The sun went down and I knew the leeches would be up any time now. I splashed some water on my face and looked hard in the mirror. With my hands gripping the sink I had to concentrate to conceal my inner beast. My eyes shifted and the wolf peeked out again. Gritting my teeth together my fangs receded and I had control again. Every morning is the same, I wake up, the beast challenges me and I fight it for control. As the moon gets closer and closer to being full I always have this worry in the back of my mind. Will I lose control and tear apart a girl scout? Will I be strong enough to control it in public? What if a leech finds me and I have to stand my ground? These are not easy thoughts to have for someone like me.
I leave the bathroom and throw the hand towel on the hamper as I walk out. Grabbing my jacket and keys it's a quick trip down the stairs before I'm out the door and heading towards Griffin Park. That's where the Elders will be holding The Gathering. It's got this great overlook where you can see the river and it's quiet. The sound of the city is almost dead to the world and the sound of nature comes back to you.
Walking down the street I can smell everything for nearly a block. It assaults my nose as if I were face-to-face with it. You can't escape it. It's just there. I can smell her perfume before the woman in the dress is even visible to me. I can smell the cigarette from the taxi up the street two blocks when the wind blows carrying the scent downwind. I can even hear the heartbeats of the humans as they pass by me on the street, oblivious that anything was wrong with their world. They walk by with their body ordor and cheap cologne probably going to the bar or over to see some crush and I'm going to a park to hear what the Elders have to say about this growing problem of vampires in our territory. I mean sure, we could take them, but exposing ourselves is dangerous. We have a few cops and some important people in our pocket but they have this network. They're in deep like a parasite in your gut. The only way to get it out is bloody, dangerous and requires precision surgery from a talented hand. That's why the Elders call the shots. Last week some pup found himself a leech and thought he was hot shit. Went after it like a dog to a bone, growling and snarling out obscenities. Before his brothers could stop him he was snatched up by the Cherche, a rogue gang-like group of vampires who run around like the world is their playground. One was up on a fire escape waiting with a tow chain noose while the others were in hiding. The pup was too busy thinking with his wolf and not with his head. Next thing you know, the chain snatched him by the throat and the others sprang from the shadows tearing him apart. Shifting didn't do much good against a pack of wild vampires. Those leeches ripped him apart using axes and machetes and took off on their sportbikes before anyone knew what happened. By the time his brothers heard his yells the Cherche were gone and the pup was already shifting back postmortem. That is why we have rules, that is why we run as a pack and that is why those fuckers are going to die.
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