BESERKER.

“And all your damn fault.” Valerie added bitterly. She couldn’t care less about the dress, she loathed wearing them anyway. But when it came to her boss, it was always down to the damn principle of it all. “You never struck me as a particularly smart one, for all I know, it was your genius plan all along.” She taunted the other. Granted, he could have easily gone after her many times they worked together; that didn’t mean, however, that she wouldn’t go around taunting him, and messing with him. Once his hands were off her, and he wasn’t trying to soak up the mess with those pathetic napkins, she crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Two hundred. Where the fuck do you think I bought this dress at? Target?” She mocked him. “And your jacket. I’m not walking around this damn place with a fucking damp back.”

He rolled his eyes when Valerie insisted that this was all part of an elaborate scheme to get in her pants.  “I bet you have men lining up around the block to date you with an attitude like yours,” Shepard grumbled.   His jaw nearly dropped when she said how much she needed for the dress. “That?”  He gestured to Valerie’s outfit, “Was two hundred bucks? What the fuck.” Shepard gave her two hundred cash, split up into four fifty dollar bills.  He reluctantly sighed, taking off his jacket and handing it to her, “Happy now?  Goddamn, you want my blood and organs next?”

“Yeah? What type of guy are you then?” Cayden asked with a lift of his brow. It could be taken a few different ways, maybe even flirtatious, but he was in a good enough mood to not care how his words would be translated. He glanced at the soaked shirt he’d tossed over and gave an unconcerned shrug. It was borrowed anyway after the first spilling incident, and he wasn’t foolish enough to stay around for it to happen a third time. “I’m Cayden.” He offered in return. “I was going to call it a night, but I guess one more drink would be fine before I hit the road.” He agreed with a small smile. 

“I don’t know, I guess the type that has too many drinks at a party and does shit he will probably regret in the morning,” Shepard chuckled, looking over at Cayden.  He caught the flirtation in his voice and decided to play along.  “What about you? What’s your type?” Shepard’s question was a little more blunt, but Shepard himself was about as subtle as a damn freight train.  The werewolf walked up to the bar, ordering them two neat whiskeys.  He took his glass from the bartender, pushing the other across the bar to Cayden.  “Cheers, I guess,” Shepard clinked his glass against Cayden’s before taking a sip.

Every morning Mavis got up at half passed eight to water her plants. Though she was sure she had drowned them some time ago, persistence kept her slipping on rubber boots and heading out to the garden. 

She had just filled the old tin watering can to the brim and started lugging it over to the flower beds, Its weight now half hers. Then she saw him, sprawled out a few feet from her marigolds was a very, very naked man. She dropped the full can, it’s contents spilling out over her feet as she covered her eyes. How long had he been there she thought cheeks turning bright red.  Mavis bit her lip, head darting from left to right. Her yard wasn’t exactly fenced in, anyone passing by might’ve gotten a good glimpse at him. She rushed back into the house, rubber boots squeaking on the tiled floor as she looked for something to cover him. She opted on a bath robe, it’s green fabric four sizes to small for him, but it would have to do. 

Once the robe was covering his waist Mavis gently shook his arm, his eyelids fluttering open immediately. She fell back onto her butt beside him. “Excuse me,” “Why are you in my garden?”

Shepard was enjoying his nap in the grass, the morning sun warming his skin and the pleasant scent of flowers filling his nose.  Until he felt someone shaking his arm and he immediately snapped out of it, sitting straight up.  He noticed the woman standing over him, going to sit at his side and looking down to see the small bathrobe laying over his lap.  While Shepard himself had no ounce of modesty in him, he knew that most the people in the town were uncomfortable with his nudity.  He had already racked up two public indecency charges this year, the people at the police station now referring to him as The Crazy Naked Guy.  “Please don’t call the police,” Shepard groaned sleepily, squinting from the bright light as he glanced around the garden.  ‘Where the fuck am I?  I can’t tell if this lady is pissed or traumatized.’ 

“Uh, I can explain,” Shepard stalled, reaching down to respectfully hold the robe in place over his crotch as he stood up.  The slash he received from a silver spike that stretched from his ribcage to his spine on his left side was already scabbed over, dried blood surrounding the wound.  “I...I went for a run last night and...a fuckin’ bear attacked me and it, uh...It ate my clothes,”  Shepard offered lamely, wanting to honest with Mavis but he was unsure if she was even aware of the supernatural.

This pain shook Keira to her core. Fibers screamed in agony. The spikes were already painful enough on their own as one went right through the muscle of her back leg. But the silver dust coating them only served to bring her to another level of agony. Keira howled loudly. She did not think of drawing in the hunter who had clearly set the trap. Instead, she hoped to draw the attention of someone who could help her. Anyone. Her wolf wanted to take over and be the one to drive the actions of the she wolf. When another wolf appeared above her, she growled in warning. Don’t let another join her, it was a fleeting thought but soon it was replaced by searing pain. ‘Get me out!’ She screamed out. ‘My leg is stuck.’ She howled low in pain.

Well, he’d screwed that one up. Portable amp…? He had to making that shit up. The only amps he knew about, had guitars attached to them, he’d never seen an amp look anything like the one this guy had in the back of his truck. However, considering he was a mechanic and everything, Nik decided to give the guy the benefit of the doubt when it came to using the right terminology for car ‘things’. Although, he did have a short moment of concern, when the guy had said he didn’t know too much about hybrids. Nik, had saved a whole bunch for this car, he didn’t want some rough mechanic to stuff up the wiring. Of course, he knew better than to say anything, especially when the guy was trying to help him, “yeah, anything you can do to help, would be appreciated. I’m Nik by the way.” It was about time he stopped referring to the man as ‘the guy’.

Wait what? Okay, so the guy was a werewolf, then. There was no need to be such a dick about it. Deep breaths though, because the moon was somewhere nearby, and Nik still had the man’s so-called amp attached to his car. “Sorry…, you can never be too careful.” The last thing he wanted this guy knowing, was that he was still a rookie. He’d probably knock him out and take him back to his pack or something in order to monitor him. Nik, hadn’t even made up his mind yet, if finding a pack was something he wanted to do. He’d been doing just fine on his own anyway. “I don’t hurt anyone. I’ll be locking myself up and drinking two bottles of wolfsbane, like all werewolves, should. I’ll be fine though… what about you, what are your plans?” Maybe this was one way of finding out about the guy’s pack without actually having to seek it out himself. This way he was just throwing the own guy’s question back at him and not actively searching for answers. Answers that might draw too much attention to his ex-hunter self. “I’m relatively new to town though, so can you just give me a heads up on any hunter groups that frequent the area? Weapons? Special booby-traps? Any names, etc?”

“I’m Shepard,” He replied with his own name when Nik offered his.  He glanced down at his portable amp and nodded, “Alright, get in and try to crank the car.”  He silently hoped that a dead battery was the only thing preventing the car from starting, and it was not something that needed more work to fix, like replacing a starter or alternator.  ‘If I have to, I’ll just take him wherever he has to go.  I still have a few hours left,’ Shepard thought, leaning against the front of the car. 

Shepard picked up on an inclination that Nik was paranoid about something, like he was running from something or someone.  He looked young, he could not have been like this for more than ten years, he presumed.  Maybe he had pissed off his pack and was on the run or maybe he was being stalked by a group of hunters?  Shepard’s jaw clenched when Nik stated that all werewolves should be drinking wolfsbane.  “I have a pack to protect, plus whoever killed that Blackwell guy is still out here,” Shepard shook his head disapprovingly, “You shouldn’t be drinkin’ that shit, kid.  That much wolfsbane can have long term effects on your body.  You can’t control yourself without it?” His question was blunt, but he was worried about the young wolf abusing toxic substances.  And even more concerned that he would try to push his beliefs about the poison onto other wolves. 

“I don’t know any names, but be careful because there’s some areas of the woods that are covered in traps.  Pit traps, poisoned smoke bombs, silver shrapnel landmines and silver bear traps are pretty common, so watch where you step.”  He warned, his bright blue gaze meeting Nik’s.

It had been a rough night for the werewolf.  He felt like he had wasted the whole night trying to help other people with their problems instead of enjoying a night free from the responsibilities of being a human.  Helping Keira out of a hunter’s trap felt worth it, since he hated all hunters (especially ones that specifically targeted wolves) and he did not harbor the same animosity towards the remnants of the Kattalakis pack like he did the Malrauxs.  The wolfsbane infused smoke he accidentally inhaled must have weakened him.  The black wolf collapsed from exhaustion about a mile from his house, falling asleep laying on his side in the grass.  The sun rose shortly after he fell asleep, his body shuddering awake as it reverted back to his default form.  Shepard writhed in agony on the ground, his muscles already sore from running all night and the strain from reassembling his body into a bipedal form was doing nothing but intensify the pain.  He let out a pained gasp as the bones in his legs lengthened, his paws stretching into feet and his hands reforming.  The sickening crack of bones filled the air as his front legs became arms, rotating back into their respective sockets.  After several minutes of transforming, Shepard passed out again, the shift zapping him of what little energy he had gained from his short nap.  There was now a stark naked man laying where the wolf once was, tufts of black fur laying scattered in the grass around him.

Was he? Maybe not yet, but if he was still here in a few hours, he might have to. He left the question unanswered though, because no one really wanted answers to those kind of reciprocal questions. “Woah, you’ve got a tool box.” It looked pretty decked out too. Nik, was always impressed by people who worked with their hands, while he’d never consider it a worthy profession for himself to pursue, he definitely saw the need for other’s who were less artsy and creative to take those jobs on. “I’ve got one too, but I haven’t had time to break out the tools just yet.” That was the saying right? It was important that this stranger knew, he was more than capable of learning how to start his own car. Nik, was sure give or take an hour or so, he could have it back up and running, but obviously he didn’t have time for that. He was a musician he barely had enough time to text his girlfriend back, let alone give any precious minutes away to the art of ‘car maintenance’. Especially on a full moon.

Woods? Had he given off the impression he was a hunter of some kind? Maybe it was the plaid shirt currently tied off around his waist that had alerted the guy, to a hobby he didn’t actually have. “Why would I be heading towards the woods?”

Shepard glanced down at the amp output on the jump box, turning it down a little because he was worried he might overload the battery in the hybrid.  “This isn’t a tool box, this is a portable amp.  But don’t worry, I have plenty of tools in my truck if we need them,” Shepard reassured, looking over at the other werewolf.  He thought his comment about not breaking out the tools in his own box yet was a little off, but he did not think to much of it.  The guy was probably just nervous and reaching for something to say.  “I’m a mechanic, but to be honest, I don’t know much about hybrids.  There’s a guy in my shop that always picks these up when they come in,” Shepard admitted.

He gave Nik a confused look when he asked why he would be heading towards the woods.  “You can drop the oblivious human act, there’s no one else around.  Where are you spending the full moon?” Shepard asked, talking slowly so the man could easily understand him.  ‘What fuckin’ planet is this kid living on?  How could he not smell me when I walked up?’  Shepard wondered before giving the younger man a hard look, “Your plans for the night better not involve setting foot into town or biting any humans, or you’ll be answering to me.”

Rhys should really have been pacing himself, he lost count how many glasses of whiskey he had. Everyone just kept buying him shots and well, he wasn’t one to refuse free alcohol. A few people screamed, others just turned heads. Holstering his gun, slightly embarrassed but laughing at Shepard’s response. “Shepard relax it’s only like 3 dollars per game,” he motioned for the man to grab him the big panda bear. Which of course he did because well the game worker had two rambunctious werewolves yelling and shooting guns around. What else was he supposed to do. Holding onto the big panda bear, it was nearly bigger than him, “Shep come on, lets go find some more shit to drink, and we can find Ellie and you can give her this uh – bear.”

“Oh,” Shepard deflated a little when Rhys mentioned how much each game cost, “Well, we still played like ten games of this shit.”  He followed Rhys away from the game stall, a satisfied look on his face when he saw the massive stuffed animal that Rhys was carrying.  “Watch it, don’t let it drag the ground,” Shepard quipped, walking up to the bar with Rhys.  “What are we drinkin,’ tequila or bourbon?” He asked, smiling and leaning against the bar.

Jude shivered the moment cold ice splashed against his back, completely soaking him. The human, who hardly got angry, then found himself being turned around to face the man who’d been so clumsy, “Dude….what the fuck?” Jude started undoing the buttons on his shirt, in hopes that he could get the cold and wet fabric off of him as quick as possible, “It’s not like I’m short.”

“Calm down man, it’s just a shirt,” Shepard attempted to deescalate his anger, a skill that went unpracticed by the werewolf.  His gaze shifted to his fingers on the buttons of his shirt, “There’s a bathroom nearby, you might want to rinse the shirt off before it stains,” He suggested, bending down to pick up the two glasses he had dropped in the grass when he bumped into Jude.  “No, you’re pretty fuckin’ tall.  Taller than me,” Shepard observed, “I just wasn’t paying attention.  Got a lot of shit on my mind right now.”

“You’re right, I should be more careful when I’m walking around with drinks.  I waited twenty minutes at the bar for these, what a waste,” Shepard sighed, pausing his half assed attempt at cleaning her dress when she grabbed his wrist.  “You think me spilling my fuckin’ drinks on you is part of some sort of elaborate plan to touch your ass?” Shepard scoffed, rolling his eyes.  Sure Valerie was a beautiful woman, but she was his employee.  The last thing he needed was sexual harassment lawsuit.  “Fine,” He seethed, pulling out his wallet, “How much do you need?” He looked over her ruined dress, “What like, a hundred bucks?”

Being called not bad lookin’ wasn’t the best compliment, but it was better than being babbled at by some drunk idiot looking for a fight. He glanced at the now empty glasses in the guy’s hands and sighed as he gave in and grabbed them hem of his short, pulling the soaked clothing over his head. He’d have to wipe off else he would be miserably sticky. “Counting those, way too many. Mostly because of those.” He still wasn’t angry about it, shockingly, though having his shirt off in public wasn’t making him the happiest. His body was toned, sure, but it was that damn pale skin he could do nothing about that made him so self-conscious. “If you want refills, might want to it the bar before it crowds up again. They tend to come in waves.”

His gaze followed Cayden’s down to the empty glassware in his hands and he flashed a rueful smile, “All of these weren’t for me.  Don’t get me wrong, it takes a shit load of alcohol to get me drunk, but I’m not drink four whiskey and Cokes at a time type of guy.”  The scent of vampire coming off of Cayden left a bad taste in Shepard’s mouth, but he hid his distaste well.  Besides, not every vampire in town was on a mission to steal his girl.  This man seemed relatively normal, attractive even.  “I feel like shit for ruining your shirt.  At least let me buy you a drink to make up for it,” Shepard offered, “I’m Shepard, by the way.”