its dripping maw darted down. The deer squealed as the wolf jaws closed around its spine, snapping it like dry wood. The alpha drove its jaws into the dying fawn, tearing out its entrails. The wolf began to feast as the rest of the pack stood at a respectful distance, awaiting their turn at the kill.

Eventually, the night faded and the horizon began to glow with the approaching day. The pack slept.

Something was amiss. One of the females was roused from her sleep by a strange scent in their midst, her nervous growl quickly waking the remainder of the pack.

Their new leader was nowhere to be seen nor smelled, but sleeping in the clearing was a naked human. The pack began to circle the prone man, hackles raised and their mouths pulled back, snarling. They avoided humans ordinarily but they were many and this was only one. The man woke, wide eyed and the delicious scent of fear filled the nostrils of the pack. The human was making loud, frightened noises and began to back away, half crouching, its arms out in front of it as if to form a barrier.

It had confirmed itself as prey.

The first wolf attacked from behind the human, sinking sharp fangs into soft flesh, tearing out the tendon at the back of its leg. The man screamed and fell to one knee. Then the rest of the pack moved in. Quickly, the throat of the human was torn out and the pack began to feast as the human shuddered in its death throes, its life blood gushing over the floor of the forest.

The alpha female sniffed the air. She had no idea where the new pack leader had gone, but she was sure that he would not mind the rest of the pack starting breakfast without him.

—
©2009 Graeme Reynolds

The Marradith Ryder Series Part 3

“Can you drive?”

Marradith was about to ask why he wanted to know, but she looked at him and saw his swollen right eye. It gave her a little satisfaction to know that he was hurting.

“Yes, I’ve got a license.”

“Good. We’re taking your Mom’s car. She said that you keep the spare in your purse.”

They got in the car, and she turned the key to the ignition. “You’ve seen my Mom, haven’t you? You met her and my Dad.”

He shrugged. “Why do you say that?”

“Because she sounds like she trusts you.”

He changed the subject. “I want you to drive like normal. Keep to the speed limit. We’re going to get on Highway 315.”

“You’re real sure that I am not going to drive us off a bridge on purpose or something?”

He laughed dryly. “You’re a smart girl. I must say though, werewolves heal much more quickly than humans. I’d hate to see you take risks with your health like that.”

Marradith gunned the engine and pulled into the street.

***

Justin waited.

Marradith had asked so many questions that he was sure she’d keep asking more. Her silence bothered him. At least when she was speaking he had some idea of what was going on in that head of hers. She seemed to avoid his glance on purpose, even though he was staring at her. “Are you at least going to tell me where we’re headed?” she finally asked.

“There’s no need to tell you that yet.”

“Fine, just don’t tell me anything. You’re supposed to protect me , but you haven’t even told me who is after me in the first place. How do you expect it’s okay for you know everything about me and I have no idea what‘s going on?”

“Slow down, you’re speeding.” He snapped. “If your parents had told you about your heritage, that would have solved half the problem.”

“Don’t go criticizing my parents, at least they love me. You’re doing the same thing they did, but I don’t know what your deal is.” She paused. “Mom said something about you coming for me early. What‘s that mean?”

“Usually, we would not take a girl like you until you’re seventeen. Your parents were thinking they had another year before they had to tell you anything.”

“A girl like me…?”

“You learned that werewolves exist today. Has anyone ever told you anything about us before?”

“Other than what I’ve seen on television? You’re kidding, right?”

He sighed. “Everyone has heard the stories. One thing that the myths did get right: werewolves, vampires and witches all come from the same root.”

Marradith kept her eyes on the dark road ahead, still refusing to look at him. Her flesh was crawling. She knew he was going to tell her things she did not want to hear.

“Witches came first. Then the vampires. Werewolves were the third in the chain, and of course the most different. The very first of the werewolves were called Luki, and they were a breed that remained in canine form. They walked upright and spoke language.

It may help to think of them as similar to the first human cavemen. Luki hunted humans purely for sport, not for food. It wasn’t until the first Luki mated with a shape shifter that Wolves were able to change from canine to human and back again by will.”

“Wait a minute. Shape shifters? Where do they come from?”

“That’s something that no one really knows, but the shape shifters are not the point.”

“I don’t see where I am in all of this.”

“Hold on, I’m getting there,” he said. “As you can imagine, there was always breeding between the species. Witches are human. Wolves and vampires; we’re more like cousins of the human species. Similar blood, but with differences on the cellular level.”

“Mutations,” Marradith whispered.

“Perhaps. Or, maybe the result of evolution. Every now and again, a human is born who has more than one bloodline.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s say, a werewolf had an affair with a human, and a child was the result. That child could be a werewolf. But there is a chance that child, while appearing completely human, could carry the genetic imprint of a werewolf. That child would become an adult, marry another human, propagating that imprint on to his human offspring.”

“The same thing could, and often does, happen with vampires. The mixture with human, DNA destroys the need for blood that vampires have. Most often the children of these unions are witches. Some are Immortals, but neither ever need to drink blood.”

Marradith nodded. She had the sinking feeling that she knew where the end of this story would lead.

“Sometimes, a human is born who carries part of the genetic code of all three bloodlines: human, werewolf, and vampire. That person is what we would call Lamia.”

“You carry, from your Father, the gene of werewolf. From your Mother, you carry the gene of vampire. You are a Lamia.”

Marradith shook her head. “Did my parents know? All this time they knew I was going to be a freak?”

Justin frowned. “Your father knew there was a werewolf forebear. I can’t say if your Mother knew about the vampirism on her side. There are many people who have that blood, and live their entire lives without knowing it. Vampires feed on blood, but they also feed off of humans for sex. The energy produced sustains them just as well as actual blood. This is why there are so many stories of romantic vampires. Some of them marry their consorts and never even come close to killing them. Something of that sort must have happened on your Mom’s side of the family.”

“Lamia,” Marradith spoke the word, trying it on for size. It didn’t feel right.

Justin stiffened, and turned around to look through the back window. “Speed up!” He yelled. “We’ve got company.”

___
© 2009 Lori Titus

Lori Titus’s The Marradith Ryder Series appears in episodes on Flashes in the Dark. Many of her short stories appear on MicroHorror.com, DemonMinds.com, and Shadeworks.org. An upcoming story will also be featured as a pod cast on SFZine.org. For more information see her at http://www.myspace.com/talesforthedark.