Jean

Now, I know that according to Anne Rice and White Wolf we vampires are not capable of sex. That's a big fucking lie, and I'm damn glad that they're off their nut in thinking so. I already told you that being a vampire is just like being human except for needing to drink blood and needing a sunblock with an impossibly high SPF, right? Right.

Ilove Jean more than anyone or anything else in the world. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there's a hitch about Jean's ancestry that makes the rest of the vampires consider me a traitor.

I met her when I was out hunting. This was after my falling out with Alejandro, and I was pretty pissed at the time; looking back I realize I was radiating waves of aggression, and I think perhaps I inadvertantly cause Jean's predicament that night.

I was hanging out on a fire escape, pissed off and feeling rotten, even contemplating staking myself or leaving myself out for the sun's rays to find me, when I heard the sound of several someones coming my way. I waited, figuring I could pick off the one at the end. I changed my mind when said someones came down my alley, a woman maybe two or three years younger than I was when I died who was being chased by three teeanged thugs.

I knew the kids. I'd fed off of a couple of them before. They were the worst type of scum; I know that a lot of people think that no one is beyond help, that anyone can change, but after one look into the minds of these three I knew that they were bad from birth, killers waiting for an outlet. I should have killed them instead of just taking what I needed, but at the time I couldn't bring myself to kill a kid. I realize now that it was probably for the best that I had let them live, because without them I wouldn't have met Jean.

The thugs chased her into the alley, cornering her at the dead end. I was kind of caught in a bind, because I couldn't in good conscience let the thugs have their way and then do my thing when they were done, but I also couldn't very well save her AND get my meal. I couldn't feed in front of a mortal; revealing one's nature to a mortal is a capital crime unless you were planning on turning said mortal. Feeding on her was out of the question; that would defeat the purpose of saving her, wouldn't it?

They hadn't seen me, which was fine. I was about to drop down and introduce the thugs to a whole new meaning of pain (vampiric strength is a wonderful thing in a fight) when something told me to hold back for a second. I listened to my instincts and saw one of the most horrifying things in existence as this woman, turned from human to beast. I was frozen in wonder and amazement, the thugs were frozen in fear. It was almost too fast for me to follow, but this monstraous amalgam of human and wolf tore the kids to shreds. in less than five fluid moves.

The whirlwind of death ended, the beast changed to woman once more. I could hear her sobbing, clutching the shredded tatters of her clothing to her naked body as if trying to salvage them into something servicable. Her anguish cried out to me like a spoken cry, and I realized she was alone in this world. Werewolves didn't like the city or anywhere that smacked of an urban area; if she was here, she was a lone wolf. If not for the display of power and ferocity I'd seen there, I would have been surprised that she hadn't been gang-rushed by a mob of vampires with silvered weapons.

I reached out tentatively to her mind, skimming the surface. It was one mass of guilt and fear; she didn't know what she was, thought herself a monster, hated herself for what she was, for what she had done, but too afraid to ty and seek help, afraid of what it might mean. Little goody-two-shoes that I am, I was drawn to her, felt a kindred spirit in her. I had been wearing a dark trenchcoat that night, it helped me to better fade into the shadows, so I dropped down the tewnty feet or so from my perch to the ground.

I was a lucky vampire to have the gift of incredible agility and light feet, so when I landed it only made the faintest click on the asphalt as my heels hit; still, her head perked up at the sound, and I was a little surprised to know she had such acute senses. She was staring at me in fear, still futilely trying to cover herself with what was left of her clothes; I didn't want to find out how well I'd fare against her if she changed again, I just slowly took my coat off and held it out to her, turning my head away to give her some privacy.

I turned back to face her, got a clearer view of her face. I had to concentrate hard to keep my jaw from hitting the ground; she was and still is the most stunning creature I have ever seen walk this earth. Dark, curly hair that trailed down just past her shoulders, deep, chocolate eyes, rosy skin as smooth as silk; she had a delicate heart-shape to her face and a small frame that gave her a look like that of a china doll. I was smitten from that day onward, even if I didn't admit it to myself then.

Even if I hadn't been blessed with telepathy she would have been an open book; her facial expression and body language said it all.. She was normally more alert, but something had been distracting her and she was careless and panicked. I gave her a small smile to let her know she was okay.

"My apartment's just a few blocks away if you want some new clothes," I told her. "You can use my phone to call a cab, too." It was starting to rain, and at that time of night she wasn't very well going to be able to catch a cab on her own. She ended up falling asleep on my couch in a baggy sweatsuit I dug out of my closet for her. She didn't wake up until the following evening, which was when I told her what I was. That was the start of everything.

Pretty soon her beautiful brown eyes and long dark hair were haunting my dreams and even insinuating themselves into my waking life. It wasn't like I had a hard time being the night manager of a Wal-Mart, but it was still a distraction. She'd visit me two or three times a week, either coming to my apartment or visiting me at work;