Justus stepped off the plane; his stride purposeful. The hair on his chest, arms, and the back of his neck stood on end. He was close. He could feel his journey about to end. After over a century of tracking Lucus, the time had finally come to rectify his grievous mistake of trusting him in the first place.

Instinctively, the crowd parted to allow this intimidating figure of a man to walk through. Being 6’4" tall and over 200 pounds, he was very pleasing on the eyes. Women stopped and stared with open interest.

Justus never noticed nor cared enough to pursue the obvious invitations. He was destined to have one mate, and until he found her, he didn’t have desires of the flesh. He was born to hunt the renegades of his pack. He was a Lamialicos-Bloodwolves, born on the island of Lykia.

With each sure step that brought him closer to his prey, he became energized. His pale, concentrated gaze brushed slowly across the crowd, not missing anything. He opened his tracking senses, dismissing the insignificant things around him.

Justus found humans to be a minor agitation. They were such emotional creatures, suffering from loneliness. It made them easy prey for a predator such as Lucus.

Lucus took pleasure in doing the forbidden. One of the laws stipulated by the council of the Darkworld was that no human creature was to be slain for pleasure or sport. Lucus contracted a disease of the mind and it was his duty to capture him and, because of his own personal interests, he wanted him alive.

There he is, Justus halted. With eyes locked on his target, he realized Lucus was daring him to make a public attempt at capturing him. He knew he could not, no matter how much he wanted to. Lucus knew as long as they were amongst the innocents, he wouldn’t transform and attack. A deep growl escaped Justus’s throat at Lucus’s insolent stare and knowing grin.

"Lucus, please, give this cat and mouse game up, and allow me to help you." Justus reached out telepathically.

"No, you’re the one who should give up on the games, Justus. Haven’t you realized yet that I can’t be contained? After all these centuries, I’ve evolved into something you can’t begin to understand. If you’d join me, feel the power and freedom of a human kill . . "

Justus felt the compulsion Lucus sent towards him. He was right, his strength had increased over the years and it was becoming harder to resist the urge to join him in his madness. It’s taboo amongst his kind to kill and consume human flesh. It’s one of the many laws they lived by as members of the Darkworld. As the Alpha of his clan, it was his duty to bring Lucus to heel.

Doing it, and taking Lucus alive, was proving to be a difficult task and the other clans were running out of patients. Lucus was jeopardizing the Darkworld’s secret co-existence with the mortals.

Unwillingly, Justus gave into Lucus’s bloodlust and the feeling was wonderfully intoxicating. It was freeing and exhilarating all in one, making him more aware of the blood coursing through the humans’ veins. He could smell the rawness of their flesh beneath skin and he had the urge to shift.

"Don’t do this to me, Lucus." Justus’s black-clad figure stiffened. A sheen of sweat appeared on his brow, his eyes glowed with a savage inner fire. The powerful outline of his shoulders strained against the fabric as apprehension seized his wits as Lucian compelled him to do his bidding.

"I can feel it; you want this as much as I do. We are gods amongst these people. They are substance to feed us, just like the flesh of the animals they consume. They are our cattle, a necessary part of our food chain. You know together, in our true form, we could obliterate every mortal in here," Lucus’s voice rasped and coaxed.

"No, Lucus! Stop this now!" A moment before Justus felt all was hopeless, serene calmness seized his inner beast. His mental and physical bond with Lucus diffused.

"What the hell?" His voice was full of wonderment and excitement. With his acute smell, he caught the scent of woman. This wasn’t just any human female. This was his match, the one he was destined to someday find. She was here. Feverishly, Justus’s eyes searched the crowd around him. "Where are you? Who are you?" he whispered.

His classically handsome features opened with the astonishment of a child as the colorless world around him burst into rippling brilliancy. The yellowish-brown irises of his eyes nearly disappeared as his pupils dilated like an eclipse over the sun. Shaggy hair resting on his shoulders became more unruly from the static electricity that emanated from his body.

Justus reveled in the amazing sensation washing over his body. He swiveled slowly, taking in his surroundings, his delight growing in leaps and bounds. For the first time in his life, he could see colors. There were varieties of colors all around him, picture-perfect surroundings with light and shadows contrasting between every tint imaginable. Never had he envisioned such beauty. A lifetime of hearing about such things from his kinsmen, who found their mates, and gained these capabilities, came nowhere near the realism of it all.

As a youth, his brother was fortunate to find his mate living amongst their people. Wistfully, Justus stood by, listening and learning, as their father taught his brother the association of colors; the sky was blue, grass was green, an apple was red, yet wine, with its deeper shade, could be called red, too. There was so much for him to see and much more to learn and he had to go through it alone. Even though his father was long since gone, Justus could remember the lessons as if he was standing by his side, pointing out objects and associating the colors.

He cocked his head to the side in question as his gaze fell on a little girl with pigtails holding a balloon that was almost as big as she was. It looked like a smiley face bear with letters written on its shirt of red. "P-O-O-H," he spelled aloud and stepped forward, squatting before the child, his arms resting on his thighs.

"Hello, little one, may I ask what beautiful color is your balloon?"

The little girl stared at him with round innocent eyes, then looked up at her balloon. "That’s Winnie the Pooh and he’s yell-woe." She giggled.

He smiled. "Yellow." Justus repeated in awe and smiled. "And, your shirt, what color do you call this?"

Her little cherub face look down and pulled her shirt out to look at it, her brow puckered in concentration. She looked up with sparkling blue eyes. "Pink!" she shouted playfully, as if it were a game. "Like my hair-wa ribbon," she preened.

"Pink." He mouthed and felt as if he had discovered something miraculous. Well, it was miraculous to him. "Pink! It’s a fitting name for this vibrant color. Still, I think, the one in your beautiful hair is a much softer shade of pink." Justus playfully tugged on her hair ribbon.

"More," she demanded jumping up and down, the balloon tied to her wrist dipping and bobbing in the air. "You want to know the cul-luh of my hair-wa?"

"Yes, please."

"I have wed hair-wa!"

Amazed, Justus fingered a curl. "This is red, too. How confusing. It’s not the shade of an apple or the color of wine." He shook his head. "How is one supposed to know these things if the color is called the same thing no matter what color it is?"

"What color is-"

Justus halted as a woman pushed her stroller and her body in between him and the child. He immediately released the little girl’s hair from his fingers, aware of the woman’s protective stance over the child. With a faint smile, he surmised-human or wolf-the female breed was the same when it came to their babes.

He stepped back and placed an apologetic smile on his lips.

The woman stared over at him warily before turning her attention to her daughter, her deep concern obvious. "Oh, my God, Lizzie! I’m so glad I tied the balloon to your wrist, or I might never have found you. I told you not to leave my side." She pulled her daughter to her chest in a smothering hug, until the child started to struggle. She released her hold, grasped her upper arms, and gave her a little shake.

"Remember, you are never…ever…ever…to talk to strangers." She came up on her feet and turned her anger on him. "How dare you! What were you doing with my daughter? I should call airport security." The woman bustled forward with one babe in the stroller, her daughter clenching her dress and tugging to get her attention.

"Mommy, he wanted to know the cul-luh of my shirt." The little girl grew animated once more, trying to clue her mother in on the game. Her mother wasn’t listening. She was shooting looks of disgust and anger at him. Justus took two more steps back, his eyes growing wide.

"Look, lady, I didn’t mean any harm to the child. I-"

"You, get away from me and my child, if you know what’s best for you," the mother raged at him before looking back at her daughter. "Be quiet, Lizzie! I want you to hold on to the stroller and don’t you dare let go until I tell you, or I’ll spank your behind," the woman yelled at the little girl, whose bottom lip began to tremble earnestly, her large eyes filled with tears.

"Don’t take your anger out on the child. It is your responsibility to hold her at your side." Justus scowled and, seeing the fear that it brought to the woman’s face, he calmed down and ran a hand sheepishly through his hair. "Please, forgive me. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I hadn’t realized the child was lost. I saw the balloon and thoughtlessly came in this direction," Justus amended with wide-eyed innocence, his palms up and head bowed in a submissive stance. "I could never harm a child."

She must have felt his sincerity. She visibly relaxed with a resigned sigh, her eyes locked with his, and he didn’t look away. "I’m sorry, too, Mister. It’s just you read about this stuff happening all the time and I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to my daughter."

"Again, I didn’t mean to overstep."

"Well, next time, Mister, I suggest you immediately contact the service desk when you see a child alone. You might find yourself in a heap of trouble these days, even if you’re just trying to be helpful."

"Understood, but can I ask you a question?"

"Uh, I…I guess so." She looked at him suspiciously.

"What color is your shirt?"

The woman’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

"I told ya, mommy," the little girl piped in.

"Are you kidding, Mister?"

Justus flushed in embarrassment and decided honesty to a point was always the best approach. "I…I was born color-blind and recently I have developed the ability to see colors-"

"Amazing…a grown man like you just now experiencing colors, didn’t know something like that could be corrected. You must be ecstatic...wow." For the first time, she smiled at him, tapping him on his arm.

"My shirt color is purple."

"Purple, it is beautiful. Your hair is red like your daughter’s," he added.

She laughed. "Not quite like my daughter’s. Hers is real; mine is from a bottle."

"Color created by pouring it from a bottle." Justus’s mouth dropped wide. "That is amazing."

"Oh, well, this has been a lot of fun…" The woman quirked a brow at him and he realized she was being flippant. "That’s the call for our flight. You take care."

"Thank you for your kindness." He smiled at her. The woman’s head cocked to the side and her eyes took on a vivid shine as she stared at him.

"My…my, I don’t mean to be forward, but you are absolutely gorgeous."

Justus sighed his relief rather then replying audibly to the compliment, as the last call for the woman’s flight came over the loudspeakers once more. It propelled her into action. She thanked him for looking after her daughter and hurried away with both her children in safekeeping.

Justus felt a tinge of sadness as he watched her meet up with her husband. The anxious man rushed forward, picking up his wayward daughter in his arms. She was smiling and waving his way, most likely telling her father of the "color" game. The man with hair the true color of his daughter’s waved and smiled his thanks to him.

Justus felt an overwhelming grief for the loss of his family. His parents were deceased, his brother no longer familiar to him. He was ready for a wife and family of his own and he had waited a long time for her to come to him. With these thoughts fresh in his mind, he once more searched for the mate who brought all these needs and abilities to surface. Where is she? The one who has given me this exquisite world of colors?

Justus sniffed at the air again walking forward until he found the beckoning scent once more. He wondered what other delights she would bring to him. He started walking towards the feminine, welcoming essence that he knew belonged only to her. The closer he got, the stronger her scent became. It was then the second miraculous thing happened. Justus halted and stood completely still, an intense secretive expression on his upturned face as an interesting but pleasurably-uncomfortable development occurred in his crotch.

"Remarkable." His voice broke with huskiness. The hardening between his thighs made Justus’s mouth quirk in humor. He chuckled, knowing from others what was happening to his body, yet he’d never experienced an erection of his own. This was a true indication he was getting closer to her.

A dark coldness crept over what should have been a joyous occasion, as he remembered Lucus was still in the airport. Even though he had lost track of him once he started developing these extra senses, he had to find her before Lucus realized what was happening. Without his mate, his future would be lost and Lucus would like nothing better than to destroy all of his hopes.

As Justus neared the object of his growing desire, he detected something else in her scent. It was a mixture of fear, distress, pain, and sickness. His mate was dying. A sheer black fright swept through him as he searched anxiously. His heart called out to hers, willing it to keep beating until he reached her.

He jogged forward, the crowd parted, and he saw her. Justus could feel the struggle of her heart beating rapidly to keep up with his own as he felt the excitement of her nearness. He calmed himself.

After learning that his female counterpart wouldn’t be Lykian-born like his brother’s wife, he felt as if he’d been waiting for her all of his adult life. This was his woman, human born, with the genes in her composition that would allow her to transform with the aid of his nurturing protein enzymes.

The tight knot of anticipation began to build within him. He couldn’t wait to get to know everything about her. He just hoped he wasn’t too late. ***

Lucus was ever watchful of what was transpiring before him. He was beyond curious as to what could have caused Justus to be distracted. It had never happened before and, to his amazement, the hunter was lustful. That was impossible, but Lucus smelled his heated lust in the air. The scent would only be familiar to a fellow Lykian and, for the first time since birth, he didn’t feel the psychic bond to the alpha.

His pale wolf-like eyes were hard and filled with loathing as he followed Justus every movement. "Could it be the Black woman at the phone in headscarf, jeans, and sweater?" Lucus wasn’t sure if it she was the one that distracted Justus but she was a distraction to him. He could feel her pain and it was causing him to become aroused.

"Could it be her agony that is attracting you, Justus? Or could you have finally found your mate?" Lucus chuckled bitterly and licked his lips in anticipation of what this could mean, for him. "Oh, I hope so, for she may be exactly what I need to get you where I want you."***

Justus’s brows drew together in an agonized expression. He could see her obvious pain. She cradled her head in her hands with her eyes clenched tightly. Tears streaked over her ashen cheeks.

His mate was dying and Justus didn’t know if he had enough power to prevent it from happening. Could the gods be so cruel as to let him find her now, only to take her from him? He had yet to discover the things that only she could give him, such as love, pleasure, and children.

If she were to die, she would take everything he had to look forward to with her. I will not let you leave me, woman, he vowed, taking great strides to reach her side.

She must have felt his descent upon her. She dropped her hands by her side. The heavy lashes that shadowed her cheeks flew up. She lifted her chin, meeting his steadfast gaze straight on.

He thought her to be the most beautiful female he had ever seen. Some may find her common in feature, he surmised. Her facial bones were delicately carved with high exotic cheekbones, generously curved parted lips, full and rounded over even teeth, her nose was straight, short and attractive. It was apparent from the gray pallor beneath her normal earthy hue that she must have been ill for some time.

He stopped directly in front of her, the tip of his booted feet just an inch away from her. "I am Justus and you are my mate," he declared. "Let me help you."

Instant astonishment touched her pallid features.

He watched her as her eyes moved over his face, unchecked tears pooling in her dark brown eyes as he pulled her into his arms, bearing her weight against his frame. She didn’t attempt to push him away. It was as if she instinctively knew he truly wanted to help her. Justus held her gaze attempting to enthrall and ease the hurting in her temples. He felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. His head felt as if it would burst. It’s too late.

Justus felt the exact moment the vessel inside her skull burst and, as quickly as it had occurred, his colors disappeared and his world once more became drenched in blandness. He cried out in raw emotion, his breathing became shallow, quick gasps, but he refused to let go of the mental link with her.

"Stay with me, Baby. You must fight to stay with me."

Her long lashes raises and lowered as if in slow motion; once, twice, before fluttering close. Justus’s heart thudded in aching alarm as he felt her welcoming resolution to give in to the call of death.

"No, damn you, don’t you dare give up! Not now!" There was a possessive desperation in his voice as he caught her lifeless body as it fell against him.

Justus craned his head up, wondering about the macabre fascination of passers-by who idly stand by and watch someone die. It took all the strength he possessed to keep his link with her so she wouldn’t stop breathing. He opened his mouth to speak and it came out as a wail, as he doubled over in pain, dropping to his knees with the weight of her limp body in his arms.

He knew if he could shift it would give him more energy, but it was out of the question in front of onlookers. No, this time, he would have to depend upon human intervention.

After what felt like an eternity, he heard someone yell out, "Don’t just stand there gawking, people! Someone, call for an ambulance!"

His dark, thick eyebrows drew together in a cold sweat as he raged an internal battle with death. He could feel her slipping away but he wasn’t going to let her go that easily. "No!" he howled in rage. Panic he’d never known before welled in his throat.

Justus would not allow her to give in to the call of death. He couldn’t bear to face eternity, knowing she was gone and he was forever alone. He called out to his gods, "Do not take her from me. I beg of you."

The growing crowd was oblivious to the struggle he was going through. Closing his eyes, Justus chanted in silence. Praying and bartering with his soul to whichever god would heed the call for the energy he needed to get her heart pumping.

Shifting her position, Justus placed her ear to his heart while pressing her cold body into his warmth. Gently, he pressed his large hand over her heart, sending her a portion of his inner embodiment.

Within moments, he felt a faint pulse against his open palm. He was barely breathing as he poured his life force into her until it gradually intensified to match the rhythm of his heartbeat. He focused his concentration to stop the bleeding in her brain and onward, slowing the internal maggots that festered inside her body. Humans called it cancer.

He tasted bile in the back of the throat as he continued to heal. It was only temporary, but it would give them time. As long as she remained completely human, it would continue to worsen until she died. Soon she would learn her fate was to live by his side and give herself to him willingly. Once the transformation ritual took place, they would be forever as one.

He opened his eyes and looked upon her face with an expression that was the closest thing to love he had ever shown. Now that he had her stable enough to reach the hospital, he could rest.

Bending down, he whispered against her temple, "You alone, woman, have awakened a lust inside me that I have never known." His voice was deep with longing. "If you die, so does my future, for you are the only one who can relieve me from my impotent state. I will walk through any hell put before me, to keep you by my side. You must heed my words for they are true…fight to stay with me." He closed his eyes against the newness of these untried emotions. "If you leave me, I swear I shall lose all that is human in me."

Justus knew that even though she was close to death, she heard him and she would do her part to stay alive. How could she let go now that she realized, as he did, that they were destined to bring together their unclaimed essence?***

Lucus’s lips spread into a sinister smile. He turned away from the touching scene. Maybe he had just witnessed the end to Justus. This woman had to be his weakness for him to react so. They all had one somewhere, even he, but he no longer needed his mate to be whole. Now that he was a god, spilling the blood of the weak appeased all of his needs.

Once he got Justus, the Alpha male of his clan, to join him the others would soon follow and they would take over the world. He waited to see the day when they no longer had to conform to man just to fit in.

This woman will weaken Justus’s tracking abilities. His growing love for her will make him weak and emotional. This distraction from his duties will be his downfall and he, Lucus, would be there to sway his reasoning when the time is right.

Lucus laughed and disappeared into the growing darkness of night, ready to pacify his growing hunger.