Some tweaks have been made to this chapter, nothing too drastic just some 'nit picky' details. Longer chapters will follow.

Enjoy

Chapter One

The northern wilderness belonged to the wolf tribe. It was a land enshrouded by forests and abundant with life. An ideal location for many healthy and growing wolf packs. Separate packs roamed the land, each allotted their own territory. Vampires were not permitted, hadn't been permitted within its borders for years. So why was it that Alfred Jones, Alpha of the southern wolves, was staring down at the prone form of what was very distinctively a vampire, in his territory no less.

Alfred turned to the large imposing figure of his Beta. Raising an eyebrow and indicating the body on the floor with his head he asked. "Don't suppose you have any ideas about this?"

Ludwig made a point in not looking at the vampire. Having had several bad experiences with their kind he was not a fan.

"It's a vampire"

Alfred couldn't have asked or a better Beta in all the world, but often he had the feeling that Ludwig thought he was a bit of an idiot.

"Noooo. Really? That certainly never crossed my mind." He stepped over to the vampire so that he could look down at him better. He crossed his arms as he gazed down.

"What do you suppose we should do with him?"

Ludwig's top lip cured up. "Well why don't we take him back to our camp? Feed him cupcakes and sugar drops? Then, why don't we have him bring all those other murderous sons of bitch vampires down round our ears, and all have a lovely garden party?"

Alfred straightened up looking his Beta strait in the eye. It was unusual for Ludwig to speak out as he had. He was more often than not a reserved man respectful of his Alpha.

Alfred spoke low and slowly. "I don't appreciate sarcasm from you Ludwig. I expect that behaviour from Gilbert not you."

Ludwig looked sheepishly down at his feet, an odd look for a werewolf, tilting his head slightly to expose his throat in reverence to his Alpha. He cleared his throat in panic.

"What I meant to say was that vampires have brought us nothing but trouble in the past, and being how they tend to kill anything and everything in their path…" He paused and cast an appraising look over the vampire. "Perhaps it would be best if we take him back to his own kind. He doesn't look like he's strong enough to cause us too much trouble."

And this was why Alfred put up with Ludwig's occasional scornful outbursts.

"That seems like a mighty fine idea"

He leaned down and sat on his haunches, eyes fixed on the face of the vampire. He was, like all vampires, very attractive with delicate cheek bones and blond hair (? Under the mud it was hard to tell for sure) that atypically for a vampire was a mess and caked in mud. His eyes seemed to be running backwards and forwards under his lids like he was in a nightmare.

Alfred leaned nearer. The vampire's breath was coming in hitches and starts. His skin, now that he was looking closer, had a waxy complexion that looked tight and stretched across his face. Not for the first time since he and Ludwig had come across the unconscious vampire, he wondered what it was doing so far from the border and how he had come to be in this state.

"He looks sick."

Ludwig peered over his shoulder.

"So?"

Alfred shrugged. He hadn't realised he'd spoken his internal query out loud.

"So nothing I guess. Let's get this blood sucker out of our territory."

0 0 0

Arthur was lost in the past. Lost in a sea of blood and pain. His. He seemed to be unaware of anything other than pain and the face above him. Lips stained red with his own precious life blood that even now was pouring out of him with every torturous beat of his heart, robbing him of strength and courage. Metallic and cloying fear seeped into every fibre of his being.

He felt hands tighten on his forearms, talons shredding the skin, pulling him closer to that mouth. That cavernous mouth, yearning for another taste of his life force. Incapable of screaming anymore, the only sound to mark the terror of feeling this creature forcing his veins to yield yet more blood was a small pitiful moan. Wetness had gathered and dried a long time ago at the corner of his eyes, there was nothing left for him to give.

He couldn't give anymore.

Yet still it was taken.

A stillness was overcoming him. His heart beat barely registered anymore. Breathing had become an impossibility, a great weight was pressing down on his chest suffocating him. He knew that his time had come and soon this nightmare would be over. Fear had been replaced by exhaustion and inevitability.

He felt the creature pull away, the amber glowing orbs of the creature's eyes staring down into his face. He closed his own eyes not wanting the last thing he saw on this earth to be the eyes of his murderer. Instead he tried to remember what the sun looked like, how it felt to a warm again. Floating on that feeling he started to fall away…

And woke to the choking sensation of rich and warm liquid being forced down his throat a hand massaging his neck, compelling him to swallow. Pressure was at the back of his head, a weight on his mouth.

"Drink deep"

The voice was all around him. Commanding and compelling him to obey, and to his utter horror he was powerless to refuse. Yielding to that voice he swallowed, and drank deeply.

0 0 0

"Remind me again why we're doing this"

"You ask me that one more time Gilbert, and my foot'll find your ass"

Alfred had significantly less patience for Ludwig's' brother than he did for his beta. The wolf was mouthy and annoying.

"Sorry boss. I'm just confused why we aint just killing this blood sucker and being done with it."

Alfred looked over his shoulder pointedly at the albino werewolf behind him that was trying to navigate a small brook. Then at Ludwig who looked fidgety and uncomfortable with the vampire slung over his shoulder.

"Because I said so."

Whenever Alfred ended an argument with that statement the wolves all knew that was the end of it. It didn't help that Alfred sympathised with their feelings. Vampires and werewolves had been enemies for centuries, and he wasn't quite so keen to get this personal with one. Said vampire didn't look to be waking up anytime soon.

Gilbert pushed forward again. "Why d'ya think he was this far into our territory anyways boss?"

"Don't know Gil. Don't care either, just as long as he's gone by tomorrow."

The reason for the vampire appearing in their territory was troubling Alfred as well. It could have been that the vampire was plain stupid and hadn't realised he was walking into the werewolf's' territory.

Yeah right!

Could have been he was looking for a fight. Considering his condition this was also unlikely. Was he running from something? Wolf territory wouldn't have been the smartest move to make.

He peered over at the vampire. He could just make out the side of his face over Ludwig's shoulder. Dirty and unconscious, he didn't look that frightening. Vampires had that way of deceiving you. Sweet and innocent looking, until the blood lust overcame them. Then the fangs came out, and that innocent façade dropped.

Werewolves on the other hand, didn't pretend to be anything than what they were. Predators. True they'd become more domesticated in recent years, but they still felt the pull of the moon and the need to hunt. All wolves once they were full grown were tall and broadly muscular. With great emotion, features of the wolf would show through. Eyes, ears or claws. It was even known for a wolf under great stress to break out in fur.

Wolves as opposed to vampires were born, not made. Also werewolves had been around a lot longer than vampires, though both were considered immortal to a certain extent. Vampires had popped up several hundred years ago, taking their recruits from the human nobility, integrating themselves quickly among the ruling classes.

No one really knew where or how they had come into existence and frankly Alfred wasn't going to start philosophising now. All he knew was that a few hundred years ago they had decided to encroach on the wolves' territory which once upon a time had been significantly larger. It was thought that they had even tried to trespass on the wizard's land. Bad, bad ideas'.

Many wolves and vampires had died before an uneasy, not so official truce had come about. Basically this meant, no more killing, keep to your own territory, if you leave me alone I'll leave you alone kind of thing. For the most part it had worked out, so Alfred would be dammed if he was gonna be the one to break it by letting a vampire die on his turf.

There was a thump behind him. He turned to see Ludwig standing over the vampire, having just unceremoniously dropped him.

"I'm not carrying him!"

Alfred growled low in his throat.

"Why the hell not? You were fine a minuet ago"

Ludwig looked at him.

"That was before he started waking up!"

The three of them stood around the dirty vampire. At their feet he twitched and groaned slowly coming up through the fog and darkness.