The Were-Bitch Project
By Autolycus, maynlinz@earthlink.net
A genetically altered female werewolf experiences her first full moon.


A SPANISH WEREWOLF IN HOLLYWOOD VII:

THE WERE-BITCH PROJECT

(c) 2000 Autolycus

Her name is Lupe Bacalao and she is a werewolf...sort of. She is currently the
houseguest of Dr. Cassandra Trotter, an old friend and former teacher of
Jessica Chance who runs a consulting business and writes mystery novels. The
good doctor's daughter, LAPD Officer Saba Trotter, disapproves of her mother's
businesses--She runs a "fight club" in addition to the consulting firm--and of
Lupe, personally, but will nevertheless help them out. This is the story of
the time Lupe experienced her first full moon after Jessica's attempted cure
of her lycanthropy.

Once the beast that was neither wolf nor woman was out of sight of the three
human females, and seeing that she was not being followed, she paused and
cautiously raised a massive paw-like hand first to her chest and then to her
throat. Both wounds from the strange weapon were bleeding. Then, as she looked
down at the hole in her chest she saw something small and hard forced out of
the wound. Before she could even bend to pick up the object, her chest had
sealed tightly closed, not leaving so much as a scar to mark the place where a
hole had been seconds ago. She tentatively felt at her neck again and was
amazed to find that it, too, had completely healed.

Confused but happy, she loped off in search of food.

=*=

Saba and Cassandra sat in the intensive care ward and waited impatiently for
some word on Simone's condition. They would have been there much sooner but
the doctor had had to answer some questions for Saba's fellow officers before
she was released. Specifically how Alejandro Domingas went from being a human
being to a smear on the floor of an abandoned warehouse. Cassie pleaded
ignorance, even though she'd personally witnessed the demon known as a water
spite flatten him before Lupe destroyed it after undergoing her full moon
transformation at sunset, but Saba insisted that the hulking beast she'd seen
must have been responsible and that seemed to satisfy them for the time being
at least.

When they finally arrived at the hospital they learned that Simone was alive,
but that's all anyone could tell them. Tired, frustrated, and worried, they
made themselves as comfortable as they could in the intensive care lobby.

"Mom," Saba said softly, leaning in close to her mother's face, letting her
senses fill up with her presence, "what happened to Lupe?" Cassandra tensed
and then tried to quickly relax, but her daughter had noticed the reflexive
action. "She was that...thing, wasn't she?"

"Of course not, dear. How could she have been?" Cassie replied in her most
reasonable tone.

"I don't know..." Her voice trailed off as she happened to glance out the
window and saw the bright, full moon hanging in the sky like the baleful eye
of a dark God from long ago and she gasped.

Her mother followed her gaze and said, "Don't be ridiculous, Saba."

"Am I being ridiculous, mother?" she asked. "Simone seemed to think that thing
wouldn't hurt her. Why would she think that?"

"Simone was obviously in some sort of shock at seeing the beast and not acting
in her right mind, dear," Cassandra explained patiently, hating herself for
lying to her daughter.

"Okay, then, what happened to Lupe?" Saba asked pointedly.

"I've no idea, dear," Cassie shrugged. "She went out last night and Domingas
showed up and took me away before she returned."

"Out? Out with who? Not Simone."

"I don't know exactly where and as far as I know she was alone. Lupe is a big
girl, Saba. She can take care of herself."

Saba sat back in her chair, clearly not satisfied with her mother's answers
but also unwilling to get into a confrontation over them at the moment. After
a few minutes of silent debate she excused herself and went far enough away
that her mother wouldn't hear her call in an APB on the big Spaniard. She also
checked for any information on the thing she'd shot and learned that there had
been a number of sightings but that was it. She was also informed of the
brutal killing of several people-In a manner very similar to a dog attack, but
apparently done by a creature much larger than your average dog-and the
curious fact that most of LA's homeless population was nowhere to be seen.

She returned to find her mother dozing peacefully and likewise made herself
cozy as she snuggled down into the large leather chair next to her, never
noticing one of the older woman's dark eyes slightly open to watch her.

=*=

The beast stopped and raised her nose high, inhaling deeply. Two scents
reached her: one was fresh blood and the other was strange but familiar at the
same time. It had been so long that she almost failed to identify it as a
member of the pack. With a low growl of joy she raced off in the direction of
the smells in that odd loping gait of hers that was more ape-like than
anything else.

Rounding a corner she skidded to a halt at the sight of a human male with his
throat torn out and most of his upper body missing. She warily approached and
sniffed the body, whining with anticipation when the unmistakable scent of a
pack-mate filled her nostrils. But she was too hungry to try to follow the
trail now. First she would eat and then she would locate her pack-mate.

She leaned down and tore off a large chunk of flesh with her sharp teeth and
devoured it in a single gulp. She was just about to take a second bite when a
bright light shone in her eyes, blinding her, and she felt more of the
stinging missiles strike her body as the odd weapons barked loudly in the
hands of the humans.

With a cry more of annoyance than pain she loped back down the way she had
come and into the darkness.

=*=

Lilith Kahira was just getting ready to leave for the evening when her
Personal Assistant, Pam Dunn, phoned her. "What is it, darling? I'm just about
to go to that dinner for the Fortune 500."

"I thought you might want to know that Simone Stallion is in the hospital,
boss," Pam said. "The early buzz is that she's paralyzed from the neck down."

Lilith dropped onto her bed, too stunned to reply. Sure, she'd tried to kill
the actress when she represented her and she'd grown to hate her over the
years for all the trouble she'd caused with her drugs, booze, and other
addictions, but deep down there was a friendship between the pair of women
that had altered from one based on affection to one based on respect. They
were both tough and had fought every inch of the way for the fame they'd
ultimately achieved. She sat and recalled how it had been in the beginning,
when she and Simone had worked to get her legitimate acting jobs and how
they'd celebrated when she was cast as a secret agent named 'Vanity Flair'
whose acrobatics in the bedroom almost outdid those in her precisely
choreographed fight scenes. She remembered how Simone had worked hard to
prepare for the role, giving up the drugs and the extra-marital sex, even
cutting down on the booze and getting her body in terrific shape. How she had
stunned all of them, the producers, directors, her fellow cast members, and
Lilith herself when she secretly learned the martial arts and made doing her
own stunts a sort of trademark, similar to that of Jackie Chan-Which turned
out to be rather fitting when it was discovered that none other than the
'Clown Prince of Kung Fu' himself had overseen her training. Things had been
good for a while with Lilith's fortunes soaring ever higher, mostly thanks to
the influence her patron Goddess, the evil Sakhmet, exerted on her behalf and
partly due to her own business savvy, and Simone's fame growing with every new
project. By the time of the sixth Vanity Flair film Lilith was a
multi-millionaire and Simone was bored and back to the drugs and booze big
time. She was also on her second marriage to the lead singer in a surprisingly
popular band. There would be two more divorces before they finally called it
quits for good. That is, assuming she and Lupe stayed together; Lilith very
much doubted would be the case, given Simone's past relationships.

"Boss? Any instructions?" Pam asked after getting no reply for several
minutes. "Do you want to send her some flowers or something?"

"Flowers? No, I don't think so, darling. But I do want you to find out all you
can about the circumstances that resulted in this tragic condition."

"Sure thing, boss," Pam said. "See you in the morning."

Lilith mumbled a reply, hung up and finished getting ready for the dinner.

=*=

The beast pressed itself to the wall of the narrow canyon as one of the
strange black and white creatures passed by, its blazing eyes illuminating the
darkness around her but thankfully not revealing her to the armed humans
within it. She waited until it had gone and then raced across the roadway and
down the narrow canyon on the other side of the thoroughfare, letting her nose
guide her unerringly to her pack-mate.

When she came upon her, she was so startled to finally catch up to her that
she nearly ran into her as her feet scrabbled for purchase on the cold stone
of the canyon floor. For her part, her pack-sister looked up at her and
growled in warning as she hunched low over the body of another human, this one
an elderly female.

The beast immediately assumed a docile posture, crouching as low as her odd
form would allow and keeping her bushy tail close to the ground as she crept
forward, whining softly. The pack-sister seemed confused and her black lips
pulled back, revealing her yellow teeth as a low snarl erupted from deep in
her chest. Her eyes were bright and blue and they reminded the beast of
someone she could not place. Her coat was lighter in color than her own,
tending to an almost blonde-brown on her belly and snout while the majority of
her back and legs were more brunette. She was smaller than the beast, but much
bigger than even the largest true wolf. Finally, after several minutes of
snarling and sniffing she approached the beast and cautiously licked her face.

The beast nearly jumped for joy, but managed to maintain her docile position
to see what her pack-sister would do next. She sniffed her some more, her nose
wrinkling at the lingering scent of the Cursed One, and then nudged the
remains of the human with her nose, inviting the beast to join her. With a
grateful whine, the beast tore off a chunk of the warm flesh and happily
gulped it down.

After the unusual pair had stripped the bones clean and then cracked open the
larger ones and sucked them dry of the sweet marrow within they padded off,
heading for the hills above the busy city, longing to run free in open spaces
as the pack had done from the beginning of time.

=*=

Simone's blue eyes fluttered open and she saw Cassie and Saba holding each
other and crying. "Who died?" she asked with a weary smile, her voice sounding
oddly harsh.

"Thank the Goddess you're awake!" Saba exclaimed, rushing to her side.

"Nice to know you care, Saba," she said, winking at Cassandra. She realized
that she was in a hospital room and tried to sit up to get a better look
around but found that she was unable. "What happened?" she asked.

"Don't you remember?" Saba asked.

"Not really. I remember us finding your mom's car and then...nothing."

"There was this...thing and you tried to...to-Hell! I don't know what you were
trying to do! Make friends with it or something. Anyway, it grabbed you by the
throat and threw you at me and then ran off before I could shoot it again."

"Again? How many times did you shoot her, er, it?" Simone demanded.

"Twice. Once in the chest and once in the neck. It brought it down but
obviously didn't kill it," Saba growled.

"Thank Goddess," Simone whispered.

"How are you feeling, dear?" asked Cassandra, approaching and looking down at
her, smiling gently but there was something about her dark eyes that Simone
didn't like.

"I feel fine for someone who's been run over by a truck. Just tired. Too
exhausted to even raise my head," she added with a chuckle. She glanced down
and saw with alarm that Saba had a tight grip on her hand...only she couldn't
feel it. She suddenly realized with horror that she couldn't feel anything
below her neck. "What happened to me, Cassie? Why can't I feel my body?!"

"It's your spinal column, dear, it sustained what's called a 'C-6 injury'
when...the thing either grabbed you or when you crashed into Saba," Cassandra
explained sadly.

"How soon before I get the feeling back?" the actress asked desperately. Dr.
Trotter slowly shook her head. "You mean this is permanent?! Like, for the
rest of my fucking life??!"

"For the time being, dear, but amazing advances in regenerative procedures are
being made every day, Simone. In a few years who knows what will be possible,"
she said, knowing her words would be of little comfort.

"Years," said Simone softly as tears streamed down her cheeks. "I don't have
any more years to spend lying on my back; I wasted too many at the beginning
of my career."

Cassie and Saba looked at each other, unsure whether or not to laugh. "Can I
get you anything, Sim?" Saba finally asked.

"Got a spare spinal column?" the actress replied. "Okay, that was in poor
taste. Actually, I'd love an ice-cold soda. Thanks, Saba."

"No problem," the officer replied, stroking her cheeks and wiping away the
tears.

"What about Lupe?" Simone asked as soon as she was alone with Cassandra.

"The full moon transformation was beyond anything we've seen, dear. She was a
monstrous, hulking figure, more beast than human and more vicious than ever
before. I'm worried about her and what she's capable of in this form," Dr.
Trotter said, squeezing her hand even though she knew Simone couldn't feel it.

"Thank Goddess it will only last three days," Simone said.

"Three days every month, dear," Cassie reminded her.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and then the actress softly said, "Why
can't my life just suck in the usual way again for a change?"

Cassandra laughed and leaned over and pressed her face next to Simone's in the
closest thing she could do to hugging her that the actress would feel.

=*=

The sun had risen by the time the beast and her pack-sister reached the hills
above the city, thanks to the relentless pursuit of the strange black and
white creatures. They had finally managed to elude them, however, and the
beast and the wolf bounded through the tall grass joyfully, playfully tackling
each other.

The beast suddenly froze as her keen nose became aware of other scents near
by. She raised her head and inhaled deeply and then began to whine as her tail
thumped loudly on the ground. From out of the morning mist came more of her
pack-brothers and sisters, dozens of them, more than she could count as they
slowly approached and circled her and the light-furred wolf.

Then her blonde pack-sister was gone from her side and among the new arrivals,
circling her ominously. A low rumble started from the pack and quickly built
to a fearful growling as they surrounded the confused beast. She looked about
her in a panic, her large misshapen head jerking this way and that, trying to
locate the friendly face in the throng, but her blonde playmate was simply one
of many who seemed to be howling for her blood.

Suddenly, the pack stopped and as one sat down on their haunches, forming a
living cage around her and she was now aware of a new scent, one she was sure
she'd never encountered before. It was similar to her own, and to that of the
pack, but there was something even more ancient about it, almost like one of
the Cursed Ones...but not quite. A tall figure emerged from the fog and walked
through the pack as if they were statues, calmly stroking their fur as it
came.

"Well, what have we here? A new recruit?" The being was tall, easily over 6',
and had the face and figure of a woman for the most part, with long dark hair
that hung down in two braids, the ends of which were knotted with leather
straps and adorned with feathers, large ears that ended in a definite point,
eyes that were as dark as a moonless midnight, but with a single point of
brilliant white where a normal human would have had a pupil, and teeth as long
and sharp as any of the creatures around her, save, perhaps, for the beast's.
Her body was covered with a blonde-colored light fuzz, far less dense than any
of the werewolves', and it rippled with power even when she was standing still
thanks to her incredible muscle development. She was wearing clothing made
from the hides of deer and soft shoes of the same material were on her feet.
The top, more like a sports bra than a blouse or shirt, and the short skirt
were both decorated with colorful beads that formed intricate patterns and
suggested various beasts and fowl and other, more fantastic creatures. She had
turquoise bracelets and anklets and a thick collar-like necklace made of white
beads and the blue stones hung nearly to her full breasts. "Not exactly
government issue, are you, my friend?" she said, folding her arms across her
chest and staring into the beast's eyes. "Someone's been playing with your
atomic structure, girl. Probably trying to cure you, huh? Well, there's only
one cure for this condition, sweetheart," she said, gesturing to the dozens of
furry forms around them, "and science alone can't provide it. But why anyone
would want to give up this blessing is beyond me."

She walked closer to the beast, holding her hand out, palm down, in the
traditional gesture of offering and the monstrous creature cautiously sniffed
it, her large nose wrinkling at the faintly demonic aroma.

"You smell my roots, don't you, girl?" the woman asked with a laugh. "I'm not
exactly proud of them, but there's also no denying them at this point, so I
make the best of both worlds."

The beast's lips pulled back and she growled softly as the woman began to
stroke her snout, but when the entire pack snarled a warning she quickly
ceased and immediately dropped to the ground and rolled onto her back.

"You might just fit in, after all," nodded the woman, rubbing her chest and
belly, unaware of the golden necklace buried in the thick, dark fur.

The beast that was neither wolf nor woman was startled to realize that she not
only understood the fuzzy female, but that she also enjoyed the touch of the
strange being's hands on her underside. The gesture brought back memories of
another who had done the same thing but the figure in her mind's eye was
clouded and indistinct. As the being who was neither Cursed One nor human
continued to pet her, the rest of the pack drew closer and soon they were all
rolling and playing in the tall grass with the strange female.

=*=

"I'm not going to argue with you about this, Kall. This is something I have to
do," Jessica said, getting out of her temporary partner's car in front of the
hospital. "It shouldn't take long. In the meantime, see what you can find out
about-"

"Hey! I know my job, Jessica. I'm the one who's got my priorities straight,
okay?" Kallista snapped. "You know where to find me when you're done playing
God." She stomped on the gas and the VW convertible Beetle sped away, causing
anyone outside to look up in surprise.

The redhead sighed and then pushed all other thoughts aside as she entered the
hospital and headed for the IC unit.

*

"How is she doing?"

Cassandra looked up and saw the familiar figure of her old student and jumped
up from her chair. "Not bad, all things considered," she replied, hugging the
redhead tightly. "She's resting now, but she was awake and talking earlier."

"No sign of brain damage?" Jessica asked as she pulled back to look the older
woman in the face.

"No more than she had before the accident," Saba said with a slightly nervous
laugh. "Hello, Jessica."

"Saba! How have you been?" She moved to embrace the young woman, but was met
with an outstretched hand instead.

"Still saving the world one person at a time," the LAPD officer replied,
shaking Jessi's hand with as much warmth as a statue. Once upon a time she'd
tried to get into a contest of strength with the agent only to have her hand
painfully crushed for her efforts. Since then she'd contented herself with
putting as little feeling as possible into any physical contact she and the
redhead had. "I'm going to the cafeteria. You want anything, mom?"

"I'd love a bag of chips, dear, but..." She looked down at her round figure
and shook her head. "Better make it an apple instead."

"Jessica?"

"Nothing for me, thanks."

As soon as Saba was gone, Cassandra asked, "What brings you back to LA so
soon, Jessica?"

"Company business, Cassandra, but when I heard about Simone I had to come over
and see what had happened. The official report said that she was attacked by
some sort of monster. It wasn't Lupe, was it?"

"I'm afraid it was, dear. The full moon transformation was horrible. She's
bigger and more violent than her wolf form ever was," Cassie replied sadly.

"I should have just left well enough alone," Jessica said softly. "As someone
recently reminded me: I can't save everyone and it's high time I realized
that."

"Nonsense, dear. Maybe you can't save everyone, but if you stop trying to it
will only end up making things worse. Failing to save someone isn't nearly as
bad as not trying to save everyone you can, as far as I'm concerned. It's not
what you can accomplish that counts so much as what you have the courage to
attempt, dear," she said with a wise nod and smile. "Try to remember that."

"I will, Cassandra. And thanks for grounding me again," the redhead replied.

"I'll bill you for the advice if that will help to remind you," Cassie added
with a sly grin and wink.

A pretty young nurse approached and told them that Simone was awake and asking
for Cassandra.

"You go on, dear," she told the agent. "You two ought to talk privately."

Jessica nodded and followed the nurse to Simone's room, leaving Cassandra
chewing nervously on her lower lip.

*

Simone looked up as a shadow fell across her and was more than a little
shocked to see a tall redhead standing in the doorway. "Jessica?" she
inquired, unsure whether or not to believe her eyes.

"It's me, Simone," she said, coming quickly to the side of the bed and
stroking her cheek. "I'm so very sorry about this, but I think I can make it
right if you'll trust me."

"What have I got to lose, besides a lifetime of uselessness?" she replied with
a slight smile.

"Maybe your life, maybe your soul itself," Jessi replied, her voice and
expression dead serious. "Still with me?"

"Yeah, despite your abysmal record with Lupe, you're still my best chance for
any kind of normal life," the brunette said with a wink.

"I may have failed to cure Lupe-And from what Cassandra told me, I even made
things worse than before with my meddling-but don't forget that I was able to
cure myself with no ill effects."

"I know. That's why I'm willing to trust you. But, Jessica, let me make this
very clear: I don't want to be a werewolf for a minute longer than is
necessary. Okay?" she asked, her blue eyes pleading for understanding.

The redhead nodded and then said, "I have to go. I need to find her before she
hurts anyone else. What she did to you, what she's become, that's my
responsibility and I need to do right by both of you before I'll be able to
look at myself in the mirror again." Before Simone could reply she turned and
walked out of the room. Avoiding the Trotter women in the lobby, she entered
the stairwell and headed for the street.

=*=

The beast that was neither woman nor wolf was happy for the first time in as
long as she could remember. Although, there were nagging, dream-like
reminiscences of a still happier time in her mind that refused to coalesce
into anything distinct enough to rightfully call a memory. But they were
thrust to the deepest part of her subconscious as she rolled and frolicked
with her pack-brothers and sisters. Today, with her own kind at long last,
this was what she had dreamed of her entire life. Even the presence of the
strange female who was neither Cursed One nor human could spoil this time.

Or so she thought...

"This is our time, my friends," the tall, fuzz-covered woman announced as she
suddenly stood up and held her hands out in front of her, drawing the
werewolves to her as if by sheer willpower. She nodded and a malevolent smile
played at the corners of her full lips as the werewolves formed a semi-circle
before her. "We have just under two days to do what must be done, my pets. So,
as much as I'd love to play with all of you for the remainder of the day, it's
time for you to go and spread your gift to the unfortunates in the city below.
But remember, my children, you must not kill them. Just bite them and run away
before they can retaliate. Do you understand?"

The beast, along with the rest of the pack, lowered their heads and then
raised them in a canid version of a nodding of assent and a moment later had
melted into the tall grass, heading for the noisy buildings below them, even
though every one of them would much rather have stayed up on the hillside or
gone just about any place else. She was relieved, however, to see that the
blonde pack-sister who had brought her to the rest of the pack had once chosen
to travel with her and the pair rubbed noses as they made their way down the
hill.

When her pack-sister suddenly dropped to a low crouch and her legs tensed in
anticipation, the beast did likewise, even though her more human form made it
nearly impossible for her to exactly imitate the blonde werewolf's position.
As the pair lay in the tall grass a group of human males approached, tossing a
strange object back and forth between them. It looked like a large egg to the
beast and her companion but it was the males who held their attention, not the
egg.

Without warning the blonde growled loudly and leaped out of her concealment.
The human males were momentarily frozen with fear and in that instant she
closed the distance between them and bit one on the arm. She was back in the
tall grass before he opened his mouth to scream.

The other males looked about them in fear and confusion, clearly not sure what
had just happened, as their friend bellowed in pain and dropped to the ground
holding his injured leg.

The blonde pack-sister crouched next to the beast and licked the blood from
her muzzle, whining in a questioning tone and gesturing with her head toward
the males as they helped their stricken friend up. The beast hesitated a
moment and then she charged out at the little group with a fearsome roar. The
males scattered, deserting their incapacitated comrade and running as fast as
they could away from the monstrous thing chasing them. But the beast was too
quick and her powerful legs literally propelled her into their path. Before
they could even skid to a halt, she had bitten each of them and then bounded
back over their heads and into the tall grass.

As she cleaned the fresh blood from her face as best she could, the beast was
pleased to see the awe glistening in her pack-sister's eyes. When the blonde
tentatively began to clean her coat with her tongue, the beast was more than
happy to let her do so.

=*=

"Hey, Simmie."

The actress cast her eyes away from Cassandra and Saba and her mouth dropped
open as a startled gasp exploded from her lungs. "D-Danny?!"

"It hasn't been that long, babe," he said with a slight laugh. He was a tall,
skinny but nevertheless handsome man with an ill-kept mop of long blonde hair,
small, intensely green eyes, and a rather pointed chin that made him look a
bit like old pictures of the Devil. If he'd had any facial hair the
resemblance would have been unmistakable, as it was only a few people had
noticed. Simone, naturally, was one of them. He was wearing an expensive but
casual suit of dark material and had a bouquet of red roses in one hand.

Cassandra and Saba both stared at him in open disbelief. Not because he had
shown up at the hospital after all they'd been through, but because they
simply couldn't believe that a real live rock star was standing across the
room from them. "I'm Danny," he said, walking over and extending his free hand
to the stunned Trotter women. Saba numbly shook his hand and mumbled something
incomprehensible and her mother was little better, managing to squeak out a
"Pleased to meet you" before her voice gave out.

"I hope you don't mind if Simmie and I have some private time..." he said as
diplomatically as possible.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Cassie, dragging her dazed daughter from the room.
"Take all the time you need."

Simone noted that her ex's eyes watched Saba's exit with more than a passing
interest. You didn't really think he'd ever change anyway, she reminded
herself. "Those for me?" she asked after a moment.

"Huh? Oh, the flowers, yeah, they're for you. I know how much you like red
roses." He looked around for a vase.

"I'll have one of the nurses put them in water later," she told him, deciding
not to point out that she in fact hated roses of any kind. She was more of a
chrysanthemum and orchid kind of gal.

"Okay," he said, setting them on a low shelf next to the sink, instantly
forgetting about them. "How are you feeling?" A look of horror covered his
face and he immediately blurted out, "Um, I mean, you look great!"

"It's all right, Dan. No need to walk on eggshells. I'm dealing with it," she
assured him with a smile. Of course, if I weren't fairly sure that this was
only going to be a temporary condition, it would be an entirely different
story, she said to herself. "So what brings you here? I know you well enough
to be pretty sure it wasn't just to bring me some flowers."

His eyes suddenly dropped to the floor and he took on the posture of a little
boy whose hand has been caught in the cookie jar. "I'm getting married, Sim,"
he said quietly, keeping his eyes downcast.

It shouldn't have hurt her-After all, she was involved with Lupe and had given
up any hope of them staying together long before she had met the Spaniard
anyway, so it really shouldn't have mattered one way or the other to her-but
it did. She suddenly found herself short of breath and her blue eyes bulged as
she felt her lungs constricting. "Holy shit, Sim!" he exclaimed when he heard
her wheezing. He ran into the hall and grabbed a startled young nurse and
dragged her into the room. "Don't just stand there. Do something for her!" he
shouted when she just stared at him like a starstruck fan.

She jerked her head and then rushed over and gently eased Simone's back up
from the bed and twisted her torso slightly until the actress could catch her
breath and inhale normally. "That's it?" Danny asked as she lowered Simone
back to the bed.

"That's it," the nurse nodded. "Just call if you need anything else, okay?"

"Will do," Danny replied, noticing how attractive she was for the first time.
The nurse winked and left the room, swaying her hips a bit more than
necessary, his eyes glued to her shapely figure.

Simone smiled and suddenly not only felt very foolish, but also sorry for
whoever Danny was going to marry. The rest of the short visit went smoothly
and she wasn't exactly sorry when he made some excuse and hastily kissed her
cheek before leaving.

A few minutes later Cassandra and Saba came back and asked how the visit went.
"Nothing special," Simone replied, enjoying the way Saba's jaw dropped at her
words.

* * * * *

Jessica paused at the entrance to the deserted warehouse and pulled a kerchief
from her purse and held it over her nose to filter out some of the stench. She
was hardly able to believe her eyes as she looked sadly at the countless
bodies that literally covered the floor of the building. The majority of them
were dressed in filthy rags and most of them were elderly, but too many were
younger, except that their hard lives had made them look much older.

A young officer walked over to her, his face clearly showing signs of nausea,
and she held up her Aegis ID and told him that she'd been asked by the Chief
of Police to look into this-Which wasn't exactly true; she'd heard the report
on the portable police band radio she carried and come to investigate, fearing
the worst and never knowing how right her fears had been. He nodded and told
her to wait while he went over and talked to another officer who seemed to be
in charge, for the time being anyway.

The police officer frowned and walked over to her. "This is weird," he said,
pointing to the bodies. He was an older man, past his prime but still handsome
enough, with light hair and blue eyes that continued to attract younger women.
His build was fit, but he was beginning to develop a slight paunch around his
waist. "I'm not a big fan of weird. Been too much of it in this city lately
for my liking."

"I would hardly call the murders of dozens of homeless people 'weird,' Officer
Parker," she replied, reading his name off his badge.

"I wasn't referring to the deaths, Agent Chance, just the way they were all
killed," he said, his eyes crinkling in annoyance.

Jessica bent down and examined the bodies closest to her and discovered that
they had been killed in exactly the same way: A single bite to the throat.

"If they were killed by animals, as appears to be the case," Parker said as
the redhead stood back up with a scowl creasing her striking features, "why
haven't any of the bodies been, well, eaten off of?"

"Because they're a stockpile, a feeding ground," she replied, her emerald eyes
growing as hard and cold as the gem they shared coloring with.

"For the beasts' young?" the officer asked, wondering just what kind of
creatures they were dealing with.

"For an army," Jessica replied. Before Parker could recover from the shock of
that statement, she had turned and left, leaving him with more questions than
answers.

"Definitely too much weird lately," he sighed, scratching his head.

=*=

The beast that was neither wolf nor woman and her blonde companion loped
happily back to the clearing and were greeted by the rest of the pack with
friendly barks and wagging tails. After their attack on the young males they
had continued down into the city and likewise successfully struck several
groups of humans, leaving all of them with wounds just as the being who was
neither Cursed One nor human had instructed. She tried to understand why they
did not simply kill the humans, since the beings were fit only as a prey, and
the strange being's insistence that they not be treated as such confused her.
Besides which, having not eaten since the night before she was growing very
hungry. From the discontented rumblings around her, the rest of the pack was,
too.

Some frolicked and played while others took the opportunity to get some sleep
while the sun beat down on them. The beast wasn't sure what they were all
waiting for and longed again to be able to understand her pack-mates, but
something about their growling speech eluded her ability to comprehend it,
leaving her frustrated and unhappy. But since the pack seemed to accept her as
one of their own and made her feel welcome for the first time in a very long
time, she grudgingly accepted the gulf of silence that separated them.

As the day drew to a close all of them suddenly stopped whatever they were
doing and looked about them expectantly.

"I know you're hungry, my friends," said the fuzzy half-demon, appearing among
the pack, "and I've prepared a special treat for you as a reward for the
excellent work you did today. Follow me and you will feast to your heart's
content."

The being that was neither Cursed One nor human led them down the hill, but
away from the heart of the city, towards the industrial district. The huge
buildings that loomed over them as they padded down empty streets were as
deserted as the roadways this time of day and the few vehicles they did see
were easily avoided with the aid of mounting shadows.

"All right, my children, it's supper time!" cried the fuzz-covered woman,
throwing open the door of a large warehouse. The pack surged into the building
and suddenly stopped, their clawed feet scrabbling for purchase on the slick
floor as they realized the building was empty. "What the...?!" screamed the
half-demon, looking around in confusion.

A sharp pain between her shoulder blades sent her crashing face-first to the
ground at the feet of the werewolves and she turned to see a redheaded woman
standing in the doorway behind her.

"Oh, lady, you just made one Hell of a mistake," she grinned, climbing to her
feet.

"No, you're the one who's made the mistake," Jessica replied, scanning the
pack for Lupe. She spotted a monstrous thing that was neither werewolf nor
human and sadly knew she'd located her friend. "I don't know exactly how you
control the werewolves or what you plan to do with them, but it won't much
matter after I've kicked your murdering ass and taken you to the authorities."

The other laughed, a dark, disturbing sound. "You've no idea who or what
you're dealing with, do you, lady?" she asked, her black eyes glinting
ominously in the dim light of the empty building.

"I know what I need to. You're a dangerous animal, far more dangerous than
these poor souls, and I'm going to see to it that you don't get the chance to
hurt anyone else," she said, closing the door and effectively trapping all of
them.

"Arrogant human, I am Kasa, daughter of the shape-shifting demon known as
'Coyote,' 'Raven,' and a host of other names to the original inhabitants of
this land, and I'm here to fulfill his legacy and make the entire world one
people, one race, one pack."

"You're just another megalomaniac with dreams of world conquest. I've dealt
with your kind before," the redhead replied with a sad shake of her head.

"Have you?" demanded the half-demon woman, sending a ball of green fire
hurling at the other.

Jessica jumped up and over the fireball and kicked out, catching Kasa flush on
the nose with one booted foot and driving the heel of her other into the
startled being's throat. "Okay, the magic fire is new, but I've played with
flame-spewing bad girls before," she said with a grin as Kasa was again
knocked to her back at the feet of the pack.

"Have you played with my children before, bitch?" the half-demon shrieked,
jumping to her feet. She slowly brought her arms around in front of her and
pointed both hands directly at the redhead. "Kill her, my pets, and then we
feast like never before!"

The dozens of huge wolves snarled and slowly advanced towards Jessica, their
black lips back and their yellow teeth bared fiercely. Then, as if by some
sort of silent mutual consent they all charged her, their horrific howls
echoing through the warehouse as they came.

The redhead instantly sprinted away, racing along the wall of the building and
heading toward the far end with the ferocious pack snapping at her heels.

Kasa laughed. "Running won't do you any good, human! They'll catch you soon
enough." She suddenly realized that the strange creature hadn't joined the
others in pursuing the redhead and was instead gazing from the human to her
with an odd look in her dark eyes. "What's wrong with you, girl? Why aren't
you helping your brothers and sisters?"

The beast looked up at her and her snout twisted as it struggled to form
words. "Lupe... not... like... others," she growled out.

The half-demon started as if she'd been shot. "What the Hell are you?" she
asked, fear creeping into her inhuman eyes for the first time in many, many
years.

"Different," snarled the beast with an ill-formed grin.

Meanwhile, Jessica put on a burst of speed to increase the distance between
herself and the werewolves and mentally pushed a button on the wall. When it
was depressed a huge shining net dropped on the pack and they snarled in
confusion as the silver mesh came into contact with their flesh. A few tried
to bite the netting only to jerk back and whine in discomfort at the
unfamiliar and unpleasant sensation the silver caused when it touched the
sensitive interiors of their mouths.

Satisfied that the werewolves were secure, Jessica made her way back to Kasa,
only to discover that the huge wolf-like being that could only be Lupe was
standing upright on legs not exactly made for such a posture and facing her.
"Lupe?" she said, tentatively approaching the pair of half-beings. "It's me,
Jessica."

"Jessica," the wolf-thing growled, turning to look at the redhead.

"That's right," Jessi said with a smile. She walked closer. "What do you say
you and I take care of this bitch and then see what we can do about curing you
for real this time?"

But the beast suddenly lashed out and raked her razor-sharp claws across the
redhead's chest, leaving deep scratches on her ivory flesh. "NO!!!" she
howled, leaping at the shocked woman. She knocked Jessi to the ground and sunk
her teeth into the supine woman's shoulder. But before she could secure her
grip and tear out a huge chunk of the redhead, Jessi brought both her hands up
and viciously chopped the beast's throat. The half-wolf opened her mouth and
jerked back, gagging, and Jessica drove a fist deep into her belly, only to
have her hand bounce off the rock hard abdominal muscles. But while the beast
was still trying to recover from the chop, the redhead managed to push her
back and roll her off of her.

Jessica and the beast both climbed to their feet and Kasa laughed. "Good girl.
Now finish her and we'll free the pack and then eat," she said.

But this time the beast lunged at the half-demon, slashing at her face. "No...
more... orders!" she bellowed, doubling Kasa over with a knee to her gut. She
slammed a massive forearm down across the gasping woman's back and then spun
to face the redhead. "No... more... cures!" she roared, closing the distance
and laying the surprised woman out with a powerful shot to her face.

The beast then ran back to where the pack was struggling feebly beneath the
silver net and raced around it, frantically searching for the blonde
pack-sister. When she located her lying near the outskirts of the group, she
grabbed the net and lifted it up just enough for her to squirm beneath it.
Before any others could follow, she dropped it and then she and the blonde
werewolf headed for the exit.

"I can't let you go, Lupe," Jessica said wearily as she moved to block the
door.

"Please," whimpered the beast. "Lupe... not... want... kill... you..."

Jessi shook her head, but before the beast could make a move the blonde
werewolf lunged forward with a deafening roar. The redhead managed to avoid
the attack and spun around and kicked at the snarling wolf as it landed,
catching it on the end of its snout and bringing a yelp of pain. Then the
beast that both was and was not her friend reached out and grabbed her by the
hair, yanking her backwards and raising her knee so that the redhead's back
crashed into it. Still holding her hair, she spun her around and struck her in
the face and then tossed her away like a doll she'd finished playing with.
Jessica flew across the warehouse and landed in a heap twenty feet away and
the beast tore the door off its hinges and she and the blonde werewolf raced
out into the darkness.

By the time Jessica got to her feet Kasa had likewise made her escape and she
walked over to the wall, leaning against it for support as she caught her
breath, glad that all but one of the werewolves had been captured at least.

* * * * *

Kasa was furious. Her plan was in ruins and only the unpredictable nature of
the strange wolf-beast had prevented her possible capture. As she scurried
through the darkness her ancient mind raged against both the redhead and the
half-beast. Her attention was so preoccupied with anger that she practically
ran into the beast's back as she and blonde werewolf likewise headed back up
into the hills above the city. The half-demon almost hugged herself with glee
at her good fortune and stealthily followed the unusual pair through the
thickening shadows.

When they came on a pair of children playing in a yard the werewolf crouched
low, clearly intending to attack and kill them, and Kasa watched to see what
the half-beast would do. To her surprise she didn't try to prevent her
companion from attacking the little girls and smiled with malicious merriment
as the two children were quickly disposed of when the creatures leaped into
their yard and quickly dispatched them with savage efficiency. The two
predators were startled when an anxious parent came to the back door to check
on the strange noise, but she was only in time to see her children carried off
by the pair of creatures.

Laughing in her cruel way, Kasa followed the creatures up the hill to the
familiar clearing and watched from the tall grass as they consumed their
grisly prey with ravenous velocity.

"You're no better than me or the rest of the pack you deserted," she
announced, stepping from her concealment as they enjoyed their meal.

The werewolf's tail thumped happily against the ground to see the half-demon
but the beast drew her lips back in a threatening snarl.

"We should be allies, you and I. We have no quarrel with each other, not
really," she said smoothly as she approached the pair. "We can start again,
just the three of us. Or, better yet, you can help me to rescue your pack
brothers and sisters. What do you say?"

"Brothers... and... sisters," snarled the beast, but the words seemed to come
easier to her throat than they first had.

"Yes, Lupe, the pack. Will you help me liberate them?" Kasa asked, her dark
eyes glittering eagerly in the light of the full moon.

"Lupe... help," she growled. "But no... hurt Jessica."

"Of course not, Lupe. I'm only interested in freeing our friends and
continuing our crusade," the half-demon lied, stroking the blonde werewolf's
fur and holding her hand out to the beast. "Partners?"

"Partners," Lupe nodded, shaking the proffered hand.

Kasa grinned and reached up to scratch her behind her large ears. "Good girl.
I knew we could work things out. Now, you stay here and I'll find out where
they're being kept and then send for you through my mental connection to your
pack-sister," she said and then disappeared into the shadows.

The beast and the blonde werewolf dropped back to the ground and finished
their interrupted meal, but the tender flesh had taken on a decidedly sour
taste in Lupe's mind.

* * * * *

After making sure that the werewolves were secured in special
silver-reinforced cages at a K-9 training facility for the LAPD-Which she was
only able to arrange after apologizing for her earlier intrusion at an
official investigation under false pretenses-and catching a few precious hours
of sleep at Cassandra's place, she and the doctor drove to the Aegis lab and
she conducted some tests on her blood, expecting to discover that she had once
again been infected with the lycanthropy virus.

"Well, Cassandra, I have good news and I have bad news," she announced,
looking up from the microscope. "The good news is that Lupe's altered
condition apparently prevents the spread of the lycanthropy virus; think of it
as sterilizing the carrier properties."

"That will be a relief to those boys and the others she attacked yesterday,"
Cassie nodded. "What's the bad news, dear?"

"I don't think I can cure her without a genuine sample of Rolph Stark's
blood," Jessi said dejectedly. "And there's no way to get that now, so my
friend is doomed to become a monster three days a month, thanks to my
interference."

"Now, Jessica, you were trying to help her. You can't blame yourself for not
being able to do the impossible. Your intentions were honorable and that's
what counts, dear," Cassie said, laying a hand on the redhead's slumping
shoulders.

"'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions,'" the younger woman quoted
with a sad smile.

"And so is the stairway to Heaven, Jessica," Cassie assured her. "And didn't
you say that you thought you'd be able to cure all those poor people once you
isolated the individual strains of the lycanthropy virus and identified who
had sired who?" The redhead nodded. "Why is that you seem to constantly focus
on your few failures, Jessica?"

"Because they hurt so much more than the joy of my many victories," she
replied with a deep sigh, glancing down at the newspaper and the story of the
missing girls and their mother's description of the two monsters that had
carried them off.

* * * * *

Matisse, Simone's French maid, stood obediently next to her stricken mistress'
bed, occasionally daubing at her eyes with a white lace kerchief as she and
Saba visited. The young woman had arrived late yesterday afternoon after
finally learning what had happened to her employer on the radio and been by
her side ever since, despite the attempts by the hospital's staff to get her
to move.

"So there's no surgery or other procedures that they can do for you, Sim?"
Saba asked. She'd been there ever since she got off work-Pulling decoy shift
again in an attempt to catch the Baker Man, the serial killer that was
terrorizing LA's night life, without success-and the pair had already covered
a variety of topics in the hour, but the talk always seemed to inevitably
return to Simone's condition and her future. Quite frankly, her sunny optimism
about the tragedy both confused and worried the young officer.

"None that have been successful with anything larger than a rat," Simone
replied. "And no wisecracks, Saba!" she warned playfully. When her breathing
became slightly constricted during the laughter that followed, Matisse
immediately reached over and lifted her back from the mattress and slightly
twisted her torso, as the nurses had instructed her to, until her mistress
could breathe easily again. "Thank you, Matisse. Enough about me, though.
Here's a question I've been wanting to ask for quite a while now: How come
I've never heard Cassandra talk about any of your boyfriends or even mention a
lover?"

"Good grief, Sim! Duh. Because she's my mom," Saba replied with an embarrassed
grin.

"So there have been men in your life?" the raven-haired actress pressed.

"Of course. Just not recently," she added with a slight frown.

"Like, since you became a cop?" Simone suggested.

"Yeah. No one wants to date 'the Man,' Sim," she said with an uneasy laugh.

"Bullshit. I'll bet you've had plenty of nibbles, but you've turned them all
away."

"Oh? And why would I do that, Dr. Freud?" Saba asked, not quite as playfully
as she tried to sound.

"Because you're still not comfortable with the fact that you're a cop."

"Oh, please, Sim! Is that the best you can do?" she asked, her smile
returning.

"Okay, how about because you're not willing to get involved with anyone when
you know that you might get killed and you don't want to desert anyone the way
your father deserted you." Simone grinned smugly and arched an eyebrow.
"Better?" she asked.

"Fuck you, Dr. Freud," Saba growled good-naturedly, but there was surprise and
a bit of pain in her green eyes.

"Of course, it could just be that you're a frigid bitch who hasn't found the
right heater to warm her up," Simone continued in a professorial manner, "or
that you're repressing your natural lesbian tendencies, thus preventing you
from establishing intimate relationships of any kind."

"Um, no, like, I don't think so," Saba replied in a Valley Girl voice with a
shake of her head. "Cha! Like, I thought you played a bed-hopping bimbo in
your movies, where did that little scene come from?"

"One of my earlier films, Office Call-Girl. Not a classic, but at least they
got the psychiatry down, even if the sex was stale and unoriginal," she
smiled.

"I'd almost forgotten you started out as a porno star," Saba said
thoughtfully.

"Good. Let's hope you're not the only one," she grinned.

Saba laughed and, noticing the time, said, "I need to go home and get some
sleep before my shift tonight, Sim. I'd hoped to stay until my mom got here,
but-"

"Don't worry about it. I have Matisse to keep me company until Cassandra
arrives. You go grab some Z's so you can nail the sick son of a bitch who's
cooking those poor girls, Saba. I'll be fine. And sorry if I got a bit too-"

"Forget it," Saba said quickly, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek.
"I'll stop in and see you on my way to work tonight. Maybe I'll even wear my
costume and give you a thrill," she added with a wink.

"Just make sure Matisse is nearby to keep me breathing," Simone smiled.
"Thanks for the visit."

"No problem. See ya later, Sim. Um, bye, Matisse," she added hesitantly.

"Au revoir, Mademoiselle Saba," the French girl replied with a quick curtsy.

Saba shook her head and chuckled softly as she turned and walked out.

* * * * *

Kasa had located the pack with relative ease. After all, there were only so
many places one could safely store close to fifty werewolves. She circled the
facility, sending out mental commands to both the pack and to the regular dogs
housed within the compound as they underwent training to become police dogs,
calming them-Which was made much easier by the fact that they were being kept
heavily sedated-and assuring the former that they would soon be free and
instructing the latter not to interfere.

Satisfied with her preparations, she found a safe place to wait and watch for
the interfering redhead's arrival.

Several hours after sunrise an antique Chevy Nova rumbled into the parking lot
and she saw the young woman in question get out and head for the office. She
was half-tempted to follow the black woman to see where she went and learn her
connection to the redhead, but decided against it, choosing to concentrate on
Jessica instead. To that end she made her way along the eight foot high brick
wall that enclosed the majority of the compound until she reached a section
she could see the pack's kennels from and pulled herself up so that only the
top of her head was visible and waited for the redhead to show up.

"Looking for me?" asked a familiar voice behind her.

Kasa calmly pulled herself up until she was seated on the wall and looked down
at the redhead. "As a matter of fact, I was," she replied.

"Well, here I am, Kasa. You gonna sit up there all day or you gonna bring it
on?" Jessica mocked, spreading her arms wide and inviting the half-demon to
attack.

"I don't understand what your interest in this is, lady," she said, crossing
her legs as she continued to sit atop the wall. "Do you have some kind of
death wish or something? I'm not exactly human, in case you hadn't noticed,
and even though you caught me off-guard last time we tangled don't think that
kind of luck can hold out forever. And, honey, that's just what I've got on my
side: Forever."

"Here's a news flash for you, Kasa: I'm not exactly human either," Jessica
replied with a smirk. "And my interest in this is simple: Lupe is my friend."

"Wrong, Jessica. She might be your friend most of the time, but three days out
of every thirty she's something else entirely. What that is, however, is a new
one, even to me," Kasa admitted. Then, noticing the sheepish look in the
redhead's eyes and recalling her comments from the previous night, she said,
"You're the one who mucked around with her DNA, aren't you? You're the one
responsible for making her a freak. Oh, I know you were trying to 'save' her,"
she said loftily, holding up her fingers to indicate quotation marks, "but you
didn't. You made her condition even worse than before and now, not yet having
learned your lesson, you're going to try to 'save' her again, aren't you?"

Jessica stared at the half-demon. "What do you think?" she practically
snarled.

"I think you've done more than enough harm and you should quit before you
really mess her up. The pack accepts her. She has a place in it. And once
we've made the whole world one pack, she'll be happy. You all will be," she
added, her dark eyes glinting mischievously.

"No, Kasa, she won't. I've known Lupe long enough to assure you that she
regards her condition as a 'curse.' Why do you think she let me try to cure
her in the first place?" the redhead asked. "Besides, lycanthropy is a
mistake, Kasa, a biological blunder that should have been wiped out years ago,
but the superstition and legends surrounding it have not only frightened
people into thinking it's some sort of supernatural condition, but have also
kept the scientific community from taking it seriously."

"A mistake? How can you say that when you know full well that it imparts an
almost immortal state to its hosts, accelerating the healing rate and making
them practically immune to most trauma?" she questioned, looking down at the
woman incredulously.

"The healing properties are impressive, but the virus is too selective for
your plan to work anyway. Only a very small percentage of the population can
be infected with it. I know, I've conducted numerous tests on it," she told
the half-demon. "Why do you think your pack isn't bigger? In a city with a
population of almost six million, fifty werewolves is the best you could come
up with?"

"You're lying! The pack might be small now, but wait until the next full moon
when all those who were bitten yesterday join our crusade," she promised.

"Wrong again, Kasa. As a matter of fact, none of the people bitten yesterday
will become werewolves with the next full moon. It takes a rare combination of
blood type and physiological properties for the virus to successfully infect a
host and none of yesterday's victims fit the bill," Jessica informed her. "So
all your pack has done is frighten a lot of people for nothing. Oh, and
they've killed a few as well. But you, on the other hand, have killed too many
to count and for that you will have to answer to the law. So, are you just
gonna sit up there all day or are you gonna bring it on, bitch?"

In response, Kasa jumped off the wall, aiming her feet for the redhead. But
Jessi was too quick and sidestepped the rather obvious opening move then
closed and fired a hard shot to the taller woman's side before she had a
chance to block it. When Kasa spun around with a spin kick to her head Jessica
was already behind her, delivering another painful blow to her kidneys that
brought a grunt of pain from the brunette. "I thought you were gonna bring it
when you jumped me? What happened, Kasa, did you lose it on the way down?"
Jessica grinned, tagging the side of her face with a beautiful left hook.

She went to follow it up with a right cross but the half-demon blocked the
intended punch with her forearm. "You know, I was going to just beat the shit
out of you and lock you in one of the kennels to keep you out of the way until
tomorrow morning," Kasa said, stepping into a shot that sunk her fist deep
into the redhead's belly, "but now I'm thinking I should just kill you."

She drew her fist back to pummel the redhead's face but suddenly found herself
thrown back against the wall by some invisible force. She struck the brick
surface hard, her head banging sharply on the unyielding surface and partially
dazing her. "What the...?! How...?" she demanded.

"I told you I wasn't exactly human either, Kasa," Jessica reminded her,
plunging both feet into her gut with a dropkick. "Serves you right for not
paying attention."

But even as the half-demon bent over from the blow she reached down and
grabbed the redhead's ankle and savagely whipped her into the wall. "You keep
underestimating me, Jessica," she laughed, swinging her around, slamming the
redhead into the wall on the other side of her. "My father's blood not only
makes me immortal but also endows me with incredible strength." She flipped
the stunned redhead up, grabbed hold of her other ankle and then battered her
against the ground several times until she was barely conscious.

Thinking she was down for the count, Kasa released her ankles and reached down
to haul her to her feet and finish her off only to have the redhead's fist
shoot up and bury itself between her legs. The fuzzy half-demon's dark eyes
bulged and her knees came together as she gasped for breath. "I think you're
the one who keeps underestimating me, Kasa," Jessica grinned, standing up and
delivering an uppercut that started at the ground and ended on the underside
of the staggered brunette's jaw. Kasa flew backwards but her flight was
abruptly halted when the top of her head struck the brick wall. She teetered
on unsteady feet and likely would have toppled face-first to the ground had
Jessi not grabbed her by the hair and rammed her knee up against her chest.
"I'm not exactly a ninety-eight pound weakling myself, you know." She drove
the knee into her tits several more times, flattening the large, round breasts
painfully, and then switched to her gut when she felt Kasa was starting to
catch her breath again. The air was driven forcefully from her body as the
point of the redhead's knee repeatedly penetrated past the wall of abdominal
muscles and compelled the internal organs beyond to violently relocate.

Kasa gagged and sputtered as the contents of her stomach were vehemently
expelled and tried to sink to her knees, but Jessica's hold on her dark
tresses prevented her from doing so. "Not just yet, Kasa. These are for all
those homeless people you slaughtered," she informed her as the knee's target
changed. The half-demon cried out and her entire body shook with agony as her
pubis vibrated from the intensity of the knee shots until, despite the hold
Jessica had on her hair, she sank to the ground, sobbing.

But Jessi shook her head and hauled her upright by the hair one more time.
"And this one is for Lupe," she growled, releasing the hair and then
dropkicking her in the face as she crumpled forward. She hit the brick wall
behind her and bounced off it, landing face-first in her own puke on the
ground at Jessi's feet, a sobbing, cringing ball of pain.

"Now, unless you want your ass kicked some more, let's go call the authorities
and see about getting you into your new home at county lock-up until your
trial, then it's off to prison for a very long time," she said, reaching down
to force her up. "You'll be regretting your father's blood for hundreds of
years to come."

"Not as much as you will, bitch!" Kasa cried, slamming the palm of her hand
into Jessica's chin and knocking the startled redhead to her back. "This time
I won't let up until you're dead!" She jumped astride the supine woman and
quickly placed the unresisting arms firmly beneath her knees, making sure to
dig painfully into the wrists, and then proceeded to pepper Jessi's face with
hard lefts and rights. "I'll admit you hurt me, Jessica, but not as much as I
made you think you did. That's a little trick I learned from dear old dad:
Test your enemies' strengths by letting them think they've won before
revealing your true state and destroying them. He was really into deception
and misdirection," she said, pulping the redhead's nose with a couple of
powerful shots, causing blood to gush from it. Smiling malevolently, she
leisurely closed her large hands around Jessica's throat, making sure her
thumbs were pressed tightly against her windpipe, and slowly increased the
pressure. For good measure she also bounced her round butt up and down on
Jessi's stomach and chest, driving out what air she had while preventing her
from getting any more. "Do you feel it, Jessica? The panic welling up inside
you as your life ends and there's nothing you can do about it. Isn't it
delicious? Freedom, Jessica, the only true freedom that exists. My gift to you
for enlightening me on the limits of the lycanthropy virus. But the
information doesn't change a thing. After all, the pack will have to eat,
won't it?" she asked with a malevolent smirk.

Jessica tried to send out a mental attack to relieve the pressure on her
throat, but something prevented her. It was almost as if the dampening
frequency was in play or that another genetically altered being was somehow
blocking her efforts. She looked up into the black eyes of the half-demon but
found no definitive answer in their inky depths. She then tried to fool Kasa
by descending into a deep trance-like state that almost perfectly simulated
death, but again, her attempt was somehow prevented. This time she knew the
brunette strangling her wasn't responsible since it was as if a part of her
own mind refused to obey her.

But she didn't have time to ponder the implications of that as the relentless
grip on her neck continued to tighten and her vision became blurred as death
beckoned her into its somehow comforting environs...

Suddenly, a shot rang out and Kasa sat bolt upright, her hands loosening
somewhat in the process. She turned to see a police officer aiming a gun at
her.

"That was a warning, lady-Or whatever the Hell you are. My next one goes
between your eyes unless you get off of that woman," he said, fixing his blue
eyes on her black ones.

Kasa snarled, an angry, ugly sound, but released her hold and slowly stood up.

"Now, step away from Agent Chance and place both hands on the wall," he
instructed, cautiously approaching her.

Kasa walked over to the wall and placed her hands on it, but before he had
reached her she grabbed the top and quickly pulled herself up and over it. He
fired at her but the shot hit the wall and ricocheted off into the morning
sky. By the time he pulled himself up to look over it, the strange
fuzz-covered woman was nowhere to be seen. He dropped down and turned to see
Jessica sitting up and holding her throat with a strange look in her green
eyes. "You all right, Agent Chance?" he asked, offering his hand.

"To be honest, Parker, I'm not sure," she replied, standing up with his
assistance. "By the way, it's Jessica, and thanks."

"Raymond. And you're welcome. What was that anyway?" he asked, looking
strangely at her face.

"Believe me when I tell you that you don't want to know, Ray," she said,
frowning at the blood on her clothing. Then, noticing his persistent gaze,
"What is it?"

"Nothing, only I could've sworn that your nose was crushed a minute ago," he
said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"It might well have been," the redhead replied with a toss of her head. "I'm a
fast healer. Keep an eye out today, Ray, she'll be back before tomorrow to try
to free them. She has to; this is the last night of the full moon." Before the
officer could reply to that she had jumped up and over the wall and was gone.
"Parker, my man, I think it's time you looked into taking some of that
vacation time you've been saving for a rainy day, because, boy, is it
pouring," he muttered as he walked around to the front office.

* * * * *

"Oomph!" Lilith grunted as she hit the mat hard after a clumsy attack on
Master Po.

"You're not concentrating, turtle," he rebuked. "You were making excellent
progress until today." He plopped down onto the mat next to her, his legs
instantly assuming the lotus position. "What happened?"

Lilith sat up and after trying unsuccessfully to assume the same position
settled instead for merely sitting cross-legged. "A..." The word eluded
her-Was Simone an enemy? A friend?-"Someone I know was in an accident and is
paralyzed."

"Not the woman who you've been training for, I take it," Po reasoned.

She shook her head, causing her long ponytail to swish across her back. Since
abandoning the philosophy of the martial arts she had likewise abandoned the
traditional outfit of the student and instead wore a black sports bra and
bicycle shorts, partially to achieve more freedom of movement and partially
because she looked much better in them. "No, she was my friend...once. Then
she became my enemy. Now she's just someone I know."

"If that were true, turtle, her misfortune would not concern you. Since it
clearly does, however, I suggest you and this woman have unfinished business.
I will not presume to guess what exactly it is," he added quickly,
forestalling Lilith's imminent protest, "but I know it is preventing you from
focusing on your lessons." He stood up and looked down at her. "Until whatever
is left between you is resolved, we are both wasting our time with continued
sessions." He headed for the bathroom to change into his street clothes and
Lilith slowly stood up.

"You're right, Po," she said when he exited wearing a light colored suit.
"I'll deal with this before our next lesson."

"That would be by tomorrow afternoon, then, turtle," he reminded her.

"I know," she replied.

"You are a very determined woman, Lilith," he said. "Perhaps I should change
your animal name to 'donkey'..."

"You know, Po, I'd thought turtle was the worst name you could have given me.
Thanks for pointing out that it wasn't," she replied with a wry smile.

"My pleasure, turtle," he said, putting on his sunglasses.

He left and Lilith changed back into her business clothes and sat at her desk,
staring out the window at the sun until Pam buzzed to remind her of a meeting.
"Are you all right, boss?" her assistant asked when she stopped at the outer
desk to collect some materials for the meeting.

"I don't think I am, darling," she replied with a slight shake of her head.
"But I will be soon. Oh, and I've changed my mind about the flowers. Send a
dozen orchids to Ms. Stallion's hospital room. But anonymously, darling."

"Sure thing, boss," Pam said, calling up a florist as Lilith walked away with
a contented look on her face.

* * * * *

By the time Kasa had eluded Jessica after their encounter and made it back to
the hilltop and Lupe and the blonde werewolf it was practically sundown. The
redhead had proved to be more of a nuisance than the half-demon had originally
thought she would and it had taken all of her skills as a tracker, and a bit
of demonic magic, to finally throw her off the trail. Despite her little
speech and the way she'd nearly finished the interfering bitch off, Jessica
had come far too close to defeating her in their struggle and Kasa was
determined not to face the redhead again if it could be avoided. The idea of
spending any time at all locked away in a tiny cell frightened her more than
she cared to admit and she was prepared to do anything to prevent it from
happening.

She considered simply hiding until sunrise, when she would transform back into
her usual, more human appearance, allowing her to blend in with the humanity
she despised and thus eluding the redhead, but she'd spent too much of her
life in hiding already. Besides, she was loath to use her humanity in that way
again.

That was her curse, that she was only able to manifest her demonic form, and
make use of its unique powers during the three days of the full moon and that
the rest of the time she was just another faceless human in a sea of
unremarkable bodies and pathetic souls. Her father, of course, had found her
situation most amusing and hadn't even bothered to enlighten her concerning
her special abilities, forcing her to discover her powers on her own. Now she
cursed both him and herself for not realizing she had possessed them much
earlier. She might have been able to destroy the invading Europeans if she'd
known exactly what she was at the time and enlisted the handful of werewolves
among the Indians against them. But she hadn't learned, not until it was too
late and the whites were solidly entrenched. She'd tried to destroy them
anyway, but the small number of werewolves in the area were no match for the
whites and their arms. Oh, they couldn't kill the pack, not without silver
weapons, and there were precious few of those among them, but their powerful
guns confused and frightened the werewolves, keeping them off-balance and
unable to mount any sort of concentrated offensive that would free the land of
the Europeans once and for all. Still, the pack had at least been responsible
for numerous deaths and instilling an ambiance of fear among the settlers.

And then She had come to their lands.

Kasa never knew her name, only that she knew the secret of silver and had
decimated the pack, slaying them without mercy until none but Kasa herself
remained. Then, finally, they had faced each other on the last night of the
last full moon of the year 1898 and it had taken all of the half-demon's dark
powers to fight the woman to a standstill. When Kasa closed her eyes she could
still see the flashing blades and the bullets of silver that had nearly cost
her her immortal life that fateful night. Their conflict had eventually
carried them to the edge of a precipice with a dark river flowing at its base
where a bolt of lightning had struck the ground between them, hurling the
stranger back and sending Kasa over the edge, into the cold water. The
half-demon had allowed the current to carry her away from her foe until the
morning when she had resumed her human appearance.

She had then joined the human relatives of the slain pack members on a
reservation, hiding in the hills every full moon, until the late 1960's. The
world she had known was gone and it had taken her no little time to adapt to
the new one, but she was a quick study and her striking good looks had opened
a lot of doors. By the time of the new millennium she was confident enough to
continue her father's legacy and resume her role as Leader of the Pack. It was
then she discovered that the pack as she had known it no longer existed. The
few werewolves in the area were skittish, cowardly creatures, who were more
like skulking scavengers than the fierce predators she had known in the past.
So she had worked hard each month to train them and make them more like their
brutal Indian counterparts and to add to their pitiful numbers. In the first
enterprise she had moderate success. In the second she had failed utterly.

Of course, with the information the redhead had given her this morning, she
now understood why the pack's numbers were always so low, despite her best
attempts to increase them. But as she'd informed Jessica earlier, it didn't
really alter her plans. She knew it was her destiny to make all who were
susceptible to the virus into werewolves and that hadn't changed. If the
numbers of the pack were doomed to be small, so be it. It would still be
united under her leadership.

Besides, she'd heard legends from the tribe's elders of a talisman which would
reverse the condition, making she and the rest of the pack human only three
days out of each thirty, and had already determined to find it as soon as the
pack she now controlled had completed its training. She realized now that
finding the mystic object must be her primary objective. And once she had
freed the pack and disposed of both Lupe and Jessica she would pursue it in
earnest.

Which brought her thoughts to the wolf-thing lying in the tall grass with one
of the pack. She was too unpredictable and uncontrollable to be allowed to
live. She had seen that last night. So, as much as she hated to lose such a
powerful warrior, she had no choice but to sacrifice her for the good of the
pack. But not before using her to eliminate another problem...

As she approached the pair of resting creatures, Lupe suddenly sprang up and
faced her, baring her teeth fiercely until she saw who it was. "Lupe thought
you send for us," she growled.

Kasa stopped in her tracks, startled at how much her speech had improved in
the hours since she'd left. It was still harsh sounding, but the words no
longer seemed quite so forced. "I ran into your friend Jessica. She's guarding
the pack, preventing me from freeing them. I had to run away to keep my
promise not to hurt her or I would have sent for you," she replied, stroking
the blonde werewolf's coat. "Besides, I'm not sure I could defeat her alone."

"Jessica Lupe's friend," she snarled.

Kasa smiled secretly and then placed her hand on Lupe's shoulder. "It's for
the good of the pack, Lupe," she said solemnly.

Lupe looked down at the half-demon and the blonde werewolf. "Lupe keep Jessica
busy while you free pack," she rumbled.

"Good girl, Lupe. I knew I could count on you," Kasa said, her dark eyes
glinting with malice.

* * * * *

"I appreciate you helping me out, Kall," Jessica said to the willowy blonde
next to her.

"Don't get all emotional, Chance. I'm just doing this so we can get back to
our mission. And because I enjoy a good scrap," she added with a grin.

Both women were dressed in leather-Jessica in white and Kallista in black-and
the outfits were both adorned with pointed sliver studs, as were their boots,
belts, and fingerless gloves. In addition, the blonde had her trademark Pyro
Bracelets primed and ready for action. Jessica wasn't sure if the silver would
have any effect on Kasa, but, despite the beating she'd taken this morning at
the half-demon's hands, it wasn't really Kasa she was worried about. The
redhead was also grateful that the two times she'd needed to armor herself
with silver-studded clothing she'd been in the two cities in the world most
likely to have what she needed readily available.

"I doubt you'll be disappointed, then," Jessica replied, her senses alert for
any sign of either Lupe or Kasa. They were seated in the grass yard between
the two rows of pens. On one side were the future K-9 officers and on the
other the captured werewolves. Both groups were unusually quiet tonight, which
might be expected from the werewolves, considering their drugged condition,
but the stillness of the dogs made her suspicious.

Kallista noticed Jessica tense up. "What is it?"

Before the redhead could answer, three forms leaped over the brick wall and
stood bathed in the light of the full moon. One was an enormous wolf with fur
nearly as light in color as Kallista's blonde locks and eyes that blazed with
raw fury. The other two were mostly human, with the smaller figure wearing
traditional Indian clothing, but her bronze flesh covered with a light fuzz.
Her shapely figure was accentuated with bulging muscles in her arms and calves
especially, but the rest of her was ripped enough that she could easily have
passed for a professional world class bodybuilder. The larger of the two had a
massive, hulking quality to her figure with muscles that were even more
impressive than those of her companion. But whereas the face of her companion
could have passed for human, such was not the case with this one. Her face was
a horrifying mixture of wolf and human, but a wolf from the world's
prehistoric past with a huge, misshapen head and enormous sharp teeth. All
three growled ominously and Kallista looked over at Jessica and winked.

"I'm glad to see you've brought a friend, Jessica," Kasa said smugly. "Not
that she'll be any help, of course, but it's always nice to have a healthy
supply of fresh meat available."

"Lupe," Jessica said, ignoring the half-demon's taunts, "we don't have to do
this. I don't want to fight you."

"Jessica free pack?" Lupe growled.

"I can't do that," she replied, shaking her head sadly.

"Pack must be free. Lupe not want fight Jessica, but..." The huge beast
shrugged her shoulders and fixed her dark eyes on the green ones of her
friend.

"I told you she wouldn't listen to reason, Lupe," Kasa hissed.

"There's nothing reasonable about your sick little project to make the world
one pack, Kasa!" Jessica shot back. "It's a pipe-dream, a dangerous, demented
fantasy that can only end in bloodshed and disaster. I'm trying to save you
from yourself, you stupid bitch. Can't you see that?"

"Obviously, she can't," said Kallista, shooting a blast of white-hot fire at
the half-demon. Kasa was startled but still managed to avoid the flames.
"That's always been your problem, Jess: You talk when you should be kicking
ass."

"Speaking of which..." the redhead said, pointing to where Kasa was letting
loose with a ball of green flame. She dove aside, dragging Kall with her,
barely avoiding the attack.

"I owe you one." Kallista sprang to her feet and then easily cleared the
distance between herself and the half-demon.

"I'll remember that." Jessica rolled away and then jumped to her feet in front
of Lupe. "There's still time to avoid this, Lupe," she said, tensing when she
saw the blonde werewolf preparing to leap on her.

"No," said the beast sadly. Her clawed hand slashed out at the same time the
werewolf launched her attack and by avoiding the snapping jaws of the werewolf
Jessi left herself open for her friend's strike. The black claws raked across
her throat but she was able to pull back enough that the wounds were little
more than scratches.

As Lupe launched a fist aimed at her midriff Jessica twisted out of the way
and the massive fist instead struck the blonde werewolf who had leapt at the
redhead's back. The werewolf let out a pained yelp and flew across the yard.
It crashed into one of the cages and fell to the ground unmoving. Taking
advantage of Lupe's stunned reaction to laying out her pack-sister Jessica
maneuvered around behind her and powered hard shots into her ribs with the
silver-studded gloves. The beast bellowed and dropped to her knees at the
unexpected pain.

Meanwhile, upon landing, Kallista had cried, "And I owe you one, too, babe!"
and then slugged Kasa in the face and then in the belly. "More than one for
that fire shot," she said, ramming her knee up and into the half-demon's chin.
"That's my gimmick, bitch! And don't you forget it!" She grabbed her by the
hair as she was falling backwards and bent her over neck her outstretched knee
and then chopped her viciously across the throat. "Understand?" She yanked
back on the hair and drove her fist deep into the heaving gut, causing Kasa to
fold over.

Kallista smiled and then jumped up and landed ass-first on the back of her
neck, not only driving her face into the grass but also bending her spine
painfully. The blonde than deliberately reached down and seized her dark hair
with both hands and began banging her face into the ground.

On the other side of the yard Jessica knew she dare not let up for a minute
and while Lupe was trying to recover from the kidney shots she jumped up and
kicked her in the back, right between the shoulder blades, the silver heel of
her boot digging painfully into the muscles and eliciting another roar of pain
from the beast as she was driven face-first onto the ground. Jessi jumped on
her back and punched her repeatedly in the ribs and the back of her neck while
pressing her silver-studded thighs tightly against her sides until Lupe's
struggles to free herself lessened to the point that the redhead could change
her tactics. She scooted up and grabbed the large ears and began pounding the
beast's snout into the soft earth.

"Hey, Jess, this is just like a WWE tag-team!" Kall called out, seeing that
she and the redhead were employing the same move.

"You like wrestling, bitch?" snarled Kasa beneath her. "Then you'll love
this!" She suddenly reached back and grabbed Kall's ankles and then threw
herself backward, pulling the blonde off her feet so that the back of her head
slammed into her gut at the same time her back struck the ground, knocking the
wind from her. She then stood up only to deliver a bone-shattering elbow-drop
between Kallista's legs, causing the blonde's upper body to shoot upwards as
her hands instinctively tried to protect her womanhood. But Kasa just laughed
and dropped her with a solid right to the jaw and then got up onto her knees
and looked down into the agonized face of her foe. "I've never been into
wrestling myself," she said, driving the point of her right knee deep into
Kall's groin, bringing another groan of misery from the blonde. "I'm more of a
kickboxing fan. It's bloodier and it's real." She stood up and leveled a kick
into Kall's tummy and then snapped her head back with a knee-lift that crushed
her nose and left her flat on her back.

She reached down to continue the assault but screamed as white flames erupted
from the blonde's bracelets and engulfed her.

"Goddess damn it! What the fuck is it with you bitches and my nose?" she
shrieked, jumping to her feet and firing another blast at the howling
half-demon as she rolled frantically on the grass, trying to extinguish the
flames.

Lupe, perhaps taking a cue from her partner, suddenly reared back, literally
throwing the redhead from her. Jessica flew across the yard and crashed into
the brick wall but was on her feet by the time the beast had reached her. Lupe
charged low, driving her head into Jessica's belly and slamming her back
against the wall so hard that it shattered and the two warriors tumbled out
into the tree-dotted field surrounding the compound. Jessica groaned and tried
to recuperate but Lupe hauled her up by the throat and after punching her in
the gut hurled her into a nearby tree. The redhead's back hit the tree hard
and she fell to her knees gasping for breath as the beast raced over to
continue their battle. She fired a shot into Lupe's gut from a kneeling
position but it had little or no effect and the beast retaliated by clenching
both hands and then smashing them down across her pain-wracked back. Jessica
had no time to recover from the devastating blow, however, as Lupe grabbed the
back of her top and used it to launch her through the air and into another
tree.

This time Jessica's middle struck the trunk and her entire body folded around
it before dropping to the ground. She did her best to fight off the pain and
struggled to her feet only to be met with an unbelievable uppercut that sent
her flying back into the compound. Unfortunately, she landed on top of
Kallista just as she was preparing to fire off another blast at the screaming
half-demon and the flames instead engulfed the two women.

Jessi and Kall both screeched and began rolling on the ground as Kasa, her
beautiful clothing now little more than smoldering rags, stood up. Most of the
light fuzz had been reduced to ashes and her bronze flesh sported several
nasty burns that were already beginning to heal. She glared at the pair of
humans and a ball of green fire slowly formed in her hands. "That's what
happens when you play with fire, ladies, you get burned!" she snarled, raising
her hands to hurl the demonic flames at the helpless pair of agents.

"NO!!!"

Lupe crashed into her, causing the ball of magic fire to explode in her face
and knocking both of them to the ground. "No kill Jessica!" the beast roared,
punching the staggered half-demon in the face.

"Are you out of your fur-covered mind?!" yelped Kasa, planting her feet in the
beast's midsection and pushing her off and over her head. "We're running out
of time, Lupe. You have to decide who you're with: The pack or Jessica. Which
will it be?" she demanded angrily, climbing to her feet and noting that the
two humans had managed to put out the flames and were likewise rising.

Lupe cast her dark eyes from Kasa to Jessica and then to the werewolves locked
securely in the cages and finally to the blonde werewolf, lying where Lupe had
knocked her out at the beginning of the fight, and slowly nodded. "The pack,"
she growled, unable to look Jessica in the eyes.

"Excellent. If you want, Lupe, I'll deal with Jessica and you can take care of
her blonde friend and then we'll free the pack and get out of here, okay?"

Lupe nodded and shifted her attention to Kallista.

"Can you take her out without killing her, Kall?" Jessica asked the blonde.

"Guess we'll find out, huh, Jess?" Kall replied, adjusting her bracelets.

"Ready for round two, Jessica?" Kasa asked with a malevolent smirk.

Jessica nodded. Her outfit, like that of the blonde, had been messed up by the
fire, the silver studs now little more than mushy bumps and the leather
scorched and blackened. Fortunately for the two humans, however, the leather
had been treated with a flame-retardant substance that had protected both them
and the women from sustaining too much damage. "And this one only ends with a
knock-out, bitch."

"Wrong, Jessica. It ends with your death," Kasa corrected, circling the
redhead warily.

"We'll see about that," Jessi replied, likewise moving around the half-demon.

"I would have killed you this morning if it hadn't been for the interference
of that damn cop. What makes you think tonight will be any different?" Kasa
taunted as they faced each other.

Her back suddenly exploded in pain and she flew forward, right into Jessica's
upraised foot, the heel of the boot slicing into her belly and bringing a
shriek of agony from her full lips. She slid off the redhead's leg and looked
back to see Lupe glaring at her with eyes that seemed lit from within.

"You lied to Lupe!!" she bellowed. "You say you no try to hurt Jessica this
morning!" She reached down and tried to drag Kasa to her feet by her
fire-damaged top only to have it rip in two. Without missing a beat she
grabbed hold of the half-demon's large breasts and lifted her up so that her
snout was touching her nose and Kasa's feet were dangling off the ground.
"Lupe no like being lied to!" She shook the helpless woman by her tits,
causing her to scream in anguish, and then raised her so that the half-demon's
groin was level with her snout. She nosed under the fire-damaged skirt and
easily ripped away the buckskin panties beneath. Kasa's screams magnified in
both volume and pitch as Lupe sank her teeth into her muff and bit down hard.

"Should we do something?" Jessica asked as Kallista approached, gesturing to
the sobbing, screaming, pleading, whimpering, bawling woman in Lupe's grasp.

"You wanna interfere with her?" Kallista replied, pointing to where Lupe had
now shifted her hapless foe's position so that she was being held by the
calves upside down with the beast's snout buried as far up Kasa's pussy as she
could force it.

"Not me," grinned Jessica. "Not on your life."

In a desperate effort to avoid being literally ripped in half Kasa suddenly
leaned in and began to lick Lupe's exposed clitoris.

"This could be interesting," Jessica said thoughtfully.

Lupe lifted her snout from Kasa's nethers and began to moan with pleasure as
the half-demon expertly tongued her. The beast was just about to explode with
ecstasy when she instead yowled in pain and hurled Kasa from her with such
vehemence that she sailed over the wall of the kennel and landed in the field
beyond. Her clawed hand rubbed her groin and came away covered with blood,
bringing another cry from the beast, this time of rage.

"Lupe crush!" she screamed, leaping over the wall of the compound with a
single mighty jump.

"We'd better stop her before she kills Kasa," Jessica said, heading for the
break in the wall.

"Give me one good reason," Kallista shot back, folding her arms across her
chest.

Jessi just shook her head and raced out into the field, stopping short when
she saw Lupe uprooting trees and bellowing in fury about Kasa escaping. She
used her heightened senses to try to locate the half-demon, not believing that
even someone with her amazing stamina could have recovered so quickly, but
could detect no sign of her and sadly concluded that she had indeed managed to
escape justice for the time being.

"She's gone, Lupe," Jessi called when her friend ran out of trees and looked
about angrily for something else to destroy.

Lupe's head shot around and she fixed dark eyes in Jessica's direction. But
she ignored the redhead and instead loped back into the compound, also
ignoring Kallista and heading directly to the unconscious blonde werewolf. She
scooped her up into her powerful arms and turned to find both Jessica and
Kallista behind her. "No more fighting. Lupe tired," she growled. "Take friend
and leave."

"You know I can't let you do that, Lupe," Jessica said, shaking her head.

"Here we go again," sighed Kallista, readying her bracelets.

But then Lupe threw back her head and howled in apparent agony as the first
rays of the sun appeared on the horizon and her lupine features began to
alter, softening into her human face as her body melted back into its
voluptuous form. A moment later and the familiar figure of her friend was
standing before them, cradling an unconscious blonde woman in her arms. She
slowly sank to her knees, sobbing. "Oh, Jessica, the things Lupe has done! May
the Holy Mother forgive me, I have attacked children and worse!" she cried,
laying the blonde on the ground and burying her face in the grass as her
wailing increased. "And Simone!" she exclaimed, looking up with horror etched
in her dark eyes. "Oh, please, tell Lupe that she is all right?"

Jessica knelt beside her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders as Kallista
picked up the blonde and secured her in an empty cage. "You hurt her, Lupe,
but she'll be all right. I promise. I only wish I'd never tried to cure you in
the first place, my friend," she said quietly. "I had no right and I only made
things worse."

"Even if that is true, Jessica, the blame for all that has happened the last
three days is Lupe's and Lupe's alone," she said, shuddering at the memories.
"I will turn myself into the police to stand trial and face the constipations
for my crimes."

"No, Lupe, you'd never survive in prison, and you're not really responsible
for the actions committed by the beast you became during the full moon anyway.
If anyone is to blame, I am," Jessi said solemnly.

"The way I see it, Kasa is the one who's to blame for those murders," Kallista
said. "So, if you two are through with this touching Kodak Moment, Jessica and
I have work to do."

The redhead and the Spaniard laughed sheepishly and stood up. "What about
them?" Lupe asked, gesturing towards the caged people.

"As soon as I've cured those I can they'll be released," Jessi replied.

"And the others?" Lupe inquired, her dark eyes seeking the green ones of her
friend.

"I don't know. Maybe we can arrange for them to be locked up here during the
full moon, so they can lead normal lives the rest of the time," the redhead
suggested.

"And Lupe? Will she also be locked up here next month?" the Spaniard asked.

"These cages would never hold your new form. I'll have a specially reinforced
cage built and sent to Cassandra's by the next full moon. I'm sorry, but
that's the best I can do, my friend."

"It is more than I deserve, Jessica, but Lupe thanks you all the same," she
replied, hugging the redhead tightly as the trio walked out of the compound
through the hole in the brick wall.

"I just hope it's enough," Jessi said softly as they headed for Kallista's VW.

* * * * *

Simone looked up when a shadow passed over face and was shocked to see Lilith
standing next to her bed. "Hello, Monie," she said.

"Shall I escort this person out of your room, Madame?" Matisse asked frostily.

"Let's see what she has to say first, Matisse," Simone replied. "Have a seat,
Lil."

"Thank you, but, no. I won't be staying long. I just came to tell you
something," the Egyptian said.

"Oh? And what's that?" the actress inquired, arching an eyebrow thoughtfully.

"That you're the most selfish, conceited, inconsiderate bitch I've ever met
and the hardest thing I've ever done was try to take care of you, to protect
you from yourself. It was an unrelenting, time-consuming, and thoroughly
thankless job, but I somehow managed to pull it off," Lilith said.

"Anything else?" asked Simone with a pensive look on her gorgeous face.

"As a matter of fact, there is," Lili nodded. "I wanted to apologize for
trying to kill you. I recently realized that the reason I had grown to despise
you was because you'd failed to live up to my expectations for you and that
was, in retrospect, an unreasonable demand on my part. You are a
bargain-basement bimbo with a lot of drive and some small amount of acting
ability. Nothing more. I should have been satisfied that you lived up to your
own expectations and left it at that and I apologize for placing excessive
pressure on our professional relationship."

"I'll give you this, Lil, no one apologizes quite like you do," Simone said
with a slight chuckle. "I was quite a handful, wasn't I?"

"You have a true gift for understatement, darling," Lilith replied, allowing a
slight smile herself.

"And I never did properly thank you for all the shit you put up with," Simone
admitted. "But I still think trying to kill me was a bit extreme!"

They both laughed while Matisse looked from her mistress to the Egyptian in
growing confusion.

"Well, that's all I have to say, darling, except that I am very sorry about
what happened to you, of course."

"Of course," Simone said as Lilith bent down and they both made kissing noises
without ever actually touching their lips to each other's cheeks and then Lili
straightened up and headed for the door. "Oh, and thanks for the orchids."

Lil looked back and said, "Think nothing of it, darling," and then turned to
find Lupe blocking the door.

The two women stared at each other, their dark eyes locked in a contest of
wills, and the Spaniard was a bit surprised that the Egyptian showed no fear.
After a moment they slowly nodded and moved around each other so that Lilith
could exit and Lupe could enter, their breasts rubbing against each other as
they did so. Once their positions were reversed Lilith spun on her heel and
walked away without looking back, leaving Lupe more than a little concerned.

"Lupe!" Simone cried joyfully, banishing all thoughts of Lilith's odd behavior
from her mind.

The big Spaniard rushed to her side and held her face in her hands. She
pressed her cheek to that of the actress, allowing their tears to mingle as
they wept, and whispered over and over how sorry she was.

Case Closed

(Until next time)

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