Mingled: Chapter One

I moved through the crowd smoothly, dodging scantily dressed partiers as if I was running the ball to the line. I was on the hunt tonight, heeding a thirst I hadn't had in a very long time. I was fighting my way up through the layers of drunks dancing to find a spot near the front of the stage. 'Damage' was playing tonight, an underground punk band I had heard was making its way mainstream. The frontman was tall and tan, with dark disheveled hair and piercing blue eyes. He was screaming some nonsense lyrics about rebelling against the world into the microphone. Our eyes locked...I had found my mark...

"What the hell?!" My Grey Goose-Tonic splashed out of my glass onto the floor, leaving only about half of it in the glass. I spun around to see a five-foot blonde standing in front of me.

"Hey Rach! I haven't seen you in forever! How are you?" It was Cynthia, Daughter of Ahlstrand, King of the Elvin. I hadn't seen her since I had been banished from the tribe eight years ago.

I had been born into the tribe. Both of my parents were Elvin. My Father was Adviser to the King. When I had turned nineteen I went off to New York to attend college. It was there I had met Michael. He wasn't welcomed by the Elvin tribe, he was werewolf. But I was rebellious and had chosen to continue to see him. Our love moved fast and was passionate. One night, in the heat of the moment, Michael lost control and bit me. It was one of the most exciting and intense moments of my life, it was also the moment that changed my life forever. Our blood had blended and I had transformed. I had become a deadly combination of part Elvin and part Were. The word got around and shortly after I was dismissed from the tribe.

"Hi, Cynthia. I'm doing okay. How about you?"

Cynthia had always been a ball of energy, overzealous about everything that occurred around her but mostly about her. I guess that comes with being a Princess. "I'm great! Jeremy and I are engaged! He proposed to me last weekend! So we're out celebrating! Do you want to come over and say hi to everyone?" I really didn't want to but Cynthia grabbed my arm before I could respond and we were already skirting our way around people to a high-top in the corner of the bar. Jeremy sat on the far side of the table. He was much taller than Cynthia at almost six foot three with broad shoulders and sculpted cheekbones. The red polo he wore reflected against his deep brown eyes making them seem more auburn than brown. He was the son of Thomas Marcoff, General of the Elvin Soldiers. Next to him sat Jessica, then Tiffany, and Bethany. Bethany was Cynthia's younger sister.

"So what puts you on the prowl, Rachel?"

I growled at Jeremy. We had been really close at one time but he was infuriated when he heard about Michael and me. Rumor had it that Jeremy once harbored a secret love for me, which I never returned, leaving him bitter. "Micheal is dead, asshole." It had been a year but I was still devastated by his death.

Cynthia quickly stepped between us, trying to diffuse the tension before our tempers got ahead of us. Elvin were usually quite tame and in control of their emotions, however, werewolves have been known to react quicker and more aggressively when provoked. This was a trait I had demonstrated shortly after I changed. Jeremy and I had gone at it before and Cynthia surely didn't want history to repeat itself. "Oh my God, I am so sorry Rach. What happened?"

"He was murdered." I found myself choking up as I started to explain and stopped without any explanation of details.

"Dog put to sleep, huh?" Jeremy scoffed. He smirked as if he was proud of his remark. This idiot thinks he's so clever. I was wearing quickly of Jeremy's attitude. Cynthia smacked Jeremy, good thing because I was ready to claw at his throat.

My voice was cold and stiff, slightly filled with fear but mostly with anger and revenge, "You guys should be careful, keep an eye out, something is definitely off around here".

Michael had been a member of the Northern Were Clan. His Great Grandfather had founded the clan shortly after he migrated to America from Germany. Before he organized the clan, Weres were mostly independent and kept to themselves. Michael had obtained his law degree and was working at a large business firm in the city when we met. He was out for drinks and shooting pool with his best friend, Luke, and I was out for drinks with some of the girls from my class following a killer exam. It was love, well lust mostly, at first sight.

The night Michael was murdered was the day he was promoted to a partner at his firm. He was the youngest lawyer, and now also a partner at the office. Some of the guys from the office had taken him out for beers to celebrate his promotion. That was the last time anyone saw him until his body was found the next morning, his throat slashed. I still remember the exact details of the moment I received the call. I had thought he had just gotten too drunk to drive home and had stayed at Luke's. I was sitting at the kitchen counter after preparing a champagne and french toast breakfast. When they told me the news, my champagne glass fell from my hand shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces on our tile floor. He had been found in his BMW still parked in the parking garage of the office. There was no sign of disturbance and nothing on the security videos other than him getting into his car. The investigation brought no leads and the case was closed as unsolved and filed.

"I need another drink." I excused myself and walked to the bar side.

"Hey, don't worry about him. Jeremy is just still jealous. We all know he had the hots for you." Tiffany slid up onto the stool next to me. She wore a long, flowing black strapless maxi dress, which she pulled up to the side so she could swing her legs around to the front of the stool. Tiffany had long vibrant red hair that she had inherited from her mother, an Irish Mortal. She had always been the more open-minded individual in the group. Growing up as the only half-blood in the tribe, she knew what it felt like to be the outsider. "Michael was a good guy. I know he treated you well. I just wish the tribe could have seen past their prejudices to have known that. I'm really sorry about your loss, Rach. You look hungry. Let me say goodbye to the girls and let's go get some food. Whatcha say?"

I looked at Tiffany, her tiny nose wrinkled at me, pausing for a moment before I answered, "Okay, I'll meet you outside". I wasn't necessarily in the mood for company after all Jeremy's badgering, but I was starving. Being part werewolf had changed me more than in just strength and mood temperament, I needed to eat more and my libido was more intense than it ever was as a young adult. With Michael gone, I hadn't had sex in a year and it was starting to work on me. So I ate more to substitute the urges. With all the stress of seeing the gang from the tribe, I had become really hungry.

"Okay, great!" Tiffany tossed her hair out of her face and bounced off the stool, disappearing into the crowd.

There was a diner a few blocks down from the bar called Rizzoto's. It was known for having the best lamb chops in town. Growing close to bars' last calls, the diner was already fairly full with only a couple of tables open. We were shown to a booth towards the center of the restaurant. "So whatcha getting? Let me guess - a barely cooked sirloin", Tiffany winked and let out a little giggle.

"Ha-ha", I said sarcastically. "Actually, I think I may try their "best in town" lamb chops tonight, rare of course", I smiled back at her.

We sat and talked for hours. Tiffany caught me up on all the tribe drama and in return, I shared all of my adventures with her. It was close to 3:30 when I finally looked up and noticed how much the diner had cleared out. The only patrons left besides us was a drunk couple making out in the booth to the left of us and two men sitting across the diner. The men looked out of place, both with only a glass of water in front of them. Something about them wasn't settling right in me. The taller man wore a black baseball cap and jeans. The second guy wore a hunter green polo and khakis. I reached across the table and grabbed Tiffany's hand, cutting her off mid-sentence, "We need to go." We paid our check and started casually out the front door. As soon as we stepped out of the threshold I pulled her abruptly around the corner into a side alley next to the diner, "Sshhh."

Moments later, the two men slammed through the door. They looked around for us. "Shit, how fast can those girls move? Derek is going to be furious that we lost them."

I waited a few minutes to make sure they were gone before turning to Tiffany. She looked at me sternly, "Friends of yours from one of your many adventures?"

"Oh come on Tiffany, do I look like a girl with a lot of friends? I told you guys last night that I thought something was up. Michael was murdered for a purpose."

"We need to report this to King Ahlstrand."

"No. There is no "we" going to the King. You know how I feel about him after he threw me out. I'll get this figured out, just go home." We exchanged cell numbers and both started off on our separate ways.

"Hey, Rachel..."

"Yeah?"

"Be careful. You've always been my favorite."

My nerves were fried and it was showing in my driving. I weaved my speedy little Porsche in and out of traffic, making it home in record time. Exhausted, I stripped my leather leggings and slouchy tank off and plopped into bed. Not the night I had planned for when I left my apartment the evening before.