Bellingstone, Pennsylvania

Caroline had always been a bit of a daydreamer, she found from an early age that imagination was far better than reality and yet here she was sat adjacent to the love of her life, holding all the qualities she thought only men in movies possessed, he was handsome, strong, smart, loving and most of all he made her laugh; he was perfect, so much so that Caro found herself fearing that she may wake up and would all have been a dream. She pitched herself multiple times through the day. Caroline's life had never been traditional by social conversions, she never had a steady home, she was shipped off to different foster homes so often, that up until the age of six she thought it was the same with every child, the day she found out, she cried for days. But that girl was gone, she had been replaced by a strong, independent woman with a successful business, a wonderful home and a supportive if not slightly dysfunctional family...life was good, no, life was magnificent. Of course that sad little girl may have gone but Caro liked to think that her unfortunate upbringing shaped her into the woman she was today, that little girl taught her compassion, strength and love, she knew that if she was fortunate to have a family she knew she would anything to avoid her children going through the things she did.

When she looked at Sam, she saw the future and although they had a long road to travel, she knew they would make it. With the sound of the bell ringing they broke apart, doing their best to look nonchalant, turning her head slightly, Caroline saw Sara walk in, something which surprised her slightly, she couldn't remember the last time she saw her, after the tragic deaths of her family Sara had exiled herself from the pack. Caroline offered her a warm smile as she passed, although the tragedy of the deaths resided throughout the whole pack, Sara wasn't one for pity parties and so they had decided together that they would let her come to them in her own time, Caro just hoped it would be sooner rather than later, they were a family and if one was hurting, they all were.

"Of course I'll come, but you know we have to be careful. Depending on who's there, I may have to sit across the room and just stare at you all night," Sam stated, getting back into their conversation, Caroline chuckled at his reply, although it was slightly distracting, she loved it all the same "but either way I'll come."

"Thank you" she mouthed accompanied with smile "now go diner wentch, you have customers" Caro motioned to the occupied booth with a small laugh, before glancing quickly back at the brunette before turning back to Sam "she looks like she could use someone to talk to, see what you can so" she added softly, before turning back to her omelette, if anyone could get Sara to open up it would be Sam.

Caroline became so engrossed with her breakfast once more that she missed the bell to the ring, it wasn't until the "Ahem" did she turn around, her eyes landing on Lassiter, a frown quickly tugging on her lip. It wasn't that she didn't like Lassiter, she actually did, when he wasn't being an ass but he had this way of pushing her buttons, she just prayed he wasn't in one of his sarcastic moods, the moment he opened his mouth, she knew that had been a wasted prayer.“Sam how could you-” he paused “-not go fix me some coffee- seriously- tut tut. Get your rear in gear- especially before you know who sees this. Hm? You know if you ever get caught I’m glazing over and swearing to knowing nothing. So- free coffee for my silence? Yes?” Caroline rolled her eyes in an over exaggerated manner as she watched Sam's reaction, fully aware that he did not think so highly of her 'mate.' To Sam's credit he simply ignored Lassiter remark and turned back to Caro.

"Guess I gotta go play waitress now," Caroline smiled up at Sam, swatting his hand away playfully as he ruffled her hair "enjoy your omelette" he added before walking off, Caro watched him affectionately for a moment before turning back to Lassister. "So how is the grinch that stole christmas, this morning?" She asked immediately initiating their playful banter. Breaking off a piece of omelette with her fork before popping it into her mouth, casting him a sideways glance, when she noticed the cut on his his forehead "what happened to you?" She asked, a slight level of concern showing in her tone.

Annelise smiled up at him, "The prettiest Princess~" She taunted, pausing as she flipped the sign on the door to closed, not bothering to set up a "lunch break" sign so she could come back to swarms of geeks. Once she finished locking up she rushed back over to Alarick's side, grinning up at him as she tried to think of a place to eat. “Hm- wait no- Sebastian probably has work or I would invite him as well.” She bit her lip nervously as she thought of him coming with, even though it overjoyed her.

She kicked a stone as they walked along the path, cringing at his suggestion of Nika. "Up to you.." Annelise grumbled reluctantly, ignoring his joke and stuffing her hands into the pockets of her cheap vinyl jacket, that stupid people somehow managed to believe was real leather. "I don't like her.." She sighed, watching the path as she tried not to get upset at the thought of Nika around.

It did not surprise Livius that Cristine did not want him to hunt for humans and cause ponential trouble. Trouble that could tick the pack off. Sometimes he wished for a war between the two sides. The town was starting to get boring and he had not been taking as many vacations as he used to. Usually those trips quenched his blood thirst but there were not very many conflicts in the world that would enable him to act freely since chaos was no longer a factor in current world conflicts. He still remembered visiting China during the boxer war and fighting in his own personal war while being there. He wished that could be the same in Bellingstone for a change.

"I would rather take the first choice. I need to get to the bookstore. I'm teaching some of the fleglings how kill and hunt properly without causing a ruckess for when they go out on their own. Right now they need to get the theoretics down before I teach them first hand." He told her as he put his keys in the palms of her hand. "Let's go."

The sun appeared with reluctance, sending out the first of its rays from beyond the mountainous horizon. Nika watched as the light watered down the inky darkness of the previous night, hues of red and orange layering atop each other as the world turned to another day, and it was time for the two of them to get to their day jobs.

Hues of golden rod splashed across her and Sebastian's bodies as he steered the conversation to its conclusion. Nika pursed her lips together into devil-may-care grin, practically purring she was so pleased, her gaze grazing Sebastian's facial features. "Wouldn't dream of it angel cake. Does that mean you are coming over to my place tonight?" She arched a single elegant dark eyebrow suggestively, leaning a shoulder against the brick building, protruding her hip out. Nika hoped the lure of a shiny new gun would be enough incentive for him to swallow his resistance, and agree.

She looked at the officer appraisingly. Analysing everything about him, his posture, tone, choice of words, he had to know she was doing it, she would work out just who Sebastian was, then she would carefully calculate her seduction. Nika would be damned if she'd let the leader escape the notch of her headboard.

Sara watched Lassiter, only mildly paying attention to him. She had been on fairly good terms with him, and hadn't talked to him in months. She rolled her eyes slightly to herself as he harassed the couple. She herself had always found the rigidity of pack rank mates to be irritating. As Sam went to help Lassiter, her eyes caught Caroline's. The girl had always been kind to her. She was probably one of the hardest to leave, when Sara thought about it. She swallowed hard, her eyes hardening, and a forced looking smile quickly made its way onto her lips before disappearing almost as quickly as it appeared. She sighed quietly to herself, hugging her arms to her chest, and stared out of the window, spacing out for a while, trying to clear her mind.

"Sorry about that, what can I get you this morning? And how have you been?" Sara heard, causing her eyes to snap to attention, and out of mere overreaction, she grabbed the blunt butter knife by her hand, defensively, before realizing it was only. Realizing it was only Sam, Sara's grip on the knife loosened, her knuckles which had turned white with the pressure at which she had been squeezing it. She dropped it, hearing the soft clatter, she looked up at Sam, "Just... A chicken fried steak. To go." she muttered quietly, ignoring his question, she handed him the menu, and looked down at the table, her hands returning to their defensive position around her chest.

"Oh good, then I won't have to go clean up their mess. I cannot have something bad happen again and that's why I've been so damn busy. Cleaning up after others. Matter of fact, where are all the little vampires?" she laughed lightly. "I haven't been looking up on all of them as much as I wished to- just catching and cleaning up what I can" she sighed and ran a hand through her hair

Cristine smiled and stepped towards her car, expecting Livius to follow her. She opened the car door and pulled herself inside, relishing in the feeling of the leather. It reminded her of home, for some reason, though she had never known her home that well. That was just the word that came to mind. She pressed her back against the seat and revved the engine, leaning over to pull open the door at the same time.

He was coming closer, Gabby could sense it. Her body began to tingle, excitement coursing through her veins. Playing with others was one of her favorite things to do. Since becoming a vampire, she loved to toy with men's minds. She still wasn't one to sleep around, although it did happen from time to time. She wasn't ashamed of it either, as she would have been before. As a woman and a vampire, she had needs. Her mother would probably have a heart attack if she'd known all the things her 'little girl' had done the past 40 years. A smirk played upon her lips. If her mother just saw her dressed in tight leggings and a see-through shirt she would probably have a heart attack. All the things she'd done didn't even need to be said.

He was only feet away now, and she changed her strut, attempting to be as seductive as possible. Her hips swung widely, and she tossed her hair over her shoulder, letting the curls bounce freely. Then in one single moment, the entire situation changed. She could sense the change in his demeanor. He had tensed up as he came near her, and seemed to be on high alert. Still, his pace slowed, and he didn't just blow right past her, nor did he instantly attack her. Obviously he was waiting for her to make the first move. Fine, she'd stay playful, and hoped he would lighten up a notch... or five. Yet she was still annoyed, for he had ruined all of her anticipation.

"Oh, put your claws away, wolf," she said casually, not even caring to look over at him. All werewolves seemed so angry and hot-headed. Just because they were of a different species didn't mean they had to rip each other's heads off. She'd been giving him all the right signs, and yet the instance he noticed she was a vampire, he was ready to bolt. "You're no fun," she continued, and looked over at him to show she was pouting, her bottom lip stuck out slightly. Would that work for him? She didn't know. But it was worth a try at least.

All of this stranger's anger briefly made her think of Adam. Her mind didn't go there very often, but when it did, it was painful. She still to this day didn't understand how someone you loved could treat you so wrong. Gabby wasn't even sure if she understood what love was anymore. Adam had ruined that for her. She sometimes wished it hadn't been ruined for her, then at least she could go through her extremely long life with someone by her side. Or the hope that she would eventually find someone. But for now, toying and playing were fine with getting her through her days and nights. And when she was normally craving intimacy, she could easily find someone to warm her bed.

The sun was rising higher, and irritating her more. When the sun was at its peak, it was almost painful for her. She typically liked to spend that time of the day inside and away from windows. Thankfully, that time was far from here. She glanced over at Mr. Handsome next to her, pushing all of her worries and fears aside. She didn't want to be so dreary and ruin what could be a perfect day. She reached over to give his bicep a squeeze, feeling the definition of muscle underneath. "Pretty big muscles ya got there..." she said somewhat seductively, glancing his way once more.

As the sun climbed gradually higher, the air seemed to still, and the chill of the winter night suddenly dispersed, replaced with a moderately warmer blush that seeped into every crevice it could find. Derek could hear the wild thud of his own heart. He could smell the acrid stench of hers mixed in with his own musky odor, and his mind was a literal torrent of thought. Well she isn't wittless...she knows what I am....and now she was...pouting?

Derek growled, his eyes burning a brighter blue, the veins in his forehead beginning to extrude already. He seriously needed to work on his anger management. The wolf had slowed his jog to a stop and was just standing in front of the vampirian seductress in the middle of the paved sidewalk that pandered through out the small town. It was then she reached out to touch him, her smooth, cold hands grasping at his arm. His muscles twitched slightly as he steeled his body for an attack, steeled himself to rip her throat out with his teeth; but she merely squeezed his bicep. "Pretty big muscles ya got there..." She cooed.

Derek unwittingly cocked his head slightly to the side like a confused puppy. What was she playing at? He responded in the best way he could, by taunting the potentially deadly creature in his presence with loaded sarcasm. "Oh yeah, I use them all the time when trying to pick up vampire girls. You blood suckers really go for the buff wolves." His expression never lightened, his tight frown never cracked, and his icy penetrating gaze never faltered.

Livius sighed as he walked to and entered the passenger seat of her car. He met the young ones occasionally though many others tended to do their own things during daylight hours. "They are all fine. I believe Isabella is working at the bookstore. I have to get the fledglings in shape for their hunting test." He turned his head to Cristine after he said that. "Actually could you help with that? I need to spread the word around the coven that I am holding a competition in the woods tonight. It may even help your situation. The winner gets one liter of any type of blood from my own stash. I will give you a pint if you help one of the fledglings win." He told her as he handed her a map with the meeting spot on it.

"Now I would like to go downtown, perhaps to the bar if you would. I need to grab some things to prepare for tonight." He told her.

---

Lassiter gagged quite literally at their reactions to each other. It was as if they were Romeo and Juliet and they would be run through by a sword if they were caught showing the smallest inkling of emotion. Mind you he didn’t know what Axel’s reaction would be if he found his male Beta breaking ranks to cuddle and smooch the female Delta- but he was assured that it wasn’t death.
“Waitress? Dear God Sam- you are the most atrocious woman I have ever seen. Though that explains why Blondie here seems dissuaded by my masculine bravado.” With that Lassiter gave a playful wink, but inevitably quieted as coffee was finally slid his way. Maybe his brain would behave now that it had a daily dose of caffeine to jumpstart the important parts of his gray matter. That would probably be the time that he would realize he was in Axel’s diner planted to the one woman in the world that he had to actually play friendly with.

Those pale blue eyes cut a viperous line towards Caroline as she regaled him as some Dr. Seuss tale. “I suppose alright- you know as black hearted as always. So how is the Blonde Lorax doing this morning?” He offered in a quick rebuttal. “Besides cuddling up to ‘Sam I am with Green Eggs and Ham’.” Lassiter allowed the joke to sink in for a moment. “See what I did there?” He took a sip of coffee after he doused it in a packet of sweetener.
Lassiter sighed somewhat raggedly as she brought up the gash around his brow. “Ah- you know- Ms. Mahoney being alone, depraved, and crazy. I swear her grandson could take proper care of her, but instead plays Xbox all day and eats his weight in Cheetos- and we have seen him- that is a lot of damn Cheetos.” He took another sip. “But I’ll be fine- it’ll take a lot more than a porcelain cat lobbed at my head to kill me. It’ll at least have to be a porcelain cow.”

Now that his brain was stretching and offering gulping yawns into cognitive thought- Lassiter found himself musing about Caroline and Sam. Honestly he didn’t know how long it had been going on, but that it had. Rejection sat on his chest like a weight that he couldn’t lift, but Lassiter knew he brought that upon himself. He wasn’t a ray of sunshine, he wasn’t giving, he wasn’t kind, and he also failed to have to movie star smile that was coupled with the body of Adonis. No he was Lassiter- while fit and not at all terrible to look at he was far from Sam. Very far.
One might think he would switch gears and go after Sam’s intended mate, but Jo had nothing to do with the werewolf group and made that blatantly obvious. So there was Lassiter- alone- and by anyone’s guess he damn well enjoyed it.

“So have any fun stories to tell me from last night? Anyone get too drunk to function and embarrass themselves? I still remember quite fondly when Tadd Wilkinson hopped up on the table and proclaimed himself ‘Magic Mike’ and began doing the most heinous hip thrusts known to man.” It was then he squinted his eyes in thought, “little did we know that was the small-town Pennsylvania mating dance. Or I guess it was supposed to be- but we can honestly say anyone that remembers that will not crawl into bed with him.”

---

---

“I don’t either- I mean not as a person- as an object of sexual desire I’m more or less persuaded.” It was then Alarick glanced down to Annelise. “But you didn’t hear that. The prettiest princess doesn’t objectify women.” He paused. “Alright I do, but don’t tell the women that.” Those brows waggled in her direction.

“Let’s head to that small diner on main street- yes? I more or less have a feeling about that place- well not that place entirely- but you know. It does get a lot of activity for not being a chain.” It was then he shrugged. “But who knows- it may just be because it is good. If they can make eggs over easy- actually over easy I’ll give them my money.” With that Alarick peeled forward. It wasn’t too far down the road really, and probably was the most convenient choice out of anything else he could make. More so his curiosity was piqued and he wanted to offer Sebastian some sort of report lest he no longer be the man’s deputy. He was very much so competitive in that regard. Being a part of the hunters had given him some sort of foundation in this wild wild world, and he wanted to do his best in serving them properly. Of course if that meant doing the unthinkable- he would do it. The Grey Lady had been collecting dust- not literally never literally- recently and was feeling like it needed to taste blood soon.

As they reached the diner- he looked up at the unassuming building with a bit of trepidation. Yet he opened the door for Annelise being the proper gentleman. “You first milady.”

---

Annelise giggled, "I won't. Promise." She purred, hooking her pinky finger with his as she winked. Stuffing her hand back in her pocket, she listened to him suggest a place to eat. "It does get a lot of activity for not being a chain.” He mused. She always found that strange, especially since it was always the same exact people. Annelise yelped as he strode ahead, running for a few seconds to catch up as she continued to lazily kick the stone rolling in front of her. She sighed, her mind wandering to thoughts of Sebastian once again. At this point it was impossible to try and fight it, nothing would change unless she told him how she felt, but if she were to do that she might as well jump off a bridge. Sebastian wasn't interested in romance, to her knowledge at least, and he definitely wouldn't be with someone 12 years younger than him.

“You first milady.” Annelise looked up in surprise at the sound of Alarick's voice, quickly blinking away the tears that had started to form as she smiled and hurried into the diner.

As a new day dawned, Jo was just rising from her lush bed. She was almost sad to have to get up for work. She had been having the most wondrous dream about running. To some, the dream would seem insignificant, but to Jo, this dream meant good things. She had the dream before on more than one occasion and good days often came afterwards. With a smile at the thought of what a great day it would be, she climbed out of bed. She entered the bathroom adjacent to her room and went through the while bathroom routine. She brushed her teeth and brushed her hair, fixing it into a messy bun atop her head. She applied a little bit of makeup, just enough to bring out her natural beauty. She went to her closet and chose her outfit for the day. It was simple and suited her tastes. After pulling the boots on, she grabbed her purse from the kitchen table and left her house, locking the door behind her.

It was turning out to be a beautiful day with the sun just beginning it's journey across the blue sky. She stretched her limbs, reveling in the sunshine. Her stomach made an inopportune moment to rear it's head and gave a loud growl. Looking at her watch, she decided she could spare some time to stop for a quick bite at Axel's diner. While she preferred the Ragin' Cajun, it just didn't make as good a breakfast as Axel's little diner could. She could almost taste the waffles. She climbed into the driver's side of her ancient Jeep Grand Cherokee and eased out of the little driveway.

It didn't take her very long to get to Axel's diner as it wasn't very far from her own house. She pulled into one of the parking spaces and parked. She exited her vehicle and went into the diner, slipping in as her work colleague, Alarick held the door open for a young woman who had just entered. She gave him a smirk and said "Why thank you kind sir." He was handsome enough, but word was he was a Hunter and she wouldn't be stupid enough to fool around with him...yet.

As she entered, her eyes found many members of her pack as well as many other normal patrons. She gave a nod in Sam and Caroline's direction. She was no fool and knew they carried on a secret relationship. In retrospect, she should be envious or jealous considering he was her mate, but she didn't have any feelings for him and he had none for her. They were friendly at best. She could see Sara sitting in a booth and gave her a wave. She was sorry about what happened to her family and could understand her need for solitude. She saw Lassiter sitting at the counter and decided to join him. "So, Lass, how're things?" she said, striking up a conversation with him while waiting for Sam to take her order.

Seb followed Nika's gaze toward the sun as it slowly pushed above the horizon. His green eyes squinted slightly and he was forced to put an arm up and shield his hues from the rising ball of gas in the sky. As if on cue, a few cars stopped in front of the police station on the street. From them emerged a few uniformed men and then some other unknown people, probably some vacationers or citizens...they were all the same to him. The only ones he cared to remember in this town were the werewolves, vampires, and his own Hunters.

His gaze returned to Nika's as she turned back to face him, pursuing her lips and...purring? Well, he'd certainly experienced weirder phenomena before. When you'd seen men turn to wolves before your eyes, a few semi-unnatural sounds of pleasure just didn't have the same surprising factor. He could feel her eyes scanning his sharp facial features and looked her straight in the eye, his gaze unwavering.

"Wouldn't dream of it angel cake. Does that mean you are coming over to my place tonight?" she cooed, arching a thin eyebrow in a suggestive manner whilst pressing one shoulder against the brick of the police station. He sighed quietly, wishing she would just drop the matter all together. Her sexual advances made him a bit...uncomfortable in a way that worried him slightly. He'd never felt this uncomfortable before and he detested it. It's for the gun...it's for the gun, he thought, attempting to convince him the pros were outweighing the cons. Of course, he would have to give some to gain some. He crouched down to pick up his coffee cup and stood up again, brushing the bottom off with a sweep of his hand.

"Yeah, I guess it does," he replied, his voice void of emotion. "...I won't be able to stay for long though. I've got other...things to do." Hoping she wouldn't be able to detect the lies, he cleared his throat quickly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to attend to." With a final glance at her, Sebastian turned and walked to the door, which he pulled out quickly before slipping inside. Despite the hour, the station was already teeming with other people, either waiting in chairs or talking with others. Bellingstone's police headquarters was small with a front room, four temporary holding cells, and a few legal buildings attached on. There were a few interrogation rooms here and there but Bellingstone didn't even have its own coroner or any sort of analyst, really. The crime rate was low enough that there was no real need for though occupations. In fact, the police squad consisted of only four others: two middle aged men, a cocky younger male, and one female. It was one of the middle aged men whom Sebastian first addressed.

"How are things going...?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the amount of people inside of the front room. The man, a bit out of shape yet still ruddy faced and young in appearance, looked up and smiled quickly at Seb who didn't return the smile.

"They're going good...the others have things covered." His reply was quick as he looked about the room again. "You're heading out to watch the highway, right?" Sebastian cursed mentally and then feigned a smile. He'd hoped the man would forget about the highway duty for one Sunday. Even as the appointed sheriff, Seb couldn't stand patrolling the highway each and every week.

"Yeah, I'm heading out there now," he replied, turning to leave and get back into his truck. Slamming the door behind him, he settled into the faux leather seating and pulled the seat belt across his torso. He needed to kill some time...what would work? Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, he thought for a few moments. Suddenly, he grabbed his old phone- which was quite dated as compared to most phones- and typed up a quick text to his deputy, Alarick. "Gotta kill some time. Where are you?" With that typed, he sent the message and leaned back against his seat to wait for a response.

"Yes, Livi, I can" the blonde girl smiled as she turned onto the street, pushing the meter past sixty, then seventy, then eighty. It wasn't like she would be hurt if she crashed, but she didn't want to go past eighty-five, in fear of damaging her car. Okay, it would completely total it at 85, but she felt good at that speed. At Livius' next words, however, she smirked, then began to laugh lightly. "You want me to help a fledgeling win? Okay, but... which one? Do you fancy one of the young ones?" she teased and reached over to ruffle his hair.

"To the bar then" she smiled and took a sharp turn down the cracked street that lead to the bar. Every so often, she would chuckle for a moment before quieting the laughs. The idea of Livius even liking anyone else besides himself (and more importantly, his hair. He'd marry the stuff if he could, Cristine was sure) was comical. It didn't take long, and Cristine pulled swiftly into a parking spot in the small bar before she held out the map. "That's really far into the woods. Why there?" she asked, pulling open the door and stepping out herself.

"Preferably Vivian but Isobella would do too. I have seen neither of their skills and the fact that our relationship with the pack is worsening." It deeply worried the old vampire of how unprepared the coven would be should a war be set off with the pack. Since werewolves were stronger and faster than vampires were, they needed to focus on their unique powers. When Cristine parked the car he stepped out the car, taking a deep breath doing so.

"I guess telling you the game may help you prepare. It is a simple game of tag. First person to find and catch me wins. The woods are filled with hiding places, specifically the point I chose. I figure that if the fledglings can hunt down myself than they can hunt down anything. Care for a drink?" Livius told her. When he walked into the bar he yelled out "The two sets of Four Horsemen please!" As he sat down to wait for his drinks he took out a cuban cigar to smoke.

---

Alarick’s expression changed immediately as he noticed Annelise wicking away tears that were welling at the corner of her eyes. It was odd to see her somewhat melancholy so suddenly. Yet he had to remind himself that she was young, and apparently had numerous emotions rolling through like a sea during the storm.
Unfortunately his mind was pulled away from his pensive thoughts as another woman sauntered through with a vulpine grace. Oh Alarick gave her a look and an inevitable smile. “Anything for a beautiful lady as yourself,” those words purred from his lips- that Italian accent rumbling somewhat seductively. Yes he used his heritage like some romance-novel styled weapon, but it seemed to get results and that was all that mattered. As she sauntered on by and took a seat next to a man at the counter he found himself a bit bemused. The fellow in the EMT outfit was Lassiter Declan. The only reason he knew that was because he sometimes frequented the ER when he needed a bit of extra money. Actually he never needed the extra money, but it helped when one was on the lookout for fang or claw marks. Then there was the gorgeous blonde next to him- she owned a bar- Alarick knew that because he found himself not only finding her curves alluring but her cocktails equally so.

“Want a booth Annelise?” He questioned but didn’t wait for a response as he took one nearest the door and flopped down in the seat. The leather squealed underneath him, and inevitably settled in the way that cheap booths do. “Oh look- French toast- you like that right?” Annelise was different than the majority of women that Alarick had anything to do with, because honestly he didn’t want to sleep with her. She was sweet, naïve, and a shining beacon of how they should be. So instead of speaking to her in sultry tones with overwhelming charm- he treated her like he would his kid sister. “Look is everything alright-?” Alarick questioned and then immediately felt his butt vibrate. He glanced down and began feeling about his pants for his phone. He fished the fancy smartphone from the depths of his blue jeans and checked his messages. “Oh hey- Sebastian.” He mused.

‘At that main street diner with Annelise. Come kill time with us. I haven’t seen your pretty face in a while. ;) That and I think I’m onto something.’ He texted back. Not one for paraphrasing words. Yes it made his texting times draw out into long narratives about his day or feelings, but at least there was no question about what he meant. “Looks like we might get company.”

---

Annelise ignored the girl behind her fawning over Alarick, almost every woman did so she learned to block it out when she was with him. As he walked past her and asked she smiled with a nod, following close behind him like a puppy to it's master. She grinned and crawled into the seat across from him, cringing at the sound the booth made as she settled and cross her legs like a kindergartner.

"French toast- you like that right?” He asked, getting a happy nod in response before Annelise groaned at his second question. She always hated it, because she was never "ok." It didn't matter what, because she was always upset even a little, she could be having the best day ever and her lack of a father and best friend would always haunt her. "I'm fine.." She grumbled, opening her mouth to ramble on more about "Why would you even ask?" before she was cut off by Alarick pulling his phone out. Thankfully he did, or else she would have gotten herself into a worse situation if she kept talking.

Annelise smiled at the sound of Sebastian's name, watching Alarick reply as she peeked over her menu shyly and grinned hopefully at the news. "Company?" She squeaked, blushing as she heard how high pitched her voice was.

Gabby's new friend looked angry. And he actually growled. As she glanced over at him, she could swear the veins in his forehead were going to burst at any second. She honestly didn't understand what the wolves were all so angry about, but it was a trait that seemed to run in the species. She shrugged off his demeanor, even though it irritated her slightly. Obviously she wasn't going to rip his head off.. even though she could if she wanted to. She was giving him all the right signs, and he was oblivious. Maybe being a downer was a trait that ran in the species as well. She silently sent up a prayer thanking that she was a vampire and not a werewolf.

He tensed as she touched his arm, and she just rolled her eyes. Whoever this guy was, he was obviously more werewolf than man, because a totally hot girl was flirting and all he could do was be angry. He seemed generally confused as well. Just because she was a vampire, it didn't mean all she saw was a wolf. She saw an extremely toned body and with an attractive face. that was really all she cared about. He walked ahead of her, and intercepted her path. She stopped quickly, and placed her hands on her hips. She cocked one eyebrow, waiting to see what this unpredictable man was going to do next. Surprisingly enough, he just responded to her, and didn't show any increasing signs of anger. "Oh yeah, I use them all the time when trying to pick up vampire girls. You blood suckers really go for the buff wolves."

Gabby smirked. Sarcasm was a language she could understand. "All I see in front of me is a buff man," she said, reaching a finger up to twirl a curl of hair. She leaned into him, making eye contact. "You are making it pretty damn hard, though." She stayed close to him a second longer, and then leaned back, returning to her previous stance. While she was still slightly annoyed her charms weren't working, she was still having fun. She liked to play after all, and he was making it a challenge. But she still planned to succeed. And even if she failed with this man, she would just set her sights on someone else. There were plenty of men in this little town, thank god.

"My name is Gabby," she said, wanting to hold out a hand, but figuring he wouldn't return the favor, she just kept it placed on her hip. "Although, you can call me blood sucker if you really want," she continued, a grin on her face. Gabby didn't stop there. "Now, do you have a name, or should I just call you dog?" Sure, it was slightly rude, but he did call her blood sucker after all. Perhaps he only talked in the language of mean. She could play that game too. Either way, she had to get to him, because he seriously needed to lighten up. Yet even though he had a ton of anger, she had a suspicion it would be well used in the bedroom. The thought made her stomach do somersaults, and only made her persistence grow.

There were many things that Axel Wolff was. He was a cook, he was overbearing, he was sarcastic, and he was a guitarist. However, there were also countless things that Axel was not. He wasn't a human, he wasn't stupid, he wasn't a fan of crowds, and he most certainly was not a morning person. That Sunday morning seemed to come far too quickly for Axel's taste. His alarm clock, which rested on the nightstand by his head began to ring at six in the morning, jolting Axel from a quite pleasant dream and forcing him awake and into reality. For a few heartbeats, he sat upright and looked around with wide eyes.

It wasn't long, however, before he noticed the clock and slammed his palm against the snooze button. The clock silenced and Axel slowly laid back on the bed, yawning softly. Maybe he could get a few more minutes of shut-eye before it started to ring again? It seemed like the second he closed his eyes, however, the alarm began to go off again. AJ slowly sat up again and, in a fluid motion, cast his blanket off and swung his legs down to the ground. His hand struck the alarm clock again to shut it off as he stood up and walked toward the set of old drawers his father and mother had left in the house. In fact, the entire home was once theirs and their parents; hell, it was a house that had been passed down the Wolff family tree since Felix Wolff had built it with his own hands. The house had progressively grown larger generation after generation until it had at least five bedrooms and three full bathrooms. The Wolff house was a little bit outside of town, situated on a large piece of land. Two stories and made of wood, it could get quite cold in the winter. This, however, hardly phased any of the wolves in the home.

Axel had fallen asleep still in his t-shirt and jeans the night before. Saturday night had been spent in the bar for a while, drinking and mulling over things until he finally forced himself to go home. Now, he simply threw a red flannel shirt on top of his t-shirt and ran his hand through his thick, dark hair multiple times. That would do for now...plus, maybe he could pass off his ruffled hair as helmet hair when he arrived at the dinner. Without even bothering to pass by Leanna -besides, what was he going to say to her if he did- Axel grabbed his keys off of the counter, pulled on some boots, and walked outside. Yes, he still looked like shit and yes, his facial half had grown in a thick five o'clock shadow but it was Sunday and Sunday was the day most people were leaving the area or simply stopping by for a quick bite to eat and some car service.

His motorcycle had been left leaning against the garage with the helmet right by the front wheel. As much as he hated the God damn helmet, he knew his father would be tossing and turning in his grave if he saw his son riding down the road without a helmet. As he pulled the helmet on, a pair of mirrored sunglasses fell out and hit his chest before falling down and landing on his shoes. Dusting them off as he picked up the sunglasses, Axel shoved them into his breast pocket and slipped the helmet over his head, clipping it under his chin. The werewolf mounted his motorcycle and shoved the key into the ignition. With a flick of his foot, he pushed the kickstand up and rode the bike out of his driveway and on to the road that led toward town.

Regardless of the fact that the cops would certainly be out, he weaved his way between trucks and cars. These actions earned him a variety of honking, yelling, and the displaying of a certain finger. He arrived at his diner in a few minutes and rode the bike up on to the pavement and behind the diner where the back entrance was located. He would rather marry a vampire than have to pay a parking meter in front of his own building. Besides, this way, no teenagers would try to play around with it. With the bike parked right by the back door, Axel pulled out the key and shoved them into the pocket of his jeans. A yawn quickly escaped through his jaws as he walked into the diner and straight into the kitchen. Instantly, he could smell omelettes cooking and his mouth seemed to water from the smell.

The Alpha male slowly made his way through the kitchen, running his hand quickly through his tousled hair again and again until it hopefully had some sort of semblance to his usual style. It was at this moment, as he pushed open the door into the front of the diner that he realized he'd unevenly buttoned his flannel top when putting it on. Cursing sharply but under his breath, he hurriedly began to undo the buttons, his calloused fingers fumbling with the small buttons. By the time he was out and behind the counter, half of the buttons were undone and he still looked like absolute shit. Well, it could be worse...somehow. Flashing his white teeth with the slightly elongated canines, he leaned up against the back counter near a pot of coffee and looked out over his diner. There was nothing, not man, nor woman, nor belonging that could even compare to the diner. It was like a second home to him- or, rather, maybe it tied with the woods his pack frequented in wolf form. Either way, it was his most treasured possession.

Axel reached under the counter and pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil which he usually kept handy for taking orders when things were going too quickly for either Sam or him to keep up waiting. Axel slipped around the counter and started toward a table, nudging Sam with his shoulder. The nudge was rough, but not rough enough where the Beta would stumble or anger. It was simply hard enough for him to realize Axel was there.

"Mornin', Sammy," he said, grinning cheekily whilst walking past and glancing over his shoulder. He knew Sam had never gone by the nickname and probably never would yet it seemed to fit him so well.

Sara was tense, Sam could tell. Her body was rigid, and she sat in the booth as if she was extremely uncomfortable. And of course there was the fact that she grabbed a knife as if she was going to stab him when he walked over to take her order. He decided to let that slide, however. He, as well as the rest of the pack, knew her past. He had hoped she would eventually come around to them all once more, since his pack was practically his family, and it was that way for most members. They could help her get through everything, yet she just shunned them all. So he left it alone, and hoped one day she'd change her mind and return to the pack.

"Just... A chicken fried steak. To go." He nodded to her, and leaned one hand on the table. "I'll get that going for you right away." He took the menu from her, and stood up straight. "You should think about staying, though. I know Caroline would really like to talk to you. You should go say hi." The bell rang once more, and he looked over to see none other than his 'mate' walk through the door. She was closely followed by two patrons he didn't really know, but had seen around town a few times. He thought the girl worked at a comic book shop somewhere close to the diner. He looked back to Sara after having been distracted. "Just think about it while I go take orders and get your food ready." With one last smile, he turned and walked away.

He made a quick trip back to the counter, where Josephine had decided to sit next to Lassiter and Caroline. He slid the menu to her, and flipped a coffee cup, filling it with the black liquid. He placed the cup in front of her. "Morning Jo. Don't think you need the menu, but you get one anyway." It was strange to think that this woman was supposed to be his mate. They were supposed to have kids and make sure the future of the pack was in good hands. And yet she didn't have feelings for him, nor he for her. He'd always told Axel that no matter what, he would do his duty. Yet as he thought about it, he wasn't really sure if he could. He may be a guy, but he still wanted love. He already dreamed of marrying and having kids with Caroline, but he had no such feelings or desires for Jo. For a moment, he wondered if the structure of the pack was somewhat outdated... or just plain wrong. Ranks in the pack don't equal love, Sam knew that for sure. Perhaps it was time for a change.

"I'll be right back, I've got to get an order started. Think about what you want," he told Jo, and then left the counter to head for the kitchen, and quickly prepared Sara's chicken fried steak. As he was cooking, he took the liberty to peer out the window, since he had a perfect view of Caroline at the counter. She was deep in conversation, so she didn't notice his gaze, but he didn't mind. Just looking at her, his heart began to race. The feeling made him smile, because it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. The two of them were both extremely happy, probably to the point that it would make others sick. That told him it was true happiness. After it was sizzling and smelling delicious, he left the kitchen once more, knowing it would be a few minutes before he had to tend to the food.

Sam's intention was going to be to wait on the newcomers in the booth, the young girl with the air of innocence, and the male with no innocence about him at all. However, he decided to stop and take Jo's order, since he figured she already knew what she wanted. The pack were all frequent diner patrons, and all knew the menu almost by heart. He leaned on the counter across from her, grabbing a note pad from under the counter so he could write her order down. He didn't exactly have the greatest memory, and knew he'd catch hell if anything was messed up.

"What can I get you for breakfast, Jo?" he asked, pen ready to write. Before she could answer, he was shoved rather forcefully from behind. It could only mean one thing. Axel had finally arrived. "Mornin', Sammy," the Alpha said as he walked past, turning back to give him a wide, toothy grin. His hair was unruly at best, and his clothes looked oddly familiar from the night before. He decided to not acknowledge the nickname, since Sammy seemed like a name for a 9-year old boy. "You look like shit!" he called to his friend and leader, a grin on his face as well. He turned back to Jo. "Your order?"

The generic ringing of Sebastian's phone sounded and he glanced quickly down at the little flip phone that he held in his lap. In a fluid motion, he flipped the small device open and then opened up Alarick's text message. His eyes scanned the words quickly and then he rolled them at the winking face at the end. Alarick never did seem to take anything seriously, even though he was deputy of the Bellingstone Hunters. Regardless, and even though Seb wouldn't admit it, maybe it was this humor that kept Sebastian sane. But, no one would ever really be able to be sure because Seb wasn't the kind of man to admit a weakness. Admitting you needed another soul to keep you sane surely had to be a weakness, no?

‘At that main street diner with Annelise. Come kill time with us. I haven’t seen your pretty face in a while. ;) That and I think I’m onto something.’ Seb smiled slightly, the corners of his thin lips turning upward ever so slightly. Yes, he had had some suspicions about the diner. Well, actually, they weren't related to the diner. Instead, they had been focused on the man who owned the diner; his name was Axel and he'd lived here since childhood. Granted, this wouldn't seem odd but what was odd was that the man had a reputation of disappearing every full moon and returning the next morning disheveled and exhausted. Sebastian had kept track and he was certain- well, almost certain- that the man had to be a werewolf. The fact that Alarick was "on to something" simply piqued his interest even further.

Sebastian turned his key in the ignition of the truck and it roared to life. Pushing his foot against the gas pedal, the truck started forward down the street and toward the main road on which the diner was located. Parallel parking the large truck before the diner, Seb nearly slammed his fist against the wheel. He'd never been good at doing this and he shouldn't even have to parallel park. He lived in a small town, for Christ's sake. Just as he nearly slammed the bumper of his car into the front of another car, he stomped on the brakes and forced the truck to stop where it was. The keys were pulled from the ignition and shoved into Seb's pocket as he flung the door open and stepped out beside his truck.

Seb passed by the front of his truck and started toward the front door which, as opened, signaled a small, tinkling bell. The sound caused his to roll his light blue eyes quickly. Honestly, what was the point in such a thing? If you couldn't hear the door opening, why would you be able to hear a bell ringing? With his hands shoved into his pockets, Sebastian looked around the diner for Alarick. His ego seemed to radiate off of him by the way he held himself upright and pushed his hair back slightly and it would certainly earn him quite a few glares or odd looks but, hell, he could care less. Eventually, he noticed Alarick sitting at a booth and, across from him, Annelise. Both seemed to be in conversation so he stayed silent as he walked up from behind and stood in front of the table.

"Morning, Alarick," he greeted, nodding at the man. He turned to Annelise and also nodded at her. "Morning, Annelise." Deciding he really didn't need to press himself up against Alarick on his side of the booth, Sebastian sat down on Annelise's side and tapped his fingers lightly against the table before looking back to Alarick. "Well, now you've got a nice view of my pretty face," he commented, smiling subtly at his own joke. "And the winky face was a nice touch..." He smile fell and he cleared his throat quickly before speaking again. "So...you're on to something?" Without even thinking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. Lighting one, he slipped it between his lips and started to take a drag, disregarding the laws against smoking in restaurants in Pennsylvania. It was as if, in his mind, being part of the police force meant all laws didn't apply to him.

Sara looked up at Sam. She hated acting like this towards her pack. She long to go back to them, and yet couldn't bring herself to doing so.

"You should think about staying, though. I know Caroline would really like to talk to you. You should go say hi." Sam said to her, before looking away. Sara opened her mouth to object, but before she could Sam, interjected, "Just think about it while I go take orders and get your food ready." before smiling and walking away. Sara sighed, and gnawed at her bottom lip before deciding that talking to Caroline wouldn't hurt too much. She had been like a sister to Sara... Sister... Sara frowned, her mind making the connection of the word to her deceased sister. She shook her head, eyes downcast as she stood up, slowly and approached Caroline, and sat beside her.

"Hey.." she murmured, almost awkwardly, "How.. How've you been doing..?" she murmured, finally looking up to meet Caroline's gaze, only to go wide eyed and have her gaze drop again when Axel entered the room.

Caroline took the last bite of her omelette, her hunger being satisfied, at least until lunch. Placing the knife and fork down on the plate, she pushed it to the back of the counter and picked up her mug of coffee, bringing it to her lips, quenching her thirst and giving her that slight boost of energy she would need to complete the day, all the while Lassiter droned on in her ear. Caro had learned a long time ago, that most of the words which passed Lassiter's lips would undoubtedly be a sarcastic comment, the rest of the time it was utter bull-shit, then very rarely he would surprise her with something articulate and quite deep an meaningful, although she could count on one hand the amount of times the latter had happened. “I suppose alright- you know as black hearted as always. So how is the Blonde Lorax doing this morning?” Lassiter answered her question with a rebuttal to her 'grinch' comment, forcing a tight smile, Caroline opened her mouth to answer when his words cut her off once more. “Besides cuddling up to ‘Sam I am with Green Eggs and Ham’...See what I did there?"

When talking to Lassiter, Caroline did her best to refrain from rolling her eyes, she did it so often in his company that it usually lead to a headache, however that comment, warranted the dramatic roll of her blue hues along with her frown. She should have known it was a mistake to tell Lassiter about her relationship with Sam, but their 'mates' deserved to know about there relationship, it was only fair, but a part of her did wish that if only to save herself a little grief, they had only told Jo. Caro would be lying if she said she didn't expect the teasing from him, but the fact that he was unreadable about the situation is what annoyed her. She wished he would either tell her he's happy for her or say that he wasn't, this whole facade made it really difficult for her to decide how to act with Sam when he was around, naturally she didn't want to rub their relationship in his face but she didn't want to hide it either. Placing her mug back down on the counter "yeah, your a regular comedian..." she scoffed "...but to answer your question, I'm very well, thank you."

Leaning forward on her elbows, Caroline turned her head towards Lassiter as he retold the story of his head wound, she listened carefully with a small smile tugging on her lips, trying her best not to burst into fits of laughter, to tell the truth, she was surprised someone hadn't thrown something at him sooner, she had been tempted once, he was just lucky that the bottle of whiskey she had been holding was an expensive one. Then suddenly, half way through his story, her shaped eyebrow shot up, did she detect a hint of concern in his voice about Ms Mahoney "I would be careful Lassie, you don't want to give people the impression that you actually care about the old girl." Sometimes she did wonder what had made Lassiter so closed of to others, she had known him for a long time and sill didn't actually know that much about him.

“So have any fun stories to tell me from last night? Anyone get too drunk to function and embarrass themselves? I still remember quite fondly when Tadd Wilkinson hopped up on the table and proclaimed himself ‘Magic Mike’ and began doing the most heinous hip thrusts known to man...little did we know that was the small-town Pennsylvania mating dance. Or I guess it was supposed to be- but we can honestly say anyone that remembers that will not crawl into bed with him.”

Caroline laughed loudly at that, her head shot back, her blonde curls shaking as laughter rippled through her body as she recalled the night in question fondly, calming down she wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded "that was one of the funniest things I have ever seen" she spoke between breaths before sighing, a smile gracing her lips at the memory. "Unfortunately nothing too exciting, although Mr Nolan had one to many and thought he was Johnny Cash reincarnated, the man slaughtered Ring of fire, his wife was not happy when I had to ring her to come and pick him up" she chuckled lightly. It was then Caroline noticed Josephine enter the diner, immediately taking a seat next to Lassiter "Morning Jo" she greeted with a quick smile, before the sliding of the stool next to her, caught her attention.

Turning her head, Caroline was surprised to see Sara taking the seat next to her "Hey...How, How've you been doing?" came her small voice as she raised her eyes to look at her, never had she seen so much sorrow and pain in one person, it nearly broke her heart to see her friend so broken; all Caroline wanted to do was pull her into a bone crushing hug but didn't want to scare her off, instead she offered a warm smile and a swift nod of her head to the question "I've been good, what about you sweetie?" She asked, silently thanking Sam for making this happen, he was a great guy and she would show her appreciation later. "It feels like it's been such a long time since I last saw you."

---

Alarick’s brow rose at Annelise’s obvious giddiness at the idea of ‘company’. “Yes- it seems like our favorite person is going to join us for breakfast. Maybe you’ll stop looking so gloomy?” He probed once again. Sebastian was everyone’s knight in shining armor- or at least in regards to The Hunt business he was. Oh Alarick treated the man as if he was his brother, and honestly it was only blood that separated them in that regard. Yet he noticed how everyone’s eyes lit up when he was about and maybe that was because he had given them hope in such a dark time.

He had just turned fifteen when it had happened- when his entire world had crashed all around him in a fiery blaze. Alarick remembered sitting at the police station with blood soaking his arms and legs- his father’s blood- and listening to the cops talk in hushed voices about how the entire scene was ‘fucked up’. His father was in pieces on the floor, his mother’s head was a box (her body was never found), and Alarick covered in gashes. He could still remember the feeling of the creature’s tongue along those long and bloodied welts, and it haunted him to this day.

In the end Alarick had come into the service of Sebastian several years later as he had been handed off from family member to family member until he turned eighteen. He had been given the option- finally- to rectify the wrong that had been made upon him so many years ago. Only a few things in this world made him happy again- truly happy not the humoring façade- and that was enacting justice upon those ‘creatures’ of the world.
Speaking of which he glanced up and looked around the diner in an attempt to get the waiter’s eye- and found a nice little cluster of folks at the counter. Those eyes narrowed and he tried to take into account all of those conglomerating around.

About that time his vision was crowded by the figure of Sebastian- and Alarick offered a rather polite grin as the other man scooted in next to Annelise. “Morning.”
“Of course- you do brighten my day, Sunshine.” He returned in kind. Yet his attention was drawn away as Sebastian pulled out his cigarette and began lighting it. The man’s eyes pressed against the counter and he offered a rather playful sigh. “See the brunette up there- the one besides the EMT- happen to know who she is? I’m considering asking her out.” He paused, “I wonder if all her friends would mind.” It was then he pushed a rather knowing glance towards Sebastian.

Alarick didn’t want to blatantly state: ‘there are a lot of people over there- I’m thinking pack mentaility- and you know what that means: werewolves.’

---