A Voice From the Night World

I don't own The Night World or seek to profit from the ideas or characters that belong to another. The Night World belongs to the wonderful L. J Smith. I thank her for creating such a wonderful series that I can borrow for the use of my characters.

The characters in this story are fictional and any similarities to living people are accidental. As this story contains sex between males, you need to be of legal age to be reading this story and if you don't want to be reading about sex between young men you might want to stop now. Feedback is very welcome, as is anyone who is keen to pre-read or edit for me. All can be sent to chaotic_child@hotmail.com I hope you all enjoy!

Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you who have taken the time to send me with your comments. It's you guys that keep me writing by letting me know that you enjoy my characters and the journey I put them through. Apologies for the short chapters, the last one was deliberate, the next few should be longer! Enjoy!

Chapter 4

The loud ringing of my cell phone woke me out of a restless sleep in the small hours of the morning. I sat up in bed, ignoring the sleepy grumble from my soulmate, who simply rolled over and went back to sleep, and reached for my ringing phone on the bedside table and flipped it open, it was Damien.

"He's passed. Sorry buddy."

They were four quiet, simple words, four straightforward words that unleashed a dark whirlwind of emotions in me; rage, grief, sorrow, guilt and bitter failure.

"Fuck!" I managed to growl.

"We're going to stay out here and watch over Jason." Damien continued in the same matter of fact, calm voice, meaning himself and Tien.

With that he hung up and left me to my disordered emotions. I did manage to have a thought that he did call me and let me know, rather than simply tell me, mind to mind as he could.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, staring blankly at the sand coloured bedroom wall, eyes blind but head full of raging emotions before I got up to pace the room, naked, unable to sit still anymore. The same restless energy that had kept me in a fitful sleep full of uneasy, dark dreams kept me pacing the room.

"I would like to actually sleep sometime this morning. What is the matter?" My soulmate demanded at some point as he sat up, eyes sleepy and annoyed, pushing his tousled hair away from his face and neck.

He tilted his head sleep vanishing from his piercing eyes as he scrutinised me attempting to figure out what was wrong.

I ignored him and started on another trek around the square beige and blue room stopping to stare out the window. I frowned I didn't remember pulling the curtain aside but I must have in my agitation. For once it wasn't raining but it was still overcast, I could tell because even with the street lights, you couldn't see the moon and the sky had a hazy, smoky look.

"Come back to bed." He asked and let out an exasperated sigh when I stayed put, not answering, he pushed the thick brightly coloured duvets away from him and got up to pad naked on silent feet towards me.

He came to stand beside me at the window, not touching me, but close enough I could feel his warmth, his force of personality and presence and smell him. I could feel his confusion and his sharp mind trying to work through my cluttered emotions through the silver cord that bound us together.

"Now we're both cold and its getting us nowhere." He commented when I still said nothing, not able to get more than a grunt out.

His words were dry, we were shifters, despite the cold and our nude state, we weren't cold.

"What did Damien say?" He asked sounding disturbed when the silence continued to stretch out between us; I could feel his eyes search my profile, he was always aware of everything.

"He's gone." I managed to grit out.

"Fuck." One frank, harsh word that said it all, I felt more then saw his wince, his understanding and his pity.

Unable to stand still and accept the depressing reality of how the whole fucking night had turned out I began pacing again. I could feel my soulmate watching me as he turned around and almost felt the click as he made a decision. I felt through our soulmate bond what he was going to do and didn't want it as grabbed me on my way passed him. I felt my hands come up, pushing against his chest to push him away from me.

But it was too late his touch blasted open the soulmate connection between us, I felt us both ignore it and push it away as he pulled me against him, his arms wrapping around me as he buried his face in my neck, ignoring my stiffness and resistance to him, I didn't want to be touched or comforted. I could feel him nuzzling, his weight putting subtle, insistent pressure on me until I was leaning back against the wall. I felt his silky hair brushing against me, his warm, soft lips nuzzling and dropping little kisses up and down my neck and throat.

It seems he knows me better then I know myself, for before I realised what I was doing, I'd arched my neck to allow him access turned on by his attacking my sensitive neck with his soft lips and nipping teeth. Almost lazily he kissed me and helplessly I felt my hands that had been pushing against him slide up his chest and grip his shoulders, pulling him against me.

The feel of his body pressing against me, his warm hands stroking up and down my back, his smell, the slow rise of his cock, the slow, sucking kiss we were exchanging was turning me on as being anywhere near him usually does and I felt my own cock harden.

He sighed a quiet willing noise as I pressed back against him, pushing my hard, hungry cock against him. I pulled away from his warm mouth to trail kisses along his jaw and along his neck towards his ear. I ran my fingers through his hair, gripping tight with one hand as he tilted his head back, allowing me access to the tender, vulnerable spot behind his ear.

I bit him, not hard, just enough to leave a mark and enough that his body tensed, trembling against me, I sucked at my bite. He moaned as I trailed more nipping, sucking kisses down his neck, the fingers of my free hand trailing down the opposite side of his neck and across his neck, cheek and across his kiss swollen full lips. He nipped my fingers, sucking my fingers into his mouth and I moaned this time from the wet, satiny warmth of his mouth.

I growled shoving against him more aggressively as I pulled my fingers out of his mouth and let go of his hair. He let me push him back towards the bed and push him down on it but he fought me playfully, resisting and wrestling with me, when I went to crawl on top of him. All but seeing the red of lust for him now, all I could think about was getting him under me and my cock into him, but his sexual games were frustrating that hunger, so I resorted to dirty tactics. I ran a hand down his stomach and wrapped my hand around his hard, leaking cock at the same time I latched on to his nipple.

Nipping and sucking I felt him tense, a weakness in his struggles against me not to tremble against me or thrust his cock or chest against me as a moan escaped from between his clenched teeth. Beyond the obvious my neck and ears are my responsive triggers, his nipples are his. I tightened my grip around his cock, using his freely leaking pre-cum to keep stroking down the length of it and rubbing my thumb over the head, as I switched to a slow lick, sucking his other nipple. He shivered, hissing, unable to stop the helpless thrust of his hips as he pushed his cock into my hand.

I shifted keeping him busy, angling away from him a bit as I used my free hand to reach down to the little bedside table and open the travel sized bottle of lube we kept there. It was a testament to his preoccupation with teasing me by resisting giving me what I wanted that he didn't hear the snap of the cap.

I felt him start in surprise, stilling, when my wet finger trailed teasingly across his most vulnerable spot. It was a mistake on his part, that he went so still and expectant as he focused on my teasing fingers and stroking hand, waiting for me to touch him. It was a mistake that he didn't stop me when I shifted, pressing against his side as I pushed my insistently pulsing cock against him, trailing kisses up his chest and neck, I kissed him.

Aggressively I pushed my tongue into his mouth, kissing him hard and hungrily, as I pushed my finger into him. He moaned quivering hard against me as I released his cock to score down his inner thigh with my nails and back up the opposite thigh. I was able to be patient as I worked another finger into him, wrapping my hand back around his cock. I was still unbelievably horny, but now I was amused ignoring his struggles to now pull me on top of him as I played with him.

It is a mistake to play with a cat, now I had him where I could have him it was my turn to drive him a bit crazy. It didn't take me long to get three fingers into him, and use them to tease and drive him crazy as I finger fucked him, reducing him to a pliant writhing mess. I ignored his silent pleading and growing hunger waiting for him to say the words, but he was stubborn and still determined to hold out on me, to tease me back.

In the end it was listening to his little moans and begging gasps that broke my will. It was so exciting to watch him flushed and breathless, as he thrust into my hand, his hands gripping the duvet in a death grip as my fingers slid into him, stroking over his special spot. I felt my cock harden to an even more impossible hardness and I reached for him and rolled on top of him letting my hands run over him as he let me slide between his legs.

This time he wrapped his legs around me, his grip tight as I felt his hands run feverishly over me. I was so feverish myself that I bit his shoulder hard as I thrust into him, forcing a strangled scream and a long buck out of him as I grabbed his ass. I started to fuck him; I rode him long and hard hearing my own low growls as I felt him underneath me, trapped under my weight and my cock as he withered against me. We came together, muffling our screams in a passionate kiss as I collapsed onto him sweaty, tired and deeply satisfied as I relaxed my grip on his ass.

It took a while for our breathing to slow down and for us to stir out of our stupor. I didn't feel a need to move, still liking the feel of him under me, the feel of his pulse under my lips buried in his neck and the slowing rise and fall of his chest as he breathed his heartbeat under my arm. I pulled out of him as I ran my fingers through his hair, stroking and massaging his scalp as he ran his fingers over me.

At some point I felt him shift under me and wince, I realised I had my arms around him gripping him tight, love, relief and need riding me hard. So tight in fact my claws had come out and were digging into him, drawing blood and leaving bruises. With a grunt of apology I shifted off him and relaxed my grip, stroking over the bruises and scratches.

"S'ok" He murmured as he shifted, rolling over to press against me, rubbing his fingers behind my ears as he wrapped the other arm around me.

"I'm still here I'm not going anywhere." He whispered quietly as he nuzzled my shoulder and I could feel his love and need for me through our soulmate cloud.

I pressed back against him, wrapping myself around him as he made a sleepy sound, his stroking fingers still caressing my ears. I held on to him and felt him fall back to sleep, sexually satisfied and content to just lie with me.

But sleepy, satisfied and content as I was, I couldn't follow him into sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about poor Michael and what had happened tonight. I knew we couldn't save everyone, but it always hurt and added to my sense of bitter failure when we lost and the Night World won. I knew I'd been having dark dreams about him for weeks to come.

= = = = = = = = = =

7pm - earlier that evening.

Grim silence settled between Damien and I as he drove towards the house of Michael's friends in his dark grey SUV. I didn't have to glance at the speed to note he was speeding and resisted the impulse to urge him to drive faster, but getting pulled over by the cops for speeding wouldn't get us there any faster even with Damien to use vamp tricks on him, so I gritted my teeth and willed us there.

I could feel anticipation, alert readiness and a waiting stillness coming through the silver cord that bound me to my soulmate so I knew nothing had really happened yet, but I knew as well as any Night Worlder does that we can spring hell in a moment.

I fingered the trio of knives, one blade silver, one wood and the last iron veined steel; I had them in my lap from the weapon collection we kept in a secret compartment in the SUV's boot. Damien calls me a reckless, impulsive fighter, my enemies a thug as I tend to favour fighting in my enemies faces, as a lynx or with my fists, shuriken or my knives, I prefer to look my enemy in the eye when I kill him.

It was the lynx in me and something inbuilt in my personality; I went in with nothing but will power, blood lust, my strength and a knife or small throwing star. It was probably going to be the death of me one day, but as long as I take my enemy out with me when it's my turn to face Death then I'll go with a grin.

We pulled off the road opposite the driveway that led up to the house Michael was staying in and Damien parked in a small sheltered area behind some trees. We were about thirty minutes drive south of London in a semi-rural area. I could see the glow of lights in the distance showing the presence of a few other country or farm houses but there were very few people out here. The driveway up to the house was long enough that we couldn't see the house from the road or the cars belonging to our enemies.

We got out of the car without a word and immediately I began stripping off my clothes, it would be easier to go in as a lynx. Damien opened the back door of his SUV and opened the weapon compartment to pull out his own preferred weapons.

I heard a subtle rustle from the ancient naked apple tree next to us and spun around to see it was only Chay. He was shifting back to human behind the ancient tree, he might be a powerful white gyrfalcon, but falcons weren't so good in a fight at night.

"About time you guys got here." He said as he emerged fully clothed in a pair of white vaguely feathery pants and shirt from behind the trees.

As Damien opened his mouth to defend us I dropped down to my knees and released the lynx, immediately feeling the familiar mix of pain, tension and release as my body changed. It felt like I'd released a firmly bound bowstring as agony and the ecstatic energy, the freedom, of a shift swamped me, as the lynx slid over my skin pushing, squeezing and shifting my bones, muscles and skin. I rocked forward onto all fours releasing a growl as my eyes changed, sharpening to their mix of greys, black and white.

I felt the lynx's instincts gain strength as I twitched my tufted ears, sitting back on my haunches. I am a large lynx easily the size and weight of a big German Shepherd with long, strong legs and big furry paws. My coat had automatically taken on its winter thickness and colouring, and is a tawny-grey with faint brown spots and a white belly and chest. In summer my coat is not as thick and is a deeper tawny-gold with darker brown spots

My shift was fast enough I got to watch impatiently as Damien shut the SUV door, his favourite weapon a Japanese fighting stick in his hands. It was a beautiful weapon made of dark oak with runes carved into it and both ends sharpened into wickedly sharp stakes, with one end silver tipped.

I heard more then saw Chay finish loading a third 9 mm semi automatic pistol with a mix of silver, wood and iron bullets. I knew both of them would carry extra knives for me and knew both of them carried spelled swords over their shoulders as back up weapons for when their primary weapons failed them.

I growled again to hurry them up as I rose to my feet and paced forward, they could hang around out here if they wanted to. I could hear but not see the other Night Worlders, we needed to be moving and I headed out. We were lucky that tonight was not a full moon and that we were downwind in the little wind that there was, the moon was barely a dim crescent in the dark sky above us and the gathering dark clouds hid the stars.

It looked and smelled like the rain wouldn't hold out on us long, good and bad as it would wash away tracks and scents, ours and theirs. I kept to the shadows underneath the bare cherry trees and frost damp tall grass that boarded the sides of the gravel driveway as I made my way stealthily towards the sounds and growing scents of our prey.

I am a cat so instinctively I stuck to the cover but looked for a piece of higher ground to use to spot our prey. I could smell three vampires, a witch, two werewolves and a cougar shifter and finally spotted a cherry tree up ahead that had convenient low branches that I could use to climb up for a view. I might not be able to climb a tree in a hurry or use it to hunt from but when I have to I can get up a tree as a lynx and did so.

Sticking to the sturdy branches I climbed up high enough that I could see but still stay shielded by the tree's branches. From my perch I looked for our prey; they had come in two black SUV's and I could see both SUV's were parked in front of the lit up house, they were empty, which meant they were probably either in the house or somewhere around the house.

I smelled Damien as he came to the base of my tree and I heard him crouch down. I felt more than heard Chay come up and pass us on the opposite side of the driveway as he continued towards the house, sticking to the available cover.

[Looks like our buddies have come on cliché today. I see two black SUV's, empty, but I smell and sense at least three vampires, two 'wolves and a cougar. There's a witch out there somewhere too.] Damien relayed to me, I knew by his tone he was passing the same information on to Chay at the same time and guessed I smelled or spotted the same thing. But it never hurt to share anyway.

[I can see the witch and one of the vampires, don't recognise either, but can't get a visual on the rest yet and I don't see or hear anything from in the house.] I passed on as he held open the telepathic connection between us.

I did see a young looking blonde male vampire leaning on the garage wall in a shadowed corner, watching the front yard and the front door. The witch was a young female, red haired and curvy, as she leaned against the front bumper of the farthest away SUV, cleaning her nails by the look of it.

[Shifters and 'wolves are too good at hiding themselves, they won't be obvious.] I added after another slow, thorough scan visually and audibly of the area.

There was a long pause and at the end was a wordless confirmation that Damien had spotted the same two I saw.

[Chay has spotted another vampire and a 'wolf. He can't see Cris, the other 'wolf or the cougar.] Damien relayed as another long pause stretched between us. [He says he is taking care of them, you take out the witch and vampire. I'll look for Cris, Michael, the missing shifter and 'wolf.]

I felt Damien hear my acceptance and felt him shut down the connection between us and I heard him slip away from underneath my tree. I stayed up my tree for a minute or two as I figured out the best way to approach and take out my targets. I also gave him a minute or two to get away and then climbed down my tree. Once at the base of my tree I noted that Damien had brought the black pants and long sleeved dark t-shirt I wore on the job and I quickly shifted back to human.

I pulled on the clothes, strapped three knives one wood, one silver and one iron lined steel to my forearms and pulled on old running shoes with no socks. While my feet were tough, it was wiser to wear shoes so I could run faster and not tear my feet up. The clothes were also a further weapon as they were made from cat hide, which meant when I shifted the clothes would shift with me. Sounds a bit gruesome but it was hide gained from my enemies and I noticed it was something Chay did too judging from his white clothes.