I want to thank my editor 1sickbastard for all his help in getting this part of my story ready for submission as well as my family who's ears I bent when my brain just wouldn't work.
The sounds of the night filled the air, the call of the wolf echoed out of the dusk. She could hear how the horses whinnied and nickered in the distance of the night. Soft footsteps echoed and bounced eerily off of the obsidian walls. Eyes of emerald green looked around in sheer wonder at the expanse that lay before her. A soft feline purr sounded through the lifeless, deserted castle.
The lean figure of a woman was illuminated in the dim glow of the candle light. Long raven black hair streamed down her back in a silken waterfall. She lifted her head up as dark eyes looked around. She purred softly to keep herself calm in a place that was so very different from her home. Her weight shifted back and forth restlessly. Short, quick breaths filled her nose to find any sign of unexpected danger.
Small hands flexed and relaxed against a sleek and trim thigh. Sharp nails that resembled claws scraped against the black satin pants that clung to her every curve as if for dear life. A green corset caressed her waist and chest as though it were a lover from days gone by.
Bright, watchful eyes looked about the empty hall. She felt that all was not right, but she can't seem put her finger on what was out of place. Her slender shoulders rolled lightly to try and ease some of the tension that she felt.
She turned on a small, black booted foot as she began to make her way towards the kitchen to get a bite to eat when it hit her there were no sounds what so ever in the castle. That in itself wasn't normal. One would expect to hear the sounds of the kitchen staff as well as the chatter of the servants.
Her head lifted up and sniffed lightly at the air with the hope she could get a scent that pointed her in the right direction. Bright emerald eyes began to look about frantically to search for what ever seemed out of place. The only thing that seemed even remotely out of place was the fact that there wasn't a soul around. That in itself was just plain out and out weird. Her head shook as she tossed about long raven black tresses of silk against her back.
As she looked around more she didn't see the tapestries that were normally on the walls. Her mind frantically tried to figure out where in the name of the nine hells she was. The general set up of the castle was the same as her home with just a few minor differences. A low feline purr rumbled deep within her chest. She desperately tried to calm herself down.
She sensed another close to her as her soft purr changed to a low growl of menace. She began to turn around deliberately but only heard the sounds of her own footsteps. Her growl gradually deepened as her senses picked up... something. Small nails elongated into a set of deadly feline claws. She wanted to locate the other that she sensed close to her.
She sniffed at the air once more, and caught the scent of a vampire. She remembered the family that ruled here was comprised of vampires. Then again, the scent just wasn't right. It wasn't one that she was familiar with.
Slowly she began to follow her nose, but a soft white shimmer started to overtake her body. The sounds of bones being snapped and broken bounced off the obsidian walls as the shimmer died away which left the large leopard in place of the woman. Small pinpoint ears flickered back and forth lightly to listen for any sounds her sensitive ears could pick up. Massive paws moves across the stone with a predator's deadly silence. Powerful muscles rippled and flowed under a sleek and shiny coat.
The soft click of razor sharp claws against the stone sounded in her ears. She came to a stop where the vampire scent was the strongest. She sat back on powerful haunches as her long tail wrapped around her front paws bright eyes looked into the darkness.
Small ears flicked back and forth suddenly. They flattened down against her head as her sleek body tensed up. A low growl of warning rumbled deep in her chest.
Her entire body was tense and ready to strike her tail began to lash back and forth like a whip. Her eyes were trained on a pair of red dots that glowed like twin flames; lips curled back to show off lethal white teeth meant to rip and tear. Her eyes were locked onto the two red dots; this was where the vampire smell was the strongest.
She watched as a tall husky figure began to slip out of the shadows. The figure was tall and lean, but broad in the chest which gave him that husky look. The man wore a pair of black leather pants, no shirts, and a long brocade cloak of deep purple. His eyes were a deep, dark crimson red that burned like twin flames.
She shook her head as she began to back away from the man slowly her snarl ever present because she knew things were not as they were supposed to be. Bright emerald pools were locked onto the vampire before her. Her mind was in an uproar in an effort to try and place who this man was. His scent wasn't even remotely close to the vampire family she knew ruled here. She backed away from him till she bumped into a hard object a startled cry tore from her lips as she jumped a good ten foot straight up.
When she landed from the jump her eyes left the man for a mere second to see what she had backed into, only to find that she had backed into a table. She whipped her head back around to find that the man was gone from sight. Small pinpoint ears flickered back and forth hysterically; she desperately wanted to find out where he had gone. She lifted her head up just a bit to sniff at the air as she tried to locate his scent.
Now she gets really confused because his scent was all around her. Now she was scared she knew she wasn't strong enough to take on a vampire. Dark eyes dart around to look for him as she pressed herself back into the table. Then she felt a brush against her haunches, which made her to jump up and hit her head on the underside of the table. She succumbed to the darkness that came to claim her.
The man had brushed her hindquarters which startled her, his head tipped to one side. His eyes had calmed down to a warm chocolate brown color. He crouched down beside her as he ran a hand through her fur, he was amazed at how soft and silky her fur felt. He shook his head a bit which caused his long silken locks of crimson to bound against his cloak.
He took a hold of her front legs and very carefully pulled her out from underneath the table and over to the fire place. His fingers snapped and a fire jumped to life to through out a soft glow over her sleek body. Slowly he would rise up to his full height to tower over the prone body of a beautiful leopard. He had seen many different creatures in his centuries of life but a leopard was a creature he had never before encounter. He was curious of this new creature before him.
This was his domain after all so he set to work and bound her paws in cloth to protect himself from her deadly claws he even wrapped up her muzzle so she couldn't bite. Lastly a collar with a length of chain was snapped around her neck. The length of chain was attached to a stone support pillar. He figured she would be too fearful to shift to her human form. He got a chair and brought it close to where she lay unconscious.
