Will Torres

She lifted a shoulder, “Doesn’t seem very neighbourly.” The grass was dewy, and it soaked up the material of her pants, making her lips turn downwards. Thoughtfully, the blonde sidestepped to the path, meeting Will at the front door. Her first action was to peer in through the window, glancing at the quiet room. “I can hear something,” Laila said, despite the fact that there was no one in sight. “And the car’s in the driveway.” The wolf turned, “Wanna knock, or are we playing bad cop and just busting in?”

He threw Will a measuring look, finding his response entertaining. Wolves were strange creatures, temperamental — more animal than men some nights of the month. It didn’t surprise him to learn about one of his bouncer’s mood swings: what vampires seemed to lack in, they had to spare. All that heart, racing faster than any human in his chest. “And here I thought I would finally learn those dance moves you’ve kept hidden.”

The smile on his face was mocking, but not malicious. If he hated the wolf, he wouldn’t have him for an employee. “Friends — I guess you could say that.” Such a loose term, really, but he had invited some people personally. Florence’s guests, for example. “It’s a busy night… who knew people would show up if you took the stripping out of the strip club, huh?” Puritans, he thought with a wrinkle of his nose, disapproving. “I’m having a good night. No one’s dead yet and I’ve only ran into one Cullen so far. It’s decent. Can’t complain about anything.” He turned his head to look at the wolf. “And you? Are you alone tonight, Will? It’s a party, man.”

“Sorry, man, tonight’s not your night,” he huffed in return, though he did try to keep most of the harshness from his tone. A feat he wasn’t great at, to be honest. 

Laila whipped around, glaring at the older wolf as he walked ahead. He was awfully shitty for someone holding an axe, an altered version of the adage; knife in a gun fight. The blonde purposefully tucked the weapon into the waist of her jeans, letting the metal glint in the low light of the moon. Long legs strode easily to catch up with him, drawing a hand through tight curls to card them back. Her response was frustrated, retorted under her breath. “She’d be stupid enough.” A hand gestured towards a large home, “Maybe you should ask them if you can borrow a cup of sugar, sugar.”

Will shot a glare back at Laila, he was in rare form today. While he was never in a sunny disposition, Will’s exhaustion had him even more irritable than usual. Not Laila’s fault, of course, but she was the one that had to bear it tonight. He glanced at the home she’d gestured to, huffing to himself before taking to the grass leading up to it. “Or maybe I can just kick a door in,” he retorted. That would actually be sort of therapeutic, and he didn’t want to waste any more time looking for Adelynn. If she wasn’t back yet, and she hadn’t just left town on her own volition, something could be seriously wrong. He doubted Laila knew how bad things could get for a wolf, but Will had been around long enough to see plenty. Walking up the steps to the door, he asked, “think anyone’s home?”

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

“A fucking hedge apple tree I guess.”

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

––@willxtorres

“–yeah, hold on, I’m coming.” Georgie tossed the washcloth down, blood soaking in as she stood and went to the door. It had been a long night. She’d lost count of how many berserkers she’d taken out with her brother before the sun came up. Lenny wasn’t around but Georgie had a key, living between her sister’s and her brother’s places upon returning to town. She opened the door, giving Will a tired look, moving aside to let him in. “Don’t look so worried, Torres– you’d think I’d been in actual danger.” A poor attempt at a joke, certainly, but one she couldn’t help but make otherwise she’d dwell on the lives lost today. Because berserker or not, they’d been wolves first.

Laila’s phone was propped up on the dash, leading them seemingly to nowhere. The blonde’s teeth were gritted in annoyance, she couldn’t shake the fact that of all the people that Lenny had asked them to hunt down, of all the people that could have been lost– it was her very own sister that was pulling them from hunting berserkers. Tracking the traditional way was nearly impossible, Adelynn had been all over town. The weapon fit nicely in her hand, she’d inherited it from her father’s collection of handguns, the polished metal had long warmed in Laila’s grip, feeling comfortable and familiar; though she couldn’t help but notice the tic in Will’s jaw when he glanced at it. The blonde tucked it into her jacket, ducking out of the vehicle. “She can’t be in the woods, we’ve been combing through them all weekend.”

Adelynn’s lips were pressed into an unimpressed thin line as Will discussed what the plan was and watched with the same expression as he disappeared into the woods. At least he was enjoying himself, she supposed? Adelynn could have tried to run after him but she doubted she was as quick or had the endurance to do so. Not to mention the point was to learn so she really had no choice but to play by the rules. She sighed and picked up his sweatshirt before giving it a nice whiff, committing his scent to memory before disappearing into the trees herself.

She took her time, differentiating his scent from the numerous other ones. As annoying as it was to have an oversensitive nose (some smells were irredeemable), she had to admit that the power was a bit of a gift. All the different scents told some sort of story and she had to admit she was excited to learn how to read them. She followed her nose and, while it occasionally got distracted, was able to stay on the trail. Nevertheless, the longer she took, the more it would fade so she eventually picked up her pace. 

“Fuck,” Will sighed in exasperation as he pulled the car to the side of the road. He was trying not to get frustrated, but they’d been at this all day it seemed like. Adie’s phone had given them a starting point, but it must’ve died considering they weren’t anywhere that seemed particularly special. Asking around town if anyone had seen the blonde recently didn’t turn up too much, which was worrying considering the woman had a decently high profile job. They had to be close though, right? He turned to wait for Laila to exit the car, frowning with distaste at the weapon she’d brought. even if Lenny wanted them to have one on them, he wasn’t happy about it. “Let’s get walking.”

Adelynn could not say she liked this guy at all and chose not to respond to his comments. There wasn’t much she could say to convince him otherwise. If she were being honest, he wasn’t even wrong. She had no choice but to accept this life and the way she’s been handling it may very well lead to her death. Nevertheless, none of this was who she wanted to be. She may not have asked for it, but she had a choice in how to proceed. All she knew was that she didn’t want to be like Papa. She didn’t want to follow in the Renaud footsteps and if it led to her death, so be it. Her Papa never believed that she was strong but in many ways, he was wrong. She was strong in her convictions, they happened to just be opposite of his. 

She dug into her pockets and pulled out her car keys before passing it to him, making no objections. She didn’t think she’d like the hard way but she didn’t want to disappoint their alpha by not even trying. She decided she would at least try and if it failed, she could consider her moves later on. 

The blonde stayed silent and will took that as a good sign- at least she wasn’t arguing or making excuses. He was fairly easily annoyed. and it was a relief not to have to bicker back and worth with this girl he was here to train. He took her keys and pocketed them, pulling off his sweatshirt to prepare for what he was about to do. As it fell into a pile on the ground, he looked back up at her with the hint of a smirk on his lips. this is where it got fun, though it hadn’t been his original plan.