Chapter 1 - Oooh, Shiny.

I woke up again in cold sweats panting. Another nightmare fading from my mind slowly, his handsome face sleeping soundly in my mind as he vanished from my sight.

It had been two weeks since the event. Since I, Lawrence Blake, had betrayed the man I loved in exchange for a second chance at life. I replayed the events over and over again in my head.

"So you see, if you take my offer, you will get what you want and put a soul out of their misery. He's in terrible pain and I give you my word that I will do no harm to you or your little merry band. You and Tyr can be together forever." said the mage.

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The offer was just far too tempting for me. I could get everything I wanted and no one would suffer.

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"Then I accept under the conditions that you will do no harm to any of those I call friend or lover."

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"Sign this then." and he handed me a piece of paper with exactly what was said written on it. I signed it and then his technicians came in. I realised my mistake as they tied me into the machine. He wasn't doing anything, they were.

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They wheeled in two more cubicles. In one was another copy of me, pierced through with wooden stakes, in the other... Was my tiger.

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I rub my eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them and the moisture. I don't know if it was sweat or tears, either way, I rubbed them clear again. This was the guilt that racked me every night. I used to be the un-dead, a vampire. Then, with that one deal I had become alive again, but on top of that, I had become a shape shifter. A very special kind known as the Nuwisha, or in laymen's terms a werecoyote.

We were supposed to be the tricksters, the ones who taught people the error of their ways through tricks or for the really despicable, pranks. There is a difference to us, pranks are normally fatal. Yet I wasn't warming up to the whole idea because although I had the carefree attitude down when I was a vampire. I had lost the thing that made me feel free and I had chained myself down into duty because I had been given responsibilities in exchange for the chance to prove I wasn't a waste of time and life.

So now I find myself pulling on my shoes and stepping out of my simple looking cabin and out into the clearing of the land belonging to my pack. The pack of the lost. Quite a sombre and apt name, it matches my mood again this morning.

The sun was barely rising into the sky, so it was quite early still. I wasn't due onto shift until much later tonight. This land was mine to watch and protect from all who would see harm to it. It was one of the few duties that I found simultaneously difficult and a privilege to do. One I had tried to put my all into and had been the only duty I hadn't actually failed. Yet.

I'm already walking towards the edge of the clearing and a row of trees that lead deeper into the land, beyond there the animals all dwelt. I can hear more sounds as I slip up into my bigger form between human and werecoyote. I can hear that Sensorsweep appears to have his sweetheart Vapor over again. They're sleeping rather soundly at the moment. A sniff of the air confirms my suspicion that Colt is around somewhere, but I don't bother to look for him. As tempting as it is to spend time around the handsome male, I fear him as much as I respect him. I don't like being scared of people, I don't like being scared full stop. It's not a feeling I'm used to.

I've lived over two hundred years and during that time I had done away with most of my fears of people as most bowed to 'my' whims, not the other way around. Granted there were exceptions but that's why I had become exceptional at avoiding being chained down. Now here I was being chained by a dead love.

I made my way through the trees and undergrowth on bare feet, the floor not bothering me whilst I was in this form. I was heading to my usual spot. My body was on autopilot right now, my thoughts still drifting around Colt. He had become a centre of my attention ever since I changed. I'd have liked to have said it was due to him just being nicer than the others, which was kinda true, but at the same time he's nearly had to kill me twice.

The thought makes me wince. The last mistake I made was something I was having trouble wrapping my head around. I had been forced to give up a sword containing an evil spirit to one of the enemy. It sucked but I'd have died and they'd have gotten it anyway if I'd have done anything else. The werewolves didn't see it that way, they believed that as a member of the pack I should have gone down fighting for the sword. I disagree personally mainly due to the fact that I got this life though stupidity, I wasn't going to lose it the same way.

The only thing that saved me was the guy who took the sword actually turned up and handed us a wish. A honest to god wish. Now this guy was fucking powerful who took the sword. I mean like, shit scary kind of powerful. I was more than a little scared of him to say the least. Yet he appeared and gave me one wish.

My first thought went to asking the opinions of those around me at the time, I turned to the wisest mage I knew, even if he was a bit of a tosser. He had suggested that I wish for a piece of sacred land to be returned to the werewolves. It made sense of course. The others agreed with him and so did I. It was just before I made the wish I realised that I could also wish for Tyr back. The guy was 'that' powerful, he could have made it so.

So why didn't I?

Mainly because I'd hoped I'd learned my lesson. Wishes like that didn't come without a price tag and the return of the land to the werewolves did indeed come with a price. There was now more or less war between the werewolves and the vampires of the city. A big enough distraction to prevent the werewolves from massing a force to attempt to take on this powerful mage/werewolf.

Yeah, you heard me right, a fucking mage werewolf. The guy breaks all the known rules and has powers that I hadn't seen in two hundred years of un-life. Even when I was a vampire, I'd have seriously thought about a continent relocation rather than even meet this guy, let alone toe to toe with him.

So had I had taken him up on his offer, who would have been the replacement to Tyr's soul? I honestly don't know nor am I wanting to think about it. The choice was made and I'll stick by this one, even if it means that I can't get back the tiger I love.

I push aside a bush and there is my patch. It's nothing special, just the base of a pretty big tree with roots that curl around in a rather comfortable cup or seat. I sit down and lean back, looking up into the tree and the wooden block sticking out of the trunk about halfway up. On the side facing down so you can only see it when you're sat in this position, is the small bronze plaque. It reads "Tyr". Nothing more. Nothing more was needed for the warrior, he'd have wanted nothing but I couldn't leave it with nothing.

The guilt within me was a cold and solid thing. It was like a lead anvil threatening to crush me every time I thought about him. I could feel the tears coming again and sliding down my face. I let them. There was no one else about, this was a moment of self pity and weakness I knew, but it was one that I allowed myself as I swore in my heart that I would get him back.

Yet the idea of him coming back also bore dangerous tidings. Since he had been taken from this world, a Tyr had replaced him from another world. That one was a 'true khan' he'd described himself. I don't believe he thought highly of my Tyr at all. Though I couldn't blame him, Tyr owed me his life, or he wouldn't have been around me. Then the game started, me trying to bed such a magnificent specimen.

It was a fun game originally. I'd pushed his limits quite considerably, never being able to breach them. I had plenty of time to keep doing it, it wasn't as if at the time I was getting any older. Well, my body wasn't ageing as it was dead. Then had come the close call. I tilt my head back and looking at the plaque again, the memory had come rushing back.

"Fuck, how do they keep following us?" I cursed.

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"I don't know, keep going!" Tyr shoved my shoulder forward as we made our way through the back alleys of the city of New York.

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I leaped over some trash cans and I could hear Tyr behind me. Further behind were some guys who I'd originally thought were ghouls, but then they'd started doing some freaky shit and growing appendages and other crap. We'd high tailed it from then, fuck that shit.

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"We're almost back at the hotel, Lawrence, you need to get to the room now!" Tyr growled.

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"What? What are you going to do?!" I look at him.

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"I must destroy these demons." he responded.

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I scowled at him, but I knew this tiger. He had a duty to perform and would he fuck give up on that. However I have no intention of letting him die. I had plans for this tiger. Arguing would get me nowhere, so....

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"Right, you better not take too long!" and I sprinted on ahead.

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I got around the corner and promptly did another turn. Like I was going to let him take them on his own. This cat might be strong, but I'm a totally different league. I quickly run past all the people, no bugger pays me any attention, this is New York, it's not unusual to see someone running like this. I just hope no one recognises me. Soon as I'm in the next alley along though, I tap into my blood's power and the world blurs past me. I'm forcing the blood within me to increase my strength, I'm about to go into a fight and they aren't going to know what is about to hit them. The tiger will be the least of their worries.

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I can hear the sounds of the fighting as I round the corner into another alley, I'm hoping that this one connects to the one we just ran through. I get to the end and slow down. Peeking around the corner, I see Tyr has shifted up into his half man, half tiger form. He's cutting down the guys like corn. Looks like I may have been over concerned until I see one guy get bisected by Tyr's claws but his body seems to mould around the claws and hand. Tyr tries to shake him off but the guy's body is oozing up the great tiger's arm and then it envelops Tyr's face!

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I'm moving as fast as I dare, there's two idiots left and they don't see me coming, fuck knows what they think when their throats vanish in a spray of something I wouldn't call blood. I turn my attention to the ooze around Tyr's face. He's dropped to his knees and clawing at the stuff but it's not working. Fuck!

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I stop and think for a moment, watching Tyr's body starting to flail some more, he's going to pass out from suffocation at this rate. I narrow my eyes and look at the ooze, it's a creature, I might be able to use my abilities. My bloodline has the special talents of making people and creatures, pay attention to me. So I draw upon that and shout at the creature. It stops, this is good. However Tyr is stopping moving as much, he's twitching a little, but he's not doing well.

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"Release him, now!" I command the thing. It shudders then withdraws, returning to its state as a humanoid creature. Looking at me with that dopey smile that the ones often get. I turn my dread gaze on to it at full bore right now. I know that it needed to be able to see me for this one to work and boy does it. The thing runs screaming into the night and I hear a screech of tires before there's a meaty thud. Good riddance.

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I quickly check Tyr's pulse, he's still breathing, but barely. He must have passed out from oxygen deprivation. He's shifted back into his human form, but he's otherwise unhurt. I still have the blood rush so with little difficulty I lift him up and support him with his arm over my shoulder, giving the impression he's doing some walking.

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_ I carry him to the hotel, the staff asking if he was okay. I give a big smile and pour on the charm, letting everyone know that he just had a bad night and needed to sleep it off. Better they think drunk than anything else. We get up to the room and he's still out of it. I'm getting a little worried now, so I start running a bath for him. He's not dead, so as a weretiger, he should recover. I don't think he's been poisoned or I'd have smelled something. He's just been unconscious for longer than I'd like._

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The bath has finished running and I strip Tyr out of his clothing, except his boxers. I don't want him getting mad that I took advantage whilst he was out of it. He can always take them off if the water wakes him up. I carry him into the bathroom and gently lower him into the tub, my arm around some of his chest because the sheer muscle mass makes it difficult.

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It's alright being super strong or having supernatural strength if you can't actually get a decent enough grip on something, you can't hold onto the damn thing. So here I am, holding him as gently as possible under one armpit to make sure he doesn't drown and hoping he'll wake soon. Dignified it is not, but at least it's not embarrassing and with him in the bath he'll hopefully not freak the fuck out.

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"Urrrgh..." he groans.

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Oh thank goodness, he's waking up.

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He groans gently and slowly opens his eyes. I smile softly at him and he starts to sit up before realising he's in the tub and looks at me.

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"The hell, what happened?" he growls.

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I give him the reader's digest version and gently extract my arm from under his, not that I particularly want to, I was kind of enjoying that.

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"So I owe you again?" he growls.

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I chuckle softly and shake my head. "Nah, call that one payment for letting me have as much fun as you have done. I know I can be a pain in the ass. Pun not intended there." I grin at him.

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He looks down and sees he still has his underwear on in the tub and frowns up at me.

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"Why did you leave my underwear on?"

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"Because I didn't want you getting the wrong ideas about what I'd been up to whilst you've been out. I maybe have designs on your body, but I respect your choices."

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He's scowling rather badly at me right now. Dammit, can I do nothing right for doing wrong.

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"You didn't come straight here like I told you to did you?" he growls.

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Uh oh.

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I sigh and hang my head "No, I didn't. I couldn't just leave you Tyr. I'm sorry."

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I felt his hand close around my arm then. I looked up to see him a lot closer than before and then his lips touched mine. They were softer than I expected and stubble of his chin and upper lip rub against my face before his arms encircle me and I'm pulled into the tub.

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I rub my eyes again at the memory. That first time had made a bigger change in me than I could admit. From then on I had become fixated on finding a way to be with him without being a monster to everyone. I didn't realise that it was those actions that were making me less of a monster, not the final choice I made to become a werecreature.

A crackling sound to the side catches my ears. I frown, I'd never heard a sound like this. Sliding out of my seat and moving towards the sound, I see what appears to be some kind of purple oval in the air, rippling and images within it changing. This is new, and certainly does not look like it's meant to be here. I'm gonna bet magic.

If that's the case, then. I grab my phone out of my pocket, hit the dial button and raise it to my ear.

"I already know." says a voice behind me.

It's all I can do not to jump forward into the damn thing as Tarquin's voice behind me scares the crap out of me.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that, I can now get heart attacks and I'd rather not." I mutter.

He ignores me and starts to study the oval.

"So what is it?" I ask.

"A portal I think."

"Oh great, so where's it go?"

"I dunno, why don't you go through and check it out?"

"Hah! No thanks." I snort.

Turning to look at it though, an image catches my eye and I lean forward to look a little closer.

"Wha.. Leon?" I frown.

I feel a firm shove in my back and I go flying into the oval. The world around me blurs and I feel myself falling. Luckily something soft-ish breaks my fall.

"Shit! Goddammit! Grrrr, oh hell! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drop in like that" I say.

"It's fine if you get off me!" growls the voice below me. It's kinda familiar actually.

I get off him and brush myself off, he stands up and the next thing I hear is.

"Holyfuck Lawrence??!" he says.

"Why yes, do I..... Fuck me! Alias?!?"