Blood or Chocolate?

The party was full swing at Wufei's, literally.

As I passed the pet cemetery and came upon Wufei's property, I could hear the festive music, laughter, and the sound of clapping. I could smell the barbequed hot dogs and burgers, and I smiled as I saw the picnic tables covered with every side dish known to man. I passed people I have never seen before, and it unnerved me somewhat that they knew who I was. Many of them smiled and gave me a deep bow, welcoming me. Others were very leery of me, bowing curtly to me as if it was forced out of them. To these people...wolves...whatever, I bowed deeply to them, and tried to show with my facial expression that I was as scared of them as they were of me. They all got my message and the tension lessened, but they wouldn't be caught alone with me in a room. That much was guaranteed.

I ended up just walking around for a bit, partly because I didn't know where to go, and partly just to aggravate Quatre. As far as I was concerned, if I wasn't getting any, he wasn't either. I smiled to myself as I thought about his reaction. We didn't know each other that well (if at all), but I could tell that he and I were going to end up being good friends...if I didn't get eaten first.

"Ah, Mr. Maxwell."

I turned around to see who said my name, and saw Darlian limping towards me. He was dressed in what I called ‘political clothing,' complete with a red striped tie. He had a painful smile on his face. There was a woman helping him along that was dressed pleasantly in a blue blouse and billowed skirt, smiling politely at me. She was pretty in a 'rich woman' sort of way. "Mr. Darlian, if I'm right?"

"Yes you are," he said. "And this is my mate, Mrs. Darlian." Both gave me a slight bow, and I gave them one in return. For some reason they were surprised, and gave me astonished looks.

"What, did I do something wrong?" I asked.

"No no. It's just...usually the Privileged don't greet members of the Pack in that manner."

"The Privileged? What's that?"

"You have much to learn," Darlian said, almost to himself. "That, I will leave for the Packmaster to explain. There will be little he'll want you to know and much that he won't."

Like hell he will. I wanted to know everything, damnit. "How are you feeling?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Better than I was," he said, surprised again. Mrs. Darlian was surprised as well. "Thank you for asking." He gestured to my face. "And I see that you've run into some misfortune as well."

God, I swear Wufei had Scrabble masters in his Pack. "More like misfortune hit me in the face with a shovel. But I'll live," I said with a shrug. "I'm not the one who got my foot caught in a trap. I'll take running into 'misfortune' any day over that!"

He smiled at me, and I could tell it was genuine. "Yes. I can vouch that you are correct. It wasn't a pleasant experience."

I saw him glance to the right out of the corner of his eye. I turned to see what he was looking at, and saw a table that had different flavors of punch on it. I turned back to him and noticed that his forehead was slightly shiny. "Hey, do you need a drink? Tell me what you want and I'll get it."

His and Mrs. Darlian's eyes widened. What the hell did I say now? "What?!"

"I don't think it would be fitting if the Guest of Honor were to get me a drink," he said with a chuckle. Mrs. Darlian had her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her smile. She was somewhat successful.

"I'm the Guest of Honor?!" Heaven forbid one of these assholes lets me know these things.

"Yes," Mrs. Darlian answered, voice soft and amused.

"Well, shit!" was all I could say. The entire party laughed, even the scared ones that wouldn't touch me with a pole. How did they...ah, werewolves apparently have super-sonic hearing. I bet they heard me every time I took a shit in my house.

Just to the point of not giving a damn, I stomped to the table and got three cups of fruit punch. I stomped back, and after some juggling handed Mrs. Darlian her cup. She smiled her thanks. I held out one for Darlian to take, while I sipped on my own. He reached out, and-- "Duo!"

I turned, looking for the person who called my name. In my distraction my fingers brushed against Darlian's. Suddenly, my mind was filled with gruesome images of fires, fighting, the deaths of faceless humans at his paws, his tearing and eating of flesh, animalistic pleasures, and visions of creatures I knew no fantasy novel in the world could compete with. I also got one emotion: fear. Darlian was in fact terrified of me, but I was too disoriented by the onslaught of images to decipher why.

"Duo!" This time the voice sounded alarmed, and I recognized it as Quatre's. He sounded like he was right in my ear.

I blinked my eyes open, and saw that Quatre was kneeling next to me, shaking my shoulder. The rest of the werewolves were gathered around me, but at an acceptable distance. That was when it dawned on me that I was in fact lying on the ground, on my back. Looked like I got blown off my feet, again. "Ugh...damnit."

"Don't tell me you tried to--"

"No, I didn't," I interrupted. "I have learned, the hard, painful way, that trying to see what you all are thinking is as good as hitting myself in the head with a sledgehammer. If I want that feeling, I will in fact find a sledgehammer to hit myself with, okay?"

He smirked. "Smartass." He helped me to my feet, held my face in his hands and quickly licked the blood from under my nose. Damn werewolves. Who knew what kind of germs they had in their mouths. "Will you guys stop doing that?!"

Quatre laughed. "Can't help it. You taste too good for your own good Duo." Everybody laughed. I started stomping home. "Oh no you don't!" He grabbed the back of my pants and started pulling me towards the front porch as I tried futilely to go home. "The Packmaster will want to see you, and I want some ass. You aren't going anywhere except inside."

I crossed my arms and pouted, but figured that since I was already over here, I might as well visit. As I turned around, I saw Darlian and his mate watching me with narrowed eyes, as if studying some potential threat. I met their eyes a bit longer. They continued to scrutinize me.

They were afraid.

I filed that bit of information away, and crossed the threshold.

***

I had no idea how big this house was. The outside was definitely masking how truly large the interior was. We could have easily fit two of my houses in here. The bottom floor served as both a living room and a kitchen, like in a studio apartment. The floor was wooden, the plush couches and loveseats were red and cheerful, with absurd colored throw pillows like orange and yellowed striped or red and blue polka dotted tossed here and there. There was a beautiful black and beige rug that was under the furniture to keep the chill out of the room, and the wooden fireplace on the facing wall completed the look. The staircase to the second floor was nearly in the middle of the room, made of wood to match the floor. Despite the many colors and patterns, it didn't clash at all. In fact, it looked down right homey. I smiled.

"You like?" Quatre asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I do."

"Good. This is Wufei's house, but his elite bodyguards live here as well," he said, and gestured to the corners of the room. I could faintly make out in the darkened corners, doorways that lead to bedrooms. He pointed to the right. "In the far corner is mine and Trowa's room." He pointed to the left, straight across. "There is Catherine's room." He pointed to the room that was to my left, and close to the front door. "There is Mariemaia's room." He pointed to the right, which was directly across from Mariemaia's room. "And there is Sally's room."

"Cool. But where's Heero's room?"

We started for the stairs. Quatre's voice dropped to a whisper. "No, Heero wouldn't live here. He is not one of Wufei's bodyguards, and could never be because he's Special."

Oh really? Talk about intriguing. "Why?"

Quatre gave me a warning look, then softened. "I'm sorry Duo. That is something I can not divulge." We started up the stairs. "But I can say that Heero will be housing with the Maguanacs, once they build their home. That will be fitting for someone of his title."

All this title nonsense was about to drive me up the wall. "What does 'Special' mean?"

He shook his head, but he was smiling. "That I can't tell you either, but I'm certain you'll find out soon enough."

Well, if he's certain I guess. Good grief. These bums were great at throwing you a bone just to snatch it away. "You're not one of his bodyguards, are you?"

"Heavens no!" he laughed. "I'm not even a werewolf."

I stopped on the stairs, and stared at him. Hard. "You're not?"

He smirked, and leaned against the rail. "Nope."

I stared harder, and took stock of his eyes and hair. Ahhh... "You were that lion last night."

Quatre smiled beautifully, and nodded. "Very good Duo."

Werewolves seem to be picky, arrogant creatures. At least that was my impression. I couldn't see how they would allow someone that wasn't one of ‘them' into their Pack. "Then...how..."

"I am Trowa's mate," he said proudly, walking up the last three stairs to the top. "He and I have been together for centuries, and because of that I'm allowed to stay where he stays. I'm also older than Wufei by...er...five hundred years, roughly, and werewolves respect seniority."

We were standing outside of a large, dark wooden door. It was plain, but imposing. I almost shook. Everything about this house seemed to exude...strength. "Quatre, what are you?"

He put his hand on the door handle. "That is a story for another time." He opened the door.

I was surprised at what I saw. The door opened to a small antechamber, which was roughly about the size of a kitchen. In the room Wufei sat on three stacks of wooden slates, slightly elevating him from everyone else. Trowa, Heero, Rashid, Abdul and another Arabian man I didn't recognize were there, as well as Catherine, Sally and Mariemaia. All were on their knees, sitting back on their heels. We obviously interrupted something.

"That will be all," Wufei said with finality. Everyone in the room immediately stood to leave. Quatre didn't waste any time grabbing Trowa's hand and dragging him off. The others filed out at a more sedate pace, and I was introduced to the man I didn't recognize. His name was Auda, and he was a member of the Maguanacs also. Naturally, he knew who I was.

After that bit of fun was over, I came into the antechamber. The door was closed behind me, and it threw the room into near blackness, the only light that shone being the light from the bulb in the ceiling. The bulb was red. Hey, red light special...

Wufei was standing there, dressed in a blood red sleeveless tunic and pants, looking sexy and dangerous. His hair was loose (oh dear me) and his eyes were bright and focused entirely on me. To say he was undressing me with his eyes was the understatement of the century. He looked as if he wanted to eat me, and I had a terrible feeling I would enjoy it very, very much.

I gulped. The sound seemed to echo in the room.

"You'll probably want to come back here," he said, gesturing to a door behind him that I didn't notice. This door was red with the head of a wolf where a peep hole would be. He opened it and stepped inside, waiting. I followed right behind him, and as he closed the door I realized I had stepped into a whole new world.

The antechamber was the entrance to his bedroom. To say it was stylin' didn't do it justice. This room was built for one thing only: sex. An ebony fireplace was to the left of the door. The bed was four poster, and gigantic. I could've parked my car on the damn thing! The sheets were pulled back, so I could see that the black sheets were satin, and the velvet comforter was dark red. The two colors spilled all over each other and onto the floor. Under the bed was another large rug, this one black and fluffy. To the right was an archway that lacked a door, and stepping forward I could see that it was a bathroom--scratch that--spa. The tiles were white and black. The towels were black where the washcloths were white. The Jacuzzi was so black it shined, the sink pearly white, and the mirror was outlined in gold, like a picture frame. Holy tap dancing shit!

Wufei walked into my line of sight and was staring at my face. Using his thumb, he gently touched under my nose, wiping something away. He pulled his hand back and I saw a smidgen of blood on his thumb. Guess Quatre didn't get it all. "Surely you didn't?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I didn't. My fingers brushed against one of your werewolf's hand and I got overloaded. I haven't healed yet from my last attempt at peeking where I shouldn't." I gave him a significant look. He smiled. I frowned. "I wanted to talk to you about it."

"Okay. Here," he said, turning his back to me. I saw him lick the blood off his thumb. "Have a seat. Take a...load off."

I smiled at his uncharacteristic word choice, and looked around. The only place there was to sit, besides on the cold floor, was the bed. Oh deary dear. That wasn't going to do my libido any good. "Is on your bed okay?"

He turned. I noticed then that there was a small bar in the corner. He was pouring us some wine. "That's perfect, actually." He smiled, and I saw that his fangs had slid out a bit. Uh oh.

"Uh, I think I'll stand for now."

He walked up to me and handed me a glass of wine. White Zinfandel. Yummy. "As you wish," he said, and sipped his wine, standing close to me. Very close to me. Chest to chest close to me. Damn, I needed a distraction. Fuckin' Quatre. "I think I know who the killer is."

The sexual tension in the room evaporated. I definitely had Wufei's attention. "Really? Who?"

"Darlian," I said, trying not to stutter. "He was the one I touched. I saw in his mind...murders, many of them. He enjoyed them."

"We all did," Wufei said, surprising me. "Darlian is not the first werewolf to kill a human, and he won't be the last. All of us have killed to survive. All of us enjoy a hunt. I bet if you're able to hear every werewolf in this Pack, you will get very similar visions and feelings." He shrugged. "We're werewolves Duo. It's what we do."

I was shocked and slightly hurt by what he said. Shocked, because he basically dismissed that Darlian was the killer, and hurt because he seemed so nonchalant about killing humans. "I don't understand. I was able to see his thoughts by touching him, but..." I grabbed Wufei's wrist. Nothing happened. I stared directly into his eyes, but I didn't feel any connection. Nothing happened when Quatre grabbed my head. However, I only brushed my fingers against Darlian and... "I don't get it!"

"Darlian is weak," Wufei said bluntly. "He and his wife are the weakest Were's in the Pack, but they are our strongest trackers. You were able to see what he was thinking because his power was not great enough to deflect yours. And right now you're still...healing," he said carefully, "so the shields that would normally control the flow of information are down, causing you to be overwhelmed."

He was right. I had that problem with Howard and Hilde. "How do you know so much about ‘it' when I don't know these things for myself?"

He finished his wine and threw his glass into the fireplace. His eyes were very open when he looked at me. "Duo, I am very old, so I know many things." He stopped talking.

I threw my hand in the air. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

"No," he said softly, running his hands up and down my arms. I wanted to push him away but I didn't have the energy. "I want to tell you everything. But Duo, one thing at a time. Right now we have a killer we need to find." I hung my head. He was right. "I also have my Pack's homes to establish here. They can't all live in my house forever." I grimaced. Yeah, I wouldn't want all those people living in my house either if I were him. The electricity bill must be a nightmare! "You have your own personal things to handle, as well as figure out how life is going to be for you if you were to accept my courtship and become my mate. The human aspect of that is something I won't know or understand."

I sighed and looked up to the ceiling. He was right. How was I going to handle all of this? It seemed so much to absorb.

All of a sudden I felt overwhelmed again, this time by questions. Wufei was right; once we got the killer, and his Pack got situated, then what? If he was Packmaster, what will that make me if I was his mate? I'm human. Will they respect me or reject me? Hell, the werewolf was killing humans in protest of me! And what about my family? How would they feel about me dating someone that was not even human? How could I hide this relationship, one because it was homosexual, and two because it was interspecies? The stress it would put on us...

I felt my wine glass being taken out of my hand. Wufei downed it quickly before throwing it into the fireplace as well. Reaching up, he gently started to massage my temples with his thumbs. I felt myself relax. He then brought his thumbs to the upper corner of my eyes and started to massage in circular motions. I felt my anxiety melt away. Then he cupped my face, and waited. When I showed no signs of horror, he leaned forward and kissed me.

I was too eager. I knew that and he knew that, but like a typical guy he wasn't going to try and slow me down. The kiss went from sweet to dangerously passionate, and all too soon our arms were wrapped around each other as if the hands of Death were trying to separate us. I didn't realize we moved until I felt something soft against my back, and opened my eyes in time to see Wufei carefully crawl on top of me. God damnit! Talk about sexy...

"You look delicious," he growled, and attacked my lips again.

I would've blushed if my mind wasn't turning into puddy. I wore a blue short-sleeved button-down shirt that was the same color as my eyes, and black khaki pants with sandals. No, it wasn't my usual attire, but I wanted to look...nice for him. And boy was I getting my reward!

He let go of my lips, which felt bruised, and went for my neck. I felt the sharp points of his teeth graze my skin, but not break it. It felt really good. I grabbed his butt as he dug his groin into mine, and was about to break out singing ‘Glory, Glory Hallelujah!'--when someone knocked. Hard.

"Damnit!" Wufei spat, sitting straight up with his claws out. The wild look in his eyes scared me, and I thought he was about to kill whoever was at the door. "This better be important!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the voice said through the door. Heero. "You have a phone call. It's the Prince."

"That blond piece of troll shit," Wufei snarled. I choked, surprised to hear that coming out of his mouth! Wufei and sophistication seemed to go hand in hand. "I'm sorry Duo," he said, standing up and composing himself. "I'm afraid this is a call I can't miss. I also regret that this will probably take a while. Please, make yourself comfortable?"

He thought that I was going to leave. Fat chance. "Sure. I'm not going anywhere."

He smiled beautifully. "Excellent. I'll finish as soon as I can." With a slow bow he strode out of the room, taking his sweet time. I thought it was more to piss off whoever was on the phone than to give me such a nice view of his back and...lower region. Tee hee. Heh, I bet he would've crawled to the phone if he wasn't concerned about wrinkling his clothes.

I sighed dejectedly when the door closed behind him. Rolling onto my stomach, I kicked off my shoes and tried to decide whether I wanted to go outside and hang out with the other Were's, or stay in here and wait for him. Hmm...

I ended up falling asleep.

(tbc)