Strange Love

A faint sound woke Arei from a perfect slumber. His eyes quickly surveyed the room with the aid of the faint glow from the television. To his happy surprise, Jos was nestled snuggly against him. He kissed the top of her head as a warm smile spread across his lips. His eyes moved to the empty side of the bed where Shelly had been fast asleep the last, he'd recalled. His eyes fell on the faint light emanating from the cracked bathroom door. He held Jos's sleeping form closer to him as he rolled over her slightly to retrieve the remote that had been discarded on the far side of the bed. He'd barely reach it when the door to the bedroom opened. Jos let out a m.o.a.n as he released her down onto the bed, letting the remote drop as his eyes meet the shocked stare glaring back at him from the door.

Russ had snuck out of the room he shared once again with Ry the second the gigantic man had stepped into the bathroom. A quick text to Raven had provided him with Jos's room number along with the passcode to get inside. It hadn't taken him long once inside to follow the soft sound of music to the bedroom at the far end of the hall. Quietly pushing the door open, he'd thought to surprise her... but it was he who stood in the doorway in open mouthed shock. "What the f.u.c.k is going on here!" Russ yelled out in anger.

Arei pressed his fingers to his lips to quiet the boy, but it was no use. A soft m.o.a.n brought both men's attention to the groggy aqua eyes that were struggling to focus against the faint light of the room and the heavy sleep that had settled.

"Russ?" She asked as she lifted to a half sitting position. "What are you doing here?" She asked groggily.

"What am I doing here? What the f.u.c.k are you doing here? It's only been two f.u.c.k.i.n.g days since the last time I've talked to you and you what? Fell the f.u.c.k into his bed? He fell into yours? What the f.u.c.k, Joslyn?!" Russ yelled as anger built within him.

Jos scrunched her brows and turned to Arei, registering their closeness for the first time. Her eyes moved over the bed as Russ continued hurling insults at her. "But..." She couldn't even ask where Shelly had gone before he was interrupting her again.

"What the f.u.c.k is wrong with you? Are you f.u.c.k.i.n.g drugged? Did this bastard slip you something or are you just naturally a whore? Is that part of the curse? You have to continuously sabotage your own f.u.c.k.i.n.g relationsh.i.p.s?" His angry eyes locked on hers as waves of an impending shift rippled through his body.

Jos couldn't answer, she could only stare wide-eyed as his long sting of insults continued to pile up in accusation. Her mind struggled to keep up with the furious words, until she couldn't take any more and covered her face with both hands. Tears instantly soaked her palms as her own cries began to drown out the hate-filled words.

Arei's eyes widened as he realized the boy's anger was directed directly at Jos this time, and he was on the brink of losing control. "You need to get out of here now!" Arei yelled loudly over Russ's continued badgering and belittling words. He quickly pushed himself up from the bed blocking Russ's view of the now crumpled Joslyn. He wanted to comfort her, but more importantly, he wanted to get the kid out of the room before he lost complete control and did something, they would all regret.

"Move the f.u.c.k out of my way." Russ growled in an angry, animalistic rumble.

"No. You need to leave this room. Get out of the suite now." Arei said forcing his voice out in a calm yet forceful tone.

"Is that a threat?" Russ stepped farther into the room. His usually blue eyes had turned purple with the streaks of red that now filled them. His arms and legs had already begun to shift causing the straps of the flip flops he wore to break apart.

Arei didn't have a chance to respond as the half wolfman stalked slowly, calculatedly toward him. Jos forced herself between the two men.

She realized her mistake as she thought to protect Russ by holding Arei away. The second her hands connected with the thin fabric of Arei's tee, a low growl rumbled, sending chills up her spine. Jos cried out as sharp claws sank into her upper arm. She glanced over her shoulder only to find glowing red eyes staring intently down at the scar visible from below the thin strap of the tank top she wore. "Mine." The inhuman words rumbled through her body as she watched sharp, exposed teeth line up and lower to the scar.

"NO!" Arei called out breaking the heavy tension of the room. His hand shot out rapidly past Jos's face catching the neck that was more creature than man. He pried the sharp claws from her arm as carefully as he could still holding the wolfman hybrid by the neck tightly. He saw the snarl of the creature's upper lip and sensed the movements seconds before another clawed hand shot over Jos's head. "Duck, Kitten!" Arei called out as he quickly released the throat to block the sharp blow of an outstretched clawed hand. He twisted both wrists in his grip downwards as the beast snarled into his face. "Find Shelly! Bathroom!" He called before using his grip on the wrists to shove Russ backwards.

Jos watched as the barely recognizable form of Russ was hurtled through the door and into the opposite wall. She watched as Arei moved toward the door. "Arei wait! Please... don't hurt him!" She cried, but her words only seemed to upset the beast more. She watched as the beast's hot gaze moved from hers to Arei. The beast pushed itself away from the walk, lowing his shoulders and neck as he stood.

"F.u.c.k..." Arei grunted out as the beast lunged into him knocking the wind from his lungs and the cellphone he'd retrieved from his pocket from his hand. Arei gritted his teeth against the pain of sharp claws digging into his spine as steely arms crushed down around his waist pinning his arms under their vice grip. He dug his heels in and forced his body forward flexing his massive arms against the subhuman grip. When he couldn't dislodge the claws from his spine, he called to Jos. "Get my phone and call Ry-" His last words were cut off as blood spirted from where the sharp claws were ripped from his back. Arei fought against the pain and tried catching a bloodied hand as it lashed out toward his head, but it only caused the claws to slash into his forearm instead.

Another growl sounded as the cold red eyes followed Jos toward the cellphone resting on the floor. He released his hold from Arei and lunged for the phone and Jos.

Jos squeezed her eyes tightly closed as she shot a trembling arm out toward the phone. Sharp claws dug into then released her arm in a flip of its wrist, but she didn't release the phone. "Please stop..." She whimpered as cold red eyes locked on her. She scooted across the floor until her back hit the cold metal frame of the bed. She pulled her knees up against her chest and clutched the phone to her chest.

Arei flung his full weight into the beast's growing frame knocking them both into the nightstand. Before Arei could recover from the move, the beast was already shifting under him. Strong legs kicked him across the room. Arei struggled against the pain and blood slickened floor as he pressed his large frame up onto his hands. His eyes widened as the wolf creature made a move for the still huddled up and trembling ball that was Jos. A pale bolt of fur dashed out from the front of the bed. Shelly snarled and growled at her brother's alpha form as she tried her best to block his path to Jos. Her warning bark reverberated through the room, but it was ignored. The beast hurled the smaller wolf through the air in one swift movement.

Arei flung himself forward to catch the pregnant wolf before she could hit the ground. Pain coursed through his body as he fell with a soggy flump to the floor.

Jos whimpered loudly as the sharp claws pried the phone from her tight grip. Her eyes tried to focus past the blur of her tears as she watched the monster before her crush the phone. "Russ, please stop..." She cried out as the pieces of the phone fell to the floor around her. Her teary eyes tried to search the room for Shelly, but she couldn't keep them open as the tight grip of a clawed hand clamped around her upper arm forcing her up from the floor. He pulled her close, smelling deeply from her hair before flinging her onto the bed suddenly. Jos cried out as she curled herself into a tight ball on the mattress, but the bed never shifted. Instead, another loud crash sounded next to the bed.

"As soon as I get him out, lock the door!" Arei yelled to her as he struggled to restrain the beast. He wrestled the beast toward the bedroom door as it kicked and fought against him. "Hurry!" Arei yelled as the beast bucked against him, nearly breaking his grip.

The door had barely shut before Russ managed to sink his claws into Arei's upper shoulder and flung him into the wall. Just as he turned his attention back to the door, Arei kicked the beast's feet out from under him.

"I got to hand it to you kid... you're putting up one hell of a fight now." He huffed between pained breaths. At least one of his ribs were broken, and he was unable to access any of the benefits that went along with being a son of Poseidon. He gripped his side as he pushed up from the floor as the beast jumped to its feet. {Great, the kid is healing as we go... his abilities are organic... part of his DNA...} Arei shook his head in frustration. There was only one option. He turned and bolted for the kitchen, hoping the kid's animal instincts to chase would outweigh his urge to break into the room where Jos was.

Arei smiled as he heard the heavy thump of the beast following behind. As he rounded the kitchen bar, he plucked a cutting board from the counter. Turning on the fast-approaching creature, he used the momentum of the creature for a greater impact as he bashed the cutting board into Russ's face.

Blood sprayed out around the board as it connected with the monstrous configuration of jumbled human and wolf parts. He tossed the board to the floor and smiled as rage sparked a deeper red in the creature's eyes. A smile curved his lips. His plan was working, now if he could only get the wolfman out into the hall and out of the apartment. He didn't turn his back to the beast as it stalked after him while he backed toward the main door to the suite. Arei didn't get a chance to open it, however, as Russ slammed into him sending both their bodies crashing through the door.

Ry had just rounded the corner as Arei brought a large section of the busted wooden door down over the wolfman's back. "What in the hell is going on here?" He asked glancing from the two bloody, fighting figures in the hall to the busted doorway.

"F.u.c.k.i.n.g help!" Arei called out as the beast sank his teeth into the arm that Arei was using to keep him from charging back into the room.

Ry shook his head. "Can't a man even have ten minutes peace to take a shit?" As Ry drew nearer, his eyes widened. "Oh, shit man..." He quickened his pace into a sprint as he recognized a more developed form of the creature he'd faced off with in the cage fight a week ago. He pulled Russ off Arei and quickly lowered himself to the floor like he had during the cage match, but to his surprise instead of a familiar sniff of the wolfman hybrid he was donkey kicked into the corridor wall. "Shit!" He called out in a huff. He was peeling himself up off the ground when several figures materialized between where he was sitting and Russ and Arei were back to fighting.

Selena glanced back and forth between the three men before sending Pavato a curt nod. She lifted her palms toward Russ and Arei causing their entwinned bodies to float quickly toward her. As soon as the two were within Pavato's reach, he extended his hands out and placed one on Russ and Arei's shoulder. Arei and Russ began convulsing as the strong electrical charge of Pavato's powers coursed through their bodies. By the time the man retracted his hands from each of them Arei was panting with massive burns running along the nerve paths of his upper back and down the arm the man had touched. Russ was unconscious on the floor but back in human form.

Selena stepped over Russ's crumpled body and leaned down to glare at Arei. "Downstairs one hour, all of you." She bit out in a snarl.