Garrett and Abigail pulled into the Clifton Towers parking lot. The Range Rover ground to a halt, and the doors opened. Garrett stepped from the vehicle and walked to open the door for Abigail. He looked up at the scaffolding as Maria walked from the stairs and descended the steps to greet them.

“Good morning, it’s nice to see you again,” Maria said as she started to lead them up the stairs. “Most of the apartments are finished, and there’s only the exterior to be done. A week or two and we should be finished.”

Abigail held her head up as she climbed the steps, workers whistled, and she guessed it was aimed more at Maria than her. “Boys will be boys!” She giggled, pretending it was for her.

Garrett laughed as he took hold of Abigail’s arm. “Show them a bit of leg, that’ll get them going,” he said.

“Stop it, Garrett, it’s a bit too public for things like that.” Now she slapped his arm in a mock temper. As they entered the office, Dustin and Kelvin were watching the TV. There was more breaking news that was being reported on.

“What’s happened now?” Garrett asked as his cell phone started to ring in his pocket. He pulled out his cell and pushed it against his ear. His eyes were glued on the TV as he listened intently. “Watching it now. When did this happen?” Garrett frowned as he listened to the person on the phone. His broad chest rose and fell as he sighed. He put the phone on the desk as his head shook.

“What is it?” Abigail asked, confused.

“The Red Cross blood donation center has been hit. The same thing as the hospital,” he explained.

“Holy fuck,” Kelvin yelped from behind the desk.

“Mind your language,” Dustin remarked as he hit Kelvin hard on the back of his head. Kelvin apologized and sat on the couch. He was now rubbing his hand across his short, cropped hair.

Garrett sat as Maria started to close the door. Gabriel and Tanya walked from the bottom of the stairs. Maria called them into the office. Gabriel greeted Abigail and a sullen, worried-looking Garrett.

“What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked as he shook Garrett’s hand.

“We’ve heard on the news that the Red Cross has been broken into,” Garrett remarked.

“Like the hospital?”

“Exactly like the hospital. Same thing; bags on the floor and only a few were left in the chillers,” Garrett said.

Maria sat on the edge of the desk. “We were talking about this yesterday. And last night, one of the pack —one of the residents, came home covered in blood,” Maria explained. Dustin looked away from the TV. He had been through a similar situation with the hunters already, although now, it was something very different, indeed. “Kyle said whoever attacked them was a woman, and very fast and silent.”

“We know there are no hunters to do this, and robbing the blood doesn’t make sense,” Garrett said, confused about the strange events.

Maria looked at Tanya as she started to explain. “We came up with a reason why the blood has been stolen. We think they are looking for someone specific,” Maria explained as Garrett and Abigail looked at each other.

Garrett’s expression changed as he breathed in deeply. “Do you have any idea who gave blood?” he asked. Maria shook her head and explained they had actually no contact in the hospital who would be able to get a list. Garrett came up with information that could solve the riddle quickly. “We know someone who is in the Red Cross, we used to donate quite a lot of blood.”

“Good Samaritans, huh?” Gabriel asked.

“Not exactly, don’t forget we were hunters. It was for self-preservation more than anything, and if we got injured we wanted to know we had blood in supply,” he replied. “All the hunters donated for the same reason.”

“All the hunters, did that include Noelle?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah! Why do you ask?” Abigail said, in a quizzical tone. “You think this has something to do with her?”

Gabriel rubbed his hand over his chin. His fingers caressed the short stubble, and he realized he needed to have a shave. “It’s a long shot, but Noelle was a hybrid, so she might have a rare blood type,” he remarked. “Why they would want her blood, though? Well, that’s another question. Edmund’s dead, so it isn’t going to be him.”

Abigail fidgeted on the couch and leaned forward. “She is a rare blood type. AB-negative. Only one percent have that type,” she said. “But if they are looking for hers specifically, they are definitely out of luck.”

Maria stood and stretched her leg before a cramp set in. “Why do you say that?” she asked Abigail. “Why are they out of luck?”

Abigail clasped her hands together and rested them on her knees as she explained. Noelle was (as they’d been told) the only person in the Creek to have AB-negative. Not only were they out of luck for finding another donor with this blood type; there was another reason, too.

“Drake’s the reason there is no AB-negative left in Cripple Creek. You know how traumatic the birth was. Noelle used up all the stocks of her own blood,” Abigail explained. “And because she was a new mother, she was unable to donate any before they left for their education tour.”

“If we do assume it’s Noelle’s blood they were after, the reason is still why? What purpose would it serve?” Tanya asked, trying to muddle it out in her own mind.

Maria sat back on the edge of the desk. She thought for a moment and noticed everyone staring at her as they waited for her to speak. I’m in charge of the apartments. I’m not the one in charge. It dawned on Maria at that very moment… everyone looked at her as if she was in charge. This is what happens if you are charged with the task of tending to the apartments.

She sighed. “It can’t be a person who is sick, and if it was, it is very extreme to rob two places looking for one blood type —there has to be something special about Noelle’s.”

“What can a person do with her blood?” Abigail asked, more confused than she was at the start of the conversation.

Tanya walked to the bookshelf and fingered through the books until she found the one she’d read earlier. She flicked through the pages. “Immortality?” she said, as she stopped at a page.

“Not possible, you know wolves are mortal, they’re just at a slower rate than humans,” Maria commented.

Tanya flicked through some more pages and stopped again. “Turning humans back into wolves?” Tanya asked as everyone turned toward Gabriel.

“Don’t look at me. I already know that won’t work,” he replied, holding his hands up in a mock defense.

Tanya flicked to the end of the book. She ran her fingers down the page. Her head lifted as she stared at everyone in the office. “There is only one other option —I don’t believe it myself, though,” she said as she closed the book.

“Come on, tell us what it could or couldn’t be?” Maria pressed.

“You will think I’m talking stupidly,” she replied.

“Who gives a damn if you sound stupid, people's lives are at risk here,” Garrett said. He looked unamused at Tanya’s non-progression.

“Vampires.”

“Now that is ridiculous, why the hell would a vampire want Noelle’s blood? Don’t they just drink any blood to survive? That is if they actually existed,” Garrett remarked.

“Wasn’t it not all that long ago that humans didn’t think werewolves existed?” Kelvin asked. “Maybe they are there, we’ve just never seen them.”

Tanya kept reading and then looked up at everyone. “I’ve just read… a werewolf can be turned into a vampire-werewolf if they have a hybrid’s blood in their system. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what’s there on page two hundred and twelve,” Tanya explained. “Either by a bite or by an injection.”

“So, if this happens to be the reason, there’s no other place that anyone can get Noelle's blood, apart from getting it straight from her. And now she is no longer a hybrid, so they can’t succeed in what they are aiming to do, anyway,” added Abigail.

“I think they’ll keep looking for a hybrid. We only Noelle was one. Maybe there are others that don’t know. This puts humans and wolves at risk,” Maria explained. “I think we all need to be extra-vigilant over the next days or weeks.”

Gabriel stood and flexed his shoulders. “We’re going to the biker bar, so I'll ask if they know of any hybrids among them, or if they’ve heard any rumors.” He watched as Tanya walked to the office door. “We have to get to the bottom of this.”

Garrett looked at Maria. “You don’t think…” he started to say.

Maria cut him off mid-sentence. “As much as Gabriel’s a dick sometimes, and although he still thinks he’s a damned wolf, he would never do anything like that. I don’t see how he could, anyway, not without someone else knowing,” she commented.

“Who’d want to create a vampire-werewolf?” Abigail asked, as she screwed up her face.

Dustin stood up from his chair. “That’s easy to answer,” he replied. “Someone who wants to live forever and ever.”

* * *

The roar of the motorcycle fell silent as Gabriel stopped outside the biker bar. He put his helmet over his mirror and slipped his shades into the top pocket of his shirt. Tanya hung from his arm as they walked toward the old wooden door. A group of bikers stood near the end of the walkway, and now the faint smell of a joint washed back over Gabriel. He breathed in and smelled the sweet burning aroma of marijuana. He smiled as a biker turned and grinned through his large white beard.

“You want a toke?” he said as he started to cough. Plumes of smoke fled from his mouth as the other bikers laughed aloud.

“I’m good thanks,” Gabriel replied as he pulled on the stainless-steel handle of the bar door.

Tanya stepped inside as the loud music filled their ears. They approached the bar together, and Gabriel rested a foot on the brass footrest that ran the length of the bar. Gabriel saw Sky, the young guy who had fetched the stuff from the pharmacy. He called him over and ordered a couple of bottles. Sky dipped his hand into a large drum full of crushed ice. He pulled out two bottles and flicked the caps with his thumb.

“It’s cool to be a wolf,” he whispered to Gabriel.

“Sky, hi. Is Jemma around?” Gabriel asked.

“She’s in the back, want me to go get her?”

“No rush, but I do need to speak to her,” Gabriel said as he wiped the water from the side of his ice-cold beer. He raised it to his lips and took a gulp. The bittersweet taste flowed down his throat. Gabriel put the bottle back onto the bar and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

He looked at the reflection in the faded mirror. He could see the sea of black and chrome that filled the parking lot. He noticed the uniqueness of the metal that had been twisted, welded, and polished to make the custom add-ons to the bikes. The door opened; in walked Shadow, he approached the bar and slapped his hand firmly on Gabriel’s back.

“Any joy in finding how to turn back into a wolf yet?” he bellowed. He tipped his head in Sky’s direction. Sky grabbed a bottle and slid it down the bar. The bottle hit its target perfectly, and landed straight into Shadow’s opened hand.

“Nothing yet. I’m still waiting to hear on a couple of leads, but I think they’ll be dead-ends. Again, unfortunately,” Gabriel replied. “I’m not going to give up though, no fricken way.”

“That’s my boy. We need someone like you on our side,” Shadow said as he picked up his bottle. He slapped Gabriel again and walked off toward his table.

Jemma appeared from the door at the end of the bar. Her long red hair was beautifully perfected and tied into a series of cute-looking pigtails that swung at the side of her head. Now, she sauntered to the end of the bar.

“Sky says you want to see me Gab.” She was now leaning on the bar.

Gabriel smiled at her. “Have you heard anything about the hospital and the Red Cross blood center being robbed?” he asked.

“Yeah, we saw the news. It’s strange why anyone would do that sort of thing,” Jemma replied. “It sounds like you know something about it… do you?”

Gabriel looked over his shoulder and across the sea of heads belonging to the bikers who were sat in the bar. All he could see that stood out from the crowd, was an old Indian guy dressed in black who was slowly sipping on a glass of whiskey.

He leaned forward and whispered. He said, “We think someone’s out to create vampire-werewolves.” Jemma burst out into laughter, immediately. She raised her hand and wiped tears that rolled down her cheeks.

“You’re kidding me, right? Who the hell came up with that idea?” she asked as Tanya cleared her throat.

“I did; if you must know. It was in an old book, and it isn’t as stupid as it sounds,” Tanya replied, in her assertive tone of defense. She picked up her bottle and stared over the bottom of it. She sipped from it in a definite “fuck you” type of attitude.

“What leads you to this then, Tanya?” Jemma tugged on her ponytail. Her head was cocked slightly to the side as she waited for a reply to aid her own curiousness. It was an intriguing idea, even if it was ridiculous.

“The robbery; we’re guessing, was only really a cover-up. Noelle has the blood they wanted, however when she gave birth to Drake, they used up the supply. Whoever wants this has started attacking people to find another hybrid,” Tanya explained.

Jemma listened intently. To her, that made more sense than vampire-werewolves running around the Creek.

“Have any of the pack been attacked recently?” Gabriel asked.

Jemma shook her head and explained that since the battle with the hunters, none of the pack ventured out alone. Ever. It was better to be safe than sorry. Gabriel explained it wasn’t only in the forest that they had to be careful. It was in the town too. He told Jemma about Kyle being attacked with his human friend, and about the other body that was found further across town.

“Now that you mention it, one of the girls was approached a few nights ago. She got in first, and I heard that she lashed out, and whoever it was got walloped right in the face,” Jemma explained.

Gabriel nodded. That was all he wanted to hear, and not what he wanted to hear. No one was safe in town until this person was caught. Or people. Jemma said she’d ask around later and see if any biker was a hybrid, or if they knew of one.

Jemma walked back to the end of the bar as Gabriel watched her pigtails dancing. She looked hot as they bounced on her back. He also observed her ass wriggle as it moved nicely in her tight, black leggings. But he did it carefully, because he didn’t want Tanya to notice that he was eyeing her. Guys couldn’t help but notice a good-looking woman, or wolf, whatever the case may be.

Sky sent another couple of bottles sliding down the bar. Gabriel handed one to Tanya as he sipped from his own. The guy dressed in black put his empty glass on the bar. “Fill it up, and I might have some information for you,” he said as his fingers pushed his Stetson away from his face.

Gabriel looked at the thick lines and wrinkles of the man’s face. He must’ve been way over seventy-years of age. He signaled Sky who poured a double.

“So, what do you know about these attacks?” Gabriel asked.

“Not a thing,” the guy said as he grinned. Gabriel watched as the guy's eyes vanished behind wrinkled cheeks. His cracked lips opened and bared his semi-white teeth that had a few gaps too many.

“You said you had information.”

“Information for you, not this crazy, vampire-werewolf tale you’re a-telling,” he said as his dark brown eyes opened widely. He stared at Gabriel.

“Me, you have information about me?”

The old Indian spun on his stool and rested his arm on the bar. Gabriel stared at the bones that hung on an old piece of weathered leather around his neck. His skin dark was chocolate.

He caught Gabriel’s attention with the next words he spoke. “You want to get your wolf back?” he asked.

Gabriel nodded. “More than anything in the world.”

“Forget a witch for this, they can’t help. You need someone with real power from the spirits. You need…” He picked up his glass and sipped. Gabriel could smell the bitter whiskey on the Indian’s breath as he muttered. “You, my friend, need a shaman.”

“Turned stones reveal the most interesting things.”