Broken Innocent
copyright 2004 MythRat

"Wake up, child." Came the gentle voice of my master, pulling me out of my dreams. I woke slowly, deftly
untangling myself from the soft covers of the bed I shared with my master, and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. My
master moved about the small haven, packing up what few belongings we had. There was an urgency in his stride
that I had seen many times before. I cast a quick glance at the clock on the bedside table to find it was only 6
o'clock in the evening; the sun had just barely set. I knew something had to be wrong for him to be awake so
early.

"Master, what's wrong? Are we moving again?" I asked, getting out of bed.

"Hurry, child." He said with a tone of urgency as he handed me my clothes, "We're leaving this place, it's not safe
anymore." He ran his hand along my jaw and gave me a kiss to reassure me, "Don't worry, my pet, I've already
found us a new place to live."

"Must we move again, Master?" I sighed as I got dressed "I don't like moving to new places."

"We don't have any choice, child!" He was angry but he paused for a moment to calm himself before continuing,
"Hunters cannot be reasoned with. You must understand, when they look at me all they see is a killer, a monster to
be put down."
I smiled at him and traced the line of his jaw with a finger. "Then they do not know how sweet and loving you are."
He smiled at me and went back to packing. I pulled on my shoes, grabbed a pack and put my things in it, slung it
over my shoulder, and my master and I set out into the city.

It's dangerous for anyone wandering through the city streets at night, but it's even more dangerous for my master
and others like him. We always had to be careful, taking back alleys and deserted roads and always looking over
our shoulders to see if we're being hunted. We made our way through the dark streets and filth ridden back alleys
as quickly and silently as possible, my master walking in front, peering around corners before signaling that it was
safe to follow. He had told me before we left the haven, there were hunters looking for us and not just the human
kind; the wolves were out for blood this night. We had to make our way quickly through the city. I knew this, I
tried to keep up but my strength was quickly failing. My eyes would not focus, my footing was unsure, my breath
began to come in short painful gasps, the alley began to quake and spin around me. Those things were trifle
compared to the pain, the sharp ache in every muscle, the icy cold in my bones, offset by the fire in my blood. It
had been over a week since I had tasted my master's blood and the pain was now unbearable. I leaned against the
grimy alley wall for a moment to try and catch my breath, but my master was getting too far ahead of me. I
quickened my pace to catch up but my strength finally failed me completely and I fell to the ground of the alley, so
blinded by the pain I wanted nothing more than to curl up and scream but could only let out a short half strangled
cry.

My master stopped and came back towards me, concern clearly written across his handsome features. He saw
my pain and knew I would not be able to continue until the fire in my blood was extinguished. 

"P-please… forgive m-me, master." I said through grit teeth, "I d-do not mean t-to be so weak."

He sat next to me, pulled me gently into his arms and held me close to him. "Hush, child. There is nothing to
forgive." He assured me. "I'm sorry. I did not mean to push you so hard." He slit his wrist and pressed it to my lips.
"Here, child. Drink."
The sweet taste of his blood hit me like a lightning strike and a shudder ran through my whole body. He held me
tighter and that was comforting; nothing has ever been as soothing to me as his gentle touch. The pain slowly faded
and gave way to the overwhelming pleasure of drinking from my master. Nothing else mattered but that moment.
In that moment of excruciating bliss, he and I wrapped ourselves in warm darkness and fell away from the world. I
was not the only one that became lost in the pleasure of feeding, even as drowned as my senses had become, I
could hear my master let out a low moan. I don't know how long we sat locked in that wonderful embrace, but it
wasn't nearly long enough; I could have spent eternity in his arms.

"That's enough, child." He said, pulling away from me and standing, the wound healing on its own. "Come, we
have lingered here too long. We still have a long way to go." He smiled and helped me to my feet. I will never
forget his smile, always gentle and loving; whenever I saw that smile, I knew that he would never hurt me. I knew
we had to leave, I knew time was urgent, but I needed to feel my master's touch for just a short while longer. I
locked my arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, passionately, and he returned my passion with his own,
wrapping his strong arms around me. My tongue found his fangs and I shivered, wanting so much to feel his bite.
When the kiss broke and my master pulled away from me, I found myself still longing for his touch. He turned
back and held out his hand to grasp mine and we set off once again for our new home. I smiled to myself,
imagining the new haven, thinking of all the days I would spend laying beside my master, safely cocooned in his
arms as we slept.

But those days would never come.

In a flurry of claws and teeth, my master was ripped away from me. The beast that attacked him threw me back
against the wall of the alley. Paralyzed by fear I could only watch as my master was torn apart by a creature so
frightening I cannot bring myself to remember it fully. I knew what it was from the many stories my master had told
me; a werewolf, a heartless killer that would slaughter anything it came across.

I fell to my knees, doubled over, my whole body wracked with screams and strangled sobs. It was too horrible to
be happening, I hoped and prayed that it was no more than a nightmare but as hard as I tried I could not blot out
the scene that was before me. The sound of rending flesh and snapping bone, blood covering the thing's claws, its
pelt, primal rage sparkling in its eyes, the screams of my dying master; I could do nothing but cower and watch in
horror as the wolf gutted my dear master. I thought there was no more terrible sight… and then the creature turned
its murderous gaze on me. There was no way to escape the beast, I knew that, but my mind told me to get away
from the thing. I tried to crawl away but my back hit the alley wall; I was trapped. I shut my eyes and prayed for
the end to be quick. I felt the wolf's hand run lightly along my jaw.

"Do not fear, child. You are free from that monster now." Was all it said, and then it was gone.

As soon as I knew the wolf had left, I collapsed, trembling and sobbing, though there were not tears enough for
this tragedy. I saw the mutilated corpse that had been my master and turned away from the terrible sight, letting out
an agonized cry of horror, but the image would not leave my mind; I felt suddenly sick and retched on the ground,
adding more filth to the alley.

I sat there for hours, silent tears running down my cheeks, my mind completely numb. The sky was growing light, I
guessed only minutes from dawn but it didn't matter, nothing did. It all seemed like a dream, a nightmare that was
soon to end; I would make it end.

I moved as if in a trance over to a fire escape ladder and made my way to the roof of a building; it was a long way
up. 'All the better.' I thought to myself. I reached the top and climbed onto the edge of the roof just as the sun
broke over the horizon. I stood there for long minutes, watching the whole magnificence of the dawn, memorizing
every detail so I could tell my master when I saw him again. I smiled to myself, knowing I would soon wake, safe
in my master's arms once again. This was all just a nightmare after all. I closed my eyes, leaned forward and let
myself fall into blissful oblivion.