The Lycan Chronicles

by Schroeder, Brent

as the time passed, so did Donovan’s control over the Vampires that

  he’d turned in the beginning of the New World; the more blood they

  drank, the more independent they became from their original master.

  None of them have ever seen the Original Vampire and king, Baron

  Valvasor, since he never left Alnwick Castle. The Baron had never

  been to America, but he did watch MTV and he often fantasized of

  taking a bite out of J. Lo’s ass, or making a nice snack of Brittney

  Spears… before she shaved her head and lost her marbles, of course. “There’s our mayor,” Basil slithered, “hanging out with a Lycan,

  again.”

  Everyone at the table laughed, with their noses stuck high in the

  air. The Vampires felt that they were superior to the Lycans, when in

  actuality; they were no match for the shape-shifting Werewolves’

  strength… at least not the Pack’s.

  A topless waitress, Roxy, approached Basil’s table. Roxy had long

  legs and beautiful, frosty-blonde hair. She followed the direction of

  Basil’s gaze over to Donovan. “Bad idea, he’s in an extremely bad

  mood. I wouldn’t bother him, right now,” she warned, through her

  sweet, glossy, red lips. “Can I get you another drink, Basil?” “A Bloody Mary,” he requested. “And, six shots of type-O

  negative, for everyone at the table,” Basil ordered up. “Oh and I

  don’t remember asking for your opinion, Roxy. Mind your own

  damn business, if you’re expecting any sort of tip.”

  Roxy paused for a second and then walked away with a scowl on

  her face, returning with the drinks and collecting the money. Basil

  kicked back his shot, with the other Vampires, slamming his glass

  down on the table when he’d finished. He guzzled his Bloody Mary, until it was drained and he then got up to approach Donovan,

  walking across the club and tapping him on the shoulder. “What did JD want?” Basil asked him, without hesitation. Donovan didn’t bother turning around, when he answered, “It’s

  none of your concern, Basil. Now, kindly, go the fuck away.” “Fuck you, old man,” Basil snipped back at him. “I think it’s time

  we got some new blood running things around here. We’re sick of

  getting our blood from the bank. We want to kill for ourselves, you

  hear?”

  Donovan just kept looking ahead.

  “We miss the thrill of the hunt, let alone the fun of stalking our

  prey. It’s time to put the dogs back in the kennel, Donovan. Who’s

  running things around here, anyway?”

  Without hearing another word, Donovan’s nails grew into six-inch

  spikes and the drink in his hand shattered into pieces, with a loud

  ‘crunch,’ while Basil was busy looking back over his shoulder, to the

  other council members, with a smugness smeared across his face.

  Without any further warning, Donovan spun around, blasted his fist

  into Basil’s chest, ripping out his beating heart. He took a bite and

  spit the bloody chunk back in his face, as every head in the bar

  turned to see what was happening. The band kept playing, not

  skipping a beat and everyone quickly went back about their business

  of tipping back drinks and other such acts of debauchery. Basil’s flesh began to burn and he was quickly reduced to a dusty

  mound of ashes on the floor of the club, where he once stood.

  Donovan looked to the table where the town councilmen were still

  sitting, but they kept their heads down, making sure not to make any

  sort of eye contact with him. He casually walked over to the group

  and snatched their tablecloth, spilling their glasses and bottles and he

  began wiping Basil’s blood off of his hands. He took a good, long

  look at each of his council members, as he cleaned himself off. “Anyone else have anything they need to get off their chest?”

  Donovan asked the seemingly meek group of Vampires. “Now’s

  your chance, boys, let’s hear it,” he said, with a coolness that made

  everyone at the table nervous. “I’m not the head of this piss-ant

  town for no good reason. You get me?”

  The city councilmen all quietly mumbled, answering as one. “Yes,

  sir.”

  “That’s what I thought, you fucking pussies!” Donovan shouted,

  making them all jump in their seats. He grabbed their table and

  threw it across the room, barely missing a small group of Vampires

  that were having an orgy in a dark corner. Donovan walked back to

  his seat at the bar, his back turned and none of the council members

  had it in them to move away from their seats.

  Observing the action from a back corner, were Lycan deputies,

  Tony, Wayne and Brad. They were hunched over their drinks,

  watching in amazement, as Donovan faced down the town council

  and killing one of the members in cold blood. Donovan and JD both

  had the right and legal power to take down anyone, without question,

  so the deputies remained at their table, sipping their drinks… even

  though Wayne was itching to intervene.

  “Listen, Wayne,” Tony said, trying to keep him cool. “I don’t like

  living among these thirsty, tampon-suckers either, but we’ve got our

  orders. You have to stand down,” he reminded him. “It was a

  Vampire, anyway… who cares? One less of them, is a wonderful

  thing and a great start.”

  “I’m sick of their smell,” Wayne growled. “We’ve been protecting

  them for way too long. They have no respect for love, life, or

  happiness,” he said, glowering. “Everything always has to be about

  death and blood.”

  “Well, it’s a lot better than being a bounty hunter,” Tony returned.

  “I like having a home to go to every night.”

  “I think you better call JD,” Brad chimed in. “Let him know what

  just happened.”

  “I’m on it,” Tony agreed. “I’ll be sure to tell him, we’re going to

  need another council member.”

  All the deputies laughed, downing the last of their drinks; as Tony

  flipped open his cellphone to call JD.

  Still hanging around outside the club by the tree stump, playing a

  game of fetch with Nanook, JD answered his phone on the second

  ring, before throwing another stick for Nanook. “Did I stir things up

  a bit?”

  “Yep,” Tony replied. “There was a bloodsucker showdown and

  Donovan killed one of his council members, right after you left. I

  think you really hit a nerve, JD, because whatever was said between

  them, didn’t go over too well,” he said, with half a laugh. “As a

  matter of fact, whatever you said really pissed him off.”

  “Two dead Vampires in one night ain’t a bad thing,” JD said back,

  smiling at the news he’d just heard. “Thanks, Tony, see you

  tomorrow.”

  Snapping his phone shut and calling for Nanook, JD started back

  up the trail towards his truck. “Looks like I got what I came for…

  let’s go home, boy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  It’s early in the afternoon and Wolf Creek is gray, with dark clouds hovering overhead, dropping a blanket of snow flurries onto the somewhat-lively town. The usual traffic is out, with a couple snowplows, a few shopkeepers and a couple of people walking, here and there. Some of the townsfolk were paying a visit to the Blood Bank to make t
heir required donations and Casbon was right there with them, standing in line to make his donation, just like he’d said he would; obviously getting JD’s message, loud and clear, yesterday and he waited in the short line of people, with a pretty good hangover and a sheepish look on his face.

  At the Sheriff’s station, JD was curled up on a cot, inside one of the jail cells and the sound of Nate and Sarah’s voices were becoming audible, filtering into his sleep and invading his dreams. He was slowly waking up and after sitting up on the cell’s uncomfortably hard cot, he looked down, deciding that his clothes from the night before would be his wardrobes for the day.

  Nate had been out patrolling all night and Sarah had just arrived to begin her day at work. They were about to get to their usual morning business, when Nate saw that JD had slept at the station.

  “I guess he came in late, after coming back from the club,” Nate whispered to Sarah.

  “I’ll call Wendy and tell her not to worry,” Sarah quietly said back.

  “It was a late night for all of the Pack… I’m tired as hell, myself,” Nate said, stirring his cup of coffee.

  “I know, baby,” Sarah lovingly said. “I missed you last night… I’m glad you’re alright. Take care of yourself out there, won’t you?”

  She was patting her bulging, pregnant stomach. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  Nate said nothing, but wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on Sarah’s forehead. JD awkwardly approached, tucking his shirt into his pants and the couple suddenly felt embarrassed, quickly letting go of each other. Sarah giggled, as she gathered up some papers from her desk.

  “Hey, how did it go last night with Donovan?” Nate had been thinking about it all night, while he was out driving around on patrol.

  JD was heading for the coffee maker, while he answered, “Hey, Nate… alright, I suppose,” he answered, with a voice that was littered with sleep. “Thanks for covering the patrol last night. And, good morning, Miss Sarah.”

  JD poured himself some coffee and added two huge spoons of sugar. He took a quick peek behind to see if anyone watched him and then poured a quick shot of scotch into his cup. Nate and Sarah exchanged looks, when they heard the cap being screwed back onto the bottle; JD had been hiding in his waistline.

  “Jeff and Susannah called several times, last night, JD,” Sarah said, “wanting to know if we’ve heard anything about Jacob.”

  “Anything from Dr. Covey?” JD asked, stirring his drink.

  “Not yet.”

  “Then, no,” JD answered back, noticing that Nate was looking tired as could be. “Why don’t you go on home and get some sleep, Nate. I’ll take a ride out to the cabin and check things out.”

  “Sure thing, thanks. I’m dead-tired.”

  Nate gave Sarah a kiss before heading towards the door, but just as he was getting ready to leave, the main station phone line rang out; Sarah picked up.

  “Wolf Creek Police Station, how can I help you?” She listened for a second and then covered the mouthpiece. “JD, it’s Covey.”

  “I’ll take it in my office,” he told her, heading back towards his office at the back of the station, carefully balancing his full cup of coffee. He shut the door and sat down at his desk, getting a nice burning sip of the ‘hair of the dog,’ before picking up the phone.

  “Hey, doc, what’s the news?”

  “Well… it’s not good, I’m afraid. Your body is definitely Jacob Richards,” the doctor confirmed. “Dental records are a perfect match… but you need to come down here. There’s something you need to see,” Covey said. “And, I think we should talk about the matter in private.”

  “Alright, you got it,” JD agreed, as his stomach began to churn. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Unfortunately… there’s something I’ve got to take care of, first.”

  The decorative mailbox read, RICHARDS ~ 1309, where JD stood quietly, at the front door of the house. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out to push the button for the doorbell and when the door finally opened up, Susannah Richards was there. Seconds later, she screamed and wept, as JD wrapped his arms around her, to comfort a mother who’d just learned of the loss of her only son; he hated this part of the job. Usually, it was only car accidents or death from old age that he had to report to the grieving families this was the first time he had to deal with murder in Wolf Creek.

  Lia and Matt have just woken up, out at the cabin on Wolf Lake and they were brewing a fresh pot of coffee. The warm smell was bringing the others around, along with the sounds of sizzling bacon and scrambling eggs.

  “Did you hear anything strange last night?” Lia asked Matt, as she was looking in the cupboards to see if there were any spices hidden away.

  “Nope. Slept like a baby, after we wrapped up the party. What time was it, anyway? Around three?”

  “Yeah, weird,” Lia said back. “I kept waking up, for some reason.”

  Matt just shrugged his shoulders and snatched a piece of bacon from the frying pan, burning his fingers in the hot grease during the process.

  Tom, Joy and Stew finally showed their faces in the kitchen, lining up to pour cups of coffee and they all grabbed for the only spoon that was in the bowl of sugar.

  “Hey!” Tom called out, winning the first rights to the spoon. “Good morning to you all,” he said with a smile.

  “Morning,” Joy and Stew said in unison, finally getting some sugar into their cups.

  “Hey guys,” Lia said, taking a seat at the dining room table. “Drink up. And, there’s plenty of food there for everyone.”

  “Awesome!” Sam hungrily expressed. “I’m starving like hell… let me at it!”

  Tom, Joy and Stew grabbed their cups and stepped outside to get a breath of fresh, morning air. A fresh layer of snow fell overnight and the countryside was covered with a beautifully white blanket.

  “Wow,” Joy said, taking in the wonderful view. “It’s so amazing out here away from the city. I like it.”

  Stew put his arm around her and kissed her.

  “Get a room,” Tom said in disgust, as he turned and went back into the cabin. Shutting the door, he jumped in surprise when he heard Mary screaming and running out of the bathroom, looking terrified.

  “What’s wrong? What is it?” Tom nervously asked, as Mary was trying to hide behind him.

  Tom got his answer, when a raccoon came scurrying out of the bathroom, running loose through the living area of the cabin; everyone began falling over each other, trying to get away from it.

  “Get it out of here!” Mary screamed.

  Stew began laughing, as he cautiously approached the raccoon. “Time to go, little buddy… this way,” Stew said, gently guiding the raccoon to the open door, letting him outside.

  Once the critter was outdoors, they all had a good laugh and Stew picked on Mary. “With all you’re screaming,” he said, laughing, “You scared the hell out of the poor thing! No wonder he didn’t want to stay!”

  The guys laughed even harder, but Stew noticed that Joy was looking irritated, with her arms crossed, giving him the eye.

  “If you want to be with me,” Joy said, “you know what I mean, Stew? I would stop laughing.”

  Stew shut up with a quickness, totally giving in without a second’s thought.

  “The power of that pussy,” Reggy commented at his friend’s weakness.

  The room filled with more laughs, as Reggy started making whipping sounds.

  “And, it gets me every damn time,” Stew replied, looking to Joy. “I’m sorry, my queen, I’ll do anything to make up for being such an insensitive prick. I promise.”

  “We’ll,” Joy said, “I can think of one thing that might make me feel better.” She sauntered up to Stew, laying a wet kiss on his lips, grabbing him by the hand. Joy then tugged him into the back bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

  Matt looked at Lia and then broke the awkward silence. “Well, okay then!” he called out, clapping his hands together.
“Want to get another fire going? It’s a bit chilly in here, don’t cha think? Look! I can see your nipples!”

  “Would love too, you perv,” Lia replied, lightly smacking him on his cheek. “Let’s go out and get some firewood.”

  Stew waited for Joy on the bed, stretched out in his underwear and got more and more impatient.

  “Hey!” he called out to the bathroom door. “Are you coming out or what?”

  “You want me to look hot for you?” Joy shouted back. “Don’t ya?”

  “You already do!” he shouted, just as the door was beginning to open up. “You’re smoking hot, Joy! I want to lick you, from your head to your toes and everything in-between!” he excitedly said halfjokingly, looking her up and down. “C’mon, already!”

  Joy crept her way onto the bed and on top of Stew and they started to kiss. She sat up and slowly danced her way out of her bra, trying her best to turn her man on; it was working very well.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he said, sitting up and kissing her perfect breasts.

  Soon they were rolling around the bed, kissing and licking each other into a sexual frenzy, shutting out the world around them… and for the next hour, nothing else mattered.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Nanook found a snow-free bench to relax on, by the front door of the Blood Bank, as JD stepped through its main entrance. The place was bustling with activity, as the townspeople were coming and going and bright, yellow faces smiled from the stickers on the arms of the ones making their way towards the exit.

  Stepping to the intake desk, JD took a spot next to a pretty blonde who was busy speaking with a rather bored-looking receptionist. From a couple feet away, the sticker on the blonde’s arm was frowning at JD; he stuck out his tongue and frowned back. The girl wearing the upset sticker was Brittney Jones and she was signing in on a clipboard, complaining to the older woman working behind the desk.

  “I had to leave cheerleading practice early,” Brittney whined. “How come I usually get ten days and this time I only got seven? It’s not fair!”

  “I don’t make the rules, sweetie, I just sign you in,” the receptionist apologetically said. “You’re just a good, little blood maker, I guess. Are you pregnant?” she asked. “These stickers work on the same technology as the test strips for diabetics.”