After his talk with Ella James crept out of the house without talking to Mrs. Greene. He knew that she would be keen to know how he was getting on and he didn't want to spend any more time talking about it.

The night sky was dominated by a huge full moon. James glared up at the white disk. With the moon out like that the wolves would all have turned. He could imagine what Mrs. Greene would say, you should stay inside where it is safe.

James fidgeted when he walked. It was as if ants were all over his skin and he couldn't take a breath deep enough. He scanned the trees for any movement, something to pounce on and rip apart. He listened for the deep laboured breaths of the wolves. If he found one of them he was going to kill them, no matter the danger. When he heard nothing, he decided he needed some blood, some good blood.

The human town was mostly quiet, the only people out were drunks with minds so numb that they could hardly understand themselves let alone their friends. James could smell the cheap alcohol that moved in their bodies. It would make the taste of their blood bitter, but he could live with that. There was a homeless woman on the corner who was feeding her dog the latter half of a yogurt. James eyed the drunk men then the woman. He wouldn't need all of them to be full, so he could pick and choose. The woman wasn't intoxicated so her blood would taste better, but there were more of the men and James found he was in the mood for something with more bite to it.

Having made his decision, he slipped onto the street and strode towards the men. The one that spotted him first was wearing a beanie and smiled like a moron when he saw James.

"Hey! Hey! 'ave you got..." The man trailed off and looked to his friends for help. One of them was licking a lamppost and the other had passed out.

"A smoke!" he slurred triumphantly. He took another step forward and almost fell over nothing.

James sighed. Half the fun of eating was the hunt, and these guys were practically presented to him on a platter.

James said nothing and came closer to the man. Jesus Christ, he thought, this man's breath would almost put you off his blood. Did he drink toilet water before he came out tonight? James took a minute to consider whether he wanted his teeth on this mongrel human.

"HEY!" The drunk was so loud that he woke his sleeping friend. "I wan' a smoke."

James lunged forward and drove his teeth into the man's neck. The stubble there grazed his lips and he tried not to think about what might be on the man's face.

The guy jerked and started to emit a kind of squeaky plea. James clasped his hand over his mouth to shut him up.

The friend who was licking the post hadn't noticed that anything was wrong. Although he did screw up his face and ask if Jimmy had always been gay.

The other friend waved his hands at James from where he sat on the ground. He looked like a toddler who wanted to be picked up.

"Oi! Whatchaya doin'?" he hollered.

The flow of blood into James's mouth became just a trickle and he dropped the man onto the ground. He landed with a muffled thump. The sitting friend started to scream.

James wasn't bothered by the sound, in fact he kind of liked it. It brought him back to the simple days of killing people for fun and watching them trying to run away. He wiped casually at the side of his mouth and found that his fingers came away bloody. His father would have given him hell about messing drinking and wasting blood. He sucked the hot liquid off his fingers and basked in the knowledge that his father would have hated it.

The man on the ground was still screaming and pointing to the corpse. The other friend was trying to tell him to stop, that it was okay to kiss another man and it was nothing to scream about. At least that's what James thought he was trying to say. His words were like a bag of scrabble tiles.

James took a step towards the screamer and he tried to jump up to run. His legs were wobbly, and he feel again.

"I think I will kill you last. You have a nice scream." James mused out loud. The other friend stopped talking and gave James a questioning look.

A wolf came bounding out of the trees and hit the questioning man like a piece of rubble in a hurricane. The man's body bent in half and James heard all the individual bones and joints snap to bits. The look he had given James a second ago was now permanently plastered to his face.

The final of the three men stopped screaming as the wolf slowed and turned to face him and James.

It was small for a werewolf, which meant young. Its sandy fur was spiked up in rage and its eyes darted about the town, searching for the slightest movement. James inhaled but the scent he got was not familiar to him.

The wolf stomped on the ground with its front paw and shook its head side to side.

The man on the ground whimpered and turned to face James. "Do something."

James raised an eyebrow at him then focused on the wolf again. Its ears angled forwards when the man spoke, then it raced towards him.

The man called to James, but he didn't get too many words out. While the wolf crushed him between its teeth, James but some distance between him and the beast. He climbed up the fire escape of one of the nearby buildings and made his way to the roof. By the time he got there the wolf had forgotten its snack and was watching him. The human was a ball of mushy muscle and bone.

James looked into the animal's eyes. He had seen this look on a wolf before. The jittery nature and jumping eyes were both signs that the wolf had lost itself to the moon. It was widely known that a werewolf has to become an animal on the full moon but if they are not experienced enough to stay in control they become the kind of blood thirsty monster that was standing in front of James.

They were wild and powerful, but they didn't really think. And that was what would make it easy for James to eliminate.

He watched how it moved, how it leaned forward each time it was tempted to strike and how it snarled in frustration that he was too high up for it to reach.

"It must suck being so huge. Means you can't fit your fat hairy ass up the ladder."

The wolf growled and threw itself at the door of the building. James heard glass shatter. He smiled. If the wolf came up through the building it would be too narrow inside for it to move easily. James could circle it and kill it in his own time.

A howl broke through his thoughts and he looked to the side of the town to see the source. Emerging from the trees was the huge black wolf that had defended those who had attacked James's house.

He felt his muscles tense and had the urge to swoop down upon the creature faster than it would notice he was here. He would have only the other wolf came out of the front of the building and approached the black one. The smaller wolf bowed its head although it kept growling.

James narrowed his eyes. So, the black one was an alpha, the leader of the new pack in town. He grinned. He was going to have some fun with this.

Sauntering to the edge of the roof James let out a high-pitched whistle. The alpha cringed and ducked his head. The smaller wolf snarled and stepped towards the building.

"Now that I have your attention." James spread his arms wide. "Which one of you mutts wants a taste of vampire tonight." The alpha was now vibrating and glaring at James while the small wolf stalked towards him.

The alpha nipped at the wolf's hind leg and it stopped moving. They watched each other intently for a minute before the smaller one reluctantly took off into the woods.

The black wolf sniffed the air and came a bit closer to James.

He smirked. "That's right we know each other don't we."

The wolf pulled his lips back from his teeth.

"I take it that means you remember me. Too bad you sent your friend away, I was looking forward to a fight tonight."

The wolf turned his back and started to walk away.

"Perhaps I will go and find him later and see if he is as tough as a boy as he seems as a wolf."

James saw the wolf's shoulders bunch up and the hair on his back stand on end. By this stage in his life, James was well aware that the best way to get under the skin of an alpha was to threaten his pack.

The wolf turned and made his way closer to the building. His claws clicked on the pavement with each step and the rumbles in his chest were getting louder.

"That's it you mongrel," James felt his blood singing through his veins, and he leaned over the edge of the roof. "Come and try to take a bite."

The wolf reached the building and scanned it with his gaze. He took a long look at the smashed in door then a longer look up at James. He didn't move a muscle after that.

James snickered. "What a smart puppy you are." The wolf huffed out an angry breath.

James waited a moment longer to see if rage would make the wolf risk going into the narrow hallways. When it didn't he started to plan his way down. After all that had happened in the past day he was primed and ready for a fight. A one on one brawl that he knew he could win. Then he would feel the blood of a wolf coating his hands and he could smear it over the memoires of Orlando that always wanted to be seen.

James didn't let any of these thoughts show on his face. He remained smug looking and sure footed as he came down the ladder. He got to almost the bottom and leaned out from it towards the wolf. The old metal moaned under his weight.

"Try and catch me." James challenged. The wolf sprung at the ladder at the same time as James let go of it. His knees hurt from the impact of hitting the ground, but he started running immediately. Air sounded like it was leaving a punctured balloon he was moving so fast. He made a break for the trees. When he got to the tree line he threw a look back and was happy to see the wolf was following him. He stopped suddenly and brought his fist around in a loop. The wolf didn't have time to slow down and was thrown by how fast James really was. He landed a blow to the side of his head, knocking his hulking body onto the forest floor.

The wolf was up fast and snapped at James. He dodged with practiced ease and clawed out with his nails. The attack happened in a blink and the wolf got a scratch to the eye.

James inhaled deeply. "I love the smell of blood under the moonlight, don't you?"

The wolf roared and rushed at him. James moved to the side without much effort, but his lazy movement cost him. The wolf swung his head to the side and made contact with his ribs. Pain erupted along his side and he had to concentrate to evade the wolf's next strike. Once safely out of reach, James took a second to allow his ribs to heal.

"Not bad." He breathed. "For a wolf."

The beast smiled like a wolf from a fairy tale.

"But," James straightened and rolled his shoulders. "I think you will find that I am better."

He moved forward, reaching the wolf in two strides. The wolf tried to claw at his legs, but James moved too fast and jumped out of the way. He countered by spinning to the side and driving his fist into the animal's shoulder. There was a dull thud and the wolf lifted his front paw on the opposite side of his body to spin around and claw James. James ducked, stood again and grabbed the extended paw. Not giving the wolf time to think, he yanked on the paw and dislocated the shoulder. There was a pop followed by a whining.

James let go and the wolf staggered back a few paces. James started to go after him but then noticed many eyes watching him from the shade of the trees. The other wolves.

"Looks like your pack is here to ruin the fun." James stepped back and held up his hands. "I don't want to hurt them." He made sure to look into the alphas eyes when he spoke. The big black wolf nodded his head and turned his back on James. The pack seemed reluctant, but James knew that what the alpha said was final. They started to disappear back into the dark when the alpha gave James one last glance. There was something in that look that James hadn't expected. He had known he would see pain and hate there but he was baffled by the touch of intrigue.