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Chapter 3.0: Buried Gun

North Veranti Ranges

I was ever one to believe in relationships built entirely around 'lusting' for another's body. I started out that way and trust me, it never ended well. People who are inherently beautiful go after those people who are likewise beautiful. This is not a generalisation or a rule. There are always exceptions. But all the hot, smoking guys I've been with only ever agreed to date me because I was apparently handsome despite being mediocre in appearance. That, or they were after my money.

So I swore off handsome looking men because chances were, deep down, they were butt ugly.

Unfortunately... Chad was nice inside and outside...

He had an innocent, boyish quality to him that sent my defences crumbling. I found it hard to believe he was after my ass because he wanted what I was worth - both physically and in a monetary sense. Plus, I found it hard to believe he was after me at all.

It was just a dream after all...

One long, hot, sexy dream.

As I watched him do a scene where he was telling Kris to leave him alone high in the mountains, I couldn't help but stare at his beautiful body and listen to his voice. Each word pulled at my heartstrings. He was playing my heart so masterfully and he didn't even know it!

But I kept myself firm.

He was straight and I'm not about to coax him into having a sexual encounter with me by challenging his manhood and calling him a coward for being afraid of something he just didn't know. The thought had crossed my mind but I knew he had a lot riding on this movie and his relationships with the people in the 'industry'. His career was just budding.

Movie stars do not come on the silver screen gay. After years of working up their reputation and being the heartthrob everyone is lusting for, only then do they expose themselves to the world. It's a cruel world but right now, it didn't matter if you were straight, bi or gay because the world was straight.

And that was all that mattered.

So I wasn't going to 'corrupt' him.

Problem was, the fantasies were getting worse. Thankfully, Jack Raver apparently wore baggy pants all the time so my erections were relatively hidden. Rob had a paw in that, I just knew it. I had to remember to thank him for.

It was one of those rare days when the sun was out in the area so we had jumped to the ending of the movie where Xavier, Andrea and Shane would have their epic confrontation. Shane would see Xavier in all his 'sparkly-ness' and see how much Andrea loved him. They would ask Shane to be the best man at their wedding but Shane, knowing he would never be able to control himself and harbouring a lot of jealousy, decides to break off all ties and tell them to leave him alone, fleeing elsewhere.

Apparently, however, I was meant to speak with Shane before he left, planting the idea that he would always have friends with someone in Crosstown. I think Rob was starting to put homosexual hints just for laughs and using me to that end. I wasn't quite sure. I hadn't seen the updated script but my conversation with Shane was supposed to fix a major plot hole, giving Shane more than enough reason to return to save Andrea and Xavier despite hating the latter.

However, since I don't come in until the latter part of the filming, I was forced to stand, partially naked, out in the middle of the sunny - but still freezing - weather on a ridge high above the verdant forests of the Veranti landscape. My fur wasn't that thick. Admittedly, I had that thick patch of golden fur in my chest conveniently shaped like a heart but really, that didn't protect me that much.

I watched the actors utter their lines, spent a good five minutes staring at Chad before turning around and heading for the edge of the ridge. I seriously needed to cool off.

I didn't intend on getting into another relationship.

I'm not a 'player' as such but I have had quite a few sexual partners, not all guys. Yes, I've had my share of 'bewbies' but I prefer testosterone. I had to make sure I knew what I wanted, after all. Maybe it was me or just the guys I dated but nothing ever really lasted. It wasn't anything overly dramatic. It was always a mutual break-up. We would sense the need to be apart from one another and we eventually drifted away.

Plus with my off-the-book job and the risks it ran, relationships were very hard to maintain. I have no idea how superheroes get married and have kids. Well... I suppose my mom did it but her secrets didn't apply to me.

It was the same with Rob and I.

My constant absences and random disappearances got to him, I think. His romantic inclinations were also a bit of a strain on me. Cheesy lines get a little old after you hear nothing but them for several weeks. Plus, there was this little sting when Rob would call me his 'friend who happens to be a boy' and I had to hide to compensate for his fear. I really didn't mind... it just stung.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as I regarded the vast landscape before me. The forests were so thick that it would be very easy to get lost in their embrace. I was tempted to do just that. Not because I was feeling rather depressed or suicidal but because I felt I needed to scout out my surroundings not only on a tactical perspective but also from an author's perspective. Getting to know my environment was pivotal in many of my books.

Often, the protagonist would always use something they - it was not always a 'he' - spotted to aid them in later times. But now that I was officially part of the cast, my schedule was pretty much filled up. I had no idea how long I'd be spending in Crosstown and no doubt Alexiel would be on my back for it. But I guess making my debut as a movie star wasn't so bad...

Maybe I can paw off my disappearances to secret movie deals or retreats. Movie stars make random trips everywhere for unexpected reasons. If an author makes a random trip everyone suspects it's to research their 'next bestseller'.

Another cover would be great...

But... being a movie star came with one major bit of fine print.

Parties.

Socialising.

Publicity.

A lot about me would be filling the internet forums and I'd have to be polite with a lot of people. Worse yet, I may have to get into relationships with people whether it was unwitting or purposeful. Just like Rob, my career could be ruined if I'm outed as being gay... I wasn't afraid of that. I had enough of a nest egg to live off the interest but I didn't want to hurt anyone with the eventual revelation.

How would you feel if the guy you lusted for turned out to be gay? If you were a woman, that is.

If you're a guy, door's wide open, boys!

That aside... I worried that I would have to be quite... public. Right now, I was content with everyone knowing me through my books and not by my face. As an author - even with a photo of me on the inside cover of my books - my face was just part of the crowd. If I was an actor, my face would be like a lighthouse to a lost boat or a magnet to iron filament.

I have a lot of secrets... Many of those secrets weren't mine to tell either...

The world is very weird.

Oh and being a movie star would probably give Alex more reason to kick my butt around the place.

In short, I was only afraid of three things in the world... well, I was afraid of a lot of things but those three were the top.

1 - Grim.

2 - Commit_men_t. Note the emphasis on 'men'.

3 - My publisher-slash-agent

I sighed and took in a deep breath of fresh, crisp, mountain air. That calmed down my nerves and cooled off my libido.

Still... I couldn't keep Chad out of my thoughts.

Damn... was I falling for him...?

Like my parents, I didn't believe in the whole 'love at first sight' thing or the idea of 'imprinting' that most canines or lupines claimed. My parents actually met out of mutual hatred for one another. My dad was a Virtual Reality Jock - or VRJ - back in the day. He used to jump into massive simulations, use virtual guns and weapons and smack other guys around in simulated scenarios. Essentially, he was a gamer nerd playing a life-sized videogame as a 'sport'. Needless to say, the exercise and training built him to have a rather hot body and being a wolf, he was genetically quite strong.

My mom, on the other hand, had a triple life going on. Firstly, she was 'sweet ol' Rebecca Swanson', a wolf with a nice build, smart and quite happy being quiet. Secondly, she was rough, tough, 'Beck Swan' who was the quarterback for the men's football team. That's right, her high school didn't have a women's football team and she masqueraded as a dude to get into football. And lastly, she was Wonder Wolf, Obscura's local superhero.

It made my head spin thinking how she balanced all those alter-egos at the one time.

There was a degree of animosity between the VRJs and the football team. The footballers all thought the VRJs were just nerds with muscles who got popular for playing video games. The VRJs thought the footballers were just a bunch of muscle heads who were conservative, traditionalists that couldn't embrace the new trend. Needless to say, my mom and dad were often at odds with one another.

Until my dad found out her secret, of course.

I think they had hot steamy sex in the locker room afterwards but I zoned out at that point... Well, not so much 'zoned out' as 'ran out of the room screaming with my paws over my ears'. Parental TMI is horrible. If I ever have pups - which was looking unlikely - I would never put them through that much.

So, my parents got together with a basis of hatred.

Thus, I didn't believe in the whole idea that wolves could just take one look at their destined mate and 'poof', love happens.

That said, I dismissed the thought that I was in love with Chad despite the fact that echoes of his bold statement in my dream filled me with longing.

"Jacob! Look out!"

A slight whack against my back pulled me out of my musing.

"Huh?"

I was suddenly looking at the forest at a very odd angle... My feet left stable ground and to my utter horror, I realise I was falling. I spun around as fast as I could to snatch at the cliff edge but my claws barely grazed the surface. My back slammed painfully against a hard rock and I was spun completely around. My head -

Whack!

... banging painfully against another rock.

"Ow!"

WHAM!

Something hit my shoulder hard.

"Damnit!"

THWACK!

A sharp, jabbing pain hit my left leg.

"Sonofa -"

SLAM!

Leaves and tree branches flew past me and hurled all around me as I was flung through the tree canopy. I swore and cussed the whole way down until I slammed hard against the cold, slightly damp, forest floor. My blood was seeping into the ground beneath me, fertilising the ground. I could hear Rob shouting from all the way up the cliff.

I must have fallen at least two hundred metres... maybe three hundred.

I was finding it hard to tell the difference with my body rapidly losing blood.

With a sigh, I gripped the gravitational forces around me with a mental hand and adjusted it so that it actually repelled my body. Slowly, I lifted back into the air and was put right-side up. My bones cracked and my muscles bulged as power flowed through me, repairing the damage that I had suffered.

My powers were rather... unique and something physics and logic really couldn't explain.

I could manipulate gravity. I could mimic telekinesis, throw powerful earth-shattering punches, make impossible leaps and even fly short distances. Miraculously, the more I used my power, the more power I stored. I got bigger and more muscular every time I used my powers when logic would dictate that power gets sapped from me. This power could help me regenerate and keep me fighting for eternity.

There were several problems, however.

Firstly, I had a limit. If I absorbed too much power, I would literally overload with raw power and become a walking 'white hole' as my dad described it. Black holes suck things into them and into oblivion. Theorists believe that - by the laws of conservation of mass - black holes have an opposite, a white hole. These white holes expel the energy and mass black holes take in. So, if I use my powers too much, I start expelling raw energy that basically makes me a walking mushroom cloud.

Big problem.

Secondly, the power doesn't last. The absorbed energy will only last for a few days or so, reducing me back to my normal, average self. That is if I don't use it or pile more on.

And lastly... there was Grim... My... 'Arch-nemesis' if you will.

He has a 'lock' on my powers. The more I use them, the easier it is that he'll find me. If I turn into a walking nuclear explosion or if I use my powers too extensively, he'll find me. I could always fend off Grim as long as I have my phone and the golden key that hung on a silver chain around my neck - both items I currently kept in my pocket - but it was everyone else that always scared me.

Again, the risk of being around me.

Grim.

If he found me, people died.

_Lots_of people.

Once I was back to full health - with about twenty pounds of muscle to boot - I stood still for a moment, listening for the tell-tale sign of Grim being close by. Usually, something like my little burst of power wouldn't be enough to attract Grim. He was a busy guy after all. But I had to be careful

When nothing happened, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

It wasn't an ordinary phone. I could get reception anywhere. A little souvenir from one of my earlier adventures.

I flipped it open and dialled Rob's number.

_"Hello...?"_came Rob's unnerved murmur.

I decided to play a trick on him.

"Robert Lester..." I growled in a deep, unearthly tone. "You killed me!"

Beep.

He hung up.

Maybe I am a good actor...

Sniggering away, I dialled again. Thank god I didn't get charged for these calls. He didn't answer but I could hear him shouting something on the cliff. He was probably in panic mode.

Hmmm...

I dialled Rob's number one more time.

"H... H... Hello...?"

"You realise I was kidding, right?" I said.

"Whut...? Jacob...? Are you... Are you alive...?"

"Yes, bunny-butt," I answered, using the nickname I had used for him. He really did have a cute ass. "I'm alive and I'm not undead." Now came the hard part... somehow convincing him that I was unharmed after I fell off a cliff and crashed into a forest. "Everything is fine. Only a few cuts and bruises. I fell on a big enough branch that caught me and I could make my way down."

"Jake... I'm... I'm sorry... I... We didn't... The camera guy is so_fired!"_

I didn't want anyone getting hurt at my expense especially since I wasn't hurt.

"No, no! I'm good. Don't fire him. It wasn't his fault. I wandered over to the edge of the cliff. He was just doing his job."

"I'm sending someone to pick you up."

Now that I was all alone in the woods, I realised it was the perfect time to scout out my surroundings. Plus, I needed to get my mind off Chad and nothing tells you to cool off more than physical distance.

"Nah, I'm good. I'll meet you guys back at the motel. You'll be fine without me today, right?"

"Umm... Yeah... I think we're done for today anyway..."

"No. Finish your scene. You know how rare a sunny day is around here as much as I do. Don't strain your pockets and wallet any more. I'll see you at the motel."

I hung up.

Looks like I had the perfect opportunity to go exploring now.

I crossed my arms behind my head and wandered callously through the woods. I wasn't really paying attention to the world around me like I should have. Having used my powers made me think about that blasted shadow that always followed me around and tried to kill me every time he had the opportunity. Too many lives were lost because of Grim. Sometimes, people I cared about.

A predominant reason I would rather not get close to anyone again.

Every time I seemed to enjoy myself, Grim would always pop up to remind me that I had a very heavy burden on my very soul.

He once explained to me that I was constantly foiling him. Grim was - as you may have guessed - Death itself. It was he who collected souls and took them to be judged to whatever god or afterlife was awaiting them. But, he never appeared a moment too soon or a moment too late when claiming a soul. He always appeared at the precise moment that he was needed.

And apparently, that was where I came in.

Those paper cranes?

Yeah, they always led to place I needed to be to save someone's life. That someone was always Grim's target. I wasn't lying when I said I had no idea where they came from but from the moment I picked it up and saved Timmy Barkowist's life by shoving him out of the way of that speeding eighteen wheeler, I was hunted down.

Grim hated me for having constantly taken his 'kills' and he tracked me via my powers to ensure that I never saved another life again... at least a life that was on his list.

Made me wonder if he worked on a commission basis.

Kind of ironic how my surname was 'Reaper'.

On the plus side, I got some pretty interesting adventures out of it and got to see some pretty amazing places.

I broke free of the trees and half-expected to be back at town. Interestingly, I was in the middle of a vast, empty plane that was ringed by the forest. A single rocky outcropping sat at the very centre of the clearing with a withered, blackened tree rising from it. Either it died or it was the poor victim of a lightning strike. Would make for an interesting back story for my book. The location looked quite fitting for an epic showdown too.

I made sure to examine the clearing quite thoroughly. I took a few pictures with my phone especially of the tree and the rock. I spent a good few minutes sitting beneath the tree, just watching the trees wave with the chilling wind and the clouds roll by.

I'm not sure how much time passed by - or if I dozed off or not - but by the time I became aware of my environment again, it was freezing cold and the sun had ducked back behind thick clouds again. A storm was rapidly approaching and the first drop of rain splattered me directly on my nose.

Great... The last thing I needed was to be lost in the woods with torrential rain pelting me from all directions. I'm good but I'm not that good. Plus, I was half-naked without any real equipment on me. I could crush any would be attackers to oblivion and with a flick of my wrist, send them flying to the other side of the world or hurl them into outer space but I also ran to risk of running into Grim. Without my guns or combat knife, I would be a sitting duck to him.

Grunting, I jumped to me feet and started off at a brisk pace out of the clearing. The winds picked up rapidly, sending a chill down my spine. The rain was intensifying, each droplet like a fresh blade of ice stabbing into my flesh. When I hit the trees, fallen leaves were getting thrown into my face and my feet were starting to sink into the soft, mushy ground that even the many criss-crossing, gnarled roots couldn't hold together.

Something caught my ankle.

"Yarf!"

I hit the ground hard.

As if sensing my momentary weakness, the storm intensified. Thunder boomed high above and I saw a flash of lightning.

You'd think after all the things I did for the gods, they'd at least cut me some slack.

It was getting dark pretty fast and wandering around in the twilight, unarmed, poorly protected and with no real clue where I was going would be suicide. I fumbled around for my phone and turned back around. Maybe if I called Rob and told him about the clearing, he could come pick me up. I reached into my pocket... but felt my fingers slip right through a hole...

Oh damnit...

I stared in horror at my pants which were now quite torn. They weren't in such great shape when I had fallen off the cliff but with that more recent spill, they were practically torn asunder. The hole must have appeared when I fell... And now my phone was gone...

"Of all the..." I growled.

I fell to my paws and knees, scrambling around for any indication of where my phone was. No such luck. It was practically pitch black now with occasional flashes of lightning to illuminate my surroundings. The rain was coming down so hard that what light the lightning gave was basically pointless.

Great... Just great...

I took a deep breath and sat on my haunches, getting soaked to the bone as I thought things through calmly.

Then... I heard a peculiar call that broke out through the roar of the thunder.

It was a crow's call.

Followed by another... and another...

"Oh shit..."

Grim.

What better symbol of Death than the crow... or rather a murder of crows - a group of crows is called a murder.

There was no telling where I had dropped my phone and I didn't have time to look for it.

I was in panic mode.

Screw calm.

I scrambled to my feet, feeling panic flood through me as I bolted through the woods as fast as I could. That weird sensation when you know someone is watching you crawled up my spine. I'm not sure if those twigs snapping was me or some other animal but I wasn't going to stick around to find out.

I kept running as fast as I could without invoking my powers.

Funny thing about Grim. He was technically blind. To prevent him from abusing his powers and killing people at random, he only ever saw his targets and the surroundings. Again, the only way he could see me was if I used my powers so in the meantime, I was invisible to him. If I kept moving, he would never find -

Crack!

WHAM!

... me...

I hit the ground again. Pain shot up my left ankle and I knew I had sprained it... pretty bad too. Swallowing hard to keep myself from screaming out in agony, I scrambled to the base of a tree and curled up in the nook there, trying to keep warm. Grim couldn't find me if I kept silent and didn't use my powers. My ankle and several other cuts and bruises hurt like hell but I resisted the urge to heal myself.

I was in no condition to keep running... or to fight off Grim.

Only my phone was my weapon against Grim... and without it... I was dead if he found me.

... If I remained here, in the storm, I'd freeze to death...

And yet... I would prefer to die by hypothermia than at Grim's claws.

Another chill ran down my spine but this wasn't one from the cold... It was like I could feel it in my very soul. Icy death gripping the very strings of my life. I kept my fear down as my vision was obscured by a vast darkness.

Grim.

He slid past me... a dark, ominous figure cloaked in a big, black cowl. He hovered off the ground... Normally, he'd have a pair of big, black, feathered wing sprouting from his back and he'd wield a scythe... but I guess he didn't need them now that I was completely helpless...

I held my breath...

Please don't let him find me... Please?

Pretty please?

Grim spun towards me.

Strange... His eyes used to be blood red... like two burning coals in a midst of the darkness of his hood...

... not bright green...

Chapter 3.1: Onset Romance

Crosstown Motel

When I say 'I've been around' I don't just mean that in a sexual sense. Paranormal is basically my thing. It's the basis of my books, permeates my everyday life and if a month goes by without me encountering some sort of paranormal activity - or a paper crane - it's a slow month.

That said, I've had my fair share of the undead. Particularly ghosts. Had a lot of them a few years ago. They may seem nice, mournful and regretful but most of them just use their sob stories to try and possess you. Sure some ghosts were good and benign - had to save one of them from Grim at one point - and they preferred to be called 'spirits'.

In fact, one such ghost is a good friend of mine. Detective Charles Grimshaw was his name. Ran a private investigation firm in downtown Shellington. It was hard to tell he was actually a ghost because he looked like your average bear. If you got him undressed, however - and I did, yes shameless me - you'd see that he has a rather badly stitched up wound on his chest from where a demon ate his heart.

Since having gotten to know him, I realised that ghosts and spirits exist either because they managed to escape Grim somehow or because they managed to escape the afterlife. Grimshaw was actually quite special. He made a deal with Death. In exchange for finding and killing certain killers in town, Grim would let him live.

Really, Grim isn't a bad guy. He just gets pissed when I 'defy destiny' and keep people alive when they should be dead. In theory, I was the bad guy.

Well... That was over now.

I'm dead.

Grim had found me.

Maybe I could cut him a deal as well...

Fat chance of that...

I sighed softly and just let my mind drift... I always wondered what death really was like...

But to my chagrin, I wasn't about to get any peace even when I was dead.

The dead were shouting in my ear.

"... him! We found him!"

"Finally!"

"What took you so long?"

Heh... They're all probably celebrating the fact that the one guy that Grim has been after for years was finally amongst them. I wondered if I'd get a hero's welcome. The guy that peeved off Death for quite a while.

I should get a medal...

Maybe I should finally laugh at Grim's face now that he can't actually do any worse to me.

You know, the whole 'laugh in the face of death' thing?

"Oh thank Truce! He's freezing! Get him inside!"

Funny... I didn't think the dead would invoke the name of the God of Peace and Prosperity. Sidenote: Truce isn't actually male or female. He - I'm not being hypocritical, let me finish - changes gender depending on the person's sexuality. If a person is straight, they'll see the opposite gender. If they're gay, the same gender. If they like doing it with ferals, alien tentacle monsters or machines, he'd appear as one of them.

Since I was gay, he always appeared as a guy to me.

I met him a lot of times before. In fact, he ran a bar in an alternate realm, Haven. There, demon, ghost, vampire, werewolf, alien or world-devouring monster could brush shoulders with one another and never attack one another. It was completely and utterly impossible to start a fight in Haven. It was the magic around the place. I had theorised that Truce was the one that sent me those paper cranes but as the God of Peace and Prosperity, he never lied. Lies apparently lead to more pain, suffering and conflict. So when he told me it wasn't him, I believed him.

It was Truce who gave me my golden key...

Damn... I wonder if I lost that in the woods too... I might have to ask someone to fetch it. That key could open a door into Haven anywhere at any time.

If someone were to find it...

There were a lot of mutterings around me before I suddenly became aware I was lying a cloud... Or... A bed, I think. There was a pillow beneath my head and I felt a blanket wrap around me.

Wow... So either I was in hell and being treated as royalty for avoiding Death for so long... or I was actually in heaven... Maybe all those people I saved vouched for me.

Then there was the possibility that I wasn't dead...

... but Grim had me...

I think...

I felt a large, cold paw press against my chest... and then two fingers press against my neck.

A deep voice I didn't recognise said, "He'll be fine. Just a little cold and from the looks of it, tired. I've cleaned up his wounds and patched up his ankle. Just keep him warm and call me if he starts developing a fever."

Not bloody likely.

Colds and flues were just part of a government conspiracy to keep the economy up. Ever wondered why there was always a new strain of cold or flu every year or why the vaccinations always have a little bit of the virus in them? It's because the governments purposefully manufacture them and send them out in an attempt to ensure people get them to inject more money into the health system. Those 'side-effects' you suffer after the injection open a brief window where you can actually spread the virus and infect others. That's how they spread it and got people paranoid about their health.

I was given a combat knife to keep me silent.

That and they gave me the 'master vaccine' making me immune to colds and flues.

Yay me.

Well... being dead, that really didn't matter.

Oh wait... Why would anyone bother to patch up a dead guy?

I tried to open my eyes but it felt like they had been frozen shut.

"Any advice on keeping him warm?" That was Rob's voice... What was he doing dead?

Unless I really wasn't dead... Or maybe this was one of those parody-torments where everything would be exactly as it was but then when I realised that I wasn't actually dead and try to leave, all the inhabitants would turn on me and try to keep me dead. And when I finally return to the real world, the Apocalypse has gone and went. Everyone is dead and I'd be all alone, having to forever live with the choice of leaving a hell that was populated with people even if it was all a delusion and entering another kind of hell where I would be all alone forever.

Hey! That'd make a great book!

I could be the first ever bestselling author of Hell!

"Do you have a heater?"

"Erm... No. We've only got the temperature control of this room..."

"We could move him to the hospital..."

"No... I think he'll be fine here."

Good call there.

Rob probably didn't want a scandal. His production and twist in the storyline was a secret after all and if a world famous author got severely injured on his set, then there would be fireworks everywhere. Not necessarily good ones either.

"Well... My advice is to keep him tucked in and move him occasionally so he can get circulation in all the right places. It's a miracle he survived so long out there with such little clothing."

Rob let out a peculiar laugh. "He's made of some pretty tough stuff, Jacob..."

"Well, I'll leave you to it then. Call me in the morning."

I heard a door open and shut.

Okay, so I wasn't dead.

My senses were slowly returning to me. That was both a blessing and a curse. I peeled my eyes open a little to get a good look around me. I became aware I was in my motel room and that I was surrounded by a few cast and crew members. Unfortunately, that also meant that I could feel the stitches I was given, the disinfectant all over my wounds and the chilling cold that had seeped into my bones.

"My god..." a youngish looking wolf with grey fur whimpered. I recognised him as the guy that I spoke to in the cafe before I was drafted into the movie. The guy that told me Rob was on a rampage. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Lester! I didn't mean it! I... I just..."

Rob spun around and seized the pup by the collar. "You better hope his lawyers don't hear about this, Michael!" he growled, slamming the smaller wolf against the wall. "Better yet, you better hope his publisher doesn't hear about this. Alexiel would tear out your heart, feed it to you and then force you to shit it right out!"

I had enough.

I didn't like seeing a poor kid suffer like that.

Kids got to me really quickly.

If they're twinks like this pup, so much the better.

But it's something that often got me into a lot of trouble.

Seriously, never trust a little girl in a pink frock with an innocent smile on her face and a lollipop in one paw and a doll in the other inviting you over to play with her.

Biggest mistake in my life.

"That's enough," I growled, propping myself up. Everyone in the room gasped. Including me. I didn't realise my wrist was sprained but it was and in a rather tight bandage. "Leave the poor kid alone."

"Jake..." Rob breathed in relief, releasing the poor kid. His eyes looked on the verge of tears. No surprise there, really. He was such a sucker for an emotional moment.

"Come on, Rob," I chuckled, gripping my torso. It felt like something was broken. "You know I'm made of tougher stuff than that."

"Boy do I..." he answered, smiling softly. "You had us all scared, you know... I wish you'd stop trying to be so macho."

"I wasn't being macho," I countered, sliding off my bed. Everyone around me gave me a rather stunned wide breadth. "Just being an idiot. Spent too long daydreaming and got caught in the storm. Could've made it back in time for dinner if I wasn't captivated by the beauty of this place." I realised that I was practically naked except for a pair of my boxers. I wrapped the quilt around my shoulders and wore it like a cloak not only to hide my partial nudity but also to keep me warm.

"I can see why you chose this place as a basis for your story, Rob."

Rob gave me a brief chuckle. My stomach growled.

"You must be starving," he said, casting a murderous gaze around us. "Everyone out. Get some food in here. No one disturbs him tonight. Chad, you sleep somewhere else."

There were no grumbles of protest except mine. I tried to tell Rob that I was fine but he was like my mother. One bump on the head and he was all over me, fearing my brains had spilled out or something. He forced me back into bed. I couldn't hit a woman. That's a joke by the way not a typo. Despite my suave dismissal of the incident, I was in a lot of pain. Freezing temperatures plus disinfectant and multiple wounds equated to a lot of burning pain.

Chunky, beef stew, bread and a steak were brought in a few moments later by Kristine. She fluffed my pillows for me and even poured my some grape flavoured carbonated drink - she called it Grape Fizz. It was nice. A little sweet for my tastes but pretty good. Went well with the very savoury meal I had... or rather the meal that Rob spoon fed me. I tried to protest and we ended up having a mini-swordfight with our utensils until he realised I was wielding a fork and not a steak knife and picked that up too to accompany his soup spoon.

I knew he wouldn't hurt me but clearly, he won.

I let him spoon feed me.

The irony hit me.

"Heh... This reminds me of that time you had that flu..." I said, chewing a chunk of steak at the same time.

"Right..." Rob chuckled. "I was still your tutor then. You missed me so much that you actually came to my house and asked if I was alright. I swear, you used that 'I was concerned about my paper' excuse just to get into my pants."

"I was genuinely concerned about my grades!" I protested with a grin. "And even if it was an excuse, it worked, didn't it?"

He silenced me by shoving another slice of steak into my muzzle. "Not until you spent every afternoon spoon feeding me. You're a great cook, you know."

"Comes from my mom being away all the time and my dad being a bomb threat every time he walks into the kitchen."

Rob chuckled and sliced up more steak. "So about what point did it stop being about your literary prowess and more about less educational matters."

"Never," I answered with a smirk. "I learned a lot about your body. I especially loved exploring various forms of onomatopoeia and the extent of your vocabulary when you're in the throes of lust."

His green eyes rolled and he shoved another slice of steak into my muzzle. "I missed your wit. Despite the fact I know your jokes are always at my expense, you always manage to make me laugh."

Okay, the next few moments were pivotal.

I had to resist asking the inevitable question.

Rob and I were friends.

No need to go opening old wounds especially when I'm already so banged up as it is.

"So why'd you leave?"

Damnit...

Remember how I'm a compulsive liar...?

Yeah, I even lie to myself sometimes.

The breakup between me and Rob wasn't as mutual as I made it seem at first... When he wanted to leave, I let him go because I understood why he wanted to leave... at least I think I did. My life is royally screwed up. Death is constantly after me, I receive mysterious notes that none of the gods claim to have a paw in and I've been to places that would make any normal person's brain implode. Between my job as an author/editor and other job as hero, I never really had that much time with Rob.

I'd make the times we did have with each other really special...

... but as with most of my boyfriends, they couldn't stand worrying about me... Whether it was over suspicion that I was seeing someone else or the fact that everywhere I went, there was always some sort of string of murders or some sort of disaster, it was all the same.

They couldn't stand the constant stress.

And I can't do that to anyone anymore.

I can fantasise and pleasure myself but no way in hell was I going to get in another relationship.

It will only end badly because I can't commit to that relationship.

The ironic thing was... I could stop at any moment.

I could just not pick up that paper crane. Just throw it away. Burn it. Trash it. Flush it down the toilet. Just ignore it...

... but I can't.

How could I sit still when I could save someone's life?

Rob lowered the fork and averted his gaze from me. I could see just how hurt he was... and I felt rotten for bringing up the topic. I had broken his heart first by being unable to give him all of me when we had promised each other so much. I never even told him about my secret other life... or my mom for that matter.

"Jake... It's complicated... I said everything I needed to back then..."

I nodded slowly. He did...

In a way, it was one of my smoother breakups. He took me into my bedroom and told me he loved me... but that he felt that he couldn't love me enough. I would always have a place in his heart but it was a very small place. He had so much more love to give and I didn't have the potential to renovate and expand my territory in his heart... not the way things were working.

Every time I came home and did something extravagantly romantic, I would gain ground but when I left, that ground was lost to loneliness and fear.

I had told him I understood... We kissed one last time... and I let him go.

I was never one for crying... That time wasn't any different.

I just made a joke about a wolf chasing a bunny only for the bunny to outwit the wolf that made us both laugh. He shut the door and I could hear him crying all the way to his car.

I shook myself from the memory and back to the present.

"Did you ever find anyone else?" I asked.

"The movie industry is pretty rife with guys either in the closet or willing to experiment," Rob chuckled.

Despite the dull aching in my chest that wasn't coming from my wounds, I sat up, pushed aside my dinner and grinned. "Alright, dish, bunny-butt. Which celebrity did you sleep with?"

Just like that, we were back to 'friend mode'. I think it frightened both of us that we could brush what happened between us so easily under the rug but we had dealt with that, I guess. No need to bring up old pains.

I was stupid to try.

He gave me a list of gay or bi-curious guys in the movie industry. Some shocked me and others were quite expected. He gave me some pretty juicy details and I sniggered away at the thought that a big-shot producer like Rob was giving blowjobs to actors in the backrooms of highly acclaimed award ceremonies.

My dinner lay forgotten as he told me about all the things he went up to since our break-up three years ago. We hadn't really spoken in that time. I think his attempt to get me to see his first movie was his way of extending the olive branch. I wanted to go but, you know... abducted by aliens and all that jazz.

"So what about you?" he asked. "Anyone else you been with, Yarfy Dog?"

I groaned at the nickname. In all honesty, I mostly had one-night stands or week-long romps. The reason? They were all related to incidents concerning the Seals. I tended to get some when I was on one of my trips but we always agreed to leave each other be after the event because my world was just too much for them to handle.

I understood... And while I did want them, I didn't want anyone to stand beside me and get hurt when Death came knocking on my door.

"Some," I said with a shrug. "Nothing really lasts. With my busy schedule, I don't get much time to myself."

"You gotta get a rest some time, Yarfy Dog," he chuckled, running a paw through my hair. "You'll get grey fur."

I gently brushed his paw aside and chuckled. "Well, this trip was meant to be a holiday but then someone decided to do a secret rewrite of his script and conscripted me before getting me thrown off a cliff."

Rob laughed and slapped my shoulder lightly. "Hey, it wasn't my fault. Michael was just clumsy."

"Actually, if you hadn't directed him to move there, I wouldn't have gotten pushed off in the first place."

"If you hadn't been standing there, you wouldn't have fallen off."

"If you hadn't dragged me into this movie I wouldn't have been up there."

"If you weren't running from your publisher, you wouldn't be here at all."

Damn, he won again.

"Touché."

Rob straightened and gave me a very smug grin. "Heh, got one on you, Jake." He patted my shoulder, stroking my fur gently. "Get some rest, okay? We'll be filming more stuff tomorrow but I'll make sure they don't include you. Get well soon. I'm really excited about where Crimson Moon is going."

"I think that's the hazards of having the director, producer and writer all the same person," I groaned, snuggling back into my bed and under my sheets. "You make so many rewrites it's impossible to keep up." I grinned at him. "I guess I made an impact on your work style."

A frown crossed his features and he inclined his head to the side, one long ear flicking upwards and the other bending downwards. "What do you mean?"

I snickered. "You used to be so rigid about your plans. You could jump around all over the place without fear of messing up because you always stuck to your plan. One day you'd be writing Chapter 1 and then next you'll be all the way up to the Epilogue with nothing to fill in the stuff between. Now, you're doing massive rewrites."

The bunny chuckled and nodded with a distant look in his eyes. "Yeah... I guess so. Like you said, 'Inspiration is a bitch'." He bent down and kissed my forehead one second too long to be just an ordinary good night kiss.

"Goodnight, Jacob," he said, pulling away and patting my cheek lightly.

"Goodnight, Rob."

Chapter 3.2: I Hate Tangled Webs, says the Spider

Wolfhome Motel

Mortaelis was filled with a mix of religions, both 'dead' and 'alive'. When a religion died, that just meant that either their gods couldn't be bothered anymore and decided to take some 'down time' or those gods worshipers were just wiped out. The thing is, millennia to mortals is a breath for a god. So it might take countless generations before a religion is reinstated.

Nova was one such Goddess. She was the Goddess of the Sun and the Hunt. Her figure was tall, lithe, powerfully and incredibly sexy. Her feline body moved with endless grace and poise, her golden fur glistening in the scant light of the rather medieval room that I recognised as my personal quarters in Haven.

I am gay - no denying that - but even a gay man has to admit when a girl screams 'sex'. Nova didn't just scream sex. She screamed 'hot, wild animal sex'. But she was pretty much like the Black Widow of the 'dead' deities of ages past. She screwed men for fun and then left them on the curb to lust for her. Once you had sex with a god, nothing else compared... unless you were gay.

"Greetings, Worldrider," she said in her best, sultry tone, her bright, yellow eyes a blaze with lust and passion. She was the Goddess of the Hunt and there was nothing she lusted more than the unattainable. What was more unattainable to a Goddess than the heart of a gay man?

I winced at the nickname all the paranormal had given me. Apparently, I didn't belong in any world, not even Mortaelis. I never got a straight answer as to why that was but from what I was told, the fact that my abilities defied logic and that I was unaffected by the Seals - which were meant to be a universal sign of power - was because I just didn't fit in with the rest of Mortaelis. Because of how events led me to gain access to various planes of existence - whether I willed it or not - everyone decided I needed a nickname that suited my abilities and status amongst everyone else.

So they called me the 'Rider of Worlds'.

That eventually got shortened to 'Worldrider'.

"Can't I get some bloody rest?" I asked bitterly, turning my back to her.

I felt her lie down behind me, making my flesh crawl and my fur stand on end. If anything, Nova's presence made me more gay.

"Do not be so coy, Worldrider," she whispered into my ear, her breath wafting against my fur. "You know you want me..."

"You know what? I'm tempted to have sex with you just so you'd stop pestering me like this."

Her exasperated sigh told me I had won... Weird, it usually wasn't this easy. Most of the time, she'd get undressed and try to seduce me. I would grab the nearest phallic-shaped object and literally toy with her a little and when she'd realise I was just doing it to spite her, she'd pull away in disgust and tell me what the hell she wanted.

Something must really be eating at her.

Good.

She deserved it.

After dumping me in that planet where the 'Battle of the Sexes' took on a literal term and all men had been wiped out, I wished she'd drown in hot, boiling seminal juices just to serve her some poetic justice.

I turned around to face her. My phone and key landed on the mattress in front of me. "You should be more careful with the gifts that were given to you, Worldrider. Such devices were not meant for the hands of mortals."

"What does that make me?" I asked bitterly, gripping my phone in one paw and slipping my key over my neck.

Nova chose not to answer. "What do you know of the Children of the Night and the Dogs of the Moon?"

I scoffed at that. "You mean vampires and werewolves? In case you didn't know, I'm currently immersed in a fictional world. I'm playing the role of an innocent mundane who goes about offering titbits of advice without ever know the true origins of the people he's giving advice too. Supposedly 'impartial mediation'."

"Are you aware that the original Children and Dogs were creations of the Moon Goddess, Eclipse?"

I didn't.

"Your sister?"

Nova had an opposing sister, Eclipse. The two were supposed to be at constant war with one another. Sun versus moon. I thought it was a load of bull because the moon couldn't really shine without the sun.

"Correct," Nova answered, sweeping through the room I'd normally share with Chad. "The vampires as you call them weren't originally bloodsuckers. In eons past, they were Eclipse's chosen. The werewolves were meant to be their daylight guardians because the 'nosferatu' as they call themselves, were quite vulnerable to the sunlight."

"Something you had your hand in, no doubt."

I saw the cruel smirk on her face. "The nosferatu were created at the same time as other mortals."

According to legend, Nova created the felines who originated from Crescenta. Back then, every country had their own religions and their own gods but now, only certain religions remained and their gods. According to ancient Cresentish lore, Nova and Eclipse were the daughters of the King of Gods simply known as 'Father'. They constantly vied for his attention. Nova created the felines from the proud lion to the homely cat. Eclipse was supposed to have created the wolves of Rillotia but Rillotian history and lore dictated that they were once wolves who were taught by the Great Spirit how to walk on two feet and use their paws as hands.

"They are my sworn enemies, Worldrider," Nova continued grimly. "However, since the werewolves or 'lycans', could freely walk in the daylight, I could easily sway them. I convinced them to side with me and then the two species went to war. Unfortunately, the lycans were weak especially to silver. A little 'back door' that Eclipse put in place to ensure the loyalty of her attack dogs. They were wiped out from Crescenta and fed on my poor kittens wantonly."

"Great," I muttered, rolling back over. "Thanks for the story. As far as bed times stories go, though, I'm going to have to give it a B+. I'm quite sleepy but it's only from hearing your voice."

In retrospect, it wasn't a good idea to piss off a goddess of the hunt but Nova would never have spoken to me personally if she didn't want something. The problem with warring gods is that they all hold a degree of omniscience. That was why they tended to use mortals to their own ends. However, a god can still see into the hearts of mortals and sway those hearts.

All mortals except one.

Me.

I don't belong anywhere, after all, and their powers didn't affect me.

They had to resort to good old fashioned pleading and bargaining if they wanted me to work for them Because if I decided to help them, no other gods would know about it until it was too late. But I don't like working for gods. They have this evil tendency to screw you over in the end. You don't even learn a lesson or anything. They just do it for shits and giggles.

"The vampires were wiped out eons ago," Nova continued, her voice terse. "When the Ancient Crescentish Pantheon withdrew from your world, we took all traces of our interference with us except for those forged by mortal paws. The vampires were destroyed."

I frowned but didn't turn back towards her. "You don't seem to sure about that..."

She paused for a moment.

It takes a lot to give a divine entity pause.

"Something... interesting is occurring in the town of Crosstown... The legend of the Cross Family was just that, a legend. A fictional tale whipped up from the imagination of mortals. There has never been a grain of truth in it before... until now."

"Maybe you just weren't looking hard enough. Rillotia is hardly your territory."

She didn't reply for a long moment. "Be warned, Worldrider. I can sense the nosferatu rising... and with them other ancient legends that never existed before but are slowly taking root. I have no clue what is occurring but you are aware of the saying that every legend has a basis of fact, correct?"

"Yeah..."

"Then consider the possibilities of someone taking a legend... and creating a basis of fact from that legend."

When I glanced back around, she was gone.

I'm not one to disregard a warning from a Goddess, even one as ancient as her...

But still...

"Bitch."