She Fell For The Boy Next Door

Cale woke fast, not bothering to dress properly before booking it over to Alice’s house. He didn’t bother with the gate, instead choosing to scale the wrought iron fence. He was running the moment he hit the ground and then he scrambled up the outside balcony leading to Alice’s bedroom. He cracked the glass door open and padded through it, his bare feet quiet on the soft carpet. Rushing to Alice’s bed, Cale knew instinctively that she wasn’t in it. He placed his hand on the part of the bed that Alice slept in, feeling that it was cold. Cale let out a small whimper, before suddenly shuddering on his feet. His figure phased blurringly and he fell to all fours. Cale’s entire body became elongated and grew thick, dark fur. Green eyes glowed in a dark face and sharp black claws clicked on the balcony floor. Cale’s second form was lithe, muscular and wide, his senses one hundred times sharper.
The giant wolf leapt over the rail, making a thud on the damp snowy ground outside. Cale ran, his sensitive nose near to the ground.

All that Alice could feel was cold. That meant Cale was not with her. He always joined her halfway through the night and she always woke with him lying beside her.
She shivered, rolling over onto her back. Stretching, Alice attempted to move her arms and found that she couldn’t. She tried moving her legs and failed. Alice opened her eyes and tugged hard. She was tethered to each post of a four poster bed by leather straps. The room she was in was shadowy but she could see the tight knots securing her.
Where was she? Panic started to overtake her and she was glad that she hadn’t eaten or it was likely that she would throw up. If she didn’t know where she was, how was anyone else going to? A sharp scratching alerted her to the fact that she wasn’t all by herself in here. Alice realized the sound was mice but she couldn’t relax. Someone had just walked in and switched on a light; a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. The person was a tall guy with pale skin, violet eyes and dark blonde hair tied back from his face in a long ponytail. He stared at her with no expression on his face or in his unusual eyes.
“I’m not going to say much” he said, revealing brief glimpses of flashy white teeth.
He approached Alice with inhuman speed, carrying a needle and syringe. He stood by her head and shoved the glinting needle into her arm. He pushed the plunger down and Alice saw her own blood filling the syringe. She saw the boy empty the blood into a transparent vial, cork it and place it carefully on a lab table in one corner of the nearly empty room.
The thoughts in Alice’s head went wild, rampant and she thrashed against the bed. Her captor smirked and laughed. He sat down to wait.

Cale kept running, his four paws pounding the cool earth. He had barely rested during the past three days. Alice was in the forefront of his mind, but in the background were his parents, Alice’s parents and the fact that Abbey would be at her friend’s house by now. How awkward would it be, being surrounded by Alice’s parents for two or more days?
Cale ceased his sprint abruptly, lowered his nose to the grass again, and breathed in deep. His keen eyes scanned the small blades and picked up on something wet and dark. Blood. His girl’s blood. He stretched out his stride and ran and ran and ran.

Alice lay, chilled and drained, on the bed. She stared across the room at the white lab desk, at the twelve stoppered vials filled with her blood. The boy with the dark purple eyes was always watching her, occasionally smiling. Alice had nothing else to do, so she often found herself looking at him, tracing his sharp features with her eyes. He was handsome, but so pale and stoically silent. Not a patch on Cale. Alice’s mouth was dry and her breathing strained. She sorely missed Cale’s boyish good looks, his green eyes and dark messy hair, his bright smile, his gentle, steady hands and his intelligent charm. How she needed him right there and right then.

Cale reached a long, low bungalow with a grey slated roof and shuttered windows, caked in ice. He could smell more of Alice’s blood, but the smell seemed cold and shut away. He phased back to his human form, standing up, slightly unsteady on his feet after days of being a giant wolf on four paws. Cale glanced down, thankful that he could phase, phase again and still be wearing whatever he’d been wearing before he phased the first time. In this case, his black boxers would have to do. He thumped the heels of his hands against the front door a few times before it swung inward, admitting him into pitch blackness. He walked carefully, staring hard at the floor, and watching for any sharp, unexpected objects that might get the chance to imbed themselves in his bare feet. Cale concentrated hard on any sounds he could hear, and managed to pick out noisy frightened breathing coming from straight ahead of him. He continued down what must be a hallway and came to a solid door with a round doorknob at the center of the wood.
‘Odd’ Cale thought, but he turned it and proceeded inside.
The sight that greeted him displeased him greatly and made him upset. Alice was tied to a huge four postered bed; her eyes were shut and it was her breathing that Cale had heard. It was sharp and fitful. She sounded exhausted. Cale frowned and turned grim eyes around the room, stopping on the boy unfolding himself from the cold stone floor. Cale narrowed his eyes and his lips curled back from his teeth, showing off perfectly straight, white teeth.
“Vladimir” he snarled softly.
Alice’s eyes flew open, flickering wildly around the empty walls. She stared at Cale eventually and brought a dry smile to her white face.
“Thank you” she whispered, casting her eyes to the ceiling in a grateful prayer.
Vladimir walked towards Cale, his stride even and purposeful.
“How you doing? Living life and partying it up? While I’ve been rotting away in a cell for the past two years? You, a mere fourteen year old boy put me away in a prison for so long, but I’m out now, wolf” he hissed, angry.
Alice switched her gaze back to Cale.
‘Wolf?’ she thought, confused and shocked.
“What?” she croaked.
Cale turned to her.
“Oh, so you haven’t told her?” Vladimir grinned.
“No” Cale replied through gritted teeth.
“What?” Alice repeated.
“Do it. Show her” Vladimir taunted.
Cale sighed and blurred down into his wolf. His green eyes gazed beseechingly at Alice, his head cocked to one side. He whipped his heavy tail into Vladimir’s knees and jumped up next to Alice. His razor sharp teeth cut through the leather ties. Alice was finally able to sit up. She rubbed her chafed wrists and ankles and stared at the animal that was her best friend. Cale gently licked Alice’s hand, his eyes big and beautiful.
Alice knelt on the bed and wrapped her shivery arms around Cale’s neck, pressing her cold face against his warm fur. She smiled and rubbed her cheek against his face. Cale made a low, happy sound in the back of his throat. He nudged Alice’s head gently with his, then leapt down and approached Vladimir again.
The vampire was no fool, but Cale was tired and sick of his love’s captor. He grabbed one of Vladimir’s wrists in his teeth, twisted and pulled. Cracking sounds filled the air, over and over again as Cale tore off Vladimir’s hands, his arms, then his head.
As soon as he was done, Cale changed back to his “normal” self, and walked over to Alice. She had been staring at him the whole time he was ripping Vladimir apart, limb from limb.
Cale cupped Alice’s face in his hands gently and looked her in the eye.
“I won’t hurt you” he said.
Alice nodded, slightly dazed.
“I know” she murmured.
She crawled onto Cale’s lap and her hands crept slowly around his neck. Cale rubbed her back in slow circles. He kissed her on the forehead and leaned back a bit.
“I need to get you home, honey. By now, absolutely everybody will be panicking” he said softly.
“Mhmm” Alice mumbled unintelligently.
She allowed Cale to maneuver her onto his back and stand up with her arms clasped tightly around his neck. Cale ran her home, keeping his long stride as even as he could.

Alice woke the next morning with small circular bandages in various places on her arms and one of her best friends sitting in a chair beside the bed.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” Abbey asked her.
“Bloodless and weird, but other than that, I’m good” Alice replied, smiling.
Abbey hugged her, careful not to put any unnecessary pressure on her arms.
“Move, move, move! Is she up??” a frantic voice came through the bedroom door.
Alice stared at her bedroom door as it crashed open, banging against the wall so hard it rebounded in Cale’s face as he burst through it. She smiled at his appearance. Cale’s black hair stuck up in random tufts all over his head and his pajama pants hung down round his feet.
“Hey! Alice, you’re awake finally. You OK?” he demanded.
“Yes” Alice told him.
Abbey glanced at her, then up at Cale. He looked at her and smiled briefly before sitting beside Alice on the bed. He hadn’t seen Abbey for four years: she was almost the same height as Alice, but slightly shorter.
“How much time you got here?” he asked.
“Five days” Abbey answered.
Alice tried to sit up but Cale gently pushed her back onto her pillow.
“You have to stay in bed for at least a day” he said firmly.
Alice shook her head at him.
“I have to get dressed and get up. I’m bored” she retorted.
She pushed herself up and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She shooed away any helping hands and stood up.
“Now, get out. I can get dressed by myself, you know” Alice said, grinning.
Cale nodded, resigned, and walked out of the room. Abbey went after him and shut the door behind her.
Alice went for warmth: black sweat pants, a white long sleeved T shirt and thick fluffy bed socks. She tamed her hair and tied it into a ponytail, small tendrils escaping and framing her face. Trotting downstairs, Alice beamed when she saw Saffy, straining against Cale’s grip. She pulled away, tearing up to Alice and leaping on her.
“Saffy, get down!” Cale called, starting to his feet.
Alice waved him away and picked Saffy up, allowing the husky puppy to nuzzle her face and lick her. Cale sighed at Alice’s unwillingness to look after herself and not put any undue stress on her drained body. Alice kissed Saffy on top of her head and placed her on the floor. She went over to Cale and sat next to him, patting his hair back into place. Leaving her hand on Cale’s head, Alice stroked the hair at the back of his neck. She twirled a stray strand around her finger and waited for her parents to say something to her.
“Where were you and what the heck happened to you?” her mother began.
“I don’t know where I was and it’s up to Cale whether I tell you what went down or not” Alice told her, turning her head to face Cale.
Annabelle stared at Cale, her blue eyes narrowed.
“Cale?” she asked, her tone questioning.
“I’m sorry, Annabelle. I can’t tell you. You wouldn’t believe me if I did” Cale replied slowly, his eyes sad.
Annabelle straightened her shoulders and her husband slipped an arm round her waist.
“We just have to be thankful that Alice is home safe and sound and that there is nothing more wrong with her than a few needle holes in her skin. She’ll be fine” Jared said kindly.
Annabelle turned away and vanished into her kitchen.