He watched her silently from his place in the shadows, stunned as always by her beauty. Long dark hair, shapely body, not a little stick girl. So lovely, the way she moved. Such grace in her hesitant steps down the darkened street. He sighed inwardly, knowing that he could never have that perfection to call his own.1
She moved gracefully, stopping ever so often to look behind her. He knew that she sensed him, sensed his bestial eyes upon her. His breathing became labored as she came nearer. He could smell her sweet essence as it was carried to him upon the cool night air.2
It was like honeyed almonds to him, her scent. So delicate and sweet. It filled him with desire. He longed to touch her. His arms felt empty without her, his heart ached. The best he could do was protect her though, make sure that she was always safe. She could never see him, could never know what he was. She was so close now that he could hear her breathing, his animal sense caught a slight whiff of fear along with her usual scent. He knew that she hated walking these dark streets alone. He knew that she was afraid of the things that lingered in the shadows, the human monsters. He longed to tell her that she didn't have to be afraid, that he would let no harm come to her.3
However, the fear within his own heart plagued him as he could sense that her own fear plagued her. She was terrified of being alone on these streets at night, and he, in turn, was afraid to reveal himself to her. The longing within him was unbearable, but he knew, for his sake and for hers, that she could never see him. It would become his life to ensure her safety against anything that could possibly harm her. 4
For two long years now he had watched his goddess. Seen her through her ups and downs and on one particularly foolish night had actually stood over her bed as she slept. He had gently touched her sweet face with one of his clawed fingers and had wept silently. Tonight was different though, there was hint of something malevolent in the air. He sensed danger, he knew that tonight his devotion to her would be put to the test. Tonight was the night that he would prove how much he really loved her.5
He sniffed the cold air and it filled his lungs and engulfed his senses. He sensed something foreign in the atmosphere, something that did not belong. It smelled hostile... full of danger. His wild eyes began to move eratically and his breathing became labored as he sensed around his surroundings. His pupils dilated in his pale gray eyes. There was another human there. A vile smell filled his sensitive nose. Oily and dirty. The smell of unwashed body and evil.6
She tried to pick up her pace. This part of town always made her uneasy, especially at night. It sucked that this was the fastest route home from her college campus. She wished that she hadn't have stayed so late at the library researching her paper, wished that she had taken the longer, yet more well lit way home. Damnit.7
Her brown eyes shifted from the sidewalk in front of her to the shadowed alleyways and pools of darkness outside of the flickering streetlights. She shuddered, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched by someone or something. She had been having these feelings on and off for over two years now. It wasn't an altogether bad feeling, it was comforting in a way. Tonight, however, there was something foreboding about it. This wasn't the feeling that she usually had, no not at all. The more familiar feeling was there, yes, but there was something else too. Something that felt wrong and unkind. 8
She walked on a few more feet then sighed exasperatedly as right in front of her two streetlights in a row went out. She would have to walk through at least a hundred, if not more, feet in complete darkness. "Great, just great.," she muttered to herself. For a moment she seriously considered turning around and heading for home the long way. Then, she decided against it. She was over halfway there, and that would just add unnecessary distance to her already long walk. She squared her shoulders and headed off into the darkness that awaited her.9
She moved slowly, shuffling her feet slightly. The darkness was inky, embracing her like a cold, unwanted molestation. She felt the area directly in front of her, arms stretched out, her eyes widened, trying desperately to see anything that she could. A cold breeze arose and blew harshly against her back. She gasped, suddenly sensing a strong presence. She stopped and listened. All she could hear was silence, an incredibly loud silence. It hurt her ears to hear such nothingness. Suddenly,something brushed across her outstretched hands. She recoiled sharply and suddenly began to perspire. She looked around quickly, frightened, still seeing nothing but inky dark. She heard labored breathing, felt a dirty and dangerous presence watching her... incredibly close to her.10
He watched the figure as it circled her. His eyes, well attuned to the darkness, could see in detail this dark, dirty figure which stalked his goddess. A low growl started in his throat, although he knew to keep it quiet to avoid being the source of fear for her. The figure touched her finger tips. The werewolf jolted, so desiring to leap and tear this invader into shreds of bloody hatred. Instead, he chose the more secretive route. He approached slowly, stalking this stalker. He fixed his eyes upon his prey, he took great care to avoid going near his goddess. She did not need to see his frightening form, not right now anyway.11
She felt the stranger brush against her once again, their cold, filthy presence making her feel disgusted and frightened. She, however, felt a new presence now, and she felt as if something or someone was protecting her. She could not place the feeling, so she let her fear take over once again. She started to shake, what was going on? What was going to happen to her? 12
Jason watched, easing closer, creeping stealthily on his feet. His fingers clenched and unclenched of their own accord, long claws glinting leathily in the dim light, wanting to rip and shred this vilest of beings for wanting to cause his dear Persephone any harm. He licked his lips, already tasting the bastard's blood in his mouth. He was starting to salivate, and realized with a bit of a shock that he was actually hungry. His belly rumbled in acknowledgement. He was so lost in his musings that he almost didn't see the man when he grabbed Persephone. Her terrified scream filled the night and his heart with dread.13
Persephone struggled vainly against the arms that held her, pushing her to the ground. She began to cry and scream for help. She hit the concrete so hard that it knocked the breath from her lungs and she saw stars. Then she became all to aware of the weight of her assailant on top of her, the reek of cheap wine on his breath and the hard bulge lower down. "I'm gonna fuck you bitch, oh yeah, I'm gonna fuck you good. Quit fighting, you know you want it, deep down all women are whores, and you ain't no different."14
"Please no, please no.," Persephone repeated over and over between sobbing breaths, all the while still trying to fling his stinking body away from hers. He covered her mouth with his hand and when he did, she bit down, hard. She could taste salty, coppery blood in her mouth.15
"You little bitch!," roared the man, drawing back and punching her in the face. 16
That did it, the world began to spin and everything was getting dim. As she faded into unconciousness, she thought that she heard a loud, bloocurdling roar of rage and saw a huge shape hurling itself towards her. She used every ounce of her strength to scream as she saw the huge figure leaning over her, but all that she could muster was a mere whimper before unconciousness took its bleak grip upon her. Her eyes blinked once, then closed, and she fell into a deep state of numbness.17
When Persephone awoke, she was home. She was in clean pajamas, and was warm beneath her bedspread. She raised herself off the bed and surveyed the room. "Was it all a dream? Just a figment of my imagination?," she wondered18
She was still groggy with sleep, so she reached up to rub her eyes only to realize that one of them was swollen shut. The skin was tender along her left cheekbone and suddenly she remembered the assault on her way home. She looked to the door to see her backpack and study materials hanging on the doorknob. She shivered. The window was open, which was odd. "I never leave my window open," she thought, a crease forming in her brow. She got out of her bed cautiously, keeping her eyes moving around the room. The floor was cold on her feet and she walked carefully to the window. She placed her hand on the windowsill and immediately recoiled. There was something warm and sticky on that sill and once again, Persephone tasted that sickening, coppery essence in her mouth. Her stomach began to churn as she looked at her fingertips. Blood. On her hands, on the windowsill. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out but a breathy strangulated whimper, and that inky darkness came to envelop her once again.19
Jason grunted hungrily as he went through his victim. Entrails surrounded him, blood soaked into the already darkened soil, and Jason feasted happily, knowing that he had saved his precious Persephone from certain injury and emotional distress. As he fed, he tasted the evil of this being and hated it, but he feasted on, wanting to devour this hatred and remove it from the face of the planet. He cleaned every bit of meat from that being, licking his lips ravenously, a low steady growl stuck in the back of his throat. He was surprised at his hunger, it had not been that long since he had fed last. He paused for a moment, thinking about this, then shrugged his massive, shaggy shoulders and went back to work on the corpse before him. He was thankful that he had had the foresight to hide it well in some shrubbery before he took Persephone home. He began to eat with more savageness as he thought about what could have become of her at the hands of this man, what almost had. He was going to rape his love, the sonofabitch. Jason's low contented growl rose in crescendo as these thoughts swirled through his mind. He sat back on his haunches, long pink tongue curling out of his mouth to lick away the blood and pieces of flesh that clung to his muzzle. He looked down at the man in front of him, now reduced to nothing but a few blood streaked bones and tufts of hair, silvery gray eyes narrowing to slits of anger. He needed to dispose of the remains, no need to draw unwanted attention to what had happened here tonight. He reluctantly rose to his feet, standing his full eight feet three inches and began to pick up the remains, most of which fit neatly into one of his hands. Jason winced as a sharp pain shot through his side, he had almost forgotten about the wound. The wannabe rapist had had a knife and managed to cut Jason rather deeply on his right side. He gingerly touched it, seeing that his fingers came away red with fresh blood. It didn't bother him, really, he knew that the wound would heal quickly and then it would pain him no more. It would most likely be gone by tomorrow morning, so he really paid it no mind. 20
As Jason walked to the park where he intended to bury the body in a grove of trees near the baseball field, he reflected on the night's events. His thoughts were alive with thoughts of Persephone, he recalled picking her limp body up off of the sidewalk and mused about how featherlight she had felt in his strong arms. She had looked so pitiful lying in his arms, eye slowing but surely swelling closed, blood crusted around her left nostril. He was again filled with rage and tightly clenched the bones of the madman in his hand, snapping them. He quickly calmed himself and returned to his thoughts of Persephone, his goddess of the night. He recalled the way she had cuddled close to his furry body in her unconciousness. She was so soft, so innocently beautiful. He wanted nothing more than to make her happy. He only wished that he could be with her. His hideous and gargantuan exterior harbored a tortured, lonely, and gentle heart, which he wanted her to experience and accept. Jason sighed heavily and trudged on until he reached the grove. Slowly, yet focused, he began to dig.21
Persephone awoke, her face against the cold wooden floor. She sat up wearily, swaying slightly. She cringed as she remembered the blood on the windowsill. Gingerly, she arose, shuffled to the closet and grabbed a towel. She walked to the windowsill and cleaned the blood quickly, avoiding eye contact with it. She was shaking, afraid and confused. Where did this blood come from? Quickly, in horror, she checked her body for wounds. She found none. Slightly relieved, she threw the towel in the garbage can and walked to the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and was horrified. Her eye was swollen shut and the entire left side of her face was nothing but a tint of bluish black. “Great,” she muttered as she dabbed at her temple with a damp washcloth. After washing her hands several times, brushing her teeth, and taking one last glance in the mirror, she left the bathroom, walked quickly across the room and climbed back into bed. Lying back, she let out a long sigh. “What a night… I only wish I could remember,” she whispered breathily to herself as her eyes began to close. When she closed her eyes, she had a vision. A large creature, frightening by its size alone, was looking down at her. She saw grey eyes, glowing through the darkness. She opened her eyes quickly, gasping, and she realized that her hand was across her throat. Persephone shook her head and pulled her covers up around her. She closed her eyes once again and faded into the darkness of slumber. Her dreams were full of violence, fear, and those same grey eye.22
After burying his victim, Jason walked slowly along the dark streets. He kept his guard up, watching around him. His eyes were well adept to the darkness and he knew that if he were to come upon someone, he would see them or sense them long before they saw him. The wound in his side started to ache. He reached down and fingered it gently to find that it was starting to heal. Good, one less burden to hinder his progress. He walked slowly as he approached a small house in the middle of a silent neighborhood. He looked up at the upstairs window and sighed. It was her house. He wished so much that he was in there, holding her in his arms as she slept, her sweet breath gently caressing his neck. He shook his head at this thought and settled down below her window. Nothing else would hurt her tonight. Nothing. He groaned and stretched his back, the vertabraes crackling appreciatively. He was tired, this had been a long night. It would be sunrise in a few hours and he'd have to go back to normal, everyday things, like work. But at night, at night, he could have Persephone. She haunted his mind always, but at night she was his, in a way. He watched her, made sure that she was taken care of. He loved her, and tears clouded his eyes as the thought flitted through his mind, "I love her and I can never have her." 23
The bright early morning sunlight pouring through her window awoke Persephone from dreams of dark shapes and pale grey eyes. She stretched and sat up in her bed, thinking about her strange dreams, thinking about those eyes. They were so beautiful, and so sad, almost tortured. The dreams had been awful, but not the shape with those eyes, it had been there to protect her. She felt a slight rush of warmth through her body thinking about having a protector, a knight in shining armor of sorts. She laughed bitterly at that, like that would ever happen to her. Yeah, right. She was twenty two years old and havng school girl fantasies about faceless, shapeless things with pretty eyes. To be so young, Persephone was already a bitter, sad person. Everything in her life was shit, or so she thought, she hadn't had a date in over three years, not that she was really interested in that. All she really had was school, work and a gay best friend, Steven. She hung her head and looked down at her chipped black nail polish, picking at it some more. "Atta girl, make yourself even more unattractive.," she thought. 24
"Fuck this.," she mumbled, rolling out of bed,"I don't have time to feel sorry for myself."25
She got up and went into the bathroom and started her shower, still thinking about last night's strange events. She couldn't figure out how she got home. The last thing she remembered was a scream, no a roar, of rage and a dark shape hurtling towards where she and her attacker lay. That was it. What had happened? Dammit! She could not remember another thing. There was no way that she could have gotten up and made it home by herself, was there? No, that didn't make sense. But, she had hit her head pretty hard when her attacker knocked her to the ground. "Oh great, I probably have a concussion and my brain is swelling more even now.," she thought. Persephone leaned her head against the cool tiles of the shower and let the warm water beat on her back. She stood up straight once more, and let the hot water hit her directly in the face, wincing at the pain in her swollen cheek, eye and jaw, yet welcoming it all the same. She washed quickly and hopped out of the shower. As she was towelling her hair dry she decided to tell Steven what had happened, perhaps he could lend some insight. She glanced into her bedroom at the clock on her nightstand and hissed a curse, she had ten minutes to be ready for work and Steven would be there to pick her up in about five minutes.26
"Damn, damn, damn!," Persephone yelled as she hurried around her room trying to find her missing shoe. "This shit always happens when I'm running late, always. 27
"FUCK!," she shrieked as her toe connected with the leg of the chair that sat in the corner of her room. As she leaned down to rub it, she saw something else clinging to the windowsill that she hadn't noticed before: A tuft of thick, black, hair. It clung there, shining in the sunlight. 28
"What the....", she started as she reached for the hair. Just before her hand closed on it, a horn honked from the street in front of her house. "Steven! Oh, gods, why me!," she groaned as she snatched the hair from the sill and spying her other boot peeking out from under the corner of her bedspread, she lunged for it and ran downstairs to greet Steven. 29
"What the hell happened to you, Pers?," asked Steven when he noticed her face.30
"You are never going to believe this shit, Steven. Oh, and thanks for letting yourself in, again.," Persephone said sarcastically.31
"I aim to please. You shouldn't have given me a key.," he said, waving his hand dismissively at her admonishment, "So, what did happen to that pretty little face of yours?"32
"I'll tell you in the car, come on we're going to be late.," she said, grabbing his hand and yanking him out the door.33
Jason had returned to his human form. It was his normal life that he had once enjoyed full time before he had changed. Now, walking on the street, he had once again become Jason Thomas, an executive at the local branch of Becker and Thomas, his law firm. In human form, Jason was quite handsome. Dark brown, almost black hair, and striking light gray, almost silver eyes. He was well built because he took extremely good care of himself. He tried to exercise whenever possible and he always watched what he ate. However, as attractive as he was, Jason had not had a date in over two years. He had received offers, of course, and several of them had been attractive, intelligent women. However, he was saving himself, as crazy as it seemed, for one woman; his goddess of the night. He wanted so badly to be with her that several times, he found himself cursing his change, and desiring his full-time human form again. This was impossible, however, so he frequently had to shake the thought from his brain. He arrived at his office as always a little bit early. Jan Becker, his partner and one of his best friends, greeted him. “Man, Jason, you look like shit! Rough night?” Jan nudged Jason with his elbow and winked. “Yeah, but not in the way you’re thinking.” Jason laughed and looked at his friend. Jan was tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was also muscular and tanned and had no trouble finding dates. However, Jan was not interested in anything long-term. In fact, he had slept with almost every woman in the office. He romanced them, wined them, dined them, and then slept with them, rarely to talk to them again. Jan was a pig. Jason, however, found comfort in his company and enjoyed Jan’s sense of humor, so they remained great friends. “So what happened, then?” Jan looked at Jason and for a moment, he looked younger than his days, like a little boy asking an excited question of his father. “I didn’t sleep very well. I think I need a new mattress. My back is killing me.” Jason shrugged and the two left it at that and went their separate ways; Jan to his office and Jason to his. They would meet again at lunch.34
"Jesus!," Steven exclaimed after Persephone had finished telling him everything and had shown him the hair that she'd found on her windowsill, gumdrop-green eyes wide with shock. "That is some heavy shit, Pers baby. So, you really have no clue about how you got home?"35
"Nope, not a single idea.", she replied morosely, "I also have no clue where this came from, either.," she said, brandishing the hair like it was some kind of sick door prize. "This stuff has blood on it, too. What is going on, Steven? This is just way too weird."36
"I don't know, honey, I wish that I could be more helpful. I need time to think about all of this. Meet me tonight at the Meat Hook and we'll get loaded and discuss it in gross, no pun intended, detail.," he said with a giggle.37
"Alright, sounds good. Have a drink ready for me when I get there. I have a class tonight, I should be there by eight thirty.," she said.38
"Can do. With that said, we must part and enter the gates of Hell.," he said dramatically, pointing to the door of the office where they both worked as secretaries.39
When Persephone arrived at the office, she received the typical condolences about her face, sympathy, shock, horror, and most of all questions. None of which Persephone could answer. She decided to take the easy route and simply tell people that she had fallen out of bed in her sleep and hit her face on the nightstand. It was a horrible lie, one that she was sure no one would buy, but strangely enough, they left her alone. She trudged through the first half of her day, going through paperwork, making copies, and delivering coffee and donuts. Persephone hated her job. She was a secretary at a large law firm in town. Becker and Thomas. She had only been there for two months, she had started out as a secretary for one of the lower people in the firm until just last week when she had been promoted to secretary for Jan Becker. He was always making her do petty errands, making copies here that were not necessary, getting him coffee, and any other odd job that the lazy ass could not find the time to do himself. She despised the job, but the pay was decent, and it helped with her school bills. Today, though, being in the horrible mood that she was, Persephone had no desire to take any guff from anyone, including her boss.She did her work quickly, without speaking to anyone and kept her eyes downcast most of the day. She was humiliated about her face. While she was in the copy room, she heard the door open. She thought nothing of it; it was a full-office facility, and people came in there all the time. 40
“Persephone, right?” She looked up and turned around to see Jan, smiling. 41
“Yes,” she said quietly, then returned to her work. 42
“That’s an interesting name. Any certain ethnic origin?” 43
Persephone shook her head and spoke softly. “No. My father was an English professor. Persephone means “She who destroys the light” in Roman mythology.” This was the best explanation she could give, because in truth, Persephone had no idea why her parents would give her a name with such a negative connotation. She immediately regretted telling him what it meant. She looked back at Jan and smiled slightly. He had one eyebrow raised and smiled. He had a beautiful smile. She had never really noticed how attractive he was. She immediately cast these thoughts aside, however. “He would never go for me,” she thought. 44
Jan chuckled. “Hey, a buddy and I are going out for lunch this afternoon downtown. Think you’d like to join us?” 45
Persephone widened her eyes slightly and tilted her head to the side. “Me?” 46
Jan laughed. “I don’t see anyone else making copies, do you?” 47
She laughed softly. “No,” she hesitated for a moment. “That’d be nice. What time? And where?” 48
He gave her the information, smiled, and said, “I’ll see you there,” before shutting the door behind him. 49
She was to meet him at Crandall’s at 12:30. She had never been there, but had always been told that it was expensive and all the lawyers and doctors went there to eat. Persephone had never been much for expensive cuisine, she would have chosen a McDonald’s cheeseburger any day, but it was a nice gesture. She smiled and felt giddy. “Calm down, Pers, it’s not a date. Just some colleagues getting together to ‘do lunch.’” She had never “done lunch” before and it sounded nice. She picked up her copies and left the copy room. It was 11:00.50
As Jason walked up to the restaraunt, he paused for a minute, listening to the song that played on his Walkman, the Cure was pouring through the headphones and he swayed gently to the song. "I wish I could just stop, I know another moment will break my heart.," Robert Smith sang in his usual heartbreaking tone. It was a beautiful song and it fit Jason's mood perfectly. As usual, he had been thinking about her, barely containing his eagerness to see her that night. He walked through the door of Crandall's and scanned the restaraunt for Jan when he found him he saw that he was sitting in a booth with a woman. "He's picked up some other tramp to have lunch with us today.," Jason thought dryly. He couldn't tell if she was one of the office girls or not because of the way that she was turned in the booth, most likely she was though, that was Jan's number one pick up spot. Jan spied him and waved him over, as he did, the girl turned away from Jan and looked right at Jason. The shock he felt was unbelievable. It was Persephone, his Persephone! How in the Hell did he know Persephone? Why was she there? He felt sick, his heart had relocated itself somewhere near his large intestine, his mouth was bone dry and his hands were shaking a little. Jason straightened up and tried not to glare when he noticed Jan's hand on hers in a too-friendly manner. "Next it'll be on her thigh.," he thought bitterly. He quickly composed himself and made his way over to their table.51
"Hello, Jan.," he said, shaking Jan's hand, squeezing it a little more firmly than was needed.52
"This is my new secretary, Persephone. Persephone, I'd like you to meet my closest friend and our boss, Jason Thomas.", Jan said, smiling broadly, giving Jason a quick wink that made his heart sink even lower.53
Jason smiled at Jan rather stiffly, then turned to Persephone, "Hello. I didn't know that you worked for our firm, how long have you been with us?," he asked as he extended his hand to her and when he smiled at her, it was genuine.54
Persephone smiled back,"About two months now." She could not believe her eyes, the man was gorgeous. He was tall and his hair was beautiful, thick and dark and so shiny. He was built incredibly well, and boy was he tall. At least six seven. He, like Jan, had an incredible smile, perfect straight white teeth, and it was so open and friendly looking. Then she noticed his eyes, her heart caught in her throat and her breathing stopped for a moment. They were a pale gray, almost silver with no black ring around the iris. They were the eyes of the thing in her dream, the eyes of her protector and they were incredibly gorgeous. They were accented by long, thick black eyelashes. She was little freaked out, to say the least, not to mention a little giddy at the prospect of having lunch with these two gorgeous men. Then her happiness faded when she thought about her current appearance, she thought she looked like fresh roadkill on her best days, today she felt like much worse. She braced herself for Jason to ask what happened to her face, but the question never came. She was a little surprised, but silently thankful.55
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Persephone.," he spoke, and it was, too. This was the first time he had ever actually talked to her and it was wonderful, even if Jan was there. He flinched at her poor face, and mentally kicked himself. If he hadn't been distracted by his rumbling stomach, he could have prevented this from happening. "I won't let anything like this happen, ever again." he thought fiercely, gazing down at her still lovely face.56
Jan interrupted his thoughts and his moment with his goddess,"Shall we order?," he asked Jason and Persephone cheerfully.57
"Of course.," Jason almost snapped at Jan, "Let's do that." 58
Jan looked a little shocked at Jason's shortness, but quickly recovered, as was his nature. They all looked at their menus and ordered their food. The salmon and roasted potatoes for Jan, a large grilled chicken salad for Persephone, a Porterhouse, very rare, and a Jack and Coke, for Jason. While they waited on their food Jason listened to Persephone and Jan's conversation, nursing his drink sulkily. He was so jealous, he couldn't see straight, and he knew that Jan would only use her and that made him more angry than he really wanted to admit. He had sworn to protect her from all harm, but he could not think of a way to save her from this. He couldn't very well rip his best friend's head off. Could he? No! He quickly pushed that idea out of his head. Jan had no idea what was going on, had no idea how he felt about her. The food arrived, steaming on its plates. 59
"Mmm...,"Jan said as he took the first bite of his salmon, Persephone munched her salad happily as well. Jason stared at his steak, he didn't think that he could eat a bite. His appetite had abandoned him shortly after Jan had asked Persephone if she'd like to go out to dinner Saturday night, his heart had sunk when she'd smiled and said yes. Jason had spoken very little throughout lunch, mumbling his replies into his drink except for the one or two times that Persephone had spoken directly to him, then he'd answered her rather cheerfully, eager to please and impress her. They ate their dinner in almost complete silence, except for the occasional comment about the food. Still, Jason just stared at his Porterhouse, watching the juices congealing on his plate. Towards the end of the meal, Persephone looked up and asked where the restroom was. Jan pointed the way out to her and she left the table.60
"So, what do you think, Jason? Is she hot or what?," he asked eagerly.61
Jason jerked and looked at Jan quickly. "She is a beautiful young woman, indeed.," he said flatly.62
"I can't wait to get into some of that.," Jan said excitedly,"I hope that her eye looks a little better by Saturday night. I bet she's tight, too.," he said offhandedly, eyes far away to Saturday night.63
Jason's eyes flared with rage. How dare he talk about her like that! Like she was a piece of meat! Didn't he realize how smart and funny and kind she was, too? He glared at Jan,"Don't you dare hurt her, goddammit, if you do so help me...," he broke off as soon as he realized what he'd said.64
Jan's eyes narrowed a bit as his German temper flared, "What's wrong with you? You have set here the entire time, drinking and not saying a word, now this?"65
"Nothing, I'm fine, just fine.," Jason snarled. "I am also leaving. I have work to do at the office." With that he stood and threw fifty dollars down on top of his untouched meal and stormed off, almost knocking Persephone down on his way. 66
"Whoa!," she said staggering backward, he was like hitting a brick wall.67
"I'm sorry, Persephone, I should have been more careful.," he said, touching her elbow to steady her. 68
"That's alright.," she said smiling up at him.69
God, he could look into her dark brown eyes forever and he felt as though his heart were breaking anew. "Well, I need to be going.", he said, clearing his throat, trying to swallow the lump that had formed there, "I have some work I need to finish up at the office and I've been gone too long. It was very nice meeting you, Persephone." With that he turned and left the restaraunt, leaving her staring after him, wondering at his manner and his incredible eyes, so like the ones she had dreamed about. Then she turned and went back to the table where Jan was paying their bill and leaving the waitress a tip. 70
As she approached the table, she must have appeared far off into space because Jan smiled and said, “You okay?” Persephone quickly pulled herself back into reality and smiled. “Yes, I’m fine. Thank you so much for 71
lunch, it was great.” She reached for her purse and began to look for her money. 72
Jan placed his hand on hers gently. “No, no. It’s on me. Don’t even worry about that.” Persephone objected at first, but Jan would not allow her to pay. She smiled gratefully and they left the restaurant. As they walked back to the office, Jan began to talk about Saturday night. He had suggested a club for drinks, a walk through the park, and then maybe back to his place to watch a movie. 73
Persephone was listening, but only halfway. Her mind was on Jason. She had no idea why she could not stop thinking about him. He was so lovely, so mysterious. In her mind, she could not stop thinking about how she would rather be going on a date with him than with Jan. She did not have much time to think any more on the matter,74
however, because as soon as she looked up, they were back at the office. Jan held the door open for her and she smiled. “Thank you. Again, it was great.” 75
He shook his head slightly and smiled. “It was no problem. I look forward to Saturday night, although I am positive we will talk before then. See you.” 76
She nodded. “Yes. See you.”77
Jason sat behind his desk, mind racing. He could not stand the idea that his best friend was going on a date with the woman he prized above all other things. He was just going to use her and then cast her aside for the next piece of ass. He hoped that she was strong enough to refuse his advances, though Jan was dogged when it came to getting what he wanted. His charm was hard to refuse when he really poured it on. He sighed unhappily and took a sip of his coffee. It was too bitter and he almost spit it back into his cup, but swallowed anyway, trying to alleviate the dryness in his mouth. It didn't help. Jason looked over some paperwork on his desk and couldn't focus on what he was doing, he was too wired, too distracted. "I can't concentrate on a single piece of paper.," he thought, disgusted with himself for being so melodramatic over a date. He tried to convince himself that Jan would treat Persephone differently than he had the others, but in his heart he knew better. In his head he kept hearing Jan say "I bet she's tight, too." over and over. He shook his head trying to rid himself of the unwelcome thought, but to no avail. With an annoyed sigh he picked up his phone and rang his secretary, Sarah. "Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day.," he spoke into the receiver. "I think I'm going to go home early today. I just don't feel well at all."78
"You're the boss.," spoke Sarah, "Anything I can do before you go? A cup of tea perhaps?"79
"No, I'm not sticking around that long.," said Jason80
"Alright then, take care of yourself. Try and get some rest you've been working too hard lately.," she gently scolded 81
"Yeah, I'll try and do that. Thanks, Sarah.," he said, forcing a chuckle.82
With that he hung up the phone and gazed out the window at the sun washed outside world, briefly mesmerized by the glints of sun on the cars passing by. Then he picked up his briefcase and stood up, feeling like he was a hundred years old. He trudged to the door lost in thought, anxious for the coming night and dreading the weekend.83
What did you think? Please comment!
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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Iam adding you on my favorites
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This had me mezmorized all the time I was reading it you are very talented I love this story i look forward to reading the chronicles.Abso;ty Amazing!!
DimishedFaith -
However, the fear within his own heart plagued him as he could sense that her own fear plagued her.
I'd find another word for plagued in one of these instances, or just get rid of it altogether. perhaps like: 'the fear within his own heart plagued him as he could sense the same in her.'
"However, the fear within his own heart plagued him as he could sense that her own fear plagued her. She was terrified of being alone on these streets at night, and he, in turn, was afraid to reveal himself to her. The longing within him was unbearable, but he knew, for his sake and for hers, that she could never see him. It would become his life to ensure her safety against anything that could possibly harm her."
lose the comma after night and the one after unbearable. they aren't really needed.
He sensed something foreign in the atmosphere, something that did not belong. It smelled hostile... full of danger.
these two sentences could be consolidated easily to justify the use of 'something' twice: 'He sensed something foreign in the atmosphere, something hostile and full of danger.'
It sucked that this was the fastest route home from her college campus.
I like that. it gives a very 'college' feel to the girls thoughts.
She wished that she hadn't have stayed so late at the library researching her paper, wished that she had taken the longer, yet more well lit way home.
this seemed awkward 'yet more well lit'. it's grammatically correct but doesn't really flow through the readers internal voice. 'hadn't have stayed' seems strange too but I have no suggestions on how to correct it.
She would have to walk through at least a hundred, if not more, feet in complete darkness.
this will break those commas out and make this flow a bit easier. 'She would have to walk through a hundred feet or more of complete darkness.'
For a moment she seriously considered turning around and heading for home the long way. Then, she decided against it.
these two senetences could be incorporated too: 'For a moment she seriously considered turning around and heading for home the long way but decided against it.'
long claws glinting leathily in the dim light,
lethally. a spell checker would catch that.
you get the idea without me picking out every one. you are an awesome writer. these are very basic mistakes that the writer usually catches in the first edit. I have to assume you haven't edited this yet. please do! it's well worth it. -
oh girl...this is soooo damn good. I was just mesmerized. Sorry to see it end where it did, but had already read the poem ahead of it.
Sooo I know where it goes...eventually. LOL
really.. excellent!
Hugs..
Mary ann -
Great story line. The only thing I see is that you
bounce from one pov to another...yo u may try and make
two chapters and use Pers's pov in one and Jason's in
another..Ann e Rice has done that with her novels. Don't
you just love to leave the reader hanging...I love doing
that. I think you would get more if you broke the pov's
into chapters til the two really got together. A good
example is in Cheri Scotch's werewolve books...she did a
trilogy some time back. I just can't remember the names of
the books...but damn they were hot. She had so many different
povs from her werewolves.. .great characters that I enjoyed and
loved. Otherwise keep writting...w ow. It's great.
Daoine -
......AHHHH......wheres the rest???? This was the best storie i have ever read on ths site, you should really finish it soon....please
Jaci -
Hello.
I started to read this story last night, only my grandma cut me off by annoying the Hell out of me to get off the computer. Luckily, I bookmarked it so I could finish today. I couldn't stop reading. You keep me on track, and then you left me hanging, wanting for more of this story. But, if this is all, that is fine with me, because it IS your write. But, like Riven, I think you should continue it. It's an excellent write! You kept the reader hungry for more and more each line. You described everything perfectly, too - especially the emotions the characters where feeling at moments in the story. This is going back to what I said a couple minutes ago, but I wish you could write more of it. Also, I think you have made one of those stories where the READER should decide the ending, hmm? Am I correct? *shrug* Anyhow, this was one of those AMAZING stories - one of the best I have read, truly. Man! I envy you so much, Judas! You can write poetry AND short stories! You have so much talent that it's unbelievable!
.~-Invader Zil and GIRRIC signing off-~.
~Insane Little Child aka Amanda aka Kitty~
"How can anything tall be DUMB?" ~ Tallest Red -
GAAAHHH and you leave me hanging! You should continue working on this. You may also want to give thought to writing more short stories. This was very excellent. Kind of reminds me of a story I once read, but the name and author escapes me at the moment.
This was amazing nonetheless
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