The Rose On His Grave

 “I need to get laid” Zackary groaned, stretching as he stood up from the armchair in the front room. Seth glanced at him without really taking notice of what he had said, too lost in his own thoughts of Skulli. He missed those amber eyes, always fiery and warm with such passion when his emotions escalated. Zack suddenly stopped in his steps towards the door, and it was a moment before Seth realized that he had. “What’s wrong?” he murmured absently from his curled up position on the sofa, head turned to the window.

“Scarlett is usually back by now, she’s been gone longer than normal” Zack replied quietly, his voice trembling ever so slightly. Scarlett was his twin sister, Seth’s only half-sister still living, and she often disappeared to spend time with some random mortal she found entertaining until she got bored and returned home, but she was never gone for too long. “I’m sure she is fine, she’s a skilled fighter. If she got into any trouble, you’d know” Seth pointed out. The twins were so strongly connected they always knew when the other was in danger. “Besides, Xen isn’t back yet either” Seth added, mind already wandering back to thoughts of the werewolf that had captured his attention. “Yes, but Xen is always gone for long periods of time. It’s not unusual for him” Zack said, slightly frustrated that his little brother wasn’t taking this too seriously. “What if those mutts got hold of her? What if they knocked her out before I could feel anything?” Zack whispered to himself, fear beginning to grip him until he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He then turned to Seth and stared at him until he slowly looked up.

“You want me to go to Skulli don’t you?” he sighed and stood up, slipping his small delicate feet into his boots. “You know this is risky, we can’t meet too often. I saw him just a few nights ago…” he trailed off at the cold, reserved look in Zack’s eyes, which meant he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “But I suppose Scarlett is more important than me” Seth muttered, and hurried out the door, slamming it behind him, before Zack could reply.

He climbed to the roof of the local funeral directors, sitting on the flat concrete as he called to Skulli. An hour passed, and he was about to stand up and leave, when he sensed the Werewolf nearby. He peered over the edge of the wall lining the roof and spotted Skulli climbing his way up to him.

“This is dangerous Seth, why have you called me here? I told you I’d arrange the meetings, that I’d text you or something remember?” Skulli was uneasy, ears on the alert, eyes darting everywhere for signs of his pack members. Seth nodded, sitting down on the floor. “They caught your scent on me the other day, faintly, but they caught it. I had to tell them I’d been tracking you but you got away”.

  “I’m sorry Skulli, my brother insisted I talk with you” Seth started, flinching when Skulli growled at the mention of the one who killed his friend. When it seemed the werewolf had calmed a little, Seth continued, “My half-sister, his twin actually, has been gone longer than usual. He’s worried that your pack have gotten hold of her before she could return”. Skulli let out a short, humourless laugh and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked away from Seth’s sweet face gazing up at him. “Right, and he thinks I’m just going to freely give him information on my pack and their actions? No way am I helping that bastard out in any way”.

Seth leapt to his feet and hurried over to clutch Skulli’s arm, his free hand reaching up to turn the werewolf’s face towards him. “Please, she’s my sister, the only sister I have left. I never met my other half-sisters, they were dead before I was given this life. Please, if something’s happened to her we need to know, I need to know. For my sake, please tell me if she’s ok!”

Skulli sighed and stroked strands of silky hair out of the little vampire’s large gold eyes, finding he couldn’t resist the urge to lean down and place a lingering kiss on those pouting lips begging to be kissed. Seth gasped and pressed up against him before he could pull away, wrapping his arms around the taller man’s neck. When they pulled away for air, Skulli couldn’t let him go, he kept him cradled in his arms protectively. “Your sister isn’t with us, we haven’t seen her” he admitted, resting his forehead against Seth’s, their noses barely touching.  Seth smiled in relief and began to press insistent kisses upon Skulli’s lips once more, but stopped when the werewolf froze.

He gently pushed the vampire away and said, “You need to go, now! They’re calling me, they’ve followed my trail. Go!” Seth nodded and hurried away, jumping over to the next building and the next, heart thudding in his chest.

Skulli dropped back down into the alley, just as John and Mike reached it. “The vampire, did you kill it?” John asked immediately, eager for some good news. Skulli shook his head, “No, I came so close but I lost track of it, where’s Thom?”

“He caught a trail just before we got here, heading in that direction” Mike replied, gesturing at the way Seth had gone. Skulli managed to keep calm, keeping his face expressionless, “Alright, let’s go give him some back-up shall we boys?” The two nodded, excitement clear in their wolfish eyes. They headed in the same direction, all the time Skulli praying that he could prevent something from happening to Seth.

   

              

*

Seth was almost home, just a few streets away, and he was just dropping down into a dark back street when he sensed danger too late. He was knocked into a wall, pinned there by a large meaty hand. He gazed up in horror as Thom’s face contorted, fangs ripping through an elongating muzzle, fur sprouting forth from his pores.

He struggled, choking from the hand that gripped his throat, feet kicking desperately at his attacker who was some grotesque creature caught halfway between man and beast. Seth managed to make his foot collide with the werewolf’s privates, making him howl and crumple backwards to the floor. Seth gasped for breath, even as he began to run once more, heading into the local woods. The werewolf was already following, fully changed now and grateful for the cover of the dense trees. There were a few humans lingering somewhere on the edge of the park next to the woods, intoxicated teenagers with nowhere better to spend their time at night.

Thom caught sight of the vampire, darting amongst the trees up ahead, dark silhouette almost invisible to the human eye. The werewolf panted in excitement as he was gaining on him, close enough to the smell the fear and panic coming from the smaller creature. 

The boy’s red coat catching in the slivers of moonlight reminded Thom of the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, nearly making him laugh so hard that he nearly lost his gain on the terrified vampire, who risked a glance over his shoulder, startled at the sudden laugh.

With a low growl, Thom propelled himself forwards so he was close to toppling over, and caught the vampire around the waist, slamming him down to the floor so he heard the crunch of bone breaking. Seth cried out as his nose was smashed, blood gushing down over his mouth and chin as he struggled vainly to crawl out of the werewolf’s grasp. Thom flipped the boy over, and pinned his arms above his head with one hand, his other hand ripping Seth’s red coat open, sending buttons flying into the shadows. He ripped the thin cotton shirt beneath as well, so a bare pale chest was displayed before him. Thom licked his lips and ran his razor-sharp claws down the vampire’s chest and stomach, leaving a trail of deep cuts so Seth cried out in pain. Thom shuddered at the sound, becoming aroused at the smell of fear filling his sensitive nostrils, the pain-filled cries filling his ears, the sight of the pretty vampire lying helpless and bloody filling his hungry eyes. He was going to enjoy torturing him before ripping out his insides.

Seth frantically sent out his mind to Skulli, and to Zack, hoping one of them would come to his rescue before it was too late. He was pulled out of his mental pleading when he realized the werewolf was ripping his shorts down, undoing his own torn jeans so his hardness spilled free. “No! No! Please don’t!” Seth screamed, renewing his efforts to try and wriggle away, he tried to bring his knee up but the werewolf growled and pushed his bent leg sideways until it became dislocated, making Seth scream once more. He barely noticed the feel of Thom’s member brushing his entrance, the pain in his hip too great. He barely noticed as Thom was yanked away by angry hands, voices shouting and cursing all around him.

He managed to look around, seeing the whole pack there, Skulli pinning Thom up against a tree, looking ready to tear his head off from his shoulders. Seth pulled his shorts back up and slowly tried to shuffle backwards on the floor, his left leg useless and a dead weight that made it all the more difficult.

A booted foot slammed down onto his chest, cracking his ribs. He whimpered, tears blurring his vision, for a few seconds accepting the fact that he was going to die, and he was sad that Skulli had to be there to see it.

The foot disappeared, and he was lifted up into strong arms, and for a moment he thought it was Skulli, but it was Zack, holding him firmly but gently, running fast, too fast it seemed, for the pack to follow. Seth had never known his brother to move so quick before. They travelled round and round, leaving no break in the trail for the pack to figure out where they were hiding, and then finally returned home just an hour before dawn. Zack laid him down on his bed, hurrying away to get some towels. He cleaned away all the blood, and then looked intently at Seth’s hip. “I need to push it back in, otherwise it will begin to try and heal itself there and you’ll be disfigured”.  Seth nodded and bit down on a spare, clean towel, hands gripping the headboard as Zack leaned over and took hold of his leg.

The pain was almost blinding, Seth’s scream muffled by the towel, and then it was over, his hip was intact, his leg back in the right place. His nose was beginning to heal and rebuild itself, sending tingles and aches through his face. He gripped Zack’s hand when the older vampire turned to take out the bloodied towels, and he managed to pull himself up to wrap his arms around Zack’s waist and lay his head on his stomach.

“He was going to rape me Zack…if Skulli hadn’t have gotten there…and that other one, he was ready to crush me, if you hadn’t have got to me in time…” Seth murmured, fresh tears streaming down his cheeks, staining Zack’s shirt. His brother put his arms around him and stroked his hair, guilt clawing at his insides for dragging his brother into it from the very beginning. “If you weren’t in such a bad condition right now, I’d go and rip that werewolf to pieces” he growled, barely to contain his anger as it built and built. Seth pulled away and shuffled over to the other side of the bed, gesturing for Zack to get in. His brother nodded but went to lock up first, shutting the curtains of Seth’s bedroom window and locking and barricading his door. He then went over and settled next to Seth’s small, trembling figure and held him close until they fell asleep in the early hours of sunrise.

*

“He got away! Why the hell did you stop me?!” Thom shouted, glaring at his Alpha without a care for the consequences. Skulli snarled and raked lengthening claws across Thom’s face, so deep that he felt bone scrape against the tip of his claws. “You were about to rape him! We’re werewolves, we do not sink down to such filthy levels! We kill vampires, whether to help humans or for revenge, but we do not rape them!” Skulli was itching to tear Thom apart, to plunge his hand into his chest and rip out his black heart. He had come so close to killing a member of his own pack, so close to admitting what Seth meant to him, but he’d stopped himself just in time.

He was furious and upset, so angry that Seth had been hurt so much, had nearly been raped by his own friend, but this he could not say. Instead he gave his explanation of his anger as the rule of being better than the vampires. For it was true, they never committed rape or theft on a human or fellow werewolf, or even a vampire. Thom looked suddenly ashamed, as if waking from some dream he’d been locked in without control of his own actions.

“Let’s get back” Skulli eventually muttered, leading the way back through the woods and out onto the streets towards their house. He was desperate to get away from that dark place and just sleep, sleep his troubles away.

 

                  

*

A couple of weeks passed, and Seth was fully healed, though his nose still tingled. He’d been too scared to go out and try and call Skulli to him though he longed to see him again, to take comfort in his arms.

Then, one night just after he’d awoke, he received a text message telling him to go to the Copthorne Hotel, deeper in the heart of Birmingham, in an hour‘s time in room 12. A thrill of excitement ran through him, but then the fear returned and he didn’t know whether it would be wise to meet up with him so soon. He didn’t even dare to send a text back, he just put his mobile down on his desk and stared at it as he bit his lip, wondering what he should do.

“Just go and see him will you?” Zack muttered from in the open doorway, after watching him stand there for five minutes. Seth turned quickly, and blinked as if he couldn’t remember who his brother was. “I’m afraid” he admitted, voice soft and quiet.

“I’ll follow you there, I’ll keep close by to make sure none of the mutts find you. If they come close I’ll lead them away” Zack replied, feeling like he owed it to his little brother. Seth smiled just a little, and then began to pick out some clothes as Zack walked off down the dimly lit hallway. He chose a pair of black skin-tight jeans, and a tight, slim-cut black t-shirt with a pink smiley face splattered on the front. He topped this off with his favourite Doc Martins and a black hoodie.

A few minutes later and he was making his way at top speed through the back streets towards the hotel, feeling safer knowing Zack was following somewhere behind him. When he finally reached the hotel he stood outside for a moment, nerves twisting his insides up into knots. He went inside and got the key to the room, heading upstairs and as usual, knocking instead of using the key, a habit Skulli was getting used to.

The door opened a crack, an amber eye peering out, and then he was pulled inside, the door slamming shut and locked before Seth could blink, and then he was in Skulli’s arms, being held so close and tight he could barely breathe. “I was so worried about you, I almost killed Thom, I’m sorry you got hurt so badly”. Seth smiled, feeling warm and content against Skulli’s broad chest, listening to his pounding heart. “Skulli, it’s alright, I’m healed, I’m fine, and you stopped the worst from happening…and you have no idea how grateful I am that you did. After all, I‘ve been saving myself for someone special”.

He pulled away so he could look up at Skulli’s concerned face, his eyes full of despair. Seth went up on his tiptoes and kissed the frown away from Skulli’s handsome features, running his small hand down to Skulli’s belt and hooking his fingers on it. Tugging, just slightly.

Skulli’s breath hitched, and his body responded though he wanted to be logical, to talk things through, to make sure Seth was truly alright. The little vampire was already unzipping his jeans though, eager little fingers brushing the hardness hidden beneath the soft material of his boxers. “Seth…” he groaned, though why he was protesting he didn’t know, for this was something he’d wanted for 47 years since the last time he’d been with Seth, in his previous life as a human.

“You don’t want to?” Seth asked, stepping back away from him, eyes large and sad, mouth pouting. “Yes, I do…so badly I want to, but I want to make sure you’re really ok” he replied, unable to stop himself from licking his lips. Seth smiled shyly, a light blush temporarily colouring his pale cheeks. Skulli dragged him closer again, kissing him deeply, one hand cupping Seth’s firm small ass, his other had reaching down to rub the vampire’s erection pressing against his tight jeans.

Skulli growled and pushed Seth back onto the bed, soft sheets rippling out with the impact, and he leaned down, kneeling between the vampire’s spread legs, impatient hands tugging Seth’s clothes off, almost tearing them in the process, and then working on his own garments.

They lay there for a while, bare soft bodies pressed against one another, lips locked in a passionate, deep kiss. Hands holding, stroking, hips slowly moving against each other for friction against their hot, aching members.

Skulli was the one to break the kiss, trailing silky lips across Seth’s satin soft cheeks and eyelids, before pulling up and frowning as he thought about the fact they had no lubricant. Seth smiled and took his hand, sucking and licking his fingers, coating them with his saliva as a substitute. The werewolf nearly came right there and then just feeling that hot mouth on his fingers, watching Seth’s pretty pink lips close around them, his golden eyes glazed over with lust as he looked up at him steadily.

He slowly moved his hand down between Seth’s parted thighs, one finger gently pressing into him, waiting, and then continuing, until he had three fingers stretching the vampire’s virgin body, moving in so deep he hit the spot that had Seth crying out in shocked pleasure. For a while he just knelt there, moving his fingers in and out of Seth’s petit body, enjoying the way Seth writhed on the bed before him, moaning and whimpering when his sweet spot was brushed by his teasing fingertips.

When Seth got so frustrated for release that he demanded Skulli to fuck him he couldn’t resist, he straddled Seth’s shoulders, smirking when the vampire looked slightly confused before it dawned on him what must be done. With a blush he took Skulli’s member into his mouth, coating it generously with his saliva, causing Skulli to moan and use all his self-control not to buck his hips.

Skulli slid down the length of Seth’s naked body, and positioned himself so his tip was brushing Seth’s hole teasingly. The vampire gripped his shoulders, eyes begging him to get on with it, and so he did, he slowly slipped into his body, letting him adjust every now and then before continuing. Then he was moving, pulling back and thrusting into his lover hard and deep, making him cry out over and over again, clinging tightly to him until orgasm sent them spiralling into an unbelievable, insatiable bliss that left them rocking in the aftershocks, breathing heavily and soon wanting more and more.