Reckless Retribution

It was amazing how well a horny man could ignore the sounds of a war being fought right outside his door when he had a woman beneath him.

Sadly, I was the woman, and I would've much rather been outside, fighting alongside my fellow werewolves. Killing vampires would have been way more fun than pretending to enjoy sexual intercourse with one. But my master had made his orders very clear. I was to pretend to be a whore willing to sleep with this influential, powerful vampire, and I was to act my part well and lure him into a state of false security so I would face no resistance when I finally decided to finish him.

I forced a moan as the beautiful vampire sank his fangs into my neck, my hands tangling in his mane of silky brown hair. I tried to ignore what was happening in a lower region and instead focused on the sounds of gunshots and shouts shattering the night's peaceful silence. The vampire ran a hand through my long blonde hair, grabbing a chunk of it and forcing my head to the side, further exposing my neck. I paid him back by angrily clawing his back, but he took this as an act of passion and groaned against my throat. I fought back a shudder at the sound.

God, I was not meant for this. I was made for killing, not...sex.

This was even worse now that I was beginning to feel again. I'd been virtually emotionless for almost a year, unable to feel anything for more than the occasional fleeting moment, blessedly empty during the rest of my days...But that had all changed a week ago, when my master had killed Ian, his son, my...boyfriend, I guess you could say. That alone had torn away the barrier that blocked my emotions, allowing me to feel sorrow for the only good thing I'd had left in my life, but the reason for it...the selfish, idiotic reason...It had sent even more feeling pouring into me. Now, I was pretty much angry all the time, and my thirst for vengeance refused to fade. I had to kill my master before my own emotions made me snap. And so I would...eventually. I wanted to find the perfect way to end the heartless bastard's life. The most painful, frightening, brutal way imaginable.

He'd killed both my brother and my lover, after all. He deserved the worst he could get.

I felt the vampire orgasm and had to fight another disgusted shudder. He fell on me, his fangs sliding out of my neck, and I rolled my eyes. Selfish bastard couldn't even allow a lady some pleasure...

As he relaxed on top of me, I held a hand up behind him and watched my own claws lengthen to become almost a full two inches long. My body wanted to Were the rest of the way to my half-wolf form, but I wouldn't let it. All I need were these claws. Nothing more.

I gripped a handful of his hair with my normal hand, forcing his head back so I could kiss him passionately. He chuckled and hungrily returned the kiss, leaving his neck wide open.

I smirked as I quickly pulled away from him. He returned the look, thinking it was meant for him, but he realized he was wrong a split second before I had my claws in his throat. He had only a moment to change his expression to one of pure shock and horror, then I had his head completely torn off.

Tapping into my Were speed, I scrambled backward quick enough to get myself out from under him before he turned to dust. I perched myself upon the numerous blood-red pillows at the head of the king-sized bed and watched as ash covered the crimson sheets.

My smirk returned. I'd just rid the world of another perverted jackass, so I was damn proud of myself. Well, not proud of so much as pleased with. Proudness was something I didn't really understand yet.

After staring at the mess on the bed for a moment longer, I got up and made my way to where my clothes were laying in a neat pile on the floor. I'd been waiting for the vampire, Gabriel, to show up for a while before he finally appeared, so I'd had time to strip and arrange my clothes nicely.

First, I put my black underwear and bra on. Next came my tight-fitting blue jeans, then my dark red T-shirt, and finally, my socks and white sneakers. Once I was clothed, I made sure to fix my hair and turn my claws back into fingernails, then I left the room.

I didn't run into anyone all through the large mansion, so getting out was easy. Getting back to my master and his home would prove to be a bit more complicated, however.

The entire street in front of Gabriel's estate was taken up by vehicles, corpses, and fighting vampires and werewolves. No matter which way I went, I was going to end up in a fight.

I looked down at my hand, covered in Gabriel's blood, and sighed. If I wanted to make it anywhere, I was going to have to half-transform. Hopefully, it would only take me a minute or so to slaughter my way out of the fray, because that's all the longer I could remain in my half-changed state. That was the only annoying thing about having this rare gift of being able to stop halfway into the change from human to wolf. I got to keep the human figure and the nifty opposable thumbs while also having the wolf's claws, fangs, strength, and speed, but the ability was only good for a set amount of time. The time varied among the few Weres who had this power, however. The highest ever reported was one and a half minutes. The lowest was a mere ten seconds.

I guess I didn't have it so bad after all.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and let myself turn. I felt my nails turning into claws, my canines elongating into fangs, my body strengthening, an odd surge of power filling me...And when I opened my eyes, I knew they were no longer gray. Now, they were gold with slitted pupils.

I rolled my shoulders once, then I ran into the battle zone.

As I used my werewolf speed to move past my allies and enemies so quickly I was nothing but a blur, I made myself useful. I'd behead a vampire as I passed him, tear through a torso with my claws, rip a limb or two off...those kinds of things. The destruction I left in my wake was incredible.

Shredded corpses, headless bodies, and tattered limbs all turned to dust amidst short sprays of blood...Beautiful. To a killer, anyway.

Soon, I reached the end of the street, and there, I slowed to a stop. About twenty seconds passed before my body went back to normal. My claws reverted to fingernails, my fangs turned back into teeth, a slight tingle ran through me as my momentary speed and strength left me, and, of course, my gold eyes became gray once more.

Once the transformation was complete, I began walking down a nearby alley. I kept my pace slow, for I was in no hurry to get back to my master.

The walk to my master's home took me only fifteen minutes, even with my slow speed. The huge building was just as I had left it. The outside intimidating, yet pretty, and the inside dark and fancy. The whole place seemed eerily empty, as usual.

I made my way up the stairs and began to head down the hall to my room, but a voice from behind me forced me to a stop.

"Welcome back, X." It was the cool, smooth voice of my master. I turned to watch as he approached me.

"Do you need something, sir?" I asked, my voice void of emotion.

He nodded, walking by me. "Yes. Follow me." I did as I was told, and we soon ended up in a room I knew well: Ian's room, the room of the son my master had murdered.

We stopped just inside of the doors, which he turned to close quietly. I turned to watch him once more, not liking this place. Or this whole situation, really. This couldn't be anything good.

"Why are we here?" I asked, trying not to breathe through my nose. If I did, I would smell Ian's slowly fading scent everywhere, and the almost unbearable urge to cry would fill me. I didn't want to cry. Not here. Not now. Not in front of him.

The man smirked, his brown eyes holding an almost evil glint. "Why do you think?" He had me pinned to Ian's bed a moment later, and I breathed through my nose.

Tears filled my eyes as I growled, "What are you doing, you sick bastard?" A forceful kiss silenced me momentarily, though I eventually managed to shove his face away from mine. "Why are you doing this? It's disgusting!"

"It upsets you," he told me, gently kissing my neck. I tried to shove him away again, but he grabbed my arms and held them down. "And upset is better than emotionless," he added before kissing my neck again.

I struggled violently to free myself from the vile, revolting male, but he was too strong for me. I began to cry.

"Stop it," I told him, my voice shaking. He began to bite me gently, and I repeated, stronger now, "Stop it!"

I redoubled my efforts to free myself, but all it served to do was make him enjoy this even more. He bit into my throat now, drawing blood, and I let out a low snarl.

I transformed without even meaning to.

Then, I shoved him away with ease.

He hit the floor, and I leapt off of the bed, backing toward the large, arched window as he stood. I could make him out clearly in the moonlight that streamed through the window, lighting up the dark room, and what I saw was almost disturbing.

The man looked half crazed, his eyes wild and my blood dripping from his teeth. They were bared in a silent snarl as the bastard crouched, as if he were ready to attack. I'd never seen him like this before. Then again, I'd never denied him anything before, either. Sex was something I'd always freely given him. Whenever, wherever, and however he wanted it.

"This is your son's room," I told him, my voice a rough growl. My vision was momentarily blurred by more tears, but soon, I could see my master again.

"I have no son," the male replied, his voice just as gravelly as mine.

"Because you killed him."

"He got in my way. I had no choice but to kill him."

"Liar," I hissed angrily.

"So?"

Without thinking, I swung at him. Never had I done such a thing before. Never had I struck him...but that didn't change. He caught my fist and shoved me backward, ramming me into the window. The glass cracked, but didn't shatter, and I growled.

I pushed him back quickly, tapping into the immense stength my half-transformation gave me. I put the speed of my half-transformation to good use a moment later, when I yanked my hand out of his grasp and began taking swift, wild swings at him. He dodged the first few, but the first time my fist collided with his jaw, it was all over for him.

After that hit, I tackled him, beginning to rip his throat out in bloody chunks with my fangs. My claws were busy with his stomach, tearing it open and ripping organs out. Intestines, lungs, kidneys, heart...everything was soon on the floor around me, resting in a pool of blood.

Panting, I leaned back, sitting up so I was straddling him. My fingers and claws and everything else that had changed went back to normal slowly, but it wasn't until my gold eyes had become gray again that I realized the full horror of what I had done.

"No," I whispered, then screamed, "No!" I grabbed the man's head, attached to the rest of his body by only his spinal cord now. I looked into his wide, lifeless eyes and gave his head a rough shake. "No!"

Naturally, this panic wasn't really caused by the fact that he was dead. It was caused by the fact that his death hadn't been nearly painful enough. He'd died too quickly...He deserved more for what he'd done to me, my brother, Ian...He deserved so much more...

"No, you bastard!" I shouted, shaking his head again. Tears spilled from my pale eyes, streaming down to mingle with the thick layer of blood covering my cheeks. "You can't be dead yet!" Finally, I shook his head hard enough to snap it away from the rest of his spine. I let out a loud, angry, chilling shriek that turned into a terrific howl only seconds later.

I stood and spun, chucking the severed head through the cracked window, finally forcing it to shatter. As the shards of glass fell to the floor, tinkling softly against each other in the silence left in the wake of my howl, I swore I heard him...Ian...His light, carefree laugh...I closed my eyes when a fresher scent of him reached my nose, all dark and musky and manly...But then, it was all gone.

I opened my eyes to find that I was still alone in the male's bedroom, standing over his father's bloody, rather gruesome corpse. I turned toward the broken window, a light breeze shifting my blood-matted blonde hair. Silently, gracefully, I ran to the window and leapt out into the night. I landed easily and began to run, able to think of only my losses, the two things I'd held so dear before...

Ian and Xenox, my brother.

Now that I'd gotten my revenge, as unsatisfying as it had been, what was left for me to do?

Somehow, I had to get to where they were.

Somehow, I needed to get my immortal body to die.

But...how?