The house looked better from the outside. The paint had recently been refreshed and was a pale red verging on pink. The windows were tall and slim, with rectangle sections in the glass. The roof tiles were also new, by request of Mrs Greene who said the old ones looked like the house had bad dandruff.

James stood back in the long grass admiring the house. The grass came up to his knees and stretched out from the house for about the width of two average gardens. Swaying in the wind, it looked like thousands of audience members at a concert during the slow song.

There were men going in and out of the house carrying furniture. James surveyed the work. New furniture went in and the old came out.

Robert strode over to him. Both of the men where in coats, Robert one with a fur hood and James the aging trench coat.

"Nice weather for it," Robert remarked looking up into the clouds.

"Beats the bloody sun stinging my eyes." James looked at his brother. "What are you doing here? Thought you were out to bury father."

"I was. That was hours ago."

"Wow. How the time flies when you're having fun."

"Do you think they will steal from us?" Robert nodded at the moving men.

"God I hope so. I'm hoping to catch one who is left behind. Late lunch."

Robert rolled his shoulders and looked at his feet.

"Yes brother, I know you disapprove." James put his arm around Robert's shoulders and drew him closer. "But the world is flawed, and I intend to be part of it."

Robert shrugged him off and patted his arm. "I know. And so do I." He scanned the full length of the house with his eyes. Then he sighed. "This place has kept me here for a long time."

"Nothing's different about it now." James took out a cigar from his coat. He offered one to Robert.

Robert shook his head. "It feels different without father. You don't feel the same?"

James lit the cigar and inhaled deeply. The smoke filtered out past his slightly parted teeth. "I don't know. Maybe its bearable now."

Robert choked on a laugh. "Okay baby brother. Don't be ice man forever." Robert spun and started towards the road, which looped up to the house from the surrounding woods. "Do remember that the human village nearby will be keep an eye on you."

"They probably think we will mount our father's body out the front of the house. Seems like something the kooky Morris family would do." James blew a ring of smoke and the wind snatched it away.

Robert was nearly at his silver BMW now, but James advanced ears allowed him to hear the words his older brother left him with. "Let them keep thinking that. Don't let them know the truth. But you hardly need told to be careful." Robert cast one of his meaningful looks over his shoulder. James rolled his eyes and blew another ring.

"There no fun in careful," James muttered. His brother didn't hear him. He got into his car and vanished into the forest. Soon James couldn't hear the engine anymore. He stood outside for a while longer, taking in enough cigar smoke to make him cough. He heard the sound of his father's cough whispering somewhere in his mind. He shook his head and put the cigar out on his palm. It stung but healed. He cast the remains of the cigar behind him, dusting off his hands after.

When he got back to the house, all the new furniture had been moved in and set around the house. This included the leather corner sofa that posed with one side facing the fire and the other against the right wall. The tables with the vases were replaced by large Bluetooth speakers. The old rug was still there but James knew that if it came to it he would burn the thing for fun.

Mrs Greene was standing in the middle of the room with her hands on her hips. She had an apron on and a bucket and mop by her side.

"It's hideous," she commented on hearing James come in. "Practical but awful."

"You preferred the elderly vibe?" James settled on the sofa. His body squeaked on the leather.

"Yes." She sat on the sofa beside him. She folded her hands on her lap and focused on him.

James squirmed. "What?"

"Are you alright?" She reached out towards him.

James avoided her touch and stood up. "Excellent."

"You don't have to be fine." She smiled like a grandmother.

James walked towards the door again. "I am going out. When I come back I may have company so don't be lingering." James paused and sighed. He knew he shouldn't be rude to her. "Please."

Mrs Greene got up and wheeled the bucket to the kitchen. James felt the sound of the squeaking wheels grating on him. She stopped beside him and gently touched his face with the back of her hand. "Good boy. Be careful now."

She went into the kitchen. James shook his head. "People need to stop telling me that."

He left the house to stroll through the woods. They were loud. Filled with the cries of insects and birds. The noise intoxicated him. He could think of nothing else while he focused on the symphony. It flooded into him and pushed at the boundaries of his fingertips. It felt amazing, the way he would feel when Eddie shared his sweets with him as a child. The certainty of belonging.

From beneath the cover of the noise he heard laughing. It was a high sound.

He made his way through the trees. Each step saw his smug grin become more perfect and charming. He was armed and ready. As he drew nearer the smell of werewolf was clear. It was a scent that no vampire could ignore. It was powerful. James let it invade him until it stung his eyes. Pushing through the green barricade of trees, he spotted the source of the smell.

It was a girl, or rather a she wolf. She was in human form and walking on the grass without shoes. The blades of grass tickled her toes and she giggled. The dull light of the evening was black ink across her pale hair. Her skin was cotton wool and her eyes were fiery stars. She was a bit shorter than James and her hair hung to half way down her torso. Behind her, the river ran past. The top half of her head was reflected in the water, but the image was always being disrupted. A leaf fell and she laughed while following it with her eyes. That was when she saw James. He was an imposing figure in stark contrast with the green world. His smile made her smile.

Then she spotted the fangs and fear stampeded into her face.

"Hey. I wont touch you. Well only when you beg." James came closer to her with his hands held up in surrender.

"I know how fast you.. vampires move." Her voice was gentle and low.

"If I wanted to attack you, would I have come to where you can see me?"

"I suppose not". She relaxed a bit but kept an eye on him.

"No pack about?" James leaned on a tree and rested one ankle on top of the other. His shoes were stained by the wet soil of the forest.

"Yea. They are somewhere around here." She looked about.

"No, they are far away but you don't want to tell me." James shrugged. "I don't blame you. After all I am a, what is it you call us, leech?"

She watched him, poised to run when it became necessary.

"We don't have a catchy name for you guys. Shame really. We could have stood around all day and argued. Suppose we will have to be nice." He hit her with another platinum smile. "What's your name? I'm James."

She chewed on her bottom lip. She glanced to her right, where James had no doubt if he went far enough he would find her pack.

"You should go. This is forbidden after all. I get it" James waited. His eyes were steady and remained level with hers. She glared chewed on her lip.

She clasped her hands behind her back and paced the grass, dragging her toes through it. "I'm Ella."

"Beautiful name." James began to pace with her. She jumped when he moved beside her, but she didn't run.

"Cliché. The vampire trying to chat up a girl he shouldn't be talking to." she laughed.

James put a hand on his chest in mock horror. "Really? I shall have to reinvent myself."

"You are a vampire, so you were born with that need." She grinned at him and fluttered her eyelashes once. James wasn't aware if she knew she had done it, but it was his sign that it was game on.

"Oh, there are good points about vampires." He licked his bottom lip.

"Really?"

"We have a few skills that aren't associated with wolves. Nothing sensual about all that fur."

She giggled and blushed. James took note of how cute that was and vowed to cause that look more in future.

"What do you do for fun then? If vampires are so great." She looked through her lashes at him.

"I have whiskey at home." James nodded his head in the direction if his house. "It's not far from here."

Ella laughed for a second. "I am not going home with a stranger I met in the woods."

"Why not?"

"You could be insane."

James nodded and stopped pacing. "I suppose I am."

"See!" Ella stopped with him.

There was a bit of silence while the two regarded each other. James could hear her pulse beating a bit faster than normal and was confident that this meant she was into him. Either that or she was scared of him.

"Take the risk. I have no interest in hurting you." James offered out his hand. "I just want someone to have a drink with."

He looked at her and she twisted a strand of hair around her finger. The strand wound and wound around until it came loose and sprang off like a spring.

"Fine. But we need to move, or my father will find out." She took his hand and they started to speed walk.

"Does he not want you dating?" James looked over his shoulder into the trees.

"No that's not it. He doesn't like vampires." Ella dragged James along behind her. Then it seemed to dawn on her that she didn't know where they were going so she yanked his arm. "Come on, before I change my mind."

James chuckled and jogged through the forest with her. They laughed the whole way to the house, Ella becoming out of breath.. When they got there, Ella stopped and hung her head back to take in the full view of the place. She scanned it, then again, like someone who was appreciating a work of art.

"Wow, you live here."

James rolled his eyes, but she didn't notice. His fathers home always took the breath away from the girls he brought back. He could almost mouth along to the words as they came out of her mouth while she admired the house.

"It's amazing. So old and beautiful. And so big." She sounded breathless. The wind was louder than her as it swept back her hair. James breathed in her scent and shivered.

"Yes, I know. It's better than any house you have seen before." He hauled her across the lawn by one limp hand. "The inside is even better."

They got to the door and James tried not too look impatient as she asked questions about the house and its age. He had to put some weight behind the door before it would open. With a crash, they were inside the house. Mrs Greene had vanished although James knew she would be rattling around upstairs somewhere.

Ella's shoes hissed against the floor as she shuffled in. James made a flamboyant gesture with his free hand and declared "This is my humble home."

"Are all vampires rich?" Ella let herself be led to the sofa where she dropped like a toddler set down.

James went to the kitchen and returned with the whiskey bottle and two tall glasses. He made a mental note to find a way to keep the whiskey closer to him when he came home to relax.

"Drink?" He offered.

She wasn't paying attention to him but had now stood up again and was examining the relief figure mantel place. She trailed her finger along the frozen figures until she came to the wolf. It was collared and on all fours. The collar was silver and lined with spikes facing inwards. The vampire lorded over it with his fangs on full view. He had one foot pressed down into the base of the animal's spine and was forcing it to the floor.

"A werewolf." She sounded distant. She was caught up in the image and her face had gone almost as pale as James's.

"Oh, that old thing." James waved his hand that held the glasses at it. "I was meaning to replace it but it's a lot of effort."

Ella didn't turn around. "Do you live here alone?"

"Does that matter?"

"Are there other vampires here? The ones who put this in?" She turned to face him, and he softened at the fear evident in her gaze.

James set the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table and moved over beside her. She was weary of him and looked about to see where she could run to if it was needed. He put his hands lightly on her shoulders and squeezed gently. She took less comfort from this action than he thought she would, so he stopped the pressure.

"You are totally safe here. The asshole who had that built is dead." He nodded at the mantel piece behind her.

Ella glanced briefly at it, then sighed. "Must have been a great guy." Her sarcastic tone stung. He was surprised at his response and took a moment to gather himself before he spoke.

"You have no idea. Now drink?" He poured them both drinks and they settled down on the sofa. Ella drank in sips and was still on her first glass when James had finished two. As they spoke, James could smell the alcohol on her breath. It was hard for vampires to get drunk, especially those who are born undead, but James felt dizzy smelling the whiskey from her enchanting face.

He leaned in to get a better view of the details around her lips. The creased skin and the slight scar on the left of the bottom one. She moved back a bit rubbing her fingers on her chin.

"What's wrong?" James sat up straighter.

"Nothing it's just, well it's embarrassing." Ella's face was tinted pink like a spring flower.

"I am embarrassment embodied. Whatever you tell me will seem small to all the things I have failed at." James didn't know if he meant the statement or not. He decided its didn't matter as long as she bought it.

She did. The blush became more intense, but she looked at her lap and started to speak in a low voice. "I have never kissed someone. Ever."

James smiled. It wasn't his usual grin. It was a real feeling that he couldn't stop from breaking his face if he had wanted to. It felt odd but he went with it, after all she seemed to like it. She smiled in return while swapping her gaze between her lap and his face.

"I can help with that if you want". It was spoken like a joke and he raised his eyebrows and bounced his head from side to side. She giggled and stopped clenching her hands.

"But seriously, if you're ready I am." He waited and prepared himself for persuading her.

Instead, she leaned in. It was such a quick motion that she headbutted him. But he was able to take it and was too shocked to make a joke about it. She gave him a quick peck and started to move away. James put a hand on the back of her head and lightly moved her in again. He kissed her for a bit longer but didn't use his tongue. He would save that for another day.