Crimson Smoke

Prologue -the birth of Crimson Smoke-

His paws pounded against the forest floor with tremendous force, stirring up dust and dirt with each impact. Fueled by relentless hatred, anger, pain, and bloodlust, Smoke, as he was known, sought nothing but pure revenge. His birthright, his mate, had been taken from him right after the "claiming"; it was unjust, it was outrageous, but it was the undeniable truth. His beautiful face, those mesmerizing eyes, had turned to ashes before him when those bastards tore his heart from his chest. His Mikael was gone for good. His mate, his love, his cherished vampire... was lost forever.

"I want revenge! Traitors! They will pay!" Nathaniel, Smoke's host, wailed in pain and hatred.

"They will pay for sure. Tonight, no one will survive. They will fall one by one. I won't stop until I get them all, or I fall," Smoke bellowed. There was nothing left for either of them to lose. The most crucial thing they held dear was gone. Nothing had any meaning to them anymore. Not their lives... nothing... The leopard's muscles rippled with each attack against the hordes of vampires assaulting the Panthera, the pack he had called home for the last four years since moving to Istanbul. This surprised him somewhat. The "claiming" was complete. He felt the bond between himself and his mate, and he should have died when his mate met the true death because the bond formed by the claiming was always too strong for one partner to survive the other's passing. When one met their end, the other usually followed. This had always been true and would always be the case, yet not for him. He and his host, Nathaniel, had somehow survived after their beloved Mikael, their partner, had fallen. For what? he thought, projecting his feelings to Nathaniel, who seemed more interested in spilling his enemies' blood. The leopard was bewildered. But it wasn't time for confusion or second-guessing. There was nothing to fuss over or ponder. This was all about the primal feeling that had always been woven into his very fabric: protect what was yours and destroy anyone or anything that dared to threaten it. Yielding to this primal urge, in disregard for his and Nathaniel's lives, the beast's vision turned crimson... hatred and anger simmered in his thoughts, fueled by the limitless power of destruction. He surrendered to that power, giving himself and his host over to the inevitability of their end; they attacked with everything they had. Surrendering to nothingness, Smoke and Nathaniel, two presences within the same body, drew closer than ever, united into something greater than themselves...

The leopard and the host were separate beings sharing the same body, yet it did not feel that way. Although two voices existed, neither Smoke nor Nathaniel could anymore sense each other's presence. It felt as if they had completely melted into one another's presence. United, larger, stronger, more determined, and deadlier than ever, they stood alone against the hordes of vampires who dared to destroy the Panthera, annihilating everything in their path, instilling terror, and unknowingly marking a milestone in supernatural history. They spilled blood throughout the night, which would be remembered as "the Crimson Night massacre" in paranormal history. The beast responsible for it would henceforth be known as "Crimson Smoke."