Haven

Chapter 1

The wind beat against the house with the wrath of god. Trees swayed violently, trying to stay in the ground, their leaves being ripped from the branchs. Birds floated through the air allowing the powerfull winds to carry them along in their journey.

Small dirt devils swirled in the streets scattering trash around the town. Most people stayed inside to escape the wind but some welcomed it. The sense of chaos and disorganization were a nice escape to their dull lives. The sun was setting behind the trees casting a calming glow.

The small town in Rhode Island wasn't much more then a mile and half of shops and a bunch of farms. No big name stores lined the road and the people liked it that way. The liked their small town grocery store slash butchershop. They were to set in their ways to allow for change.

And who would blame them? Nothing had changed in Haven for over five hundred years when the town was first founded. Yes, instead of horse drawn carriages there were sport cars and electricity replaced the hurricane laterns but the feel of the small town is still the same.

Kathy walked down the street, the wind trying to grab her dark brown hair from the pony tail. She loved how the small town made her feel, all warm and gooey inside. Everyone knew her name and she knew everyones name.

She should after four hundred years of living there.

Maroon eyes peered through her glasses as she saw the Jenkins boy ride down the street on his bike, the wind pushing him faster along. Her skin was pale against the bright light of the the sun reminding her to pick up some instant tan spary at the store later. Just because she was a vampire didn't mean she had to be all pale and clammy looking.

In Kat's mind the invention of spray on tan was a gift from God.

The local thrift store was having some sort of party down the street, she could hear the Rap music coming down the street. Stupid faires, she thought to herself. They didnt' know good music when they heard it. Now Keith Urban was good music, not this 50 cent crap.

You can't spell CRAP with out RAP Kat's best friend use to say before he moved about three years ago. The vampire never knew how lonely she could get with out the mut. Brian had been the one to move Kathy to Haven when he found her hiding in the woods from the vampire hunters.

She could still imagine the look of sympathy on his face as he stretched his hand out in help. Kat hadn't been a vampire for more then a month and she wasn't liking the particular aspect of her life at the moment. She had tried to kill herself by walking into the sun but she had only gotten a nasty sunburn. Stabbing herself in the gut hadn't done anything but put a hole in her only dress.

Kathy smiled as she took the walk down memory lane. Now she was happy she hadn't killed herself but her need for her friend was getting old.

Kathy walked out of of the main square and down a dirt road that lead to the woods. Many thought she was crazy for living on the outskirt of town but Kat craved the challenge. Every mythical creature knew that Haven was neutral ground, thus why many lived in the boundries. But a select few who liked adventure and action had homes patrolling the borders of the town.

These homes were open to attack but normally they were left alone. A war between the faires and pixies had just ended ten years ago so no one was really looking for a battle.

It didn't take long for Kathy to come to the house that she called home. The large stone structure stood two stories high and looked as if it was meant to be there. Windows graced the front of the home to let in the clean air of the woods.

Large stone steps lead to a heavy oak door that need to be oiled.

Kathy loved the house. She and Brian had shared it for the full time that they had known each other. It was unheard of a vampire and werewolf shacking together but it suited the both of them. The house had been in Brian's family for ages but they had all moved to New York to be closer to the pack leader.

That's where he is now, she thought to herself as she opened the door. He had been ordered to a meeting of the head men in the pack and then ordered to move to New York to find a mate.

She knew that her friend had no love life but its' kind of sad when you have to be ordered to find a mate and have little pups.

If she closed her eyes she could see the anguish and dispair on her firends eyes. He had loved this house just as much as she had. Having to leave it because the pack leader was an ass wasn't fair.

The last night either would spend together was amazing. She had made dinner for Brian and had a glass of AB positive herself and they talked. Nothing in particular was mentioned, they spoke of the weather and the up coming festival for the harvest.

The kiss.

Kathy put her shopping bag of blood on the counter and tried not to scream. She had waited four hundred years for that kiss and it had been everything she thought it would be. Full of love and warmth.

But they were two different species and they both knew it.

And when she had woken up the next night after a restless sleep she found the love of her life gone.

I really need to learn to let the past die, she thought as she stood in the large kitchen. Dwelling on the past didn't get anything accomplished.

The wind picked up speed outside throwing leaves around the yard along with a gum wrapper. Clouds began to gather in the sky, darkening out the fading sun. The Weather Channel had called for rain and it seemed that they had predicted the weather correct for once.

Just then the sound of water hitting the window filled the room seeming to match.

She knew better then most people that the past couldn't be changed, only the future could.

"Maybe I should start dating?" She said aloud to break the eerie silence.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." A familiar voice from the past answered back. Kathy swiviled around and stared at the six foot man. His walnut color hair was damp from the rain that was coming into the kitchen from the open door.

The blue eyes were focused on Kathy, as if nothing else exsisted for him.

She knew this face. She knew the chiseled cheeks and that sexy mouth. The voice was deep and sensuious.

"How-" Kathy couldn't finish her question before the man stepped up to her and hauled her up off of her feet. His mouth chrushed hers in an urgency that they both knew and welcomed.

Kat felt herself melting into the kiss, her hands finding their way in the his wavy hair. A primal sound came from deep within her. Here was the love that she had craved since being turned. Here was the man of her dreams.

Both parrted slowly, smiles on their faces.

"Hey beautiful." The man said as he set her back down on the floor but kept his arms around her waist.

"Hey handsome. Long time no see." Kat looked up at Brian with caring eyes but confused ones. Wasn't he suppose to have found a mate and had pups? Everyone knew that werewolfs mate for life so obviously he hadn't found a girl to call his own. But why had he come back to Haven?

Truthfully, she didnt' care because he was home and she didnt' have to be alone anymore again. She would have someone to talk to or argue with, depending on the subject. She would have a reason to cook again. Even though she couldn't eat she still loved to bake a nice batch of chocolate chip cookies every once in a while.

Brian looked down at Kat with knowing eyes. He knew that she was questioning his return to their home but it was the only place that he was safe. It wouldn't be long before Derek found out that he had ran.

"I thought that your pack leader had told you to find a mate?"

"I had but it wasn't the person he wanted me to. Or, even the same species as he wanted it to be."

"Oh." Kat said making Brian laugh at her.

"Oh. Thats all you have to say?"

"Your letting in the rain and getting the floor all wet." Kat smiled but on the inside she was scared. You couldn't live with a lycan for four hundred years and not know their by-laws. She knew that something was wrong for him to disobey such an important order. "Whats wrong Brian? Theres no way in hell Derek would let you come back here. He was always against us living together."

Brian let go of Kat long enough to close the door against the elements. "I don't feel like talking about it." He stalked out of the kitchen and headed for the stairs to the second floor.

Kathy followed right behind him. She grabbed his arm and spun him to face her. She would be damned if he was going to leave her out of the know-how. "Well your going to tell me what is going on so that I know wither or not we have to move into Haven for protection."

Brian didn't realize he was breathing heavily till the silence became to much from him and he heard his heart pounding. He should tell her but he didn't want to drag Kathy into his problems.

As if Kat could read his mind she raised her chin in defiance, "I will find out eventually. You could never keep anything from me longer then a day."

She walked away from Brain,carefully timing her steps. Her feet wanted to run from the room but her pride woudn't let her.

If he wanted to be a little prick and not tell her what he is feeling then she would pry it out of him by the only way she could think of.

She had better go to the store and buy some chocolate chips.



Brian stood in the middle of his room not knowing quite what to do. Nothing had changed in his room. Except for where there should be dust there was none. The hint of Pledge still lingered in the air. The linens of his bed smelled of the orange soap that Kathy preferred.

It was as if she had expected him. But judging by her shock in the kitchen she hadn't been aware that he was coming back. Which meant only one thing.

She had been keeping his room clean and livable since the day he left.

Guilt coursed through him as he thought of the last night he had spent in this house. He hadn't liked the fact that he was being forced from his home but he didn't want Derek to have to come to Haven and take action into his own hands. He already wasn't happy with him for living with a vampire.

Brian would do whatever it took to protect Kathy. Then why did he return to the home that they had shared? Just being in the house would give his pack leader enough leverage to kill his love for houseing him.

But he couldn't bring himself to leave.

He listened as Kat's car drove out of the driveway and down to road. He should leave now. It would be easier on both of them if he left.

But he wasn't going to leave. He had known that the day that he had left New York to return home. He would protect what is his at any cost.

This was where he belonged and Derek wasn't going to pull him away from the stone structure again. He would rather be plauged with a band of pixies for life then give up his home.

And if Derek had a problem with that then he could kiss his ass. He was done trying to be someone he wasn't. He wasn't going to find a female werewolf and claim her as his mate when in all reality Kathy was the one he wanted. The one he lusted after.

He was tired of having to lie to the world.

Fatigue plauged Brian as he stripped off his clothes and headed to the ajoining bathroom. He just wanted a hot shower, a glass of brandy and then a warm bed. Perferrably with a cold body in it.




He was playing with her, she thought to herself as she walked down the aisle of the grocery store. She had picked up her chocolate chips but then decided to stock up on food for the man.

She had no intention of letting him go this time. And she would be damned if he thought he would be able to sneak out on her again.

Kathy threw some steaks into the cart along side the makings of a salad and cookies.

She hadn't realized how much she had missed being inside the store. As a vampire she didn't eat or drink anything besides blood.

But she loved creating something new every time she opened the fridge.

Kathy checked off ingrdients on the list that she had brought with her. She knew that the town was going to be wondering what the hell she was doing but she didn't want to tell anyone about Brian. She wanted to have him all to herself for as long as she could manage.

"Kathy!" An annoying voice shrieked from behind her.

The vampire hung her head in pain before she turned around and smiled at the nymph that required her attention. "Lily, how are you?"

Both woman exchanged the mandatory kiss on the cheek before the bitch-fest began. Kathy could have sworn she heard a gunshot in the backgroud and an announcer going " And there off!"

"Why I'm fine Kathy. My, thats a lot of food you have? Did you find a moral-demon? I would be ravinish from not eating for centuries too."

She's implying I'm fat when she's the one who had to charm a wizard into making her love handles disappear . "No I didn't find a moral-demon to make me human. I rather enjoy sucking the blood out of little children."

Kathy spun on her heels to grab the can of tuna from the shelf in front of her. The item wasn't on the list but she had to keep her hand busy if she didnt' want to punch the wood nymph in the face.

"Then why are you buying so much food?" Lily looked into the basket and raised an eyebrow.

"I am thinking of having some people over and not all of them drink blood. So I thought I would be nice and cook for them. If I set a date I'll let you know so you can plan another session with Harry the Wizard to remove all the unwanted weight you're packing on again."

Kathy left the nymph spitting mad behind her as she proceeded to the seafood section.



On her way home Kathy cursed herself for making the fat comment. She lived in the woods for crying out loud. All of Lily's friends would be swarming the property any moment and then they would figure out that Brian was home.

Kathy beat the steering wheel in frustration. How stupid can I be?

The site of the stone structure called home made Kat gasp. Toliet paper hung from the trees while bologna killed the grass undernieth it.

"Wow she worked fast," Kat whispered as she looked at the damage. Nothing was broken thank the goddess, but she still found herself storming towards the woods. She knew Lily would be watching her and she wanted her to see how she felt.

So being the rude person she was, Kat turned with her back to the woods and lowered her jeans to reveal her buttocks to the nymphs. She knew it was pale and probably could be seen for miles but she didn't care.

Screams echoed throughout the woods and Kat put her pants back on with a triumphant grin on her face.

"Till next time Lily!" Kat yelled over her shoulder.

Kat laughed the whole time she was bringing in the groceries. She couldnt' believe she had actually done that. True, she had dreamed of doing that for years but she had always tried to be proper and poliet to the occupants of the woods.

After all the groceries were put away and steaks marinating, she went and did damage control. The wind had died down while she had been in the store and the rain had stopped but it still took Kat almost an hour to get all the toliet paper and bologna into the trash can.

By the time she was done she was sweaty and just a little run down.

Walking into the house she stopped and smelled the air. She could smell Brian but she couldn't see him. Probably going to pout all day, she thought to herself as she walked back to the kitchen.

Stopping in her tracks, she watched Brian as he chopped up onions for the salad that she had planned on making.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kat puncuated the sentence by putting her hands on her hips.

"I'm hungry so I decided to cook. I saw you bring in the food so I assumed..."

"That't the problem you assumed. Now get out so I can finish up."

Brian didnt' budge from his spot but began to chop the vegetable once again. Kat made a lung for the knife and got a cut hand instead.

"Well shit," Kat hissed as she walked to the sink to rinse the wound.

Brian just stood there not doing much of anything. Silence hung in the air for a good minute before he could find his voice. "What the hell is your problem?"

Kat just shook her head and walked out of the kitchen. She had made a fool of herself just because she wanted to cook again. She could feel tears stinging her eyes and knew better then to allow them to flow. She couldn't imagine what had gotten into her. She had never been the kind of woman who needed a man to survive.

But it seemed that she was. And Kat hated herself for it.

With the speed of her kind she ran up the stairs and to her room. If she had her way she was going to be there for a while.

The bedroom was pitch black but she could see clearly at all the things she had collected over the course of her life time. A pine dresser that she had gotten back in 1845 looked as if it her just come off the assemble line, the varnish wasn't rubbed off and there were no dings in the woods exterior.

Her walls were painted a light sage even though she couldn't tell the color of them at the moment.

But her favorite thing about her room was the bed. It was a four poster bed made of pine by the same craftsman that had made the dresser. Sheer draperies encased the bed in a romantic way a constant reminder of what Kathy could never have.

A pair of french doors led to a balcony that she and Brian shared. That had been the exact spot that he had kissed her for the first time.

Kathy didnt' realize she had walked out to the balcony until Brian opened the doors leading from his room. She didnt' move a muscle, but stared more intensly into the darkness of the woods before her.

"Kat, whats wrong?" Brian tried to lay his hand her shoulder but she moved away from him. He didn't like the space that exsisted between them now and made a note to find a way to close it, if not make it much smaller.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well I do so what is your deal." Brian could feel the anger coming back. It had taken ten minutes of meditation before he thought he could safely come up here and talk to Kathy. But it seemed that it was all in vain.

"You don't always get what you want Brian. You had better get inside before someone sees you."

Even though she was mad at Brian for no reason she didn't want to put his life on the line because she felt bitchy. Could vampires still have PMS?

But Kathy didn't expect Brian to haul her over his shoulder and bring her inside too. She screamed like a mad person hoping to get a wood nymphs attention but she knew that there were no one around the house after her mooning exhibit.

"Damn it Brian!" She screamed as her back hit the mattress in her room. She tried to squirm out from underneith his weight but she couldn't move some much as an inch.

The werewolf looked down at Kathy, studing her. He had dreamed of her every night he was gone in that hell hole called New York. And all the dreams had started the same way, with the kiss that changed everything.

He had never found a mate because the one that he loved and cherished was laying undernieth him, giving him the evil eye and probably mentally flipping him off.

Brian couldnt' bring himself to be mad at her anymore. She just looked to innocent, even for a vampire.

"Admit it, you're happy that I am back. Come on," Brian leaned closer to Kat, and smiled as he saw the battle wagging inside her, "Smile." He whispered the last part before he leaned in more and brushed his lips against hers.

Kathy heard herself moan out of pleasure or desperation, she wasn't quite sure which one.

She didn't care which one. As long as she and Brian could stay like this.

Wait. She was mad at Brian. True, there was really no reason but she had to resist the sexy hunk laying on top of her making her feels things she hadn't felt in centuries. Alive.

"Kat," Brian whispered in a husky voice. He could see that her maroon eyes had turned black. He could see that he was doing something to her and he enjoyed the power he had over her.

"Brian as much as this feels really really good, you have to get off. I'm mad at you still." No!! Her mind screamed at her as the words came out of her mouth. She wanted him to stay on top of her for life. Ha! Doesn't that sound great?

Brian sighed but he didn't move. He was going to keep Kat here forever and ever. This is what he had been wanting for centurys. "No." Brian said the one word and Kat was putty. She felt every worry, every signle ounce of pain disappear. Instead she felt love and a strange warmth coming from inside.

As much as Kat wanted to stay in the bed, it wasn't an option. So with great regret she let her knee come up and connect with Brian's manhood. The werewolf howled in pain and rolled off of Kathy, his face scrunched in pain.

"I told you to get off." Kat said matter of factly. She jumped off of the bed and walked out of the bedroom. "I demand to know why you came back. I'm not an idiot Brian. Any day now Derek will have this house surrounded and I have a right to know why."

Brian shook his head. He should have known that Kat would figure out that he ran. "You really know how to ruin the mood, you know."

"You know how to be an asshole. We are all good at something." Kat called out. From the softness of her voice Brian could tell she was downstairs, probably in the kitchen.

Quickly he got off the bed but he couldn't make himself go downstairs. Kat was right, she had a right to know if her life was in danger. But he just couldn't bring himself to tell her about how much trouble he was in.

He heard the sound of the knife on the butcher block. He could here the steaks out on the patio sizzeling as a piece of fat caught fire. This is what he had missed. The sounds of a home. The apartment he had been forced to stay in had been to modern and to city like. He had hated all the damp colors and metal. If he never saw a brushed steel table ever again he could die happy.

And now he was home but at such a large cost. He knew that Kat would stick next to him if it came down to a fight to protect each other but he hadn't thought his plan through. When he ran all he could think of was Kathy and hoped that he hadn't been replaced already and when he had walked into his freashly cleaned room he knew that she was as much his mate as he was hers.

And just because they couldn't have children didn't bother Brian like it would most werewolfs. It was in their DNA to breed, to keep the species alive but he didn't care about that, not anymore. Maybe at first that would have kept him from acting on his feelings for Kat but that was the past, this was the present.

Now he had a chance at love, at happiness. He would win the battle sure to come. He would live.


Chapter 2