Post for another thread (it's mine lol)

[Astera]

"This is crazy," he said to her as the binoculars were lowered. He adjusted the drapes and shifted in his seat. Behind him, his partner... or boss, or Alpha, or friend, finished with preparing for the night. "You know this should be done by someone else."

"Drop it, Llewlyn" Astera said, her fingers dragging through her hair. "They know you and they're expecting you, not a female."

Air blew noisily out between his teeth, irritated that she was right and furious because they would find her arrival with him suspicious.

"I won't drop it, not in your condition," he lightly snarled and looked through the binoculars at the new night club across the street, built and run by the Alphas of the pack they were to meet. He could feel her eyes, glaring at him, and he swore the temperature in the hotel room had dropped at least ten degrees. Llewlyn fought the wince that threatened.

"The pack is there," she reminded him coolly. There was a click, a snap, another click as she loaded one of her guns. "And I'm taking extra care and precaution. You'll be there to protect me."

It's always been you protecting me, Llewlyn thought and sighed. Now the tables have turned... but there's a lot on my shoulders.

"Lloyd just entered through the back entrance," Llewlyn said and stood from his chair.

Astera looked at Llewlyn and her mouth worked, trying to not smile at the outfit he wore. It was not his usual suits, or tailored collared shorts and expensive trousers. He wore a pair of tight black jeans with boots and a button up dark gray shirt, the top two buttons undone. He wore a coat that hid two of his guns, two guns loaded with blanks on his hips. Of course, not much could be said about her, either. She looked like a dominatrix on a casual day, her pants leather and skin tight that hugged her natural, eye popping curves, shining in all the right places. The corset she wore was a sixty eyelet leather corset, hand made, that cupped her generous bosom. It did not fit as well as it once did but it fit well enough to do the job. She wore a white blouse beneath the corset and unbutton the top buttons for eyes to see the desirable flesh beneath. To fit in with this club that catered to the supernaturals and the goths and techno groupies she had pierced her nose as well as giving herself a Monroe. Her hair was down, silky ebony, her eye shadow smokey and eyes outlined on kohl. Her sapphire eyes were blazing. Llewlyn smiled at her.

"Good thing that corset still fits," he said and flinched when she punched his arm. "Come on, let's go."

That that I'm looking forward to it, he thought as Astera checked the last of her weapons.

And they left the hotel room, the members of their pack having already headed over to the club to be in position for when the event was to happen.

The Heart was the new club in London, open for a month and rightfully named due to it being located in the center of London. The streets were packed with people but packed more so with Lycanthropes and the occasional Vampire. The road was packed with cars and Llewlyn looked skeptically, not sure where to cross. Astera just crossed when the cars stopped due to the heavy traffic, Llewlyn following close behind as cars honked at them and whistling reached their ears. As usual, Astera ignored the remarks, but he could not stop himself from being on edge, always aware of their surroundings and scanning for potential threats. But he was searching for someone else.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Llewlyn asked for the hundredth time. Astera glared at him in warning to not push the subject any further. He sighed. "You know the plan."

"Or what there is of it. You handle the top, I handle the bottom. Create... chaos." She smiled. It was cold, it was the old Astera, the one he knew many years ago. It comforted him but it frightened him with how the situations had changed and what incredible risk she was putting herself in.

He flashed the bouncer their VIP badges and he nodded, stepping aside for them. The two Lycanthropes, Alphas of their new pack, were instantly assaulted and raped with the manic drum and bass inspired music with a high beat as well as the pheromones and hormones and body sweat and liquor. The club was a three level club, the very top level a large room surrounded by glass to look down onto the two lower levels. The middle level was in the shape of a heart, the fully-stocked bar lining the top of the heart, seating against the railing on the outer edge of the heart. The point of the heart formed stairs led to the bottom floor, the main floor, where all the fun was happening. Lights were built directly into the walls and they flashed and spun in beat with the music. There were hollowed out pillars with platforms where women danced and flaunted themselves. There was a pit in the middle of the dance floors where there were stages and endless bodies flowed in and out of these, bubbles reflecting multicolor as they drifted from the ceiling and from the walls. There were bodies everywhere, dancing and rocking and swaying to the beat. At the very far end was a stage that spun and a band played and people danced and screamed and kissed. It was captivating, seeing all the people, seeing all the sights the club had to offer.

It's a shame, Llewlyn thought as he and Astera elbowed their way through the sea, This is a really nice looking club. But Llewlyn also knew looks could be deceiving and the Heart was one of them.

"Don't have too much fun, he teased and pressed his lips to her temple. If circumstances had been different and this rival pack was not completely male oriented, Astera would have been the one to go to the VIP room. Now he would die before letting her go up there even escorted.

Astera scoffed. "I won't," she promised and Llewlyn disappeared amongst the bodies and she was left to fend for herself.

She knew the signal when to begin the chaos and as she weaved her way through the dancers, their sweat and hormones intoxicating and nauseating at the same time, the members of her new pack that had volunteered for this mission were already working their magic, quietly killing members of the pack, leading them to their deaths in private locations. Hands reached out to touch her, their fingers whispers across her bare flesh and clothes, and twice she was grabbed, tongues with ecstasy on the tips begging to search and impregnate her mouth. Each time, she denied them, and continued on her way. Up ahead, Astera saw a female in a silver bikini, her blonde hair dreaded, dancing in one of the hollow pillars. Jealousy and longing swelled in her breast, wishing she was able to join in on the fun...

Well, why not? It could attract the males from the pack.

To pillar to her left was empty and Astera seized the opportunity, climbing inside. Faces turned towards her, bodies gathered, and to the music Astera began to dance. She fed off their energy, their excitement, and her hips gyrated and swayed and her fingers unbuttoned her blouse yanking it free from her corset. Cries and whistles swallowed her up, encouraging her. The lights flashed, the waves bobbing up and down, her thumbs hooking into her leather pants, her fingers trailing over the zipper. Their heat, their desire, she drank it up, her hair falling and cupping her exposed flesh of her breasts. Hands reached up to touch her, to caress her.

And then she was not alone. The blonde from the other pillar joined her, her rear brushing against her loins as she danced, her sweet scent enveloping Astera. Astera's hands roamed the bare flesh of her sides, of her hips, and people ere shouting words of encouragement. She leaned forward, running her tongue along the blonde's shoulder blades, her rear pressing firmly into her loins, pressing and rubbing. She moaned a little and the blonde turned to face her.

"Hi, Astera," the blonde said and she kissed Astera, massaging her lips with her own and now people were screaming and hollering for them.

"How has your Hunt been?" Astera asked and her tongue dragged itself across her pink lips then plunged into her mouth.

"I've killed three," the blonde said, pressing her small but deliciously firm breasts to her. Her hands worked over Astera's, being very gentle.

"Good, Chianne," Astera murmured and claimed her mouth again, dancing with her her hands roaming beneath Chianne's top, pinching her hardened nipples. Chianne moaned into her mouth and bit her neck, receiving a gasp from Astera. "I just lured you new prey."

"Thanks," Chianne whispered and a finger ran down Astera's thigh. "If circumstances were different, I would make you my mate."

"I'm your Alpha. Work your poison magic, Chianne," Astera said.

Chianne kissed her once more, and to anyone else it would have been a kiss no different than the others, but it was tender, loving. A pack member showing love and devotion for their Alpha. Astera hopped off the platform. Chianne stuck her tongue out to show a tiny capsule. Poison. Her expertise. Astera was not a fan of using poisons but in circumstances such as these it was necessary. And as she walked from the platform, people swarmed her, asking to dance, asking to buy her drinks, asking to sleep with her, offering her drugs, telling her how hot she was, wanting to make out. She declined them all, except for one male. His hazel eyes were locked onto her sapphire ones, full of lust. He approached her and he sniffed her, his nose brushing along her neck.

"You were amazing up there," he whispered, tickling her ear with his breath. "If you're that good with another female, how good are you with a male?"

"Let me show you," Astera whispered. She had baited the male and was reeling him in.

He purred. "I have a room."

And she had caught him. He led her through the crowds, through the dancers. Members of her pack watched her, observing her for any signs of distress There was non; only a giddiness due to her desire to kill.... to kill him and smell his blood, show him the real dominant one.

There was a section of the wall missing, an open doorway to the bathrooms as well as another door that was locked. The male opened it with a key and as Astera had been informed, it was a long hallway, doors to rooms interrupting the red surface. This was where females - even a few males- were kept to be prostituted out as well as rooms for those who paid to take others to have sex with them. She was led to the third room and the door opened. The walls were red, the bed a heart shape. The blankets were satin, black in color. The smell of sex was pungent, she not having been his first female of the night, and his hands were roaming over her hips. His mouth found hers and eagerly kissed her, his hands on her breasts and trying to free them. It hurt, his handling of them, but she growled as her heart raced not in arousal but in anticipation of the kill. The corset was too tight and he began unlacing the corset, cursing at how long it was going to take. Her hand grasped his groin and squeezed. He groaned. She slid her hand down her corset and gripped. The male nudged her towards the bed, his erection pressing to her, his lustful growls in her ears, his smell sour and unpleasant to her. She could not wait any longer.

"Wait!" Astera said.

"What?" the male said, and his eyes shot open with shock and agony as her stiletto sunk into his guts, the blade made of silver. Astera shoved him back, blood pouring in a river from his opened gut. The poison Chianne had dipped the weapon in was fast acting.

"Bitch," he whispered.

"I know," Astera said and stabbed him in the chest, puncturing his lung. He wheezed breathlessly and sunk to the floor. She walked over and snatched the key from his pocket. He tried to grab her, to hurt her, but there was no strength behind his grip.

"Bitch," he whispered again.

"Alpha," she corrected and turned to leave. The smell of blood and silver was churning her stomach. Her weapon clean from wiping it on is shirt, she had it again in her corset and stepped out of the room. Another male stepped from his room next door. They looked at each other and Astera ducked and dodged back into the room. The male charged into the room and she tripped him, slitting his throat. His blood sprayed like a geyser, hitting the wall on the opposite side of the room and soaking his dead friend. He stumbled and there was a CRACK! as she brought her elbow down on the back of his neck. She cleaned her blade off a second time and closed the door.

It was amazing to her how quickly the previous events played out and the events that happened after her leaving the room then the door into the club occurred. She walked past two people having sex onto the dance floor when CRASH!! Pieces of broken glass were suspended in the air, circling a body. The lights flashed on the body, off the body, on the body as it plummeted from the VIP's window down. Astera was able to see the lights reflecting off the droplets of blood that followed the body. There was some laughter, but there was mostly screams. People tried to move out of the way of the body but people were still taken down by it.

The signal. The beginning of chaos. Through the storming ocean of people she saw her pack moving, heard gun shots. She ran back in the direction of the bathrooms. She punched the glass of the fire axe and yanked the fire alarm.

BR-AH!

BR-AH!

The sprinklers turned on, raining down on the people. They were screaming, stampeding towards the exits. Astera removed her hidden guns from her boots and stuck one in the waist band of her leather pants. She ran and unlocked the door leading to the hidden rooms. A Lycanthrope stood there, surprised she was there. She swung the axe high and he bellowed in agony as his nose went flying and his right eye oozed over his cheek flap. Astera put a single bullet in his brain and dodged around the falling body. As they emerged from their rooms she picked Lycanthropes off one by one, a shot to the head. Then the captives began darting from the rooms, heading for the exit at the end of the hall, slipping on blood and brain. Astera heard someone approaching fast from behind her and in one fluid movement she went to her knees, narrowly missing being clubbed, and drove her elbow up into her attacker's groin. She spun, swinging the axe, lodging it into his calf and putting a bullet through his heart. Blood and muscle spattered on the wall behind him and dripped due to the sprinklers.

The club was a jumble heap of screaming, crying people. Fires had been set and burned up the pillars. Astera shoved her way through people, thumbing soaked hair from her face. She turned her head and she narrowed her eyes, taking a few steps in the opposite direction she had intended to go. Had she... no... had she just seen...

Edwin?

She opened her mouth. A fist collided with her face. She stumbled and swung her leg out as her vision cleared. The Lycanthrope went down and twitched as a bullet went through his brain. The pack members were everywhere now and so was her pack, a few of them in their Lycan forms, tossing rivals who were half-changed into the air like rag dolls and breaking their backs as they came down. Astera pulled out her stiletto, blocking attacks with her arms while plunging the silver blade into vitals. One Lycan made to kick her in the stomach and she turned, taking the hit on her thigh, and her boot cracked his knee, snapping it, and the blade disappeared into his throat. Then Llewlyn was there, bleeding from a laceration above his eyebrow, but quite alive. Relief flooded through her to see her friend and co-Alpha alive.

"I guess I taught you well," she shouted over the alarm. It was giving her a headache and the smoke and blood was making her want to vomit. The smell of roasting flesh was making her hungry.

"Yeah, I did make a point to listen somewhat," Llewlyn said and grabbed her arm. She looked in the direction she thought she had...

"Llewlyn, I thought I saw Edwin!" Astera said, her voice slightly panicked for multiple reasons. "Why would he be here?"

"I doubt it was him" Llewlyn lied. "We need to get out of here!"

He pulled Astera, not seeing the Lycanthrope emerge from beneath the stairwell and aim his gun straight for her head.

[Edwin O'Connor]

Edwin had arrived at the club with great reservations, still wondering if he had made the right decision. It seemed that everyone in the pack felt the need to share their opinion on whether or not he should go.

In reality it hadn't been Macha or Safkas implying that it was destiny's wish, or the Mot'er and Fat'er's design. It wasn't Kev telling him he was different and needed closure, or even Barnaby telling him he deserved answers. It had been Riobhan.

"Edwin, just go. You'll never forgive yourself if you don't. You'll always wonder what if? I know you, babe." She'd looked at the floor, as though she knew something she didn't want to say, looking much like she had at various times, when she'd seen a future she didn't like. Edwin went, because he knew that the woman in her didn't want him to go, but the friend and packmate in her felt that he should.

So Edwin had gotten a hotel room in London, taking care to sign in under the assumed name of Samuel Madison, just in case this was a trap. Consciously he knew it wasn't, unless it was a trap for his emotions. As he got ready, he felt a gnawing in his stomach and a slightly clammy sweatiness on his palms. Memories of Astera, ones he'd taken such great care to shut away came rushing back to him.

He dressed in a vinyl shirt and pants combo, covered in buckles and straps. They were tight on him, showing definition even through the material. He threw a bit of eyeliner on, and had also made sure to shave himself smooth. He gelled his hair back, looking as presentable as he'd ever been for a club. He wanted to look good, both to fit in as well as score a woman. If he was going to see Astera, he wanted to make sure she saw him with arm candy. It was petty of him, he knew...but he had to show her he'd moved on.

He headed to the club, gaining easy entrance; the pulse pounding beat audible even outside the doors. He smiled flirtaciously at the women and lycan females who stared at him as he walked inside. Electro-industrial and hard trance beats assaulted his ears, and Edwin already began to move to the beat. Smells of sweat, sex, and lycans washed into his senses, calling the animal side of him out, the side he'd barely kept restrained at all in the past months when he was out away from the pack. A leggy redhead who smelled strongly of lycan pheremones stalked up to him, kissing him fiercely, running nails down his back and sliding a pill onto his tongue. "X," she whispered into his ear, growling.

Edwin smiled, his eyes flashing amber at her as she pulled away. "I have something to take care of, but then...perhaps I'll see you shortly," he said, nipping at her mouth one last time before walking away. He scanned the floor, and then he saw her.

Astera was looking exotic, alluring, and beautiful, dancing, grinding, and then making out with a fairly attractive blonde. Emotions began to well up in him at this first spotting of her. He bit them down as he headed toward the platform, wanting answers and wanting to vent his anger, not moon over her like some sick schoolboy. Another girl stepped into his path, planting a kiss on him, and suddenly he was surrounded by lycans, all touching and dancing against him. He extricated himself from the throng, but when he caught sight of the stage, both Astera and the blond had disappeared.

He tried to open his senses, but all he could smell was everything but Astera. Artificial fog, sweat, pheremones, cum...blood? Edwin went on alert, now moving people out of his way. Gunshots rang out, muffled by the music. "Shit!" Edwin thought, suddenly wanting to make sure Astera was safe. The fire alarm went off, claxons wailing. Water rained down upon his head.
The crowd began to stampede toward the exit, making at least part of his job easier.

A gun clattered on the floor nearby, and he picked it up, cursing himself slightly for not being armed. He moved cautiously, his posture slightly hunched, not wanting to make himself an easier target. He could smell the silver in the ammunition the gun was loaded with, and assumed this was no ordinary gang war. "Damn it, Astera.. I know this is your doing. Trouble always seemed to find her. Well, more correctly, she seemed to run to trouble. Sadly, she didn't have that level of attachment to him.

Edwin spotted the blond, she was on her back, a large lycan on top of her with a knife. Edwin squeezed off a couple rounds, killing him. He ran to the blond. "Astera!" he said, wanting to find her more than ever now, unable to fight the protective instinct he felt for her.
"Where's Astera?" The blonde looked very confused, staring at him as though he was speaking a foreign language, before getting up and gesturing in the last direction she'd seen her. "Thank you," he told her quickly, turning as he ran off, "My name's Edwin, if there's more of you, tell them not to kill me."

He darted off, looking for her. "Damn you," Edwin thought, "You'd better not have gotten yourself killed, not before I get a chance to give you a piece of my mind!"

Then Edwin spotted her, through the smoke and flames..she was walking with another lycan, somehow still managing to look beautiful, even through the chaos and the gore. He started to walk toward her, and the lycan he presumed was now her fling. Such a prettyboy..Edwin hated him already.

Then he spotted a gunman, hiding in the shadows of the stairwell. He stepped out, aiming directly for Astera. "NO!" Edwin yelled, shooting the man twice, both only winging him, but enough to knock his aim off, causing him to miss Astera, and even the piece of meat she was with. Edwin ran toward the man, feeling a slug penetrate his abdomen, not caring, not noticing the burn. Everything was moving in slow motion, and he found a knife on the man's belt. He slashed his throat with the knife, which burned into the flesh, thanks to the silver it was coated with. As the man fell, he fired a second round, hitting Edwin in the abdomen again.

Edwin smiled at Astera. "Reminds me a bit of Chile," he said, then suddenly paling. He put a hand to his stomach, a hand which quickly turned crimson. "Well, there are differences, I suppose." Edwin collapsed as the world grayed out around him.

[Astera]

One moment she was walking with Llewlyn, the next through all the other smells she caught the scent of him. Astera spun on her heels. What she remembered was him, in a vinyl shirt and a vinyl pants, thinking how hot he had to be, Edwin's eyes widening and the words "NO!" leaving his mouth, a gun going off twice and Edwin's running, Edwin snarling, Edwin running, Edwin slashing the rival Lycan's throat, Edwin shot, Edwin bleeding.

"Edwin!" she screamed and plunged into a frenzy of people, not at all hearing Llewlyn cry out for her.

She struggled through the people until she saw him, saw Edwin. Astera stared and whispered his name as if he may not have been real. Her eyes traveled down, seeing the blood pouring from his stomach and instinct took over shock and fear. She ran, she ran towards him, and stopped directly in front of him, the rival Lycan dead, Edwin bleeding... bleeding.

"Reminds me a bit of Chile. Well, there are differences, I suppose."

His complexion was growing ashy, and his hand that pressed to his stomach was covered in blood. Her threw her arms around him, catching him as he collapsed, steadying him, and steered him towards the bathrooms, towards the room where an exit would be.

"Walk with me, Edwin," she commanded. "You have to walk, we have to get out of here. Come on now, you can do it."

This isn't happening, her mind screamed. How could he be here on this very night? I'm leaving for Germany the day after tomorrow!

She continued to coax him, encouraging him to move faster, to keep walking, as they passed by all the rooms, their doors wide open and stepping over the dead bodies of those she had killed. They reached the exit and she kicked the door open. Smoke poured from the top of the club, sirens wailing louder than the people who gathered and cried. Astera led Edwin out of the alley, cringing from exploding glass.

"Not much farther, Edwin, I promise. Just stay with me."

She led him two short blocks away. Astera kicked in the door to an abandoned building, choking on the smell of pee, and helped Edwin in.

"Lie down, you have to lie down, yes, like that, good," she said. She peeled up his shirt, taking the briefest of moments to admire the clothes he wore... Clothes she never would have guessed he would have worn or been in to. I never would have guessed... He surprises me... Curses escaped her as she studied the bullet holes. They would have to be removed. And now.

Reaching for her boot, she pulled out a thin bladed knife, one that was not silver.

"This is going to hurt but I have to do it."

His stomach... I used to kiss it and tickle it...

The tip of the knife plunged into his stomach, her fingers following, slick and sliding from the blood, trying to not think of the feel of the muscles and the skin around her fingers, her stomach threatening to toss up what little she had eaten earlier. Her fingers closed around the bullet, removing it in one quick motion, and tossed it aside.

[Edwin O'Connor]

Edwin heard her yell, and saw her pushing through the throng of people to get to him. It almost seemed surreal, seeing her running to him. He started to collapse in her arms, blinking dizzily at her as she supported virtually all of his weight in her arms.

"You...can carry me away with you now...but you couldn't before?" he asked, trying to make a joke, although it was tinged with truth.

"Not much farther, Edwin, I promise. Just stay with me." [/i]

"Rather ironic that you're...asking me to..stay with you...I'd say you should...practice what you preach..." he grimaced as a bolt of pain lanced through him. He didn't want to walk, he wanted to just lay down here. It would be so much easier...

The smell of urine assaulted his nostrils, as she laid him down on a floor. "Beyond the decor...this is the comfiest flophouse I've been too in awhile," he joked, suddenly coughing up a bit of blood and sputum. His lips were stained slightly red by the flecks that flew.
He was still trying to joke; it really was funny. Here he was, seeing her for the first time since she'd left him, and he'd ended up proving she still was the most important thing in his life, as much as he wanted to deny it. He was going to end up dying to save a woman who'd broken his heart into a million pieces, because that's how he was...just stupid Edwin, too tender to a fault.


"This is going to hurt but I have to do it."[/i]

Edwin saw the blade; she wasn't really going to try field surgery on him, was she?

"Won't hurt as much as...when...you..cut my heart out..I bet.." he mumbled, coughing a little more blood up. He tensed as she cut into him, growling weakly in pain. The world began to fade in and out again, ebbing with the waves of pain. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Edwin told himself he could believe she was doing this because she still cared. He knew it was a lie; she was doing it out of nothing more than a sense of duty. Tit for tat...he'd saved her life, she was going to try to save his. Too bad it seemed he wasn't going to make it.