Chapter One

Willows POV

I grab my keys from my desk, shove them into the pocket of my jeans and make my way to the door. My office is small and hidden in the back of Pete's Dojo. It's not the typical location for a Private Detective, but it is perfect for someone who tracks the creatures of the night. No one expects a Private Detective to run an office out of a dojo.

I was lucky to land this office. Pete is a very good friend of mine, and he has trained me to fight after hours. Training like ours cannot be done during normal business hours. I'm a Werewolf and Pete; well, he is too. Two creatures alike, hiding who they are in a city full of our enemies and humans.

Pete has been helping me dig into my ancestry to see if I have any family out there. I was raised as a baby by a human family who knew nothing of my past or my lineage. They still have no clue to this day that I am a werewolf. My first shift occurred on my sixteenth birthday, and I knew I would never be able to tell them about me. Hell, I didn't even know about me until the onset of excruciating pain from the breaking and shifting of my bones. I don't know how my parents ended up with me or if I still have any blood relatives. That is what lead me to Andre.

Andre was first introduced to me by Pete. He's a Vampire and our enemy by the laws of nature. Andre said he could gather some information that might help me locate my family, if I have any family left. I had just hung up the phone with him. We are meeting downtown for him to hand over what he found. According to him, what he found is "Groundbreaking," his words not mine.

I grab my leather coat from the hook on the wall, padlock the door to my office, and make my way to the exit, passing Pete along the way.

"See ya Pete. I'm on my way to meet Andre," I wave.

"You sure you wanna go alone? I don't know Andre enough to trust him like that," he asks with genuine concern.

"I'll be okay. Besides, you have a class starting soon. I'll call you when we are done so you know I am okay."

He frowns, "I don't like this, Willow. Something just feels off about this whole thing."

I walk over and hug my friend, "It will be okay Pete. I have been trained by the best."

The truth is, I understand Pete's apprehension, but I didn't get any strange vibes from Andre and right now he is the only lead I have in finding out where and from whom I came. To me there is no other choice.

I release Pete from my hug. "I love you, my friend. I will see you soon."

"Be careful.'

"I will," I reply as I exit the front door of the dojo.

Pete's warning replays in my mind like a repeating record. Now that I think about it, the place Andre wants to meet is a little strange. Surely, he could tell me what he needs to in a public venue without us being overheard instead, of an abandoned spice mill on the outskirts of the city.

I pull my leather coat tighter and head for my truck.  My old truck is nothing to brag about but my ol' girl is reliable. I unlock the door and climb in, slamming the door to ensure it closes. Out of habit I lock the door before I push the key into the ignition and start it up. The engine roars to life and I quickly adjust the heat knowing it takes a while to warm up. I scan my surroundings before I put the truck in gear and take off.

"Here goes nothing," I say to myself as I turn into traffic.

The drive to the old mill took close to forty-five minutes with all the traffic lights, with my nerves making it feel more like an eternity. Without all the traffic lights and stop signs, the trip probably would have only taken twenty minutes.

As I pull into the old mill, I circle the building. Andre isn't here yet. I pull back around to the front of the building, find a spot to park that gives me the widest view of the property. I pull out my cell and send a quick text to Andre letting him know that I am here. I think nothing of it when my message is read without a response. He could be driving and unable to text me back.

I leave my truck running for the heat as I wait for Andre's arrival, which should have been ten minutes ago. An ominous feeling makes its way to my gut. Something feels off, he should have been here by now.

As if right on queue my phone goes off, alerting me of a text message. I unlock the screen. As soon as my mind registers the three letters, R-U-N, I hear glass shatter before a cold hand grabs me by the neck and pulls me through the driver's side window of my truck.

I am thrown to the ground like a ragdoll, wincing as my hip collides with the pavement.

"Was that really necessary?" I roll my eyes and stare up at the creature I know now to be a Vampire.

He lets out a hiss before reaching his arm out to grab me again. I roll to the side and quickly climb to my feet. Why is he here anyway? Did Andre set me up?

"What do you want? I am just waiting here for a friend. If I am on your territory or something I will leave. No need to be so violent," I try to negotiate.

He let out a low chuckle, "Your friend has been otherwise detained," he taunts as he grabs my neck, squeezing just enough to cut off my oxygen.

My mind goes to Andre. What did they do to him? What could he have found out about me that was so bad that he deserved to die for it? At least that is what I am assuming happened to him because from what I know about Vamps, they are not a "take prisoners" type of creature.

"What have you done with Andre?"

His grip tightens a little more before he threw me across the lot, into the side of the mill. My back crashed into the steel door of the mill, cracking a few of my ribs. I can feel the bones slowly fusing together when he lands with a thud in front of me. Damn Vamps and their flipping ability to fly.

Determined to not give him another chance to make me his personal frisbee, I kick my leg out, connecting with his lower stomach. The impact sent him hurling back towards my truck, giving me enough time to shift. Vampires don't stand a chance against a werewolf in wolf form.

I was halfway through my shift when I saw him reach for the waistband of his jeans. I recalled my wolf just in time to dodge the silver bullet that came whizzing past my ear, before getting lodged in the door behind me.

Silver bullets was not something I was prepared for. They are the only thing that will definitely kill a werewolf in wolf form besides another wolf. I stand a better chance against it in human form. It will slow my healing in human form, but in wolf form, it will kill my wolf instantly.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. This was not a chance encounter so either one of two things happened. Either Andre betrayed me, or he found out something about my family that the Vamps didn't want him to and they killed him for it. There's no doubt in my mind that Andre is dead because this man showed up with the intention of killing me, knowing before he got here what I am.

I need to get out of here. There is no way I can fight a silver bullet. A vamp sure, but not one packing a werewolf's kryptonite. I should have listened to Pete. Hell, I should probably just run, but something about turning my back on a gun didn't seem too intelligent either.

"Obviously you came here to kill me so, you mind telling me why?"

He said nothing as he took aim and pulled the trigger again. Expecting it this time, I ducked behind a pile of stacked plastic barrels.

"Oh, come on, surely I deserve to know what I did to warrant my execution," I add before creeping my way around to the other side of the barrels.

"It's nothing personal mutt. To protect my kind, you must die," he stated simply as another bullet broke through the barrel beside me.

"I am no danger to your kind. I am only trying to find my family, if I have any left," I tried to reason while I cower behind the remaining barrels.

Silence greets me. Did he give up? No way. Vampires are hunters by nature just like wolves and they are not likely to give up until they catch their prey. I quietly step to my left while remaining slouched down out of sight.

Suddenly, I am lifted in the air by the collar of my jacket until I am face to face with the barrel of his pistol. My feet flail instinctively as I fight to be released. Fear pulses rapidly through my veins as I see his fingers slowly tightening on the trigger.

"I re-," I start as a massive blur expelled me from the Vampires Grip.

I climb to my feet before I realize what happened. I hear the sound of skin tearing and a sickening gurgling sound to my left. My eyes widen at the sight of a familiar black wolf removing the head of my attacker with his teeth. Panic tears through me as I search for the pistol.

"Pete, he had a gun, where is it?"

I watched the Vamps head roll across the pavement before coming to a stop at my feet. My stomach churned, making me nauseous. I don't condone killing, but this was warranted. He meant to kill me first.

Not realizing that I was lost in thought staring at the decapitated head of my attacker, I didn't notice when Pete shifted back.

"Do you still have my spare shorts in your truck?' Pete asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shook my head trying to clear the image from my mind, "Yea in the duffel in the back."

He grabbed my hand, not caring that he was still nude from his shift, "Come on, we have to get out of here before more show up."

More? Crap, I didn't think about that. Vampires rarely hunt alone. There could be more lying-in wait. I pick up the pace, jogging alongside Pete to my truck. I wrench open the door, grab the duffel behind my seat and toss it to Pete before hopping in the driver’s seat and starting it up.

"Get dressed in the truck Pete. Let's go!"

He quickly climbs into the passenger seat and begins slipping his feet through his shorts as I hit the gas and speed out of the parking lot.

"Don't go back to the dojo, it's not safe. We can go to my place just don't take the direct route. We want to make sure we aren't followed," Pete instructs me as I am weaving through traffic, trying to get as much distance between us and the mill as possible.

"How did you know to come?" I ask, for the first time I was suspicious of him.

"Not long after you left a package arrived at the dojo addressed to you from Andre, so I opened it," he shook his head as if trying to wrap his mind around what he had seen, "It was a picture of Andre bound and gagged and his fangs."

My foot slammed on the brakes, causing the rear of my truck to skid sideways and the traffic around me to blow their horns aggressively.

"They de-fanged him?" I shouted.

Pete winced as he nodded.

De-fanging a Vampire is the cruelest and slowest way to torture and kill a Vampire. Without their fangs they cannot feed, and they will slowly start to dry out as they starve to death. It is rumored to be an excruciating process because as they dry out their muscles and veins feel like sandpaper constantly rubbing together as they move.

I silently send an apology to Andre, knowing that he was tortured because he was helping me. What I don't understand is why he deserved to die for something as simple as helping me dig into my family history.

I brush the tear rolling down my cheek away angrily. None of this made any sense and the one person who could help me is slowly dying somewhere and I can't help him.

"Willow, I know this is a lot to take in, but we really need to keep moving. I'll drive if you want me to," Pete says, rubbing my back.

I slam the truck in park and slide toward him so he can climb over me and into the driver seat. Once seated, Pete puts the truck in drive and rides around blindly for an hour before finally making his way to his house.

Climbing out of the truck, I look up at Pete's home. It was a grey brick row home in Highlandtown, nestled between a vacant home and an abandoned one. For now, it provided some privacy, but should the vacant house get rented or sold, it won't be private anymore.

"Come on, let's get inside just in case we were followed," Pete softly nudges me forward.