Chapter 1
…Chapter 1: Save Me from the Dark
The quarter moon caused shadows upon the lab as the wolf ran through the lab with his friends and now family, Michael and Trace Rhodes. The hunting had been good and the aroma of the nighttime air filled his lungs with a sense of peace, yet his anticipation to visit Amelia caused power to surge through his body as he ran ahead. Trace chuckled as he read Luke's thoughts and increased his speed to match. Suddenly the wind shifted and the foreign smell burning plastic and blood filled their senses, bringing them to a stop. Michael turned to face the scent and looked back to his "boys".
We had better check it out; someone could need our help." He said, and then headed deeper into the lab with Trace and Luke following.
Within minutes they came upon the explosion in the lab spread out over different rooms and quietly made their way to the largest lab which looked to be the main lab. With their enhanced eyesight, they could see several survivors huddled together in the lab all but one looked asleep.
Trace could hear the bundled womans erratic thoughts as she shivered in the cold; she wanted to go home, but was filled with grief over someone named bobby ; then skipped to internally cursing. And when a scurrying sound came from the lab, her thoughts began to fearfully think about her husband bobby.
Just then, the Wolfs ears twitched at a faint sound and with a soft whine turned away from the survivors to head deeper into the Lab. The Rhodes's followed and found the wolf sniffing at the pale outstretched hand lying on the lab table.
Michael, Luke says he can hear a heartbeat." Trace whispered.
Yes", replied Michael , "I can hear it now too, but it's very weak." The wolf moved away, transformed back into a young man, and then slid on a pair of shorts Trace handed to him. Michael laid down to look under the lab table and found that the hand belonged to a middle aged man reaching out he touched his face then neck to find his pulse.
He's dying", he said with the sound of professionally contained grief in his voice, "we need to get this table off of him before I can fully ascertain the extent of his injuries."
Moving on one side of the table Trace and Luke reached under and easily lifted, then flipped the metal away from the unconscious body. The squealing metal and crash echoed through the lab and startled not only the people outside, but the survivor sitting awake at the other side of the lab.
The scent of his blood was overwhelming, but Trace held his breath to control his blood lust and looked down at his damaged body in horror. He could see that his ears were bleeding and that he was infected with a deadly virus.
Can you save him? Asked Luke as he gulped back nausea and watched as Michael examined his body.
No, his body is too badly damaged." He replied sadly. He has a massive Hemorrhaging due to the virus. He should have died hours ago, when He slipped into a coma from the shock. But I think that the cold weather lowered his core temperature enough that it slowed the blood to his heart and it allowed him to survive longer."
Slowly standing up he turned to face Trace and Luke. "But he might survive a transformation to one of us." Looking at Luke, he continued. "I won't change him without your permission, Luke. This is part of our treaty with your people and even though this man will die, I will abide with this law."
Luke cringed at the responsibility of being his people's leader and the harsh reality of what this woman would become if he accepted Michael's proposal. But he knew that if something wasn't done soon, he would die and his life would have been wasted.
Do it." he said harshly and watched as Michael acknowledged with a nod and knelt back down to begin injecting his venom into his neck and several key veins, then took his handkerchief to wrap around his left wrist so that it remained attached to his arm. Once satisfied, he gently picked him up and cradled him in his arms.
We'll need to hurry home, so I can assess the damage the virus has done, before they can cure him and get him where we can watch him when he wakes up hungry. Being around his injured friends would be too much for a Newborn's blood lust."
Hearing rustling coming toward them from the direction of the other side of the lab, Luke asked. "What about them? How will they explain his missing body?"
Trace just shook his head and said, "They already believe he's dead. If you leave foot prints and drag marks going out of the lab, they will think his body was taken by thieves."
Luke shuddered at the thought and agreed before pulling off his shorts to being his transformation back into a wolf.
Don't worry, Luke." Michael said as he watched him change. "I've loaded the lab coordinate into my phones GPS and once we are far enough away, I'll call the lapd so that the rest of the survivors can be rescued. They should be home by tomorrow." Readjusting, the man in his arms, he continued. "We'll meet you back at the house."
The wolf nodded and watched as they turned and ran into the woods. He sighed and began his task of making the lab look like thieves had taken the man's body, by walking over the human foot prints and creating drag marks from the blood soaked into the floor where he had been laying.
So intent on completing his task and worrying about Dean's reaction to a new "Rhodes being created, he didn't hear one of the survivors coming through the lab until they crashed into the lab door.
Startled, the wolf instinctively swung around and jumped at the intruder with his hackles raised and gave a menacing growl. The woman stopped and squeaked in terror at the large dark mass towering in front of her, its glowing eyes reflecting off the Lab lights. She began to shake and hyperventilate while she waited to be ripped apart by the giant wolf standing in front of her. Realizing how much he had scared her; Luke lowered his hackles, whined softly and turned to run away into the opposite direction. Her terrified sobs of relief followed him for miles until he found the Rhodes scent and followed their trail home.
