His Stoic Mask, Her Bleeding Heart

The door was unlocked. Thank little baby Jesus, the door was unlocked.

I rushed into Hale's house like a man on fire and tossed the heavy wool blanket from my shoulders, a soft hiss of pain slipping between my clenched teeth. The sun couldn't fully reach me through the blanket, but it felt like it had known I was there, like it had strained to jab me with its fiery fingers through the thick fabric. I swore my skin was sizzling, though when I looked down at my bare arms, they were completely intact. It was all in my head.

"Eli?" I heard a voice call tentatively, and I turned my gaze to the top of the stairs.

"Bethany," I said, my voice a bit rougher than I'd intended, and I quickly cleared my throat and tried again. "Bethany, what are you doing up so early?"

"It's not that early," she said as she began to descend the stairs. Her tone was lighthearted, but her eyes showed something darker, something more serious, less sure. Thank little baby Jesus twofold – she was as confused as I was about where we stood now.

I took a step forward as she drew to a stop on the bottom stair, her hand resting on the ornate wooden railing, appearing incredibly pale against the mahogany. "It's early enough that I can ask why you're awake."

"If you must know," she began, the smallest smile curving her lips, "I'm frequently up this early. I've never been the type to sleep in. Who are you so desperate to see that you were willing to bear the sunlight and miss your bedtime?"

Certainly not you, I said in my mind to the hopefulness in her voice – a hopefulness I had likely imagined – only to realize that I only half meant it. The longer I looked at her, standing pleasant and pretty at the bottom of the stairs, the more I wished I had come to spend time with her, the more I wished I had the time to spare. I pushed the thought aside hurriedly and said, all business, "I really need to see Hale. He wouldn't happen to be an early riser, too, would he?"

She chuckled, her smile widening into a grin. "Hale, an early riser? Never, sir; never. I don't think he went to bed until a couple of hours ago, actually, so he probably won't be up until long after noon." Her smile fell suddenly, likely as she noticed the seriousness of my face and of this whole situation. "How urgent is it? He won't be happy if I wake him so soon, but if you need me to..."

"It's all right," I told her, letting my blanket fall to the floor. It felt hot in my hands, reminding me of the sun, and I didn't want to deal with it anymore. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I came so early, anyway. Even if he approves of my request, there's likely nothing to be done until nightfall. I just..." I let my eyes drift across the vast entrance hall, and I vaguely wondered how I'd even gotten here, as if the sprint across town had all been a dream.

"Well, what's the problem?" she asked, hesitantly taking that last step down to my level, though her hand never left the banister. "Maybe I can help you without bothering anyone else."

"It's business," I said a bit more quickly than I should have, then I shrugged to try to alleviate some of the harshness of the statement, to try to revoke the tone of "It's a man thing, honey; go make me a sandwich." "It's not really something that anyone but Hale can help with."

"Oh," she started, her frown quickly turning into an obviously forced smile, "well, would you like to partake in some breakfast with me?" The lie left her expression as she smirked, mischief flashing in her eyes, and my mind followed hers into the gutter as memories of our evening in the kitchen together skated through my mind – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the sensations...

"I should probably get back to the apartment," I said, doing my best to force the thoughts from my mind, though the feeling of her lips against mine lingered as if she'd only just kissed me. "I left Elyria and Kyrianna alone, and you never know what those two could get themselves into without a babysitter."

"They're big girls," she said, a seductive edge to her voice that all but drew me in right then. "They can take care of themselves." She held her hand out to me, slender fingers outstretched, and her smirk never faltered. "Come on. It'll only take a minute. You need to take a break before you go back out in the sun."

I eyed her hand for a moment, debating. I'd been craving blood that night in the kitchen, after I'd been taunted with the scent of Elyria's for the better part of an hour. Tonight, I'd been sated with the very blood I'd craved then. And really, I did need a bit of a break from the sun. What was the harm in it?

"Sure," I finally told her, my eyes flicking to her face. "Why not?"

"Good," she said with a broad grin, catching my hand from where it hung at my side since I hadn't bothered to take hers, and she immediately led the way toward the kitchen. "So, how was your night?" she asked as we passed through the final doorway, and a wave of scents washed over me, brought forth by the memory of that night. The feeling of my fingers in hers was suddenly very poignant, and I stared down at them as if expecting to find something more than just our hands.

"Uh, not too bad, I suppose," I answered, my eyes drifting toward her back as she pulled her hand from mine and headed to the refrigerator. I really, really hoped she wasn't going for the raw meat again. The blood on her lips that night had done me in. "We met with Matthias, then spent the rest of the evening at home. It was a rather normal night for us." The sex and the blood and all of the vampire's moronic plans really had no place in this discussion, especially with where my mind was already going. "How was yours?"

Her small shoulders shifted in a shrug, and she turned from the fridge with a package of fresh meat in her hands. Fuck. "The same, really, just without the added excitement of a meeting with a vampire." She smiled, noticing my eyes on the slab of plastic-wrapped steak. "What? Do my meat-eating habits bother you?"

"Are you aiming for a replay of the other night?" I asked bluntly, my eyes on hers.

Her smile vanished, and I could see her visibly hesitating before she finally spoke. "I might be. Is that a problem?"

"Haven't we talked about this already?" I asked. "This isn't happening. Whatever this thing between us happens to be, it needs to stop."

"Why? Because of Elyria?" she asked in return, rebelliousness coloring her slowly rising voice. "You can't act like we don't have something just because you think you might have something with her."

"I don't think I have something with her," I said, my tone as even as I could make it, "I do have something with her."

"Bullshit," she nearly shouted, throwing the pack of meat down on the island counter with a loud smack. "She's doesn't feel for you like you feel for her, Eli. Can't you see that?"

"If I couldn't see it, why would you be able to?" I asked, shocked at the calmness of my own tone. "You never see her, and the one time you did see her for a substantial amount of time, she was fighting you for having made a move on me."

"So she's possessive. Big deal," she said, completely ignoring my first point. "That doesn't change the fact that all she is is a whore and a bitch and an attention-seeking slut!"

"She's so much more than that," I said with a solemn shake of my head. "So much more."

"So it doesn't bother you at all that she screws other guys and gives away her blood for money?" Her voice was still raised in a near scream, and I found it tough to resist the urge to clamp a hand over her mouth to quiet her. "It doesn't bother you that she doesn't even care about you enough to stop seeing other people?"

"What do you want me to do, Bethany?" I snapped, having heard enough of her bullshit accusations. "Just walk away from the girl I've loved for years to fall into the arms of a Goddamn werewolf I've known for a few months?" I was closer to her now, I realized, only a foot or so away. When had I even moved?

"Yes!" she screamed, throwing her hands into the air as if I was finally understanding her point. "Yes! At least you know I care!"

"But you don't care," I shouted back at her, my voice thundering through the kitchen in a way that made her scream seem like nothing. "You have no idea who I really am or what I've done or what I'm willing to do. You have no idea how I feel about anything. You have absolutely no idea!"

"So let me know who you are!" she screamed, suddenly in my face, our noses centimeters apart. "Tell me how you feel! Show me what you're willing to do!"

The entire refrigerator shook as I rammed her back against it, our bodies pressed tightly against one another. My grip on her arms was unnecessarily tight, but I was far past caring. "Do you want to know what I could do to you?" I asked in a low hiss, glaring into her wide eyes. I dropped my face to her neck, breathing in her scent in a slow, predatory manner that I hoped wasn't nearly as arousing to her as it was to me. "Do you really want to see what I'm capable of?"

I heard her take in a slow, shaky breath, preparing to answer, but before she could speak – "Really? In the kitchen? Again?" It was Kai's monstrous voice, and I stepped away from Bethany and turned toward the man. "Oh, don't stop on my account," he growled, reaching across the counter to grab Bethany's forgotten breakfast. "I just came for some food."

Looking at him, with his amber wolf's eyes and his oversized fangs, an idea sprang to my mind, drowning out the remnants of my agitation with Bethany. "Actually, I need to talk to you. I have a request."

He cocked an eyebrow in a way that seemed oddly human on a face like his. "So talk."

"I would really prefer it if we did this privately," I said pointedly, though I didn't dare cast a glance at Bethany. I couldn't imagine what she looked like right now; I didn't think I wanted to.

"Don't worry about me," she almost barked, taking the thinly veiled hint and storming toward the door. "I'm going to my room." She jerked her meat out of Kai's hands as she passed him, but she said nothing else, and soon, she was gone.

"You should really stop toying with her," the man rumbled as he made his way to the fridge, and I stepped aside to let him open the door. "The majority of us already don't like you. You don't want Hale to stop liking you, too."

"She brought it all on herself," I said evenly, watching as he extricated another plastic-wrapped package from the pile in the refrigerator. "But I'd really rather not talk about her. What I need to talk to you about is –"

"Elyria, right?" he interrupted, dropping his breakfast on the counter. "Do you want some sex tips or what?"

"If I wanted sex tips, you would be the last person I'd go to."

"Fair enough," he said, something to his voice that was almost a laugh. "So what's the problem?"

"She wants to give in to Matthias's demands and let him market her blood to other vampires."

"And?" he prompted, tearing open the plastic wrap standing between him and that fresh, bloody slab of cow with his sharp but short fingernails.

"I don't like it," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You seemed to be fine with it when it was Terrence doing the marketing."

"I couldn't help it then; I was too deeply immersed in Terrence's world. But I can do something about it now, and I want you to help me."

His eyes flicked to me, and I was amazed to see puzzlement in the amber depths of his irises. "How can I help you?"

"I want to take him out," I explained. "Him and all of his underlings. Permanently."

His hands stilled on the plastic wrap, and he slowly shook his head. "I can't help you with that. The treaty won't allow it."

"I didn't think a piece of paper and a couple of signatures would stand in your way." Although, to be quite honest, I'd expected a lot more of an argument than that. Something about how he didn't care enough about Elyria to get involved, or how my problems weren't his problems and that I should man up and do it on my own.

He shrugged and went back to tearing at the plastic, freeing his steak a moment later. The scent of blood rushed to my nose, but I didn't even salivate. Elyria had been good to me. "It's not the paper that's the problem; it's how Hale feels about the paper. He's taking the treaty very seriously, and I won't cross him. It's the one thing I'll never do." He lifted the entire raw steak to his mouth and took a bite, and the red rim that formed around his lips seemed to suit him.

"Not even for Elyria's sake?" I coaxed, leaning my hip against the counter.

"What makes you think I care about Elyria that much?" he asked, his eyes on mine once more. "She's food; not lover, not friend."

"Don't tell me there's nothing there. I saw the way you looked at her that night, when she'd started to relapse." Part of me wanted to smile at the memory; another part of me wanted to storm off in a fit of jealousy. "I know you feel something for her."

"I'm just grateful for her help with my pack," he mumbled with a half-assed shrug, his eyes on his food now. "It's nothing that would send me into battle on her behalf."

"You don't mind sharing her with dozens of other men, then?" I asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

He took another bite of his steak and shook his head. "Why would I?" he asked once he'd chewed and swallowed the meat, though he wouldn't meet my eyes. "She's not my property. I can't mind sharing her."

"But you do," I said, just barely repressing a smirk, "and not just because she's your food."

His eyes darted to mine, narrowed in a glare. "Stop it, vampire. I'm not you. I don't have to care about her that way."

"Just admit it, werewolf," I countered, and I felt the hint of a smirk breaking through my emotionless mask. "You care about her. It may not be in the same way I do, but there's something there."

No sooner had the steak slipped from his fingers than he was on me, pinning me to the counter as I'd done to people hundreds of times throughout the course of my life. I didn't struggle, but I could tell that he was just as strong as I was. The wet flop of the steak hitting the floor sounded, and the werewolf bared his abnormally large fangs at me. I could feel his breath as he growled, warm and damp on my face.

"Stop acting like you know everything," he snarled. "You don't know me, and you have no idea how I feel about Elyria."

"Well, you're getting defensive," I told him coolly, smirking in his snarling face. "If that's not a sign that I'm getting close to the mark, I don't know what is."

He leaned back and turned from me, going to retrieve his steak from its new place on the floor. "Stop it," he grumbled, picking the meat up, though he offered nothing else to argue his point.

"Will you help me or not?" I asked, leaning away from the counter, my arms still crossed comfortably over my chest.

"I will," he answered, tossing his ruined breakfast onto its Styrofoam tray on the counter, "but not for the reasons you think."

"Of course not," I said with a shake of my head, working on hiding my smirk once again.

"When do you want to start this attack of yours?" he asked, scowling at me across the counter.

Here, I couldn't help letting my smirk slip free of its reins again. "Now?"