Strange Love

Raven smacked Russ upside the head for what had to be the hundredth time. "Well, what do you expect, you big dummy!I sure as hell wouldn't be racing back to someone who clawed up my body then flung me into a damn thick rail either!"

"I DIDN'T MEAN TO! How many times do I have to tell you!" Russ Yelled trying to avoid the rolled up magazine that was swinging at his head again.

"Have you heard anything back from her?" despair clouded his eyes as he asked, "Is she mad at me?"

Raven dropped the magazine onto the counter as she shook her head. She glanced at the clock on the microwave that read 3:15am, "I'm sure she's not. Xavier called at one and said she was still out, but the doctor said there hadn't been any serious damage other than a few lacerations and a mild concussion." Raven looked from the microwave back to Russ. "You really hurt her this time, you know that right? AND I don't mean just emotionally, do you think it's wise to continue pushing for this relationship… at least until you learn to control yourself better?" She watched Russ's ears drop as a tear dripped down his cheek. She cupped his jaw, "Russ look at me, you're like a son to me. I've been here for you, raised you since you were three… but I've also known her since she was born.I couldn't stand seeing something bad happen to either of you. If it keeps up like it is, that's exactly what is going to happen… Control will be lost and one of you could die." Russ pulled away from her. "I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but it is what you need to hear." She stepped in front of him forcing him to look at her. "I support you being together 100%, just not right now. Not until you can better control the wolf."

Russ wouldn't make eye contact with her, instead, he stared down at his feet as he asked, "Is this because of Shelly and the way she feels about us as well?"

"No, it isn't." Raven threw her hands up in the air, "I could care less what she thinks right now. Shelly is simply throwing a tantrum right now and she will get over it." She tried to force his chin up to look at her again but he pushed away. "Russell, look at me." He finally met her eyes, tears filling his. "I'm only saying, FOR NOW, Russ not forever. Give her some space, learn to control yourself especially your temper. I know, deep down, you know it would be best."

Another tear streamed down his cheek, "I know… I…. but... I... I'm so afraid of losing her forever." He looked up at Raven sadness replaced by anger as he said, "And I have a gut feeling that bastard vampire is up to something.I can smell it on him!"

Raven let out a doubtful huff as her fists came up to rest on her hips, "You can smell it? Are you sure that isn't just your own jealousy you're smelling?"

"I'm sure of it, Raven!" He said it with certainty.

Raven sighed and dropped her arms to her sides. "Alright then, I'll make some phone calls and see what I can find out.See if we can't speed up some things. You weren't scheduled to return until you were closer to full maturity, but I'm sure if they hear you are ready and eager to begin now they won't complain.Plus it seems like you have full use of your wolf form, whether you can control it or not..."Raven shrugged as she looked him over then picked up her phone and began dialing some numbers.

"I'm going out, don't wait up." Russ walked out of the kitchen and into his room to get undressed and change.

Raven glanced up from the phone when she heard his bedroom door open again seconds later, "Be careful out tonight. There's no one here to pick you up from the pound this time." She teased him as she watched the wolf walk past the kitchen door. He shot her an exasperated look before continuing into the living room. "Hey, just saying!" She covered the speaker of the phone as she began laughing, recalling the last time he'd been picked up by the pound.She watched as the wolf struggled to open the door. "And don't worry, the next place we rent I'll make sure it has a doggy door!" She giggled as he lifted a furry paw and flipped her off.Her laughter was uncontrollable by the time someone picked up on the other end of the phone. She fought to control it and cleared her throat several times before replying to the voice on the other end. "Yes, this is she.The young prince is ready to return and take his place among his people."

[Excellent! Excellent! We were not expecting him for three more years.] The reply came in the heavily accented voice that Raven had gotten used to speaking to over the years. [Is he truly ready?]

"Yes, I believe so sir. He will still need training of course but he can already shift at will and he himself is tired of waiting…. for the thing he most desires." Raven chose her words carefully. {They will not be too thrilled to hear what he desires most is a non-werewolf bride…. But that's a problem for another day… preferably after I'm back to sleeping in my own bed and he's king… chief… What do supreme alpha leaders call themselves???}

[This is great news! The elders will be most thrilled to hear this. As for training, there is someone in your area that can help with that.I will send him to aid you in this until the young master can return home.]

Raven tried to hide her disdain as she replied, "Oh someone already in the area... from home?" {No doubt who that one person is... I thought I'd been feeling the eyes of a weasel on me lately...}

[Surely, you must know!The Great Hunter has been in your town for several months now.I'm surprised he hasn't stopped in already to catch up.]

Raven rolled her eyes. {Great hunter indeed. Well, it was probably a good thing Jos is in a coma right now, otherwise, she would be flipping her shit.}

Joslyn's eyes fluttered open slowly, her surroundings came in and out of focus as she attempted to make sense out of what had happened and where she currently was. {Where am I? It looks vaguely familiar, but I don't remember coming here… the last thing I remember was….} memories of Russ came flooding back.{Oh my Gods, he probably thinks… I… we… were….}

"Well hello, sleeping beauty. Nice to see those eyes once again."Xavier lifted from the chair he had pulled over beside the bed earlier and walked the few steps to the bed. He brushed his hand over her forehead careful not to bump the bandage there. "I wasn't sure if you would be waking up today or not."

Joslyn looked up at him confused, "Wake up? What do you mean?" She moved her hand out from under the sheets and ran her fingers across the bandage wrapped around her head.

"You hit your head pretty hard yesterday…"

"YESTERDAY?!" The second Joslyn jerked up and yelled out the words she regretted it, sharp pains shot through her head.She slowly sank back against the soft pillows.

Xavier sat on the edge of the bed facing her and grabbed hold of her hand in an attempt to calm her down. "Shhhh, calm down. You're going to hurt yourself."

Joslyn groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut, "Too late." She pulled her hands away and tried pushing herself up in the bed but it only made her head hurt worse.

Xavier gave a light laugh, "Such an impatient little thing, aren't you?" He pushed her down into the soft bed. "Relax for a while. Are you hungry? I can make you something…"

Joslyn went to say no but her stomach rumbled in protest. She blushed and looked away.

Xavier smiled down at her as he stood up. "What would you like?"

Jos glanced up at him, surprised about how nice he was being. "Anything will be fine. I don't want to trouble you."

He sent her a sly smile, "Anything? Coming right up!" As he turned to leave the room Joslyn noticed the new report and quickly grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him, the movement causing her great pain but she fought to hide it. He turned his head and smiled back at her. "Yes?"

The tension of her grip caused the material of the thin white linen shirt he wore to cling tightly to his torso. She turned red and quickly released his shirt. "Oh um… I just really hate the news…" She glanced up at him sweetly before asking, "If it's no trouble could you hand me the remote before you leave?"

He arched his brow, "Sure no problem." He leaned over the arm of the chair and retrieved the remote from the seat. "Here you are." He said as he handed it down to her, "I typically don't watch it either, but the murders that have been on there lately have become a problem for the vampire community."He crossed his arms over his chest in irritation as he continued to watch the report.

She looked away from him and toward the television mounted on the wall. "Is that so?" Her voice trailed off as she read the captions as they moved across the bottom of the screen. [Another body found… time of death seems to be early yesterday evening… washed up on the beach 2 miles north of the main boardwalk… another unusual attack…]

He sighed, "I've been keeping up with the stories.They haven't came out and said it yet, but these attacks are supernatural." Deep frown lines marred his face as he continued staring at the TV."And of course the first group that will be targeted for these types of deaths will be the vampires."

Jos glanced over at him, "You don't believe it was vampire related?"

He shook his head still looking at the TV. "Who could say for sure, but I pray it isn't.Since my father's death, it seems like it has been one hassle right after another."He sighed heavily."I never expected to take his place.I always assumed he would find a way to bypass me in the birthing order and somehow appoint Dante as his successor once he was ready to retire."He shook his head. "Find what you want, I'll be back with you a light snack." He gave her a sad smile as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face."We will see how something light set with you first, then work our way up from there." He walked out of the rooms without saying anything else.

Xavier leaned against the closed door of the guest rooms as he thought over the news feed he'd just watched. {It could easily be a vampire... Dante would be a good guess...}He furrowed his brows, but there was one thing that stood out to him about all the killing that made him inclined to believe his brother when he claimed innocence... {All the victims so far have been male, most young students of the local colleges.Sure, it could be easy enough for a vampire to become a night teacher for one of those colleges and target students that way... but why dump all the bodies in places where they would be found easily?If it was a vampire, it's likely they are young and inpulsive... maybe the bodies had just been left where ever they had been killed...}Xavier rubbed his temples as he pushed himself up from the door.There would be enough time to work through this in the upcoming days.The topic had gotten the coven's attention pretty quickly and they have been up his ass with it ever since the first murder aired.

He walked into his kitchen and pulled open the fridge.He had asked his tech guy to have some human foods sent over last night, but he hadn't had time to go through and see what had actually been sent.He lifted a container out and shook the content, watching large balls of what looked to be pasta slosh back and forth. He snarled up his nose."Well, this looks gross and easy to digest... I'm sure she will love it..."

He read the sticky note on top of the container as he straightened. "Pork won ton" popped the lid off and placed it into the microwave then pressed the one minute button.Once it went off he lifted it out and inhaled deeply over the container.He then shrugged, "Not bad... I guess..." As he began to leave the kitchen with the Tupperware bowl he quickly stopped himself."Shit!Well, ya can sure tell I don't eat often... What the hell is she going to do eat it with her fingers?!" He turned and glanced around the many cabinets and drawers."Now if I were a spoon... Where would I be?"He laid the bowl down and began opening doors and drawers."Okay, Do I even own dinnerware?" He asked out loud as he pulled open yet another drawer."Ah hah! Finally!" He pulled out a spoon in triumph then quickly retrieved the bowl and headed back down the hallway toward the guest suite.

He pushed the door open, "I hope you like 'wong ton pork'.It looked like the easiest thing in there to eat."

Joslyn busted out laughing then quickly stopped herself and grabbed her throbbing head.She squinted up at him as he worked his way around the bed. "What in the world is wong ton pork?"She glanced at the bowl, "Do you mean won ton?How in the world did you order take out if you don't even know what the food is called?"

He shrugged, "I had one of my employees order it for you."

She let out a sigh, "Fair enough, I guess."

He handed her the bowl before sinking back into the armchair beside her bed.