Lucius

1

"I smell mutt," Lucius says moving into the alley. Actually he smells an adult werewolf and a very, very scared child werewolf. He doesn't think they are together either. The adult wolf smell is very strong, but the child is weaker, older.

Lucius smiles and it isn't a very nice smile. He hasn't given permission to any wolves to enter his territory. The last mistake this wolf will make.

"Well, if it isn't a fur ball." Lucius says moving up behind the wolf. He made sure that the wolf hadn't heard him and there was no wind to give his scent away. The wolf jumps high and comes down facing Lucius.

The wolf goes white, "Lucius, I-"

"Why are you in my territory without permission dog?" Lucius knows that the insult hits home as the wolf narrows his eyes in anger. He is only slightly impressed when the wolf is able to curb his natural tendency to attack.

"I was retrieving lost property Lord Lucius." The wolf hopes this will be enough to save his life.

"You come onto my territory without permission to retrieve your property?" Lucius sneers at him, full of doubt. Children aren't property, at least not like the wolf is claiming.

"A runaway slave, I didn't know ahead of time that she'd come here or I'd have contacted you for permission to look for her." The wolf is even quicker to explain that now than he had the other before.

"Uh huh. Well how old is this supposed slave?"

"She's eight years old, although she looks like she's six." The man replies and starts to relax a bit. Big mistake on his part.

Lucius smirks, "An eight year old girl managed to escape from your pack which I assume is well guarded." A pretty decent assumption. Unguarded pack lands lead to invitations to enemies to attack and be destroyed.

"We never expected her to be able to escape."

Lucius has no doubt of this. Children aren't known to be terribly clever on escaping adults. But if she is a slave she very likely has a very good reason for wanting too.

"Well, you have a problem now, don't you?"

"Lord Lucius?" The wolf asks confused.

"She's in my territory and there are no slaves in my territory. Should you try to take her, then you would be taking one of my people. I would really hate for that to happen."

The fear comes rolling off the werewolf as the meaning comes home. He starts backing away from the vampire and searches for a way out.

Lucius moves faster than the wolf though and has him by the throat. "What the fuck did you do to the girl to make her chance life on her own, rather than be with her own kind?"

Lucius can smell blood and he knows it isn't from the wolf he's holding in the air by the throat.

"She misbehaves at times and needs to be taught a lesson. We've beaten her and whipped her a few times to teach her..." At those words Lucius tightens his grip and the wolf can no longer speak.

"Eight year old children will make mistakes. But they don't deserve to be beaten or whipped." Lucius is now angry. He doesn't like other supernaturals, but he doesn't hurt children, ever.

Lucius is going to prolong the death of this one, that is until he hears a whimper coming from further inside the alley.

He callously rips out the throat of the wolf he's holding and lets the body drop.

He turns towards the darker part of the alley and moves towards the sound.

"He's dead now and won't hurt you," Lucius stops some feet away from where he knows the child is and just holds out his blood covered hand. He won't force the child to come with him, but he hopes that she will.

Slowly the young wolf comes out of the shadows and makes her way to the vampire that saved her.

"Are you going to kill me now, too?" The girl is terrified of him, but still she manages to ask him that. Her skinny, malnourished body is shaking. But he's not sure if that is because she's terrified of him or because she's cold. The clothes she's wearing are nothing more than rags.

"Little one, I don't kill children. What makes you think that I would harm you?" Lucius asks gently, not wanting to scare the girl further.

"The pack talks about you in hushed whispers. They said that you don't allow any supernaturals onto your territory without permission. I'm here without permission."

Lucius is beginning to understand. "You came here intentionally, didn't you?" He keeps his voice gentle and low. But his anger towards the wolf pack that had her is growing.

The girl nods her head. Damn, this girl is smart. "Why did you come here, Little wolf?"

"I'd rather have you kill me than stay there and let them hurt me any longer." The girl says whispering her answer so low that Lucius could barely hear it.

"Little one, what did they do to you?" Lucius fears it is worse than what that wolf claimed.

"They would beat me, kick me, sometime turn and then claw and bite me. They liked to whip me and break my bones." 

Lucius is sure that there is more, "What else, little one?"

"They would say all kinds of mean and cruel things," the girl is now crying. The saying sticks and stones comes to mind, but it's not true. Words can be far more cruel and harmful than broken bones ever could be. 

"Is that all?" Lucius is having a hard time holding back his anger.

The girl shakes her head, "They would sometimes not let me eat for several days."

"Is that the only other thing they did to you?" Lucius demands. Many times when there are slaves it doesn't matter how old the female is...

"That's all they did to me, but the other female slaves more was done. They said I was too young for that yet, but when I get older they would do that to me as well."

Lucius stills at her words. Other female slaves. This pack is a rogue pack and needs to be dealt with. Normally he doesn't give a shit, but they are harming children intentionally.

"How long have you been a slave, little wolf?"

"Two winters ago is when they came to my pack and killed my parents. They took some of the other girls from there as well. No one from our pack came looking for us. This pack would talk about how they don't care enough for us to even try." The girl looks down now and he can smell the tears and see her little body repress the sobs the best she can.

"You're parents?"

"There was so much blood and they weren't moving. I think they were dead as I was being carried out of the house."

Lucius lets his eyes soften in sympathy for the young orphan. She's been through hell. He wonders what the truth is behind her pack not going for her or the other girls taken that night.

"What is your name, little wolf?"

The girl shakes her head, she looks up at Lucius still with tears running down her face, "I don't remember anything about my life before I was taken. They always called me slave, bitch, whore, you or something along those lines at the new pack."

Lucius thinks she's rather like a deer. Scared and unknowing to move out of danger. 

"We can call you Doe?" Lucius smirks at her reaction. She definitely didn't like that name. "Okay, well then there's Bambi but he was a boy and the females that have that name bring to mind strippers." The girl scrunches up her face at the name.

Lucius smiles, a genuine smile, "Well then, how about Faline?"

The girl thinks about it for a bit then nods, "I like that, Lord Lucius."

"Now, what to do with you." Lucius says looking at the girl before him. At those words the girl goes stiff with terror.