Dont cry out. [Vik]

[ankh]

During daylight hours, the park was a bustling utopia of screaming children filled with laughter, joy and energy. It was a bright palette dotted with colour, warm smiles smeared over the canvas regardless of weather. She loved it.

And by night?

Her strides were long and graceful, her body thin and straight. Her chest was small and humble, hips rounded and curvy. Lips were red as blood and dark black lines lined her oddly blue eyes. Her walk was confident and unconcerned with the figures who lurked in the shadows. Drug riddled teens and homeless people were the main suspects, hiding in the shadows. She could smell alcohol and cigarettes and the faint scent of vomit. Her nose wrinkled with disgust. The scum of the city all gathered here to celebrate in their sinning, contrasting the joy of the daylight and smearing the beauty of the park with empty cans and needles.

It was her favorite killing ground, lately. Not because she could eat - the drugs and booze would get into her system and fuck with her mind, she had made that mistake once before. No, she came here to kill, to feel the tear of flesh as she hurt those who hurt themselves. They did not care, surely, for they ruined their lives with these habits. Worthless people, wasting their humanity whilst she suffered her curse. Oh how she hated them.

The voice of a man called out to her, his companion wolf whistling (did I mention how much she hated that term?) as she strode by. "Hey honey, fancy a screw?" One called, the others laughing as the man made crude gestures in her direction. Among them was a girl. Her form slumped upon a bench, clothes torn and body bruised. She was obviously out of it. What had they done to her? Stopping, the wolfess scowled, then smirked. They brought it on themselves, really. Changing direction, she headed toward them. Her pace was slow and her steps were sultry. "You talking to me, honey?" She replied, arriving before him, hands on hips. The men seemed startled at first, then laughed. They moved around her, their deprived hands ready to grasp her. They reached, but they did not find her soft skin. Oh no. They found fur.

Her bones cracked and snapped as she transformed. Her skin tore and stretched, face elongating and body contorting into her werewolf form. She snarled and lashed out. In an instant one was down, a clean cut to the jugular bleeding the life out of him. The scarlet liquid squirted from the wound, lacing her fur with sticky fluid. The smell was overpowering, a mix of iron and spirits. The lust overcame her.

The others fled and she turned with a deep growl. She was too fast for one, who was caught in her powerful jaws. She refused to give him the powers of her people. Adjusting her bite from his arm to his neck, she bit down. She momentarily celebrated in the sounds of bones snapping in his neck. The last two had turned and fled. Long legs bundled together before leaping forward, her pace swifter than any human.The large black wolf pounced upon the third, claws lashing at his back. The feeling of blood gushing from the wounds, from her claws ripping into him, was so satisfying she could not stop herself. When she finally broke from her bloodlust, she looked down, panting, at what was once his torso. Ribbons of skin draped over his back and the clear bumps of spine were bright even in the darkness. Her head moved up to howl, but she fought it.

Where was the forth? Momentarily distracted by the third, she had let her anger and feral nature overcome her and the smell of blood camouflaged the musky scent of the forth human. Panicking slightly, she span around, then scented the air. She followed the trail, unsure of where the human was hiding. She had to keep out of sight, these four were enough tonight - if a little too much. Kanika was not known for her restraint or well thought out plans. Still, any more than four and there would be more than a simple murder enquiry.

[Viktor Romanov]

Viktor had been alerted to the activities of what he assumed was a stray dog, one of his kind desperately feeding and attacking those that went to the park at night. Whilst he held no love for humans in general or those that decided to engage in the sort of activities that went on in the park when the sun went down. He had chosen this night to visit the park himself, hoping to cross paths with the big bad wolf that had decided to risk letting the world know about his people. He hated the fact that Lycan's strayed from the pack, whether they were strays or whelps who didn't know better, it angered him. Because on some level they represented a lack self control, in order for strays to spread throughout the city, one of his own had to slip and turn a human and in doing so started a chain reaction. The lack of discipline worried him, given that he was around the last time that humans learned of their existence because a few lycan's couldn't control their instincts. They had been slaves to the urge to kill and feed, it was a weakness he couldn't tolerate in his people, one that had to be exterminated before they were.

It was the dead of night, the perfect time for him to hunt in the park, although he was stalking much larger prey. He was after the creature that was hunting the humans, he was determined to find the dog and bring it into check, that or end its pathetic life. One life was not worth more than that of his entire pack, that was the only way he could justify killing his own kind. Viktor had been around long enough to know that sometimes it was necessary to end the life of one in order to continue the existence of many. He could hear the rumbling coming towards him, paced breath, rapid heartbeat and the stench of sweat, he was on the right path but he had stumbled upon the hunter and not the prey. The man ran up to Viktor and shouted a few words, his rambling meant little, the Alpha already knew exactly what he was saying, he was attempting to warn him of the monster that was stalking the park. The uncontrollable beast that was ripping people apart and devouring them.

Unfortunately for this man, he had stumbled upon the one thing in this park that was more powerful than that which he feared. Without so much as a blink of an eye he snapped the man's neck and moved past him, one of his guards quickly moved to dispose of the body. He moved through the park, his eyes scanning the shadows, he knew that whatever was here was unlikely to get past his guards. He had positioned a number of them throughout the park, covering likely exits and such and a couple were charged with disposing of bodies. He did not need cops getting involved, wild animal attacks would only explain away a few murders a year, if they continued at the pace they were, the humans would be onto them again. His eyes caught sight of the predator, covering itself in the shadows. "How about you come out now, I've taken care of your little friend and honestly I'd prefer if we talked face to face, so that you fully understand my message. This is the last time I'll ask nicely, I dislike having to come down to this place to discipline someone like an unruly child." He stood with a determined stance, Viktor had little patience for those who couldn't control their blood lust.

[ankh]

Her confusion scared her. Not for fear of being caught - she was always a swift creature even as a human. No, she knew what her killing meant for any Lycans who made this their perminant home. It wasn't like she particularily cared for the pack, but she had a good idea of what would happen if she allowed them to be discovered. Human punishments were childs pay beside that of the Lycans. It would be death for certain. Kanika did not fear it, but she was not going to happily walk to her death. Spinning, she scented the area and caught the faint hue through the strong smell of blood clinging to her body. Following on long, thin legs, she almost thought herself too lucky. She was close, very close, and still very much free.

No. She was never that lucky. She froze as the voice emerged, ears perking up upon her head and pointing toward the sound. The voice seemed almost threatening, yet steady and calm. It chilled her. Letting out a low growl, she stepped out toward the man reluctantly. She could smell others - he was not alone. She could not use her steath to escape those like her, surely. Kanika had no choice but to show herself. Holding her head high, the proud female stared down the man with her electric eyes. Long leg and thin body, the female was taller but much slimmer then most. Her fur was jet black with slight curls to match her wild mane of human hair and her face was long and elegant. Tail twitching with a hint of amusement seeing the mans obviously pissed off face, the rebellious creature closed her eyes and her body cracked and contorted into her human form. It was painful - it had always been painful, but she refused to grimace or show pain toward this stranger. Instead she gritted her teeth and bore it, opening her eyes again only after she was fully changed. Her eyes met his and she smiled, playing the innocent. "You could just ignore me or have one of your-" she nodded at the guards beside the alpha "-people come take care of me instead. I mean, they can clean up right? Ill be gone in the morn'." She shrugged, almost casual. Her heart hammered in her chest but her mask was flawless as she smiled, hoping her pretty face could work its charm upon him.

She knew instantly that it was the pack. She had never met them, but why else would they come to take care of her if not to protect themselves? This man, she knew, was powerful - she could sence it in every fibre of her body, but her nature made it impossible for her to submit and roll over like some pup to please the alpha male. Leader or not, she was a so called stray and did not need to take his shit, right? Still, she had no death wish. If it was death or join, she knew her choice. But it didn't mean she'd like it or even that she'd stay. At the first moments notice she knew she would flee to another city; another country even. It mattered little to her. She had nothing to stay here for.

[Viktor Romanov]

Whenever she eventually revealed herself he could smell the stench of tainted human blood on her, she may not have been feeding upon her victims but she had massacred at least 3 of them. Her nonchalant attitude towards her actions angered him, he could end her pathetic existence in a matter of moments and yet the same urge to protect his people was holding him back. The same sense of morals that led him down here was stopping him from ripping out her throat and ridding the world of one more wild dog, perhaps this one could be tamed or at least put on a leash, either way he had to try. It was when she brushed it off and said his guards could deal with her mess that he felt a slight irritation crawl along his skin. For the slightest of seconds he was ready to snap her neck just as he had the fleeing human on the way in, then she could see exactly what his guards did to the mess' they had to clean up. Whilst the men were loyal to him and obedient to a point, it was only because when push came to shove he allowed them to be themselves, their vicious animalistic selves, that was why they would die for him.

He stepped towards her, leaving mere inches between them, he could tell she was no whelp, so she knew this behaviour was unacceptable. That was one strike against her and the attitude she had displayed, whilst something he could use to his advantage if he convinced her to play nice, right now directed at him it was something he didn't appreciate. His eyes met hers as he shot her an icy glare before replying to her suggestion. "You keep talking to me like that and you'll be gone before then, only on more of a permanent basis." He leapt straight to the point, there was no sense in beating around the bush and yet he would have preferred to have this conversation somewhere a little more private, it wasn't exactly ideal arguing in the open where hunters or fangs could be watching. "I'm guessing you think you're some sort of lone wolf, out prowling the streets doing whatever you want. You're the big bad monster hiding in the shadows that the humans frighten their children with, who needs a pack when you have all that power available to you at the flick of a wrist eh?"

It was pretty obvious from his tone alone that any questions he had asked up to this point where rhetorical, there was no point in attempting to answer them. He circled her, examining her form and analysing the power that she surly possessed, she might have been able to fight off one of his guards but their strength was in numbers. That was the true purpose of a pack, one members strength could make up for another's weakness'. That was the philosophy he had spread amongst his people, their group was only as strong as their weakest link, it was why they worked for each other, those who betrayed that group were usually killed on sight. That was until recently, he wasn't foolish he could feel the unease throughout the city, there was no doubting that a war was on the horizon or at least a battle and he knew his people weren't ready for it. This was the perfect example, he had strays running around killing humans needlessly drawing unnecessary attention to themselves and those that felt the urge to turn humans were worse. Over the course of the last few days he had discovered a few whelps who weren't even sure what they were, it was idiotic to leave whelps outside the pack.

"I'm going to give you two choices, you can come back with me to the compound and discuss this like adults or you can leave right now. I don't care which you choose its down to you but let me be perfectly clear about one thing. If you choose to walk away, you'd best leave my city, hell it would be better for you to leave the country. If I find out that you have drawn any more attention to yourself or my people, I'll make what you do in this park look like child splay. One day when your certain that you're in the clear out of sight of anyone, me or someone like me will swoop down and bring you back to this fair city and I will take great enjoyment in making you regret every moment you've spent on this planet. So it's your choice, make no mistake, I can be the most loyal friend you've ever had, but if you fuck with the safety of my people, well use your imagination." Before she answered Viktor took a few steps back and allowed her enough space so that she could run if she so chose.

[ankh]

The man was so obviously pissed it was amusing. Trying her best to hide her smirk, she woman raised her chin an inch in defiance. She could literally smell his power - the scent of a true alpha. It made her skin crawl, it made her want to roll over and expose her belly, to submit and allow him to control her. If only she had been raised right, if only she had not become hateful toward those who called them her master. If she was like any other person she would long to be in the pack. It was cure her loneliness, right? But she fought the system, like some rebellious teenager, simply because of those she knew who were long since dead.

It was silly to let her human life effect her now, she knew, but it was burned into her and those scars would never heal. He approached her, eying her with those judgmental, piercing eyes. Her amusement was fading fast and she swallowed. She was taller than him - though she was teller than most people - yet if anything that made her feel more exposed. The pack members were silent, their bodies tensed and poised, ready for any order. It was laughable how readily they would fight for him; how easily they would die for him. Yet as he watched her she could feel that it was become like those emotionless, statuesque wolves, or be worm food. Given a choice, it would be neither, yet as he spoke, his low threatening voice seemed to change her mind. She knew right then that she hated this man, but his voice instilled a fear in her. Nervous, she lowered her chin slightly, trying to force her body to stay in the elegant pose it had formerly taken. Keep calm, she told herself, just bring up the mask and act like you don't give a damn. Pride prevented her from submitting then and there and as he circled her, she felt her fists bunch up. Pretentious bastard, thinking he could bark this bullshit at her! Despite knowing she could die in an instant, she preferred to think of him as nothing but an irritating fly. It made her feel much better about the whole situation.

She understood his reasons, of coarse, yet she had no love of the pack hierarchy. In her mind, who cares if the humans knew? They were stronger than the humans. They could build their numbers and overwhelm humanity, reducing the humans by changing or killing, thus starving the vampires of their blood supply. Weakened, the vampires could be taken care of and lycans would be the overlords in this world. They could farm like humans, eat fresh meat, farm humans if they had too - she wasn't fussy. But the vampires and the lycans preferred to pretend they were nonexistent, leaving the humans to their own little games. It made no sense to her. Maybe it was a lust for power that her life had always lacked that gave her those thoughts, or maybe her inner anger at the injustice in the world. Maybe she was just a sick bastard, she just did not realize it yet. Who knew.

She remained silent as he circled her, his questions not asking for an answer but rather stating facts he believed were true. Asshole. She watched him quietly, then shrugged in defiance. Keep it cool, pretend like you don't care. His two choices pissed her off, like she had no choice but to take his offer - though it was undeniably true. It was do as commanded or die, but hadn't it always been? As a child slave those 300 years ago she was pushed to her limits, punished for any mistake, her body bruised and beaten. Starving at aged 16, trying to feed those she came to care for ad stealing, she was publicly whipped for her crimes and her hands nearly taken too if it wasn't for her fast legs. She never had a choice. It was follow the rules or be punished, be that pain or death. It was all the same to her. She sighed. She didn't think she had a choice. She could been running, keep up this loner attitude and die alone, or she could submit to everything she hated. Maybe she would be more miserable. But maybe she would survive. She nodded quietly as he stepped away. She did not run this time.

Her eyes were like steel, glaring at her new master with an obvious distrust. Her lips pressed tightly together - she did not give him the satisfaction of a response. She simply stood silently, giving her answer in the reluctant gaze she aimed his way.

[Viktor Romanov]

He could her anger boiling beneath the surface, it was obvious that she was rebellious and thought that she was too good for the pack. He watched closely as his words sunk in, he had gotten straight to the point, there was no sense in wasting time or playing games. The fact of the matter was it was the dead of night and the fangs would be crawling around the streets lurking in the shadows. It wouldn't do for the Alpha to be seen dealing with issues such as stray dogs in the middle of the street, whilst Viktor held no value in appearances, those around him did and the hounds vying for his place at the head of the table would somehow find a way to use it against him. Then again they were the ones that cowered behind others rather than stepping forward and stating their quarrels, so that they could be dealt with. He heard whispers, every good leader needed to have eyes and ears all over the place, little birds that would report back to him any faint whispers of betrayal or disloyalty within the pack.

During times of peace there was always going to be discontent, many of the fledgling Lycan's felt they were indestructible and that's exactly what he was dealing with now. She couldn't have been much older than two or three hundred years, betrayed by her naivety of course like so many others. Those that were old enough to remember the true horrors of the war were too few and when they tried sharing stories they were branded hyperbole or suggested they had simply lost the taste for battle. Viktor remembered the days were Lycan's and Vampires were brothers in arms, fighting against vast human armies that had rose up to fight them hiding behind religious banners. These were the types of men who spoke of WMD's when really all that concerned them was oil and war. War was man's way of displaying it's power, a concept he was eager to erase from his pack's mind, there was no need for hundreds maybe even thousands of his kind to die in a proverbial pissing contest. Besides what would a war with the humans or even the fangs achieve? Both sides would suffer massive casualties and would ultimately lead to a diminished food source, which wasn't good for the growth of the family.

Viktor had lived through it all and the first time around, he was on their side, eager to prove himself in battle and kill as many as he could. Sure enough he had painted himself in glory and earned honour but what did that stand for now, next to nothing. He was respected well enough, but that was more to do with how well he had guided the pack rather than his war efforts. There were tales and songs that would be broken out occasionally when he met with the other Alpha's all of them would bow their heads and tell him how great he was, in truth it meant very little to him. Pride was a young man's game, it held no place in his world, survival, growth and prosper was all that mattered to him. He walked towards the car, knowing that she would follow, he may not have convinced her fully but certainly he had her listening to him at least for now. A sense of relief washed over him as it dawned on him, that at least for now he would not have to take the life of one of his own.

He hadn't even asked her name, for now it didn't matter all that could be dealt with in the compound. It wasn't safe to say anything else for the moment until he was sure they were out of earshot of potential enemies. The guards had moved to the exit he was heading for and the three cars that they had arrived in were sitting there. In terms of numbers he had taken no risks, eight men had came with him, he was prepared for a few wild dogs and instead he had found only one, but this one he knew could be useful if she could be convinced to see sense. His guards moved to the car in front and behind whilst he opened the door for his guest. It was a small limo, large enough for the two of them to sit in comfort in the back and allow them an element of privacy before they reached the compound. Two men got in the front and immediately raised the security glass between the sections knowing that Viktor would want to talk to her first. He waited for her to catch up, his eyes casually scanning the streets noticing only a few street walkers working their corners, tonight there would be no more tales of mysterious deaths, his guards had seen to that.

[ankh]

She followed him in silence. Her usual bright, mysterious attitue was replaced by a sombre feeling. The man radiated fear. It engulfed her, consumed her, yet she felt the fire in the belly brighten, rising to the challenge. She would never be tamed, the fire refused to be extinguised, yet she knew this could work in her benefit if she could play the part. She had worn many masks, maybe today was the day she played the part of the meagre pup; the timid dog. Acting was in her blood. Kanika would be his pretty little showdog, for now. As she passed the men she let an indignant growl, low enough for only the closest to hear. Well, she would obey, but she would never act completely tame. Kanika couldn't help herself.

Still, she could not growl at the man himself. As he led her ito the limo, she felt the fear increase. Maybe it was how close they were that did it - the near impossibility of escape. Her arms folded over her chest, legs crossed and eyes staring, wide, out through the tinted windows. They were alone, unheard, and that intimidated her. She could never show it. Turning, she looked into his eyes. "If you are looking for a repeat offender, you're wrong. Last time it was one man. Made it look like a suicide, too. This is the second time I have hunted there." Her voice attempted to be steady and, for the most part, was, yet the end of her sentance held an odd infliction that spoke of her nerves. Her eyes remained pinned upon his face, though, determined to hold her own. Her courage, at least, was admirable. Right?

She knew he probably didn't care. She knew he probably saw her as insignificant, a fighting dog to be chained and muzzled. He saw her as below him and she hated it. She inaly dropped her gaze and turned away. What else could she say, really? "See enough of humanity and you would act as I do. I don't hurt those who don't deserve it. They are weak, and we are not. I don't know why we hide like cowards." She should have stopped talking, but she did not realize until the words were out. Speaking before thinking - a flaw she tried to contain but often failed at. She bit her lip, then glanced his way. Ah fuck it, if she was going to die shemight aswell mock the pack too.