Take Me

Author's Note: So chapter one...I hope you enjoy. Many thanks to my beta Paramour Conspiracy, who is awesome.

REMEMBER: This is loosely based on the Mercy Thompson series, so don't expect me to follow the plot line!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Mercy Thompson series. I mean...I don't even have a plushie. Dx

Warnings: Cursing, violence, and blahblahblah.

xxx

Chapter One

It took me a moment to realize that nobody else could see him. There was a man standing by the garage's office door. I had just finished working on an old Ford Falcon and was wiping my hands on a rag when I spotted him. I paused, my eyes taking in the man's appearance.

The male looked semi-young, with pale hair and green eyes. He was attractive, but the heavy bags under his eyes hinted that my guest was very tired, very sick, or very dead.

Seeing as he was a ghost, the dead bit made a lot more sense.

Normal people can't see ghosts. As such, I wasn't normal. I'm what they call a walker, which a lot of people mix up with 'skin walker'. Unlike the witches of the Southwest Indian tribes, I don't need the skin of the animal I transform into; that animal being a coyote.

I was a walker because of my mother. She was the daughter of a Native American, and my father was a regular Japanese business man. He took the news rather well, considering he walked into my nursery to find a coyote pup in my crib instead of a human baby. I don't think I'd take the news as well, so kudos to the old man.

I quickly glanced around. If Suigetsu spotted me talking to what appeared to be myself, I was certain I would never live it down. But Suigetsu was in the office, probably grumbling as he worked on the very large amount of paper work I had given him to keep him busy. I turned my attention back to the ghost. He hadn't moved an inch, only continued to stare.

I should have been a little more afraid. I'd never seen the pale male before, and ghosts don't appear to just anybody. Ghosts had routines, and they stuck to those routines like the devil sticks to his treachery. There hadn't been any news about murders recently (but I could be wrong; don't take my word for it), so I was a little surprised at its appearance. I fiddled with the rag in my hand as it spoke.

"You're the new one?"

I barely caught the whispered words before the male bowed his head and vanished. I frowned, deep in thought, just as the office door opened and my light-haired friend stepped out.

Suigetsu paused, his hand still on the doorknob. "What?" Suigetsu mumbled. "I did all the paperwork."

I shook my head. "I'm closing up early," I said. "I've got some calls to make."

Suigetsu didn't argue. Grateful for that, I changed out of my coveralls in the bathroom and escaped quickly to the parking lot. I slid into the front seat of my 1980 Mercedes Benz, already dialing the familiar number on my cell phone. Three rings later, a woman picked up.

"Sasuke," the girl on the other end chirped. I winced slightly. "It's good to hear from you again. What's up?"

I grunted before replying. "I need you to look something up for me, Sakura."

"Okay, sure. What do you need?"

"I need to know if you've taken any murder jobs."

"Murder jobs?" Sakura echoed. I could hear the 'click, click' of her fingers racing over a keyboard. "Shizune took a call from Naruto a couple of days ago. A newborn–"

I interrupted her. I wasn't interested in Naruto's affairs. "A human - has a human been murdered?"

"Hmm . . . We haven't had any trouble with humans being killed for a month." Sakura reported. "If you want, I can look into it for you."

I started the van and nodded, despite her not being able to see it. "If you would. Keep me posted."

"Alright. Bye . . . Coyote Boy."

I hung up to the sound of her laughing. It was no use telling her off for the nickname. If we were still young, and the pink-haired girl still had a crush on me, perhaps she could have stopped after I threatened her. The school-girl crush she had once had was over, however, and I no longer had that power (. . . much).

The rest of my drive home was made in silence, although I kept glancing at my phone. I couldn't get the ghost off my mind. I was the new what exactly? A little annoyed, I pulled into my driveway and slammed the car door harder then I should have. I patted the hood. It was a wonder it was still running. With a small sigh, I looked towards my house.

"What did I say about sitting on my front porch?"

Naruto looked up at me, a wide grin on his multiple-scarred face. He was sitting on the steps leading to my front door. He patted the space beside him, but I ignored the invitation to sit and leaned against my car, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You said to stay off your property unless I was invited." Naruto replied, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. "Sakura called and said you asked what jobs they'd done recently."

Damn pink-haired witch . . . I must have been frowning, because Naruto snickered.

He jumped up. Before I could escape, he'd slung his arm around my shoulders and pinned me to his side. I stared at him warily, unsure of his intentions. "Why were you calling Sakura for that kind of information?" he asked.

I stayed silent.

"Sasuke," he growled.

I ducked out from underneath his arm. "It's nothing of importance, Uzumaki." I smirked. I could tell Naruto was getting irritated, but he couldn't force me to answer him because I was pack. He might have been Alpha, but I wasn't werewolf, so I didn't have to listen to him. And I told him this frequently, much to his displeasure.

However, this doesn't mean I'm not affected by him. As a walker, I was subject to the laws of dominance.

So when I met Naruto's eyes, I inwardly cursed. Werewolves love to play games of dominance. The first to look away must submit to the other. I kept his gaze for a while, refusing to back down. His attention was drawn away from me when his cell-phone went off. I dropped my gaze to the ground.

Naruto glanced at the caller-ID. "I'll talk with you later, Sasuke," he said, suddenly all smiles again. I watched tensely as he turned and answered his phone. I didn't move until I saw him jump the fence separating our property. With a growl, I dug into my pocket, retrieved my cell, and called Sakura.

"I thought you might call me," she said when she picked up.

"Why?" I growled.

"He's alpha, Sasuke. I have to let him know who's digging into city affairs."

I snorted and made my way to my door. "Did you find anything?" I asked instead of pressing the subject.

I heard the shuffle of papers before she answered, "No, nothing you're looking for, I don't think. Well, your brother did call us about a week ago with something that might interest you . . ."

I paused halfway through the doorway. "What was it about?"

"A hotel downtown . . . They found three dead people inside the bathroom. Itachi said something about it . . . not feeling right. He can't explain it. You know Itachi; he tries to grasp our world, but he just can't."

"I'll give him a call," I said slowly. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of calling my older brother. The bastard's goal in life seemed to be annoying the hell out of me. "And Sakura?" I said after a moment. "Don't tell Naruto about this conversation."

I headed towards the kitchen, dropping my phone on my couch. I would call Itachi later. It'd been a long day at the garage, and I just wanted some time to myself, especially after having to deal with the loud alpha werewolf.

I sat at my kitchen table and thought over what Sakura had told me. Three people found inside a bathroom, and a strange feeling that surrounded the scene. I frowned in thought. Werewolves don't kill humans, unless they're newborns without alphas to guide them, and I didn't think the vampires had gotten sloppy after hundreds of years. Neither of them left any sort of 'presence' behind. I was a little confused, and I felt oddly satisfied when I realized that Itachi was probably even more confused than me.

I was dragged away from my thoughts when my phone went off from the other room. I stood slowly, shuffling over to the couch.

"Sakura called you, didn't she?" I deadpanned after I had answered.

There was a pause before my brother spoke. "No, little brother," he said softly. "If she needs to speak with me, however, I–"

"Never mind," I snapped, dropping into the cushions. "She mentioned the murders at the hotel."

"Ah," he mumbled. I could almost hear his smile. "Sakura told Naruto you were digging around for information."

My brother was smart. But sometimes I had to wonder how he knew things . . . But he could always sense my discomfort.

"Let's talk about the murders at the hotel," he continued, stopping me from demanding how he knew Sakura was blabbing on me to the blonde werewolf. "I was hoping you could come and see what you could find. We might be able to identify who it was if we have their scent."

"Why don't you ask mother?"

"Mother has a cold. She can't smell a thing."

A measly cold? I grunted in acceptance. "Fine, I'll go check it out."

"Good, I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

He hung up on me, and my frown deepened into a scowl.

xxx

Author's Note: Review? I want to know what you think!