Cortny awoke. Again. Her sleep had been troubled, filled with red eyes and tearing teeth. She got up and walked back to the cabin where the pack was usually welcome. Emily, Sam's wife, didn't even question when Cortny walked in in her wolf form. She just raised her hand in greeting.

"Hello Cortny!" She cheerfully said. Cortny flicked her ears, which was the way she said hello when she was phased. She had never lost her temper around Emily. In fact, it was sometimes Emily who calmed her down. She continued walking up the stairs to where her room was, drawing in the relaxing scent of the cabin. It was not long before she was phased and back down in the kitchen.

Emily already had a sandwich ready for Cortny. Cortny bit into it, letting the flavors spread across her tongue. It wasn't long before she had demolished it. Emily smiled.

"How long have you been out?" She asked, picking up Cortny's plate.

"At least twenty-four hours." Cortny explained. "I went over to Italy, and I might have to go back."

"Why did you go over there?" Emily asked.

"I have a friend there." Cortny said, looking away. She didn't want to talk about the Volturi. They had silently tormented her too much for her to talk without the threat of phasing. Emily saw her pain but didn't question it. She had learned not to question the wolves.

"Thanks for the sandwich, Emily." Cortny said, standing to leave.

"You're welcome Cortny." Emily replied.

Cortny threw herself onto her bed, enjoying, if only briefly, the cozy comfort of the blanket. She once again breathed in the familiar and comforting scents of the pack's cabin. She picked up her phone, a thing that was a rarity among the wolves. Most didn't carry a phone, for fear of losing it, but Cortny knew better than to actually take it outside of the cabin. She knew there was a chance she would end up phasing when she had it on her, and she was not about to waste the money. She looked at the time on her phone, almost cursing when she read it. If Desiree was still here she was gonna have to wait. Cortny had a patrol to run. Even as she walked down the stairs Paul and Jared burst in the door. Seth Seth sat on the couch, digging into a bag of chips. Emily was already making more sandwiches for the wolves coming back from patrol. When Seth saw Cortny, he put the bag of chips down, licking his fingers to rid the salt from them.

"You ready?" He asked Cortny only nodded.

"Then let's go." With that he turned and ran through the door and through the yard. Cortny followed close behind.

When she phased she once again felt the pack's mind press against hers. Seth's was the most noticeable, but she also felt Jared and Paul's mind.

There were some scents on the west side, but they were far off. It may be worth a look anyway. Jared said, directing it mostly towards Seth. Cortny was considered the lowest in the pack by most, except for Jacob, who paid not attention to pack roles.

Okay, we'll check it out. Seth replied, and Cortny felt Jared and Paul's mental presences fade.

I'll take the east side, just howl if you need me. She said to Seth, then took off running, nose to the ground. Her fur rippled trough the wind as she took in all the scents of the reserve. The earth's scent was the strongest, and it grew in her nose so she snorted, clearing her nose and allowing it to take in new scents. All the while she ran back and forth, scanning the surroundings and making sure everything was in order. Sure, it was boring, but a wolf's got to do what a wolf's got to do, even if that means constant patrols. When Seth came up upon the place Jared had told him about he paused. Cortny paused as well, feeling his confusion in the pack's mind they shared.

What is it? She asked, turning in his direction.

I don't know. Seth replied, still confused. Cortny knew he was not familiar with the scent.

Don't move. I'm coming. She said, starting to run towards the sandy pelted wolf. She had gone halfway through the forest when she felt Seth be attacked.

Seth's attacker hit him, hard. He yelped in surprise, his paws skidding on the forest floor. His attacker hit him again, sending him tumbling head over heels.

Could you run a little faster? He basically yelled with his mind.

Hang on, I'm almost there. She replied, pushing herself to run faster. It wasn't long before she caught a flash of sandy-colored fur through the trees. A flash of paler color followed after him,  shoving him away after brief exchanges of . Cortny gave one last burst of speed and jumped into the clearing, barreling into the vampire. She snapped at it, trying to get a hold on it's head so that she could rip it to pieces and burn them. The vampire dodged, flitting past Cortny, who landed from her leap and spun to face him. Seth struggled to his feet and circled around the vampire's back.

--------- Vampire's Point of View ---------

He looked at the large cream colored wolf in front of him, hissing under his breath. How could he be so stupid as to think that he could have killed one of these wolves? He was just so... thirsty. Angry. Confused. He only remembered back to a few days ago, and all he remembered was pain. Searing pain that tore through his veins and muscles, then a burning in his throat. It didn't make any sense.

A few hours ago (Or so he thought. Time seemed to be slower now) he had heard something he had never heard before. It was the thudding of a massive heart, the pumping to warm, thick blood through veins. The burning in his throat had intensified and his mind was dead focused on one thing.

Kill.

So when his eyes had locked on the sandy-colored wolf that now stood behind him, he longed for it's death.

And he wasn't gonna let anything stand between him and his next meal.

--------- Cortny's Point of View ---------

The vampire hissed under its breath. Its eyes flicked between her and Seth rapidly, pausing only briefly on Seth's throat.

Seth, get its attention, I'll attack it from behind.

Ok.

Seth lunged forward, startling the vampire enough to make him hesitate. The hesitation was short, but it was sufficient enough for Cortny. She jumped forward, locking her jaws onto the vampire's arm and pulling him down. Seth joined in on the attack, jumping onto the vampire and tearing its head off with a quick flick of his head. The two wolves rested for a while, keeping the pieces of the vampire far away from each other so that they could not form together again. It wasn't long before another wolf joined them in the pack mind.

What happened? Sam's voice asked.

Seth was the one who answered, There was a newborn. Thirst got the best of him.

Need a lighter? Sam half-asked, half-joked.

Yep. Seth and her said at the same time.

On my way.

Sam phased back and left the pack mind to Seth and Cortny, who still sat bewildered and slightly out of breath.

You fought really well back there you know. Seth surprised her by saying.

Thank you. She replied.

Seth wasn't all that bad sometimes. Sure, every now and then he was forced to accept that Cortny was the lowest ranking in the pack, but most of the time he spoke to her as an equal. It was nice to have another person who didn't view her as either a monster or a lower ranking person.

Sam ran into the clearing, his presence demanding submission, even in human form. Seth lowered his head and stomach, looking everywhere but at Sam. It was a classic submissive posture for the wolves. Cortny snorted and lowered herself as well, but she looked straight at Sam. She loathed submitting to other wolves. It just didn't come as easily to her as it did some *cough cough Seth*. Sam raised his head and walked to the vampire's remains, flicking on a lighter and throwing it onto the vampire's remains, burning them so the vampire wouldn't piece itself back together. The granite-hard body pieces were surprisingly flammable, so they caught fire almost instantly. A high pitched noise went up from them, and all three wolves winced. If Cortny had to chose a least favourite noise, the sound of burning vampire would be it.

The wolves sat and watched the vampire burn to ash, and then sat and watched the wind blow the ashes away.

"Turn in guys. You did good work today." Sam commanded them afterwards. "I'll finish your patrol."

They didn't argue.

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Thanks so much for reading! I struggled with the beginning of this chapter... sorry it's so short.

-LegendofStory

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