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or just
by design, don’t ever fully civilize,” he explained carefully. “The
ones that are entirely primeval are killed quickly. Even vampires
can’t stomach rampant monsters. But some willfully seek out a
different life, one separate from people and humanity.
    “We believe the early stories of werewolves are based
on vampires living like this.” He took a deep breath and looked out
at the night sky. “In small packs they hunt together, living more
like animals than people. By necessity, they can’t kill most of
their food, but they want to hunt and kill. They hunt big game,
like bears and elk, even wolves. Not for food, but for sport.”
    “People do that too,” I interjected, but I’m not sure
what point I was making with that.
    “We call them lycans. It’s short for lycanthrope,
which just means werewolf. It’s a little inside joke for vampires.”
Ezra smiled at me with that, but I didn’t really think it was
funny. “Lycan, I think, just means wolf in Greek.”
    “This was a round about way of giving me a lesson in
Greek?” I asked dryly.
    “There’s a pack of lycan that live in the Finnish
Lapland,” he ignored me. “I’ve come across them before, but it’s an
ever changing group, with only the leader remaining. He’s a sadist,
and the life expectancy for his pack isn’t anywhere near what it is
for the average vampire, or even for other lycans. They’re known
for their brutality, and they’ve killed people and vampires
indiscriminately.”
    I swallowed hard and focused on the bright lights
flashing outside of the window. By now, I figured out how this
story ended up with us here, waiting for a plane to take us to the
lycan. Our destination was very much connected with theirs.
    “Last week, Peter killed a member of their pack. They
want revenge, and they won’t stop until they get him. And, Peter,
in his current state, seems happy to offer himself up,” Ezra said
quietly. “We have to find him before they do.”
    I could barely control my own bloodlust, but we were
going out to the wilderness to track down a pack of crazed
werewolves-cum-vampires so we could save a vampire that tried to
kill me before. It all made perfect sense.
    “Alice?” Ezra asked when I just kept staring out the
window. “Do you have any questions?”
    “Nope.” I shook my head. “But Jack’s gonna be so
pissed when he finds out what we’re doing.”
     
     
    - 5 –
     
    The hotel was a cross between a Holiday Inn and a
hunting lodge, with fireplaces and antlers hanging on the wall, but
I was still pleasantly surprised by the set up. After another
flight, followed by a short drive in a rental car and a brief stop
at a local blood bank to stock up, we checked into the hotel.
    Our room had hardwood floors, and it had that same
nice, generic look any other hotel would have. They had internet
access and a television. Based on the amount of cars in the parking
lot, it was relatively busy.
    Ezra busied himself with unpacking, while I had just
dropped my luggage on one of the beds. I claimed the double bed
closer to the window.
    “I’m going to take a shower,” Ezra said and gathered
up his change of clothes and toiletries. “Then we’ll get some rest
and have a go at finding Peter tomorrow.”
    “Do we really have time to waste?” I tried to ask
without accusation. We left in such a hurry, and I wasn’t sure how
imminent the danger was.
    “We have to rest, or I’ll be of no use to Peter.” He
shrugged, as if he couldn’t see any way around it.
    Once he’d gone in the bathroom and I heard the shower
running, I changed into my pajamas. They felt tremendous after
spending the past twenty hours or so stuck in jeans and a
sweater.
    I had gotten sleep on the plane ride over the ocean,
and with the time difference, I’d just be getting up in
Minneapolis. Plus, Ezra had amped me up when he dropped the news
that we were really chasing after werewolfian vampires, so I didn’t
feel like sleeping.
    I pulled