Lycan Blood (Alex Vane: Demon Stalker #1)

Wake-Up Call

“Okay,” At the sound of Scott’s voice I was jolted awake. It took me a second to get my bearings. I was startled to discover he was sat at the bottom of my bed, having apparently decided it was okay to just barge into my room, “I just looked it up. According to the internet, the next full moon is due on Tuesday.”

“Thanks for knocking.” I muttered, sitting upright and wrapping the quilt around me. I was basically fully dressed (I always sleep in a T-shirt and pants in case I happen to get attacked in the middle of the night) but I still felt self-conscious. Especially when I realised Scott wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Sorry. I thought you’d be awake by now. Besides, it’s an emergency. We only have three days.” That got my attention. Wiping away the last of the sleep from my eyes, I let out a groan as I remembered the events of the night before. After noticing how screwed we were, Scott and I had gone straight to the werewolf’s den in the hopes of catching the creature there. No such luck-my message had been dismantled which unfortunately meant it was doubtful the werewolf would return there. My revenge might have seemed like a good idea at the time but in reality, all I had done was let it know we were on to it. Yet another mistake, but minor compared to the moon one.

The moon-how could I have failed to keep an eye on it? I was too preoccupied with other things, that was the trouble. The werewolf had succeeded in screwing with my head and they’d kept me distracted enough so that I wouldn’t notice it.

“Right,” I began, a little more lucid, “So what are we going to do then?”

“I…I have no idea.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked at me helplessly. I couldn’t help but notice a white puckered scar across the right side of his chest. It looked similar to the one which ran down my back, a souvenir from one of my earliest encounters with an Artio demon. I wanted to ask him how he got his but it wasn’t the right moment. Besides, those kinds of stories can get personal.

“Well, we need a plan. When werewolves change, it’s not just one or two people who are going to get ripped to shreds. They go on rampages. We were lucky last time for some reason. This time when it changes, it's going to be much worse.”

“I know,” he replied with a slight edge, “The question is, is there anyone we suspect enough to cut out their heart?”

“No. I mean, I guess it all points to Jenna. She has the drawings. I can’t think of a way of explaining them. But am I sure enough to cut out her heart?” I shuddered involuntarily at the thought, “No. She’s too human. It might be fake but I’m not willing to risk it.”

“And what about Adam?”

“Adam…I don’t know. He could be innocent too. It might not be either of them,” I ran a hand through my hair, laughing bitterly, “Almost a month of investigating and where has it gotten me? I feel as though I’m in the same place I started in.”

“You’re not,” Scott said firmly, “You have me. If we’re not sure enough to cut out someone’s heart before the transformation, then we’ll have to do it afterwards.”

“Oh sure, we’ll just fight a full-grown werewolf. Easy peasy.”

“Careful-you almost sound nervous there.” He grinned, much to my annoyance. Did he ever take anything seriously?

“Okay, so say we’re going to fight this werewolf. How are we supposed to get to it before it gets to anyone else?” Scott thought for a moment, tilting his head slightly. Then his eyes lit up.

“I think I have a way.” All of a sudden he was up on his feet, the bed springing back up in the absence of his weight. I watched him go curiously before deciding it would be best to take the opportunity to put some real clothes on. After a quick wash in the bathroom, I got dressed and went out to see where he’d gotten to. To my surprise he was sat in the living room, chatting away amiably on a mobile phone.